This is a volunteer-driven project of Nanaimo Climate Action Hub. The website is based on ClimateFast’s website for the City of Toronto. The website was built using WebCommand, with website hosting costs funded by Climate Reality Canada.

If you are interested in hearing more news and events related to climate action in Nanaimo sign up for the Nanaimo Climate Action Hub’s newsletter. If you would like to join the Nanaimo Climate Action Hub and participate in volunteer activities such as keeping this website up to date please see our membership form.

As an individual, one of the most significant climate actions we can take is to vote. Nanaimo has a strong climate plan, but it is the many smaller decisions made by council after the plan is passed that put it into action. This database helps residents stay informed about what is happening in Nanaimo by presenting councillors’ votes in a clear and transparent manner. Having this database shows that residents are paying attention to the council's climate commitments on a vote-by-vote basis and provides them with the information they need to have a conversation with their councilors and hold them accountable. Finding that information is daunting for an individual, so with the help of many volunteers Nanaimo Climate Action Hub has consolidated it into an easily accessible format.

Please see our project scope section.

A high priority item is for climate-related motions that set the direction or provide the opportunity for significant emissions reductions, climate adaptation and increased resiliency.

There are a few possible reasons why an item might not appear on this website:

• It was voted on prior to the current city council’s term (November 7. 2022) or after July 6, 2026.
• It was deemed not relevant to the categories within our scope.
• It was deemed a minor item, falling within the scope of a more significant category (for example, an individual homeowner’s application to the home energy retrofit finance program).
• It was excluded because it was not clear whether the best vote for climate change would be in favour or opposed (for example, the Sustainable Building Policy that replaced an existing Policy requiring LEED Gold certification - without significant analysis, it would be difficult to determine if this was a net gain for the climate. Having it in the first place was the significant initiative).
• We included a different vote on the same issue (for example, if we included a vote to adopt a bylaw amendment, we would not include votes on the first three readings of that bylaw amendment).

Note that you can find any city council vote on the city’s voting dashboard. You can search by keyword to find all votes on a topic.

A Climate-Positive is an item that, through either carrying the item or defeating the item, will have a positive impact on climate change (it is not an assessment of the person casting the vote). For example, voting for the Climate Hazard Assessment and Mapping Project has a positive impact in preparing for a changing climate. While voting against supporting the BC Council of Forest Industries re: the "Request for Endorsement of Forestry is a Solution" campaign has a positive impact; research shows that managed forestry in Canada is a major contributor to climate change.

A Climate-Negative item is an item that, through either carrying the item or defeating the item, will have a negative impact on climate change (it is not an assessment of the person casting the vote). For example, carrying the Rezoning Application No. RA461 - 1100 Cedar Road, 1505 and 1605 Fielding Road, and 1750 Rajeena Way (Sandstone) has a negative impact on climate change due to the significant number of trees to be cleared for the development and increased traffic. Voting against or defeating the postponement of the Rezoning Application No. RA503 - 950 Phoenix Way (Part 2) is a vote against climate change, as this application is also for significant development of forested lands. Developing forested lands, or greenfield sites, has a negative impact on climate change, as it both releases greenhouse gas emissions from the loss of forests and wetlands and reduces climate adaptation from natural systems.

The colour red and the X are used to provide visual cues for an item or a vote that has a negative impact on climate change. The colour green and a ✔ are used to provide visual cues for an item or a vote that has a positive impact on climate change.

Votes are categorized as absent if the mayor or council member was not at the meeting when a vote took place, or if they recused themselves from the vote due to a conflict of interest.

We opted to include one vote per issue to keep the number of items manageable and simplify the data. Bylaws and bylaw amendments have to pass three readings before a final vote to adopt them. We included the last vote that took place on any relevant item. For example, this means that if a bylaw amendment passed the first two readings but failed at the third reading, we included only the third reading. For bylaws or amendments that were adopted, we included only the final vote on adoption.