[2:19] All right, everyone. Good evening.

[2:23] I'd like to start by recognizing the

[2:24] land on the unceded territory of the

[2:26] Quw'utsun

[2:27] nation and that in this room there's

[2:29] different views, different ways of

[2:30] expression, different emotional

[2:32] intensities, and different roads that

[2:33] lead to conclusions.

[2:35] May we combine clarity of mind with

[2:37] kindness of heart, and may we be

[2:39] impartial without bending to strong

[2:40] personalities.

[2:41] May we sacrifice self-interest for the

[2:43] good of the whole, and may we do our

[2:45] work with the love and clarity of vision

[2:46] for the benefit of those that we

[2:48] represent. And with that, I'll call this

[2:50] meeting to order. Are there any late

[2:51] items tonight, Ms. Hodgins?

[2:54] So, I'll move for approval of the

[2:55] agenda, uh that council moved the July

[2:57] 27th agenda be adopted as circulated.

[3:00] Any discussion? All those in favor?

[3:02] And adoption of minutes, June 22nd,

[3:06] that we adopt the minutes from June 22nd

[3:08] regular council meeting as circulated.

[3:10] Is there a mover and a seconder? Any

[3:11] discussion? All those in favor?

[3:15] Thank you. And we have a delegation this

[3:17] evening.

[3:19] Uh Callum Matthews is uh going to be

[3:21] presenting from Tourism Cowichan,

[3:23] the municipal and regional district tax

[3:25] five-year plan. Welcome. Welcome.

[3:30] » Perfect. Thank you so much. I appreciate

[3:33] the opportunity

[3:39] There we go.

[3:40] That's better.

[3:42] Perfect. Well, really happy to be here

[3:43] this evening to share some information

[3:45] about the ongoing renewal of the

[3:47] municipal and regional district tax

[3:50] um across the regional district here,

[3:51] which includes Duncan, of course. Um my

[3:54] plan for tonight is just to share a

[3:56] snapshot from a revenue perspective of

[3:58] what we're anticipating, some highlights

[4:00] of the 5-year plan, as well as some

[4:02] highlights for the tactical plan

[4:05] for the 2027 calendar year,

[4:07] and wrap it up just letting you know

[4:09] kind of next steps and general

[4:10] timelines.

[4:14] For those of you who aren't aware, the

[4:16] municipal and regional district tax, or

[4:18] MRDT, is British Columbia's program to

[4:22] generate revenue to support tourism

[4:23] investment. Um it's been around since

[4:25] the 1980s. It's in place in just about

[4:28] every community in British Columbia and

[4:30] on Vancouver Island. And many of you may

[4:33] be familiar with similar programs in

[4:35] other provinces or countries. Some

[4:38] places it may look like an entry entry

[4:40] or exit fee as you fly in or out, um but

[4:42] the most common model is similar to

[4:44] ours, where there is a fee applied to

[4:46] overnight accommodation.

[4:48] In British Columbia, we have the option

[4:50] of either a 2 or 3% tax rate. Currently,

[4:54] right now in the regional district, it's

[4:56] being collected at a tax rate of 2%. Um

[4:59] across Vancouver Island in BC, the

[5:01] majority of communities have already

[5:02] moved to 3% or in the process of moving

[5:05] to 3%, and it's our intention and goal

[5:08] to move from 2% to 3% as a part of this

[5:11] renewal. Um the major outcome of that is

[5:14] it'll enable us to significantly

[5:15] increase funding to the visitor centers

[5:18] um across the regional district, which

[5:19] is an area of need that we've heard um

[5:21] from stakeholders, from our partners at

[5:23] the chamber, at BIAs, and also um from

[5:25] councils.

[5:27] It's important to recognize that there's

[5:28] a variety of eligible in ineligible

[5:30] expenses for the program. Generally

[5:33] speaking, anything to do with tourism

[5:34] marketing, um experience development,

[5:37] supporting operators, visitor centers,

[5:39] all of that is a typical eligible use.

[5:42] Where we run into challenges anything

[5:44] brick and mortar that requires

[5:45] construction. Um so capital costs are

[5:48] generally speaking not eligible expenses

[5:50] with the important exception of

[5:52] affordable housing, and I'll speak a

[5:54] little bit more about that in a few

[5:55] slides.

[5:57] And we have to renew our MRDT every 5

[6:00] years, so we're going through this

[6:01] process because it is a part of the the

[6:03] legislated way that this program

[6:05] operates in the province.

[6:08] This is a snapshot of MRDT renewals over

[6:12] the past few years going back to 2022.

[6:15] And it also shows our anticipated

[6:17] revenue when we move up to uh 3% MRDT.

[6:21] Um, you can see us a pretty steady

[6:23] recovery in MRDT revenues coming out of

[6:25] COVID. And at the 3% we're anticipating

[6:29] about um 140 or so thousand in

[6:32] additional MRDT revenue. And about 80

[6:35] additional thousand dollars in um online

[6:37] accommodation platform revenue, and

[6:39] those are the funds that um are

[6:41] currently going to Cowichan Housing for

[6:43] affordable housing purposes. So we're

[6:45] looking at pretty close to additional

[6:46] quarter million dollars in revenue by

[6:48] moving from 2% to 3%.

[6:51] When we look at communities across

[6:53] British Columbia that have gone to 3%,

[6:56] we know that there is no change in

[6:57] visitor decision-making. No one's going

[6:59] to say, "Oh, Cowichan's, you know, 1%

[7:01] more than this other community." and

[7:03] change their plan. Um, so we're really

[7:05] leaving um quite a bit of revenue um on

[7:07] the table collecting at this 2% rate.

[7:10] And our neighbors are um across

[7:13] Vancouver Island collecting at 3% um

[7:16] which really gives them a competitive

[7:17] advantage in terms of tourism

[7:19] development and marketing.

[7:21] So next jumping into a bit of an

[7:23] overview of the business plan.

[7:26] From the perspective of the vision, the

[7:27] focus for Tourism Cowichan Society is

[7:29] that uh tourism will be a significant

[7:31] contributor to um the community from an

[7:33] economic as well as a social well-being

[7:35] perspective. And as a premier

[7:38] destination for leisure getaways and

[7:40] vacations, Cowichan is increasingly

[7:42] known as a place where tourism actively

[7:44] supports destination development,

[7:46] stewardship, and industry development

[7:47] for the long-term benefit of residents

[7:50] and the local community and visitors.

[7:52] Our philosophy is really centered on

[7:53] this idea that a great place to live is

[7:55] a great place to visit. The real real

[7:57] reason I think people come to Vancouver

[7:59] Island is to experience what it's like

[8:00] to live here. Um so, safeguarding place

[8:03] and contributing to the vibrancy of

[8:04] community and the economic and social

[8:06] development is really important um for

[8:08] Tourism Cowichan.

[8:10] The mission for Tourism Cowichan is to

[8:11] steward the region's tourism industry by

[8:13] aligning the strategy of Tourism

[8:15] Cowichan Society and its investments

[8:17] with community priorities, fostering a

[8:19] sustainable economy that creates

[8:21] long-term benefits for businesses,

[8:22] partners, visitors, and residents

[8:24] through destination development,

[8:25] stewardship, industry training, and

[8:27] marketing initiatives that unite the

[8:29] region while showcasing the uniqueness

[8:31] of Cowichan's many communities.

[8:34] And I think that this is the best

[8:35] opportunity and challenge that we have

[8:37] as Tourism Cowichan Society. It's a big,

[8:40] quite diverse region. Uh we need to have

[8:42] a central brand and marketing strategy

[8:46] and cohesive destination and experience

[8:47] development work, but we also need to

[8:49] showcase what makes each one of the many

[8:51] communities in the region special and

[8:53] unique.

[8:56] So, jumping into the 5-year plan,

[8:58] there's four primary goals that have

[8:59] been identified through fairly extensive

[9:02] engagement with uh industry over the

[9:04] past several months. First, to influence

[9:07] destination development through

[9:08] collaboration, advocacy, and strategic

[9:10] investment. Second, to lead in

[9:12] regenerative tourism and community

[9:13] well-being. Third, to strengthen

[9:15] industry collaboration and business

[9:17] resilience. And lastly, to solidify the

[9:19] Cowichan region's destination identity

[9:21] and market position.

[9:23] A few more details around this first

[9:25] goal that's centered on destination

[9:26] development. Uh we want to focus on

[9:29] informing regional planning and

[9:30] development. Um

[9:32] and really the goal there is trying to

[9:33] find more alignment, more partnership

[9:36] opportunities with local governments,

[9:38] um play a role um where it works for us

[9:41] you know us to work in a synergistic way

[9:42] with staff at the regional district and

[9:44] councils to share a tourism perspective.

[9:47] Um this was something that we heard

[9:48] really clearly from um tourism operators

[9:51] during our engagement sessions.

[9:53] The second area is around supporting and

[9:55] advocating for tourism-related

[9:57] infrastructure and services. Uh Tourism

[9:59] Cowichan is currently working on

[10:01] accommodation investment, attraction, uh

[10:04] cycling and hiking trail development. Um

[10:07] and I think there's a lot of opportunity

[10:08] for Tourism Cowichan Society to work

[10:10] more closely um with staff um at

[10:13] municipalities and the regional district

[10:14] in pursuit of some I think very common

[10:16] and shared goals there.

[10:19] Second, around regenerative tourism and

[10:21] community well-being, the focus is on

[10:22] promoting sustainable tourism and

[10:24] responsible travel practices. That can

[10:26] look like um sustainability training for

[10:28] operators,

[10:30] um stewardship messaging ingrained in

[10:32] our promotion to visitors, um trying to

[10:34] instill a sense of respect for the place

[10:36] that they visit and help them understand

[10:38] how they can give back and contribute.

[10:40] Partnerships with community

[10:41] organizations, and I think the

[10:42] investment that's a part of this plan in

[10:44] the visitor centers is a good example of

[10:46] that. And there's also a desire to have

[10:49] greater alignment with the Vancouver

[10:50] Island region's destination stewardship

[10:52] strategy when it comes to trying to

[10:54] attract um provincial and federal

[10:56] funding for tourism projects, alignment

[10:58] with regional as well as provincial

[10:59] plans is really important. And it can

[11:02] help Tourism Cowichan leverage its

[11:04] resources, uh leverage its funding

[11:06] against regional dollars and provincial

[11:07] dollars as well.

[11:09] In terms of industry collaboration and

[11:11] resilience, we also heard loudly from

[11:13] operators um a desire for us to expand

[11:16] industry engagement and

[11:17] knowledge-sharing opportunities, whether

[11:19] it's networking events, but I think more

[11:21] specifically it was workshops and

[11:22] training. Um they've had a program

[11:24] recently that was focused on helping

[11:26] operators increase their dis- digital

[11:28] sophistication, find ways to connect um

[11:30] with consumers on their own and tell

[11:32] their own story. That was really popular

[11:35] and, um, something that will be doubling

[11:36] down on in future years as well as

[11:38] looking at other training opportunities

[11:40] for operators.

[11:41] There's a desire to strengthen

[11:42] relationships with indigenous partners

[11:44] in the region, um, specifically around

[11:47] experience development, and continued

[11:49] investment in, um, Tourism Cowichan

[11:52] Society board training. Uh, they can

[11:54] conduct annual board retreats where they

[11:56] focus on board governance training, um,

[11:58] and then also strategy for the

[12:00] organization.

