CRD Watch Homepage

No Transparency: The District of Saanich Doesn’t Keep Track of the Total Costs for the Estimated Quarter Billion Dollar: Active Transportation Plan

I asked the District of Saanich for the “Totals spent on the Active Transportation Plan and variants.“

The District responded: “there are no records in response to the specifics of your request.”


By Sasha Izard
March 5, 2026


Recently, I wrote an article about a Feb 10, 2025 District of Saanich document which showed Class ‘D’ Cost Estimates for Short and Medium Term Active Transportation Plan Projects – Totalling Above a Quarter Billion Dollars.

Feb 10, 2025 District of Saanich document showed Class ‘D’ Cost Estimates for Short and Medium Term Active Transportation Plan Projects – Totalling Above a Quarter Billion Dollars. – Sasha Izard

————————————————————————————————-

On Feb 27, 2026 I submitted the following FOI request to the District of Saanich for:

Totals spent on the Active Transportation Plan and variants.

Date range: Jan 1, 2020 to Feb 27, 2026

—————————————————————————————————

On March 5, 2026 – I received a response from the District of Saanich:

The Engineering Department has advised that they do not track staff time or costs for one specific program such as the Active Transportation Plan. Their work and spending are mixed across different priorities, and most of it is tied to maintaining and managing existing infrastructure (asset management) rather than being clearly separated as Active Transportation Plan work. As such, there are no records in response to the specifics of your request.

—————————————————————————————————

Conclusion:

In 2024, A District of Saanich document showed cost estimations for the Active Transportation Plan totalling over a quarter billion dollars, in perspective that is close to 5 times Saanich’s entire debt at the beginning of 2023.

Saanich’s taxes and utilities have been compounding year and year high above the rate of inflation, making residents feel the squeeze, and some probably being squeezed out altogether and joining the many people fleeing British Columbia for elsewhere.

Yet for all the money the District estimates this plan will cost, based on the District’s response, it doesn’t keep track of the total costs being spent on this program projected over a quarter billion dollars.

Is this acceptable from a government using public funds? That is for you to decide.

—————————————————————————————————

Appendix: The FOI Response from the District of Saanich.

————————————————————————–

See also: LETTER: Secrecy surrounds pricey Saanich property purchase | Victoria News