My first year as your MLA for Saanich North and the Islands has flown by in these tumultuous times. The affordability, housing, and health care crises in BC and the external catastrophes impacting us – tariffs, wars, climate disasters – hardly give time for relief. Nevertheless, there are many things that give me hope. One of them is the ground-breaking work undertaken by the District of North Saanich. Their new official community plan (OCP) incorporates doughnut economics into their future development. You can read the OCP here.
Doughnut economics is the pioneer work of Oxford economist, Kate Rawowrth. It acknowledges that we live in a world of finite resources and that our addiction to endless economic growth puts our environment and well-being at risk. It is a new way of thinking about our communities where we ensure we have a strong social foundation of really affordable housing, wrap around access to health care and other key determinants of happiness while not exceeding the “ecological ceiling.” The diagram below shows how this works:
What a concept! Living in concert with the surrounding environment in a manner that restores and maintains instead of sacrificing the special lands, waters, air, wildlife, aquatic life – in short, the ecosystems that make this part of the world so special. Imagine a steady state economy, where we no longer rely on never- ending business and population growth to cover community infrastructure costs. Where the special unique amenities and environment we call Saanich North and the Islands are preserved and protected. When I first heard about Kate Raworth, I thought this was all pie-in-the-sky. But after reading her book [click here] and reviewing the work being done around the world, including in North Saanich, I have come to see local community- driven action guided by Raworth’s work as the long-term solution to many of our current challenges.
Of course, indigenous people who have lived in this area for millennia recognized long ago that everything is connected, that you must only take what you need, and that it’s important to put back what you do take. We are so lucky!
It is an honour to be your MLA, and I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible in 2026 as I do everything I can to advocate on your behalf for a future that sees all of us enjoying healthy happy lives inside the Doughnut!