[12:02] And goal four, around more that

[12:04] marketing branding side. Uh, it's main-

[12:07] about maintaining a unified destination

[12:08] brand that brings all of our communities

[12:11] together, expanding collaborative

[12:12] marketing and storytelling

[12:14] opportunities, um, cooperative marketing

[12:16] programs, cross promotion, the

[12:18] opportunity to help amplify the stories

[12:20] of individual communities, and working

[12:23] with partner organizations like chambers

[12:24] and BIAs in pursuit of that. And then

[12:27] supporting the delivery of visitor

[12:28] information services, um, through a

[12:31] significantly increased financial

[12:33] contribution. Um, you know, my

[12:34] perspective is really when there's MRDT

[12:36] in place, uh, the best use of the funds

[12:39] is that that helps to bring the greatest

[12:41] benefit to community as well as offset

[12:44] other kind of core tax costs for

[12:46] residents. Um, so, moving to 3% would

[12:49] enable Tourism Cowichan Society to

[12:50] provide more funding to the visitor

[12:52] centers. We know that visitor centers

[12:54] are really important for the Cowichan

[12:56] region, and that they haven't had the

[12:57] funding that they need to operate in the

[12:59] past. So, um, looking to kind of set a

[13:01] new really positive course, um, is a

[13:03] part of this MRDT renewal.

[13:05] And lastly, a snapshot for what's

[13:07] planned for the 2027 calendar year.

[13:10] From a marketing perspective, we're

[13:12] looking to evolve from 2026 by having a

[13:14] stronger focus on influencer marketing,

[13:16] creator partnerships, and really leaning

[13:19] into organic social media.

[13:21] We want to continue with enhancements to

[13:23] improve not just the accessibility of

[13:26] the Tourism Cowichan and

[13:27] integrations for people that might have

[13:29] visual impairments, etc.

[13:31] Um as well as from an AI readiness

[13:32] perspective. So, for us that isn't

[13:34] integrating AI throughout the website

[13:37] because we know that when um visitors

[13:39] that are planning a trip spot AI, it

[13:41] makes them skeptical, you lose trust.

[13:44] But, we also know that lots of people

[13:45] are using AI for trip planning, and we

[13:47] need to

[13:48] um kind of design the the content within

[13:50] the website um so that will feed into

[13:52] those um large language model platforms

[13:55] and help people that are using those

[13:57] tools for their trip planning.

[13:59] Um also looking to align organic social

[14:01] media with new content pillars that will

[14:03] help to tell a better story for the

[14:05] region.

[14:06] And then looking to redesign the visitor

[14:08] guide in 2028. We just recently did a

[14:11] redesign of that, so we'll just be able

[14:13] to update some content and keep things

[14:14] simple for 2027, and then as is typical

[14:17] for us every other year make a a bigger

[14:19] investment in a refresh.

[14:21] Uh reducing our budget in collateral

[14:23] production is also planned for 2027

[14:25] based on investments made in 2026 and

[14:27] 2025.

[14:29] Um and then lastly, looking at um

[14:32] currently there's a handful of different

[14:33] cooperative marketing programs that we

[14:35] invest in, uh the BC Ale Trail, the Bird

[14:37] Trail, um things like that that are

[14:39] happening provincially. And the that

[14:41] program through Destination BC is going

[14:43] through some significant changes. So,

[14:45] we're going to take a really deep look

[14:47] at that and make sure that we're getting

[14:48] best bang for buck um with those um

[14:51] co-op investments that we're making.

[14:53] And then lastly, from a destination

[14:55] development and product experience side

[14:57] of things, um enhancing training

[14:59] opportunities and engagement

[15:00] opportunities for tourism operators. Uh

[15:04] continuing with accommodation supply. Uh

[15:06] we know that we do not have enough fixed

[15:08] roof accommodation properties in the

[15:10] region. Um looking to attract investment

[15:13] from that perspective.

[15:14] Uh there is a huge opportunity to

[15:16] continue to build out um agritourism and

[15:19] culinary tourism experiences. Looking to

[15:22] support regional mobility and active

[15:23] transportation initiatives, and the

[15:25] destination stewardship and responsible

[15:27] tourism initiatives. And finally,

[15:30] we have been talking to many of the

[15:31] nations within the regional district,

[15:33] and there's some exciting partnership

[15:35] opportunities that we're exploring

[15:37] currently and hope to be able to move

[15:38] forward with in 2027 in partnership with

[15:41] those nations.

[15:43] And a few of the other tactics, so as

[15:45] I'd been hinting at,

[15:46] um we will be increasing the visitor

[15:49] center funding to a total of 150,000.

[15:53] Um it's currently at $50,000.

[15:55] And the OMF, which was formally known as

[15:59] OAP, um it's essentially Airbnb's,

[16:03] VRBO's, etc. Uh those funds will

[16:06] continue to be directed towards Cowichan

[16:08] Housing Association for affordable

[16:10] housing-related initiatives. And we're

[16:12] just in the process right now of

[16:14] finalizing um their their um

[16:17] work plan for what will happen with

[16:19] those funds, and that will be um shared

[16:21] out with all of the councils um upon

[16:23] completion by Cowichan Housing

[16:25] Association.

[16:28] So this is what we're anticipating in

[16:29] terms of the budget for 2027. The

[16:32] numbers don't align perfectly with the

[16:34] increase from 2 to 3% I shared at the

[16:36] start. The reason is that by the time

[16:38] 2027 uh by the time our MRDT renewal is

[16:41] complete and the increase moves to 3%,

[16:43] we won't have a full calendar year at

[16:45] 3%. It'll be a partial at 2. Um so this

[16:47] is our our best guess for what total

[16:49] revenues will look like. MRDT is from

[16:52] those fixed-roof kind of typical

[16:54] accommodation properties. There's

[16:55] funding from the regional district. And

[16:57] then we also have um the co-op program

[16:59] from Destination BC, which provides

[17:01] matching dollars for marketing

[17:02] initiatives, and a little bit of

[17:04] additional revenue from some other

[17:06] programs um

[17:07] for about a $1.47

[17:09] uh million dollar total budget. And that

[17:11] does not include the short-term rental

[17:13] money that goes through Cowichan

[17:14] Housing.

[17:17] And a little bit of a breakdown here, or

[17:20] sorry, it does include the 400,000 plus

[17:22] for affordable housing in those numbers

[17:25] with a kind of full breakdown here

[17:26] looking about 28% for marketing,

[17:29] an increase to 25% for destination

[17:31] development and experience development.

[17:34] A increase in visitor services from

[17:36] 50,000 to 150,

[17:39] a modest increase in admin costs, and

[17:42] the final number there, the 444 is a

[17:45] provincially mandated program.

[17:48] They basically at the Ministry of

[17:49] Finance just skim that off of the top

[17:51] before the funds go to the regional

[17:53] district. So that should be about $500

[17:55] give or take.

[17:57] And the plan is to have a very small

[17:59] carry forward at the end of the year.

[18:00] The goal is really always a zero-based

[18:02] budget.

[18:03] We try to budget conservatively and if

[18:06] revenues are going in the right

[18:07] direction, the board can look at

[18:09] adjusting some of its expenditures

[18:11] midway through the year.

[18:13] The final thing I just wanted to quickly

[18:14] mention is that

[18:16] around the need for increasing from 2%

[18:18] to 3%.

[18:20] So Tourism Cache Creek thankfully had a

[18:22] fairly significant amount of reserve

[18:24] funds. That was really accumulated

[18:26] through COVID when we weren't able to

[18:27] spend money on marketing initiatives and

[18:30] that's been really helpful to help us,

[18:32] you know, support visitor servicing,

[18:34] you know, continue with marketing and

[18:36] destination development, but we've been

[18:38] spending about $100,000 on a

[18:40] deficit budget of about 100,000 every

[18:42] year. And this was the last year that

[18:44] we're reasonably able to continue with

[18:46] that deficit spending while maintaining

[18:48] a healthy reserve in the event the

[18:50] organization needs to wind down or

[18:52] there's an unforeseen event. So without

[18:54] moving from the 2% to 3%, it makes it

[18:57] incredibly challenging for us to find a

[18:59] way of increasing funds for not just the

[19:02] visitor center, but for other programs

[19:04] that we have right now.

[19:06] So we're working really hard to get the

[19:08] accommodation properties on side with

[19:10] that increase from 2 to 3% we've

[19:12] launched that process and I'm hoping

[19:15] that we'll have a positive outcome

[19:16] there.

[19:17] In terms of next steps, we're presenting

[19:19] to councils right now looking to present

[19:21] to the regional district board shortly

[19:24] before elections with a final submission

[19:27] of the application in February.

[19:29] We've distributed our draft 5-year plan

[19:31] and tactical plan far and wide and we're

[19:33] currently receiving feedback on that

[19:36] from staff at local governments and

[19:37] regional districts as well as from

[19:39] operators.

[19:41] As I mentioned we're focused on

[19:42] collecting signatures from those

[19:43] operators, letters of support from

[19:45] councils and if all goes well it'll be

[19:48] submitted on October 1st which provides

[19:50] a healthy amount of buffer time to

[19:52] ensure that we receive approval from

[19:54] cabinet before the current repeal date.

[19:57] So I really appreciate the opportunity

[19:59] share that with all of you this evening

[20:00] and if appropriate I'm happy to answer

[20:01] any questions you might have as well.

[20:03] Thank you.

[20:05] >> Thank you so much. Looking to around the

[20:08] » Thank you so much. Looking to around the

[20:08] table for questions.

[20:11] No, you were so thorough that no one has

[20:12] a question for you. Oh, Councillor

[20:13] Bruce, go ahead.

[20:16] >> Thank you Mayor.

[20:17] » Thank you Mayor.

[20:17] Thank you very much for your

[20:19] presentation.

[20:20] Um

[20:21] I was just adding up the the wages and

[20:24] the um

[20:25] benefits and I just rough and ready got

[20:28] to around 200,000 and

[20:31] when there's more money coming in will

[20:33] that be going to administration

[20:36] or will that be going to programs and I

[20:38] know you covered some of that just now

[20:40] but it's a legitimate question and if so

[20:43] what percentage goes to administration?

[20:46] Um

[20:47] and the other thing I was just going to

[20:48] ask if you could answer the money that's

[20:51] generated in the Cowichan Valley

[20:54] that's

[20:55] does that stay here or does that go into

[20:57] a bigger pot?

[21:00] >> Okay, so I'll take that question on

[21:02] » Okay, so I'll take that question on

[21:02] first Councillor Bruce. So in terms of

[21:03] all of the revenue that's collected from

[21:05] short-term rentals as well as the formal

[21:08] accommodation properties across the

[21:09] regional district. Um about 99% of that

[21:13] comes back. Um there's a small fee of I

[21:16] believe it's $14 per hotel or motel that

[21:20] the Ministry of Finance collects. Um but

[21:22] other than that, everything goes to the

[21:24] regional district. They then provide

[21:26] that to Tourism Cowichan, and we have to

[21:29] provide, you know, thorough annual

[21:30] reporting on, you know, all of the

[21:32] expenditures associated with that. So,

[21:34] that's one of the great things about the

[21:35] program. Um the collection and the

[21:37] complexity of collecting that 2 or 3%

[21:40] from the operators is taken care of by

[21:41] the province in exchange for about a $14

[21:44] per property fee, and the rest comes

[21:46] back here.

[21:47] Um from an admin perspective, uh we

[21:50] budgeted for about a 7% increase in kind

[21:53] of those overhead-related expenses for

[21:55] 2027. Um that was based on some slightly

[21:59] just the general cost of of doing

[22:01] business, you know, including like IT

[22:03] costs and things like that. Um we

[22:05] generally try to keep the kind of admin

[22:07] and overhead um around that 20% mark. Um

[22:11] it's about as lean as we can be. The So,

[22:14] no, as a part of the increase from 2 to

[22:16] 3%, we wouldn't anticipate any

[22:18] significant increase in operating costs.

[22:21] Um especially with the lion's share of

[22:23] that increase being visitor center

[22:26] funding um to help the visitor centers

[22:28] deliver their programs.

