How to use the Mustard Seed food bank on Queens Avenue
The Mustard Seed food bank at 625 Queens Avenue is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with a monthly Thursday closure. Bring ID for every household member, and shopping bags.
Archive
November 2026
Saanich is upgrading 30,000 water meters to catch leaks sooner
A five-year project, beginning late 2026, will add remote meter reading at about 30,000 Saanich properties. Most upgrades take about 45 minutes and leave the water on.
Esquimalt and Xʷsepsəm Nation sign a relationship agreement
An October 14 signing formalizes regular meetings between Esquimalt and Xʷsepsəm Nation on planning, heritage, public safety and other shared work. Two Garry oaks will mark the agreement.
A summer ferry ride to Sidney Spit
A seasonal passenger ferry from Sidney runs to Sidney Spit, a sandy corner of Gulf Islands National Park Reserve with an easy two-kilometre loop trail.
Waterfalls, old fir and the salmon run at Goldstream
Just 16 kilometres from downtown Victoria, Goldstream Provincial Park has a 47.5-metre waterfall, 600-year-old Douglas-fir, and a salmon run in late fall.
A long stroll in Beacon Hill Park
Victoria’s best-known park, at 100 Cook Street, has gardens, Garry oak, footpaths and a clear view across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Mile Zero.
A wild coast walk in East Sooke Regional Park
This 1,474-hectare CRD park has 50 kilometres of trail, including a 10-kilometre Coast Trail of pocket beaches, rocky bays and tide pools.
A former quarry, now The Butchart Gardens
At Tod Inlet in Brentwood Bay, Jennie Butchart’s Sunken Garden grew from a worked-out limestone quarry into a family-run National Historic Site.
What’s coming up: council meetings on the South Island calendar
Victoria’s new council was inaugurated November 5. Official dates for the next regular meetings after inauguration were not clearly posted in the schedules we could retrieve.
What the Victoria–Saanich amalgamation question actually decided — and what it didn’t
Official results show a Yes majority in Victoria and a No majority in Saanich on the same non-binding question about becoming one municipality.