Saanich police were alerted to an incident on James Heights, a small street just off Maplewood Road and bordering Cedar Hill Golf Course, about 10:20 p.m. Police were told someone had forced his way into the home, which was occupied by the man and his 59-year-old daughter.

Both residents were assaulted. The woman was able to run to a neighbouring home for help and was treated at the scene for minor injuries

Police pored over the residence and canvassed the area on Tuesday, Eassie said.

He said there is nothing to indicate the proximity of a bushy area at the golf course provided any sort of cover for the assailant.

“It’s really unknown as to why that house was targeted.”

Jim Westhead, who lives a few houses away, said he heard a man yelling and headed outside.

“He was screaming: ‘Help! Call 911!’ ”

Westhead said he ran up the street but didn’t know where to go from there.

“It was dead quiet then, I wasn’t sure which direction the ‘Help’ came from.”

He started edging back toward his house, then saw a car speed out of a driveway. “It took off like a rocket ship.”

Westhead found out later that his elderly neighbour just up the street was the one calling for assistance. He said the neighbourhood is usually quiet.

“Not too much happens here.”

A 1999 brown Toyota Camry was stolen from the home, Eassie said, and was likely taken by the suspect to make his getaway. The vehicle has not been located and police are asking the public to report any sightings. The B.C. licence plate is HWM644.

The suspect is described as a man in his late 20s or early 30s, about six feet tall and with a heavy build. He was wearing a white T-shirt and dark pants.

Saanich police ask anyone with information to call the major-crime tip line at 250-475-4356 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

jwbell@timescolonist.com

At Mayor Dean Fortin’s suggestion, Victoria councillors have]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 08:00:00 -0400 Tue, 21 May 2013 15:58:23 -0400 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192694.1369112008!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_240/cityhall-jpg.jpg 240 167 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192694.1369112008!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1114/cityhall-jpg.jpg 1114 774 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192694.1369112008!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_124_83/cityhall-jpg.jpg 124 83 Victoria businesses who use city property as their own private parking lots might have to start paying for the privilege.

At Mayor Dean Fortin’s suggestion, Victoria councillors have asked staff for a report on what resources would be need to undertake a review of city-owned land or rights-of-way that are being used by businesses for parking and storage.

“My intention is not to remove the commercial use of the space. This is an opportunity for revenue generation,” Fortin said.

Fortin cited examples in the 700 block of Pembroke Street and 2100 block of Beta Street.

“It’s my suggestion that the city review properties in this situation and look to either lease the property or convert to short-term or long-term public parking,” Fortin said in a report to city council.

Director of legislative services Rob Woodland said there could be several instances where city property is being used by commercial enterprises.

“It is not an isolated occurrence,” Woodland said.

“We have an old city and a new city laid over top of an old roadway and rights-of-way system. And there are many, many occasions where this will present as an opportunity to the city, but will also create community issues because of the historical use patterns.”

Coun. Shellie Gudgeon voted against the move, calling it “policy by convenience.”

While generally supportive of the idea, Gudgeon said she has tried to help a downtown business owner who was told by city staff that the commercial use of city-owned property for parking would have to stop.

Gudgeon said she spent months on the file, following what she believed to be the proper process and even took the issue to the city manager.

The business owner then spoke to the mayor — and now, suddenly, there’s a policy review, she said.

“This subverts the whole process. It’s really deeply concerning to me that so much time was expended on this discussion — working with transportation staff and the director of engineering. It took a lot of effort. ... What a waste of time.”

Coun. Ben Isitt said that while he understands Gudgeon’s frustration, it might be a case of “better late than never.” He said Gudgeon could take solace that “maybe an item that didn’t have a lot of uptake six months ago is now gaining traction.”

Isitt said he could support a limited review of areas that have become de facto private parking spaces on city-owned land. However, he doesn’t want to see a drive to lease out public space for parking.

“So [the review should be limited to] essentially things that anybody driving by would think is a private parking,” Isitt said.

Coun. Marianne Alto said it would make sense for the review to be included as part of the broader parking reassessment now underway.

bcleverley@timescolonist.com

Two people on a 16-foot Bayliner called for help about 2 p.m., ]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 23:03:00 -0400 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:45:08 -0400 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192684.1369107088!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_240/b-c-ferries-vessel-mv-klitsa.jpg 240 140 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192684.1369107088!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1114/b-c-ferries-vessel-mv-klitsa.jpg 1114 651 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192684.1369107088!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_124_83/b-c-ferries-vessel-mv-klitsa.jpg 124 83 A fast-acting B.C. Ferries crew helped to rescue two people and a dog from a sinking boat in Saanich Inlet on Monday.

Two people on a 16-foot Bayliner called for help about 2 p.m., B.C. Ferries spokesman Darin Guenette said.

The small ferry MV Klitsa, which runs between Brentwood Bay and Mill Bay, was nearby, Guenette said. “There was a couple with their dog on board [the Bayliner]. The Klitsa had to launch her rescue boat because the ship was going down, and apparently it sank.”

Trained marine rescue staff on the Zodiac-style rescue boat helped transport the couple and their dog back to the ferry, Guenette said.

The sinking was near Senanus Island, said an official with the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria

The couple did not require medical attention. Rescuers said they did not know why the boat sank.

Ferry service was delayed by half an hour.

The track record of the Liberal government that was re-elected last week hasn’t been very good, added the spokesman for 550,000 mostly unionized B.C. workers.

“Costs have gone up and wages haven’t kept up,” Sinclair said. “We’re hoping for a phone call saying the premier wants to sit down with business leaders and labour leaders and talk about the real challenges we’re facing as a province.

“We need to deal with the skills shortages, we need to create good-paying jobs, we need to deal with keeping our worksites safe and making sure that people aren’t falling off the end of the economic ladder.”

A 30-year overview by Statistics Canada shows that B.C.’s median income has fallen in constant dollars. In 2012, B.C.’s median for all tax filers was $27,500; in 1982, it would have been $31,600 in current dollars.

Nationally, the median income was $28,400 in 1982 and $28,800 in 2010.

“The premier needs to realize that a good-paying job is good for the economy, and that the race to the bottom is a loser’s game. If [creating good jobs] is what she wants to do and the Liberals want to do, then we’ll be with them to do that.”

Sinclair said B.C.’s minimum wage should rise to $12.

Within three days of taking over as premier in March 2011, Clark hiked the minimum wage, which had been frozen at $8 for 10 years. By 2012, it was $10.25.

But Victoria’s Community Social Planning Council says a no-frills quality of life requires at least $18.07 an hour. A couple with both partners earning that amount and working 35 hours a week could adequately feed, clothe and shelter themselves and two children, a 2012 council report says.

Sinclair said he has serious concerns about labour standards, given that in the early days of the Liberals’ rule they dumped the requirement for posting those standards in the workplace and closed 10 of 19 enforcement offices.

Low-paid workers, living paycheque to paycheque, “don’t have any rights without the government enforcing them,” he said.

The B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union, the second-largest union in B.C. after the Canadian Union of Public Employees, also hopes to meet with government and business leaders to discuss what needs to be done to benefit workers, the public and the economy.

