Did last week's warm weather get you looking for something to do out in our community? Check out our list of south island farmers markets!

Esquimalt Farmers Market

• Archie Browning Sports Centre rear parking lot, 1151 Esquimalt Rd
• April 1^st – September 16^th
• Thursday: 4:30pm – 7:30pm

Sooke Country Market

• John Phillips Memorial Park
• April 24^th – October 9^th
• Saturday: 10am – 2pm

Goldstream Station Market

• Bryn Maur Rd at Goldstream Ave
• May 8th – October
• Saturday: 10am – 2pm

James Bay Community Market

• Superior St at Menzies St
• May 1^st – October 2^nd
• Saturday: 9am – 3pm

North Saanich Farm Market

• St. Johns United Church garden, 10990 West Saanich Rd
• June 5^th – Thanksgiving
• Saturday: 9:30am - 11:30pm

Moss Street Market

• Moss St – Fairfield
• May – October (Summer Market)
• Saturday: 10am – 2pm

Sidney Street Market

• Mary Winspear Centre
• May 9^th – October 10^th
• Sunday: 11am – 3pm

Oaklands Sunset Market

• Oaklands Community Centre #1-2827 Belmont Ave
• June 30^th – September 1^st
• Wednesday: 4:30pm – 8:30pm

As always, please refrain from non-essential travel outside of your health authority, and visit www.gov.bc.ca/covidtravel to see the full details of current travel restrictions. 

 

Today, the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General announced new travel restrictions. 
 
These restrictions are about keeping people safe and healthy. As we continue to roll out our vaccination program, limiting non-essential travel will help us to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the province.
 
Most British Columbians have been working hard to stop the spread of COVID-19 by following public health advice to stay in their communities and avoiding non-essential travel. 
 
But we need to do more to discourage travel.
 
This order will limit travel into and out of three regional zones in the province:

1. Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley
2. Vancouver Island
3. Northern and Interior (this includes Hope and the Bella Coola Valley and Central Coast)

The order is designed to discourage and stop recreational and leisure travel – not punish people. The order does not restrict essential travel between regional zones – including for work, for school and to help care for a sick loved one.
 
As Dr. Henry says, staying in our local communities means we are not going to and from COVID hotspots and inadvertently bringing the virus along with us.
 
I encourage everyone to visit www.gov.bc.ca/covidtravel to see the full details of the travel restrictions.
 
My office is available to help answer your questions by phone at 250-479-4154 or email at Lana.Popham.MLA@leg.bc.ca.

Thank you for doing your part to help keep BC safe.
Sincerely,   

 

Since day one of the pandemic it has been our government’s priority to protect the health of individuals and communities. That’s why we’re investing in healthcare to get us through the pandemic safely and strengthen the services that people will count on for years to come.

While our most immediate focus has been on the vaccine rollout, Budget 2021 is about long term improvements to our healthcare system. We’re hiring thousands of new healthcare workers, opening more urgent and primary care centres, and reducing the backlog for diagnostic imaging and surgeries. 

Our government is also expanding our response to the overdose crisis and working to improve access to mental healthcare. Given the devastating uptick in overdose deaths this past year and the general decline in people’s mental health due to isolation and uncertainty, mental healthcare needs special attention. We’re solidifying overdose prevention supports, creating new treatment and recovery beds, and improving outpatient support. 

For more information on Budget 2021 please visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021FIN0023-000744 

Recently, our government unveiled the Circuit Breaker Business Relief Grant. While stronger public health measures are necessary in keeping our communities safe, we also know that they have taken a toll on many businesses.
 
Affected businesses, including restaurants, bars, breweries, wineries, gyms, and fitness centres can receive up to $10,000 in one-time funding to help with expenses, as well as unexpected costs that resulted from the restrictions. Applications for the Circuit Breaker Business Relief Grant are now open, and we encourage all eligible businesses to apply at www.gov.bc.ca/business-relief. Through a simple yes/no check mark application, a business simply declares that they were affected by the recent provincial health orders, are registered as a B.C. business, demonstrate majority ownership and operations in BC, and pay taxes in BC. 

BC entered this pandemic as an economic leader in Canada, and we are committed to helping small businesses as they adapt and grow.

