If you are elected to City Council, how will you:

1. Work towards bridging the disparity between neighbourhoods ensuring that we move away from ghettoization of Terrace?
2. Create conditions that attract development of more sustainable affordable housing, ensure that existing rental units are livable?
3. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities was instrumental in getting the Campaign 2000 agenda to eliminate child poverty into the federal spotlight. What is this municipality going to do to ensure that child poverty is not ignored?
4. Support food security and moving towards local production and markets; sustainability and growth of FoodShare Program, Good Food Box and community gardens.
5. Would you support the development of a Regional Food Policy Council?  What would you see as their most important task?
6. What is your understanding of the homelessness issue? How would you go about solving it?
   
   

As an answer to (a), we must bring services to those neighbourhoods which are already viewed as “low income”.   The provincial government must be made to take responsibility for housing ALL of the people in this province.  We must lobby the government for some funds to build affordable housing.  These facilities must have child friendly recreational areas, should work in a community garden concept, and be built within walking distance to elementary schools.  

Questions (c) and (d) go hand in hand.  We must provide healthy foods for those families who do not have the means.   We have to begin FoodShare/Good Food Box programs; the city should play the lead role in this.  We have space in each neighbourhood to begin community gardens.  

In response to question (e), yes I would support the development of a Regional Food Policy Council.  The most important task to begin with would be to bring all the partners together and set out a strategic direction and goals.  

Answering (f) there are many factors contributing to homelessness in this community.  There are addiction issues, a serious lack of affordable housing, jobs that don’t pay a living wage.   We need an addiction treatment center in the northwest.  We must lobby businesses and government to increase the minimum wage.  We must encourage residential building owners to offer subsidized, low-income rents.   

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a)              When the OCP is reviewed, I believe it is important to ensure more housing density closer to downtown, legalizing secondary suites.  When people want to build duplexes or other multi-family units, this offers more generational housing units that many times means affordability for low income families. 

b)            Council has recently created a new zoning “small lot residential zone”.  The intent of this zoning would be smaller lots that would be more affordable.  The city has a Housing Task Force and part of their mandate is sustainable affordable housing.  The City has hired a new sustainability coordinator and I would expect new ideas in the area of sustainable affordable housing.

c)            Child Poverty is a local, provincial and federal concern.  There is a labour shortage.  I believe that a diversified industrial sector will ensure that good paying jobs and the spin offs to small and medium size businesses should ensure employment opportunities.  When the economy is struggling, children are affected.  Council should continue on its track of trying to redevelop jobs in the resource sector.

d)            Council has supported the Food Share Program, Good Food Box, and community gardens.  I think our new sustainability coordinator may have some new ideas in this area.

e)            I would need more information on a Regional Food Policy Council.  Not knowing anything about it but answering what I see as their most important task – 100 Mile Diet.  The Premier talked about fresh vegetables and fruit for rural and remote parts of the province.  If UBC’s agricultural department did an experimentation of green houses using geo thermal energy from the Kitimat Valley, I think there would be an opportunity to enhance food security in the northwest part of our province and also in South East Alaska.

f)             Homelessness is a national problem.  What we see in Terrace is seen in many communities across Canada.  There are 200,000 homeless people in Canada.  For starts, I think the Federal Government needs to reduce the Capital Gain Tax on rental properties and make it more enticing for developers to build rental housing units.  Are there local or provincial tax incentives that would encourage more rental housing?  Council could explore inclusionary zoning where housing developers set aside a portion of units that would be affordable to people on lower incomes. 

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There is a natural economic divide in humanity that transcends social and economic engineering, but there is currently too much of a divide in our society to call ourselves truly compassionate. I am in favour of some social planning and appropriate regulation of the economy. The problems, as in all of your questions, are complex, and the solutions are even more complex. In this case we could be talking about an economic policy shift at the national level, a shift that is muted by multi-national agreements. At the provincial level the biggest impact can be had through stronger emphasis on primary education and ECE. Placing more emphasis in these areas will yield generational change but are overlooked by a short term result mentality. At the municipal level, we are in the trenches, most often allocating all our resources to damage control rather than looking at the real problem.

