Sanjiv Shrivastava
I moved to North Saanich with my wife and our elderly dog on Christmas eve of 2014. The train ride from Edmonton to Vancouver at the peak of winter showed us that the grass was indeed greener on the other side – of the Rockies. We have been in love with our verdant home ever since. It’s hard to not fall in love with the beauty of North Saanich with its rural character, varied shades of the tree canopy, all surrounded by hills, mountains, and the Salish Sea.
Four years ago, I decided to run for NS Council because I believed there is an urgent need to resist the destruction of the environment in North Saanich. My first term on council has reaffirmed my conviction that our beautiful district provides unique potential to be a leader in creating a Canadian sustainability model in the climate crisis era.
With more than two decades in scientific research and academia, I bring evidence-based decision making, open inquiry, long-term thinking, and collaboration with community knowledge in municipal decision-making. I hope you will support me in continuing to work to protect the rural, green, agricultural, and community-oriented character of North Saanich.
Protect what we value. Measure what we achieve. Govern openly.
Why Consider Voting for Me, Again
I am a current North Saanich Councillor seeking re-election to help turn community priorities and municipal policy into measurable results. During my first term, I contributed to North Saanich’s Official Community Plan (OCP), with a focus on agriculture and food security, environmental stewardship, climate resilience, marine ecosystems, and community wellbeing. I initiated Council action that led to the District’s Loneliness and Social Isolation Survey and supported work toward recognizing and protecting the community’s natural assets.
I have also advocated for stronger governance, accountability and performance measurement, using internationally recognized governance principles (ISO37000) and innovative approaches (Doughnut Economics Framework) to help Council look beyond adopting policies to measuring whether they are delivering results.
The next step is implementation and transparency: developing a local food policy, strengthening municipal accountability, establishing meaningful performance measures, and creating a public-facing dashboard where residents can see commitments, progress, results, and costs.
What I delivered during My First Term
To achieve a balance between our complex current social needs and long- term environmental sustainability, these are some of projects and policies I was involved with during my first term:
Committees and Working Groups
- Council Liaison on:
- Agriculture and Food Security Advisory Committee
- Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture
- South Island Prosperity Project
- South Island Reconciliation Advisory Committee
- Indigenous Consultation Working Group,
- Sidney Museum & Archives
- Saanich Peninsula Wastewater Commission & Saanich Peninsula Water Commission
- Capital Regional District Board (alternate)
- Member of the Mayor’s Official Community Plan Advisory Committee (MOCPAC) which involved 21 community volunteers that worked on the vision for the in-house finalization of the Official Community Plan (OCP) (2023-2024).
- Working groups of the MOCPAC:
- Agriculture and food security (chair)
- Climate, ecology and environment (chair)
- Marine and waterways (chair)
- Housing and Planning (member)
Presentations in Events (without using any district funds)
- Invited to participate and present in the Planetary Health conferences to promote quality of life through an integrated food and health systems within local governments at the University of Zurich, Switzerland in 2026 and the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore in 2024.
- Invited to participate and present in the gatherings of cities and towns working with Doughnut Economics organized by the Doughnut Economics Action Lab (Oxford University) in Bad Nauheim, Germany in 2024 and Tomelilla, Sweden in 2025.
- Invited to present in the landmark conference “Global Crises, Local Impacts: Preventing Hate & Building Social Cohesion in Western Canada and the Western United States” organized by Strong Cities Network in Victoria in 2024.
- Invited to attend the Civic Governance Forum to build more equitable, inclusive, and resilient communities in Canada in Vancouver in 2024 and 2025.
- Invited to present at various local organizations such as the Rotary Club of Sidney 2024 & 2025, Probus Saanich Peninsula 2026, Saanich Peninsula Hospital and Healthcare Foundation, Inaugural Four-Season series 2025 etc.
Policy Initiatives
- Successfully advocated for the adoption of ISO37000 as a governance framework in the strategic plan of this council (2023).
- Successfully advocated for the adoption of the framework of Doughnut Economics in the OCP as a tool to guide policy making, implementation, and monitoring of policy progress in the district.
- Promoted the district’s installation of Purple Monitors for air quality data collection.
- Led the survey of farmers in the district for Food Hub and Greenhouses (2025).
- Led the survey on loneliness and isolation among NS residents (2024 – 2025).
Future Forward Projects
Local expertise. Collaborative solutions. Better decisions for North Saanich.
If I am given the opportunity of a second term on the council these are some of my proposed projects:
- Implementation of the Official Community Plan of 2025
- Continue advocacy for the wellbeing of seniors.
- Collaboratively work towards a food policy for the district.
- Advocate for a public-facing district policy dashboard.
- Establish a working group for governance review.
- Enhance resilient agriculture by supporting subsistence farming, small farmers, community food hubs and green houses.
- Find pathways to support economic resilience and environmental sustainability.
- Support the marine environment and industry.
- Continue to develop and implement a natural Assets Management inventory for the district.
- Assist in developing the planetary framework of ecological ceiling – social foundation and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the district.
