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The 17-year-old girl who was the subject of a missing person search by Nanaimo RCMP has been found safe.
ORIGINAL POST:
Nanaimo RCMP are asking the public for help to locate a missing 17-year-old who has not been heard from by family members.
Police say Jada Charlie-Carlson has not been seen by her family for approximately one month, which is out of character for her.
Charlie-Carlson lives independently, but the RCMP say her family are concerned with her lifestyle choices and the length of time that they have not heard from her.
Jada Charlie-Carlson is described as an Indigenous female, 5 feet 2 inches tall, 115 pounds, with long brown hair that she often lightens with highlights.
Anyone who has information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345 and quote file # 2020-41713.
North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP are increasing their patrols near Cowichan District Hospital in Duncan after multiple reports of sexual assaults in the area.
In a media release, police said they were informed on Tuesday that several sexual assaults had taken place between Nov. 2 and Nov. 17 near the grounds of the hospital.
RCMP are looking to speak with anyone who has information about these incidents or any victims who have not come forward yet.
North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP say they will be increasing patrols in the area and will increase visibility by using marked police vehicles operated by uniformed officers. Anyone who feels unsafe in the area is also encouraged to reach out to police for assistance.
“It has been circulated that there are multiple victims who haven’t yet spoken to police. They may not know that their evidence could be crucial in identifying a suspect,” said Cpl. Chris Manseau, spokesman for the B.C. RCMP.
Police are working with Island Health as the investigation continues.
Anyone with information about these alleged assaults or other similar incidents at Cowichan District Hospital are asked to call dial 911 or contact North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP at 250-748-5522.
The BC Legislature website was taken offline temporarily due to suspicious activity that was later confirmed to be the work of hackers.
In a statement, the BC Legislature says they became aware of suspicious activity on the Legislative Assembly’s network and took it offline on November 10 out of an abundance of caution while they investigated.
Staff said that the temporary downtime likely caused emails to users with @leg.bc.ca accounts to bounce back as undeliverable and caused other minor disruptions in service.
On Thursday morning, the BC Legislature announced they had concluded an initial investigation and confirmed that there was an unauthorized breach of their servers.
However, the quick decision by IT staff to shut down the network meant they were able to contain the situation and they have found no evidence that personal or legislature data was accessed or lost.
The Legislature says they will be gradually bringing network services back online as quickly as possible while maintaining network security.
The incident occurred shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Friday, November 6th, at the intersection of Gorge Road and Harriet Street.
A young woman who had been cycling was hit by a vehicle and died on the scene from her injuries.
Investigators are asking anyone who was in the vicinity of the intersection between 5:15 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. to contact them.
In particular, police say they are looking for a cyclist who was travelling westbound on Gorge Road towards Harriet Street at the time of the incident, and any other pedestrians or drivers travelling westbound at that time on November 6th.
Anyone with information or with dashcam footage of the incident is asked to call the VicPD non-emergency line at (250) 995-7654, extension 1.
The B.C. Ministry of Health has reported 538 new cases of novel coronavirus in the province on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases to 24,960.
In total, 7,259 of the cases are in the Vancouver Coastal Region, 15,449 in Fraser Health, 429 in Vancouver Island Health region, 1,159 in Interior Health, 564 in Northern Health region, and 92 people whose residence is outside of Canada.
The number of active cases has increased by 68 to 6,929 in B.C.
There are now a total of 217 people in hospital due to COVID-19, 59 of whom are in critical care — ICU or acute care units. More people are now hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C. than there ever have been in the past.
1 additional COVID-related death was reported over the past 24 hours, and the death toll is now at 321.
9,977 people are currently in isolation after exposure to COVID-19 and are monitoring for symptoms.
A total of 17,207 people have recovered from novel coronavirus.
Outbreaks
Six new outbreaks were reported at health care facilities across B.C.
There are now a total of 40 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and 19 acute-care facilities that have active, ongoing outbreaks.
One new community outbreaks were reported in the past 24 hours at BC LNG joint venture in Kitimat.
There remain a number of ongoing COVID-19 exposure sites. B.C. residents are urged to check the BC CDC website for all public alerts about possible exposures to the virus.
Those who may have been exposed are asked to monitor their symptoms, reduce the number of contacts they have, and call 811 to get tested for the virus if they do develop symptoms.
Island Health region
12 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Island Health region on Thursday.
There have been a total of 429 cases of COVID-19 in the region, six of whom have died. Two people in the region are currently in hospital after contracting the virus, one of whom is in ICU.
Island Health reports that as of November 19, there are 118 active cases in the region.
South Vancouver Island Active cases: 28, Total Cases: 146
Central Vancouver Island Active cases: 76, Total Cases: 174
North Vancouver Island Active cases: 14, Total Cases: 109
The COVID-19 case curve in Vancouver Island health region as of November 19 is represented below:
As of Tuesday there had been a total of 1,005,759 novel coronavirus tests conducted across B.C., 115,567 of which were done in the Island Health region.
The BCCDC has set up a 2019 novel coronavirus telephone information line at 1-833-784-4397 for those who have further questions about this disease.
Anyone concerned that they may have been exposed to, or are experiencing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, should contact their primary care provider, local public health office, or call 8-1-1.
The Province has also created the 1-888-COVID-19 line to connect British Columbians needing non-medical information about the pandemic.
As of the time of publication, the total number of COVID-19 patients worldwide has risen to 57,183,334.
Over 1,364,444 people have died from the illness and 39,681,909 have recovered.
BC’s Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has extended lockdown orders that were originally issued for the Lower Mainland to apply to health authorities across the province until at least December 7.
For a little over two weeks, British Columbians are asked to only socialize with their immediate households or core bubbles — individuals like a partner or family member that lives in a different household — and delay social gatherings.
This order extension comes after a surge in COVID-19 cases across all health authorities, including on Vancouver Island. The high caseload has resulted in strains to the province’s health care system as outbreaks and exposures are now spilling over into hospitals, long term care facilities, and schools.
According to Dr. Bonnie Henry, these orders may need to be extended past December 7, depending on whether or not they work to curb transmission rates.
Here’s a breakdown of what this order means and which sectors they target:
Mask mandate
Dr. Henry has asked Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth to issue a mandatory mask requirement for all staff and customers at indoor public and retail spaces, except in food service areas.
Masks must also be worn in shared common spaces inside workplaces, like elevators, hallways and other common areas.
The Provincial Health Officer said she personally believes wearing masks is an individual behaviour choice, but consultations with public and retail sectors led her to seek more explicit direction on mask use.
She says this order will support these sectors in being able to manage their worker safety and address customer issues.
Henry added that now is the time for employers to suspend efforts to get people back in the workplace and focus on supporting work from home arrangements as much as possible.
Community and religious gatherings
Until December 7, community-based social gatherings or events will be suspended, including those with less than 50 people in controlled settings.
This includes places of worship that are to have no in-person group services, as COVID-19 transmission has been detected in churches, gurdwaras, and temples.
Exceptions to these rules include time-limited events like baptisms, weddings and funerals. These exceptions can only have a maximum of 10 people in attendance, with no associated receptions or celebratory gatherings.
Sports and indoor group physical activities
Several types of indoor group physical activities have been suspended across B.C. after they were determined at high risk of transmission, until December 7.
These include high-intensity interval training, hot yoga classes, and group indoor spin class.
Public health officials are working to come up with advanced guidelines for all other indoor group fitness classes. Authorities will close down any studios where transmission events are detected.
COVID-19 transmission has also been detected before and after both indoor and outdoor sports events, during carpooling, on the bench, or among spectators.
As a result, the provincial health officer has ordered no spectators at any indoor or outdoor sporting events, and there is to be no travelling for sports outside of local communities.
Travel and businesses
The order includes a recommendation for British Columbians to curtail all unnecessary, non-essential travel, including for recreation or social activities.
People should stay as much as possible within their local communities for at least the next two weeks.
The order also focuses on businesses and worksites where COVID-19 safety guidelines are not being followed, leading to outbreaks. Transmission is occurring in businesses that range from food processing plants to banks, grocery stores to car dealerships, etc.
Henry said the province has created a Rapid Response Group with regional environmental health officers at the helm to increase proactive inspections of businesses.
These officers have the authority to fine or shut down businesses found to not be complying with their required safety regulations.
No changes to the following
There will be no changes to how schools operate across the province, as Henry says epidemiological data shows COVID-19 transmission is low in schools.
