We’re less than a week to go to election day. 18,000 Vancouverites have already voted. If you’re not one of them and are looking for more information, here’s a collection of survey responses that you might find helpful.

Hub’s #VoteToBike Survey on Cycling Issues

• Need to Know: Shauna Sylvester, Kennedy Stewart, OneCity, Vision, and COPE were the most enthusiastic toward new bike infrastructure. Pete Fry (Green) was positive but more hesitant.
• Interesting Responses:
  • Adrian Crook (Independent) – “If it weren’t for investments in protected bike lanes in Vancouver, my family’s cycling would be severely curtailed. I support the principles of the 8-80 movement, as well as Vision Zero, both of which support modern cycling infrastructure.“
• Notable Omissions: No response from Hector Bremner, Adriane Carr, or anyone in the NPA.

Vancouver Public Space Network on Parks

• Need to Know: Greens want new pocket parks to increase green space, NPA wants private partnerships.
• Interesting Responses:
  • Matthew Kagis (Work Less Party) – “There are some unique opportunities on the horizon. Hastings Race Course, with their lease about to end & there’s IF the viaducts come down. Both are excellent opportunities to expand our park network.“
  • Stuart Mackinnon (Green) – “Community Centres can and should be used for emergency shelters when temperatures become unmanageable on the streets. In the past term some Commissioners wanted to close these facilities and leave the most vulnerable to freeze on the streets. Luckily this was defeated.“
• Notable Omissions: No response from Vision Vancouver.

Patti Bacchus on School Board

• Need to Know: The survey is long and I didn’t read all the answers, but Patti provides a good summary. SOGI is a divisive issue. Instead of reading all the responses, just read Patti Bacchus’s endorsements.
• Interesting Responses:
  • Patti Bacchus on Janet Fraser (Green) – “It takes a lot of chutzpah to take credit for passing a motion that was never implemented by the board you chair. And not in a good way. At all.”
• Notable Omissions: NPA

Force of Nature on Environment and Climate Change

• Need to Know: Everyone that responded is committed to tougher GHG reduction targets and annual reporting.
• Interesting Responses:
  • Shauna Sylvester (Independent) – “Advance the 100% renewable energy targets, support and enhance integrated active transportation into planning, protect and increase the canopy and green space, increase efforts to achieve zero waste, electrify city fleets and enhance community electric charging.”
  • Connie Fogal (IDEA) – Thinks climate change is caused by chemtrails and 5G wireless. And “the little Japanese scooters that operate on one wheel should be encouraged for use by locals who do not have far to travel.”
• Notable Omissions: No response from Kennedy Stewart, Adriane Carr, the NPA, or Vision Vancouver.

Vancouver Humane Society on Animal Welfare

• Need to Know: OneCity and the Green Party support Meatless Mondays. Almost all respondents agree with a ban on exotic pets.
• Interesting Responses:
  • Pete Fry (Green) – “I would be agreeable to seeing plant based food options incorporated into targets and goals for our Greenest City Strategy”
  • Carrie Bercic (OneCity) – “We support the core values of Meatless Mondays, but aren’t able to mandate what students eat in school.”
• Notable Omissions: None of the leading mayoral candidates plus Vision Vancouver.

Cambie Report and Megan Lau on Intersectionality (Issues Beyond Housing)

• Need to Know: Most respondents support making Vancouver a sanctuary city and giving permanent residents the right to vote, but don’t support a basic income pilot in Vancouver. Megan was most impressed by independent Taqdir Kaur Bhandal’s answers and highlighted COPE and OneCity’s responses as “the most interesting and complex.”
• Interesting Responses:
  • Raza Mirza (ProVancouver) – “I’ll push for a policy, which requires at least 50% of candidates are women to qualify for an electoral organization status on ballot.”
  • Taq Bhandal (Independent) – “We need more divine feminine power in politics. We don’t need to look far to see the violence enacted by some entitled, cis-male politicians.”
• Notable Omissions: Coalition Vancouver and the NPA

Artsvotes BC on the Arts

• Need to Know: Everyone thinks rent is the key problem for artists today – renting a home or renting a performance space.
• Interesting Responses:
  • OneCity – “We would advocate for an increase in cultural investment, specifically targeted at smaller and emergent organizations. At present, 56% of city funding goes to art/culture organizations founded before 1960. Arts and culture are dynamic and this means we need to support new organizations that reflect the reality of the shifting landscape.”
  • Penny Mussio (Vancouver 1st) – “I am a friend of arts, culture and heritage. I live in a 1920’s character home and love artwork, which I collect. I have many antiques and regularly attend antique auctions. I have travelled to New York and London numerous times for the main purpose of attending plays.”
• Notable Omissions: None. Almost everyone filled out this survey.

Abundant Housing on Housing

• Need to Know: OneCity and YES Vancouver both support opening up single home neighbourhoods to more housing options and more density on non-arterial streets.
• Interesting Responses:
  • OneCity – “Renters are not second-class citizens, and therefore should not be pushed towards less desirable locations like arterial roads. We believe that a variety of housing forms have a place throughout the entire city.”
• Notable Omissions: Green Party, COPE, Vision Vancouver, and NPA all skipped this one.

