Jan 30 - Island mayors say 9-1-1 dispatch costs 'untenable'

Good morning !

Snow is in the forecast for two nights this weekend—we could be seeing flurries occur overnight on both Friday and Saturday. However, there’s plenty of rain during the day to counteract it.

— Robyn

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌧️ 5 / 3

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Saturday: 🌨️ 5 / 2

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NEWS

10 South Island mayors ask province to hold off on sending them a $4.9M bill for 9-1-1 dispatches

The South Island will soon be paying nearly $5M more to send RCMP officers to emergency calls this year. That’s “untenable and unacceptable,” 10 of the region's mayors said in a letter to the province on Wednesday. 

They're calling on Garry Begg, minister of public safety and solicitor general, to halt BC's plans to download 9-1-1 dispatch costs to their level. The mayors said they have a “strong opposition and profound dissatisfaction” toward the changes. Taking on these costs would bump property taxes up 2.6% to 6%—not exactly welcome news to residents of municipalities already facing tax increases.  

Four years have passed since the province first announced it was considering downloading 9-1-1 E-Comm call costs onto municipalities. The mayors say that the ministry “implied” at last fall's Union of BC Municipalities conference that these costs would not be applied in 2025 as scheduled.

But last Tuesday the province announced it will be passing the bill for 9-1-1 dispatch services on to the 10 South Island municipalities served by the RCMP: Langford, Sooke, Colwood, View Royal, Sidney, Metchosin, North Cowichan, Ladysmith, North Saanich, and Duncan. 

That bill: an estimated $4.9M for April to December 2025, increasing further in 2026.

Keep reading for more about this dispute, the province's response, how 9-1-1 calls work, and the history (and possible future) of emergency service funding in BC.

Read that full story by Sidney Coles here.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Saanich roadwork: Eastbound traffic is closed on Ravine Way, between Blanshard and Vernon, for highway upgrades. [Details]

Crystal Pool public online engagement session today, 12-1pm. [Register here]

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

Support local journalism by supporting Capital Daily. Become a Capital Daily Insider member today and help bring local stories to life. 

NEWS

Multiple conservation groups sue Feds over delay in protecting Southern Resident killer whales

The groups filed a legal challenge on Monday against the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), putting pressure on the federal ministers to recommend to cabinet an emergency protection order for Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW). 

An assessment last fall from the ministries determined that SRKW face imminent threats for survival—a determination that would direct the ministers to recommend an emergency order to increase legal protections for the whales immediately. 

The conservation groups—including The David Suzuki Foundation, Georgia Strait Alliance, Living Oceans Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, and World Wildlife Fund Canada—argue that an emergency order recommendation is legally required under the Species at Risk Act, after the ministries determine such a threat.

Precedent for this came from a similar case last summer, concerning spotted owls in BC, when a judge found ECCC Minister Steven Guilbeault’s delay in recommending an emergency order to cabinet to be unlawful. Guilbeault waited eight months after ECCC determined the owl species faced imminent threats. 

It’s now been two months since the Nov. 29 assessment, and Imalka Nilmalgoda, an EcoJustice lawyer representing the conservation groups, says that’s too long. 

“We know that the whales are facing pretty urgent threats to their survival, and that action is really needed now to give them that fighting chance,” Nilmalgoda told Capital Daily. “The window of opportunity is really closing.” 

Similar to the spotted owl case, she said, “the action must reflect the urgency of the situation.” 

Nilmalgoda says the ministers and cabinet have the ability—and duty—to move ahead with a recommendation and emergency order, despite Parliament being prorogued while a new Liberal Party leader, and prime minister, is selected. 

An emergency order would bolster conservation protections for SRKW, which could affect ship speeds, pollution, and salmon conservation—all factors that play a role in the population’s decline.

Read what could be included in the emergency order—and why the cabinet is not guaranteed to accept the recommendation, despite conservationists stressing its importance.

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⭐️ Capital Picks

🍴 Four Vic-area restaurants make OpenTable’s Top 100 Most Romantic list. 

