The rise in social disorder has many in our community feeling unsafe and they feel their quality of life has deteriorated. They do not have Drs. Hospital waits have increased. The cost of housing has increased dramatically. Many businesses are struggling to find workers. We have seen a large increase in homelessness in our city. Many of our homeless are there through financial hardships, others because of mental health and addictions issues, and a small number who do not want to live in places with rules. On a positive note we have seen added park spaces to our community, an increase in new homes and apartments being built, and improved relationships with Snuneymuxw First Nation. I also believe the Pandemic also had a big impact on everyone.

Times through the pandemic have had a toll on us all, I see some positive improvements in Nanaimo but believe we could’ve done better. That being said the old adage ‘what doesn’t break us with make us stronger.’ comes to mind.

Depends on who you ask. Nanaimo is the 5th fastest growing city in Canada, thousands of people are choosing Nanaimo to live, raise a family and retire. Our economy is growing, our construction of new rental and non-rental accommodations is approaching the record breaking 2019 year. We have passed the City Plan taking our city through the next 30 years. This growth comes with growing pains and comes with big city problems. Criminal activity and violent crime are increasing. We have a large homeless population sleeping rough in our city and the problems that come with that. Those who are victims of crime or living on our streets I would say out city is not doing as well as we should hope. I hope that with the extra 15 police officers we have budgeted for, the extra 4-person bike patrol for the downtown, the 12 new Community Service officers we have hired and the extra money we are spending keeping our downtown clean that we will get a handle on the incidents of crime. With the added pressure we are putting on the province to provide the needed services for our homeless population we can see improvements in that area.

Although there have been some positive changes in Nanaimo, such as the Nanaimo Night Market, there have been many factors that have contributed to Nanaimo’s growing struggles as a city. Serious crimes are up 44% in the last year, rental prices have skyrocketed, local businesses have and continue to struggle to survive, and our homeless population has grown to over an estimated 700 people living on the streets and parks of Nanaimo. While developing my campaign, I concentrated on developing solutions for these areas of crisis, as safety, shelter and crime are all factors that contribute to the well being of our city. Additionally, I have included ideas in my campaign that may help contribute to the health of our physical environment, which I believe is also important to the residents of Nanaimo. I am an environmentally conscious individual, who believes in being nurtured by nature, and that it is imperative that we nurture our nature. If I can help contribute to the betterment of our natural resources, animals and land in Nanaimo, you can guarantee I will.

The last four years have been difficult for Nanaimo. We have experienced the impacts of the global pandemic as well as the devastating impacts of the drug poisoning crisis on our families, friends, and community. Housing affordability and the cost of living are issues that have grown significantly over the last four years. These are big challenges that we don’t face alone. They must be the focus of Council over the next four years.

Food prices are sky high. affordable housing is non-existence. Green parks downtown are gaited. Public green space along sidewalks have been allotted to the developer. The downtown “sweet spot” is roared thru by motorcycles and cars spewing poison emissions at the people sitting outside. The streets are dirty and smell because homeless do not have toilets. The harbour the jewelry of our city has been privatized and the public bathrooms closed

There is a marked improvement in council decorum, we no longer make the news for conflict in City Hall. We have taken some good steps to improve active transportation and acquiring more park land. But, we need to put urgency into the climate change emergency, affordability threatens to hollow out our community as young people and folks on fixed income can’t afford to live here, and the homelessness crisis, coupled with addiciton and mental health issues has grown and is effecting the sense of safety for our community.

This is an optimistic answer. While council has been much more functional and civil in the last 4 years (let’s be honest – the bar was quite low), any measurable improvement as far as quality of life for most residents has been relatively marginal, as housing affordability (or lack thereof) and inflation has created a lot of increased financial pressure and stress, and the effects of the opioid crisis and serious lack of mental health supports are perhaps more visible than ever. Many local businesses and entertainment venues suffered a lot during the pandemic, and we’re only just starting to bounce back from that as a community.

Many improvements have been made in Nanaimo around recreational facilities, parks and transportation infrastructure. At the same time, we are experiencing an unfortunate increase in homelessness, drug addiction, crime and social disorder brought on by a lack of investment by senior levels of government in affordable housing, health care, and mental health and addiction services. This is seriously challenging for our community and makes certain areas in Nanaimo feel less safe and liveable for everyone. Although many of the contributing factors are not in our local government’s control, I believe with committed action our community can be a leader in meeting these challenges and holding senior levels of government to account in working with our city to implement solutions.