[22:31] Yeah, my pleasure.

[22:32] >> Thank you very much. Any other

[22:33] » Thank you very much. Any other

[22:33] questions?

[22:35] Seeing none. Nope, thank you very much

[22:36] for your time with us this evening and

[22:38] for the work that you're doing.

[22:39] >> Thank you, I appreciate it. Take care,

[22:40] » Thank you, I appreciate it. Take care,

[22:40] everybody.

[22:43] » And I'm going to move to a motion that

[22:45] council provide a letter of support for

[22:47] the renewal and of the Cowichan Valley

[22:49] Regional District as a designated

[22:51] recipient of the Municipal Regional

[22:53] District Tax MRDT revenue within the

[22:55] CVRD

[22:57] for the period of July 1st, 2027 to July

[22:59] 1st, 2032.

[23:02] Is there a mover or a seconder for that?

[23:03] Any discussion on this motion? All those

[23:05] in favor?

[23:06] Motion carries. Thank you.

[23:08] Um, we'll move over to Staff Sergeant uh

[23:11] Perrett. Welcome.

[23:14] Did I say your last name correctly?

[23:16] >> Um

[23:18] » Um

[23:18] We have Perrett to mention to you his

[23:19] name.

[23:20] >> It depends on what you what you call

[23:22] » It depends on what you what you call

[23:22] yourself. Is it Perrett or Perrett?

[23:23] >> Perrett normally.

[23:24] » Perrett normally.

[23:24] >> Perrett? Okay. Well, welcome Sergeant

[23:26] » Perrett? Okay. Well, welcome Sergeant

[23:26] Staff Sergeant Perrett.

[23:28] And you're going over the RCMP annual

[23:30] performance plan with us.

[23:31] >> Yes. Thank you

[23:33] » Yes. Thank you

[23:33] uh Mayor Staples and council members.

[23:37] So, yes, as you stated, I'm here to

[23:40] give you an overview of what our annual

[23:41] performance plan is for 2026 and 2027.

[23:46] Um

[23:47] I prepared a bit of a slideshow just uh

[23:49] as a bit of a visual.

[23:51] Um

[23:53] Really, our annual performance plan

[23:56] isn't changed significantly from last

[23:57] year. We've just uh did some stream-

[24:00] line of reporting and uh realigned some

[24:02] of our initiatives. Uh

[24:05] A, to make it less onerous for data

[24:07] collection and and B, just to make sure

[24:10] we're capturing

[24:11] some things that we intend to do this

[24:13] year. So,

[24:14] um

[24:16] First off,

[24:17] our first objective is crime reduction.

[24:21] So, in the past, we've had bicycle

[24:23] patrols, uh

[24:24] downtown foot patrols, and uh engagement

[24:27] with the business community.

[24:29] Uh road safety including uh

[24:33] school zones and playground zones.

[24:35] Uh curfew checks and restorative justice

[24:38] referrals. So,

[24:39] all those initiatives were important,

[24:41] but this year

[24:43] uh we decided to take a little bit

[24:44] different focus. Uh in the the first

[24:46] quarter of 2026,

[24:49] we had a quite a significant increase in

[24:51] the number of calls for service relating

[24:53] to unwanted persons or unhoused

[24:55] individuals.

[24:57] Uh

[24:59] So, uh in the

[25:02] in recognizing that, we've been working

[25:04] closely with the local bylaw, including

[25:06] the city of Duncan bylaw, to come up

[25:08] with strategies in order to

[25:11] uh

[25:12] reduce the the strain on the the

[25:14] business community with these types of

[25:16] calls and to reduce the the strain on

[25:19] the local detachment with this type of

[25:23] occurrence. So, um

[25:26] So, rather than just having

[25:28] bike patrols and foot patrols in itself,

[25:31] we chose to we're going to focus

[25:33] specifically on uh some joint patrols

[25:36] that we're going to do with the local

[25:37] bylaw.

[25:39] Uh so, we hope you know, at least a

[25:41] couple times a week to have an RCMP

[25:43] member paired up with a bylaw officer.

[25:45] So, uh

[25:47] you know, instead of having one team, we

[25:48] can have two. And we can uh

[25:52] address some of these community safety

[25:54] issues

[25:55] uh together. And so,

[25:59] so, one of our initiatives this year is

[26:01] to collect data from those patrols and

[26:05] hopefully, you know, by the end of the

[26:06] year, compare that to our statistics and

[26:08] see that there has been a downward trend

[26:10] in this area.

[26:12] Uh

[26:13] road safety is still a priority. Uh we

[26:15] just um

[26:17] uh

[26:18] combined all our traffic initiatives

[26:20] into one rather than having it broke

[26:21] down into different compartments.

[26:24] Um in this fall, we're going to be uh

[26:27] rolling out a mental health liaison

[26:29] position at the detachment. Uh we've

[26:32] been working with VIHA to uh obtain a a

[26:36] mental health nurse. So, that person's

[26:38] been identified.

[26:40] We're still working on identifying the

[26:42] individual from the local detachment.

[26:43] So, they'll work as a team

[26:45] and um

[26:48] deal with a lot of our mental

[26:49] health-related calls. So, we want to

[26:51] track that and see how effective that is

[26:53] over the the next year.

[26:55] Uh

[26:56] restorative justice

[26:58] that's uh important program for our

[27:00] detachment, so that that remains

[27:02] unchanged.

[27:03] And um

[27:06] we're going to deal with uh

[27:07] priority offender management. So,

[27:10] um some may be

[27:12] familiar with the Revo program, the

[27:14] repeat violent offender program. So, the

[27:17] provincial government has secured

[27:18] funding for a new program this year

[27:21] related to property offenders.

[27:23] So, uh

[27:26] locally uh

[27:27] and that program still under

[27:28] development, so it's not actually up and

[27:30] running in the the South Island just

[27:33] yet, but

[27:34] when that gets up and running, we want

[27:35] to be able to track how many charges

[27:36] we're getting against those offenders

[27:38] and so we can kind of

[27:40] get a local barometer on on how

[27:42] effective it is locally. So,

[27:48] uh our second objective

[27:50] providing leadership and governance.

[27:53] Um

[27:55] that's largely unchanged other than

[27:57] we've just changed our reporting a

[27:59] little bit. Um

[28:01] we find that we're having some

[28:02] duplication reporting throughout our

[28:05] our data collection, so we just

[28:08] rejig that a little bit, so that's

[28:10] relatively unchanged.

[28:13] Uh the third objective is employee

[28:15] wellness and respect.

[28:17] Last year we chose to focus on

[28:19] supervisor development and leadership

[28:21] development.

[28:22] Uh we're still doing that this year, but

[28:24] we've added a component in terms of

[28:26] employee wellness and team building

[28:28] exercises. So, we want to track those

[28:30] types of

[28:32] initiatives, whether it's um

[28:34] you know, fitness related or mental

[28:35] health related. So, that's we decided to

[28:38] include that

[28:39] as well.

[28:42] Um

[28:45] and

[28:47] the fourth initiative

[28:49] doesn't pertain to the the city of

[28:51] Duncan directly. It's it's uh directly

[28:53] related to Cowichan Tribes. And with

[28:56] that, we've just uh

[28:58] changed our reporting a little bit for

[28:59] the year. So,

[29:01] uh

[29:02] I know I was quick.

[29:04] Hoping not to take up a ton of your

[29:05] time, but that's really the overview. Um

[29:09] Like I said, our

[29:11] our annual performance plan's relatively

[29:12] unchanged. We just did a little bit of

[29:14] rejigging this year. So,

[29:16] uh

[29:17] we're hoping

[29:18] um

[29:19] that uh you know Mayor and Council will

[29:22] will approve this and

[29:24] and um

[29:25] we'll move forward. So, I mean, we just

[29:27] concluded quarter one of our fiscal

[29:29] year. So, uh Staff Sergeant Ken Beard

[29:32] will be reporting on that in the coming

[29:34] weeks.

[29:35] Uh so, thus far, we think we're off to a

[29:37] good start in terms of our

[29:39] meeting our goals and objectives for

[29:41] this year.

[29:43] Um

[29:45] Does anybody have any questions

[29:46] regarding

[29:47] the annual performance plan?

[29:49] >> Thank you.

[29:50] » Thank you.

[29:50] Councilor Duncan.

[29:52] >> Uh thank you, Your Worship.

[29:54] » Uh thank you, Your Worship.

[29:54] And thank [clears throat] you for the

[29:55] report. Um just a question around the

[29:58] prolific property offenders. Um in the

[30:01] past, we've sort of heard that Crown uh

[30:04] is reluctant to proceed on some charges.

[30:07] Uh

[30:08] you know, will this result in someone

[30:09] that's, for example, been caught three

[30:12] times in a day shoplifting? Will they be

[30:14] kept in jail until they

[30:16] until they actually go to court? That's

[30:18] one question. And the other question

[30:21] would be on the new mental health

[30:23] liaison officer. Is that Is that set up

[30:25] to speed up the process if if uh someone

[30:29] is picked up and is going to be referred

[30:31] to mental health?

[30:32] Is that You know, we heard sometimes

[30:34] that the police cars would sit at the

[30:35] hospital for two or three hours. Is this

[30:38] going to help speed that up?

[30:47] » Okay.

[30:49] First question regarding the the C Point

[30:51] program,

[30:52] that remains to be seen, but much like

[30:54] for the violent offenders

[30:58] repeat property offenders

[31:01] it's meant to be more onerous for them

[31:03] to get bail and

[31:06] thus if they're held in custody

[31:08] before trial um

[31:12] you know, the opportunity to commit

[31:13] further property crime is obviously

[31:15] removed.

[31:16] um

[31:18] But that

[31:20] is largely at the police hands. That

[31:21] would be up to the the Crown to pursue

[31:23] that.

[31:24] But

[31:27] and it doesn't just pertain to like

[31:30] shoplifter types. Like

[31:32] you know, we have one individual in our

[31:33] community

[31:34] isn't committing a lot of theft, but you

[31:36] know, they have significant mental

[31:38] health challenges, but

[31:40] they're often downtown with weapons and

[31:42] acting in a threatening manner and they

[31:44] don't actually hurt anybody. So they

[31:46] wouldn't qualify under the Revo, the

[31:47] violent offender program. But it's a lot

[31:50] of mischief related calls and and it's a

[31:52] public safety issue and this person

[31:55] generates a lot of calls for service.

[31:58] um you know, and there's a mental health

[31:59] component, so we take him to the

[32:01] hospital for assessment and so it eats

[32:04] up a lot of VR resources. So uh

[32:07] we're hoping that that this type of

[32:09] program

[32:10] we can target them cuz really they need

[32:12] to get into your court

[32:15] um

[32:17] ordered treatment program to break that

[32:20] cycle. So

[32:21] uh so that's

[32:24] one type of individual that'd be

[32:26] captured with this program. uh

[32:29] Yes, some of our chronic shoplifters.

[32:31] um

[32:35] Yeah, I mean

[32:36] it's largely in Crown's hands whether

[32:39] they're successful again the person I

[32:41] detained for trial.

[32:42] In my experience, it's generally harder

[32:45] to get property offenders detained until

[32:47] trial compared to violent offenders.

[32:50] But, um

[32:51] so the program still in the infancy.

[32:53] There's been a couple of meetings now

[32:54] and our detachment and other detachments

[32:57] South Island were just working through

[32:59] trying to identify our first few

[33:01] candidates. So,

[33:03] um in the first round

[33:05] this area may not even get a candidate

[33:07] or it may just get one, but it's it's

[33:09] going to be a kind of a a staggered

[33:10] approach.

[33:12] Um

[33:13] to me that's a So, hopefully that answer

[33:15] your question. That's really the best I

[33:16] can offer.

