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Mathew Bond

Biography

submitted by the candidate or their team

After more than a decade living here, I'm still happy to say I am a proud newcomer to North Vancouver, passionate about our community and hopeful for our future. I am an outdoor enthusiast with a deep respect for our natural world and I enjoy all of the natural beauty the North Shore has to offer. I honour the original caretakers of these lands and believe that working in partnership with Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish Nations is essential to creating the fair and sustainable future we know is possible. I’m dedicated to making a difference in our community and have the energy, enthusiasm and experience to lead Council through the next four years. My parents both moved to the Lower Mainland from Ontario and worked hard to establish a successful small business in the tough economy of the early 80's – a business they still run today. My Dad is a home-renovations contractor and when I was young, my Mom and I would travel around the region picking up cheques, paying bills and signing contracts for the business. As soon as I was old enough to walk (and climb), I was out with my Dad working on job sites around Metro Vancouver. The dedication and resolve my parents demonstrated in building their small business through hard work and determination has certainly shaped my character.

I graduated from Simon Fraser University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Systems Engineering and a Certificate in Sustainable Community Development. I focused diligently to manage a full time engineering course load, maintain the grades necessary to keep a scholarship and work part time to pay my way through university without a student loan. I’m passionate about 21st century communities, transportation, and sustainability and am dedicated to life-long learning. Over the past decade I've spent hundreds of hours taking formal and informal training, attending lectures, conferences and webinars to see how the best cities around the world are taking on the challenges facing transportation, land use, housing, the natural world and climate change. I bring a breadth of experience, an exposure to new ideas, and a perspective from the best of the best on how to tackle today's issues in our community – in order to leave a better community behind for future generations. Before I started my family, I knew I wanted to settle in North Vancouver. I've lived near Lynn Canyon Park, in the heart of Lynn Valley, in the family-oriented community of Lynnmour and now live in an apartment in the Lynn Creek Town Centre with my two daughters who attend Lynnmour Elementary.

I've worked in the family business, the private sector and the public sector. For the first ten years of my professional career I traveled all across British Columbia, analyzing complex, multi-faceted transportation problems and implementing practical solutions. In 2018 I resigned my full time position to focus on caring for my young children. Since that time I've been a dad first and am heavily involved in my children's preschool and have been the Treasurer of the Lynn Valley Parent Participation Preschool since 2019. In addition to my time spent on Council, I work as a consulting engineer on major transportation infrastructure projects and as a bicycle courier.

As a Professional Engineer, it is my duty to hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and our natural world. This duty defines my character, which I have proven through consistent action in my personal life, my professional career and my dedication to community service. We need clear vision and collective action to ensure a healthier and more resilient community now – and for generations to come. I believe in the value of service and giving back to our community. I've been volunteering in our community for 15 years, working to make our outdoor trails the envy of the entire world. From 2008 to 2013, I was President of the North Shore Mountain Bike Association (NSMBA). During my leadership, the organization blossomed. What started as a group of struggling volunteers with too much to do, too little time and no money became an organization with full time paid staff, over thirty funding partnerships with the business community and local government, and an engaged and active membership. The NSMBA is now regarded around the world as a phenomenal success story. My leadership in setting a vision (and sticking to it), building the right team and nurturing the relationships and partnerships necessary to get things done was a key component in setting up the NSMBA to be the organization it is today. I'm proud to see how much more it has grown under the leadership and guidance of successive boards and staff.

During my two terms on Council I have served as: Alternate to the TransLink Mayor’s Council (2015-2018) Council liaison on the Major Infrastructure Projects Advisory Committee (2017-present) Heritage Advisory Committee (2017-present) Finance and Audit Committee (2019-present). I’ve also served on the Metro Vancouver Housing Committee (2019-present) and have been the strongest advocate for more affordable housing options in the District. After a series of affordable housing projects were canceled by Council behind closed doors, I successfully brought all discussions on using District land for housing out into the public. My successive motions on affordable rental housing are what has led to the number of successful partnership projects that have commenced in the DNV, including a new Metro Vancouver Housing project planned for Maplewood, and the planning for projects on Mountain Hwy and Hunter Street and St Denis Avenue in Lynn Creek. I’ve consistently advocated for, and supported active transportation to move our community towards the mode-shift targets in our Official Community Plan (OCP). As someone who cycles and takes transit as primary modes of transportation, I know firsthand the safety concerns and frustrations shared by those in our community who want the DNV to accelerate action to create safer, more affordable, accessible, and sustainable ways to move around. These mobility investments are investments in our collective health, and in our kids’ futures.

I value openness, transparency and accountability in government. I value honesty, loyalty and respect. I believe it is of utmost importance to earn the trust and respect of my friends, colleagues and you: my constituents. Once I have earned your trust and respect, I will do my utmost to keep it by being honest, open and loyal to my values, my beliefs and the commitments that I have made.

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