VANCOUVER, BC; October 4, 2022 – Today, Mayor Kennedy Stewart and his Forward Together team unveiled their full platform, Moving Vancouver Forward Together. The platform will substantially increase the supply of affordable housing, expand the strongest renter protections in Canada, double the number of childcare spaces, make the city safer and healthier, and tackle climate change.

"In this tight election, voters have a clear choice – do we want a Vancouver where only some people get ahead, or a city that is built for all of us?" said Forward Together mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart. “Forward Together is the only party that has committed to significantly increasing affordable and rental housing, building 6,000 new childcare spaces, and extending the strongest renter protections in Canada right across the city.”

The last mayoral race was decided by fewer than a thousand votes. A Research Co. poll released Monday indicates the two front runners, Kennedy Stewart and Ken Sim, are in a statistical tie.

“Last election, Ken Sim’s only answer to the housing crisis was basement suites,” continued Stewart. “He opposes affordable housing projects. He opposes overdose prevention sites. He opposes protections for renters. He and his new ABC party are making a lot of promises, but his NPA record speaks loud and clear.”

To make housing more affordable, Forward Together’s platform commits to:

• Approving and enabling 220,000 new homes over ten years (of which 140,000 will be rental, below-market rental, social housing and co-ops).
• Expanding pre-zoning and modernizing public hearings and permitting to make it quicker and cheaper to build new homes – particularly rental and social housing.
• Expanding the strongest renter protections in Canada to cover all of Vancouver. These protections mean that if a tenant’s building is redeveloped, their moving costs will be covered and their rent will remain the same or even go down.

For working families with children, Forward Together has pledged to:

• Increase childcare access by building 6,000 new spaces.
• Work with the Province to license more childcare providers – especially home-based options that are more accessible to families in all neighbourhoods.

To make Vancouver healthier and safer, Forward Together is proposing to:

• Create more supportive housing with wraparound services.
• Launch the Health and Addictions Response Team (HART) – a new service that will enable residents and businesses to call 311 to dispatch specially trained wellness teams to compassionately assist those in difficulty.
• Transform Hastings Street into a wellness corridor with new Indigenous-focused facilities, support services, and a park.
• Expand access to safe supply and peer-led compassion clubs.

To tackle climate change, Forward Together will:

• Work with senior levels of government to deliver the City’s Climate Emergency Action Plan.
• Prepare city-wide plans for future climate events.
• Install 500 new electric vehicle charging stations throughout the city.
• Use more nature-based solutions such as increasing tree cover in areas of the city where it is lacking.

Forward Together also vows to:

• Replace the at-large electoral system with neighbourhood constituencies where all neighbourhoods elect their own city councillor. This is in line with Stewart’s previous promise to switch to a ward-based electoral system, which was voted down by the current city council.

“The pandemic has been tough on Vancouver and many people are struggling, but we need to recognize that the majority of the challenges we’re facing are linked to poverty, mental illness and addiction,” said Stewart. “What we need is more housing, wrap-around services and drug treatment centres. There is a clear choice in this election, my opponents think we can arrest our way to becoming a better city. I believe we can create a safe, healthy and caring Vancouver for all of us by addressing the root causes of our challenges.”

Voters can view the full platform at: www.forwardvancouver.ca/platform

About Forward Together:
Forward Together is the electoral organization supporting Mayor Kennedy Stewart and his team of city council candidates – Tesicca Truong, Russil Wvong, Jeanette Ashe, Hilary Brown, Dulcy Anderson, and Alvin Singh – for this fall’s Vancouver municipal election.