Monday City Council Action @ Queensborough Community Centre
In under a month, voters in New Westminster will be electing their next Mayor and City Council.
This Monday September 21st at 5:30pm, our volunteers and your neighbours will be speaking at the City Council meeting in Queensborough Community Centre (920 Ewen Avenue, New West) to inform members of every party that they have to be clear with the public whether they will fighting in the chambers for secure, affordable rental housing in New Westminster or not.
We need numbers to show City Council that they need to care about renters to stay in office. If you want to see that happen you need to come out. You don't have to talk, but you do have to be there. If you are joining us, please reply to this email to RSVP. If getting to Queensborough is tough, let us know, some of our members are driving and might be able to give you a ride.
In the last city election, the difference between winning and losing a spot on council was only 150 votes. The average apartment building has 30 units. We only need 5 buildings to vote together to be able to change an election.
What We are Presenting
At our last public meeting, a delegation of your fellow renters voted on the questions listed below. They have already been sent to all candidates running for office.
In addition to this, a volunteer-led research team has been watching every single council meeting for the last four years to document current councilors' voting records, talking points, and what they actually are doing in office. They have also been investigating the backgrounds and platforms of all these candidates.
The candidate's answers, alongside all this background research, will be graded by our members and compiled into a final renter report card that members from across the city will distribute in their buildings and communities.
At the council meeting on Monday, we will be announcing that reach.
- STOP ABOVE GUIDELINE INCREASES: Will you work with fellow council members and the NWTU to advocate at the Union of BC Municipalities for the province to repeal Additional Rent Increases for Capital Expenditures?
- AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Will you support building more affordable housing and below-market housing in New Westminster, using all the tools available at the municipal level to do so?
- PETS FOR ALL: Will you advocate at the Union of BC Municipalities for the provincial government to pass legislation prohibiting landlords from forbidding pets in their rental properties?
- BETTER BY-LAW STAFFING: Will you support hiring more staff at City Hall to directly address and remedy tenancy issues including but not limited to the illegal subdivision of units and pest control; and provide accessible education to tenants on tenant rights, how to seek remediation of substandard living conditions, and how to access and navigate city resources?
- STRICTER MAINTENANCE ENFORCEMENT: Will support improving the city’s Business Regulations and Licensing Bylaw No.6926 concerning standards of maintenance in rental units based on tenant feedback on common, unaddressed issues?
Can't Make it but Want to Help?
Tell renters you know, and sign up to give out the finished report cards in your building before the election. You can sign up to do that here:
If you are going to join us at the City Council meeting this Monday September 21st at 5:30pm at Queensborough Community Centre, reply to this e-mail to RSVP.
In just recent years, your fellow renters have organized and won incredible victories at city hall. These include a new tenant assistance policy that guarantees any renter displaced by redevelopment a brand new apartment with no rent increase, a new cooling by-law that takes the first steps to make landlords responsible for cooling apartment buildings, and back in 2019, a renoviction ban that basically stopped bad-faith renovation evictions in New Westminster.
Real power means ensuring you win regardless of who is elected.