Hello, Westshore! Who else ate too much candy this weekend? I was happy to have trick-or-treaters visit my apartment. A clever neighbour posted a sign with their apartment number saying they were open for business, and a handful of us joined in. It was a great way to meet some neighbours! Though, there weren't quite enough visitors to empty my bowl, so I had to step up.
Reporter, The Westshore
MUNICIPAL CONSULTATION
Citizen advisory committees are the top priority for View Royal’s mayor-elect, Sid Tobias
The newly elected leaders of the Westshore have each committed to improve consultation with their communities. They met over lunch to get to know each other, and learn some key priorities from neighbouring municipalities. (L-R, Al Wickheim, Juan de Fuca area director, Sid Tobias, Doug Kobayashi, Scott Goodmanson, and Marie-Térèse Little.) 📸 Contributed
View Royal mayor-elect Sid Tobias is to be sworn in tonight, and he’s kicking off the term with a proposal for seven new advisory committees. The new committees represent Tobias’s commitment to harness the expertise of View Royal residents.
“During the campaign I came to appreciate that there is so much passionate talent in View Royal,” he told The Westshore. “These are people who command significant hourly fees if we were to pay them, yet they're more than willing to dedicate their time and energy to make View Royal a better place to live.”
Last term, View Royal had two advisory committees that met monthly at most: A community development committee and one for parks, recreation, and environment.
Seven citizen-led advisory committees proposed
If council approves the motion, View Royal will have committees for finance and administration (with Tobias as liaison); protective services (Don Brown); parks and recreation (Damian Kowalewich); environment (Alison MacKenzie); arts and culture (Gery Lemon); planning, development and engagement (Ron Mattson); and public works and transportation (John Rogers).
The seven committees will have council liaisons, but they’ll be steered by the citizen representatives.
Calling them “liaisons” is deliberate, since Tobias thinks councillors spent too much time chairing the two committees in the past. This time around, he plans to give them a mandate to allow them to come to the end of the meeting and hear a briefing of the discussion. He also sees the committees as a place for each councillor to check in with residents on ideas and proposals in their areas of responsibility.
On top of these new advisory committees, there are 26 regional committees to be shared between the council of seven—such as the Capital Regional District board, where it’s likely that Tobias will be a director, the Westshore parks and recreation committee, South Island Prosperity partnership, and the Te’mexw treaty advisory committee.
Tobias has penciled himself in to be on 12 committees, including council and committee of the whole; he and new councillor Don Brown will also be alternates to each View Royal committee. Tobias said even though Brown is new to council, he comes with useful experience that can help address complex issues.
“I want to give us some capacity to be able to respond to what we haven't even thought of yet.”
Colwood's committee commitment
Applications for residents to join the committees will be open on the View Royal website if the motion is approved tonight.
Colwood’s mayor-elect, Doug Kobayashi, was elected on a similar platform of greater consultation with the community. Likewise, one of his first initiatives will be to establish citizen committees. Specifics about what the committees will oversee is still to come, since Colwood’s new council will be sworn in on Nov. 7.
But Kobayashi said they’ll be similar to Saanich’s committees—and less like Langford’s.
Langford has had community advisory committees for several years—they were established around 2016. But there is a perception that the committees are stacked with developers, insiders, and business owners with personal stakes in decisions, and overall don’t provide a meaningful place for community input.
In an all-candidate meeting before the election, outgoing councillors Roger Wade and Matt Sahlstrom were asked about meaningful engagement with various groups in Langford. Both said the best way to get involved in Langford is to apply to join the committees, even though committee openings were rare.
Concerns about Langford’s citizen committees
A quick search of the names on Langford committees include several people who are developers or relevant business owners. The planning, zoning and affordable housing committee includes Kent Sheldrake, who owns Sheldrake Construction and is a co-owner of Draycor Construction Ltd.; Art Creuzot who owns Luxbury Homes; and formerly Malcolm Hall who built the Airbnb-style hotel in Langford, SoLo Suites, and owns Lifestyle Ventures development company.
The transportation and public works committee includes Les Bjola, owner of Turner Lane Development Corp., and Nirmal Johan who owns NAN Site Servicing. Protective services has Mike Wignall, president of Westbrook Consulting Ltd. and a member of the Westshore Developers Association. The board of variance, meant to operate independently from council, has Cliff Curtis, who owns TBJ Properties, Jim Hartshorne, owner of Keycorp Developments Ltd. and Westhills Land Corp.; development consultant Rachael Sansom; and Ron Coutre, who owns SouthPoint Partners Ltd. and is president of the Westshore Developers Association.
Tobias wasn’t aware Langford had committees, but said it makes sense that it had developers on the planning committees. For his committees, he’s looking for a cross section of residents, not people in the business.
