Month: June 2025

Council – June 23, 2025

Posted on . by Patrick Johnstone. Leave a comment.

Council this Monday was long, and this week has been full of meetings, events, and surprising challenges, so I am late reporting out on it. We didn’t have a particularly long agenda, though there were a few thorny items that deserved lengthy discussion (see below), but we still ended the meeting before completing the agenda, and time management is again a procedural conversation we are going to have to have at Council.

The meeting started with an Opportunity to be Heard:

Business Regulations and Licensing (Rental Units) Amendment Bylaw No. 8525, 2025
The City has been doing a lot of different things to avoid a repeat of the 2021 Heat Dome disaster, where 28 members of our community died. As we are informed by public health estimates that a heat dome has gone from a once-in-1000-year event to a once-in-a-decade event due to climate change, air conditioning is becoming less of a comfort issue, and more of a health issue. To quote our Medical Health Officer directly: “Cooling related bylaws are a key policy lever municipal governments can use to protect their citizens from heat-related negative health outcomes.” In that vein, we are taking measures to make it easier for people to get air conditioners, and (in this case) make it illegal to forbid air conditioners in rental units unless the landlord can demonstrate they are not viable to the satisfaction of the City’s buildings staff. These bylaw amendments make that the law in New Westminster, with fines for landlords who don’t comply.

Staff are also proposing we provide some increased resources to our Bylaws department, specifically to address rental building support and enforcement and the protection of vulnerable renters. Two bylaw officers focused on tenant support and life safety, and one outreach worker to provide in-reach support to vulnerable tenants. These positions will be considered in context of our 2026 budget.

We received two pieces of correspondence on this, one from a building managers lobby group, and one from a tenants rights organization, I leave it to you to infer which was against regulating building conditions to save lives, and which was for it. No-one came to speak at the Opportunity to be Heard and Council voted to support these measures.

We then moved the following items On Consent:

Construction Noise Bylaw Exemption Request: 1031 Quebec Street, New Westminster – Metro Vancouver Annacis Water Supply Tunnel, Fraser River Crossing
Metro Vancouver has been building a water supply tunnel under the Fraser River, which involved drilling a 2.4km tunnel. As they are wrapping this drilling up, the builders need to remove the Tunnel Boring Machine from the shaft on Auckland Street, which will require some work outside of permitted times over a four-week period. The work will involve running a crane and some generators, not particularly loud work, but a notice exemption is required.

Distributed Antenna System to Improve Cellular Network Coverage within Anvil Centre
The Anvil Centre is built in a way that makes cell phone signals weak inside. Telus already has antennae inside the building to boost their signal, this is an agreement to let Rogers do the same thing. The cell company pays us for the electricity they use plus a small monthly rack space rental fee, as the City needs to charge fair market value for use of public space to private entities.

Update of Section 72 Remedial Action Requirement for 1823 Hamilton Street
A property owner in the West End was served a remedial order by the City a few years ago relating to some renovations of his house/property that did not pass inspection. The City also put a notice on his title about these deficiencies to inform a potential buyer if the owner decided to sell. Though much of the work has been completed now, the owner will not permit inspection to confirm it was done to code, so the remedial action order will be removed, but the notice of lack of inspection will remain on the title.

Zoning Amendment Bylaw and Cannabis Retail Store Licence: 416 East Columbia Street
There is no cannabis retailer in Sapperton, because the one the City approved was not able to maintain a lease, but instead a second operator has tried to set up in the property identified in the process the City went through to choose the first tranche of cannabis retail locations in the City. This is not consistent with the spirit or letter of Council’s intent when we went through an extensive process to approve new cannabis operations. The successful applicant is hoping to open in another nearby Sapperton location, and Council is now moving ahead with removing cannabis retail as a permitted use on the original site. That would take a zoning amendment, so the only step we are taking right now is instructing staff to prepare that zoning amendment for Council approval.

The following items were Removed from Consent for discussion:

40 Begbie Street: Good Neighbour Agreement and Issuance of TUP for Health Contact Centre
The Health Contact Centre downtown is a healthcare service that has saved scores of lives and made more than a thousand referrals to treatment and other health care services since it opened in 2021. But there has been a shift in drug use in the community, with smoking becoming the most dominant mode of intake. Though the HCC still provides lifesaving services to those who inject or orally consume drugs, they cannot provide the same support to those who smoke drugs in this location.

The City has been advocating to Fraser Health to include inhalation services, but we have been recently informed that it won’t work on this site for engineering reasons, so the City and Fraser Health are working on an alternative. In the meantime, the current HCC is applying for an 18-month extension of their permitting to facilitate the transition to a new service.

New Westminster has been a strong supporter of harm reduction, along with being a strong supporter of recovery and of increased funding for detox and transition beds here in New Westminster and across the province. Meanwhile, we are investing in direct crises response and non-clinical outreach. Befitting a public health emergency, we are taking every measure to keep our residents alive and assuring they have access to health care they need.

We have received feedback both pro and against this application (by my account, 60% of the correspondence we received was in support), as we do with many zoning application in the City. New Westminster is a compassionate community, and when I talk to residents and businesses downtown, they want the City to do more to help residents that are suffering, not less. Fundamentally, this is health care, and I have to follow the recommendations of the Public Health Officer, the coroner, and the health experts that say closing this HCC now will lead to unnecessary deaths.

Council spent more than an hour working though some details of the Good Neighbour Agreement, and amendments from several different Councillors were deliberated upon until we got to consensus on that language. In the end, the vote to support the TUP was not unanimous, but the majority supported the extension and the HCC will continue to save lives in New Westminster.

2024 Statement of Financial Information
Accompanying the Annual Report, here is our SOFI report, as audited by KPMG and required by Provincial regulation. This outlines our financial position at the end of 2024, and it is pretty solid.

Overall, the City is about $140 Million in the black, and our accumulated surplus (including the value of our assets after depreciation) is up 5% over last year, and just over $1 Billion. Our surplus last year was just under $50 Million, which is higher than the $38 Million budgeted. This is a result of a combination if higher than expected revenue, and lower than expected expanses. When you take assets and depreciation out of the math, our net financial assets went up about $27 Million. This is called a “surplus”, but remember this is the money that we use to pay for our capital plan for upcoming years. One big part of this is that we made more money than expected on our investments (~$18 Million) than we spent servicing out debt (~$8 Million).

We are still working on assuring we have sufficient reserves relative to the value of our assets, but overall the City’s financial picture is strong.

Massey Victory Heights Street Lighting Replacement Project Update

The engineering team have been working on replacing the lights in Massey Victory Heights for some time. For those who read my Newsletter, I described a bit of the history recently, but in short the existing light poles and wiring are from the 1950s, and well past their functional lifespan. Despite them not meeting modern standards for the primary job – lighting the street and sidewalk – and presenting challenges with uplight, backlight, and glare (“BUG”), they still have some aesthetic appeal to some folks in the neighbourhood.

Engineering were working on a replacement strategy, as even replacing the non-conduit underground wiring will be a technically challenging project, and the poles and bases are failing structurally – and it important to realize that there is a significant safety issue here. However after informing the neighbourhood about the first phases of this work, some in the community reacted that they value the aesthetic appeal of the existing light structures, though they had not been identified in the City’s heritage inventory (and had been significantly modified since their 1950s installation).

We did have the option to pause the safety repairs here while we talked more ot the community about the existing lights, but the report makes clear that the lights need to be replaced, there is no outcome here that has the existing lights preserved where they are and continuing to operate in the long term. They are simply end of life and becoming a safety concern. At the same time, pausing the first phases of this work will cost the taxpayers a lot of money for questionable gains. There is no heritage assessment that is going to tell us that the existing lights will become safe.

I have met with folks from MVH, and have heard their concerns, but I also talked with some people who were surprised to hear that the light upgrades might be delayed after all these years. I also went up there both in the day and in the evening to see how the lights along, for example, Churchill work as opposed to Jackson crescent and the area below Richmond where davit-style lights already exist. And it is easy to see the concern that Engineering has, and why this project is important for community safety.

