Times Colonist

Teachers call for action on ‘epidemic’ of school violence

The Greater Victoria teachers’ union is calling for “urgent action” from the school district and province to address what it calls an epidemic of studenton-student and student-on-staff violence. An average of 21 incidents of student-on-teacher...

UVic partners with U.S. university in effort to drive AI innovation

The University of Victoria is sharing faculty members, research and classroom space with a U.S. university to help shape AI innovation. UVic and Northeastern University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, have entered a three-year...

Cancer surgeons in Victoria are brothers from Iran. Sisters are patient and nurse.

When Victoria’s Shaveeta Jnagal was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at age 32, everyone told her she was at least fortunate to have Dr. Khorasani assigned to her case. “I’d tell people my surgeon was Dr. Khorasani and they’d say: ‘You’re so lucky,...

A 15-year dream come true for Spectrum Community School

A new all-weather turf field almost a decade in the making is ready for action at Spectrum Community School. The field replaces grass fields plagued by uneven surfaces and drainage issues that left school teams unable to host home games at Spectrum...

Setting the stage for Esquimalt Ribfest this weekend

Bash Fayad, left, and Jorge Del Toro of DTH Construction set up the stage for Esquimalt Ribfest. The event, focused on eating barbecued ribs, runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. today and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, at Bullen Park. Admission to...

Island rallies to call for fairer federal funding for B.C. Ferries

Courtenay–Alberni MP Gord Johns is raising the alarm about impending ferry fare increases in rallies across Vancouver Island starting Monday, calling for the federal government to provide the same level of funding for B.C. Ferries as it does Atlantic...

B.C. premier rallies behind Ottawa’s tariffs

Premier David Eby has invoked the memory of the 9-11 terrorist attacks and Canadian efforts to help their neighbours as he voices support for Ottawa’s counter tariffs in the trade conflict with the United States. Eby said Canadians stepped up to help...

E-bike, e-scooter warnings and bans greet students returning to school

As students prepare to return to school today, they’re being warned of the dangers of e-bikes, e-scooters and other transportation devices amid rising injuries. The Sooke School District issued a notice on its website reminding students that they are...

Massive Christ Church pipe organ gets its first noteworthy overhaul

Before he takes his seat at the massive organ at Christ Church Cathedral, Donald Hunt slips into a pair of soft-soled leather shoes, the kind that dancers use to feel the floor beneath them. The Anglican cathedral’s music director needs agility in his...

Nanaimo housing project to be ‘dry’ after lobbying by city

For years, Nanaimo city councillor Paul Manly has said that people recovering from addictions need access to housing where drug and alcohol use is not allowed. When he was running the city’s Unitarian shelter on Townsite Road, Manly said he saw...

Carney disputes U.S. claims about collapse of trade talks

THUNDER BAY — Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed back on Thursday against senior members of the Trump administration who have been claiming his government tanked trade talks in the eleventh hour for political reasons. “I don’t think, with all respect,...

Two more MLAs quit Conservatives, as Findlay’s chief of staff resigns

British Columbia Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay said she was the victim of a “co-ordinated political attack” after she accepted the resignation of her chief of staff and two more legislators quit her caucus on Wednesday, both citing ethical...

Indo-Pacific military leaders gather in Victoria amid Canada-U.S. strains

Canadian and U.S. military leaders struck a collegial tone at the official opening of a gathering of chiefs of defence in Victoria on Tuesday, even as members of the Trump administration ramped up their denigration of Canada’s Armed Forces. On Monday,...

Owner of Emily Carr’s boarding house pushes province to assist in repairs

The owner of Emily Carr’s home and boarding house in James Bay is losing hope that the provincial government will help preserve the place where the celebrated artist painted, wrote books and lived out her last days. Peter Willis said repeated attempts...

Family losing hope for answers five years after artist’s killing

Five years after her brother was killed in their mother’s Rockland home, Alisa Gordaneer is losing faith that her family will ever have answers in what remains an unsolved homicide. Police have shared little about Jeremy Gordaneer’s death on Aug. 31,...

Monument with 22,000 names honours Japanese Canadians sent to internment camps

A monument park honouring the thousands of Japanese Canadians forcibly removed from the West Coast and sent to internment camps during the Second World War is taking artful shape on a tranquil pathway between Beacon Hill Park and St. Ann’s...

