February 12, 2026
Town of Sidney Council Meeting Highlights: February 9, 2026
Sidney BC
Highlights from regular Council meetings provide a brief summary of some items of broad public interest. The summary is not inclusive of all agenda items. Please refer to sidney.civicweb.net/Portal for the full agenda, minutes, and webcast.
New pay rates approved for next Council term following remuneration review
Council has approved updated remuneration rates for Council members, which will take effect in January 2027, at the start of the next Council’s four-year term. The decision follows a remuneration review conducted under the Town’s established policy, including comparisons with similarly sized municipalities such as Oak Bay, Colwood, and Central Saanich. The review found that Sidney’s current Council pay was below the typical range for comparable municipalities.
The approved increases bring future pay in line with regional norms. Under the new rates, the Mayor’s annual salary will be $61,872 in 2027, a 28% increase from the current projected 2027 rate of $48,260. Each Councillor’s salary will be $26,605 in 2027, set at 43% of the Mayor’s pay under the updated policy, representing a 38% increase from the current projected 2027 rate of $19,277.
The last comprehensive review of Council remuneration occurred in 2014.
Staff Report Video
Public feedback period now underway for proposed BC Transit changes to Route #72 to facilitate direct transit service between the Airport and Victoria
BC Transit is considering changes to Route #72 (Victoria to Sidney/Swartz Bay) to stop at the airport (YYJ). BC Transit is seeking public feedback by February 15, 2026 before any decisions are made.
BC Transit will be making a presentation to Council about this proposal and gathering input from Council members at the Regular Council Meeting on February 23, 2026.
Mayor Cliff McNeil-Smith provided the following statement, which also ran in the Comment section of the Times Colonist on February 7, 2026.
Statement from Mayor Cliff McNeil-Smith re: Proposed BC Transit changes to Route #72
BC Transit has an online survey open now and is seeking public feedback on a proposal to improve transit connections to the Victoria International Airport (YYJ).
The proposal would reroute the existing Route 72 (Swartz Bay/Sidney/Downtown) bus to serve the Airport on all trips. This would add an average of 10 minutes to the travel time between Swartz Bay or Sidney and Victoria, and vice versa.
Improving YYJ connectivity is an important goal, but it should only be pursued as part of an overall increase in service, not by reducing service on other routes through Sidney.
Route 72 had 1.17 million rides in 2023 and the forecast with the proposed changes is for nearly 44,000 additional rides within 2-3 years. However, the increase in travel time on Route 72 and the reduction of service in three areas of Sidney – on Lochside Drive in South Sidney, on Canora Rd/Ocean Ave/Stirling Way in West Sidney, and to the West Sidney Industrial Park – are forecast to decrease ridership by close to 44,000. Thus, there is no new ridership; instead, there is a shift in who rides the bus.
Equity and accessibility are important across the regional system. This sacrifice of Sidney service for better service elsewhere in the system lacks fairness for residents and workers in our community.
Reducing valued service on some existing routes in Sidney would be a big step backwards and undermine years of community advocacy for better transit in our area.
Improved service was added to West Sidney’s industrial and residential areas in January 2026 – just last month. Over the past two years, Sidney Council has approved 320 rental units and supported a new hotel along Beacon Avenue West, with the understanding that these developments would benefit from this enhanced transit service. Yet the new proposal, slated for implementation as early as September 2026, would reverse these much-needed improvements just months after they were introduced.
In April last year, Sidney Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Victoria Regional Transit to establish a new transit hub near the Mary Winspear Community Centre. The goal is to provide the Peninsula with a RapidBus service, similar to the West Shore–Downtown RapidBus that launched in early 2023.
Direct service to the Airport should only be considered further when the new Peninsula RapidBus service or other new express service is being considered.
The region’s population and transit ridership are both growing, and mode shift to transit is gradually increasing. The Victoria Regional Transit Commission should continue its strong record of expanding service, rather than reducing service for one group of riders to benefit another.
It’s a matter of fairness.
I am encouraging participation in the engagement. The online survey is open until February 15 at engage.bctransit.com/Victoria-airport-service-options. There are also open houses in Sidney on February 11 and Saanich on February 12 with time and place at the same link.