Heyman was first elected as the MLA for Vancouver-Fairview in 2013 and was appointed Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy in 2017.
In March, Heyman took to X to announce he won’t be seeking another term. During a visit to Nelson on Monday, he told Vista Radio he decided to step back to allow room for other people with fresh energy and ideas to have their turn in cabinet.
“I’ve always believed that people who hold elected office of any kind should make room for other people with fresh energy, fresh ideas. There are others in our caucus who have been patiently waiting for a chance to be in cabinet. There are new people running, and there’s no room if people don’t decide that politics doesn’t have to be a lifelong career.”
Heyman said one of his proudest accomplishments is his work with the First Nations Leadership Council, which has played a crucial role in introducing a revitalized environmental assessment code in British Columbia.
The legislation was the first in the province to recognize the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a guiding principle for the Environmental Assessment Office. Heyman said the approach has helped prevent conflicts and legal battles by ensuring First Nations are consulted early on.
“We’d seen for decades projects designed going through the process and then court battles and other battles with First Nations who just simply hadn’t been consulted early enough, and had they been, it probably would have meant for a more successful process as well as a greater chance of success for the project proponents, spending far less money, so I’m very proud of that.”
Heyman also introduced the Clean BC climate and economic plan, a significant initiative that he feels proud to have been a part of.
Additionally, he said he’s pleased with his involvement in the development of a number of programs that support the conservation and protection of the BC coastline.
However, he said the opposition did create some challenges during his tenure in terms of policy developments and some of the consequences that came with them.
“You can’t just design a perfect policy or a perfect solution because there are always consequences on people. Sometimes it’s expense, sometimes it’s the potential for employment opportunities, sometimes that, for instance, our Clean BC plastics action plan.”
He added that communication and transparency with the public were also a challenge, stating that he constantly encountered people who were under the assumption the province was not doing anything to fight climate change when that wasn’t the case.
“The truth is we’ve put in place significant measures over seven years, but if somebody wants to oppose what we’re doing, whether it’s politically or because their vested business interests are threatened, it’s very easy to come up with three, four or five word slogans that grab people’s attention. It’s much harder to explain what are often complex solutions that will be phased in over time.”
Heyman is endorsing former Vancouver Mayor Andrea Reimer as the NDP nomination for his riding in the upcoming election, stating on X that Reimer has a strong record as an environmentalist, an affordable housing advocate, and much more.
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