Plans to borrow up to $150 million for the Saanich Operations Centre redevelopment were shut down by Saanich citizens after more than 10 per cent voiced opposition during the alternative approval process (AAP).
A Saanich staff memo, dated July 14, reported that 10,613 responses (12.2 per cent of eligible voters) opposing the borrowing plan were submitted before the June 25 deadline.
With the official results scheduled to be presented to council on July 21, Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock said he welcomed the news despite having hoped for a different outcome.
“The voters have very clearly told us that they do not support borrowing $150 million,” he said. “When I started to hear from friends that they had multiple knocks on their door… it became clear that there was a concerted effort to raise awareness about the borrowing and oppose it.
“It's not the outcome I was hoping for, but it's one that I accept and respect.”
With the AAP shut down, Murdock said city staff are back to the drawing board, working on potential next steps for the future of the operations centre.
“The discussion about next steps… will have to come at a later date, and staff have indicated they'll be preparing a report,” he said.
Coun. Nathalie Chambers, who opposed the AAP from the start, called the result a win for municipal politics.
“I am just thrilled that democracy is alive and kicking in Saanich,” she said. “The electorate spoke and their voice was made clear to council that they want to have more input on borrowing and they don't want to be shut out.
“Silence is not consent, and we all agree there needs to be a new operation centre."
Unsurprised by the vote turnout, Chambers said that the “majority” of Saanich residents didn’t agree with the borrowing plan.
“People do not want the council making such high financial decisions on their behalf,” she said. “There are a lot of questions, and I believe the public needs to scrutinize these decisions.”
Having run in the last municipal election to represent those whose voices she says are “regularly shut down,” Chambers reiterated her support for the community and said she believes the future of the operations centre should go to a referendum.
Similarly, Nancy Di Castri, co-founder of Save Our Saanich (SOS), shared Chambers’ views on the outcome of the AAP.
“We're pretty happy about it,” she said. “We really wanted the public to be able to have their say, and it appears they did.
“This is a result of people feeling they're not being heard (and) I don't feel that the mayor and councillors are listening.”
After mobilizing significant efforts, canvassing Saanich for hours, knocking on countless doors, setting up a booth at municipal hall, and organizing rallies, SOS emerged as a major force opposing the borrowing plan.
According to its website, the community group submitted 8,276 responses, accounting for nearly 80 per cent of all votes. For Di Castri, this turnout is an “empirical measure” of people’s dissatisfaction with the situation.
Rather than calling it “a win,” she saw this community effort as an opportunity for Saanich residents to voice their position to council.
“It's not a win or a loss,” she said. “It's more that people were able to have their say and hopefully be heard.”
“We want the mayor and council to start really listening to the community because they were elected to serve.”
Di Castri now hopes to engage with Saanich council in “meaningful dialogue,” whether it be on the operations centre or future major projects in Saanich.
“We want to be able to have our concerns listened to,” she said. “We understand that change has to happen, that's life, but change can happen in a collaborative way.”
