WATCH: It’s a first-of-its-kind report card. On Wednesday, the South Island Prosperity Progject unveiled the results of its annual index — one of the several initiatives designed to help make Greater Victoria more liveable. Calvin To has more.
A new annual index ranks south Vancouver Island’s quality of life well in some areas but needing improvement in others.
The index has five key categories:
- Economic resiliency
- Transportation and mobility
- Housing and affordability
- Human health
- Environmental health
“It’s really a point for us to be able to have a report card on how we’re doing as a region and how that really affects our economy and the chances of our children and our children’s children to have meaningful jobs [and] careers in the south island region,” said Emilie de Rosenroll, CEO of the South Island Prosperity Program, the organization that created the index.
The South Island Prosperity Project (SIPP) was created a year and a half ago and consists of 33 members, including local governments, First Nations and those in the public and private sectors.
SIPP is also behind the Smart South Island Open Innovation Challenge.
Next year, teams will have an opportunity to pitch ideas in front of a panel of judges for a chance to win one of three $15,000 grants.
Wilson’s Transportation is planning on making a bid to help with the retrofitting its fleet of vintage double-decker buses to use electric motors.
“I care about the city, our company cares about the city a lot, and we want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem,” said Wilson’s Transportation CEO John Wilson.
Calvin To
