Local government officials on Vancouver Island are asking the B.C. government to allow them to build critical infrastructure in their communities without the need to go to an alternate-approval process.
At the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities convention Sunday, April 13, in Nanaimo, delegates passed a resolution calling on the province to amend the community charter to expand the criteria around the type of capital projects that can utilize long-term borrowing without requiring elector approval.
The resolution was brought forward by the City of Nanaimo, which failed three times in the past two years to gain alternate approval to rebuild its public works yard.
Nanaimo Coun. Janice Perrino introduced the resolution, noting that "must-have" infrastructure projects have risen in cost to a point that they're unaffordable without long-term borrowing.
"The problem today is when you go to either an AAP or a referendum, very often you have a small group of community members that can rile up the community and vote it down very quickly… " she said. "I can't begin to tell you what it does to your community, what it does to your council, the misinformation."
She noted that local governments would still be able to have referenda for "the fun things" community members might want, such as pools, arenas, parks and walkways, and that the resolution is meant to advance projects that "keep your community going."
Central Saanich Mayor Ryan Windsor spoke in support of the resolution, noting his district is looking at redevelopment of police, fire and municipal facilities.
"And we have a small but vocal group who think they understand economics better than the consultants, the staff, the people who have poured thousands and thousands of hours into it and the message is 'spend money bad'…" he said. "Meanwhile, the rest of the public who will benefit from these facilities or essential infrastructure projects for decades are left out in the cold because the group that doesn't want it doesn't talk to them, and we try and reach them, but they're busy in their daily lives."
Windsor said he understands the skepticism about AAPs because it looks to the public as though local governments are "trying to slip a fast one by them," but noted that referenda are also easily manipulated by a small group.
"The fallacy that this is somehow democratic is frankly just wrong," he said.
Arguing against the resolution was Fred Boyko, regional director for Beaufort in the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District. He said resolution is "heavy handed" in taking away the public's voice, and said it diminishes trust in local government.
"Instead of this, I would encourage any level of government to work towards more effective levels of community engagement and education," he said. "If there's one sure way of upsetting the public we represent, it's forcing someone to pay for anything – whether it is infrastructure or services – that they do not want."
The resolution passed by a wide margin.
Other resolutions supported on the second day of the AVICC convention included one asking for a prohibition on the breeding and keeping of hybrid wolf-dogs, and another asking for a provincewide waste hauler licensing system to allow regional districts to better understand where waste is being generated and where the material is flowing. AVICC members also voted in favour of modernizing policies to try to maintain viability of improvement districts, lobbying for reconfiguration of out-of-use rail crossings, and calling for better funding for the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal to more effectively process complaints.
The AVICC convention was held Friday through Sunday, April 11-13, at Nanaimo's Vancouver Island Conference Centre
