Mathew Bond

While on Council in 2019, I brought forward a motion calling for the District's Community Energy and Emissions Plan to adopt targets of 45% below 2010 levels by 2030 and 100% by 2050. It also called for continued community-wide emissions reporting in line with provincial inventory reporting, or more frequently if necessary.

My Council work focused on the systems that produce most local emissions: land use, buildings and transportation. I brought forward a 2016 motion to prioritize a connected network of protected bike facilities, then worked through successive budgets to shift the District toward investing in safer and more convenient transportation choices. I also supported compact, mixed-income communities near jobs, services and transit, along with district energy and public-facility retrofits.

I studied Systems Engineering, Sustainable Community Development and Next Generation Transportation and Cities at Simon Fraser University and have worked as a Professional Engineer for more than 15 years on major transportation infrastructure. This experience has reinforced how local government decisions about land use, transportation and climate affect one another.

In my own life, I primarily walk, bike and take transit for daily activities, including travelling with my children. These choices work for my family, benefit our health and reduce our environmental footprint. I lived car-free with my children for five years and recently purchased a 34-year-old vehicle so we can explore more of the Province outdoors.

Climate is not a separate issue. It is a lens that must underpin the District's land-use, transportation, infrastructure and financial decisions.

We cannot talk honestly about climate resilience without acknowledging how much has already changed. UNEP now says that exceeding 1.5°C is unavoidable under current pathways and some impacts can no longer be prevented. Our choices still matter because every fraction of a degree and every year spent above 1.5°C will make the consequences worse.

The District is experiencing hotter summers, wildfire smoke, heavier rainfall and increasing risks from flooding, wildfire and slope instability. I would ask staff to use projected future climate conditions when planning and renewing infrastructure, rather than relying on historical averages. We need to focus investment where failure would put people, homes, or natural systems at greatest risk. That includes creek systems, slopes, and the forest interface, along with coastal areas, public buildings and transportation routes.

Resilience also needs to be about people. Heat and smoke do not affect everyone equally. I support a right-to-cool bylaw, improving public buildings to provide cooling and clean air, and working with community organizations to reach people who may need help during an emergency.

We can strengthen protections for natural areas, and ensure new housing is designed for known hazards rather than using climate risk as another reason not to build it.

This work requires investment, but continued delays will cost more. I support working as one community across the North Shore, with the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, neighbouring municipalities, North Shore Emergency Management and other governments to address this existential challenge.