B.C. municipalities allowed to take on more debt for small projects, says province

Justin McElroy · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 26, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Municipalities successful British Columbia are fiscally blimpish whether they privation to beryllium oregon not — but the state is letting that change, astatine slightest a little.

"The past clip [we changed] the magnitude section governments could get to physique infrastructure, Pavel Bure, Kirk McLean and Trevor Linden were making a tally to the playoffs for the Canucks," said Ravi Kahlon, B.C.'s minister of lodging and municipal affairs, referring to the NHL team's tally of success in the '90s. 

Municipalities aren't allowed to tally operational deficits connected a yearly basis. If they privation to physique oregon renew metropolis infrastructure but don't person capable reserves, they mostly person to o.k. superior indebtedness done a referendum oregon an alternate support process (AAP) — a benignant of reverse referendum wherever a task is approved if less than 10 per cent of electors capable retired a signifier successful opposition. 

On Tuesday, the state announced changes that will:

• Allow municipalities to get up to $150 per idiosyncratic without a referendum oregon AAP if the word of the borrowing is little than 5 years, up from $50.
• Raise the borrowing bounds without a referendum oregon AAP from five per cent of yearly wide gross to 10 per cent for projects with a longer repayment schedule.

The changes won't let municipalities to bypass nationalist input for their biggest projects, but volition let much tiny projects to beryllium approved quickly, said Kahlon.

"This is thing section governments person been asking for for much than 30 years and we judge it is clip for them to beryllium capable to drawback up," helium said.

WATCH | B.C. to let municipalities to instrumentality connected much debt:

Are municipalities Dickensian orphans?

While immoderate municipalities person taken pridefulness successful not going into indebtedness for projects, the alteration came arsenic a alleviation to cities that consciousness hamstrung by the existent model.

"So kudos to the government. But similar Oliver Twist said, 'Please sir, we privation immoderate more,'" said Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog, adding that it would assistance galore cities present the accrued lodging and density mandated by the province.

"There is simply a hostility astir municipalities being expected to present lodging … it's not arsenic if we're paying for it successful the nonstop sense, but we're liable to guarantee that the lodging is serviced appropriately," helium said.

Nanaimo has failed 3 times successful the past 2 years to o.k. indebtedness for a caller operations centre done the alternate support process, and Krog argued there's a backing spread betwixt cities and other levels of government.

"Municipalities are treated differently. We're not recognized nether the Constitution arsenic a level of authorities that has an inherent close to exist," helium said. 

"But we present the astir basal of services, the services that radical whitethorn not privation to wage for, but if we crook them disconnected time would person a tremendous interaction connected their lives."

Public support inactive indispensable for large projects

As much than 90 per cent of B.C. municipalities are nether 100,000 radical and $200 cardinal successful yearly revenue, virtually each large summons items volition inactive request AAPs oregon referendums to beryllium approved. 

One illustration is playing retired successful Saanich, wherever connected Wednesday the deadline passed for residents to constitute successful absorption against a projected $150-million operations centre to regenerate the 1 that was built successful the 1950s. 

Organizers of the run against the AAP are confident that capable forms successful absorption of the program person been submitted, and reason the municipality should clasp a referendum connected the task instead.

"We chose to spell the AAP way due to the fact that it was a mode for america to bounds the imaginable further outgo to this project," said Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock, who estimated a caller referendum to o.k. a caller excavation successful neighbouring Victoria outgo $300,000.

"When you see that truthful galore of our facilities are going to necessitate replacement oregon important upgrades, I deliberation the AAP is an due tool," helium said, adding that if it failed, Saanich would apt embark connected a referendum.

The municipality with the astir treatment astir AAPs implicit the past twelvemonth whitethorn beryllium Kamloops, which has utilized them to determination guardant connected a performing arts centre, arena multiplex, and a caller RCMP detachment. 

Kamloops lawman politician Mike O'Reilly said that beyond the cost, going the AAP way alternatively of a referendum is simply a pragmatic choice. 

"If an AAP fails, you tin past determination to a referendum," helium said.

"If you bash a referendum first, and it does not walk … you cannot autumn back."