The agency that manages many of Victoria鈥檚 landmarks is being wiped out, but it鈥檚 unlikely that we will notice much change. After 50 years, the government has shut down the Provincial Capital Commission, which watched over some of Victoria鈥檚 best-known sites, including St. Ann鈥檚 Academy, the Crystal Garden, the CPR Steamship Terminal, Ship Point, the Belleville ferry terminal and the art-deco tourist centre on Wharf Street.
Bill Bennett, the provincial minister in charge of the government鈥檚 core review, said Tuesday taxpayers will save $1 million a year by bringing the commission鈥檚 operations into government. Most of the properties will be managed by the shared services branch, and six commission staff will become provincial employees.
The capital commission has done a good job of protecting properties that might have been swallowed up in Victoria鈥檚 development booms, and of helping to make the Inner Harbour a jewel for tourists and residents.
The commission rescued the Crystal Garden when it was crumbling, and restored it to something like its former glory, although finding money-making tenants has proven to be a challenge.
The commission once aspired to celebrate the capital city for all British Columbians, in the way that the National Capital Commission tries to give Canadians a sense of pride and ownership in Ottawa, but the PCC hasn鈥檛 succeeded in that goal. The province might do a better job of appealing to a broad range of British Columbians, as that is its job in other areas.
A feel-good feature of the commission was that it offered local control over decisions about important properties in the capital region. However, the sa国际传媒 Liberals took over the PCC鈥檚 finances, removed its management of downtown properties in 2012 and forced it to get any big decisions approved by cabinet. The province even gave away the commission鈥檚 headquarters on Pandora Avenue during First Nations pre-treaty negotiations.
As Bennett has pointed out in interviews, the civil servants who take over responsibility for the properties in Greater Victoria all live here. They are as local as the members of the commission鈥檚 board.
Victoria Coun. Shellie Gudgeon, a member of the commission鈥檚 board, linked the decision to Premier Christy Clark鈥檚 comments about how much she dislikes Victoria. That鈥檚 a bit of a stretch.
Dissolving the commission leaves the provincial employees to make some difficult decisions. The Belleville Street ferry terminal, where the Coho ties up, is one example. The terminal has needed work for a long time; it鈥檚 probably the biggest remaining eyesore on the Inner Harbour.
When it is taken over by the Ministry of Transportation, bureaucrats will face the same problems that have kept the commission from renovating it for decades. The need for Canadian and U.S. customs and immigration facilities, along with parking for a shipload of vehicles, means the terminal has a big footprint that is more complicated than a typical ferry terminal.
In addition to buildings, the commission was responsible for some odd bits of land, many of them around the approaches to the city. Those could end up in the hands of municipalities.
Langford Mayor Stew Young already has his eye on about 20 per cent of the holdings. One parcel in particular would be used for a ramp for a new intersection. That鈥檚 probably not what the commission envisioned when it was hanging onto that land.
While Young鈥檚 interest might foreshadow a fire sale of commission properties, the government says it doesn鈥檛 plan to get rid of the heritage buildings. There is nothing wrong with individual municipalities looking after berms and green spaces.
As long as the government continues to manage the landmark properties on behalf of all British Columbians, the commission鈥檚 work will go on.
