Andrea Reimer is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician, who served on

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

from 2008 to 2018. She was first elected in 2002 to the

Vancouver School Board The Vancouver School Board (VSB; officially School District 39 Vancouver) is a school district based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A board of nine trustees normally manages this district that serves the city of Vancouver and the Uni ...

as a

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

candidate."2002 Election Results"
''Vancouver City Website'', Accessed September 1, 2009. She was defeated as a Green Party candidate in her re-election campaign in 2005"2005 Election Results"
''Vancouver City Website'', Accessed September 1, 2009. and then joined the Vision Vancouver party to support Gregor Robertson's mayoral campaign.Naiobh O'Connor. "Green Party staple opts for new Vision". Vancouver Courier, May 7, 2008. She subsequently ran for and won a council seat in the 2008 municipal election."2008 Election Results"
''Vancouver City Website'', Accessed September 1, 2009. After serving four terms on council, she chose not to run for re-election in the 2018 municipal election. She is currently an adjunct professor at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

and

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...

, and served on the UBC Board of Governors as a provincial appointee from December 2019 to October 2020.

Background

Reimer was born in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

and put into

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

.Linda Solomon. "The Wild Side of Intellect", ''Today's Vancouver Woman'', August 22, 2008. When she was 8 months old, she was adopted by a couple from Vancouver who subsequently relocated to CalgaryJanet Steffenhagen. "Protest started early for school trustee", ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', December 10, 2002. prior to her starting school. Reimer's adoptive parents divorced when she was a pre-teen. Reimer started smoking and drinking at the age of 10, and started to experiment with

illicit drugs The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. While some drugs are illegal to possess, many governments regulate t ...

at the age of 11, and

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

at the age of 12. She was homeless between the ages of 14 and 19,"Andrea Reimer’s Rising Star"
, ''Today's Vancouver Woman'', August 23, 2008.O'Connor, Naoibh. "Street smarts", ''

Vancouver Courier The ''Vancouver Courier'' was a Canadian semi-weekly local newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, by the Van-Net chain owned by Glacier Media Group. In 2007, it was Canada's largest distributed community newspaper, with a we ...

'', July 25, 2004, Page 1. which included travel to places throughout

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. During this period she dumpster-dived, got arrested several times, got involved in

hard drugs Recreational drug use indicates the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime by modifying the perceptions and emotions of the user. When a ...

, and developed

addictions Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...

. When she was 18, Reimer worked in El Salvador at a low income housing project, which she later cited as the catalyst for her environmental awareness."Crusaders for a green planet: Our emerging leaders", ''

'', February 17, 2007, Page B-2. Although an atheist, at 19 Reimer enrolled at Concordia University to major in religious studies. She

dropped out Dropping out refers to leaving high school, college, university or another group for practical reasons, necessities, inability, apathy, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves. Canada In Canada, most ind ...

during her first year after six weeks of classes, and moved to Vancouver. In Vancouver, Reimer joined a government sponsored job training program and started working with Gordon Neighbourhood House Youth Works. She was then sent for a practicum to the

Western Canada Wilderness Committee The Western Canada Wilderness Committee (often shortened to Wilderness Committee) is a non-profit environmental education organization that aims to protect Canada's wild spaces and species. Paul George, along with Richard Krieger, were the foundin ...

. Reimer eventually worked her way up to become the executive director of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee,"Andrea Reimer: Wilderness, Family, City Hall"
''

Vancouver Observer ''The Vancouver Observer'' is an independent online newspaper. The site was founded in 2006 by journalist Linda Solomon as an online platform for Vancouver bloggers, writers, reporters, photographers and filmmakers. Novelist Ruth Ozeki was inv ...

'', December 10, 2008. where she was paid approximately $2000 a month.Glenn Bohn. "Green winner will tackle Liberals: SCHOOL BOARD: Andrea Reimer says she expects 'tough times' ahead Series: Civic Election 2002", ''

'', November 18, 2002. While executive director of the Wilderness Committee, Reimer supported the creation of a

carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions required to produce goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the "hidden" social costs of carbon emissions, which are otherwise felt only in indirect ways like more sev ...

by the BC Provincial Government. It was subsequently passed. In 2007, she was chosen by

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

to deliver the Inconvenient Truth presentation to local audiences,Doug Ward. "Vancity boss takes green lessons from Al Gore", ''

'', January 13, 2007."Councillor Andrea Reimer"
''Vancouver City Website'', Accessed September 1, 2009. which she delivered to over 10,000 people. Reimer has volunteered with many community organizations including serving as: * Past President of the CCEC

Credit Union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provisi ...

