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Good morning!

Today at 1:30pm, Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson and council members will be at the official re-opening and dedication of Chief Al LeQuesne Park. The park was formerly known as Cressida Park and will be dedicated to Al LeQuesne who served as a firefighter for 44 years, and as the longtime fire chief for Langford.

FAIRY CREEK

BC government prosecutors withdraw more charges against Fairy Creek blockaders

In a Tuesday hearing, 10 charges of contempt of court levied against Fairy Creek blockaders in 2021 were withdrawn in front of Justice Douglas Thompson.

“The Crown is basically still reviewing files,” said Karen Mirsky, a defense lawyer representing some of the arrestees.

But Mirsky estimates that at least 150 of the remaining 200 or so charges will be withdrawn. More than 400 people were charged, and more than 1,100 arrested, a Canadian record for the number of arrests in a civil disobedience.

On Feb. 8, Ryan Henderson, a 20-year-old Anishinaabe person from the Interior, who was removed by RCMP from a contraption and arrested last summer, was acquitted of all charges. The BC Court of Appeals ruled that the RCMP failed to adequately inform Henderson of the terms of the injunction at the time of the arrest.

Rainforest Flying Squad—one of the organizers of the blockades—said that prosecutors are likely to withdraw more charges. Case hearings have been delayed since Henderson’s ruling in February.

There are still another 210 outstanding charges out of the 400+ arrestees charged with contempt. Charges against 58 people are anticipated to be withdrawn on May 1, and the remaining 80 charges are expected to be withdrawn in the coming weeks. The charges anticipated to proceed are the ones where individuals were given paper copies of the injunction.

“The Crown’s prosecution in the Fairy Creek contempt cases has collapsed due to the recklessness of the CIRG unit of the RCMP in using an unproven short form script,” said Rani Earnhart, spokesperson for the Rainforest Flying Squad. “The BC government should now turn the page in this regrettable chapter and move forward with protection of the remaining old-growth rainforest at Fairy Creek and throughout BC.”

Find more information on this case, and the injunction language in Zoë’s reporting from February.

COUNCIL

Colwood mayor and council give themselves a raise

Colwood’s mayor and council gave themselves a 57.4% pay raise in a unanimous vote this Monday. Annual salaries for mayor and council will increase to $55,785 and $27,892 respectively, and are retroactive to Jan. 1. This is a slightly lower increase than what was proposed by former mayor Rob Martin in 2022.

Colwood Mayor Doug Kobayashi, who had opposed the previous raise as a councillor, said in the April 11 meeting that he was thankful that the increase was less than what was recommended before, adding, “It’s a difficult thing to go through.” Kobayashi unseated Martin in part on campaigning against the proposed pay changes.

As we reported six months ago, when Kobayashi took office, one of the first items on his to-do list was to revoke the remuneration increase for council saying it was not time for increases but for fiscal responsibility.

The changes came after the hiring of an HR consultant to base the increase on provincial guidelines regarding municipal pay.

Capital Daily dove into the issue of council pay in the fall and the difficulties of having councillors vote on their own remuneration. Voting for higher salaries puts councils in an awkward position, while low wages can be a barrier to diverse representation.

An issue that was further illustrated by two of Victoria’s youngest councillors, Susan Kim and Matt Dell, who decided to work two jobs to keep up with living costs.

Around the 'Shore

🗳️ Province is amending electoral districts to add new Langford riding: In response to the Electoral Boundaries Commission’s report, BC is changing the Electoral Districts Act to add six new districts, including one that follows the municipal boundaries of the city of Langford and the district of Highlands. Langford-Juan de Fuca, which will still exist for the upcoming byelection, was one of the largest ridings in BC and was only expanding with Langford being one of Canada’s fastest-growing municipalities. The new riding will rearrange neighbouring ridings: Metchosin and Malahat communities will join Juan de Fuca and Sooke, while Colwood will be with Esquimalt and Vic West. [More details]

💰 Royal Bay-Esquimalt Lagoon path gets $6M from feds: The plan for a waterfront path that will connect Colwood’s Royal Beach to the Esquimalt Lagoon ecological bird sanctuary has received $6 million in federal funding. The funding is part of a $103.5M investment to support 45 infrastructure projects across BC. [CHEK]

✨ Coastal Shores Window Cleaning has you covered! From pressure washing, moss removal, gutter cleaning, and window cleaning, Victoria’s best exterior cleaning company is the “clear” choice!*

💎 Langford jeweller warns of jewelry scam in Westshore: Cory Kowalchuk who owns Westshore Jewelry is warning local residents of a scam where people are approached by a couple and sometimes children saying they need money to get the ferry and offer people their jewelry in exchange for money. Kowalchuk told the Goldstream Gazette that at least 40 people have come to his shop to verify or sell the jewelry to discover it’s fake. [Goldstream News Gazette]

🍁 As your Member of Parliament, Alistair MacGregor can assist you with federal agencies, and help explain how he’s bringing Langford and Westshore voices to Ottawa.*

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Community Events

🎭 Little Shop of Horrors at EMCS Theatre: This quirky musical blends comedy and horror and will run from April 20-22, with 7pm shows each evening, and a 2pm matinee on April 22. Tickets are $15.

🥕 Sooke Country Market opens for the season: Kicking off this Saturday from 10am to 2pm, the Sooke Country Market will take place every Saturday from April 21 to Oct. 7 at the grass field above the Sooke Fire Hall.

🏠 Lawn bowling open houses: The second set of open houses for Juan de Fuca Lawn Bowling will take place April 22-23 from 1-3pm at the Juan de Fuca Lawnbowling Club behind the Q-Centre in Colwood.

⚽ Pacific FC vs. Cavalry FC: Coming off their win last weekend against Vancouver FC, PFC will take on Calgary’s Cavalry FC at Starlight Stadium on April 23 at 1pm.

🏙️ Building Cities Better: The City of Langford is hosting a free presentation by Brent Toderian on urbanism and city building in a time of climate change and housing needs on April 24 from 7-9pm at Belmont Secondary School Theatre.

What’s Offshore?

🛳 The Verdure Wave is a bulk carrier built in 2005 and is sailing under the flag of Panama. It is sailing from 🇯🇵 Kinuura, Japan ➡ 🇨🇦 North Vancouver, Canada and was scheduled to arrive April 14. 

🚢 The Golden Future is a bulk carrier built in 2010 and is sailing under the flag of Hong Kong. It is sailing from 🇰🇷 Busan, Korea ➡ 🇨🇦 Vancouver, Canada and was scheduled to arrive April 14.  

⛴ The Ototachibana is a bulk carrier built in 2012 and is sailing under the flag of Japan. It is sailing from 🇯🇵 Oita, Japan ➡ 🇨🇦 Roberts Bank, Canada and was scheduled to arrive April 7.

Westshore Snaps

"Colwood Creek dog park blooming." — Lisa Ishizaki, Langford