Forum Questions from the Chamber of Commerce Event

Here is the list of questions that were not answered during the all candidates forum

1. Do you support food sovereignty as a goal for the Comox Valley, and if so, what specific tools does the City of Courtenay have to support local food production?

I do support food sovereignty in the Comox Valley. From a municipal lens this could be supported through providing space and reduced expense for hosting farmer’s markets, adjusting zoning to allow for local farm stands within the city and making use of public space, vacant lots or park space to allow for community led urban agriculture. 

2. What recent city projects would the candidates consider essential and non-essential to the community?

One project I have a hard time understanding are the two roundabouts on Back Road. I do see the improvements at the location where Back Road meets Valley View Drive, but I’ve also witnessed many vehicles drive right over the roundabout. Roundabouts offer a safer and more steady flow of traffic, however there are other locations in Courtenay with higher traffic and pedestrian volume that could benefit from traffic calming measures.

 I strongly believe in improving our active transportation network, which I know has been heavily criticised.  As our population grows, ensuring this is planned for and put in place is important. What I do know is that timing matters. There are so many considerations to be made by council when reviewing projects, such as whether grant funding may be available again if the project waits, or the increase in cost should a project waits. Sometimes holding off on work makes it harder to attain in the future.  I would like to believe that our elected officials weighed the information and made a decision based on what they felt was in the best interest of the community. 

3. Were you for or against the 6th Street Bridge?

What’s done is done, but I believe we would have been better served by the previous plan for cantilevered pedestrian and cycling access connected to the current 5th Street Bridge. The entry and exit to Home Hardware (which I go to regularly) feels dangerous. I challenge the claims of accessibility, yes you can get across the bridge, it’s wide and spacious, but I, a completely mobile person, have difficulty pedaling a bicycle up the 6th street hill and when you reach the top of the hill you are again faced by steady traffic during the day. There was a mention at the forum of a larger transportation plan. I feel that making that readily available to residents specifically showing the plan associated with the bridge may have helped with public perception. 

4. Comox Glacier loss is 1.5 metres/year and will be depleted in 20 years. What economic impact will the loss have? What actions should be taken, and when?

The loss of the Comox Glacier, coupled with our reduced snow falls as we have milder winters will result in increased water scarcity in the summer months. Currently the glacial melt provides a buffer during the height of summer. Reduced water flow means less access for water that is available for hydroelectric power, agriculture and less available to each individual. We need to accept green lawns as a thing of the past.

We should currently be working towards better education programs centered around water reduction, as well as how to store and make use of rainfall during the spring in the way of rainwater harvesting systems.  We should also be making better use of enforcement measures with those who actively ignore water restrictions. In my opinion we should have already started doing these things. The City of Courtenay is late in implementing water metering systems and has a very relaxed attitude towards water consumption and waste, and that is to our detriment. Water metering will help identify leaks and areas where unnecessary water wastage can be mitigated as well as create a tangible connection between use and cost. 

I still remember the water shortage response plan implemented in Vancouver in the 90s when I was a child. Education programs can have life long impacts on behaviour. I would like to see a more robust education plan implemented in Courtenay.

5. Outside of council, what professional experience prepares you to oversee an $84 million municipal budget and lead a large professional organization?

I currently work as a strata manager, which means I work with strata corporations, condo, townhomes, patio homes etc. to manage their operating and reserve budgets, as well as plan for regular and long term capital asset maintenance. I advise on governance, bylaws and enforcement as well as following BC legislations. Prior to my work as a strata manager I spent over a decade working for local and regional governments including City of Prince George, Comox Valley Regional District and City of Courtenay. I’ve had an inside look at the operational side of how municipal and regional governments work. That coupled with my work as a strata manager has given me invaluable experience and insight into overseeing a much larger version of what I do now. I am also fully cognizant of the fact that despite my knowledge and experience there is still so much to learn and I am both excited for and ready for that challenge if elected. 

6. What are your ideas to ensure Courtenay has a sustainable and affordable water supply?

The first and most important step in sustaining our water supply is education on water conservation. Courtenay needs to implement a robust water reduction program and look at incentivising water reduction, through installation of lower use water fixtures within homes, use of drip irrigation and rain water storage. 

