This event is now full!  To place your name on a waiting list please contact Nick Redpath at NRedpath@rdn.bc.ca

The PIBC Vancouver Island North Chapter is excited to bring you a professional development event on the West Coast of Vancouver Island! The 2023 West Coast Affordable Housing Conference will be held February 2nd to February 4th, 2023, at the Tofino Resort and Marina in Tofino, BC. Registration opens later this November.
 

About this Event

Join planners, students, and other professionals from across Vancouver Island and beyond! This event, held in Tofino, will be of value to anyone interested in affordable housing topics such as current housing research, innovations and funding programs, housing agreements, housing corporations, temporary housing solutions, and more.
 

Conference Overview

This event will bring planners to the West Coast for an informed discussion on affordable housing, a topic that impacts every community, small or large. Join a diverse range of experts to discuss challenges and opportunities they experience in their respective roles in providing affordable housing.

This event will explore research, partnerships, funding, regulations and the true costs associated with building affordable housing within northern and remote communities. Speakers with government, legal and development backgrounds will provide their perspectives and experiences to create a balanced narrative exploring successes, failures, tools, programs and upcoming opportunities to address this ongoing challenge.

We encourage you to join us in Tofino as we bring multiple sectors to the table for a discussion on the challenges and opportunities encountered as we face the ongoing affordable housing crisis.
 

The Program

The three-day event will include various professional development, social and networking opportunities. The program will include a Thursday evening opening reception featuring a welcoming address from a keynote speaker followed by a full day of diverse and informative speaker sessions on Friday. Included are speakers from the Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation, Young Anderson Barristers and Solicitors, Tofino Housing Corporation, Vancouver Island University, Human Studio Architects, and other representatives from the local development community. Saturday morning will be a guided mobile tour to give attendees a chance to get out and see examples of planning and housing projects in the community.

To view program click here
 

About Our Speakers

We are excited that the following speakers will be joining us at the conference!

Cleo Corbett RPP, MCIP - Senior Specialist, Government Relations, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Cleo Corbett, MCIP, RPP, is a dynamic speaker who brings 20 years municipal planning experience to her new role as a CMHC Senior Specialist with Government Relations. Cleo is a registered professional planner with housing expertise in development approvals, long-range policy development and social planning. She balances a busy career and family life with tennis, skiing and rock and roll.
 

Elizabeth Tang – Specialist, Outreach and Project Development, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Elizabeth Tang is focused on engaging with professionals in the housing industry, academics and provincial and municipal governments to ensure access to the latest and most relevant housing information from CMHC. She has been with CMHC since 2006. Prior to working at CMHC, Elizabeth was Trade Commissioner, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. She is a LEED Green Associate, and holds a MBA from the University of British Columbia with a specialization in sustainability and business strategic management.
 

Guy Patterson RPP, MCIP – Partner, Young Anderson Barristers and Solicitors
Guy Patterson, a partner with Young Anderson, completed his law degree at UBC and clerked at the British Columbia Supreme Court before articling at Young Anderson. He was called to the bar and joined the firm as an associate in March 2015. Before law school Guy worked as a planner for local governments and non-profit organizations in British Columbia, and for a brief stint in Johannesburg, South Africa. Guy is a registered professional planner and a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners, and maintains a general practice in municipal law with a focus on planning and land use management, and subdivision regulation.
 

Bruce Haden – Principal, Human Studio Architects
Bruce Haden is a Principal at Human Studio Architects in Vancouver. He has led the design of multiple cultural, housing and infrastructure projects in communities around western Canada.  This work includes multiple Indigenous projects.  The work ranges from steel modular high-rise housing in Vancouver, to infill townhouses in Tofino to a Cultural / Community Centre in the Yukon.
 

Chris Bozman - Owner, Saltwater Building Company
Chris is the owner of Saltwater Building Co., located in Ucluelet.  Over his career he has worked throughout British Columbia, the Yukon and Nunavut. During this time he has completed a number of projects in the affordable space and become an active housing advocate. As the past president of the Canadian Home Builders Association, he has had the opportunity to work with both local and provincial governments on finding solutions to the complex housing issues we are currently facing.
 

Ian Scott, MCIP, RPP, Executive Director, Tofino Housing Corporation + Ian Scott Planning Services
Ian Scott leads the development of affordable housing in Tofino and the Gulf Islands and provides consulting services to local governments on affordable housing policy and delivery. With a background in the environmental non-profit and local government planning sectors, Ian has worked in private practice for the past 10 years working with private, non-profit, and local government clients. He has developed a specialty in non-profit affordable housing and has led the Tofino Housing Corporation reboot from 2017 to 2023, facilitating the development of close to 90 units of new affordable housing and putting the Corporation on path to becoming a robust housing organization.  

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Thank You to Our Sponsors

We would like to thank the following sponsors for generously supporting the West Coast Affordable Housing Conference!

Gold Sponsor
Young Anderson Barristers and Solicitors

Silver Sponsor
McElhanney
WestUrban Developments Ltd.

Bronze Sponsor 
Urban Systems
Small Housing BC

Sponsorship Opportunities

A limited number of sponsorship opportunities are available for supporting the West Coast Affordable Housing Conference. Please click here to download the 2023 West Coast Conference sponsorship package and contact Sophie King at sophie.king@pibc.bc.ca for complete details on sponsorship opportunities.