Victoria
IS
BROKEN
Our lack of affordable & available housing has made living here next to impossible for some of the most valuable members of our community. The people and families we depend on most for a functioning and vibrant city.
Our Community | Our Pod
Victoria is home to such diverse & special people who have so much to contribute.
Change. From the Bottom up.
The people that live here, that work here, that raise their families here – these are the people that are going to implement change.
That change starts with affordable housing, which is based upon housing supply. We need to address our fundamental and basic needs. Everything else is correlated with this, both good and bad – no housing, no community, no workers, no tourism.
We are losing our people, and we are losing people who want to make Victoria their home – people who want to contribute. We are losing the very people who not only allow Victoria to work as a functioning, vibrant city, but the ones who make it thrive.
- MMHI can't be a developer cash grab
- If elected, I will vote Yes to the missing middle housing initiative with assurances that it will equate to more affordable homes
- Short/Long term vacation rentals
- Ensure all new rentals will be the principle residence of the applicant
- Numbered Companies on rental applications
- Real names, Real people only
- Renovictions
- Greater renter security
- Rent Hikes between tenancies
- Vacancy Control
Election Day is in:
GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!
Our Community | Our Pod
Victoria is home to such diverse & special people who have so much to contribute.
Change. From the Bottom up.
The people that live here, that work here, that raise their families here – these are the people that are going to implement change.
That change starts with affordable housing, which is based upon housing supply. We need to address our fundamental and basic needs. Everything else is correlated with this, both good and bad – no housing, no community, no workers, no tourism.
We are losing our people, and we are losing people who want to make Victoria their home – people who want to contribute. We are losing the very people who not only allow Victoria to work as a functioning, vibrant city, but the ones who make it thrive.
- MMHI can't be a developer cash grab
- If elected, I will vote Yes to the missing middle housing initiative with assurances that it will equate to more affordable homes
- Short/Long term vacation rentals
- Ensure all new rentals will be the principle residence of the applicant
- Numbered Companies on rental applications
- Real names, Real people only
- Renovictions
- Increased Renter Security
- Rent Hikes between tenancies
- Vacancy Control
Election Day is in:
GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!
Our Community | Our Pod
Victoria is home to such diverse & special people who have so much to contribute.
Change. From the Bottom up.
The people that live here, that work here, that raise their families here – these are the people that are going to implement change.
That change starts with affordable housing, which is based upon housing supply. We need to address our fundamental and basic needs. Everything else is correlated with this, both good and bad – no housing, no community, no workers, no tourism.
We are losing our people, and we are losing people who want to make Victoria their home – people who want to contribute. We are losing the very people who not only allow Victoria to work as a functioning, vibrant city, but the ones who make it thrive.
- MMHI Can't be a developer cash grab
- If elected, I will vote Yes to the missing middle housing initiative with assurances that it will equate to more affordable homes
- Short/Long term vacation rentals
- Ensure all new rentals will be the principle residence of the applicant
- Numbered Companies on rental applications
- Real names, Real people only
- Renovictions
- Increased Renter Security
- Rent Hikes between tenancies
- Vacancy Control
Election Day is in:
GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!
I’ve lived in Victoria as a renter for over 20 years. The last ten of those have been spent in North Park with a bird’s eye view of the city. I watch the cranes creep closer at the same rate the vacancies drop.
I’m running for council because I want young people to be able to come to Victoria and have the same opportunities that I did when I first arrived.
I also want our established residents who are thinking of starting a family to have the option of creating a future here.
Unfortunately, for most, these dreams are unrealistic, and remain just that – dreams.
THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE!
Missing Middle
If I’m elected to council I will vote YES to passing the Missing Middle Housing Initiative. I do believe we need to explore the MMHI further though in order to ensure it isn’t “more of the same” for Victoria – that being a cash-in for developers. If we’re going to forever change Victoria, it needs to be in order to create more affordable homes. Not just more homes at the same unaffordable price.
The MMHI alone is not enough; we need to protect our local renters further through additional measures as well.
Vacancy Control
Rent in Victoria has risen by over 20% over the past year; currently, rent for a two-bedroom averages around $2500/month, with one-bedrooms going for around $1970.
Many of the workers that our community depends on in order to function make less than $20/hour.
