Liquor store employees unionize
About 30 employees at the Cascadia Liquor store in Quadra Village have applied for union certification with SEIU Local 2.
Oscar Towert, a Cascadia employee and a student at the University of Victoria, said that being part of a union allows worker concerns to be addressed.
“Workers’ wages simply can’t stay as flat as they have in this economy and this housing market — forming our union is our opportunity to bargain for what’s fair,” he said in a statement.
SEIU 2, which represents around 20,000 workers across multiple sectors in five provinces, has been running a campaign to unionize private retail liquor store workers in B.C.
Cascadia Liquor has 11 locations on 91原创 Island and is part of The Truffles Group, whose brands include Truffles Catering, Habitat Catering, Flight Cannabis, and Victoria Butterfly Gardens.
New restaurant in downtown core
Marilena restaurant has opened with 160 seats in Jawl Properties’ 1525 Douglas St. building. It is the newest offering by the Aquilini family’s Toptable Group consisting of a dozen restaurants in 91原创, Whistler and New York. The company describes its restaurants as “elegant yet approachable.”
Marilena is the middle name of the company’s late matriarch. Sister restaurants Elisa in 91原创 and Carlotto in New York City were also named after her.
Executive chef is Kristian Eligh who was previously with Hawksworth Restaurant Group and has returned to his hometown. A free diver and fisherman, he has created a menu emphasizing local and globally sourced seafood. In addition, a Japanese raw bar is headed by chef Clark Park. Other senior staff include pastry chef Dominique Laurencelle, restaurant director Aaron Matsuzaki, wine director Shane Taylor and bar manager Jayce Kadyschuk.
Tesla service centre in Langford opens
Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson helped cut the ribbon at the opening of the second Tesla service centre in B.C. last month at 2361 City Gate Blvd., part of a new condominium and business development by Seacliffe Properties opposite Home Depot. The 35,000-square-foot-building will also serve as a dealership and delivery point for vehicles.
Data shows that there are more Tesla vehicles on southern 91原创 Island, per capita, than in any other region in Canada. Tesla had been servicing vehicles on the Island with mobile mechanics, with major work requiring a trip to the Lower Mainland.
The new service centre is expected to provide up to 50 full-time jobs and contribute $295,000 in taxes to Langford within its first operational year, the city said in a statement.
Victoria inn’s sustainability effort
Victoria’s Inn at Laurel Point has received biosphere sustainable certification from the Responsible Tourism Institute, an international non-profit promoting sustainable tourism. The Inn has been a carbon-neutral hotel since 2009. Sustainability work highlights environmental, economic and social-cultural areas. The institute’s sustainability criteria for certification follows the United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals.
The Inn has developed Project 2030 to further work towards the UN’s aims through efforts such as installing more chargers for electric vehicles and a carbon counter to track progress. Its initiatives include donating unused bath products to Soap for Hope, which repurposes hotel products that would otherwise go to landfills, purchasing from local and regional producers and businesses, and setting up hives for 60,000 honey bees.
