what an naiive and ill informed comment ..all across N Am FN had trible wars Iroquis and Hurons;too numerous to list.. in BC the Haida regularly made trips to V. Is. and captured slaves to take back to the QCI. . In Africa the Zulus had a larger empire than Aexander the Great. Unfortunateley the story of mankind has always been one of war and conquest.

🥲This matter has got out of hand. A lawful injunction was issued by the court. After being arrested protesters have thumbed their noses at the court. Many of them have returned to protest again and been arrested again. This injunction appears to have all the merits of a Walt Disney creation.

Thumbs up, Valerie!

Hi Dennis, sorry about the delay replying. We spent our time that night dealing with the victims. As a non-violent group, we weren't about to confront them, and they drove off shortly after the victims got up to camp, before our video team with night lights got down to the attack site. The rcmp of course did no investigation. As a journalist, I can only say they were a mob. I speculate that they were not average locals from Port Renfrew, who are pretty neutral, generally. Port Renfrew sells itself to tourists as the Tall Tree Capital of Canada. However, we have documented 100s of violent incidents involving Teal Jones and Western Forest Products employees, so that would be a reasonable guess. Teal Jones, instead of diverting the loggers to 2nd growth, is sending them home without pay, when they are slowed by the arrests, so that they will get angry at us. Ironically, if they would stop coear cutting, they would get 50,000 jobs back they've lost in the last 12 years, but Teal Jones makes more running feller bunchers than skilled fallers. One feller buncher puts 6 people out of work. In short, I believe they were industry workers, but with no proof, or police accountability, I can't say.

Investigative journalism at its best. Thank you David for informing us on what is happening to our majestic, pristine, intact ancient forests at the hands of those whose priority is financial benefit. It's heartbreaking, but I for one will not turn a blind eye and will do my part to stop the slaughter.

I have contacted our Mayor and Councillors and suggested strongly that they read a recently published book on Architecture and Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century, titled Icebergs, Zombies, and the Ultra Thin by Matthew Soules. It is essential to understand how capitalism makes property and "how finance capitalism dramatically alters not only architectural forms but the very nature of our cities and societies."

Hello Ruben My first reply to you from Sept 12 is missing some of the text so I'm posting the rest here: The City, CRHC, and, apparently, Fernwood NRG, are relying on the District's narrative about Vic High to justify their claims for Vic High land. However, the District has just been called out for systemic racism and fiscal mismanagement. Are you willing to hang your hat on their judgement? Here's still more info about Vic High's Memorial Stadium Revitalization Plans: https://drive.google.com/.../1iYkX.../view... Here's a link to a document that reveals the project was started in 2007 at the request of the City and the District: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J-uXB0Smjb_aRjO1AXyBCU564FEBPTkr/view?usp=sharing Note that in this document, the Alumni confirm that "Our only thoughts about 'scaling down' would relate to the Advisory Committee ... where the elimination of the track, because of land needed for the proposed housing development, has been determined." Who was on this Advisory Committee, and with what authority did they make such decisions without notifying the public? Why did the District include the metric track and stadium in the 2020 survey if they were already aware of a land-use conflict? Was the survey a means of leading the public to believe that the proposed cancellation was due to funding issues (rather than a land-use conflict), as reported, even though evidence suggests that funding was available?: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XicOQEfThU9zIgIQLMlkKAnQe_kDz8TW/view?usp=sharing Recall that Phase 1 of the Memorial Stadium Revitalization Project was confirmed in 2018: “School district officials see the stadium project being established in concert with a needed seismic upgrade at Vic High, secretary-treasurer Mark Walsh said.”: https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/first-strides-toward-vic-high-s-stadium-reno-1.23147660 Thank you, Esther Callo

To Guest Resident Here Your comment is ugly and inappropriate. Please remove it.

