Teunis Westbroek Questionnaire

Misleading

1. Eaglecrest

   “The current $21.2-million project plan is intended to be funded through anticipated Eaglecrest land sales and a $2.125-million private donation, without impact on taxation.”

   Misleading That is the Town’s stated plan. But its own budget bylaw schedules $1.23 million less in land sales than the project needs, and $2.86 million of street-main work was moved out of the project onto Town reserves.

   • The budget bylaw counts on $17,841,600 in land sales plus the $2,125,000 donation. That is $1,233,200 short of the $21,199,800 budget. Staff’s own June 2026 presentation put land sales at $19,074,800.
   • The $2,863,000 for water and storm mains on Eaglecrest Drive was taken out of the project in June 2026 and moved to the Town’s asset management reserves. In July the Town applied for a federal grant of $1,082,000 toward the work; none has been approved.
   • Before the purchase, the Eaglecrest Drive watermain was an ordinary water project, paid from the water reserve, and the storm main depended on a grant. So moving them back is partly a return to how they were first funded, but it means the Town, not land sales, pays for them.
   • The $2 million provincial grant used for the purchase had been set aside for Saahtlam Park, pickleball courts, the bus garage and workplace modernization.
   On this site:

   • Paying the reserves back
   • The full Eaglecrest budget
   • Which funds had rules attached
   • The $2.125 million donation

   Sources: Financial Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 921.01 (adopted Jul 15, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach); 2026–2030 Financial Plan (adopted Apr 1, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Jun 24, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council minutes, Jul 23, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council agenda and staff reports, Sep 9, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); 2025–2029 Financial Plan (Town of Qualicum Beach)

2. Eaglecrest

   “If land-sale revenues were delayed or below projections, Council has other options, including temporary use of available reserves, adjusting the timing of expenditures and reprioritizing future project components […]”

   Misleading Those options exist, and the plan already relies on them. But the reserves have already lent $6.5 million to Eaglecrest, and staff say the biggest ones left are underfunded.

   • Eaglecrest took $6.5 million from reserves, surplus and a grant. To pay for it, Council pushed back 33 strategic-initiative items by a year or until the Strategic Initiatives Reserve is repaid from land sales.
   • Staff say the water reserve is too low and the asset replacement reserve is underfunded. Community groups were turned down for the same reasons.
   • The Town’s 2025 audited statements show the Strategic Initiatives Reserve overdrawn at year end (−$21,200), and the property reserve down from $1.23 million to $80,374.
   • The budget counts on $6.82 million from land sales in 2026. No sale was complete by mid-September. The Town’s September 2026 FAQ says reserves can cover this year’s costs, and that $5.87 million of the budget waits on land sales before it is spent.
   On this site:

   • Where the purchase money came from
   • What is left in the reserves
   • The projects pushed back
   • What staff say about the reserves
   • Reasons given to community groups

   Sources: Special Council minutes, Jul 23, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council agenda and deferral lists, Jul 23, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Committee of the Whole agenda and scoping sheets, Nov 12, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); 2025 Audited Financial Statements (Town of Qualicum Beach); 2026–2030 Financial Plan (adopted Apr 1, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Eaglecrest Project FAQ, Sep 14, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach)

3. Eaglecrest

   “I would not support rushing land sales in an unfavourable market simply to meet an artificial timetable.”

   Misleading Not rushing a sale is a fair position. But the timetable he calls artificial is his Council’s own: he voted for it in July 2026, and slower sales delay the reserve repayments and the projects waiting on them.

   • The budget bylaw he voted for on July 15, 2026 counts on $6,824,800 from Eaglecrest land sales in 2026, $5,483,400 in 2027 and $5,533,400 in 2028. It carried 4–1.
   • The Financial Plan repays the reserves in 2027 and 2028 from those sales, and the strategic initiatives Eaglecrest pushed back wait on that money. Slower sales mean a longer wait for them.
   On this site:

   • Paying the reserves back
   • What is waiting on land sales

   Sources: Financial Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 921.01 (adopted Jul 15, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Jul 15, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); 2026–2030 Financial Plan (adopted Apr 1, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach)

4. Eaglecrest

   “I have also seen no evidence to date that reopening Eaglecrest will undermine Memorial Golf Course.”

   Misleading That’s true, but only because no one has looked. The Town has done no analysis of Eaglecrest’s effect on the Memorial course, which already relies on Town support.

