July 15, 2016

Sam Sullivan on civic government

The latest video from Sam:

Canadian cities were established 150 years ago with a very simple structure. Returning to established principles of good government could lead us to reform municipal governance and give us better, healthier cities.


 
Sam provides in-depth historical context, including references to ancient philosophy,  for what is a radical suggestion for our civic government: separate the legislative and judicial functions so that city council would not be deciding on development projects – effectively, he argues, a conflict of interest.   But he would give the mayor more executive functions, as in London, considerably augmenting their powers.
I’m looking forward to videos from Sam on how the provincial government could exercise its powers to address the most urgent issues that affect his constituents: housing and transit.  So far he has remained as quiet as the government he represents.
 

Posted in

Support

If you love this region and have a view to its future please subscribe, donate, or become a Patron.

Share on

Comments

Leave a Reply to AnonymousCancel Reply

  1. As a constituent in Sam’s riding I echo your parting words:
    I’m looking forward to videos from Sam on how the provincial government could exercise its powers to address the most urgent issues that affect his constituents: housing and transit. So far he has remained as quiet as the government he represents.
    I am disappointed that he has not used his elected position to advocate on these issues as he is one of the most knowledgable MLAs in Victoria when it comes to transit and Vancouver housing. While I not surprised that he has never been appointed to a cabinet position by Christie Clark he still could have been an informed voice in government. What’s worse, however, is that any communications sent to his office on these topics never gets a response and sadly, not even an acknowledgement.

  2. Count me as another resident of False Creek who has been disappointed that our MLA seems more focused on creating interesting YouTube videos and running his salons than actually representing the area. He’s been silent. I’d love to hear what he thinks about transit, housing affordability, the viaducts, the relocation of St. Paul’s hospital. There are so many interesting issues in our riding that I’m sure he has an opinion on. I’ve tried emailing him, never got a reply.

  3. It seems time for large cities as Montreal, Toronto, and Metro Vancouver to become federal City-States and be unshackled from provincial governments who do not have a focus or understanding of city needs. After all, provinces were established within a rural not urban context.

    1. Careful what you wish for. The provincial economy would collapse without the Big Smoke. Not that becoming more self-reliant would be a bad thing.

    2. With the City of Vancouver representing 25% of the population of Metro Vancouver the election of the mayor would be interesting.

  4. One major issue in Canada is that most taxes end up in the federal coffers (namely federal GST, federal corporate taxes, duties and federal share of income taxes), then to the provinces (royalties, PST and provincial tax portions of corporations and individuals) and almost NOTHING ends up in municipal coffers except property taxes.
    It is in cities where most people live and work, yet almost none of the commercial or income producing activity gets into city coffers, except properties.
    THAT is a major misalignment in Canada. Stephen Harper’s conservatives were on the right path reducing GST and income taxes to allow provinces or cities to take more, but the current trend is even more taxes or CPP or soon, carbon taxes end up in federal coffers, further starving cities and citizens of required cash.
    We tax incomes far too high and consumption (incl real estate) far too little, and as such affluent immigrants and foreign investors do the rational thing: buy the best properties yet declare incomes abroad as that is the most tax efficient behavior.
    The result: A very unhealthy situation is developing as we see in MetroVan.

  5. Sullivan’s proposal makes civic government more complex & expensive. The problem is not the structure of government, but the disregard for the rule of law. By this I means that willy nilly spot rezoning should rarely be done by civic governments.
    Perhaps the Provincial Liberals could legislate criteria for when this would be allowed. Mayor Sam started wholesale spot rezonings in Vancouver. And now after he’s created the problem, he proposes a convoluted solution to fix it. It won’t.

Subscribe to Viewpoint Vancouver

Get breaking news and fresh views, direct to your inbox.

Join 7,284 other subscribers

Show your Support

Check our Patreon page for stylish coffee mugs, private city tours, and more – or, make a one-time or recurring donation. Thank you for helping shape this place we love.

Popular Articles

See All

All Articles