The defining issues in the mayoral race in Oak Bay came down to deer management and sewage treatment at a meeting Thursday night.
More than 300 people filled the aisles and doorways of the Oak Bay United Church to hear the two candidates square off in a 75-minute debate moderated by former Oak Bay mayor Christopher Causton.
Aside from the two dominant issues, residents peppered the incumbent mayor, Nils Jensen, and challenger Cairine Green, currently a councillor, with questions about the city’s official community plan, cost containment, residential seniors’ care (with Oak Bay Lodge as the centrepiece), and amalgamation.
Green said she wants to re-evaluate Oak Bay’s participation in the Capital Regional District deer management strategy, using new information and scientific evidence. “If elected mayor, I would push the pause button,” she said.
Oak Bay approved a plan last November to partner with the CRD in trapping and killing 25 deer. There has been no cull so far, in part because several deer traps provided by the provincial government were stolen and burned. New traps are to be available early in the new year.
Jensen said that if re-elected, “I will not push the pause button.” A cull is the only answer, he said.
Jensen pointed to a pet Labrador that required emergency surgery after being attacked by a buck in a Henderson Road backyard on Saturday night.
A child or senior could be next, Jensen said. “We cannot afford to wait until there is a tragedy.”
The region’s proposed sewage-treatment plant also proved contentious.
Jensen said a solution must be found soon — whether that involves a single plant or two (one in the West Shore and one for the three core municipalities of Oak Bay, Saanich and Victoria) — before the region loses promised provincial and federal funding of $500 million toward the estimated $750-million price tag.
Green argued that the funding is secure, and said the municipality must take its time to explore new science and sub-regional wastewater treatment systems. As well, tertiary treatment is the only way forward, she said.
Green is campaigning to be a full-time mayor, and said she would hold regular meetings with the public. Jensen, a lawyer who receives $28,000 annually as a part-time mayor, said a full-time position would unnecessarily drive up costs.
As part of the Nov. 15 election, voters will be asked to answer a simple yes or no to a non-binding referendum question about whether Oak Bay should be amalgamated into a larger regional municipality.
Both mayoral candidates say no.
