Local

“Preparing ourselves to stand strong”: How the Jan. 21 Ministry sit-in began

Young Indigenous activists began occupying the downtown Victoria offices of the B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en peoples against the Coastal GasLink pipeline on…

Indigenous youth-led overnight occupation of B.C. Ministry offices ends in 12 arrests

An Indigenous youth-led Wet’suwet’en solidarity action occupied the offices of the Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum Resources for over 18 hours, from 11:00 a.m. Tuesday into the early hours…

Protesters shut down morning BC Ferries sailings in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en

Just before 6:00 a.m. on Jan. 20, protesters blockaded the BC Ferries terminal at Swartz Bay with banners, chants, and kayaks. Several sailings through Swartz Bay were significantly delayed or…

B.C. collects $43 million from Airbnb in first year since taxation agreement

Airbnb rentals regulated and creating revenue in Victoria  Airbnb has changed the tourism industry by allowing locals to rent out space in their homes to tourists, often for a fraction…

From service to the streets: veterans and Victoria’s housing crisis

In Victoria, a city whose name has become synonymous with unaffordable housing, veterans account for 6.8 per cent of the city’s homeless population, despite only making up four per cent…

“I didn’t stand a chance”: International students face discrimination in tight Victoria housing market

With a vacancy rate of 1.2 per cent and 78 per cent of UVic students living off campus, finding a place to live as a student in Victoria can be…

Saanich housing bylaw still a concern, nearly one year after promises to re-evaluate

The University of Victoria Students’ Society (UVSS) is planning to move forward on a motion drafted last year, and work with the District of Saanich to address a divisive housing…

Provincial government unveils new rules on vaping

While UVic students returned to campus from reading break earlier this month, the government of British Columbia announced plans to implement the toughest rules on vaping in the country in…

Holocaust survivor Inge Auerbacher describes her childhood in Nazi Germany and urges the audience not to be bystanders

Inge Auerbacher’s German citizenship was stripped from her as an infant. At seven years old, she was deported to the Theresienstadt camp-ghetto in what was then Czechoslovakia. On Nov. 18,…