OneCity Councillor Christine Boyle submitted a motion that would reduce barriers to building non-market, co-op and social housing in more neighbourhoods across Vancouver, and would permit those buildings up to 12 stories in certain neighbourhoods.

It built on an unanimous vote at a Public Hearing on April 20th that allowed community housing providers to build projects up to six stories in several areas without the need for costly and lengthy rezoning processes. Experts told City Council the move was a good start but the city needed to be bolder to address Vancouver’s housing crisis.

“Vancouverites are struggling to pay their rent,” said Boyle. “Council should reduce barriers for non-profit housing providers, to permit more affordable homes for more people who need them, in more places across the city.”

Without rezoning processes that can take over a year, and cost $400,000-800,000, community housing providers could afford to build more homes per project and begin construction faster. That means they could offer lower rents or use the savings for additional projects.

City staff found half of recent social housing developments required rezoning through a public hearing while less than a third of market condos had to go through the process. Single detached homes do not require a public hearing, even when a new detached home is significantly larger and more expensive than the one it is replacing.

“It should not be harder to build social housing in Vancouver than it is to build million dollar homes,” said Boyle. “Especially not when so many of our neighbours are being priced out of the city.”

UPDATE:

Unfortunately yesterday the majority of Councillors voted against more co-op and non-profit homes that more people can afford. This Council was elected to tackle a housing crisis that has been ignored too long. Instead Council opted to maintain the status quo.

Listen to my interview with Stephen Quinn on CBC Radio about the outcome HERE.

Read award winning playwright Marcus Youssef’s statement to Council on why this motion was so important.

Reducing Barriers and Deepening Affordability for Non-Profit, Co-op and Social Housing in Every Neighbourhood

Submitted by: Councillor Boyle

WHEREAS

1. An increasing number of residents in Vancouver are struggling to find stable, secure housing at a rate that is affordable for local incomes. Renters, including seniors, people with disabilities, single parent (often female-led) households, youth, and Indigenous communities are particularly squeezed by this housing crisis, and are in even greater need of being able to access secure, affordable housing.
   
2. In addition, the need for accessible and adaptable rental housing for seniors and people with disabilities, at prices that are affordable to middle and low-income residents, is significant and will increase even further over the next two decades.
   
3. Vancouver’s housing market has seen significant increases in land values and housing costs, pricing a growing number of residents out of the housing market. The escalation of home prices has also led to significant displacement, particularly of renters, and low- and middle-income residents.
   
4. Complete, walkable communities rely on essential workers such as health care workers and grocery store clerks, who should have the opportunity to work near their jobs, rather than having to commute long distances to get to their jobs. Research suggests that mixed-income communities have better outcomes for all residents (not just low-income residents) because of a greater access to services.
   
5. The Housing Vancouver Strategy (2018-2027) includes a target of 12,000 new social, supportive and co-op homes by 2027. As of Q4 2020, the City has approved new development applications to meet 47% of this target. The City is also committed to partnering with urban Indigenous organizations to deliver culturally appropriate housing developments. The high number of households in Vancouver paying over 30% of their income in rent indicates that more non-profit, co-op, and social housing is needed.
   
6. The City’s definition of social housing in the Zoning and Development Bylaw requires the housing be owned and operated on a not-for-profit basis by non-profit housing societies, co-op, or government agencies. And that at a minimum 30% of the units are occupied by households with incomes below Housing Income Limits set out by the Province. Many new developments rely on mixed-income housing models, with a mix of affordability levels to cover costs, typically with affordability deepening over time or deepening through access to senior government funding.
   
7. The Community Housing sector, made up of non-profit and co-op housing providers, is an important partner in the provision of affordable non-market housing across Vancouver, and the sector’s capacity in Vancouver has grown significantly over recent years.
   
8. Housing created in partnership with the community housing sector is “speculation free” housing because of the requirement through the CRA to maximize affordability, and because of the ability to place covenants on non-profit buildings that prevent sale for profit.
   
9. City staff analysis has demonstrated that half of recent social housing developments have required rezoning through a public hearing process, compared to less than a third of market condominium development. Single detached homes do not require a public hearing, even when a new detached home is significantly larger and more expensive than the one it is replacing. The added time and cost of requiring a public hearing impacts what type of housing gets built, and it is currently not aligned with what type of housing is most needed.
   
