Absolutely! This question really gets to the crux of why I’m running. I have been a grassroots organizer all my life. I believe the power of decision-making lives with the people, not with developers or those with money.

I was first elected after the split of the CVRD and the SRD when the Provincial Government mandated the district complete a Regional Growth Strategy that would define how growth would be managed in the Comox Valley. Over the next few years the CVRD conducted the biggest, most extensive public outreach ever undertaken that, as well as conducting numerous public meetings, open houses, telephone surveys and written comment forms, we sent out referrals and met with all local governments, affected First Nations and adjoining Regional Districts.  In the end we conducted two very spirited public hearings and, with the help of a Provincially appointed mediator, finally hammered out the document you see today.  Much treasure and political capitol was spent but in the end the document was based on the principals of “Smart Growth” with urban development directed to the already-serviced municipal centres and allowed the Rural areas to remain Rural.

Absolutely. A lot of work and community input has gone into creating the Regional Growth Strategy, and the Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy, and we need to follow their intent and frameworks as they are excellent. What is great about these plans is they allow for revisions or course adjustments – they are meant as living documents and we should keep them at the forefront of our approach.

Yes, I fully support the RGS. This plan was long overdue in the Comox Valley as a way to ensure growth areas occur in a planned fashion. Much work and consultation with the community was involved in the plan so any major changes to the growth areas needs the same careful consideration. (Photo by James Wood, mycomoxvalleynow.com)

Nothing should be built in the flood plain. This is 20th Century thinking and we all need to come to the realization that we need to retreat from areas that regularly flood. As for construction on ALR land, unless the use is PRIMARY agriculture, there should be no convention centers, recreation centers or trade show facilities built on ALR land. Less than 5% of BC land can be farmed. We need that land to feed us as California dries up and climate change hits other food-producing regions of the world.

Coming from a family who came to the Comox Valley to farm almost 150 years ago, I can safely say that I am in support of agricultural. Over the past 10 years of my term, the CVRD has only added to and never taken away land from the Agriculture Land Reserve. We have relaxed building permit requirements on farm use buildings (although dwellings still comply) and adopted many of the ALC’s policies in our new Rural Official Community Plan. In so far as the new BC floodplain regulations go…they apply to everyone. The examples of Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Duncan show where public buildings on ALR land can be a net benefit to agricultural in terms of providing the considerable space needed to host equestrian and livestock events, as well as farmers markets, meeting spaces for agricultural groups and even food labs and legal kitchen/refrigeration/freezers to help small producers.

As a Hornby Island candidate, I will have to familiarize myself with existing proposals a little more. With any capital projects, I think it is great when there are two or three viable options on the table, and the community and decision-makers can weigh the pros and cons. I think there are likely many opportunities for Public Facilities to be sited off the ALR, and ALR may provide restrictions that may not exist elsewhere.

I’m still doing some research on the discussion to locate a centre on the exhibition grounds but I do think such a project would be a benefit to the community. Agriculture is definitely an integral part of the Comox Valley. The issue of locating structures on ALR land needs careful consideration by all approval agencies before any further planning is done.

I commit to regular meetings in community where the public can ask questions of what is happening at the CVRD. That, in my opinion, is one of the roles of a CVRD director, the back and forth communication between the public and the staff and board of the organization. Second, asking the hard questions – why was this consultant chosen? What were the terms of reference? Who benefits?

Although required by the Local Government Act to go “in camera” when dealing with issues of legal, labour and land, local governments “rise and report” on the outcomes.  With the completion of the new CVRD building and boardroom, live video and audio streaming will be made available allowing the public to follow debate without having to attend the meetings or rely on the almost non-existent media coverage.

I personally have not felt that the CVRD has been that closed, at least viewed from a distance on my island. Financials and meeting minutes are readily available. Engagement processes for planning have been ok…. but this said I think the CVRD, like most governments, can probably use new social methodologies and online technology a little bit better for public engagement. Transparency is a big buzzword these days, and I believe in it too, but I think behind it people seek attention and care from staff and decision-makers. Those are values I will promote.

Part of my platform is to have more community based meetings where citizens can bring ideas and input to decision being considered by the board.

Although the CVRD adopted a Climate Change Action Plan in 2015, I do not find that decision-making necessarily happens with a climate change lens. Hence, the Master Plan at the CVEX site that contains an 80,000 sq ft facility, with a corner in the flood plain. All our decisions need to take rising sea levels, increased forest fire risk, and extreme weather events in mind. Fore example, a brand new community, out in the forest at Stotan Falls does not meet the FireSmart test.

The CVRD were early signatures to both the BC Climate Action Charter as well as the FCM’s Partnership for Climate Protection. Worldwide initiatives are being taken at the local government level while national and state/provincial governments dither. In addition to instillation of solar panels (Oyster River Fire, Jackson Drive Sewer and others) the pools and arenas are being upgraded to newer more efficient equipment as the old ones wear out. New buildings are required to meet “Leeds” equivalent standards and some CVRD vehicles are electric.

