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  • Jan 30 - Westshore munis on hook for millions in 9-1-1 costs

Jan 30 - Westshore munis on hook for millions in 9-1-1 costs

Ex-mayor cut from federal candidacy.

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After an unusually warm and dry winter, we may be getting snow this weekend—or as soon as today in some areas. If it does snow in the Westshore, send us your photos and we will feature some next week.

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NEWS

Westshore mayors ask BC not to send them millions in new 9-1-1 dispatch costs this year

Oliver Grüter-Andrew, president & CEO at E-Comm’s South Island 9-1-1/Police Dispatch Centre opening in 2019

The South Island will soon be paying nearly $5M more to send RCMP officers to emergency calls this year. That’s “untenable and unacceptable,” 10 of the region's mayors said in a letter to the province on Wednesday. The bulk of those mayors are in the Westshore, along with the Cowichan Valley and Sidney.

They're calling on Garry Begg, minister of public safety and solicitor general, to halt BC's plans to shift 9-1-1 dispatch costs to their level. The mayors said they have a “strong opposition and profound dissatisfaction” toward the changes. Taking on these costs would bump property taxes up 2.6% to 6%—not exactly welcome news to residents of municipalities already facing tax increases.  

Four years have passed since the province first announced it was considering shifting 9-1-1 E-Comm call costs onto municipalities (the province and feds had previously been footing most of the bill). The initial target date was 2022, but that was pushed back to April 2025.

But now, of course, it is 2025. That looming April 1st deadline is no joke.

The mayors, though, say that the ministry “implied” at last fall's Union of BC Municipalities conference that these costs would not be applied in the coming year as had been scheduled.

But last Tuesday the province announced it will be passing the bill for 9-1-1 dispatch services on to the 10 South Island municipalities served by the RCMP: Langford, Sooke, Colwood, View Royal, Sidney, Metchosin, North Cowichan, Ladysmith, North Saanich, and Duncan. 

That bill: an estimated $4.9M for April to December 2025, increasing further in 2026. Colwood is looking at a $500k budget increase for the 9 months of 2025 after this change takes effect. Langford would face $2.5M in 2026, the first full year of the cost.

The province argues that the municipalities were warned years in advance that BC would soon stop paying for their dispatches. The mayors say the province's plans weren't concrete until recently—and that the whole funding model needs to change.

Then there's the fact that the dispatch service, E-Comm, is under a provincial review spurred by concerns about whether its services are effective and worth their cost.

Keep reading for more about:

  • how this dispute has evolved

  • the province's latest response

  • how 9-1-1 calls work

  • the history (and possible future) of emergency service funding in BC

  • how these new costs may affect you as a Westshore resident

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NEWS

Federal Liberal candidacy revoked for former View Royal mayor

Image from now-unavailable post by Liberal Party of Canada (Facebook)

It appears there will be no battle of the mayors in the race to replace the now-retired Randall Garrison as MP for Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke.

Current Sooke mayor Maja Tait remains in the race as the incumbent NDP's candidate. But David Screech, the former 2-term View Royal mayor, has been dropped by the LPC just two weeks after his acclimation as a candidate was confirmed.

Screech denies harassment allegations

He took to Facebook yesterday to say that he had been emailed a letter by the party which, he said, cited being contacted by someone claiming Screech stalked and harassed them.

Those allegations are “complete nonsense” and “made in a malicious manner,” Screech argues in his post. He later told the Times Colonist that he believes the accuser is a man he has never met, but who opposes him over his city politics career.

The ex-mayor, and owner of former downtown store Gregg's Furniture, claims he was not given his chance to make his case through a formal process.

Screech also criticized the federal Liberal party more generally, saying it was “in disarray” and still did not have a candidate in place in 214 of Canada's 343 ridings as of Jan. 15.

The 2025 federal election is scheduled for October but is expected to actually arrive in the spring if opposition parties vote to bring down the Liberal government. Garrison held this riding for 14 years, though the Liberals held its predecessor riding in the decade prior.

Around the 'Shore

📚 6 months in jail for man who damaged Langford library. He “ripped wires and kicked a hole in the wall” last fall, RCMP say.

🟩 Sonia Furstenau resigns as BC Greens leader. The former Cowichan Lake MLA will not be replaced long-term by either of the party's 2 MLAs. [Capital Daily]

🗞 Tuesday news: Two local soccer stars return—and the speedway might come back, too. [The Westshore]

🥇 World-class education is closer than you think. Attend an information session on January 30 to discover how attending Glenlyon Norfolk School is possible and worth the journey.*

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Community Events

📚 Sooke library events this week: Pop-up StoryWalk, hiking safety seminar, and more. [Schedule]

🏒 Westshore Wolves play tomorrow. [JDF Rec event list]

📃 Metchosin public hearing on Feb. 3 (Monday) to get public input on proposed technical changes to details of the 2010 OCP. [Details]

🏒 Victoria Grizzlies host Prince George Spruce Kings on Sat. at 6pm. The team just acquired 2005-born defenceman Brody Juck via trade. [Tickets]

👟 Wounded Warrior Run BC Gala Dinner is Sat. 6:30pm at the Ocean Pointe Resort. [Info]

⚽️ Langford hosts international soccer, standing in as home field for Calgary's Cavalry FC this Thursday. [Tickets]

🧧 Lunar New Year in Esquimalt Town Square: Welcome the Year of the Snake with the Wong Sheung Kung Fu Club at the Esquimalt Town Square. Sun. 3pm. [Info]

Coffee with the Mayor in Metchosin will next happen on Feb. 13.

What’s Offshore?

File photo: Canada.ca

🚢 No commercial vessels anchored, but this is the first time that all 8 Orca-class naval vessels have been out together (with none away for training or sidelined for maintenance). Read more about Wednesday's milestone at CHEK.

Westshore Snaps

Crisp walk in the sunshine – Glenys Pumfrey, Colwood

Foam party: Sea-foam covers a beach in Pacific Rim National Park. [Facebook photo]

“Epic” Sooke snorkel: See the colourful underwater world in Iron Mine Bay. [Facebook photos]

Remember to send us any photos you capture of weekend winter weather.

📸 Snapped a photo you’d like to share? Send it with a caption and don’t forget to add where you live.

That’s it!

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