“It’s a brand new and clean mandate so it gives the premier the opportunity to work with everybody” — with input from business, labour and government, said Darryl Walker, president of the 62,000-member union that has 26,200 members in government jobs, including thousands in Victoria.

Walker views the new government as having more of a pro-business agenda but added: “That’s fair — I think it’s important that our economy grows, so we’ll be able to provide for the needs of British Columbia. Quite frankly, we’re expecting to work with and co-operate as much as possible with the new government.”

Walker said public services need improvements for both workers and the public, noting that both social workers and correctional officers are overburdened.

kdedyna@timescolonist.com

In a statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court, Staff Sgt. Caroline O'Farrell and her lawyers say the cruel behaviour she suffered in the 1980s left her with post-traumatic stress, led to a marriage breakdown and stunted her prospects with the force.

"The events on the Musical Ride are responsible for stalling Caroline's career at the RCMP," says the claim.

O'Farrell, 52, argues an internal investigation at the time substantiated more than 100 instances of harassment but no real action was taken by her supervisors.

"Some of the harassers received informal discipline (counselling and warnings); others received no form of censure at all," says the statement.

The lawsuit, which names the force and several current and former Mounties, says many of O'Farrell's tormentors continue to work in the RCMP today, some in senior positions.

O'Farrell, who still serves with the RCMP, is seeking millions of dollars in damages for assault, sexual assault, infliction of mental suffering, loss of income and pension entitlement, and breach of contract.

The allegations have not been proven in court and the RCMP has yet to respond to the lawsuit.

O'Farrell dreamed of joining the Mounties from a young age and hoped to be part of the Musical Ride — the team of accomplished equestrians who perform across the country and serve as a positive symbol of the force.

The statement says O'Farrell was repeatedly subjected to a ritual known as horse-troughing — grabbed by the arms and legs, sprayed with cold water, then dragged face-down through riding school shavings mixed with manure and urine. Members then kick the mixture onto the subject's head so it is caked onto their body, face and hair.

While this hazing ritual had occurred to other members in the past, the practice had been discontinued many years before, the claim adds.

On one 1987 bus ride, says the statement, a member used his finger to simulate a penis protruding from the fly of a pair of pants, rubbing it against her head as she slept while another member videotaped the incident.

The statement also alleges bullying and sabotage.

One morning, O'Farrell found her riding boots packed to the brim with manure. On another occasion, she discovered the straps on her horse's bridle were threaded but not buckled, which could have caused serious injury.

At one point other members of the Musical Ride began a pool to take bets on when O'Farrell might commit suicide, says the claim.

"The impact of these events and the failure of those in authority to protect her and to hold the perpetrators accountable have severely damaged our client and have substantially compromised her life and career," said Peter Cronyn of Nelligan O'Brien Payne, counsel for O'Farrell.

Several RCMP officers have complained of abusive behaviour and intimidation since Cpl. Catherine Galliford went public in 2011 with allegations of harassment within the force.

The watchdog that oversees the RCMP said in February the force must take "swift and effective action" on complaints of workplace bullying and harassment to restore the shaken confidence of both members and the public.

The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP recommended basic changes to the way in which internal grievances about harassment are handled by the Mounties.

It called for a more independent process, strict timelines for responding to accusations and force-wide training.

Wilson, 72, died in Vienna while on a river cruise with Brenda, his wife of 30 years.<]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 00:35:00 -0400 Tue, 21 May 2013 10:03:24 -0400 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192724.1369148503!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_240/david-wilson-jpg.jpg 240 333 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192724.1369148503!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_563/david-wilson-jpg.jpg 563 782 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192724.1369148503!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_80/david-wilson-jpg.jpg 80 80 Victoria businessman and lawyer David Wilson died suddenly on May 11 during a European holiday.

Wilson, 72, died in Vienna while on a river cruise with Brenda, his wife of 30 years.

Nicknamed Wick, Wilson was a fourth-generation Victorian and son of former mayor Dick Wilson. He attended Glenlyon and Shawnigan Lake schools. He studied at Neuchatel Junior College in Switzerland, Western University and Victoria College before taking a law degree at UBC.

Wilson was former president of the Union Club, served on the Saanich police board, St. Georges Housing Society and more recently as a director on the Broadmead Care board.

“He wasn’t a guy to sit back and do nothing,” said Scott Marshall, his former law-firm partner of 37 years. “If he got involved with something, it was full- bore.” And yet, he never bragged or boasted about his community involvement, Marshall said.

Victoria lawyer Robert Mulligan said he has many positive memories of Wilson.

“I certainly did know David for several years and was very sad to hear of his passing,” said Mulligan. “He was very effective counsel in his work, which was very broadly based. He did trial work and work outside of the courtroom. He was always a very intelligent and powerful presence in anything I ever saw him do.”

Lawyer Peter Firestone remembers Wilson from his time on the Saanich police board.

“The 1980s were a difficult time for policing in Saanich. David Wilson acted as a mediator between the police union, represented by Dermod Owen-Flood, and the employer. And he did a lot of good work in that area.

“It was all about trying to help the community and make sure they had properly paid policing on one hand and making sure Saanich taxpayers weren’t paying too much as well,” Firestone said.

“He was a hard-working guy, a family man, a good lawyer and a well- respected litigator.”

Wilson was instrumental in having a difficult contractual dispute resolved, and everybody was better off by virtue of his involvement, Firestone said.

“He was a very nice man. He had this devilish smile and the lights were on and somebody was home. He was also a successful developer,” said Firestone.

At one point, he recalled, the city’s London Drugs complex was called the Wilson Centre.

A service will be held at Christ Church Cathedral at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Gasoline prices have ]]> Sun, 19 May 2013 23:01:00 -0400 Mon, 20 May 2013 09:53:07 -0400 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192158.1369018392!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_240/vka-gas-0012-jpg.jpg 240 188 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192158.1369018392!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1114/vka-gas-0012-jpg.jpg 1114 873 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192158.1369018392!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_124_83/vka-gas-0012-jpg.jpg 124 83 NANAIMO — A major Vancouver Island gasoline retailer is calling for price controls, saying it would help consumers and protect small mom-and-pop operators.

Gasoline prices have fluctuated wildly in recent weeks, causing drivers to wonder who’s behind crazy prices that go up more than a dime one day, only to fall the next.

Wayne Procter owns 23 Island filling stations, including nine in Nanaimo. He blames big-box retailers for a price war he says will hurt consumers and operators in the absence of government intervention.

Gasoline prices are regulated in every province east of Ontario.

Recent price swings in Nanaimo are ripples in a larger price war underway in Courtenay, Duncan and Victoria, Procter said.

“In Courtenay, you’ve got [big-box stores] fighting to the bottom,” Procter said. “It goes lower and lower, then it shoots up.”

Nanaimo drivers were recently shocked by price increases of 10 cents or more in a single day, followed by drops of a nickel or more, and even more fluctuating prices.

Gas bar operators are taking a lot of heat from consumers, but it’s not deserved, Procter said.