[33:17] Um

[33:18] I can't really speak on behalf of Crown

[33:20] Counsel, but that's the intention of the

[33:22] program anyways.

[33:24] Uh part two regarding mental health.

[33:28] Um

[33:29] you know, over the the past short while

[33:32] we have worked really hard with the

[33:34] hospital to try and reduce those wait

[33:36] times and and so we have developed

[33:38] strategies.

[33:40] We're much better here than

[33:42] other places. I I know of other

[33:43] detachments.

[33:45] Police officers are still waiting 4 or 5

[33:47] hours before the doctor. Generally

[33:49] [snorts] here we're only about an hour.

[33:50] So, we we've really worked on that, but

[33:53] um obviously there's still room for

[33:55] improvements. So, that would be

[33:56] something that the mental health liaison

[33:58] officer

[33:59] works on, but really it's to

[34:02] to take those calls for service off the

[34:05] hands of the other officers. And we last

[34:07] year we had almost 1,500

[34:09] mental health related calls.

[34:12] So, we average almost four per day.

[34:15] So, um you know, mental health liaison

[34:18] officer, they're not going to be working

[34:19] 7 days a week

[34:20] and they're not going to be working 24

[34:22] hours a day, but you know, with their

[34:24] schedule we're hoping that they can at

[34:25] least take two a day, one to two a day.

[34:29] So,

[34:30] uh take half those off our hands

[34:32] and

[34:34] um,

[34:35] and a lot of times I mean we don't have

[34:36] specialized training

[34:39] for mental health related issues. So,

[34:42] um, you know, if somebody is presenting

[34:44] as a danger to themselves or others, we

[34:46] take them for assessment at the

[34:47] hospital. But by pairing a police

[34:49] officer with somebody that does have

[34:51] that training,

[34:52] they're

[34:53] likely

[34:55] and I say likely because it's worked in

[34:57] other jurisdictions, but we likely will

[34:58] have less instances where we have to

[35:00] take people to the hospital. Uh,

[35:03] they'll have the mental health nurse

[35:05] will have access to much more detailed

[35:07] medical records for that individual. So,

[35:10] working together as a team, they can

[35:11] come up with a better plan. So, so we're

[35:13] hoping A, overall reduce the number

[35:16] of times we have to take somebody to the

[35:17] hospital and reduce overall calls for

[35:19] service

[35:21] because when this liaison officer isn't

[35:24] responding to mental health calls, they

[35:26] can take a more proactive approach. We

[35:29] generally have

[35:31] two or three at any given time are our

[35:33] most prolific mental health clients and

[35:38] um,

[35:40] you know, it becomes a revolving door

[35:41] where we take them up to the hospital.

[35:43] They may be there a short time, they may

[35:44] not get admitted and they're released.

[35:46] So, again, by working with somebody who

[35:48] has that level of expertise in dealing

[35:50] with mental health,

[35:52] we may be able to develop strategies

[35:55] outside of enforcement in order to

[35:58] perhaps break that cycle and

[36:01] um, you know, one individual I can think

[36:03] of is an adult now,

[36:05] but

[36:06] uh,

[36:07] really they need support from Community

[36:08] Living BC. So, as an example, they this

[36:12] team could work with Community Living

[36:14] Community Living BC to develop a

[36:16] strategy

[36:17] so we're not getting, you know, three

[36:20] calls a week from this individual, three

[36:22] to four

[36:23] calls per week. So,

[36:28] » Um, other questions from council

[36:30] members?

[36:31] Councilor Bruce.

[36:35] » Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Uh, thank

[36:37] you

[36:38] for your presentation. Um,

[36:41] uh, not on this report, but uh,

[36:44] do we have nearly a full complement of

[36:46] officers in the detachment yet?

[36:49] Are we or do you know that?

[36:52] >> We're We're much better off. Um,

[36:56] » We're We're much better off. Um,

[36:56] we've been working closely with staffing

[36:59] and

[37:00] we're in a much better place than we

[37:01] were, say, 6 months ago.

[37:05] Like, when I was talking earlier about

[37:06] doing the bike patrols, um,

[37:09] you know, over the last 6 months, we've

[37:11] had a disband our community safety unit,

[37:13] which did the bulk of the bike bike

[37:15] patrols.

[37:16] And, uh, we've also had to collapse one

[37:20] other unit, our investigative support

[37:22] unit, uh, just to keep enough boots on

[37:24] the ground to

[37:26] do frontline policing. When somebody

[37:27] calls 911, just make sure that there's

[37:29] somebody there at the end to answer the

[37:30] call. So,

[37:32] uh,

[37:33] you know, we've had

[37:36] uh,

[37:37] five or

[37:40] Well, five cadets in the last 6 months.

[37:43] And we've had some more seasoned

[37:45] officers transfer in, so

[37:47] I we probably got about uh, eight or

[37:51] nine new officers in the last 6 months.

[37:53] So, yeah, we're in a much better place.

[37:55] We're still

[37:56] not where we want to be, but um,

[38:00] we've brought most of our

[38:02] hard vacancies covered now, which actual

[38:06] uh, vacant positions, but our soft

[38:09] vacancies where people are off for a

[38:10] variety of reasons, whether it could be

[38:13] parental leave or, um,

[38:15] you know, a non-duty injury or we've

[38:17] still got a fair number off for that.

[38:20] So,

[38:22] we're getting there. We're We're better.

[38:23] We're better than off than we were at 6

[38:25] months ago, so that's

[38:29] You're welcome. Other questions?

[38:30] Councillor Newton, go ahead.

[38:32] >> Hi. Thank you very much for your report.

[38:35] » Hi. Thank you very much for your report.

[38:35] Could you explain a little bit what

[38:38] >> [clears throat]

[38:38] » [clears throat]

[38:38] >> the community safety unit was?

[38:41] » the community safety unit was?

[38:42] >> [snorts]

[38:42] » [snorts]

[38:42] >> So, the community [clears throat] safety

[38:43] » So, the community [clears throat] safety

[38:43] unit would have been the officers you

[38:45] see on bicycles a lot of time. Uh

[38:48] mainly they work in the corridor area.

[38:51] Uh so, I'm sure all aware, but you know,

[38:54] from

[38:55] Drinkwater to

[38:57] say uh

[38:58] Boys Road and then downtown Duncan. So,

[39:00] that's that's where they spend the bulk

[39:02] of their time.

[39:03] Um

[39:05] last year they spent a lot of time just

[39:07] patrolling

[39:08] York and Lewis area and and

[39:11] and North Cowichan

[39:13] um

[39:13] because of the

[39:15] the

[39:16] uh

[39:17] tent city that it popped up along Lewis

[39:19] Street, but

[39:20] um

[39:21] so, they're there to

[39:24] uh they do all kinds of proactive

[39:26] enforcement. Like sometimes they'll

[39:28] hop in and they'll do a bunch of curfew

[39:30] checks to make sure that people are

[39:32] abiding by curfews.

[39:34] Um you know, they

[39:35] may take a bunch of files where there's

[39:37] outstanding warrants for people's arrest

[39:39] and they'll go around and try and affect

[39:41] a lot of those arrests.

[39:43] Uh

[39:44] like I mentioned earlier, they work

[39:46] closely with bylaw

[39:47] uh to address like the unhoused types of

[39:50] issues in the in the downtown.

[39:53] Um

[39:54] >> [clears throat]

[39:54] » [clears throat]

[39:54] >> and

[39:55] » and

[39:56] they're there to support us. I mean,

[39:57] you know, if the the general duty

[39:59] officers are are tied up, they'll help

[40:02] out with any calls that may come in

[40:05] during the or in the the corridor area

[40:09] as well, so so they they cover a lot of

[40:11] areas, but and they're also a lot of

[40:12] community engagement like

[40:14] if there is events at schools, um you

[40:17] know, they'll go there and deliver

[40:19] presentations at schools or do bike

[40:20] rodeos at elementary schools and that

[40:22] type of thing. So, they have a pretty

[40:24] broad mandate, cover a lot of community

[40:26] policing and proactive type of work.

[40:32] » Um, so sadly, if that unit is now

[40:35] disbanded, um,

[40:37] the that work that you've just described

[40:40] is now falling on the active officers.

[40:43] Is that correct?

[40:44] >> Yes, but um, our our staffing levels

[40:48] » Yes, but um, our our staffing levels

[40:48] since they've improved, uh,

[40:51] we're going to start staffing up that

[40:52] unit starting the beginning of August

[40:54] here. So,

[40:55] uh,

[40:57] that unit used to be four.

[41:00] Uh, it's still a four-person unit, but

[41:02] we pieced off one of the the positions

[41:04] to create this mental health-related

[41:06] liaison. So, they'll still report to the

[41:08] same supervisor.

[41:11] Um,

[41:13] and the thing is like so much of what we

[41:15] deal with downtown,

[41:17] it's mental health-related, right? So,

[41:18] really they can work hand-in-hand, but

[41:22] uh, so there'll be a corporal and two

[41:24] constables

[41:26] left to to do the the bike patrols.

[41:29] So, we'll have the corporal in place

[41:30] here at the beginning of August and

[41:31] we're hoping by the end of August to

[41:33] have the two constable positions back.

[41:36] Um,

[41:37] away from their secondment back into

[41:39] their substantive role

[41:41] and um,

[41:42] out there

[41:44] pedaling around.

[41:48] » Any other questions from council?

[41:52] Uh, thank you for your report and for

[41:55] coming here today. And one of the things

[41:57] I did get to go out on a um,

[42:00] for a night with the community Is it the

[42:03] the Sorry, can you remind me of the name

[42:05] again of that

[42:07] >> Community Safety Unit.

[42:08] » Community Safety Unit.

[42:08] >> the Community Safety Unit

[42:09] » the Community Safety Unit

[42:09] uh, last summer, I believe, or last

[42:12] spring. And what I noticed is a lot of

[42:14] what you're saying right now, that

[42:16] essentially our our

[42:18] we're paying our police force to manage

[42:21] a situation that isn't being managed

[42:23] around poverty, mental health,

[42:26] and

[42:27] um

[42:28] that that is the majority of your time

[42:29] is being

[42:31] taken up by what other systems are

[42:33] failing to actually provide for people.

[42:35] And so and then we're putting it all

[42:38] under crime.

[42:39] And

[42:41] when I went out that night, the thing I

[42:43] was I think I went out for a 10 to 12

[42:45] hours, and what shocked me was that

[42:50] it wasn't like going to police calls

[42:52] when you watch TV

[42:54] at all.

[42:55] >> certainly isn't.

[42:56] » certainly isn't.

[42:56] >> What it was was going to um calls the

[42:59] » What it was was going to um calls the

[42:59] majority of the calls were people living

[43:01] in poverty with addiction, um

[43:05] with mental health challenges in a

[43:06] system that has no space for them. And

[43:08] you're just trying to to manage it the

[43:10] best that you can. And that's what I

[43:12] experienced when I went out. I I was

[43:15] asked to come out again, but then they

[43:16] they did disband, and I would love the

[43:18] opportunity to go out again with you in

[43:20] the fall.

[43:21] Um but I found that so incredibly

[43:24] disheartening and not at all what your

[43:28] job should be. Those jobs should be

[43:30] dealt with by other professionals and

[43:33] other support services that are lacking

[43:34] in our system.

[43:38] » Yeah, unfortunately, it's it's uh not a

[43:42] a

[43:43] ideal situation.

