Thoughts on BC Politics and More

If a group feels that its rights have been unreasonably restricted, then it is free to challenge those restrictions in court. Recent weeks have seen claims made in Victoria about whether there is a right to hold protests in the streets and whether the city is obligated to facilitate such protests. What does the law say about this? Three sources of law are relevant ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Growing up in Gordon Head, every neighbourhood had that one weird kid. You know the type — the one who insisted on being “different” in all the wrong ways. The kid who refused to bathe, dressed differently than everyone else and seemed to take pride in breaking every unspoken rule of decency. While they weren’t “hated,” they didn’t have many friends and other kids would keep their distance. You might have to interact with them at school or pass them on your walk home, but you always did so carefully and reluctantly — never letting their chaos spill over into your life. In our region, Victoria has become that kid ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

As of September 1, 2025, the Urgent Pediatric Assessment Clinic (UPAC) at Victoria General Hospital (VGH) will close down for an unspecified amount of time. The clinic was set up in 2019 to rapidly match children with an appropriate specialist and reduce wait times, but the clinic’s pediatricians were facing burnout and are now renegotiating a contract with Island Health. “Why is it that under this government we always arrive at another closure or interruption of service? In this case, contract negotiations should have happened before any kind of service cancellation. But now, referrals to the UPAC already ended as of August 15th,” said Dr. Anna Kindy, MLA for North Island and Shadow Minister for Health. “The lack of forethought, planning, and accountability by the health authority is again evident. Why wasn’t a contract ready? Who is accountable for this?” “Sick children can deteriorate quickly, and in pediatric medicine, appropriate diagnosis must be done in a timely manner. That’s w...

... it’s perplexing to me to see Victoria’s chief of police having to launch a deep undercover operation to figure out that there are drug dealers on the 900-block of Pandora. Anyone who has eyes in their head can see that — that’s no surprise. I’m a 70-year-old man who occasionally picks up coffee at McDonald’s on that block. I can see it happening without being undercover. If I were a drug dealer, that’s where I’d set up ... CLICK HERE for the full commentary

Victoria Coun. Krista Loughton is pushing for B.C. Housing to prioritize finding supportive housing for those sleeping in doorways and on sidewalks downtown. She also wants Island Health to assign an outreach worker who can refer those who need treatment to complex care or whatever health service they require ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

The statue of Sir John A. Macdonald was removed from Victoria city hall in 2018 The Conservative Party of British Columbia, under the leadership of John Rustad, proudly announces a bold new initiative aimed at uniting Canada through the development of a transcontinental pipeline. Drawing inspiration from Sir John A. Macdonald's vision of national unity through the Canadian Pacific Railway, this modern infrastructure project seeks to connect provinces, bolster the economy, and reaffirm Canada's commitment to nation-building. “Just as Macdonald built a railway to unify a young country, it’s BC’s time to push for a new pipeline to unify Canada,” said  John Rustad, Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia. "It's time to reignite the spirit of unity and progress that has defined Canada since its inception." Key Objectives of the Pipeline Initiative: National Unity: Strengthen ties between provinces by facilitating the efficient transport of resourc...

Politicians and non-profit leaders responded this week to a national story pointing to Pandora Avenue in Victoria as one of the largest open-air drug markets in Western Canada. The Globe and Mail feature on fentanyl — the opioid responsible for most drug deaths in BC — painted the 900-block of Pandora as stinking of urine and littered with trash, lined with semi-unconscious people and shuttered businesses, and so marked by violence and chaos that area condo owners can’t sell their way out. In response to that portrayal of the underbelly of postcard-perfect Victoria — twice voted Condé Nast’s No. 1 small city in the world — BC Conservative Leader John Rustad in question period Monday demanded treatment-focused housing that “bans these deadly drugs and restores law and order to communities like Victoria" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Housing providers need better tools to stop criminal elements creeping into supportive housing and taking advantage of a vulnerable population, says Victoria’s top cop, who argues police should be more involved in the early stages of housing decisions. Chief Del Manak, giving his final quarterly report to council before his retirement this year, said he wants to see the province strengthen the Residential Tenancy Act so operators can keep criminals out of supportive-housing facilities. “When you have safety compromised, that has to trump most other things,” Manak said. “[Housing providers] are asked to do a very difficult job. If they’re asking … [for] tools to help keep their location safe, keep their staff safe and keep residents safe, then we need to be listening to what their concerns are and working with them and giving them the tools they’re asking for" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Democracy and climate activists staged sit-ins Friday morning at the BC Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions in Victoria and Premier David Eby’s Vancouver office, calling on the provincial government to reject the US-backed Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline. Savannah Barret, the Vancouver Island organizer for Dogwood BC ... said the project was first approved in 2014 when environmental assessments were different from what they are today. "We're echoing the calls from Indigenous sovereign nations that want a modern environmental assessment for this project, and that it should not proceed without that," she said ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

