Vancouver Island

B.C. entrepreneur Mandy Farmer was recently awarded the title Business Leader of the Year at the Canadian Queer Chamber of Commerce’s (CQCC). CQCC’s 10th annual Black & White Gala Business Awards were held in Toronto on Nov. 14. The CQCC Business Leadership Awards celebrate trailblazers driving inclusion, innovation, and growth in Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ business community. Farmer is the current president and CEO of Accent Inns, proudly owned and operated by the Farmer family since 1986. She took over the role from her father, Terry Farmer, in 2008. She is also the founder of Hotel Zed and Tofino restaurant, ROAR. She was previously named RBC Women of Influence Entrepreneur of the Year in the excellence category in 2020, won the Tourism Industry Association of Canada’s Business of the Year award in 2018 and was named Hotelier of the Year by Hotelier Magazine in 2017. “This might be one of my proudest moments…ever,” Farmer said in a LinkedIn post. “As a CEO, I fiercely believe in leading with love. I want every employee and guest who walks onto our properties to feel celebrated and welcome exactly as they are.” Her post further said that in practice, inclusion is in both big and small initiatives, from gender-inclusive washrooms, pronouns on email signatures and name tags, pride events at their properties, queer love in marketing, and benefits that support gender-affirming procedures. “This award is given to ‘individuals who demonstrate exceptional leadership and advocacy within the 2SLGBTQI+ business community.’ Obviously, nothing happens because of one individual. I’m so grateful for my amazing team who ensures that everything we do is centered around inclusion: our hiring practices, learning materials, marketing, daily operations, policies, guest experience and so much more.”

Oceanside Concert Choir will perform ‘Messiah’ by George Frideric Handel on Dec. 7 at Knox United Church in Parksville. The performance presented by Oceanside Music Association will feature soloists Michael MacKinnon (baritone), Adam Dyjach, (tenor), Shanté Van Horlick (mezzo soprano) and Andrea Rodall (soprano), as well as the Nanaimo Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Karl Rainer, according to a news release by Oceanside Music Association. They will be joined by guest trumpet players Mark D’Angelo and David Stewart. Oceanside Concert Choir Music Director Ann Barber-Becqué will be conducting. ‘Messiah’ has become a musical tradition unparalleled in the English-speaking world. “Its popularity dates back almost to when it was first performed in Dublin in 1742,” said musical director Ann Barber-Becqué. “It is the most requested piece of music by choir members, and it always draws a large audience when we perform it.” Barber-Becqué said ‘Messiah’ has everything. Dramatic and exciting musical passages based on familiar Biblical texts, achingly tender arias performed by soloists and joyous choruses, three of which the audience is invited sing along with. She added that the choir is excited this year to be joined by two professional musicians performing the trumpet accompaniment and solo. D’Angelo is the Principal Trumpet with the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra. He also plays trumpet with the Vancouver Island Symphony and teaches music at Capilano College. Stewart is well-known in the community having taught music at Kwalikum Secondary School for more than 25 years before retiring from teaching. He is frequently seen performing the ‘Last Post’ on Remembrance Day and is a member of the Arrowsmith Big Band. Handel’s ‘Messiah’ opens in dramatic fashion with the birth of Jesus being announced by angels. The scene shifts to his ministry among the Jews, his suffering, death and resurrection. This is followed by the spread of his message to the world. The choral work concludes with thanksgiving and the promise of a heavenly afterlife. The concert starts at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 and are available online at www.oceanside-music.ca or with cash at Fireside Books in Parksville and Edge Outdoors in Qualicum Beach. Unsold tickets will be available at the door through cash and debit/credit card. For more information visit www.oceanside-music.ca or call 250-594-4755.

