The News Rundown
- The City of Victoria made an announcement this past week saying they would address "public disorder" in the city's downtown core through a multi-step reallocation of $10.35 million in city funds, with the largest budget item to be spent on police and bylaw enforcement.
- Mayor Marianne Alto said this was the "single most important decision that council has dealt with", and that this decision was something that they must do.
- The funds are the first steps for the Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan — part of the city's 2023-2026 strategic plan, which was endorsed by city councillors in June. The announcement comes on the heels of a number of violent incidents across the city within a 12-hour period on Sunday.
- Police said in a statement on Monday that a business owner was assaulted by a man unknown to him around 6 p.m. on Yates Street. A man was arrested shortly after the attack and taken into custody by Victoria police but was later released on conditions, police said in the statement.
- On Sunday morning, a man with a weapon threatened the Victoria Fire Department building on Queens Avenue, preventing the firefighters from entering the building to attend to a potential fire. He was subsequently arrested, police said.
- Another "stranger-on-stranger attack" on Yates Street Sunday involved a man who assaulted a victim with an "edged weapon," according to Victoria Police Chief Del Manak. The victim "ran into London Drugs to seek refuge for their safety," Manak said, and the alleged attacker was subsequently arrested and was held in custody pending a court hearing.
- The city will spend $1.9 million of the plan's budget to hire a dozen bylaw staff, with a focus on deploying to Pandora and Princess avenues and the downtown area, and working to complement police officers in the area, it said Wednesday in a statement.
- The Victoria Police Department will receive $1.35 million to hire nine new police officers, as well as a one-time payment of $220,000 by the City of Victoria to match the Province of British Columbia's Community Safety and Targeted Enforcement Program (C-STEP). The city says it will be investing $1.35 million more annually into Victoria's police budget.
- It's funny, because during the last budget, Victoria council was looking at cutting the police budget to reduce the impact on taxpayers, and Chief Manak warned of an increase in crime as a result. Here we are, and the council seems to be reversing that decision very quickly.
- Manak says it's a welcome announcement, and the Victoria Police Department has been under-resourced for many years. "The Victoria Police Department is 44 officers short, given the population growth that we have seen over the last number of years," Manak said. Manak says he will be coming up with an aggressive recruitment and hiring plan to fill the vacancies as quickly as possible. The new officers will be concentrated in areas around Pandora and Princess avenues and the downtown.
- Alto says funding for the Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan includes investments in temporary housing, with $624,000 in additional support for existing housing non-profits to expand existing relocation services, but doesn't specify which non-profits will receive funding.
- In addition, the city will investigate and establish new short-term shelter options, including $1.95 million for up to two managed, secure and short-term emergency shelter spaces, $850,000 for operations and $300,000 for property rentals. Alto said: "If we don't step in on a temporary basis at least for a couple of years … they're [unhoused persons] just going to languish where they are."
- The city says to address all its short-term goals it would require $13.61 million. However, it’s looking at reallocating just $10.35 million from its existing budget to get started on its safety plan. While reallocating the funding will not lead to any tax increase for residents, it will result in some projects losing funding.
- Among those projects is $1.5 million from the city’s plan to upgrade Royal Athletic Park, the outdoor stadium hosting baseball games from the Victoria Harbourcats, Football games including the BC Lions, and multiple well known local festivals like Rifflandia. Meanwhile, another $2.5 million is coming out of the city’s plan to redevelop Centennial Square, a main thoroughfare near City Hall, which was controversial ever since it was first announced.
- Some residents aren't sure that all the money spent on public safety by the City won't actually address what's the main issue - lack of support from provincial and federal governments, and a reversal of Justin Trudeau's bail reform policies that have let the most dangerous offenders stay out on the streets.
- Victoria has always been known as a progressive city. For the past few years they've been very welcoming to homeless and drug addicted people. They've opened warming shelters, overnight shelters, low barrier long-term shelters, drug consumption sites, soup kitchens.
- Meanwhile, every surrounding municipality has done none of that. You can't really blame them when the Federal and Provincial governments leave municipalities to fend for themselves.
- As a result, the homeless and drug addicted population for the entire region has been concentrated in a certain part of downtown Victoria. It's even documented that hospitals, emergency services, and non-profits all over Vancouver Island were sending homeless people to Victoria via taxi because there was no other shelters available in other regions.
- It's certainly a danger when you build resources to help people, that those resources can be overwhelmed by people trying to access them. It's also hard to say if throwing more money at the problem will also fix it, because it's been going on for years now. Either way, the City of Victoria and its residents are going to have to make some hard decisions in the future.
