Entries by Peter Urquhart

Committing to address the dangerous Albion and Bruce intersection is the first step towards helping prevent further loss of lives and livelihoods

December 1, 2019 /0 Comments/in /by

The Albion and Bruce crossing is in the core of Harewood where thousands of cars and pedestrians travel daily. It’s a well used access point to the majority of amenities that Harewood citizens access daily – a grocery store, convenience store, pharmacy, restaurants – all sorts of amenities. People of all ages utilize this intersection; families, individuals, children on their way to and from school, seniors walking to the grocery store and back – you name it.

Moving forward with the GPC – addressing the root problem instead of creating workarounds

March 3, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

At the Special Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting this past Monday, Staff introduced a draft Terms of Reference for the establishment of the Governance and Priorities Committee. Upon reading the draft TOR and hearing the issues and impacts brought forward by Staff along towards the lengthy discussion that occurred at the Special Committee of the Whole meeting last Monday between Council and Staff, it quickly became clear that there are significant negative impacts if the COW is to be replaced by the GPC.

The power of words and how they’re used makes a big difference

February 15, 2019 /0 Comments/in /by

Isn’t it time that we start recognizing the importance of that? There sure is a lot of discourse in discussions about homelessness, addiction, and crime happening as a result of the significant crisis we face here in Nanaimo. This post is about trying to get past that and starting to shift things into a more constructive path forward in conversations that are had, and I provide some tools to help do that.

Whether you support or oppose the temporary housing locations, you’re right

January 28, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

It’s of no surprise that the issues around the temporary housing locations along with our significant homelessness issue are causing some serious problems throughout the community. Crime has been increasing throughout Nanaimo for quite some time. Without a doubt there is a concentrated increase in reported incidents in the neighbourhoods surrounding the temporary locations, however it would be false logic to attribute the establishment of the temporary locations as being the sole reason – correlation does not equal causation.

The Concept of Smaller Homes

September 29, 2018 /0 Comments/in , /by

Housing affordability is a serious issue in Nanaimo that affects many young adults, seniors, and others with modest incomes in our community – over 25% of all households in Nanaimo face a housing affordability issue! Have you wondered what it might look like if we were to tackle this issue through smaller homes?