July 18 - Camosun to get its first student residence

Good morning !

Camosun College is finally getting student housing. Did you attend Camosun? Would you have appreciated on-campus housing while you were there? Let us know!

— Robyn

Today’s approx. read time: 6 minutes

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NEWS

City investigating allegations polluted water was dumped in storm drain, flowing into Gorge

The city is waiting for water sample results to determine the veracity of reports a large amount of milky-white water was dumped into a storm drain, and has made its way into a creek that empties into the Gorge Waterway.

Online reports from a would-be whistleblower claim their company has dumped “close to 1 million litres of chemically altered water.”

The since-deleted anonymous post on Reddit alleged: “Our workplace (semi-industrial in the Burnside/Gorge area) has dumped close to 1 million litres of chemically altered water (large bromine and heavy metal concentrations) as well as various chemicals (highly concentrated hydrochloride acid and petroleum solvents/pint thinner) into a storm drain outside our workplace.”

The post does not identify that workplace.

The city has sent a letter to residents and business owners in the area reminding them of bylaw No. 14-071, which bans the disposal of contaminated water into the stormwater system. Those contaminants include paint and drywall wash water, sediment-laden water, and concrete slurry.

Anyone caught discharging prohibited substances into the stormwater infrastructure is subject to fines of up to $1K per day.

Read Mark Brennae’s full story here.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

CRD study: Solid waste market research. [Info]

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

Camosun College to get its first student housing building

The college was selected alongside two other Island schools for new housing, with the province funding $151.7M for Camosun’s new accommodations. The school will pay $3M, covering the remaining amount.

The six-storey building will be built on the Lansdowne campus, offering 423 beds in single, studio and quad unit types. It will be made from mass timber—considered a sustainable building material—and will be ready for students to move in for the 2027 fall semester.

Despite having nearly 15K students enrolled each year—22% of whom are not from the Island, with 1,400 internationals—student housing has not been available for those studying at Camosun. The college’s housing page currently offers advice on finding rentals, including hotels and Airbnbs.

College president Lane Trotter said the new housing is expected to boost retention rates at the school, thanks to the “various social, academic and personal benefits” on-campus housing offers.

She also said the new building hopefully will “free up rental spaces” in the city—a sentiment echoed by Murray Rankin, the outgoing MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head. 

“Having student housing available at Camosun College’s Lansdowne campus will also help alleviate pressure on Victoria’s rental market, a lasting benefit to our entire community,” he said in a release.

In the school’s 2023-2028 strategic plan, one of the top goals was to “enhance student life on campus, prioritizing student housing.”

NEWS

Esquimalt tenants told they must leave

Tenants of an apartment complex in Esquimalt—served eviction notices in the spring so the new owner can renovate—will have to move, following a decision from the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB).

“Honestly, I’m not really surprised,” said Douglas King, executive director, Together Against Poverty Society (TAPS), which had been advising the tenants during the stressful process.

“In the hearing, I think the arbitrator seemed to be sympathetic to what the landlord was saying.”

The landlord, Andrew Rebeyka, and his company Sturdee Investments bought the building at 519 Sturdee, an old hotel that doubled as subsidized housing in the Netflix miniseries Maid that was assessed at more than $6M last July.

Earlier this year, he approached tenants, offering them up to $5K to leave the premises so he could do extensive repairs including plumbing work. More than half of the tenants accepted and agreed to leave by Sept. 1.

Others didn’t but most have since accepted a separate offer whereby they must leave by Nov. 1.

King says the situation highlights a provincial problem whereby a landlord can give tenants four months’ notice along with a payment equal to just one month’s rent. He said that allows landlords to offer a higher level of compensation in exchange for the tenants not fighting the eviction process.  

“So really what they get is a guaranteed eviction,” he said. 

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⭐️ Capital Picks

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📚 Summer reading: Check out GVPL’s top adult fiction books for July.

