Mon. July 17 - Stolen hotel plans comeback

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning !

Today we have updates on the Sooke Harbour House saga, the wildfire situation on the Island and in BC, and how the Hollywood strikes are affecting the local film industry.

— Cam

🌦️ Today’s weather: Sun & cloud, 30% chance of morning showers. High 23C (18 near Juan de Fuca Strait) / low 12C. Night clear.

🌤️ This week’s weather: Mostly sunny. Highs up to 25C.

🌫️ Air quality: Low risk today (2/10).

NEWS

Once-stolen hotel plans a reopening later this year

In 2021, Capital Daily published an investigative feature called “The man who stole a hotel.”

The hotel was the Sooke Harbour House, a widely celebrated waterfront hotel with an internationally renowned restaurant.

The man was Timothy Durkin, a UK-born fugitive from the US justice system. He agreed with longtime owners Frederique and Sinclair Philip to buy the hotel, then didn’t keep up his end of the deal, all while misrepresenting himself and his status to investors and gaining full control of the hotel.

This year the BC Securities Commission (BCSC) permanently barred him from BC’s investment markets, ordered him to pay $600,000 for lying to an investor, and ordered his company to return $1M he defrauded from an investor. He was subject to a deportation order this past winter; Capital Daily has not been able to confirm his current location.

But what we do have today is an update on the hotel itself. Now owned by IAG Enterprises, it is slated to reopen as a hotel and restaurant by late fall or early winter. Its newly announced team includes Melissa Craig as executive chef, leaving Whistler-based Bearfoot Bistro after two decades, and her partner Andre Saint-Jacques as managing partner.

Read more at The Westshore.

Capital Bulletin

📍 No tsunami threat to BC after 7.2 earthquake hit Alaskan waters late Saturday night.

🏊 Ganges Harbour water ruled safe for swimming by Island Health tests, after concerns about human waste being dumped from the Salt Spring harbour’s live-aboards.

NEWS

South Island film industry slows as US actors join writers in strike

This year’s two largest productions, SyFy series Reginald the Vampire and Hallmark movie Guiding Emily, were fast-tracked to end before the expected strike, film commissioner Kathleen Gilbert told the Times Colonist. She fears the US labour dispute’s local impact could be significant.

Fully Canadian productions can continue, but the current strikes—over wages, working conditions, precarity, and use of AI—prevent US productions, upon which the Island film industry heavily relies.

That turns off an important stream of gigs that has been flowing to the Island (especially from LA) since the pandemic began and has helped grow the local industry to $60M/year. Two dozen shows were filmed here last year, even with a smaller labour interruption last summer when a Directors Guild strike blocked new (but not ongoing) production for two months.

Island has long been a destination for US productions

The Island has been a film destination for the better part of a century, beginning largely in the 1930s when UK theatre quotas for films by British subjects drew California filmmakers north. Tax incentives have kept the region competitive, and Victoria frequently stands in for US and international cities. A dash of fake snow turns Oak Bay and downtown streets into quaint villages for Hallmark—Victoria’s most reliable customer—while the Westshore’s Hatley Castle has played the X-Men mansion for decades.

But the pandemic influx has been a quantum leap forward. With Island sound stages fully booked a year in advance, the planned next step is to build a large studio. One is proposed for Malahat First Nation land near Mill Bay and another for Camosun’s Interurban campus.

Read more at Capital Daily on the Victoria film industry’s history and its successful 2022.

Cam Welch, with files from Tristan Wheeler and Michael John Lo

NEWS

BC fires ramping up, but Island relatively safe—for now

Last week the federal government granted BC’s request for military help with the Canada-leading 370+ wildfires, which have prompted 70+ evacuations. BC has also asked for 1,000 international firefighters to come help its crews.

The area from Bella Coola to Prince George has the most current fires, with the Island region currently only tackling five fires even after two small ones cropped up on Sunday near Port Alberni. But the extreme drought and fire risk mean that that could soon change.