Nanaimo has an enviable location with two ferry terminals to Vancouver, easy access to Victoria, and is a stepping stone to the entire Island, with a beautiful harbor and stunning natural amenity.  

But instead of being a Destination that is enjoyed, Nanaimo is a location that is passed through, feels unsafe for many residents, and lacks the vibrancy and attraction of other cities. While other cities like Kelowna have dramatically enhanced their downtown centres in recent years, Nanaimo has been left behind. Our downtown has become more run down, crime has increased, and our property taxes are out of control.

Inflation is a huge concern which has made life in Nanaimo much more of a challenge for people in this city. I feel that if Nanaimo city council truly wants to be a sustainable city then the out of control tax increases need to stop because it is the tax increases that are unsustainable. People of low and fixed income are going to be homeless if these tax increases continue.

This really depends on how you look at it. House prices are up, affordable housing is scarce, homeless numbers are up, overdose deaths are up, downtown struggles etc. On the other hand, we no longer have the province’s largest tent city, we’re no longer in the news for a dysfunctional Council, we’ve made excellent strides in advancing key portfolios of work for the City and we’re leaning into new and exciting partnerships. I’ve spent the last four years taking a close look and working hard, and I’m genuinely optimistic.

“Citizens, especially seniors, fear parts of our City, particularly Downtown.” We all deserve to feel safe throughout Nanaimo. I commit to ensuring City Council acts decisively on Public Safety with the following motions

-Strict enforcement of City bylaws, remove squatters from public parks and City property, strongly encourage police to enforce public safety laws, strongly encourage Crown prosecution of chronic law breakers.

Strongly encourage the Courts emphasize public safety and deterrence in sentencing, especially for chronic offenders.

The 2018-2022 period has been an exceedingly difficult period for all cities – not just for the City of Nanaimo. Health and economy have remained constant competing considerations as communities navigated through the high adversity that the COVID-19 pandemic presented. We are now, in 2022, in a recovery phase – and if we are not doing better than 2018 right now (which I believe is the case), we will get there – I am confident.

Certain prerequisites must be met in order for that to happen, however. If the City focuses on improving the employment condition, the residents will value that and contribute meaningfully to rebuilding a healthy, vibrant Nanaimo. If, however, the importance of hiring and employment is not recognized, the city will not prosper – this is because employment affects more dimensions of a citizens life than any other issue. It affects individuals, families, and communities in a profound way.

If elected, I will ensure that we identify the practical barriers that individuals face in the area of securing employment commensurate to their skills and abilities. Positive life, work, and play without “employment” is not possible – and that is what I will focus on if elected.

Good governance has been restored, and I am amongst the leaders of Mayors across BC who are pressing senior governments to take action to address mental health and addictions problems that are affecting public safety and confidence.

The pandemic and the opioid crisis have had a major influence on this measure so those effects cannot be attributed to the current City Council beyond community response. However, the intersections of homelessness, poverty, violent crime and addictions have had a deleterious effect on the feelings of freedom to move about safely in the city and go about one’s day whether for work, play, or managing life.

These are complex issues that cannot be swept under the rug and perhaps need a fresh set of eyes and ideas to tackle. In my platform, I have recommended developing a trauma-informed framework and integrated plans, organizing and mobilizing the right resources to deal with issues at their source through a restorative lens in collaboration with community and human service agencies. This is higher level strategic planning but the framework gives us a structure to break down and effectively tackle these issues piece by piece. It is a matter of making these issues and public safety the priority they need to be.

In 2018 we had the largest tent city in BC. Since then we have two locations that house, feed and support vulnerable population, supportive housing built on Nicol Street. We hired 15 new police officers over five years, for public safety we hired 12 CSO’s, doubled our clean team for downtown, added 4 more police on bikes., more ambassadors for Maffeo Sutton and waterfront. Built a new firehall, improved sports district, have our own professional baseball team, completed the new Reimagine OCP – purchased one of the last five acre farms for food security – purchased old Jean Burns site to help with revitalization of downtown, created new plan for Commercial/Terminal and Diana Krall Plaza.

