Hello there!

Election season is almost at an end. The big day is Saturday, though you can also vote today and tomorrow at designated electoral offices (see this map).

Each major party is running one candidate in each of the Westshore's ridings—two of which are new districts created mainly from John Horgan's old Langford – Juan de Fuca seat. More on the election ridings and candidates here, and more on the recent election promises in the lead story below.

— Cam

NEWS

The promises local candidates have made

Promises, promises.  

Come election season, politicians seeking office make a lot of promises. Candidates across the Westshore are participating in events at which they are making public their party’s policies and promises on a range of issues such as housing, tax cuts, and the environment.  

Here, drawn from the larger regional promises series by Sidney Coles, are a few of the commitments that local candidates and their parties have made, and how those policies might affect the Westshore.

Cost of living

Most candidates on the campaign trail have addressed the soaring costs of food, fuel, heating—the costs of just getting by. To ease the pressure, Langford incumbent Ravi Parmar has touted the NDP's promised tax cut of about $1K for households and more than $500 for individuals.

The BC NDP also say they'll cut BC’s carbon tax on consumers (though this tax was revenue-neutral or -positive for many people) if the federal mandate requiring the tax is removed after the next federal election.

The Conservatives will also eliminate the carbon tax. Mike Harris, Conservative candidate for Langford has said, more broadly, that “the skyrocketing cost of living has made life increasingly challenging [and poor] governance has worsened these problems” and his party also promises large tax breaks on mortgages and rent payments.

The BC Greens have argued abandoning the carbon tax would do little on affordability, and instead they would raise taxes on large corporations and the most expensive properties while increasing anti-poverty measures, disability rates, rent hike prevention, and $10/day childcare.

Healthcare

Many patients in the Westshore are in need of a family doctor, and Esquimalt–Colwood's Green candidate Camille Currie originally entered politics to address this local lack. The Malahat-area Conservative Marina Sapozhnikov is a doctor herself, and has also cited the healthcare crisis as her point of entry into politics.

Incumbent NDP candidate Ravi Parmar said via a video 3 weeks ago that his party was recruiting more doctors and physician assistants, and expanding the tasks that pharmacists can do for patients.

Victoria-area Conservatives have expressed support for “a hybrid system or a two-tier system,” with “more opportunities to pay out of pocket or for private insurance” as a way to expand healthcare options. Existing private care initiatives have already seen controversy among Westshore patients, and a two-tiered private health care model could potentially siphon doctors, nurses, and staff away from public initiatives such as the recently announced Colwood Clinic set to add family doctors for 10,000 locals.

Schools

The Greens have promised a universal school lunches food program. Both the NDP and the Greens have promised to improve student-to-counsellor ratios in BC schools. That ratio currently stands at 693:1—particularly relevant in fast growing SD62.

The BC Conservatives want to remove SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) inclusivity programming from schools and say they will replace it with an anti-bullying policy. SOGI, designed to address discrimination and bullying and to create a supportive environment for LGBTQ students began under the former BC Liberals in 2016. The proposed repeal may prompt a legal challenge.

At the Oct. 13 Juan de Fuca – Malahat all-candidate meeting the issue of SOGI was raised by a parent during the audience Q&A, which created some tension for members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community in the room. The tension was dispelled by the Greens' David Evans and NDP's Dana Lajeunesse who voiced support for the program. 

See the parties and candidates' promises on more issues here, and more on forests below.

Forests 

In the Westshore, the home to a huge swath of the province’s old growth forests, environmental promises and policies around logging are particularly relevant. 

The Juan de Fuca – Malahat area was the site of the Fairy Creek 2021 anti-logging protests on Pacheedaht territory, the largest civil disobedience action in Canadian history. Provincial deferrals were made at that time, though old growth continues to fall in BC. Locally, old growth forest reduction can risk species such as the endangered spotted owl and marbled murrelet.  

The Greens' Evans has cited increasing public concern about unsustainable forest and water practices, and the risk of wildfires such as the recent summer blaze near Sooke. His party has promised to end old growth logging and clear-cutting (using practices such as selective logging instead) and to compensate First Nations affected by deferrals.

The BC Conservative platform argues that the NDP government has failed the forestry sector and that shifting policies make both industry and conservation unpredictable. They say they would change stumpage fees, better define loggable vs. protected areas, and focus on logging wildfire-affected areas.

NDP candidate Dana Lajeunesse grew up in Jordan River, set on working in the forestry industry like his relatives until a life-changing injury. He told Capital Daily he has “a deep respect for trees and the land we’re on” and said “sustainable forestry practices have come a long way” since his youth. He argues his party will draw “more jobs from every tree while conserving our oldest and rarest forests” and consulting with First Nations.

More on the parties and candidates’ environmental promises.

