Tony St-Pierre
Facebook: facebook.com/tonysooke.ca
Are you associated with or running as part of a slate? If so, which one?
No slate
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?
Live in Sooke since 2013.
What is your occupation, and for how long?
Farmer, 9 years
Tell us about your previous elected and/or community experience.
I am a local Sooke farmer and was elected as a Councillor to the District of Sooke in October 2018. I worked for over 20 years experience as a tradesperson and business owner in renovations. After completing a Masters in Rural Planning and Development in 2003, I worked as an employment councillor in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver for several years before moving to Sooke with my family in 2013.
Why are you running? What’s your motivation?
My kids. We are in a time of multiple converging crisis including but not limited to health, housing, inflation, climate and opioids. This is a time where we all need to work together and do our parts to secure a future for our children. I believe that I am uniquely qualified by my experience, training and temperament to help council chart a course for Sooke.
What are your top three issues?
Local Economic Development & Housing Affordability: People who want to work in Sooke are having a difficult time finding any suitable housing. We need a diversified and robust local economy to support our future resilience.
Food Security & Climate Adaptation: We need to put farmers back on our remaining farmland and support them in feeding us. This is a critical part of climate adaptation & mitigation and an area where local control exists.
Managing our Development: As a community we need to continue determining our vision for the future of Sooke while considering traffic issues, the need for density, adequate sewer infrastructure and ensuring an effective and equitable development process.
What’s your vision for your community in 25 years?
In 25 years every neighbourhood in Sooke has enough amenities that traffic congestion is only a bad memory. People know their neighbours and support their local businesses. Non market housing provides for people on fixed or limited income and employers are encouraged to secure their workforce by providing housing through incentives. Every area of Sooke is connected by trails that provide alternate routes and wildlife corridors. Taxes have been reduced by developing our own power utility through partnerships. We work hand in hand with the T’Souke to protect our environment.
What’s one “big idea” you have for your community?
Like Toffino, we should have our own housing corporation to provide non-market housing to our workforce and those in need and like Nelson we should have our power utility to increase our energy resilience and reduce our dependence on property taxes.
