Reimer was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and put into foster care.[6][7][8] When she was eight months old, she was adopted by a couple from Vancouver[6] who subsequently relocated to Calgary[9] prior to her starting school.[7][8] Reimer's adoptive parents divorced when she was a pre-teen.[6]
Reimer eventually worked her way up to become the executive director of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee,[7][15][16][17] where she was paid approximately $2000 a month.[18] While executive director of the Wilderness Committee, Reimer supported the creation of a carbon tax by the BC Provincial Government.[15] It was subsequently passed.[15] In 2007, she was chosen by Al Gore to deliver the Inconvenient Truth presentation to local audiences.[14]
Political career
Green Party
Reimer joined the Green Party in 1996,[citation needed] and volunteered in the 1996 provincial election, the 1999 civic election, the 2000 federal by-election and the 2001 provincial election.[9] She has held internal elected office as Communication Chair, Green Party of BC (1999–2002)[citation needed] and Chair, Green Party of Vancouver (2002–2008).[citation needed] Reimer was the first Green Party candidate elected to a school board seat in Canada when she was elected in 2002.[1][15][19] She ran for re-election as a Green Party candidate in 2005 yet was defeated.[2]
As a school trustee, Reimer supported efforts to remove vending machines[21] and corporate logos from schools.[22] She pushed for getting school garden programs into schools.[23]
In January 2003, she supported the Green Party's position against bringing the Olympic Games to Vancouver in 2010 due to concerns about the money it would require.[15] In 2008 she characterized her position as still ambivalent about the money spent on the Olympics but prepared to put her full energy into ensuring the Games were as good as possible.[15][24]
City Council
As City Councillor, Reimer was a member of Gregor Robertson's Greenest City Team.[25] The team was tasked with catalyzing immediate action on green issues, a ten-year action plan to become the world's greenest city and creating an environment supportive of green economic development in the city of Vancouver.[26] Reimer introduced a motion, which passed, to open Vancouver city data to the public and endorse the principles of open source.[27][28][29] Reimer introduced a motion, which passed unanimously, to allow Vancouver residents to keep hens in their backyards.[30] The motion was opposed by the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Vancouver Humane Society, and the BC Poultry Association.[30] The proposal was brought forward as a result of a recommendation from the City of Vancouver's Food Policy Council.[31]
Reimer's other appointments on Vancouver City Council included:
Chair, Standing Committee on Planning and Environment[32]
Reimer also sat on the Metro Vancouver Regional District board[33] and was appointed to the Regional Planning Committee,[34] Agricultural Committee,[34] Electoral Area A Committee[34] and GVRD/UBC Joint Committee.[34]
Twitter controversy
In October 2009, Reimer posted on Twitter regarding the British Columbia Minister of Housing and Social Development Rich Coleman's weight[35] in response to provincial legislation proposed by Coleman to bring homeless people to shelters during extreme weather, even against their will.[36] Reimer posted that instead of police bringing homeless people to shelters during extreme weather, she was thinking of introducing legislation to have the police bring Coleman to Jenny Craig, an international weight loss company, on his next visit to Vancouver.[36][37]
[38] Coleman responded by calling the comment amateurish and from a councillor that "doesn't know any better."[35] Reimer later apologized for the posting.[36]
^ abO'Connor, Naoibh. "Street smarts", Vancouver Courier, July 25, 2004, Page 1.
^ ab"Crusaders for a green planet: Our emerging leaders", Vancouver Sun, February 17, 2007, Page B-2.
^ abcdefgMike Howell. "Vision quest; Energetic and flooded with members, Vision Vancouver led by Gregor Robertson believes it's poised to take over city hall. But as a "progressive" party backed heavily by developers and casino operators, what does it really stand for?", Vancouver Courier, September 24, 2008.
^Doug Ward. "Vancity boss takes green lessons from Al Gore", Vancouver Sun, January 13, 2007.
^ abGerry Bellett. "Former Green seeks Vision; Ex-school trustee Reimer will run for city council nomination", Vancouver Sun, July 17, 2008.
^Glenn Bohn. "Green winner will tackle Liberals: SCHOOL BOARD: Andrea Reimer says she expects 'tough times' ahead Series: Civic Election 2002", Vancouver Sun, November 18, 2002.