As always, if you have any questions or need assistance with any provincial matter please reach out to my office. Our email is Lana.Popham.MLA@leg.bc.ca and our phone number is 250-479-4154.

Everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home, but the BC Liberals let the housing crisis spiral out of control, and the pandemic has only made things worse.

That’s why we’re investing $2 billion into the HousingHub program so that affordable housing developers can now have access to low-interest loans in exchange for passing savings on to middle-income families. The HousingHub program will create thousands of new homes and since the money will be paid back, it will be re-invested over and over again increasing our supple of the “missing middle” housing stock.

Our government is taking a comprehensive approach to tackling the housing crisis and this investment is just one way we are creating housing to meet the full spectrum of need in this province. Right now, more than 26,000 new homes are complete or underway in B.C. for people with a wide range of incomes.

 

Last Spring, from my constituency office, I was able to develop a restaurant guide for eateries in Saanich South. This guide was delivered to each household in Saanich South, about 22,000 households, to encourage folks to support our local restaurant industry that was suffering heavily because of the pandemic.

Many residents commented, saying that they had no idea we had so many restaurants were in Saanich South. They let me know that they were going to make extra efforts to support the best they could. I’m happy to say we are currently working on Volume 2 of our Saanich South Restaurant and Eatery menu! It will be out in a month and delivered to our constituents homes.

Thanks to everyone who did take-out and pick-up last Spring. We know the drill my friends, and together we must come together once again to show these important businesses lots of love!

Every bit helps!

If you are a restaurant or eatery in my constituency and want to make sure you are included in our guide, please contact our office by emailing Lana.Popham.MLA@leg.bc.ca or calling 250-479-4154

Families on Vancouver Island will soon have access to nearly 340 new licensed child care spaces as part of the Province's ongoing commitment to increasing access to child care through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond!

The Childcare BC New Spaces Fund is supporting nine projects to create 336 new licensed child care spaces in Greater Victoria, Sooke, Tahsis and North Saanich. These spaces are part of the fastest creation of child care spaces in B.C.'s history and were part of the September 2020 milestone that marked more than 20,000 new spaces funded throughout the province in just over two years.

Right here in Saanich South the Greater Victoria School District 61 is continuing its partnership with the Vancouver Island Kids Klub Centre Society to create 40 new child care spaces at Lake Hill Elementary – 16 spaces for children aged three years to kindergarten and 24 school-age spaces. Working closely with the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children, the new spaces will be fully accessible. The Kids Klub Brown Bag program will provide free daily lunches to support vulnerable children in the Victoria, Saanich and Sooke School Districts. The spaces are expected to open in July 2022.

Learn more: 
For information on health and safety standards for child care during COVID-19, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/ChildCareCovid-19Response
Child care factsheet: https://news.gov.bc.ca/18430
To learn more about the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare/newspacesfund

For more about Childcare BC, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare
For a French translation, visit: http://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021CFD0020-000340#translations

Happy Easter everyone!

Print out the image below for some Easter colouring fun!

I’d like to share the latest news about our vaccine rollout. Starting in April, front-line priority workers can receive their first dose of vaccine. This includes first responders, K to 12 educational staff, child care staff, grocery store workers and more. You can see the full list here. People in these groups will get more information through their employers, and do not need to call the health authority.

 
People who are clinically extremely vulnerable due to existing medical conditions will also be eligible to receive their first dose of vaccine in the coming weeks. People in this group will receive a letter telling them how to book an appointment, beginning March 29^th. You can find more information and the list of conditions here.
 
Vaccine booking by age groups continues ahead of schedule. As of Friday, March 26^th at 12pm, all seniors who are 74+ years old and Indigenous seniors who are 65+ years old can call 1-833-348-4787 to book an appointment. Please go to gov.bc.ca/bcseniorsfirst for more information. 

 
Today we announced that seniors in long-term care will soon be able to have frequent, regular opportunities for social visits from loved ones, with safety measures in place. Read more about this here.
 
B.C.’s COVID-19 Immunization Plan continues to save lives and reduce the spread of COVID-19, making us all safer. As always, if you have questions or need any assistance with provincial COVID-19 supports, or any other provincial issue, please reach out. My office can be reached at  lana.popham.mla@leg.bc.ca or 250-479-4154.