So I moved a motion that might Community Services staff be directed to conduct the research and community consultation required to complete a heritage assessment of the street light standards in the Massey Victory Heights area and share the findings with council and the community. And in the meantime, Engineering Services staff proceed with scheduled Phases 1 and 2 while working with the heritage assessment and the community to protect and preserve the existing light poles as decorative elements where possible, in a way that celebrates the neighbourhood’s unique history. Council voted to support this.

Rezoning and Special Development Permit Applications: 611 Agnes Street – Preliminary Report
The owner of this office building on 6th and Agnes would like to replace it with a new building with 299 purpose built rental homes in a 37 storey tower with two levels of office and retail at grade, along with a childcare. That is a lot of density on the site (11+ FSR), exceeding by quite a bit that expected in the Transit Oriented Development Area. 300 rental homes near SkyTrain is a good thing, and consistent with many City needs, including the need for new secured rental in our Housing Needs Report. The ability to build new rental with zero displacement of current renters is a definite positive of this proposal.

The project has evolved quite a bit since first pitched to the City in 2018 (!), but essentially found this form just before COVID caused the proponent to put the project on pause in 2020. The developer is now concerned that the provision of two floors of office space totaling 32,000 square feet might make the project unviable. The current building has 55,000 sqft of office. So the question in front of Council at this early stage is whether we want to hold firm on 32K sqft of office, or whether we are willing to see flexibility in that part of the project.

The provision of office space here was established back before the Pandemic, and there is a good question if the current estimates of office need have kept track with the changes in how office space regionally is being developed. According to Colliers, New West has one of the lowest office vacancy rates in the region, well below the regional average.

In the end, Council referred this back to staff to work with the property owner and determine if there is an option to add supportive affordable housing in lieu of office. So expect this to come back to Council sooner than later.

Rezoning Application: 140 Sixth Street (Royal Towers) – Preliminary Report
The owner of the Royal Towers wants to replace it with a new residential development, and have come up with an innovative way to protect the existing affordable housing. They are proposing a two-phase development where they build two buildings on the north side of the property, one purpose built market rental, one affordable non-market rental. They would then offer the current residents of the towers a move to the new affordable housing building at the same rent they pay now (with inflationary increases as permitted by the RTA) before they tear down the Royal Towers to build 850 condo homes in two towers on the Royal Avenue side of the site, along with 65,000sqft of commercial space.

This project would provide a mix of market ownership, rental, and secured affordable homes that meets our housing needs and goals as a City, and avoids displacement of residents while a very much past its lifespan building is demolished.

This is the first Council review of the complete project (though Council saw an earlier draft and unanimously approved the 40-storey tower heights in principle last year), and there needs to be quite a bit of planning review and public consultation before Council can provide third reading to the Zoning Amendment, and as the market is very tight right now, there is a sensitive timeline on this project. This report is really to get Council familiar with the proposal so that planning and consultation work can begin. That said, there is some time pressure to get to third reading to secure the affordable housing commitment from the funder.

We then had this Motion from Council:

Transparency in Business Improvement Area Levy Communication
Submitted by Councillor Minhas

WHEREAS Business Improvement Area (BIA) levies are collected by the City of New Westminster through property taxes on behalf of designated BIA organizations;
WHEREAS many business owners may not be fully aware that a portion of their property taxes is allocated specifically to fund BIA activities, particularly when taxes are paid by landlords rather than tenants;
WHEREAS improved transparency and communication can help strengthen accountability and awareness of how public funds are being used to support local business areas;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the City of New Westminster develop and implement a process to proactively inform all commercial property owners and business tenants, on an annual basis, of the amount of property taxes allocated to Business Improvement Area levies, including a clear breakdown with their property tax notices or through other direct communication methods.