[43:45] Um

[43:46] you know, this hasn't necessarily

[43:48] address the the issue, but

[43:50] uh I know like the the first 3 months of

[43:53] this year, we're averaging 9 1/2 calls

[43:57] per day related to the unhoused. And so

[44:01] um

[44:02] you know, like I mentioned earlier,

[44:03] we've been working closely

[44:05] with community partners, including

[44:08] your your bylaw

[44:09] office and

[44:11] uh

[44:11] happy to say for the second quarter of

[44:13] this year,

[44:14] we're down to about um

[44:17] a little under five and a half calls per

[44:19] day. So, we've done a lot of work to try

[44:21] and reduce the calls for service. Hasn't

[44:23] necessarily made the issue go away, but

[44:26] you know, we've tried other strategies

[44:27] to reduce

[44:30] uh at least the burden on on your

[44:33] your first responders on your bylaw and

[44:35] your local police. So.

[44:38] >> Thank you.

[44:40] » Thank you.

[44:40] Uh we have a motion that council support

[44:42] the 2026-2027

[44:44] North Cowichan-Duncan RCMP Detachment

[44:46] Annual Performance Plan as presented on

[44:48] July 27th, 2026. Do I have a mover and a

[44:50] seconder?

[44:51] Any further discussion? All those in

[44:53] favor?

[44:55] Thank you very much for your

[44:56] presentation, and I look forward to

[44:59] hearing back from someone about being

[45:01] able to go out again.

[45:04] » Thank you, Worship, and thank you,

[45:06] council members.

[45:11] » And Mr. De Verteuil, over to you. Report

[45:13] of the Chief Administrative Officer for

[45:15] July 27th.

[45:18] >> Thank you, Mayor Staples.

[45:19] » Thank you, Mayor Staples.

[45:19] Uh so, the Eagle Heights Reservoir

[45:22] replacement, the old reservoir tank has

[45:24] now been demolished, so they're just

[45:25] cleaning that uh site up and I'm final

[45:28] finalizing up that project. The

[45:30] unfortunately for the Gibbons Reservoir

[45:32] relining, due to water restrictions now,

[45:35] and it's still finalizing the fixes, the

[45:37] contractor will work to address the

[45:39] outstanding issues in the closer to the

[45:40] fall.

[45:42] Uh reservoir may need to be drained

[45:43] again to do that final work.

[45:46] The project for the Coronation and Queen

[45:48] Street 70 bike lanes is now

[45:50] largely complete.

[45:52] The I'm happy to report that the Canada

[45:55] Avenue

[45:56] um

[45:56] complete streets is is well underway.

[45:58] The the one uh

[46:00] um

[46:01] bugaboo seems to continually be the

[46:02] speed limits on Iley, so we we have

[46:04] ordered another uh speed reader board

[46:06] for Iley Street to help with traffic

[46:08] speeds northbound.

[46:09] And the RCMP continue to attend to uh

[46:12] Iley Street periodically.

[46:14] Uh just a reminder that project's going

[46:16] to continue on until in into 2027.

[46:21] Happy to report as well that uh

[46:23] thanks to the work of Relic staff, we've

[46:25] finally got the Couch and Way traffic

[46:27] signals operating more along the lines

[46:29] of how they should. The new timing

[46:31] schedules uh by Relic have been

[46:32] implemented and the lights now utilize

[46:34] the traffic loops,

[46:35] uh which decreases time allocated to

[46:37] particular legs of the intersection if

[46:39] there's there's no traffic or little

[46:41] traffic for that uh leg. So, it'll go

[46:43] down to as little as 10 seconds if

[46:45] there's

[46:46] if there's only a couple of cars as

[46:47] opposed to the full 30 seconds of a

[46:49] loop.

[46:50] Uh big thanks to uh Bob Bob Griffin from

[46:52] Relic who who actually came back out of

[46:54] retirement to make sure to take that one

[46:55] across the finish line, so that was

[46:56] terrific.

[46:58] Uh construction for Hether's Street

[47:00] water main, still looking to finalize

[47:02] the details of that, so that's going to

[47:03] push into the fall of this year.

[47:06] Uh we have now installed staff have

[47:07] installed two transit compliant speed

[47:10] humps on uh Warrencliff Road, and the

[47:12] res- residents have already been

[47:14] indicating they've they've assisted in

[47:16] reducing speeds in their neighborhood.

[47:21] The zoning bylaw amendment for 521

[47:24] Canada Avenue, which was for the

[47:26] to permit cannabis retail on the

[47:28] property for the location where they're

[47:30] currently operating with a temporary use

[47:32] permit, that's anticipated to come

[47:33] forward to council at your August uh

[47:36] 24th meeting.

[47:38] Notices will be out in the paper

[47:39] relatively soon on that.

[47:42] 2026 property tax notices, so the tax

[47:45] payments and homeowner grants claimed

[47:46] were due by

[47:48] July 2nd. So, if property taxes remained

[47:50] unpaid after that date, uh 5% penalty

[47:53] was applied to those outstanding

[47:54] balances, and uh a second 5% penalty

[47:57] would be added to any remaining balance

[47:59] unpaid after 5 4:00 p.m. on September

[48:02] 1st. So, encourage folks to

[48:04] get those um

[48:06] uh dealt with.

[48:08] Just a few last ones. The we are looking

[48:12] to now plan uh the community community

[48:15] uh um event with with Cowichan Tribes uh

[48:18] through the grant funding we got through

[48:20] UBCM. That'll be placed uh

[48:22] you know, on council's uh event

[48:25] after the election now.

[48:28] The

[48:29] uh we're happy to report as touched on

[48:31] by um

[48:33] Staff Sergeant Perrault there that the

[48:35] the as part of the community safety

[48:36] advocacy strategy that the city had been

[48:39] uh lobbying for uh province-wide

[48:40] implementation of that C-POI program for

[48:42] the prolific property offenders and

[48:44] we're very pleased to see that being

[48:46] being implemented province-wide now. So,

[48:48] we we may look to see council withdraw

[48:51] the resolution that was going to UBCM uh

[48:53] this coming September since since now

[48:56] that that's largely been addressed.

[48:59] Um also on the provincial advocacy front

[49:02] uh as you may recall council met with uh

[49:05] with Brittney Anderson, Minister of

[49:07] State for local government in July to

[49:09] discuss support for the village model

[49:11] and corresponding uh long-term funding

[49:13] commitment for that model,

[49:15] uh establishment of a recovery oriented

[49:18] village site uh which would require a

[49:20] policy of exemption exemption by the

[49:22] province,

[49:23] and also some short-medium term uh

[49:26] that we discussed about potential

[49:27] regional highway safety improvements,

[49:29] particularly on the Trans-Canada

[49:30] Highway.

[49:31] Um

[49:32] uh that that that are sort of some

[49:34] potential low-hanging fruit.

[49:36] Uh

[49:37] last couple, the cenotaph refurbishment,

[49:39] the our Royal Canadian Legion, uh now

[49:42] the Chemainus Duncan branch, was

[49:44] successful in its grant application to

[49:46] the Veterans Affairs Canada for

[49:48] commemorative partnership program and is

[49:51] now proceeding with refurbishments to

[49:52] the cenotaph in the Charles Hoey Park.

[49:55] They're they're hoping we're planning on

[49:57] getting that done and completed by

[49:58] Remembrance Day.

[50:00] The clan of clan totem of our nations

[50:04] that was carved by Tommy Hunt that has

[50:06] been refurbished by Mr. Hunt and was

[50:09] reinstalled in Friendship Square

[50:11] July 14th.

[50:13] And lastly, the city has received a

[50:15] liquor primary club license for the

[50:18] Couch and Lawn Bowling Club to permit

[50:21] the club to serve alcohol to club

[50:23] members and their guests at the

[50:24] clubhouse 320 First Street in the next

[50:27] to the park. Public notice will go out

[50:30] this week to properties within a 100

[50:31] meter radius and council consider that

[50:33] application on August 24th.

[50:36] That's it.

[50:48] » Cuz it was already on.

[50:50] Thank you so much. See it's the opposite

[50:51] of the CVRD now when it's

[50:54] it's opposite. It's the colors are

[50:57] wrong.

[50:58] So now I'm doing it here the opposite

[51:00] way of there.

[51:01] Thank you for your report. Are there any

[51:03] questions or comments for Mr. de

[51:05] Verteuil this evening?

[51:07] Oh, we got hands. Hands to my left.

[51:10] Councillor Newington.

[51:13] » I just want to go back to 490 Ipray

[51:17] and if there's has been any movements I

[51:20] asked this

[51:22] as couple of the neighbors have asked me

[51:25] what is happening.

[51:30] Mr. Young, do you know?

[51:39] » Um yeah, so so we do have a building

[51:42] permit application for that development

[51:44] and we provided

[51:46] uh back to the applicant and I think

[51:47] it's been about a year now that the

[51:49] applicant's been sitting on that

[51:50] information.

[51:51] Um and

[51:53] our understanding is the applicant is

[51:55] working to address those deficiencies in

[51:57] the application and get to the point

[51:58] where we can issue the permit, um which

[52:00] we think will happen by the end of this

[52:02] year.

[52:07] » Councilor McKinley.

[52:10] >> Regarding the refurbishment of the

[52:11] » Regarding the refurbishment of the

[52:11] cenotaph, did they mention if they were

[52:14] going to add names, do you know of?

[52:17] >> Uh I don't recall if Tommy had. I can

[52:19] » Uh I don't recall if Tommy had. I can

[52:19] check into that and and let you guys

[52:20] know.

[52:24] » Councilor Duncan.

[52:26] >> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh

[52:28] » Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh

[52:28] just to go back to the community safety

[52:31] advocacy advocacy strategy, you

[52:34] mentioned that we may withdraw the

[52:36] provincial wide expansion of the chronic

[52:39] property and public disorder

[52:40] intervention initiative.

[52:43] Um I would

[52:44] ask that we don't withdraw that. Uh we

[52:47] have yet to see how Crown counsel is

[52:49] going to react uh to that. So, I think

[52:53] that we have to keep I guess you would

[52:55] say someone's feet to the fire here and

[52:58] keep that resolution on the books. So,

[53:00] so so so that we can find out what's

[53:02] going on with Crown because no point in

[53:04] passing prolific offender stuff if

[53:08] Crown counsel isn't going to come to the

[53:10] party.

[53:13] » Uh

[53:14] yes, it's up to council. In fact, I

[53:16] think it's too late to remove it. It's

[53:18] just a bit would be an act on the floor

[53:20] at UBCM to to let them know that we we

[53:23] we withdraw um at that time. It's not I

[53:26] believe we can check into that, but I

[53:27] don't believe it's something we need to

[53:30] advise in advance. It's just on the

[53:32] um aspect of Crown, the the program

[53:34] itself adds resources to Crown. That's

[53:38] the that's how the the violent offender

[53:40] program works as well, so they give

[53:41] Crown some additional resources and

[53:43] capacity um so that they can focus on

[53:47] the repeat offenders first uh in the

[53:49] original program with the violent

[53:51] offenders. And now with this one, my

[53:53] understanding of that if initially a

[53:55] pilot and now intended to be rolled out

[53:58] um

[53:59] uh province-wide and in process of doing

[54:01] so as as um Staff Sergeant Pratt talked

[54:04] about uh that would be again with the

[54:06] intent of adding that capacity for Crown

[54:09] to be able to focus on those particular

[54:12] offenders because the part of it is that

[54:14] they are um handed a a case file and by

[54:17] having less case files in general,

[54:19] they're able to stay focused on those

[54:20] ones and and see them through as opposed

[54:23] to normally, as we've heard from from

[54:25] some representatives of Crown Counsel in

[54:27] the past, they're spread so thin that

[54:30] they do have to, you know, triage which

[54:31] ones that they're focusing on. But with

[54:33] this particular program,

[54:35] uh jurisdictions like ours and

[54:37] all across the province are able to put

[54:39] forward names of the the most

[54:42] frequent flyers and be able to address

[54:44] those directly. So, but we can certainly

[54:46] wait and see and then, you know, we can

[54:48] make that call at the time.

