Happy Sunday! I’m hosting community listening sessions tomorrow evening and Tuesday morning, and I’d love to hear from you! Come share what’s working, what isn’t and what you’d like to see prioritized in our city. Your perspective really matters.

JOIN ME FOR A LISTENING SESSION ☕ Victorians, let’s start 2026 together. I’m hosting two listening sessions next week: Mon, Jan 26, 6–7 p.m. Fernwood Inn, 1302 Gladstone Ave Tues, Jan 27, 10–11 a.m. Caffé Fantastico, 965 Kings Rd RSVP // PROMISES & PROGRESS update: mailchi.mp/e11ffe53e9b4...

Council unanimously supported my motion yesterday to address the bottleneck in Victoria’s supportive housing system. Helping people who are ready to move on frees up supportive housing, helps more people move indoors, and reduces visible homelessness. www.timescolonist.com/local-news/v...

Thank you, Jim, for this excellent thread on my council motion this week — POSITIVE FLOW: Unlocking Supportive Housing and Shelter Spaces. This is a win/win: helping people move on from supportive housing while opening space for those coming from shelters or the street. I hope Council passes it!

Notice: Wilson Street, 1-hour Closure 🕓 Monday, Jan.5 (window: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.) 📍Wilson St. closed from Hereward Rd. to Dominion Rd. 🚧 Obey signs and follow detours #yyjtraffic

By the time you’ve finished your morning coffee today, chances are Canada’s top-earning CEOs will have earned more than you’ll make all year.

“Pope Leo said in a Christmas Eve sermon on Wednesday that the story of Jesus being born in a stable because there was no room at an inn should remind Christians that refusing to help the poor & strangers today is tantamount to rejecting God himself.” Obvious to any REAL Christian. #MerryChristmas

Merry Christmas! As many gather with friends, family, and loved ones today, I’m grateful for the frontline workers, first responders, and community organizations who keep people safe and supported, especially those who are struggling the most. May we continue to care for one another today…

My winter solstice pup turns seven today. It’s hard to believe how quickly the years have passed. She’s been dubbed the City Hall mascot and has a special way of making everyone smile and bringing a little extra light to our days. Happy birthday to Jedha, the First Paw of City Hall 🐾

Thank you to City staff for making this happen, even though no official alert was issued.

Thirty-five years ago, 14 women were murdered at Montréal’s École Polytechnique because they were women. The attacker’s own note made his misogyny clear: “Feminists have always enraged me… I have decided to send the feminists, who have always ruined my life, to their Maker.”

I couldn't have said it better. My colleague, Councillor Krista Loughton: #yyj

🧵I stand unwavering against residential school denialism. This rhetoric is harmful, devastating, and retraumatizing for survivors and intergenerational survivors. The truth is not up for debate; it is clearly documented in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s findings.

The City of Victoria is offering drivers a one-time parking discount for the holiday season.

🧵Really enjoyed the South Island Prosperity Partnership’s Local Leadership Forum today. One of the guest speakers, Chris Nohr, of Cultured Kombucha and The Number, shared a stat that really stuck with me:

🧵Exciting update! Council unanimously backed my motion to explore a new or expanded swim dock on the Gorge Waterway, with potential support from Swim Drink Fish Canada’s WAVE Prize.

🧵Today, on Remembrance Day, we gather on the homelands of the Songhees and Xwsepsum Nations to honour the courage and sacrifice of those who served and those who never came home. Their service has protected the freedoms and peace we are fortunate to enjoy today.

I was pleased to join MP Will Greaves (@willgreavesmp.bsky.social) for today’s announcement that Royal Athletic Park (RAP) will receive up to $6 million through the federal Building Communities Strong Fund.

🪶 INDIGENOUS VETRANS DAY 🪶 Today, we honour and remember the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people who served and sacrificed for Canada. Sergeant Thomas George (Tommy) Prince, an Anishinaabe from the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation in Manitoba, was one of Canada’s most decorated Indigenous soldiers —

The 2025 Poppy Campaign is underway 🌺 Every poppy helps support Canadian Armed Forces members, veterans, and their families. The campaign is run entirely by volunteers — a testament to their commitment to community care. Poppies are available by donation at City Hall and across Victoria.

