2025 (Apr) Mayor Ryan Windsor votes to eliminate the rights of residents to vote on major capital projects.
At a meeting of Island mayors, councilors, first nations and other local governments (AVICC) in Nanaimo on April 13th, according to an article in the Nanaimo Bulletin (see link below), Mayor Windsor expressed frustration that the taxpayers of the District of Central Saanich are allowed to have a say in how their property taxes are spent. Specifically, he was referring to public opposition to a secretly conceived municipal facilities complex endorsed by him and his Council. The estimated cost to the local taxpayers for the complex will run in the tens of millions of dollars. *It is expected that Central Saanich residents will have their say in the matter in the fall via a referendum or an AAP process. It is this ‘community voice’ however that Windsor would like to eliminate. [*2025 (Jun): NDP’s Minister Ravi Kahlon revises municipal liabilities regulations.]
At the AVICC meeting, a resolution was tabled (see link below) that called for the elimination of the rights of residents to vote on major capital projects. Windsor voiced strong agreement with the resolution and voted in favour of adopting it.
The AVICC plans on moving the resolution forward to the UBCM and the province, with the intent of pushing for changes to the Provincial Community Charter legislation that would eliminate electoral approval of high cost capital projects.
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