Feb 14 - Inquest into UVic death to begin in April

Good morning !

We had a 3.8 earthquake at about 10 last night.
A woman has died in a stabbing downtown.
And the provincial government has cancelled those grocery rebates of $1K per household the NDP campaigned on four months ago. The province is headed to a $9.4 billion deficit.

We begin though, with the story of a mother’s plea for change in the heartbreaking death of a UVic teen 13 months ago.

— Mark

Today’s approx. read time: 6 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: ⛅ 6 / 3 

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 5 / 4

Sunday: 🌧️ 7 / 5

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NEWS

Sidney McIntyre-Starko’s mother has requests as inquest into UVic dorm-room death is set for April

Caroline McIntyre says she wants the coroner’s inquest into circumstances surrounding her daughter’s toxic-drug death to recommend a series of changes to procedures at BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), mandatory CPR and naloxone training in high schools, and new directives for BC university and college campuses to increase safety requirements. 

“We hope the inquest can make recommendations to BCEHS so that an ambulance would be immediately dispatched when people are unconscious and blue, or when there are multiple unconscious patients,” McIntyre wrote in an email to Capital Daily. 

Cailin Shea McIntyre-Starko, known as Sidney, died of cardiac arrest last year on Jan. 26, three days after she and another student collapsed onto their UVic dorm-room floor, the result of ingesting fentanyl. A third student also swallowed the drug but managed to call 911. The two other students survived, but McIntyre-Starko died in hospital. 

A public inquest will begin on April 28 in Burnaby, it was announced yesterday.

Caroline McIntyre has worked as an emergency physician for 25 years and vehemently asserts her little girl’s death could have been prevented.

In an open letter to Premier David Eby last May, McIntyre and her husband Kenton Starko said campus security waited nine minutes to administer the naloxone they carried and 12 minutes to begin performing CPR—a timeline Premier David Eby called “profoundly disturbing.”

Generally speaking, a person can survive for four to six minutes without breathing before brain damage occurs.

“We hope the inquest can make recommendations to BCEHS so that they don’t take three-and-half minutes just to determine the location of a call before asking what is wrong,” McIntyre wrote in her email to Capital Daily,

In July, a committee established in response to the death announced a series of guidelines for universities and colleges to follow to reduce the risk of toxic deaths.

Schools must now provide easily accessible naloxone, text alerts on toxic drugs, and clear rules about responding to emergencies.

McIntrye said she hopes the inquest will recommend the province provide the public with nasal naloxone, instead of what she termed as the “archaic injectable naloxone kits with needles, syringes, and glass vials” currently available.

Read more here from Mark Brennae to see what Caroline McIntyre-Starko said she would like from the inquest.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Did you feel that? A 3.8 magnitude earthquake struck just 17km south-southeast of Victoria a minute before 10 last night.

Major street upgrades are planned, including for Blanshard and Cook. [Information sessions]

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

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NEWS

Hardware store closure leaves customers in the lurch

After 30 years in business, Victoria Specialty Hardware (VSH)—a Saanich store offering high-end decorative home fixtures and plumbing supplies—closed without warning last month. 

Customers and contractors in the middle of home renovation projects found the doors at 477 Boleskine locked during its regular store hours. Signs taped to those doors, dated Jan. 19, say the store was closing “due to unforeseen circumstances” and that “more information will be forthcoming.”

But so far, there’s been no word as to why the store was abruptly shut—and customers say they are out thousands of dollars.

Suzanne Marion told Capital Daily she and her husband, who works as an interior designer, have been VHS customers for decades. For the last month, they’ve been trying to retrieve items they paid for, needing them for professional and personal projects. The estimated cost of the items they said is $3.5K+.

Willy Egeland, owner of Footprint Custom Carpentry Inc., says he’s paid $3.3K for plumbing equipment needed for his client’s project and is also looking for answers.

Both Marion and Egeland say they’ve been emailing and calling VSH for weeks to no avail, and have had to purchase replacements from other suppliers in the meantime.

Read the full story by Robyn Bell here.

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♥️ Listing of Valentine’s Day events in Victoria. [Capital Daily]

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🗞️ In Other News

Homicide: woman dead after stabbing near downtown
Police were called to a multi-unit home on Quadra near Fort at around 5:30pm Wed. and found a woman who had been stabbed. VicPD officers and BC Emergency Health Services paramedics tried to save her but she succumbed to her injuries. The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU) has taken over the investigation. One man has been arrested. Gregory Kushniryk faces one count of second-degree murder. [VicPD]

BC halts all public service hiring and cancels promised grocery rebate amid projected deficit
The spectre of US tariffs couldn’t have helped, either. The NDP government had promised a $1K-per household grocery rebate but with a $9.4 billion deficit predicted—the largest in BC history—the government is going to eat that promise, and it will review a middle-income tax cut that was supposed to come into play next year. Yesterday, government workers received word that “Effective immediately, all hiring in the BC Public Service is paused.” The only exceptions are internships promoting diversity and reconciliation. We’ll learn more in the next budget slated for March 4. [CHEK]

Active transportation plan in Saanich will cost more and take longer than estimated
Saanich’s council approved its Active Transportation Plan last Jan., with 96 action items to make the district more walkable and bike-friendly. But when councillors asked staff if the plan could be accelerated, they were surprised to learn that short- and medium-term projects slated for the next 20 years would cost $252 million, which the district doesn’t have. With its current earmarked funding, it could take an extra five years. The council chose not to raise property taxes to accommodate the plan’s proposed timeline. [Times Colonist]

51st state merch goes on sale online: what do you think?
US President Donald Trump’s assertion that Canada would make a good added state for that country has spawned a cottage industry of items promoting the Great White North as part of America. T-shirts, hats, mugs, and all kinds of trinkets can be had on Amazon, eBay, and other product-selling platforms. CTV took to the streets to gauge reaction. It wasn’t supportive. [CTV]

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🗓️ Things to do

👪 Family Day Weekend Storybook Walks: Take the family out for a self-guided Storybook Walk at four Langford parks and Langford Station. Today through Mon. [Info]

🤣 Sara Pascoe: See the British comedian and writer’s new standup I Am A Strange Gloop. McPherson Playhouse. Tonight. 7pm. [Info]

🪩 GAYBAR: Kick off the weekend with a night inspired by the '90s New York gay-bar scene. Capital Ballroom.Tonight. 8:30pm. [Info] 

😂 From Dylan with Love: A Valentine's Day Extravaganza: Join comedian Dylan Williams for a night of laughter and love. Metro Theatre. Tonight. 8pm. [Info]

🎶 The Clay Pigeons: The Music of John Prine: See The Clay Pigeons perform. Hermann's Tomorrow. 7pm. [Info]

🏒 WHL action: Victoria Royals host Vancouver Giants. ‘Pink in the Rink’ night. Wear pink. Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. 7pm. [Info]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Thursday’s headlines: Valentine’s Day events rundown; Royals go pink; You’re not alone if you’ve been scammed. [Capital Daily]

Been scammed? Join the crowd. [Capital Daily] 

Crystal Pool patrons are pleased about the replacement pool idea but divided on location. [Times Colonist]

Greater Victoria police respond to 3-5 domestic violence calls each day. [CHEK]

New BC Cancer Centre coming to Nanaimo. [Details]

Now you see me…: An owl’s feathers camouflage it in a Comox Valley tree, photographed by Alan Murphy. [Facebook photo]

That’s it!

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