10. Rezoning for a non-profit typically takes a year or longer, and can add approximately $400,000-$800,000 onto the cost of a project, as well as requiring significant municipal staff time. This results in rents that are higher at occupancy and/or means that limited capital subsidies from senior levels of government get expended more quickly, meaning less housing overall. Reducing the cost, time and risk required to build non-profit and coop housing will result in savings for residents and deeper affordability in the new housing created.
    
11. We are in a window of strong alignment between Federal and Provincial governments in terms of developing affordable and non-profit housing. Some of these senior government funding programs require approved zoning for eligibility. Having appropriate municipal zoning in place allows non-profit and co-op housing providers to access this senior government funding much more easily, speeding up timelines and achieving deeper levels of affordability.
    
12. Major redevelopments still include opportunities for public engagement. Even when they don’t require a public hearing, the Development Permit process includes public notification and opportunities for comment, and could still require a Development Permit Hearing process, providing residents an opportunity to address the Development Permit Board in a public meeting.
    
13. There are currently about 526 non-profit and government owned housing properties in Vancouver, serving 26,000 households. 107 of those properties are in the RM-3A, RM-4 and RM-4N zoning districts.
    
14. Vancouver’s Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy, updated by Council in 2019, outlines specific protections for tenants in the case of a redevelopment for non-profit social housing. These protections are more stringent than for for-profit market development, and include:
    1. Ensuring permanent rehousing options that limit disruption to residents;
    2. The alternative accommodation option provided must be affordable based on income; and
    3. Support with relocation and consideration of special circumstances.
       
15. At Public Hearing on April 20th, 2021, Council unanimously approved recommendations to allow development of up to six stories in the RM-3A and the RM-4 and RM-4N zoning districts where 100% of the residential floor area is developed as social housing, or social housing in conjunction with a child day care facility.
    
16. At the above Public Hearing, numerous local experts in non-profit and co-op housing expressed a need for Council to be more ambitious in terms of both height and FSR to give non-profit housing providers the flexibility to optimize the number and affordability of new homes possible on each site. In response, City legal and planning staff outlined that significant amendments at the Public Hearing stage are not ideal, and that if Council wanted to be more ambitious in this regard, a preferable route would be through a separate Council motion.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED

1. THAT Council direct staff to bring forward recommendations for Council to consider referring to Public Hearing that would allow development of up to 12 stories (with a corresponding increase in FSR) in the RM-3A and the RM-4 and RM-4N zoning districts where 100% of the residential floor area is developed as social housing, or social housing in conjunction with a child day care facility.
   
2. THAT Council direct staff to report back with considerations and recommendations to allow additional height and FSR in other zoning districts (including RS, RT, RM, and mixed commercial-residential zones) where 100% of the residential floor area is developed as social housing, or social housing in conjunction with a child day care facility, and any corresponding improvements in the TRPP that staff would recommend. Consideration should be given, but not limited, to:
   1. Options that could be incorporated as part of current work on the Secured Rental Policy, including additional height and density specifically for social housing in new standard rental district schedules intended to streamline future site-specific rezonings in RS and RT zoned areas, with a report back to Council targeted in Q3 2021; and
   2. Options, including City-initiated zoning changes, that would enable more social housing projects to proceed without a rezoning, that could be delivered as part of longer-term work through the Vancouver Plan, as well as through the Broadway Plan.

On March 9th, 2021, Councillor Boyle will introduce a motion on Implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) in the City of Vancouver.

The motion has been developed in collaboration with a preliminary working group of Indigenous community leaders, and has been reviewed and supported by the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

UNDRIP is widely recognized as the most comprehensive articulation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples world-wide. Both the governments of Canada and BC have endorsed UNDRIP without qualification, with BC passing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) in November 2019, and the Government of Canada currently debating Bill C-15 regarding a federal action plan for implementation.

The City of Vancouver has made significant long-term commitments as a City of Reconciliation, and has taken many steps to advance reconciliation, including endorsing the declaration in 2013. However, to date, no local government in Canada has taken formal steps to implement UNDRIP within their jurisdiction.

Vancouver is well positioned to begin this work with Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and the urban Indigenous community and to continue to deepen its commitment to reconciliation with measurable actions and systemic change. 

Both the federal and provincial initiatives have proposed the collaborative development of an action plan for the implementation of the UNDRIP within their respective jurisdictions. Councillor Boyle’s motion proposes a similar approach to the implementation of UNDRIP at the municipal level.

The full motion is available here.

