OUR VIEW: Vancity – Making Dreams Reality

With over 136,000 members living in Vancouver, $14.5 billion in assets and a presence in most of its 23 neighbourhoods, Vancity is a powerful force for shaping the city’s democratic, economic, social and environmental future.

And many Think City supporters can and should have a say in what Canada’s largest English-language credit union will do in coming years.

According to Vancity’s statement of values and commitments, the credit union has a goal of using its resources and expertise to effect positive change in Vancouver. In particular, it says it wants to leverage its skills and expertise as a financial institution to create solutions to social, environmental and economic issues.

Think City couldn’t agree more with the 64-year-old credit union’s desire for progressive change. That’s why we are launching our first Dream 15 community advocacy project. We want to engage all twelve Vancity board candidates in a dialogue about policy priorities, and see how these stack up against the policy priorities of Think City's supporters.

During the Dream Vancouver process, Think City supporters identified their top three civic public policy areas – affordable housing, transportation, and citizen involvement and engagement. We want to know what the Vancity board candidates believe the credit union should do to address these significant challenges facing Vancouver.

In terms of housing, Vancouver is the most expensive city in Canada when it comes to housing. Rents increased nearly 10 times faster than inflation in 2009, while the average first-time home buyer can only afford a $260,000 mortgage in a city where the typical house on the east side now costs $730,000. Can Vancity play a more active role in the creation of affordable housing?

Then there's transportation. Although transit ridership throughout Metro Vancouver rose by 38 per cent between 1998 and 2007, the number of trips by private vehicle also continued to grow across the region. In Vancouver, private vehicles account for half of all trips made.

Last October, municipal leaders including Mayor Robertson adopted a TransLink budget that capped road and transit operations at current levels, putting much-needed expansion of the transportation system on hold and undermining efforts to get people out of private vehicles over the next several years. Vancity's efforts to get its employees using public transit and its support of cycling are well-known, but can it do more?

Lastly, how can Vancity foster greater citizen involvement in civic life? The Vancouver Foundation’s 2008 Vital Signs citizen panel recommended that governments, businesses, non-profit agencies and other organizations pay more attention to public engagement programs, education and participation.

Think City will survey candidates on the three issue areas and post their responses on our web site starting Feb. 23 here. The 2010 Vancity board elections will take place from Feb. 23 to March 27 by mail and at branch locations.

After we complete this first test of the Dream 15 advocacy project, we hope to refine this project further so that we can weave in Dream 15 policy solutions into the long-term goals of other relevant member-run organizations. If you have a suggestion regarding other similar initiatives, please contact Think City here.