A brass band will team with choirs to perform holiday music up and down Vancouver Island next month. Festive Brass will bring its Christmas in Canada tour to 10 Island communities between Dec. 6-21. The traditional family Christmas concert will include a “rich mix of timeless carols and festive favourites, along with new Canadian compositions.” In addition, the brass musician ensemble will be doing its own versions of Christmas classics such as Silent Night and Good King Wenceslas. Stevan Paranosic, Festive Brass leader, told Black Press Media that the group wanted to present the program with a twist. “It’s like a fun program of Christmas music, but not in a pedantic kind of way,” he said. “We like to add a little bit of fun to the program and musical shenanigans just to keep everything light and feel-good.” This takes the form of adding a polka twist to Up on the House Top, turning The First Noel into a slow jam and adding a Latin twist on We Three Kings. “We have a few more traditional things. The highlight I think is going to be the piece near the end where we take the famous Christmas poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore, and the lyrics will be sung by the choir and the brass will add some musical snippets underneath while they sing through the poem.” By performing with choirs, Paranosic said it gives the brass players time to have a break between pieces, as well as the opportunity to combine to create a nostalgic atmosphere he considers intrinsic to a Christmas show. “Immediately adding words makes all the shenanigans make a little more sense because it wouldn’t make sense musically if we venture into a new direction if we don’t have the words to kind of lock you into, ‘oh yes, they’re singing about this song.’” As a result, audiences can expect a heartwarming concert, and a celebration of the true spirit of Canadian Christmas. “We’re inundated right now with Christmas music everywhere, elevators, malls, it’s all in the background and it seeps into the unconsciousness, but when you go to see it live in a concert we feel that the choir and the lyrics and the brass paired together kind of anchor you back to what is the meaning behind each one of these Christmas carols and just gives you that nostalgic feeling again.” Attendees are invited to sing with the choir during select songs. The tour starts in Nanaimo on Dec. 6, and other concerts are planned in Port Alberni, Sidney, Chemainus, Duncan, Gabriola Island, Victoria before the tour concludes with shows in Parksville on Dec. 20 and Courtenay and Campbell River on Dec. 21. For ticket information, visit www.festivebrass.ca/holidaytour2025 [http://www.festivebrass.ca/holidaytour2025].

Stakeholders discussed how to better support Indigenous patients receiving health care on Vancouver Island, where the health authority has become one of the province’s first to undertake a B.C. Cultural Safety and Humility Standard assessment. The topic was discussed during a panel on integrating Indigenous healing practices into health care at a summit hosted by the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District on Nov. 13 at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre. Brennan MacDonald, a vice-president of regional operations with the First Nations Health Authority, said she is proud of Island Health for stepping forward to be the first health authority in B.C. outside of the First Nations Health Authority to voluntarily undertake a B.C. Cultural Safety and Humility Standard [https://healthstandards.org/standard/cultural-safety-and-humility-standard/] assessment. She said it’s a great example of something a health authority can do to make improvements to the system to deliver culturally safe and appropriate care. “I think that all health authorities will go through the process, it is just a matter of timing and sequence,” she said. “Island Health being the first means we have a chance to model for the rest of the province, and the country, what it looks like to go through this. The standard itself is also being adopted nationally, so there will be opportunities for provinces across Canada to undertake similar work with the same goals.” The standard recognizes that First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals and communities experience racism and discrimination at many levels when seeking health-related care and services, creating barriers and harm including unacceptable rates of illness and distress, reduced access to care and services, and ignorance of cultural practices resulting in non-adherence to treatment plans. It can lead to avoidance of the health-care system due to fear and mistrust. The standard includes guidelines such as understanding Indigenous rights, protocols, and practices; incorporating those competency requirements into job descriptions, recruitment and hiring; and providing regular, mandatory anti-racism and cultural safety and humility education and training in the workplace. “It’s guidance around organizational structures and procedures – it will ensure we understand how to keep racism out of the health system and services that we’re designing,” MacDonald said. She added that the standard will provide a benchmark for health authorities to gauge where they are performing well and where they need to improve. Also speaking as part of the panel was Dr. Christine Hall, deputy registrar for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, who shared that the college has been collaborating with other B.C. health regulators and the Ministry of Health ahead of implementing the Health Professions and Occupations Act [https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/bills/billsprevious/3rd42nd:gov36-3#section467] in the spring. The act stipulates that superintendents must consult with Indigenous persons who provide similar types of health services in accordance with Indigenous practices; and administrators’ lists of support workers should include names put forward by Indigenous governing bodies. “Within the act are very specific legislative directives around management of our Indigenous patient needs…” Hall said. “Two steps around that are the creation of an Indigenous advisory circle, and that also includes support for Indigenous peoples who have been wronged in the health-care system. How do we now lead the system with actual Indigenous support – that’s formalized under the [act]. And of course we’re training all of our committees and our people around that.” In the long term, she said the college is working to embed Indigenous cultural safety and anti-racism principles into quality assurance and practice enhancement policies, as well as exploring partnerships regarding training for registrants. “While these are long-standing issues, the formalization of it is new for people who come to get a licence in B.C. So we’re walking with them as they understand what is expected of them.” Chief Michael Recalma of Qualicum First Nation shared a personal story during the event about receiving a kidney transplant and dialysis. One morning, when he was originally scheduled to go home but couldn’t, he said it was the practice of cedar brushing that turned that hospital room into a safe space. MacDonald noted that ceremonies and practices hold an integral part in healing. “The mind is very powerful, it can contribute to illness, or it can do the opposite,” she said. “That feels very empowering and I think that is a big foundation of what our wellness is about and how it shows up in our work.” MacDonald said part of supporting Indigenous patients is holding space for individuals to advocate and assert for their needs, but also to strive for a system that recognizes the diversity of approaches to well-being so that advocacy isn’t necessary. “While there are some who are able to do that, the history we know exists within our health-care system has caused harm.” In a statement, Island Health said there is ongoing work in bringing the B.C. Cultural Safety and Humility Standard to life as it moves towards accreditation, including the release of an organizational anti-racism and discrimination position statement and Indigenous-specific anti-racism and discrimination policy that “affirms everyone’s right to work and receive health care in a safe, anti-racist, and discrimination-free environment and aims create an environment that directly addresses Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination.”

