June 10 - First commercial electric flight in Canada

Good morning !

Hope you had a good weekend! In yesterday's poll, more than 40% of you said you checked out at least one Greater Victoria event during this busy past weekend. This month there is still plenty more where that came from.

— Cam

Today’s approx. read time: 7 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌤️ 19 / 11

Tuesday: 🌧️ 17 / 9

Wednesday: ☀️ 18 / 9

7-day forecast

NEWS

An unknown Islander will fly an electric airplane on Friday

For a $20 bill, one applicant will ascend into the sky in a Velis Electro. That person will become the first in Canada ever to purchase a flight in an e-plane, and will take the controls in the air under an instructor’s stewardship.

Campbell River's Sealand flight school bought the Velis early this year, and is hosting a contest to decide who will get the first lesson in it. The company will pick a winner, who must have no previous flight experience, based on 300-word submissions, by Wednesday.

The decade-old flight school gained permission from Transport Canada to fly the plane commercially. Students this summer will train from intro- up to solo-level flying, and will switch over to a typical plane engine after that, per 100.7 The Raven, as part of the agreement with Transport.

Another electric flight milestone for Island

The first-ever electric flight was executed in Richmond in 2019 by Harbour Air, which in 2022 followed up with the first point-to-point electric flight. That 24-minute trip touched down in the Saanich Inlet near YYJ. Several factors make the Salish Sea one of the most optimal places in the world for electric flight.

Passenger flights could come to Vic in 2026

Harbour Air announced in April that it is buying 50 electric engines, and it intends to be flying passengers by 2026. Victoria-based HeliJet also plans to be carrying passengers on e-flights by 2026, but using the eVOTL helicopter equivalents rather than seaplanes.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Woman missing near Gordon Head; Police say Jasmine Khaneja, 45, is nonverbal and may be scared of strangers. [Photo / info]

Lawn-watering restrictions (Stage1) continue through to Sept. 30.

Small business information session put on by City of Victoria on June 26. 

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

Government bodies reluctant to regulate Island shipbreaking site, environmental lawyer says

Lawyer Carla Conkin previously worked reviewing natural resource projects, and now advocates with with Concerned Citizens of Baynes Sound (CCOBS). They are among parties who believe the Deep Water Recovery site is inadequate to prevent hazards and that shipbreaking should be done at a site with a drydock and other measures.

Jurisdiction over the site overlaps between 2 provincial ministries, 3 federal ones, and municipal land-use (it also occupies traditional K’ómoks First Nation land). Conkin argues that some of these siloed authorities are avoiding responsibility.

The province has sent multiple out-of-compliance warnings but only a $500 administrative penalty despite threatening up to $340,000 in fines.

Fisheries and Oceans told The Discourse that investigating the site rests with the province, and assessing vessels rests with the coast guard. But DFO did investigate Deep Water in 2022 and 2023 over three ships it said harmed fish habitat. Two were fully removed, but not the third, which was assessed to be preventing recovery albeit not actively causing more harm.

Meanwhile, the Comox Valley Regional District continues to have a civil claim against the shipbreaker, which argues that that land use violates zoning.

Read more in the full story from The Discourse.

This brief written with files from Madeline Dunnett (Local Journalism Initiative reporter / The Discourse)

NEWS

Victoria background-check company is under investigation over privacy concerns

The offices of the federal and provincial privacy commissioners announced Tuesday that they are investigating Victoria-based Certn. At issue is whether its automated tenant-screening services for landlords comply with BC personal information law and federal personal-info and electronic documents laws.

The Offices say they will assess whether the info that Certn "collects, uses, and discloses" is "sufficiently accurate, complete, and up to date" and whether it is collected for appropriate purposes. They also say that consent and accuracy in tenants' info is important particularly because it can decide whether people have a place to live.

Certn says it is complying with investigators.

Last fall, Deloitte put the company 10th in its ranking of Canada’s fastest-growing tech, media, and telecom companies (based on four-year revenue growth).

Read more at Victoria Tech Journal. 