[54:52] » Thank you. Any other hands? Any other

[54:54] questions? Going once, going twice.

[54:57] Thank you so much for your report.

[54:59] So, I'll move that Council receive the

[55:01] July 27th, 2026 report of the Chief

[55:03] Administrative Officer for information

[55:05] only. Do we have a mover and a seconder

[55:07] for that? Any discussion? All those in

[55:09] favor? Motion carried.

[55:12] And we'll move to the Eagle Heights Fire

[55:14] Services agreement. And Mr. De Verteuil,

[55:16] you are on this one as well.

[55:19] >> Thank you. So, the this uh is an update

[55:21] » Thank you. So, the this uh is an update

[55:21] to a contract that uh had previously the

[55:24] the past contract had been in place

[55:25] since 2003.

[55:28] Um so, for the past 23 years under this

[55:30] contract, the city has uh serviced the

[55:32] Eagle Heights uh service area within the

[55:34] regional district. Uh

[55:36] the city, I'm told, has serviced that

[55:38] area for fire protection for around

[55:40] somewhere around 50 years in total.

[55:42] Uh, but that this past contract, which

[55:44] is obviously quite dated now being 23

[55:46] years old, has um it just needed a

[55:48] refresh. So, the approach is largely the

[55:51] same on how the cost sharing works with

[55:53] the respect to it being based on

[55:54] assessment. But, uh just improves or

[55:57] clarifies language in some service

[55:59] aspects and um

[56:01] and just, you know, modernizes the

[56:03] language, if you will, for the most

[56:04] part. So, overall, it's it's it's just a

[56:07] continuation of service. Uh, we do uh in

[56:09] this one, one of the major changes is

[56:12] that we we will do some assistance on

[56:14] the fire investigations uh and on the

[56:17] fire inspections. Fire inspections in

[56:19] the real regional district is a little

[56:20] different than the in the municipality.

[56:23] Municipalities are required to have a

[56:24] system of fire inspections. In the

[56:26] regional district, it's on a complaint

[56:28] basis, so it's not a re-owners owner

[56:30] onerous requirement to provide that uh

[56:33] on a limited basis when the when the

[56:35] time arises. And we do have to do

[56:36] pre-fire plans within that area anyway,

[56:38] so we we are off we'll be often in those

[56:41] buildings already, so.

[56:44] » Thank you so much. Are there any

[56:45] questions on this for Mr. Doratty? So,

[56:48] the council authorize mayor and chief

[56:49] administrative officer to sign the fire

[56:52] service agreement with the Cowichan

[56:53] Valley Regional District as attached to

[56:55] the July 27, 2026 report of the CAO to

[56:58] provide fire services to the Eagle

[57:00] Heights area for a 5-year term

[57:02] commencing June 1st, 2026 and ending

[57:04] June 1st,

[57:05] 2031. Mover and a seconder? Any further

[57:08] discussion? All those in favor? Motion

[57:11] carries.

[57:12] Thank you.

[57:14] And we'll move to the grant application

[57:15] to the Build Communities Strong Fund.

[57:17] And that one is over to you, Mr. Young.

[57:19] Welcome. You don't sit up here that

[57:21] often. It's good to actually be able to

[57:22] see you.

[57:23] >> It's an honor.

[57:26] » It's an honor.

[57:26] Uh, thank you, Mayor Lefebure.

[57:28] >> Uh,

[57:28] » Uh,

[57:28] the primary purpose of this report is to

[57:31] seek council support for a grant

[57:33] application to the federal Build

[57:35] Community Strong Fund, the Local Impact

[57:38] Stream, which is being administered

[57:39] through Pacific Can.

[57:41] The Pacific Economic Development Canada

[57:44] agency

[57:45] uh for the Third Street Renewal Project.

[57:48] In general terms, the renewal project is

[57:51] uh a complete reconstruction of Third

[57:53] Street from Canada Ave to Centennial

[57:56] Park, including replacement of

[57:58] underground utilities, as well as new

[58:01] paving, sidewalks, street trees, uh

[58:03] street lights in general terms.

[58:06] Uh

[58:07] the project

[58:08] is and and has been for a number of

[58:10] years partially funded uh in the in the

[58:13] capital plan. There's a shortfall of

[58:17] approximately 1.5 million dollars, and

[58:20] staff are recommending that an

[58:22] additional uh

[58:24] approximately 450,000 be funded from the

[58:27] Housing Accelerator Fund, as well as the

[58:31] uh 1 million-dollar grant from the Build

[58:34] Communities Strong Fund if we're

[58:35] successful.

[58:37] I'm happy to answer any questions

[58:38] council might have.

[58:42] » Thank you so much. Are there questions

[58:44] from council?

[58:46] I'm going to go over to you this time

[58:48] first. No, you go ahead, Councillor

[58:50] Duncan. It's okay.

[58:52] It's all fair to go.

[58:55] >> Okay, now I almost forgot what I was

[58:57] » Okay, now I almost forgot what I was

[58:57] going to ask. Uh

[58:59] just

[59:01] what when is the grant application

[59:03] period open to close?

[59:08] » Um from what we can tell on on the

[59:10] information online, it's it's the grant

[59:13] will just remain open um until the funds

[59:15] are fully allocated, and they anticipate

[59:19] making funding decisions as applications

[59:21] are received. So, the earlier we get the

[59:23] application in, the better.

[59:27] » Councillor Newington, that was your

[59:28] question? Oh, look at that.

[59:31] Go ahead.

[59:33] Councilor McKinley.

[59:34] >> I just have one question.

[59:36] » I just have one question.

[59:36] Are you taking everything that's in the

[59:37] ground out and replacing it or cuz we're

[59:41] not going to leave all that

[59:43] multiple layers of piping in there,

[59:45] correct?

[59:49] » Yeah, I think I think we still need to

[59:51] to look into that. I mean

[59:53] Mr. De Verte and I were were looking at

[59:54] the mapping before the council meeting

[59:56] and yes, there's a lot of

[59:57] infrastructure, existing infrastructure

[59:59] including I think there's sections where

[1:00:01] there's there's four sets of storm mains

[1:00:04] along Third Street and so I think we

[1:00:07] have to to

[1:00:08] and of course it's you know, a limited

[1:00:10] right of way with and and if we're

[1:00:14] you know, putting new infrastructure in

[1:00:16] I I think for some of it where it's

[1:00:17] going to be removed, some of it might

[1:00:19] remain,

[1:00:20] but we we haven't got to that level of

[1:00:22] of design detail yet.

[1:00:27] » Thank you.

[1:00:28] Councilor Burris.

[1:00:30] >> Thank you, Mayor.

[1:00:32] » Thank you, Mayor.

[1:00:32] What what

[1:00:33] what would be our game plan if we did

[1:00:35] not get that uh

[1:00:37] that grant?

[1:00:42] » Uh well, I I would think we would have

[1:00:44] two options. One would be to continue to

[1:00:46] apply for additional grants to cover the

[1:00:49] budget shortfall or we reduce the scope

[1:00:52] of the project

[1:00:54] to reduce certain elements.

[1:01:00] » Yeah, this one this one has been on the

[1:01:02] books for quite a few years as I

[1:01:05] remember and uh

[1:01:07] um I just hope we're getting closer

[1:01:09] because

[1:01:10] the actual top surface needs help too

[1:01:13] and you don't want to do that without

[1:01:15] fixing the bottom.

[1:01:16] But uh

[1:01:17] I just hope that we're successful in

[1:01:20] in getting our application in and grants

[1:01:23] coming to us.

[1:01:28] » Thank you. Any other questions?

[1:01:31] All right, the council supported grant

[1:01:33] application to Pacific CAN under the

[1:01:35] Build Community Strong Fund Local Impact

[1:01:37] Stream in the amount of 1 million to

[1:01:39] proceed with the Third Street Renewal

[1:01:40] Project. The council allocate 449

[1:01:44] 1,206. That is a very exact number from

[1:01:48] the Housing Accelerator Fund reserve and

[1:01:50] direct staff to increase the project

[1:01:51] budget in the 2027 capital plan

[1:01:54] from

[1:01:55] uh 2 million

[1:01:57] 1,204,223,371,782

[1:02:01] with a 449,206

[1:02:04] funded from the HAF reserve and 1

[1:02:06] million from the Build Community Strong

[1:02:07] Fund.

[1:02:08] I like the dollars in there. Uh is there

[1:02:11] a mover and a seconder for that?

[1:02:13] Any more discussion?

[1:02:16] All right, let's be hopeful that we get

[1:02:18] this one. All those in favor?

[1:02:21] Motion carries. Thank you.

[1:02:23] We'll move to Miss Hodgins uh who is

[1:02:26] here

[1:02:27] um sitting in for Miss McWilliam.

[1:02:30] Welcome also you to the

[1:02:33] the space in the room.

[1:02:35] And

[1:02:36] uh over to you for the City Awards early

[1:02:38] nomination deadline.

[1:02:41] >> Thank you, Mayor Staples. Um so very

[1:02:44] » Thank you, Mayor Staples. Um so very

[1:02:44] briefly, this report is seeking a

[1:02:46] council resolution to advance the

[1:02:47] nomination deadline for the Arts Award

[1:02:49] and the School of Honor to September

[1:02:51] 15th so that council can consider the

[1:02:53] nominees on September 28th, which is

[1:02:55] council's last meeting of the term.

[1:02:57] Thank you.

[1:03:02] » All right.

[1:03:04] Do you have a mover and a seconder? Or

[1:03:06] do you have a question, Gary Russ? Go

[1:03:07] ahead.

[1:03:09] >> It's probably in here somewhere. I

[1:03:10] » It's probably in here somewhere. I

[1:03:10] didn't do a good job on this one, but

[1:03:12] what are what are the dates of this now?

[1:03:15] What are we What are we changing it

[1:03:17] from?

[1:03:18] >> Yeah, so uh normally it would be October

[1:03:20] » Yeah, so uh normally it would be October

[1:03:20] 15th each year would be the nomination

[1:03:22] deadline.

[1:03:28] » Right, any other questions?

[1:03:30] Okay, the deadline to submit a

[1:03:31] nomination for the city of Duncan Arts

[1:03:33] Award or School of Honor Award for 2026

[1:03:37] will only be advanced to September 15th,

[1:03:38] 2026. So, mover and seconder.

[1:03:41] All those in favor? Any opposed? Motion

[1:03:43] carries. Thank you very much. Thanks,

[1:03:45] Ms. Hodgins. Building summary reports.

[1:03:48] The council received the summary of

[1:03:49] building permits June 2026 report of the

[1:03:51] building inspector for information only.

[1:03:53] Is there a mover and a seconder for

[1:03:54] that? Are there any questions? Seeing

[1:03:57] none, all those in favor?

[1:03:59] Motion carries. We'll move on to Mr. De

[1:04:01] Verteuil for bylaws for second and third

[1:04:04] reading of the 2026 financial plight

[1:04:07] plan bylaw amendment.

[1:04:10] » Thank you, Mayor Stables. This is just a

[1:04:12] bylaw amendment to

[1:04:15] bring into the budget for 2026 the a few

[1:04:19] of the

[1:04:21] projects or changes approved by council

[1:04:24] at previous meetings. So, one of which

[1:04:25] was one I spoke to earlier in the

[1:04:28] meeting, the Eagle Heights Reservoir

[1:04:29] decommissioning. So, council added

[1:04:32] $40,000 to that budget to allow for the

[1:04:35] decommissioning of that old tank since

[1:04:37] we already had contractors on staff or

[1:04:40] sorry, on site.

[1:04:41] The

[1:04:42] the second one was an amendment to add

[1:04:45] 10,000 for some communications funding

[1:04:48] for the boundary realignment study.