However, a deputy Provincial Health Officer has been tasked with establishing a team in the Lower Mainland to oversee and manage school exposures and outbreaks as quickly as possible.
There will be no changes to how restaurants operate as not much transmission is seen in restaurants that are following workplace safety guidelines.
In particular, there has been no transmission between staff and customers. Clusters in restaurants have usually occurred when staff members socialize with each other.
British Columbians can still visit restaurants as long as they do so with their household or small social circle of six or fewer people.
Personal service businesses like hair salons and nail salons will also be allowed to continue operating. Despite initial concerns, these businesses have been following rules and are not a source of outbreaks.
Grab your Santa hat and hot cocoa, because Westshore Town Centre has a treat for you… one you can enjoy with the whole family from the comfort of your own couch.
In light of recent times, many of the traditional holiday events, parades and celebrations have been cancelled; but not to fret!
Westshore Town Centre is releasing an exclusive Christmas Variety Show dubbed ‘The Love Claus’ that is sure to warm your heart and lift your holiday spirits, and it will be premiering this Sunday, November 22nd at 10 a.m. right on our Facebook page.
And the fun doesn’t stop there!
Keep your eye on the prizes (quite literally) from Westshore Town Centre retailers throughout the show, and you could win ’em all – check out what’s inside the epic $200 Love Claus prize pack we’re giving away:
Doughnuts nestled all snug at Tim Hortons
Leggings and a sweater from Ardene
Pair of movie tickets and snacks for Cineplex
Pair of Christmas stockings from Winners
Holiday blanket from QE Home / Quilts Etc
Elegance Nails gift card
Shoppers Drug Mart gift card
Fairway Market gift card
Box of Purdy’s chocolates
Orangetheory Fitness VIP pass (2 free classes)
The video will feature some of your favourite community groups (Girl Guides!), and acts from gymnasts, dancers and prancers, acrobats and of course their host, the big man in red himself.
CLICK GOING or INTERESTED on the Facebook event page and comment below letting us know once you have (1 entry)
SHARE “The Love Claus” Christmas Variety Special with your family and friends, and let us know in the comment section what your favourite part was! (1 entry)
Contest entries will be accepted from time and date of publishing until 11:59 p.m. PST on December 20th, 2020. One winner will be chosen at random and contacted through the platform they enter within 24 hours of the contest closing. Good luck!
Canada’s first Indigenous-led Coast Guard Auxiliary commenced operations this fall, in the territorial waters of Ahousaht and Heiltsuk First Nations.
The Coastal Nations Coast Guard Auxiliary (CN-CGA) was incorporated in 2018 between five member Nations — Ahousaht, Heiltsuk, Nisga’a, Gitxaala, and Kitasoo — with federal government sponsorship.
“We are excited to welcome all five nations to the CN-CGA team,” said Alex Dick, Chair of CN-CGA.
“I foremost recognize the critical role of First Nation communities as members of the Auxiliary in protecting mariners and coastal communities. They are simply the most experienced stewards of the marine environment and are unquestionably vital to Canada’s marine safety system today.”
Over 50 volunteer members with CN-CGA will be on-call from five rescue stations to respond to marine emergencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in remote coastal areas in B.C.
The Canadian Coast Guard will continue to support CN-CGA with ongoing training in search and rescue, advanced first aid, swift water rescue and safe towing techniques.
Island Health has issued a COVID-19 exposure alert for a school in Victoria.
Members of the school community at Lakeview Christian School located at 729 Cordova Bay Road in Victoria may have been exposed to the virus on November 16.
An ‘exposure’ is defined by Island Health as a single person with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection who attended school during their infectious period.
Six other school exposures or clusters have been reported on Vancouver Island so far this week in Nanaimo and Ladysmith and all have ongoing alerts.
A ‘cluster’ means two or more individuals with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection attended school during their infectious period. These cases may be linked to school-based transmission.
Island Health says staff or students who see the exposure alert notice should not assume they have been exposed to the virus.
Close contacts of the person(s) who tested positive for COVID-19 will be identified and contacted by public health officials.
The missing 21-year-old man who was the subject of a missing persons report by Nanaimo RCMP has been safely found.
ORIGINAL POST:
Nanaimo RCMP are searching for a man who went missing after leaving the hospital without taking his medication.
21-year-old Joshua Yost was reported missing from the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital on November 17 and has not been seen since.
Police say Yost requires daily medication for a significant medical condition. He left the hospital without taking it, and his caregivers are extremely concerned about his well being.
Yost is described as a white man, 6 feet tall, weighing approximately 170 pounds.
He had previously been the subject of a missing person report after going missing on October 30 but was found shortly afterwards.
Anyone who has information on Yost’s whereabouts is asked to contact Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 and quote file # 2020-41635.
A Victoria-based company is changing the way people look at home food waste, and one annual publication says they’re garnering international attention.
TIME Magazine has included Anvy Technologies’ Sepura, the world’s first sustainable food disposal system, in their list of top 100 inventions.
“It’s really great just to get recognized in that group,” said Anvy Technologies CEO Victor Nicolov in an interview with Victoria Buzz.
“We’ve had validation with people placing pre-orders, but it means a lot that people are recognizing this as a product that’s needed.”
Nicolov and his team first started working on Sepura just over two years ago, to create a perfect balance between three existing food waste methods: garburators, green bins, and tossing food in the trash.
“Those were the solutions that we were stuck with,” said Nicolov.
“Sepura was a way to tie all those together. I wanted to bring that to people at home, but still wanted to keep the benefits.”
Anvy Technologies’ patented design connects to an ordinary household kitchen sink, and separates solid food waste from liquids. Solids are redirected to an odorless, sealed bin.
LED indicators inform the user when the bin is full, and at that point the bin can be slid out and placed outside for curbside pickup or otherwise dumped out as compostable waste.
Sepura even has sensors to detect when a tool or utensil is mistakenly dropped down the drain, and is self-cleaning.
Nicolov says it’s a massive improvement on garburators, not only because of the utensil safety feature but because of the problems garburators cause for maintenance.
“We’ve talked to many municipalities before,” he said.
“We know that garburators are a big problem for them. It costs a lot to filter food waste out of the drain.”
Anvy Technologies is trying to break people away from the garburator market, and has set a similar product price for Sepura, at $580 USD, to compete.
Currently, they are offering pre-order discounts of $380 USD until units begin to ship in early 2021. Anvy is hoping that in the future Sepura will come pre-installed on new housing builds, much like dishwashers or refrigerators.
Nicolov, a Victoria local who has lived on the Island since he was seven, says B.C. is uniquely positioned to talk about green issues like food waste with an eye to the future.
“On the west coast here this subject comes up a lot more,” he said.
“BC’s definitely getting ahead, making solutions. It’s a common topic and it came up often in our schools.”
With Sepura’s inclusion on TIME Magazine’s top 100 list, Anvy Technologies is looking ahead to other green tech solutions that don’t break the bank.
Nicolov believes people think that eco-friendly lifestyles and products are at odds with the economy and with personal finances. With Sepura, he’s hoping to show that that isn’t the case.
“It definitely won’t stop with Sepura,” he said.
“What we really want to create are a whole line of products. You know how being healthy or being green is always ‘harder?’ It’s more work or more expensive? What we really want to create with these products is a way to sell green technology as a normal option.”
The City of Victoria has purchased a 12,700 square foot parcel of land that contains a rare Garry oak meadow, and plans to turn it into the city’s newest park.
The meadow, located at the corner of Leighton Road and Bank Street, will be named Agamemnon and Eleni Kasapi Park to honour the family’s preservation of the property.
The City acquired the property for $1 million from its Parks Acquisition Fund and $210,000 from a charitable donation.
The family has donated the proceeds from the sale of the meadow to support two undergraduate scholarships in the Faculty of Science at the University of Victoria.
“It was important to my father who passed away last year that we see the land used in ways that were beneficial to the community, and selling the land to the City ensures it will always be accessible to the community to enjoy,” said Mario Kasapi, in a statement.
“The annual UVic scholarship will also go further and give back to the community for many years to come.”
The new park will be maintained by the city, and features like a wood chip pathway, benches, and signage including information about the Indigenous history of the land will be added.
This acquisition is significant as Garry oak ecosystems are endangered and less than five per cent remain in Canada.