“We were selling gas the last couple weeks at cost or just above cost. We decided we’ve got to make a little money. ... But you don’t want to be the first guy to put it up, because you don’t want to be the bad guy.”

Procter said big-box retailers with deep pockets make smaller operators the bad guys, and the way around that would be price controls.

“Independents are getting really squeezed,” he said. “I think we should be pushing for regulated prices, like in Nova Scotia. If they get set, imagine: There's none of this price fluctuation and then you can’t have the big guys pick on the small guys.”

The price war has caused Mid-Island Co-op to revise its prices, sometimes daily, at its 14 gas bars from Saltspring Island to Qualicum Beach.

“We’re at the whim and the whimsy of the market,” said Ian Anderson, Co-op general manager. “Last week, we had a price change of 10 cents in a single day. I know people think there is a Machiavellian scheme out there. But really, there’s not.”

Retailers dislike price instability, too, but “I don’t know if government regulation is the right solution to that,” Anderson said.

Some would say price regulation runs counter to free-market economics, but every province east of Ontario uses that authority to control price volatility.

Price control boards exist in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, “and I believe it works quite well,” Procter said.

Provinces regulate gas prices to reduce price volatility to protect small independent retailers, according to a statement by the Consumers Council of Canada.

DBellaart@nanaimodailynews.com

Hesjedal's Garmin-Sharp team revealed Tuesday ]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 16:51:19 -0400 Tue, 21 May 2013 17:04:32 -0400 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.193202.1369170271!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_240/04444701103734-high-jpg.jpg 240 194 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.193202.1369170271!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1114/04444701103734-high-jpg.jpg 1114 901 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.193202.1369170271!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_124_83/04444701103734-high-jpg.jpg 124 83 VANCOUVER - Canadian cyclist Ryder Hesjedal is recovering from a respiratory tract infection that forced him to pull out of the Giro d'Italia.

Hesjedal's Garmin-Sharp team revealed Tuesday that the Victoria native developed an upper respiratory tract infection during the race, which he won in 2012. He has returned to his home in Girona, Spain since pulling out on Friday.

The team said Hesjedal entered the race in very good physical form, but was still vulnerable to illness. His effort in the Stage-8 time trial, combined with further efforts in rainy and cold conditions, stressed his immune system and made him susceptible to contracting the infection.

He completed the ninth and 10th stages, but his suffering continued and he pulled out before the 11th stage. At the time, he sat in 38th place overall, more than 32 minutes behind the leader.

The team said it was virtually impossible for him to continue competing, because the condition would have worsened.

"It appears that Ryder had been exposed to the virus affecting many in the peloton during the first week of racing," said team physician Phil Stawski in a news release.

"Secondary to his outstanding form and conditioning, the more typical symptoms did not manifest until later. However, the effect on his body and performance was already occurring.

"His effort during the (time trial) and in the cold and wet conditions continued to impact his body's ability to fight the infection, and he ultimately succumbed. The only option to prevent the worsening of his condition was to stop racing and allow him to recover."

Hesjedal is expected to be able to resume training in about a week. He plans to compete in Switzerland's Tour de Suisse, to be held June 8-16.

"It's hard to watch the Giro from home and not be there with my team. ... (But) The team's been great with helping me," said Hesjedal in the news release. "I appreciate all the support. I look forward to getting back on the road and racing again at Suisse, and will take it day by day from there."

Jonathan Vaughters, the Garmin-Sharp team's CEO, said the crew is looking forward to getting Hesjedal recovered, healthy and back on the road racing again.

"He was in great condition before the Giro, and while it's a shame that he got so sick, we're glad he is starting to come around," said Vaughters. "Our team staff will continue to work closely with him to get him healthy again. That's priority number one, but we'll all be glad to get him back to racing."

Thanks to a billionaire benefactor, the academy has a 40-acre campus with four handsome brick]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 13:22:00 -0400 Tue, 21 May 2013 13:32:32 -0400 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.193008.1369156645!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_240/8410929-jpg.jpg 240 176 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.193008.1369156645!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1114/8410929-jpg.jpg 1114 817 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.193008.1369156645!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_124_83/8410929-jpg.jpg 124 83 Pacific Academy in Surrey considers itself unique among schools, and few would disagree.

Thanks to a billionaire benefactor, the academy has a 40-acre campus with four handsome brick buildings housing primary, intermediate, middle and secondary grades. It boasts an international baccalaureate (IB) program, state-of-the-art media centre, 1,500-seat auditorium, multiple gymnasiums and, with 1,412 students, the second largest enrolment among B.C. independent schools.

Through its outreach society, the academy also owns and operates two schools in Uganda — one that serves 850 students with nursery programs, K-12 and vocational training, and a new boarding school for girls, which has 55 students this year. The non-profit society has more than 100 employees working with the students, many of whom are AIDS orphans.

But apart from sporting events, the school has avoided the spotlight.

This month, it will celebrate 20 years of work in Africa with an event in its Chandos Pattison auditorium, named after the father of Jimmy Pattison, the business tycoon who funded the school when it opened its doors in 1985 in Coquitlam with 200 students and when it moved to Surrey in 1991.

He has reportedly spent millions of dollars on land and capital costs, although he wouldn’t confirm the dollar value of his philanthropy.

“We don’t talk about those kinds of things,” he said in a recent interview.

Pattison has never been involved with day-to-day operations but said he offered financial support because it was a Christian school that promoted family values and fit with his evangelical upbringing.

Pacific Academy describes itself as “unabashedly Christian to the core” and gives enrolment priority to students whose families regularly attend a Pentecostal church or — in an unusual detail for a B.C. school — have experienced glossolalia, also known as speaking in tongues.

Pacific Academy, like all independent schools, sets its own admission criteria and, like some faith-based schools, it also advises same-sex couples not to bother applying because of religious views that homosexuality is a sin. That attitude is one of the reasons the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) has long opposed public funding for independent schools.

Parents who want to enrol their children at Pacific Academy must sign a family statement agreeing with Scripture teachings that marriage is between a man and a woman, and a faith statement that “invites God’s Holy Spirit to be active in the daily life of the school.” There is no expectation that students will speak in tongues, headmaster Paul Horban said, but they should be aware before enrolling that the school accepts glossolalia as a gift from the Holy Spirit.

“We don’t discourage it, we don’t sensationalize it,” he explained. “We don’t say OK, this is what you all should be doing ... but if it’s discussed in classes, we’re comfortable with it. It’s what we believe in.”

What is expected from all students, however, is service, and that’s emphasized with a biblical phrase inscribed on a wall at the school’s main entrance: “Whoever would be greatest must be least — and the servant of all.”

That commitment to service is what defines the school, Horban said, and the message for students is that “it’s not about you — it’s about your contribution and what you can do in the world.”

In addition to the African mission, the school sends senior high school students to different parts of the world every year during spring break to perform service, such as building classrooms, clinics, churches and houses, digging wells, immunizing children and sharing their religious beliefs.

Some 80 per cent of graduates have taken part in the program and many describe it as life-altering, Horban said. It is the reason cited most often by families choosing to send their children to Pacific Academy, he added.