I do not understand the motive of this motion, or why the mover is suggesting that BIA operations are anything but transparent and accountable. BIAs are strictly regulated under sections 215 and 216 of the Community Charter. All members of the BIA are already “proactively informed” of the levy charged to them on behalf of the BIA. It is line item on their tax bill under the category “City of New Westminster Municipal Taxes” with a line item that reads “Business Improvement Area” with both the rates and calculation of their charges.

Further, the BIA publicly reports their finances to their membership every year in an annual general meeting, which Members of Council are routinely invited to. They also provide reporting to the City when they do levy setting that sets the rates to be charged to their members, and include a public budget for Council’s review. Council should recall the November 4 meeting of last year when this Council unanimously and on consent approved those budgets for the City’s two BIAs.

Council did not support this motion, and speaking only for myself, I fear it sends the wrong message to the community about how this Council supports and values the work of our two Business Improvement Areas. It may even send the impression that they are anything but transparent and accountable to both the public and their members. And I leave it to others to interpret what it means when a Council starts challenging the funding mechanisms for organizations in the City that may coincidentally be outspoken about issues in the City.

We had a few more items on the agenda, but at 11:30 Council decided to adjourn. We had started out (closed) meeting at 1:00 in the afternoon, and after a dinner break, had been at Council for 5 -1/2 hours. Our regular Public Delegation period, where up to 10 people can sign up to talk to Council for up to 5 minutes each, took us 2 ½ hours to get through. With short breaks, we spent about the same amount of time dealing with items on the Agenda, but our Procedures Bylaw requires that we need Council to approve going on past 10:30. We added a half hour at 10:30, then another at 11:00, but the 11:30 vote failed, and we adjourned. All of the remaining items will be added to next agenda on July 7.

Happenings

Posted on . by Patrick Johnstone. Leave a comment.

The spring-summer transition is a busy time, rivaling only September in the calendar challenges in this job. Besides the work, which also ramps up at this time, there are a lot of community events to take part in. It is really hard to report out on it all.

The (almost) regular schedule of Newsletters has been keeping me on track, and i usually talk about events over there, but this week I decided to switch things up a bit. I send my Newsletter subscribers (you can join here – its cost-free and spam-free! and shows up in your inbox about every two weeks) an update on a couple of slightly controversial issues in the City and how they relate to our public engagement efforts, and I’m coming over to this website to do a bit of a picture essay of some of the community events I’ve taken part in since Hyack Weekend that I haven’t had a chance to talk about much out on social media. So without too much writing:

I was honoured to attend the Change of Command ceremony at the Royal Westminster Regiment. I have really enjoyed working with outgoing commander LCol Greg Chan over the last couple of years, and the relationship between the City and the Regiment has been really positive. Incoming commander LCol Clint Uttley is well known in the New West community, and takes over at a time when the Regiment building is refreshed, but the work of the regiment is feeling new pressures and urgency. It was nice to be able to reiterate the utmost support this City has for the regiment and the soldiers and officers who work so hard to be prepared for whatever call comes.
I’m a proud Brow of the Hill resident, and was able to spend a bit of time at the Brow Garden Party put on by the Brow of the Hill Residents Association in the little park known as Cornwall. I even got to meet a few new neighbours, and catch up with a few I hadn’t seen in while.
I’m also an irrationally big fan of Mariachi, In this case, at the New to New West Intercultural Festival and Information Fair at NWSS, hosted by WINS Local Immigration Partnership, with support form the City. At this event hundreds of people met to learn about resources available for newcomers and share supports that can make New West and Burnaby easier places to land, prosper, and raise your family.
The first week of June was Seniors Week in New West, which means i attended several events, from the Sapperton Pensioners 90th Birthday party to the Resource Fair and Social Dinner at Century House (where you can join if you are 50+!). I also joined the Police and Fire Chiefs for panel discussion on Seniors Safety in the City.
June 8th is Philippine Independence Day, and in New West that means the annual raising of the Philippine Flag at Friendship Gardens. This is always a fun event with the singing of national anthems (Canada and Philippines) and traditional Philippine songs, dancing, and a lot of photos!
There were a few other events during the first week of June to celebrate the Pinoy community, including lunches with several groups, all cumulating with the annual Pinoy Festival at Swangard Stadium. This is the biggest Filipino festival in BC, with music, booths, food, cultural displays and celebrations of the diverse indigenous communities of the Philippine islands.
June is Field Trip season as well, which means a few different school groups came to visit City Hall. This is always a fun chance to talk to elementary school kids about what City Hall is and what the job of Mayor is like. They always have interesting questions about me and about the City, and almost universally love seeing the guest book in City Hall signed by people from the Queen of England to the King of Pop. They are inexplicably less impressed by Raymond Burr.
I also took my State of the City address to an audience of slightly older Youth at Century House. The questions here were equally fun, if a bit more challenging as topics from homelessness, climate action, the poisoned drug crisis, and scooters and bike lanes were top of mind for the mostly high school aged audience.
The Queensborough Kids Festival at QCC was a massive success, with hundreds of kids and their families listening to music and seeing performances, doing crafts and activities, and enjoying perfect picnic weather.
The Sapperton Pensioners Hall hosted an incredible spectacle last weekend, with the Vancouver Battlezone 2025 – Hip Hop Dance competition for all ages, with competitors from around North America and even Europe, DJ Oscar from New West and Shash’u from Montreal put the beats down and the crowd was into it. The street dance culture is such a breath of fresh air – youth of all sizes and shapes competing and supporting each other. So much fun to watch.
Finally, the 36th New West Pecha Kucha Night was a rousing success, with 9 people presenting short talks and fast slides on the things they are passionate – from garbage to Metis history to citrus fruits. Even Tasha had fun!

