Cooling Rights Licence By-law Amendments

Go ahead, you.

Thank you.

If the clock's not ticking, could I just have the podium?

Thank you very much.

Hello, I'm Michael Schwant. I'm a medical health officer for the community of Vancouver, working for Vancouver Coastal Health. I also live in Vancouver. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on this report by City of Vancouver staff. in support of the recommendations to Council. I've also submitted a letter to Council with a public health perspective on the report. As Council will know, Vancouver residents are experiencing increasing impacts of climate change, including more frequent extreme heat events and worsening wildfire smoke exposure. The Pacific Northwest heat dome of 2021 demonstrated the severity of these risks, tragically contributing to the deaths of 117 Vancouver residents. The vast majority of these deaths occurred inside homes, primarily among people who did not have access to air conditioning. Research has consistently demonstrated that high indoor temperatures contribute to serious health impacts, including heat-related illness, worsening chronic medical conditions, and death. These risks are particularly important for older adults, people with disabilities, and people who live alone. Public cooling centers and community outreach are important protective measures, but cannot fully compensate for unsafe temperatures inside the home where people live. Now, the proposed bylaw amendment addresses a significant practical barrier to safety during heat waves. Approximately half of Vancouver households are renters, and tenants often have limited control over conditions within their homes. Engagement and research conducted in partnership between Vancouver Coastal Health, the City of Vancouver, and the BC Center for Disease Control has identified that tenancy agreements can form significant barriers to the use of portable cooling devices. In some situations, tenancy agreements prevent residents from taking straightforward, evidence-based actions to reduce health risks during extreme heat events. To be specific, some of our neighbors risk eviction if they use air conditioning in their own homes. Now, there's also an important connection between extreme heat, air conditioning, and wildfire smoke. During periods when both of these hazards occur at the same time, air conditioning helps residents to maintain safe indoor temperatures while keeping closed windows against outdoor smoke. as recommended by public health guidance. So supporting access to indoor cooling also can contribute to protection from multiple climate-related health risks. The bylaw amendment recommended by staff links closely to local health data and experience on a life and death issue in our community. It's a practical measure to protect Vancouver residents, including senior citizens, and can support residents to take reasonable steps to protect their own health. The City of Vancouver has developed many important initiatives for climate resilience from a public health perspective, I encourage Council to adopt the proposed amendment as recommended by staff. I hope that these comments are helpful to you, and thank you very much for your time and your continued work to support the safety of Vancouver residents.

Good morning, Chair and Council. Thanks for this. My name is William Azaroff. I'm the CEO of Brightside Community Homes Foundation. I'm a resident of Vancouver. I'm speaking in support of this motion. This work is more timely than ever. Environment Canada has projected that 2026 is likely to be one of the hottest years on record. It's also, as was reported, the fifth anniversary of the 2021 heat dome, which led to 619 heat-related deaths in BC. The vast majority of these deaths were in people's own homes. And we know that the majority of the people who died were seniors, people living alone, and people with existing and previous health concerns. So it's clear that this is a lifesaving policy, especially for vulnerable people. Now, at Brightside... we have a strategy to become net zero by 2035. And one benefit of that is that it'll introduce cooling into all of our buildings. But in the meantime, because that's still several years away, to keep tenants safe, we encourage residents to get their own AC units. And when BC Hydro is running a program to deliver free AC units, we encouraged our residents to take advantage. In fact, I had staff lugging them up flights of stairs to be able to get them to residents who needed them. And to be fair, we did worry that on a hot day when everyone ran their AC at once, it might trip the breakers. But that, in fact, never happened. And the electrical loads of the buildings, including some very old buildings, maintained. We live in an era of climate change, and most of our buildings in Vancouver weren't built for it. And over the long term, we will need to upgrade all of our buildings to keep people safe and comfortable during extreme heat. But in the meantime, we need stopgap measures now in place to save lives this summer. We wouldn't accept a landlord who refused to allow heating in a building, and we're used to cold weather, and now we're in an age where we can't allow landlords to refuse to allow cooling in buildings during the summer. Seems like a pretty minimal ask for landlords to just allow AC units. They're not expected to provide them. This motion will literally save lives. So I want to thank First United and Amanda Burroughs for working on this report. I want to thank Councillors Maloney and Orr for bringing this forward and to city staff for their report back. I encourage everyone to support this policy. Thank you.

