Latest news with #Saanich
CTV News
6 days ago
- General
- CTV News
B.C. neighbours unite to fill hallways with art, gardens with fairies to inspire positivity
Adam finds out how a pair of neighbours improved their moods by inspiring others. SAANICH, B.C. — More than having a bad day, Liette Wilkins was enduring a whole bunch of them. 'I needed something to lift me up,' Liette says. 'I usually do gardens.' But because she was dealing with a debilitating health issue, Liette's garden was dirt, and Liette was depressed. 'I was feeling 'down and out in Beverly Hills,' as I call it,' Liette says. It turns out her neighbour Claude Gamache was facing a few health issues too. 'We were both going through something intense at the same time,' Claude says. The difference was Claude could still do what brought him joy. 'I've been making art all my life,' Claude says. 'Since I was a little kid.' Since his opera-singing mom taught him a song in French that translated to, 'Show me how to love, show me how to give, how to share' – Claude suggested that he and Liette share their creativity. 'You need to get up and go and start doing something that makes you feel good,' Liette says. While that's easier said than done when it comes to depression, there was that other D-word that was more manageable. 'The D-word is dull-looking,' Liette laughs. She and Claude felt the hallways in their apartment building were dull-looking and the walls were blank. 'There was nothing,' Claude says. 'Not a piece of art in the whole building.' B.C. neighbours use garden fairies to spread positivity So, they approached their neighbours and invited them to donate a meaningful picture, before Liette and Claude refurbished all sorts of thrift store frames, and got permission to fill the hallways with more than than 400 pieces of art. 'The beauty of that is to know that you get to meet the people,' Claude smiles. After cultivating a sense of community inside, Liette and Claude turned their attention to her empty garden plot outside. 'Let's make a fairy garden,' Liette said, before searching thrift stores for items to create it with. So, they transformed the bare soil into a bountiful stage for countless characters and colours — by asking one question. 'What can we share to help lift people up?' Claude smiles. Claude and Liette say it not only inspired other tenants to get creative with their gardens, it also prompted so many folks walking by to stop and smile that they started collecting thank you notes and documenting dozens of positive interactions from people of all ages. 'Now I come out here when I feel 'down and out in Beverly Hills' and it makes my heart happy,' Liette smiles. Because if we work to elevate others, Liette and Claude have learned, positivity is perennial.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Under the Bridge review – this true-crime drama just doesn't feel right
Occasionally, mean girls turn murderous – very occasionally, though, this rarity offers no comfort to the victims' devastated families. Such was the case in 1997, in Saanich, British Columbia, when 14-year-old Reena Virk was beaten by six teenage girls and killed by another and a teenage boy. Under the Bridge is an eight-part dramatised version of this true story, based on the 2005 non-fiction book about it by journalist Rebecca Godfrey, (played here by Daisy Jones and the Six's Riley Keough, showcasing her flinty strengths). Reena (a fine performance by Vritika Gupta, comprising all the overconfidence and insecurities that make adolescents so vulnerable even when they have no other aggravating circumstances to contend with) is a troubled teen. She is banished to all sorts of peripheries by her race (her father Manjit, played by Ezra Faroque Khan, is an immigrant from India, her mother Suman, played by Archie Panjabi, Indo-Canadian) and her religion (Suman is Jehovah's Witness among a primarily Sikh community within an overwhelmingly white area). So the allure of the tight-knit gang of girls from the local group home is strong. The gang is led by Jo (a fantastically chilling, dead-eyed Chloe Guidry) and her second in command Kelly (Izzy G), who are fascinated by the mafia generally and John Gotti in particular. For those of you who have never been a teenage girl, this is not as odd as it sounds. Loyalty is everything. When Reena, in revenge for not being allowed to go to a party, steals Jo's address book and rings round her contacts spreading gossip and seeding rumours about her, her fate – did she but know it – is sealed. She is invited to the party after all, and never comes home. Her family suffer the police indifference to her disappearance for days. Reena may not quite be one of the 'Bic girls' – the nickname Jo tells her the police have for those in foster care 'because we're disposable' – but she is close enough. Only policewoman Cam, another outsider – an Indigenous woman adopted as a child by a white family who are depicted as casually racist without compunction – eventually takes the time to look for the missing girl. She hears talk of a fight near the town's bridge, jangles a few weak links in the local teens' interconnected mass of loyalties, takes a look at CCTV and timelines, then gradually begins to piece together the awful truth. So, too, is Godfrey slowly forced, as her bond with Jo grows and her investigation deepens, towards belief in an almost incredible truth. She tries desperately to understand, to find the humanity in the actions of those who beat Reena so horribly and those who then drowned her, not least to try to absolve herself of her own past misdeeds. But it is something vanishingly rare, this degree of violence from girls against one of their number, and Under the Bridge can only ask whether there are some things beyond understanding and beyond forgiveness. Over the eight episodes, Under the Bridge covers its ground meticulously. It is carefully even-handed, non-exploitative (it does not linger on the violence, or depict much of it visually) and relentlessly sober. Racism and classism are all examined as contributory factors as is the emotional deprivation suffered by those in care. The simple chaos of the overwrought teenage years, and the influences that will rush in to fill the voids are given their moments in the sun. There is no winning, of course, with the telling of any story based round this kind of horror. The above approach is a noble and worthy effort by all involved. But noble and worthy does not, alas, scintillating television make. The two episodes available for review fairly crawl by, with no sign that things are due to pick up thereafter, thanks to a fairly blunt script ('The devil is working inside Josephine Bell … They have nothing. Reena has everything. They want to destroy it,' says Reena's uncle, putting him apparently also several dozen steps ahead of the police at this point.) Keough is always worth watching but she has little to get her teeth into here and Godfrey's quick, apparently thoughtless enmeshing with the gang does not ring true. Several badly demarcated flashbacks to different points in the history do not help either. Were the girls suffering mental health problems? Were they immoral? Or just at that particular time, in that particular formation and gathered around that particular poor, misfortunate child, dangerous to know? I'm not sure whether six more industrious episodes will get us any closer to finding out. Under the Bridge aired on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.
