10/19/2026
Now that the Municipal Election is over, I would like to address some questions that came up during the campaign period. I would also like to remind people that if they have questions for the Village Office, Facebook is not the place to ask them. You can drop by the Village Office at 1061 Marine Drive, call us at 250-284-3391 or email me at [email protected] or Tanya at [email protected].
Tendering Law
BC Legislation does not impose a single, universal statutory public-bidding law procedure for local government purchases. This means there is no requirement to “tender” projects. Purchasing rules are established by a Municipality’s purchasing policies or bylaws. The Village of Port Alice has a “Purchasing Policy”. This is an internal document and is not a “law”. Council also has the authority to override the purchasing policy when necessary.
The Village of Port Alice is required to comply with interprovincial and international trade agreements. These include the New West Partnership Trade Agreement, The Canadian Free Trade Agreement and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreements. These agreements require bidding opportunities over certain thresholds. For the NWPTA its $75,000 for goods and services and $200,000 for construction. The Village of Port Alice advertises RFPs and Tenders that meet these thresholds on BC Bid to meet these requirements
The Village of Port Alice purchasing policy requires that “goods and services” in excess of $25,000 be obtained with a formal tendering process or a request for proposal process. The policy does not address “construction” but the sidewalk construction at Lions Park did not exceed the $25,000 threshold. The policy also states that a quotation from three vendors for purchase proposals in excess of $10,000 is required “whenever possible and practical”. The Village of Port Alice purchasing policy does not have a set amount for “single sourcing” nor does it address purchasing from businesses owned by Council members. However, BC Legislation does require a Council member to declare a conflict and not participate in discussions regarding a project that they have bid on.
Transparency
The Village of Port Alice publishes a list of all vendors who receive $25,000 or more in payments from the Village every year. This list is available on our website in the Annual Report. The Village also publishes regular “payment reports” in our Village Council Agendas which are also available on our website. Job Postings, Requests for Proposals and Contract postings (such as Emergency Coordinator) are posted on our website, the Village Facebook account, the bulletin board in the Village office, and often published in the North Island Eagle.
Lions Park
The Lions Park updates are a combination of several separate projects. These projects were managed by Ryan Nicholson, the Village’s Economic Development Officer. The projects consisted of the new playground, the new pavilion, the washroom and the landscape upgrades including the new sidewalks. These projects were funded by a variety of different grants and did not result in any increase in taxation.
There were several contractors involved in these projects and many volunteer hours of labour and equipment from community members, staff and Councillors. The volunteers do not want formal recognition, they just want to help the community thrive and grow.
There are still a few jobs to be completed at the park. We are waiting for a part for the sewer pump to complete the washroom, there are signs, garbage cans and bike racks and repair station to be installed (Public works will do over the winter when time allows), and some landscaping and grass seeding to be finished in the spring. The Village is also looking at installing a sidewalk from the new washroom to the pavilion.
Thank you, Bonnie Danyk CAO/ CFO
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