When I came to Canada from Italy in 1959, building a new life here was much harder than it is today. That was true for Italians, but also for people from many other countries and cultures.

When I first ran for Burnaby City Council, becoming its first Punjabi Indo-Canadian councillor was not what motivated me. It had never occurred to me to run because I was Punjabi, and I certainly did not see myself as a candidate for my own community. I wanted to serve the whole city, just as every councillor should. It was only after I was elected that I fully understood the importance of what it meant to everyone in the community, to me and to our city.

Burnaby is proof that a growing urban city can protect and improve its waterways at the same time. Around the world, many cities have lost the creeks and streams that once flowed through them. As communities grew, waterways were culverted, paved over and forgotten. Burnaby chose a different path. Thanks in part to its long-standing Open Watercourse Policy, roughly 70 per cent of the streams that existed here 125 years ago still exist today.

The Union of British Columbia Municipalities, or UBCM, brings local governments together to represent our shared interests and advocate to the Province on the issues affecting our communities. The annual convention is where local leaders, through policy sessions, workshops and resolution debates, discuss these common priorities and meet directly with provincial representatives.

In Burnaby, we are investing at record levels in the facilities, parks, trails and public spaces that help keep our community active. This investment is essential to meeting the needs of a growing city and ensuring Burnaby remains an outdoor and active city, which is such an important part of our identity and quality of life.

We are so proud in Burnaby to be a city where people can experience food from around the world within only a few blocks.

Over the years, family visiting from Ireland have always been excited to explore the Burnaby locations they recognize from film and television…

Modular housing is not a silver bullet, but it is an example of the kind of innovation and most importantly, the collaboration that will be needed to address our housing challenges in the years ahead.

Burnaby has not experienced wildfires on the scale seen elsewhere in BC, but hotter, drier summers are increasing the risk. Burnaby Mountain requires particular attention because its steep, forested slopes are close to homes and critical infrastructure. But the risk is not limited to the mountain.

Trees cover almost a third of our city, from the forests of Burnaby Mountain and Central Park to those lining our neighbourhood streets. Together, they form an urban canopy that is pivotal to Burnaby’s identity and to the quality of life our residents enjoy.