Jan 14 - VicPD beat team reboot

Good morning !

Such a sad story is emerging from Saanich, where a mother of two little girls was found dead in her home on Jan. 5. Laura Gover-Basar was 41. She is described on a GoFundMe page set up to support the children as a “beloved mother, daughter, sister, friend and teacher.”

— Mark

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: ⛅ 10 / 7 

Tomorrow: ⛅ 10 / 7

Friday: ☀️ 11 / 7

7-day forecast

NEWS

Walking the beat again: Victoria restores community foot patrol

A dedicated foot patrol, sidelined three years ago, is back to walk and talk in the downtown core, courtesy of a $1.9M injection from the City of Victoria.

“We put the money in the budget as a holder, because we haven't concluded our budget discussions,” Mayor Marianne Alto told a news conference yesterday at VicPD HQ.

“We didn't know whether or not the police service would be able to do that, and standing here today hearing that the chief can honour the fact that that is now in place is extraordinary.”

That $1.9M gets the city seven beat officers and two more to work with bylaw enforcement. Each of the officers comes with plenty of experience, and they’ve been trained to deal with the heavy social issues—substance use disorders, mental health—they’ll likely often face when the two-person patrols hit the streets from Monday to Friday. 

“Their focus is on being present, spending time in the neighbourhood, visiting businesses, [and] just connecting with people,” said Sgt. Craig Barker, a beat veteran who will head the beat team.

“This is very proactive, and by being out there, we're going to see things that someone in a patrol car doesn't see when they're driving by,” Barker said.
“People are more likely to talk to us and tell us their concerns.”

VicPD Chief Fiona Wilson said walking a beat allows officers to identify emerging issues early, and that community-cop connection is invaluable.

“When officers are known by name and face, it changes the way people experience public safety,” she said. 

Officers who are visible, approachable, and present on the street strengthen trust, improve safety, and create opportunities for early intervention, she said.

In her sixth month as chief constable, replacing the retired Del Manak, Wilson enthusiastically welcomed the return of the foot patrol, which she said was disbanded “as a result of a decade of chronic underfunding and the necessary reallocation of limited resources to respond to the evolving demands of modern policing.”

She called a foot patrol “not only effective but essential” in a highly walkable city such as Victoria.

Last Friday, Wilson said, VicPD swore in eight new officers as replacements for those headed for the sidewalks.

In November, Saanich Police announced uniformed officers would be working foot patrols in the Uptown-Douglas area. 

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Wharf closed between Yates and Fort today as light poles are removed. 6:30am-1pm. [City of Vic] 

Saanich road closures:
* Inez between Vincent and Gorge West for drain installation. Today, 9am-3:30pm
 * Reynolds at Cedar Hill Cross for water main upgrade. Today, 9am-3pm

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

Rental prices continue to drop in Victoria, the rest of BC

Victoria ranked 20th in Canada for most expensive rental markets, according to the latest monthly report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation. The report gathered data from rental listings across Canada in December 2025.

The cost of one-bedroom apartments in the city has dropped by 6% since December 2024, while the cost of two-bedroom units dipped by 7%.

The average price of a one-bedroom apartment in Victoria last month was $1,958, and two-bedrooms averaged at $2,580. The average listing price across all sizes was $2,208.

BC’s rental prices are dropping faster than other parts of Canada, though the province is still home to the top four most expensive cities to rent in. Still, apartment rents have been decreasing in BC for three years straight, declining a total of 12.1% since December 2022.

Canada overall saw a 2.3% drop in average rental costs.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s report from last month, Greater Victoria’s vacancy rate grew to 3.3%, which the province says is the highest it’s been in decades.

“We need to stay on this course so we don’t fall back into the patterns that allowed housing to become unaffordable for far too many,” Christine Boyle, BC’s housing minister, said in a statement. 

She said 25,855 purpose-built rental homes were registered in 2025, “up almost 40% compared to 2024.”

“This coming year, I look forward to seeing new affordable homes take shape throughout the province.”

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Whether you're a seasoned professional, an aspiring business owner, or exploring your next career path, Level UP sessions are open to everyone. The first session on self-awareness and unconscious bias in dialogue starts on Feb. 4.

⭐️ Capital Picks

💲Victoria draft budget: Have your say using the DVBA feedback tool. 

🎤 On Jan. 31, B4Play, the Belfry's live talk show with Gregor Craigie, will focus on the upcoming production of Maanomaa, My Brother. Free tickets here.*

🖼️ AGGV’s Winter Exhibition Celebration starts Friday. 

