Latest news with #VictoriaCityCouncil
CTV News
02-07-2025
- CTV News
Victoria mayor announces $10M in spending for community safety
Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto said residents will see a difference in community safety within six months after announcing $10.35 million in funding for additional police and bylaw officers, temporary housing and the 'huge task' of cleaning up parts of the city. Alto's announcement comes after the city released a Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan last month on how it will tackle declining social disorder in the city set off by homelessness and addiction. The council will not raise taxes to fund the measures, but will divert money from existing plans in this year's budget, with a focus on Victoria's Pandora Avenue, which is considered the centre of the city's homeless problem, the mayor said. A tent community on Pandora Avenue set up along temporary fencing that separates it from the nearby church was bustling on Wednesday with residents coming and going. Alto said council had to make 'hard choices,' but the 'urgency of responding to the city's social disorder crisis is paramount.' The mayor said her announcement is not in reaction to recent chaos, including several assaults, that Victoria police said they've responded to in the last few weeks, but it is instead an intentional and thoughtful plan they've been working on for months. Victoria city council is expected to ratify the safety and well-being plan Thursday following its approval in principle last month. Alto said about $1.9 million of the announced funding will go toward additional bylaw enforcement, with the city set to hire 12 enforcement officers to focus on Pandora and Princess avenues, and the downtown generally. It will be an ongoing expenditure, she said, along with the hiring of nine more police officers to support enforcement downtown, without giving a timeline for their hiring. 'But I do know that Chief (Del) Manak has suggested that there are ways to do this quickly, and I will rely, of course, on his expertise to figure out how to do that,' she said. The city is budgeting about $1.35 million in on-going costs for the additional officers. The city said in a news release that 'resources are needed to demonstrate that criminals can no longer thrive in Victoria,' and Alto acknowledged that 'in some parts of the community,' criminals are 'taking advantage of vulnerable folks.' The city will also work with experienced service providers to establish new secure, short-term emergency shelter spaces outside the downtown core by investing what Alta said was a 'significant amount of money.' Figures from the city call for a one-time infrastructure investment of up to $1.95 million, up to $300,000 for property rentals and up to $250,000 to boost existing shelter capacities. 'Let me be clear — we do not have any specific destinations in mind at this point,' she said, referring to where those in tents would go. 'But we do know, that if we don't step in, at least on a temporary basis for a couple of years, and create some destinations for these folks, they are still going to languish where they are.' Alto added that the city still has much work to do to determine how these spaces would work. 'Could we have moved faster?' Alto said. 'Yes! Was it important for us to allow there to be time to figure out what to do and how best to do it? Yes! Were we trying to make sure that we were playing ball with the other orders of government? Yes! At a point, we realized that we can't wait any longer.' Also on the list of changes is a 'comprehensive rebuild' of the 800, 900 and 1000 blocks of Pandora Avenue, where a transient homeless community has been long established, and it grew larger during the pandemic. Early design estimates put the rebuild at more than $7 million, but the city said 'preliminary work will make tangible changes with a $3.75 million budget' starting in 2025. Alto also used the occasion to remind senior spheres of government about their responsibilities to help the city with financial resources and legislative changes, including bail reform that allows repeat offenders back into the community. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2025. Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
Global News
03-06-2025
- Business
- Global News
Victoria city councillors want to preserve downtown movie theatres
Three Victoria councillors are trying to save the handful of movie theatres that remain in the downtown area for fear of losing key cultural spaces and experiences. Councillors Matt Dell, Dave Thompson and Krista Loughton will bring forward a motion at the Committee of the Whole meeting on June 5 'Downtown cinemas play a vital role in supporting local culture, walkability, and economic vitality,' the motion reads. 'Unlike suburban mall movie theatres, downtown cinemas bring people into the city centre where they can walk, bike, or take transit. Moviegoers grab dinner before the show or drinks afterward, supporting local restaurants and shops. This activity helps businesses and keeps downtown lively. Losing downtown theatres means losing both cultural experiences and economic benefits for local businesses.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Victoria City Council's 2023 to 2026 Strategic Plan committed to supporting small businesses and the visitor economy, while investing in artistic, theatrical and musical spaces to keep the downtown culturally vibrant. Story continues below advertisement MOVIES! We have a motion at council this week asking staff to look into preserving downtown movies theatres, incentivizing new theatres, and supporting film. We're at risk of losing all our large downtown theatres in Victoria – bad for culture, vibrancy and the economy! #yyj — Matt Dell (@mattdellok) June 2, 2025 The three councillors would like to see stronger policy tools as part of the new Official Community Plan and an updated Downtown Core Area Plan to provide additional tools such as zoning incentives, leveraging Development Variance Permits to fast-track or relax requirements for projects that retain or integrate theatres, explore if any city-owned land downtown could be future theatre space and strengthening heritage tools by exploring protections for theatres in historic buildings. Councillors will be looking for council's support to direct staff to 'report on additional options to support cinema in Victoria, including incentivizing the construction of new movie theatres, assisting in maintaining existing theatres, incorporating the support of cinema into its broader strategy for supporting arts and culture in the city, or any other potential policy options.'
