Increasing police costs likely after RCMP union
MEDIA COVERAGE: Unionized RCMP spells increased costs for municipalities, Goldstream News Gazette, Sept. 12, 2019. Policing costs in Greater Victoria and the rest of BC will probably be going up,…
Think outside the box on policing costs
BY STAN BARTLETT AND BRUCE KENNEDY The last couple of years has seen a prolonged, often rancorous debate on the role of policing in our community and how much funding…
Do we need 25 fire halls in the Capital region?
Saanich Fire Hall #2 budget set at $26.5 M Municipalities across the Capital region such as Saanich are replacing or upgrading many of the 25 fire department facilities, a top…
Victoria policy raises costs and erodes confidence
Guest Column by Victoria Residential Builders Association Victoria council is planning to adopt a policy where 20% of units in new, large residential strata buildings must meet the city’s affordability…
GUEST COLUMN: Victoria deserves better than populist tactics
BY CATHERINE HOLT, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce I would like to add to the growing concern in this community about the populist tactics of City of…
Is Saanich council out of touch? Infrastructure deficit looms
OPINION BY BRUCE AND LAURIE KENNEDY Many on Saanich council included housing affordability in their election platforms and now seem unable to grasp how this sort of tax increase affects…
Bone-rattling roads rev up regional ratepayers
When you drive down the road, you shouldn’t have to go down the potholes, but that’s increasingly the case for residents of Greater Victoria. Roads scarred by spine-jarring potholes create…
And the ‘bumpiest road-in- Greater-Victoria’ is….
Central Saanich stretch to Butchart Gardens judged ‘Bumpiest road in Greater Victoria’ winner The width, quality and condition of the Central Saanich road leading into Butchart Gardens received multiple entries…
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JOIN US 10 Good Reasons to join Grumpy Taxpayer$ 1. Our approach works. We lead the opposition against the 2022 Commonwealth Games bid, what would have been an expensive $1.5…