Nanaimo has been impacted by issues that are beyond the control of our city government. Most other communities in Canada are dealing with similar problems. Nanaimo has become less affordable, home prices and rental rates have skyrocketed, the vacancy rate is too low and the unhoused population is growing. We are in the midst of a public health emergency with the toxic drug and overdose crisis, crime and social disorder have increased and public safety is eroding. We need to ensure that growth and social problems do not undermine the quality of life that draws people to the region.

At the same time, there have been important improvements to infrastructure including adding parks, recreation and transportation facilities. More needs to be done to manage growth and ensure that the community is affordable for workers, seniors and families. We need to continue to work on the problems our community is facing and pursue solutions that have been proven to address the root causes. I have a deep understanding of the problems we face and have proactive solutions for making our community a better place to live.

I’m impressed with the calmness of our city council and very thankful for the leadership of our current Mayor. Healthy debate is good and I believe we’re seeing a lot more of that today than four years ago.
I’m happy with the additional apartment and condominiums developments we’re seeing all over town and this will help with the number of housing options available for families desperately in need.
I believe some projects are taking too long to get done and in some cases, they are over the top, such as the Metral Road upgrades. The cost is too high and there is not enough benefit to the general public.
Also, I don’t believe enough has been done to push for a major expansion of NRGH, a Cardiac Cath Lab and a Cancer Treatment facility. The hospital tower is 60 years old and needs to be replaced, particularly because of our growing and aging population.

I don’t feel enough has been done to support our most vulnerable community members and because of that, crime has escalated to the point where people don’t feel as safe in the downtown area. We can’t always wait for the Provincial Government to help, we must do more.

We’ve unfortunately experienced a worldwide series of events that ranged from mandates to new regulations that affected business operating and infrastructure cost to near record inflation. These have all affected us in various ways – if it’s in our personal or our working lives. Jobs have been put in jeopardy and lost with the mandates, while businesses have first struggled and then closed due to the spiraling costs of operation,
It has been a difficult and heart breaking time for many if not most of our residents and businesses. Families were kept from activities and recreation limiting play time and enjoyment. Work has been a roller coaster and the costs of living has driven families to other more affordable communities.

I unfortunately wasn’t here in 2018, I had arrived in 2019.

The addiction, rate, Crime rate, and homelessness rate have all increased exponentially, as has the cost of living, since 2018. These three topics alone have dramatically affected the citizens of Nanaimo in a very negative manner.

With positive note to start, Nanaimo been one of the top 5 fastest growing city in Canada, it is improving with young and middle aged population moving in from allover Canada. More number of developments with new houses and condo complexes come up pretty much all over city and larger housing complexes and developmental ground work been in the process. General Hospital been improving with new diagnosing facility. University been expanding to attract more youths to choose faculty of their choice. There are many social, charity, non profit clubs and organisations are here for contributing to the wellness of our society at large, many to list. Chamber of Commerce is doing its best to network and encourage local businesses. Many farmers to offer fresh local produce. City and RDN has maintained nice trails with bridges in parks and to water falls. There are multiple awesome parks, fresh water lakes, rocky coast line exist here. Living here is a dream for many, yes things can be better.

The past four years have in many ways been rebuilding years for our city. We have made improvements to facilities and infrastructure, we have increased the amount of housing available, and made improvements to recreational facilities.

The crime has drastically increased, the cost of living has skyrocketed and the wages and job have decreased or stayed stagnant

Crime : Nanaimo has seen a dramatic increase in crime. People are afraid to walk around downtown at night. Businesses are regularly being broken into. People’s homes are being robbed. This situation is unacceptable. I am a staunch believer in Law and Order. When human beings live together there is a Social Contract, we treat each other with respect and peaceably. I will not stand for people who violate the Social Contract. I will do everything in my power to put Law Abiding Residents Safety and Comfort first.

Taxes : Nanaimo has seen a dramatic increase in taxation. Estimates are around 16 to 18% though for many Residents it is far more. This dramatic increase in taxation, without tangible improvements to the City to support them is unacceptable.

Homelessness : The homelessness situation has exacerbated, not improved over the past 4 years. Sadly, this issue dovetails with that of Crime. My solution is Tough Love Nanaimo, finding the correct services and shelter to help, but insisting they be used. No more vagrancy. No more making Residents feel unsafe.

