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Plane Flights and Helijets, where taxpayer dollars go from the City of Victoria, for Development Lobby Events


By Sasha Izard
Nov 19, 2025



Recently, in early September, City Councillors Hammond and Gardiner put forward a motion for the City of Victoria to withdraw its paid development lobby membership from the Urban Development Institute. More information about this including transcript of the deliberations, can be viewed in the links at the “see also” section at the end of this article.

The deliberations that followed led to discussions of the costs of membership; but the actual costs of City staff attending UDI events, supposedly educational, did not appear to be part of the discussion? Why not?

I submitted a Freedom of Information request for:

Records of all costs spent on Urban Development Institute (UDI) events, meetings with the UDI, money paid or reimbursed to staff or elected officials to attend UDI events, and all other costs paid to the UDI by the City of Victoria. For clarity, this search is only relevant to money the City of Victoria has paid in regard to the UDI and in regard to meeting with it.

(Date Range of Search 2022-09-27 to 2025-09-27).

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The City tried to charge me over $100 for the information, however I asked them how it is not in the public interest for the public to know what taxpayer money is being spent for staffers on supposedly educational events. I got a 50% discount on the FOI, the only time I think that’s ever happened. What were they going to say, it’s not in the public interest to know where their taxpayer dollars are going in this regard?

Today I received the FOI response from the City. Over the last 3 years, the City of Victoria paid over $12,000 on UDI related charges, including attending Urban Development Institute (UDI) events, a figure that is much higher than the figures bandied about in the discussion focussed solely on UDI membership costs, that took place in September. The UDI is a development lobby for corporate development and real estate interests, actively registered on the BC Lobbyists Registry.

Urban Development Institute / Anne McMullin, President & CEO – 12-Month Lobbying Summary – Lobbyists Registry – Office of the Registrar or Lobbying of BC

The following is the list of payments included in the FOI. I have included in this article some of the many invoices that I received. The ones I included are related to flight expenses and associated event fees. Costs associated with flight expenses and related event expenses, I’ve excerpted above the total list of expenses:

Helijet flights to UDI event by City of Victoria employee:

Nashville flights to UDI event and event charges:

Total expenses list from FOI response:

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A sequel to this article can be read here: An Expensive Party: Victoria Employee flew to Nashville and back, to hang out with developers at their “Social Event”. Cost to the taxpayer: almost $2000 – CRD Watch Homepage

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See also:

Index of Articles regarding Jet Flights for City of Victoria Staff to development lobby events, that were charged to the City. – CRD Watch Homepage

Index of articles about lobbying influence on the City of Victoria and deliberations regarding it. – CRD Watch Homepage

City Councillors Hammond and Gardiner put forward Motion to “Terminate Victoria’s membership in the Urban Development Institute” “effective immediately”. – CRD Watch Homepage

Transcript of City of Victoria Council Deliberation on Motion put forward by Councillors Hammond and Gardiner to “Terminate Victoria’s membership in the Urban Development Institute”. (Sept 4, 2025) – CRD Watch Homepage

Letter sent to Victoria’s Mayor and Council and City Manager’s office, regarding the City’s potential withdrawal from the UDI development/real estate lobby. – CRD Watch Homepage

Letter to Councillor Thompson in regard to your comments during the deliberations regarding the City’s membership in the Urban Development Institute at the City of Victoria Sept 4, 2025 Committee of the Whole – CRD Watch Homepage

Letter to Councillor Coleman in regard to your comments during the deliberations regarding the City’s membership in the Urban Development Institute at the City of Victoria Sept 4 Committee of the Whole – CRD Watch Homepage

Letter to Councillor Loughton in regard to your comments during the deliberations regarding the City’s membership in the Urban Development Institute at the City of Victoria Sept 4 Committee of the Whole – CRD Watch Homepage

Letter by Julian Ruszel in regard to the City of Victoria’s public hearing on the Official Community Plan update and on powerful lobbying influence on it. – CRD Watch Homepage

Does the UDI lobby on behalf of its paying member municipalities? I asked this question to its last 4 paying municipal members on the island. – CRD Watch Homepage

Director Hurley (Burnaby Mayor) lambasted the UDI’s stranglehold over Provincial housing policy at the Oct 17, 2025 Metro Vancouver Mayors Committee Special Meeting: “You got everything you wanted”. – CRD Watch Homepage