Councillors Paul Minhas and Daniel Fontaine submit motions for debate at the January 9th 2023 council meeting
New West Progressives Councillors Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas are bringing forward four notices of motion to city council that are part of a “New West Christmas wish list” aimed at making 2023 better for local residents.
“I think New Westminster residents would be happy to see every one of these four motions passed and under their Christmas tree this year,” explained Fontaine. “Councillor Minhas and I are committed to using the next four years to make life in New West better for our residents and local businesses, and these four motions that we’re putting in front of council now are part of a group of changes we want to see over the coming months and years.”
Minhas said too often, city council treats residents and local New Westminister businesses “like ATMs” for pet projects that do little to make life in the city better.
“Going forward, our motions at council will be based on two principles: does it make life better for our residents and businesses, and does it help make New Westminster more affordable? The four motions we’re bringing forward represent issues people in our city are talking about, and when the motion is before council we are encouraging people to come out and speak to the issue so council can hear from the community.”
The “Christmas wish list” motions include:
-Reducing the cost and time related to development of new housing by having city hall pre-approve up to 15 standardized housing designs, for implementation by December 31, 2023.
–Delaying the demolition of the Centennial Community Centre until equivalent recreational capacity has been found or built, ensuring New West’s infrastructure deficit doesn’t grow even larger.
– Identifying and quantifying programs and costs from the provincial and federal governments that have been downloaded onto the City of New Westminster and its residents, and prioritizing calls from the city to Victoria and Ottawa for new replacement funding.
– Supporting calls for a “snow summit” that reviews the causes and impact of the shutdown of Metro Vancouver on Tuesday, November 29, making preventative recommendations going forward.
“We’re hoping that our colleagues on council will see the tremendous value of these four motions, and join us in putting our city and its residents ahead of partisan politics,” added Fontaine. “Councillor Minhas and I believe that if council works together over the coming months and years we can get a lot done, particularly when we can look our residents in the eye and let them know we’re dealing with issues they believe are important. These four motions are a definitely a Christmas wish list that will pay dividends in the coming year.”