Priorities

Laurie's Full Positions

Saanich deserves practical, accountable leadership. These are my priorities for our community.

Focus municipal spending on core services and essential infrastructure.
Conduct a comprehensive review of municipal spending to distinguish needs from wants.
Review recent major municipal projects that have gone significantly over budget to understand what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again.
Improve accountability for major capital projects, budgets and timelines.
No more major borrowing through the Alternative Approval Process. Major borrowing decisions should go to residents through a referendum.

Saanich needs to listen to its residents and ensure community feedback meaningfully informs decisions.
Major changes that affect neighbourhoods should involve meaningful public consultation before decisions are made.
Use town halls, community meetings and unbiased, representative surveys to hear directly from residents.
Make municipal decision-making, spending and project costs more transparent and easier for residents to understand.

Residents deserve predictability. Saanich should respect its Community Plan and provide a clear framework for future development.
Ensure meaningful public input into significant changes to the Community Plan.
Work within the requirements of Bill 44 to find practical ways to mitigate its impacts on neighbourhoods, including appropriate consideration of height, setbacks and neighbourhood context where permitted.
Support growth, but direct greater density toward core areas where infrastructure, transit, shops and other services already exist.
Encourage appropriate forms of housing in established neighbourhoods while protecting neighbourhood character and livability.

Transportation policy needs to recognize that not everyone travels the same way. We need a balanced system that moves cyclists, pedestrians, transit users and drivers safely and efficiently.
Listen to first responders and emergency services before making significant changes to road design, ensuring emergency access is maintained.
Where practical, locate cycling infrastructure on secondary roads and greenways rather than reducing capacity on major transportation routes that have no viable alternative.
Improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians without unnecessarily creating congestion or restricting the movement of vehicles.
Make transportation decisions based on local conditions and practical solutions, not one-size-fits-all ideology.

Protect Saanich's agricultural land from inappropriate intrusion and development.
Protect our watersheds, streams and sensitive environmental areas.
Balance growth with responsible environmental stewardship.
Ensure development decisions consider their long-term impacts on water, farmland, ecosystems and the community.