Happy belated Thanksgiving, Westshore! I hope you had a lovely weekend with friends and family, enjoyed the weather, and took time to be grateful for all the good things in your life. It’s easy to zero in on the things we want to change, and lose sight of how much is great.
What are you thankful for? For me, it's a few new friends I met at Bucky’s on Friday night. (Hello, Sandy! 👋🏼)
Reporter, The Westshore
MUNICIPAL ELECTION
Your guide to the Westshore’s all-candidates meetings. (Yes, all of them!)
Candidate Steve Gray answers a question at the Metchosin town hall. (Screenshot)
If you're like many Westshore eligible voters, you want to make an informed choice about who to vote for on Saturday, but you haven’t had time to watch the all-candidate debates, or read all the platforms.
To help make sure you don’t make a snap decision at the polls based on some irrelevant connection—I once voted for a candidate just because I liked their name—I’ve scrubbed the all-candidates meetings from each municipality that had a recorded session, and have created a timestamped guide for each.
Colwood | Langford | Metchosin |****View Royal
Watching how candidates respond to questions, and to each other, can give clues about how they’ll approach decisions if elected. Municipal elections tend to have low voter turnout, and the Westshore's has been particularly low. Langford had the second-lowest voter turnout in the province in 2018: just 18.5% bothered to cast a ballot. In that election there were only nine candidates for the seven seats, so it wasn't nearly as competitive as this year's ballot of 16 candidates.
The District of Highlands didn't have the chance to vote at all, since none of the sitting councillors were challenged; they all won by acclamation.
In View Royal, slightly more than a quarter of eligible voters cast a ballot, and only 31% voted in Colwood. Sooke and Metchosin both had higher than 40% turnout, which is better than most of BC, but still well below turnout for higher levels of government.
Let me know what other resources you'd find helpful as you decide who to give your vote to.
(Sooke and Highlands have had several all-candidates meetings, but haven’t published videos for voters to refer to.)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Metchosin meeting marks end of term, and mayor’s 35-year run
Metchosin's outgoing council. (Metchosin)
Attendees—and there were many—at Metchosin’s last council meeting with John Ranns at the helm on Oct. 3 were treated to a formal procession with a bagpipe band and officers in uniform to commemorate the end of the term—and the end of Ranns’s 35-year run, and Coun. Andy MacKinnon’s eight years on council.
Several members of the public gave speeches of thanks to the council for the last four years. Its two orders of business were to temporarily close the Weir Beach stairs and approve tax exceptions for community organizations. Both passed unanimously and without discussion. Speeches, gift-giving, and even a poem were the main events of the evening.
Council and staff presented Ranns and MacKinnon with parting gifts. Sc’ianew First Nation Chief Russ Chipps stood and spoke of his history with Ranns, saying the two communities went from having no communication to being friends, neighbours, and family. They gave gifts to Ranns, MacKinnon, and outgoing chief administration officer Lisa Urlacher.
The Westshore interviewed the two councillors running to become Metchosin’s first new mayor in decades: Marie-Térèse Little and Kyara Kahakauwila.
Sooke staff spar with marina subdivision
Silver Spray Marina is attempting to build a subdivision in East Sooke, but the permitting process erupted into a conflict between the owner and city staff at the Oct. 3 meeting. The two have not been able to agree on how to proceed, and council found itself unable to mediate at the last hour. The main issue seems to be around a walking path that runs through the property towards Friendship Beach and the new marina.
Council voted to direct staff to work with the application to bring a cohesive proposal to council on Nov. 14. A separate item related to sewage management in the development was approved.
Zoning too narrow to rent, building owner says
A local business owner came to council to ask for help with what he says are too-narrow zoning rules. Wayne Smith owns a commercial building in downtown Sooke, and says he has been unable to find a tenant since Sooke Family Resource Society’s thrift store moved out. The building is zoned as service commercial, a subset of Sooke’s commercial zoning that’s specific to automobile uses—anything from car sales to mechanic shops.
Smith has had interest from a yoga studio, boxing gym, and most recently a dental office, but none of them can get a business license for that address because the zoning doesn’t match. (The thrift store, which moved to 2065 Anna Marie Rd., was allowed as warehouse space, which is permitted in that zone.) Since he has a verbal agreement to lease the space to a dentist, Smith came to ask council to amend the zoning rules to include health-care services. Applying to change the zone could take a year, and Smith said he can’t afford to have vacant space for that long.
Council directed staff to prepare a report on amending the zoning rules at the Nov. 14 council meeting.