Take Action:

• Sign up to speak in support of Implementing UNDRIP in the City of Vancouver here

• Let Mayor and Council letting them know that you support Implementing UNDRIP in the City of Vancouver

MAYOR & COUNCIL CONTACT INFO

City Budgets are important documents. But life is busy, and lots of residents don’t have the time to really dig into them. So here are some highlights from Vancouver’s proposed 2021 budget.

Vancouver’s 2021 budget will be tough. COVID has placed enormous pressure on our finances, including decreased revenue & increased expenses to serve those most impacted by the pandemic.

Because of this, even with a 5% tax increase, the proposed budget is a $17M decrease from 2020.

COVID has also exacerbated existing inequalities. My focus is a Just Recovery budget that centers those who have been hit the hardest.

In this budget, I’m fighting to protect proposed 2021 investments in:

• Community & public services, including keeping small libraries open
• Longer hours at the Evelyn Saller Centre in the DTES ($225K)
• Creating a Sex Worker Drop-In Centre ($360K)

During a crisis, austerity only makes things worse.

Council already voted to defer $254M in capital spending, resulting in a one-time $8M savings to the operating budget. I support reallocating this toward one-time investments in:

• Infrastructure & programming to improve Safe Routes To Schools ($0.5M) Related to the Climate Emergency Action Plan and motions that OneCity Vancouver Trustee Jennifer Reddy & I brought to Council & the VSB)
• Improving walking, rolling & cycling networks and increased curb cuts ($1.5M)
• Electric vehicle charging infrastructure in rental buildings & underserved neighbourhoods ($500K)
• Anti-racism and cultural redress ($300K)
• Extending work on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry & Red Women Rising report ($50K)
• Initial work related to Council’s motion on Decriminalizing Poverty and Supporting Community-Led Safety Initiatives ($300K)
• Improving equitable access to the Library by welcoming back folks whose past library fines are a barrier to accessing to library services ($150K)
• UN Safe Spaces work to increase safety for vulnerable women, trans, Two Spirit, non-binary and gender diverse people ($72K)
• Continuation of the Temporary Expedited Patio Program ($1.93M)

I also *strongly* support investments in:

• Public Washrooms! ($2.5M from external funding)
• Increasing non-market, public & coop housing across Vancouver (~$1.4M from Empty Homes Tax)
• Maintaining a Medic truck in the DTES, responding to the drug poisoning crisis

And there are key priorities not included in the proposed budget that I will push to get added in, including:

• Work on Indigenous language revitalization ($150K) Related to my motion on the Year of Indigenous Languages (delayed because of COVID)
• Indigenous staff in Social Policy & Cultural Services & Indigenous Relations work at the Library ($200K)
• Work with the South Asian community on addressing historical discrimination ($100K)
• Enhanced street & park cleaning ($1.33M)
• Increased training, childminding & support for city advisory committees, who bring important & diverse resident insight to City Hall ($92K)

Finally, the proposed city budget includes a $3.1M increase over 2020 levels to the police budget. At a time when virtually every other department has held vacancies & found savings, and when the city’s overall budget is down, I don’t support this increase.

Here’s the summary

If we hold the VPD budget at its 2020 amount, and reallocate savings from capital deferrals, then we could fund everything listed above, limit the tax increase to 5%, and keep the entire budget $17M below 2020 levels.

A Just Recovery budget is possible. One that responds to public input, invests equitably in people & services, and provides residents good value for money.

Budgets are where we show who we are, where we do or don’t follow through on the values we espouse & motions we passed. I’m committed to Reconciliation, anti-racism, housing, climate action, and dignity & safety for all. My work & votes on the budget will reflect that.

Help more people understand the budget! Find and share this post on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Read the 2021 Budget Report here, and read the full 500 page Budget Book here.

The City of Vancouver’s Climate Emergency Action Plan comes back to Council Nov 3rd, and we need your help to make sure it passes. First, here are some highlights. 

The Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP) focuses on our largest sources of pollution. In Vancouver 54% of carbon emissions come from burning “natural” gas for heating and hot water in buildings, and 39% come from burning gas & diesel in vehicles.

City studies have shown that over 90% of Vancouver residents are concerned or deeply concerned about climate change, but only 5-10% correctly identify heating our largest local sources of emissions. To decrease   emissions, we need to focus on buildings  & transportation .

The region is expected to gain 1M residents in the next 30 years. There’s no space for new roads, so we need to figure out how more people and goods can move around with more efficient use of space. Fewer private vehicles, more public transit, walking & rolling.

To decrease  congestion & emissions, the plan recommends Transport Pricing in the Metro Core.

