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Tamiko Suzuki
Businesses, Jobs, & Affordability
Food Affordability
COPE promises
"Stop food waste with an edible food recovery law targeting big box stores and chain restaurants. Every day, thousands of pounds of edible food is wasted in Vancouver. We can recover it and ensure it’s distributed to people instead of thrown away." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Protect affordable community grocers from rent hikes, sell-offs, and rising prices, and invest in local economy staples that bind communities together." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Reinstate Vancouver’s Food System Planner roles and ensure the department has adequate staffing and support to carry out this work." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Integrate and coordinate our network of community gardens to grow local food, and increase access to growing space." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Partner with community groups to fund and create public food distribution networks using publicly owned spaces and community kitchens." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Use the buying power of the city to buy in bulk from local farmers and distribute food at a discount to affordable community grocers, non-profits, public grocers, and school meal programs." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Expand existing health and affordable meal programs and establish community kitchens. Expand community gardens, seed sharing, food storage, and facilitate skill sharing and training. Vancouver should be working towards food justice, empowering neighbours to build networks of solidarity and increase food sovereignty and security." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Expand existing health and affordable meal programs and establish community kitchens. Expand community gardens, seed sharing, food storage, and facilitate skill sharing and training. Vancouver should be working towards food justice, empowering neighbours to build networks of solidarity and increase food sovereignty and security." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Government Procurement
COPE promise
"Introduce a Buy Vancouver policy to encourage and promote the development of sustainable circular economic systems in Vancouver and the lower mainland, prioritize local producers for city procurement, build resilience against US tariffs and create jobs." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Small Businesses
COPE promises
"Support right-sized retail by requiring a mix of commercial unit sizes in new developments, limiting oversized streetfront retail spaces on key corridors, and using zoning, incentives and city-owned land to create more affordable storefronts for local businesses, independent retailers, social enterprises, and co-ops." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Support the local economy by offering affordable city-owned commercial spaces to social enterprises, co-ops, and sharing economy initatives (sic)." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Protect local businesses by pushing for changes to commercial tenancy agreements. The current system is not working. We need standardized leases and negotiation rules, landlord responsibilities, and preventing rent hikes that are catastrophic to small and local businesses." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Climate Change, Heat, Fires, & the Environment
Climate Adaptation
COPE promise
"Accelerate Vancouver’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy into a full Climate Defence Strategy that:
• Gets more with less by investing in tool libraries, circular economy initatives, and zero-waste programs.
• Upgrades our public infrastructure and housing to protect our city and save lives during future climate events.
• Protects our food system from climate shocks by investing in local food production and creating systems to crack down on food waste.
• Help communities prepare for climate events and disasters, whether it’s heat waves, snow storms, or atmospheric rivers."
— Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Green Space
Tamiko Suzuki's promises
Public green spaces, whether community gardens, areas of native plants, rainwater catchment areas, uncovered streams, and green corridors all help increase biodiversity in the city, mitigate the effects of Climate Change, and provide a respite to citizens in an increasingly urban habitat.
COPE promise
"Prioritize the growth of green spaces and parks, especially in dense areas where the amenity density is not keeping pace with development." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
COPE promises
"Bring back Vancouver’s slashed climate programs. Ken Sim and ABC have reversed the city’s progress on climate change, cut the sustainability department, put the 2026-2030 climate plan on hold, and cut climate safety programs. We’ll make Vancouver a climate leader." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Get Vancouver back on track to meet the 6 climate action targets we’re currently failing including walkable neighbourhoods, active transportation and transit, zero-emission vehicles, zero-emission space and water heating, low carbon materials and construction, and restored coasts and forests." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Lead the country on climate change, meeting and exceeding IPCC climate targets, and using the city of Vancouver as a bully pulpit to push for climate justice provincially, federally, and globally." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Support Wind, Water, Solar energy for Vancouver by encouraging renewable energy production across the city, coordinating climate-conscious energy upgrades at neighbourhood scale, and shifting from a passive consumer of provincial energy towards a community-led and worker-owned green energy grid." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Hold the super-rich accountable for climate change by re-joining the “Sue Big Oil” lawsuit and force big polluters to pay their fair share for the climate crisis they caused." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Oppose the dredging of the Burrard Inlet, and fight fossil fuel infrastructure and tankers in Vancouver’s waterways." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Honour Indigenous rights, knowledge, and voices on climate. Mi’kmaq Elder Albert Marshall coined the concept “twoeyed seeing” as a way to integrate the best insights from both western and indigenous traditions in pursuit of justice and sustainability." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Urban Heat
Tamiko Suzuki's promises
Increasing tree canopy (not just the # of trees) produces cooling shade during heat domes. Trees also filter the air in times of forest fire smoke. We need to plant native trees that help with biodiversity and that are able to withstand atmospheric rivers in the winter and drought in the summer.
