The District of Saanich has become a paying member of the Urban Development Institute’s Capital Region branch; a key lobby for development in the CRD.
That a level of government has now become a member of the development lobby, among whose functions it is to lobby the government, is a clear full-circle conflict of interest.
Municipal governments have crucial power over zoning policy. Favourable zoning policy can be very profitable to those involved with the development lobby. The potential power of leverage involved by having Saanich a member of the development lobby is a threat to the democratic process, which according to the word represents the power of the constituents, whose lives are directly impacted; not that of industry, whose interests first and foremost are those of profit.
Not only has Saanich joined the UDI as a paying member, but a council decision provided themselves an annual allowance of $500 each from you the taxpayer, to have themselves educated if they so choose, potentially at the UDI and the Chamber of Commerce and to be able to spend to attend UDI Luncheons.
That your tax dollars are going to the development lobby through Saanich and through federal funding is a clear affront to yourselves and to democracy.
To rectify the situation and to restore the power of constituents to the forefront of local democracy, we the signed call upon the District of Saanich to immediately withdraw its membership from the Urban Development Institute and to make it official policy to cease paying public money to not only the UDI, but to any lobby.
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Notes: Signatures for this petition are to be solely by residents of Saanich.
The photo at top is of Royal Bay, which although it is not in the District of Saanich illustrates a potential for similar developments in Saanich.
Sources:
https://udicapitalregion.ca/membership/member-directory/ (See: District of Saanich)
(Note: Although there is a lobby registry for lobbying of the Provincial Government, no such lobby registry exists for Saanich at the Municipal level, making lobby activities far less transparent than they should be in an open democracy on the local level).
https://www.saanichnews.com/business/saanich-applies-to-join-chamber-of-commerce/
Document:
DISTRICT OF SAANICH
MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING
HELD AT THE SAANICH MUNICIPAL HALL, 770 VERNON AVENUE
MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2019
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Sasha Izard works to preserve the environment and is dedicated to preserving Saanich.