Times Colonist
Canadian men curl to Olympic gold
Canada’s Ben Hebert, Brett Gallant, Marc Kennedy and Brad Jacobs celebrate after beating Britain in the men’s curling gold-medal match at the Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Saturday.
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Top U.S. court strikes down Trump tariffs; he says he has options, imposes 10% rate
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he will sign an executive order imposing a 10 per cent global tariff — and lashed out at Supreme Court justices hours after America’s top court struck down his use of an emergency legal tool to...
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B.C. sets aside $50 million to expand naloxone access
The B.C. government will spend $50 million to expand access to easy-touse nasal naloxone across the province over two years in a bid to help prevent overdose drug deaths. Health Minister Josie Osborne made the announcement Thursday, saying nasal...
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New taxes in B.C. budget will add to housing costs, industry warns
If the provincial government is intent on addressing what it believes is a housing shortage, it has a funny way of showing it, homebuilders and real estate experts say. The provincial budget delivered on Tuesday included an expansion of the provincial...
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Budget brings tax pain and little relief
Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said Tuesday the provincial budget is an attempt to protect critical services, which means pausing things it wants to do in favour of what it needs to do. Capital spending over the next three years will be limited to $38...
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Walking soccer is keeping these aging and injured players in the game
At 81, Peter Denby thought his many decades of playing soccer might be coming to a close. “I was getting to the point where running was more difficult for me, so I was looking for something else to do,” said Denby, who had been playing soccer since he...
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Port Angeles plans another welcome rally for Canadians
Escalating rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at Canadians is compelling Victoria’s closest U.S. neighbour to open its arms once again. Port Angeles, Washington, linked to downtown Victoria by the Coho ferry for 67 years and considered a...
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Remembering lives lost in Tumbler Ridge
TUMBLER RIDGE — Details have emerged about the eight people killed and two seriously injured in the mass shooting at a high school and a home in Tumbler Ridge. Here’s what is known: Zoey Benoit, 12 Lori Hayer said on social media that she got an...
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RCMP name shooting victims as Tumbler Ridge families speak out
RCMP have named those who died in Tuesday’s shootings in Tumbler Ridge, including the five children and teacher who were killed at a school and the mother and stepbrother of the shooter. The victims at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School were Abel Mwansa,...
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‘Canada is grieving’
The person behind one of British Columbia’s worst mass killings has been identified as an 18-year-old female school dropout who killed family members at home, then gunned down random students at a school before firing on police and killing herself as...
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Art installation unveiled as reminder of Indigenous connection to Inner Harbour
Long before the causeway and Empress Hotel were built, the waters of what’s now the Inner Harbour lapped against a tidal wetland. The area teemed with shellfish, crabs and fish, and three freshwater streams flowed to what the Esquimalt and Songhees...
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B.C. Greens won’t renew accord with NDP, citing ‘stalled or undelivered’ commitments
The B.C. Green Party has announced it will not renew an accord with the governing NDP when it expires next month, potentially undermining the stability of the provincial government with its one-seat majority. Green Leader Emily Lowan said there were...
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On the trail, one battle after another
Times Colonist contributor David Sovka, whose wife Roseanne was seriously injured when her bike collided with a van on the Galloping Goose trail near Uptown, chronicles her ordeal in Islander, starting on page D1. He writes: “I suppose most of us think...
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Canadian athletes march at opening of Winter Olympics
Two freestyle skiers carried the flag and led the way for hundreds of Team Canada athletes Friday as the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics officially opened with a multisite ceremony spread across northern Italy. Moguls skier Mikaël Kingsbury, of...
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Langford OKs two towers for downtown
Langford council has approved a large new development in its downtown core that would see two towers rise 13 and 22 storeys and provide about 300 housing units. It isn’t the first time rezoning for buildings of those heights and density have been...
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Port Alberni man’s stroke a wake-up call, too many people unaware of risk: report
Roman Frank was putting on his pyjamas to go to bed the night of Oct. 20, 2024, when his mind suddenly went blank. “The next thing you know, I was on the floor,” the Port Alberni man said. “It hit me like a ton of bricks.” The now 54-year-old...
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Bike and bus lanes on Quadra off the table in revised Saanich plan
A controversial plan for the future of Quadra Street and McKenzie Avenue in Saanich won’t include reducing vehicle lanes on Quadra to make more space for cyclists and buses. The original plan included transit-designated lanes, protected bike lanes and...
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Boat fire in Sidney sinks three yachts
Sidney’s fire chief says a blaze at Van Isle Marina on Sunday morning that sank three large yachts was the largest marina or yacht fire he’s seen in 30 years as a firefighter. No one was injured in the blaze, which engulfed three 70-foot yachts at...
