Transparency / Accountability

☀️ We Need to Move Out of the Dark

Statement by Ross Buchanan

Residents continue to be kept in the dark on critical issues:

• Dike safety: The Village has refused to release the geotechnical engineering report that taxpayers funded.

• East Sector development: An 18-hole disc golf course and a new public works facility are advancing with no public explanation.

• 60-unit social-housing deal: Millions in development and annual costs are being shifted to taxpayers while the mayor and CFO sit on the developer’s board.

• Land title claims: No clear answers on extent, status, or implications.

• 2026 budget + tax increases: No communication on what’s coming.

• Water & sewer engineering reports: Staff admit they exist but have chosen not to release them.

British Columbia has 161 municipalities, including 42 villages under 2,500 people.
Despite being one of the smallest, Harrison Hot Springs pays the highest council and management salaries of any village in the province—while giving residents less transparency in return.

FOI responses show a municipal culture that not only resists openness but actively pushes back against resident oversight.

A healthy community can’t function in the dark.

The future of the village depends on honest governance, public disclosure, and open communication.
It’s time to kick the door open and let the light in.