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🗞️ In Other News

Gym for people with disabilities needs funds after accountant ghosts
Move Adaptive Fitness—the province’s first gym for people with disabilities—opened 10 years ago and is popular, with 1K visits per month. But some accounting problems, namely $125K in unpaid taxes, have left the gym without its charity status and on the verge of bankruptcy. Landlord Neuromotion will take over Aug. 1, but the adaptive gym needs money, so it’s set up a GoFundMe page. [CHEK]

Police seize guns, machetes, knives, other weapons on Pandora
Responding to a physical altercation between two women on Mon., VicPD say they arrived to find one on the ground and the other running to her tent. While making an arrest they say they found a loaded handgun, cash, and drugs next to one of the tents. They also found two machetes, eight knives, a hatchet, a baton, and three cans of bear spray. [VicPD]

BC Transit to eliminate 10 Ride Ticket, some monthly passes Oct. 1
With the launch of the Umo payment platform last Aug., the transit company will stop selling fare products such as the 10 Ride Ticket, adult monthly and student/senior monthly passes for fixed-route transit service riders. They will be replaced with Umo products, offered at the same price. You can use the phased-out products until they run out, they just won’t be sold after Oct. 1. [BC Transit]

Second abandoned sea otter pup found near the Island
Two sea otter pups have been found alone in the last month. This is the first time the Vancouver Aquarium has had to look after two vulnerable pups at the same time. Luna was found, with parts of her umbilical cord still attached, weeks after another pup was found near Tofino (and was subsequently named after the town). Luna is currently in critical condition. Tofino is on the upswing but will never be re-released to the wild.

🗓️ Things to do

🎈 Langford Community Fun Day: Free fun activities will be on today, including face painting, barbecue, music, and games. City councillors and staff will be there to take feedback from the community for future initiatives. 12-7pm. [Info]

🎹 VSMF Outreach Concert: See this free classical performance, with saxophone and piano, at Christ Church Cathedral today. 1pm. [Info]

🎸 Bluestem: See the band make their Victoria debut at the Victoria Event Centre today. 8pm. [Info]

👠 Fern a Drag Show: See this Fernwood classic, with hosts Vivian Vanderpuss and Woofie, at Fernwood Inn today. 7:30pm. [Info]

🎶The Lee Boys: See this top sacred steel group perform at Hermann’s, combining gospel, blues, and jazz tomorrow. 7pm. [Info]

🎵 Steph Strings: The Australian singer-songwriter will perform at Capital Ballroom tomorrow. 8pm. [Info]

🎷 Andrew Greenwood Quintet: See the saxophonist and his fellow musicians perform at Hermann’s tomorrow. 7pm. [Info]

🇨🇴 Colombian Rumba Night: Dance to the sounds of Colombia at Victoria Event Centre tomorrow. 9pm. [Info]

🎨Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s 35th annual Paint-In: See Island artists create work in real time, with activities, music, food, beer garden. Sat. Moss Street. AGGV opens at 10am. Paint-in at 11am. [Info]

🖼 Free art gallery entry today, 5-9pm at AGGV. [Info]

🕺 Swingin’ in the Shell: Swing dance, including a free lesson, at the Cameron Bandshell in Beacon Hill Park today. 7pm. [Info]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Wednesday headlines: BC’s ‘massive error’ cause of child’s death; Saanich tries to accelerate availability of affordable housing; Head of IT no longer with Elections BC; And more. [July 17] 

Perilous Saanich intersections to remain unchanged. [Capital Daily]

New resto coming to Esquimalt’s Rosemead House. [Tasting Victoria]

Highway 17 overnight closures next week: The highway will be closed in both directions on July 25, July 29, and Aug. 7 for work on the Keating overpass. There will be a detour along Tanner Road, Central Saanich Road, and Island View Road during these closures.

BC, Alberta put a cork in wine dispute. [BC Gov’t]

BC’s ‘massive error’ cause of child’s preventable death. [Vancouver Sun]

That’s it!

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