Colette’s Priorities

Saanich is a community for all. My priorities are grounded in a steadfast commitment to integrity, equity, and collaboration, and making choices today that keep our community strong, thriving, and ready for the future.

Housing for All

Saanich is a diverse community that demands a comprehensive, forward-thinking approach to housing and affordability. Community wellbeing requires a growing, sustainable and varied housing supply that meets the evolving needs of families, singles, couples, seniors, and individuals requiring specialized support services. To build a Saanich where everyone can thrive, my priorities focus on the following:

Integrating the Missing Middle

By expanding gentle density through Small Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH) options that thoughtfully integrate new multi-unit choices into established neighbourhoods, we can create family-friendly homes and build multi-generational neighbourhoods without altering community identity.

Optimizing Land Use and Transit Infrastructure

Sustainable growth means placing higher density where it functions best. I support apartment and mixed-use developments along designated corridors and transit hubs. This strategic alignment leverages existing municipal services, optimizes public infrastructure, and pairs housing growth with investments in active transportation networks—facilitating a complete neighbourhood where residents can safely walk, cycle, and access public transit.

Expanding Non-Market, Co-op, and Affordable Housing

Market housing alone cannot solve the affordability crisis. Council must advocate for and expand non-market rentals and cooperative housing models. By leveraging available municipal land for public benefit, Council can also help build truly affordable housing. Furthermore, Council needs to prioritize subsidized and supportive housing options that partner with the provincial government to create critical wrap-around health and social services, such as seniors assisted living, for our most vulnerable residents.

Maximizing Strategic Government Partnerships

Delivering affordable housing requires persistent, unified action. Council must actively seek access to provincial and federal government resources to meet local needs. I will promote strategic collaboration with regional non-profit housing providers and the alignment of our local initiatives with other levels of government support. By securing capital grants and co-investing municipal housing reserves, we can unlock the funding needed to construct secure, long-term affordable units.

Economic Growth

Economic well-being depends on fiscal responsibility. Council must deliver equitable, high-quality services and infrastructure while keeping the burden on taxpayers reasonable. Saanich has made progress on its infrastructure deficit. The annual funding gap for replacing aging pipes, roads and facilities has fallen from 70% in 2007 to 48% today. But recent budgets have slowed that progress, leaving nearly half of our long-term replacement needs unfunded.

We cannot ignore that liability or simply pass it on to the next generation. Underfunding replacement increases the risk of infrastructure failure, declining services and much higher costs in the future. A property tax freeze is therefore an unserious option. It would place an unfair burden on our children and almost certainly require drastic service cuts today. At the same time, large yearly tax increases are unsustainable for residents. We need to bring them down over the medium term by controlling costs and growing other revenues.

Streamlining operations where appropriate and expanding revenues can protect services while bringing tax increases under control. Strategic planning focused on business development can grow our commercial tax base, create jobs and reduce our reliance on residential property taxes. This should be a top priority for the next council.

One example is allowing responsible short-term rentals under B.C.’s principal-residence rules, while keeping local requirements focused on business licensing, safety and genuine neighbourhood impacts. This gives Saanich residents more flexibility to earn additional income, supports visitor spending in the local economy, and avoids creating unnecessary municipal rules and enforcement costs.

Mixed-use development in locations already served by transit and infrastructure can also make better use of existing public investments and ease pressure on homeowners. Above all, Saanich should pursue opportunities to grow our community thoughtfully, attract and encourage businesses, broaden our tax base and strengthen the services residents rely on.

A Practical Approach to Short-Term Rentals

I support B.C.’s principal-residence rules for short-term rentals, along with reasonable Saanich requirements for business licensing, safety and neighbourhood impacts.

Where I am cautious is about adding further municipal restrictions, including a 120-night annual cap, without clear evidence that they will create more long-term housing. Every additional rule also has a cost: more administration, more enforcement and more pressure on municipal resources.

Saanich should regulate real problems where they occur, protect neighbourhoods and long-term housing, and give homeowners reasonable flexibility in the use of their own homes. New regulations should have a demonstrated benefit and be worth the cost to taxpayers.

Climate & Environmental Action

Saanich is a unique and beautiful place. Preserving its green spaces, parks, trails, beaches, and tree canopy is essential. Our built environment must coexist harmoniously with nature, safeguarding ecosystems rather than compromising them. By protecting these natural assets, we not only enhance our health and well-being but also actively combat climate change, which is an unavoidable reality in our province, and on our island. I fully endorse the District of Saanich Climate Plan and am committed to achieving its goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero, transitioning to 100% renewable energy by 2050, and building resilience to climate challenges such as extreme heat, wildfires, drought, and heavy rainfall. Through decisions grounded in science, we can foster:

Economic Development and Job Growth – Investing in renewable energy and climate resilience strengthens our economy and creates new employment opportunities within Saanich.

Greater Affordability – Providing lower energy costs and helping Saanich homes become more energy-efficient makes living expenses more manageable. Developing walkable communities reduces transportation costs and enhances service delivery, easing the financial burden on residents. We should continue and increase wherever possible the use of incentives within the District’s climate and energy policies to reduce the amount households spend on heating, cooling and transportation.

Thriving Ecosystems – Protecting our natural environments delivers vital benefits, including cooler microclimates and effective stormwater management, contributing to community health, economic vitality, and overall quality of life.

Efficient Transportation

Every resident, regardless of age or ability, deserves access to safe, reliable, and affordable transportation options. Whether it’s children walking to school, youth using public transit for extracurricular activities, or adults commuting to work, well-maintained roads, connected bike lanes, accessible public transit, and walkable destinations are essential for a vibrant community. Promoting thoughtful, strategic density in areas with strong public and active transit networks increases convenience and supports the businesses and services that enhance daily life for everyone.

Colette believes that making it safe for everyone to get around, however they choose to travel, shouldn’t be an ideological issue—and that Saanich is better served by practical solutions than by rhetoric about a “crusade against cars” that seeks to divide neighbours for political gain.

Community Collaboration

Public engagement strategies in Saanich can feel more like an administrative exercise to sell a District plan than an opportunity for the community to play a meaningful role. Saanich’s updated Official Community Plan (OCP) decoupled long-standing Local Area Plans, which were policy frameworks to guide growth, land use, and environmental protections, leaving many neighbourhood groups feeling sidelined. Additionally, recent provincial housing legislation has restricted traditional statutory public hearings for housing projects. Losing these mandatory avenues for community input has created a vacuum that Council hasn’t adequately addressed.

Saanich needs to address this gap. The current public engagement policy has not kept pace with today’s realities. There are no enforceable equity mandates, especially for those who are underrepresented or may face barriers due to the district’s heavy reliance on digital strategies, and no clear, binding accountability procedures. While Saanich provides public engagement reports, the public often feels that their feedback is merely “filed away” and does not affect the final vote.

Residents deserve a clear engagement policy that is accountable, equitable, outlines its purpose and goals, explains why input is sought and how it will be used, and sets realistic expectations about what public input can influence. Communication with residents must be inclusive and diverse, actively seeking input from all communities, especially those often overlooked.

I support developing comprehensive policy to create opportunities for meaningful dialogue that go beyond typical open houses and surveys, allowing residents to engage directly with council and staff in face-to-face discussions.