Customers would come from far and wide, eager to take home something sweet or savoury, and always comforting. Victoria Pie Company was a beloved fixture in the Victoria Public Market, but its charm and customer base were threatened to be lost for good when the public market closed its doors in June 2025 after a sale to Loblaws. But Victoria Wan, a local baker who called Victoria Pie Company home for two years, was determined to not let that happen. “Even when I first started working for them, I recognized how special this local business was. I loved my job. I love making pies. We didn’t close because we failed, we closed because circumstances failed us,” she told Victoria News. “Marie has been relentless in her support and encouraged me to give my own business a try. I figured, if not now, when?” Wan started Indigo Bakes and is bringing the Victoria Pie Company’s recipes with her, with the blessing of previous owner, Marie Takahashi. Chicken Pot Pie, Mushroom Gruyere and Apple Pie are on the menu, with plans to add more options as the venture grows. Fans of the pies will be glad to know that the popular recipes are remaining the same. “There’s a reason the shop survived as long as it did and I’m not going to mess with a good, and delicious, thing,” Wan said. The pies – with both an Indigo Bakes logo and a Victoria Pie Co. one – are now found in the frozen section in HOB Fine Foods, The Market Garden and Kid Sister Ice Cream with fresh pies available in Peppers Foods. Pies can also be ordered online from South Island Farm Hub. While Wan’s current pie selection is small, she hopes that the love and support for Victoria Pie Company will eventually lead to another brick-and-mortar location. The company has been in business since 2013. As for Takahashi, who purchased Victoria Pie Company in 2023 as owner of Two Crows Craft Foods, she is on her own journey; she got herself a camper and is currently driving cross-country, seeking beautiful views and good food, Wan said. Takahashi said all the customers who have reached out to her since its closure have shown her how important Victoria Pie Co. was to the city. Knowing she wanted to keep the business alive in some form, when Wan reached out, it was the right fit. “Victoria was our primary pastry maker and is incredibly passionate about baking,” Takahashi said. “One of the hardest moments of my life was looking at my son and saying we had to close our business because we couldn’t find a space. But we roll with it. In the meantime we’ve got Victoria carrying on the pie traditions, and I couldn’t think of a better person to do it. She’s a self-taught chef and everything she does turns to magic.”

