Saanich gears up towards a greener future as council adopted a new strategy aiming to reach net-zero corporate greenhouse gas emission by 2040.
At the Aug. 18 meeting, council discussed the Zero Emission Fleet Strategy, which would transition the municipality’s 300-vehicle fleet to electric and renewable diesel options for those that can’t yet be electrified, such as large dump-truck plows.
The strategy sets a temporary target of cutting fleet emissions 60 per cent by 2030, compared to 2007 levels. About 10 per cent of Saanich’s fleet is already electric, and corporate emissions overall are down 29 per cent since 2007.
Staff estimate the transition will cost an extra $6.6 million by 2040. However, with incentives and revenues from low-carbon fuel credits, the plan could save the municipality about $3.7 million over that period.
Transportation is the single-largest source of corporate emissions in Saanich, according to a staff report, making up about half the total, generating nearly 4,200 tons of CO2 in 2024.
While council unanimously supported the strategy, the budgeting of the strategy divided councillors, including Nathalie Chamber and Karen Harper who voiced their concerns.
While Harper expects the strategy will lead to positive outcomes – both financial and environmental – in the long run, she added that projections beyond two years are unreliable since circumstances change quickly. Therefore, the original budget forecast may exceed the initial figures set in the report.
“In the longer term, what I'm struggling with is (that) once we're up more than two years on, I'm very suspicious of any numbers that I see in any event, quite frankly, because the world is changing darn fast,” she said.
Harper also argued that directing staff to bring forward resource requests would signal that the council is already committed to funding the strategy.
“By saying that we're directing staff to do something, we're setting a level of expectation both on staff and on the community that I think is inappropriate,” she said.
Although Coun. Colin Plant was wary of the strategy's cost, he supported the motion, emphasizing the importance of the investment and the municipality's role in setting an example.
“I do think it’s important the District shows leadership in this,” he said. “If we’re asking our residents to be green and do everything in their power to do so, we should set a good example.”
Coun. Teale Phelps Bondaroff advocated for doubling down on the strategy and adopting the figures provided by staff to minimize corporate emissions as soon as possible.
“It's critical that we work to electrify our fleet and this is not the time to count pennies while our planet is burning,” he said. “It will save us money in the long term.”
For his part, Mayor Dean Murdock voted in favour, adding budget deliberations are the time to weigh on competing priorities and determine how resources should be allocated. He added that council needs financial details from staff to make those decisions and argued that backing the strategy without also supporting a request to bring it forward during budget talks would send a mixed message.
“We may choose to not fully fund the request,” he said. “(But) I think by not voting to request the information be included in the preparation of the budget materials, we're sending a signal that the strategy can be implemented, but we're not prepared to equip the strategy with the necessary resources for implementation.”
While it may take time and money, Murdock stressed the importance of a cautious approach to making an enlightened decision.
“We all want to reduce our emissions by converting the fleet vehicles, we may not be able to do it as aggressively as we'd like, but it's going to take money to do it, and the only way that that's going to land in the budget is if we ask staff to bring that forward.”
