The COVID-19 pandemic prompted many to reassess if big city life was for them, and for lawyer Laura Ramsden and her partner, it offered the chance to fulfil a lifelong dream of living in a small town away from it all.
So the couple decided to pack their bags and leave Vancouver for Spud Valley, and two-and-a-half years later, they’ve fallen in love with the Pemberton community.
“The more I get to know people here, the more I love the place,” said Ramsden.
“People are very welcoming. They’re also incredibly helpful and interesting, and it’s just a great place.”
Now, Ramsden is looking to give back to her new community by serving on its municipal council.
Born and raised in Vancouver, Ramsden studied at the University of British Columbia, receiving a bachelor of science and law degree. In her day job as a lawyer, she handles everything from real estate and corporate services to general civil litigation and tenancy disputes.
Ramsden believes her perspective as a younger person—one currently renting, but wanting to lay down roots in Pemberton and start a family—is something needed on council.
“I’m in a position where I can come forward and bring the perspective of a large portion of the village’s population to the table,” Ramsden said.
“I’m renting; I’m on the younger side. I’m just starting up building my business. I don’t have a family yet—hopefully in the near future. I think that that perspective has sometimes been missing at the table, and not that it hasn’t been considered, but I think it’s also a different point of view.”
The top issue facing Pemberton this election is housing affordability, in Ramsden’s view, which she said affects all other aspects of the community’s development.
“Housing affordability has become particularly acute in the last couple of years since COVID, and it’s gotten to the point where it’s really impacting so many aspects of the community,” she said.
“You’re seeing it impact people’s businesses, you’re hearing local businesses who say they can find skilled workers and people who are willing to move up here to do it, but then those people can’t even find a place to rent, let alone buy.”
Ramsden noted the lack of housing has made it difficult to find staff for child-care spaces in the village, resulting in Pembertonians putting off having children or having to take time away from their careers to do so.
“Even if we could find spaces or find people who would be willing to come in and be early childhood educators, there’s no place for them to live, or there are very limited spaces,” Ramsden said.
“That means there’s less affordable child-care, which means families that have young children, one spouse is working part-time or having to stay home with the kids which, again, just affects families’ ability to meet all their bills.”
Ramsden believes the solution to the housing crisis requires a team effort using all the tools in the municipal toolbox, and that the municipality must work closely with other levels of government to find solutions.
In particular, Ramsden is keen to see if the municipality could use property taxes to incentivize second homeowners to rent to long-term tenants, or look at ways the village could reduce hurdles for new buildings and developments.
“[I want to look] at the policies and building codes to make it more efficient, cheaper to build, and look at adding in some different housing models that might increase the supply and bring the demand and the price down,” she said.
Ramsden joins Ted Craddock, Derek Graves, Katrina Nightingale, Jennie Helmer, and Eli Zysman in the race for Pemberton’s four council seats. Check back with Pique in the coming weeks for more Pemberton election coverage.
Election day is Oct. 15.
