At last night’s all‑candidates meeting The current mayor and councillors brought new solutions. Why weren’t they used while they were in office?

Last night, I stood beside the current mayor and councillors at an all-candidates meeting. We were asked many of the same questions, about taxes, traffic, infrastructure and affordability.

What caught my attention was hearing new solutions from people who have already been making these decisions for years.

So I believe residents have every right to ask: if these solutions are available today, what was done about these problems while the current council already had the authority to act?

The public record gives us important numbers to consider.

Look at the record

• 2023: municipal property taxes increased 5.25%.
• 2024: the increase was 7%.
• 2025: the District approved a 5.5% property-tax increase.
• 2026: another 3.53% increase was approved, including 1.5% specifically to address the infrastructure deficit.
• The North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant was originally estimated at $700 million in 2013. The current approved program estimate is $3.86 billion, with completion expected in 2030.
• Metro Vancouver decided that the North Shore Sewerage Area will carry 37% of the roughly $2.8-billion increase since 2021, with the rest of the region carrying 63%.

These problems did not appear yesterday.

Residents should hear everyone’s proposed solutions, including mine, but they should also examine what has already happened, what decisions were made, and what results those decisions produced.

Before October 17, look at the record. Ask questions. Compare the plans.

The numbers matter. The decisions matter. Accountability matters.