🫧 Foam party: Sea-foam covers a beach in Pacific Rim National Park. [Facebook photo]

☕ Enjoy the world-renowned flavour of AeroPress, a velvety-smooth coffee without the grit or bitterness found in other methods.  Loved globally, with 55K+ 5-star reviews.*

🚶 Winter Boardwalk coming to Oak Bay’s Uplands Park, helping people avoid the mud. The walking loop is raised to reduce impact on the many endangered species in the nature park. [Oak Bay Parks & Rec]

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🗞️ In Other News

Vic councillor expecting apology today over Crystal Pool referendum row 
Coun. Stephen Hammond has submitted a nine-page motion in which he requests a separate motion be passed demanding an apology from Coun. Jeremy Caradonna who last week said Hammond “lied to the public.” The comment came during an intense debate over the communications strategy the city has used to inform the public about the Crystal Pool replacement referendum. Caradonna has indicated he would say he is sorry. [CHEK]

Eby pushes for pandemic-style relief as province braces for Trump tariffs
With the new US president looking to impose tariffs on Canadian imports beginning on Sat., the BC premier says any money generated by retaliatory tariffs on US imports should be “immediately deployed” to Canadian businesses. Eby says the tariffs are unjustified and the only way for the US to hear that message is to retaliate with similar measures. [MSN / CP] 
BC also announced a cabinet ‘war room’ to protect the province’s economy in the event the threatened tariffs happen. [CTV]

Man arrested following Selkirk area bomb threat
VicPD was called in Tue. around dinner time when a man claimed to have a bomb in his home on Ellice, near Gorge E. The building was evacuated and residents were put on BC Transit buses for shelter while the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) Explosive Disposal Unit and the Integrated Canine Service (ICS) safely cleared the suite, after finding no sign of an explosive device. [VicPD]

Canucks president Rutherford confirms rift between team’s 2 players
Jim Rutherford confirmed an ongoing feud between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, the club’s two top centres. In an interview in the Globe and Mail, Rutherford said the team has tried everything but has failed to get the players on the same page. Rutherford wouldn’t explain the chasm but admits it’s hurt the team’s chemistry and therefore its performance. Rutherford candidly said the team may have to trade at least one of the players. [CTV]

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🗓️ Things to do

🎺 Kelby MacNayr's Blue Note Repertory All-Stars: Celebrate the Cannonball Adderley Quintet with an all-star lineup at Hermann’s tonight. 7pm. [Info]

🕯️ Candlelight: Coldplay X Imagine Dragons: Hear the music of Coldplay and Imagine Dragons, performed by Listeso String Quartet, under the glow of candlelight at Christ Church Cathedral tonight. 8:30pm. [Info]

🎶 The Village Choir: Winter Concert with Guests: See the vibrant community choir perform captivating pop, R&B, indie-folk, rock, and jazz music at the McPherson Playhouse. Sat. 7:30pm. [Info]

🧧 Lunar New Year in Esquimalt Town Square: Welcome the Year of the Snake with the Wong Sheung Kung Fu Club at the Esquimalt Town Square. Sun. 3pm. [Info]

CORRECTION: Yesterday’s LNY roundup said the Lunar New Year Parade & Blessing of the Merchants will take place on Feb. 8. It’s scheduled for Feb. 9. Capital Daily regrets the error.

👀 In Case You Missed It

Wednesday’s headlines: Lunar New Year celebrations in Victoria; Downtown facing ‘retail turnover’; Guys who planted huge sequoia in Centennial Square say it should stay. [Jan. 29]

Sonia Furstenau quits as leader of BC Greens. [Capital Daily] 

“Epic” Sooke snorkel: See the colourful underwater world in Iron Mine Bay. [Facebook photos]

New direct YYJ-YOW flights: Victoria to Ottawa via Porter. [Destination Greater Victoria]

UVic study finds eco-tourism doesn’t increase conflict with humans. [Times Colonist]

Owner reunited with GoPro found underwater at Ogden Point. [CHEK]