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Canada's next FIFA match is happening this weekend. While I admit I don't know much about soccer (football?), I've heard our country is favoured to win this one. Hopefully I haven't jinxed it.

The team will head to Los Angeles to take on South Africa on Sunday, 12pm.

— Robyn

Today’s approx. read time: 6 minutes

Today: 🌧 19 / 13

Tomorrow: 🌦 20 / 13

Day after: ⛅ 20 / 13

7-day forecast

Victoria is getting one of 12 new BC hubs dedicated to policing and intervening in repeat property offences like vandalism, shoplifting, and street disorder. 

The province says the new hub will bring together a team of specialists—including prosecutors, police, probation officers, and mental-health liaisons—to identify repeat offenders who “require enhanced supervision and supports.”

Criminal history, level of community disruption, and risk of reoffending are all factors in identifying these people.

“Retail theft and street disorder undermine public safety and place added pressure on local businesses,” said Nina Krieger, BC’s public safety minister. 

“The province is targeting chronic property offending that threatens the livelihood of small businesses, which are the backbone of our communities.”

With the new additions, BC will have a total of 24 specialized hubs. Victoria is among four communities that will have one hub dedicated to property crimes and another to violent crimes—the latter is already established in the city.

With double the hubs, the provincial government says the teams can supervise up to 865 individuals in total.

The hubs will increase police and probationary supervision of repeat offenders and help prosecutors determine release and sentencing recommendations.

The province says targeted services like mental health and substance-use care and housing support will also be offered, as police in multiple communities report that many repeat property offenders deal with these issues.

The initiative is modelled after one designed for repeat violent offenders, which—according to an internal evaluation of the program—reduced police interactions for violent offences by more than half.  

BC is spending $16M over two years on the 12 new hubs.

Saanich single-lane traffic: Quadra at St. Peter’s today through Monday, 8:30am-3:30pm

Canada Day is Wednesday: Expect traffic disruptions downtown. [VicPD]

Thetis Lake Main Beach washrooms to close in the evenings. New hours are 8am-4pm. [CRD]

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The World Health Organization currently lists seven cancers as being directly caused by alcohol consumption, including oral, breast, liver, and colon. A new study by UVic researchers says another needs to be added to the list: pancreatic cancer.

A report from UVic’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR) found a strong link between alcohol consumption and pancreatic cancer. The school says the study contributes to “mounting evidence” that booze is a direct cause of this type of cancer, one of the deadliest—only 12% of Canadians survive five years after diagnosis.

The study analyzed several existing studies that tracked different groups of people—drinkers and alcohol abstainers—to see if there was a correlation between these lifestyle choices and diagnosis. 

Jinhui Zhao, a CISUR scientist and the paper’s lead author, said his team made sure to only analyze lifelong non-drinkers, as some studies will include former heavy drinkers with the abstainers, skewing the data. 

“There has been a push in recent years to take this bias into account to truly measure alcohol’s health impacts,” Zhao said.

Once they controlled for other contributing health factors—smoking, age, socioeconomic status—the researchers found that drinking more than 24 grams of alcohol per day (just under two standard drinks in Canada) was associated with a 10-30% increase in the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

“After rigorously analyzing the existing evidence, we strongly believe it’s time to add pancreatic cancer to the list of alcohol-related cancers,” said Tim Naimi, CISUR’s director and an author of the study.

This is particularly concerning for British Columbians—while evidence has shown that people are drinking less in recent years, BC still consumes more alcohol than the national average. 

For nearly two decades, the Island has been one of the top three health regions for drinking in the province. Islanders consume 11.5 drinks per week on average, three more than the 8.2 drinks per week the rest of Canada has.

In a 2024 report, Island Health called for stricter provincial policies around alcohol, similar to cannabis regulation. This would include health warning labels on drinks and less advertising for alcohol products.

This story ran for our Insiders on June 21. Consider becoming an Insider today and be the first to receive stories every Sunday.

