When invisibility becomes consent: How a budget line with around 250 million dollars a year in Saanich’s approved 5-Year Financial Plan is being interpreted by the CAO as constituting authorization to enter into a multi-year agreement to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars of public funds to an outside organization.
By Sasha Izard
July 12, 2026
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In a recent article I wrote that Saanich Staff are attempting to enter into a multi-year agreement to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars to the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP) under the guise of “delegated authority”.:
Saanich Staff are attempting to enter into a multi-year agreement to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars to the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP) under the guise of “delegated authority”. – CRD Watch Homepage
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Last fall in 2025 – Saanich Council provided authorization for Saanich Staff to have sweeping powers to unilaterally engage in massive contracts, through delegated authority.
This is something that I staunchly opposed, as being a steep slope away from the democratic public oversight of elected officials, to wild west powers being handed to unelected staffers.
Saanich staff to sign off on procurements without council – Victoria Times Colonist
The District of Saanich is hiding how much it paid the Procurement Law Office behind solicitor client privilege. – CRD Watch Homepage
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Already in 2024 – this direction was apparent to me. At the March 11, 2024 Saanich Council meeting – I called out a similar process, which can be seen as a precursor to this kind of sweeping delegative authority. (See Appendix 1. at the end of this article.)
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Now in 2026, this whole trend is coming home to roost – and entering new realms of Kafkaesque.
In the recent article that I mentioned about Saanich Staff attempting to enter into a multi-year agreement to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars to the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP) under the guise of “delegated authority”; I included a dialogue between myself, and Saanich’s CAO Brent Reems about the mechanics of how staff are attempting to enter into that agreement.
That dialogue is being continuously updated in the article as it continues.
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The following is the latest section of that dialogue:
Hello Brent,
Please post a link to the 5 year plan document, and please provide the page number at which I can find the multi-year budgeting for the South Island Prosperity Partnership.
Thank you,
Sasha Izard
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Brent replied:
Here is a link to the FP (2026). Pg. 79 sets out the SIPP payment for 2026.
The end of the document includes the FP bylaw schedules. The bylaw includes the 5-year budget figures, including operating expenses which include the items outlined in 2026, carried over for subsequent years.
2026 Adopted Financial Plan
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I replied:
“The end of the document includes the FP bylaw schedules. The bylaw includes the 5-year budget figures, including operating expenses which include the items outlined in 2026, carried over for subsequent years.”
Which page at the end of the document includes the FP bylaw schedules that you are referring to?
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Brent wrote:
112 is operating shd.
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I wrote:
Here is p. 112:
Where in that page is the budgeting set out for SIPP beyond 2026?
Thank you again,
Sasha
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Brent wrote:
It’s an operating expense – the rolled up total includes it.
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I wrote:
Where is the post 2026 budget for the South Island Prosperity Partnership in that chart?
If it is a rolled up operating expense, under which category on that chart is it rolled up under?
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Brent replied:
It’s rolled up – under the expense heading, operating.
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I wrote:
Do you mean this one?
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After a week, and no reply I wrote back:
Hello Brent,
Are you going to answer the question?
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Brent replied:
Yes, that’s the line that incorporates operating expenses.
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I replied:
How is multi-year funding for the South Island Prosperity Partnership visible under that line?
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Conclusion:
Saanich recently concluded a 5 year agreement to hand over close to a million dollars to the South Island Prosperity Partnership – an agreement with highly dubious beginnings itself, leaving many questions unanswered:
In 2020, Saanich made a “5 year membership agreement” for close to a million dollars to the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP). This is what it was to get in return. – CRD Watch Homepage
Now Saanich staff want to enter into a new multi-year agreement with the South Island Prosperity Partnership, an organization which refuses to substantiate its return on investment claims when asked to provide evidence for them.
The South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP) claims “$93.20 per capita annual ROI on SIPP initiatives”, fails to provide evidence for their claim, when asked. – CRD Watch Homepage
The new 5-Year Financial Plan for Saanich can be read in full at the following link from the District’s website
2026 Adopted Financial Plan
The plan is text searchable.
If you can spot explicit multi-year funding beyond 2026 for the South Island Prosperity Partnership, please let me know. According to Saanich’s CAO it is rolled up under the following line on page 112 in the plan:
How it is rolled up appears invisible to me in the plan. How then can approval of the 5-year Financial Plan by Council, constitute approval of an invisible multi-year agreement to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars of public funds to an outside organization, supposedly rolled up but invisible under blanket around 250 million dollar budget amounts?
