City Hall

The BC Mayors Climate Leadership Council, which includes local government leaders from diverse communities located in all regions of the province, has a request that is significant but simple: make the transition to a low-carbon society and economy a key and necessary part of your platform for improving British Columbia.

In September 2010, a number of mayors from large and small communities across British Columbia came together and agreed to form the BC Mayors Climate Leadership Council. The purpose of the Climate Leadership Council is to lead, mentor, and engage.

The Mayors represent award-winning local governments that have been recognized for their leadership in addressing climate change and creating sustainable communities. The Mayors recognize that the transition to a low-carbon society and economy is an issue that transcends regional differences, partisan politics, and ideologies. We encourage you to capitalize on the current North American leadership position that British Columbia enjoys in the transition to a low carbon economy.

A new report released today shows that the Metro Vancouver Commerce 2010 Olympic Business Program was a huge success in strengthening the region’s local economy, bringing a total of $306 million in new investment and creating 2,558 new jobs.

Nine Metro Vancouver municipalities, including Olympic host city Vancouver, partnered with the Government of Canada on Metro Vancouver Commerce, an innovative Olympic business program that saw 64 international companies come to Vancouver in February 2010 to land agreements for new jobs and investment in the region.

“Our priority going into the Olympics was ensuring we secured long-term benefits for our City, and it’s clear that our Olympic business program did just that,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “With a strategic, targeted approach for attracting new jobs and investment to the region, we succeeded in leveraging the Olympic spotlight to put our economy on the map.

The City of Vancouver is holding a public information meeting to provide details on two reports concerning downtown building heights that will be considered by City Council next week. The public meeting will be held on:

Monday, January 17 from 7 - 8:30 pm
(Presentation starts at 7 pm, followed by a question and answer session)
Empire Landmark Hotel
1400 Robson Street, Crystal Ballroom, Lobby Level

At the meeting, City staff will review the specifics of the Vancouver Views report, which protects public view corridors and looks at opportunities for limited higher buildings downtown that do not intrude into public view corridors.

The first tenants of the affordable housing in Vancouver's Olympic Village moved in to their new homes this week, fulfilling the City’s promise to start housing people in need before the end of the year.

“This is great news, to have people moving into their new homes in the Village just in time for Christmas,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “Many of these people have been on waiting lists kept by BC Housing and GF Strong for many months, if not years. With the Olympic Village affordable housing now filling up, we’re helping low and moderate income individuals move into homes and the City is receiving a steady rental income from the units. This is good news all around.

“Affordable housing is a major challenge in Vancouver, and we made a promise to our citizens that part of the legacy of hosting the Olympics is that we'd have a diverse, socially-inclusive community in the Olympic Village after the games. We’ve kept our promise and I look forward to seeing all these units fill up in the coming weeks.”