Official Community Plan : Nanaimo is on track to be a Smart City, with all the Control and Privacy Concerns this implies.

Due to the increased social disorder Nanaimo has seen a decrease in its reputation according to Tourism officials as well as comments seen on Trip Advisor etc. People do not feel safe. When it comes to our Mayor and Council we have seen an increase in our reputation as despite differences this Mayor and Council have acted respectfully towards each other and there have not been negative stories in the media.

I’m not quite sure how to answer this question. Nanaimo is an attractive city and the hub of Vancouver Island so it is a very desirable city to live in. I’m sure many people across Canada are aware of Nanaimo’s positive attributes. I have no idea what our reputation is on the global stage but tourism through the pandemic has curtailed a lot of the selling of our city’s desirability for a destination vacation

Nanaimo is now seen as one of the more progressive cities in Canada, being one of the first ones to declare a climate emergency, adopting the Doughnut economic model, a new transit plan to add over 75,000 hours over the next 5 years. A new City Plan (Official Community Plan) that is far reaching and inventive. We are now getting worldwide notice and discussion on our innovative approaches including articles in Time Magazine. No longer are we getting headlines in national papers about how dysfunctional our council is but instead we are getting headlines in how creative and forward thinking we are.

Sadly, I believe Nanaimo is in the news as for the same reasons many cities across Canada are in the news; costs of living, homeless concerns, lack of affordable accomodations, crime rates, and healthcare challenges. Most of this arises due to healthcare cuts and changes in the judicial system, so I don’t believe all of this falls on the shoulders of previous council. However, I do know that aggressive and continuous advocacy for our city must be a priority when it comes to working with upper level governments.

In 2018, the City was lacking a Council that governed with integrity and as a result relations with every single party suffered. Significant improvements to transparent governance, collaborative relations, and citizen trust has occurred over the last four years. However, there is still work to be done.

Respectful behavior in council and to City staff means we no longer make headlines for leaked documents and police being called to City Hall.

Nanaimo may not be making the news for the same reasons as 2018 (i.e. the embarrassing conduct of some former city councillors), but we’ve had a series of tragic, violent incidents in the last year or so that have reflected very negatively on the city. While Nanaimo is certainly not alone in experiencing issues related to repeat offenders, the effects of the opioid crisis, and the lack of mental health supports, it’s not helping our reputation. Progress we’ve made as far as having a functional council, repairing the city’s relationship with the Snuneymuxw First Nation, and “Re-Imagining” Nanaimo is really being overshadowed by these ongoing issues.

Our reputation on a provincial, national and global stage is dramatically better than it was in 2018. Compared with the dysfunction of four years ago, the Nanaimo city government is back to being seen as a desirable place to work. The planning initiatives we have undertaken with our official community plan, our environmental responsibility initiatives, work in the transportation department and innovative responses to some of our social challenges have also given us significant provincial, national and even international attention. Not only was Nanaimo mentioned for its positive work in Times magazine in 2020, the mayor, and several councillors including myself have been asked to speak regionally, nationally and even internationally about the leadership Nanaimo has been showing.

No. Our reputation has remained steady or decreased due to increased crime downtown and unaffordable property taxes.

I feel that the reputation Nanaimo garnered on a provincial and national level for the fiasco that was the previous council has been put in the past but unfortunately that reputation has been replaced with a new one and sadly the city is becoming more known for its crime and homelessness issues.

Nanaimo’s homeless and crime problems ruin our reputation. Who wants to visit a place with such problems?

The profile of the City of Nanaimo has become more desirable – there is no question about it. The population increase has happened because Nanaimo has become attractive for a variety of reasons. This is why it is a good time to focus on forming a diverse City Hall that can receive, understand, and implement changes that address the practical difficulties of people from different walks of life.

Voters were clearly angry in 2018 that Nanaimo’s governance was chaotic. I have been proud to bring my legal and legislative experience to bear and to lead a Council and City staff that have restored sound governance.

The reputation of dysfunction at Nanaimo City Hall in previous years travelled well beyond city limits. I believe the mayor and current council have done a reasonably good job of playing the hand they were dealt. Now that this situation has stabilized to an extent, it is time to roll up our sleeves and deal with the more pervasive societal issues which are on the minds of Nanaimo residents.

