Thursday, March 3, 2022
Victoria, British Columbia
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timescolonist.com
A look behind the NDP’s abrupt power grab at B.C. Ferries >Les Leyne, A2
Far from Sidney ‘safe haven,’ global affairs analyst feels Ukraine’s agony
>See INVASION, A2 >Russians feeling sanctions, A8 >Canadians prepare to join fight, A9
Proposed changes to Government Street corridor. the entire street. “Community members shared what they value most about Government Street and what they would like to see improved,” said Mayor Lisa Helps. “Making Government Street a people-priority street is a key action of the city’s strategic plan and now it’s time to tell us what you think — what have we got right, what have we missed?” The city notes the streetscape hasn’t changed in more than 50 years and has aging street furniture, trees, traffic signals and sidewalk and road surfaces. It will also require a new water main in coming years. The draft concept was put together by a stakeholder working group with input from First Nations and about 700 residents who participated in an online forum and survey. Local businesses are being
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tary laid siege to two strategic Ukrainian seaports Wednesday and pressed their bombardment of the country’s second-biggest city, while a huge armoured column threatening Kyiv appeared stalled outside the capital. Moscow’s isolation deepened, meanwhile, when most of the world lined up against it at the United Nations to demand it withdraw from Ukraine. And the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into possible war crimes. A second round of talks aimed at ending the fighting was expected today, but there appeared to be little common ground between the two sides. Russia reported its military casualties for the first time since the invasion began last week, saying nearly 500 of its troops have been killed and almost 1,600 wounded. Ukraine did not disclose its own military losses but said more than 2,000 civilians have died, a claim that
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Calling it a once-in-a-generation chance to make over a local landmark, the City of Victoria is asking the public to weigh in on a draft redesign for Government Street. The street has evolved through the pandemic into what the city calls a peoplepriority thoroughfare, with new pedestrian-only zones and more on-street activity that does not include vehicles. The concept the city is considering proposes two new cultural plazas with landmarks to serve as gateways to the street — a Lekwungen plaza at Humboldt and a realignment of the Pandora intersection to create a new plaza for Chinatown, while improving circulation for all forms of travel. Also included are expanded pedestrian areas, timed car-free zones and the extension of the character of Government Street north, between Yates and Pandora, while maintaining two-way vehicle traffic. The city sees the chance for new public art and cultural interpretation, more accessible seating, lighting and landscaping and space for restaurant patios and storefronts. It also plans to make some room for vehicles with accessible parking, pick-up and drop-off areas and commercial loading zones along
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The Associated Press
could not be independently verified. With fighting on several fronts across the country, Britain’s Defence Ministry said Mariupol, a large city on the Azov Sea, was encircled by Russian forces, while the status of another vital port, Kherson, a Black Sea shipbuilding city of 280,000, remained unclear. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces claimed to have taken complete control of Kherson, which would make it the biggest city to fall yet in the invasion. But a senior U.S. defence official disputed that. “Our view is that Kherson is very much a contested city,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office told the Associated Press that it could not comment on the situation in Kherson while the fighting was still going on.
ANDREW A. DUFFY Times Colonist
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Russian forces besiege Ukrainian ports as armoured column stalls
Plans for the Government Street redesign include a Lekwungen Cultural Plaza between Humboldt Street and Courtney Street. VIA CITY OF VICTORIA
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>See KNOX, A3
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Lviv is teeming. Like Victoria, it’s a tourist city at the western edge of the country, and is used to hosting visitors. Still, the surge of humanity fleeing the Russian onslaught is straining capacity. Streets are congested, says Sidney’s Michael Bociurkiw, on the phone from Ukraine. Long lines stretch outside shops. Ditto for the bank machines, if your debit and credit cards still work. Family heartbreak plays out in public, with mothers and children joining the crush of those seeking safety in Poland, and fathers staying behind. The scenes at the train station are terrible. Bociurkiw figures it would be harder for him to get
out now than it was just a few days ago. As a journalist and global affairs analyst, and someone with an extensive background with humanitarian groups, Bociurkiw has spent much of his life in the world’s trouble spots. Today’s unfolding tragedy hits particularly hard, though. “Ukraine has always been a second home for me,” he said. “I’m seeing landmarks that I love, that I’ve been to, being blown up.” People he knows well are in danger. “That’s what makes it difficult to watch, when you have some of your best friends in bomb shelters.” Bociurkiw has been busy lately as a media commentator adding context to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. CNN mostly, but he also appears on the BBC, National Public Radio, Al Jazeera, Ukrainian television…. “Some days I do live hit after hit after hit,” he said Wednesday, right after talking to CBC Radio’s The Current.