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NEWS

Royal Bay student inspires ‘A Million Acts of Love’ in honour of late sister

Felix Townsin is not your typical 14 year old. The Royal Bay Secondary student became an author at the age of five, has travelled the world as a guest speaker on the topic of rare diseases, and is about to launch a campaign that will encourage people to perform a million acts of kindness.  

He’s doing it all in honour of his sister Lexi, who passed away five years ago from Blau syndrome, a rare inflammatory disease that affects fewer than one in a million children worldwide.

Lexi, who would have turned 12 this year, was diagnosed with the disease as a toddler and Felix—two years her senior—saw it as his duty to help her.

Now, he’s launching a campaign to spread positivity throughout the world in honour of Lexi’s legacy.

A Million Acts of Love encourages people to find multiple ways to spread love—big and small. Anyone can sign up to take part by themselves or get their classmates and workplaces involved. Each positive action a person does could count as an act of love—donating to a food bank, volunteering at a retirement home, or helping a neighbour in need. You could even bake cookies for your coworkers—each cookie would count as an act of love, says Felix.

The campaign will kick off tomorrow with a benefit concert at the Victoria Scottish Community Centre, featuring top Victoria musicians who have donated their time for the cause.

Find out more about Felix, and how to contribute to the million, in the full story here.

Around the 'Shore

🏫 Key SD62 figure retiring after 34 years: As the school district deals with BC's fastest-growing enrolment it is losing Harold Cull, who has been its secretary-treasurer for 12 years during which it has grown 50%. Cull told the Times Colonist one of his main tasks has been finding land for new schools, and that he is pushing to complete the North Langford Secondary business case before he leaves at the end of the year. The final school remains 4-5 years away, he said. 

😱 Beetlejuice drives the bus: When he's not riding a motorcycle with a skeleton passenger, Westshore resident Kevin Gower is outfitting his BC Transit bus (and himself) with trappings of the nearest holiday. Sometimes it's a green St. Patrick's beard, sometimes it's a Christmas tree and menorah, and this month it's the iconic stripes of the famous movie ghoul. [Victoria News]

🚔 West Shore RCMP will have new lights & electric vehicles: Midway through its 4-year pilot of EVs, the force is adding electric versions of a Mustang and Ford F-150. Another pilot project will add a triangular light bar that is more visible from the side [click below to open a video of it].

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Community Events

🧙‍♀️ Spooky at the Station: A free outdoor market in Langford this weekend with food trucks, face painting, kids’ activities, and free raffle entry. [Info]

⚽️ Pacific FC's final home game of the year is also their last chance to make the playoffs (which would be played all on the road). 1pm Sat. [Tickets]

🥾 Gowlland Tod group hike with the Ginger Goodwin Outdoor Club, a workers’ group that gathers outdoors to hike and to learn about labour, social-movement, and Indigenous history. Sat. 11am-1pm. [Info]

🧠 Quiz Night with Benji: The local trivia icon heads to Esquimalt's Archie Browning for Social Saturdays. Lounge opens 6pm, games begin 7:30pm. [Info]

🌱 Growing & Harvesting Foods & Seeds: Free workshop series begins Oct. 20 at Sooke Library & continues mainly on Sundays through Nov. [Info / reserve a spot]

🩸Blood Drive in Colwood starts Monday next week, 11am-5:45pm. [Info]

What’s Offshore?

⛴ Yesterday CCGS Sir John Franklin, a federal government research vessel, sailed past the Westshore coast from Patricia Bay. 

The ship was built by Seaspan and officially delivered in mid-2019 as the first large vessel to be built for the Canadian government under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), a plan to build out the national fleet using Canadian shipyards. It's used by Fisheries & Oceans Canada to monitor fish stocks and climate change effects, among other ocean research, and has features including high-tech fishing trawls, labs, and a deployable drop keel. 

It was followed in short order by sibling ships CCGS Capt. Jacques Cartier and John Cabot. This August, a fourth ship arrived: CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk is larger and more advanced, and will act as the Coast Guard's flagship science vessel. 

The namesake Sir John Franklin was a British naval officer, a governor of Tasmania (1837-43), and an explorer who mapped parts of North America. He died in 1845 with the crews of the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus while attempting to find the Northwest Passage. It was the worst—and most famous—Arctic exploration tragedy on record. In 2018 the ill-fated expedition was fictionalized in AMC series The Terror; Franklin was played by Ciarán Hinds.

Westshore Snaps

Night and day, moon and sun. Today's photos show dramatic cloud patterns in the local sky—in the dark and in a burst of bright colour, respectively.

Left: From Goldstream Park – Michel Besler

Right: “Fire in the sky” looking at the Westshore from Esquimalt – Nancy Oberholtzer

Between the aurora, the double rainbow, and some brilliant sunsets, we've had a lot of striking sky shots this week. For next week, we're looking for a change of pace. For the upcoming Westshore Snaps, send in a photo of something fairly small and ground-level.

That’s it!

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