Victoria city council debates Indigenous property tax option

Householders in Victoria may quickly have the choice to voluntarily add between 5 and 10 per cent additional to their annual property tax invoice as a contribution to a reconciliation fund for native Indigenous nations, says Mayor Lisa Helps.

Metropolis council will debate the voluntary contribution plan Thursday at a committee assembly the place the purpose is to have the coverage adopted and able to embody in property tax notices later this 12 months, she mentioned.

Helps mentioned the town would acquire the cash and supply it to the Victoria-area Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, together with the $200,000 reconciliation grant the council has beforehand accredited for them.

“The precept is the Metropolis of Victoria is constructed on the homelands of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations and people of us who personal actual property right here or do enterprise right here or run the town right here, we actually profit and generate wealth from another person’s lands,” Helps mentioned in an interview.

“We are going to merely ship out a discover when the property tax notices exit,” she mentioned. “Will probably be a further discover and it’ll let individuals know a few of the work that’s been occurring on reconciliation with the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations over the previous 5 years.”

The Songhees Nation mentioned in an announcement it appreciates the efforts of Victoria’s council and residents on the reconciliation initiative.

“It’s encouraging that some Victoria householders have expressed a need to voluntarily contribute part of their property taxes to Songhees Nation, as a significant and tangible step towards reconciliation,” mentioned Katherine Legrange, Songhees government director. “We hope that this units a precedent for different cities and municipalities to comply with swimsuit, and we thank Mayor Helps and council for his or her dedication to strengthening our relationship.”

The agenda for Thursday’s assembly says many non-Indigenous individuals in Victoria have expressed needs to do extra for reconciliation at native occasions and particularly following the invention of what are believed to be about 200 unmarked graves on the website of a former residential faculty in Kamloops, B.C.

Helps mentioned the contributions are totally voluntary however the cash will go towards tasks administered by the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, together with schooling, language, little one care and housing.

Council could be making no suggestions of the place the nations ought to spend the cash, she mentioned.

“The concept is to make this a everlasting program,” she mentioned. “We acknowledge many individuals are stretched with inflation and popping out of the pandemic. I anticipate we are going to see fairly gradual uptake in 2022, however the concept is to arrange this program in perpetuity.”

Town hasn’t estimated how a lot individuals in Victoria may contribute to the fund, mentioned Helps.

“I wouldn’t wish to put strain on individuals,” she mentioned. “I need this to return from individuals’s hearts.”

The initiative seems to be the primary of its variety by an area authorities in Canada, mentioned the founding father of Victoria-based Reciprocity Analysis Inc., which is growing the same contribution initiative it plans to launch on Vancouver Island this 12 months.

“It’s one thing that’s lengthy overdue for there to be some type of avenue that connects personal property homeowners with the Indigenous communities in whose territory they reside and work,” mentioned Craig Candler in an interview.

Candler, a cultural anthropologist with expertise in environmental, regulatory and Indigenous rights processes, mentioned his group is poised to introduce a Reciprocity Trusts program this 12 months that asks personal property homeowners to contribute what quantities to 12 per cent above their property tax invoice.

He mentioned a 12 per cent contribution would quantity to about $500 for common property homeowners within the Victoria space.

Contributors would obtain a tax receipt, mentioned Candler, including the group already has about 250 individuals within the Victoria space ready to contribute to Reciprocity Trusts.

He mentioned about 750 individuals throughout Canada are additionally ready to contribute as extra trusts are arrange in different cities and communities.

“The fact is my household owns somewhat piece of property on Songhees and Esquimalt territory,” mentioned Candler. “We adore it. It’s our dwelling. We’re going to be staying right here. If we’re going to be staying right here, then creating some approach to profit Songhees and Esquimalt — it simply is smart.”