View Royal has now altered their purchasing policies to buy Canadian products over materials from the United States when possible.
The motion was brought forth by Councillor Don Brown at the council meeting held on Tuesday, February 18th.
Moving forward, View Royal will give preference to items produced, manufactured, assembled, or grown in Canada when purchasing items and materials for municipal endeavours.
“In View Royal, we’re committed to buying Canadian products to support our economy and community,” said Councillor Damian Kowalewich.
“Every purchase we make as a town helps build a stronger Canada.”
Similar motions have been considered and approved in Langford, Vancouver, Sidney and most recently, Victoria, among others.
Additionally, View Royal has boycotted X, choosing alternative methods of communicating with residents.
This decision came in late January and was made by Mayor Sid Tobias.
View Royal is not alone in boycotting the social media platform owner by Elon Musk, numerous municipalities across Canada are considering doing the same, given Musk’s relationship with the Trump administration.
Victoria staff recently said in a council meeting that they too are working to utilize Bluesky and Threads as a way to jettison their X account, following suit with View Royal and other municipalities.
“X has become a toxic hellscape and it is owned by an oligarch whose boss is actively trying to dismantle Canadian sovereignty,” said Councillor Jeremy Caradonna in a council meeting on February 13th.
“I think it should not only be phased out here but there’s an argument for banning it across the country as a platform for hostile propaganda and disinformation.”
Victoria unanimously passed their motion to have staff report back on ceasing X activity and altering purchasing policies.
Until that report is completed and reviewed by council, the City will continue to use X.
