Gery Lemon

Council · View Royal

View Royal 34 yrs

About

A two term councillor, seeking a third term, dedicated to the well being of my community. Introduced a motion declaring a climate emergency early in my first term and have supported all initiatives to keep View Royal clean and green.

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.

✓ 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.

✓ Enact a moratorium on AI data centres to protect our energy and water resources. 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.

✓ Protect and restore ecosystems, which are essential to human survival, health, and economic well-being. Supportive

✓ Prioritize native tree planting in all areas, especially those with low tree cover, higher population densities, and more vulnerable residents. Supportive

Land Use

We envision vibrant, walkable communities that protect nature and improve food security.

✓ Upgrade critical infrastructure for heat, fire, flood, and storm resilience. 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!).

✓ Advocate to improve regional public transit between communities. 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

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

✓ 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?

Keeping View Royal clean and green has been a priority during my two terms.
My motion declaring a climate emergency was unanimously endorsed in 2019 and since then I have supported or initiated all actions related to limiting carbon emissions, reducing the Step Code to 0, maintaining and building a healthy tree canopy.

Questions for View Royal

What would you do to alleviate the traffic congestion throughout View Royal?

I've been an outspoken advocate of putting the island corridor back to work. It requires no blasting, no traffic holdups - it exists and has been neglected by senior governments for two decades. I'm delighted the federal government is investing in a study to shed light on possibilities for the piece of the corridor that travels through View Royal to downtown.
The new bus lanes along Hwy 1 provide an option to not just put people on public transit but to relieve congestion. I would move or support a motion that - as in Metro Vancouver -senior governments with BC Transit allow a highway bus lane to be available for HOV traffic.

Have you actively participated in any of the Town's surveys, workshops, etc on the OCP, the Urban Forest Strategy, Climate Action Plan, Active Transportation Plan, Strategic Plan? How important are these subjects to you?

Yes, yes, and yes.
I have been actively engaged in all of these and am proud that care of our air, waters, and natural environment are embedded in all we do in View Royal.

To what degree would you support the recovery of climate-change-related costs from polluters, to lessen the related burden on View Royal taxpayers?

Absolutely, although it should be noted the bulk of pollutants come from through traffic of which we have little control. View Royal is not an industrial town and our OCP, climate action plan, and other strategies ensure heavy polluters will not settle in View Royal.

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.

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