The Victoria Professional Firefighters Association — IAFF Local 730 has announced that it will be meeting with David Eby after one of its members was reprimanded for voicing his concerns to the premier.Josh Montgomery was suspended without pay for one day after sending a letter to Eby calling on the government to intervene on the proposed relocation of a homeless support facility from the 900 block of Pandora Avenue to a facility at 2155 Dowler Place.In a statement, the union said it "strongly disagrees with disciplinary actions taken by the employer, the City of Victoria," declaring that it "has commenced steps to refute the discipline as outlined in its collective agreement with the city, demanding a full rescission of the discipline along with all lost wages and benefits.""The members of this Local strive to be leaders in their community both at work and while at home in their own communities," Local 730 president Jeremy Wilson said. "When we became firefighters, we accepted a responsibility to be a pillar of safety, meaning that we not only respond when incidents occur, but we will also look out for those around us to avoid potential challenges or harm."When news broke that Montgomery had been suspended, Eby spoke out. "No one should face consequences for writing to me and if that’s the reason he was sanctioned, then he deserves an apology and back-pay from the person responsible," the premier told the Times Colonist. "I've asked staff to follow up with the firefighter’s union to see if there’s anything I can do to support." "I want to hear from front-line workers, first responders, and any member of the public who wants to share what they are seeing in their communities," he added.In his letter, Montgomery pointed out that the proposed relocation site was "a quiet, family-oriented residential neighborhood," and that numerous first responders had been attacked by homeless people living on Pandora Avenue. He also emphasized that in public meetings, Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto admitted that no public consultations were held, and that she had "stated unequivocally that people would be consuming drugs on the site at 2155 Dowler, though the site is not an official consumption site.""The planned facility at 2155 Dowler Place is expected to serve 300 unhoused people per day — just 100 feet from where my young daughters, ages 4 and 6, play outside our home," he lamented. "The safety of first responders and families must be the province’s utmost priority. The current approach taken by the City of Victoria is not only reckless but endangers lives and erodes the public’s trust in our local and provincial leadership."The exact details of the meeting were not revealed.
The Victoria Professional Firefighters Association — IAFF Local 730 has announced that it will be meeting with David Eby after one of its members was reprimanded for voicing his concerns to the premier.Josh Montgomery was suspended without pay for one day after sending a letter to Eby calling on the government to intervene on the proposed relocation of a homeless support facility from the 900 block of Pandora Avenue to a facility at 2155 Dowler Place.In a statement, the union said it "strongly disagrees with disciplinary actions taken by the employer, the City of Victoria," declaring that it "has commenced steps to refute the discipline as outlined in its collective agreement with the city, demanding a full rescission of the discipline along with all lost wages and benefits.""The members of this Local strive to be leaders in their community both at work and while at home in their own communities," Local 730 president Jeremy Wilson said. "When we became firefighters, we accepted a responsibility to be a pillar of safety, meaning that we not only respond when incidents occur, but we will also look out for those around us to avoid potential challenges or harm."When news broke that Montgomery had been suspended, Eby spoke out. "No one should face consequences for writing to me and if that’s the reason he was sanctioned, then he deserves an apology and back-pay from the person responsible," the premier told the Times Colonist. "I've asked staff to follow up with the firefighter’s union to see if there’s anything I can do to support." "I want to hear from front-line workers, first responders, and any member of the public who wants to share what they are seeing in their communities," he added.In his letter, Montgomery pointed out that the proposed relocation site was "a quiet, family-oriented residential neighborhood," and that numerous first responders had been attacked by homeless people living on Pandora Avenue. He also emphasized that in public meetings, Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto admitted that no public consultations were held, and that she had "stated unequivocally that people would be consuming drugs on the site at 2155 Dowler, though the site is not an official consumption site.""The planned facility at 2155 Dowler Place is expected to serve 300 unhoused people per day — just 100 feet from where my young daughters, ages 4 and 6, play outside our home," he lamented. "The safety of first responders and families must be the province’s utmost priority. The current approach taken by the City of Victoria is not only reckless but endangers lives and erodes the public’s trust in our local and provincial leadership."The exact details of the meeting were not revealed.