   • The question asked whether he would get an analysis before signing an Eaglecrest lease. He didn’t say.
   • In 2024 Council committed up to $350,000 as the Town’s half of a new bridge on the Memorial course, waived $76,000 in rent during the Town’s culvert work, and offered the club a loan of up to $350,000. In December 2025 it declined the club’s $398,000 irrigation request. The Town now owns both courses.
   • Staff noted the Memorial club’s membership fees are well below those at Pheasant Glen and Morning Star.
   • A freedom-of-information request for any study of the new nine holes, or their effect on Memorial, found one record: a 10-year cash-flow sheet for the Town and the operator. It says nothing about Memorial. The amounts are blacked out, but the Town’s 10-year “return on investment” shows a minus sign.
   On this site:

   • Before Eaglecrest: the other golf course
   • The irrigation request

   Sources: Regular Council minutes, Jan 17, 2024 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Feb 7, 2024 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council minutes, Dec 17, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Committee of the Whole agenda and scoping sheets, Nov 12, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Eaglecrest cash-flow projection, the only record found on the second course’s effect (released under FOI-2026-40; published by Town Hall Math) (Town of Qualicum Beach)

5. Transparency

   “With Eaglecrest, approximately 900 survey responses were received and more than 500 people attended an open house before the purchase proceeded.”

   Misleading The numbers are right. But the survey came after the funding plan, offered no option to oppose the purchase, and at the one formal hearing, speakers opposed the rezoning 34 to 4.

   • He offers the survey as proof the public was involved, and staff told Council it showed a positive view. Its first question offered “excited,” “concerned” or “unsure.” 22.5% chose “concerned,” but there was no option to say the Town should not buy.
   • No question mentioned the $8.5 million price, where the money would come from, taxes, or the projects already pushed back to pay for it. Council approved that funding plan seven weeks before the survey opened.
   • Of the 835 people who gave their age, 63% were 65 or older and 70 were under 45. Anyone with the link could answer.
   • At the October 6, 2025 public hearing, 34 speakers opposed the rezoning and 4 supported it, by our count from the meeting video. Some who opposed the rezoning supported the Town owning the land.
   On this site:

   • What the survey asked
   • What residents told Council

   Sources: Eaglecrest Golf Course Survey Results (short answers) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council agenda and staff reports, Oct 22, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Public hearing minutes, Oct 6, 2025 (Eaglecrest OCP and zoning amendments) (Town of Qualicum Beach)

6. Transparency

   “I do not agree with the suggestion that significant initiatives during this term have simply proceeded outside Council’s strategic priorities or without public involvement.”

   Misleading The Town says Eaglecrest touches all six focus areas, and there was public input. But Eaglecrest wasn’t in the strategic plan, and paying for it pushed the plan’s initiatives back a year or more.

   • The July 2025 funding plan moved 33 strategic-initiative items back, including the seniors’ centre study and the accessibility plan. The same motion pushed back the tree bylaw update.
   • The tree bylaw update was pushed back again in December 2025, citing Eaglecrest workload.
   • The purchase contract is dated June 26, 2025, before any public consultation. It was conditional on consultation and rezoning. The environmental reports have still not been published, and the contract itself became public only through a freedom-of-information request in September 2026.
   • He did not address the health-care donation: $400,000 from developer contributions, approved at a special meeting on July 31, 2026.
   On this site:

   • The 33 initiatives pushed back
   • Tree Protection Bylaw update
   • What the public hasn’t seen
   • Seniors Activity Centre study
   • The accessibility plan

   Sources: Special Council minutes, Jul 23, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council agenda and deferral lists, Jul 23, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council minutes, Dec 17, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council agenda, Nov 20, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council agenda, Jul 31, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Qualicum Beach commits $400K to Primrose Medical Centre (Sep 10, 2026) (Parksville Qualicum Beach News)

7. Community funding

   “I believe the current level of Town support for community and nonprofit organizations is fairly distributed.”

   Misleading Fairness is a judgment. But this term, ten community requests asked for $431,054 and got $105,600, while in 2023 and 2024 alone the Town put $431,000 into its Memorial golf course.

   • The Memorial golf course got up to $350,000 as the Town’s half of a bridge on Town land, $76,000 in waived rent during the Town’s culvert work and $5,000 for trees, plus the offer of a loan of up to $350,000. Every vote was unanimous. It also has the second-largest tax exemption in town: $58,798 a year in all property taxes, $28,625 of it the Town’s share.
   • Over the same term, The Old School House asked for $75,000 a year and got $50,000 once. St. Stephen’s asked for $20,000 a year and got $10,000 once. Eaglecrest’s budget is $21.2 million.
   • Community groups get support in kind too. In 2026, 26 organizations had permissive tax exemptions on 31 properties, worth $648,751 in property taxes, $305,503 of it the Town’s share. They include service clubs, churches, housing, arts, sports and heritage groups.
   • The Mayor voted against co-signing a grant application for the free Community Cup, which asked for no Town money. In 2023 he moved to cut the Oceanside track request from $71,200 to $18,600, bringing the Town’s total for the track to $75,000, and moved to redirect the Nanaimo Rent Bank money to the Regional District’s grant process.
   On this site:

   • Every request and project, by area
   • What the Memorial course got
   • The Old School House
   • Oceanside Community Cup
   • Oceanside track
   • Nanaimo Rent Bank
   • St. Stephen’s
   • Permissive tax exemptions

   Sources: Regular Council minutes, Feb 8, 2023 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Jan 17, 2024 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Feb 7, 2024 (Town of Qualicum Beach); 2026–2030 Financial Plan (adopted Apr 1, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Jan 21, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council minutes, Dec 17, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, May 24, 2023 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Jun 14, 2023 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council agenda, Jul 31, 2026 (health care contribution) (Town of Qualicum Beach)

8. Finances

   “According to our financial statements and auditors’ reports, Qualicum Beach remains in a strong financial position.”

   Misleading Debt is low and the books are clean. But the auditors said the statements are accurate, not that the Town is strong, reserves fell sharply in 2025, and staff say key ones are underfunded.

   • A clean audit opinion means the statements are fairly presented. It is not a verdict on financial health. The “strong” wording came from the Town’s finance director.
   • Debt is low ($2.2 million) and cash was $22.9 million at the end of 2025. But staff say the water and asset replacement reserves are underfunded, and water pipe renewals have been deferred.
   • In 2025 cash fell from $28.1 million to $22.9 million, and total reserves from $18.9 million to $11.9 million. The year’s surplus includes $6.6 million of one-time Eaglecrest donations. The budget bylaw plans $12.8 million in new borrowing in 2027 and 2028.
   On this site:

   • Behind the infrastructure numbers
   • Water pipe renewals

   Sources: Audit shows Qualicum Beach in strong financial position (Jun 9, 2026) (Parksville Qualicum Beach News); 2025 Audited Financial Statements (Town of Qualicum Beach); Committee of the Whole agenda and scoping sheets, Nov 12, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Financial Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 921.01 (adopted Jul 15, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach)

9. Regional District

   “Too many buses are operating with significant numbers of empty seats.”

   Misleading No route figures are public, and what is on record points the other way. Regional ridership is rising, and the plans he voted for, and reported on in 2022, aim to grow it.

   • Regional District of Nanaimo transit rose from 3.1 million rides in 2022–23 to 3.6 million in 2023–24. We found no figures for Qualicum Beach routes.
   • In February 2022, as a councillor reporting from the Regional District’s Transit Select Committee, he told Council the goal was to raise ridership from 2.7 million to 13.5 million in about a decade, with park and ride, on-demand service and more direct routes.
   • In March 2026 the Mayor moved to invite the Regional District to present to Council on transit. The April 22 minutes record the presentation, including free fares for riders 18 and under, but no concern about empty buses.
   • In December 2025 he voted for the new Official Community Plan, adopted unanimously. As presented to Council, it commits the Town to shift trips from cars to transit and “to support improvements to the transit service, evaluate and monitor demands for transit and adjust service accordingly.” The review he asks for fits the last part; cutting service does not fit the first.
   • Across the Council and Committee of the Whole minutes for this term, we found no motion or vote on bus stops or bus shelters. At a November 2023 meeting on the Town’s Age-Friendly Transportation Plan, which the Mayor chaired, a resident asked for bus stops in the Eaglecrest and Chartwell neighbourhoods. The minutes record no response.
   • In January 2023, Councillor Skipsey, the Town’s alternate on the Regional District board, suggested Council invite the Regional District to present its transit strategy, with a chance for public input. That presentation came in April 2026.

   Sources: Ridership on the rise in the Nanaimo region (BC Transit); Regular Council minutes, Feb 2, 2022 (Regional District transit report; Standards of Conduct approved) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Mar 4, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Apr 22, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Dec 10, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council agenda, Nov 20, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Committee of the Whole minutes, Nov 15, 2023 (Age-Friendly Transportation Plan) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Jan 18, 2023 (Town of Qualicum Beach)

Accurate

1. Transparency

   “Council established six focus areas based on the vision in the Official Community Plan: housing, good governance, economic prosperity, community health and well-being, climate action and progressive infrastructure.”

   Accurate The Town’s strategic plan lists exactly these six.

   Sources: Strategic Planning (Town of Qualicum Beach)

2. Community funding

   “In 2026, the Town and its community partners supported approximately 20 special events, including Family Day, the Grad Parade, Show ’n Shine, Beach Day and Moonlight Madness.”

   Accurate The Financial Plan lists exactly 20 events for 2026, including all five he names.