[1:04:50] The third was adding an

[1:04:53] some budget to for the L&B Road water

[1:04:56] main, which was not an anticipated

[1:04:58] project, but council approved some

[1:05:00] funding towards the Ministry of

[1:05:01] Transportation's request for that

[1:05:03] upgrade.

[1:05:04] And then lastly, the approval of

[1:05:08] 170,000 to the fire hall renovations

[1:05:11] that we were very close to getting

[1:05:13] started on Um imminently.

[1:05:18] » Thank you. Are there questions for Mr.

[1:05:20] de Verteuil on this? Councillor Bruce,

[1:05:21] go ahead.

[1:05:23] >> Thank you, Mayor. I I would

[1:05:26] » Thank you, Mayor. I I would

[1:05:26] I'd vote against against this because

[1:05:30] I think we

[1:05:31] we actually should abort our program on

[1:05:35] realignment with the municipality of

[1:05:37] North Cowichan, and I think we should

[1:05:39] save the money,

[1:05:41] not spend any more, pull out of it now,

[1:05:43] cuz I don't think we have a hope in

[1:05:46] getting it through. And I know we're in

[1:05:48] the preliminary stages of going to see

[1:05:51] the municipality of North Cowichan over

[1:05:53] it, and um

[1:05:55] and I I believe we're spending money

[1:05:59] that we should not be spending on this

[1:06:02] study, and I voted for it at first, and

[1:06:05] I I'm sorry I did that now, and I would

[1:06:08] like to uh

[1:06:10] is there any appetite for any of us to

[1:06:13] re- re-look at that and pull out without

[1:06:16] spending any more money?

[1:06:18] Thank you.

[1:06:21] » Councillor Cups.

[1:06:25] » Thank you. Um sorry about my voice. Um

[1:06:28] I think perhaps just it might be prudent

[1:06:31] to remember that the goal of the of the

[1:06:34] realignment study is not necessarily to

[1:06:37] realign the boundary, but

[1:06:39] rather to study all of the complex

[1:06:42] factors that would go into a decision

[1:06:44] like that. I know I'm certainly not um

[1:06:48] I supported the city embarking on this

[1:06:50] not because I have a a prescribed

[1:06:52] outcome that I'm hoping for, but because

[1:06:54] it's what the citizens voted for was for

[1:06:57] us to get more information. And so I

[1:06:59] think it might be

[1:07:01] a little short-sighted perhaps to

[1:07:04] uh to want to reverse that decision

[1:07:08] um based on

[1:07:10] Well, I guess I can't I can't say why

[1:07:12] why uh why one's motivations might be,

[1:07:15] so I won't, but just I think uh

[1:07:17] I think it would be a bit

[1:07:21] We voted to pursue this because it's

[1:07:23] what uh we were asked to do by the

[1:07:25] residents, so I still I still support us

[1:07:28] going through with it. Thank you.

[1:07:32] » Okay.

[1:07:34] Uh I'll read out the motion.

[1:07:37] But

[1:07:38] Yes, you certainly can.

[1:07:42] >> If we spend all the money on this um

[1:07:46] » If we spend all the money on this um

[1:07:46] this

[1:07:47] discovery

[1:07:49] uh

[1:07:50] program we're on, how much will the

[1:07:52] total be

[1:07:54] for this study?

[1:07:59] » Uh the total was uh 40 for the study and

[1:08:01] 10 for the communications.

[1:08:07] » Well, I would I would like us to discuss

[1:08:09] the

[1:08:10] I I feel that we're really on the wrong

[1:08:12] wrong track, and I don't I don't want to

[1:08:14] spend that money now. And um I don't

[1:08:17] know if there's any other appetite for

[1:08:19] that, but

[1:08:20] and we you're you're asking for another

[1:08:22] 10 grand right now, is that correct?

[1:08:25] >> So so largely uh Council Bruce, we're

[1:08:29] » So so largely uh Council Bruce, we're

[1:08:29] Council's already approved the

[1:08:30] expenditure, so we've already committed

[1:08:32] to those funds with the contractors uh

[1:08:34] pulling out of the stage,

[1:08:36] largely commit to all I wouldn't say

[1:08:38] necessarily all of it, but a lot of it's

[1:08:40] well underway.

[1:08:42] Um this is an amendment to the budget as

[1:08:44] directed by Council at the time.

[1:08:46] So um

[1:08:48] if Council was to change your minds, you

[1:08:50] you'll you know, frankly, you would uh

[1:08:52] have an expenditure without any outcome,

[1:08:54] like without any information. So you're

[1:08:57] well over probably half of the

[1:08:58] expenditure to date.

[1:09:00] Um with not much to show for it if you

[1:09:02] stop now, anyway.

[1:09:04] >> I would still like to save the 20 grand

[1:09:07] » I would still like to save the 20 grand

[1:09:07] that we haven't spent then.

[1:09:10] » Councillor Duncan.

[1:09:13] >> I think this is out of order. Um, we

[1:09:16] » I think this is out of order. Um, we

[1:09:16] have a motion on the floor dealing with

[1:09:18] the Allenby Road water main, the fire

[1:09:20] hall, uh, the communications

[1:09:24] uh, around the boundary realignment.

[1:09:26] There's only $10,000 in here still, so

[1:09:29] um, you know, this there is no way to

[1:09:31] withdraw. We've already voted on it, so

[1:09:35] I think we're all we're talking about

[1:09:36] here is the additional 10 required

[1:09:38] 10,000 required for

[1:09:40] communicating the results of the study

[1:09:42] to the people

[1:09:44] in Duncan that asked for it to start

[1:09:46] with.

[1:09:48] >> Thank you.

[1:09:51] So, that council gave first three

[1:09:53] readings to financial plan amendment

[1:09:55] bylaw number 3263012026, a bylaw to

[1:09:59] amend the financial plan for 2026 to

[1:10:01] 2030. Is there a mover and a seconder?

[1:10:03] So, any discussion on the motion that's

[1:10:05] on the floor?

[1:10:07] All those in favor? Any opposed?

[1:10:09] Councillor Bruce opposed. That carries.

[1:10:11] Thank you very much. We'll move to fees

[1:10:13] and charges bylaw amendment, Miss

[1:10:14] Hodgins.

[1:10:20] » Thank you, Mayor Staples.

[1:10:22] So, the city's utilities department has

[1:10:24] identified that the current fees for

[1:10:26] conducting fire hydrant flow testing

[1:10:28] does not adequately cover the city's

[1:10:29] costs to perform this work.

[1:10:31] This fees and charges bylaw amendment

[1:10:33] seeks to increase the fee for this

[1:10:34] service to adequately cover the city's

[1:10:36] costs.

[1:10:37] The proposed amendment bylaw also

[1:10:39] recommends removing the fee for property

[1:10:40] information packages. City staff

[1:10:42] routinely provide information to the

[1:10:44] public on a variety of topics,

[1:10:46] and the amount of staff time required to

[1:10:48] respond to the property information

[1:10:49] requests is minimal and not

[1:10:51] significantly different from other

[1:10:52] information requests where a fee is not

[1:10:54] charged. Thank you.

[1:10:56] >> Thank you.

[1:10:58] » Thank you.

[1:10:58] Did council give first readings to the

[1:10:59] fees and uh charges amendment bylaw

[1:11:02] number 3212.13

[1:11:04] 2026 the bylaw to amend fire hydrant

[1:11:06] flow testing report fees and other house

[1:11:07] keeping housekeeping amendments. Is

[1:11:10] there a mover and a seconder?

[1:11:11] Any discussion? Questions? All those in

[1:11:14] favor? Motion carries.

[1:11:16] Uh new business, we have the British

[1:11:19] Home Children Day Proclamation request

[1:11:20] that council proclaim September 28th,

[1:11:22] 2026 as British Home Children Day in the

[1:11:24] city of Duncan. Is there a mover and a

[1:11:26] seconder?

[1:11:27] Any discussion?

[1:11:29] Councilor Bruce, go ahead.

[1:11:32] » [clears throat]

[1:11:32] >> I'm just I know that we have a lot of

[1:11:34] » I'm just I know that we have a lot of

[1:11:34] these these proclamations

[1:11:36] and

[1:11:38] they mean nothing and I and I'm just

[1:11:42] wondering

[1:11:43] could we have a list of all the

[1:11:45] proclamations that we have put put

[1:11:48] through um this council in the last I've

[1:11:51] been here 8 years now been here and uh

[1:11:54] there must be a pile of them and I don't

[1:11:56] know that they mean anything to anybody

[1:11:59] and uh

[1:12:00] I I

[1:12:02] I vote for these things generally

[1:12:04] speaking but is it not time to uh

[1:12:07] uh halt some of this British Home

[1:12:10] Children Day Proclamation request? Um

[1:12:15] what is that?

[1:12:22] » Uh thank you through Mayor Stable to

[1:12:24] Councilor Bruce. So, um this is a day of

[1:12:27] recognition to recognize um children who

[1:12:29] were sent to um to Canada

[1:12:32] um orphans who were um uh sent to

[1:12:35] families in Canada and um often their

[1:12:38] uh treatment maybe wasn't wasn't very

[1:12:40] good and so there is this day to

[1:12:42] recognize um what they experienced um

[1:12:44] those children coming to Canada. Um we

[1:12:47] do have a list of all the proclamations.

[1:12:49] Um when council approves a proclamation,

[1:12:50] it does go on our website so we do have

[1:12:52] a list and I'd be happy to circulate

[1:12:53] that to council so you can see the ones

[1:12:55] that we've done.

[1:12:58] » And I would just like to say that they

[1:12:59] do mean something to the people that

[1:13:01] bring them forward and to the people's

[1:13:03] families and to the people affected by

[1:13:05] this. I've sat with um with families um

[1:13:10] uh and learned a lot about the British

[1:13:12] Home Children over the years and so um

[1:13:15] yes, they it definitely has deep meaning

[1:13:17] for a lot of people in our community. We

[1:13:19] were one of the communities that people

[1:13:21] were sent that children were sent to.

[1:13:24] Uh is there any further discussion about

[1:13:26] the motion on the floor and not

[1:13:27] proclamations in general?

[1:13:29] Councilor Bruce.

[1:13:30] >> Um does it does it take staff time

[1:13:34] » Um does it does it take staff time

[1:13:34] to do all to do the these proclamations?

[1:13:37] Does it take staff time?

[1:13:39] >> So that would be a discussion about

[1:13:40] » So that would be a discussion about

[1:13:40] proclamations.

[1:13:42] Specifically, if we'd like to have a

[1:13:44] discussion about proclamations at the

[1:13:45] table, we can ask staff to bring the

[1:13:47] list of proclamations and have a

[1:13:49] discussion. Um but the the staff is also

[1:13:52] welcome to answer the question as it's

[1:13:53] come up.

[1:13:57] » Uh through the mayor to Councilor Bruce,

[1:13:58] um it's fairly minimal. The requestors

[1:14:00] are required to provide the uh

[1:14:02] proclamation that they would like, so

[1:14:04] it's not uh us drafting those and so we

[1:14:07] present it to council for consideration.

[1:14:11] » Thank you.

[1:14:13] And there's a motion on the floor. Um

[1:14:15] all those in favor.

[1:14:17] Any opposed? Motion carries.

[1:14:20] Uh Councilor Kaps, over to you for 9.2.

[1:14:28] » Would you like me to read?

[1:14:29] >> Hi.

[1:14:30] » Hi.

[1:14:30] Sorry, [clears throat] apologies. Just

[1:14:32] my voice is a little bit rough because

[1:14:33] I'm homesick. Um

[1:14:35] >> It's okay.

[1:14:35] » It's okay.