7. Do you support the City becoming a certified Living Wage employer, and would you use its purchasing power and grant programs to incentivize living wage practices?

Yes, I support the City becoming a certified living wage employer. I believe doing so sets a precedent and standard for our community as a whole. 

8. Do you support the building of a larger industrial area in Courtenay, and if so, do you believe it would help alleviate higher taxes?

No, I don't believe Courtenay has appropriate space required for a large industrial area.

9. What is your stance on supporting a new RCMP station and possible community safety centre to keep up with our essential needs?

I am in support of both a new RCMP detachment and community policing office, the current detachment is not adequate to continue to service our growing population. I think the downtown core would benefit from a community policing office that liaises with volunteer groups and works with auxiliary police and bylaw enforcement to address the needs of our vulnerable populations and ensure the safety of our downtown community and businesses. 

10. For new candidates, how many hours do you think this role will take, and how will that fit into your life?

I think it’s difficult to quantify in hours. I believe the role of a council member is a complete shift in mindset and that there will be many unaccounted hours spent putting thought and research towards decision making on top of the hours committed to meetings, discussions and efforts to further education. I currently work in a service role with strata corporations. My work is fairly flexible and should I be elected I have the option to continue to work a lighter portfolio to allow the time for the role as a councillor, conversely should I not be elected I’ll simply take on more strata work. 

11. Would you support an approach to Braidwood that follows the recommendations of housing, health, addictions, and public-safety experts?

Yes, I think we should always be seeing educated, expert opinions before making decisions. 

12. What is your current business involvement, and how will that inform decision-making on issues affecting local business, permitting, and economic development?

I work for a small local business in Courtenay. Regardless of my current business involvement I am a firm believer in supporting our small local businesses. I believe this can be done at the municipal level by providing more streamlined processes, reduced fees for those providing services in our community and allowing more flexible and permissive zoning that opens up more opportunity for businesses to thrive.

13. Are there any other communities that you think we could learn from?

 I think we should always be looking at ways we can learn from other communities, either by modeling things they did that worked, or learning lessons by acknowledging things that didn’t work. As a former government worker I can attest that other municipalities are open to sharing information and offering their lessons learned as well as framework for their successes.

14. I support keeping municipal Facebook comments turned off. Social media discourse is toxic. Do you agree?

I support transparent communication with residents. Shutting down the Facebook comments effectively silenced toxic discourse but it also limited positive sharing and discussion about our city and community. When working as the Solid Waste Coordinator I found discussion on Facebook to be overall positive and a great opportunity to directly address misinformation and build connection in the community. I believe there are better ways to manage communication and if the City is going to shut down social media communication there should be an effort made towards providing a controlled outlet for positive discussion or direct connection with staff teams that are available to answer resident questions. 

15. Should candidates make their full platform available online? How does limited digital presence affect voter access and accountability?

With today’s access to technology I think it’s so accessible for candidates to make their platforms available online. Providing online information is one of the most readily available ways to make information accessible to the wider public. I think there are a large number of voters who rely on online access to information and that we are currently needing to service two styles of communication. There are those who make time to read the newspaper and want to meet face to face at the door, but I feel we now have a larger number of people who are more likely to engage if they can access information from their phones when they have the time. 

16. Considering public engagement results, how would you consider the voices and perspectives of all residents—not just those who align with your political views?

I am regularly in the position of engaging with owners in my role as a strata manager and considering their voices. I think it’s really important to consider all viewpoints and not just focus on what aligns with my views. An opposing view is a potential opportunity to learn something. I also believe the only way to encourage engagement is by building trust and showing people that you value their perspective. In my experience this can be as simple as actively listening and responding in a timely and empathetic manner.

17. Civic governments are taking on federal and provincial governments on social issues. How will you “push back” and get back to basics?

I think the first focus of the council should be on municipal issues, however there are aspects of the role that do require advocacy to higher levels of government. As someone who actively works in a role advising on governance and experience working in both local and regional government I think I have a strong understanding of how to stay in my lane.