This summer is now Canada’s worst fire season by a large margin, with 10 million hectares—bigger than Portugal—now burned, including 1.2M in BC. A young firefighter, 19, was killed near Revelstoke after she was hit by a falling tree on Thursday. Days later, a Northwest Territories firefighter was also killed on the job.

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Capital Picks

🎼 Jazz in Beacon Hill: Angela Verbrugge plays at Cameron Bandshell 1:30–3:20pm today.

🧋8 places to get cool drinks: From bubble tea to specialty pop, Victoria has plenty of options for non-alcoholic drinks on hot summer days like these. [Tasting Victoria]

🎧 Victoria’s summer playlist: Listen to music from 30 local artists from the City of Victoria’s first summer playlist, “Daydream & Bloom.”

📽️ This week at Cinecenta: Documentary Twice Colonized follows a Greenlandic Inuk activist in struggles against both Canada and Denmark. 5 and 7pm Wednesday and Thursday.

🥕 Esquimalt Farmers Market: Produce, artisans, and music in Gorge Park (1070 Tillicum) every Monday from 4:30 to 7:30pm.

😊 Now Hiring: Early Childhood Educator or Assistant at Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group.

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In Other News

⚾ Another home sweep puts HarbourCats in 1st place
The ‘Cats took out the Wenatchee AppleSox thrice this weekend to rise to a stunning 20-1 at Royal Athletic and leapfrog the ‘Sox to claim top spot in the 16-team West Coast League. Tomorrow, Victoria heads to Nanaimo for the 2023 Battle for Vancouver Island to try to improve a pedestrian 8-10 road record. Capital Daily went behind the scenes of the home opener earlier this summer to show you what it looks like for the players in the dugout and arena crews setting up the field.

🚰 Public asked to conserve water as Island hits max drought level
The province wants people to limit lawn watering, keep water jugs rather than frequently running taps, sweep surfaces rather than washing, and check for leaks, among other conservation moves.

🏁 Saanich senior now 3rd overall in US car-racing circuit
Bill Okell, 68, has four first-place finishes on the Hoosier Super Tour in what has become his best season yet. He has qualified for the national title runoffs in Virginia. [Saanich News]

🤝 Now Hiring

Thinking of making your next career move? Let us help!

• Administrative Assistant at Fernwood NRG

• Payroll Clerk at The Butchart Gardens

• Mid to Senior Software Engineer at SingleOps

• Comfort Advisor (Outside Sales) at Sasquatch Heat Pumps

• Community Engagement Manager at Dance Victoria

Looking for more openings? See 50+ jobs open now on YYJobs.

Hiring? Post your job to have it featured here, and fill your opening fast!

In Case You Missed It

💸 Victoria named 3rd-most expensive city in Canada in a new analysis of StatsCan numbers. Local rent listings remain above $2,000 for a one-bed. [Sunday newsletter]

🧑‍🌾 Island farming prepares for extreme climate: Traditional farming practices are resurging in response to Island weather that gets less and less moderate and stable. [Capital Daily]

🥒 Saturday headlines: A regional pickleball strategy is coming, though Victoria will not pursue indoor courts. More and more locals are volunteering to help care for seniors’ dogs. Landfill fire thwarted. [July 15]

🌳 Falling tree barely misses Gorge-area home: The big oak fell on a lawn and driveways—missing people, houses, and cars. [CHEK]

⚽ Friday tie keeps Pacific FC in 1st, but rivals Cavalry FC and Forge FC have surged back within striking distance. PFC hosts Forge on Friday.

👴🏻👵🏻 Divorcees remarry 40 years later: As they supported each other through loss, family health troubles, and cancer, Lynn and Lana realized that they belonged together once again. [CTV]

🔎 Body found on Salt Spring’s Long Shore, ending a search sparked last week when a boater’s dog showed up on shore without him. [Driftwood]

🍵 Friday headlines: New cruise ship wastewater rules don’t do enough, environmentalists say. Can warm drinks cool you down? Victoria’s love of tea. [July 14]

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