For Seniors
In the 2021 heat dome, 619 British Columbians died. 67% were 70 or older. 56% lived alone. 98% died indoors — in their own homes. That is what it looks like when a city treats its seniors as an afterthought. This framework does the opposite: it protects you in extreme weather, rebuilds streets you can actually use, sends the right responder when something goes wrong, and holds your tax bill to a published cap — because a fixed income deserves a predictable city. Every measure is costed and reported quarterly.
This is the same framework as the full Program — same measures, same numbers, same jurisdictional caveats — read through the eyes of someone who has seen this city at its best. Every measure named here is costed and sourced in the master, and every number links back to it.
← Back to the frameworkProtected in extreme weather
- A maximum-temperature rule for rental homes (Measure 64). At least one room at or under 26°C during declared heat warnings — the threshold the BC Coroners Service identified — plus cooling centres in every neighbourhood and advocacy to override strata bans on AC units where health requires them. This is a habitability standard, like a handrail on a stairwell.
- Seismic and coastal resilience, funded and scheduled (Measure 64b) — the hazard Victoria actually faces, addressed instead of postponed.
Streets and sidewalks you can actually use
- A universal accessibility audit and remediation program (Measure 25b). Every City sidewalk, building, park, and washroom audited on a published methodology; curb cuts, tactile paving, and audible signals at every controlled intersection within 4 years; a published response time for sidewalk hazards and obstructions.
- Crossings timed for real walking speeds (Measure 20b). Pedestrian signals timed to 1.0 metres per second instead of the 1.2 default — a small number that decides whether you make it across Douglas Street with time to spare.
- Streets lit all night (Measure 37) with warm lighting that suits this city, and public bathrooms mapped, open, and maintained (Measure 24b).
Safe, and treated with respect
- A Downtown Public Order Team (Measure 26) and bylaw coverage from 6 AM to 10 PM, 7 days a week (Measure 27) — someone answers at 9 PM.
- The right responder for the call (Measure 26b). A civilian crisis capacity for wellness checks and mental-health calls, with published dispatch criteria — relentless with the dangerous, appropriate with the unwell.
- Crime severity down 15% by 2030 (Measure 32), reported quarterly.
A doctor, a park, a city that answers
- Family doctors recruited with the levers the City controls (Measure 13b): tax exemptions for not-for-profit clinics, below-market city space, fast-tracked clinic permits, and a recruitment partnership with Island Health.
- Parks kept to the standard Victoria is famous for (Measure 49) — including a 5-year Beacon Hill restoration and a signature horticultural feature in every neighbourhood.
- Plain language at City Hall (Measure 80b). Every form, notice, and application rewritten to be readable, with interpretation available on request in either official language — and annual community surveys (Measure 82) plus real neighbourhood voice through Local Area Plans (Measure 80c).
A fixed income deserves a predictable bill
Four straight years of above-inflation tax increases — 9.34% on residential in 2026 alone — land hardest on those whose income does not move. The Taxpayer Guarantee (Measures 66 to 66d): the residential rate increase capped at 6.5% in Year 1, 5% in Year 2, then roughly inflation plus growth; any over-collection refunded to you, on your notice, not swept into reserves; a debt rule; and one published Household Bill — taxes, water, sewer, and waste in a single number you can plan around. Stated honestly: your individual bill also moves with BC Assessment, which the City does not control, and we say that at the outset.
Also in the framework for you
- Community paramedicine (Measure 28d). Proactive visits for frequent 911 callers and fall-risk residents — fewer emergencies, because the visit happened before the fall.
- Somewhere to sit (Measure 44). Victoria's distinctive street furniture restored — benches on the routes people actually walk, not just in postcard spots.
- Renovate to stay in your home (Measure 76). Reduced or waived permit fees for accessibility work — ramps, grab bars, widened doors — with a one-day turnaround target and a free pre-approved design library.
- Housing access that recognizes age and disability (Measure 10). Public, point-based allocation with disability explicitly weighted, and your position in the queue visible — no favours needed, none possible.
- Companions welcome (Measure 25c). A pet-friendly parks standard — because for many of us, the dog is family.
- A ballot you can reach (Measure 82b). Turnout and access measures, so voting never depends on mobility.
Your Victoria in 2030
It is July 2030 and the heat warning is three days old — and it is an inconvenience, not a danger. Your building keeps one room at 26°C or under, because that is the law now, and the cooling centre is a five-minute walk on sidewalks with no surprises: curb cuts at every corner, a bench halfway, a crossing timed for the speed you actually walk. When your neighbour had a bad week last winter, the person who knocked was a trained crisis worker, not a squad car — and the paramedic team that visits her building knows her by name. Your doctor's clinic took the tax exemption and the below-market space, and stayed. Your tax notice is capped and published, and last spring the City refunded its over-collection — the credit landed right on the notice. You have watched a lot of councils promise. This one publishes, every quarter, and you check.
How you hold us to it
Quarterly public scorecard: the tax cap (row 1), verified savings (row 2), crime severity (row 6), and the transparency package itself — delivered and checkable (row 11). Every number public, green or red. You do not have to trust anyone. You can check.