Kennedy Stewart (Canadian politician)

In 2012, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair appointed Stewart as official opposition critic for science and technology and as a member of the standing committee on industry, science and technology. In Parliament, he opposed the Conservative government's elimination of the long-form census and funding cuts for basic scientific research.[12] He tabled legislation (Motion 453) to protect scientific integrity in government departments and end the muzzling of federal scientists.[13]

In 2013, Stewart introduced Bill C-558, The Parliamentary Science Officer Act. Following the elimination of Canada's National Science Advisor in 2008, the bill aimed to create an independent science watchdog tasked with providing Parliament with sound scientific information and ensuring decisions are informed by the best available evidence.[14] Bill C-558 was endorsed by Evidence for Democracy, the Canadian Association of University Teachers, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, and the Centre for Science in the Public Interest.[15]

Stewart put forward a proposal (Motion 428) for the House of Commons to begin accepting petitions electronically as a means to engage more Canadians in the democratic process.[16] It further proposed that short debates be triggered in Parliament if an online petition receives a significant number of signatures and is sponsored by at least five MPs. Stewart's proposal was endorsed by Ed Broadbent, Preston Manning, and a number of civil society groups.[17] Being opposed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative cabinet, Motion 428 passed the House of Commons by only two votes (142-140) on January 29, 2014.[18] It was widely viewed as a "surprise win" for the official opposition.[19]

Stewart held public consultations with Burnaby residents on Kinder Morgan's proposal to build a new export-only, bitumen-based crude oil pipeline through his riding.[20] Stewart became a vocal opponent of the project, citing community concerns over property expropriation, decreasing housing values, increased tanker traffic in the Burrard Inlet, the use of temporary foreign workers, and the lack of benefits for British Columbia.[21] His constituency office helped local residents sign-up to participate in the National Energy Board's review of the project.[22] In 2013, the Burnaby Newsleader named Stewart their "Newsmaker of the Year" for his community work on the Kinder Morgan pipeline.[21]

Stewart is an advocate for social housing and federal action to address BC's housing crisis.[23] In 2014, he put forward a BC-specific affordable housing strategy (Motion 547) to recognize housing as a fundamental right, expand public investments in housing co-ops, maintain rent subsidies for low-income families, set targets for reducing and ending homelessness, and study the impact of investor speculation and housing vacancies on real estate prices.[24] His motion was endorsed by the City of Burnaby.[25]

He was re-elected in the new riding of Burnaby South in the 2015 election.

Following the election, Stewart was re-appointed by Tom Mulcair as NDP critic for science.[26]

On December 4, 2015, Parliament launched its new website for accepting electronic petitions from Canadians.[27] Under the new system, initiated by Stewart's motion that passed before the election, the federal government has to respond within 45 days to online petitions if they are sponsored by one member of Parliament and receive at least 500 signatures.[28] Stewart sponsored the first official e-petition in Canada on behalf of two local constituents.[29]

On December 9, 2015, Stewart was elected by his caucus colleagues as chair of the NDP's British Columbia caucus.[30] In a statement, he vowed to support the NDP's newly elected MPs getting established in Parliament, strengthen engagement with stakeholders and constituents across the province, and hold the new Liberal government accountable for its election promises on affordable housing and pipeline reviews.[30]

On March 23, 2018, Stewart was arrested for civil contempt during a demonstration against the Kinder Morgan pipeline. Other members of the demonstration, including fellow member of Parliament Elizabeth May, were also arrested concerning the same incident. They were accused of violating a court order requiring those demonstrating to stay five metres back from company work sites, when they allegedly blocked the roadway.[31] On April 9, 2018, Justice Kenneth Affleck of the British Columbia Supreme Court recommended that Stewart and the others arrested should be charged with criminal contempt in relation to the alleged incident.[32][33][34] On April 16, 2018, it was reported that special prosecutors would be overseeing the charges against Stewart and May.[35] On May 14, 2018, Stewart pleaded guilty to criminal contempt of court for his actions during the protest and was fined $500. As criminal contempt is a common law—not a Criminal Code—offence, Stewart does not have a criminal record.[36][37]

During the 2018 campaign, Stewart promised to address the housing crisis by approving the construction of more rental homes, co-ops, and market housing aimed at middle-income workers and families.[42] He also promised to renew city-held leases to protect the city's current 6000 cooperative housing units.[43] Since becoming mayor, Stewart has supported the Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Project (MIRHPP), which allows developers of secured market rental housing to add more units to their developments than the current zoning would allow as long as 20 percent of the units are permanently reserved for moderate income households.[44]

In August 2019, the federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Jean-Yves Duclos, and Stewart announced a partnership where the federal government would provide $184 million in low-interest loans and grants to fund the construction of 1,100 units of affordable housing on City-owned land.[45]

In November 2019, Stewart – along with Vancouver City Council – voted to increase the Empty Homes Tax rate from 1% to 1.25% for the 2020 fiscal year and approved future increases in 0.25% increments in 2021 and 2022.[46]

As promised during the 2018 campaign, Stewart created a Mayor’s Overdose Emergency Task Force to address the opioid crisis in Vancouver.[47] The task force produced 31 recommendations, which were unanimously approved by Council for implementation in December 2018. An additional eight recommendations were unanimously approved in July 2019, as well as a Safe Supply Statement advocating for a regulated, safe supply of drugs to prevent deaths from drug poisoning.[48]

During the 2018 campaign, Stewart expressed his support for extending the planned Broadway extension of the SkyTrain's Millennium Line to Arbutus all the way to the University of British Columbia (UBC).[49] He said that 2020 is a "critical year" to secure federal and provincial funding for the project[50] and, on January 29, 2020, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Musqueam Indian Band, the Squamish Nation, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and UBC, agreeing to work with the other signatories to seek funding to build SkyTrain to UBC.[51]

In November 2019, Stewart announced that he plans to run for re-election in the 2022 municipal elections.[52]