Smoke and mirrors: How the Provincial Government, Saanich, and ‘Save Our Saanich’ turned the AAP ‘Victory’ into a hollow one.
Saanich’s Phased Approach to the Saanich Operations Centre redevelopment is predicted to be even more expensive than the approach that was defeated in the AAP, and yet Save Our Saanich put up no resistance to this, as their supposed victory was bypassed and rendered moot, without public consent.
By Sasha Izard
Sept 12, 2026
—————————————————————————————————
If you are a Saanich resident, odds are you will recall the following headline or similar headlines like it last July:
Shut down: Saanich residents block $150 million AAP for new operations centre | Saanich News
As was written:
“Plans to borrow up to $150 million for the Saanich Operations Centre redevelopment were shut down by Saanich citizens after more than 10 per cent (8,735 residents) voiced opposition during the alternative approval process (AAP).
A Saanich staff memo, dated July 14, reported that 10,613 responses (12.2 per cent of eligible voters) opposing the borrowing plan were submitted before the June 25 deadline.
It was recommended that council receive the certification of results before choosing whether to take alternate action.
“Staff are working on a separate report to council to be considered at a future meeting that will address (other) options,” it read.”
—————————————————————————————————
While the fledgling organization Save Our Saanich was happy to take almost full credit at the time for the AAP victory and deserved considerable accolades for its concentrated and hard earned effort, it took many residents of Saanich to achieve the victory.
However, even before the plan to borrow $150 million for the Saanich Operations Centre redevelopment was foiled with the AAP result, the bureaucratic/political machinery was looking at alternative ways around it to achieve the same ends, and they quickly found it.
On June 24, 2025 – The Provincial Government announced: “Expanded borrowing powers will help municipalities deliver infrastructure quicker“
BC Gov News
—————————————————————————————————
An Expensive Ship in a Bottle
If the municipality couldn’t authorize a $150 million dollar loan without public approval – no problem, the province would allow them to vastly increase the amount of money they could borrow without public authorization. All the municipality had to do then was break the program into phases, and borrow the money for each phase.
On November 18, 2025 – the District of Saanich made the following press release:
Saanich proceeds with phased approach for Operations Centre redevelopment | District of Saanich
At the time it reminded me of a ship in a bottle, where you construct the whole ship in pieces, put it inside the bottle, pull a string and the whole ship rises fully assembled within the bottle.
The press release continued:
“Phase 1 budget
Through phasing and scope reduction, the near‑term phase I budget has been lowered by up to 45% compared with the previously published $172M total project budget. This substantially reduces borrowing needs over the next five years while allowing the District to maintain essential services during construction. This approach, however, may increase total long‑term costs of redevelopment.
Phase I of the project will cost approximately $93.35M, inclusive of escalation to December 2028. This budget includes construction, design, utilities/site servicing, contingencies, furnishings and equipment, project management office costs, and a $12 million risk reserve to responsibly manage uncertainties typical of early‑stage capital projects.”
—————————————————————————————————
I bolded the above sentence: This approach, however, may increase total long‑term costs of redevelopment.
This in turn was reiterated by a Jan 14, 2026 Debt Servicing Funding Strategy Update Report that went before Saanich Council on Jan 26, 2026 – in which it was written:
“DISCUSSION
In the November 17th, 2025 Council meeting, Council approved the phased approach to the redevelopment of the SOC and the inclusion of the project budget in the 2026-2030 Financial Plan. For phase 1 the estimated project cost including design and construction contingencies is $93.4 million which is less than the initial amount of $172 million for the overall project cost. While this phased approach is likely to increase the total project cost when all phases are included, it does significantly decrease the borrowing needs of the District in the next 5 years as the second phase is not expected to start until 2032.”