PHS Community Services Society needs your help to match a $500K grant from the AI Roadburg Foundation.  

Your donations will support a new commissary kitchen to safely expand their daily meal production to community members facing food insecurity.  

Donate today and double your impact and strengthen this critical lifeline. 

🐌 Now I see you, now I don’t: A banana slug was seen playing peek-a-boo with its eyes in Sayward. [Facebook video]

☀️ Summer, Served arrives June 27, from 1–4pm at Rally at Royal Bay (3515 Producers Way) with pickleball demos, music, food, cocktails, and fun.*

🇨🇦 Great Canadian Bash: OLP, Tea Party and more tomorrow at Statlight Stadium.

*Sponsored Listing

Suspicious fire damages vacant Saanich clinic, illegal casino
Firefighters were dispatched to the Cook blaze just after 1pm yesterday, and were quickly able to quash the fire before it spread. The building appeared unoccupied at the time and there are no known injuries. The fire is currently being investigated as suspicious. The former clinic site made headlines in 2024 for housing an illegal gambling den, with multiple people arrested during a police search. [CHEK]

Humpback calf struck by Hullo ferry returns to Salish Sea
The young whale hadn’t been seen since December, two months after she sustained a deep wound on her dorsal fin from a collision with a vessel. The calf, known as Skipper, was spotted on Wednesday and appears to now have injuries that suggest a recent entanglement from fishing gear—two traumatic experiences before the age of two. [Komo News] 

Victoria animal rescuer returns to Ukraine frontline to save goats from war
Victoria-based Jesse Adams—founder of RainCoast Animal Rescue, which helps animals, especially cats and dogs, trapped in dangerous conflict zones—is part of a team evacuating several goats from eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. A recent video shows Adams with a group of armed soldiers and rescuers relocating the goats, which the organization says are now removed from immediate danger. [CTV]

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⚓ Maritime Museum of BC: Pay-What-You-Can Friday: Access the museum at a price of your choosing every Friday. [Info]

🎶 Behave presents: See Montreal's APACALDA’s and Vancouver's Haleluya Hailu at The Coda tonight. 7–8:30pm. [Info]

😂 Blind Dates Live!: See Improviser Alex Forman host a hilarious comedy show built around real strangers going on blind dates, at The Mint Restaurant tonight. 8pm. [Info]

🌱 Urban Foraging: Join this workshop on identifying and ethically harvesting edible and medicinal plants in Victoria's urban areas at Compost Education Centre tomorrow. 10am–12pm. [Info]

🎵 The Great Canadian Songbook: Wavelengths' 80-voice choir celebrates Canada with songs by Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and more at Mary Winspear Centre. Tomorrow, 7:30pm and Sunday, 2pm. [Info]

🕺 Schools Out for Summer: Bobby Dazzler: Shake off the school year at this end-of-year dance party at The Coda tomorrow. 9:30pm–1:30am. [Info]

🎞️ Story Pole: Indigenous Veterans and the Tallest Pole in the World: See a free screening of the film, followed by a 30-minute Q&A with director Geoffrey Bird at Royal BC Museum. July 2. 5pm. [Info]

Thursday’s headlines: E-bike share program to launch in Victoria; BC creates Police Accountability Unit for Indigenous people; BC Transit opens new training centre in Victoria. [June 25]

Canada sending $5M in aid to victims of the Venezuela earthquakes. [CBC]

One of BC Ferries’ oldest ships sails for the last time today. [CHEK]

Man wanted, do not approach. [VicPD]

Beach advisories in place for Thetis Lake Main Beach (blue-green algae) and Gonzales Bay Beach (high enterococci levels). [Island Health]

Nudibranch shuffle: See a sea slug’s mating dance in action, filmed in Nanoose Bay. [Facebook video]

Lost & Found fundraiser by Soap for Hope returns to Market Square, with a range of items left behind at hotels—clothes, accessories, and specialty goods—for sale. [July 21-26]

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