On Monday, a North Saanich resident raised a simple, checkable question about the planner behind the District’s new zoning bylaw. She was cut off mid-sentence. Two days later, the District announced staff would no longer attend council meetings in person.
Monday, September 21. Resident Lesley Gould steps up to the podium with a few minutes and one question about the most consequential document on council’s table: Zoning Bylaw No. 1606, the 2026 update, brought forward by interim director of planning Joe Calenda.
Her point was narrow, and it came with receipts.
The Planning Institute of BC lists Calenda as a retired member. PIBC’s manager of operations confirmed it in writing: a retired member in good standing, certified from 1979 to 2013. To hold retired status, a planner signs a declaration that they will not do any paid planning work, in any capacity, and that they will reinstate their active membership if they do.
Calenda has been a paid contractor doing North Saanich’s planning work since June.
Gould got as far as “for the period from June 2026 to today” before Councillor DiBattista cut in. Concerns about staff qualifications, he said, go to the CAO.
“He’s not a member of staff,” Gould replied. “He’s a contractor.”
It still goes to the CAO, came the answer. Then: “No applause, please. We want to get through tonight.”
The whole exchange took three minutes. That same evening, lawyer Michael O’Connor, who represents two of the 21 suspended committee members, was barred from speaking to the specifics of their case.
Then came Wednesday
Two days later, the District issued a news release: staff will now take part in council meetings virtually. It cites comments about employees who can’t respond in the same forum, raised voices, and noise from the gallery. It also says the public is still welcome to attend and participate.
Welcome to attend. Welcome to participate. Just not like that.
Nobody is defending shouting, heckling, or personal abuse. But reading a letter from a professional body into the public record isn’t aggression. It’s accountability. And “take it to the CAO” isn’t an answer. It’s a transfer, from a public room where everyone hears the response to a private inbox where nobody does.
Look at the timing
The municipal election is weeks away. The zoning bylaw, which will shape what can be built on every lot in North Saanich, still needs public consultation. And the planner behind it will now appear on a screen instead of in the room where residents can ask him about it.
You don’t need to believe anything sinister to see the problem. When the questions get specific, the doors get narrower.
To be clear
BC doesn’t require PIBC membership to work in planning. The question is narrower, and fair:
Did the District know its interim planning director holds a status that he attested is incompatible with paid planning work? Was professional certification part of how this contract was awarded? When a resident has a documented concern about a contractor, where does it go, and does anyone ever answer it in public? And how does real public consultation on the zoning bylaw happen when the people responsible for it won’t be in the room?
Those questions don’t need a gallery, raised voices, or applause. They just need an answer.
Public participation is welcome, apparently, as long as it’s quiet, private, and about nothing in particular.