You're absolutely right. School Districts are a level of government that is not scrutinized enough, including SD61, that has recently been called out for systemic racism and inequity. But like any other level of government, they are supposed to play by the rules, and it's our job to protect the educational rights of kids in our community by holding SD61 accountable. A recent CBC article about systemic racism and inequity in Prince George SD57 points out that the BC education system as a whole has issues with systemic racism and inequity: "The authors also write that many of their recommendations do not just apply to Prince George but to the B.C. school system in general." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/review-of-prince-george-schools-finds-clearly-discriminatory-and-systemically-racist-practices-1.6156868 Some School Boards like SD61 have become toxic and dysfunctional, which contributed to the Four Nations calling for Trustee Jordan Watters' resignation as Chair of the Board: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/greater-victoria-new-school-board-chair-1.6137009 Here's an update about Prince George that reveals issues of toxicity on their board: https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fgoudiestephanie%2Fstatus%2F1437493305479106562%3Fs%3D21%26fbclid%3DIwAR3kjjZ90LYLCiN7kDwH0wWyZmuoQCzYbc8Fy8KDP4YZdnbDDrd7YEtslUs&h=AT24Ljajg9H6gLkrMwykmdwtAtUBLzm4OYRFEa44F9htYI57wg_2iyVvTrRjSJPOcHq-VPgLSOB4uOD-bYXy7Ncbd5YKsitss2nDAae3jK40O8jC_Fsh7dNhYXHVNTSFliSKT_I6 As for the City, they don't have the power to compel SD61 to build the track, but they have been partners in this project and certainly have strong influence. However, they don't have the power to modify plans without public consultation, but they did. Check out page 581 - 585 of the CoV June 6, 2019 meeting: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16vccR8nfukFdcR4CceOYTlRO1l4Mj75G/view?usp=sharing The City confirmed their support for the original plans of Vic High's Memorial Stadium Revitalization Project in their June 6, 2019 document. See page 581: "In the Strategic Plan, Council has reaffirmed the City's support for a proposal initiated by Victoria High School alumni and administration, to renew their outdoor sport field and related amenities next to the school for the benefit of students as well as the wider community." Yet oddly, they presented much modified plans in the image in Attachment B (at the end of the rationale) that don't match the Alumni's plans. Clearly, Council was voting on modified plans, perhaps without even knowing. Despite what the District would like everyone to believe, the Alumni did not have the power to modify plans without consultation either. The original plans went through extensive public consultation as per the agreement with the City and the public was asked to make substantial donations based on these plans — right up until the fall of 2020 when our group called attention to the issue. Even though the City confirmed in June 2019 their 2014 commitment to contributing $250,000 to the Vic High Stadium project as originally planned, they presented Council with a choice to either fully fund Topaz, or partly fund Topaz in order to come up with the $250,000 for Vic High — but only for the field. See page 584 in the link above. The Alumni, after working for years to see the plans become reality, apparently jumped at the chance to get the funding that had been committed to them to see Phase 1 constructed alongside the seismic upgrade. However, email exchanges show that the Alumni thought they were moving forward with the field and that the track would come later, as per the multi-phase approach that is confirmed in the City's June 6, 2019 document. What they apparently didn't realize at the time is that the City and SD61 had already negotiated the proposed 8m easement that requires the same land. (And of course, the parking was apparently kicked down the road and considered last of all when the area required should have been secured first, as required by City bylaws.) It seems that as far as the City was concerned, they were moving forward sans the track, without telling the Alumni or consulting the public, even though their own documents confirm that public consultation would be required to move forward with the field. See page 583: "The next step required for the Victoria High School field project is a similar exercise, which would include community consultation and identifying the cost of constructing the first phase." As we know, the situation was kept secret from the public all throughout 2019 when consultation was supposed to take place regarding the proposed development. In 2020, the District even conducted a survey asking people if they wanted the track and stadium, which was confirmed. But then they turned around and said later in 2020 that there was no $ for it (repeating it over and over again to the public), knowing full well that there was a land-use conflict caused by deals negotiated in 2019. So, back to your comment about School Districts. Clearly, the District did not uphold their mandate as a government body to prioritize students in all their deliberations. And quite apparently, the City of Victoria was more than happy to take advantage of Vic High's vulnerability to the District's abandonment of their most fundamental purpose. But you won't see the District trying to get away with it at Oak Bay High because those parents don't face the same barriers to standing up to power. That's wrong. We can do better for Vic High students, some of Victoria's most marginalized citizens. To date, I believe that far too many people have assumed that School Districts are benevolent entities that can do no harm. The Prince George SD57 report and the dealings in SD61 show otherwise. And yes, the Province is welcome to step in and fix this mess any time. Thanks for the dialogue Ruben!

There will be no decolonizing or renaming. We don't want to revert BC back to the neolithic age where life was short, unpleasant, ignorant and unjust. I am proud of my civilized heritage and the very hard work the colonists did for us all to live as comfortably, intelligently and healthy as we do now.

Fernwood is the wrong place for welfare housing. The more room we make for penniless migrants, the more of them will continue arriving with ever-increasing expectations for a free ride.

I am sure we can agree that schools seem to be fiefdoms within the city, and are not subject to the same rules. I am not sure the City has any power to compel the School Board to build a track. I think that might need to come from the Province.