Times Colonist
Times Colonist book sale continues today, Victoria Curling Club, 1952 Quadra, 9 to 5 Book lovers from near and far descend on sale
Tonatiuh Amor flew from Mexico City to Victoria for the annual Times Colonist book sale just to buy titles for his bookstore. The English literature student said he heard about the sale from a friend and decided to make the trip north to hunt for...
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Orcas wow spectators at Ogden Point
Amy MacCutchan was having a tough day at the B.C. Cancer Centre at Royal Jubilee Hospital, where, as a medical secretary, she sees every day the suffering, worry and pain of so many. Heading home on Thursday afternoon, she saw a socialmedia post that...
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‘Game changer’ blood test is beloved brother’s legacy
Angela Lee of Nanaimo says that when her brother was told he had three months to live, he fretted about not having a legacy. Little did he know that the genetic cancer testing he did was his legacy — benefiting generations of his family to...
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Tumbler Ridge families likely to seek US$1 billion in OpenAI lawsuit
An American lawyer representing some of the victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting says they will likely be seeking more than US$1 billion in their California legal action against OpenAI and its founder, Sam Altman. Chicago-based Jay Edelson has...
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Pro-Palestine marchers demand return of police traffic control
Organizers of weekly pro-Palestine marches in downtown Victoria are demanding that police resume providing “reasonable traffic control,” a month after VicPD scaled back its presence. Maureen Stone, one of the march organizers, said police are obliged...
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Call to build 20 hotels in a decade finds support
The ambitious goal to build up to 20 new hotels and add 2,000 new rooms to the region over the next decade is gaining momentum with municipalities, First Nations and developers, says the chief executive of Destination Greater Victoria. Paul Nursey...
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Esquimalt mulls pausing new missing-middle housing projects
Esquimalt council is considering halting new applications for missing-middle housing projects due to concerns about “jarring” three-storey houseplexes being built next to one-storey bungalows. Council asked staff this week to look at whether the...
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Royal Roads will help train military again
Royal Roads University is returning to its roots by offering military officer training this fall in a new partnership with the Canadian Armed Forces. The university replaced Royal Roads Military College after it closed in 1995. University president...
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New whale-watching vessel visits Victoria to mark Clipper’s 40th year
Long-awaited post-secondary financial review due at end of April Cowichan Valley District postpones decision on controversial bylaw
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To trades workers: Don’t ‘walk it off,’ text Pain B.C.
Ben Marsolais began working in home construction with his stepfather at the age of 11, and by 20, he had developed chronic back pain. Unlike colleagues who self-medicated with drugs and alcohol, however, the 47-year-old Coquitlam man had family he...
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Victoria Day Parade route shortened as part of safety changes
Big changes are coming for the Thrifty Foods Victoria Day Parade, including cutting the length of the route from four kilometres to 1.6. After years of being on Douglas Street, the 126th edition of the parade will follow the same route as last year’s...
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After Times Colonist book drive, volunteers help prepare for book sale May 2 and 3
Jane Mertz gives directions to volunteers sorting books at the Victoria Curling Club for the upcoming Times Colonist book sale, set for May 2 and 3. Tens of thousands of books were donated this past weekend during a two-day book drive at the curling...
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Reader’s delight: Books pour in for Times Colonist’s annual book sale
Volunteers in bright orange vests carried boxes and pushed shopping carts filled with books Saturday as donations for the annual Times Colonist book drive poured in. Some take time off work to help sort the books, while others travel to Victoria from...
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Co-op to get $677,500 grant from Victoria
The first co-operative housing project in Victoria in recent memory will get a helping hand from the city, after council approved a $677,500 grant to the newly formed group behind the initiative. The funding, from the city’s $4.5 million Housing...
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Evicted residents do not have to remove mobile homes from Songhees reserve: court
The B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled that residents evicted from a mobile home park on Songhees Nation lands no longer have to remove their homes from the property, but they aren’t entitled to compensation for leaving them there. Residents of the...
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Victoria historian, known for graveyard tours, brought lost flag of Vancouver Island to life
Many people knew Victoria historian Michael Halleran for his Sunday tours at Ross Bay Cemetery, including his “murder most foul” talks that dug into the darker side of those buried in the historic Fairfield burial ground. But one of his biggest...
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Swimmers eager to return as Crystal Pool reopens after gas incident
Four days after she was forced to leave when Crystal Pool was evacuated after a chlorine gas release, Sally Ziskowski was back in the water Tuesday for her aquafit class. The 65-year-old was one of 90 patrons and 12 staff who had to leave on Friday...
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Brain injury a shadow crisis amid overdose deaths in B.C.
Edwin Bergsson’s friend broke down the door of his recording studio in Victoria about five years ago, found him unconscious and saved his life. “It’s incredible that I’m here today,” said Bergsson, who had overdosed after taking what he believed was...
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Doctors moving from U.S. find new opportunities, better work-life balance
Of all the books oncologist Kira MacDougall has collected, her favourite is her Canadian passport — it’s allowed her to track gorillas and scale Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, scuba dive in Iceland, and climb glaciers in Ecuador. And now, after more...
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Victoria welcomes first cruise ship of the season
Passengers on the first cruise ship of the season poured off the Nieuw Amsterdam and into Victoria with lively chatter and wide smiles on Friday morning. Some boarded buses and vans headed for Butchart Gardens and regional tours, while others boarded...
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Rustad says ‘dirty trick’ by B.C. United may have cost Conservatives election win
Former B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad says he was “furious” to learn that B.C. United had been behind a website calling for him to be ousted before the 2024 provincial election, after Elections B.C. fined the party. Rustad said in an interview...
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Getting ready for today’s World Cup watch party
The ball will roll from Stadion Bilino Polje in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to BMO Stadium in Toronto, to the lawns of the Legislature in what is promising to be an extraordinary day for soccer spanning the globe. The latter is the site of the...
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CRD explores options as Hartland landfill fills up
The Capital Regional District is looking at long-term options for waste disposal as the Hartland landfill slowly fills up, including a new landfill site on the south Island, using new technology to deal with waste and exporting waste to other...
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She’s giving birth next month. Her midwife might be deported
A Saanich woman due to give birth next month says she’s appalled by Canada’s treatment of her midwife, saying the threatened deportation of a skilled health-care worker is “incongruent” with B.C. efforts to attract them. Anika Bell, who is due April...
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Seniors advocate calls on landlord to ‘do the right thing’
B.C.’s seniors advocate is calling on the landlords of a Cook Street Village building to let a 63-year-old man facing eviction over $74.52 in missed rent-increase payments stay in his home. “Give this person a break,” Dan Levitt said in an interview...
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Victoria man, 63, faces eviction over $74.52 in missed rent
A 63-year-old Victoria man who doesn’t own a computer or smartphone is being evicted from his home of more than five years for failing to pay a rent increase he was notified about by email. Mark Plank has until the end of the month to vacate his...
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As hiking season nears, no sign of Juan de Fuca trail reopening
Hikers and the business owners who cater to them are in limbo as another summer season approaches without an update on whether the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail will reopen. The 47-kilometre coastal hiking trail closed following severe storms in late 2024...
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Two pilots killed after Air Canada jet crashes into fire truck at N.Y. airport
Clément Lelièvre says the pilots of the Air Canada jet that collided with a fire truck on a runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport likely saved his life and the lives of other passengers late Sunday night. The pilot and co-pilot of Flight AC8646 were...
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Prospect of dark mornings prompts call for better lighting, paths for kids
With the switch to year-round daylight time in B.C., a Langford councillor is calling for provincial funding for better pathways and lighting on school routes. Kimberly Guiry said Langford has many areas without sidewalks and street lights, and the...
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Hermann’s Jazz Club closing strikes heavy chord in Victoria’s live-music scene
News of the impending closing of Hermann’s, the longest continually running jazz club in Canada, has left the live-music community reeling. Citing financial hardship, the Arts On View Society, which operates both Hermann’s Jazz Club and the adjacent...
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Monument honours Cowichan sweater and knitters
When Marie Jack gets into a rhythm with her knitting needles at her home in Duncan, she can go for hours. By the end of a week — sometimes even less — she has produced a woollen masterpiece: the durable, warm and world-renowned Cowichan...