With December just days away, Nanaimo residents can get an early start to holiday festivities with a German Christmas experience this weekend. Nanaimo Christmas Village is taking place at Cavallotti Lodge on 2060 East Wellington Rd. till Sunday, Nov. 30, complete with arts and crafts for sale from various area vendors as well as traditional German fare – sausages, sauerkraut and pretzels. Peter Lange, one of the event’s organizers, said there are differences between a traditional German and Canadian Christmas. “The [lead] up to Christmas I think, is the main difference,” he said. “These Christmas markets in Germany would last for a month, so they start beginning of December, and then they run all the way up to Christmas and they are typically outdoor.” The event will give 50 per cent of donations to the Great Nanaimo Toy Drive [https://nanaimobulletin.com/2025/11/25/great-nanaimo-toy-drive-hoping-for-communitys-help-with-gift-giving/] and is an official drop-off site for the charitable effort. Lange said the joy of Christmas and the desire to bring smiles to people’s faces is the reason it was chosen as beneficiary. “We also know some people who grew up quite poor, and I know from some of them that said this toy drive, and the gifts at Christmas, was one of the best memories they had as a kid,” he said. An estimated 600 people came through the doors the first day (Nov. 28) and Lange estimates over 2,000 people will attend through the event’s three days. Nanaimo Christmas Village is open until 5 p.m. Saturday and will run from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information go to www.nanaimochristmasvillage.com/ [https://www.nanaimochristmasvillage.com/].

Yesterday’s news is today’s magic trick. Clutching an old copy of the Sooke News Mirror, magician Guy Simmons tells his audience he’s about to perform the classic torn-and-restored newspaper trick – but with a twist. “Because I tell you exactly how it’s done,” he says. “But before I show you this, I want you to know that everything that I say is absolutely true – except the lies, of course,” he adds with a wink. He begins to rip the pages into strips, insisting he’s only pretending, then pressing the paper into a tight, small parcel. “But this was all a trick, and I really haven’t done that,” he says. Then, with a quick flick of his wrists he shakes open the paper, magically restored, as if nothing had ever happened. Cue rapturous applause. It’s an illusion Simmons has performed countless times over a magical career that has spanned decades – one of his favourites, he says. But after years away from the spotlight, he’s returning to performing for reasons that go beyond entertaining a crowd. Like the newspaper he brings back together, the 74-year-old hopes revisiting his old stagecraft wizardry might help him rebuild some joy in his own life – though he knows it won’t be as simple as waving a magic wand. Recent years have been hard on him. Ongoing legal proceedings following a relationship breakdown have left him without a home, living aboard his boat in Sooke, about a half-hour west of Victoria, since late 2023. Now, with more legal costs looming, he’s facing the possibility of having to sell the boat too. “So I’ll be homeless,” he said. “I’ve been having a really bad, bad year and been very depressed.” While he has been receiving mental health support, Simmons has decided he needs to take an active role in helping himself. It was a chance meeting with a palliative care nurse that gave him the idea to return to magic – not for applause this time, but for healing. “I thought maybe I should go out and do a little bit of my magic act for people that are maybe worse off than I am – maybe that’ll make me feel better,” he said. Now he’s hoping to bring his act to local retirement homes, hospitals and palliative care units, offering a few moments of wonder to people who might need it most. “Everyone needs magic at this time of year.” Simmons’ love of magic stretches back to childhood, when his uncle and “an old lady” he knew taught him card tricks. That early fascination carried him into a life spent creating, performing and dreaming up illusions. His early career began performing in front of children to build confidence and learn how to hold an audience. As his skills grew, so did his ambitions. He connected with other magicians, including his longtime mentor, the late Len Ventus – a founding member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians – and with other like-minded friends, he formed a troupe called the Magic Alliance, performing as the Wizard of the North. In the late 1980s and through the ’90s, they staged everything from close-up magic to large-scale illusions, appeared on television, and even performed at the International Brotherhood of Magicians convention in Montreal. Their act also earned them a spot on the front page of The Linking Ring, a respected magic journal. “We were doing crazy stunts, building wild props – just creating all the time,” he recalled. Simmons recalls performing one of magic’s most notorious stunts, the bullet catch, using a real pistol and a bullet with the initials of an audience member carved into it. His first wife Leeann would fire the shot, Simmons would “catch” the bullet in his teeth and spit it onto a plate. “It was the most dangerous trick in the world. “That’s how I broke my tooth,” he jokes, pointing to one of his front teeth. Simmons wasn’t just a performer; he was a builder. An artist by nature, he designed and fabricated his own illusions, sets and props. For years, he poured his creative energy into a personal project in Richmond Hill, transforming his childhood home into what he called the Magic Castle, part workshop, part museum, part TV-set-in-progress. He and a small team of artists and builders produced everything from jewelry to large custom pieces for clients, including props and architectural features for Toronto collector Bill Jamieson’s private museum of oddities. But a septic hip infection in 2010 derailed everything. The two-year recovery forced him to abandon the Magic Castle, sell the house, and let go of his long-planned television projects. He shifted from performing illusions to flipping homes to earn a living – work that eventually brought him to Sooke. Still, he never lost his love for magic. What draws him in, he says, isn’t just the sleight of hand, but the storytelling and the chance to make someone smile, to spark a moment of wonder. “I like telling stories, making people laugh,” explained Simmons. “If someone walks away happy – if they say, ‘Wow, how did you do that?’ – that makes me happy too.” Anyone who can help Simmons connect with an audience that would benefit from some magic in their lives, can email him: gwiz@lenvintus.com.