I think the new board should start with a review of the CVRD’s Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy,and the Community Climate Change Action Plan, to see how we are tracking towards our intents and goals. Much of the content in these documents focuses on mitigation, this said. On the adaptation side, we should refer back to the Regional Growth Plan, and update every few years both from the macro level (regional) and micro level (communities/neighbourhoods) to see if there are surprises or new knowledge that require us to update the plan and that may affect both our built and ecological infrastructure.

Certainly this issue needs to be considered not only in the building code for “ocean rise” but also in looking at how climate change needs to be considered in existing and future infrastructure as well as what we can do as a community to reduce the contributing
factors to climate change locally and globally.

There is no need for either. As a vendor at the Comox Valley Farmer’s Market, I would say that the majority of the community has adapted to bringing their own bags, which is fantastic to see. Some comments have been made about what to use for garbage liners – at my own house, we have pet food bags and other packaging that can easily be used to line our garbage. For those who need to use straws because of a physical disability, washable metal or glass straws are now available on the market and I encourage all restaurants and food outlets to have them on hand when needed. For everyone else, we can all sip from the glass or can.

Having spent my career in the Building Supply retail industry, I can attest first hand that the majority of consumers chose to be responsible. When we stopped automatically putting the T Shirt single use bags on the counter, most people would just scoop up their purchase and leave. For many years the CVRD made reusable CVRD logo bags and distributed them to retailers. Maybe something worth re-visiting.

On Hornby Island our Coop banned plastic bags a number of years ago, and this summer we banned single use water bottles as well. We don’t even think about it in terms of inconvenience, and it is an element of pride. As for straws, at my house we recently got some metal ones for our kids at home: They are hard to wash and not so good to bite, but it makes for interesting dinner conversations about personal convenience vs global impacts.

I’m all for banning these items wherever possible. We have lots of alternatives. It certainly may seem like a small thing but it brings awareness to the whole issue of disposable items and waste generation.

I do support the CVRD moving out of the floodplain and constructing their multi-use facility in a more suitable location. I would also like to see a plan to convert the Old Thrifty’s site into a food hub, similar to Granville Island, that provides commercial kitchen space to allow entrepreneurs to convert primary products into value added foods. Housing, on top of the building, could pay for the construction, similar to the Kootenay Co-op model in Nelson. The building would be a draw for both locals and tourists and could provide a permanent, year-round location for the Farmer’s Market. I’ve spoken to a developer and some key non-profit organizations who have identified federal and provincial grants that could kickstart the process. As this building would have regional significance, I would support the CVRD partnering with the City of Courtenay to help make it happen. However, before any monies are committed, I would need to see a financial plan that once the building was constructed, there would be a path to financial stability and the project wouldn’t be a drain on community resources.

Most of the major capitol project we are faced with this term (and the ensuing expenses) were not discretionary but forced down the throat of local government by changing senior government standards and regulations. In order for the Valley’s aging infrastructure to be compliant with water treatment, sewer and solid waste, hundreds of millions of dollars need to be spent. The downloading from the Province and the Feds land the costs on the property owners. At one time you could rely on 1/3rd, 1/3rd, 1/3rd funding split but now-a-days you need to go with a begging bowl for arbitrary senior government grants. Don’t get me started….

In Area A, there has been a huge amount of work done in terms of planning for water and sewage infrastructure as new developments are on the horizon. I would like to see a long-term plan that is well-supported in place, and work advanced in my term. For other capital projects, the CVRD board will need to do a great job to steward the building of the new CVRD office, so that it is on budget and really showcases sustainability and functionality features. These are projects that are inherited to new members of the Board and I want to help them get to the finish line in the best manner possible. In terms of new capital projects, anything that supports green infrastructure I will be a champion for. I don’t strive for any trophy or legacy projects however. ..I just want to have the region invest where there is demonstrated needs, and where possible if we can dial away from a carbon-based economy in our capital replacements and upgrades.

I have not had a chance to be briefed on the priority of projects in the capital plan, but at the rate our community is growing I’m am sure there is much work to be done to ensure our infrastructure can accommodate the growth.. Water and wastewater treatment
capacity is an obvious area that needs to be addressed, as is transportation and transit to outlying areas.

We really need to push the wood stove/energy conversion rebate a bit harder. It’s a great strategy to reduce wood pollution. I would also like to work with rural owners to talk about open burning and why they feel it’s necessary. If the CVRD provided a shredder/chipper, could we prevent the majority of this burning? Lastly, circling back to climate change, we were all impacted when forest fire smoke blanketed our community so lets not forget that source of pollution. When we, as a community, commit to reducing our Greenhouse Gas production, it helps us all.

Air quality in the valley, especially cellulose particulates (2.5) come from many sources including domestic wood stoves, forestry and agricultural open burning. The CVRD wood stove exchange rebate program is designed to get the old non EPA wood stoves out of use and have homeowners replace them with new high efficient model. Some new stoves can produce less than one gram of carbon per hour……a long way from the mamma bear and papa bear stoves of 30 years ago.