Vancouver Tenants Union on Renting

• Need to Know: This is basically a COPE conducted survey, so it’s not surprising they got A’s across the board and no one else was given an A. But ignoring the biased grading, the responses from OneCity, ProVancouver, the Green Party, and Kennedy Stewart are interesting.
• Interesting Responses:
  • COPE – “COPE supports a Mansion Tax of 1% on the value of property over $5M and 1% on the value over 2%. This will generate over $170M per year.” Grade: A
  • OneCity – “One City’s 4 the City policy calls for a broader, bigger property tax increase on Vancouver’s wealthiest homeowners. We call for an additional 1% property tax on homes valued at over $4 million and an additional 2% on homes valued over $8 million. [This will raise $262M/year].” Grade: A-
• Notable Omissions: NPA and Yes Vancouver.

123 Vancouver on Electoral Reform

• Need to Know: Kennedy Stewart and Shauna Sylvester are both in favour of changing the municipal voting system, with different solutions.
• Notable Omissions: NPA, Yes Vancouver and Coalition Vancouver all oppose electoral reform.

Generation Squeeze on Vacancy Rates

• Need to Know: Just one question – how do we get to a 3% vacancy rate. Most common answer is purpose built rental. Lots of it.
• Interesting Responses:
  • Adrian Crook (Independent): “Rental vacancy rate is the most meaningful metric to target when approaching rental affordability. Because 3-5% is widely regarded as a “healthy” rental vacancy rate, allowing for tenant choice and landlord competitiveness, 3% should be the minimum we aim to achieve. Vancouver’s current rental vacancy rate sits at below 1% (.9%).”
  • Penny Noble: Stop demolition of 1000+ character houses per year. Most have at least one or more rental suites.”
• Notable Omissions: Yes Vancouver.

Renters Advisory Committee on Renting

• Need to Know: Not biased like the Vancouver Tenants Union, but much harder to read.
• Interesting responses:
  • Hector Bremner (YES Vancouver) – “[Vancouver] has lost 1,700 hotel rooms. Much of this unmet demand for hotels has been picked up by short term rental, which has stressed an already tight rental market. YES Vancouver will work with the tourism industry to expand the city’s hotel capacity”
  • Raza Mirza (ProVancouver) – Yes, I’m a renter, and have been a renter for last 10 years. I’ve been through all; wrongful eviction (improper use of family usage), single room in a shared basement, moldy old apartments with no insulation unsafe for my children and landlord who won’t give me deposit back. I’ve also lived in 9 different homes in Yaletown, Coal Harbour, Kitsilano and Marpole.“
  • Self-identified renters include:
    • Hector Bremner (YES Vancouver)
    • Adrian Crook (Independent)
    • Raza Mirza (ProVancouver)
    • Brandan Yan (OneCity)
    • Stephanie Ostler (YES Vancouver)
    • Justin Goodrich (NPA)
• Notable Omissions: Vision Vancouver

Hot Pink Paper Report – Women Friendly Cities

• Need to Know: A lot of topics covered like indigenous issues, child care, equality, and transportation.
• Interesting responses:
  • Shauna Sylvester – “Sanctuary City movement comes much more out of an American context, and I’m not sure how this would fit legally in a Canadian context. I love the idea of providing a safe space from racist and overzealous policies, but would need to hear how it would fit a Canadian framework.”
• Notable Omissions: YES Vancouver, ProVancouver, Vancouver 1st

Georgia Straight Alliance – Waterfront Initiative

• Need to Know: The Georgia Strait Alliance’s Waterfront Initiative is a stakeholder-driven network of 200 groups dedicated to defining a common agenda that paves the way to build a prosperous and resilient waterfront.
• Interesting responses:
  • OneCity – ” It matters deeply to us that future generations of Vancouverites, at all income levels, can play and work along a healthy waterfront. It also matters to us that this waterfront work be done within a commitment to reconciliation, ensuring that local First Nations whose land we live on play a central role in decision making.”
  • Graham Cook (Independent) – “The number one thing along the waterfront areas is to ensure that the ecosystem and environmental concerns are taken care of. While housing, transportation, and employment are incredibly important, none of these things can be prioritized without a healthy environment.“
• Notable Omissions: NPA, YES Vancouver, ProVancouver, Vancouver 1st, Shauna Sylvester

Save Our Skyline – View Cones

• Need to Know: Save Our Skyline argues for the preservation of mountain views and against encroachments by towers into Vancouver’s protected view cones.
• Interesting responses:
  • Taq Bhandal (Independent) – “To be frank, I am more concerned about preparing the city for sea level rise, storm water, increased population, and affordable, safe housing spaces. I think the conversation about preserved views is lacking in an analysis of power and who gets to “see” the mountains. Environmental scientists have confirmed that high density is the best way for humans to try and live in harmony with the non-human world.”
  • Pete Fry (Green) – “I would not consider PavCo example as a precedent, rather an anomaly and the outcome of (hopefully) the last pro-developer city council we see. Though I would prefer not to see any future view cone encroachments, I suppose exceptional circumstances might be considerable: but the degree of public benefit would have to be commensurate to the degree of encroachment.“

More surveys:

Union Gospel Mission on Affordability and Homelessness

Photo credit: ParkBoard