Media Release

Saanich Climate Equity by Design Report

Climate change affects everyone, but its impacts are not experienced equally. Climate Equity by Design: Saanich explores how climate change is shaping the daily lives of equity-deserving communities in Saanich, drawing on community engagement and an equity-focused analysis of the District’s Climate Plan Update Survey. The report examines people’s experiences with climate impacts, their ability to adapt and build resilience, and the barriers that can make taking climate action more difficult.

By centring perspectives that can be underrepresented in traditional planning processes, the report offers a deeper look at the relationship between climate change and issues such as affordability, housing, transportation, health, and access to information. It brings those lived experiences together with practical recommendations for more accessible and equitable climate planning, offering valuable insight into how Saanich can strengthen climate resilience while ensuring the people most affected have a meaningful voice in shaping the response.

Report

CSPC 2025 Impact Report

The 2024–2025 CSPC Impact Report highlights a year of meaningful progress toward building a more equitable and inclusive Greater Victoria. Through a blend of community-based research, hands-on services, and cross-sector collaboration, the Community Social Planning Council continued its 90-year legacy of addressing poverty, housing instability, climate vulnerability, and social inequality. This year’s work reflects CSPC’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with impactful initiatives spanning housing affordability, income equity, climate resilience, community engagement, and policy innovation.

Across the region, CSPC’s programs provided thousands of residents with critical supports, from sustaining homes through the Greater Victoria Rent Bank, to helping nearly 1,500 people secure essential identification, to distributing over 80,000 transit tickets and passes through LITA. Programs like LEAP expanded employment readiness for underserved communities, while major research projects shaped policy discussions on homelessness, childcare, tenant protections, and regional planning. CSPC continues to fulfil a vital role as both a service provider and a catalyst for systems-level change.

Report

Drivers of Homelessness event & report launch

On June 22, 2022 local, provincial, and national experts on housing and homelessness discussed the CSPC's new report, Drivers of Homelessness: Findings for Action.

Speakers at the event included

  • Esther de Vos, Executive Director of Research for BC Housing;
  • Erin Dej, Assistant Professor at Wilfred Laurier University and researcher with the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness;
  • Hannah Mang-Wooley, Tenant Legal Advocate at Together Against Poverty Society.

Drivers of Homelessness answers key questions and dissolves persistent myths regarding the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis in Greater Victoria:

  • What are the most important structural and systemic factors that contribute to homelessness?
  • How can we prevent homelessness by addressing these structural and systemic factors?
  • How does early intervention fit into a broader homelessness prevention framework?

This event will include the launch of a SPARC BC funded report that examines the drivers of homelessness in Greater Victoria through the analysis of CSPC’s homelessness prevention program. The report will inform evidence-based conversations in the public and the media and support local policymakers in preventing and ending homelessness in our region.

View the infographic: Drivers of Homelessness Infographic

View the full report: Drivers of Homelessness Report