Sunday December 7 ,2025 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The Town of View Royal hopes to have a coordinated Judicial Review if BC housing legislation and invites other municipalities to consider joining.
Reaction is beginning to roll in.
The message below was posted by City of Victoria Councillor Matt Dell appeared in social media on December 6 in response to a letter than the Town of View Royal’s Mayor and Council have issued to all the other municipalities in the Greater Victoria region.
The context for the View Royal letter (dated December 4, 2025) is to seek support from the other 12 municipalities in the Capital Region to follow suit with View Royal in challenging the Province on its housing legislation — most of it brought forward in 2023.
Context for this includes that View Royal was already concerned about the loss of public hearings and other community input, as far back as November 2023 and held ‘the last public hearing’ meeting (November 24, 2023) which was well attended.
Perhaps this issue was a final straw. View Royal Mayor Sid Tobias is not seeking re-elected in the 2026 municipal election cycle.
View Royal stands up for public participation:
“The purpose of such a review is not to oppose housing but to obtain clarify on whether the Province acted within lawful limits and wheter proper democratic and procedural safeguards were respected,” states the Town of View Royal letter, adding that a Judicial Review would seek answers to key questions:
- Whether these Bills, individually or combined, have eroded councils’ capacity to govern and consult their residents.
- Whether eliminating public hearings is consistent with procedural fairness.
- Whether the Province exceeded its authority in reshaping core municipal land use powers.
- Whether the speed, secrecy, and timing of the legislative process met principales of responsible governance.
- What limits exist on unilateral changes to local democratic authority.
Comments and opinion-editorials may be sent to: editor@islandsocialtrends.com
Build housing, stop complaining!
Opiniion-Editorial by Victoria City Councillor Matt Dell – December 6, 2025
“The Town of View Royal is asking BC municipalities to join a legal review of provincial pro-housing legislation. I absolutely oppose this path.
Municipalities have had lots of time to step-up and build housing, but too many failed. While I agree with municipal oversight and rules, these policies can’t be used to simply oppose new housing. BC is facing a severe housing affordability crisis, and every municipality needs to step up. There are too many municipalities around BC that refused to help address the housing crisis, so provincial oversight and targets are absolutely required.
Our council has approved over 7000+ units of new housing this tern, and are ahead of our provincial housing targets. This can be accomplished by reducing red-tape, reducing municipal housings fees, and opening up planning and zoning documents to incentivize new homes.
In Victoria, we’re specifically seeing an increase in homelessness resulting from other municipalities failing to build non-market housing, supportive housing, and shelters. I’ve talked to other councils directly who admit that it’s easier to simply direct unhoused people to Victoria. This is not acceptable, and the Province is the only body with the authority required to change this.
I’ll be strongly opposing View Royal’s legal push, as this is simply one more excuse to avoid helping address the housing crisis.
Instead, I’d challenge View Royal to step up and build more supportive housing, non-market housing, and provide solutions for British Columbians facing homelessness.
Build housing, stop complaining!”
~ Matt Dell is serving his first term as a Victoria City Councillor (elected 2022). Victoria City Counci is comprised of Mayor and eight councillors.
===== RELATED:
- View Royal town hall: housing shortage, societal change, government overreach (November 24, 2023)
- View Royal town hall protests multi-family zoning / meeting preview (November 23, 2023)
- Federal 2023 fall economic statement disappoints on housing; too slow for BC (November 22, 2023)
- Late Monday evening session to deal with housing legislation (November 20, 2023)
- New housing legislation will support population growth in Sooke (November 17, 2023)
- View Royal & Oak Bay push back on housing legislation (November 17, 2023)
- Housing supply boost with off-the-shelf multiplex designs (November 16, 2023)
- Saanich is up to the task of building more homes quickly, says Mayor (Opinion-Editorial – November 13, 2023)
- Housing legislation takes affordability into account, says Minister Kahlon (November 10, 2023)
- Smart combo: more housing near transit hubs (November 8, 2023)
- Pushback on housing legislation over cost impacts, municipal load, development chill (debate by the Opposition, Nov 9, 2023)
- BC legislation to streamline delivery of homes, services, infrastructure (November 7, 2023)
- Hoped-for housing explosion based on multi-unit zoning (November 2, 2023)
- Clamping down on short-term rentals to free up housing stock (October 16, 2023)
- BC Legislature Fall 2023 session: housing, emergency management, crime, international credentialing, reconciliation (October 1, 2023)
- BC housing initiatives announced twice this week (September 29, 2023)
- POLITICAL NEWS ARCHIVE | HOUSING NEWS ARCHIVE (Island Social Trends)