CTV News
23-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Victoria development project clears another hurdle
Vancouver Watch Victoria city council has referred a development proposal by Reliance Properties to a public hearing.
National Observer
08-05-2025
- Politics
- National Observer
I'm a city councillor. Here's what Carney can learn from local government
Prime Minister Mark Carney and the incoming Liberal government could learn a lot from the coalitions and non-partisan nature of local governments. In contrast to most Western democracies, towns and cities in Canada have mostly managed to remain free of political parties. There are, of course, some exceptions, including Vancouver and Surrey, which have bespoke municipal parties. But at least in BC, the councils with political parties tend to be the most divided and politicized, and unfortunately reproduce the same type of partisanship that hamstrings higher orders of government. In Victoria, where I serve as a city councillor, the city currently has no municipal parties, which allows for consensus-building and decision-making free from political interference. A local Redditor recently crunched the numbers and found that nine of us vote the same way over four-fifths of the time. As a political progressive, I apparently vote the same way as the most right-leaning member of council 83.7 per cent of the time. This fact reflects the many routine procedural votes that exist at all levels of government, but it also demonstrates the ability of people with divergent worldviews to reach consensus most of the time. This does not mean that all nine members of Victoria City Council are always on the same page. We're not, and we often disagree strenuously on important matters and occasionally engage in bun fights, which are always well-covered by the local media. (There's a reason that 'Airplane Lands Safely at Airport' is never a headline.) But the absence of partisanship removes barriers to getting on the same page about the important things. I answer to the public, not a party, and that is a very freeing feeling. In our case, the current council has approved more than 8,000 units of housing, required all new buildings to be electrified, successfully passed a referendum to replace the aging Crystal Pool, and invested millions in downtown arts, safety and revitalization. None of these things would have happened in a council hopelessly divided by partisanship. I tend to think of political parties in the same way that I think of street gangs — beset by tribalism, turf wars and primordial grievances — right down to the colour-coded uniforms and catchy slogans. (The Conservatives are the Crips and the Liberals are the Bloods.) We are in a national moment when the average Canadian does not give a toss about partisanship. What Canadians want is an effective response to the housing and affordability crisis; lasting and impactful climate action; meaningful action on reconciliation; and above all, a staunch defence of Canadian sovereignty and the national interest. It is no surprise that the politicians of diverse political stripes – Premiers David Eby and Wab Kinew (NDP), Doug Ford (PC), and Prime Minister Carney (Liberal) – who have advocated for Canada's sovereignty and national interest, have enjoyed a bump in approval ratings. While I'm under no illusions that political parties will magically disappear at the federal level, I do think the existential threat represented by the Trump regime offers an opportunity to do things differently, writes Jeremy L. Caradonna While I'm under no illusions that political parties will magically disappear at the federal level, I do think the existential threat represented by the Trump regime offers an opportunity to do things differently. What was the point of the last several months of drama and political turmoil if we're simply going to return to a bog-standard Liberal-NDP CASA arrangement? Historically, Canada doesn't really do coalitions, but it's never too late to start. Barring a major change in the recounts, it looks like the Liberals will end up with 169 seats in Parliament, four short of the 172 needed to pass legislation. What I propose is for the Liberals to create the first-ever coalition in modern Canadian history. Offer Speaker of the House to a member of the Conservative Party as a gesture of unity. There is little to suggest that Pierre Poilievre would go for it, but the gesture itself would mean something. (I think Joe Clark or Brian Mulroney would have gone for it.) If that fails, offer Speaker to Don Davies, the long-time NDP MP from Vancouver and the party's interim leader. Davies is a level-headed lawyer who is entirely qualified for the role. More importantly, Carney could offer four members of the opposition positions as parliamentary secretaries in an effort to create greater stability for a four-year term. Having members of minority parties in government would give those parties a sense of ownership over the success of the mandate, and could decrease the risk that a junior CASA partner decides suddenly to pull the plug on the Liberals. Imagine a cabinet that gave parliamentary secretaries a greater role, even if they weren't formally a part of the Privy Council. Those secretaries could include Elizabeth May (Greens) on climate adaptation, Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné (Bloc) on Quebec interests, Jenny Kwan (NDP) on immigrant integration, and Alexandre Boulerice (NDP) on labour relations. It would require the Green, NDP and Bloc members to act as team players and accept two realities: 1) Their parties currently have little leverage, and in the case of the Greens and NDP, were nearly wiped from the electoral map, and 2) this would be their only real chance to make change and become the first members of their respective parties 'in government' at the federal level. Carney would allow the non-Liberals to make their case in expanded cabinet meetings, but then, the parliamentary secretaries would be expected to vote with the coalition in Parliament. Being effective even 25 per cent to 50 per cent of the time is better than being ineffective 100 per cent of the time. Strategic compromise is what allows local government leaders to keep moving their communities forward. This is Carney's opportunity to shake things up and take a page from the most nimble and effective level of government in the country.
