About

Q: How many years have you lived in Squamish?
A: 6

Q: Which neighbourhood do you live in?
A: Garibaldi Highlands

Learn more: Squamish Chief's Q&A (Elevator pitch only. No Q&A.)

Proposed industrial projects

The next elected council will have decision-making authority over several aspects of proposed industrial projects. All of these projects will have social, environmental, and climate impacts. What is your position on:

FortisBC pipeline: neutral

Why: So much more information is required to make a simple statement of support or opposition. My most significant direct impact concern regarding the pipeline is understanding the risk of the pipeline running under a populated area.

FortisBC workcamp: neutral

Why: A pattern of harm to both workers and the community are common in work camps. Stating a simple support or oppose does not address the complex responsibility for Council to mitigate the negative social impacts of these sort of projects.

Woodfibre LNG: neutral

Why: This is much more complex than a simple support/oppose. There are devastating consequences of climate change if we do not change the way we extract and use energy. There are patterns of harm that typically follow work-camps. "Opposing" WLNG is not the only way to mitigate these effects and may not even be the most effective.

Woodfibre LNG's "floatel": neutral

Why: I believe there are opportunities for legacy housing projects that could be better for WLNG and Squamish. I have not yet had the opportunity to learn about the real costs or impacts of the floatel or the other options.

Proposed development projects

The next elected council will determine whether these development projects proceed or not. All of these projects will have social, environmental, and climate impacts. What is your position on:

Cheema Lands: neutral

Why: When the District changes the zoning to increase the housing availability in Squamish, our highest priority and responsibility is to provide financially and environmentally sustainable infrastructure while treating developers and re-zoning applicants fairly. To click support or oppose on "Cheema Lands", we miss the important opportunity to discuss what makes a neighbourhood proposal acceptable or not acceptable.

Garibaldi at Squamish: neutral

Why: Is Garibaldi at Squamish a carbon neutral, zero-waste, resort that promotes equitable employment practices and honestly seeks to reconcile its place on the traditional territory of the Squamish people? I hope you can see my point in that a simple 'support' vs. 'oppose' is insufficient to do justice to the complexity of this question.

North Crumpit: neutral

Why: When the District changes the zoning to increase the housing availability in Squamish, our highest priority and responsibility is to provide financially and environmentally sustainable infrastructure while treating developers and re-zoning applicants fairly. To click support or oppose on "North Crumpit", we miss the important opportunity to discuss what makes a neighbourhood proposal acceptable or not acceptable.

Climate Action commitments = 6/16

• Invest in active transportation networks to make biking and walking safer and more accessible?
• Support higher density infill development along existing and proposed transit networks to promote walkable and livable communities?
• Advocate for regional public transit and invest in local public transit?
• Implement policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in buildings, for example, incentivize fuel switching from gas furnaces to electric heat pumps through rebates for homeowners?
• Advocate for the Provincial Government to enable local governments to ban new gas hookups in buildings?
• Support Neighbourhood Planning to collaborate with citizens, not developers, in the future development of their neighbourhood?
• Make land use decisions that protect and restore natural areas, ensure habitat connectivity, and avoid urban sprawl?
• Protect natural assets (forests, wetlands, shrublands, grasslands, estuary, aquifers, ponds, lakes, creeks, and rivers) identified in the 2022 Natural Asset Management Strategy, which provide ecosystem services valued at more than $1.6 billion?
• Support efforts to implement a Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and use this to inform development guidelines and neighbourhood planning?
• Increase local food security by supporting local agriculture and community gardens?
• Implement zero waste bylaws to divert organic waste from the landfill and support the development of a circular economy as part of a zero waste strategy?
• Review the deconstruction bylaw to ensure it is meeting its goal to eliminate waste from renovation and demolition projects?
• Support further study on local distributed energy systems powered by 100% renewable energy to build community resilience over time?
• Adopt the Doughnut Economic Model as a guiding principle for all District initiatives and planning? (see Nanaimo example)
• Endorse the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty?
• Join the campaign to Sue Big Oil and set aside $1 per person to file a class-action lawsuit to recover a fair share of our climate costs?

Transparency and Accountability

Q: Are there any particular issues where you would have to declare a perceived conflict of interest or recuse yourself from Council discussion on an issue? Please list:
A: Anything pertaining to Quest University (because they are my employer) and any consulting work relating to Politikos Research (because I have done consulting work with them in the past).

List of current donors

I am personally funding my campaign. So far (as of 27 Sept), it has cost me around $500.