“We have great academic results ... but that’s not what we’re really about.”

Surrey mother Sunny Liu said that attitude is what prompted her to apply for a spot for her son in the fall. Although her boy is happy in his public school, she said she likes the mix of spiritual and academic teachings at Pacific Academy.

“(Here) I think my son would learn better about how to care about the others instead of just himself,” she said in an interview at the school. Also, she’s heard nothing but rave reviews from friends. “All of the information about PA is good,” she grinned.

Glen Hansman, vice-president of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF), is less impressed.

He says the school’s practice of excluding same-sex families violates basic human rights and is one of the reasons British Columbians need to reconsider public funding for independent schools. The B.C. School Trustees Association has also called for an end to government funding for independent schools, saying the money would be better spent on public education, but neither the provincial Liberals nor the NDP have indicated an interest in opening that debate.

The non-profit society that operates the school — the Pacific Pentecostal Education and Communication Society — received $5.8 million in government funding last year, which is 50 per cent of the operating grant provided to public schools.

Tuition ranges from $490 a month for primary students to about $700 a month for Grade 12s in the IB program, but Horban insisted Pacific Academy is not an elite school. Dozens of students receive financial assistance and many families make enormous sacrifices to pay the fees, he noted. (As with other faith-based schools, parents can claim a portion of the tuition as a charitable donation.)

Funding for the outreach society comes from donations and the tuition paid by the three dozen international students on the Surrey campus.

Pattison said he has no involvement with Pacific Academy now and hasn’t visited since he was invited to play his trumpet with the school band for a performance several years ago.

Asked for his impressions about the academy today, he replied: “I think they’ve done a pretty good job, but the people who can really answer that question are the parents of the kids who have been going there.

“We hear from parents quite often ... and they’re very appreciative of the opportunity that they had to send their children to Pacific Academy.”

The only bricks-and-mortar independent school with a higher enrolment is the Khalsa School in Surrey, which has 2,367 students.

An air controller with the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria ]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 22:51:22 -0400 Tue, 21 May 2013 22:51:23 -0400 A man was killed in a float-plane crash Tuesday just off Stuart Island, north of Quadra island in the Strait of Georgia.

An air controller with the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria said a person walking along the beach about 5:15 p.m. and saw a Beaver aircraft upside down in the water, about seven metres offshore.

Search and rescue technicians were flown to the area and a body was found inside the aircraft.

The controller said nobody had reported hearing or seeing anything related to the crash before the wreckage was spotted.

]]> 1.227593 http://www.timescolonist.com/news/b-c/teachers-union-wins-round-in-legal-fight-over-freedom-of-expression-in-schools-1.227593 VANCOUVER — The B.C. Teachers’ Federation has won another round in a legal fight over freedom of expression for its members in public schools.

The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday ]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 22:59:00 -0400 Tue, 21 May 2013 23:21:38 -0400 VANCOUVER — The B.C. Teachers’ Federation has won another round in a legal fight over freedom of expression for its members in public schools.

The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday that an arbitrator was wrong in 2011 in deciding that teachers in Southeast Kootenay district improperly exposed students to political messaging several years earlier when they wore buttons and tacked posters to classroom doors and walls as part of a campaign titled When Will They Learn.

At the time, school principals ordered the teachers to remove the buttons and posters, which prompted them to file a grievance claiming their Charter rights to freedom of expression had been violated. The BCTF campaign was intended to deliver three main messages to voters in advance of the 2009 provincial election: that special-needs students were being neglected, 177 schools had been closed and thousands of classes were overcrowded.

The B.C. Public School Employers’ Association argued that students must be sheltered from political messages and the teachers’ campaign would undermine public confidence in the school system. Arbitrator Mark Thompson sided with the employer, saying restrictions on teachers’ freedom of expression were justified to protect “the vulnerability of the students.”

But the appeal court disagreed, noting the teachers’ actions were “limited and restrained.” In a 3-0 ruling, it set aside the arbitrator’s decision and allowed the union’s grievance.

“There was no evidence in this case of any actual or potential harm to students from being exposed to the materials about educational issues, nor any facts from which an inference of harm could be drawn,” Madam Justice Risa Levine stated in the ruling.

“Open communication and debate about public, political issues is a hallmark of the free and democratic society the Charter is designed to protect. Children live in this diverse and multi-cultural society, and exposing them to diverse societal views and opinions is an important part of their educational experience.”

It would be a different matter “if schools became a political battleground, festooned at election time with competing political messages,” she wrote. “On those facts, it might be expected there would be direct evidence, or fair inferences, of interference with the educational process and some harm to students’ educational experience. That is not this case.”

Mr. Justice Christopher Hinkson, while supporting the decision, cautioned that exposing children to only one view of an issue “could represent a failure to uphold the principles of tolerance and impartiality that the education system must promote and foster.”

But he said it will take another case before the courts can determine where a teachers’ rights to freedom of expression must give way to the rights of students to be educated in schools free from bias.

As the scandal that has garnered international attention swirled around the mayor, others were less reticent about weighing in.

In Ottawa, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau decried Ford's alleged use of an anti-gay slur against him.

"I just hope the words he is alleged to have used are not true," Trudeau said.

"It's a sentiment that a huge number of Canadians — and not just Canadians of the LGBTQ community — find reprehensible and unacceptable."

On Thursday, the U.S.-based website Gawker and the Toronto Star separately reported that a crack dealer was shopping around a cellphone video that appeared to show Ford smoking crack.

The publications said their staff had viewed the footage and taken notes about its contents but neither had purchased the video.

Despite calls from allies and rivals to address the allegations more thoroughly than he did last week, Ford ignored a crush of reporters waiting outside his city hall office Tuesday morning.

Amid rumours about whether he would make a public comment, the mayor did address council for six minutes on a proposal for a city casino.

However, he avoided the media after the vote as he returned to his office. He eluded reporters again when he ducked out of his office and drove out of city hall mid-afternoon.

At the provincial legislature, Premier Kathleen Wynne, who initially said the controversy was a local matter, expressed concern over the ongoing firestorm surrounding the mayor.

"It's concerning to me if there are issues — whether they're personal issues — that get in the way of a government, a municipal government, being able to work in the best interest of the city," Wynne said when pressed.

"Whatever those issues are, they need to be dealt with as quickly as possible so that the council and the leadership of the council can get on with dealing with the business of governing the city."

Ford's only comment so far came on Friday, when he briefly described the allegations as "ridiculous" and slammed the Toronto Star report as a smear job.

Ford's lawyer Dennis Morris has called the reports "false and defamatory" but told The Canadian Press on Sunday he had not received any instructions about launching legal action. The matter was in "pause" until it's known whether the video would become public, Morris said.

Gawker and the Star independently reported on Thursday that the video was shown to them by a drug dealer who had been trying to sell it for a six-figure sum.

Gawker has been trying to crowdsource $200,000 to buy and publicly post the footage. By Tuesday afternoon, it had raised more than $93,000.