COPE promise
"Grow the urban forest canopy to 30% by 2050 with a priority for climate-resilient native species."
Walking & Cycling
COPE promises
"Invest in affordable and reliable public transit infrastructure, active transportation, and cycling infrastructure to get drivers out of polluting cars and meet our climate goals." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Giving funding and space to community bike repair and recycling initiatives to make it easy to access affordable bikes." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Expand bikesharing, scooters, and micro- mobility to give people transportation options, and bring them under public community control and ownership." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Push to integrate the Compass Card system with micro-mobility as part of a path to a unified public transit system." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Connecting active transportation networks and micro-mobility to all community centres and public recreation facilities." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Community Centres, Libraries, Parks, and Other Public Spaces
After-School Programs
COPE promise
Community Centres
COPE promises
"Expedite needed Parks, Recreation, and Community Centre upgrades, especially for community centres that have been historically under-maintained." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Connecting active transportation networks and micro-mobility to all community centres and public recreation facilities." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Fitness & Sports Facilities
COPE promises
"Build more public pools across the city and respect the 2022 plebiscite and build a new 50 meter pool in Vancouver." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Train and hire the lifeguards and swim instructors we need to keep pools open and staffed, stop line-ups, offer swimming lessons to meet demand, and keep people safe at Vancouver’s beaches." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Support and expand the Leisure Access Program (LAP) to ensure residents of all incomes can access our facilities and city services." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Green Space
Tamiko Suzuki's promises
Public green spaces, whether community gardens, areas of native plants, rainwater catchment areas, uncovered streams, and green corridors all help increase biodiversity in the city, mitigate the effects of Climate Change, and provide a respite to citizens in an increasingly urban habitat.
COPE promise
"Prioritize the growth of green spaces and parks, especially in dense areas where the amenity density is not keeping pace with development." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Libraries
COPE promises
"Expand library hours to be open 7 days a week, and give libraries the support they’re asking for, including funding for mental health workers, and better working conditions." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Parks
COPE promises
"Affirm an independent, democratic Park Board as essential in stewardship of Vancouver’s commons, fund and empower them to do their work for the public good, prioritize the long term, and protect our public parks from sell-offs and development." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Ban private entities from collecting profits from the use of public amenities such as tennis courts and fields, and oppose sharing agreements for public amenities that limit participation based on the ability to pay." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Expedite needed Parks, Recreation, and Community Centre upgrades, especially for community centres that have been historically under-maintained." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Make Vancouver friendly to dogs and dog owners by improving tree canopy at dog parks, increasing public access to water and dog waste bags, and creating more off-leash spaces." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Make Vancouver friendly to dogs and dog owners by improving tree canopy at dog parks, increasing public access to water and dog waste bags, and creating more off-leash spaces." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Make Vancouver friendly to dogs and dog owners by improving tree canopy at dog parks, increasing public access to water and dog waste bags, and creating more off-leash spaces." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"End the developer tax break that creates gravel pit dogparks and shoddy community gardens." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Train and hire the lifeguards and swim instructors we need to keep pools open and staffed, stop line-ups, offer swimming lessons to meet demand, and keep people safe at Vancouver’s beaches." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Oppose the co-opting of public lands by private interests and oppose industrial infrastructure in public parks." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Increase biodiversity at public parks, plant native species, and support the growth of healthy local ecosystems." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Playgrounds
COPE promise
"Upgrade playgrounds and parks where children play with a focus on neighbourhoods that are being left behind." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Public Washrooms
COPE promise
"Increase 24/7 accessible public washrooms with permanent infrastructure and sanitation stations across the city." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Public Wifi
COPE promise
"Expand VanWifi across the city to allow for more free and open internet access, prioritizing currently under-served areas." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Culture & Events
Cultural Spaces & Venues
COPE promises
"Reduce speculative pressure on artist spaces and protect Vancouver’s arts through a Cultural Land Trust." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"A Vancouver Arts and Cultural Spaces Strategy that leverages city-owned land for galleries, venues, theatres, and rehearsal spaces, and encourages the use of vacant commercial spaces for performance and arts." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Boost operating grants for Vancouver’s arts sector, and then tie them to inflation. Explore the creation of a municipal arts endowment, or a dedicated tax revenue stream, for long-term stability in arts funding." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Boost operating grants for Vancouver’s arts sector, and then tie them to inflation. Explore the creation of a municipal arts endowment, or a dedicated tax revenue stream, for long-term stability in arts funding." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"End the crackdown on DIY arts venues, and encourage and support independent artist-run nightlife as part of Vancouver’s cultural scene." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Levy an empty business tax for industrial and commercial spaces, with a program to encourage the use of vacant spaces for performance and art spaces." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Bring art and music into public spaces by expanding access to covered bandstands, encourage street-corner performers, and support free and low-cost festivals." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Support the needs of our museums, galleries, civic theatres, and cultural amenities, and offer free access through the Public Library or Leisure Access Pass." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Protect the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee and work with them to advance the arts in Vancouver. We will work to distribute power to the people." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Festivals & Events