Community members are asked to drive in and share some Christmas charity next week. Sunshine Mountain Ford Lincoln’s Give and Go event, in support of the Salvation Army and Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank, will be held Friday, Dec. 5. This is the dealership’s 10th year hosting the event and first since it changed its name to Sunshine Mountain, and it’s a meaningful initiative for the business every year, said Ann Marie Clark, dealer principal. “It’s to make it easy for our community to donate to those people that are struggling at this time of year. It is a tough time of year for a lot of people,” she said. Motorists are asked to drive up to the dealership to donate money, non-perishable food items, unwrapped toys, and warm winter clothing like jackets, socks and tuques. Last year the event resulted in at least $4,000 raised for each charity, plus 4,000 kilograms of food, two sacks of clothing and 300 new toys. “It’s so much fun watching all the people come through. Last year we had a whole flat-deck of bikes dropped off. The generosity in the community is crazy,” Clark said. “It’s really fun to host it and get to see all that.” Give and Go happens from 5-7 p.m.

A brass band will team with the Island Bel Canto Singers to perform holiday music in Nanaimo next month. Festive Brass will bring its Christmas in Canada tour to St. Andrew’s United Church in the Old City Quarter on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. The traditional family Christmas concert will include a “rich mix of timeless carols and festive favourites, along with new Canadian compositions.” In addition, the brass musician ensemble will be doing its own versions of Christmas classics such as Silent Night and Good King Wenceslas. Stevan Paranosic, Festive Brass leader, told the Nanaimo News Bulletin that the group wanted to present the program with a twist. “It’s like a fun program of Christmas music, but not in a pedantic kind of way,” he said. “We like to add a little bit of fun to the program and musical shenanigans just to keep everything light and feel-good.” This takes the form of adding a polka twist to Up on the House Top, turning The First Noel into a slow jam and adding a Latin twist on We Three Kings. “We have a few more traditional things. The highlight I think is going to be the piece near the end where we take the famous Christmas poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore, and the lyrics will be sung by the choir and the brass will add some musical snippets underneath while they sing through the poem.” By performing with Island Bel Canto Singers, Paranosic said it gives the brass players time to have a break between pieces, as well as the opportunity to combine to create a nostalgic atmosphere he considers intrinsic to a Christmas show. “Immediately adding words makes all the shenanigans make a little more sense because it wouldn’t make sense musically if we venture into a new direction if we don’t have the words to kind of lock you into, ‘oh yes, they’re singing about this song.’” As a result, audiences can expect a heartwarming concert, and a celebration of the true spirit of Canadian Christmas. “We’re inundated right now with Christmas music everywhere, elevators, malls, it’s all in the background and it seeps into the unconsciousness, but when you go to see it live in a concert we feel that the choir and the lyrics and the brass paired together kind of anchor you back to what is the meaning behind each one of these Christmas carols and just gives you that nostalgic feeling again.” Attendees are invited to sing with the choir during select songs. Like Island Bel Canto Singers in the Harbour City, Festive Brass will perform with other area choirs, including the Village Voices of Qualicum Beach in a Dec. 20 performance in Parksville. For ticket information, visit www.festivebrass.ca/holidaytour2025 [http://www.festivebrass.ca/holidaytour2025] and for more on Island Bel Canto Singers, visit http://islandbelcanto.ca [https://islandbelcanto.ca/].