“We’re from Winnipeg and we wanted to come to the Victoria ]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 14:25:00 -0400 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:09:06 -0400 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192425.1369079668!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_240/vka-parade-364101-jpg.jpg 240 164 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192425.1369079668!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1114/vka-parade-364101-jpg.jpg 1114 759 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192425.1369079668!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_124_83/vka-parade-364101-jpg.jpg 124 83 Stephanie Kostiuk danced down Douglas Street as pipers piped and drummers drummed in the Island Farms Victoria Day Parade.

“We’re from Winnipeg and we wanted to come to the Victoria Day Parade,” said a beaming Kostiuk. “I wanted one time in my life to be in Victoria on Victoria Day. So, Happy Victoria Day.”

The spring sun broke through as marching bands, dancers and flag twirlers filled the street starting at 9 a.m. And all along the Douglas Street route — from Mayfair mall to Humboldt Street — happy Victorians clapped, cheered and waved.

The parade goes right past Cis Gelling’s home at Ross Place on Douglas Street, and she has been a regular watcher. This year, four generations of her family arrived bright and early with their lawn chairs and snacks.

Gelling waved from her wheelchair at the noisy fire trucks with their honking horns and screaming sirens. “I always enjoy a parade,” said Gelling. “I’ve watched many, many, many of them. I love the bands, the Scottish bands especially.”

“We’re here rain or shine every year,” said her daughter Christine Walker. “It’s just tradition to us. My mom and dad used to bring us down to it and I brought my son and daughter to it and now we bring the grandchildren. Everybody just loves it.”

“We get here early enough to scout some place out. We bring snacks, food, blankets and umbrellas if it’s raining. But it’s gorgeous today.”

Gelling’s great-grandson Xavier ran out to scoop up a lollipop. “He loves the fire trucks,” she said.

Victoria’s cultural community was on display — from the Naden Band with their crisp drumrolls, and military veterans with their proud, straight backs, to lion dancers snaking down the street in yellow silk, and the Filipino community’s giant statues.

Flutist Anna Stark had finished her stint with the Reynolds Secondary Band and was making her way back up Douglas Street.

“It was nerve-wracking but a lot of fun,” said the 15-year-old musician. “Being at the viewing stand was my favourite part because of the crowd and they were all so excited and cheering us on.”

While lawn chairs were the seat of choice, Edna Callagon of Vancouver popped the seats out of her van and carried them to Douglas Street for her children to sit on. Her daughter Angelica watched the parade in cushioned comfort.

“What’s your favourite part?”

“Everything,” she replied.

Minor criticism came from pint-sized pundit Tovah Weigand whose favourite part has always been the candy. “I didn’t get much,” said the six-year-old.

Sarah Holloway arrived for the second half, spreading out a blanket and unpacking a picnic lunch. Five-month-old Sadie slept quietly on her chest.

“When you have kids, you have to have a snack. As soon as we get here, we have to have a snack,” said Holloway as she and four-year-old son Theoden munched on cheese and crackers, pickles, grapes, sliced cucumber, carrots and cinnamon apples.

By 11:40 a.m. as the Beacon Hill Children’s Farm Society went by with bleating goats, three-year-old Janna Thomas was starting to fade, lying down on her blanket in the street. Her mother Sadie Thomas said they’d been at the parade since 8:30 a.m. “She could probably use a nap.”

But older sister Raeanne was showing no signs of being tired. The six-year-old said she liked everything about the parade.

“And I love the candy.”

ldickson@timescolonist.com 

- - - 

Thousands lined Douglas Street; awards from parade judges 

It was the perfect day for a parade. Not too hot, not too cold, and luckily no rain.

“It was just ideal,” said Ron Butlin, chairman and organizer of the Island Farms Victoria Day Parade. “I thought it was one of the best we’ve had in the 20 years I’ve done the parade,”

Police estimated 45,000 to 50,000 people lined the Douglas Street route.

And all were treated to a fabulous spectacle of sight and sound.

Brassy marching bands from local high schools and the U.S. kept toes tapping and hands clapping.

In the end, the judges awarded Spectrum Community School first place in the Canadian band category, followed by Reynolds Secondary and Lambrick Park Secondary in second and third place.

Reynolds took first place in the Canadian drill team category, followed by Lambrick Park Seconday and Spectrum Community School in second and third place.

Of the U.S. schools of more than 1,200 students, South Kitsap High School’s marching band took top place followed by Ballard High School and Oregon City High School.

First among smaller schools was Shorecrest High School, followed by Sehome High School and Mount Baker High School. Kingston Middle School took the award for juniors.

The O’Brian Irish Dancers won first in performing acts, followed by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Society and the Victoria Motorcycle Club.

Best walking group was the Victoria Swiss Society. Sikh Martial Arts came in second followed by the Saanich Firefighters.

Galey Farms won best commercial float. 

Attendance for the two-day games and]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 01:02:00 -0400 Tue, 21 May 2013 15:54:59 -0400 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192111.1369149904!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_240/duke-of-york-visits-vict-10-jpg.jpg 240 159 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192111.1369149904!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1114/duke-of-york-visits-vict-10-jpg.jpg 1114 739 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192111.1369149904!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_124_83/duke-of-york-visits-vict-10-jpg.jpg 124 83 A weekend of caber tossing, royal watching and Highland dancing at the Victoria Highland Games and Celtic Festival came to a glorious end Sunday.

Attendance for the two-day games and festival at Topaz Park was 25,000 — an all-time record, said organizers.

“I’m afraid all good things must come to an end,” said His Royal Highness, Duke of York, Sunday afternoon. More commonly known as Prince Andrew, the 53-year-old second son and third child of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh presided over the event celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture.

During the closing ceremonies Sunday, Prince Andrew thanked everyone involved, on and off the field, for contributing to “such a tremendous day.”

With a final salute concluded, the prince asked the massed piped bands to “play us out to end the games.”

They did not disappoint. About 4:30 p.m., as thousands of people of all ages looked on, the massed bands played resounding renditions of Amazing Grace and Scotland the Brave. Afterward, Prince Andrew, in a dark suit, returned to Government House.

Andrew was expected to leave British Columbia Sunday night. He left Victoria having made a powerful impression on participants and volunteers who referred to him Sunday as inquisitive, friendly, approachable and fun.

Victoria Highland Games Association president Jim Maxwell described a “very touching” scene as Prince Andrew talked to about 75 of the young Highland dancers competing Sunday.

“It was unscripted and very appreciated ... all of the children were smiling,” Maxwell said. “He made a point of talking to each and every one of them.”

Games spokesman Doug Blackie said the prince talked to competitors in all areas and was seen asking multiple questions of competitors in the “heavy events” — which involves throwing massive stones, a ball and chain, a hammer, weights and a caber (which looks like a telephone pole).

Whether because of the blue skies or blue blood present Sunday, this year crowds were treated to an exceptional caber-toss event.

The object is not the distance of the throw, but instead to have the caber fall directly away from the thrower after landing. A perfect throw ends with the top end nearest to the thrower and the bottom end pointing away.