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Sheep moved to safety after flooding in Comox Valley
Comox Valley Search and Rescue crews work to save sheep from floods near Courtenay. Sea-Doos, rescue sleds and kayaks were used to help bring people and animals to safety after heavy rainfall in the region.
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Volunteers rescue residents trapped by floods near Courtenay
Search-and-rescue volunteers were helping residents trapped by flooding along a creek north of Courtenay on Friday. The B.C. River Forecast Centre said that heavy rain had caused the level of Dove Creek to rise “significantly” overnight Thursday, and...
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Splashing around Ross Bay
Walkers watch as waves whack the seawall in Ross Bay near Clover Point on Thursday.
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Dump-truck crash shows need to be aware of stopping distance: Nanaimo company
The head of a Nanaimo construction company is urging drivers to be aware of the longer stopping distance required for large, industrial vehicles after dash camera video of a crash involving one of his dump trucks was released on Monday. The video...
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Trump threatens 100% tariffs on Canada
U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening Canada with 100 per cent tariffs over a trade deal with China. Referring to Prime Minister Mark Carney as “governor,” his old insult for former prime minister Justin Trudeau, the president’s Saturday social...
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UVic needs to clarify drug policies as decriminalization ends: law student
A University of Victoria law student is calling on the university to clearly inform students that they will not be disciplined for seeking help related to illicit drug use once personal possession becomes illegal again in B.C. “I think there’s a high...
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Victoria at capacity for homeless support: Alto
Victoria is at capacity when it comes to dealing with those facing homelessness and requiring supportive services in the region, says the city’s mayor. “While we have done more than our share, we are now at a point where we have pretty much concluded...
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Courthouse rally calls for action on intimate-partner violence
Dozens of people gathered outside the Victoria courthouse on Wednesday morning to demand urgent action on intimate-partner violence in the wake of the death of a 41-year-old college instructor. Laura Gover, a mother of two, was found dead in her...
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Family ‘shattered’ by loss of Island woman, 19, found dead in Australia
The father of a Campbell River teenager who was found dead surrounded by a pack of dingoes on an Australian beach this week says her family is “shattered” by her loss. “We will always remember her infectious laugh and her kind spirit. I admired her...
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Day-use area at Goldstream closed to assess dangers after storm knocks down huge tree
An old-growth Western red cedar that came crashing down during a series of wind and rainstorms last month in Goldstream Provincial Park has prompted an assessment of other potentially dangerous trees and the continued closure of the day-use area. The...
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Scenes from the 900 block of Pandora
Bill Phelps gives a peace sign in front of Our Place Society on Pandora Avenue. Like a number of the people living homeless in Victoria, Phelps had a rich life and even ran his own businesses before ending up unhoused. Thirty years ago, he ran...
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Peninsula First Nation eyes addition to reserves, developer partnership
A Saanich Peninsula First Nation is ready to apply to add more than 100 acres of land to its reserves, and to explore major development plans, says its chief. Tsawout elected chief Abraham Pelkey said his nation will go ahead with long-standing plans...
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Minister: B.C. won’t extend decriminalization experiment
B.C. will abandon its controversial three-year experiment with decriminalizing possession of small amounts of illicit drugs, B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne said Wednesday. “Despite the hard work and good intentions behind the pilot, it has not...
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Saanich teen critical after hit-and-run in Richmond
A Saanich teen is in critical condition after being hit by a car late Saturday in Richmond while running from an attack, his mother says. Richmond RCMP said they were called around 11:25 p.m. to the 4200 block of No. 3 Road after reports of a...
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Southbound Keating ramp expected to be complete by spring
Six months after the northbound off-ramp for the Keating Cross flyover opened on the Pat Bay Highway, some area residents are getting impatient for the southbound ramp. The Ministry of Transportation and Transit said in a statement that there isn’t a...
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Plan to redevelop Capital Iron lands nears final adoption
A massive project that’s expected to inject more vitality into a quiet end of Victoria’s downtown is one step away from becoming a reality, after council backed it Thursday night. Council voted unanimously to move forward Reliance Properties’ plan to...
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Expansion not in cards as work on Bay Street bridge about to begin
Replacement or significant expansion is not in the immediate future for Victoria’s Bay Street bridge, which is set to undergo significant maintenance resulting in closure of the eastbound lane starting next month. Ross Kenny, the city’s assistant...
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‘Hope to go home again:’ Victoria’s Venezuelans have mixed emotions after U.S. incursion
Abelardo Rivas was once a respected architect in Venezuela, his buildings adorning the streets of Caracas and other towns and cities. But for two decades, he’s been an enemy of the state, a political agitator and personal friend of Nobel Peace Prize...