Go logo

Posted on . by Patrick Johnstone. 2 Comments.

By now, most of you have probably seen something about a new logo at the City, or have seen it pop up in Social Media. If you want to get a sense of the thinking behind the logo, there is a great video produced by the City to put it in context:

There is also a bunch more background info here that includes discussions of new wordmarks and colour palates that will be used as design guides in new City digital and printed communications.

I have of course received some feedback on the new logo, and so far it’s about 50/50, which is about as positive as one can expect with something as subjective as this, especially when you recognize people are much more likely to write if angry than they are if happy. Examples from the two more recent emails I received on this:

“My husband and I are appalled at the change in the Logo. We were born and raised in this city, our children and grandchildren were all born and raised in this city. All very proud of the history of our city. Why do you have the right to try and change history by changing the Logo? It distinguishes us from all the other surrounding municipalities and cities.”

”Both my wife and I like the new logo. I represents both the history of New Westminster and today’s reality”.

(I am going to go ahead and assume these two emails were not from the same husband-wife couple).

I wrote a blog post about the process to create a new logo last year as we were launching the public engagement process, and it has a few answers to questions that came up at the time, and are coming up again.

The discussion about updating the logo began almost three years ago. The current yellow-crown-on blue-serif-wordmark logo, adopted in 2008, is pretty dated, and through extensive public consultation (more than 650 people) and guided by a committee of volunteer citizens of the City, the new logo was selected a few months ago (with some presentation development and refinements between then and now). I think it honours the past of the City – subtle but obvious-when-you-see-it nods to the Indigenous history of this place on the Fraser River, and a more obvious link to the industrial “working river” history and the present relationship to the river. Far from erasing history, the new logo it meant to honour the diverse and unique history of the City and this land. I think the process the City chose to let the community lead the rebranding process also honours the people who live, work, learn, and play in this community, and the builders of this community in the past and present.

I also like the modern symbolism of the logo, and this was the part that the brand creators talked about that really pulled me into seeing it. We often talk about New West as a small city with big ambitions, we make big moves and are bold in taking on large challenges. We think of ourselves as hardworking, powerful beyond our size. These characteristics of the humble tugboat – a small but incredibly powerful vehicle moving big loads against the current – evoke that same spirit. This sprit, and the clear centering of the Fraser River as the symbol of our City are the foundations of the new logo. And I can’t disagree with that.

