Heather Tremain Answers

Affordable Housing

1. What could Vancity do to create more affordable housing for both low- and middle-income Vancouverites?

2. How can Vancity use financial products or services to support the creation of more rental housing units in Vancouver?

This is a matter that is near and dear to my heart.

Vancity has taken some initiative in affordable housing. My company, ReSource Rethinking Building, partnered with Vancity Enterprise (the development arm) of Vancity, and SFU Community Trust to create 60 affordable housing units on Burnaby Mountain - a mix of rental and ownership. In addition to being affordable (sold at 20% below market) the project , Verdant, is one of the greenest and most energy efficient in the country. The Verdant model is one that Vancity could reproduce in partnerships with others. It is a possible model for workforce housing.

We also worked on a housing project with First United Church - currently one of the HEAT shelters. The Church's desire is to create a complete community - housing people who are homeless and helping them move through a housing continuum. The project aims to provide shelter, supportive housing through to market rental. It is an ongoing project. Vancity was an early partner in support of this project. It may be a model for Vancity involvement, play a role as a partner along with government and others funders.

Within the Vancity Community Foundation, which I co-Chair, we have recently begun to focus on affordable housing. Through the Foundation we are part of a group, with a number of other partners, looking at how, we might collectively create pooled funds that would provide patient capital for affordable (rental or ownership) housing, or non profits seeking to purchase a building. This is in early stages but has great potential.

There is also an advocacy role that Vancity can play - it participates in discussion at the provincial and federal level, and could use its good name in support of policy and funding from senior governments.

Transportation

1. What can Vancity do to provide incentives to its members to use alternatives to private vehicles in the same way it has facilitated alternative transportation programs for its 2,400 staff?

2. How can Vancity use financial products or services to support the widespread adoption of alternatives to private vehicle use in Vancouver?

This is a challenging issue – and yet it is vital from a climate change perspective. Vancity has been shown leadership on this issue –

• From encouraging their staff to use transit, to supporting the UPass for SFU and UBC students. The UPass alone has made a tremendous change in student bus ridership.

• Vancity has also been the lender to, and promoter of the Car Coop.

• While private vehicles are not the solution, sometimes they are necessary Vancity has provided lending products including the lower interest hybrid loans.

One thing Vancity has done as a leader is to work with members to help them achieve their own social or environmental objectives. An example - Vancity currently has a staff person who helps business members become more energy efficient. This type of service might be replicated for transportation – where there could be support and advice given to business members wanting to create transportation programs for their own staff.

One of the benefits of being a co-op is the strength of numbers and membership. An idea that could be explored is the extension of the UPass benefit to all Vancity members – utilizing the collective purchasing powers of 430,000+ members.

Citizen Engagement and Involvement

1. What could Vancity do to include more citizen engagement in its decision-making processes?

This is one of the things I am learning as a candidate – that members do want to have more of a say. There are a number of opportunities to gauge member opinion on matters of interest – through the website as an example. Most Vancity members use the website for banking, but its underutilized as a way to engage members around issues that are of concern to them. It could be used to survey members – and give people with a way to communicate with Vancity, to create a dialogue with members.

The website, and the monthly statements that we all receive are also a way to deliver more information to members. The Board could be more active in reporting out on its activities to keep members more informed. Its time for a higher degree of accountability within the Board.

2. How can local branches engage citizens more directly in Vancouver's 23 neighbourhoods?

I heard a brilliant idea the other day that I think is very applicable to Vancity branches. It has been started in some communities where a foundation provides a small granting fund. The grant goes to projects in the community that improve the neighbourhood. Community people decided who receives the grant. It might go to a local arts project, a school group, or a neighbourhood association.

This could be a great idea for the branches. Each Vancity branch currently makes small grants to their neighbourhoods – this could have a higher impact by encouraging donations from local Vancity members to match the branch grant, and have the decisions made by local community members.

This would be a way to connect members to initiatives in their own community and inspire more members to be involved in their local neighborhood.

Other

1. What else would you like to tell Think City supporters about your candidacy?

I am a Vancity members because it lives it values, and its vision of creating thriving communities. Those values are my values. I believe Vancity plays a key leadership role, as a business working to drive social change – which was very much what we did with our business - ReSource. As a board member I see the opportunity, working with my colleagues, to take Vancity’s leadership to a new level.

I am running with the Action Team. The Action Team is a progressive coalition that has provided the Vancity Board with 25 years of exceptional leadership for social change, in our community and for the environment.

A bit about me -

I am active in the community - currently Co-Chair of Vancity’s Community Foundation, and past President of Tradeworks Training Society, a not-for-profit that provides construction trades training and job placement services to youth in the downtown eastside.

I have dedicated my career to advancing sustainability issues within the built environment. My current consulting work is focused on urban sustainability strategies related to transportation, climate change and planning issues.

I was recently awarded a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard University, which recognizes leaders in design and the built environment. My research explored effective climate change policy at the municipal and regional levels.

In 2001, I cofounded reSource Rethinking Building, a Vancouver-based green building consulting and development company. The mission of reSource was to ‘transform the way buildings are built’. Delivering on its mission, reSource was recognized in the greater Vancouver area as a leader in the building sector having affected well over one billion dollars worth of construction and over 30,000 homes in British Columbia.

For more information please see the action website, or check out our facebook page.

And most importantly – please VOTE!