Later this morning, the great Libby Davies is expected to announce that she won't seek reelection in Vancouver East after holding the seat for the NDP for 17 years.

Much will be said in the coming days about her contributions to the city. Here are my top three.

1. Kick-starting the discussion over better ways to address drug addiction  Shortly after becoming an MP, Davies started raising hell in Parliament over the number of drug overdose deaths in B.C. It helped persuade the health minister of the day, Alan Rock, to consider new approaches. Ultimately and with the help of other politicians—notably Philip Owen, Hedy Fry, and Jenny Kwan—the Vancouver Agreement was signed. That created momentum that led to Canada's first supervised-injection site, which has saved lives and reduced street disorder.

2. Always making housing a priority  Davies pushed for better housing policies as well as any politician in the country. She fought for low-income tenants when she worked for the Downtown Eastside Residents' Association and later became a strong advocate for renters as a Vancouver city councillor and director of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. At the federal level, she worked hard to raise awareness of housing issues and the benefits of a national housing strategy, even hosting the UN's former special rapporteur on housing, Miloon Kothari, who blasted the City of Vancouver's approach to the issue on a subsequent visit. Without Davies' constant advocacy, this city would have far fewer social-housing units.

3. Being the first elected politician to truly recognize sex workers for their humanity  Many years ago, I asked her how she ended up being in favour of decriminalizing the sex trade. She replied that it came after she listened to what sex workers had to say on the topic. It was pure Libby Davies. Her courageous stance earned her plenty of criticism, but she never wavered even as other MPs in her party refused to back her up. Davies was right, of course, and must have felt vindicated when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that three of Canada's prostitution laws were unconstitutional. Davies' position helped legitimize sex workers' rights in the eyes of the media and the legal community. Just as with her approach dealing with drug addiction, she was ahead of her time. Along with this, Davies showed great humanity to the relatives of sex workers murdered by Robert Pickton, bringing about changes that would help ease the pain of their loss.

I also applaud Davies' humanity toward her friend Svend Robinson, a former NDP MP who resigned after being caught stealing an expensive ring. It would have been easy for Davies to keep her distance. That would have been the appropriate decision if she was solely concerned about her political career. But instead, she stuck by him, offering support in the face of blistering criticism in the media. (Both Robinson and Davies were the first MPs to be openly gay and lesbian.)

Davies has been a strong advocate for postsecondary students during her time in Ottawa. She also spoke honestly about the Middle East, even though some in her party, including her leader, didn't agree with her.

It's hard to imagine how her efforts on behalf of average people can ever be replaced in this era of blow-dried, media-trained politicians.