Oct 30 - New Victoria park honours survivors of Japanese internment

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Halloween’s tomorrow—if you’re taking part in the holiday, here’s your reminder to pick up some candy and figure out your costume if you haven’t yet.

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Today’s approx. read time: 7 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌥️ 11 / 7

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 11 / 10

Day after: 🌤️ 13 / 9

NEWS

New park honouring Japanese internment
survivors breaks ground

The park, to be built at Academy Close on the south end of the St. Anne’s Academy grounds, will serve as an educational landmark while acknowledging the harm Canada caused tens of thousands of its own citizens. 

During the Second World War, not long after the attack on the US military base, Pearl Harbour, the Canadian government forced 22K Japanese Canadians in British Columbia—many of whom were born in Canada—from their homes and imprisoned them under the War Measures Act. 

In addition to the trauma of wrongful imprisonment and racism, many of the interned lost their jobs, their homes, and their possessions, with some forcefully sent to Japan. 

This treatment didn’t end with the war—in 1945, Japanese Canadians were told to move east toward the Rocky Mountains or risk being deported to Japan, where many had never been. It wasn’t until 1949 that they were granted the freedom to return to BC’s coast. 

The park will honour the thousands displaced with a wall of the 22K names. It will also include the names of the 3K Japanese Canadians born during internment. 

One notable name among the 22K is famed climate activist David Suzuki. Suzuki—a third-generation Canadian of Japanese descent who was forced, along with his family, into a camp in the interior of BC Interior—has spoken at length about his childhood experience in the internment camp, including the government seizing and selling his parent’s dry cleaning business and having all of their possessions confiscated. 

“My mother and father were born and raised in Canada, had never been to Japan, as were my sisters and I,” said Suzuki in an interview with Library and Archives Canada. He says the treatment of Canadians of Japanese descent at that time “must be used as an example that we have to fight all of the time for more democracy.” 

Amna Shah, parliamentary secretary for anti-racism initiatives, said in a release that the park will serve as “a powerful reminder of the harm caused when racism and fear are allowed to shape public policy.

“By remembering this painful history, we help ensure that such injustice is never repeated.”

Surrounding the wall of names will be a Japanese-style garden to provide a space for quiet reflection. The park, slated to open next fall, is located within walking distance of several other Victoria tourist attractions, such as Beacon Hill Park and the legislature.

It was developed in partnership with the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society, the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, and Victoria residents

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Single-lane alternating traffic in Saanich: Near 1848 Feltham, through Nov. 12, 9am-3:30pm

Wanted man, Richard Kubic, 42. [RCMP]

Cowichan District Hospital emergency entrance temporarily relocated to the main entrance after a car crashed through the ER doors. [Island Health]

NEWS

Changes to Island Health’s urgent and primary care centres begin this week

If you haven’t been to the doctor this week, there’s a good chance you may not know about a new protocol being used to assess incoming patients.

As of Monday, urgent and primary care centres (UPCC) across Island Health are triaging patients based on medical need. 

“This new process benefits people by ensuring those with the most pressing care needs do not face delays in accessing care,” Island Health spokesman Andrew Leyne told Capital Daily. 

“It also supports care teams in directing patients to the most appropriate health-care provider.”

The protocol has been in place at the Central Nanaimo and Cowichan UPCCs and those across the Lower Mainland. 

“Feedback from the Lower Mainland sites has been positive, with more patients being seen and quicker access to specialized care providers, like mental-health clinicians, community pharmacists, or registered nurses,” Island Health said in a release. 

Patients looking for appointments should continue to call 1-833-688-8722 to book one and should expect a callback from a registered nurse, the health authority said.

Many nurses at South Island UPCCs are certified to offer services patients traditionally get from doctors and nurse practitioners, including the ability to assess, diagnose, and treat certain conditions.

The first UPCC on the Island opened in 2018 in the Westshore. Two years later, Victoria’s first UPCC opened in James Bay, offering a variety of primary care services, including “drop-in” services for the first patients who showed up in the morning.

That drop-in feature often led to long lineups and people being turned away. UPCCs have since begun transitioning to phone-in booking systems.

NEWS

Some movement at the (still closed)
gas station in James Bay

Signage is going up at the gas station in James Bay, which could be a sign in itself that maybe, just maybe, the pumps are being primed to open the long-closed fuel bar.

Yesterday, workers were seen installing Chevron signs, and one of them told Capital Daily that new gas pumps are expected to be delivered next month.