Dancing her way to Italy. Nine-year-old Milah Hanson, who has been training at Cowichan’s Carlson’s School of Dance with co-owner and director Ricki-Lee Allison since the tender age of three, is wrapping up a worldy experience that most young dancers can only dream of. She was chosen by Team Canada Dance to represent the country at the official International Dance Organization (IDO) World Acrobatic Dance Championships in Castellanza, Italy from Nov. 17 to 22. IDO is a World Dance and Dance-Sport Federation with a membership of more than 90 nations, representing more than 250,000 dancers from six continents. “We couldn’t be more proud of Milah and grateful to her amazing family for all the support they show her,” said Allison priro to the trip. “Traveling to the mainland for rehearsals and the extra costs to be part of this team requires a lot of commitment from her whole family and it doesn’t go unnoticed. “With Milah being so young, she may not realize what an opportunity this is, but we know it will stay with her all her life that she represented Canada in Italy. We are all so excited for her and can’t wait to cheer her on.” It is quite appropriate that Milah’s family and teachers are doing backflips as she embarks on this exciting and life changing opportunity as the young dancer has also been training with Duncan Dynamics Gymnastics Club for the last six years. At Carlson’s Milah puts her best foot forward in several dance styles including acro, ballet, jazz, hip hop, and tap. “Acrobatic dance combines dance with acrobatic and gymnastic movements so Milah does very well as she trains in both dance and gymnastics in the Cowichan Valley,” said Allison. Milah is definitely making moves as she gets ready to compete on this worldy stage; when first asked what she was most excited about for her trip to Italy, her first response was pasta. “I’m also excited to do my aerial,” said Milah. It’s a move where a performer flips or cartwheels through the air without their hands touching the ground.

The recent letter writer who complained about the changes made to Ravine Way, which was done many months ago, does have a point to be concerned about when the B.C. Ministry of Highways starts altering busy, key traffic routes. If he is heading to the Pat Bay Highway, he has several options to make a right turn from Douglas to get to Blanchard/Vernon via Saanich Road, Finlayson, Tolmie, Cloverdale, Hillside, or Bay, whichever is most convenient. I wouldn’t think sitting at 3 long lights to take his old way via Douglas, Carey, Ravine, to Vernon is any faster than the ones I mentioned. Taking away the left turn from Highway 1 to Carey was not a good idea, as many go to Uptown to shop, and given that we all know accidents happen most at intersections, adding more traffic is ridiculous. Ravine is slated for buses, and the new hub will make it easier for them to travel around. Too many cars were going down Vernon and turning left at Ravine, causing huge backups on Vernon just so drivers could avoid Highway 1 at Saanich/Boleskine. Now, cars from Saanich westbound must cross 4 lanes of traffic to get to Save On Foods, only a short block down the hill. This right turn onto Vernon backs up Saanich and Tattersal as many cars sit there until all 4 lanes of traffic are clear, instead of grabbing an open lane and merging left, left, and left again, which can be hard to do given the short distance. Any car wanting to get from Vernon to Douglas can just loop around in the left lane before the fire hall and get to the other portion of Ravine, and to Carey. The B.C. Ministry of Highways is well known for ruining neighbourhoods as they own the highways and ferry roads, and somehow don’t look at the big picture when designing or rerouting traffic. The Keating exit is a perfect example, still not done. All this money for bike lanes, which garners no tax revenue, and our main roads get entire lanes chopped or reduced. Go figure. Stuart Walker Central Saanich

