Peter W. Rusland
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rusland.for.council
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?
Yes. I have lived in North Cowichan for 32 years.
What is your occupation, and for how long?
I was a community newspaper reporter on the Island for 30 years. I now drive a local taxi part-time.
Tell us about your previous elected and/or community experience.
I am a retired newspaper reporter. Starting in 1990, I covered all beats at the Cowichan News Leader Pictorial, then the Duncan Free Press and Chemainus Courier. Local journalism lent me in-depth looks at all facets of our community — from politics, courts, cops, First Nations, the arts, education, business and health to the environment. That’s invaluable knowledge for a local councillor trying to find solutions to our complex issues spanning urban sprawl and homelessness to affordable housing, rising taxes and water protection. I ran for North Cowichan council in 2018.
Why are you running? What’s your motivation?
I am passionate about understanding and tackling the many issues facing the growing community that is our home. The status quo is unworkable in the long-term. We must keep it rural. As a part of a council team with a professional staff at North Cowichan, we can use citizen input to help guide our culturally diverse community economically, ecologically and socially. It is crucial to protect our unique community from rampant sprawl, water and soil degradation, unemployment, rising taxes, crime, homelessness, food scarcity, and diminishing medical care.
What are your top three issues?
Environmental health, economic health, and social health. Our collaborative, creative council team must serve our community’s needs by protecting water supplies, farmland, natural habitat, airsheds and biodiversity through smart growth and green planning, not sprawl and pollution. Thinking long-term, we can prioritize local trades and jobs while producing profits for entrepreneurs in diverse, sunrise businesses and industries including medicine, education, high-tech, manufacturing, the arts and agriculture. Those sectors must be flanked by social-health action regarding affordable housing, addictions, mental health, medical-care access, crime, racism and more.
What’s your vision for your community in 25 years?
A harmonious North Cowichan boasting unique, affordable housing for all. Our agricultural industries feed local markets and supply the Island by keeping it rural. We have low crime with citizens and businesses working with police to collar criminals and drug dealers. We use green planning lending functional character to smart growth fitting our neighbourhoods. Our forests, parks, trees and ecosystems are protected by strict, realistic bylaws. Our realistically low taxes are boosting by clean businesses, and cutting budgetary waste. We house and help addicts and mentally ill folks in sites acceptable to everyone. Council is a catalyst to attracting businesses through an arms-length economic development corporation. Innovative pilot projects address alternative building materials, housing needs, power generation, garbage reduction, products from recyclables, transit demands, and new sewage-treatment methods.
What’s one “big idea” you have for your community?
I imagine council promoting and growing North Cowichan as a hearty food basket feeding local folks while creating jobs and profits, and reducing our food-importation carbon footprint. Compact, high-yield farming spanning hay and hemp to tomatoes and potatoes will drop our water use, and keep properties in our vital Agricultural Land Reserve. Livestock manure can be treated into fertilizers. Revitalized farming would help youths stay working locally. Keep North Cowichan rural; get back to basics of family farms twinned with high-tech agriculture — perhaps pilot projects on some municipal land. Affordable housing for workers must accompany our renewed smart-farm plans. Council would use our official community plan to locate innovative farming enterprises, allow more farm-gate sales, and grow our popular farmers’ markets.