* Past President Canadian Women Voters Congress * former Vice-Chair of Your Local Farmer's Market Society * former Co-Chair of the City of Vancouver's Food Policy Council * Director of Toxic Free Canada She serves as a Director of Environmental Education Action Project, and sits on the Vancouver Foundation's Health and Social Development Advisory Committee.

Political career

Green Party

Reimer joined the

in 1996, and volunteered on the 1996 provincial election, the 1999 civic election, the 2000 federal by-election and the 2001 provincial election. She has held internal elected office as Communication Chair, Green Party of BC (1999–2002) and Chair, Green Party of Vancouver (2002–2008). Reimer was the first Green Party candidate ever elected to a school board seat in Canada, when she was elected in 2002.Mike Howell. "Vision quest;Energetic and flooded with members, Vision Vancouver led by Gregor Robertson believes it's poised to take over city hall. But as a "progressive" party backed heavily by developers and casino operators, what does it really stand for?", ''

'', September 24, 2008. She ran for re-election as a Green Party candidate in 2005 yet was defeated.

Vision Vancouver

Reimer joined the Vision Vancouver party to support Gregor Robertson's mayoral campaign, which she co-chaired. She subsequently ran forGerry Bellett. "Former Green seeks Vision; Ex-school trustee Reimer will run for city council nomination", ''

'', July 17, 2008.Catherine Rolfsen. "New faces vying for city seats; Vision, NPA slates have candidates targeting key demographics", ''

'', October 11, 2008. and won a council seat in the 2008 municipal election.

School Board

As a School Trustee, Reimer supported efforts to remove vending machines and corporate logos from schools. She pushed for getting school garden programs into schools. In January 2003, she supported the Green Party's position against bringing the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

to Vancouver in 2010 due to concerns about the money it would require. In 2008 she characterized her position as still ambivalent about the money spent on the Olympics but prepared to put her full energy into ensuring the Games were as good as possible.

City Council

As City Councillor, Reimer was a member of Gregor Robertson's Greenest City Team. The team was tasked with catalyzing immediate action on green issues, a ten-year action plan to become the world's greenest city and creating an environment supportive of green economic development in the city of Vancouver. Reimer introduced a motion, which passed, to open Vancouver city data to the public and endorse the principles of open source. Reimer introduced a motion, which passed unanimously, to allow Vancouver residents to keep hens in their backyards."Vancouver latest municipality to allow urban chickens"
, ''

'', March 4, 2009. The motion was opposed by the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Vancouver Humane Society, and the BC Poultry Association. The proposal was brought forward as a result of a recommendation from the City of Vancouver's Food Policy Council. Reimer's other appointments on Vancouver City Council included: * Chair, Standing Committee on Planning and Environment * Vancouver Economic Development Commission * Joint Childcare Council * Family Court-Youth Justice Committee Reimer also sat on the Metro Vancouver Regional District board and was appointed to the Regional Planning Committee, Agricultural Committee, Electoral Area A Committee and GVRD/UBC Joint Committee.

Twitter controversy

In October 2009, Reimer posted on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

regarding the British Columbia Minister of Housing and Social Development

Rich Coleman Richard Thomas Coleman (born c. 1956) is a Canadian politician and former police officer, who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in British Columbia from 1996 to 2020, and is a former interim leader of the British Columbia Liberal P ...

's weight"Think before you Tweet"
''

CKNW CKNW is a news/ talk formatted radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia, owned by Corus Entertainment. It broadcasts on an assigned frequency of AM 980 kHz, and is unusual in that it is a 50,000-watt, Class A station broadcasting on a regi ...

'', October 30, 2009. in response to provincial legislation proposed by Coleman to bring homeless people to shelters during extreme weather, even against their will."Vancouver councillor apologizes for Twitter message"
'' CTV'', October 30, 2009. Reimer posted that instead of police bringing homeless people to shelters during extreme weather that she was thinking of introducing legislation to have the police bring Coleman to Jenny Craig, an international weight loss company, on his next visit to Vancouver."Impolitic Twitter post prompts apology"
'' CBC'', October 31, 2009."Low Blow"
'' 24 Hours'', October 30, 2009, Page 3. Coleman responded by calling the comment amateurish and from a Councilor that "doesn't know any better." Reimer later apologized for the posting.

Family

Reimer and her husband have a child. They live near Trout Lake in

East Vancouver East Vancouver (also called "East Van" or "the East Side") is a region within the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Geographically, East Vancouver is bordered to the north by Burrard Inlet, to the south by the Fraser River, and to th ...

References

External links

Andrea Reimer
at Vancouver City Council {{DEFAULTSORT:Reimer, Andrea British Columbia school board members Canadian environmentalists Canadian women environmentalists Women municipal councillors in Canada Green Party of British Columbia politicians Living people Politicians from Saskatoon Vision Vancouver councillors Women in British Columbia politics Year of birth missing (living people)