So in a nutshell, I would have to say education is the key to attacking this systematic problem. Education so we can be made aware of the implications of not addressing this problem and education as the primary mover of income. I would support any education initiative that addresses fundamentals, whether it be for our children, or for adults who have a deficit that needs to be addressed so that they can make better choices forthemselves. This would include having the right educational opportunities in our community to address labour needs, and ensuring that learned skills can be maintained and remain competitive.

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a) If we can improve the income of families that will insure they have a meaningful choice where to live provided the availability and affordability of housing.

b) This question refers to section 1 where I have outlined some ideas. Affordable housing needs to be provided through cooperation with the province and possibly the private sector. The City can provide land and tax incentives but the province needs to come to the table.

c) The FCM is made up of municipalities. They provide us with assistance and their recommendations are followed up by our City.

d) I believe Terrace has made a start on the programs mentioned. Along with that, I have been able to convince the government to allocate $3 + million dollars to dyke our farmland along the Skeena River to save it from erosion. I grew up on a farm in Terrace; all of our vegetables were home grown. Community gardens are an excellent way to provide pride and well-being in a community.

e) The Premier has recently appointed me to a Citizen’s Coalition on Climate Action and I would promote your idea there. The less food we transport from far way, the better.

f) The homelessness issue is a symptom of what’s gone wrong in our society Canada wide. Affordable housing needs to be available in our community and better health care also needs to be provided, but more important, extended families need to be involved and a mindset of “inclusiveness” and “respectful caring” needs to re-introduce itself in our Society.

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I support mixed housing developments to prevent “ghettoization.”  I am absolutely against the proposed housing plans for the Co-op site.  New developments requiring street construction should require installation of sidewalks at the developers expense and there should also be a mandatory minimum amount of common green space allotted in each subdivision.

Certainly the city could do more if not so constrained by its budget.  I know the easy answer is “we don’t have the money.”  With a better local economy we could do a lot more than we are doing now; however, there are things the city can do that doesn’t cost a lot.  The city can facilitate different groups and get them to work together on children’s issues and the city could have a youth & children’s portfolio.  In this way there would be a dedicated contact person for these issues.

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1. I’m not sure that I agree that Terrace is “ghettoized”.  People the world over like to live with those who know and understand them.  So we do have ethnic communities whose youth often want to move on as they grow up.  We have low cost housing (Although not nearly enough of it) and it did tend to be in certain areas but now is more scattered.
2. I think we need building and health inspections on a regular basis and a concerted effort to make landlords comply.  Unfortunately I know anything they do will be added to the cost of the rent and of that I have no control.
3. I will try to keep the focus when we meet with provincial politicians, developers, and service agencies.  We need to see that local services agencies are funded sufficiently by the provincial and federal governments.
4. How could anyone not support the incredible work that these groups do?
5. I am not familiar with what a Regional Food Policy Council does but would certainly be willing to listen and learn.
6. I have a strong understanding of the homelessness issue in Terrace having been tutored by Stacey Tyres.  I have also been active with the downtown addictions problems. Met with these individuals and supported Ksan House in the Wet Shelter project. I think the homelessness issues is very complicated and no one solution will be enough.  We need a Wet Shelter, we need low cost housing and we need family assistance to give individuals the support they need to become contributing members of society.  Our first line of assistance if from the provincial government.

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I believe that for our community to be truly successful, we need to bring organizations like Make Children First and other social agencies in Terrace together to form a task force. As Mayor, I would immediately form such a Task Force.  If we could have a unified concept prepared from all the partners in our city, we could then take that information forward into action planning. 

Even the comments you’ve made in this question are very relevant and should be developed from a visionary set of statements to action plans that we could adopt in Terrace.  Stacy Tyers for the Anti-Poverty Group has already given me information on Co-op housing that I think should be developed in Terrace. 

