About Matthew
Healthcare professional. Union leader. Community advocate.
When I began my career in healthcare, I was drawn to Nanaimo by the mid-island lifestyle, employment opportunities, and the natural beauty of the region. It is a story shared by many who call Nanaimo home: families relocating from the mainland to raise their children; young adults building a life and dreaming of owning a home; retirees seeking the climate on the West Coast. Over the last several years, working with patients of all backgrounds at our regional hospital gave me a window into the needs of a whole community, a community that deserves to live in a city its residents are proud to call home.
Alongside my medical imaging position, I serve as a regional director with the Health Sciences Association of BC, representing over 2,300 healthcare and social service workers on Vancouver Island. In the community, I volunteer with the Nanaimo District Hospital Foundation, raising funds for medical equipment at the regional hospital, and with Royal Canadian Legion Branch 256. I am an active member of the Rock City Neighbourhood Association and l'Association des Francophones de Nanaimo, and I serve as Treasurer of my strata council.
I am running for Nanaimo City Council because I intend to raise a family in this city, and I want other families to have the same option. That means primary healthcare access every resident can rely on, a public transit network that serves the workers and the patients who depend on it, and flexible childcare hours that make it possible to hold a shift job and raise children at the same time. These are the areas where a council can make measurable progress in a four-year term, and where the tools already exist if council chooses to use them.
Every community decision this council makes should be measured against how it improves access to care, and to the people who deliver it.
The combination of front-line experience and governance experience shapes how I approach the work. I know what it means to be one of the voices at the table when decisions affect the people working in my industry, and I am motivated to build the coalition on council that can produce consistent, meaningful change.
Away from work and community roles, I hike and cycle through the trails and coastline that first drew me to the mid-island, and I play volleyball and swim when the schedule allows. I am a first-time homeowner, and I understand what the rising cost of housing and property tax mean for young families and for the residents on fixed incomes who built this community.
I am running for Nanaimo City Council to serve the residents of this community with integrity, and in doing so, I pledge to ask uncomfortable questions and make unpopular motions if that is what ensures the city does what benefits future generations, and not merely what is convenient to justify another term. Providing quality healthcare to my patients is part of my identity, and I bring the same standard of dedication to the residents of Nanaimo.