Hi, Council. My name is Caitlin Stockwell. I'm a Vancouver resident, climate advocate, and a person that benefits from cooling in my residence during hot summers. I'm speaking in support of the report back's recommendations to give effect to cooling rights for Vancouverites in a climate emergency, in particular by using the city's bylaw tools to remove barriers that prevent renters from cooling their homes. As Council is aware, and as we've all experienced, Vancouver is experiencing hotter summers, more frequent heat events, and longer periods of extreme temperatures. We've seen the real human cost incurred when people do not have access to cooling during extreme heat events. During the 2021 heat dome, 619 people died across British Columbia, including 117 Vancouver residents. 98% of those deaths occurred indoors, and most were in homes without adequate cooling systems, such as air conditioners. As identified in the report back, renters often face unique barriers to protecting themselves during heat events. The city's indoor heat study found that restrictive tenancy agreements and strata bylaws were among the most commonly reported barriers preventing people from cooling their homes. Over half of Vancouverites are renters, and we must address this. No one should be put at risk because a lease or building rule prevents them from keeping their home at a safe temperature. The report back provides practical recommendations to address this critical issue for health, safety, and for human rights by proposing amendments to city bylaws to prevent landlords from prohibiting or restricting tenants from using portable cooling devices and proposing enforcement options through fines. Requiring health and safety standards in tenant units is not a new concept. Landlords are required to install and keep smoke alarms in good working conditions. We require landlords to keep units at a minimum temperature to keep people warm. And as our climate changes, access to cooling is increasingly becoming part of the same conversation. i urge council to support the report backs recommendations and the recommendations of vancouver's medical health officer to support cooling and housing and promote the safety and well-being of vancouver residents thank you thank you very much our next speaker is sarah marsden in person

Morning, Chair and Council. My name is Sarah Marsden. I've been a lawyer for 20 years, and I'm the Director of Systems Change and Legal at First United. First United has been providing frontline services in Vancouver's downtown east side for over 140 years. I'm speaking today in support of the city staff recommendation to give effect to the right to cool by using the licensing bylaw and by advocating to the province to move forward on critical updates to provincial legislation to support safe indoor temperatures. This month marks the five-year anniversary of the 2021 heat dome, in which at least 619 people died. Most of the people who died were already our most vulnerable neighbors, elders, seniors, people with disabilities, and people who lived in poor neighborhoods, people who lived in SROs and social housing. 98% of those who died died indoors, many of them without access to functioning cooling equipment like air conditioners. These people should have been protected, and these deaths were preventable. Further studies from VCH and UBC have shown that tenants are most at risk and that landlords can and do refuse to allow cooling equipment to be used when it is necessary. Access to safe temperatures in one's home should not be a matter of landlord discretion. It should be a right. The 2021 heat dome was unprecedented when it happened, but events like this will become more and more common with climate change. Environment and Climate Change Canada says there's a 99% likelihood that this year will be hotter than every year on record prior to 2023. Clearly, the next heat dome is not a question of if, but when. And it could be as soon as this month. This council unanimously endorsed the right to cool and thermal safety in its November 2024 motion on advocating for climate resilient housing standards. And the bylaw recommended by staff today provides the most direct path to action within the city's current jurisdiction. To be clear, allowing access to cooling equipment is not a complete response to extreme heat or climate change. It is one critical first step that the city can take now in the greater context of regulations on maximum temperatures, which have already been recognized in the BC Building Code and which are increasingly being brought into law, including most recently in New Westminster. The greater context must also include environmentally sustainable solutions like heat pumps and retrofits, passive cooling, protecting urban tree canopy, and expanding green infrastructure. Responding to extreme heat and reducing carbon emissions will require deep and long-term change, but because the risk to life is imminent, that change has to start with the actions we can take right now. The 2021 Death Review Panel Report is dedicated to the surviving families, friends, and communities of those who died in the heat in their homes in 2021. And it says, may their memories endure in our actions to prevent similar deaths in the future. Council has the opportunity and the responsibility to take such action now. We implore you to move forward with this bylaw change and advocacy to the province as a matter of utmost urgency. Thank you.

