A friend of mine is deeply engaged with his local government. He is, by his own admission, a royal pain in the ass to people at city hall. His theory is that municipal politicians are the most accessible elected officials and the ones most likely to respond directly to the views of their constituents.

I share his hope that people will become involved in October’s local elections. Talk to the candidates. Attend public meetings. Tell them what matters to you—and ask what they intend to do about it.

I hope those discussions include climate change. Municipal governments make important decisions about land use, transportation, building standards, waste management, urban forests and public infrastructure. Much can be done locally to reduce emissions, improve resilience and create healthier communities. But candidates must know that voters expect action.

I have discussed these issues with Jim Hanson, and I am working to help him win re-election to North Vancouver District Council. The District is one of British Columbia’s better-managed municipalities, but many of the most serious problems facing residents are beyond local control.

Anyone who lives here knows that travelling only a few kilometres from west to east can sometimes take hours rather than minutes. The Ironworkers Memorial Bridge is a chronic choke point, while public transit remains inadequate. Despite this, the province requires the District to accommodate substantial population growth even though the transportation and other infrastructure needed to support that growth are woefully inadequate.

The organization Dogwood recently wrote about the ability of local governments to protect our climate:

Mayors, councillors and other local politicians have immense power to advance climate policies that reduce carbon emissions and prepare us for extreme weather. 

However, we are seeing many municipal governments rolling back climate policies, setting up a false choice between affordability and climate action. 

Meanwhile, municipal climate champions working to enact sustainable policies have been coming under fierce attack from industry-backed groups. 

While federal and provincial politics get a lot of attention, municipal governments make key decisions around housing affordability, transportation justice, public services, health and community resilience….