Around the ’Shore
💦 Kids vote Colwood: This Saturday, young ones are invited to vote alongside the adults about what kind of parks they like. They can choose between a water spray park or climbing logs. Whichever has the most votes will actually be built!
🧭 **Jump into learning!*Refresh your perspective or dive into new directions. Gain valuable skills and career training with Continuing Studies at UVic.
🦺 A builder tried to sue the developer and realtor to get his deposit back, but he got the opposite. The judge ordered the initial deposit of $3,000 be paid to the defendant, plus an extra $2,500 with four years of interest. Four years ago, builder Sonny Manhas bought an undeveloped lot from realtor Cathy Duncan in a Latoria subdivision. The subdivision had its own design code on top of City of Colwood bylaws to make sure the subdivision became an “identifiable, high-quality residential neighbourhood.” The $3,000 deposit was to ensure compliance. Manhas argued over seven days of hearings in 2021 that he had complied, but this fall the court issued a decision concluding he had violated the design code. The house had long since been sold for $1.1 million.
📈 From Nov. 15 – 17, explore world-changing ideas, cut through the noise and gain clarity at Rising Economy 2022, produced by South Island Prosperity Partnership. Details: OurRisingEconomy.com.*
*Sponsored Listing
SPONSORED POST. CONTACT US TO ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS WITH THE WESTSHORE.
TOGETHER WITH UVIC
UVic to host U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship
The University of Victoria welcomes the nation’s best women’s rugby teams this fall as hosts of the 2022 U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship from Nov. 2 – 6.
UVic boasts one of the top programs in Canada, taking fourth place at last year’s championships. The Vikes look to improve on their 2021 finish and will have the opportunity to do so on home soil.
Get your tickets online at GoVikesGo.com/RugbyChamp****.
Community Events
General voting day is this Saturday, Oct. 15. Polls are open from 8am to 8pm at the following locations. To vote, bring your voter card (check your mail box) and two pieces of identification. If you didn't receive a voter card, you might not be registered. Fret not, because you can register in person at the polling station. Bring two pieces of identification that show your signature and address.
Langford: Happy Valley Elementary School (3291 Happy Valley Rd.), Millstream Elementary School (626 Hoylake Rd.), or Ruth King Elementary School (2764 Jacklin Rd.)
**Colwood:**Colwood City Hall (3300 Wishart Rd.)
**View Royal:**View Royal Elementary School (218 Helmcken Rd.) or Eagle View Elementary School (97 Talcott Rd.)
Metchosin: Metchosin Community Hall (4450 Happy Valley Rd.)
**Sooke:**Edward Milne Community School (6218 Sooke Rd.)
Highlands: Highlands Community Hall (729 Finlayson Arm Rd.)
What’s Offshore?
Esquimalt Lagoon looking towards Washington State, taken on Oct. 3, 2022 (📸 Tom Gierasimczuk)
🚢**#1**The Potinais a Bulk Carrier built in 2011 and is sailing under the flag of Liberia. It is sailing from 🇯🇵 Himeji, Japan ➡ 🇨🇦 Vancouver and was scheduled to arrive two weeks ago but is delayed.
⛴ #2 The FPMC B Foreveris a Bulk Carrier built in 2010 and is sailing under the flag of Liberia. It is sailing from 🇹🇼 Mailiao, Taiwan ➡ 🇨🇦 Vancouver and was scheduled to arrive three weeks ago.
🛳️ #3The Polymniais a Bulk Carrier built in 2012 and is sailing under the flag of Marshall Islands. It is sailing from 🇯🇵 Nagoya, Japan ➡ 🇨🇦 Vancouver and was scheduled to arrive two weeks ago but seems to be delayed.
SPONSORED POST. CONTACT US TO ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS WITH THE WESTSHORE.
📸 David Cooper
TODAY’S PARTNER: DANCE VICTORIA
Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet with Victoria Symphony in Nutcracker
A heartfelt gift from Clara’s godfather kicks off an unbelievable adventure when the Nutcracker springs to life in this distinctly Canadian production bound to capture your heart.
Dec. 2-4, 7pm | Dec. 3-4, 1pm | Royal Theatre
Get your tickets at 250-386-6121 or DanceVictoria.com. Best seats, and kids' prices, are available now.
Westshore Snaps
“Two bees in a dahlia.” —****Lorraine Mainwaring, Esquimalt.
📸 Snapped a photo you’d like to share? Send it with a caption and don’t forget to add where you live.