The soon-to-be-vacated Hudson’s Bay store in downtown Victoria could become a civic forum where people could gather to discuss, debate and engage
Trevor Hancock and Gene Miller
23 March 2025
701 words
With the presumed closing soon of the Hudson’s Bay store at Government and Fort, it seems we are about to lose a key anchor of the Bay Centre. We will be left with a large empty space on a prime corner at the heart of downtown.
But in every crisis lies an opportunity, and we see one in this closure. As readers of our columns will know, an important part of what binds the two of us together is an interest in the need for engaging people in co-designing our shared future.
For Trevor, this is embodied in the idea of Conversations for a One Planet Region (COPR). In the past COPR organised an ongoing series of monthly conversations on various aspects of the concept of a One Planet region – that is, a region with an ecological footprint around 75 – 80 percent smaller than our current footprint.
For Gene, this is embodied in his thoughts about a Centre for Co-design of the Future, which he discussed in a recent Sunday Islander column. One of the Centre’s purposes would be to conceive and disseminate fresh models of mutually beneficial “partnerships” between official municipal interests and citizens promoting community-driven initiatives. He reasons this makes particular sense in tough financial and social times, like our own.
Together we are committed to finding a way to engage people across the Greater Victoria Region in conversations about the future, about creating the sort of place, the sort of community we want this region to be, about governance for wellbeing for this and future generations.
These are much more significant discussions than those underway right now about the possible amalgamation of Victoria and Saanich. They need to take account of a number of “long emergencies”—trends and their eventualities that receive little attention in the busy short term and then, at some point, show up with enormous force. “Why,” we wonder, “didn’t we do a better job of planning for this?”
So instead of discussing amalgamation of just a couple of municipalities, what if we were to take a big breath and a big step back and have conversations about how a region like ours should be managed in the 21st century? What if our aim, separate from matters of political jurisdiction, was to ensure everyone, including future generations, has a good quality of life while we restore our environment and live within planetary boundaries? What should the structure and process of “wellbeing governance” be for the region as a whole if this was our goal? Shouldn’t we be talking about this?
This is where the soon-to-be-vacated Bay comes in. The Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver opened in 2000 with a mandate to foster shared understanding and positive action through dialogue and engagement. It has sparked interest in and supported participatory and deliberative democracy that “has the potential to renew democracy in the 21st Century” – exactly what we want to happen here in this region.
So why not re-purpose the former Hudson’s Bay as a Centre for Dialogue. It could be the hub for Conversations, a Centre for the Co-design of the Future, a base for the Victoria Forum (a joint initiative of the Senate of Canada and UVic) and others. The ground floor in particular, with access to Government and Fort, would be a great venue for a sort of civic forum or agora where people could come together to discuss, debate and engage in making this a region where everyone can enjoy a good quality of life while respecting nature and living within the Earth’s limits.
Who would fund it? We don’t know, but there is wealth in this city looking for a significant cause or project, and sponsorship of this proposal would create a great legacy, perhaps a gift through the Victoria Foundation. Or maybe LaSalle Investment Management, the owners of the Bay Centre, could earn a large charitable tax credit by leasing all or part of it to the region for $1 a year. We are sure there are many good ideas and potential contributors out there. We are just planting the seed to attract interest.
Who wants to help us grow the Victoria Centre for Dialogue?
© Trevor Hancock, 2025
© Gene Miller, 2025
Dr. Trevor Hancock is a retired professor and senior scholar at the University of Victoria’s School of Public Health and Social Policy
Gene Miller is the founder of Open Space, founding publisher of Monday Magazine, originator of the Gaining Ground urban sustainability conferences and founder/developer of ASH houseplexes
Dr. Trevor Hancock - Healthy people, healthy communities, a healthy planet 