It’s one party with just one councillor at the moment, but OneCity hopes for a lot more than incumbent Christine Boyle at city hall after Vancouver’s municipal election on Oct. 15.
And a lot more housing.
“We’d like to see gradual increase in density across the city. Not only on the amount of housing, the types of housing,” said Ian Cromwell.
He’s one of four candidates for council for OneCity, along with Boyle, Iona Bonamis and Matthew Norris. Their school board candidates are Jennifer Reddy, Kyla Epstein, Krista Sigurdson, Gavin Somers and Rory Brown, and their park board candidates are Tiyaltelut Kristen Rivers, Serena Jackson and Caitlin Stockwell.
Of the 10 political parties, OneCity is the only one with a publicly contested election for all of their nominations — something Cromwell says is a big reason they’re different from the other parties on the centre-left of the political spectrum with similar policies on housing, climate and social issues.
OneCity council candidate Ian Cromwell says the fact that housing prices are continuing to go up in Vancouver is a reflection of the city not pursuing a pro-supply policy aggressively enough. (Joel Law/CBC News)
“Our approach is the way that democracy should work in Vancouver, period,” he said.
“When we truly work in a democratic way, in an open and transparent way, we get the best of what the city has to offer.”
‘Six floors and corner stores’
But what does that mean in terms of concrete policy?
So far, OneCity has only released its housing platform (which you can find here). It’s a 16-point plan, focused on building more supply of housing, protecting renters and better connecting services to communities.
It’s the subject OneCity arguably talks about most, and Cromwell says their philosophy is centred around the concept “six floors and corner stores.”
In short, it’s a proposal for more density and services across the city, allowing rental buildings of up to six storeys on all streets — including in neighbourhoods dominated by single family homes, like Shaughnessy.
“We have a couple of overlapping problems with the housing supply in Vancouver. The first is that there’s not enough of it, and the second is that it’s all in the wrong place,” said Cromwell.
“We are putting a lot of density in areas that are already dense and displacing existing renters while not putting necessary housing into the areas of the city that can most afford to absorb new neighbours.”
OneCity’s proposal is to allow six-storey rental buildings across the entire city, including neighbourhoods that are currently almost exclusively filled with single-family homes, such as Shaughnessy. A rendering by a party supporter of what could happen as a result is pictured here. (Submitted by Bryn Davidson)
Is the policy working?
Some of the proposals are straightforward, like simplifying the process for co-op and non-profit housing to be built, rezoning land so grocery stores and small-scale retail shops can exist in all neighbourhoods, supporting more local festivities and block parties, or developing certain school board properties into non-profit housing.
Others are outside city control, like demanding vacancy control, or calling on the province to work more closely with the city to ensure schools are built in areas where the number of young families is quickly growing.
But overall, it’s a platform focused on accelerating current city priorities — and Cromwell argues the fact that home prices haven’t gone down under those priorities isn’t a reason to change course.
“Though there has been a focus on an increase in supply, there has not necessarily been the votes on council,” he said.
“So we can underperform and then complain … but that doesn’t mean that the solution is wrong. It means that we aren’t implementing it properly.”
And Cromwell says that if they win enough seats to hold the balance of power on council, they won’t back down from their promises.
“We see a lot of other parties who are very much in favour of everything that is popular until it comes time to vote for it … and then all of a sudden they find a problem with it,” he said.
“What OneCity is proposing is bringing a set of values and tangibly and clearly spelling out what the benefit is going to be to residents in these neighborhoods, and a commitment to actually have our voting record back up what we promised.”
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
