Tue Oct. 27th: Election Debrief and Reflection at Wildfire

Hey Everyone,

Between the 30-person mobilization to city hall, member-driven grading of candidates, and the countless people who handed out the final report cards in their buildings and communities, an incredible amount of work went into this year's municipal election report card project. Not only that, it was a chance for a lot of people to step out of their comfort zone and get more active in their buildings, City Hall, and the streets of New West.

With the election now complete, it's now time to reflect. This coming Tuesday October 27th we are hosting a debrief and reflection session at Wildfire Books. We'll reflect as a group on the goals of the project as decided back in March, what was accomplished, what new connections and skills were built in the community, and what we can do with those tools in the coming year.

Part of that will involve an exercise to expand our collective imagination about what a tenants union can be and what local organizing looks like.

If anything about this last year has lit a fire in you to become more active in your community, now is the time to start talking about how to transform that energy into concrete plans and action.

We'll see you there. Pizza will be provided.

Public Meeting - Tuesday October 27th @ 6:30pm

Where: Wildfires Bookshop: 712 B 12th Street, New Westminster

When: Tuesday October 29th from 6:30pm to 8pm

The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

1. Community Agreement
2. Presentation on the Project Goals, Numbers on what we achieved
3. Breakout Groups
   1. Debrief
   2. Reflecting on what we learned from this project
   3. Providing feedback
   4. Reflecting on what we want to do next
4. Social time (and Pizza)

Pizza will be provided at this meeting, please let us know if you're coming by email, and if you have any dietary restrictions/preferences. We will do our best to accommodate!

Renter Issues at City Hall

There is currently a global cyber-security threat that means at the time of this newsletter going out the City of New Westminster has taken down their website as a precaution. There were no major renting issues covered in the last city council meeting before the election.

You can view the results of the election here: https://localelections.ca/election_results/82_2026_results.html

Renter News

• Manitoba puts in increased rent control
• Toronto Landlord illegally positioning hallway cameras to view inside of tenants apartments
• Toronto tenants fighting for equivalent units after demovictions
• High rent one of many issues facing New Brunswick Tenants due to poor provincial protections
• St. Louis Montana Tenants rally for protections, relocation support from city
• Maine Tenants reach 3.6 million dollar settlement after accusing landlord of illegally raising rents

Get Involved

Can't make the meeting? Want to join our volunteer, renter-led action team to fight for affordable, safe and stable housing for our community? We want to meet with you! Send us an email at nwtenantsunion@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 778-358-2680.

We are always on the lookout for Building Contacts who can support the New West Tenants Union's work by keeping us posted of issues at rental buildings around the city.

Learn more about Building Contacts and what your role could be in organizing for stronger tenants' rights in your building here.