Tues. May 2 - UVic graduate students stage walkout

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning, Victoria. It’s Tuesday.

We’ll have a repeat of Saturday’s summer temperatures today, before turning a much rainier corner on Wednesday for the rest of the week. Have you started thinking about your summer vacay? Do you even get to take a vacay?

NEWS

UVic walkout pushes for better funding for the sciences

Roughly 150 UVic students and faculty staged a walkout to support better funding for graduate students in the sciences. This walkout was part of a Canada-wide protest that involved an estimated 45 universities throughout the country, led by Support Our Science, a grassroots organization advocating for increased pay for scientific research.

Since federal scholarships, research grants, and fellowships provide the majority of wages for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, student advocates called on the federal government to increase funding for scientific research. However, the 2023 federal budget plan did not address this issue.

“There were no changes to federal science funding in 2023 and so our walkout is in direct response to that,” Micah Brush, a postdoctoral researcher in the mathematics and statistics department and a co-organizer of the walkout, said. Brush said the lack of funding has caused the sciences to be “left behind” by the government.

Many graduate students struggle to make ends meet while working on their research. According to Emma Atkinson, a PhD candidate in biological sciences and co-organizer of the walkout, many of these students are forced to regularly access food banks or go dumpster diving in Victoria in order to feed themselves.

The key demands that Support Our Science hopes to see as a result of the walkout are to:

• Increase master's scholarships by 50% to match inflation, from $17.5K to $25.9K

• Increase PhD scholarships by 65%, from $21K to $35K

• Increase postdoctoral fellowships by 50% from the 2003 funding level, which was $40K

Read more about the walk out

Capital Bulletin

☀️ Today’s weather: Sunny with a high of 21C / low of 9C

🚧 Traffic delays on Shelbourne: Crews are working on Shelbourne Street between Pear Street and Garnet Road until Thursday as part of the Shelbourne Street Improvements Project.

☕ Willows Beach Tea Room is open: The tea room opened this past weekend and will operate from 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Sunday, with window service until 4:30pm.

🔎 Missing woman: Comox Valley RCMP believes Josie Van Der Elst, 40, may be in Victoria. [Photo / Info]

NEWS

Support for displaced tenants of RidgeView Place coming from all directions

It’s been a week since residents of RidgeView Place were evacuated due to structural concerns, and several announcements have been made in regards to support for the displaced tenants.

Last week, the BC government stepped in to provide five days of emergency accommodations to support the tenants. Building owner Centurion Property Associates Inc. also increased its “compassionate assistance” from $1,000 to $2,500. On Saturday, Centurion stated in a press release that the first $1,000 was processed and received by residents, and the additional $1,500 plus rent and deposit refund cheques was available for pickup as of Friday, April 28.

Fundraising

As of last Thursday, the City of Langford said it was working actively with external agencies to determine how to collect and distribute donations and in-kind services to residents of RidgeView Place, and the city announced a community fundraising initiative on Monday with the Westshore Developers Association and the Community Social Planning Council.

The developers association will conduct fundraising efforts to support residents of RidgeView Place and the City of Langford will match any funds donated by WSDA members, local businesses, and residents up to $75,000. More information will be released to RidgeView residents on the criteria and how to apply for this funding. Donations can be made here.

Next steps

As for next steps for building owner Centurion Property Associates, the asset firm has engaged a third-party structural engineering firm to understand how to best address and remediate the building’s structural concerns. The company stated it is also developing a phased approach to allow residents to return to their units to remove their personal belongings.

Centurion filed a lawsuit in October 2020 against DB Services, Loco Investments, Sorensen Trilogy Structural Engineering Solutions, and the City of Langford for compensation for alleged negligence in the design and construction of the building. The lawsuit is currently up on appeal, as the decision dated Dec. 30, 2022 dismissed the applications that the defendants owed Centurion a duty of care.

The judge stated that based on the contract the companies signed when Centurion bought the property in 2019, risk had been managed.

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NEWS

Island had 14 confirmed work-related deaths in 2022

Four deaths were in the CRD, three in Cowichan Valley, three in Comox Valley, and four in Nanaimo, according to WorkSafeBC numbers released on the April 28 Day of Mourning.

BC’s total of 181 is an increase of 20 from 2021, with the total number rising by about 10 per year over the last four years. While WorkSafeBC gathers only the number of death claims it accepts, the BC Federation of Labour says the actual total for 2022 could be as high as 241, based on the number of workplace deaths reported to them.

Sectors with the most deaths in 2022 included construction, transportation, manufacturing, and resource industries. Most deaths (107) were due to disease, with 61 related specifically to asbestos, while 26 were from vehicle crashes, and 48 from other physical trauma (e.g. falls).

“And that doesn’t include the many workers killed by the drug poisoning crisis,” the BCFED’s release said, “at the end of a cycle of substance use that began with pain from a workplace injury.” Toxic drug deaths are particularly prevalent in the construction industry. A recent initiative has Victoria carpenters carrying naloxone kits.

Capital Picks

🎤 Acoustic open mic: Head over to Hermann’s Wednesday night for its weekly acoustic open mic night hosted by Kelly Fawcett. [Details]

🌷 Make Momma's day: All the pretty and all the deliciousness is waiting for your momma at The Root Cellar—Pre-book a beautiful bouquet and find all the brunch essentials you could wish for! Learn more at TheRootCellar.ca.*

🔄 Levidrome: Which two words spell each other backwards and are described by this clue: When students make a mistake.
Answer on Facebook or Twitter and tag #levidrome and #capitaldaily. Last time: cans for a little tantrum = tins/snit

🪶 Blue Bridge Theatre presents Goodnight Desdemona, (Good Morning Juliet) by Ann-Marie McDonald. April 25-May 7, 2023 | The Roxy Theatre | 250-382-3370*

🤝 Now hiring: Back-end Developer at Momentum Dash.

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In Other News

🚗 Oak Bay will drop 17 collector roads from 50km/h to 40
The move was recommended for the District back in a 2016 street speed study. Victoria began its rollout of 30km/h streets on May 1, starting in the Hillside-Quadra neighbourhood. Saanich is also lowering its speed limits, with hopes of completing these updates by fall of this year. [Oak Bay News/ Times Colonist]

🚲 Saanich seeks to buy property to expand Shelbourne Street
By purchasing small portions of property along Shelbourne, the district can build out new sidewalks and bike lanes along the busy street. The amount of land needed from each property owner will be about 0.15 metres to 2.5 metres, as part of the district’s Shelbourne Street Improvements Project. Saanich plans to expand its bike lane system with 195km of additional lanes, as previously reported by Capital Daily. [CTV News]

In Case You Missed It

🔈 MP Garrison won’t run again: Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke NDP MP announced last Thursday that he will not seek re-election. [Monday newsletter]

🪵 Driftwood art fundraises $10K: Local artist Tanya Bub’s sculpture series fundraised for Wild ARC, which helps injured, sick, and orphaned wild animals.

🌱 Four new community gardens: Victoria council approved gardens in Fernwood and in Ross Bay, and on Lewis and Montreal Streets. [Photos via Coun. Matt Dell]

⚖️ Protect your rights and dispute your driving prohibition with the help of a knowledgeable lawyer. Contact Acumen Law Corporation today to start your defence. Visit VancouverCriminalLaw.com.*

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