Christopher Justice
Website: www.christopherjustice.ca
Facebook: CJJustice
Are you associated with or running as part of a slate? If so, which one?
No
Do you live in the municipality where you are running, and if so, for how long? If not, what is your connection to that community?
I have deep family roots in North Cowichan and have lived here for 14 years after a career away
What is your occupation, and for how long?
I am a former instructor in health social science
Tell us about your previous elected and/or community experience.
I have been a North Cowichan municipal councillor for four years and have served as the alternate director at the Cowichan Valley Regional District for the same period. I am a past director at Social Planning Cowichan and the Quamichan Watershed Stewardship Society
Why are you running? What’s your motivation?
Simply, there is much work the community and council have collaborated on over the past 4 years that remains unfinished, and which is critical to achieving our shared vision for the future expressed in our recently adopted OCP – including a new zoning bylaw for implementing the OCP, a biodiversity policy, an affordable housing policy and more. I feel a deep responsibility to see these through to their end. All of the community’s efforts could be for naught if there is a dramatic change in Council’s philosophy re growth management and environmental stewardship.
What are your top three issues?
I believe I reflect community values in my top three issues: 1) Affordable housing in thriving and safe communities; 2) Protection and restoration of our natural environments; and 3) Creating a strong and diverse local economy with fiscally responsible government spending and taxation.
Making progress on these issues requires commitment and creativity from the community, council and staff, and, most importantly, a collaborative spirit for working together and with other levels of government. Solutions must reflect the things we value: the environment and its natural beauty, our rural nature, and the character of our diverse neighbourhoods.
What’s your vision for your community in 25 years?
We have just completed a 3 year long, community-driven Official Community Planning process which expresses a future vision for North Cowichan, which I share.
I envision a North Cowichan benefiting from a thriving local economy and a resurgence in the importance and vitality of our established communities such as Chemainus and Crofton. I envision a North Cowichan that has grown thoughtfully, accommodating needed development while becoming a leader in environmental stewardship and sustaining the rural and small-town character that is so highly valued by visitors and residents alike. Finally, I envision a North Cowichan that is a welcoming, inclusive and resilient community that can weather the challenges of a changing climate and economy which attracts people to raise families, relocate businesses, and grow old in
What’s one “big idea” you have for your community?
Ensuring thoughtful and responsible planning that guarantees that the right kinds of development and change occur in the right kinds of places in a manner consistent with the desires or our community.
It is absolutely critical that we get this right. Doing so will help ensure development of a more affordable, diverse and accessible range of housing types for both residents and newcomers alike, creation of communities that are vibrant and safe, lead to protection of our natural environment and sensitive ecosystems such as the remnant Garry Oak meadows, lakes, Coastal Douglas Fir forests, and sustain the rural and small town character that make the Cowichan Valley so appealing as a place to visit, live, recreate and conduct business