SPONSORED BY THE CANADIAN CLUB OF VICTORIA

June 17 Luncheon Meeting

11:45 am - 1:30 pm at the Hotel Grand Pacific

463 Belleville Street, Victoria, BC

This month’s presentation will be Judith A. Craig, a past sculptor at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in London, England with a fascinating story to tell. Having met many well-known and varied personalities, such as Queen Elizabeth II, Anwar Sadat, Sylvester Stallone, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama in her sculpting work as Head of the Portrait Studio, Judith now lives in Victoria where she continues her artistic work as a painter of landscapes. 

Members and non-members are encouraged to attend the luncheon and learn more about the people and the art of wax sculpture from a most engaging speaker.

Click here to book your ticket by the June 14 deadline.

⭐️ Capital Picks

🐥 Baby ducks in the rapids: A Merganser family rides over the rocks. [Video]

👷 Plumbers and Pipefitters reach your full potential with UA Local 324. Enjoy steady and stable employment, higher wages, healthcare benefits, pension plan, and more. Learn more.*

🌳 A wander in the woods: Walking among the Island's old growth. [TJ Watt]

🎲 Play long-term games. oxio internet is here to stay. Sustainable pricing. Monthly billing without random price increases. Use code CAPITALDAILY for your first month free.*

🤝 Now hiring: Seasonal Purchasing/Receiving Clerk at the Butchart Gardens.   

*Sponsored Listing

🗞️ In Other News

Sidney Museum exhibits Saanich Peninsula LGBTQIA+ history 
The new Reading Between the Lines for Local Queer History exhibit shares pieces from UVic’s The Transgender Archives and stories about local queer history and HIV/AIDS activism. It is on display throughout Pride Month and later will be permanently added to the upstairs gallery. A pop-up of the exhibit is expected at both the Sidney Pride Festival and Pride Night. [CHEK]  

Cougar has Nanoose Bay farmers losing sheep and losing sleep
They say that conservation officers haven’t yet tried to trap and relocate a cougar they say stalks their flocks—and could target them as well. [CHEK]

House for sale comes with pub and ferry
A $4.8M listing on Protection Island includes a residence, the ferry to and from downtown Nanaimo, and the 35-year-old Dinghy Dock—Canada’s only floating pub. [CTV]

North Saanich home destroyed in fire
About 30 firefighters fought an early-Sunday blaze that witnesses across the Saanich Inlet said lit up the bay. Occupants escaped, but are out of a home. [CHEK]

🗓️ Things to do

🎥 The Taste of Things at Cinecenta: The foodie romance film set in 1880s France will be shown at the UVic theatre. Today 4:45pm and 7:15pm.  

🥃 DEVINE Distillery brandy launch party: Clive’s Classic Lounge will host the launch party for the distillery’s new solera brandy. Tomorrow 5pm.

🎵 Music at Ship Point: Poncho will perform in the Inner Harbour. Tomorrow 6-7pm. Watch the Ghanaian-Victorian artist's latest music video below:

⚾️ $10 Tuesday at Royal Athletic: Island rivalry heats up as the HarbourCats host Nanaimo NightOwls. [Tickets]

🌿 FernFest is coming up this weekend in Fernwood Square. Musicians, performers, food, beer, artists, magic, kid’s zone, face painting, artisan market, games, bubbles, walking tours, silent auction, and more.

🥘 The “Family Dinner” show: Summer's Brothers, HOTPOT, and Silverware play music at the VEC on June 20. [Tickets]

📅 Missed a cool event last weekend? Get our weekly events roundup every Tuesday so you always know what’s coming up. Subscribe here.

👀 In Case You Missed It

Images from an empty city: Looking back at our photo essays from four years ago. [Sunday newsletter]

7 summer menus to try in town. [Tasting Victoria]

Summer camp/recreation registration. [City of Victoria]

Famed astronaut dies in plane crash. Update on Rifflandia festival. Behind the scenes at Royal Athletic. [Sat. newsletter]

Crust Bakery announces cookbook featuring the bakery’s classics. Launches Sep. 24, available for pre-order.

A big bear gets its portrait taken in Shawnigan. [Jon Gugin photo]

Missing for 43 years: Linda Pedersen, 24, vanished from Victoria in 1981. 

Rutley the elephant gets new paint as part of Rutledge upgrades. [Saanich News]

That’s it!

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