Thank you for featuring the rewarding hobby of stamp collecting in the Nov. 20 issue of the Peninsula News Review, “Stamp collectors keeping an old hobby alive.” I can certainly commend the work of the Victoria Stamp Club, and I wish to alert your readers to the existence of the Sidney Stamp Club, which meets regularly on the second Saturday of each month, starting at 1 p.m. at the Highway Christian Fellowship on McDonald Park Road. Please join us to enjoy, trade, buy and sell stamps from all around the world, and most importantly, for the friendship and fellowship of our members. Chris Gainor, president Sidney Stamp Club

A bunch of us who live near 1899 Cochrane St., the site of a proposed eight-townhouse development, have managed to convince Saanich not to allow the developer to remove a majestic 80-year-old tree we call Big Monty. It took letters to Planning and Engineering, meetings with councillors, rallies, media exposure and a petition with over 600 signatures to achieve this. However, Seba Construction still plans to build a unit, somewhat smaller, but so close to Monty that it’s well within the tree’s critical root zone. As well, they are seeking permission to prune the crap out of Monty to squeeze the unit in. According to artificial intelligence, this combination does not bode well for the survival of the tree in the long term. Apparently, other developers have been permitted to prune “problem” trees to the point that they die not long after, and then no permit is needed to remove the dead tree. Bill 44 allows eight units on this site. Why not build eight compact units that don’t stretch the thing from lot line to lot line? Nope. Why not build two floors above grade and one below so that it’s more in context with the houses around it? Nope. Why not build a flat roof instead of a peaked one so that the height of the thing is not so imposing? Nope. Why not have more off-street parking? Nope. Because our other petition with over 300 signatures addressing the above issues is being disregarded, we are faced with three storeys plus a peaked roof in a two-storey neighbourhood, four of seven trees removed and the rest in danger, one guest parking stall for the whole complex, increased run-off on our slope that has some neighbours really worried, a popular pedestrian/bike way that will become dangerously congested and eight high-end townhouses that will definitely not provide affordable housing for those who need it most. On top of this, the developer has asked for five variances. Dave Secco Saanich