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Loud and smelly ‘bachelor party’ of sea lions at Trial Islands
Jacques Sirois got up close and personal with some of the hundreds of sea lions piling onto the rocks around the Trial Islands Ecological Reserve this past week. “The smell is enough to make you faint if the breeze is just right,” said Sirois, a...
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Assessments paint picture of a stable real estate market in Greater Victoria
Greater Victoria’s stable housing market and continued demand for homes on Vancouver Island has translated into little change in the assessed value of homes in the capital region, according to the B.C. Assessment Authority. While residential property...
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HAPPY NEW YEAR
What better way to start a new year than a Robert Bateman painting? This one is Orca Procession (acrylic on board, 30” x 42”, 1985). Robert’s thoughts on his work: “Orca” is the generic name for the “killer whale.” Most people now prefer to use the...
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University moves to develop housing around campus edges
A 40-acre undeveloped site on the edge of the University of Victoria campus could eventually be home to a community hub with up to 3,800 housing units, along with businesses and services. Development of the property called Cedar Hill Corners, which...
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2025 The year in Times Colonist photos
Times Colonist photographers Adrian Lam and Darren Stone pound the pavement in the capital region year-round, finding images that illustrate Greater Victoria’s many communities and neighbourhoods — some to go with reporters’ stories, others just...
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Pilot and seaplane firm sue each other over Bella Bella crash
A Port Hardy-based seaplane company and its former chief pilot are suing each other over a December 2023 crash where a twin-engine plane lost power shortly after takeoff from Bella Bella and crashed into dense forest. All four passengers and the pilot...
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MERRY CHRISTMAS
Once again, we are featuring Robert Bateman’s art on our front page as a Christmas gift to our readers. This one is Winter — Snowshoe Hare (acrylic on board, 32” x 20”, 1978). This is what Robert has to say about the work: From under the spruce tree...
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First Nation defrauded of $406,000 for treatment centre will get some funds back
An organized crime group operating out of Eastern Canada is suspected to have played a part in stealing $406,000 from the ‘Namgis First Nation meant for a wellness and treatment centre at Alert Bay. The First Nation, which has been building a 16-bed...
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Woman gets 13 years in death of Island carver
George David’s half-finished carvings don’t tell the story they were meant to. The Indigenous artist, a member of the Tofino-area Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation on Vancouver Island, was murdered in Washington state in 2016. On Dec. 15, an Arkansas woman...
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Island timber firms get $8 million to expand value-added production
To address the effects of punishing tariffs on wood exports, the province is handing nearly $8 million to two Vancouver Island forest companies to allow them to adapt their products for new markets. Western Forest Products’ value-added plant in...
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‘I drank because it took the pain away’: Umbrella Society offers help to those battling addictions
Mirene Hudlin is discovering how liberating it is to cry and laugh again after decades of using alcohol as a crutch for her emotions. “I drank because it took the pain away,” said Hudlin, who recalls her first sip of alcohol at age 21. It was the...
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Heavy rain returns as Island set for a December cooldown
The last of the warm, subtropical air on Vancouver Island is giving way to colder air from the west, bringing an end to conditions that led to record-breaking temperatures. Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor said Tuesday the Island should...
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‘The whole community was in shock:’ Menorah lighting goes ahead despite deadly attack
Rabbi Meir Kaplan was preparing for Sunday’s annual menorah lighting at the B.C. legislature with his wife late Saturday night when he heard about the deadly mass shooting unfolding at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia. “The whole community here was...
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Woman with chronic pain turns to rare therapy
Weeks after Gabriola Island resident Marilyn Conner tripped on a jagged section of a Nanaimo sidewalk and shattered her left hand, she developed chronic pain so intense she wanted to throw up. “It’s like a pain that can’t be tolerated,” said Conner,...
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Mayors and First Nations to work on commuter rail, but no route proposed yet
Greater Victoria mayors have agreed to work with First Nations on a commuter rail route between Victoria and Langford that would not bisect Esquimalt Nation, though no alternate route has been proposed. The Esquimalt and Songhees nations, as well as...
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Esquimalt seniors on hook for removing deer killed by someone else’s dog
An Esquimalt couple were distraught when an unknown dog fatally injured a deer in their yard. They were also on the hook for nearly $300 to have the dead animal hauled away. It began on Friday night. Susan and Keith Clamp had just returned from...
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Developer request prompts debate on whether apartments need to provide amenity rooms
When Victoria council agreed last week to let a developer turn an amenity space into another suite in a planned 47-unit development in Fernwood, it sparked a debate about whether amenity rooms should be required in new buildings. For decades,...
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Tree falls on Saanich home amid heavy rains Monday; more storms set to hit region
Ground soaked by heavy rain on Monday likely played a role in a large tree falling onto a Saanich house, damaging its roof and making it uninhabitable, a Saanich Fire Department captain says. One of the six tenants who live in the Maplewood Road...