As was the case last time, the new logo will be phased in as we work through old materials. You will be seeing both the old and new logos next to each other for some time. We will use the existing letterhead (for example) until the supply is exhausted, and the new supply when ordered will have the new logo. Things like vehicles that take a while to age out of use will have the old logo on them until the vehicle is replaced or refurbished (indeed, we still have older vehicles in the City with the old “Crest” logo on them because they are older than 2008!). That means the cost to shift to the new logo is minimized, and is part of regular operational budgets in the City.

Council – June 9, 2025

Posted on . by Patrick Johnstone. Leave a comment.

We had a full slate of delegations, and a presentation of the City’s new logo (which I will write about later) to start off the meeting that had a relatively short agenda.

We started with the following items being moved On Consent:

2024 Annual Water Quality Monitoring
This is our annual reporting out on our water quality sampling program – part of the public health measures that assure a healthy and safe community. We have 15 sampling stations in the city across different parts of our water system, and we tested 1,171 samples in 2024, testing for everything from bacterial presence, chlorine levels, turbidity (“cloudiness”), various metals and other criteria, all based on Health Canada regulations and guidelines. Short news – we are testing every day, and our water always meets the standard for public safety.

Construction Noise Bylaw Exemption Request: 2126 Seventh Avenue (22nd Street SkyTrain Station)
Translink is wrapping up its work at 22nd Street Station, and need a construction noise variance to complete last screen installs during non-train-service hours. This work has been ongoing since 2023 and we have not received any noise complaints, as the crews do their best to limit disruption to the neighbourhood.

Surety Development Bond Pilot Program
This is way Inside Baseball, but when a developer starts a new housing project in the City, they are often required to give the City a pile of money for “security”. As they are expected to do some work to the benefit of the City during development (repairing or upgrading sidewalks adjacent to their property, for example), the city wants to guarantee that work gets done, even if the developer runs out of money, so we get the money or a Letter of Credit up front so no matter what happens, the taxpayer is kept whole. Not surprisingly, this increases the amount of money developers have to borrow or secure upfront, because the need to provide it before they turn a shovel, and that may mean years before they start making money on the properties, especially if they are building affordable or rental housing.

A Surety Bond is a different financial instrument that assures the City is kept hold, but does not hold as much up-front cost for the development community, helping things move forward faster. So we are going to try allowing these as an alternate to the Letter of Credit with a few conditions attached.

We then addressed these items that were Removed from Consent for discussion:

2025 Capital and Operating Quarterly Performance Report
This is our First Quarter update on how close we are tracking our budget, both operationally and in our capital program.

In the Capital side, our 5-year Capital budget is $243.6 Million, and we spent or committed about $61M (~25%) of that by the end of Q1 2025. Staff are making a $13.5Million adjustment to the capital plan: $11.6M of which is “carryforward” form last year (money we didn’t get spent on projects budgeted to be paid for last year), $1.1M that will be offset by savings of scope changes on ongoing projects, and $0.8M which will need to be moved forward from future year budgets. Note, this capital budget is inclusive of general capital fund projects (parks, roads, etc.) and Utility capital projects (water, sewer, electrical). This report also includes a long list of capital projects the city is undertaking, with short progress reports on the larger ones. That looks like a 9-page spreadsheet that details the current budget for all of the ~450 capital budget line items, what are on budget or not, what have not been started and what are completed. That’s transparency.

On the operating side, we are projecting to exceed our revenue expectation by about $3 Million, and our operating expenditure is trending a bit below expectation. This means we are on track for a significant surplus, but it is early in the budget year, so let’s not start counting those chickens just yet. We are still short some personnel (which saves us money but keeps us from getting some things done while increasing workplace strain) but also have some collective agreements coming up that will impact our operational costs.

