In anticipation of the upcoming Provincial Election, we asked the three candidates running for MLA in our riding of West Vancouver - Sea to Sky questions about how they would address issues here on Bowen Island. These are the answers from Jeremy Valeriote, who is running for the Green Party.
What is your professional/political background?
I trained as a geological engineer at UBC and have worked for over 20 years in environmental consulting (in the mining, environmental management and impact assessment sectors), as well as 10 years in local government. I was a Councillor for the Town of Gibsons 2014-2018, completed a Masters in Leadership Studies at Royal Roads 2018-2020, ran for the BC Greens in 2020 and then worked in the Squamish Mayor’s office 2021-2023. For the past year, I have dedicated myself to this MLA candidacy after coming so close to being elected last time.
What motivated you to run for office?
To work towards a more secure future for my now 10-year old twin daughters, who were 9 months old when I first ran, and who are now 10. I also believe we need more engineers and scientists in politics, to make evidence-based, data-informed decisions and make sure we have measurable outcomes for the public money we spend on taxpayers’ behalf.
This election will mark the first time since 1991 where the riding won’t have a BC Liberal/ BC United MLA. Why should voters choose you and your party for the new road forward?
We have been represented by a right-of-centre, ‘free enterprise’ party for as long as anyone can remember; it’s time to try something different and ask for a new kind of representation, one more focused on the people of the riding than party politics. Unfortunately for the NDP candidate who I deeply respect, that party has never come close to representing this riding, finishing in last place in the last two elections, and most of the last six. We represent a bold new vision for the future of this province, one that looks to the horizon and solves problems before they become crises; and one that focuses on social, environmental and economic wellbeing rather than just money circulating in the economy.
What do you see as the top priorities for Bowen in the upcoming term?
Infrastructure challenges (water, sewer, roads, transit); Affordable non-market housing, including purpose-built rental, co-ops, and housing non-profits; Ferry service; Protection of public land; Climate change and wildfire risk mitigation.
What steps will you take to address the current state of the Bowen ferry route?
Working directly and in partnership with BC Ferries and the Province to improve ferry service. Specifically, exploring solutions to provide better marshalling at the Snug Cove Terminal, solving challenges to declining on-time performance, exploring resident assured loading at Horseshoe Bay for a portion of the Queen of Capilano’s capacity, and helping to secure the Greenline ferry direct to downtown Vancouver. I have served on the Southern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee in the past and understand how to ‘unstick’ some of these issues at the BC Ferries, provincial and local level.
We need a new vision for Bowen Islanders including more passenger ferries, more focus on this essential service for commuters and local residents, and open lines of communication between BC Ferries and the community it serves.
What efforts will you make to bring more frequent and wide-ranging public transit service to the island?
I will work to facilitate Bowen Council and staff in their work with TransLink and the Province to secure grant funding to design and implement a more flexible, reliable and convenient on-demand transportation network.
How would you tackle the lack of affordable housing and rental housing on Bowen?
I will support and assist with on-Island efforts already underway to create non-market rental and co-op housing for local families, employees and retirees. Our BC Green platform includes vacancy control, a cap on rent increases between tenancies by tying rent control to the unit rather than the tenant. This would also require annual rent increases to allow property owners to cover their costs in the case of increasing utility or interest rates, but would eliminate the 50-100% increases in rent that we have seen between tenancies, and remove the fear of moving to more suitable housing as life circumstances change for people and families.
What are your plans to address climate change, especially for island and coastal communities?
In our election platform, a vision for the future of our province, the BC Greens commit to stop permitting new fracking wells, set a date to phase out gas production in the province, prohibit new LNG projects, and to stop permitting new pipelines. This includes an immediate directive to the BC Environmental Assessment Office to allow the 2014 environmental certificate for the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline to expire. As with Woodfibre LNG, we have learned much about the climate and human health impacts of methane gas export plants since permitting in 2015. Woodfibre is a project that should have its permits cancelled as we chart a course to a low-carbon energy future.
Also, BC Greens are now the only provincial party proposing to stay the course with a transparent, strategic, predictable price on carbon pollution. This price on emissions is accepted by experts and most developed economies as the most effective, least invasive tool we have to transition our economy, and it is proven to work as intended, and returns a rebate to a large majority of families. We would remove the annual emissions exemptions for industry, established under the output-based pricing system. Every tonne of carbon pollution emitted will be subject to the same fee regime. Carbon pricing sends a signal to the economy that it has to transition - that is government’s role in fighting the climate crisis.
What will your approach to tourism on Bowen be, and how can communities such as ours strike a balance between the tourism economy and issues that arise from it (ferry capacity, increased strain on island services such as emergency, infrastructure, etc.) while also continuing to maintain a rural character?
We need to focus on destination management, such as the ‘Don’t Love it to Death’ campaign. Tourism should be an educational experience, where people are exposed to natural environments they then want to protect and cherish. To pay for these initiatives, there needs to be a revenue stream attached to tourism, so that visitors pay a fair share for their impact. This could be structured similarly to the MRDT (Municipal & Regional District Tax - hotel tax but for day visitors) or the Resort Municipality Initiative that currently benefits Whistler, for example.
Bowen is facing significant infrastructure costs in the coming years including water, sewage and roads. How will your party assist with supporting these projects?
Local governments need stable infrastructure funding, not one-time paternalistic grants from the province and federal government when they are feeling flush, generous or benevolent (or want your vote!). Our proposal to restore carbon pricing on big polluters and dedicate $650 million of that revenue to local infrastructure fills a big gap left by the NDP’s recent housing legislation.
This government has imposed a one-size fits all, province-wide housing solution that runs roughshod over local knowledge and local context. Up-zoning all single family lots to potential four-plexes is an unfortunate consequence of trying to solve a 30-year problem in the year before an election, to get enough votes to stay in power. A corresponding potential quadrupling of population without any consideration of the increasing infrastructure deficit and ways for smaller communities to fund this gap is irresponsible and will create unintended problems. We need BC Green representation in Victoria to hold the government, and the opposition, accountable for these fast, far-reaching changes.
How will you stay engaged with Bowen if elected?
I will commit to regular stakeholder meetings and annual town hall meetings to hear from residents. I will maintain a close connection with your elected Council and other community leaders, to capture innovative ideas, chronic concerns and suggestions for continuous improvement. I will work as hard as I ever have to represent you, and for as long as I continue to earn your trust. I hope to earn your vote and your ongoing support in keeping Bowen one of the best places to live on this Earth!