COPE promises
"Establish community safety programs to steward protests and community events with public safety captains, without inflating VPD budgets with overtime and overpolicing." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Create a Vancouver Arts, Culture, and Creative City Navigator that can support and aid arts organizations, festivals, and venues, and facilitate Vancouver’s Arts & Culture goals." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Bring art and music into public spaces by expanding access to covered bandstands, encourage street-corner performers, and support free and low-cost festivals." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Place Names & Commemorations
COPE promises
Housing & Homelessness
Homelessness
COPE promises
"Urgently address growing homelessness with all available city powers, including a rapid deployment of emergency shelters, supportive programming, meal programs, tiny house villages, respite day spaces to reduce street activity, and storage spaces for unhoused residents’ belongings." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"End tent cities by providing affordable housing. No one wants people to live in the streets, but until they actually have a place to go, we’ll continue to have tents pop up in every neighbourhood." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Stop inhumane street sweeps. During police activity targeting the homeless, people lose their belongings, ID, and other essentials. We need a human rights based approach." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Ban “hostile architecture” in public space, including transit hubs and community centres. The solution to homelessness is homes, not stigma." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Protect the human rights of people without homes. Follow the National Protocol for Homeless Encampments in Canada’s 8 key principles for recognizing human rights of encampment residents. A system that violates the human rights of your neighbours will also come for you." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Human Rights
Disabilities
COPE promise
"Apply a disability justice lens to city policies, systems, services, funding, and structures to make Vancouver a welcoming place for people with disabilities." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Human Rights Abroad
COPE promise
"Make Vancouver an Apartheid-Free Community and join Burnaby in signing on to the Apartheid-Free Communities pledge." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Public Washrooms
COPE promise
"Increase 24/7 accessible public washrooms with permanent infrastructure and sanitation stations across the city." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Local Government, Planning, & Democracy
Budgeting
COPE promise
"Advance an emergency transitional budget to stop and reverse direction. COPE will take action right away to reverse changes made at the City by Ken Sim and ABC." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Elections & Voting
COPE promises
"Establish a “Democracy Dollars” program to even the playing field and allow poor and middle-income people to have a bigger influence on politics, inspired by a similar program in Seattle, WA. Residents can request a $25 voucher to donate to local political parties or candidates from public funds, and counter the disproportionate power of the super-rich." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Make it easier to vote by making public transit free on election days, and ensure there are sufficient polling stations, including mobile voting stations, and accessibility options for seniors and people with disabilities." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"A ranked ballot for Mayor, starting in 2030. During negotiations between progressive parties around the mayoral race, COPE secured a commitment from all progressive parties to fight for a ranked choice ballot for Mayor, like in New York and San Francisco. We’ll push the provincial government to give cities full control over our own electoral systems." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Fight for proportional representation, ranked ballots, and wards. We need an electoral system that balances regional representation, proportionality, and voter expression. COPE members have endorsed the model used in Portland, OR with multi-member wards in a proportional representation system." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"A citizens assembly on electoral reform. Ultimately, residents should have the final say in our electoral system, not just political parties. We’ll convene a citizens assembly to produce a model for Vancouver that achieves our goal of fair elections." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Expand the right to vote for all residents, but end non-resident voting. In Vancouver, property owners who don’t live here can vote in our elections. But Permanent Residents can’t. We’ll change that, and expand voting rights to everyone above the age of 16." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Good Governance
COPE promises
"Identify and report on what happened and why under Ken Sim’s tenure, and who bore the consequences for the decisions made." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Interview workers, residents, and stakeholders and review records to identify how and why major decisions against the public interest were made at the city, including the layoffs of hundreds of staff, the replacement of the city manager, and the rollback of affordable housing requirements and development fees." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Improve transparency and expose the problems at the city with a worker-led audit, interviewing current and past city workers, city partners, and the public to improve service delivery and cut waste." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Fight waste and bureaucratic absurdities from Ken Sim’s mismanagement. If there’s wasted money at the City on management bloat, consultants, and outsourcing, strange bureaucratic loops, and duplication of work, the frontline workers know it best." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Identify why progress towards city goals of affordability, families, renters, and climate has stalled or reversed under Ken Sim, and get back on course. The city is failing to meet its targets on affordable housing, homelessness, transportation, and climate under Ken Sim. Vancouver’s Healthy City strategy was abandoned without reporting back on how Sim failed. We need to review why these areas are being neglected, and change priorities to get back on target." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Fix the ways that the bureaucracy is broken, by reviewing service and systems performance, patron experience, staff climate, and bringing more voices to the table to transform the City." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Appoint a team to deliver an Affordability Audit for Vancouver, that outlines the places where people’s cost of living is growing, and where the city can use its power to lower costs, and to set new targets and a path to a more affordable city." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Identify and crack down on violations of public trust. Where improper conduct against the public interest is found to have potentially occurred, the city must take definitive action to restore trust, using an empowered integrity commissioner, and if necessary, an investigation." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Empower the Integrity Commissioner to hold politicians accountable, and update the city code of conduct to prioritize breaches of public trust. The integrity commissioner found Sim and ABC councillors broke the code of conduct by coordinating amendment wording and expected votes in private group chats before public meetings. When a separate investigation found Sim misused his office to “objectively harass” Councillor Orr, ABC voted down any accountability for his conduct." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Enhance the independence of the Auditor General, and give them the resources they need to conduct the investigations that are needed. The Auditor General does great and important work, but they are accountable to city council." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Implement the Auditor General’s 10 Recommendations in their 2026 Land Sales Audit to prevent botched land deals that cost the city millions. Ken Sim and ABC received this shocking report outlining $60 million+ in lost revenues and chose not to act. We will." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Ban the revolving door between industry and government. COPE will implement mandatory cooling off periods between appointments in city government, and work in private sector industries that lobby the city." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Bring in a municipal lobbying registry. The public deserves to know how and when the super-rich are influencing decisions made by city governments. The city can take steps on its own, but we’ll fight to strengthen city authority and make sure toxic influence can’t hide from public oversight." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Fight for transparency and accountability at the Vancouver School Board (VSB) by promoting engagement with parents, students, unions, employees and the broader community in VSB decision making through:
• Open, moderated live-streamed, meetings which allow for public questions.
• Town halls, brainstorming sessions, and participatory budget processes."
— Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Transparent and ongoing oversight of the Superintendent as the sole employee of the trustees." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Conducting regular reviews of governance and operational policies to promote the empowerment of elected trustees to make decisions on improving public education." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Fewer private board meetings." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Oppose privatization and public-private-partnerships (PPPs), and work to bring city contractors in as unionized city employees." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Government Procurement
COPE promise
"Introduce a Buy Vancouver policy to encourage and promote the development of sustainable circular economic systems in Vancouver and the lower mainland, prioritize local producers for city procurement, build resilience against US tariffs and create jobs." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Public Services
After-School Programs
COPE promise
City Workers
COPE promises
"Restore the city’s living wage policy and ensure that Vancouver is an ethical employer." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
"Oppose privatization and public-private- partnerships (PPPs), and work to bring city contractors in as unionized city employees." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Reconciliation & Indigenous Nations
Everything else
Circular Economy
COPE promise
"Support circular economy initiatives and aggressively move towards a zero-waste economy, supporting programs like tool libraries, community repair programs, free stores, and programs like FreeGeek that repair electronics and recirculate them." — Fight for Vancouver, retrieved 2026-10-15
Biography
For more than 30 years I worked at BC Children's Hospital in Cytogenetics and Pathology, in a career grounded in science and public service. I was also raising two children and we were always appreciative of the sports fields, pools, arenas, and community centres that we used heavily. I am heart broken at the current state of our recreation facilities which have been neglected for years and are crumbling before our eyes. It is why I agreed to run for Park Board this year.
Outside of work and family life, I organized fundraisers, educational events, and campaigns supporting Indigenous land defenders, environmental organizations, and social justice initiatives.
My parents and grandparents were born in Vancouver before being forcibly uprooted and interned during WWII.. Their history reminds me that justice, human rights, and environmental protection are all connected. We cannot separate the health of our communities from the health of the environment.
It reminds me of standing arm in arm with Indigenous matriarchs and young climate activists on Burnaby Mountain protesting the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. We were arrested together because we believed some things are worth standing up for. Fighting for the future has become even more personal as I now have a baby grandchild, so have even more skin in the game.
Recently, I became a certified Forest Therapy guide because I've seen how spending time in nature profoundly improves our sense of well-being and it is my hope that the more time we spend out there, the more we will want to protect it.
Like COPE, I believe our city belongs to the people who live here—not to corporations and those seeking to profit from the sale of public land.
Our parks, beaches, community centres, and rec facilities are not luxuries–we need them both for our physical and mental health, to combat the loneliness epidemic by creating a sense of community, and to help protect us as climate change transforms our city.