Fourth Street Stairs Project Update and Public Realm Enhancements
The area under the parking ramp at the foot of Fourth Street has been the site of a significant blackberry infestation, and over the last couple of years, a temporary staircase installation to improve access to Front Street. Over the last couple of years (really, since the development of the Front Street Mews), there has been a design developed to improve this city-owned site, including replacing the temporary wood stairs with something more permanent, management of the invasive blackberries, improve drainage, and integration of some public realm improvements to make it a space you might actually want to go spend some time on a sunny day. Several workshops and design discussions went on, and comprehensive consultation with the Downtown BIA. It is hoped this space can become more actively programmed not unlike the pre-COVID “Fridays on Front Holiday Edition” that was a fund evening Christmas market under the shelter of the Parkade. Works is happening right now and will hopefully be done by the Fall (recognizing retaining walls, high slopes and drainage issues may complicate matters and make this a site where timelines may need to be treated as estimates).

Response to Council Motion Referred to the Utility Commission Titled: “Providing Equity in the Delivery of Energy savings Programs for New West Electrical Customers”
This is a response to a motion last year asking the Electrical Utility Commission to better align various incentive programs with those offered by BC Hydro (a motion that failed to recognize this work was already happening at the EUC). The EUC has in turn recommended to Council that an updated MOU with BC Hydro be developed to better clarify the Power Smart / Energy Save New West synergies, and to confirm the partnership approach available for the Solar/Battery incentive program being offered through BC Hydro to New West Electrical Customers.

The good news here is that the Solar/Battery program will be available to interested New West residents, as will the new peak saver and demand response program, once our AMI network is completed.

We then had some Motions from Council:

Encouraging the Province of BC to Urgently Provide Additional Mental Health Care Supports
Submitted by Councillor Fontaine

WHEREAS the Province of British Columbia has expressed a commitment to supporting individuals suffering from acute drug addiction and serious mental illness; and
WHEREAS mental health and addiction services in British Columbia remain chronically underfunded, despite growing public need; and
WHEREAS a lack of timely and appropriate access to mental health and addiction treatment can result in significant harm to individuals, families, and the broader community;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council recognize the urgent need to address the challenges faced by individuals experiencing acute drug addiction and serious mental illness, and continue to formally advocate for the Province of British Columbia to implement comprehensive, evidence based, and adequately funded systems of care that support safety, wellbeing, and long-term recovery;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT Council call on the Province to define and prioritize the implementation of secure care measures  including, where clinically appropriate and legally justified, involuntary treatment — for individuals whose condition poses a significant risk to themselves or others, a spectrum of publicly funded and culturally appropriate care options with clear safeguards to uphold individual rights, medical oversight, and accountability, and that balance confidentiality with providing information to family members;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT Council express concern that ongoing underinvestment by successive provincial governments has contributed directly to the widespread lack of access to critical mental health and addiction services across British Columbia;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT Council urge the Province to take emergency-level action to address the provincial mental health and addiction crisis, including consideration of declaring a public health emergency or enacting an equivalent coordinated response to mobilize resources, improve system integration, and protect public safety;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Mayor, on behalf of Council, write to the Premier of British Columbia and relevant Ministers to communicate Council’s position and recommendations.

Note that the strike-through and italics above represent an amendment put forward by Councillor Nakagawa and supported by the majority of Council.

There was a robust discussion around this motion and amendment. I feel it was mostly redundant to work we are already doing at the City, especially as we have been doing active advocacy to the Province on the issue of the need for more health care funding in the areas of addictions and mental health, including motions supported in just the last few months which cover this same ground, and meeting personally with the Minister of Health. Indeed, we recently unveiled a two-phase advocacy plan in Council regarding health care and housing needs, and the mover of this motion has not always been supportive of this advocacy, so I’m glad to once again see a change of heart.

There was a challenge for me in the original motion about “prioritizing” involuntary care, and Council supported the “spectrum of care” as described in the amendment. In short the current involuntary mental health treatment program in BC already means 20,000 people are apprehended every year under the Mental Health Act. At the same time, we have inadequate resources for the voluntary care systems for those seeking help. I think that is where we need to “prioritize” our resources so people who want help can get it, reducing the chances of them ending up in a situation where they need to be incarcerated under the Mental Health Act. It simply shouldn’t take that long to get care – people shouldn’t need to become a danger to themselves or others to get care, and our priorities should not force that situation, in my opinion.

