The Capital Regional District is poised to exit X and embark on other forms of information amplification after conversation at the governance committee level on April 2.
The Governance and First Nations Relations Committee will recommend to the board it begin deactivating the CRD X account on April 10. Staff would first inform the district’s X followers the CRD would no longer post to the account; publish a message stating its inactive state and sending followers to other channels; and then monitor the growth of Bluesky and consider adopting that platform.
Director Ryan Windsor, mayor of Central Saanich which ditched use of X nearly two years ago, pitched the motion with passion.
“We found there was an increase and improvement in residents engagement,” Windsor said, expressing dislike for “rage farming” social media sites in general. “Twitter/X is a dumpster fire and the others are mere garbage fires.”
While disdain for the platform was unanimous, all didn't agree completely leaving X is the answer.
Director Kevin Murdoch (mayor of Oak Bay) and Alternate Director Jeff Bateman (Sooke councillor) opposed the motion.
“The reality is despite the problems of Twitter/X it is still 10 times the user base of something like Bluesky,” Murdoch said, noting the CRD uses it essentially as a news feed to amplify rather than engage. “Our responsibility is making sure we are using every tool possible to get the information out.”
Sticking around could erode trust, said Director Chris Coleman, a Victoria councillor. “For us staying on X now is the wrong decision… we are not doing ourselves any favours.”
Windsor also made a subsequent successful motion to squelch the account altogether within six months – moving it from “inactive status to full deletion.”
Staff suggested the shift in social media citing platform instability, diminished content moderation and policies that have had significant impacts on organizations, including in B.C., where numerous municipalities have deactivated X accounts.
“Some municipalities, public-sector organizations, media companies and journalists have chosen to move to X alternatives like Bluesky,” staff noted in the report to committee. “Bluesky shows promise with a focus on decentralization, privacy, and user experience. It aligns well with modern digital engagement strategies. However, the current limitations in Bluesky’s discoverability, lack of integration with CRD’s social media management tools, and verification, along with potential risks in content moderation, security, and technical issues, need to be carefully considered before a full-scale adoption.”
The committee makes recommendations to the CRD board, which meets April 9.
Find the agenda and ways to participate online at crd.ca.
