Hello there!

Big news came last month about the fate of part of Bear Mountain, an area of the Westshore that has had no shortage of news in recent years—from the trail-access payment controversy to the construction tragedy the other week.

Another tragic death occurred north of the Westshore last week, in the small Nitinat community, and we have a story below on that as well.

— Cam

NEWS

Bear Mountain put into receivership by BC Supreme Court

Developable lands owned by Ecoasis Developments were put under the control of a receiver on Sept. 18 in an attempt to manage the properties such that they can produce money to pay back creditors. The Bear Mountain golf courses and tennis courts also owned by Ecoasis are not technically part of the receivership, the Times Colonist reports, and the Westin resort is owned separately.

Receivership is a legal mechanism for the court to allow one person or entity to manage the assets of another, typically in order to pay down debts.

The City of Langford is one of those creditors; it sued Bear Mountain's Ecoasis this spring, saying that the company failed to make an instalment of its payment plan on New Year's Eve. The plan involves Ecoasis paying the City, over six years beginning in 2023, about $1.8 million it owed the city from a 2016 deal to extend the parkway to the resort from the highway.

The Westin Bear Mountain Resort clarified in May that it is not part of the suit; Ecoasis sold the resort five years ago.

Partners’ dispute had development in limbo

The BC Supreme Court gave Alverez & Marsal Canada the authority to manage Ecoasis after a petition from one of the two roughly equal controlling partners in Ecoasis, Sandoval Holdings.

Sandoval director Tian Kusumoto and Dan Matthews of 599315 B.C. Ltd. (the other partner) have been at odds over how to develop the site, whether and how to sell certain portions of it to generate funds, and a contract with the resort for use of sports facilities. Sandoval, which has a $62M loan on Bear Mountain, claims the venture owes nearly $3M in outstanding payments including the missed instalment to the City.

Matthews, meanwhile, has sued Sandoval claiming that Kusumoto intends to depart “radically” from the subdivision-style original plan for Bear Mountain and has blocked $160M+ in land sales.

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NEWS

Tragedy in a tiny community: One man dead, one charged after incident at Ditidaht First Nation

After scores of police officers descended on it, the tiny community of Nitinat, about 60km north of Port Renfrew, must now come to terms with the tragic events that unfolded there over the past weekend.

This community near Cowichan Lake has about 350 people on the Malachan Indian Reserve at Nitinat Lake; the wider Ditidaht territory begins north of the upper edge of the Westshore.

Early last Saturday morning, around 7am, Lake Cowichan RCMP were called to a house where they say they found a man dead and a "situation at hand." That situation required multiple support units to be called in along with an Emergency Response team that included an armoured vehicle and multiple officers in tactical equipment. No one was allowed in or out of the small community.

Ditidaht First Nation chief councillor Judi Thomas told her community over social media that day that the RCMP had the situation under control and the police would be in the community for a couple more days as the investigation continued. Thomas also said details about the death would not be released yet, out of consideration for the family.

She asked earlier that day that, as a precaution, community members “stay indoors and keep their windows closed and allow the RCMP to carry out their duties to ensure the safety of everyone.”

After a seven-hour interaction, Darien Tate, 24, was arrested “without further incident.” The police indicated that the death was an isolated incident. Tate has been charged with first degree murder—meaning the planned and deliberate death of another person.

A police statement on Oct. 1 said the investigation remains ongoing and no further information will be released at this time.

Continue reading the full story here.

Around the 'Shore

🎓 Royal Roads seeks nominees for alumni achievement awards: The university is looking to give its new Changemaker awards to former students who have gone on to become entrepreneurs, educators, climate leaders, and other impactful roles.

🏈 Playoff position on line in Rebels’ final reg-season game: Westshore was unexpectedly beaten 43-11 at home last weekend to up-Island rival Raiders. That dropped the local team to 5-4, and so to secure second place in the BCFL it will not only need to beat the Rams (6-3) on Saturday in Langley but also have other results turn out favourably. The scenarios are explained here.

🛣 Malahat paving begins Friday near Goldstream (Aspen Road to Tunnel Hill washout repair site). After Friday, expect single-laning 10pm-5am as work continues most of Oct. in off-peak hours. Malahat now also requires winter tires. 

💰 Greater Victoria residents gave the region's economy a grade of C+. Read all the results of the new 2024 Victoria's Vital Signs report online today!*

🧪 Blue-green algae alert at Thetis as of Oct. 1, while alert at Prior remains for a fourth month. 

🐆 Video: Camera captures Colwood cougar prowling around Belmont Park yesterday morning. [Saanich News] Last month The Westshore looked at why cougar encounters seem to be on the rise. 

💥 Demolition continues at Bentinck Island (near Race Rocks) today and tomorrow 9am-4pm, say Dept. of Defence & Metchosin. 

🏡 Bella Park is the Westshore's most popular seaside community – 1 to 3 bedroom condos starting from the low $400s. Book a tour today.*

*Sponsored Listing

Community Events

👩‍🌾 Sooke Country Market: 10am-2pm Saturdays in field above fire hall. 

🚴‍♂️ Fall GoByBike Week, celebrating 30 years of cycling, ends Sunday. With various prizes available for logging rides.

🌏 Liveable Futures free climate action workshops: Building a Higher-Quality Life for You and for Sooke. Saturday, 9am-1pm. [Info]

⚽️ Pacific FC vs Cavalry FC in the second-last home game of the regular season. Sat. Tickets.

🏓 JIL Sportsfest & Family Day is this Saturday at Edward Milne. [Info]

🗳 Juan de Fuca – Malahat candidate forum: The 5th in a series of debates, this less-confrontational debate intends to limit direct debate and confrontation  and focus on candidate answers. [Sooke News Mirror] Monday 7-8:30pm at Sooke Community Theatre (Edward Milne Community School). See more info on the local elections in Tuesday's newsletter.

🎃 Pumpkin patch fundraiser Sat & Sun at Lohbrunner Community Farm Cooperative.

What’s Offshore?

🚢 None were anchored, but we were passed by a few vehicle carriers yesterday including the bright blue Lake Lugu (built 2024, sailing under Liberia flag) en route from Annacis Island (Canada) to Benicia, US and the navy-and-white Green Bay (2007, USA flag) sailing from Tacoma.

Westshore Snaps

“Catch of the Day!” Orange-crowned Warbler – Gary Woodburn

Thank you for all your photos last month. It's wonderful to see all of them in our inbox. Bear in mind that we usually choose photos for the newsletter that are of locations in the Westshore; we still like to look at readers' pictures from their travels and other places in the South Island, but are less likely to include them in this spot.

That’s it!

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

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