Michael Robert Caditz

Park Board · Vancouver

Yaletown 15 yrs

About

B.A. Philosophy with Honours, VIU. M.Sc. Sustainable Energy, New York Institute of Technology. Founded Stanley Park Preservation Society, sued City of Vancouver and saved thousands of trees from logging. Current Vancouver Park Board candidate.

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

✓ 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.

✓ Pursue available legal options to recover a fair share of the climate costs facing our community from fossil fuel companies and other big polluters. Supportive

✓ Collaborate with Indigenous peoples as partners in the stewardship of the land, air, and water, and work towards reconciliation. Supportive

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.

✓ 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

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?

Director of Car Free Stanley Park Society. Organized personal life such that I am cycle rather than car-centric.

Questions for Vancouver

What is your position on gas hookups for new buildings?

Single master gas meter for entire residential building encourages excessive natural gas use for inappropriate purposes, such as heating a suite with a gas fireplace. In British Columbia, hydro power has a lower carbon footprint and should be required rather than natural gas in new construction.

Will you vote to restore full funding for the Sustainability Office? In your view, what is the role of the Sustainability Office?

This is beyond the jurisdiction of the Vancouver Park Board.

What is your view on a moratorium on AI data centres, given the natural resources they require?

No land in Park Board jurisdictions will be sold or leased for a data centre.

Given the “controversy” of the Villages Plan, how do you envision accommodating the population growth of the City while dealing with the impacts of climate change?

Individual ecological footprints must be reduced to accommodate more people sustainably. Park Board will do its part by throttling down use of private vehicles in favour of affordable public transit, and encouraging active transportation via protected and well-maintained cycling lanes and walking paths. We will declare weekly car-free days in Stanley Park as a possible step towards a full-time car free park.

What is your plan to create climate safeguards for all of Vancouver’s inhabitants, including the unhoused population?

Access to public parks and community centres must be at low cost. Public resources must not be monetized, privatized, or otherwise regarded as profit centres. Forests must remain resilient and ecologically intact, which means unjustified tree removals, which damage forest ecosystems, must stop.

Compiled & presented by

Authorized by Doctors for Planetary Health - West Coast, registered sponsor under LECFA, doctors4planetaryhealth@gmail.com

Vote4Tomorrow is an independent voter guide to evaluate where local candidates stand on climate and environmental policies that will affect our future.

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