The Juan de Fuca Regional District

So far, I’ve mostly discussed provincial politics, touched lightly on federal politics, and yet I have completely missed regional or municipal politics. This rant is going to focus on the Capital Regional District, and the possible creation of a new regional district.

The Capital Regional District or CRD consists of the municipalities of Victoria, Saanich, Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Colwood, Langford, View Royal, Highlands, Metchosin, Sooke, Central Saanich, North Saanich, and Sidney. Currently, it is the CRDs jurisdiction in regards to waste disposal including sewage, and as a resident of this fine region, I can safely say we add a few chemicals to disinfect some of our sewage, but beyond that we dump all the liquids into the ocean. This may surprise you, but this is not the most environmentally friendly thing to do. Langford, Colwood, View Royal, Highlands, Metchosin, and Sooke wanted their own sewage treatment plan to reduce the amount of pollutants going into the ocean. Under the plan proposed by the municipalities of the Western Communities, the new sewage treatment plant would be placed within the City of Colwood, which would allow no dumping into the ocean, and reduce usage of the plant in Victoria, by 19%.

But the Capital Regional District didn’t like the fact that they would have to dump mass amounts of money into the project, and backed off. The mayors of the Western Communities were all scratching their heads, and were irritated once more. So the Western Communities proposed creating a new Regional District on its own. Now remember this all occurred because the CRD didn’t want to fund the construction of a new sewage treatment plant to build in Colwood. If this new Regional District were to be created, now longer would we see CRD vehicles drive past, but would see JDFRD vehicles.

A new Regional District would cost exuberant amount of tax dollars, create more bureaucracy, and cause a division within our fine community despite the fact that many of us might live in Langford, or Colwood, travel through View Royal, and finally work in Victoria. We are one community, and we must addresses are problems as such. The problems that plague the Downtown core are now starting to affect the outskirts of the region. When politicians hit a bump in the road we should not attempt to divide powers and make government larger, nor should we continue on with a proposal if there is loud objection, we should work together to try to find mutual understanding.