Sustainability

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Oak Bay Election 2018 CAIRINE’S COMMITMENTS Issue #4 Increases in housing prices and decreases in affordability have posed tough housing challenges here and across the region in recent years.  With Oak Bay’s land values at an all time high, housing demolitions of older, smaller character homes more commonplace, a real estate market driving an average … Read more

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2016 Asset Management Report for the District of Oak Bay Opus International Consultants (Canada) Ltd.    Completed in 2016 but not released to the public until 2017, this is perhaps the most serious looming priority we have seen for Oak Bay in recent years.  Public assets are defined as sewer, water, storm drains, roads (incl. … Read more

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  Perhaps it was the sight of the heavy excavator perched on the back of a big lumbering truck, slowly moving along our street early this morning, bound for another older smaller Oak Bay character home waiting to be demolished.  Or sounds of the excavator crunching, splintering and breaking apart, piece by piece, beautiful old … Read more

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We are fortunate.  We have traveled most of the southern half of our Province a number of times by motorcycle but I had never been north of Prince George.  So this year, we began talking a lot about heading north by car this summer, to the Peace River country to see the area known as … Read more

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Invited by owner and developer Ms. Nicole Roberts, I had the pleasure of touring the new Clive apartment building and I was not disappointed.  Ms. Roberts was true to her word — the Clive exceeds the first level of LEED standard for a green and energy-efficient building and is an asset to Oak Bay as … Read more

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On August 13, 2003, the Capital Regional District Board adopted a “landmark agreement,” the Regional Growth Strategy (RGS), cited in a report prepared in March 2003 titled The Capital Regional District Growth Strategy:  Herding Cats Onto the Road of Sustainability, prepared by the University of Waterloo’s Department of Environment and Resource Studies.   At the time, … Read more

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“Deeply moving and profoundly engaging…” (Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale University) The film “The Wisdom to Survive:  Climate Change, Capitalism and Community,” is presented on Friday, February 27, 2015 at 7:00 PM, St. John’s United Church, in Deep Cove, across from Deep Cove Elementary School. Described as compelling and thought-provoking, the film examines “the scope and … Read more

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To change and shift an organization’s culture from “what was and is, to what can be,” may be one of the most challenging issues facing any new leader.  While new leadership can be exciting and promises positive opportunities, change can also be threatening.   Therefore, making change should always be approached as a process over time, … Read more

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As new and returning Mayors, Councillors and Regional Directors across the Capital Regional District (CRD) sign on to a four-year term, many will be welcoming opportunities for positive change, new ideas and improvements that make a difference to their communities.       After all, local government is about what’s possible, what’s new and what initiatives … Read more

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As Island dwellers, we know that we live in coastal communities located on a spectacularly beautiful West Coast.  But with the hurly burly of ordinary life, we sometimes take for granted the fragile balance between human activity and protection and sustainability of our marine environments.  Only when we take the time to reflect on how … Read more