Latest news with #OakBay
CTV News
09-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
Bowker Creek contamination under investigation
There are booms and absorption pads along the waterway to contain the contaminant, which is leaving an oily sheen on the water's surface. (CTV News) The District of Oak Bay has dispatched crews to clean up and investigate the appearance of a spill in Bowker Creek. There are booms and absorption pads along the waterway to contain the contaminant, which is leaving an oily sheen on the water's surface. A spokesperson for the municipality says the substance hasn't been tested yet, so staff are unable to confirm what it is. Crews responded to the spill starting Tuesday, July 8, around Cadboro Bay Road and Bee Street – near the Oak Bay Recreation Centre. 'We have not found the source, but have traced its origin from outside the Oak Bay border,' says the district's communications coordinator, Matt Williams. Staff have notified the Ministry of Environment and Capital Regional District of the situation.
CTV News
02-07-2025
- CTV News
Traffic flagger struck by hit-and-run driver in Greater Victoria, police say
A construction flagger is seen in this file photo. Authorities are searching for a hit-and-run driver who injured a traffic flagger in Oak Bay, B.C., last week. The Oak Bay Police Department said the flagger was struck while working at a construction site in the Greater Victoria community on the afternoon of June 23. The driver involved was 'disobeying traffic direction' in a construction zone along Foul Bay Road at the time, police said in a news release. The victim suffered minor injuries. Officers are now searching for a suspect vehicle described as a white two-door hatchback. Authorities asked anyone with information on the incident to contact the Oak Bay Police Department.
CBC
01-07-2025
- General
- CBC
How a group of orcas were captured — and some freed — in B.C. waters over 50 years ago
Social Sharing March 1, 1970. It was a blustery, cold morning off the southern tip of Vancouver Island when four men on a boating trip spotted something unusual in the waves. A white dorsal fin. A white orca. Seeing the creatures is extremely rare; in 2020, Stephanie Hayes, a marine biology PhD candidate with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, told CBC News only about 10 white orcas had been recorded in history. This white orca and its pod, four black and white killer whales, became known as the Pedder Bay 5. Enter Bob Wright. The 40-year-old master angler was also the owner of Sealand of the Pacific, an aquarium in Oak Bay, B.C., just outside Victoria on Vancouver Island's southern tip. The aquarium was a major part of Wright's growing waterfront empire at the Oak Bay Marina, about a five kilometre drive from downtown Victoria. A pair of young whale trainers and budding conservationists happened to be accompanying Wright that day in 1970: 25-year-old Don White and 20-year-old Graham Ellis, who would go on to become one of the world's leading experts on orcas. The three men would soon find themselves on opposite sides of the killer whale capture and captivity debate. In his series Whale Tale, CBC's Grant Lawrence shares the story of the Pedder Bay 5, how they were herded and captured, and how two of them were released — a mystery on B.C.'s coast that remains to this day.
CTV News
27-06-2025
- CTV News
Oak Bay, Saanich policing agreement nears expiry as negotiations unfold
A policing agreement that ensures Oak Bay, B.C. has the resources required to investigate major crimes is expiring in days. A policing agreement that ensures Oak Bay, B.C., has the resources required to investigate major crimes is expiring in days, with no immediate indication of renewal. The five-year service agreement between the Oak Bay Police Department (OBPD) and the Saanich Police Department (SPD) expires on Monday. The contract enables Saanich police to assist with or take the lead on major crime investigations in Oak Bay, which is a small community with a small police department. 'We are actively engaged in the negotiation process,' OBPD Chief Julie Chanin said in an email to CTV News. If those discussions continue beyond Monday, Chanin said the departments can agree on an extension. 'During negotiations, all services provided by SPD under the current agreement will remain uninterrupted,' an SPD spokesperson said in a statement. The departments first signed a service agreement in 2007 and have renegotiated it several times, most recently in the summer of 2020. The Saanich Police Association said it was consulted during the early stage of negotiations for a new agreement, but it isn't part of the current discussions, which are confidential. 'Like our partners in the Oak Bay Police Association (OBPA), we await a final decision — particularly as it relates to roles and responsibilities in what continues to be a resource-challenged environment,' union president Jason Whittaker said in an email. The OBPA could not be reached for comment. Oak Bay will not go without Former B.C. solicitor general Kash Heed said if the contract were to collapse, Oak Bay would still have access to investigative support. 'Ultimately, it's the responsibility of the solicitor general to make sure Oak Bay residents are looked after by their police service,' Heed said in an interview. 'If that is not possible, (the solicitor general) has the authority under the B.C. Police Act to intervene and make sure that takes place.' That means the province could tell OBPD to contract the RCMP or another agency on an as-needed basis, Heed said. 'It's down to a negotiation tactic that may go down to the wire, but at the end of the day, you have to ensure the residents in Oak Bay will be looked after with this comprehensive police service,' he said. As the departments negotiate, the nearby municipality of Esquimalt is eyeing alternatives to its agreement with the Victoria Police Department. Both cases serve as an argument for regionalized policing, Heed said. 'You can see how costly it is to police these balkanized areas; how ineffective it is,' he said. 'When you cross the street, you're in a different jurisdiction and you may get a different delivery of police service.'
CTV News
30-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
RCM-SAR Oak Bay looking for new volunteers to keep boaters safe
From left to right: Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue volunteers Martin Hoffman, James Dranchuk and Justin Stephenson. When there is an emergency at sea, the difference between life and death could be just a matter of minutes. Justin Stephenson is a training officer with the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCM-SAR), Oak Bay and says conditions can change in a hurry and catch some off guard. 'When things go south on the water, they can go south very fast,' said Stephenson. A situation like that often calls for a hero – and that's where the brave men and women of the RCM-SAR come into play. 'In the last year we helped over 370 people,' said Stephenson. Oak Bay Marine SAR has 40 regular crew members. There are 30 Marine SAR stations along the B.C. coast, plus another located on Shuswap Lake. Those stations are manned by more than 900 professionally trained volunteers. 'I'm one step up from a newbie,' said James Dranchuk, who joined Oak Bay's team two-and-a-half years ago. It's not your average volunteer position. It involves constant training and a lot of certifications. 'We're on call by 24-7, 365,' said Stephenson. That can consume a lot of one's time. Last year those 900 volunteers up and down the coast of B.C. clocked nearly 20,000 hours of their own time honing their skills. 'I've been wanting to do this for years,' said Dranchuk. Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue volunteers He has been racing sailboats out of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club for the past 35 years. He was looking to give back and had the skills necessary to join Oak Bay's SAR team. For Martin Hoffman, another member who joined in 2018, giving back means saying thank-you to an organization that once saved his life following a kite surfing mishap 'I couldn't get back in and I was heading out through Baynes Channel, heading out into Harow Straight,' said Hoffman. From man overboard calls to missing kayakers and windsurfers, the RCM-SAR team in Oak Bay says they have seen it all – including one incident in November when a man fell off his sailboat late at night. He managed to hang on to the vessel in the frigid waters. 'The fella that was clinging onto the back of his sailboat, we saved his life,' said Dranchuk. The organization says it is always looking for new recruits as well as donor funds. 'That is basically what we exist on, if we didn't have that we wouldn't be able to do the work that we do, helping to save lives on the water,' said Stephenson.