Transport pricing isn’t a cash grab. It’s a tool for incentivising change, with revenue going toward improving walking, rolling & public transportation choices. (More on transport pricing from Marc Lee at the CCPA here.)

Investments in expanding walking, cycling & public transit networks are key, so people have safer, more efficient & affordable choices for getting around. This is especially important for neighbourhoods that have been historically underserved by public & active transit. 

The plan also proposes residential parking permits city-wide. A significant portion of our public street space is parking, and the majority is free or underpriced relative to its real value. Parking permits are a market-measure, to more accurately price the real cost of cars.

These parking permits would also include a carbon pollution surcharge for residents who purchase a new expensive gas vehicle, where an EV option is available. (As part of an equity priority, the surcharge wouldn’t apply to less expensive gas cars, or older or used gas cars).

 Transport pricing & parking permits need to have fairness and equity at their core. We need to incorporate discounts or exemptions for low-income people and people with disabilities, and to consider the needs of precarious & low-wage workers. 

In addition to important investments in public and active transportation networks, the plan includes an expansion of the public EV charging network, distributed more equitably, with a priority on areas with higher numbers of rental homes.

Similar to Vancouver’s regulatory approach for new buildings, the plan proposes annual carbon pollution limits for most existing buildings that will decrease over time. Gradually decreasing the amount of fossil fuels a building can use. Inspired by similar efforts in New York City.

Retrofitting existing homes & buildings to be more energy efficient, and switching to zero emission space heating & hot water, will also play a HUGE role in meeting our GHG reduction  goals. Remember: Burning gas for heating and hot water in buildings = 54% of Vancouver emissions.

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment’s recent SwitchItUp campaign articulates why the transition from “natural” gas to electricity matters both for climate and for health (more here).

To avoid renovictions, rental & non-market housing will initially be exempt from carbon limits, with a focus on retrofits in these buildings that don’t result in rent hikes or displacement for tenants. It’s a BIG area of concern, and the report recognizes that repeatedly.

Land use & housing need to be part of every climate plan, so more people can live in walkable, mixed-income neighbourhoods, within easy walking/rolling distance to their daily needs. (Housing Policy is Climate Policy.)

The land use and housing portion of the plan will be part of the Vancouver Plan process. But/and I share many of your concerns about delays, and I’ll keep advocating for quick-starts. We shouldn’t wait a decade to welcome new neighbours into our lowest-density neighbourhoods.

The plan also recognizes the need for natural ecosystem approaches to carbon sequestration through forests, wetlands, agriculture, grasslands & more. These efforts could happen within and beyond the city, and offer exciting opportunities to partner with local First Nations.

There is a high priority on incorporating equity into the Climate Plan. Staff worked with a Climate and Equity Working group, adjusted actions to avoid burdening disproportionately impacted communities, and focused regulatory & pricing actions on those most able to afford them.

Reconciliation is also woven into the plan. Vancouver sits on unceded land, and it’s imperative that greater efforts be made to collaborate with and support Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Urban Indigenous communities throughout implementation.

The plan has an estimated $500M pricetag over the next 5 years, and includes a detailed financial plan for how these costs would be covered in equitable ways. That cost seems high, but it’s MUCH smaller than the cost of not acting.

COVID has created shocks through our communities. I’ve heard people ask: Is now the right time?

But the urgency & severity of the climate crisis remain unchanged. “We need to combine rapid reductions in fossil-fuel use with equitable economic recovery.” A just recovery for all.

In total the plan contains 35 recommendations. The only way we meet our carbon pollution reduction targets is by doing ALL of them. Not picking and choosing. Not delaying anything. 

The full Vancouver Climate Emergency Action Plan is at: https://council.vancouver.ca/20201103/documents/p1.pdf

My 2019 Climate Emergency motion passed unanimously, as did the high-level report 90 days later. Now we need Mayor and Council to put those words into action, approving and fully funding the plan, and asking staff to return with by-law changes and detailed programs ASAP.

Ready to help get Vancouver’s  Climate Emergency Action Plan passed?

Find out more & TAKE ACTION here: https://www.onecityvancouver.ca/climateemergency

Our COVID-19 recovery is a chance to tackle various crises, while creating good jobs and more resilient communities.

