Why Did the CRD Board Reject North Saanich’s Regional Context Statement (RCS)?
Essay Commentary
Why Did the CRD Board Reject North Saanich’s Regional Context Statement (RCS)?
Section 446 of the Local Government Act (LGA) requires that a municipal OCP contain a Regional Context Statement (RCS) accepted by the regional district board. A context statement was prepared by North Saanich for the newly adopted OCP, but was rejected by the CRD.
Q1: Why is the CRD even involved in approving North Saanich’s RCS?
Section 446 of the Local Government Act (LGA) requires that a municipal OCP contain a
Regional Context Statement (RCS) accepted by the regional district board.
Q2: Is this something new?
No, this has been a requirement since 1998. Because the CRD Board must approve the
proposed RCS for every municipality in the Capital Region, they wanted a consistent and
transparent process for this. The CRD Board approved a framework to guide the evaluation of
regional context statements on April 11, 2018
Q3: Why is this happening now?
The LGA stipulates that upon receipt of a proposed RCS, the CRD Board must respond by
resolution within 120 days to the municipal council indicating whether or not it accepts the
proposed RCS. On June 18, 2025, North Saanich submitted an updated RCS for CRD Board acceptance. The
deadline for CRD’s response is 16 October 2025.
Q4: What is CRD’s rationale?
CRD Regional Planning staff evaluated North Saanich’s proposed RCS in accordance with CRD’s
framework, identified inconsistencies with the Regional Growth Strategy, and provided a
detailed report on this evaluation to CRD’s Planning and Protective Services Committee on 17
September 2025, with the recommendation that the CRD reject the proposed RCS.
https://crd.ca.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=8a315572-b81e-4400-a6ef-d5b057778ce5.pdf
Q5: Does North Saanich disagree with CRD’s rationale?
In a response on 8 September 2025 NS stated: “… the CRD has no authority to require the
District to amend its OCP or concede an expansion of the UCPA boundary. … It appears that the
CRD is seeking to use the RCS review process as a means to facilitate an expansion of the UCPA
boundary into North Saanich.” https://crd.ca.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=c3acea67-f26f-
Q6: Where do things stand?
At the 8 October 2025 meeting, the CRD Board voted unanimously (with Mayor Jones present)
to reject the RCS for the reasons set out in the 17 September report, and refer the matter back
to North Saanich Council. The matter is now in the hands of the North Saanich Council.
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