   • Events run by community groups fared worse. Several had their requests cut or refused.
   On this site:

   • Community & events requests
   • Every event sponsorship and vote

   Sources: 2026–2030 Financial Plan (adopted Apr 1, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach)

3. FireSmart

   “In 2024, the Town worked with a registered professional to complete a Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan for publicly owned lands.”

   Accurate Council adopted the plan on June 26, 2024, paid for by a provincial FireSmart grant.

   Sources: Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan (Town of Qualicum Beach)

4. Public input

   “[R]esidents can […] participate in Committee of the Whole meetings where members of the gallery are invited to express their views.”

   Accurate Town-hall style Committee of the Whole meetings with public Q&A began in 2025.

   • The question asked about comment on agenda items before a decision. He supports the next Council reviewing that.
   • The current rule dates from October 2020, when he was a councillor. He moved the amendment that replaced spoken comments at Council meetings with written comments sent in after the meeting.
   On this site:

   • Mischa Oak’s claim on the same point

   Sources: Qualicum Beach introduces new ‘town hall’ style committee meetings (Feb 8, 2025) (Parksville Qualicum Beach News); Regular Council minutes, Oct 7, 2020 (Comments from the Public) (Town of Qualicum Beach)

5. FireSmart

   “[T]he Town hired an Assistant Fire Chief of Prevention in April 2025. […] This includes obtaining provincial FireSmart grants for 2024, 2025 and 2026.”

   Accurate The position is real and grant-funded. Council created it in July 2024, and the Town won a provincial wildfire grant in 2023 and applied for $151,493 more for 2025 and 2026. We found no record of the April 2025 start date.

   • In July 2024 Council added a permanent Assistant Fire Chief of Prevention to act as the Town’s FireSmart and Wildfire Resiliency Coordinator, partly paid by provincial FireSmart funding for 2025 and 2026.
   • A September 2024 staff report says the Town was awarded $71,980 under the same provincial program in 2023. It paid for the wildfire plan, fuel treatment plans and public education. The 2024 application was for $79,915 in 2025 and $71,577 in 2026.

   Sources: Special Council minutes, Jul 10, 2024 (Assistant Fire Chief of Prevention position) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council agenda, Sep 11, 2024 (FireSmart grant application; Accessibility Plan, pp. 170–173) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Sep 11, 2024 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Our Team (Qualicum Beach Fire Rescue)

Couldn’t verify

1. Community funding

   “We have also developed a strong relationship with Qualicum First Nation.”

   Not verified The Town’s ties with the Nation grew this term: a budget line, consultation on projects, and the Mayor’s own meetings with Chief Recalma. Whether the relationship is strong is for the Nation to say, and we found nothing public from Qualicum First Nation either way.

   • In 2025 Council added a budget line, “Collaboration – Qualicum First Nation and Saa’men,” at $15,000 a year. In December 2025 it voted unanimously to keep $15,000 in each of 2026 and 2027.
   • Little of it has been spent. In 2025, $2,300 went to a donation to the Kidney Foundation on behalf of Chief Recalma, for his “gift of knowledge and input on Town projects,” and to waiting-room chairs for the Nation’s medical clinic. By mid-2026, $3,000 had gone to artwork by a Qualicum First Nation member, displayed at the Memorial golf club. In October 2025 staff wrote that progress “is dependent on future Council decision making.”
   • The Town consults the Nation on some projects. A December 2025 staff report says Qualicum First Nation was consulted on the Little Qualicum riverbank stabilization in March 2024 and remains supportive.
   • The Mayor’s reports record a January 2026 meeting with Chief Recalma and the Island Corridor CEO about a new cenotaph. In May 2026 he joined the Nation’s annual walk for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ People.
   • In March 2026 he moved to replace the teepee on the Town crest with a design made with Qualicum First Nation, inspired by the totem pole at the Qualicum Beach Museum, as Chief Recalma had suggested. Council postponed the motion unanimously, with no date. We found no record of it coming back.
   • We found no formal agreement between the Town and the Nation, such as a protocol agreement or memorandum of understanding.

   Sources: Regular Council agenda, Jan 22, 2025 (draft 2025–2029 Financial Plan) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council minutes, Dec 17, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council minutes, Jul 23, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council agenda and staff reports, Oct 22, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council agenda and staff reports, Sep 9, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council agenda and staff summary, Dec 17, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council agenda, Feb 11, 2026 (Mayor’s report, p. 153) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council agenda, May 13, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Mar 25, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach)

Teunis Westbroek’s record in office

• 2021–2023 · Lawsuit

  Defamation lawsuit

  Settled for $130,000 with a public apology.

• 2021 · Council censure

  Council censure

  For asking staff to destroy bullying-finding records.

Everything on Teunis Westbroek

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