Ben Perry tells us about his background and why he is running for Coquitlam City Council in the Oct 15, 2022 election.

Ben grew up in Coquitlam and has a family here. For the past 7 or 8 years he has done climate activism in the TriCities and people have urged him to run for Council. Coquitlam is taking some steps in the right direction with respect to climate action, including working on a Climate Action Plan. Ben’s priorities include advocating for climate action and justice. He also considers housing affordability and enabling people to stay in Coquitlam to be a major issue during a time of unprecedented growth.

The Climate 2050 Report from Metro Vancouver identifies personal vehicles and buildings as the two major, local sources of emissions. Some measures are in place, but Ben feels there is more Coquitlam can do such as ensuring new buildings have the best heating systems (heat pumps) in place, and old buildings are retrofitted. Ways need to be found to get people out of their cars, and to make sure people can charge electric vehicles. Constituents can support climate action through choices not to use a car and to change home heating systems.

It may be difficult for people to take individual actions due to the current economy, therefore collective actions are needed, as well as actions at all levels of government. Challenges with unprecedented development in Coquitlam means that some people may not be able to stay in Coquitlam due to demoviction and therefore, we may not hear their story. Coquitlam has an affordable housing strategy; however renters and neighbourhoods need to be protected.

We have an opportunity to build a city that has a place for everyone. It’s a challenge to find a balance between development and retaining natural spaces. There are a variety of spaces in Coquitlam that have natural value and this needs to be considered when choosing how to develop. There is a lot of housing being built near sky-train stations which is good, but we are also spreading out and cutting down trees. Ben stresses the need to consider the ‘missing middle’ when it comes to housing.