Vic Derman, Saanich councillor since 2002, dies at 72
Vic Derman, a member of Saanich council since 2002, died on Friday.
Friends said the 72-year-old had been fighting a nasty cold for a couple of weeks.
Derman, an advocate for planning, sustainability and water conservation, was also on the Capital Regional District board.
In the campaign for the 2014 municipal election, Derman said that Saanich and the rest of the CRD needed to respond to global sustainability issues, in particular climate change.
He said long-range planning, with a focus on transportation and land use, was essential to local sustainability, and stressed the need to protect and enhance the quality of life in the region, in order to attract wealth, skill and talent.
In 2004, Derman initiated and chaired Water in the City, an international conference in Victoria.
Derman was born June 1, 1944, in Saanich and lived in the municipality his entire life.
Before being elected to office, Derman was a teacher in the Greater Victoria school district.
He was on the executive of the North Quadra Community Association from 1990 to 2002, and was a co-founder of the Saanich Community Associations Network, serving as the chairman for the network’s first five years.
Derman was also a founding director of The Land Conservancy of British Columbia and was its vice-president for five years.
In June, Derman was shaken up when a car he was driving on the Patricia Bay Highway was struck by an airborne van. He was taken to Saanich Peninsula Hospital for observation, along with his passengers, councillors Fred Haynes and Colin Plant.