Few buy into reconciliation fundraiser
Update July 14, 2022.
While very few residents have contributed to the city’s reconciliation contribution fund, that doesn’t reflect on the public support for reconciliation efforts.
In these troubled times, the city’s controversial fundraiser collected $36,153 from just 161 residents who made donations by July 4.
Residents were asked to consider making an additional, voluntary contribution equal to 5 or 10 percent of their property taxes or an amount of their choosing. A donation can be made at any time during the year, but most residents would have sent it in prior to the deadline for 2022 property taxes on July 4.
There are about 32,800 property tax folios in the city. This is the number of tax notices sent out, not necessarily equal to the number of owners since some are owned by multiple people and others own multiple properties.
Grumpy Taxpayer$ claims the fundraiser probably cost as much as $10,000 to administer, pointing to the need for adding a second page to the normally one-page insert that effectively doubled its size. There are also costs associated with adding an additional fold to the insert and staff time for writing it. It’s unknown if there were additional mail costs.
But the City of Victoria disagrees, saying that the insert cost about $9,600 and that there’s nominal additional or incremental costs.
Meanwhile, Saanich plans to consult First Nations after the fall election before establishing any public reconciliation fund. Metchosin is consulting with Sc’ianew First Nation over a suggested reconciliation fund.
But doesn’t using municipal taxes and labour to operate a fundraiser for another self-governing nation seem an unjustifiable or illegal role for a municipal government? Doesn’t it put them in direct competition to the dozens of other local charities? Doesn’t the federal government plan to spend $27.5 billion on Indigenous peoples in this fiscal year? Doesn’t everyone have the option of donating to an indigenous peoples charity that will issue a federal tax receipt?
Taxpayers have a whole bunch of questions.
This reconciliation fund is just so very offensive, in so many ways. Stop it please.
Stop it this is so silly
It’s time for the lndians to contribute to Canada not stand by with their hand out
Enough is enough stop it now
I am sure the fund was well intentioned like other initiatives by this council, just not well thought out.
Our taxes in Victoria seem very high, our services seem very limited.
Let us hope for a brand new council in October. Perhaps some business people might step forward ?
That would be my hope. I would also appreciate a lover of history and architecture.
Sabine Orlik
Another wasteful and stupid motion by people with the same logic / intelligence. Maybe stick to municipal issues like your supposed to do.