Our Priorities for Esquimalt
Hi, I'm Tim Morrison. Thank you for visiting my Esquimalt priorities page. I invite you to scroll down below to review my full list of issues that matter most.
My approach to governing is to be both responsible and responsive. As an experienced Esquimalt Councillor and candidate seeking your support for re-election, my priorities are based on having spent a lot of time listening to you, the residents of our great community. That listening never stops, so please feel welcome to contact me if you would like to add to my list of priorities regarding what you value most as an Esquimalt resident.
Housing and Affordability
My top priorities are quality housing and affordability that meet Esquimalt's diverse needs for families, youth, singles and seniors. First and foremost, Esquimalt residents deserve acknowledgement for enduring all the ongoing construction over the past decade while our community has experienced significant growth and the addition of new housing. Together, we have made a lot of progress. Please visit my Housing and Affordability in Esquimalt page to learn details on our housing achievements and how we can address housing affordability as well as preparing yourself to be consulted on our next Official Community Plan (OCP) happening in 2027.
Climate Action
We have a global climate crisis which each community must do our part to address. We must build a greener Esquimalt with geothermal heating/cooling and the greenest possible approaches for all new construction. Our natural habitat and tree canopy is precious and must be protected.
We also need to make it easier and safer to reduce our carbon footprints with improved walking and cycling infrastructure through Esquimalt's Active Transportation Strategy. Our natural habitat and tree canopy are precious and must be protected. As a coastal community, we must also ensure protection of our coastline and delicate ecosystems.
Esquimalt is addressing climate change through our dedicated Climate Action Plan. Key initiatives include aiming to reduce corporate emissions by 45% by 2030, targeting 100% renewable energy by 2050, promoting active transportation infrastructure, and incorporating nature-based shore protection at Esquimalt Gorge.
Our ongoing Esquimalt Natural Asset Inventory and Management Project identifies, measures, and values our community's natural features—such as trees, parks, and shorelines. By incorporating these natural assets into our official asset management framework, Esquimalt values nature as essential infrastructure that provides critical services and climate resilience.
Economic Development
Being able to shop local is important for Esquimalt residents. Community improvement through Esquimalt’s ongoing economic revitalization includes attracting new, quality businesses such as more variety of stores, cafes, restaurants, medical services and additional employment opportunities.
Our Esquimalt Town Square has been a great success as a place to gather with a public plaza, housing, Saxe Point Public House Pub, Esquimalt Roasting Company, modern library, community gallery, and offices including home to major media outlets. Much is happening in Esquimalt already and that success and growth will continue. We are the place to be.
Property Tax Relief
Making life affordable in Esquimalt including home ownership means the need to provide property tax relief through careful budgeting, long-term financial planning and respecting taxpayers in all decision-making. Every decision must focus on both the overall benefit to our community, as well as the cost to our community's taxpayers and our ability to pay. It also means ensuring affordable services and amenities, including our parks and recreation being accessible to all at the lowest possible prices with the highest possible quality.
Celebrating Community
Esquimalt is the place to be for gathering, celebrations and our arts & culture. We need to support our amazing volunteers who provide us many special events and togetherness through the Township Community Arts Council, Esquimalt Lions & Buccaneer Days, Esquimalt Farmers Market (food security), Esquimalt Ribfest, and the Esquimalt Celebration of Lights among many other volunteer events and services provided within our community.
Our Parks and Recreation
Esquimalt must ensure livable outdoor spaces, natural parks, trails and playing fields; well maintained and open for a variety of leisure, health and sports activities. We need to promote and support healthy living for all, and especially with our seniors and youth programing. Whether it be swimming in our pool, using our arena, working out or taking a class, we aim to provide what our community needs to remain active and healthy.
This year, we launched our Esquimalt Recreation Strategic Plan, which is a 15-year roadmap that guides the development, delivery, and funding of the township's parks, facilities, and programs. Built around extensive community feedback and population trends, the plan ensures local recreational services remain inclusive, accessible, and responsive to the community's evolving needs.
Access to Health Care
One of the biggest concerns for Esquimalt residents is getting access to a family doctor. While health care is a provincial government responsibility, municipalities can still do our part to help. Esquimalt has been working on connecting municipal services—such as transportation, senior housing, aging-in-place supports, and recreation access/programming—to broader health outcomes through our Community Health Needs Assessment and Community Healthcare System Support Playbook. There is more that can be done.
Colwood, for example, became the first municipality in Canada to fund their own clinic and employ doctors as municipal employees. It is an interesting model whereby the municipality manages the clinic with physician billing of services reimbursed by the provincial government. Learning from Colwood’s experience, it is an option for Esquimalt to explore.
Future of our Policing
For too long, as part of VicPD, Esquimalt has been paying a highly disproportionate amount for policing compared to all other BC municipalities (over 20% of our total budget). While Esquimalt’s crime rate is lower than the BC average and significantly lower than Victoria, the policing costs per capita for Esquimalt is the highest among comparable municipalities and we have the highest total costs per officer in the CRD. This is not fair nor sustainable for Esquimalt.
The best solution would be a fully united regional police force for all of the CRD with each municipality paying their equitable share. It would also strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of our police united across municipal boundaries in fighting crime and protecting our communities. Regionalization can only happen if the provincial government requires CRD municipalities to do so, and Esquimalt together with our neighbour, Victoria, has advocated consistently and continuously for this change. .
Transportation and Infrastructure
I am a public transit user, driver, cyclist and pedestrian who frequently walks around Esquimalt. I understand firsthand all our diverse transportation needs and aligning those needs with our infrastructure investments.
Our infrastructure is aging and Council has been focused on the long-term financial implications of maintaining it. We have been carefully inspecting everything from our underground pipes to our above ground road and sidewalk conditions. This provides us with vital insight into our capital budget needs to maintain our infrastructure.
Over the past term, I have received questions about why are we spending so much money on bike lanes? The reality is that we are not. We are actually spending most of our capital budget on our overall transportation and infrastructure needs with bike lanes only making up a small portion.
A good example is Phase 2 of the Esquimalt Road corridor work often labelled as a "bike lane project". Most of the project budget, however, is for road repaving, underground infrastructure renewal and pedestrian safety improvements, with only about 15% for safer cycling infrastructure.
Our need for safe and efficient transportation is very intertwined with our overall infrastructure investment needs. The most financially responsible approach is to address them jointly in an efficient project planning manner.