B.C. closing Cowichan Valley road in area where boy was hit, killed by car

The provincial government will close public access to a gravel road in the Cowichan Valley following the death of a 12-year-old boy who was killed by a speeding driver. The closing of Poplar Road was announced by Juan De FucaMalahat MLA Dana...

Flowers line up for their close-up at Ship Point

A woman takes photos at the end of Ship Point in Victoria’s Inner Harbour on Tuesday. Today’s forecast is for mainly sunny skies in Greater Victoria.

Royals and stars dazzle, $14.5 million raised at Foster gala

With special guests such as Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Bill Gates, Adam Levine and Rick Hansen in the crowd, $14.5 million was raised on Friday at the David Foster Foundation’s 40th anniversary gala. There were four donations of $1 million each, and...

Island tourism group floats sustainability fee for visitors

A non-profit tourism association is floating the idea of charging visitors to Vancouver Island a sustainability fee to fund things like trail improvements and public washrooms, along with conservation efforts. 4TVI, formerly Tourism Vancouver Island,...

Spate of ‘nuisance’ fires wreak havoc across Island

When Nanaimo RCMP Insp. Donovan Tait first heard about the garbage-can fire that torched an A&W restaurant in the early hours of Tuesday, his mind immediately went to his hometown of Port Alberni. A fire had ravaged the Service B.C. building there...

Snowbirds say goodbye, for now

The Canadian Snowbirds gave a dramatic farewell to Victorians on Tuesday, thundering across the waterfront in a 45-minute precision performance that drew gasps of wonder and a wave of patriotic appreciation. An estimated 30,000 people lined the city’s...

‘Devastation’: About 230 homes destroyed by wildfire tearing through Okanagan

The chief of the Okanagan Indian Band says about 230 homes have been destroyed by a raging wildfire near Vernon. Dan Wilson said 30 homes of band members and 200 non-band homes had been destroyed by the Bradley Creek fire, which evacuees said was...

This Saanich fence is also a museum that shows off Canadian designs

When his old fence needed replacing last November, Allan Collier didn’t just put up a new fence — he also incorporated a custom miniature museum display. The Saanich furniture builder and retired high school woodworking teacher has long been...

‘Believe in hope’: Transplant recipient grateful for Foster Foundation help

Tamara and Evanne Fisher will be easy to spot next weekend at events celebrating the 40th anniversary of the David Foster Foundation, including a ticketed black-tie gala and a free concert at the Inner Harbour. Chances are, the mother-and-daughter duo...

Langford plans to make it easier to bike, walk and bus

Every few months, Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson starts his morning by standing on the Millstream overpass, looking down on the Trans-Canada Highway and counting vehicles flowing east for the workday. There’s a spot where the highway stretches to...

$7M times two: Federal grants awarded for Metchosin firehall, sewage to biochar

Two $7-million federal grants were announced Thursday for projects in the capital region, one for a facility to produce biochar with leftover solids from sewage treatment, and another for replacing Metchosin’s aging firehall. The two were among 54...

West Coast Trail hikers say they were alone as conditions deteriorated

Hiker Benjamin Currie says he was warned during a Parks Canada orientation about problems with a cable car over a creek on the West Coast Trail, but was told that if anything went wrong, or if there were updates, they would let people know right...

‘Torrential’ rain prompts evacuations from West Coast Trail

One of the hikers forced out in an evacuation of the West Coast Trail amid hazardous conditions says he experienced “torrential” rains for approximately 44 hours straight. Patrick Laprise, who had travelled from Montreal with his 15-year-old son to...

Residents of 70 Mile House told to leave as wildfire nears

70 MILE HOUSE — Residents of 70 Mile House and surrounding areas were told to leave their homes Monday in an expanded evacuation order prompted by a growing wildfire that has already forced the evacuation of nearby Clinton. The order from the...

Life on Pandora

One city block. So many heated opinions. Mayor Marianne Alto called it “a hive of misery.” A pastor at a downtown church told media that while it troubled him to go against the gospel by shutting out the people who live there, he’d rather do that than...

Eleven people rescued after fiery seaplane crash near Saturna Island

A seaplane after it crashed in Shallow Bay on Sucia Island, about 10 kilometres east of Saturna Island, on Thursday at about 5:20 p.m. In videos, passengers can be seen exiting the plane as smoke rises, before bright orange flames engulf the fuselage....