The Retail Council of Canada (RCC) is calling on the province of British Columbia to issue a mandatory mask mandate for indoor public spaces.
In a statement on Wednesday, the RCC said that businesses are bearing the brunt of aggressive customers refusing to wear face coverings.
“When customers refuse to wear masks in stores, it puts workers and other consumers at risk,” the RCC said.
They say that retailers have been following the advice of provincial health officials by incorporating masks into worksafe safety plans, posting signage, and offering free masks to customers.
However, the RCC says other provinces have implemented mandatory mask policies and B.C. needs to follow their lead to protect retail workers.
In Victoria, an incident at local retailer Bolen Books went viral when a group of anti-maskers refused to mask up or leave the store, despite employees offering options for shopping one-on-one mask free at a different time.
In a COVID-19 update on Monday, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry voiced her opposition to a provincial mask mandate, saying enforcement and fines would not make a difference.
“It’s not me who can fine somebody, that’s not what’s going to make a difference here,” Dr. Henry said.
“What’s going to make a difference is that people know clearly the rules and situations that we’re going into.”
She also said that a mandatory mask policy would disproportionately affect marginalized segments of the population, citing the example of fine schemes early in the pandemic that harmed homeless individuals and racial minorities.
“We know that people with disabilities it’s not always clear that they’re not able to put on or take off a mask,” Dr. Henry said.
“We know that racialized communities and people who are homeless, people who are underhoused are more likely to be targeted with fines when we have those types of settings.”
She maintained that the onus is on businesses and organizations, which are all required to have COVID-19 safety plans in accordance with WorkSafeBC guidelines, to make sure mandatory mask rules are in place.
Amid an exponential rise in cases in the province, Dr. Henry and Premier John Horgan said there would be new health orders issued at the COVID-19 update on Thursday.
BC Transit is seeking a contractor to provide new electric buses as they move towards a long-term goal of a zero-emission fleet by 2040.
They have put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide 10 battery-powered 40′ buses for the Victoria Regional Transit System.
The contractor would also need to provide supporting charging equipment and operational systems, and a design-build retrofit for the transit facility at 520 Gorge Road East.
Funding for the winning proposal is being provided by the Government of Canada, the Province of BC, and the Victoria Regional Transit Commission.
BC Transit says they anticipate the 10 new buses would begin operating in Victoria in the summer of 2022.
The provincial transit operator plans to only acquire zero-emission buses after 2028. They are currently moving to replace outdated diesel buses in the Victoria fleet with compressed natural gas vehicles.
The assault occurred in the 900 block of Pandora Ave at around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 15.
VicPD officers arrived to find a man suffering from potentially life-threatening injuries after being stabbed several times.
He was provided medical attention by bystanders until paramedics arrived and transported him to hospital where he remains. His injuries are now considered non-life-threatening.
Police say the suspect fled the area before officers arrived and has not yet been located.
On Monday, VicPD spokesperson Cst. Cam MacIntyre told Victoria Buzz that the attack was targeted, but investigators are still working to determine whether the suspect and the victim knew each other, and to what extent.
The suspect is described as a white man standing 5’10” tall and has light brown or blonde hair and blue eyes.
At the time of the incident, he was wearing a black and red hooded sweater with the hood up, a black and red face mask, and white Nike shoes.
The suspect was seen leaving the scene of the crime on foot and headed eastbound on Pandora Avenue.
Anyone who recognizes the suspect or has information about the incident is asked to contact VicPD at (250) 995-7654. To report what you know anonymously, call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Saanich Police have arrested a 48-year-old massage therapist after an incident of alleged voyeurism was reported earlier this year.
Police are recommending one charge of voyeurism against Gilles-Philippe Lavoie, a masseur who operated out of his clinic—Tone Massage Therapy—in Saanich.
Lavoie was arrested after an incident was reported to Saanich Police on August 10, 2020.
“This is an extremely disturbing incident that is alleged to have occurred and we have provided support to the victim involved,” said Cst. Markus Anastasiades, in a statement.
“We must appreciate and respect the privacy involved here, so we are not sharing any further details of the incident.”
Police believe this was a single incident. Charges have been sworn in court and officers continue to investigate further.
Lavoie submitted his resignation to the College of Massage Therapists of British Columbia on August 28, as a result of the investigation.
According to the resignation notice, he is no longer authorized to practice as a registered massage therapist in British Columbia.
As more British Columbians experience a strain on their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, calls to the Vancouver Island Crisis line have risen too.
“People are becoming more aware that we’re there to support, and to put people in contact with mental health services with whom we’re affiliated throughout the Island,” said Joanne Hogan, office and promotions administrator of Vancouver Island Crisis Society.
Results from a new survey released on Wednesday by the Pacific Blue Cross say that a majority of British Columbians are unaware of mental health services, despite 37 per cent reporting feeling anxious or depressed.
However, 66 per cent are aware of crisis lines, and Hogan says that is reflected in a large number of calls during peak COVID-19 restrictions.
“From March 1 to April 29, we received 1,199 calls pertaining to the pandemic. Most are relating to feelings of anxiety,” she said.
“It was very difficult for people at first because in Phase 1 there was much more isolation. People are experiencing less isolation as things open up, and less anxiety about going out.”
The positive news is that there has been a drop in the number of calls as restrictions have loosened. During the month of October, 160 calls to the Vancouver Island Crisis line were related to the pandemic, comprising only 6 per cent of the total calls placed.
Overall, the Society has experienced a 5 percent rise in call volume compared to this time last year.
The province is starting to see a spike in calls from a second wave of the pandemic that could see renewed restrictions, but Hogan says the Society is better equipped now to handle increased calls.
“As we progress with training personnel, once they’ve moved on to a certain level, some services are available remotely,” she said. “Crisis workers are now able to work from home.”
She also says the Society has seen an increase in volunteers, as people find themselves with more free time.
The Society also recently received a $10,000 donation from the PBC Health Foundation to provide potentially life-saving services to residents on Vancouver Island.
This funding and other donations will help to ensure the crisis line can be properly staffed and respond to mental health crises in a timely manner.
“Crisis lines offer a community ‘safety net,’ playing a huge preventative role when people are in crisis and don’t know where to turn, particularly during a pandemic when we are reducing our social engagements,” said Sandra Boulianne, President, Board of Directors of the Crisis Line Association of BC and Executive Director, Crisis Centre for Northern BC.
The Vancouver Island Crisis Line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-888-494-3888. Text and chat services are also available on vicrisis.ca.
The B.C. Ministry of Health has reported 762 new cases of novel coronavirus in the province on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases to 24,422.
In total, 7,081 of the cases are in the Vancouver Coastal Region, 15,140 in Fraser Health, 417 in Vancouver Island Health region, 1,131 in Interior Health, 553 in Northern Health region, and 92 people whose residence is outside of Canada.
The number of active cases has increased by 272 to 6,861 in B.C.
There are now a total of 209 people in hospital due to COVID-19, 58 of whom are in critical care — ICU or acute care units. More people are now hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C. than there ever have been in the past.
10 additional COVID-related deaths were reported over the past 24 hours, and the death toll is now at 320.
9,871 people are in isolation and being monitored by public health officials after being exposed to COVID-19.
A total of 16,914 people have recovered from novel coronavirus.
Outbreaks
Three new outbreaks were reported at health care facilities across B.C. while one outbreak has been declared over.
There are now a total of 48 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and seven acute-care facilities that have active, ongoing outbreaks.
No new community outbreaks were reported in the past 24 hours.
There remain a number of ongoing COVID-19 exposure sites. B.C. residents are urged to check the BC CDC website for all public alerts about possible exposures to the virus.
Those who may have been exposed are asked to monitor their symptoms, reduce the number of contacts they have, and call 811 to get tested for the virus if they do develop symptoms.
Island Health region
20 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Island Health region on Wednesday.
There have been a total of 417 cases of COVID-19 in the region, six of whom have died. Two people in the region are currently in hospital after contracting the virus, one of whom is in ICU.
Island Health reports that as of November 18, there are 118 active cases in the region.
South Vancouver Island Active cases: 31, Total Cases: 144
Central Vancouver Island Active cases: 71, Total Cases: 165
North Vancouver Island Active cases: 16, Total Cases: 108
The COVID-19 case curve in Vancouver Island health region as of November 18 is represented below:
As of Tuesday there had been a total of 994,615 novel coronavirus tests conducted across B.C., 114,648 of which were done in the Island Health region.
