Connect
Key Issues
This last term in Council was shaped by an unexpected global pandemic that challenged our residents, families and businesses alike, but Will and his Council colleagues doubled down to ensure the City moves forward on all the issues that matter most to people in Courtenay.
- ACTION ON HOUSING: 1391 new units built as of July; over 130 affordable or price-controlled units approved; secured provincial funding for 40 new homes for women and children leaving violence; fast-tracked 40 new affordable housing units for indigenous seniors
- LOWEST LOCAL TAX INCREASES: Sound financial management and pursuit of grants meant Courtenay had lowest tax increases of all municipalities in the region under this Council; passed bylaw requiring that full lifecycle costs be considered in Council’s decision making (1st in BC to do so)
- (average increase 2019-2022: Comox 3.72%; Courtenay 3.2%; Cumberland 5.42%)
- SUPPORT FOR OUR DOWNTOWN: as Council’s representative to downtown, Will met every month with the Business Improvement Association board to ensure that our downtown has the support it needs including expanded patio options (COVID response), improved lighting, and night-time security patrols
- SAFE, AFFORDABLE, AND EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION FOR ALL: continuing to maximize grant funding to support well planned investments in transportation
- MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF CLIMATE CHANGE: delivering a natural disaster and climate change ready Official Community Plan (OCP); flood mapping completed with response plan; increasing local food security with enhanced urban agriculture; EV chargers coming soon downtown
- ENHANCING RIVERWAY, PARKS AND GREEN SPACES: expanded the popular Riverway Trail; planning underway for new riverside park at McPhee Meadows; playground renewals at Hobson Park & Maple Park; new downtown mini-park opened on 4th Street
- RECONCILIATION AND RESPECT: working in partnership with the K’ómoks First Nation and other Indigenous groups to build stronger connections, including adopting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; two totem raisings – downtown and Airpark
- SUPPORTING OUR MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS: successfully lobbied province for 40 units of housing for women and children who have experienced violence; support for the Connect Warming Centre; 24 hour public washroom opened downtown
- VALUING ARTS AND CULTURE: agreement with Comox Valley Arts identifies their role role as centralized resource for the arts and culture industry; tourism strategy recognizes the arts as a key economic driver
About Will
Will is a graduate of Queen’s University, Dalhousie Law School and UBC. He spent 14 years running two storefront businesses (a video store and an organic grocery) which he sold in 2012.
“In a small business you need to see the whole picture and manage every aspect from finances to team cooperation and balancing competing interests,” says Will. “You seek efficiencies and win-wins and have to understand how a change in one area impacts all the others.”
Will’s background in successful small business management and law makes him a highly effective problem solver who seeks out solutions that balance many objectives while delivering both immediate and long-term value. His years of legal research set a strong foundation for the rigorous analysis and clear decision making that we need in Council.
Since 2012 Will has worked downtown as a legal researcher. His background in law brings highly relevant skills to the Council table.
Will and his wife Shannon live near Puntledge Park where they walk most days with their dog Daisy. They are proud parents of a daughter at Mark R Isfeld Secondary, and a son who is just starting off at university.
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