18. Do you support Rail Service with Trails beside the tracks rather than trails replacing rail?

I believe there is much to consider in reviving a rail service and potential for benefits, but I’m not sure we have the population to support that level of infrastructure yet. I do support the development of trail networks along the rail corridor.

19. What unique expertise or perspective do you—and only you—bring to this role that no other candidate offers, and how will it directly benefit residents?

I believe I’m the only candidate out of the 19 who has experience working directly for a local government.  I think my experience gives me a unique perspective as well as understanding of the challenges faced in our City as well as the intricacies and necessity for positive collaboration with the other governments around us (Comox Valley Regional District, K’ómoks First Nation, Town of Comox and Village of Cumberland.) I feel that my experience also gives me insight on operational procedures and a background knowledge on a number of city functions and I will use that information to advocate for clarity of information from reporting city staff members. Residents need to understand what's happening in our city to be able to engage in a meaningful way.

20. Businesses rely on a clear public record of how council decides. Will you keep full staff reports and legal advice in open agendas, even if meetings run longer?

I think providing a clear trail of pertinent information is important for transparency with both businesses and constituents. I prepare meeting packages for stratas and when we are making large decisions I think it’s important that all information is made available to owners. More information does not always lead to longer meetings, often times it answers questions in advance and leaves people with a better sense of satisfaction on how governance is being led.  

21. Do you support water meters?

I support an overall strategy to reduce water consumption. I think that metering is inevitable it will be more effective in some areas than others. To save on cost we should prioritize metering in areas of high water consumption and look at a phased approach for installation paired with education programs which I think are most effective in reducing consumption. 

22. As Courtenay adds housing, how will you ensure growth creates complete communities where people can meet daily needs without depending on a car?

I think we need to take a serious look at zoning in our growth nodes and make sure that the land use allowances are in line with the Official Community Plan’s goals of creating neighbourhood hubs, or complete communities. 

23. How will you make doing business in Courtenay easier? For example, licensing fees and barriers to new business.

The City should be making active efforts to support the formation of local business by streamlining processes for small businesses over corporations, reducing licensing fees and considering a more flexible framework for a mix of residential, retail, home based businesses, and provisions of services within neighbourhoods.

24. Will you open up Facebook comments on the City posts, or will you still hide and not listen to the people?

I truly believe that transparent communication and allowing public discourse is a requirement of local government. I would support opening Facebook comments back up, but as noted in my previous response, if that’s off the table and can't be supported by staffing then other avenues of communication and promotion of contacts to speak to should be employed. 

25. As Courtenay grows, how will you prevent new housing from increasing car dependency and instead create affordable, walkable, transit-connected communities?

Through careful review of development plans and associated zoning to ensure that large developments are going in areas that also offer jobs and amenities or connected travel routes, whether transit or active transportation is important. We also need to make our transit system functional and serviceable to the public during more than just peak hours (kids getting in and out of school and the start and end of work days.) If it didn’t take an hour to get somewhere that takes me 15 minutes to drive to I would consider taking the bus. I spent over 30 years of my life committed to active transportation and transit (including a decade in Prince George), it wasn’t until moving to the Comox Valley that I broke down and got a car. Improvement is needed to encourage people to use it.

26. What recent training or professional development have you done to prepare for this role, and how does it apply to the specific challenges facing this community?

In the last three years I have taken 3 certificate courses with UBC’s Sauder School of Business. I am constantly looking for ways to learn more and grow as a person. While these courses were focused on my role as a strata manager, there is much that is applicable to local government. Strata Corporations are a microcosm of a city. They have owners, residents, require regular maintenance, budget planning, capital asset maintenance, bylaws etc. I would like to apply what I’ve learned to the large scale of the city and am committed to ongoing learning and growth.

27. If you could choose one incumbent and one new candidate—other than yourself—to serve alongside you on council, who would you choose and why?

This is a great question. If I could choose one incumbent it would be Evan Jolicoeur. I think he has shown incredible commitment to the role in his last term. He asks questions, seeks to clarify information and has great leadership qualities and I would appreciate an opportunity to learn from him. I would love an opportunity to serve alongside Kitty Pitt. We need honest, open, transparent and fearless representatives and I have a good feeling that Kitty will bring that to the table. 

