Shelley Desautels
Council · Salmon Arm
Salmon Arm 12 yrs
About
GIS professional, small business owner, educator and community volunteer. I want to help maintain stability on Council while making thoughtful decisions that consider the needs of the whole community.
Policy commitments
Buildings
We all want healthy, affordable, and comfortable homes. These policies will help to lower energy bills, cut pollution, and improve indoor air quality.
✓
Support electrification of new buildings.
Supportive
✓
Incentivize electric heat pumps and air filtration systems.
Supportive
✓
Incentivize renewable energy, battery storage, and smart-grid technologies in new and existing buildings to improve energy security.
Supportive
✓
Scale up energy retrofits for existing homes, businesses, and public buildings.
Supportive
✓
Implement a 'right to cool' bylaw to protect tenants during extreme heat events.
Supportive
Climate Justice
Our community is already experiencing the harmful impacts of climate change caused by fossil fuel pollution, and taxpayers are on the hook to upgrade and repair critical infrastructure.
✓
Endorse the fossil fuel treaty and commit to phase out fossil fuels.
Supportive
~
Enact a moratorium on AI data centres to protect our energy and water resources.
Neutral
~
Pursue available legal options to recover a fair share of the climate costs facing our community from fossil fuel companies and other big polluters.
Neutral
Ecosystems
The air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat all rely on healthy ecosystems. Nature can also help protect our community from extreme weather by controlling floods, protecting shorelines, and cooling neighbourhoods. Access to nature improves the health and well-being of residents, and supports biodiversity.
✓
Protect and restore ecosystems, which are essential to human survival, health, and economic well-being.
Supportive
✓
Expand and protect tree canopy, parks, and green infrastructure to cool neighbourhoods, clean air, and manage stormwater.
Supportive
✓
Prioritize native tree planting in all areas, especially those with low tree cover, higher population densities, and more vulnerable residents.
Supportive
✓
Create connected urban greenways for people and wildlife.
Supportive
Land Use
We envision vibrant, walkable communities that protect nature and improve food security.
✓
Build affordable homes near jobs, schools, shops, and transit.
Supportive
✓
Upgrade critical infrastructure for heat, fire, flood, and storm resilience.
Supportive
✓
Increase food security by supporting local agriculture and community gardens.
Supportive
Transport
Connecting neighbourhoods through public transit and active transportation networks will cut pollution, improve public health, and make our communities more affordable (and fun!).
✓
Deliver reliable, frequent, affordable local transit.
Supportive
✓
Advocate to improve regional public transit between communities.
Supportive
✓
Build bike and roll networks that are safe for everyone.
Supportive
✓
Expand EV charging infrastructure.
Supportive
Watersheds
Climate change, increasing populations, and overconsumption threaten our water security. Healthy watersheds and forests are critical to support clean drinking water, stormwater management, climate resilience, and biodiversity for future generations.
✓
Implement water conservation plans and educate the public to conserve drinking water.
Supportive
✓
Protect and restore watersheds as vital municipal infrastructure.
Supportive
✓
Develop and implement a water security plan.
Supportive
Zero Waste
Zero waste policies reduce pollution, keep waste out of landfills, build resilient local economies, and safeguard public health by shifting society away from a disposable culture toward a sustainable circular economy.
✓
Support the development of a circular economy to eliminate waste and improve resilience.
Supportive
✓
Implement bylaws to eliminate waste from new buildings, renovation, and demolition projects and to use existing buildings as efficiently as possible.
Supportive
✓ Supportive
~ Neutral
× Opposed
– No response
Climate action
How have you contributed to climate action in your community through advocacy, past work, advisory committees, volunteer work, and/or reducing your personal carbon footprint?
Much of my contribution to climate action has come through my professional work. Through GIS and forestry work, I have supported land and resource planning and wildfire-related mapping. I have also been involved with community forestry, where issues such as wildfire resilience, land stewardship, and the long-term health of local forests are important considerations.
As an instructor, I work with students on GIS tools that can be used to better understand land use, natural hazards, infrastructure, and environmental change.
On a personal level, I drive a plug-in hybrid, have converted my front lawn into drout resistant xeriscaping to conserve our water usage, and I try to make practical choices where available to reduce my own carbon footprint.
I understand the importance of climate resilience and the need to consider issues such as wildfire risk, water security, and infrastructure resilience in local decision making.
As an instructor, I work with students on GIS tools that can be used to better understand land use, natural hazards, infrastructure, and environmental change.
On a personal level, I drive a plug-in hybrid, have converted my front lawn into drout resistant xeriscaping to conserve our water usage, and I try to make practical choices where available to reduce my own carbon footprint.
I understand the importance of climate resilience and the need to consider issues such as wildfire risk, water security, and infrastructure resilience in local decision making.
Questions for Salmon Arm
How will you prioritize implementing actions identified in the Climate Resilience Plan that target community emissions from buildings and transportation to reach a 48% GHG emission reduction by 2030?
When at the council table, I would approach decisions with an environmental lens. I believe it should be considered in all decisions, while also recognizing affordability and feasibility.
For buildings, that means continuing to look at energy efficiency, lower-carbon construction, and opportunities to reduce emissions from both existing and new buildings.
For transportation, it means continuing work on active transportation so that walking and cycling are practical for more residents, while also supporting infrastructure for lower-emission vehicles so those choices are realistic for people in Salmon Arm. I know of one resident who had to give up an electric vehicle because there were not enough practical charging options within the city. That is a good example of why infrastructure has to support the choices we are asking people to make.
Implementation needs to be realistic. Climate goals are important but also need to be considered alongside affordability, infrastructure capacity, and the costs to residents and businesses. I would support using the Climate Resilience Plan as a guide, while regularly reviewing which actions are producing meaningful results and where adjustments may be needed.
For buildings, that means continuing to look at energy efficiency, lower-carbon construction, and opportunities to reduce emissions from both existing and new buildings.
For transportation, it means continuing work on active transportation so that walking and cycling are practical for more residents, while also supporting infrastructure for lower-emission vehicles so those choices are realistic for people in Salmon Arm. I know of one resident who had to give up an electric vehicle because there were not enough practical charging options within the city. That is a good example of why infrastructure has to support the choices we are asking people to make.
Implementation needs to be realistic. Climate goals are important but also need to be considered alongside affordability, infrastructure capacity, and the costs to residents and businesses. I would support using the Climate Resilience Plan as a guide, while regularly reviewing which actions are producing meaningful results and where adjustments may be needed.
During recovery after an emergency like a wildfire, flood or heat event, support and resources from all levels of government are lacking. What will you do to ensure that your constituents are supported during and after such an event?
Emergency services in Salmon Arm are provided through the CSRD’s Shuswap Emergency Program. The City’s role is to work within that regional system and make sure local needs are represented through the people and agencies involved, such as the fire department, RCMP, EHS, public works and other emergency partners.
The City also has a role in making sure its own infrastructure and services are as prepared as possible, and in using what we learn from each emergency to improve future planning.
As a councillor, I would see my role as making sure concerns from Salmon Arm residents are brought forward and, where support is falling short, advocating to the appropriate level of government for improvements.
The City also has a role in making sure its own infrastructure and services are as prepared as possible, and in using what we learn from each emergency to improve future planning.
As a councillor, I would see my role as making sure concerns from Salmon Arm residents are brought forward and, where support is falling short, advocating to the appropriate level of government for improvements.
Compiled & presented by
Vote4Tomorrow is an independent voter guide to evaluate where local candidates stand on climate and environmental policies that will affect our future.
© 2026 Vote4Tomorrow