A mix of education and regulation. In Area A, we are rural, so yard fires and wood stoves are a big part of the culture as they are practical and inexpensive.  However there are certain things that can be done, such as looking at better promoting burns during high venting index days. We could look at applying commercial fire rules to residential lots as well, for example. The CVRD also has programs in place for wood stove replacement….but a lot of old rural homes are drafty, and only wood stoves seem to keep up. So looking at integrated solutions that help make old homes more energy efficient would be great. Oh and cars! I own an electric car, and I know that our area is lagging other regions in transitioning away from petroleum fueled vehicles. So I certainly won’t try to have the CVRD impose in that regard, but I will definitely champion the transition if the appetite is there with the rest of the Board.

That surprises me, I hadn’t heard that statistic. I will be doing more research on this item.

I have to admit that I know the Food Systems section of the Strategy a bit better than the others so using that chapter as the example, here’s my analysis. The consultant did a good job of identifying the resources, needs in the community, and where we were at back in 2008. However, when it came to the recommendations and timelines, I found them to be far too ambitious and not a really good fit for the community. For example, although starting a Food Policy Council may sound great on paper, from what I know of the Comox Valley, we do not have the capacity or political will yet to sustain such a council. It’s been tried here a few times and I think we’re not quite there yet. Because the consultant didn’t really know the subtleties of our community, the goals seem “cookie cutter”. I’ve seen similar output in reports they’ve done for other communities, which leads me to believe that the end goals may not fully reflect where the community wants to go and how we’ll get there. I still think we can work with the Sustainability Strategy but it needs an update and check-in.

 I was embedded in the process. We had meetings in just about every community hall, recreation hall, school gymnasiums. Lots of participation, young and old. It’s all about preserving the natural order and respect and preservation for what makes up our Comox Valley’s amenities.  The one single issue for me was creating more opportunities for alternate transportation networks in the form of trails for walking, cycling and equestrian use. The Regional District has over 100km of trails in the Rural areas including the Royston Seaside trail, the Royston to Cumberland “Colliery” trail and, of course, the One Spot Trail that follows the old Comox Logging Railway grade from Courtenay up to the Oyster River.   To further the Transportation principals from the Sustainability Strategy, CVRD created a “Integrated Regional Transportation Select Committee ” whose members include School District 71, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, K’omoks First Nations, Cycling Coalition plus local elected officials from CVRD Courtenay and Comox. Councillor David Frisch is the Chair.

I agree with all of it, even the parts that are more aspirational. I intend to be one of the biggest CVSS champions, even if I was never involved in producing it or contributing to it. What is tricky, in my opinion, is to actually be creative enough, tactical enough, and in some ways dogged enough to try to achieve the CVSS ambitious goals. I think an honest review of how we are tracking towards the goals a few years into it is needed, and then we can talk about where we need to invest more if we are lagging, or invest less if certain things are doing or looking after themselves.

I need to do more research on this

I think the social procurement policy makes fantastic sense and only wish that the CVRD had signed on to the Vancouver Island Hub that Sandra Hamilton has helped to create. Why wouldn’t we choose to make our money go further with social impact?

People seem to forget that it was the CVRD’s 3 Electoral Area Directors who first gave a $80,000 grant to the “Feed Comox Valley” initiative that Sandra Hamilton used to leverage a matching grant from the McConnell foundation to start the whole movement. It is with great pride that I watch as leaders like our own Mayor Baird, Josie Osborne and Lisa Helps work to create a Island wide “Hub” to help educate and advocate for community social procurement benefits.

Let’s look at it. I believe many local communities in my area would love to hear more about it too for their own procurement processes at the local level too.

Again I need to more research. I will be doing lots of reading in the next weeks to be able to better respond to these important that issues that need consideration by the CVRD.

Our land, our water and our forests are the main eco-assets. We have fabulous groups such as Project Watershed, Streamkeepers, the Comox Valley Land Trust, Young Agrarians and the Cumberland Forest Society who’ve identified what needs to be done. I would look to them to inform decision making on how to protect our assets. The passion of volunteerism in the Comox Valley is one of the reasons I moved here. Lets build on that passion and knowledge and work together to achieve the goals that we create together.

Working with conservancy groups, private property owners, provincial government ministries and over 100 volunteer, areas A,B andC Parks Service is active in the acquisition and protection of our Valley’s natural amenities. With over 100Km of trails and 53 Parks it important for the general public to realize that all this is budgeted from the 3 Electoral Areas only and none of the three Municipalities contribute to this CVRD Parks function. This is a subject that perhaps needs to be re-visited in the next term as other jurisdictions, notably the Regional District of Nanaimo, contributes area wide which vastly increasing the ability to purchase irreplaceable property as it come available for the public. Having grown up here and seeing what has been lost, this is our LAST CHANCE to get these spaces before it is lost to all future generations.

In Area A and the rest of the Regional District I look forward to work with communities, First Nations, the Federal Government, Province, and the natural resources sector to ensure that our watersheds and oceans are managed sustainably, on a continual improvement basis in terms of our current practices. I am not much of an activist: I prefer to roll up my sleeves and work with everyone towards better sustainable practices. I do believe there are areas in need of improvement. The CVRD has to lead and apply its resources to ensure we have healthy ecological systems for the long-term. If we don’t work on that, then we are abrogating our role as a public institution, in my opinion.

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