I’m a City Councillor, and a Director on the Boards of the Capital Regional District, the Capital Region Housing Corporation, and the Capital Regional Hospital District. I’m standing for re-election. 

 

I practiced law in Ontario and BC as an environmental offences prosecutor, and as counsel advising on law reform. I have Masters degrees in law and in economics. I’ve worked for governments, non-profits, and the private sector, and I’m a small business owner.

 

I’ve served on the Boards of Directors of several charities and non-profits, and a couple of businesses. I was a Director, Treasurer and Vice President of the Fairfield Gonzales Community Association, was on its Community Association Land Use Committee (CALUC) and served as Chair of the Neighbourhood Improvement Committee.

 

I’ve been fortunate to work and volunteer with good people on improving governance systems, analyzing government budgets, improving climate action, serving Indigenous communities, creating good green jobs, promoting fair wages and just transitions, and building safer, healthier and more liveable communities. Some examples:

 

. Strategic planning, policy and governance advice for charities and other clients in BC and Alberta.

. Co-founder of a firm that supports Indigenous communities in addressing industrial development in their Territories (land use, business planning, Traditional Knowledge studies, impact and benefit agreements, etc).

. Author and co-author of a number of publications, e.g. on energy efficiency building retrofits, achieving climate goals while creating green jobs, and adjusting municipal budgets to improve sustainability.

. Prepared calculations and wrote reports, for the Greater Victoria Living Wage campaign (the hourly wage required for two adults to support a family of four).

 

I have lived in four neighbourhoods in the City of Victoria – as a renter and as an owner – and my partner and I are raising our kids here. Victoria is changing and growing, and we need to make sure it remains a great place to live, work and raise a family.

I have adult kids in their late teens and early twenties. I will continue to advocate for them and advance policies that protect their future.

 

1. More housing, including affordable housing. This is a top issue according to young people. Most young people are shut out of the housing purchase market and facing extremely high rents. This is due to cities having restricted construction of apartments and other housing suitable for students and young people. I have led and voted for policy reforms to significantly increase our housing stock, including affordable housing, at the City and at the Capital Regional Housing Corporation. I have voted for 8,000 new homes this term. I will continue to push this forward. More: https://davethompsonvictoria.ca/tag/housing/ 

 

2. Climate change. Young people are rightly concerned about this existential issue for their futures. I have led and voted for initiatives to reduce GHG emissions that cause climate change, e.g. measures to improve rapid transit flow, transit coordination across city boundaries, clean electricity rather than polluting fossil fuels for heating buildings, and much more. I also supported the climate adaptation work our city is undertaking through its OCP update, including tree canopy targets, blue green networks, linear parkways, perimeter blocks with green space and much more. This has been a major part of my career for decades. I will continue to push this forward. More: https://davethompsonvictoria.ca/tag/climate/ 

 

3. Student affordability. I brought a successful motion to city council and the association of Vancouver Island coastal communities calling on the provincial government to undertake the student affordability reforms proposal: https://davethompsonvictoria.ca/affordability-and-safety-for-students/