These rental prices are not sustainable, affecting both renters and owners alike. Although vacancy control (limiting the amount a landlord can raise rent between tenancies) was recently voted down at the UBCM, we need to continue to press the issue.
Renovictions
Researchers at the University of Waterloo estimate that between 20% – 30% of Canada’s rental apartment market is owned by institutional landlords – REITs (real estate investment trust – a company that makes investments in income-producing real estate).
REITs are regularly traded on the stock market – annual reports from the four largest real estate investment trusts in Canada showed they disbursed more than $2 billion in profits to their investors between 2015 and 2020.
I will support resolutions that either protect tenants or stop corporations (REITs) from buying housing blocks, renovicting tenants and profiting from huge rent increases.
Vacation Rentals
I propose all new rental developments require tenants to certify that the rental unit they are applying for will be their PRINCIPLE RESIDENCE.
Our community lacks the supply to provide long and short-term vacation rental units — we don’t need empty houses, we need residents in homes.
Villages
In order to support the gentle densification of our residential neighbourhoods, we need to lean heavily into the continued development of walkable villages. These villages would incorporate unique, mixed-use, mid-rise architecture, with a focus on local arts, culture, community & sustainability.
Villages like those found in Fernwood, Cook Street & James Bay help foster community while allowing for groceries, eateries and events within walking distance from home.
Reducing environmental impact & heavy street traffic by keeping necessities close while increasing community engagement will be critical factors in the successful implementation of the MMHI.
Shelter
The CRD as a whole needs to petition the Provincial Government for long-term solutions to our growing humanitarian crisis.
In the interim, we need to shelter our unsheltered through additional, supported modular-style villages like the one found in North Park.
Council should also host regular, round table discussions with our local first responders, nurses and counsellors. It’s imperative that our leaders hear regularly and directly from those on the front line, so that direction & focus is pointed where it’s needed most. Time spent in the wrong direction is lost and as far as issues go, where this one’s concerned, time = lives.
Once we get support and shelter for our unhoused, we can begin the process of rejuvenating Pandora to its former glory. I’d love to see a couple of picnic tables on the grass boulevard one day.
Food Security
Our city should be further incentivizing & promoting no-barrier, food community programs like that of the Shelbourne Community Kitchen.
Programs like this can be supported locally through educational gardens at schools, churches, and other public spaces.
EVs
B.C. has the highest rate of EV adoption in North America. In the first quarter of 2022, 17% of new light-duty passenger vehicles sold in B.C. were EVs.
We need to prepare for the future, now, by supporting more initiatives similar to the CleanBC Go Electric Passenger Vehicle Rebate program, and by building better infrastructure to support our growing EV and E-bike adoption rate.
More vehicle & bike charging stations!
43.5% of Victoria’s registered voters cast a ballot on election day in 2018’s Municipal Election. That’s a failing grade by most metrics.
If elected to council I will push to promote greater civic & political engagement in our younger demographics.
Voting shouldn’t feel like a “boring responsibility”; elections should feel like exciting privileges, and voting should be celebrated.
If elected, I’d push to spearhead a creative campaign with a focus on encouraging civic & political participation from our younger community members.
I picture a future where people browse through a new set of candidates as eagerly as a freshly announced Rifflandia lineup.
A Few Words About
Tom
Sinclair
With hope for the future...
Victoria has been my home for over 20 years, I moved here straight out of high school and never looked back. The art forward culture of this city is largely responsible for fostering my career as a graphic designer/web developer. Without the opportunities from small, Victoria based, risk-taking entrepreneurs like those found at Sitka Surfboards (ecologyst), H2 Marketing & Metropol, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do today.
As a freelance creative, I interact with a wide variety of local businesses every day in order to help them grow. I’ve seen firsthand the impact our lack of affordable housing has had on my clients, whether it’s from unfillable positions or from a fear of taking risks that might build stronger business due to tight monthly budgets.
I have seen Victoria shift from the vibrant, creatively driven, community-based cultural mecca it once was, to the almost unrecognizable and borderline unlivable city it is today.
More than ever, Victoria needs everyday people — young, hard working, creative, & (most importantly) hopeful people, to step forward with their ideas in order to solve the complex issues we currently face.
First and foremost — accessible, affordable housing — that’s what I’m here to fight for.
