Mid-island ridings will see three way races as candidates hit filing deadlines

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Candidate nomination deadline today

The provincial election will see three-way races in all mid-island ridings. Today is the last day for candidates in the provincial election to get their paperwork in with Elections BC. Nomination documents must be filed by 1 p.m. today. The riding of Parksville Qualicum is the only one of six mid-island ridings held by a Liberal, and it appeared Michelle Stilwell might not face any challengers. But, last night the NDP confirmed its candidate is Adam Walker, a Qualicum councillor who has raised eyebrows during his tenure by sending out personal surveys to constituents and challenging the town's processes in court. The Green Party also fielded a candidate at the 11th hour. Rob Lyon is a retired naval officer who says he's been a conservative all his life, but his love of the outdoors convinced him he is a Green at heart.

Friday COVID-19 update

There has been one new case of COVID-19 confirmed in the Island Health Region yesterday, bringing our active case count to four. Province-wide there have been 82 new cases, and one death over the past 24 hours. BC's Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, says she's cautiously optimistic about where BC is heading.

"We are not seeing that exponential increase. We've been having a linear increase and it's kind of slowed down. We still have numbers that reflect the fact that there is ongoing transmission within the community that we need to be aware of and we need to be careful. It sneaks up on us and we can have explosive outbreaks if we're not on our guard."—Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry.

Henry says she will present more detailed information next week about how the virus is currently being spread and who is spreading it.

IIO investigating RCMP due to death in custody

Independent Investigations Office of BC is examining whether police played any role in the death of a man at the Wilkinson Road jail near Victoria. RCMP say a man was arrested by officers from the North Cowichan/Duncan detachment just before 8:30 last Saturday night. The following day, Emergency Health Services were called at the man's request. Paramedics spoke to the man but he reportedly refused treatment. He was then transported to the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre. The man was found dead in his cell the following day, Monday.

Heading south? Road closures in Victoria

A heads up to drivers heading to Victoria tonight. Highway 1 southbound and northbound between Tillicum Road and Admirals Road and McKenzie Avenues will be closed starting at 11 p.m. until Saturday morning at 5 o'clock. The closure will allow crews to install an overhead guide sign. There will be a detour using Admirals Road.