Speak, don’t hide
Men speak out against violence in aboriginal locales Page A3
COMMUNITY: Heritage Week reflects the sea /A4 ARTS: Intellectual icebreaker heats up UVic /A11 SPORTS: Grizzlies on stretch-run hot streak /A12
VICTORIANEWS Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Proudly serving Esquimalt & Victoria
Sharon Tiffin/News staff
Safeway jobs and benefits safe: Overwaitea The sale of four Greater Victoria Safeway stores to Overweitea Food Group last Thursday won’t impact current employees, says the company’s president. Safeway locations at Fort and Foul Bay roads, Tillicum Mall, University Heights mall and in Sidney’s Beacon Plaza will transition to Save-on-Foods between mid-March and early May, as part of a 15-store purchase by Overwaitea across B.C. and Alberta. The move affects about
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Residents, councillors see location from view of passing ships and planes
Levi Rowan, 10, helps pack parsley seeds for the James Bay Market Society Seed Exchange during the annual Seedy Saturday community seed and garden show held at Victoria Conference Centre. Volunteers pack the seeds, which are sold by the package for $1. Rowan has volunteered with his mom, Gillian, since he was a wee lad. The show featured many displays and saw gardeners receive expert advice from growers.
News staff
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Sewage site cruise offers sneak peek
Planting seeds for the future
Daniel Palmer
SOMETHING for EVERYONE!
400 unionized employees in the Capital Region. “We’ve let the team members and store managers know that all pay and benefits they currently have under their contracts will remain in place,” said Darryl Jones, Overwaitea Food Group president. Safeway locations in Port Alberni, Ladysmith and Duncan, and a Thrifty Foods in Nanaimo are also part of the sale, meaning Safeway will vanish from Vancouver Island altogether. “The face of retail food is really changing dramatically in B.C., and it’s a bit dis-
appointing to see the Safeway banner disappear from the Island, but we’ll roll with it,” said Andy Neufeld, communications director for United Food and Commercial Workers 1518, which represents both Safeway and Save-on-Foods employees. Neufeld said new employee contracts will be “virtually identical” to the current agreements, and that all benefits and pensions will remain in place for existing employees.
Storm clouds gathering above the Strait of Juan de Fuca seemed an appropriate reflection of the mood of about 40 Capital Region residents aboard Orca Spirit II on Sunday afternoon. The $5,000 one-hour boat cruise, organized and paid for by the Capital Regional District’s Seaterra program, was requested by Esquimalt council to address public concerns before construction begins on a wastewater treatment plant at McLoughlin Point later this year. “The vast majority of Daniel Palmer Reporting tourists that enter into Victoria come right by that spot (McLoughlin Point), whether by cruise ship, floatplane or ferries from the U.S.,” said Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins, standing on the catamaran’s windy outer deck in a backpack and toque. “It’s a very important visual for people to see and understand what will be built on that property.” In the days leading up to the cruise, surveyors marked setbacks and proposed building heights with bold green and white arrows along the crumbling remains of the defunct Imperial Oil tank farm. The boat’s PA system, normally reserved for cheerful whale-watching facts, was instead occupied by CRD staff to explain in meticulous detail what each marking represented on the graffitied walls.
PLEASE SEE:
Transition to Save-On, Page A5
PLEASE SEE:
Poop cruise, Page A4
LifeMark Health Esquimalt 5K with
5K 5K
& Walk RunRun & Walk
1K Kid’s Fun Run
Register NOW! www.esquimalt.ca/5K Saturday March 22 at the Esquimalt Recreaon Centre Organized by
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