- Supplementals:
- This week the provincial government established the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service which the media has called “Alberta’s new provincial police force.”
- However, as of now, the government says that the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service (ASPS) is not meant to replace the RCMP or any other police service.
- Municipalities though will have the option of contracting the new service for their policing needs if they want to move away from the RCMP.
- The province already has 2000 sheriffs and 650 are fully trained for this police service.
- Sat Parhar is the first chief of the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service. He has previously worked with the Calgary Police Service and rose there to deputy chief.
- Parhar had these words to say, ““I know the burden of a chief, I know the responsibility of a chief, and I think it’s important that I don’t take this lightly. It’s a tremendous responsibility and opportunity to help build something brand new, something forward-looking, something that reflects the needs and values of Albertans. This is a rare opportunity for Alberta to build a modern police service from the ground up.”
- The province wants to be prepared if the RCMP pulls away from contract policing.
- Policing in the rural areas of the province is presently done by the RCMP and that contract expires in 2032.
- Detractors of the plan have pointed out that moving to the RCMP could be risky but other provinces like Ontario have their own police force that work, so is it really a risk or is the media and opponents of the UCP government looking for a way to prevent the province from doing this?
- An Alberta Police Force was one of the recommendations that came from the Fair Deal Panel following the 2019 election. Most of the recommendations from that panel are straight from the 2004 Firewall Letter.
- That Firewall Letter was signed by very prominent conservatives including Stephen Harper, Preston Manning, and Ted Morton. The latter of who was a PC government minister but stepped away when the party lost its way.
- There is no official drive presently to move towards a provincial police force but having the organization in place would make such a discussion easier.
- The Alberta Next panel will likely delve into the question of a police force and raise it as part of the question set for a 2026 referendum.
- If Alberta is to become an independent state, it will need its own police force.
- Other provinces, including the biggest province of them all, Ontario has shown that it can be done. There’s no reason for there to be detractors from this plan.
- The success of a provincial police force will come down to factors of management, planning, and execution.
- The idea itself is not flawed, that’s the frame presented by the media and anti-independence types in the province.
- Seldomly are Ontario and Quebec looked at but they should be for how such an implementation could be done.
- For an example of how the idea is being straight up poisoned, we look to the NDP.
- The NDP called the idea a “zombie idea”, “this is something nobody wants—nobody asked for—and it’s going to cost us billions of dollars just so Danielle Smith can say she did something.”
- These words come from NDP leader Naheed Nenshi who has been in a consistent reactionary mode during his time as leader and has not been able to substantially meet and capture the mood of the province.
- Until a leader exists in the opposition that can do that, meet Danielle Smith’s skills of measuring the population mood, and communicate effectively the opposition will be rudderless.
- This predicament of the NDP allows the UCP and Smith to focus on issues like the police force.
- The police force is one of the puzzle pieces needed if Alberta is to become independent.
- The UCP can’t ignore the independence movement but they also can’t jump onboard entirely.
- It’s with that nuance (often missing from the media) we find the likely reason for this push towards a provincial police service and the driving force of the UCP’s agenda over the next 18 months.
- Supplementals:
- Is Canada a real country anymore?
- In 2015, prime minister Justin Trudeau famously said Our country was the “first postnational state,” he told The New York Times Magazine, because “there is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada.”
- The Cascade Institute commissioned Environics, a firm with deep experienced surveying people’s values, to conduct an online poll of more than 2,000 Canadians to gauge their willingness to defend Canada against military attack.
- “What actions would you take, if any, to fight to defend Canada against a military attack and invasion or occupation by a hostile foreign power?” More than 72 per cent of respondents said they’d take at least some action given a list of alternatives, with about 26 per cent willing to volunteer for civil defence and 13 per cent willing to volunteer for military service.
- If Canada were defeated and occupied by another country, more than half of those polled said they’d undertake some kind of resistance, including nearly 39 per cent who’d participate in non-violent protests, economic disruption and civil disobedience. And almost 15 per cent would “engage in violent resistance.”
- In a total population of 41.5 million, that latter percentage represents nearly five million adults. If we assume only half of these adults would follow through and, of that portion, only half would be sufficiently able-bodied, we’re still left with an insurgency of 1.2 million people. To put this figure in perspective, at its peak, Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgency consisted of only 100,000 fighters.
- By substantial margins, respondents perceived the U.S. as the most likely aggressor. Forty-three per cent said such an attack was at least somewhat likely, with 10 per cent judging it to be highly likely or certain.
- What made this result astonishing was that nearly 60 per cent of respondents also reported having friends or relatives in the United States. Indeed, rather than producing a moderating effect, having these links was associated in our poll with a greater willingness to defend Canada.
