Greater Victoria has officially joined a continent-wide initiative to create high-performance buildings that reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The 2030 Districts Network is a non-profit organization working to transform the built environment in cities around the world and promote sustainability.

The Greater Victoria 2030 District consists of 36 buildings and 3.5 million square feet of space, represented by major property managers in the region: Anthem Properties, Colliers International, Cushman & Wakefield, Ivanhoe Cambridge, Jawl Properties, Richmond Property Group, Shape Properties, City of Victoria, District of Saanich and the Province of BC. 

Businesses, local governments and non-profits can now access larger rebates through CleanBC’s Specialty-Use Vehicle Incentive and Commercial Vehicle Pilot programs.

Vehicles eligible for SUVI rebates include medium- and heavy-duty vehicles such as electric-battery or hydrogen-fueled passenger buses, airport and port service vehicles and heavy-duty transport trucks, as well as smaller specialty-use vehicles such as motorcycles, cargo e-bikes, and low-speed utility trucks. Rebates will now cover 33% of the cost, up to a maximum of $100,000 per vehicle.

Organizations can also access $11 million for piloting unique or large deployments of medium- and heavy-duty or very large electric vehicles, such as domestic air, marine or rail transportation through the CVP program. Eligible applicants can compete to receive up to one-third of total costs in rebates for vehicles and charging or refueling infrastructure.

If you have ideas on future uses of the former Oak Bay Lodge, the Capital Regional Health District wants to hear from you. The CRHD, a corporation of the Capital Regional District, has set up a website to engage with the community about the redevelopment of the lodge property. The senior care facility closed last summer, after moving all tenants to The Summit on Hillside Avenue.

“Working with the community to reimagine the future use of the property is a high priority project for the region,” said CRHD Board Chair Denise Blackwell.

For details on upcoming virtual open houses, as well as a feedback form and discussion guide, go to crd.bc.ca.

Can a gondola help make it easier to move commuters between the West Shore and downtown Victoria? It’s not so far fetched.

Embracing opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will be a major theme in 2021. The Chamber has long been an advocate for innovations led by business as the most realistic approach to mitigating climate change.

Colwood Mayor Rob Martin has a vision to turn 10-acres of city-owned land into a park-and-ride featuring a gondola to move people from a site behind the new Royal BC Museum archive building to a proposed ferry terminal at Royal Bay. The idea is to reduce space needed along the waterfront for a commuter ferry, which already has the blessing of BC Ferries CEO Mark Collins.

The Chamber supports the idea of reducing vehicle traffic between downtown and the West Shore, and we would like to see the province fund a study to determine the feasibility of Martin’s plan.

It’s clear that we will be dealing with the pandemic for many months to come, even as optimism grows over the imminent distribution of vaccines. On Monday, the federal government gave a fall fiscal update that included news about an economic stimulus war chest as well as important changes to the emergency wage subsidy.
 
Canada’s deficit will be close to $400 billion by the end of the fiscal year. To help the economy recover once the pandemic begins to wane, the government is setting aside $100 billion for stimulus.
 
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, which has been one of the federal government’s key advisors, released a statement regarding the update. The Chamber has called on government to tailor its support to the most vulnerable sectors, and to have a plan to move beyond subsidies.
 
“Without strong and prolonged economic growth to resolve the country’s growing public debt, Canada’s growing obligations will adversely affect prosperity for future generations,” the Canadian Chamber said in its statement.