CTV News
18-07-2025
- CTV News
B.C. police oversight agency seeks witnesses after man injured by police dog in Saanich
British Columbia's police oversight agency is investigating after a man was injured by a police dog during an arrest in Saanich earlier this week. The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. says it is looking for witnesses to the altercation, which occurred at around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 4500 block of Granville Avenue. The Saanich Police Department told the IIO that its officers responded after multiple 911 callers reported that a man was acting erratically in the area, the agency said in a statement Friday. 'Police located the man and attempted to arrest him,' the statement said. 'A police service dog was also used during the interaction and the man suffered injuries.' The man was taken into police custody and then transported to hospital for treatment. The IIO says it is now working to determine whether the man's injuries meet the definition of 'serious harm,' and, if so, whether there is a connection between the injuries and actions or inactions of police. 'Serious harm' is defined in the provincial Police Act as an injury that may result in death, disfigurement or loss of function of a limb or organ. If those conditions are met, the agency's chief civilian director will decide whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence occurred. If reasonable grounds are found, the director will forward a recommendation for criminal charges to the provincial prosecution service. The IIO investigates all police-related incidents that result in serious harm or death in B.C., whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing by police. Investigators are asking anyone who witnessed the arrest or who has video evidence related to the incident to contact the IIO at 1-855-446-8477 or online through the website.
CBC
18-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Victoria, Saanich to work on amalgamation question for next municipal election
In Vancouver Island, there are calls for two cities to join together. Councilors in Victoria have paved the way for a referendum on amalgamation with the district of Saanich.
CBC
18-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Victoria, Saanich to work on amalgation question for next municipal election
Social Sharing The municipalities of Victoria and Saanich have taken steps towards amalgamation this week, with councillors in the capital city directing staff to work with Saanich staff to put together a short question that would be added to the ballot in the October 2026 local elections. The motion at Victoria city council Thursday morning, which included receiving the report from a citizens' assembly that recommended amalgamation after eight months of deliberation, passed unanimously after more than two hours of discussion. Earlier this week, councillors with the District of Saanich also discussed the report at length, with several of them expressing their support. Peter MacLeod, chair of the assembly on behalf of Toronto-based consultancy MASS SBP, said the members of the group were happy with the results. "I think the members are delighted," MacLeod told CBC News shortly after the meeting. "[They] were very pleased and gratified that both councils took their recommendations seriously." Saanich and Victoria are the two most populous municipalities on southern Vancouver Island, with populations of 117,735 and 91,867, respectively, according to 2021 census numbers from Statistics Canada. While they share some regional services, they are governed separately, with separate mayors and councils, separate police forces, and more. Years in the making If citizens vote in favour of amalgamation during the next local elections, MacLeod says it would still take at least four years for the process to be complete. The question of amalgamation in Greater Victoria has been years in the making. In 2014, seven of the 13 Capital Regional District municipalities said they wanted a study looking into amalgamation. In a non-binding referendum in 2018, residents approved each municipality spending up to $250,000 to study whether they would benefit from joining forces. The process was delayed by the pandemic but finally began last year. The Victoria-Saanich Citizens' Assembly, made up of 48 randomly selected residents from the two municipalities, released its recommendations in April. Criticism The discussion in Victoria Thursday morning did include criticism of the report and questions for assembly members. Coun. Jeremy Caradonna wondered why a financial analysis and risk assessment were not included as part of the process, or estimates of possible staff layoffs. At the meeting, MacLeod says the assembly recognized a "high degree of compatibility" between the two jurisdictions, including their populations and needs. Amalgamation discussions in other jurisdictions that MacLeod said he had taken part in often included a larger municipality absorbing a much smaller one, or several municipalities coming together — neither of which would be the case here.