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JACK KNOX
Two cultural plazas part of makeover plans for Government Street
New plaza and gateway to Chinatown
VIA CITY OF VICTORIA
invited to register to participate in one of two online focus group discussions on March 8, while the broader community can participate in online open houses on March 9. The public can also take part in an online survey or provide feedback in an email to engage@ victoria.ca with “Government Street Refresh” in the subject line, until March 20. After the next round of consultation, the city says, the project team will refine the draft concept design in collaboration with the stakeholder working group, First Nations, representatives of the Chinese community, local businesses and others, before it is presented to council in late spring. More information on the redesign project is available online at engage.victoria.ca. aduffy@timescolonist.com
Gas prices hit record-high $1.949 a litre in Greater Victoria CARLA WILSON Times Colonist
The price of regular gas in Greater Victoria rose to $1.949 per litre Wednesday, and could soon hit $2 because of international volatility in the oil market caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. DARREN STONE, TIIMES COLONIST
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Greater Victoria motorists received a shock Wednesday when gas prices jumped to a record high of $1.949 for a litre of regular gas, and a University of B.C. analyst says more increases are likely on the horizon. Prior to the hike, gas was selling for $1.769 a litre at most stations in the capital region, after reaching $1.799 a litre in mid-February. Werner Antweiler, an associate professor at UBC’s Sauder School of Business who specializes in international trade and finance, gas prices, energy systems and climate-change economics, said prices will likely soon top $2 a litre — which has already happened for premium gasoline. Antweiler said it’s difficult to say where gas prices will go in the longer run without knowing what will happen internationally. “But what I can say for sure is we are going to have a lot of price volatility.”
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Russia is a major supplier of crude oil globally, but many companies transporting and buying oil do not want to touch that output because of risks it will be subject to sanctions, Antweiler said. The market is looking for additional supply to make up for the loss of Russian oil, he said. In a meeting Wednesday, OPEC, which includes Russia, did not agree to increase production beyond what was already planned. “However, I don’t think that’s going to last,” Antweiler said. “Because pressure on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is going to be very, very profound coming from the United States to increase production. “Because even more so than in Canada, Americans are worried about gas prices.” He expects that producers will ratchet up their output to help meet the shortfall. The International Energy Agency announced that its member countries will release 60 million barrels of oil, but Antweiler said that is not even one day’s worth of what is normally supplied. “We
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are talking very, very large numbers. The world still runs on fossil fuels.” Another potential source is Iran, which remains under sanctions related to its nuclear program. If those are lifted, that would bring more oil into the marketplace, he said. As for what’s happening at the pumps, Antweiler pointed to electric cars, saying for every kilometre driven, it costs one-quarter of the cost of paying for gasoline. “That’s something people should keep in mind when they look at buying an electric car. It’s maybe a little bit more costly upfront, but it will save you money down the road.” Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, is calling on B.C. and other governments to back away from carbon taxes to ease prices at the pumps. Canada is heading into an energy crisis at a level that hasn’t been seen in recent memory and it will fuel inflation, McTeague said. cjwilson@timescolonist.com
Price may vary outside of Greater Victoria
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