Andy Vincent of the U.S. tossed two cabers forward, while England’s Scott Rider turned over one. The first time Rider turned the caber was 2010, and he is only the second man competing in the Victoria Highland Games to have ever done so.

With each toss in the men’s event, the crowd would cheer enthusiastically, groan in disappointment or gasp as a few of the cabers stood straight in the air before falling to the side.

Graham Wilson, 51, who moved to Victoria three years ago from the Scottish town of Dunfermline, Fife, said he’s been to Highland Games in Scotland but that the Victoria event was much bigger.

Enjoying the sunshine Sunday, he was one of many in the heavy events crowd unconsciously bowing and bending as the caber was tossed by men — all of whom were a minimum of six feet tall and close to if not more than 300 pounds.

Lucie Mussell, five, watched the caber toss with her mother, Heather, and step-dad, James Stephaniuk. In a gathering where the dress ranged from casual summer wear to kilts and competition dress, Lucie stood out in her princess gown, meant to represent Merida, the princess from the Disney-Pixar movie Brave, set in the Scottish Highlands.

Colm Condon, 38, took in some of the competitions Sunday with his sons Desmond, four, and Calum, one. The young boys couldn’t have been happier than they were checking out the activities in the children’s area of the park — especially the display of medieval weapons.

Among the winners from competitions Sunday:

• The professional men’s overall top three winners in the heavy events, respectively, were: American brothers Matt and Andy Vincent and Canada’s Matt Doherty.

• The top three overall elite women winners in the heavy events were, in order: Adrienne Wilson, Kristy Scott and Kate Burton, all of the U.S.

• The pipe band competition winners were: Simon Fraser University (Grade 1 band contest); Greighlan Crossing (Grade 3 band contest); Kamloops Pipe Band (Grade 4 band contest).

• The professional drum major winner was Kevin Conquest.

• Highland dancers overall winners: beginner 7 and under, Sadie Leckie, Calgary; beginner 8 years, Brook Wesner, Calgary; beginner 10 and under, Ariane Prescott, Burnaby; beginner 11 and over, Annika Tinis, Victoria; novice 10 and under, Alyssa Watson, Victoria; novice 11 and over, Angelina Graham, Surrey.

• Highland dancer overall winners in the afternoon competition: intermediate 12 and under, was a tie between Julia Brockley and Karissa Birch, both of Duncan; intermediate 13 and over, Gabrielle Colonna, Nanaimo; premier 11 and under, Julia Szarka, Fort Langley; premier 12 years, Cameron Kearns, Courtenay; premier 13 years, Andrena Hilder, Coquitlam; premier 15 and under, Alexandra MacPhail, Maple Ridge; premier 16 and over, Breanna Watt, Coquitlam; premier adult, 21 and over, Fiona Lee, Coquitlam.

ceharnett@timescolonist.com

Green Party leader and ]]> Sun, 19 May 2013 13:30:00 -0400 Tue, 21 May 2013 12:03:40 -0400 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.191927.1368990522!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_240/cpt101103300-high-jpg.jpg 240 160 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.191927.1368990522!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1114/cpt101103300-high-jpg.jpg 1114 742 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.191927.1368990522!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_124_83/cpt101103300-high-jpg.jpg 124 83 A group that includes some Canadian actors, writers and politicians is calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to change the name of Victoria Day.

Green Party leader and Saanich-Gulf Islands MP Elizabeth May, author Margaret Atwood and actor Gordon Pinsent are among those behind an online petition to rename the public holiday as “Victoria and First Peoples Day.”

Peter Keleghan, an actor and spokesman for the group, said the new name would give Canadians a chance to honour both the Crown and the indigenous peoples of Canada.

“I know there is a great deal of monarchists in this country, but I think also that there is also an awful lot of talk about how First Nations people, Inuit people, indigenous people in this country are being treated,” he said.

Victoria Day marks the birthday of Queen Victoria and is celebrated every year on the last Monday before May 25. Quebec celebrates National Patriots’ Day on the same day, to honour the rebellion against the British in 1837.

“It’s an interesting idea and one worth exploring,” said Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin. “But my biggest interest comes in understanding: What does the First Nations community want?

“Locally, in talking to our First Nations leadership, their priorities are employment and housing and social inclusion in Canadian society.

“And those are the issues we need to focus on.”

There is already a day to honour Canada’s indigenous peoples, but Keleghan pointed out it’s not recognized as a federal public holiday.

National Aboriginal Day is celebrated every year on June 21.

The petition calls on Harper to recognize the country’s history. It is posted on the website: victoriaandfirstpeoplesday.ca.

“For centuries, Canadians, the First Nations, the Inuit, and the Métis have had a close affinity with the British Monarchy,” the petition says.

“The newly named holiday would be an opportunity to commemorate that venerable relationship, to celebrate unique indigenous cultures, to revisit our shared history, and to provide an opportunity for all Canadians to participate in the diverse and extraordinary heritage of our country.”

Singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark, one-time NDP leadership candidate Brian Topp and Thomas King, an author who often writes on First Nations issues, have also signed the petition. 

The ferocious storm — less than one per cent of all tornadoes reach such wind speed — ripped through the suburb of Moore in a Midwest region of the U.S. known as Tornado Alley.

The storm laid waste to scores of buildings in Moore, a community of 41,000 people 16 kilometres south of Oklahoma City. Block after block lay in ruins. Homes were crushed into piles of broken wood. Cars and trucks were left crumpled on the roadside. Rescuers launched a desperate rescue effort at the elementary school, pulling children from heaps of debris and carrying them to a triage centre.

The National Weather Service estimated that the tornado reached up to 800 metres wide and was an EF-4 on the enhanced five-point Fujita scale, the second most powerful type of twister.

More than 120 people were being treated at hospitals, including about 50 children. And search-and-rescue efforts were to continue throughout the night.

Amy Elliott, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office, told The Associated Press early Tuesday that officials could see as many as 40 more fatalities from the tornado in addition to the 51 already confirmed dead. She said at least 20 children were among the confirmed dead.

In video of the storm, the dark funnel cloud could be seen marching slowly across the green landscape. As it churned through the community, the twister scattered shards of wood, awnings and glass all over the streets.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin deployed National Guard members to assist with rescue operations and activated extra highway patrol officers.

Fallin also spoke with President Barack Obama, who declared a major disaster and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts.

"Hearts are broken" for parents looking for their children, Fallin told a news conference.

At Plaza Towers Elementary School, the storm tore off the roof, knocked down walls and turned the playground into a mass of twisted plastic and metal.

Children from the school were among the dead, but several students were pulled alive from the rubble. Rescue workers passed the survivors down a human chain to the triage centre in the parking lot.

James Rushing, who lives across the street from the school, heard reports of the approaching twister and ran to the school, where his five-year-old foster son, Aiden, attends classes. Rushing believed he would be safer there.

"About two minutes after I got there, the school started coming apart," he said.

The students were sent into the restroom.

A man with a megaphone stood near a Catholic church Monday evening and called out the names of surviving children. Parents waited nearby, hoping to hear their sons' and daughters' names.

