Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps has written a letter of apology nearly 90 days after a number of items believed stolen from the Sikh Temple on Topaz Avenue were recovered outside Victoria City Hall in Centennial Square.
In the document, dated July 7th, Mayor Helps says “I’m writing this letter to personally apologize to you and to your community.”
Helps writes that while she was aware of the break-ins at the gurdwara as they opened the Topaz Park tent city, and that stolen precious items were later recovered in Centennial Square, she failed to personally reach out. “But I realize, that as mayor, I failed you.”
Reports of the break-in at the temple in the 1200 block of Topaz Avenue were made to Victoria Police at approximately 7:30am Thursday April 9th 2020. A suspect was arrested in Centennial Square outside city hall roughly one half-hour later. Police say all the missing religious items were recovered at that time. Charges were recommended including break-and-enter, weapons possession, possession of break-in instruments, and breach of probation.
The mayor’s July 7th letter says VicPD members with expertise in Crime Prevention will continue to offer assistance to the gurdwara with respect to security issues in the area.
“I will also commit to checking in on a more regular basis.”
Mayor Helps tells CFAX the letter was a follow up to a face-to-face meeting. “I met with the president of the gudawara [sic] on June 30th at his request. And I said I’d follow up from that June 30th phone call with a written letter so that he could also share it with his community.”
Victoria police reported a steady increase in calls for service to the Topaz Park area after the tent city was created. B.C. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth issued a ministerial order on April 24th requiring the evacuation of the Topaz Park tent city and it was eventually cleared after May 20th.