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:
BC Greens, #2 1601 Bowen Road, Nanaimo
TF 888.473.3686 ext. 17
Website: https://www.micheleney.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ney4Nanaimo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ney4nanaimo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ney4nanaimo/
Born and raised, I am proud to call Nanaimo my home. As the daughter of former mayor and MLA Frank Ney, serving my community is part of my DNA. At 56, I am a recently retired 32-year public school teacher and have actively volunteered on anti-bullying, community/culture and professional development committees. I take immense pride in having helped to shape the leaders of tomorrow for our city and province.
Question 1: What is your top priority specific to Nanaimo which you would work to address if elected to the legislature?
I have been talking to many people and believe that with incentives and collaboration, Nanaimo can be the cultural and economic hub of the Island once again. Having homes mixed with the businesses in the downtown core will return the vibrancy and active society. As we encourage small and medium clean tech businesses to locate in Nanaimo, and incentives for retrofitting existing buildings, the infrastructure will improve and people will once again see Nanaimo as home.
Looking out for people begins with looking out for the environment. I am outspoken about my love and concern for Nanaimo because so much of the joy of living here in this beautiful city is tied to protecting this amazing environmental gift that many in our community take for granted. The world economy is changing, putting pressure on our resources and industries. To stay competitive and attract new business, we need to move towards a clean economy, using renewable energy and supporting local businesses and farms.
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 the crisis?
There are no easy answers when addressing homelessness. We now understand that under the previous BC Liberal governments, wealthy speculators were allowed to treat our housing like a stock market, buying up housing like stocks. We have to return our housing market to the people who need housing for homes, not for investments.
If you spent time at “Discontent City” you will understand that a tent city is not a viable solution in terms of health and safety, especially in winter. The Labieux and Terminal Ave housing projects are a temporary triage for an urgent situation. With building oversight through BC Housing, management at Labieux by Pacifica Housing and Terminal Ave by Island Crisis Care Society, reasonable services and policing are in place to look after the residents and the neighbours until we can do better.
The Green Party would work with the City Council to create more affordable housing units in Nanaimo and throughout the district so people did not need to be homeless. I believe we could modify the “Whistler model” for Nanaimo. To make it all work, there will need to be social supports to help these dislocated people find a more permanent place in society.
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?
What I would like to see, as an advocate for Nanaimo and a BC Green, is to pass this speculation and vacancy tax to the municipalities so that they can distribute the levies, decide what exemptions are needed, specific to the needs of their community, and allow them to collect the revenue from this tax and invest it in housing in the community.
The BC Greens and NDP both campaigned on housing affordability. However, the NDP brought forward the Speculation and vacancy tax framework which was ill conceived. Rather than ignore the issue, The BC Greens drafted new legislation and proposed an offshore ownership ban. But the NDP government wanted to move forward with their tax and declared it a confidence measure, so we worked tirelessly to limit its focus to housing speculation and vacancy. We also introduced amendments to ensure that local government had to be consulted annually, and that this tax would return to the community from which it was collected.
There are better solutions, like the ‘Whistler model’ mentioned earlier, that could provide new housing without negatively impacting existing home values.