Province breached duty to restore hotel after it was used as housing, judge rules

The province breached its obligation to restore a Duncan hotel used as temporary housing during the COVID-19 pandemic to its original condition, and failed to pay rent while the hotel was in unusable condition, a judge has ruled. The Ramada hotel’s...

Esquimalt’s quest for its own police force hits a roadblock

Esquimalt’s plan to re-establish its own police department has hit a setback, after larger police detachments in the region expressed no interest in picking up specialized services such as forensics, detention and major crimes investigations. The...

Nanaimo man recalls witnessing drowning, after spike in deaths

It’s been more than 10 years since Chris Allison saw a man drowning in Nanaimo’s Westwood Lake, but it’s an experience he says changed him forever. Brothers Clint and Mike Little were out fishing on the lake in April of 2014, and were about to pack up...

1,450 people missed in prison-escape alert

The names of about 1,450 residents who registered for an emergency public-notification system were dropped during the transition to Metchosin’s new fire chief in the spring. That means they were not included in the initial public notification after...

Fatal crash highlights key role and risks of helicopters in remote B.C. areas

This week’s fatal helicopter crash highlights the crucial role of helicopter pilots in remote areas of the B.C. coast, and the risks they face, say residents and industry representatives. The crash early Tuesday in the Loughborough Inlet area, between...

Duncan man’s giant maple burl is looking for new home

When Glen McLeod decided to remove a massive burl that had grown out of a maple tree in his front yard, he knew it would be a big task — but he didn’t realize it would become a multi-decade effort that changed his life. It was more than 20 years ago...

New drugs make it harder to tackle disorder

The rise in street drugs that don’t respond to Naloxone has been an unanticipated snag in the City of Victoria’s $10-million effort to tackle street disorder, but staff say the city is still making headway. Kerrilee Jones, the city’s assistant...

Peninsula mulls scaled-down rec centre plan after Sidney rejects borrowing

Councils on the Saanich Peninsula will consider a scaled-down proposal for a new recreation centre after Sidney rejected borrowing for a more expensive version. Borrowing $9.1 million for the proposed facility requires consent from Sidney, Central...

Nurses end pickets as mediation begins

The president of the B.C. Nurses’ Union told nurses picketing at Royal Jubilee Hospital on Tuesday that she’s hopeful mediated talks will be successful, but “cautious,” as the government has yet to move on its position. Tuesday was the last day of...

Cadborosaurus

Cadborosaurus, nicknamed Caddy by journalist Archie Wills, is a sea serpent in the folklore of regions of the Pacific Coast of North America. Its name is derived from Cadboro Bay in Victoria, British Columbia, and the Greek root word “saurus” meaning...

Long-beaked dolphin sightings around Island linked to El Niño

Two long-beaked common dolphins have been spotted swimming at three separate locations around the north Island this month, far from their usual range. They were likely brought to the area by warmer water associated with El Niño weather events,...

Cathedral bells set to ring quarter peal in honour of 90th year

The bells at Christ Church Cathedral will ring for an especially long time this Sunday, as the cathedral marks 90 years since they were first rung on July 12, 1936. The eight original bells, cast in London as replicas of the ones in Westminster Abbey,...

Inmate found dead off William Head struggled with mental-health issues

An inmate found dead in the ocean off William Head Institution in Metchosin last month had a history of self-harm and suicidal thoughts, and had been meeting monthly with a psychologist for mental-health issues, according to parole documents. Ernest...

Central Saanich toddler loses half of ear in ‘horrifying’ dog attack on Canada Day

A Central Saanich family is in shock after their two young sons suffered serious bite injuries — including the toddler losing part of his ear — when they were attacked by a dog in their neighbourhood on Canada Day. Bryanne and Chris Pennington were...

‘I told my clients to hang on tight’: Guide rescues two after boat sinks

It was supposed to be a routine fishing charter with five guests, but it turned out to be a life-saving mission for captain Pete Matthews. The owner of Wild West Sport Fishing was heading out of Comox Harbour to fish for salmon early Sunday when he...

Carney picks German firm for submarines

Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday named German defence manufacturer TKMS as the preferred bidder to supply the Royal Canadian Navy’s next fleet of submarines, and he said several are expected to be delivered by 2034. The news had leaked out ahead...

