GROWTH

The population of B.C. and the Lower Mainland is growing rapidly. Over the next decade, Coquitlam will see unprecedented growth in Burke Mountain, Burquitlam, Austin Heights, Fraser Mills and Maillardville. This growth must be managed to ensure we protect the quality of life of current residents by preserving the character of their neighbourhoods and making sure they don’t see a drop in service levels. 

I want developers to create housing that includes more family-sized units, rental accommodations, housing for seniors—at prices our residents can afford.

And I want developers and other levels of government to keep pace with this growth by ensuring there are new schools and childcare spaces close by.

I will continue to advocate for more green spaces in our changing neighbourhoods by creating more pathways and parks, especially around SkyTrain stations, allowing our community to be more walkable.

RECREATION

During my first 7 years on Council, as chairperson of Coquitlam's sports advisory committee, I was the driving force behind the construction of the Poirier Forum.

Most recently, I worked with POCOMO Pickleball Club to create eight dedicated courts in Coquitlam but more are needed to serve this rapidly growing sport. We are one of the fastest-growing cities in B.C., and adding new parks is vital, especially in south Coquitlam where we lack parks and green space. I want to see Blue Mountain Park revitalized, Scout Hall rebuilt and Coquitlam Crunch expanded to Mundy Park. Our park blitz program—which I successfully lobbied for—has refurbished 18 parks to date; I want council to expand that number to include more parks and to begin renewing our grass sports-fields.

Recreation centres are crucial to allow our residents to stay active, healthy and engaged. We need another community centre with a pool in the new Fraser Mills development. We also need more tennis courts. Residents of Coquitlam enjoy the outdoors and we need more green space and walking trails. I'd like to see the city acquire land along the Coquitlam River to create a trail to Crystal Falls.

ENVIRONMENT

I drive an electric car, and more Coquitlam residents who want to reduce their carbon footprint are also buying electric vehicles (EV). I want all new multi-family housing developments to have parking spots that are pre-wired for EV chargers and provide alternative ways for residents living in existing buildings to access chargers.

As Vice Chair of Metro Vancouver’s Zero Waste Committee and Chair of the Nation Zero Waste Council, I’m actively working to achieve a zero waste society. Currently, I’m focused on reducing plastics and looking for ways to keep our oceans free of this material for future generations.

As neighbourhoods transition, I have been advocating to move these older homes to new locations to provide much needed housing and to keep them out of our landfills.

We need to preserve green space in our city, and make it more walk-able. I will continue to be a strong advocate for green streets and parkland expansion.

COMMUNITY SAFETY

Coquitlam has a low crime rate but residents need to feel safe especially as incidents of street disorder increase across our nation. As our population grows, I will ensure we continue to hire more officers and increase their visibility to keep our neighbourhoods free of crime.

Police costs are rising and officers are asked to do more than ever before so we need to find creative and more cost effective ways to improve safety in every neighbourhood. Police need more support dealing with mental health calls, and dealing with increased gang violence.

Our fire department is responding to more calls for medical assistance due to our aging population and the current opioid crisis. I am pleased our fire department established a specially equipped, rapid medical response unit to respond to calls faster.

Calls for mental health assistance are making up an increasingly large portion of our first responder's calls. I have been advocating to change the 9-1-1 system to allow for a direct connection to mental health services in hopes that patients will receive a faster, more appropriate response.

ARTS AND CULTURE

Thousands of Coquitlam residents—of all ages—paint, sing, act and dance in such venues as the Evergreen Cultural Centre and Place des Arts.

I want to expand these facilities with more rehearsal halls, provide more dance space, plan for a new heritage centre to include the city’s archives and Riverview artifacts collection, expand programs for seniors and multicultural groups, and increase library funding for new eBooks.

TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION

Before I was elected to city council, I served on the city’s traffic calming committee.

I understand how important it is to keep our neighbourhoods free from increasing commuter traffic.  I want the RCMP to set up a new speed enforcement team—geared to patrol residential roads—to keep our neighbourhood streets quiet and safe.

RIVERVIEW GROUNDS

As chairperson of Coquitlam's Riverview lands advisory committee, I believe we have a unique opportunity to protect these beautiful - and historic grounds.

I want to build a renowned mental health facility attracting researchers and developers from around the world, while also saving the arboretum.

TOWN CENTRE PARK

Light the Lake, ScotFest, Canada Day, and Summer Night Concerts.
These are among the biggest events in what was voted as “the best public space in Canada” by the Canadian Institute of Planners, in 2017.

With the park becoming more popular with locals and visitors, we need more amenities there. I want to build more washrooms around the park, improved lighting and trails around the lake, and provide more food selections like at other destination parks in the region.