Hello there!

As we head into the holidays we have, as promised, a roundup of your wishes and the responses to them that we gathered from local councils. And speaking of local councils, we have a feature on the pitches that Fortis has been making to some of them in an effort to keep natural gas in new buildings despite environmental concerns.

— Cam

NEWS

Local councils respond to your holiday wishes

In the spirit of the season, we asked our Westshore readers if they had a holiday wish for their communities that would make things better and brighter for everyone. We gathered your wishes through emails and a poll and sent your answers on to your regional mayors and councillors.

Here are a few short ones from Langford; read the full roster in the web story.

“I wish the city would repair the potholes at the entrance to Langford Lake parking lot.” – Jackie Schad

Thank you for sharing your concern, Jackie. Our engineering team has been waiting for settling before paving the Langford Lake parking lot. We expect the lot to be fully updated by 2025. - Councillor Keith Yacucha 

“I’d like to see a bike lane on Latoria.” – Raymond Pastuzenko (Langford)

This is an excellent request! The city has proposed a solution through the Latoria Road Active Transportation Project which is available on letschatlangford.ca/latoria. Council will consider it through the upcoming budget debate so let us know what you think! - Councillor Kimberly Guiry

“My wish is to have an annual block party / flea market on Goldstream Avenue around the area of the fountain each summer with live music.” – Phaedra Lee Smith
P.S. She’s willing to organize.

That's a great idea to consider during our Arts and Culture Master Planning process coming up! - Councillor Mary Wagner

Read the rest of the wishes here.

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NEWS

FortisBC pitches Sooke on keeping natural gas in new builds

As the province pushes Sooke to allow for more and denser construction, council is weighing whether to follow Colwood and View Royal in adopting higher Zero Carbon Step Code (ZCSC) standards.

These govern energy use in new construction in BC, with the BC Energy Step Code setting mandatory energy-efficiency targets and aiming to reach net-zero energy-ready standards by 2032. That's the year that all municipalities are expected to be caught up with the code, but some have chosen to accelerate their targets.

But the province's primary natural gas provider is asking Sooke council, and other local governments, to slow down. The utility company argued to councillors that natural gas can help diversify the energy sources that locals use, making the municipality's energy infrastructure more resilient.

It's part of a broader push-and-pull, recently seen in a higher-profile decision by Vancouver council. Fortis wants to keep its product in BC homes, while environmental groups argue that continuing to use more gas goes against BC's climate targets.

Sunil Singal from the environmental organization Stand Earth told Capital Daily that the Fortis tour “has been happening for the past year across BC, but in particular Vancouver Island, where many municipalities have accelerated the adoption of the ZCSC to the highest level this year.”

The latest joint Capital Daily / The Westshore feature story looks at the pitch made to council, the data on natural gas, the pressures facing Sooke, and more.

Around the 'Shore

👩‍⚕️ Colwood hires its first family doctor at city-run centre: Dr. Cassandra Stiller-Moldovan is the first of 8 family physicians slated to join the Royal Bay health centre starting this new year; they will be employed by the municipality through a new model. [Colwood announcement]

🚧 Part of Galloping Goose in Sooke closed after tree falls on Charters Creek Trestle: The CRD says trail users should access the north part of the trail via Sooke Potholes Parking Lot 2 or 3 instead. One walker took photos of the fallen tree and destroyed section of railing, and told CHEK that hikers on Weds. morning were going under and over the trunk. 

 🔦 Power outages in Sooke & Metchosin yesterday amid high winds.

💐 Late Sooke man remembered as tireless food bank advocate. Brent Palmer spent 35 years with the Mustard Seed and played every role; even after becoming the director he could be found personally delivering supplies to people he heard were in need. He was also a Sooke Food Bank volunteer and on the Camosun board of governors. He died last month. [Sooke News Mirror]

Community Events

🔥 Hatley Castle is opening up to the public just once more this month, on the 21st.

🛍 Find more Greater Victoria winter markets in this roundup from Tasting Victoria.

🌲 More free holiday events put on throughout this month by Westshore municipalities. [Our roundup]

📖 Sooke Library events this week: Lego club, Paws & Tails, a lantern-making workshop, & more. [Calendar]

🧊 Live professional ice carving at Langford Station on Sat. Dec. 21, and a Carousel in the Park this weekend, along with other WinterFest events.

🎠 Carousel in the Park at Veterans Memorial Park. Riders can enjoy carollers and a hot drink from Morning Star Coffee’s mobile cart. Admission free, but volunteers will collect donations of non-perishable food items for the Goldstream Food Bank. Friday Dec. 20 / 1-8pm. Weekend Dec. 21 & 22 / 12-7pm.

🧱 A Lego exhibit inspired by Langford during the holidays will be on display at Westshore Town Centre from Sunday Dec. 8 to Dec. 22. Hours: Sundays 12-5pm. Monday to Wednesday 1-6 pm. Thursday & Friday 3-8pm.

🌟 Esquimalt Rec Holiday Wonderland (also at Archie Browning Sports Centre) will be full of lights and decorations at the ninth annual Christmas Tree Village. Tuesday Dec. 3, 2024 to Jan. 3, 2025 from 12:30-10pm. Plus a Free Christmas Sing-Along on Dec. 23 at Esquimalt Rec. 6-8pm.

What’s Offshore?

🚢 Off coast of Colwood: The GSL Effie is a container ship built in 2003 and is sailing under the flag of Liberia from Prince Rupert to Vancouver.

🚢 At Ogden Point: The Charles H Cates, Cable Innovator, OOCL Oakland, MSC Sindy, & Ocean Aphrodite.

Westshore Snaps

Look down—there's more to see on the ground than you might think.

Winter chanterelles by Jane Eert.

Autumn in Langford by Paul Young.

"Even the puddles are pretty" by Jeannette Wyndels.

See more photos of autumn in the region in this fall photo roundup.

Coming soon: A roundup of winter photos. Submit yours to be eligible for our next round of prizes.

That’s it!

If you found something useful, consider forwarding this newsletter to another Westshore local.

And before you go, let us know: