The Hon. Peter Fassbender addressed some of the community issues he has dealt with in Victoria. He also expressed his views on his approach to politics and how to balance various interests while keeping an eye on long-term outcomes.
 
Colin Smith introduced Hon. Peter Fassbender. Peter was elected MLA for Surrey-Fleetwood in 2013. In July 2015 he was appointed Minister of Community, Sport, Cultural Development and Minister Responsible for Translink. He previously served as Minister of Education and currently serves on the Cabinet Committee on Secure Economy, the Priorities and Planning Committee and the Cabinet Working Group on Climate Leadership. Prior to his election to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Peter served as a Councillor for the City of Langley for three years before being elected three times as Mayor, from 2005 to 2013.Peter also served the community and region in a host of volunteer capacities. He was recently awarded a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. In his business career Peter worked in radio and television. For 29 years he was a partner and senior executive with one of Canada’s largest and most successful communications firms. Peter and his wife Charlene have been married for 49 years; they have two adult sons and three grandchildren.
 
In his talk, Minister Fassbender said he’s been involved in community issues all his life. He’s very familiar with Rotary as he belonged for many years. Rotary embodies the principle “it’s better to give than to receive”. He thanked Harbourside for what we do in the community.
 
Peter spoke of the upcoming election and how he loves campaigning. He opened his office in September and feels it’s important to get out and talk to people about their issues. When a constituent cynically pointed out that the government seems to have opened the spending taps just to buy our votes, his response was – of course!
 
Peter talked about a number of current issues, and themes that guide his approach to serving in politics:
 
Racism. There seems to be growing racism and lack of compassion for people from other countries, as shown in recent bomb threats to Jewish synagogues and Islamaphobia. He pointed out that we all have built in biases that we need to fight against. We should not just respond to tragedies, but consider our thoughts and actions every day. If we want to develop a society that’s more tolerant, we have to start with what we each individually think. He has tried to do that personally, listening to what people say, not how they look.
 
Democracy. Peter emphasized that we are blessed to have free democratic processes. In government, he enjoys the theatre in the House, and the challenge of Question Period. He tries to stick to the issues and policies, believing that challenges from the Opposition sharpen proposals and result in better policies.
 
CRD Sewage. Peter was asked to move this issue forward. He talked to the CRD Board, emphasizing that while he understood municipal politics, it was important to get beyond politics, in particular since there was a lot of federal and provincial funding at stake and substantial fines for non-compliance after 2020.  He proposed establishing a Project Board to come back with a plan. He likes to focus on solutions and believes that this process did come up with a workable result.
 
Other issues. He’s been involved in moving other issues forward, including a water issue in Kelowna and establishing $1 billion in affordable housing.
 
The Liberal Government is proud of its track record on the economy, on balancing the budget for 5 years, low unemployment and steady economic growth and a AAA credit rating.
 
Peter left lots of time for questions:
 
Jeff Moses asked about Amalgamation. Peter replied that they commissioned an Integrated Services Study (nearing completion, but not available before the election) to see what’s working and not working. The municipalities had different questions on their ballots in the last election, and are using different information, so the Government believed the most useful first step is get a common baseline. He emphasized that he believes it should be up to the people in the communities to make the decisions; the Provincial Government has no intention of imposing a decision at this time.
 
Pieta Van Dyke asked about funding for the Art Gallery of Victoria – after recent fund-raising efforts by the Gallery, and commitments from the City, they are awaiting a response from the Province. Peter replied to stay tuned to an announcement on May 10 – but also noted that many organizations are competing for funding.
 
Lisa Collins asked how the populist movements in the US and Europe are affecting political decisions. Peter answered that politicians have a responsibility to listen to a broad range of views, but make decisions based on the bigger picture and the long term. They should make decisions based on doing the right thing – not just getting re-elected.
 
Shellie Gudgeon asked if the Province would be overseeing the costs of the sewage project. Peter replied that the Province sets the criteria but the Project Board has responsibility for overseeing the costs.
 
Wayne Shillington asked if the Province would share in the cost of the long term biosolids component of the sewage project. Peter responded that there is no commitment to do so.
 
Cheryl Thomas said that municipal services already cooperate quite well, but the problem in dysfunction at the regional level. Is the Province addressing that? Peter replied that he agreed there are problems with the regional governance structure Province wide, and there will be a review after the election.
 
Larry Sims thanked the speaker.