The BCCDC has set up a 2019 novel coronavirus telephone information line at 1-833-784-4397 for those who have further questions about this disease.
Anyone concerned that they may have been exposed to, or are experiencing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, should contact their primary care provider, local public health office, or call 8-1-1.
The Province has also created the 1-888-COVID-19 line to connect British Columbians needing non-medical information about the pandemic.
As of the time of publication, the total number of COVID-19 patients worldwide has risen to 56,502,192.
Over 1,353,400 people have died from the illness and 39,302,779 have recovered.
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… a gift box of Silk Road Tea!
This holiday season,Threshold Housing Society has partnered with Silk Road Tea to create some delicious, feel-good teas – and they’ll warm your heart, too.
With all of the proceeds going towards Threshold, these gift boxes not only make the perfect present for the holiday season, but they also help provide at-risk youth with safe homes this Christmas.
The 12 Tea flavours include Angelwater, Berry Victoria, Beau-tea-ful Skincare, Vanilla Plantation, Mango Shade Imperial Earl Grey, Jade Spring, London Fog, Philosophers Brew, Quench, Sour Cherry, Winter Warrior.
The tea gift boxes are available to purchase online, and can be picked up in downtown Victoria at 1524 Fort Street – office hours are Monday to Friday – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
They can also be ordered over the phone at (250) 383-8830 ext. 1001 – and they will even deliver them right to you, as long as you’re within the Victoria area!
This holiday season, Threshold Housing Society is Shining a Light on Youth Homelessness, and believe that every youth in our community deserves a safe home.
They hope to spread awareness of the work they do and raise funds to continue being able to provide safe housing, support services, and community to at-risk youth.
On any given night, there are over 150 youth who are experiencing homelessness in the Capital Region, with countless more couch surfing or living in unsafe housing situations, and Threshold Housing Society looks to end youth homelessness.
This campaign is supported and sponsored by Coast Capital Savings as well as the Victoria Residential Builders Association.
While several traditional Christmas events have been cancelled due to the pandemic, a new magical 25-minute drive-thru Christmas light experience is coming to town this holiday season.
Victoria Wonderland is a contactless, vehicle-only, drive-thru event that will take place at the cruise ship terminal in Victoria’s historical Breakwater district.
“As our guests drive through an electric extravaganza, they are presented with thousands of lights and immersive visuals, invoking feelings of holiday togetherness and cheer,” the event website reads.
The holiday drive-thru will have visitors remaining in their vehicles as they drive through an immersive LED light tunnel and enter a new world filled with animated lights and holiday grandeur.
According to the event organizers, the 25-minute drive-thru will include larger than life displays, holograms, projection mapping and lasers synchronized to holiday music by local artists that you can connect via bluetooth to your car’s sound system for the best experience.
Tickets are $40 per vehicle but the best part is the proceeds go to several charities including Victoria Hospice, Power to Be, Make a Wish Foundation and Victoria Women’s Transition House.
The new event will run from Dec. 7 to 31 with only a limited number of tickets, with six shows a day and 50 cars per show.
BC Premier John Horgan announced Wednesday morning that he would be contacting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call for a ‘pan-Canadian’ approach to encouraging non-essential travel across the country during the second wave of the pandemic.
The focus of a media availability on November 18 revolved whether travel restrictions are imminent in B.C. and what Horgan plans to ask of the federal government.
Specifically, the Premier said he plans to call on Prime Minister Trudeau to work with Premiers on a national approach to calling on Canadians to stay home and avoid non-essential travel.
When asked about whether there would be any enforcement of non-essential travel rules within B.C. in the meantime — like implementing a 14-day quarantine for non-essential travellers visiting Vancouver Island — Horgan repeated his statement that only essential travel should be taking place at the moment.
“This is not the time to go storm watching on the west coast of Vancouver Island,” he said, while maintaining that in his view, “quarantine on Island may not be the best way forward.”
The decision of whether or not to implement it lies in the hands of Dr. Bonnie Henry and Dr. Richard Stanwick, Island Health Chief Medical Health officer, who originally called for the move.
For his part, Horgan acknowledged that tight travel restrictions among provinces in the Atlantic bubble on the other side of the country have successfully kept case counts low, but said the same is not possible for B.C.
“We have free mobility in Canada, it’s part of our citizenship… [but] we don’t have the ability to do that, we have large borders … we’re focused on international borders,” he said, referring to rising case counts south of the border and the focus on keeping the Canada-U.S. border closed to non-essential travel.
“We want to make sure we have an approach to travel that isn’t inconsistent with Canadian citizenship.”
During the briefing, the Premier also called on citizens in the Fraser Health region, where high COVID-19 case numbers have been driving the second wave of the pandemic in B.C., to amend their behaviours.
Horgan echoed public health officials in urging British Columbians to keep their social circles small and refrain from gathering in large groups at this time.
The Premier also alluded to amendments and new orders to come from the Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, during her regular Thursday press briefing this week.
A sixth school on Vancouver Island now has an ongoing COVID-19 exposure alert in place.
According to Island Health, members of the school community at Alberni District Secondary School in Port Alberni may have been exposed to the virus on November 12 and 13.
This same school also recorded Vancouver Island’s very first school exposure of COVID-19 back in September.
Five other school exposures or clusters have been reported on the Island so far this week in Nanaimo and Ladysmith and all have ongoing alerts.
An ‘exposure’ is defined by Island Health as a single person with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection who attended school during their infectious period.
A ‘cluster’ means two or more individuals with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection attended school during their infectious period. These cases may be linked to school-based transmission.
There are also ongoing outbreaks at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital where five staff members tested positive for the virus, and at Tsawaayuus Rainbow Gardens long-term care home in Port Alberni where one staff member tested positive for COVID-19.
Vancouver Island’s only remaining strip club announced on Monday that it has closed its doors due to COVID-19 restrictions.
JJ’s Pub in Campbell River says they will be shuttering their in-person operations temporarily in support of pandemic protocols.
“As of November 16, 2020 there have been no reported cases at JJ’s Pub,” the club said on their Facebook page.
“However, as part of our commitment to the health and safety of Campbell River, JJ’s management has decided it is in our community’s best interest to close the doors for the time being.”
JJ’s says they will be keeping their kitchen open for take-out orders, and will be adhering to safety protocols set out by health officials.
The pub also distributed menus to community mailboxes via Canada Post, with details on how to order food for delivery or take-out.
On Tuesday, Campbell River RCMP said they had fined a local night spot for multiple COVID-19 violations, but did not disclose the name of the business.
JJ’s pub did not respond to multiple media inquiries from Victoria Buzz. On Instagram, they stated that they would be reopening “as soon as the provincial government allows.”
The pub ended their statement on Facebook by thanking the community for their support and encouraging people to respect COVID-19 protocols.
“Again, we would like to thank our community for being supportive of our business during these unprecedented times,” JJ’s stated.
“We encourage members of the Campbell River community to continue practicing social distancing and remain up to date with the fast changing COVID-19 safety protocols…We are all in this together!”
The BCCDC has issued a new COVID-19 exposure alert for a Westjet flight that landed in Victoria earlier this month.
Passengers travelling on Westjet flight 195 on November 15 from Calgary to Victoria are advised to be aware that they may have been exposed to the virus.
The specific rows of passengers who may have been exposed were not reported for this flight.
Affected travellers are asked to monitor their symptoms for 14 days and call 8-1-1 to get tested if they do develop symptoms of the virus.
Since late March, the BCCDC has not been contacting passengers who sat near a confirmed patient during their flight.
Instead all travellers must check their website to find out whether they have been exposed to the virus.
Since the beginning of June, multiple international and domestic flights have landed in or departed from Vancouver and Victoria with confirmed COVID-19 cases.
RCMP in Campbell River have fined a local evening establishment for COVID violations after warnings were issued earlier this month.
Police say they were notified about concerns with the establishment’s actions regarding COVID-19 regulations laid out by the province.
Initial visits authorities made to the establishment provided education and warnings to ensure rules were fully understood.
According to the RCMP, during subsequent visits they found more violations. As such, two fines of $2,300 each were levied against the location.
Constable Maury Tyre says that fines are “typically a last resort” in these situations.
“There are businesses and people out there doing their best to follow the rules, keep people safe, and get by during this pandemic,” Tyre said in a statement.
“It’s important that businesses and people follow the rules for the public’s safety and in order to keep things running and open.”
The City of Victoria officially opened its first on-street Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers in the city’s downtown on Tuesday.
Six new Level 2 chargers will now be available on Broad Street between Pandora Avenue and View Street for free public use.
“We know that electric vehicles continue to grow in popularity,” said Mayor Lisa Helps.
“These EV chargers support the switch to zero emissions vehicles and are one more step in our work to tackle the climate crisis.”
The chargers were announced in September as part of the City’s long-term climate plan to power 30 per cent of passenger vehicles with renewable energy by 2030.
According to the City, a 90-minute charge on a Level 2 charger is usually sufficient to drive an average EV up to 50 kilometres.
The six new Level 2 chargers expand on the City’s existing EV charging network of 13 public Level 2 chargers which are located in public-owned parkades.
Funding for the new chargers was partly provided by the Natural Resource Canada’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program, in partnership with BC Hydro.
The provincial CleanBC plan requires the sale of all new light-duty cars and trucks to be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2040.
A representative of the City of Victoria has confirmed that an employee has tested positive for COVID-19, in an email to Victoria Buzz.
The statement says there is no risk to the public due to the nature of the employee’s work. They are employed in the Public Works department.
Close contacts of the patient have been identified and contacted by public health, and are self-isolating.
Masks are now required for all indoor spaces at City Hall, but members of the public can still enter.
However the majority of city services, like bill payments and dog licenses, can be accessed online and Victoria residents are encouraged to request mail-in ballots for the upcoming byelection.
They can do so via the online form at victoria.ca/election or by calling 250-361-0571. Mail-in ballots must be received by the City of Victoria before 8 p.m. PST on December 12.
Completed mail ballots should be placed in the mail by Friday, December 4 at the latest to ensure timely delivery.
After December 4, mail ballots can be placed in the drop box at the Pandora Avenue entrance of City Hall, at the advance polling station, or before 8 p.m. at any of the six voting places on General Voting Day.
Postage is included for mail ballot packages mailed within Canada.
The BC Human Rights Tribunal has found the City of Victoria at fault in a complaint around bus stop accessibility filed by the Canadian Federation of the Blind (CFB).
Oriano Belusic, the Vice-President of CFB, first filed the complaint in 2018.
Belusic alleged that “floating” bus stops built by the City around separated bike lanes are discriminatory and unsafe to transit users with visual impairments.
They also said that BC Transit had discriminated against blind people as a protected class, based on the operator “accepting and operating its public bus service at Floating Stops that are safely accessed by crossing a bicycle lane only by those members of the public who are not blind.”
On November 13, the Tribunal upheld the complaint against the City, while dismissing the complaint against BC Transit.
In the ruling, Tribunal member Norman Trerise wrote that BC Transit ceasing service at the floating bus stops would not improve accessibility to visually challenged persons.
“The only result would be to inconvenience all other Transit users, including those with mobility issues,” Trerise wrote.
In upholding the complaint against the City, Trerise ruled out a number of possible remedies to the design of the bus stops, including volunteer crossing guards, rumblestick technology, descending crossarms or underpass/overpass construction.
The Tribunal also said that moving the bus stops back to the curbside would create an “undue hardship” for the City and a major disruption to cyclists who use the separated bike lanes.
Trerise wrote that the solution of a pedestrian-activated audible flashing signal light would be sufficient to remedy the complaint.
However, he added that installing these signal lights “does not mean the City should not implement technologies that would provide fully guaranteed protection for blind pedestrians if such solutions become available in the future and would not result in undue hardship to the City.”
The Human Rights Tribunal will hold another hearing to determine the timing for installation of the audible signal lights.
The B.C. Ministry of Health has reported 717 new cases of novel coronavirus in the province on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 23,661.
In total, 6,871 of the cases are in the Vancouver Coastal Region, 14,659 in Fraser Health, 397 in Vancouver Island Health region, 1,093 in Interior Health, 540 in Northern Health region, and 92 people whose residence is outside of Canada.
The number of active cases has increased by 310 to 6,589 in B.C.
There are now a total of 198 people in hospital due to COVID-19, 63 of whom are in critical care — ICU or acute care units. More people are now hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C. than there ever have been in the past.
11 additional deaths were reported over the past 24 hours, and the death toll is now at 310.
10,960 people are in isolation and being monitored by public health officials after being exposed to COVID-19.
A total of 16,469 people have recovered from novel coronavirus.
Outbreaks
One new outbreak was reported at a long term care facility the Island Health region in the past 24 hours.
There are now a total of 46 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and seven acute-care facilities that have active, ongoing outbreaks. One of these outbreaks is at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital and is the first COVID-19 outbreak at a health care facility on Vancouver Island.
No new community outbreaks were reported in the past 24 hours.
There remain a number of ongoing COVID-19 exposure sites. B.C. residents are urged to check the BC CDC website for all public alerts about possible exposures to the virus.
Those who may have been exposed are asked to monitor their symptoms, reduce the number of contacts they have, and call 811 to get tested for the virus if they do develop symptoms.
Island Health region
16 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Island Health region on Tuesday.
There have been a total of 397 cases of COVID-19 in the region, six of whom have died. Two people in the region are currently in hospital after contracting the virus, one of whom is in ICU.
Island Health reports that as of November 17, there are 114 active cases in the region.
South Vancouver Island Active cases: 34, Total Cases: 140
Central Vancouver Island Active cases: 60, Total Cases: 150
North Vancouver Island Active cases: 20, Total Cases: 107
The COVID-19 case curve in Vancouver Island health region as of November 17 is represented below:
As of Monday there had been a total of 955,239 novel coronavirus tests conducted across B.C., 110,223 of which were done in the Island Health region.
The BCCDC has set up a 2019 novel coronavirus telephone information line at 1-833-784-4397 for those who have further questions about this disease.
Anyone concerned that they may have been exposed to, or are experiencing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, should contact their primary care provider, local public health office, or call 8-1-1.
The Province has also created the 1-888-COVID-19 line to connect British Columbians needing non-medical information about the pandemic.
As of the time of publication, the total number of COVID-19 patients worldwide has risen to 55,912,251.
Over 1,342,591 people have died from the illness and 38,922,251 have recovered.
Nanaimo RCMP have arrested two people after a search of their residence yielded drugs and firearms.
In a statement released Tuesday, police say the RCMP Drug Unit executed a search warrant at a residence in the 1200 block of Nanaimo Lakes Road on November 6 at around 9 p.m.
The search led them to find and seize six ounces of fentanyl, one ounce of cocaine and a small amount of methamphetamine.
Police also found $12,000 in Canadian cash and three unloaded shotguns.
“These seizures speak volumes to the dedication and commitment shown by our officers to eradicate this drug and others from our community,” said Cst. Gary O’Brien in a statement.
“While our officers are pleased with these short term successes, they also recognize they must keep pressure on those involved in the drug trade, as other drug dealers are expected to fill the void left by those arrested.”
RCMP say this is their third significant seizure of fentanyl in Nanaimo in the past two weeks.
A long term care facility is the first in the Vancouver Island Health region to declare a COVID-19 outbreak.
A statement from Island Health Tuesday morning confirms that one staff member at Tsawaayuus Rainbow Gardens long-term care home in Port Alberni has tested positive for COVID-19.
The outbreak was detected on Monday, November 16.
No residents are currently showing symptoms of the virus.
The staff member who tested positive is currently self isolating at home and the entire long term care facility site is now closed to admissions, transfers and visitors.
The following measures have been implemented at the site:
Staffing levels will be maintained to provide resident care.
Visitors are restricted throughout the facility.
Staff and resident movement in the facility has been restricted.
Cleaning and infection control measures have been enhanced.
Residents, families and staff are being notified.
Twice a day screening of all staff and residents.
Additionally, more Island Health staff will be assigned to the facility to “take any further actions required” and answer questions from staff, residents and family members.
The health authority has worked with staff at Tsawaayuus Rainbow Gardens to identify anyone who may have been exposed to the virus.
There is no current information about how many people came into contact with the staff member who tested positive.
Rainbow Gardens is a not-for-profit facility operated by WestCoast Native Health Care Society.
A second health care facility outbreak is also ongoing in a Transitional Care Unit Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. That outbreak was detected on November 11.
The Victoria Hospitals Foundation (VHF) took a major step towards funding a new critical care unit thanks to a large gift announced on Tuesday.
Seaspan Victoria Shipyards and the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation jointly contributed $2.65 million to the VHF for the ‘It’s Critical’ campaign, which was launched in April to respond to critical COVID-19 needs.
The gift brings VHF one step closer to building Vancouver Island’s first permanent High Acuity Unit (HAU), a specialized facility that serves as an intermediary step between Intensive Care and Acute Care.
“When we heard that Vancouver Island was the only health region in the province without this kind of unit we knew we had to act, especially considering the unprecedented impact COVID-19 is having in our communities,” said Joe O’Rourke, Vice President and General Manager of Seaspan Victoria Shipyards.
Health experts say that this facility is vital to saving lives, especially when health care systems are strained by emergency situations like the COVID-19 pandemic.
“To put it simply: we need more beds to keep up with the growing critical care demand,” said Dr. Omar Ahmad, Department Head of Emergency & Critical Care Medicine for Island Health, at a press conference on Tuesday.
The HAU will provide eight beds for patients recovering from surgery, severe respiratory distress, or being treated for other serious medical conditions.
Dr. Ahmad says that the HAU would also allow for very close monitoring for these patients, keeping them off of more invasive recovery methods.
“The idea is that sometimes by having this extra vigilance and extra care for these patients, they can avoid actually going on to mechanical ventilation because of the heightened observation by nursing staff and respiratory therapists.”
In addition to the $2.65 million gift, the It’s Critical campaign has raised $1.9 million from over 2,300 donors, springing past the halfway point of its $7 million goal.
“Right now, we’re very mindful of how many businesses and community members can donate,” Avery Brohman, Executive Director of VHF said. “The generosity that Seaspan has given us allows us to propel that movement forward.”
Brohman added that it will take time after the campaign reaches its goal to determine the appropriate location for the care unit.
She says that the sooner the campaign is funded, the quicker the Island can see its first permanent HAU.
“I would love to see this campaign close in the next few months but we won’t stop our work until it’s over.”
The VGH Millionaire Lottery is back in full swing and this year, the prizes promise to be bigger and better than ever!
If you haven’t heard of the Millionaire Lottery, it’s a lottery that supports specialized adult health care and research in Vancouver, and it features 8 jaw-dropping grand prizes, including this luxury Sooke home plus another stunning property in Courtenay.
The 2020 edition of the lottery is also holding an exclusive Fall Bonus worth over $35,000 – but it’s only available until Friday, November 20th – so don’t wait on grabbing your tickets!
The winner of the Fall Bonus will be able to choose between an all new 2020 Rav 4 LE 4WD, a $30,000 vacation gift card (plus $5,000 spending money) OR $30,000 cash in hand.
If you don’t win one of the luxury home or cash grand prizes, you can still walk away with some amazing prizes with the Millionaire Lottery’s Bonus Draws.
On top of all of this, the Millionaire lottery has several other incredible drawshappening before the Grand Prizes are drawn, which include prizes like brand new vehicles and vacation cash!
There’s plenty of reasons to support VGH and the UBC Hospital Foundation, and there’s plenty of prizes to be playing the Millionaire Lottery.
Your ticket helps support life-saving care at British Columbia’s largest hospital, along with all of the doctors and nurses, frontline workers, and first responders – as well as all the patients who visit VGH every day.
You’re also helping fund specialized adult health care and research in Vancouver, at Vancouver General Hospital, UBC Hospital and GF Strong Rehab Centre.
Every year, VGH performs more than 30,000 surgeries and treats more than 600,000 patient visits. They treat 60% of British Columbia’s adult trauma cases – and 50% of their surgical patients are from outside Vancouver. Their health care heroes are fighting COVID-19 at VGH.
The grand prize draw will be Monday, January 27th, 2021. Purchase your ticket (or packs of them!) here.
Deadlines to enter the various draws are:
Fall Bonus Draw Deadline: Midnight, Friday, November 20, 2020
Christmas Bonus Draw Deadline: Midnight, Friday, December 4, 2020
Early Bird Draw Deadline: Midnight, Friday, December 18, 2020
Main Draws and Grand Prize Deadline: Midnight, Friday, January 8, 2021
Know your limit, play within it. Must be 19+ to play.
A former journalist running for a vacant Victoria council seat took to Facebook Monday morning to respond to what he called a “disrespectful” online discourse around his candidacy.
Stephen Andrew, one of eleven candidates vying for Laurel Collins’ long-empty seat on council, said during a Facebook Live video that several people, including two current councillors, have been saying “completely untruthful” things about his policies and beliefs.
“There are people in this city saying that I hate the homeless, and it’s just not who my character is,” Andrew said.
“Ben Isitt said that I wanna kick everyone out of the park. The man’s never, ever spoken to me about this, and I just find it hurtful.”
Councillor Ben Isitt did not respond to a request for comment from Victoria Buzz.
Andrew went on to say that he has been portrayed by Isitt and others as a “rich person,” but that he has earned his own way through life after experiencing a period of homelessness himself.
The former journalist also said that the accusations have been affecting both him and his husband.
He went on to say that another councillor, Sarah Potts, recently accused him of being a misogynist.
“Also we’re dealing with a situation of Sarah Potts, a councillor, which has the full weight of the council behind her — the council seat I should say — is saying that I’m a misogynist,” Andrew said.
“If you ask around in the city, you will find out that I’ve completely done the opposite. I’ve protected people, and tried to make life better for women in the city.”
Potts slammed Andrew on Twitter on September 30 for quote-tweeting a post by an account called “Save Beacon Hill Park” that said “Decisions made by female Victoria city councillors are endangering the safety of vulnerable people.”
Provoking update and true. How do “any” #VictoriaBC council members avert their eyes from serious abuse that they tacitly allow to occur in our parks? It’s a question I suspect no one will answer coherently. #yyjpolihttps://t.co/d1sse5rh8m
Andrew wrote that the update was “provoking and true.” In response, Potts wrote “Stephen’s ‘Misogynists 4 Victoria’ campaign t-shirts will be available soon.”
The Twitter spat did not end there, as Andrew replied to Potts calling her tweet a “feeble distraction from the failure to represent #VictoriaBC including Telling [sic] people to hire their own security.”
Well now we know what is in Together Victoria’s Arsenal of ridiculousness. -certain Potts et al won’t debate issues.The original post was written by a woman who makes a valid point. If you want to debate Sarah – I’m there anytime. But this post is a feeble distraction from../2 https://t.co/hHoBTYzB1P
In an emailed statement to Victoria Buzz, Potts said she had received hundreds of vile and threatening tweets in response to the exchange, including people saying they would proudly wear a misogynist t-shirt.
“This is, unfortunately, a reality for women holding elected office,” Potts stated.
“I should note that we have also seen these same right wing trolls attack elected officials of colour questioning whether they support terrorism and killings based on their religion,” she added, referring to a recent incident where fellow Together Victoria councillor Sharmarke Dubow was subjected to an Islamophobic tweet.
When you enter the system and try to transform it, you learn a lot about how systematic racism is embedded in our society, especially when you are BIPOC, religious minority & woman, etc. I won’t stop fighting for everyone to have access to dignity, well-being and quality of life. pic.twitter.com/6cf4RJSuCh
Potts also called the vitriol a distraction from real issues the city is facing.
“These anonymous trolls, and those who benefit from the escalating vitriol, have no place in Victoria’s political culture,” she said.
“They will not stop me from trying to build a better city for everyone.”
In his closing remarks on his Facebook video, Andrew also called for an end to disrespect and online vitriol.
“The people that are saying things that are being disrespectful for any of the politicians, I’m gonna ask you please do not do it,” Andrew said.
“I do not condone it…Do not criticize these individuals, do not say anything, ignore them. If we give them voice, then they become stronger. So I’m going to ask you to stop.”
Student activists and a local artist are teaming up to create a 14-foot tall mural on a University of Victoria campus building to protest the administrations’ continued investments in the fossil fuel industry.
According to one of the organizers, Emily Lowan, approximately eight students and local artist Emily Thiessen, will be at UVic between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Wednesday November 18 to paint a mural that says “President Hall, Time to Divest”.
These words will be painted on the front-facing main entryway of the Michael Williams Administrative Building during the physically distanced live-art protest event held in a continued effort to get UVic to divest their $400 million investment funds away from the fossil fuel industry.
“Students have been campaigning for the university to remove their investment funds from fossil fuel industry since 2013. This is a very long standing campaign for the student society,” said Lowan in a phone interview with Victoria Buzz.
“We’ve been trying a number of tactics to alert the administration to student values and what we want to see them invest student dollars in. That’s the motivation for this action.”
This particular event was inspired by the fact that the school has a newly instated President who has been vocal about his commitments to sustainability and Indigenous reconciliation.
Lowan says students saw President Kevin Hall’s takeover as an opportunity for meaningful dialogue and hopefully a partnership.
“This is going to be a student event but I’m personally having a meeting on the following day with President Hall to discuss the action and look at steps moving forward,” said Lowan.
The mural will not be permanent, as it will be painted using temporary chalk-based paint, and Lowan says the group does not expect any repercussions from the administration as a result.
Earlier this year, the University of Victoria board of governors approved a policy to reduce investments in fossil fuels in the short term, which they claim will reduce carbon emissions by 45 per cent by 2030.
But students in the Divest UVic movement said this was nowhere near enough.
“The impact of this policy is limited as it only applies to the smallest (and already greenest) of UVic’s three main investment funds,” reads a statement from Lowan.
“This policy has led many to feel as though the administration under past leadership prioritized greenwashing over meaningful action.”
In response, a spokesperson for UVic emailed the following statement to Victoria Buzz:
“The university agrees climate change is a key global issue of our time and understands that students want to make their views known.”
“We expect that they will hold a peaceful event that respects university property as we continue to work together to address this critical issue.”
A Saanich homeowner gambled and lost after they were slapped with a COVID-19 violation for hosting a poker party with more than six guests.
On Saturday, November 14 at approximately 10 a.m. Saanich Police officers responded to reports of a large gathering at a home in the Broadmead area.
Officers discovered seven people sitting around a table playing poker in the garage. When police spoke to the homeowner, they learned that none of the seven poker players, as well as three additional people inside the residence, lived there.
All ten guests left and the homeowner was issued a $2,300 ticket under the COVID-19 Related Measures Act, for contravention of the Gathering Events Order.
The Order relates to holding an event at a private residence with more than six guests who do not reside there.
Saanich Police say this is not the first time they have investigated this particular home for violations of Provincial Health Orders.
At the end of October police responded to a similar report at the home, and issued a verbal warning and provided information on health orders in place at the time.
“We will continue to investigate reports related to the Provincial Health Orders currently in place and we hope that incidents such as this create community awareness and encourage compliance of the measures the province has put in place to keep us safe,” said Cst. Markus Anastasiades, Public Information and Communications Officer.
69 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they intend to get vaccinated once a COVID-19 vaccine is approved by Health Canada and is distributed for public use.
14 per cent said they are not planning to be vaccinated, and 17 per cent said they were unsure.
Far fewer Americans are willing to take a vaccine, with less than half (48 per cent) saying they intend to get vaccinated, 27 per cent saying they will not, and 25 per cent unsure.
The number of respondents who would be vaccinated drops further in the specific case of the Pfizer vaccine, which the U.S. pharmaceutical company says has a 90 per cent efficacy.
56 per cent of Canadians say they would take this vaccination, while 22 per cent would not and 22 per cent are still unsure.
Regionally, Quebeckers were the most likely to say they will be getting a vaccine, while those in Manitoba and Saskatchewan were least likely.
Age was also a factor, with respondents between the ages of 35 to 54 least likely to be willing to be vaccinated, and respondents over 55 most likely to line up for a shot.
Less than half of Canadians (42 per cent) believe vaccines should be made mandatory when they become available, while 52 per cent believe it should be voluntary.
Regardless of when vaccines become widely available, a majority of Canadians (63 per cent) believe COVID-19 safety measures will remain in place afterwards.
Leger conducted this Web survey with a representative sample of 1,522 Canadians and 1,003 Americans, over the age of 18, selected from LEO’s (Leger Opinion) representative panel. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size would have a margin of error ±2.51%, 19 times out of 20 for the Canadian sample and of ±3.09%, 19 times out of 20 for the American sample.
Numerous ferry cancellations and power outages were reported Tuesday morning as a storm with high winds swept across Vancouver Island.
Early Monday evening, BC Ferries cancelled several sailings on the Tsawwassen—Swartz Bay, Horseshoe Bay—Departure Bay and Tsawwassen—Duke Point routes, including:
Spirit of British Columbia
7:00 am departing Tsawaassen
9:00 am departing Swartz Bay
Spirit of Vancouver Island
7:00 am departing Swartz Bay
9:00 am departing Tsawwassen
Queen of New Westminster 5:15 am departing Tsawwassen
7:45 am departing Duke Point
10:15 am departing Tsawwassen
12:45 pm departing Duke Point
Coastal Renaissance 5:15 am departing Duke Point
7:45 am departing Tsawwassen
10:15 am departing Duke Point
12:45 pm departing Tsawwassen
Queen of Oak Bay 6:15 departing Horseshoe Bay
8:25 departing Departure Bay—Nanaimo
Queen of Coquitlam 6:15 departing Departure Bay—Nanaimo
8:25 departing Horseshoe Bay
BC Hydro reported outages affecting thousands of customers in Tofino, Ucluelet, Port Alberni, Campbell River and Malcolm Island.
In total, over 10,000 customers were without power Tuesday morning across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands as a result of the wind storm.
Environment Canada reported wind gusts reaching speeds up to 110 km/h on parts of Vancouver Island. They predicted that the wind would gradually ease into the afternoon, with gusty conditions persisting in areas.
UPDATE: 85-yr-old Neil Morison has been located and is safe, according to VicPD.
— original:
Victoria Police issued an alert for a high-risk missing 85-yr-old man late Monday night.
Neil Morison was last seen near Royal Jubilee Hospital around 6:30 pm.
Morison is described as 5’5″ tall with a slim build and grey hair. He was wearing a navy blue quilted coat, grey sweater, blue jeans, grey slip-on shoes, pushing a collapsible transport-style wheelchair.
If you’re looking for a safe, bubble-friendly experience while still getting the chance to enjoy some beautiful and local works of art, look no further!
On Thursday mornings from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., small groups of all ages are now welcome to safely engage in guided tours of the newest exhibitions.
The Gallery will be all yours as you and your group explore the connection that art has to ourselves, our environment, and our cultures, and will be closed to the public during these times to make the tours possible.
Tours will be limited to 10 people and are $20, which includes admission for each visitor.
Even better, we’ve partnered with the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria to give away a private engagement tour to one lucky winner – plus two adult admission passes! Contest details are below.
The AGGV’s annual Winter Small Works Show & Sale is now on display at Massey Sales Gallery, as well as online, and runs until January 31st, 2021.
The show features a diverse range of local original fine art for your own home – or for a special gift, just in time for the holidays!
All works are available for browsing on the AGGV website, and are available for online purchase as well as in-person purchase (appointments recommended).
Speaking of holidays, in case you have some shopping left to do, the AGGV Gallery Shop has an amazing selection of gifts!
Local handmade pottery, jewelry, woodcraft, glass art, textiles, books, exhibition catalogues, magazines, posters, art cards, home goods, stationery, puzzles, children’s games and toys, and a beautiful selection of holiday ornaments and decorations – basically something for everyone on your list.
This is the year to shop locally and safely while supporting local artists and the AGGV.
The Gallery Shop works with local artists and artisans to source many of the products available, and there is no admission fee to access the shop.
Our Victoria Buzz hosts will also be stopping by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria on Tuesday, November 17th to give you a sneak peek of what you can expect there this holiday season!
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria has extensive COVID-19 safety protocols in place to protect employees and visitors of the gallery, and you can take a look at their full safety plan here.
CONTEST
For a chance to win a private engagement tour to one lucky winner – plus two adult admission passes, please do one of more of the following:
LIKE AGGV on Facebookand comment below telling us once you have. (1 entry)
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Contest entries will be accepted from the time and date of publishing until 11:59 pm on November 23rd, 2020. One winner will be chosen at random and contacted through the platform they used to enter.
Victoria Police are searching for a suspect after a man was stabbed near downtown Victoria.
Police were called to reports of a stabbing in the 900 block of Pandora Ave at around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 15.
They arrived to find a man suffering from potentially life threatening injuries after being stabbed several times.
He was provided medical attention by bystanders until paramedics arrived and transported him to hospital where he remains. His injuries are now considered non-life-threatening.
