Ben’s priorities for a fair, safe and green Capital Region
We share a natural jewel here on southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, which collectively we can steward to provide prosperity for all alongside healthy ecosystems. Please share your ideas as we move forward to implement the following policies:
- Respect the Urban Containment Boundary, protecting forest lands in the Gulf Islands, Sooke and the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area and farmlands in the western communities and the Saanich Peninsula from urban sprawl, guided by the values of ecosystem protection, recreational access and food security.
- Implement a Regional Housing Levy, initially valued at $25 per household per year, to mobilize $4-million annually in seed funds as a means of leveraging provincial and federal funds required to end homelessness and ensure housing affordability in our region.
- Move toward an elected, accountable CRD, with increased revenue-generating powers to provide integrated services while placing our regional government on a democratic footing. Retain local control over land-use through the existing municipal framework.
- Create a Regional Transportation Authority, under the auspices of the CRD, to oversee the expansion of comprehensive, fuel-efficient bus service and commuter rail along the E&N Corridor connecting downtown Victoria to the western communities, Cobble Hill and Duncan, with a medium-term strategy of a commuter rail link along the Saanich Peninsula.
- Complete the East-West Hiking Trail through the Sooke Hills Wilderness Preserve, linking Langford in the vicinity of the Humpback Reservoir to Sooke Mountain Provincial Park and CRD parkland along the Sooke River.
- Work with senior government partners to complete public, tertiary sewage treatment, generating revenue through resource recovery.
- Develop a regional Incomes Strategy to provide economic security for seniors, youth, working people and people with disabilities, while supporting local enterprise through increased purchasing power and “Buy Local” initiatives.
Share your ideas and help build a fair, safe and green region.