By Christine Boyle, Penny Gurstein, Matthew Norris and Jim Stanford 26 May 2020 | In TheTyee.ca

Christine Boyle is a Vancouver city councillor with OneCity Vancouver. Penny Gurstein is a professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning at UBC. Matthew Norris is vice-president of the Urban Native Youth Association. Jim Stanford is an economist and director of the Centre for Future Work.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities within our communities and across the country. Public health recommendations to stay home have reminded us how important our homes are, and highlighted the disproportionate impacts that crises have on those struggling with homelessness, on renters, on the elderly, and other housing-insecure communities.

This crisis has reminded us, in no uncertain terms, that our well-being is deeply linked to the well-being of all of those around us. Our success has been in responding together. Our economic recovery must emulate this.

Governments have taken rapid action to mitigate the impacts of this crisis on people and business. But there is no fairness in socializing the costs of the immediate response and then privatizing the gains of the long-term recovery. We need a just recovery that puts people and the planet before profit. That recovery should include addressing massive inequalities in housing security and affordability through large scale investments in public and non-market housing.

Now is the time to prioritize the public good, to focus public dollars on rebuilding and expanding public services, and investing in new public programs and infrastructure. Now is the time to rebuild together, harnessing the ingenuity among us toward an economic recovery that respects ecological limits, that confronts the injustices of racism and exclusion, that strengthens our common humanity, and builds resilient and inclusive communities.

Our economic recovery requires ambitious and innovative public works plans, to get people back to work, and continue to address the systemic inequities that this crisis has made so clear. The inadequacy of Vancouver’s housing market was clear before the pandemic. Now there is an opportunity to create something better. Part of our economic recovery plan should be a large-scale build out of publicly supported housing, in Vancouver and in communities all around the province.

The provision of housing initiated by governments has been used around the world as an effective mechanism to ensure a long-term sustainable supply of affordable housing. A public option for housing means housing that is developed, regulated and funded by the public for the purpose of providing affordable housing for the public. This should be done in collaboration with the community housing sector, which has grown remarkably across B.C. in recent years, and has important skills and insights to share. A large-scale build out of public and non-market housing would address many of our COVID recovery needs. Most obviously, British Columbia remains entrenched in a housing crisis. COVID-19 has made housing even more precarious for renters across the province, widening an already unequal distribution of housing wealth and security, and further marginalizing poor, working class and racialized communities.

British Columbia’s housing crisis has contributed to the abundance of homelessness in Vancouver, as well as the numbers of seniors, renters, Indigenous people, communities of colour and working families having to relocate out of the city, pushing up rents elsewhere, while extending commutes, increasing carbon emissions and decreasing recreational and family time. What was true before this pandemic is even more true now: people need homes — homes that are secure, affordable, beautiful and community-oriented.

The opportunity of a large-scale, geographically dispersed build out of public infrastructure could also create thousands of good jobs in all regions of our province. While people need homes, people also need jobs — dependable, family-supporting training and employment for those who this crisis, and a boom-and-bust economy, have left behind.

The importance of a strong and healthy public sector has never been more evident. It has been clear for years that the private sector alone is incapable of solving our housing crisis. In the realm of housing there isn’t enough overlap between profit and public good, and no amount of negotiation or incentive can resolve that tension. A public option for housing, including robust community and co-operative housing, is our only practical solution.

Additionally, the urgency of the climate emergency continues amid and beyond this pandemic, and good housing policy is also good climate policy. In urban and suburban centers, the bulk of carbon emissions come from buildings and from transportation. Zero-emission buildings, as part of complete, walkable, transit-oriented communities, are central to the carbon-free economy we need to transition to as quickly as possible.

With interest rates at a historic low, well below the rate of inflation, governments stand to make money by borrowing and building. Particularly as we would be investing in infrastructure that would pay for itself through monthly rents, likely even generating positive net public revenue, while creating jobs, lessening the housing crisis, and taking meaningful climate action. This economic context makes it an opportune moment to be borrowing and investing like never before.

As municipalities face difficult financial decisions, it is imperative that their land holdings be used to serve community needs and not be sold for short-term gains. Building publicly supported housing on land in municipal land banks will ensure affordable housing in perpetuity that will contribute to socially and economically sustainable communities. Local governments like Vancouver are already contributing public land for non-market housing. We can and should be even more ambitious in our land acquisition in order to create the amount of public and non-market housing that is needed. And if senior levels of government aren’t funding enough of it, we should give the Vancouver Affordable Housing Agency the muscle and mandate to build it ourselves.

This is the time for ambitious, public investments in people and in communities. This is the time to invest in a public option for housing, across British Columbia. 

Read and share in The Tyee.

