NanaimoNewsNOW reached out to each candidate in the 2019 provincial byelection, asking for a brief bio and answers to the same three questions surrounding important local issues.
The responses below are unedited.
Biography/contact info:
Office: 778-762-5384
Website: www.TonyForNanaimo.ca
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TonyForNanaimo
Twitter: www.twitter.com/TonyForNanaimo
Tony was born in Nanaimo and represents the sixth generation Harris to call the city home. A born entrepreneur, at the age of seven, Tony’s first business was selling peanuts from a $0.25 vending machine in his dad’s car dealership.
Tony is a managing partner of a local award-winning auto dealership, on the Board of Directors for The Nanaimo and District Hospital Foundation, member of The Mid Island Business Initiative (MIBI), and the Founder and Honorary Chairman of the Tom Harris Charity Classic in honour of his late father, Tom Harris.
In 2018, Tony was recognized with the Vancouver Island Top 20 Under 40 Business & Community Achievement Award.
Question 1: What is your top priority specific to Nanaimo which you would work to address if elected to the legislature?
There are many issues facing Nanaimo so what I have done is launched my plan ‘Tony for Nanaimo Priorities’ (www.tonyfornanimo.ca/priorities) and I’ve been talking about my ideas every day since I put my name forward to run.
We have to address a growing population and we need to create more good paying jobs to support this growth while we tackle the affordability challenges the city faces. I’ve talked about many ideas to address these challenges and for how we can make our city an even better place to live, work and play. Ideas such as: the need for Nanaimo Regional Hospital to be a tertiary facility with fully integrated cancer care services and an expanded cardiac care facility; a foot ferry passenger service between Nanaimo and Vancouver; a more collaborative and consultative process for engaging the community on how best to address our homelessness crisis; challenging VIU to deliver more medical and nursing programs as well as developing an executive education program focused on environmental innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship; and calling on Victoria to bring some common sense to tax policy including ending the employer health tax the so-called botched speculation tax in Nanaimo.
Question 2: The current approach to Nanaimo’s homelessness issue is causing much angst in the community. What made-in-Nanaimo solutions would you lobby for to address this crisis?
Nanaimoites deserve to have their voices heard, and to feel safe in their neighbourhoods, parks, and public places.
When provincial and local governments decide to take steps in our community that have profound impact on the local area and neighbours, meaningful engagement must occur with those neighbourhoods and residents. We need to do better — and I will. We need supportive housing, but it must come with the additional mental health services needed to meet the demands of our most vulnerable and measures to keep our neighbourhoods safe. Parents deserve to feel safe when the take their kids to spend time at Beban Park and it’s incumbent upon government to ensure they are.
As Mayor Krog said, “the provincial response to the homelessness and tent city crisis has been ‘clumsily-handled to say the least and unfortunately, the victims of it are many.’” (Nanaimo News Now, January 14)
Everyone deserves a roof over their head, and homelessness is a complex issue, often rooted in mental health and addiction challenges, that must be met with compassion for those who are impacted, while also being firm with those who are intentionally disruptive or committing crimes.
Question 3: The current NDP government is taking steps to “cool” Nanaimo’s real estate market, lowering home values in the interim. Do you support this approach? Why or why not?
The housing market is very complex and I for one want to ensure that young families can still have the dream of home ownership but at the same time, we need to be careful not to negatively impact current homeowners who are rightly concerned that they may lose the equity in their homes that they have worked so hard to get.
The NDP have forced an unfair speculation tax on our city and it won’t work. It simply doesn’t add up that the NDP argue this tax only applies to one per cent of British Columbian home owners will somehow solve the affordability problem for everyone. More still, they are forcing everyone through reverse billing, which is illegal in the private sector, to prove they aren’t speculators for else pay the tax. Nanaimo deserves better from Victoria.
With a growing population, we need to create more good paying jobs and build more homes – it’s the only way to meet demand and address affordability. The speculation tax slows construction, puts jobs at risk and ensures less homes are in market. Increasing the number of homes available is the real solution to affordability challenges.
