As councillor, I will strive to tackle these issues for the average Victorian. We need strategic, bold action to make change in this city. We are out of band-aid solutions.

We are growing at a record pace, and is not set to slow down anytime soon.

Creating a city that is resilient to growth will be paramount to ensuring that Victoria remains a beautiful and vibrant city while still having the resources to provide for its citizens equally.

Housing

• Look to build more homes in the region, including supporting the purchase of more city-owned land to create co-operative and affordable housing for our city's residents.
• Support the Missing Middle Initiative in its entirety while working with homeowners to create garden suites and additions that maintain local neighbourhood charm in the interim
• Continue to develop a Community Land Trust program for people to pool existing properties and create speculation-free zones
• Restrict whole-home short term vacation rentals such as Airbnbs. There are currently 2652 whole-home Airbnb listings in Greater Victoria.
• Look to directly support the construction of abundant family-suitable rentals and new home developments- mainly through low rise projects that can award bonus density for having units below market or family suitable rental units
• Fully support homes for living and not as assets for an investment class
• Look to develop the city’s current mid-town area along Douglas Street into a thriving community of mixed use residential buildings with easy transit access to the downtown core
• Explore more avenues for Victoria to acquire land to create purpose built master planned affordable communities
• Make it easier to construct new rental stock along existing transit corridors while including numerous quality of life amenities for residents: Community gardens, jam spaces, and play equipment

Infrastructure and Public Spaces

• Increase the city’s tree canopy by planting more trees in every neighbourhood and keep existing trees healthy. Mandating and enforcing mandatory tree/shrub cover minimums for all new developments
• Work to maintain the current green space we have in the city, and continue to expand upon it to enhance our public spaces while actively looking to sanction off new spaces where possible to accommodate our growing city
• Increase our usage of public spaces and make them a centre for community through regular movie nights, sports in the park days, block parties, and other city sanctioned events
• Redevelop park spaces that the community feels are underutilized or used in a limited capacity due to design or infrastructural problems
• Create a publicly funded bus network to connect Victoria and area residents to the popular hiking and camping spots in the region. Removing reliance on vehicles while providing a more accessible and affordable alternative to access the outdoors. Have designated pick up and drop offs with multiple time slots Friday-Sunday during the summer months to reduce car congestion on the roads and at popular outdoor destinations.
• Design and implement an EV charging network throughout the CRD to enable travel with non-ICE based vehicles while exploring all that the region has to offer
• Maintain a pedestrian-focused Government street and look to expand areas of downtown to limit motor vehicle traffic and increase use by residents and tourists alike
• Create more spaces for our city’s skateboarders, cyclists, musicians, and everyone in between to hone their craft. Invest in the youth of Victoria through places to meet and private spaces to practice a new instrument or learn to 3D model for example
• Invest in urban villages! Create public spaces that offer amenities such as schools, libraries, coffee shops, and grocery all within a 15 minute walk of residential areas. Allowing us to create more urban spaces for people and reduce car dependency.
• Look to rebuild or remodel Crystal Pool in North Park, and create a more holistic vision for what an urban recreational facility can be. More programs, more slides, more fun for everyone.

Prosperity and Sustainability

• Ensure that even as Victoria grows and changes our neighbourhoods remain intact, inclusive and that they continue to feel like home for everyone
• Instill a greater sense of community by making it easier for neighbourhoods to secure city funding for community events such as block parties, and community gardening projects
• Increase the amount of community garden space throughout all areas of the city and provide ample gardening workshops for residents.
• Continue to work in partnership with community to ensure that money spent on addressing mental health and addictions gets people the supports they need, at whatever stage or phase of their mental health and/or addiction they are in.
• Taking a housing and treatment first approach to addressing the mental health crisis in our city
• Deliver a program for bundled and easy-to-achieve home energy retrofits
• Collaborate with heritage organizations to identify and promote energy retrofitting opportunities for homeowners living in heritage buildings
• Partner with all levels of government to develop consistent energy-efficiency incentives and funding mechanisms to deliver retrofit programs for commercial buildings and multi-unit residential buildings
• Work with the local business community to reduce food waste and to divert it from landfills
• Further reduce single use item usage while avoiding unnecessary burdens to the consumers
• Raise conversations once again on cruise ships dumping waste at Ogden Point- protecting our scenic coastline and the organisms that live within it

Transit and Active Transportation

• Strive to have up to 80% of all Victorians living within a two-minute bike ride of a designated safe bike route. This will be done through the expansion of the current bike infrastructure throughout the city
• Create a completely pedestrian government street during the summer months for the enjoyment of summer tourists, as well as residents of Victoria
• Improve the frequency and punctuality of existing bus routes during off-peak times to ensure that residents have options outside of using a personal vehicle for commuting and errands
• Create a direct route service from downtown to the airport- making the journey easier for both tourists and residents alike
• Finalize deals to establish a pay system akin to the Compass Card, as well as allow tap payments via apple/google pay and credit cards to make access to the bus system easier
• Expand Free Transit in the city to also include low-income households, seniors, and students.
• Look to expanding rapid bus service along Douglas street while aiming to slowly rezone areas closer to the downtown core to make a livable transit corridor that stretches from Uptown to Downtown.
• Expand safe bike route network so that children are able to ride their bikes, scooters, skateboards etc. to and from school to ease parental anxiety and increase the amount of independent children in Victoria
• Invest in programs for Victoria households to increase use of public transit and active transportation\
• Achieve the CleanBC goal of reducing vehicle trips by 25% by 2030.
• Create more EV charging on public property and mandate EV chargers as part of new developments to offset ICE based vehicles

Healthcare, Childcare and Education

• Work with the school district to create new childcare after-school/ before-care spaces and programs across the city
• Look to expand and bolster SOGI-Inclusive education across the city by collaborating with school board trustees.
• Similar to housing, securing space in the city through land acquisitions to create new childcare developments and bring more early educators into the city
• Similar to acquiring land for childcare, the same could occur for clinics to improve healthcare capacity in the city. Creating mixed use developments with clinic space on the bottom and units potentially reserved for those that will be working in said clinics and childcare spaces (nurses, doctors, educators)