🧵🏊‍♀️Excellent News for CRYSTAL POOL Users! There is a plan to keep you swimming while the new Crystal Pool is being built! An agreement is being finalized to use the YMCA/YWCA building at Quadra and Broughton as an interim pool

Happy Thanksgiving, Victoria! Today, I’m grateful for the people who make our city such a vibrant and caring community — and for the privilege of living and serving on the homelands of the lək̓ʷəŋən Peoples, known today as the Songhees and Xwsepsum Nations.

🧵This image of tipis outside a residential school near Fort Q’apelle, SK, reflects the deep pain of children torn from their families — a wound that still echoes today.

🧵I attended an incredible dinner at FED Urban Farm, in Vic West, last night. FED transforms underutilized urban spaces into productive growing hubs, producing fresh, healthy vegetables for vulnerable populations.

🧵On Sidney Council voting down an opportunity to set up an Emergency Weather Shelter this winter, this quote from Sidney Coun. O’Keefe is telling:

The new Official Community Plan will increase Victoria's commitments to urban trees. Every year, Victoria adds new trees. There's now 150,000 trees in the city limits. Trees now cover 30% of the city, up from 26% a few years ago. The new Plan commits to an incredible 40% coverage.

Decriminalization and harm reduction save lives, reduce stigma, and connect people to supports. B.C. must extend decriminalization beyond January 2026 to address the housing, mental health, and addiction crises unfolding in every community across the province. #BCpoli

🧵Today, Victoria Council voted 7–1 against a motion to end decriminalization. The motion was misguided. It falsely claimed decriminalization has been “especially harmful” without evidence. In reality, the crisis we face is driven by the toxic, fentanyl-contaminated supply—not decriminalization.

INTERNATIONAL OVERDOSE AWARENESS DAY In B.C. alone, six people die every single day from the toxic drug crisis. That’s six families waking up tomorrow without someone they love.

Sweltering heat is expected to continue in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces today, but relief is on the way for some.

“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back into a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.” It costs a lot less to house people.

🧵This morning, I joined @gregorcraigie.bsky.social for CBC On the Island from the dock at Banfield Park. What a beautiful day to broadcast outside! The dock, installed in 2022 by @victoria.ca, was expanded in 2024 with a new floating swim platform and more water safety features, including

🧵AN IDEA TO ADDRESS STREET DISORDER IN DOWNTOWN VICTORIA I’ve been thinking a lot about the quickest way to support everyone affected by street disorder downtown — the business community, the unhoused, and downtown residents who are all suffering under the status quo.

Happy National Indigenous Peoples Day 🧡

My film US & THEM is available on YouTube, while I continue to work on solutions for all those impacted by street disorder in Victoria. The video below is with film participant, Karen Montgrand, who spent 20 years on the street and is now 6 years sober. US & THEM: youtu.be/hdfalRnZVWM?...

Please read this thread.

I want to send a big thank you to the Mayor, Council, and staff in Saanich. Last fall, Victoria Council asked Saanich to set up Extreme Weather Response (EWR) shelter spaces, and shelter spaces in their community. They responded by working with the Victoria Native Friendship Center…

Last week, Victoria Council voted to send several resolutions about housing to the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) convention in the fall. Should they be endorsed at UBCM, one would ask the Province to take action on…

Happy Father’s Day to my dad! Thank you for all the love and siblings! Thank you to all the fathers, grandfathers, and uncles who are loving up and raising today’s youth. I'm wishing you a happy Father’s Day, too.

Fernwood Art Stroll Day 2! If you didn't come by yesterday, I would love to see you. Going till 4pm #yyj #victoriabc #artshow #photography

The motion to enhance & preserve downtown movie theatres passed this week. Sidney used zoning incentives to build a new Star Cinema for their residents. Victoria could do something similar. We also need to maintain venue space for the Victoria Film Festival. Staff will report back w/ options.

I have been questioning the same thing — where is the voluntary care that advocates have been begging for over the past decade or more? We need a spectrum of support to treat mental health and addiction. Thank you, @jodypaterson.bsky.social, for this commentary.

Thank you for this information, Carolina. This helps focus on solutions for the 50+ people unsheltered in downtown Victoria. Of course, other areas of the City need support, too. However, this clarification provides a more accurate picture of the situation downtown.

My motion on Affordable Non-Market Housing Data and Targets passed at Council today. Please read part of my speech below, and thank you to my Council colleague @davethompsonvic.bsky.social for co-signing the motion with me.

President Donald Trump invoked a centuries-old wartime law to declare a Venezuelan street gang has “invaded” the United States, clearing the way for “immediate apprehension, detention, and removal” of anyone the government says falls into that category.