Don Denton hadn't heard from his two sons since the tornado hit the town, but the man who has endured six back surgeries and walks with a severe limp said he walked about three kilometres as he searched for them.

As reports of the storm came in, Denton's 16-year-old texted him, telling him to call.

"I was trying to call him, and I couldn't get through," Denton said.

Eventually, Denton said, his sons spotted him in the crowd. They were fine, but upset to hear that their grandparents' home was destroyed.

As dusk began to fall, heavy equipment was rolled up to the school, and emergency workers wearing yellow crawled among the ruins, searching for survivors.

Because the ground was muddy, bulldozers and front-end loaders were getting stuck. Crews used jackhammers and sledgehammers to tear away concrete, and chunks were being thrown to the side as the workers dug.

Many land lines to stricken areas were down, and cellphone networks were congested. The storm was so massive that it will take time to establish communications between rescuers and state officials, the governor said.

Tiffany Thronesberry said she heard from her mother, Barbara Jarrell, shortly after the tornado struck.

"I got a phone call from her screaming, 'Help! Help! I can't breathe. My house is on top of me!'" Thronesberry said.

Thronesberry hurried to her mother's house, where first responders had already pulled her out. Her mother was hospitalized for treatment of cuts and bruises.

The tornado also destroyed the community hospital and some retail stores. Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis watched it pass through from his jewelry shop.

"All of my employees were in the vault," Lewis said.

Chris Calvert saw the menacing tornado from about 1.5 kilometres away.

"I was close enough to hear it," he said. "It was just a low roar, and you could see the debris, like pieces of shingles and insulation and stuff like that, rotating around it."

Even though his subdivision is 1.5 kilometres from the tornado's path, it was still covered with debris. He found a picture of a small girl on Santa Claus' lap in his yard.

A map provided by the National Weather Service showed that the storm began west of Newcastle and crossed the Canadian River into Oklahoma City's rural far southwestern side about 3 p.m. When it reached Moore, the twister cut a path through the centre of town before lifting back into the sky at Lake Stanley Draper.

Oklahoma City Police Capt. Dexter Nelson said downed power lines and open gas lines posed a risk in the aftermath of the system.

Monday's powerful tornado loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed Moore in May 1999. That storm produced the highest winds ever recorded near the Earth's surface — 486 km/h.

Kelsey Angle, a weather service meteorologist in Kansas City, Missouri, said it's unusual for two such powerful tornadoes to track roughly the same path.

It was the fourth tornado to hit Moore since 1998. A twister also struck in 2003.

Oklahoma City has had more tornado strikes than any other city in the United States," the city government's website says.

Monday's devastation in Oklahoma came almost exactly two years after an enormous twister ripped through the city of Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 people and injuring hundreds more. On Monday, Joplin organized a team of about a dozen police and firefighters to assist in Moore.

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr said his community remembers the assistance it received in 2011 and feels an obligation to lend a hand in Moore.

That May 22, 2011, tornado was the deadliest in the United States since modern tornado record keeping began in 1950, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Before Joplin, the deadliest modern tornado was June 1953 in Flint, Michigan, when 116 people died.

Country music star Toby Keith, who grew up in Moore, said his hometown would persevere.

"Hometown got hit for the gazillionth time. Rise again Moore Oklahoma," Keith tweeted Monday evening.

At a rally of hardcore Quebec nationalists, a handful of people ]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 15:58:00 -0400 Mon, 20 May 2013 19:27:24 -0400 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192444.1369086401!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_240/mtl500103441-high-jpg.jpg 240 180 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192444.1369086401!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1114/mtl500103441-high-jpg.jpg 1114 835 http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.192444.1369086401!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_124_83/mtl500103441-high-jpg.jpg 124 83 MONTREAL - The Queen would likely not be amused by the way Victoria Day was observed in downtown Montreal on Monday.

At a rally of hardcore Quebec nationalists, a handful of people threw darts at a photo of the Queen. Others held up signs saying "Down with the monarchy" and "Quebec will soon be a republic."

In Quebec, there is little love for the monarchy, and Monday`s public holiday is now known as the Journee nationale des patriotes, to mark a rebellion against the British in 1837-1838.

Pierre Veronneau, who made the dartboard used at the rally, said he wanted to make a point that Quebecers don't feel any connection to the Queen.

"I'm not someone who is politically correct," Veronneau said, calling the royal family "parasites" who "do absolutely nothing."

Like many at the rally, Veronneau said he hopes to see an independent Quebec in his lifetime, without any ties to the monarchy.

Victoria Day marks the birthday of Queen Victoria and is celebrated on the last Monday before May 25. It's often recognized as the beginning of the summer season.

But the holiday also holds historic significance.

As the monarch in 1867, Queen Victoria is sometimes recognized as the "Mother of Confederation" for helping to bring the country together.

In Quebec, though, the name of the holiday has changed over the years, reflecting the province's complicated relationship with the monarchy.

Quebec celebrated Victoria Day until the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, when the holiday was changed to the Fete de Dollard, in honour of the 17th-century French soldier and colonist Adam Dollard des Ormeaux.

The name was changed again in 2003 to Journee des patriotes.

Bernard Landry, Quebec's Parti Quebecois premier at the time, said the move was to recognize the patriots' struggle for "political liberty and to obtain a democratic system of government."

These days Quebecers sometimes joke they're not sure what the holiday is for, but they're glad to have the day off.

For those at the Montreal rally, however, it was a chance to remember an important moment in the evolution of Quebec nationalism.

Even if opinion polls put sovereignty at near-historic lows, one man at the rally said he remained committed to the cause.

"We're here to say it's not dead, even if (the movement) has slowed," said Guy Tousselle, 50, adding that he feels no connection to the monarchy.

"The roots in the rest of Canada are Anglo-Saxon, that's fine," he said.

"But those aren't my roots."

The Harper Conservatives' reverence for the monarchy has always been a source of some puzzlement and scorn in Quebec — and the disconnect with La Belle Province was underscored on Monday.

Monday`s rally attracted at least two political figures, Bloc Quebecois chief Daniel Paille, and Jean-Martin Aussant, who heads up the small provincial independence party Option nationale.

While he didn't support throwing darts at a photo of the Queen, Aussant also said he envisions an independent Quebec without ties to the monarchy.

"If other nations want one, or want to preserve the monarchy, that's their choice."

How many? Forty-seven? Fifty-three? Maybe even 60 seats.

There's 85 seats in B.C. legislature, and the feeling — right out there in the open — was an NDP majority was only a few hours away.

The confidence of impending victory for Dix's New Democrats on election night was oozing, overflowing — for the party and seemingly most everyone else — on Monday night, less than 24 hours before the polls closed. It was as if Dix's orange NDP campaign bus was running on a tank filled with over-confidence.

But it ran out of gas at polling booths across B.C.

The NDP's unbridled sense that the keys to the gates of power were about to be handed over is similar to the 1996 B.C. election campaign that saw former premier Gordon Campbell's Liberals running as if they were destined for government. They lost to Glen Clark's New Democrats in the last days with Campbell denying he made a deal with the virtually dead Social Credit party to secure faltering right-wing votes.