- Supplementals:
Firing Line
- With Canada day in the rearview mirror for another year the talk of Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald is back in the forefront.
- Reports published on July 3rd show that Parks Canada’s Historic Sites and Monuments Boards has determined that Macdonald was “too polarizing and controversial” to warrant any new federally-sponsored commemoration.
- The meeting in question took place on December 12, 2023 and the meeting minutes say, “the Board recommended that Sir John A. Macdonald be commemorated by means of information to be made available on the Parks Canada website and that no plaque be erected.”
- The board reviewed and revised Macdonald’s designation as a National Historic Person in 2024, which according to a statement on a Parks Canada website on Macdonald’s legacy aligns with Call to Action no. 79 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission — calling on the federal government to “develop a reconciliation framework for Canadian heritage and commemoration.”
- The full reading of the polarizing and controversial comments say, “Given that Macdonald continues to be a polarizing figure, the Board noted the challenge of crafting a statement that views him from multiple perspectives and that there will continue to be public dialogue about Macdonald’s legacy to present-day Canada.”
- The board concluded that existing statues and commemorations, including his gravesite at Cataraqui Cemetery in Kingston, were sufficient without introducing more.
- Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre noted the report saying, “It’s very simple: no Macdonald, no Canada. No federal board has the right to cancel the first Prime Minister of our country. Sir John A. Macdonald deserves to be clearly recognized for his role in the foundation of the wonderful country we get to call home.”
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford also recently had boards removed around the Macdonald statue at Queen’s Park.
- The boards were in place since 2020 when the statue was covered in paint at the height of the call to remove such statues.
- Macdonald is seen as a controversial figure by some as he had a hand in the creation of residential schools. Our government of the day also bears a stain for keeping the Indian Act on the books, a law which enabled subjugation and was the blueprint for apartheid in South Africa.
- This week Ipsos also published a new poll that found Canadian pride is on the rise and in-fact surging after years of decline. One must wonder what they think of John A. Macdonald.
- 47% said they are more likely to feel proud to be Canadian than they were 5 years ago, this is up 31% since last June.
- 33% said they were more likely to attend a Canada Day event or display a Canadian flag, both up by double digit percentage points.
- 44% also said they’d speak positively about Canada to someone not from this country, this is up 17% since last year but what does that say about the remaining 56%?
- The goal to have a country that is based around freedom and the rights we enjoy is all people have ever wanted.
- But the fact 56% still would not speak positively raises questions.
- We also saw stories this week popping the balloon presented during the Freedom Convoy that people were less likely to fly the flag because of the Freedom Convoy movement.
- The media narrative of the day and until Donald Trump became President once more was that the Freedom Convoy stole the flag and it was shameful to fly such a symbol.
- If we look at numbers and go back to summer 2022, opponents of the Freedom Convoy in similar polls were 2% more likely (or a statistical tie) to fly the Canadian flag.
- The narrative about the Canadian flag being stained is one of only the most pretentious Canadians who saw a pushback against lockdowns, mandates, and the government as something akin to the fall of Rome according to National Post columnist Chris Selley.
- Looking back though we need to question as well whether the current burst of Canadian Pride is a creation of the media through the detraction of their favourite President.
- The media has immense power and rather than focusing on issues that divide the population they should be focusing on the last vestiges of the hyper progressive Trudeau government and its bureaucrats that are still stifling a population that wants to be proud of its history.
- If the Carney government is indeed different than the Trudeau administration they should upon seeing this sort of media reporting reverse course immediately.
- Seeing that alongside support for the natural resource sectors and ending divisive wedge policies would do wonders for tamping down on western independence movements.
- Supplementals:
Quote of the Week
“It’s very simple: no Macdonald, no Canada. No federal board has the right to cancel the first Prime Minister of our country. Sir John A. Macdonald deserves to be clearly recognized for his role in the foundation of the wonderful country we get to call home.” - Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre on the erasure of Sir. John A. Macdonald.
Word of the Week
Safety - the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury
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Show Data
- Episode Title: Safety In Patriotism
- Teaser: Victoria allocates over $10M for public safety, Smith plans for a provincial Sheriff’s police service, and a poll asks if Canadians are willing to die for Canada. Also, a federal board deems our first Prime Minister too controversial.
- Production Code: WC-425-2025-07-05
- Recorded Date: July 5, 2025
- Release Date: July 6, 2025
- Duration: 1:07:34
- Edit Notes: Shane pause x2
Podcast Summary Notes
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Duration: XX:XX