NorthSaanich

neighboring First Nations settlements –Tseycum and Pauquachin– are going well. “I’m almost 10 years into this office,” says Finall, “and I think, overall, we’ve had, and continue to have, pretty good relations with our adjoining First Nations communities.We have regular meetings that are very respectful and positive and cordial, and we’ve just commissioned some art for the newly constructed wing of our Municipal Hall from each of those First Nations municipalities.” Buchan describes the District’s smart approach to infrastructure improvements, “We’re within three years of having all the depreciation of our roads and underground pipes, sewers, and water works financed through our capital asset man- agement. Our auditors tell us we’re just one of four in Canada at that stage.We’re doing this in the context of very slow growth. It’s not being financed by growth, it’s being financed through our management and current taxes. About seven years ago, under Mayor Finall, the council began managing municipal assets and putting aside reserves. They’ve been steadily building on the amount of contribution for the reserves since then. It’s an enviable place to be in. It means our reserves are, and continue to be enough, that we’ll never be in a difficult financial place.” The plan was not without controversy. It was strongly debated with the council of the day, and still gets periodically revisited. But the results have been impressive. In North Saanich, the ‘infra- structure gap’ (distance between the required NORTH SAANICH, BRITISH COLUMBIA infrastructure and the current economic infrastructure) is almost non-existent. Because of the type of municipality and effort to maintain slow growth, as well as the protection of the rural, agricultural, and other aspects of the existing infrastructure, North Saanich has the lowest residential taxes in the region. Commercial taxes come in around the middle, with most commercial entities based on the Airport lands. Buchan stresses, “For us, sustainability is as much, if not more, about what to preserve, protect, and maintain versus where you build, what you build, and how you build. Our role in this region is based on those natural resources, with some limited development. Having said that, we have a couple of import- ant initiatives.We’re just finishing the Munic- ipal Hall using green technology including a solar panel array and a battery backup. So, we can be off grid when we need to be. “We also embrace food security and local food.We’ve gone away from ornamental plantings to productive plantings, so there’s a large and increasing amount of food produc- tion on the Municipal Hall property. Every- thing from berries to fig trees, apple trees, peach trees, and vegetables.” Harvested pro- duce goes to the local Food Bank, and other local gardeners contribute their own “extras,” so the Food Bank at times gets a good influx of fresh produce. The municipality works closely with many organizations. Among them are the Victoria Airport Authority, the Chamber of Commerce, The Capital Region Food and Agricultural Task Force, CR-Fair (a local food advocate), a farmers’ market, and an NGO called Flavour PHOTO BY RICK HUDSON