I would also like to note that I fully anticipate there are times where my point of view may not align with these two candidates, but I think that’s even more important. The more voices we can bring to the table who are committed to open respectful discussion and doing what's best for everyone in Courtenay, the better. 

28. Flooding and wildfire risk drive insurance and infrastructure costs for local businesses. What is your plan to keep Courtenay's costs down?

This is a hard one, I help strata corporations renew their insurance annually and see the fluctuations based on underwriter’s assessments of risk. A strong emergency management plan is the most impactful contribution Courtenay can make. This is currently managed in partnership with the Comox Valley Regional District.

29. Many seniors in Courtenay are living on a fixed income. How will you help seniors afford to keep their home without deferring taxes?

I think the most effective way we can impact affordability for both struggling seniors on fixed incomes and the working families that are struggling to exist is by being as fiscally responsible as possible. I know there are improvements and growth that is needed. I deal with this sort of planning on a daily basis. The expectation is that improvements within a city take time and there should be no rush on projects that are working towards our vision of Courtenay. What I do know for certain is that proactive repairs and proper asset maintenance is more cost effective than emergency repairs. 

30. Name a local cultural leader or community visionary outside of politics that you 

admire, and what would you do in office to better support the work they do?

I strongly believe that the work of city council should be focused on what’s best for the whole of Courtenay. If we stop looking at all perspectives we can forget the goal, which is to serve the community as a whole. There are so many admirable constituents with great ideas to contribute and I would never want people to think they would need to reach the status of cultural leader or visionary to be heard. 

31. Water meters are really an increase in taxpayer cost similar to taxes. Consequently, are water meters an increase in taxpayer cost rather than a lower cost?

** this one requires clarity but I’ll answer based on my interpretation.

If we are to move towards installation of water meters I think the most fiscally responsible way to implement it would be with a full cost recovery model built in, so an increase in cost would likely still be dependent on consumption, but there should be a base level cost to go towards the cost of installation and maintenance. 

32. Considering we live next to a clean ocean, have any of you considered an efficient and affordable desalination plant to solve the water issue?

This is outside my area of expertise but I do not believe this has been something that the City has explored (yet.) Desalination measures from my understanding are used in areas with extremely arid conditions and very limited access to fresh water sources. Given our level of rainfall I feel it’s reasonable to explore options for rainfall collection and storage, and the potential for greywater use before we move to desalination. 

33. Increasing housing results in increased residential parking and traffic. What are your thoughts on traffic in our neighborhoods?

Traffic increases are an inevitability with the growth of our population. One of the goals of the Courtenay Official Community Plan is to create community hubs. If we properly plan for residential areas to be centered around services that we might need then people can make use of active transportation to get where they need to go (bike walk, etc.) We need to diversify our neighbourhoods further if we are to reduce the amount of traffic. I grew up in Vancouver and while I don’t prefer cities, and don't want Courtenay to be like Vancouver one thing I did appreciate is in every neighbourhood I lived in there was a local grocery store or fruit and vegetable stand that I could walk to. 

34. There is a constant deferral to provincial and federal governments regarding the issues in our downtown core with drugs and crime. Why then is this not an issue in the rest of the Comox Valley? How do you fix it?

** question requires clarity but I’ll answer to the best of my ability. 

I don’t think there is a deferral to the provincial and federal governments, rather the solution to these problems requires intergovernmental collaboration. The issue of crime in our downtown core is a complex one impacted by poverty, mental health and addiction. To work towards a solution requires compassion, and empathy. I would like to see Courtenay work towards a community policing model specifically in the downtown core, but it has beneficial applications everywhere. Community policing aims at proactive solutions and working in partnership with local groups and residents to improve public safety. 

35. Older homes have increased charges relating to water meters due to inefficiencies in the structures. Will families who live in older homes have an extra burden? 

Asset maintenance applies to the average homeowner as much as it does to a large corporation like a city. It is in the best interest of homeowners to maintain their assets including updating water systems, replacing hose bibs etc. So if homeowners of older homes (myself included) take steps to adequately maintain their homes, there should not be an extra burden. New homes will eventually require maintenance as well, just on a different timeline.