Pride outweighs heartbreak as Island fans celebrate Canada’s World Cup journey

It is said dreams die hard. But sometimes they die predictably and gently. In a touching scene, the redclad fans inside a packed Market Square in downtown Victoria clapped appreciatively at the giant TV screen as the Canadian players were shown...

Waiting in the wings for a bite of tasty seafood

B.C. to retain tanker ban, be compensated for risk if Ottawa imposes pipeline

British Columbia will keep its ban on oil tankers along the province’s northern coast while receiving compensation for environmental risks if Ottawa approves a new bitumen pipeline to the West Coast under an agreement announced Thursday by Prime...

Red and white on full display as thousands gather across Victoria to celebrate Canada Day

For nine-year-old Quinton Ramsay, the best part about Canada is maple syrup. “Here, there are no tornadoes,” he added, listing the best parts about growing up in Victoria. His great-grandmother, Val Utman, brought Quinton to the Gorge Canada Day...

Raising Victoria’s Pride rainbow

Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto with Coun. Chris Coleman, left, Victoria Pride Society president Nick Luney, and councillors Krista Loughton and Jeremy Caradonna raise the Pride flag in front of city hall on Monday. Nine additional flags representing the...

Aging infrastructure key driver of rising property taxes in Greater Victoria

Oak Bay property owners may have bristled when they learned their 2026 property taxes were going to jump an average of 8.5%, but it turns out that might have been the good news. The bad news is, it’s likely to get worse in coming years. With a...

Victoria woman aims to get country singing O Canada together again

The Fernwood woman who got 130,000 people singing in unison across the country on Canada Day last year is ready to do it all again. About a month before the big day in 2025, Katharine Casey figured she would get everyone she could to sing the national...

Victoria choirs set to perform at iconic London cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral singers ages eight to nearly 80 have only a few more weeks to polish their hymns before they jet off to England to perform at some of the most famous cathedrals in the country. The group of about 50 choristers includes three...

Tech company aims to return Victoria Plaza Hotel site to its former glory

Seven years after it was destroyed by a fire, an unlikely suitor has stepped up to rebuild a hotel at the corner of Government Street and Pandora Avenue that a century ago was a major social and tourism hub. Redbrick, a Victoria-based digital...

‘What if I’m stuck like this?’: After suffering stroke at 28, UVic student recalls recovery

Unable to talk or walk, Melissa Wing sat at Victoria General Hospital running through scenarios of how she’d live the rest of her life if she didn’t recover from a devastating stroke. “I’m 28 but I’m now locked in my head — I can’t communicate...

New owner of Bay Centre eyes ‘experiential’ tenants

A Montreal-based real estate firm has acquired the Bay Centre in downtown Victoria, and says it’s in discussions with retailers as well as “experiential tenants” to fill the void left by the Hudson’s Bay Company. Henry Zavriyev, chief executive of...

Island critically short of dermatologists with skin cancers on the rise

Vancouver Island is facing a critical shortage of medical dermatologists even though skin cancer diagnoses are on the rise, says the president of the Canadian Dermatology Association. Dr. Mark Kirchhof said there’s a need for three medical...

All ages celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day

Three-year-old Ace Rice, left, and two-year-old Phillip George Jr. perform with the Lekwungen Traditional Dancers and Singers during a welcome ceremony for National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations at Royal Roads University on Friday.

Glassy water contributed to fatal seaplane crash: TSB investigation

Canada’s Transportation Safety Board is urging seaplane pilots to be aware of risks when landing on calm and glassy water, after a crash two years ago that claimed the life of a passenger. The Cessna seaplane carrying three people was landing at a...

Floating TV shows World Cup games off Fisherman’s Wharf

When Mexican restaurant owner and soccer fan Ramesh Espinoza was not allowed to erect a bigscreen TV on Fisherman’s Wharf to broadcast FIFA World Cup games, he did the next best thing — he floated one in. Vancouver is among the 16 cities across...

Little sign of FIFA boost for Island hotels

Industry associations say hotel bookings in Victoria and Nanaimo are staying flat or dipping compared to last year, despite global attention on Vancouver as it hosts the World Cup. Destination Greater Victoria CEO Paul Nursey said hotel bookings this...