René Tessier was born in Edmonton and raised in Beaumont since the age of four. He studied Business Management at MacEwan University and is a Firefighter with the City of Edmonton. René got his start in the fire rescue service as a volunteer firefighter for Beaumont Fire Services where he worked for eleven years including four years as the Alpha Shift Captain.

René is passionate about sports and recreation and has always considered hockey one of his favourite past times. René has played and coached for the Beaumont Amateur Hockey Association and the Beaumont Chiefs and also played for the MacEwan University Griffins hockey team.

How will you support the Beaumont's competitive advantage and market affordable housing? How do you see fees, levies, taxes and municipal cost control playing a role in housing affordability? Note: CHBA-ER refers to “market affordable housing” as housing that is market priced and meets the general requirements of affordability based on household income. Market affordable housing may include market rental housing and market home ownership.

Beaumont's competitive advantage starts with ensuring Beaumont is an attractive, safe, and bustling community. Beaumont will have a considerable advantage over other communities as we are so close to the City of Edmonton. In saying that, Beaumont has annexed a lot of land that will be very attractive to the consumer but also the builders in our area. There is a housing boom in Beaumont, as you can see new homes being built on every corner of our city. We need to ensure our services, recreation, and amenities start meeting the demand from the residents or this growth will slow down. I believe I am someone that has always been passionate about the construction industry and will always support great organizations like the Canadian Home Builders' Association.

What steps do you believe are necessary to reduce red tape and support business investment in the residential construction industry?

A really important aspect to ensure business investment in the residential construction industry is successful is to listen to the key stakeholders. Your organization has extensive experience in what it takes to build a great home. In saying that, we need to ensure our homes in Beaumont are built to a standard that is inline with industry standards and our community has well built homes. The way we can reduce red tape is ensuring we do not double or triple (overlap) our inspections during the home building process. We need to streamline permits and inspections but at the same time ensure the home is built at a high standard.

Do you support welcoming a diversity of housing types throughout Beaumont?

Yes, I agree that within a subdivision it's beneficial to have different housing types from townhomes to estate homes. These communities need to be thoughtfully planned to meet the needs of all Beaumontonians. Ones who prefer large spaced single family residence to ones who rather be in a multi family setting. All subdivisions need to have stringent guidelines, to ensure the community is well represented. Having more diverse options available to the residents will drive more interest into our community.

Is there anything about your platform that you think CHBA-ER members should know?

Living in Beaumont since 1992 I have seen our city grow substantially. As this growth continues it is more important than ever to ensure the needs of our residents are fully considered when choosing how and where we expend our resources. Providing proper recreation services for community members and their young families as well as ensuring the quality and safety of our emergency services are important considerations as we look forward. Honouring the small town sense of community while growing sensibly is key to the success of our city.