Police say the suspect fled the area before officers arrived and has not yet been located.
VicPD spokesperson Cst. Cam MacIntyre told Victoria Buzz that the attack was targeted, but investigators are still working to determine whether the suspect and the victim knew each other, and to what extent.
The Major Crimes Unit is now seeking public assistance in their search for the suspect.
He is described as a white man standing 5’10” tall, and has light brown or blonde hair and blue eyes.
At the time of the incident, he was wearing a black and red hooded sweater with the hood up, a black and red face mask, and white Nike shoes.
The suspect was seen leaving the scene of the crime on foot, and headed eastbound on Pandora Avenue.
Anyone who recognizes the suspect or has information about the incident is asked to contact VicPD at (250) 995-7654, extension 1. To report what you know anonymously, call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Hey folks, this will likely be our last weekday “Things to do” for a little while as we work through rising COVID-19 cases and new restrictions. We will continue Things To Do for the weekends!
As you head out to activities and events, please follow the restrictions and guidelines that these businesses require to keep their employees and patrons safe during the pandemic.
As always, wash your hands, wear masks, practice physical distancing, and stay home if you feel sick or show symptoms!
Without further ado, here are five things to do on Tuesday, November 17th:
In this armchair travel extravaganza, Paul Ferguson, history collection manager at the Royal BC Museum and a war historian, will give his dream itinerary of Canadian war sites in Europe including where to stay and maybe even what to eat.
Join the Oak Bay Beach Motel in the David Foster Foundation Theatre as they showcase some of their favourite musicals in the month of November. Each ticket includes complimentary parking, one glass of sparkling wine, a bottle of water, local charcuterie board and pre-packed theatre snacks such as popcorn and liquorice.
Theatre seating is offered for groupings of 2 to 6, ensuring the provincial health guidelines and physical distancing protocols of the hotel. To minimize interactions and the need to line up, guests can take advantage of text-to-seat beverage purchasing.
Introducing…..Trivial Tuesday: A Fun Spin on Trivial Pursuit with Sixty Watt Trivia!
Build a team of up to 6 players, answer questions correctly and complete your pie. But roll the wrong number and you’ll give another team a chance to block you from collecting your pie piece.
Packed with a mixture of different categories including audio questions, Trivial Tuesday is something Sixty Watt Trivia has never done, a new and competitive format designed specifically for the Board with Friends Cafe!
The fee for a table to join in a battle your way to a full pie and the prize is $5 per table.
All players on Trivial Tuesday Night will be granted a bonus of 10% off any purchase of a board game that evening as well!
James Bay United Church and the Victoria Jazz Community continue to be partnered together during the COVID-19 closures to bring you personal interviews with Victoria’s finest musicians. We hear about their influencers and musical passions and gain some insight through the playlists that they select for us through the evening.
A hidden compartment was no match for VicPD officers executing a drug bust that yielded thousands of dollars in cash and illicit substances.
On Friday November 13th at approximately 10:45 p.m., officers stopped a vehicle at the intersection of Belleville and Government Streets after the three occupants were identified as organized drug traffickers.
The suspects, two men and one woman, all from Surrey, were arrested and the vehicle was searched.
Officers recovered a significant amount of cash as well as drugs including fentanyl and cocaine.
A Community Services Division (CSD) officers trained in locating hidden vehicle compartments also assisted and police were able to find a hidden compartment behind the centre console of the vehicle.
Inside the compartment, behind the vehicle’s radio and temperature controls, officers found a loaded .45 calibre handgun.
Police say the firearm was easily accessible to the vehicle’s occupants from inside the hidden compartment.
Following the arrests, officers executed search warrants on two suites associated with the suspects at a hotel in the 700-block of Douglas Street.
Each suite contained evidence of drug trafficking, including fentanyl, cocaine, and cash. In total, the search yielded nearly $60,000 in cash, cocaine and fentanyl with an estimated street value of $50,000, and the loaded .45 calibre handgun.
VicPD say the investigation is part of a larger, months-long project stared in July aimed at organized crime and drug trafficking in Victoria and Esquimalt.
Police are recommending several drug trafficking-related charges against the three suspects from Surrey.
The B.C. Ministry of Health has reported 1,959 new cases of novel coronavirus in the province since Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 22,944.
Between Friday and Saturday, there were 654 new cases; 659 more cases were reported between Saturday and Sunday; and 646 more COVID-19 cases were added between Sunday and Monday.
In total, 6,694 of the cases are in the Vancouver Coastal Region, 14,175 in Fraser Health, 381 in Vancouver Island Health region, 1,075 in Interior Health, 519 in Northern Health region, and 91 people whose residence is outside of Canada.
The number of active cases has increased by 700 to 6,279 in B.C.
There are now a total of 181 people in hospital due to COVID-19, 57 of whom are in critical care — ICU or acute care units. More people are now hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C. than there ever have been in the past.
Nine additional deaths were reported over the past three days, and the death toll is now at 299.
10,928 people are in isolation and being monitored by public health officials after being exposed to COVID-19.
A total of 16,087 people have recovered from novel coronavirus.
Outbreaks
11 new outbreaks were reported in health care facilities across B.C. in the past three days, while four outbreaks are now over.
There are now a total of 45 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and seven acute-care facilities that have active, ongoing outbreaks. One of these outbreaks is at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital and is the first COVID-19 outbreak at a health care facility on Vancouver Island.
Two new community outbreaks have been declared at Platinum Athletic Club and Cambridge Elementary School, both in the Fraser Health region.
There remain a number of ongoing COVID-19 exposure sites. B.C. residents are urged to check the BC CDC website for all public alerts about possible exposures to the virus.
Those who may have been exposed are asked to monitor their symptoms, reduce the number of contacts they have, and call 811 to get tested for the virus if they do develop symptoms.
Island Health region
41 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Island Health region since Friday.
There have been a total of 340 cases of COVID-19 in the region, six of whom have died. Two people in the region are currently in ICU after contracting the virus.
Island Health reports that as of November 16, there are 99 active cases in the region.
South Vancouver Island Active cases: 30, Total Cases: 136
Central Vancouver Island Active cases: 50, Total Cases: 139
North Vancouver Island Active cases: 19, Total Cases: 106
The COVID-19 case curve in Vancouver Island health region as of November 16 is represented below:
As of Friday there had been a total of 955,239 novel coronavirus tests conducted across B.C., 110,223 of which were done in the Island Health region.
The BCCDC has set up a 2019 novel coronavirus telephone information line at 1-833-784-4397 for those who have further questions about this disease.
Anyone concerned that they may have been exposed to, or are experiencing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, should contact their primary care provider, local public health office, or call 8-1-1.
The Province has also created the 1-888-COVID-19 line to connect British Columbians needing non-medical information about the pandemic.
As of the time of publication, the total number of COVID-19 patients worldwide has risen to 55,303,594.
Over 1,331,362 people have died from the illness and 38,400,639 have recovered.
One man has been arrested after yelling profanities on a BC Transit bus and refusing to disembark.
According to a statement from Saanich Police, the man was on a bus at 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning when he began to yell profanities at another person who had just sat down.
When the bus arrived at the next stop, in the 1600 block of Cedar Hill Cross Road, the bus operator asked the suspect to leave.
Instead of getting off the bus, the suspect approached the driver and began yelling profanities at them.
He then reached around the safety divider and tried to assault the driver. At this point, a fight broke out between the two people, after which the suspect finally left the bus.
Police say they were able to find and arrest the 34-year-old man who was the suspect in this incident.
An additional 316 new childcare spaces will be coming soon to several schools in the Greater Victoria School District.
The new spaces were announced on Friday and are part of an ongoing project that is being funded by the provincial Ministry of Children and Family Development.
The District applied for the funding in 2018 for expanded childcare spaces at school sites across Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Saanich, Victoria and View Royal.
“We have heard clearly from our community that accessible childcare is a priority for families,” said District Board Chair Jordan Watters.
“When we extend childcare options in our schools, our schools become even more valuable community hubs.”
Four new childcare studios have already been completed, with two each at Frank Hobbs and Doncaster Elementary.
New childcare studios are coming to the following elementary schools in early 2021:
Macaulay
Tillicum
Victoria West
Each studio will include office space, a full kitchen, washrooms and a wheelchair lift.
Additional studios are planned for September 2021 at Braefoot, Campus View, and Oaklands, and for July 2023 at George Jay and Marigold.