[1:14:35] >> I didn't know I would need to introduce

[1:14:38] » I didn't know I would need to introduce

[1:14:38] uh this one, but it's uh

[1:14:41] >> Read out the motion. To read out the

[1:14:42] » Read out the motion. To read out the

[1:14:42] motion.

[1:14:43] >> Sorry, pardon me. The council declare

[1:14:45] » Sorry, pardon me. The council declare

[1:14:45] the

[1:14:46] city of Duncan an apartheid free city

[1:14:48] and sign the apartheid free city pledge.

[1:14:51] Which I believe was attached. Thank you.

[1:14:53] >> Is there a seconder for that? Is there

[1:14:55] » Is there a seconder for that? Is there

[1:14:56] any discussion?

[1:14:57] All those in favor?

[1:14:59] Motion carries. Thank you.

[1:15:01] And we'll move to reports of mayor and

[1:15:02] council. Are there any council members

[1:15:04] who wish to make a report this evening?

[1:15:13] Anyone else?

[1:15:14] Councillor Newington?

[1:15:18] Anyone else?

[1:15:25] So, we'll start with Councillor Duncan.

[1:15:26] >> Okay, thank thank you, Your Worship. Um

[1:15:29] » Okay, thank thank you, Your Worship. Um

[1:15:29] yeah, on behalf of uh Duncan Council, I

[1:15:31] attended the opening of the 39 Days and

[1:15:34] welcomed the people to come to town and

[1:15:36] spend their money.

[1:15:37] Uh

[1:15:38] and I also attended with other members

[1:15:40] of council the fire department night, an

[1:15:42] opportunity to meet some of our new uh

[1:15:45] firefighters,

[1:15:47] uh and to see some of the equipment in

[1:15:49] use, uh and took a ride up on the

[1:15:52] ladder.

[1:15:54] And I also attended the with other

[1:15:56] council members the Minister of State uh

[1:15:58] meeting. Um one of the things that I

[1:16:01] spoke about there was the traffic

[1:16:03] conditions. We really, and it's been

[1:16:05] brought up that you know, this is the

[1:16:08] I guess the the knot between the two

[1:16:11] large uh

[1:16:12] cities on the island, and there doesn't

[1:16:14] seem to be a way to deal with it. We

[1:16:17] don't, you know, we pointed out that

[1:16:19] we can't really look at expanding the

[1:16:22] road between the bridge and and Beverly

[1:16:24] uh

[1:16:25] and also we spoke to her about uh the

[1:16:28] village and how we we feel that it's a

[1:16:30] success it's a success, and also

[1:16:33] uh that it should be added to the

[1:16:35] continuum of housing with BC Housing.

[1:16:39] >> Thank you.

[1:16:40] » Thank you.

[1:16:40] Councillor Newington?

[1:16:43] >> Well, Councilor Bruce has still stolen

[1:16:44] » Well, Councilor Bruce has still stolen

[1:16:44] my thunder. Cuz those are basically the

[1:16:47] same what I was going to say.

[1:16:50] Oh, Councilor Duncan, I'm sorry. I'm

[1:16:52] looking at Councilor Bruce. Councilor

[1:16:53] Duncan.

[1:16:54] Um

[1:16:55] Yeah, the other thing I want to say is

[1:16:57] it certainly has been wonderful with 39

[1:16:59] days this year. Um there've been some

[1:17:01] great local people

[1:17:03] and particularly the dancers. I don't

[1:17:06] know if anybody's had an opportunity to

[1:17:07] see any of the dancers.

[1:17:09] Um but the young people that have been

[1:17:11] dancing have just been absolutely

[1:17:13] wonderful.

[1:17:14] Um but yes,

[1:17:16] we've all done

[1:17:17] what Councilor Duncan said. We just let

[1:17:20] him be our spokesperson. Thank you.

[1:17:24] » Thank you. Is there any other councilor

[1:17:25] who'd like to make a report about

[1:17:27] anything?

[1:17:28] No? Okay.

[1:17:30] I will move on to my report, which will

[1:17:32] actually be very brief this evening.

[1:17:34] I think anyways.

[1:17:36] Um because it feels like there's been a

[1:17:37] lot happening and uh and also I I feel

[1:17:42] like it's hard to even gather my

[1:17:43] thoughts around everything. I would like

[1:17:45] to just acknowledge that Brittany Anders

[1:17:48] uh Minister Anderson's visit. It was I

[1:17:50] got to be with her at the CVRD and here.

[1:17:52] And uh for those of you who don't know

[1:17:54] her, she is incredibly understanding and

[1:17:58] recognizes the challenges and really

[1:18:00] does advocate well on our behalf in her

[1:18:02] role. And I really appreciate uh working

[1:18:05] with her and she does open up a lot of

[1:18:07] space for us to bring issues to her. And

[1:18:09] she does follow through um

[1:18:11] with the the channels going through the

[1:18:13] channels that they need to be brought

[1:18:15] forward in and uh yeah, I just really

[1:18:17] acknowledge and appreciate her.

[1:18:19] I also want to acknowledge our fire

[1:18:21] department uh for the the the fire that

[1:18:24] happened the other day um and our

[1:18:27] neighboring fire departments who came

[1:18:28] out to support.

[1:18:30] Uh and you know, there is a lot of sort

[1:18:34] of talk in communities about the places

[1:18:36] that um

[1:18:38] that we don't work together. Um there's

[1:18:40] little recognition of all of the times

[1:18:41] that we do. We work together far more

[1:18:44] often than we do not.

[1:18:46] And we may disagree on things, and we

[1:18:48] may not look at things the same way, um

[1:18:50] but we are always there for each other.

[1:18:51] And that was demonstrated again um by

[1:18:54] that fire and the way that that fire was

[1:18:55] managed. I believe there was 30

[1:18:57] firefighters on site that day. Uh they

[1:19:00] had to rotate out because of the

[1:19:02] temperature outside as well as the

[1:19:03] temperature of the fire, so they were

[1:19:04] rotating in and out. And uh

[1:19:08] and you know, they saved that building

[1:19:10] from being damaged much, much worse than

[1:19:12] than it was. Um that just the the way

[1:19:15] that the community came together and the

[1:19:17] the responders that deal with um

[1:19:20] um

[1:19:21] that deal with the people who are being

[1:19:23] displaced from their homes and how well

[1:19:25] they everyone was taken care of. I heard

[1:19:28] comment after comment after comment of

[1:19:30] people sharing with me um just all the

[1:19:33] things that they saw were about people

[1:19:34] taking care of each other and people

[1:19:36] helping and supporting each other.

[1:19:37] And you know, these are things that it I

[1:19:40] did mention this in in some recent

[1:19:42] social media.

[1:19:44] And uh and these are things that people

[1:19:45] still don't seem to

[1:19:48] I'm not sure why, but you know, want to

[1:19:51] recognize in community. We heard from

[1:19:53] the RCMP uh staff sergeant today about

[1:19:57] the challenges and and what they deal

[1:19:58] with on a daily basis and a monthly

[1:20:00] basis. And we know those things, and

[1:20:02] we're well aware of them.

[1:20:03] And often times issues of um of uh that

[1:20:07] that are, you know, failures of our

[1:20:09] system that we're witnessing right now

[1:20:12] um with not having enough housing, not

[1:20:13] having mental health supports

[1:20:15] um with the growing issue of of um

[1:20:18] income disparity um with with with so so

[1:20:22] many systemic issues piled on top of

[1:20:23] each other and systems that are under so

[1:20:25] much pressure, we don't acknowledge that

[1:20:28] the wrong people are dealing with these

[1:20:29] issues right now. The police is dealing

[1:20:31] with them because there's no one else

[1:20:32] dealing with them.

[1:20:34] And and so um

[1:20:37] you know, we continue to advocate for

[1:20:38] the needs of our community. We've done a

[1:20:39] great job of advocating for our

[1:20:42] community, and yet we still see the

[1:20:44] problems getting bigger.

[1:20:46] And we still see the wrong people having

[1:20:47] to be, you know, having to be dealt or

[1:20:50] having them dealt with in the wrong way.

[1:20:53] And so um people like, you know, um

[1:20:56] Minister Anderson when she comes, she

[1:20:58] understands that and there are very

[1:20:59] there are other ministers that do as

[1:21:01] well. But we really

[1:21:03] need more so than ever to remember as a

[1:21:05] community

[1:21:07] um

[1:21:08] you know, how to

[1:21:10] how to support each other, which we

[1:21:12] do often, but also how we speak about

[1:21:16] each other and the community that we

[1:21:17] live in.

[1:21:18] That's also very important. And it gets

[1:21:21] a bit

[1:21:23] exhausting, I guess is the one word. Um

[1:21:26] but it's disappointing to see people rip

[1:21:28] apart their community because of

[1:21:30] um when all of these people, you know,

[1:21:32] hundreds and hundreds of people are

[1:21:34] coming together to try to do what they

[1:21:35] can to take care of of what they can in

[1:21:38] ways that just are not being as

[1:21:40] effective as they are because it's

[1:21:42] simply

[1:21:43] there is not the support where it needs

[1:21:45] to be.

[1:21:46] And so I just, you know, implore people

[1:21:48] to redirect that energy into um you

[1:21:52] know, letter writing

[1:21:54] phoning, doing whatever you can to the

[1:21:56] levels of government that need to invest

[1:21:57] into those those needs in all of our

[1:22:00] communities, not just ours.

[1:22:02] And when we're out in community, you

[1:22:04] know, to to

[1:22:07] make sure that we're acknowledging the

[1:22:09] beauty of the place that we live in,

[1:22:10] too. Because two things, you know, can

[1:22:12] be true at the same time. And there's a

[1:22:14] lot of people suffering and it's I can't

[1:22:16] imagine

[1:22:17] being in those positions of suffering

[1:22:18] that much and um and constantly having

[1:22:22] to read that how you are the problem

[1:22:24] when

[1:22:24] it is a system that is failing you that

[1:22:26] is the problem. And

[1:22:28] what we're seeing is the results of

[1:22:29] that.

[1:22:31] So, that is my soapbox for this evening.

[1:22:34] Uh thank you, and

[1:22:37] uh there's 6 days left, I believe, of

[1:22:40] the 39 days of July. Look at me get that

[1:22:43] right for the first time in years.

[1:22:45] I have this 39 days of summer thing

[1:22:47] stuck in my head, and I just can't get

[1:22:48] it out. Um but yeah, make your way out

[1:22:51] if you haven't already. It's been

[1:22:53] incredible. The Long John and his team

[1:22:55] have done a phenomenal job, as always.

[1:22:57] And there is nothing like seeing City

[1:23:00] Square in the parking lots and

[1:23:02] uh and the parks filled up with uh

[1:23:04] people

[1:23:05] uh laughing and enjoying themselves and

[1:23:06] dancing and

[1:23:08] uh yeah, reminding us of all the good

[1:23:11] things in our community.

[1:23:13] So, we will go into

[1:23:19] uh question period. Do we have any

[1:23:21] questions, Ms. Hodgins?

[1:23:27] Okay.

[1:23:28] And we'll go into a motion to close that

[1:23:29] the meeting be closed to the public

[1:23:31] under the following sections of the

[1:23:32] community charter to discuss matters

[1:23:34] related to personal information, section

[1:23:36] 91A of personal information about an

[1:23:39] identifiable individual who holds or is

[1:23:41] being considered for a position as an

[1:23:43] officer, employee, or agent of the

[1:23:44] municipality, or another position

[1:23:46] appointed by the municipality. Employee

[1:23:48] relations, sections 91C, labor

[1:23:50] relations, or other employee relations.

[1:23:52] We'll take a 7-minute adjournment. 8

[1:23:55] minutes. Let's come back at 7:30 and

[1:23:57] give people a chance to stretch. Thanks,

[1:23:59] everyone.

Regular Council - 27 Jul 2026

Transcript