As candidates, we get emailed many questionnaires from special interest groups, the media, and concerned citizens. While my responses are public in each of the representative groups, I have combined all of my responses here, for interested people to learn about my positions on key local election issues.
The only taxes which are collected at the municipal level are property taxes. Organizations which add to the community such as cultural or recreational centres are permitted to request a permissive tax exemption. It would be worth researching whether replacing property taxes with a land value tax would provide more utility to the community and encourage better land use planning.
No, we do not need a highway bypass for Vernon. A highway bypass would increase vehicle traffic through the city. The construction required would be disruptive to the existing city traffic and infrastructure, it would destroy the environment by encouraging more vehicle use, and it would decrease access to surrounding businesses.
Build high density temporary modular housing to adopt a Housing First strategy. People need to be supported with a safe place to live before they can lift themselves out of extreme poverty, and receive the lifestyle supports they need. Many homeless people also have disabilities and their income assistance is not enough to cover housing, food, medications, and support.
Adopting a Housing First strategy and working on creating a safe supply will reduce crime significantly. The BC Government recently applied to the Government of Canada to decriminalize illicit drugs. This application was supported by the City of Kamloops, the First Nations Health Authority, the RCMP “E” Division (British Columbia), and the Union of BC Municipalities. Should this proceed, the City of Vernon would also see a reduction in crime.
I support the provincial’s governments’ response to the pandemic overall however, I believe it has been too reactionary and not pro-active. We should not have removed the indoor mask mandate over Summer 2021. The restrictions which are now in place are what we need to proceed into a safer community.
Anyone that works in the company of other people should be vaccinated. Yes, the city and council should mandate the same. We all live in the same community, and we owe it to each other to look after everyone who lives in Vernon.
Yes, we should proceed with the construction of the Active Living Centre and Greater Vernon Cultural Centre. Both of these projects benefit the health of the community.
I’m from Vancouver, born and raised, and I have lived in Vernon for 4 months. I moved here to support my outdoor active lifestyle.
I work as a kinesiologist and clinical exercise physiologist at a clinic in downtown Vernon.
I ran in the provincial election last year in my riding at that time, Vancouver-Langara.
I also have extensive experience in governmental advocacy for people with type 1 diabetes: I was instrumental in having the age-restriction removed for government-funded insulin pumps, and I advised advocates in their approach to have continuous glucose monitors covered in British Columbia. Both of these were successful.
I would support council in making decisions that most positively affect the health of our city.
Vernon has some great City Services and the Official Community Plan combined with the Climate Action Plan are fantastic targets.
To aid in supporting the above plans, I would like to price out a city-wide compost pick up service, and create a co-op car sharing program. I will support BC Transit upgrades that were recommended following the community engagement which occurred over the summer. I would support extending the hours of the Downtown Primary Care Centre to include evenings and weekends. I would support denoting our business catalogues to identify businesses which are Queer-friendly, BIPOC-owned, and accessible for people with disabilities (whether movement, sensory, or cognitive-related).
I love the Climate Action Plan that was drafted in 2019. I would seek to enact it through housing and infrastructure upgrades. This would include revitalizing greenfield land to provide more wildlife and fire protection, as well as recreational space for people with diverse needs (e.g. wheelchair accessible, simple navigation options/wayfinding, etc), prioritizing new developments to be denser and utilize infill land for such projects, adding more Level 2 charging stations for electric vehicles in high-density housing complexes, and supporting buildings in using BC’s Energy Step Code.
I support the province’s governments’ response to the pandemic overall however, I believe it has been too reactionary and not pro-active. We should not have removed the indoor mask mandate over Summer 2021. The restrictions which are now in place are what we need to proceed into a safer community. I support the current system of requiring masks and vaccinations for all indoor spaces which are deemed “optional” (restaurants, gyms, social events, etc).
I will push for high density housing that builds community and doesn’t interrupt the skyline, by way of advocating for the construction of temporary modular housing, cooperative rental housing, and a cohousing community. We need to build more livable communities.
Build high density temporary modular housing to adopt a Housing First strategy. People need to be supported with a safe place to live before they can lift themselves out of extreme poverty, and receive the lifestyle supports they need. Many homeless people also have disabilities and their income assistance is not enough to cover housing, food, medications, and support.
Adopting a Housing First strategy and working on creating a safe supply will reduce crime significantly.
The BC Government recently applied to the Government of Canada to decriminalize illicit drugs. This application was supported by the City of Kamloops, the First Nations Health Authority, the RCMP “E” Division (British Columbia), and the Union of BC Municipalities. Should this proceed, the City of Vernon would also see a reduction in crime.
As far as policing, I support defunding the police. I believe that the funds would be better utilized to hire more community support nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, and community mental health workers. I am not in favour of supporting a system that was created to subjugate Indigenous Peoples.
I see a lot of people whose needs are not being met, either through inability to access safe housing or transition their type of housing, employment that does not pay high wages, food insecurity, and climate devastation. All of my choices will be guided through a health lens, aimed at increasing the health and vitality of Vernonites. Our community health must be the top priority for all decision-makers in the city, and in the region.
My response was the following: "Yes, I would support such a motion.
It would take very little time to adopt the Lidstone Anti-Racism Policy framework for the City of Vernon, and I do believe that the Bullying and Harassment policy does not speak enough to Anti-Racism measures. We should also be joining the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities against Racism & Discrimination.
Much like Councillor Fehr, I also cannot believe that this was up for debate and defeated back in July 2020.
While you did not ask for my stance on other frameworks, I would also support any motions to add more detail into anti-discrimination policies and actions to support people who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ (hereby referred to as "Queer") and/or those who identify as a person with a disability (hereby referred to as "PWDs"). We need to create safe communities, governments, and businesses for Queer, PWDs, and BIPOC people who live in Vernon. It is not inclusion to be tolerated, we must invite everyone in to be heard."