February 2025 Newsletter

New Legislative Session & Throne Speech

It has been very meaningful connecting with the community ahead of the BC Spring Legislative Session, when I return to a sitting of the Legislature in Victoria. My team and I had a great time hearing from constituents and celebrating with community groups.Did you have a good time enjoying the sun and snow here in Richmond? I hope you had a restful and celebratory January and February.In this newsletter, you will read more about affordability measures, our action plan to respond to economic uncertainty, local news about services we all depend on, and community events.In our next newsletter, we will include the speech from the Throne, from the BC Legislature. The speech is commonly referred to as the Throne Speech and it is written by the government of the day to explain why the Legislative Assembly is being assembled and to outline the government's goals. So stay tuned!

If you need assistance with a provincial issue, please don’t hesitate to reach out. My office is here to help at kelly.greene.mla@leg.bc.ca

Our Future Ahead

You may have heard that expected tariffs on Canadian goods going to the U.S. have been paused for 30 days. This isn't a time to step back—it’s extra time to prepare and strengthen our support for B.C. industry, no matter how the situation evolves.

While our direct response measures, like pulling U.S. products from B.C. liquor stores, are on hold, we remain ready to act if needed. For now, we're focused on fast-tracking projects that support our economy, diversifying trade partners, and making interprovincial trade easier.

This week, our government announced major energy and mining projects, including innovative wind and solar initiatives that will create jobs and prosperity in B.C., including here in Richmond.

I've been encouraged to see so many community members stepping up to support B.C. and Canadian goods—whether it's buying Canadian at the grocery store or supporting local businesses. Richmond thrives when we work together, and times like these highlight our strength.

Championing Public Education

As someone who got my start advocating for public education I always appreciate opportunities like I had in January to meet with the Trustees of the Richmond Board of Education, Superintendent Usih and Secretary Treasurer Wang.

I am grateful for their respectful advocacy for the 4,100 staff and 24,000+ students in the Richmond School District, and for their focus on the learner.

January 24th is United Nations International Day of Education in celebration of the role of education for peace and development. In 2025 our ability to teach critical thinking skills and ensure space for every student to learn and grow is so very important.

In the Community

Richmond is the home to 4 Rotary clubs:

• Rotary Club of Steveston: https://stevestonrotary.ca/

• Rotary Club of Richmond, BC: https://richmondrotary.com/

• Rotary Club of Richmond Sunrise: https://richmondsunriserotary.com/

• Rotary Club of Richmond Sunset: https://www.richmondsunsetrotary.org/These clubs support both our local and global communities. Each year around February, they host a gala dinner at a local Richmond restaurant to help raise awareness of their efforts and to celebrate Lunar New Year.

Real Acts of Caring Week

What You Can Do 

How to celebrate Real Acts of Caring Week  

Let’s make RAC Week as caring as possible! You can get involved by: 

1. Promoting RAC Week through social media by reposting caring and kind stories from RAC platforms:  

2. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realactsofcaring/ 

3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realactsofcaring/ 

4. Wearing purple during RAC Week 

5. Practicing RAC in your communities (and your schools or children's schools)  

6. Sharing your Real Acts of Caring on social media (tag @realactsbc, and use the hashtags #RACWeek and #realactsofcaring) 

Ideas for Real Acts of Caring in your community 

• Call or write to a teacher who changed your life. 

• Clean up a local park with your friends. 

• Hold the door open for someone. 

• Plant a flower that supports your local environment. 

• Volunteer at a food bank. 

• For more, please see the most popular ideas submitted by RAC Leadership Students. 

Provincial Honours - 2025 Call for Nominations

Nominations are open for the Province’s top honours, the Order of British Columbia and the Medal of Good Citizenship. These awards celebrate people who have demonstrated exceptional achievement, excellence, or distinction in a field of endeavour that benefits the people of B.C. or beyond. Nominations for both honours must be submitted by Friday, April 4, 2025, to be considered this year. See links above to submit a nomination today!

Steveston Interchange Project

The Steveston Interchange Project has reached a major milestone with the completion of the north half of the new overpass. Next steps include removing the existing overpass and building the new south half in its place. The Project is on track to be completed by fall 2025.

For the most up-to-date Project information on traffic impacts, visit the Highway 99 Tunnel Program website. If you have construction-related questions, please email StevestonProject@flatironcorp.com or call 1-888-270-1075 (24/7).

Events

 Check out what our Richmond restaurant scene has to offer for Valentine's Day, on the Tourism Richmond website!

Check out current winter and spring break facilities schedule -- City of Richmond BC (info on Admissions and Fees).

Visit the City events website and search for upcoming events via keywords and date range!

Our office is here for you

• We know that the winter months may be hard for some of us. People anywhere in Canada can call and text 9-8-8 if they are thinking about suicide or are worried about someone who is.

• Healthlink: dial 8-1-1

• BC211 — multilingual service that links people to resources for help: dial 2-1-1

• For financial supports for people, visit this page.  

• For general BC vaccination info, visit this page.

• To read and better prepare for road safety, visit PreparedBC webpage.