The Cowichan Valley Regional District says it is hopeful for a prosperous 2026 as it wraps up several successes from 2025.
Board chair Kate Segall said the district saw progress in areas ranging from support for vulnerable residents to improvements in utilities.
“We have a partnership with BC Housing to provide a temporary winter shelter,” she said. “We also have a three-stream curbside collection service, and we acquired the Shawnigan Village Waterworks that’ll bring a water system into public ownership.
“We also added 180 acres of parkland, and we also got very high marks from a survey showing an increased quality of life in the Cowichan Valley.”
Segall said the district faced several challenges in getting projects underway, but none compared with the impact of the transit strike.
“The strike played a huge impact to our residents and, being a funding partner, we were trying to advocate to the province by amplifying the stories from those ‘on the ground’ of what it meant to not have a way to get around.”
She said 2026 will focus on fiscal responsibility and preparing for the future.
“Asset management is something that has been overlooked in the past and now we have really strong staff to manage it,” she said. “Now we need to make some difficult budget decisions in terms of planning for the fiscal responsibility and avoid ‘costly surprises’.”