Again, happy to go along with Council’s wish here, though I note that we have already sent many letters to the Ministers and Premier reflecting this Council’s position on the issue, most recently following the February 24th motion linked to above. Meanwhile, Staff-to-staff collaboration has ramped up, and we are working with Fraser Health and BC housing on the Prevention, Support and Transition Services Plan and Supportive Housing and Wrap-Around Services Plan that this Council approved on February that outlined the short-and long term advocacy and partnership needs Identified by the City.

The advocacy doesn’t stop, nor does the work and collaboration.

Sikh Heritage Month
Submitted by Councillor Minhas

WHEREAS Sikh Heritage Month, celebrated each April, recognizes the long-standing contributions of Sikh Canadians, who have enriched Canada’s social, cultural, and economic life since their arrival in 1906; and
WHEREAS the values central to Sikhism—service, equality, and compassion—continue to inspire community involvement, leadership, and charitable efforts across New Westminster; and
WHEREAS the City of New Westminster is committed to celebrating and supporting the diverse cultural and faith communities that shape its civic identity and strengthen its inclusive, welcoming spirit;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council direct staff to add Sikh Heritage Month in April to the City of New Westminster’s official observances calendar;
AND FURTHER THAT the City of New Westminster acknowledge Sikh Heritage Month with an annual proclamation in line with other official City observances.

Council was quick to support this resolution, for all the right reasons.

Preserving and Enhancing Vibrant Streetscapes with Local Businesses
Submitted by Councillor Henderson
WHEREAS the current economic instability is applying financial pressure on small businesses across our communities; and
WHEREAS local governments have an opportunity to identify zoning, development, and other policies that may support affordability for businesses; and
WHEREAS the City will be updating the Economic Development Plan in 2025; and
WHEREAS the Province has greater jurisdictional power to decrease the economic pressures on small businesses through a variety of policy changes;
BE IT RESOLVED THAT staff explore the impacts of restricting extended health services as a permitted use at ground level through retail zoning updates; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT staff report back on opportunities to remove barriers for property owners interested in subdividing commercial units through zoning bylaws and building regulations; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT staff explore creating a commercial tenant relocation policy for small businesses (in BC, defined as businesses that have fewer than 50 employees) that could include principles like relocation support and/or first right of refusal at a comparable lease rate or with a reasonable increase; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City send a letter to the Minister of Finance and CC the Minister of Municipal Governments and Rural Communities, the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, and the Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation advocating that a Property Assessment Review be expedited; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City send a letter to the Minister of Finance and CC the Minister of Municipal Governments and Rural Communities, the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, and the Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation advocating for WorkBC programs offered to support the development of new businesses be extended to offer continued operational support to small businesses; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that given the economic instability small businesses are facing, that the City send a letter to the Minister of Finance and CC the Minister of Municipal Governments and Rural Communities, the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, and the Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation asking that the Province pilot a program to temporarily regulate commercial rent increases through a rent cap to ensure sustainability over this period of extreme instability and potential recession.

There were a few amendments to this motion as well, with a couple of clauses referred to the Arts, Culture, and Economic Development Advisory Committee, and a clause added asking Council to try to keep taxes for businesses as low as possible, which reflects our current practice (again, this blog is not an official record, and my notes were light here, so go to the minutes or the video to get the detail for yourself!).

Overall, this is a comprehensive list of actions and advocacy to better support a local and small business against some of the challenges they are facing in an uncertain and sometimes predatory commercial property market. There are some things the city can (probably?) do to put our finger on the scale of what types of businesses set up on your favorite commercial street, but other things will require Provincial intervention, and advocacy at UBCM is our next chance to take the case to those who hold the legislative strings. We continue to work with the BIAs. Chamber, and the new Sapperton Business Collective on this, and take our lead on areas of advocacy from the small businesses that you value in the community.

As I said above, the advocacy doesn’t stop, nor does the work and collaboration.