It was a huge honour to work with Amal Rana, Shila Avissa and Cllr Swanson on a motion asking the province to collect disaggregated race-based and socio-demographic data, informed by Black, Indigenous and Racialized communities who have been calling it for years. And to see the motion pass unanimously.

The full motion (A Call for Race-Based and Socio-Demographic Data in B.C.) is here: https://council.vancouver.ca/20200623/documents/b4.pdf

I hope this motion amplifies the incredible work community orgs have been doing on this issue, and want to highlight some of that work below:

Tulayan – Bridging the Filipino Diaspora have been highlighting this need locally. “These vulnerabilities emerge from the racialized, classed & gendered ways that shape the place of Filipino Canadians, as migrant subjects of colour, in Canadian society. 1

Hogan’s Alley Society have been incredible vocal leaders: “I think there’s a political and intentional colour-blindness because we don’t want to accept that some people are being mistreated.” – Dr June Francis

Black in BC: Mutual Aid for COVID-19 have been articulating this need so clearly: “In order to effectively provide targeted relief, we need disaggregated race-based data to put a spotlight on where help is most needed.” Their public call is here.

Yellowhead Institute has been highlighting the “remarkable absence of clear, public data on how this pandemic is affecting Indigenous peoples” and the need for an Indigenous-led strategy. 

The City’s Racial Equity Advisory Committee, including Kevonnie Whyte & Ignatius But have been raising the issue.

Federal, provincial & territorial human rights commissions have advocated for a change. “‘Colour-blind’ approaches to health only serve to worsen health outcomes for Black, Indigenous and racialized people because we can’t address what we can’t see.” 

Federation of Black Canadians, the BC Community Alliance and many more have been vocal about the importance of race-disaggregated data AND the importance of community involvement & accountability in how data is collected, used and housed.

Today John Horgan and the BC NDP announced that they are working towards collecting race-based data, and are gathering input to ensure it is done with the right systems and precautions in place. 

Black, Indigenous and Racialized communities have been heavily impacted by #COVID19.

As Kevonnie Whyte said: “Collecting this data will be the start of showing what really exists and beginning to come to terms with the reality of our structural racism.”

#vanpoli #bcpoli #healthequity #antiracism OneCity Vancouver

Photo credit: http://dw.com/ 

Inspired by Amara Possian in Toronto, this week my kid and I dropped off notes to about 125 of our neighbours (we used a lot of hand sanitizer along the way), offering help or support for anyone who is vulnerable or isolated during these strange and scary times.

This week the City of Vancouver declared a state of local emergency, following the state of emergency declared by the Province. We are working with great urgency,in coordination with senior levels of governments, to address the emergency, with an initial critical focus on securing resources and support for seniors and people who are homeless or in precarious housing. 

The impact is also quickly being felt by precarious workers, small businesses, single parents, and so many folks already juggling many responsibilities while living paycheque to paycheque. There are important calls for the federal government to provide increased support for workers, for the province to halt evictions, and more. I echo those calls. And in the meantime, communities are organizing to support one another. You can ask for or offer help here, or donate here. 

This pandemic is making clear what was always the case: We are interdependent. We are safer and healthier when everyone is safe and healthy. Strong and well funded public services, public health systems, social safety nets, make everyone better off. We need and rely on one another.

So, wash your hands, cancel your plans, and reach out to support one another.

And, if you’re interested, you can use the note we delivered, with translation in Simplified and Traditional Chinese provided by Mark Lee, HERE or below.

With love and solidarity,
Christine

______________________________________________________________________________

Hello Neighbour,

您好,        您好,

I’m _______, one of your neighbours. 

I’m sure many of you are feeling anxious about the coronavirus, especially if you’re older, work in healthcare, have a chronic illness, or don’t have time or resources to prepare. 

If you need help, I’m willing to help whenever I can. Grabbing groceries, medication, or anything else that might put you at risk if you’re vulnerable to transmission. 

You can email me at _______________, or call or text me at (___) ___-____. 

If any of you want to create a group that can respond to requests for support from our neighbours, you’re welcome to call/text/email me too, and we can figure out a way to self organize to check in with folks, share needs, and take care of one another!

Glad to be your neighbour. 