This Council ran on restoring good governance. One of the first things we did was create a new Code of Conduct for Mayor and Council. We restored our reputation and rebuilt relationships with all stakeholders. I am very pleased that the Snuneymuxw First Nations Flag is now up at City Hall and a new Protocol Agreement has been signed. We were recognized as the first municipality to adopt the Doughnut Economic Framework so we make decisions keeping keeping the environment and social responsibiity as an important piece of economic development and how you create a vibrant, thriving city.

Before 2018, elected officials and senior city staff put Nanaimo in the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons. There were national, regional and local news stories about the dysfunction and infighting at city hall. The recent council has cleaned up this reputation by working respectfully with each other. They are making progress on many initiatives and are engaged in more long-term planning. That’s how the city council should work, as a team, with the best interests of residents at heart. If I am elected, I pledge to work respectfully and collaboratively with everyone elected to the next council.

When I moved here in 2016, people told me not to come to Nanaimo. It was seen as a dysfunctional city council with Councillor’s fighting with city staff. It was like we were putting our dirty laundry out for the world to see. It was so sad given the beauty of this city and the wonderful people who live here. It is much better today and I think the next four years will just be continuing to be a progressive community.

Nanaimo has made the news with some dire news in the recent years that have included having the largest tent city in BC, escalating home prices and property taxes along with an increase in crime and the absence of safety for our residents. All these have cast a shadow on what was once the “Silver Capital” of Canada. The fallout has been a continued rise in the homeless populations and an exodus of those who sought more affordable housing in other communities.On the global stage are my fears that we are playing into the hands of the One Word government with the recent adoption, without referendum, of our Official Community Plan which echoes the concepts and plans of the World Economic Forum – which is the leader leader in promoting a One World Government.

In my opinion, the spirit and reputation is declining

In 2018, Nanaimo faced the challenges of having a Tent City and an extremely dysfunctional and unprofessional City Council. In 2022, Nanaimo is no longer making headlines across the country due to our Council’s behaviour. We also now have a qualified CAO and there have been good efforts made to have a full slate of talented staff again. Although our professionalism has improved, our quality of life and reputation is starting to be challenged by our city’s growing issues. We are now making headlines for our homelessness and social disorder challenges. Nanaimo has one of the highest homelessness rates in Canada per-capita – this is unacceptable. It is also reflected in our reputation now along with social disorder, which is causing many citizens not to feel safe to go out and enjoy our downtown and other recreational areas, hindering quality of life.

Nanaimo is known to have one of the highest rates of crime, and is continuing to grow, This needs to change.

Nanaimo been rated as one of the most unsafe city in Canada. People with mental illness, addiction and homeless people are all over downtown and camping in pretty much every where giving poor image for tourists and investors. Many businesses in downtown core closed or moved away from city due to frequent break-ins which made them feel unsafe to operate. Normal people are thinking multiple times before they head out to downtown area especially after reading/seeing news about harassment, voilance and murders. People in some communities are afraid to open doors to unknown people and they may not answer door knocking or door bell. Some of the Inefficient infrastructure and traffic management been frustrating people. ‘Downtown core is pretty much looks like deserted area with not many people visiting as there is not much excitement.

In my opinion a major accomplishment of the past four years was to rebuild Nanaimo’s reputation. This has been accomplished, as I have been told repeatedly at provincial and national conferences. We have restored good governance and brought in an improved code of conduct for Council behaviour.

Nanaimo is on route to becoming another San Francisco, Portland, Los Angeles, Seattle, or any of countless Cities who have one thing in common : they are run by people with Left-Leaning, Progressive values. These cities all have SEVERE issues with Homelessness and the Crime that always follows from that lamentable civic situation. Businesses and Residents in these Cities are suing their Local Government for not providing safety and security for Law Abiding Citizens. People are leaving in droves from these Cities, or planning to leave.

These days Nanaimo is in the news because someone was killed in Maffeo Sutton Park, or someone was attacked brutally by a bunch of young hooligans, or because someone was killed while peacefully working in a coffee shop.

How is Nanaimo supposed to attract businesses, and talented professionals to a city where people are afraid to walk the downtown streets at night? Where businesses risk having to shut down because their Insurance refuses to pay one more claim as a result of repeated break ins? Where parents are afraid for their children to play in Parks because there might be discarded needles?

Nanaimo needs a sharp COURSE CORRECTION. A Conservative approach for Law and Order.