On September 24, Justin LeBlanc was elected by acclaim to the Director of the Electoral Area A following the withdrawal of his only opponent Terry Mullen.
He will be replacing current director Maria Harris, who has held the position for the past 9 years. The election was originally intended to happen on October 20, along with the rest of the Vancouver municipal elections.
Electoral Area A is an unincorporated land that exists within the Metro Vancouver region. The majority of its population lives on the university campus and its endowment lands, but the region also includes the Indian Arm and Pitt Lake communities, Howe Sound communities, and Barnston Island.
The director of the region sits on the Board of Directors for the Metro Vancouver Area— the only member of the Board who is elected and not appointed by its respective council. Even though Electoral Area A only has one vote— or 0.5 per cent of the voting power— LeBlanc plans to work with other board members to ensure that the needs of his constituents are met.
Before running for the office of director, LeBlanc held a position of the Community Advisory Board for the University Endowment Lands. He believes that this position has helped prepare him for his new job.
“We were as close to municipal government as the university endowment has… it was like a council, so that’s provided a lot of experience which I’ll be using on the Metro Vancouver Board.”
“Environmental sustainability is a huge issue in my life… whatever I do that is on my mind,” said LeBlanc.
“You can make much more of a difference actually being in public policy so I ran because I want to make a difference in public policy.”
As director, LeBlanc plans to advocate strongly for the adoption of a circular solid waste system as a way to reduce the amount of waste created in the Metro Vancouver Regional District.
LeBlanc will advocate for the plan for expanding the Broadway subway rom its currently slated terminus on Arbutus Street to UBC campus.
“Expanding that all the way to the UBC campus, is something that I am likely going to lobby for,” said LeBlanc. “I am a great proponent of public transit, and clearly UBC students would benefit greatly from that.”
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LeBlanc hopes that in future he will be able to meet more UBC students and other residents of Electoral Area A to learn their interests and be able to advocate for them while he is director.
“Seeing as how I’m just starting it’s important for me to listen, go around Electoral Area A, listen to students, read things like The Ubyssey to find out what issues are important.” said LeBlanc.