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Seniors march in bathrobes to demand swift action to develop former Oak Bay Lodge site
A group of seniors wearing colourful bathrobes and walking with walkers, canes or rolling in wheelchairs paraded to Oak Bay Municipal Hall Saturday to lobby for redevelopment of the empty site of the former Oak Bay Lodge. The group is asking...
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Christmas Fund gets a $50,000 boost
Donations to the Times Colonist come in all sizes, in all forms and at all times of the year. Every donation matters. Our annual campaign to help the needy had a huge boost on Friday, thanks to a $50,000 donation from Andrew Sheret Limited. The...
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Rustad resigns
Thirteen months of seething tension and raging arguments within the Conservative Party of B.C. caucus and membership culminated in John Rustad resigning as Opposition Leader on Thursday. The day previous, a one-person majority of his caucus had urged...
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Victoria could see towing rates rise sharply after longtime freeze
Victoria is considering hiking towing fees to avoid losing towing services in the city. Staff have recommended that council amend the city’s towing bylaw to increase fees that have been frozen since 2011 to allow towing companies to recoup their...
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Rock Bay businesses tired of chronic vandalism, theft
Businesses in Victoria’s Rock Bay neighbourhood are raising the alarm about a wave of vandalism and theft that’s costing them thousands of dollars and putting their staff and livelihoods at risk. Some believe that increased police patrols in the...
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Redefining the Landscape of Surgery on Vancouver Island
This Giving Tuesday, the Victoria Hospitals Foundation proudly celebrates the donors who are transforming surgical care at Royal Jubilee (RJH) and Victoria General (VGH) hospitals—Vancouver Island’s referral centres. Last year, Phase I of It’s Time...
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Bay Street Armoury to be renamed for wartime leader
General Sir Arthur Currie never claimed to speak for Canada, yet few leaders in our history ever spoke so clearly for our nation by their actions. Born on Dec. 5, 1875, Currie rose from being a local schoolteacher, real estate agent, insurance salesman...
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Council to vote on $9.6M Centennial Square redesign
A week before it decides if the project moves forward, Victoria city council got a look at the final detailed design for a revitalized Centennial Square. A scaled-down version of the revitalization plan was presented to council’s committee of the...
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Protesters rebuild old-growth blockade despite earlier arrests
A game of cat-and-mouse between oldgrowth activists and RCMP is unfolding in the Upper Walbran Valley, after police cleared a blockade on Tuesday and arrested four people, but were unable to prevent protesters from retaking the road and re-establishing...
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Changes brought in to prevent lawsuits over involuntary care
B.C. has introduced changes to the Mental Health Act to protect doctors, nurses and other health-care workers from being sued for delivering involuntary care under the law in good faith, a move triggered by an ongoing court challenge. Premier David...
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Donations help Colwood hockey team replace stolen gear
A Colwood-based minor hockey team for kids and adults with developmental disabilities has secured new gear and money to keep the club running for another three years, after an outpouring of support from the public when its gear was stolen from a...
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Women call for IUD pain management
Advocates of better pain management for women undergoing gynecological procedures say minimizing women’s discomfort is “misogynistic” and has to stop. Two years ago, when B.C. began offering free prescription contraception, including intrauterine...
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Islanders gather to remember the sacrifices of fallen veterans
Standing in front of Victoria’s Afghanistan Memorial on Nov. 11, Lt. Col. Jim McCorriston recalled the last rites that he’s conducted for fellow service members. Some of the names of those he’s helped to bury are etched on the memorial. The senior...
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Vic High gets a new Great War banner to honour students and teachers who served
Students in one of Canada’s oldest high schools were moving through the hallways between classes when the Times Colonist visited on Friday — chatting, organizing their busy social and work calendars. It was likely much the same at Victoria High more...
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Band of brothers
Stories of sacrifice abound every November of soldiers who put their lives on the line for their country — and the families who anxiously waited for their return. One family from Cumberland answered the call for king and country in an extraordinary way...
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Saanich church will serve as extreme-weather shelter
When the temperature drops sharply or weather warnings are posted this winter, a church just off Shelbourne and Cedar Hill Cross Road will open its doors as Saanich’s first extreme-weather shelter. Rev. Mark Green said Broad View United decided to...
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Owner of evacuated highrise sues engineers hired to fix it
The owner of a twice-evacuated residential rental building in Langford is suing engineers involved in work to make the building safe after the occupancy permit was pulled the first time nearly six years ago. Residents were forced out of their...
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Victoria flower baskets, bike valet in question as budget talks begin
Victoria’s signature hanging baskets, Canada Day funding, youth bus passes, the downtown bike valet and a slew of grants might all be on the chopping block as council considers options to reduce costs. The draft city budget for 2026, released this...
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