MVA
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About Us

Metro Vancouver Alliance is a grassroots coalition of community, faith, labour, and nonprofit organizations. Our vision is a world where communities of all kinds come together united by common goals. We know we must collaborate to tackle the issues we face today.

Civil society organizations face dwindling membership and participation due to the pressures facing our communities. Working with MVA re-engages your members on what they care about most and makes you a beacon of belonging in your community.

We work on the issues that matter to our membership and result in winnable actions that improve the community. We decide which issues to work on through a process of listening and discernment throughout the alliance.

MVA's past campaigns include living wage, poverty reduction plan, social inclusion, economic justice, affordable housing, accessible transit, affordable transit, community healthcare, workplace conditions and affordable housing.


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What We Do

Institutional Relationship Building

 Relationships are the bedrock of our power. We focus on building relationships within and between our members to create understanding, expand our sense of belonging and find common ground. When we develop relationships with people across lines of difference, the barriers that often prevent us from working together start to break down.

Listening-Research-Action Campaigns

Member organizations set the agenda together. We listen, discern the problems that are arising for people across institutions and then facilitate broad-based action to be taken on those issues. This is done through “listening sessions” within your institution, followed by the development of “research-action teams” composed of members from all of the different MVA-affiliated organizations, who collaboratively develop campaign platforms around specific issues.

Community Organizing Trainings

We offer in-depth community organizing training to members of our member institutions to empower them to create the changes in their communities that they want to see. We identify and develop untapped potential in your organization. We create organizational leaders out of everyday people through experiential learning and mentoring.
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Past Campaigns

Living Wages

In 2016, we won a commitment from the City of Vancouver to be a Living Wage employer. North Vancouver followed suit in March 2021. The minimum wage for all City employees and contractors is now $24.08 compared to the provincial minimum wage of $15.65.

Poverty Reduction

We successfully advocated for provincial legislation around poverty reduction. In April 2017, John Horgan (leader of the BCNDP and then-Premier) and Andrew Weaver (leader of the BC Green Party) stood before 800 MVA leaders at an Accountability Assembly held at the Italian Cultural Centre in East Vancouver and committed to legislate a poverty reduction strategy. In 2018, the province passed its first poverty reduction plan, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Act.

Affordable Housing

In 2016, we won commitments from the North Shore mayors and MLA to address the affordable housing crisis on the North Shore.

Affordable and Accessible Transit

In 2019, we won commitments for improved transit services, such as free transit for kids 12 and under from TransLink/BC Transit and handyDART funding which increased the accessibility of transit by providing door-to-door service for those with greater assistance needs. These changes were implemented in 2021.

Community Healthcare

In 2015 we organized with the Hospital Employees Union and local church congregations to successfully pressure the employer at Inglewood Care Home in West Vancouver to bargain an improved contract and job security, increasing the quality of care for residents.

In 2017 we won a commitment from the BC NDP to allocate resources for community healthcare centers.

Team

Staff
Lucy Everett, Project Organizer

lucy@metvanalliance.org

​Board of Directors
Naomi Fahrmann (St. Joseph the Worker Roman Catholic Church), Doug Kinna (BCGEU), The Rev. Michael Batten (St. Thomas Anglican), Maria Fe Infante (St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church), Sarah Bjorknas (CUPE Metro), Sepia Sharma (Fraser Health), George Pinto (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver)


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Our Member Organizations

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The Longhouse Council of
​Native Ministry United Church

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Sisters of the Child Jesus Roman Catholic

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St Mary's Roman Catholic Church

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Justice and Peace Unit, Anglican Diocese of New Westminster

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Presbytery of Westminster

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Urban Aboriginal Ministry, Anglican Diocese of New Westminster


Our Supporters

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In the Media

The Tyee (2014 March 28):     ​A New Kind of Political Force in Vancouver
Our Times (2014 March 31):     ​Metro Vancouver Alliance
Vancouver is Awesome (2014 October 10):    Major Vancouver parties grilled by lively crowd
CityNews (2014 October 10):    Vancouver mayoral candidates support living wage, better transit
CBC (2015 January 27):     Transit tax: Metro Vancouver Alliance plans forums to promote 'Yes' vote
Vancouver Sun (2015 June 9):     Metro Vancouver Alliance building on 'common ground'
Vancouver Observer (2015 July 8):     City of Vancouver to become a 'living wage employer'
Vancouver is Awesome (2015 July 8):     City of Vancouver to become a 'living wage employer'
Vancouver Observer (2015 July 27):     Paul Clark and the Metro Vancouver Alliance
North Shore News (2016 February 10):     Mayors pledge affordable housing action
Diocese of New Westminster (2018 April 26):     South Van Neighbourhood Walk
VanRamblings (2020 November 24):     Metro Vancouver Alliance: Faithful Activism from the Heart

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  • About
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