⛷️Mount Washington operations scale back amid warmer temperatures: Alpine and Nordic ticket prices have been reduced to reflect conditions.

*Sponsored Listing

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🗞️ In Other News

77 new affordable homes announced for Victoria, for $50 million
They’ll be located in the Gorge-Burnside neighbourhood. Seventy-seven homes for independent seniors and families at Chown Place, an affordable housing complex near Harriet. This is the second phase of a multi-phase plan to build nine three-bedroom townhomes and 68 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. The city is committing $770K, along with $585K in fee reductions. The Gorge View Society is contributing the land, which is valued at $7.5 million, and approximately $126K. The federal government is paying $28.2M for this phase, and the province is in for $12.6M. [BC Gov]

Sidney approves warming centre, emergency shelter still in the works
The warming centre was approved unanimously, but still needs the green light from the operator, Beacon Community Services. If granted, it would open as needed, for the rest of winter, in the Nell Horth Room, adjacent to the Sidney/North Saanich Library. It would operate from 7pm to 7am during extreme cold weather events—likely discouraging non-Sidney residents from using the facility, Coun. Steve Duck said. Staff have been directed to continue exploring options for an emergency shelter. [CHEK]

Long waits still a problem for assistance seekers: BC ombudsperson
Jay Chalke says British Columbians calling for help with important essential financial support, such as their income or disability assistance, face long waits—sometimes more than an hour. He says that at this rate, it will be decades before the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction meets its own standards. Chalke says the BC government set a goal: It wanted 80% of inquiries answered within 10 minutes. However, the ministry’s data indicates that between 2022 and 2024, only 13% of calls were handled within that timeframe. Chalke says some steps have been taken to improve things, but staffing levels and call volume stand in the way. [CP / Times Colonist]

SPONSORED BY YOUNG FARMER SERIES

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🗓️ Things To Do

🎵 The Don Leppard Jazz Orchestra: Victoria's 17-piece big band swings through classics from Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and more, plus original compositions carrying on Don Leppard's tradition. Hermann's Jazz Club. Tonight. 7pm. [Info]

🍽️ Highland Park Dinner at Fathom: An exclusive five-course whisky dinner paired with Highland Park single-malt Scotch, guided through each pairing and finishing with a spectacular 25-year bioluminescent finale. Hotel Grand Pacific. Tomorrow. 5-7pm. [Info]

🎤 Confabulation Presents: Dig In: A night of true stories told on stage without notes, props, or gimmicks, with six storytellers sharing tales of deep convictions, odd excavations, and covering your tracks. The Coda. Tomorrow. Live music 6:30pm, stories 7:30-9:45pm. [Info]

🎶🪲 The Sutcliffes: The Beatles' Legacy: The energetic stage show that headlined Liverpool's International Beatle Week four times returns with an ambitious thematic multimedia staging of The Beatles' legendary catalogue. Hermann's Jazz Club. Tomorrow. 7pm. [Info]

🤣 Snowed In Comedy Tour: Canada's biggest comedy tour returns for its 17th year with a powerhouse lineup: Dan Quinn (Just for Laughs winner), Paul Myrehaug (Great Canadian Laugh Off champion), Pete Zedlacher (six-time Canadian Comedian of the Year nominee), and Erica Sigurdson (Debaters regular). Royal Theatre. Saturday. 7:30pm. [Info]

🎵📜 Victoria Historical Society presents: Music and History—What Could be Better, with Kouskous, a world folk music duo featuring Gary Cohen and Amber Woods, who will take a musical tour of Victoria with songs that tell the stories of the early days in this area. James Bay New Horizons Centre. Jan. 22. 7:15pm. [Info]  

👀 In Case You Missed It

Tuesday’s headlines: Victoria bus service expands; UVic partners with Estonian researchers to explore clean energy; 2 crashes close the TCH on Monday. [Jan. 13]

Recall: no-name brand beef burgers, due to E. coli. [CFIA]

Drilling/blasting at Rocky Point near Metchosin: as required, between 8am and 4:30pm through Jan. 26. 

The curious case of Nanaimo’s shrinking lake. [CHEK]

Butchart Gardens is closed Jan. 19-Feb. 1 for staff holidays… but if you want to work there, see this job fair on Feb. 18. 

House moving in old Victoria: See a house on the go at the former Hillside-Douglas roundabout in the 1950s. [Facebook photo]

Emerging Local Authors: GVPL is looking for local writers and illustrators to submit their work by Jan. 18.

That’s it!

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