“Limited-interest groups like developers, I would not see them as being good candidates for the planning committee,” he said. “On the transportation committee, I would like to see people who take the bus downtown every day or actively commute by bicycle, rather than people that don't, because they could represent better issues that are affecting them on a day-to-day basis.”
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ELECTION RULES
Who investigates election violations? The answer is murky
📸 James MacDonald / The Westshore
The rules of municipal election campaigning are unique between each local government, and with that patchwork of rules, this recent election has revealed some perplexing gaps in who’s supposed to enforce them.
A maze of authorities and jurisdictions makes it hard to understand how rule violations are meant to be reported and enforced—and in Langford, one campaign’s complaints appear destined to never be investigated at all.
When Capital Daily first began looking into concerns raised by the Langford Now campaign about communications from the city’s chief electoral officer, Elections BC seemed like the logical place to start. But that independent elections office only oversees the financial aspects of local elections—such as campaign donations and spending on election advertising. It refers other complaints to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
The ministry, however, does not investigate complaints. That usually falls to the chief electoral officer for a municipality, who is appointed by the city for each election.
But what happens if the concern is about the chief electoral officer themselves?
In that case, according to the ministry, it’s up to the police and the courts to sort out.
It’s “a frustrating conundrum,” says Corrina Craig, an authorized principal official for the Langford Now campaign, who spent weeks trying to get someone in authority to look into her campaign’s concerns around this year’s municipal election.
“There doesn't seem to be one particular place where the buck stops, and the legislation doesn't seem to have any teeth,” Craig told Capital Daily.
👀 Read the full story on Capital Daily.
Around the ’Shore
⚖️ **Colwood woman appealing her five-and-a-half-year sentence for sexual assault.**The court will determine this week whether to grant bail while her appeal is heard. She’s asking for a reduced or conditional sentence. The woman was found guilty on two counts of sexual assault of a minor, and one count of internet luring. She was 25 at the time of the incident in April 2020, and the boy was 15. [Times Colonist]
🏠 Live in style and enjoy elevated amenities: Centennial Court offers one year of free strata payments on its studio, one-, and two-bedroom homes. Move-in ready this spring! Sales start soon from low $300,000s.*
🎮 Video-game sales turned attempted robbery suspect has been arrested. There were four incidents of people trying to buy video game equipment from a seller, who then turned a gun on the buyers and demanded cash. Westshore RCMP and Victoria Police had issued warnings about sales of electronics at significantly lower prices, and had asked for help to identify the suspect. Police say they recovered several realistic replica firearms when they caught the suspect, who is in custody. [Times Colonist]
💻 **Looking for the latest on Greater Victoria’s fast-growing tech ecosystem?**Subscribe to Victoria Tech Journal, the twice-weekly newsletter connecting you to tech and innovation stories from around the South Island.
🍫 **Meet the under-the-radar pillars of the Westshore:**Convenience store owners. [Goldstream Gazette]
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TOGETHER WITH MP ALISTAIR MACGREGOR
Proudly representing the Cowichan-Malahat-Langford riding since 2015
As your Member of Parliament, Alistair MacGregor understands that life for Canada’s workers should be getting easier; not harder. That’s why New Democrats successfully fought for an increase to the GST benefit, rent relief, and a national dental care program.
If you need assistance with federal agencies, or would like to know more about how Alistair is bringing Langford and Westshore voices to Ottawa, please contact him.
Community Events
**🧩 Metchosin’s annual puzzle swap meet:**Prepare for the coming colder months by stocking up on jigsaw puzzles. Buy, sell, or trade from your trunk. You set the price. “No one is the President of the Puzzle People.” Meet at Old Barn Books, Nov. 6, 1:30pm.
🎁 “Gifts & Wishes” Christmas art showcase hosted by Arts and Culture Colwood. Every piece in this showcase was handcrafted by a local artist. Many local artists will be present to talk about their unique works of art. Nov. 12 and 13, 10am-4pm, Juan de Fuca 55+ Seniors Activity Center (1767 Island Highway).
🎷 Celebrate Sooke, a night of jazz & standup comedyhosted by the Sooke Chamber of Commerce. 5:30pm, Nov. 19.
What’s Offshore?
Esquimalt Lagoon looking towards Washington State, taken on Oct. 31, 2022 (📸 Tom Gierasimczuk)
🚢 The SM Tiger is a Bulk Carrier built in 2015 and is sailing under the flag of Panama. It is sailing from 🇰🇷 Gwangyang, South Korea ➡ 🇨🇦 Vancouver and is currently at anchor awaiting its berth.
SPONSORED POST. CONTACT US TO ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS WITH THE WESTSHORE.
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Westshore Snaps
Thanks to Allan Reid for this great photo of his thundercloud costume. Zoom in to see the drops of rain! And on the right, I dressed up as the niche decor item of the year, Ducknana.
📸 Snapped a photo you’d like to share? Send it with a caption and don’t forget to add where you live.