———————————————————————————————–
Once again, I added bolding to the section above. So basically, the phased approach was kicking the can down the road for only temporary savings, and Saanich was predicting that it was likely the Saanich Operations Centre redevelopment would even be more expensive once completed than with the $150 million borrowing plan which was ‘defeated’ by the AAP. The new project wouldn’t be $150 million, it would be $172 million, according to the estimate. With a yet to be determined number of phases, it could far exceed that too.
—————————————————————————————————
A Fake Victory
Less than 2 weeks after this document came before council, I wrote the following letter to the editor, which was published in the Times Colonist and and in the Saanich News:
More than $90 million, but no referendum – Victoria Times Colonist
LETTER: Saanich approves $90 million loan without public hearing | Saanich News
(Note the Saanich News makes the title, and as my text indicated, the loan was more than $90 million).
————————————————————————————————–
The letter as published in the Saanich News:
Last year, the District of Saanich sought a $150 million loan authorization through the alternative approval process (AAP). It was soundly defeated by the residents of Saanich.
A profound victory at the time, the district and its council, with the help of the province, rapidly found ways around what to them was only an inconvenient impasse.
At the Jan 26 Saanich council meeting regarding the Saanich Operations Centre Redevelopment Project Borrowing Bylaw, the council gave another round of approval (this time unanimously) through the third reading of the Phase 1 loan authorization for the project, a project that will take well over $90 million in the initial phases, with a built-in contingency of 25%.
It is quite likely that the project will cost over $150 million when Phase 3 is taken into account, and if there are cost overruns or additional phases, which is very likely given the previous talk of cutting the project into smaller pieces. The project has been said to likely take over a decade to complete.
There was no public hearing for the mega project.
Sure, individual residents received their three minutes recorded and on the record speaking time cumulatively, for all the agenda items open to public input, but was that enough for such a vast and costly project?
This time, however, the residents were provided not even an alternative approval process for the over $90 million project. Instead, the project was passed unilaterally and undemocratically, without a referendum.
If the elected officials will not have a public hearing for a project of at least $90 million, and probably well over $100 million, when all is said and done, what will they have a public hearing for?
Finally, where was Save Our Saanich? The organization was nowhere to be heard on the item during the public input portion of the Jan 26 council meeting. Have they lost interest in the issue, now that the AAP is over?
—————————————————————————————————
Conclusion:
When the Province and Saanich saw the writing on the wall, that the people’s will would likely stop the $150 million borrowing for the Saanich Operations Centre redevelopment – the Provincial Government stepped in, well before the AAP process had ended. They provided the municipality with a lifeline to get around it anyway – by extending the municipal borrowing limits, without public consent.
The municipality was quick to capitalize on the opportunity, breaking the project into a phased approach that the municipality itself considered likely to increase the total cost of the project, not decrease it. This was a direct insult to the people of Saanich, whose will had been trumped by the bureaucracy.
In a democracy, the people in charge, yet in this regard – every step of the way, the people’s will was foiled through going around it. Through this new phased plan, Saanich would be able to ultimately get higher than the original $150 million dollars it sought for the Saanich Operations Centre redevelopment.
For the phased approach, and the $93 million dollar borrowing for phase 1 alone – there was no AAP. There was no referendum. There was no vote. There was not even a public hearing.
Yet, Save Our Saanich put up no opposition to this. The organization, by not resisting, allowed this to take place, and the AAP that they were so proud to harness as a propaganda victory for a launch into political office in the 2026 election – was rendered entirely moot. By not following up and through on the cost issue, Save Our Saanich clearly revealed their insincerity on it. The cost Saanich was predicting for the Saanich Operations Centre redevelopment would now be even higher than before.
—————————————————————————————————
How did Save Our Saanich turn from an organization of concerned neighbours, into a Political Slate with 2/3rds of its candidates having worked or continuing to work in real estate or development – in only one year? – CRD Watch Homepage
Save Our Saanich Cops Out on Subject of Amalgamation – CRD Watch Homepage
CRD Watch Homepage 
Leave a comment