Hello, Mayor and Council. My name is Iona Bonamy, and my parents call me by my Chinese name, Tosi Wing. I'm speaking in support of the recommendations of the staff report, and I want to thank staff for doing the work to put this report together. I remember the 2021 heat dome very clearly. My kids were four and seven at the time, and we didn't have air conditioning in our home. As the temperatures soared to above 40 degrees and remained there one evening, I was seriously worried about the safety. of our kids. Our home just felt like an oven. Luckily, my parents had a basement that was much cooler than our home, so we packed up our kids at around 10 p.m. and went to my parents' place, and we slept on their basement floor for the next two nights. We were lucky we were able to find an alternative place to stay. Many people don't have that luxury. And often, older adults aren't able to determine their overheating until it's become a serious issue. That's why we lost over 100 people in this city in the 2021 heat dome, many of whom were seniors or people living alone. And as mentioned, we are marking the five-year anniversary of the heat dome this month, and we're about to have another record-breaking year in temperatures this summer, which means our most vulnerable populations, including infants and seniors, will be at risk of serious health issues. This pattern of increasing temperatures will not stop, and with our aging population, we need to do more to protect them. Ensuring landlords cannot restrict the use of portable air conditioning units is one easy way to do that. I would also argue that requiring new buildings to be all electric and to have heat pumps is also an important way to do that. That's not the focus of this report. I encourage you to please approve these recommendations to help protect the residents inside their homes.

Hello, it's Amanda Burrows, Executive Director of First United, a resident of Vancouver. I am a renter. I speak in support. I want to thank Council so much for continuing this important work, and certainly the city staff for such a thoughtful and incredible report. There's so much alignment here, and it truly brings me joy when we can find these moments with each other here. And especially when we're talking around safety. Because like many people, I will never forget the heat dome. And as everyone is respectfully mentioning today, 619 people died in BC. And I really want us to continue to honor those lives. And let's hold their loved ones in our thoughts today. And during that time, it was scary. I'm sure you remember where you were. I was on the front lines in the downtown east side. People were in house. They had nowhere to escape the heat. People living in SROs were even coming outside because their rooms were too hot. And I remember this moment when a man approached me and he was scared and sunburned asking for help. And I frankly felt pretty helpless. But I handed him a water bottle and a travel-size sunscreen and basically told him to hop on a bus to a library to keep cool. And at the same time, I was also lightheaded and dehydrated. My apartment had reached 38 degrees. I was a renter. I didn't have air conditioning. I also didn't want to leave my cat, like many of us, worried about our pets. But I also wanted to help our community. And really, in those moments, you realize that climate change isn't coming. It's here. And while we know climate change will affect everyone, it won't affect everyone equally. Housing isn't neutral either. During the heat dome and every summer, my apartment was hot. Eventually, I was able to speak with my landlord and install air conditioning. Super grateful for my landlords. But not every renter has that option. There's a power imbalance, as we know, between the landlord and tenant. And no renter should have to negotiate or be banned from our right to keep cool or fear eviction. That's why this report matters. And at First United, we're so excited to open our new building. We're proud that it will serve as a cooling center during extreme heat and clean air refuge during wildfire smoke events. We built it this way because we know these events are no longer rare. We also know that long term solutions will take time. Climate ready housing retrofits with heat pumps, more shading in our neighborhoods. But today, this is so fantastic. You have this opportunity here and now to take a practical step. At our five-year anniversary of the heat dome, which we will all remember and honor, we know what works. We know who is most vulnerable. We know which interventions save lives. I hope you will support the recommendations. I can't thank the staff enough for putting this forward. Thank you.