To make these changes though, we’ll need everyone to come to the table.  We can brainstorm these ideas, adapt them to Terrace’s unique situation and then move them forward.  I’m excited about the chance to encourage this type of community involvement and action.  It’s long overdue.

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The answer to economic inequality and the growing poverty gap is, put simply, EMPLOYMENT.  Get a person a job, with a living wage, and they won’t be homeless, food insecure or transportation-challenged. 

I believe that far too much of the current Council’s energy have been spent on trying to woo the next major mega-employer to Terrace whether that be Rio-Tinto, Mining, Container Port industry or foreign investors (i.e., the Chinese).  It is as if we are stalled and waiting for a magical cure. The result: Terrace and area has one of the highest unemployment rates in the province. 

City council should immediately undertake an ambitious program of zoning and tax policies to encourage small and medium-sized businesses to relocate to Terrace and/or expand their number of employees.  Grants should be given to entrepreneurs to start up new businesses.  The City, with TEDA, should double their efforts to provide information, referral and advocacy for employment opportunities. 

Look at where the new construction and job creation is in Terrace: Credit Union, Mark’s Work Wearhouse, Wightman & Smith, Elephant’s Ear and Do Your Part.  Small businesses cumulatively employ more people than the elusive mega-employer…let’s help them do what they do best.

Let’s get to work

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The creation of affordable housing in Terrace is a recognized issue that Council is working on through the Housing Task Force which includes many agencies involved in providing housing.  Identifying the kind of housing, location and services related to that housing is less clear.  The City is seeking a new assessment of what is needed as the basis for an encompassing strategy. 

As noted above, work on a new vision for Terrace will be the focus of the Official Community Plan.  A liveable, sustainable City hopefully be the result.  “Ghettoization” is clearly not desirable, nor is low-standard housing that we see on occasion. Private developers, or perhaps not-for-profit societies, need encouragement and support to create attainable housing, and I would be interested in seeking workable solutions.  Council has led that discussion with the Province.

Child poverty to my knowledge is a function of primarily family income.  Improving employment through a diversified economy is where I would provide my long term emphasis.  Support for literacy programs, job and business mentoring all enable individuals better skills to seek employment, and create short term abilities to improve the City.  Although primarily a provincial responsibility, the City can lobby the Province with the support of local organizations. 

Food security issues have come to Council through requests for support of the Food Share Program, and various food banks, and Council has provided support for these initiatives.  We have two (at least) Community Gardens organized by the Anti-Poverty Society, and I would be interested in learning more of how these locations can be utilized more effectively. The developing thoughts about the “100 Mile Diet” are interesting and aside for support for the Farmer’s Market, I am not clear what other roles the City may play as most arable land is outside the City.  One area that we are taking action on is flood protection precautions on the City’s South Side.  Clearly the prospect of losing that land through erosion limits the possibility of locally grown produce from that area.

Homelessness is a recurring issue in many communities and Terrace is no exception.  I have supported the development of shelter housing such as Ksan Society is building, and the provision of a damp shelter last year and this.  These are required as humanitarian initiatives to protect the most unfortunate individuals in our City.  These facilities must be considered as short term services as the longer term development of attainable housing is what is needed.  Coupled with housing is the need for addiction services and supportive programs.  Council has taken these ideas to the province on several occasions, and has been successful in gaining some funding.

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1. Commitment To Early Child Development
2. Support In Transitions From Childhood To Youth And Adulthood
3. Increased Economic Equality
4. Safe And Caring Communities
   

Candidate Q&A Home

• Murray Hamer
• Dave Pernarowski
• Jack Talstra

• Dr. Bruce Bidgood
• Lynne Christiansen
• James Cordeiro
• Marylin Davies
• Lance Dettwiler
• Brian Downie
• Lorrie Gowen
• Carol Leclerc
• Bruce Martindale
• Brad Pollard

We would like to thank all candidates for answering or attempting to answer.

We look forward to working with you after Nov 15th.

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