My Vote, My Future: Raphael Dipasupil

Raphael Dipasupil has voted in every since he was 18-years-old (Raphael Dipasupil)

Ahead of the BC election, Daily Hive is profiling young voters from across the province. Want to join in and share your thoughts? Email [email protected], subject line: My Future.

Who are you?

Raphael Dipasupil.

How old are you?

I’m 25 years old.

What do you do?

I’m a Visitor Experience Specialist at Destination Marketing.

Where do you live?

Burnaby, BC (near Metrotown).

Have you voted before?

Yes, I have voted in every election I have been eligible to vote for in Canada.

Do you plan on voting this time?

Yes, I plan to vote.

Does your family influence how you vote?

To a certain extent, we’ll talk about politics at the dinner table. I will vote differently from them if I believe in a different party’s candidate, but I’ve voted for the same party as them since I was 18.

How closely do you follow BC politics?

I’m aware of what’s going on to a certain extent, who are the major candidates, and who my local candidates are.

Do you know who your local candidates are?

Yes, I do, I live in the Burnaby-Edmonds riding. BC Liberals: Garrison Duke, NDP: Raj Chouhan, Green Party: Valentine Wu.

Can you name the three party leaders?

BC Liberals: Christy Clark, NDP: John Horgan, Green Party: Andrew Weaver.

Would you ever consider running for office?

I’ve thought about it, but more for something that I would maybe consider later in my life. I did toy with the idea of working for our diplomatic corps when I was younger.

Where do you want to see change?

Affordability and housing

Honestly the majority of my peers aren’t going to be able to settle in the city at the rate housing prices have been going. More and more people are talking about moving away so that they can make more money and gain equity. The city will be losing a lot of not only the next generation’s workforce, but older generations due to not being able to stay in the city.

[We need] more mixed income housing, an increase in the monitoring of empty homes, and enforcing the empty housing tax. I think the foreign buyers’ tax has and will do more to hurt our economy and adversely affect our city’s capability of having a competitive workforce.

Transit and transport infrastructure

I use transit almost every day. I live in Burnaby and work in downtown Vancouver. I transit to work and back about five days a week, and usually will meet up with friends downtown on my days off. Right now, the construction at Metrotown has added about another 5-10 minutes to my commute. I also spend quite a bit of time explaining our transit system to tourists.

I think a large majority of our population utilizes transit and having that seamlessly integrated with our transportation infrastructure is huge for our current population and for the growth of our city. [We need] more transit to areas that are currently under-serviced. A subway to UBC, a gondola system to SFU, and a change to the way our transit rates are done (distance travelled over, by zone).

Are you a young British Columbian and eligible to vote in the BC election? We would love to profile you. Email [email protected], subject line: My Future, to find out more.

Daily Hive is your home for BC Election coverage throughout the campaign period. To access our full BC Election coverage click here: Battleground BC.

My Vote, My Future: Raphael Dipasupil on BC Election 2017