“No” Doesn’t Mean No: The Works Yard Loan and the Vanishing Veto
In late 2024, Nanaimo residents did something rare: they used the tools available and said “No.”
City Hall asked for a borrowing bylaw that would authorize up to $90 million for Works Yard upgrades. Under the Alternative Approval Process (AAP), if enough electors sign opposition forms, council doesn’t get to treat borrowing like a routine housekeeping item — the project is supposed to face a democratic gate.
That gate worked.
The City certified 8,655 valid opposition forms, above the 7,974 needed. Result: elector approval was not obtained. That’s not a “misunderstanding.” That’s the public doing exactly what the process exists for.
And then… the rules changed.
In June 2025, the Province amended municipal borrowing regulations so municipalities could borrow more without elector approval — part of a broader push to “reduce delays” and “modernize” borrowing limits.
Fast-forward to February 2026 and Nanaimo is back at it: council moved ahead with a Works Yard plan priced at $79.4 million, funded primarily by $76.68 million in long-term borrowing.
The reported justification is simple: under the updated provincial framework, electoral approval isn’t required if the annual cost of servicing liabilities stays within a set percentage of “controllable and sustainable” revenue. Nanaimo’s own numbers (as reported) put controllable/sustainable revenue at $246.8M, and total liability servicing costs at $11.8M — about 4.8%, below the 10% threshold.
Translation: the City can legally proceed without the public having a formal veto, even after the public already used that veto once.
That’s the part residents are reacting to. Not “why fix the Works Yard?” — but why democracy becomes optional the moment it becomes inconvenient.
Now let’s talk about the part City Hall never wants front and centre: borrowing is not a price tag — it’s a policy choice.
When you borrow, you pay twice: once for the build, and again for the interest. The Works Yard plan is being described as roughly $79.4M, but the reporting around the deal says it could land around $126M once debt servicing is included.
That’s not “free infrastructure.” That’s a 20-year mortgage on City capacity.
And it raises a blunt question: why are we borrowing tens of millions for the City’s own operational backbone, while we routinely find cash and grants for other priorities?
A few examples residents will recognize:
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The City’s Metral Drive Complete Street project was completed at a total cost of $13.3 million.
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The first phase of “Design Commercial” construction was budgeted at $4.08 million.
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The Albert/Fourth complete street utility and transportation upgrade was expected to be about $4.4 million in construction costs.
Those three alone total roughly $21.8 million.
Yes — some of that funding is restricted, and some includes utility upgrades you can’t ignore. But that’s not the point. The point is priority discipline: City Hall has no trouble assembling large budgets for projects it wants, while telling taxpayers the Works Yard is so urgent it must be debt-financed.
Residents already signaled they wanted a pause, a reset, and a tighter justification.
So here’s the ask I’d put to council — and to the Province:
If the public says “No” to a massive borrowing plan, the correct response isn’t “find the loophole.” The correct response is: show your work. Prove the scope is essential. Show phased options. Demonstrate internal savings. Explain what gets cut so core operations can be paid for without turning everything into permanent debt.
Because once borrowing becomes the default solution, budgets stop being budgets — they become wish lists backed by taxpayers who never truly consented.
The Works Yard may well need upgrades. But Nanaimo also needs something else:
A government that can hear “No”… and still respect it.
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