Times Colonist
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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Federal budget earmarks billions in spending to counter U.S. disruption
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first federal budget takes a big swing at making Canada’s economy a more attractive place to invest with billions of dollars for infrastructure and new tax opportunities for business. Finance Minister François-Philippe...
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Province orders cleanup of dumping site on reserve land near Cowichan River
A mountain of construction waste and household trash accumulating on Cowichan Tribes reserve land is causing concerns that harmful chemicals are leaching into the groundwater and could gravitate to the fragile Cowichan River. James Anthony Peter has...
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Made-in-Victoria treatment to freeze and kill nerves helps patients regain mobility
As quickly as a brain aneurysm changed Sarah Millard’s life at age 21, a team of Victoria doctors changed it back — two decades later. It started on a Monday morning in June 2005. Millard was back at her parents’ home in Victoria, two courses shy of...
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Greater Victoria residents warned to expect double-digit water rate increases
The cost of drinking water in the capital region is expected to see double-digit percentage rate increases in the coming years, as the Capital Regional District gears up for major capital spending that includes a $1-billion filtration plant. Wholesale...
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King strips Andrew of titles and evicts him from royal residence
LONDON — The King is stripping his disgraced brother Prince Andrew of his remaining titles and evicting him from his royal residence after weeks of pressure to act over Andrew’s relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Buckingham Palace said...
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New Cedar Hill Middle School is too small and already full, teachers say as grievance filed
Teachers say the newly opened Cedar Hill Middle School was built too small and is already full, prompting their union to file a grievance with the Greater Victoria School District, alleging violations of class-size and composition limits. The new...
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‘I just can’t help myself’: St. Charles Street Halloween display just keeps growing
Tara Norris created the annual Halloween display at her St. Charles Street home seven years ago, and hasn’t been able to stop since. “It just keeps morphing into something larger,” Norris said with a laugh. “I just can’t help myself.” Complete with...
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Body-worn cameras force police to spend more time in office: union
Body-worn cameras may improve transparency, but they can also result in officers spending less time on the streets and more in the office, police say — at least in the short term. The RCMP began equipping officers with body-worn cameras nationwide in...
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Emergency delivery in his home nation fulfils Comox doctor’s lifelong promise
He had just 45 minutes to gather his scrubs, equipment and a specialist partner, hop on a military helicopter and get to a remote village on the Central Coast to deliver a pre-term breech baby. But Dr. Don Wilson, a Comox Valley Hospital...
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Bars, restaurants worry about strike’s impact on crucial holiday season
The restaurant and bar industry is urging a quick settlement to the strike by the B.C. General Employees’ Union, saying recovery from the month-long shutdown of the province’s liquor distribution branch will take weeks or longer, which could hurt...
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Urgent care centres roll out new way to get bookings
Triage nurses will soon be calling back patients seeking an appointment at Urgent and Primary Care Centres on Vancouver Island to assess the urgency of their medical or mentalhealth issues, so critical cases can be addressed faster. The process is...
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To protect birds, large parts of Panama Flats will be off limits to dogs
Large parts of Panama Flats will eventually become off-limits to dogs, after Saanich council agreed to designate the area as parkland key for migratory birds. Starting next year, staff is set to begin updating trails, fencing and signage in the area...
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Ground broken for three towers at north end of downtown
The northern skyline of Victoria’s downtown is about to change after Tuesday’s groundbreaking for three residential towers at Douglas and Caledonia streets. The mixed-used project by Chard Developments and the province is on the former site of a White...
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Another B.C. Conservative quits caucus, says Rustad needs to go
MLA Amelia Boultbee has quit the B.C. Conservative caucus and is calling on leader John Rustad to resign, saying he told her to “get the F out.” Boultbee is the fifth MLA to exit the caucus over differences with Rustad, who responded by saying he had...
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Sparks fly as members of military and RCMP learn to forge axes
On an overcast Saturday at CFB Esquimalt, sparks were flying as a group of military and RCMP members learned to forge axes. Ten participants carried their red-hot metal using charred tongs from a blacksmithing forge — with its open flame estimated at...
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After 7 weeks of job action, BCGEU and province agree to mediation
The B.C. General Employees’ Union and the provincial government have agreed to enter non-binding mediation but union members will maintain picket lines across B.C. during the process. Veteran mediators Vince Ready and Amanda Rogers will be the...
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Saanich Peninsula medical group eyes third clinic
A medical group is eyeing the possibility of opening a third clinic on the Saanich Peninsula, an area where one in five residents lacks a family doctor. Shoreline Medical Society executive director Leslie Keenan said she is keen on finding a more...
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Record $7.5M donation boosts push for more robotic surgery
The second phase of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation’s efforts to expand state-of-the-art robotic surgery for Vancouver Island residents has been jump-started with the largest-ever financial gift in the foundation’s 36-year history — a donation of up...
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Blue Jays or Mariners? Some Islanders cheer for both as they head to see teams face off in Seattle
Nathan Bird is prepared either way. The Victoria baseball fan will wear both his Seattle Mariners jersey and his Toronto Blue Jays jacket tonight at T-Mobile Park when the clubs meet in the third game of the American League Championship Series. Bird...
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After two years in captivity Israeli hostages head home
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — All 20 living hostages held by Hamas and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel walked free Monday as part of a ceasefire pausing two years of war that decimated the Gaza Strip and killed tens of thousands of...
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Victoria veteran was in commando unit that fought the Japanese in Burma
Gordon Quan is being remembered as a pillar of Victoria’s Chinese community, a tireless worker and volunteer, and a brave man who, in the face of segregation and racism, proudly served his country during the Second World War. Quan died Oct. 5 after a...
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‘Ear-splitting’: James Bay rocked by noise from restoration work
A shoreline-restoration project around the Helijet terminal at Camel Point has been rocking James Bay for the past month, with some residents saying the night-time dropping of boulders is robbing them of sleep. Two barges and a crane have been working...
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Indigenous law’s new home: circles, motifs and a firepit
Five years ago, first-year University of Victoria law student Nathaniel Sukhdeo joined a Zoom meeting to help plan a $38.1-million addition to his campus building, which he had yet to set foot in because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He ended up...
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Foundation lends Victoria-raised violinist 311-year-old Stradivarius
A music foundation in Japan has loaned Victoria’s Timothy Chooi one of the most expensive instruments in the world — a 311-year-old violin worth several million dollars. The 31-year-old was selected from a pool of international musicians to receive...
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Cloud cover adds design to a Tuesday morning walk
People take a walk as clouds move across the sky above Ross Bay. Showers are in the forecast this week. Weather details,
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