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Plan in works for new park around Fort Rodd Hill
The City of Colwood is working with Parks Canada and local First Nations to create a national urban park around Fort Rodd Hill-Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Site. Parks Canada land around Fort Rodd Hill would be combined with pieces of...
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About 400 U.S. health workers have accepted B.C. jobs: Eby
A mass shooting in 2022 at the hospital where she worked in Tulsa, Oklahoma, sowed the seed for a decision by pathologist Dr. Anne Herdman Royal to move to B.C. A man armed with an AR-15 style rifle opened fire on June 1 of that year at Saint Francis...
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Downtown police patrols paying dividends for businesses, agencies
Tucked into budget motions passed by Victoria council last week was a line approving the Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan. It was an unnecessary addition, given that the plan was approved last July, but Mayor Marianne Alto said she wanted to tie...
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Loss of provincial funding raises questions about Garth Homer housing project
Loss of provincial Community Housing Fund money has left a society that provides programs for adults with developmental challenges scrambling in the midst of building a new facility with a housing component. The Garth Homer Society, whose clients...
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Rejection of 35-storey tower sends chilling message to developers: CEO
The developer behind what could have been the city’s tallest tower says the City of Victoria’s land-use policies may have triumphed, but it will be the city that loses out in the long run. “Policy 1, progress 0,” said Jon Stovell, chief executive of...
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A pool of memories: Downtown Y bids farewell to Broughton Street
Merrianne Holm has many memories of her 12 years enjoying the facilities at Victoria’s Downtown Y, but probably the top one is when she dropped her wedding ring while swimming in the pool. She despaired that it would never be found, but the lifeguard...
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‘Comfort carts’ aim to ease ER waits for seniors
“Comfort carts” equipped with everything from blankets to hearing aids to keep seniors more comfortable during long emergency-department waits have been delivered to 13 acute-care hospitals on Vancouver Island. The carts, resembling rolling filing...
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Student describes moments before woman was killed in her house
A university student says she was listening to a podcast on headphones in a ground-floor bedroom of her house near Uptown when she heard someone screaming “help me” outside. Sarah Paul heard footsteps coming up her front steps, and the front door...
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Rehabilitated shoreline new feature at Esquimalt Gorge Park
If you had never been to Esquimalt Gorge Park and stumbled across a recent restoration project, you might be tricked into thinking the area always looked that way. And that’s exactly the point. It was designed using local plants and natural materials...
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On-the-move military spouses can now access WorkBC sooner
Military spouses and their adult children moving to B.C. can now access WorkBC services from outside the province, as part of a national effort to make it easier for military families that often have to move on short notice for the Canadian Armed...
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B.C. targets weapons in supportive housing
The B.C. government has introduced legislation that would give supportive-housing operators more power to deal with weapons and violence — a change that has been needed for a long time, says the CEO of Our Place Society. Julian Daly, whose...
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Esquimalt mayor wants apology after branches ripped from flowering tree
Esquimalt’s mayor wants an apology from a group of people who snapped off branches from a flowering plum tree in a public park, telling a bystander they were taking the branches for a wedding. “It’s extremely disappointing. Our parks are there for...
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Past attempts at a year-round daylight time a failure: sleep expert
An expert in sleep and circadian rhythms says the move to yearround daylight time in B.C. is an experiment that history has proven will go “terribly wrong.” Camosun College psychology instructor Michael Pollock says research supports the benefits of...
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B.C. moves to end time changes
B.C. residents will move their clocks forward by one hour for the last time on Sunday as the province moves to permanent daylight time. Premier David Eby made the announcement Monday in the B.C. legislature as an audience of South Park Elementary...
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Port applies to dredge Burrard Inlet to boost exports
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has applied to dredge Burrard Inlet in a move that would allow tankers to more fully load with oil. In a proposal to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, the port authority seeks to dredge both sides of a...
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Ukrainians hopeful about staying on Island 4 years after fleeing war
As Ukrainians mark four years since Russian forces invaded their country, many who came to Canada to escape the war have settled here and are hoping to stay. At a rally on the B.C. legislature lawn on Sunday marking the anniversary, Anastasiia...
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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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