In the August 19 2009 edition of a Victoria BC local newspaper, the Oak Bay News, I had set out the problem of the mushrooming and unfettered deer population in Victoria and what I saw as the Oak Bay municipal council’s responsibility. In that op-ed I stated:

“If Council members say they can do nothing because removal (of the deer) is a provincial matter, they can be expected to meet with other municipal councillors, the deer-housing golf clubs and responsible provincial ministry and wildlife protection officials and come up with an effective action plan within four months. This would be exposed to the public for challenge and would include options such as removal or culling and the reasons for it.  Oak Bay Council owes homeowners a public explanation of its intentions and reasons with respect to the deer.”

Seeing no public response from the council members, I wrote on  April 16 2010 to each of the seven Oak Bay councillors specifically asking them to publicly explain to Oak Bay residents their action plan to deal with the problem.

My  August 2009 op-ed, April 2010 letter to the Councillors and the response are set out below.

On May 4, 2010 I received a letter from the Oak Bay Municipal Clerk (note that it was not from the Mayor and councillors) that purposefully avoided answering the clear accountability question that I put to the councilors. The issue of the lack of public accounting by the Council involves the following:

1.    I had written to, and asked for a reply from the Councillors, not from a Municipal Clerk who has no management action decision authority with respect to Council’s own initiative on the deer problem.

2.    In my August 2009 op-ed I had proposed what I regard as a logical starting initiative by Oak Bay Council that could be saluted as a regional leadership initiative on the deer issue. The question for citizens is what stands in the way of Council taking the proposed initial action.

3.    The Clerk answered a question I did not ask (ie what does the responsible BC Ministry have to offer?) and did not answer from Council the question I clearly asked them, which was: what was  Oak Bay Council itself doing about the increasing deer problem?”.

4.    I asked the Councilors for a public explanation of the discharge of their responsibilities in dealing with the deer problem They did not give it and there is no evidence that they will, left on their own.

It is thus fair for citizens to conclude, from the councillors’ silence on their obligation to explain what they themselves could do about the deer, that they do not intend to account.

In my writing on public accountability I argue that any authority at any level  that affects citizens in important ways and that does not account fully and fairly on how it is carrying out its commonsense responsibilities is not to be trusted either in its motivation or competence, or both.

Letter to Councillors

The April 2010 letter to each Councillor, of the Corporation of the District of Oak Bay:

The Deer Issue

In a 19 August 2009  op-ed in the Oak Bay News I pointed out that it was time Oak Bay Councillors told citizens their action plan for dealing with the deer problem. To my knowledge you have not done this. I also noted that your plan may be  “essentially to do nothing, leaving the deer problem to each individual homeowner.”

In the op-ed I further stated, “If Council members say they can do nothing because removal is a provincial matter, they can be expected to meet with other municipal councillors, the deer-housing golf clubs and responsible provincial ministry and wildlife protection officials and come up with an effective action plan within four months. This would be exposed to the public for challenge and would include options such as removal or culling and the reasons for it.”

I am writing to ask that you tell me what Council’s action plan is. In systems, doing nothing is itself a decision. You do know by now what you plan to do or not do, and if you know it, you can report it. I do not read every Oak Bay News, so you might have accounted to citizens in that paper, but nothing has come to households.

You know that, as is, the deer problem will only get worse, e.g.. we have 52 roses annually appreciated by passers-by on Newport Ave. Over 80% of the first buds on the most visible and accessible to deer have now been eaten. We are typical of gardeners in Victoria who help supply its reputation.

The processes of the Corporation of Oak Bay are best described as administration, not management. Management means causing to happen that which should and causing not to happen that which shouldn’t. Ultimate responsibility for and credible public explanation of the quality of management within and by the Corporation rests with the Councillors.

I await Council’s response.

Henry McCandless

Response from Council

Response instead from the Municipal Clerk May 4: