Port Moody City Councillor Amy Lubik speaks with We’ve Got Issues hosts Brad Nickason and Nancy Furness about her background and what inspired her to run for Port Moody City Council. She shares her role in Council committees and projects, her experiences as a first-term Councillor, her most significant accomplishments to date and what she still aspires to achieve during his first term. Amy also shares her role and the goals of the Tri-Cities Food Security Task Force.

Amy has been involved in social and environmental justice initiatives in the Tri-Cities for a number of years and wanted to bring these conversations along with evidence-based policy to City Hall. She comes to Council with a background in Environmental Health, particularly how the way cities are built affects climate change resiliency, mental health, and equity. Amy has a research back-ground and does a deep-dive on issues such as community connectedness prior to making decisions.

Amy shares that while her policy decisions may be progressive, all Councillors want to make their community better, and there is a lot of common-ground on Council (e.g. need for a Climate Action Plan, a homelessness task force, and work on supportive housing). Amy generally feels like she is respectfully heard when she puts forward progressive policy ideas; she also listens to different perspectives.

Amy is Vice-chair of the Climate Action Committee, Chair of the Environmental Protection Committee, and sits on the Healthier Community Partnerships, Chair of the Tri-Cities Food Council, Director at Large at UBCM, and Vice-chair of the Seniors’ Focus Committee.

The Tri-Cities Food Council brings together a lot of community groups looking at food security and food sovereignty. The Council will look at policies that support, or that may be barriers to, food security and will use stories to help the community understand the role food has in bringing us together. The Council also recognizes the intersectionality between food security and housing. We are struggling with food security in our region, especially during the COVID pandemic due to reduced money and access. A gap analysis is being carried out to help identify areas where action is needed. Amy expects there will be room for advocacy around increasing local food security, including a 100-mile diet. ‘Highest and best use’ of land development doesn’t address food security.

We do not currently have food security in the Tri-Cities. Port Moody advocated for reopening Burrard Thermal for any additional electricity needed instead of building the Site C Dam. We are in a changing climate and a lot of our food sources (California and Mexico) are experiencing huge wildfires and droughts. We also rely heavily on poorly-treated foreign workers. We need to be moving towards self-sufficiency. Amy encourages constituents to email their food security ideas to Councillors and to attend council meetings.

Amy feels that while she is generally being respectfully heard, Council still needs to work towards talking and listening to each other in a respectful manner and not be polarizing. She feels comfortable in bringing forward new ideas and stresses the importance of active listening, even though things may not always go forward as she hopes.

COVID has shone a light on inequities towards indigenous people and people of colour and has exposed holes in our social safety net. Amy acknowledges the work of the Tri-Cities Local Immigration Partnership in addressing the deep roots of racism and systemic inequities.

In the remainder of term on Council, Amy hopes to work on housing policy and affordability, and secure continuous funding for the Tri-Cities rent bank. Amy would also like to see social and mental wellness design guidelines for new buildings.