Platform highlights!

See also my main platform ➡

I’ve posted a lot about my platform on this website and beyond, but I get it: TLDR, some of you want a bullet-list summary if only to get started. The following list is by no means exhaustive but it’ll give you an idea of the direction in which I mean to steer this city.

Let’s begin with the priorities displayed on print advertisement:

Stop the sweeps!

Proven solutions to end homelessness instead of vain enforcement, and accommodation for those reduced to impossible compliance. See my 10-point plan to relieve the pressure on Pandora Avenue for details.

Sound drug policy

I’m a proud supporter of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club. High-potency medical cannabis products are an off-ramp for hard drug users. See my harm reduction primer for solutions to end the drug overdose crisis and set users on a path to recovery.

Transparency and accountability

Let’s abolish the culture of secrecy at City Hall, open council meetings, disclose sensitive records in the public interest, and foster a respectful workplace environment for municipal employees. Never again an SD61 school board scandal!

See also my announcements pertaining to the petition for judicial review I filed with the BC Supreme Court against the City of Victoria to compel disclosure of investigation reports on misconduct allegations against Bylaw Services employees:

• ADVISORY: Press conference to announce lawsuit against the City of Victoria and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner
• FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: City of Victoria and OIPC respond to petition for judicial review

No property tax raises

Indeed, no property tax raises for the next term. Let’s spend our budget responsibly instead of splurging on ventures like the ill-fated Centennial Square Revitalization Project.

More at Reality check: The City of Victoria is going broke!

Stop the demovictions!

No more permit approvals for projects that displace seniors and low-income residents to replace affordable housing units with market rental suites which they cannot afford.

Transition to renewable energy

Our rooftoops go to waste. Let’s turn this municipality into a renewable energy powerhouse to wean off fossil fuels, and build green rooftops to temperate our urban microclimate.

Commitment to human rights

Let’s honour our commitments to inclusivity and our obligations under human rights law and international treaties, and forge a partnership with First Nations based on mutual respect.

A representative that listens

I’d rather meet with my constituents in person than hide behind an opaque consultation process. Boots on the ground instead of tone-deaf governance from an office at City Hall.

More on my approach to public consultation at My thoughts on A City That Works’ 5-Step Process.

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More highlights, in no particular order:

Relocate to North Park

At the North Park Residents Association’s All Candidates Forum on September 15, I floated the idea of relocating to North Park in order to ensure services in the municipality’s poorest neighbourhood are up to par. If elected, I shall indeed seize any affordable opportunity to move to the neighbourhood.

Bring back the Renters’ Advisory Committee

Every tenant deserves a voice at City Hall. Unfortunately, the Renter’s Advisory Committee stopped meeting soon after the Alto administration assumed office and was effectively stripped of its mandate following the enactment of the Committee Establishment Policy.

Affordable, supportive, and transitional housing

I’ve signed the following pledge, circulated by the Vancouver Island Housing Leadership Network:

1. Treat supportive housing as essential community infrastructure
   Recognize supportive housing and emergency shelters as critical safety infrastructure and ensure municipal policies enable—not block—their development.
2. Protect and retain existing affordable, supportive and transitional housing
   Support the preservation of existing affordable housing through tools such as tax exemptions, housing reserve funds, and policies that help non-profit housing providers maintain aging buildings. Advocate and work with the Province to ensure permanent housing options are made available with resources that meet the needs of our most vulnerable neighbors; and that no shelter or transitional site closes until an equal or greater number of units are delivered.
3. Maintain municipal leadership on housing
   Build upon the progress made since 2022 by maintaining dedicated housing staff, streamlined approvals for non-profit housing, policies that prioritize affordable housing and sector engagement, and unlocking land and financial tools for non-profit housing.

Fund the Cool Aid Downtown Community Centre

The DCC on Pandora Avenue has recently been renovated at the cost of $700,000 yet it currently sits empty due to lack of operational funding. This is a waste of a crucial resource which could be used to dispense services to the community.

Public washroom on Pandora Avenue

This is a public sanitation issue which lies fully within the mandate of municipalities, so no more begging for the provincial government to foot the bill. While we’re at it, let’s reopen the Centennial Square washrooms, and keep public washrooms in parks open 24 hours a day.

Road safety

A few intersections and road segments in town are notoriously accident-prone. My top priority would be to rework the Bay Street corridor between Quadra and Wark, which is too narrow for four car lanes.

Firefighter parking space

This is an issue which the previous council bungled; I propose acquiring the vacant property at the corner of Johnson and Quadra for this purpose.

Amend council member code of conduct

Members of the public ought to be able to file a complaint against a council member, to be processed by an independent investigator. However, the current code of conduct only allows for municipal employees to do so, and the council investigates its own.

Universal free transit

While this cannot be unilaterally implemented by our municipality, a concerted approach is possible. This would take more cars off our roads, reduce parking space shortage, and alleviate the cost of living for poorer residents.

No hate speech on city premises

There is no place for transphobia or residential school denialism on public property. I’ve been fighting against hate speech for years and I intend to keep doing so while in office by holding the municipality to its commitments to inclusivity.

Indigenous advocacy

I’m all for DRIPA and Land Back. Let’s work with Indigenous communities instead of against them—including in the courtroom.

Neighbourhood grants for murals

It is considered bad manners among street artists to paint graffiti over a mural. Need I say more?

Local procurement policy

Let’s buy local and Canadian whenever possible; no more oversights like the Lime bikes controversy amidst a vicious trade war with the United States.

Ban horse carriages

Horse carriages are an anachronistic practice which have been at the centre of multiple incidents in this city over the years and are being phased out in other municipalities amidst high-profile accidents. Besides, there are pedicab companies in town which offer a comparable service to tourists.

Free Palestine

Let’s have the City of Victoria join the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel over its human rights violations against the Palestinian people, and call upon the Union of BC Municipalities to petition the federal government for a two-way arms embargo against the Zionist regime.

On a side note, I would like to reiterate that Palestine advocacy must not come at the expense of local Jewish communities, especially those sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinian people; overtures from them should be met with an open hand, not a raging fist.

Little pantries

Esquimalt has recently compelled the relocation of a community pantry for encroaching one foot upon public property. Let’s welcome little pantries on our own public property instead! The municipality could even build them and fill them as a complement to traditional food banks.

More mental health support

Let’s make the CRCL team available 24 hours a day for emergency mental health calls as an alternative to dispatching the police, and study the feasibility of coordination with BC Emergency Health Services for 911 calls.

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These are of course only a sample. Got a cool idea that’s not listed? Feel free to reach out at martin.girard@martingirardforvictoriacouncil.ca and I’ll think about it!