OneCity proposal would align Council, Park Board, and School Board facilities under one clean air and cooling standard, year-round to meet urgent public need.
VANCOUVER, B.C., on the Territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh – Mayoral Candidate William Azaroff and OneCity Vancouver today announced the Cool, Clean Air, and Safe Spaces Strategy, a four-year plan to bring every City, Park Board, and school facility in Vancouver up to one shared standard for air quality and temperature control to protect residents from wildfire smoke and seasonal illness.
Vancouver’s critical infrastructure and public amenities don't meet our mounting needs. This proposed strategy fixes gaps in the City's own records which highlights that not every community centre or library has air conditioning, the Auditor General found 72 per cent of recreation facilities are in poor or very poor condition, and the VSB has flagged 43 schools at high seismic risk and in need of capital upgrades.
“People expect their Mayor to be able to lead in a crisis, plan for the future, and build opportunity. Our current Mayor is failing on all fronts. We need clean air in public spaces to support a healthier Vancouver, so this plan delivers on how to fund it and how to build it,” said William Azaroff, OneCity's candidate for Mayor. "Clean air isn't just a summer problem, so we're done funding it like one."
“ABC has missed opportunity after opportunity to improve investment and support for cooling measures, even when it costs taxpayers nothing. We need to stop moving backwards in achieving minimum cooling standards that protect people's health and improve liveability providing safe clean air, in every neighbourhood, in every season," said Lucy Maloney, Vancouver City Councillor.
“Many of our community centres and libraries are designated places of refuge -- we want people to go there when it isn't safe, like in times of extreme heat, cold, poor air quality, seismic events, and more. So making sure those facilities are safe themselves is key," said Tyler Petersen, OneCity's candidate for Park Board.
"When families put their kids in schools, they expect them to be safe. Kids and school staff deserve clean air in their classrooms," said Sherry Breshears, OneCity candidate for School Board.
Under the proposed policy, Council, Park Board, and VSB would jointly adopt one assessment methodology, one technical standard (minimum MERV-13 filtration), and one public reporting process, coordinated through a new Tri-Board Facilities Coordination Table. Every facility would be assessed for ventilation, filtration, and temperature control, with results published publicly by building. Permanent upgrades like heat pumps, filtration, shading, and tree canopy improvements, would be paired with immediate low-cost bridge measures like Corsi-Rosenthal box filters.
Assessment would begin in Year 1 under a OneCity local government, with a public retrofit schedule in Year 2 and upgrades continuing through Year 4 to deliver clean, cool air, and safe public spaces for all Vancouverites.
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