[NAME]

______________________________________________________________________________

您好，

大家可能因为近期新冠病毒的疫情而感到焦虑，尤其是年纪大、从事医务、患有慢性病等人士，也许没时间或足够的资源来为以后做好准备。

如果您属于易感染弱势群体并有需要的话，我可以尽可能提供帮助，比如替您领取购物（买菜、买药等等）或协助领取其他物资，以减少您出街接触病原的风险。

可以发邮件于 [EMAIL ADDRESS ] 或者致电、短信 [PHONE NUMBER]  与我联络。

如果您希望合作组织小组，以回应其他邻居的需求，也欢迎与我联络。我们可以一起想办法向邻居报平安、提出需求并互相照顾！

祝平安

邻居笔

[NAME]

______________________________________________________________________________

您好，

大家可能因為近期新冠病毒的疫情而感到焦慮，尤其是年紀大、從事醫務、患有慢性病等人士，也許無時間或足夠的資源來為以後做好準備。

如果您屬於易感染弱勢群體並有需要的話，我可以盡可能提供幫助，比如替您領取購物（買菜、買藥等等）或協助領取其他物資，以減少您出街接觸病原的風險。

可以發郵件於 [EMAIL ADDRESS] 或者致電、短信 [PHONE NUMBER] 與我聯絡。

如果您希望合作組織小組，以回應其他鄰居的需求，也歡迎與我聯絡。我們可以一起想辦法向鄰居報平安、提出需求並互相照顧！

祝平安

鄰居筆

[NAME]

This week in Council I was able to read a statement into the record honouring the life of Jack O’Dell, civil rights leader, labour activist, peace activist, beloved partner of Jane Power, and friend and inspiration to so many of us. Rest in power, Jack.

Below is the full statement (I had to shorten it a bit to fit into my speaking time), drafted together with Jack’s friends Charlie Demers and Ian Rocksborough-Smith.

“This past week, the world lost one of its citizens most committed to peace, justice, and equality — a largely unsung but instrumental figure in the American Civil Rights movement, the labour movement, and the anti-nuclear movement, who called Vancouver home for nearly three decades.

On October 31st, Hunter Pitts O’Dell, better known as Jack O’Dell, died in palliative care at Vancouver General Hospital at the age of 96 — outlasting the FBI directors who targeted him & the Jim Crow system that he helped to dismantle.

In the 1940s, as a young merchant marine, O’Dell joined the radically anti-segregationist National Maritime Union, an experience that he later said was one of the great lessons of his life. A member of the Communist Party of America at the height of the McCarthyist witch hunt, Jack left the party at the end of the 1950s in order to work with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. As one of Dr. King’s close lieutenants, his work focused on voter registration as well as fundraising, including organizing a star-studded Rat Pack at Carnegie Hall in 1961, which featured Sammy Davis Jr. & Frank Sinatra, and raised more that $35,000 for the Civil Rights movement.

Targeted for his history in the Communist Party by both the FBI and the Kennedy brothers, and not wishing to endanger the fight for Civil Rights, Jack O’Dell joined the editorial board of the journal Freedomways, where he would go on to write the first editorial against the Vietnam War to appear in an African-American periodical.

A mentor to the Reverend Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr., Jack spent the conservative years of the 1980s building the Rainbow Coalition & PUSH, People United to Save Humanity, and was one of five organizers of a one million person march against nuclear weapons in New York City. In the early 1990s, Jack moved to Kitsilano with his wife, Jane Power — where they have both continued to be committed to progressive causes and campaigns.

I was deeply privileged to have called Jack a parishioner when I was a United Church minister, and in his Vancouver years he continued his role as a teacher and mentor for many, from all walks of life. A guiding light for Vancouver scholars of African-American history, such as Drs. Karen Ferguson of SFU & Ian Rocksborough-Smith of the University of the Fraser Valley, Jack was also an instrumental figure in the life of Vancouver writer and comedian Charlie Demers. The subject of a documentary screened at DOXA directed by local filmmaker Rami Katz & featuring the voice of local singer Dawn Pemberton, last year O’Dell also met with members of Black Lives Matter – Vancouver, BC posing for photographs & celebrating the continuity in the battle for equality.

Today we remember Jack O’Dell as a citizen of our city, who left it far richer for his time in it.

In the last 1.5 weeks Council voted on two large purpose-built rental developments. I voted against one, and for the second.

I take my role seriously, and strive to be thoughtful, clear and consistent, in my decision making. And so wanted to say a little about why I voted the way I did, so that (whether or not you agree with me) we can continue to work together toward more systemic solutions.