Four men from Nanaimo, thinking outside and inside of the box, so to speak, have gone offshore to try to bring home affordable housing. Cueva Homes is the brainchild of realtor Ryan Stolz, builders Bill Xing and Adam Splawski, and Elliot Layton, who partnered to create a line of manufactured modular carriage homes, designed and engineered in Canada and built in China, that could be one piece toward solving B.C.’s housing puzzle. “We’re all involved in real estate and finance in Canada right now, and development, and the reality is … it’s unsustainable to build the housing that the government is saying we need and we want, and [affordably] it can’t be done,” said Stolz, Cueva vice-president of sales and marketing. Under provincial Bill-44, the government is trying to increase housing density. One way to do go about that is to maximize use of existing single-family home properties by adding a second structure. But with traditional building, homeowners can run afoul of hurdles, such as rising costs and wait times for available trades and permitting. “Knowing all that because we go through it, we decided to say, what could we do that is … controllable, that’s adaptable to all aspects of life?” Stolz said. The partners surveyed owners of properties that can accommodate carriage homes. “How can we make living situations easier? … How can something like this serve as an extra suite for income? Families? People who want to age in their [property], but they want to move out to something like this and have their kids [move] into their home? Investors? Airbnb? There’s just lots of different ways this could work with people in backyards,” said Splawski, Cueva’s chief executive officer. From the survey data they planned a home design that can be sited with minimal preparation and permitting. The first two units – a one bedroom and a two-bedroom, each with 495 square feet of floor space – arrived in Nanaimo in late October. The units come complete with German-made appliances sourced locally, outdoor canopy and front deck, everything except furniture and can be delivered and installed in a matter of weeks. The units are welded steel frame construction and designed for energy efficiency, incorporating an energy recovery ventilation system. Nine-foot ceilings give rooms a sense of spaciousness. Xing, Cueva Homes president, said the homes are designed by Canadian engineers and teams. “And then we have [specialists] in tiny houses, all in China, who did an amazing job on the interior layout and the material finishes … there’s not a single drywall throughout the house … There’s no potential for moulds, water damages or anything like that. All materials are recycled materials or composites … We put a lot of thought into the design to make sure that, even though it’s as tiny as 495 square feet, it doesn’t feel like 495 square feet,” he said. The first units are being shipped completely assembled, but that drives up shipping costs and limits the unit floor space and configuration. “In the future we want to be truly modular, so we’re going to have a warehouse with stacks of wall panels and have everything assembled on site, which obviously we’re going to have local – our own guys and contractors – to do the work, but that is the only way to make this home bigger than what it is because we’re already at the upper limit of the size,” Xing said. “If we want to do anything beyond 495 square feet we’ve got to go modular.” Switching to modular assembly will allow the company to connect modules to create floor space and configuration variations for townhome and condo projects, temporary housing and other applications. “In the time being we’re trying to fill the void, which everyone is trying to do, but they can’t get the price down,” Xing said. The cost, landed in Vancouver, for either the two- or one-bedroom unit is $165,000 plus site preparation and installation, which Splawski said for a “fairly straight forward one” in Nanaimo is another $40,000 to $50,000, putting the total cost at around $210,000 plus GST. Final costs would vary depending on delivery costs to more remote locations on the Island or the B.C. Interior and the type of installation required. The homes can also be configured for remote sites to run completely off-grid. Cueva Homes handles all aspects of site preparation, including foundation work, trucking, crane operation and utility connections. Installation for the company’s two show homes took about four days. “You’re looking at a week to two weeks of foundations in, services hooked up and ready to go and then when crane day shows up it’s landed, another day to unpack and set the deck up and that’s it,” Splawski said. The company currently has manufacturing capacity for 100 homes per month, but is still waiting for full CSA certification, expected in early 2026, Stolz said, so the company is taking reservations for sales. City of Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog and chief administrative officer Dale Lindsay have met with the Cueva Homes partners to view the products. “I am excited by what I saw. We need to encourage innovative approaches to meet our housing challenges. This type of housing is definitely a real solution for part of our housing crisis,” Krog said. Lindsay said the city has been encouraging detached secondary suites on properties for a number of years. “With the more recent changes that the province has required for zoning, I think there’s opportunity on many properties in the city to consider additional housing units, whether those be site-built or factory-built homes, that are available to residents and it’s great that people have options to pick from,” Lindsay said. He noted manufactured homes are approved by the Canadian Standards Association and negates the city’s role in permitting for traditional on-site building permitting. “We don’t inspect those units. They’re done at the factory,” Lindsay said. “We provide permitting for siting and making sure that they’re serviced properly. It’s a slightly different role we play, but at the end of the day, more housing opportunities is what everybody wants.”

After reading the article on the group from St Andrew’s Church challenging Sidney mayor and council to spend the night in the cold, I have a challenge for this church and all the churches in Sidney and beyond. Why don’t they look into opening a warming shelter themselves? Do they not have the facilities, such a washrooms and kitchens, along with space sitting empty overnight? Perhaps they could start the process by contacting Broadview Church in Saanich, which has been able to open a warming shelter for this winter. After all, wouldn’t this be the Christian thing to do? Lisa Domshy Saanichton