Email thread from Volker Dammann Re: OCP enquiry via Engage View Royal / Community Growth Survey
Correspondence regarding citizen concerns about demographic questions included in a municipal survey and the town's justification for their use.
Official Community Plan Correspondence
Message from Official Community Plan - March 12, 2025
On Mar 12, 2025, at 13:00, Official Community Plan ocp@viewroyal.ca wrote:
Thank you for your follow-up message and for continuing to share your perspective.
The demographic questions included in the survey are a standard part of our municipal engagement process and were developed in review of best practices of other municipalities, as well as feedback from both our Official Community Plan Review Advisory Committee and Council during meetings open to the public.
The collection of this voluntary information will help the project team, the OCP Advisory Committee, and Council to understand who is participating in this process and whether additional targeted engagement is required to ensure we hear from a diverse range of voices. The data is not analyzed at an individual level, but rather as a whole to inform how we may engage with the community more effectively and to assess if there are gaps or underrepresented groups. This is important as we are in the process of updating a bylaw that contains policy that guides the long-term vision of our community and reflects the needs of all residents.
Please let us know if you would like this correspondence to be attached to an upcoming Council Agenda to form part of the public record.
We appreciate your engagement in this process.
Kind regards,
Town of View Royal | 45 View Royal Avenue | Victoria, BC V9B 1A6 Phone: 250.479.6800 viewroyal.ca | Facebook | Bluesky
Visit engage.viewroyal.ca to participate in our Community Growth survey. The survey will be available online until March 31, 2025.
Message from Volker Dammann - March 11, 2025 (11:08 AM)
From: Volker Dammann Sent: March 11, 2025 11:08 AM To: Official Community Plan ocp@viewroyal.ca Cc: Sid Tobias sidtobiasviewroyal@gmail.com Subject: Re: OCP enquiry via Engage View Royal / Community Growth Survey
Hello,
Thank you for your detailed response to my previous note.
While I understand your intentions, I believe that the demographic questions are not pertinent to the OCP effort. Furthermore, I am concerned that their analysis and interpretation may be complex, costly, and potentially misleading.
The Town has limited resources available to OCP, or otherwise, to alter the existing composition of the first-language spoken, birth region, income, and age, etc… distribution of the various neighborhoods. This is unless OCP seeks to designs and create “enclaves/sections” for specific demographic groups in the Town, which I am confident is not the case. OCP is a forward-looking vision and not a policy documents.
Please explain how the following hypothetical scenario would be relevant and utilized for OCP development: I am over 60 years of age, have a postgraduate degree, am female, belong to a high-income bracket, was born in Eastern Europe, and English is not my primary language at home.
Demographic data can be sourced from Census data, eliminating the need for the community to reinvent the wheel.
Please don’t try to control, what you cannot control.
I maintain my position that these questions are not appropriate for this, or any other OCP questionnaire.
I also reserve the right to bring this issue to the attention of council, just to have it on record and made public.
Regards, Volker Dammann
Message from Official Community Plan - March 11, 2025 (10:00 AM)
On Mar 11, 2025, at 10:00, Official Community Plan ocp@viewroyal.ca wrote:
Hello Mr. Dammann,
Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns regarding the demographic questions in our survey.
The purpose of including demographic questions is to ensure that we are hearing from a broad and diverse range of voices within our community. These questions help us understand who is participating in the survey and whether certain groups are underrepresented in the responses. This, in turn, allows us to adjust our engagement efforts to ensure that all perspectives, especially those that may be less commonly heard, are considered in decision-making.
The demographic information collected is used to analyze trends in groups, not to identify individuals. It is also not used for profiling based on race, age, or any other characteristic. Instead, it helps us identify trends, gaps in engagement, and barriers that may prevent full participation in civic processes.
All demographic questions in this survey are entirely voluntary. Respondents can choose which questions they wish to answer, or they may skip this section altogether. There is no requirement to provide any personal information beyond what individuals are comfortable sharing when completing the survey.
Municipal governments have a responsibility to ensure that all residents, business owners, and other community members (regardless of background) have an equitable opportunity to provide input on matters that affect them. Without demographic data, we risk making decisions based on an incomplete or skewed understanding of community needs.
I hope this explanation clarifies our intentions.
Kind Regard,
Town of View Royal | 45 View Royal Avenue | Victoria, BC V9B 1A6 Phone: 250.479.6800 viewroyal.ca | Facebook | Bluesky
Visit engage.viewroyal.ca to participate in our Community Growth survey. The survey will be available online until March 31, 2025.
Message from Volker Dammann - March 10, 2025 (7:30 PM)
-----Original Message----- From: Volker Dammann Sent: March 10, 2025 7:30 PM To: Official Community Plan ocp@viewroyal.ca Cc: Sid Tobias sidtobiasviewroyal@gmail.com Subject: OCP enquiry via Engage View Royal / Community Growth Survey
Hello,
I am writing to express my concern regarding the inclusion of questions about race, language, income, and other specific socio-economic data in this survey.
Knowing respondents’ “resident” status and, potentially, “ownership” status would be sufficient for the purposes of this survey. However, the inclusion of these questions raises concerns about potential racial, income, and age-profiling.
Such questions should never have been included in this survey or any other municipal survey. They are likely to alienate potential respondents and undermine the survey’s credibility.
I would be happy to discuss this further if necessary.
Sincerely, Volker Dammann
Harbour District, VR
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