Balance on the Ballot

Let me begin by saying this: I've moved past the "thinking about it" stage. Let me also say what that means, I've mulled it over, a lot, I've spoken with my family about it and what it would mean to our life and our business, and I've thought about it more, about what I'd want to bring to the table should I be elected and whether or not it is something I should do.  Now, I'm sitting with the decision and thinking about how best to move forward. How best to communicate the decision, and how to go from "thinking about running for council" to "preparing to run for council" and finally "running for council".  Preparing to run for council is no small task. First I need to balance my plate - meaning I need to do what needs to be done to make "running for council" and ultimately if I succeed, "being on council", work with the rest of my life. It means looking at what I do, my priorities, and what I need to do,...

For the 25 years I've lived here, with the exception of COVID, tourists have been a critical part of what keeps the city fully employed and a good share of those tourist dollars are directly attributable to those who arrive to our city via cruise ships. Before COVID the tourists disembarking at Ogden Point dropped millions of dollars into the heart of our city - supporting local livelihoods in our touristic core namely: Old Town, Chinatown, Wharf St. and Government St.  Now, with COVID looking to be subsiding as uptake of vaccination has been strong, many have been eagerly awaiting the return of tourists to our city, and in particular those who come here via cruises. Many have had to make do while their livelihoods have been put into a kind of suspended animation with some not surviving the pause in business. Further, as a result of COVID, a law that required cruise ships to stop in Victoria (or Vancouver) on their way to Alaska was rescinded. Victoria is no longer a prerequisite d...

 It is a rather curious thing that property taxes are generally included in the rent. At first blush it would seem innocuous enough, it would seem that anything otherwise would be preposterous - after all, renters are comparatively disadvantaged while property owners are comparatively advantaged. Property owners have had enough good fortune to put aside enough for a downpayment and are also well enough off to have enough income to cover the mortgage should they require one. Surely, it is only fair that the liability for the property tax accrue to the owner of the property.  Except, this leads to rather curious results, particularly when rents and tenancy are controlled - as they are in British Columbia, where renters then become immune to the spending decisions of their municipal government. Renters, as residents, are entitled to vote in municipal elections (as they should be), and are still full beneficiaries of the services provided by municipal governments - including polic...

I believe homeownership has been the bedrock of a stable and resilient economy in North America. I believe strong cities have broad and deep roots - and that a large share of owner occupied dwellings contribute to the strength of a city, making it more resilient. I do not believe the door to home ownership should be slammed shut to those who make a reasonable living within the region. I believe residents, people who live and work, who are raising their families, and running their businesses in our cities should come before those who are merely parking their money in our city or just want a place here for while they visit. I believe buying the home you intend to live in should be (relatively) easy - and that buying a second, third, fourth or subsequent home should be far more difficult.  Recently, a politically connected economist from the University of Victoria, Rob Gillezeau tweeted that "British Columbia's Home Owner Grant has to be one of the single worst pieces of public p...

I am currently a renter. I am also currently a home owner - waiting for our old home to be cleared to make way for a new home that will better meet our family's needs for the decades to come, and potentially adding a suite to the housing market.  However, when I think about the prospect of being a landlord, the prospect is not overly alluring. Given current laws governing the landlord tenant relationship - a measure of hesitancy is understandable.  Let's begin with the math on the new suite. We estimate that the cost of our build is about $400 per square foot, and the two bedroom suite is about 700 square feet. That's $280,000 - without accounting for any share of the land value the suite uses. As the suite is about 15 percent of the total square footage of the home, the proportionate share of land value is another $171,000. So the suite has a value of $450,000 - given this what is a fair rental rate? At $2,000 per month - it would be 18.75 years before the rent covers the ...

Our city is beleaguered with many just hoping not too much more damage is done before the next election, with many just hoping that enough, good, qualified and competent people step up to the plate, and hoping that enough people do what they must (get out and vote) to ensure the next group of people elected to govern our city does a better job of it. Yet, with each week, it would seem another bad idea comes to the forefront - another idea that is divisive or damaging. This week brought two such ideas. The first bad idea was an effective cancellation of Canada Day. No fireworks. A subdued event. Lisa Helps offered that a moment of silence was in order, rather than fireworks. The joy and pride of being Canadian is being replaced with guilt and shame because we are recognizing that we, like all other nations on the planet, have parts of our history that do not meet modern standards of conduct. While many would like to imagine a Canada where those who were here when the country was coloniz...

I have a lot of respect for those who choose policing as their career - it is not an easy job, and in Victoria it is a job that seems to have been made more challenging in recent years. The policing budget for Victoria has been kept artificially low, with every request made being put under an administrative microscope. The argument has been that the resources used in policing are not available for other services. To the degree those other services are within the scope of the municipal government to provide, this is true. Money spent on policing, isn't money that can be spent on improving roads and sidewalks. Money spent on policing can't be spent on collecting garbage and recycling. Money spent on policing cannot be spent on improving local recreation facilities.  However, if enough money isn't spent on policing, public safety is put in jeopardy. If people don't feel safe spending time downtown, they do not go downtown - they choose to go to Oak Bay or Saanich or the We...