Should Saanich and Victoria amalgamate? A citizens' assembly is being set up to explore the idea

Council representatives from Victoria and Saanich, B.C., have voted to move towardforming a citizens' assembly that would explore amalgamating the two municipalities.

There have long been talks about amalgamatingVictoria the capital of British Columbia, which also serves as the downtown for the broader Capital Regional District and neighbouring Saanich, which has a larger population and slightly larger landmass.

In a 2018 referendum, voters said yes to setting up a citizens' assembly to study the idea.

The assemblies are made up of members of the public who study an issue and make recommendations, which are then put to the public in a referendum.

In B.C., citizens' assemblies have previously looked at electoral reformand the amalgamation of the Vancouver Island communities of Duncan and North Cowichan. In both instances, voters ultimately opted to maintain the status quo.

The creation ofa citizens' assembly for the question of amalgamatingSaanich and Victoria was stalled by the pandemic. Last year,both municipalities and the provincial government agreed to contribute $250,000 each to the process, and to wait until after the October 2022 municipal elections to take next steps.

On Monday, a sub-committee made up of Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto, SaanichMayor Dean Murdockand two councillors from each municipality, met for an update from staff, and approved staff's recommendation to move forward with the process.

Staff in Victoria will now look for a consultant to create and run the citizens'assemblyon behalf of both municipalities.

The assembly will have 48 members, chosen bylottery 27 from Saanich and 21 from Victoria, with the proportionset by population data.

Efforts will be made to make sure the assembly has a mix of genders, age cohorts, renters and homeowners, urban and rural residents, and First Nations members.

While there is no firm timeline, the province has asked for an update by Dec.31, including a recruitment process for the assembly and a preliminary work plan.