... finally, there was a devastating critique by the chiefs of the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations. They revealed the board has been treating them with the same indifferent disdain that it has for everyone else who is concerned about the decision. “The board has failed repeatedly to listen from a place of humility, openness and mutual respect,” wrote the chiefs, citing the fact an experienced, trusted Indigenous liaison RCMP officer has been pulled from schools. Those are some of the elements that led Education Minister Lisa Beare to put the Greater Victoria School District’s board of education on notice Friday ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Music programs, elementary-school counsellors and learning-support teachers are among the areas where trustees have made cuts in the Greater Victoria School District’s $318-million budget. Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association president Ilda Turcotte said the trustees had “a difficult task” in their efforts to produce a balanced budget as required by the province, since they were facing a $6-million deficit in the 2024-25 budget. She said funding from the provincial government isn’t enough ... CLICK HER E for the full story

A commentary by a Victoria city councillor. To the residents and taxpayers of Victoria, let this be your (un)official notice of motion regarding the 25 per cent pay increase voted on by the majority of Victoria council on March 14. On that day, you didn’t get the courtesy of seeing the motion (an amendment to be precise) that took everyone by surprise . . . . CLICK HERE for the full commentary

Saanich resident Eric Roberts was one of many seniors in Victoria General Hospital this month — the only difference being he spent nine of his 10 days there in hallways. Roberts, a retiree-turned potter, was admitted to hospital on Feb. 24 for a series of infections and subsequent delirium. He was discharged on March 4. “I was moved three times to different locations to accommodate bathroom accessibility for in-coming patients,” Roberts said. For four days, he was parked by a garbage room. On another day, his food tray was moved seven times for hallway traffic. And for one blessed day he had a room with a TV and some privacy . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

The District of Saanich is adding its voice to a growing chorus calling for the return of police-liaison officers in the Greater Victoria School District 61. Council voted unanimously Monday night to have Mayor Dean Murdock write a letter to the head of the Greater Victoria School District requesting reinstatement of the program. Copies of the letter will be sent to the province, First Nations and the neighbouring municipalities of Oak Bay, Victoria, Esquimalt and View Royal that have schools in the district . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

As the mental health and addictions crisis continues to wreak havoc on cities across BC, one frustrated Victoria business leader is calling for a rethink of the provincial mental health strategy – even if that means pulling people off the street and putting them in care against their will. “We have to take a look at the idea of involuntary care for some of these people who are no longer in a position to be able to care for themselves or make the right decision,” said Bruce Williams, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

When BC human rights ­commissioner Kasari Govender strongly urged all BC school trustees to shut down school police-liaison programs, she included a condition. “Unless and until they can demonstrate an evidence-based need for them that cannot be made through other services …[or] until the impact of these programs can be established empirically.” Victoria Police Chief Del Manak has now gone public with concerns about intensified and deeply concerning gang ­activities around city schools . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

A dozen units of subsidized housing have been sitting empty for months in Victoria while the operator awaits funding approval for renovations. Pacifica Housing says it’s ­facing a shortfall of more than $2 million from BC Housing, making it challenging to provide the desperately needed units. Carolina Ibarra, Pacifica’s CEO, said there’s been a lot of focus on creating new units to address the affordable-housing shortage, but it’s frustrating that red tape is preventing existing units from being occupied ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Another medical clinic in the capital region will soon close due to a physician shortage, leaving nearly 4,000 patients without a family doctor in the new year. Shelbourne Medical Clinic, located beside Hillside shopping centre in Victoria, will permanently close on March 31, 2024. Dr. Lorne Verhulst, 69, is retiring next year after 45 years — about half that time as a front-line clinician. He said he’s worried about what will happen with his patients ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The homeless are assumed to be universally dysfunctional, drug-addicted, criminal half-wits; therefore, the only housing I was able to find is “supportive housing” in a former hotel. ... Some of us have never used drugs or drink, broken any laws or made “bad choices” — unless turning to farming full-time when denied good employment because of rampant sexism counts as a “bad choice.” As for being “lazy” and “not wanting to work”: I did not get my three titanium joints by watching a television set. A lifelong farmer, I lost my home and my prize-winning herd almost five years ago. I am now one of the fortunate “housed.” I thought some might be interested in what this is like ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The Tiny Town village adjacent to Royal ­Athletic Park has been sold, but is expected to stay in Victoria. The 30-unit community of shipping ­containers that has provided temporary ­housing for those at risk of homelessness for the past two years ... ... Ceacero confirmed that the ­village has been sold, but would not say who bought it or where it is going. “I do believe that announcements will be made shortly, as we are coming to the end of the project, but it is staying in the region and is staying, ­actually, in Victoria,” she said. Ceacero said the dismantling of Tiny Town will start immediately and then it will be moved to its new site ... CLICK HERE for the full story