Fall election could be most vital in years
It’s said that much of the time, politics matters relatively little, then suddenly it matters too much. This fall’s municipal election is one of those times, an occasion when voters on the south Island will hire (or fire) 91 politicians to shape our future for the next four years. Less than three months remain until the fall election, and few candidates beyond incumbents have come forward.
A renewed army of leaders who are skilled, hard-working and able to read a financial statement — and who aren’t ideologues, professional politicians, fringe or single-issue candidates — is critical to bring public-policy harmony and costsaving shared services across the region. The timing couldn’t be better: After 16 years in the political wilderness, our local politicians have the opportunity to press our MLAs to help deal with chronic regional issues.
These are especially challenging times when you consider that a surging population is causing growing pains in housing, transportation and infrastructure, and is affecting our quality of life.
Our population is almost 400,000. The population of Greater Victoria increased by about 25,000 between the 2011 and 2016 census to 367,770.
The population is expected to continue to increase with newcomers, particularly from the Lower Mainland. The Capital Regional District estimates the population within its boundaries to be more than 392,000 now and 442,000 in 20 years.
Visitors to the region — we’re growing as a major tourist destination — have also increased dramatically to 3.5 million overnight visitors annually.
Our housing vacancy rate is near zero. The public is well aware that one downside to a boom is a housing crisis. At about one per cent, Greater Victoria has one of the lowest vacancy rates along with the most expensive housing in Canada.
Councils and planners are scrambling to deal with the increased demand and landuse conflicts. Developers are very busy. The real-estate resource citified.ca lists hundreds of new rentals, townhomes, houses, offices and commercial property developments. There are about 100 listings for condo projects alone, either proposed, approved or under construction.
Our transportation issues are top of mind. While dedicated bus lanes, new roads, a McKenzie interchange and timing traffic lights will help, it will take more than that to solve transportation problems. Unless the issue is met head-on, traffic jams, increased pollution, loss of productivity and increasingly frustrated residents will continue.
It’s been suggested that B.C. Transit be given the authority to deal with regional transportation. It’s an idea with merit. But efforts to form a much-needed regional transportation body within the CRD deservedly failed because of its inherent lack of decision-making power and inability to build consensus.
Our infrastructure renewal is not top of mind. Increased population is putting stress on infrastructure already desperately in need of renewal.
The trouble is that many local politicians are often content to kick the issue down the road. Sewer, water, roads, sidewalks and maintenance of all public facilities don’t usually lend themselves to press coverage. Oak Bay, for example, hiked its property tax by 5.57 per cent in 2018, largely to deal with a staggering infrastructure deficit estimated at $300 million.
Our stars are aligning. Never in the history of the south Island has a government such as the NDP/Green Party alliance ruled a region as it does today. It’s time taxpayers and renewed municipal councils demand the province do its part.
In our opinion, improving local governance in a region with 13 municipalities would be the best long-term way to help deal with population growth. It would result in better decision-making and ultimately help manage the growing tax burden for everyone.
To that end, it’s time the half-century-old underlying legislation for local governments — including the Capital Regional District — was dusted off and updated. There must also be a followup to the provincial Capital Integrated Services and Governance Initiative of 2017, which examined 16 service areas, from police to housing to transportation.
The report’s facts and figures support the belief that the current municipal governance and services model in the capital region is broken and in crisis. It unfortunately stopped at that and offered no solutions.
Our community is no longer a quaint British outpost, but rather a dynamic, midsized community in the midst of the greatest boom in a generation. Our community is under stress to remain the best place on Earth, and is coping during this sea change, but it desperately needs an infusion of new leaders. Stan Bartlett is the chair of Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria, a non-profit, unaffiliated, non-partisan, citizen’s advocacy group dedicated to lower taxes, less waste and more accountable municipal government.