Hi. Yeah, my name is Josephine Schrott. I'm a senior program manager and policy analyst with a nonprofit called Ecotrust Canada. I'm also resident of the city of Vancouver and speaking in support of these recommendations. Our team at Ecotrust Canada works on energy efficiency retrofits. So we really see the impacts of heating and cooling systems in people's homes and that that can have on their health, quality of life, affordability. We have also researched this issue of overheating in depth as it's become very prominent and have reports with policy recommendations out on this. And one of those is the right to cool both at the municipal and provincial level. this in the report here. I'm also a renter. I live in a top floor unit in an old apartment building. And I mean, even yesterday morning, for example, it was 20 degrees outside. It was 27 degrees in my apartment, despite having closed blinds and run a window fan overnight. So I share that to say that this is not an issue that's just limited to heat waves. Either it affects people all the time in the summer or on any warm day. And we know that this is continuously getting worse with climate change so i too am lucky that i was finally able to install air conditioning. Otherwise, I just could not be in my apartment on warm days. And so I think prohibiting restrictions on cooling is a really good first step to ensure people are legally allowed to protect themselves in the heat. And as was mentioned, we also know that not everyone will be able to install cooling measures or afford to operate an air conditioner, especially if the building does overheat severely because it lacks shading and things like roof insulation and ventilation or has a lot of unshaded windows, things that we know make things overheat quickly. So I'm also really happy to see this pursuit of a charter update for a maximum temperature standard. And I'll just close with, as others have mentioned, I think we agree it's not acceptable for people to... freeze in their homes because of the lack of heating and so it's just as unacceptable that people are suffering severe and potentially long-term health damages or dying in their homes because of overheating so i'm so glad to see the city working to address that and i think this report and these recommendations are our great first step that i hope you all support thank you thank you very much uh and our final speaker is andy sacha

Hi, everyone. Thanks for letting me speak, and thank you so much to the Council for addressing this very, very important issue. I'm a family doctor. I've lived in Vancouver since 2010. I'm a member of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. I'm a parent. Climate change is a public health concern. It is real. It is here. Everyone's talking about the 2021 heat zone, which I also lived through, and have been able to protect myself and loved ones, and unfortunately, not everyone had that same access and that we know many, many people died. I think for all of us, preventable death is painful, and as someone who works every day to support many, many vulnerable patients, it's quite frankly heartbreaking and disheartening when there are practical solutions that we can do and that we can implement, even if they're not necessarily easy or what we have done in the past. and we don't do those things. And so I'm really grateful for these topics being discussed because the cost to life and wellness is real and it is here and it is spurred towards getting worse in the summers and it is quite dangerous. In addition to the human public health costs, there is a financial cost to our health systems. More ambulance call-outs, more emergency visits, more hospitalizations. These things are expensive. If you look outside of this, there's labor and productivity costs. The report from the Canadian Climate Institute in 2023 indicated that the province would spend $100 billion in additional costs in health care over the next decade and more than $12 billion in lives lost annually, specifically related to heat. So just again, this is something that is here and we can't deny it and we just must adapt. I think a lot about the people I support who are often quite isolated. Most of them are low-income. um and who has a disability with a loss of colon disease and indigenous people and folks who have a lot of barriers to add the seating to themselves in their rental housing and i think about the difference between heat-related death and very public and visceral experiences of the fires and the air and the flooding and someone dying quietly at home doesn't necessarily have the same impact But it does for that individual and their family, and it does for us as a culture and society. And so I just want to take a moment around that. Many of my patients feel that systemically they are not being cared for and considered the way that those of us with more financial access and more privilege do. And I really just want to, well, we can make our lives better for all of us in this city and not for those people in our home. So I really just want to say I don't want less for my neighbors than I do for myself. I hope that none of us want this. I'm thinking about the population of refugees arriving in these states and some of the cases by many refugee patients who are clearly living in very hostile, very uncomfortable circumstances, which are bad for their health.

Those online, if you're voting, please make sure your cameras are enabled.

Thank you.