Embedded campaign reporters and those who packed the bus last week for the NDP's final day and night's push to Hope, B.C., and beyond were there to witness a victory tour. What they got was a historic campaign crash that saw Dix steer the NDP into the ditch and Christy Clark's Liberals cruise to a fourth term.

"He is a giant egghead," said one disgruntled New Democrat who said the campaign started on a high note but kept sliding downwards as the weeks wore on and Clark's Liberals framed Dix as negative and an economic risk.

"He thought he would win a policy war during an election campaign. That proved to be fatal," said the NDPer who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Adrian kept talking about how he had one (crappy) suit and Christy looks like a million bucks."

Dix frequently mentioned during campaign stops that he had two suits, but noticed on the first day he mixed up his pants and jackets. At one stop, he addressed a Surrey town hall with birthday cake icing stains on his pants and tie. Campaign workers were seen carrying fresh shirts after the cake incident.

As the Dix bus pulled out of Hedley and onto the winding Hope-Princeton highway, the first song out of the exceptionally fine bus speakers was "Come Together" by the Beatles. The irony of the song choice and what was to transpire a few hours down the road was epic.

The bus stopped at the entrance to Manning Park and Dix looked up at the expanse of shimmering stars above him.

"I've got all kinds of Hope," deadpaned Dix as he strode into Hope's Tim Horton's just after midnight and ordered a medium coffee, one milk.

He was greeted by Chilliwack-Hope NDP candidate Gwen O'Mahony, who won a historic byelection in Liberal territory last year.

"Don't say we don't know how to close in this campaign," Dix said. "Today we've got to work one more day to bring change to British Columbia."

Dix reminded the dozen New Democrats out for a late-night snack at Tim's that O'Mahony's Chilliwack-Hope byelection win offered "some real hope for everybody. You can win everywhere."

O'Mahony was among those who lost Tuesday night.

The 24-hour victory lap covered some 1,700 kilometres and was scheduled to make 14 community stops, starting in Courtenay on Vancouver Island and concluding in Dix's own Vancouver-Kingsway riding just as the polls opened.

Kamloops, Williams Lake, Prince George and Penticton were airport stops where Dix met diehard party supporters whom he reminded to work every last minute of the campaign to get out the vote, ending with a rephrased version of the Sam Cooke ballad "A change is going to come" to British Columbia in 24 hours.

But the chain-link, barbwired-topped fences at the airports that formed an ominous barrier between Dix and his supporters did little to foster the impression his campaign was building spontaneous momentum on the journey home.

In Prince George, Dix took reporters' questions and spoke at length about his decision to run a positive, issues-focused campaign, but reporters were hustled onto the waiting plane and left without a chance to file his comments for about two hours when the flight landed in Penticton.

At Williams Lake, Dix was greeted by a supporter who spoke with real excitement, enthusiasm and anticipation of an NDP victory.

"I tell you, the Liberals devastated everybody I know, including myself," said Wayne Potter, a former BC Rail worker. "I've been waiting for 10 years to see this and I tell you, I think it's going to happen and I pray to God when I wake up Wednesday morning it's the NDP and Adrian running this province."

The NDP's John Horgan, who was re-elected in the suburban Victoria riding of Juan de Fuca, likely shared Potter's sense of disappointment and dismay Wednesday morning.

Horgan told Victoria radio station CFAX the NDP campaign fell flat.

"The NDP, my party, has to take a good look at our soul and say what are we?" he said. "Are we a perpetual opposition party or are we going to be putting forward a platform that people are excited about and vote in favour of? Clearly, that didn't happen this time."

Horgan, who ran for the NDP leadership against Dix in 2011 but is considered one of his strongest supporters, suggested the campaign message to keep things positive and stay out of the gutter politics of the Liberals needs to be deeply re-examined.

"Adrian Dix is a very good friend of mine," said Horgan. "He ran the campaign he wanted to run, and I supported every step of that. Clearly, I was hearing on the doorstep that people wanted to hear more about the Liberal record and we did a bad job of that, there's no question."

Dix allowed the Liberal negative attacks on past New Democrat governments and the NDP's campaign spending promises to take root, and it wasn't until the last week of the campaign Dix started to counter the Liberal messages with examples of their failures, but by then, it was too late, said the disgruntled New Democrat.

Others said the campaign went off course during the televised leaders debate and Dix's Earth Day decision in Kamloops to reject Kinder Morgan's plans to expand its oil pipeline operations in Metro Vancouver. Dix said British Columbians don't want Vancouver to become a major oil exporting port.

Former B.C. NDP premier Ujjal Dosanjh who later was elected as a federal Liberal, said Dix's decision to take a strong stand against Kinder Morgan in an effort to win Green votes threw the Liberal campaign a life ring.

"This is one of these defining differences that make or break a campaign," Dosanjh said.

The disgruntled New Democrat said party brass and grassroots members now have the next four years to examine why the NDP was on cruise control in the final days of the campaign, working harder on transition teams and victory speeches than considering the significance of having just spent 12 years eating Liberal dust.

The long road for the NDP now sits at 50 Liberals, 33 New Democrats, one Independent and one Green.

U.S. visitors, which represent the largest foreign group of ]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 20:37:00 -0400 Mon, 20 May 2013 20:54:15 -0400 American visits to Canada appears to once again be improving, if only slightly, according to data from Statistics Canada.

U.S. visitors, which represent the largest foreign group of tourists to Canada, increased 3.2 per cent to 1.74 million in March compared with February, though the increase was only slightly better than the 1.72 million recorded in March 2012.

This included more than one million overnight trips, the highest figure since February 2010. Overnight travel by car rose 3.5 per cent while the number of overnight visitors arriving by plane increased two per cent.

The numbers are good news for Greater Victoria tourism operators and transportation carriers such as Black Ball Ferry Line, which operates the Coho vehicle and passenger ferry to Port Angeles, Wash., and the Clipper, a foot passenger vessel with daily sailings to Seattle. The Coho started its spring schedule last week with three sailings daily.

U.S. residents made 620,000 same-day car trips to Canada, a four per cent increase from February.

Visitation from other countries held fairly steady, said Statistics Canada, with 390,000 visits recorded in March, the same as in February. It was down from 399,000 recorded in March last year.

Travel from overseas countries to Canada was up 0.2 per cent from February.

Although the top two overseas markets, the United Kingdom and France, recorded increases, seven of the top 12 overseas markets recorded decreases in travel to Canada in March.

The largest percentage decline was in travel from Mexico, which fell 8.9 per cent.

Overall travel to Canada rose 2.6 in March, primarily as a result of the increase in travel from the U.S.

In the opposite direction, travel from Canada abroad decreased 1.7 per cent to 5.5 million trips. This was mainly the result of 2.1 per cent fewer trips to the U.S. Overnight travel to the U.S. declined 3.2 per cent in March, led by a 4.7 per cent decrease in overnight car travel. Same-day car travel from Canada to the U.S. decreased 1.3 per cent to fewer than 2.8 million trips. Travel from Canada to overseas countries increased 0.9 per cent from February to 774,000 trips.