This whole episode shows to me how insane the whole situation is, a situation that should never have been allowed in the first place, but this is where we are in Saanich in 2026. As a result of council’s recent delegation of massive practically unfettered powers to staff, it’s the wild west.
Staff practically have had carte blanche handed to them, to do pretty much what they want within quarter billion dollar budgets.
This situation has been achieved by both open delegation of massive powers from elected officials to unelected staff in the fall, and by tacit, but not explicit approval by Council of staff entering into a multi-year agreement to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars by the South Island Prosperity Partnership.
This is unacceptable.
Looking for clear guidance on how public funds are being spent? For that you’ll simply have to use your imagination, as does staff for how about 250 million dollars a year of public funds are to be spent.
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Appendix 1: My presentation to Saanich Council during public input on March 11, 2024
Item D.9:
“To delegate the authority for the approval to award the 2024 civil engineering construction tenders to the Chief Administrative Officer.”
In the item before you tonight staff asks, whether or not the elected officials should decide to hand the power over to an unelected official that would allow him to award contracts, totalling a sliver under 50 million dollars.
At 49.2 million, I’m only a bit surprised that the end price tag wasn’t 49.99.
Almost 50 million dollars is at stake in contracts to be handed out. Why on earth would the elected officials hand over carte blanche to do that to a single unelected official?
Elected officials in a democracy are there to represent the public and to ensure that what is taking place is in the public’s interest and to vote on issues accordingly.
Handing such massive unfettered power over to non-elected technocrats, is not democracy.
Last year on July 19, I emailed Saanich’s CAO.
I wrote: “I am enquiring as to what are Saanich’s conflict of interest rules regarding contractors.”
The CAO’s response included:
“Whether a conflict exists is determined by staff responsible for managing the contract (in consultation with supports, such as the municipal solicitors).”
Presumably in the scenario we are discussing tonight, staff responsible for managing the contract would be the CAO himself, who while awarding the contracts would also be a person tasked with determining whether a conflict of interest exists, while in consultations with supports such as municipal solicitors.
Why should the elected officials allow a situation where an unelected official has not only the power to hand out close to 50 million dollars in contracts, but then has responsibility for determining, whether a conflict of interest exists, even with support.
As elected officials representing the public, you should be there to determine in advance if such conflicts exist. Or do you not want that sort of responsibility? If not, then what are you doing here? Would you prefer to pass it off? What happens if something goes wrong?
You will still be responsible, because you handed that power over without appropriate checks and balances.
In another email to me on this subject from the CAO last year, he wrote: “There are no bylaws/laws (in terms of legislation) with regard to third party contractor relationships.”
Frankly, I’m reminded of that annoying trailer in the 90s for the film Judge Dredd where Sylvester Stallone says: I am the law!!!!
Which is really a rip-off of every western film ever made isn’t it? The Sheriff walks into town and says: I’m the law around here.
I’m not questioning the integrity of Saanich’s CAO.
My whole point here is that no CAO should ever be given such power!
To quote John Dalberg-Acton in a letter regarding the doctrine of Papal Infallibility: Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority, still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.
Thank you.
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Saanich staff to sign off on procurements without council – Victoria Times Colonist
The District of Saanich is hiding how much it paid the Procurement Law Office behind solicitor client privilege. – CRD Watch Homepage
Content from BC Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs FOI, deemed a refusal by the OIPC, reveals that in May 2021, the BC government invited UDI lobbyists for confidential consultations about public hearings (reducing them) and delegating some local government decision-making from elected officials to staff. – CRD Watch Homepage
Index of articles and other resources about the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP). – CRD Watch Homepage
In 2020, Saanich made a “5 year membership agreement” for close to a million dollars to the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP). This is what it was to get in return. – CRD Watch Homepage
An Open Letter to the South Island Prosperity Partnership – CRD Watch Homepage
List of articles and other resources on corporate regionalism. – 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 – CRD Watch Homepage
A District of Saanich document in 2024 showed Saanich’s debt skyrocketing from $54.6 million in 2023 to $424 million by 2033. – Sasha Izard
Index of articles regarding Law and Bylaw – CRD Watch Homepage
CRD Watch Homepage 
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