Port Coquitlam election tackles housing affordability

How can young people afford to live in Port Coquitlam?

Should the city purchase and rent apartments, build co-ops, encourage rent-to-own developments and permit more density?

Those were among the solutions to PoCo's housing crisis as affordability topped the list of issues at an all candidates meeting last night (Oct. 3).

The event sponsored by the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce — and available for viewing online — saw 17 candidates share their views of what would make the city better.

Justin Smith, the youngest candidate on the hustings, said he wants to be able to live and represent the community in Port Coquitlam.

But "I could not find a place in my budget," said Smith, who said he has a degree and a full-time job.

"We may not be able to make the choice to live in the community; that decision is being made for us," he added.

Another candidate, Jami Watson, who lives in Langley because of affordability, but works and is involved in PoCo schools and sports, said the city can do more.

"PoCo is where I call home," she said.

Smith, meanwhile, suggested the city could get more involved in promoting different forms of housing, such as co-op housing, while incumbent Coun. Glenn Pollock said the city has a good track record of bringing in 500 affordable housing units to the city.

Among those are 140 units at Prairie Avenue and Flint, The Alex, which Pollock said should be ready for occupancy "any day."

"Homelessness and housing are related. Poverty, criminalizing poverty are all related and community safety. They are all related to affordability," Pollock said.

Coun. Nancy McCurrach suggested engaging people who are homeless in finding solutions and increasing the requirement for affordable housing in new developments.

But most seemed to agree that affordability is such a concern that young people aren't able to find a place to live in the city while unhoused people can't even find shelter.

Coun. Dean Washington said it's not the city's job to be a landlord. "I’m not in favour of that. That’s not the business we're in," Washington said.

Instead, Port Coquitlam council should advocate for more funding for housing from the federal and provincial governments.

"We need to keep putting the heat on provincial and federal government to help us with that," Washington said.

Encouraging business to locate to Port Coquitlam was another idea touted by candidates to improve the economy and generate more taxes.

Noted candidate Cindy Carkner: "We have to continue talking, looking for business that want to come into our community."

Lack of transparency

Lack of government openness was another issue raised at the all-candidates' meeting, via questions sent in via online platform Slido.

The topic resonated with several candidates running for office.

Erik Minty said the lack of transparency with PoCo council decisions leads to a lack of trust. He cited the Gates Park soccer hub, which the city is planning to build with the help of a $6.7-million provincial grant.

Minty said it was never raised in the community as an idea before it was announced and finding information about the plans have been difficult.

"Too many decisions are being made behind closed doors without public engagement," Minty said.

Candidate Mithila Karnik said city hall should be more accessible, especially to people whose first language isn't English.

She said a more diverse council, which she would represent, would do a better job of engaging residents.

Candidates Derek Jeffrey and Jenny Zhou also expressed concerns about government vaccine mandates, which they said erode public trust in democratic institutions.

Coun. Steve Darling said it was important to get youth engaged in civic politics, noting he planned to visit Riverside Secondary this week.

Candidates suggested making the city's website more user friendly and using social media, such as TikTok, to engage younger people.

Holding roving council meetings, including near where developments are planned, and townhall meetings to gather and provide information were also promoted.

Candidate Dawn Becker said she regularly attends council meetings and has not seen instances where councillors are swayed by developers' interests.

"Integrity does exist," she said, "People do recuse."

However, Darling got the most laughs when he admitted he lost his daughter's TikTok videos during a phone upgrade.

"Thankfully, she’s too young to vote."

Still, he said youth have a lot of creative ideas that are worth hearing.

Meanwhile, Coun. Darrell Penner acknowledged the challenge of low-voter turnout.

On the climate change file, candidates expressed a number of ways to reduce greenhouse gases.

Zhou pointed out that developing countries, such as China, produce the most GHGs, and are also major manufacturing hubs.

PoCo residents could do more, she said, by being more conscious of what they buy and where it comes from.

Burke Mountain impacts

How to reduce the impact of Coquitlam development on Port Coquitlam was another issue that was raised.

Coun. Pollock said the city is working more than it ever has with the City of Coquitlam, but too often PoCo is considered the little brother next door.

"[They] pat us on the head and ignore our concerns to a large degree."

Candidate Darin Nielsen said he hoped that the Fremont Connector would remove traffic from PoCo neighbourhood streets while Sarah Harbord said she would work on a plan to "make things smoother."

Here are the candidates running in Port Coquitlam: