Ravensong - Do your Homework
- palermonoel
- Feb 16
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 19
You will probably have received a flyer in the mail from the RDN about the upcoming referendum for the Ravensong Aquatic Centre expansion. The referendum will decide if the Regional District of Nanaimo can borrow up to $30 million to finance the expansion. The borrowing will be approved if a simple majority of the votes actually cast are in favour. If the referendum is approved, the repayment of the loan will form part of your RDN tax bill. It is important to note that the referendum is approving the borrowed component of the expansion only. The actual cost of the expansion is currently estimated at $36 million, with the remaining $6 million coming from capital reserves. As a result, your future tax bill will include not only the loan repayment costs but also such things as the replacement of capital reserves, operation costs and budget over runs on the expansion.
The general voting day is Saturday April 5, 2025 with voting from 8 AM to 8 PM at a number of locations depending on municipality or electoral area of residence. The various voting locations are set out in the flyer from the RDN. There are two advance polls on Wednesday March 26 and Wednesday April 2. Both of the advance polls are at the Qualicum Beach Community Hall between 8 AM and 8 PM. In addition, a mail in ballot can be requested. To apply for the mail in ballot, visit the website:
There will be a number of information sessions for the public to inform itself about the proposed expansion. The information sessions are all set for 5 PM to 7:30 PM on a number of dates at various locations within the municipalities and electoral areas. There is also a virtual information session set for 5 PM to 7:30 PM on Monday March 17. The RDN flyer provides the specific dates and locations of the information sessions as well as log in information for the virtual information session.
In the event the RDN flyer was not received in the mail, all of the information on dates and locations for information sessions and voting can be viewed at the following website:
To vote in the referendum, voters must be Eligible Resident Electors or Non-Resident Property Electors. Resident Electors must be 18 years of age or older on April 5, a Canadian citizen, a resident of BC for at least 6 months, a resident of the municipality or electoral area and not be disqualified under the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting in an election or be otherwise disqualified by law. Non-Resident Property Electors must not be entitled to register as a resident elector of the municipality or electoral area, be 18 years of age or older on April 5, be a Canadian citizen, be a resident of BC for at least 6 months, be a registered owner of real property in the municipality or electoral area for at least 30 days and not be disqualified under the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting in an election or be otherwise disqualified by law. In addition, for Non-Resident Property Electors, the persons who are the registered owners of the property, either as joint tenants or tenants in common, must be individuals who are not holding the property in trust for a corporation or another trust. Also, if more than one person is the registered owner of the property, only one of those individuals may register as a Non-Resident Property Elector.
Qualicum Beach Insights is encouraging all eligible voters to participate in the referendum by voting. As you may be aware, the City of Victoria recently held a similar referendum seeking approval to borrow approximately $168 million for a new Crystal Pool. The Crystal Pool referendum was, as will be the Ravensong referendum, decided by a simple majority of those votes actually cast. In the Crystal Pool referendum, there were 73,409 eligible voters. Only 15,547 (21.1% of those eligible) actually voted. 58.7% of the voters who cast votes were in favour of borrowing the money. That may sound like an overwhelming majority. However, since the voter turnout was only 15,547 voters, this meant that just over 9,100 voters out of 73,409 determined the wishes of all. We hope that this will not be the case with the Ravensong expansion. Get out and Vote! Hopefully, a significant number of voters will turn out so that the outcome, whether in favour or not, truly represents the wishes of the masses. As an incentive, consider that the RDN has budgeted $240,000 for the referendum alone with none of this amount going into the actual expansion.
The RDN flyer provides no information about the Ravensong expansion, other than the dollar amount of the proposed loan. Some residents may find the $30 million loan staggering. Others may not. In any event, the dollar amount alone does not provide sufficient information on which to base a vote in favour or against. Qualicum Beach Insights encourages all eligible voters to attend the information sessions and ask questions to fully inform themselves before voting.
Some questions to ask at the information sessions include:
Is the expansion actually required?
Is it essential?
Can we, as taxpayers, afford it?
What exactly will the proposed expansion provide over the existing facilities?
What is the estimated cost of the expansion, over and above the $30 million loan?
How accurate is the estimated cost?
If there are over runs, how will they be paid for?
How much will operating costs increase?
Will revenues increase? And if so, will they cover increased operating costs?
How much money needs to be collected in future years for upkeep, maintenance and replacement?
What happens on the expiry of the current lease with the Town of Qualicum Beach?
How much will my/your taxes increase to cover loan repayment, maintenance, replacement of capital reserves, operations etc.?
Are there any essential services that should have priority for tax dollars?
Does the current funding/taxation model for Ravensong fairly allocate costs among the various municipalities and electoral areas?
Go to the information sessions!
Ask questions!
Make up your mind!
Vote!
James Noel
February 16, 2025
We welcome your comments and feedback.
You can email us at Qualicumbeachinsights@gmail.com