The gas station at Menzies and Michigan has been shuttered since 2017, with work being sporadically spotted on the job site over the last two years. That’s led to frustration from some James Bay residents who have to drive to Ross Bay or Fort to gas up. James Bay, a community of nearly 13K residents, does not have a gas station.

A year ago, Capital Daily spoke with James Zhai, the project manager at the time, who said the gas bar would open in January.  

That didn’t happen, and Capital Daily has been unable to reach Zhai since.

Renewed work at the jobsite—the worker said old signs and construction materials strewn about are to be taken away next week—has renewed hope the gas station will reopen soon.

Capital Daily was not able to reach property owner Xuegun Schan, who splits his time between China and Vancouver.

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⭐️ Capital Picks

🎮 Library for gamers: GV Public Libraries now offering new Switch 2 games. [GVPL]

🚗 Keep your licence: The experienced lawyers at Acumen Law Corporation will give you the strongest legal defence to keep you in the driver’s seat.*

🐐 Stylish ‘do: A Comox Valley goat, named Harry Styles, shows off his perfectly quaffed hair while eating pumpkins with his friends. [Facebook photos]

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📸 Now and then: See a composite of two photos of Yates Street—one from the 1890s and the other from modern day. [Facebook photo]

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🗞️ In Other News

Victoria senior bilked of $1.7M life savings in bank scam
Over a period of six months last year, Ray Anholt, who just turned 90, became the victim of the largest-ever bank investigator scams in Canadian history. A telephone call set in motion a con that wiped him out financially. A person masquerading as a CIBC fraud investigator told him to take money from his account to help break a money-laundering scheme. The schemers told Anholt to move his money to another bank, RBC, and instructed him to buy large quantities of gold, which they took from him. The man’s daughter says neither bank protected him from the swindlers. [CBC]

Thief breaks into Sooke sea can, steals Sea Cadets’ fundraising bottles
The Canadian Sea Cadet Corps spent a year collecting plastic pop and drink containers in a fundraising drive, and it took only minutes for a thief to take them away. Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers has video of the Oct. 10 morning bottle burglary. The grainy footage shows what appears to be a male carting thousands of plastic containers away from the Admiral Waller Royal building in Sooke. [Crime Stoppers / Facebook]

Eby says he’ll call an early election if power line bill fails
BC Premier David Eby says he will stake his government on the passage of a bill set to fast-track construction of the North Coast Transmission Line, which would power future resource projects in the province’s northwest. With only a one-seat majority—and no support from BC Greens—there’s a narrow margin for the bill to pass, which Eby insists must happen. [CP / CTV]

🗓️ Things To Do

🎨 Cult of Cute Catastrophes: Step into a world of curious contraptions at this interactive Halloween art show at Monkey C Interactive's Artcade. Today through Sunday. 2-10pm. [Info]

🛍️ Esquimalt Farmers Market's Fall Indoor Season: Shop for fall produce, baked goods, prepared meals, and more at the market in Esquimalt Recreation Centre today. 4:30-7pm. [Info]

🎃 Halloween Crafternoon: Wear your costume, grab a hot drink, and work on crafts at QV Cafe & Bakery today. 5:30-7:30pm. [Info]

🍓 Sweet & Savoury Jam Making: Learn to make fruit and savory jams with demonstrations, ingredient prep and jar preservation at Patio Gardens today. 6-8pm. [Info]

🎺 Moonlight & Mischief: Experience sultry swing, lunar ballads, and Halloween haunts at Hermann's Jazz Club today. Costumes encouraged. 7-9pm. [Info]

🎻 Faculty Chamber Music For a New Season: Enjoy Mozart's "Kegelstatt" Trio, Brahms songs, Canadian composer Leila Lustig, and Ukrainian art songs performed by UVic's distinguished faculty at Phillip T. Young Hall today. 8pm. [Info]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Wednesday’s headlines: Barb Desjardins not running in next year’s municipal election; Saanich behind on housing targets; Quick-steal artist strikes in Oak Bay. [Oct. 29]

Halloween event listings for Victoria 2025. [Capital Daily]

Westshore businesses warned about fake construction invoices.

Massive tires, 9 feet tall, wash ashore up-Island. [CHEK]

Smashing Pumpkins back in the Westshore. [Saturday, 10am-2pm]

J-Pod up close: See—and hear—the orcas as they swim through Active Pass. [Facebook video] 

That’s it!

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