Last week, I voted against a development (that ended up passing) in Marpole that will tear down an existing secure rental building, with 43 older and relatively quite affordable units, in order to build a new secure rental building with 91 new market rental units. Council heard powerful stories from many tenants in the existing building, many of them low-income / POC. The speakers were brave and articulate (and also the Vancouver Tenants Union did a great job organizing and supporting folks). In the midst of a housing crisis, the development feels like a net-loss to me. We just can’t afford to lose these older, affordable units right now, and the displacement of the tenants in them is heartbreaking. Plus the land was already zoned for rental, and my best guess was that if the project didn’t pass, the existing buildings would’ve remained for another 5-20 years. That’s why I voted against.

Yesterday, I voted for a development (that also passed) in Grandview-Woodland that will tear down four single family homes (each valued at between $1.4M – $1.75M), to build a 5 story, 35-unit secure market-rental building. Council heard stories from many nearby neighbours, many of them with an impressive amount of technical and architectural detail, concerned that the market rents weren’t affordable enough, and/or concerned about impacts to the character of the streetscape. The new building is in the middle of a beautiful, quiet street, with other multi-family buildings a block or two in every direction (I strongly believe that renters also deserve to live in secure housing on quiet streets, not just on our arterials). Current renters in the homes had been paying around or above market rent already. And the land was already assembled, and zoned such that if this failed they could build a 4-story condo building without Council having any say. That’s why I voted in support.

Vancouver’s population is growing, and will likely continue to grow, particularly as we do our part to welcome climate refugees and other newcomers. We need new secure rental housing. I’d love for it all to be non-market housing, public housing, social housing, and coop housing. And I hope we will legalize and encourage more rental housing and low-income housing in our most exclusive neighbourhoods. I will keep fighting for all of that.

And in the meantime, I hope we build more secure rental where it minimizes tenant displacement, and where it is replacing more expensive forms of housing.

I expect that we won’t always agree, but I am always happy to hear your thoughts, at christine (dot) boyle (at) vancouver.ca.

Notes from the launch of the Pact for a Green New Deal, May 6th, 2019

Find out more: https://greennewdealcanada.ca

“I’m here, as an elected official, because we need ambitious action at every level of government to truly tackle climate change and inequality.

As an activist I heard criticism it was hypocritical to call for climate action when I relied on oil and gas in my own life.

When I wrote and introduced the motion for Vancouver to declare a Climate Emergency and dramatically ramp up our climate action, prioritizing those most impacted, I heard criticism that Vancouver was too small it didn’t matter.

These are tactics designed to stall and delay. And we don’t have any more time for them.

The era of personal consumer solutions to climate change is over – long over.

The world’s leading climate scientists have made clear we have 11 years to dramatically decrease our carbon emissions. We are about to elect a Federal government to govern for the next 4 of those precious years.

It needs to be a government that recognizes the emergency we are in. That ends fossil fuel subsidies and refuses to expand fossil fuel infrastructure. That honors Indigenous Rights and prepares to welcome increasing numbers of climate refugees. And, like the last New Deal, makes significant infrastructure investments to quickly transition us into a fossil fuel free economy, including in local, clean energy, in public transportation, and in retrofitting buildings. It needs to be a government that supports workers to transition into the millions of new jobs that will be created, so that no one is left behind.

We’ve made this kind of whole-economy transformation before. When Canada joined WW2 we shifted the focus of our entire economy in the span of two years, with new crown corporations, and caps on profit, and families growing gardens to produce food to share.

This time there is more to lose if we fail, but there is also more to be gained if we succeed. A stronger economy, not so reliant on boom-and-bust cycles, more localized jobs, AND stronger relationships, less social division, healthier communities, cleaner air. This is possible. We can do this.

We have experiences to draw on within Canadian history. We have solutions ready to be implemented and scaled up. And there is momentum, as Green New Deal conversations are gaining popularity not just in the US, but in the UK, and Spain, and here.

We need political leaders willing to act in line with the science and the urgency. Leaders willing to think beyond election cycles.  

Locally elected leaders are rising to the challenge. In Quebec more than 300 local governments have declared a Climate Emergency and committed to acting at the scale that emergency requires. In English Canada, Vancouver was the first. 20 other local governments across the Country have done the same, and many more are moving in that direction, as the very real impacts of climate change are already hitting their residents.

But local governments can’t do it alone. And it’s disheartening to have local governments doing what they need to do to meet the IPCC targets, only to have the Federal government undoing their efforts by encouraging the extraction and export of fossil fuels.

We need ambitious and courageous Federal action. And we will build the people power necessary to support it – led by young people and Indigenous communities. It’s time for a made-in-Canada version of the Green New Deal.”

Find out more: https://greennewdealcanada.ca