Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto held a news conference outside City Hall on Friday, expressing that she's "extremely disappointed" in B.C. Premier David Eby for his comments on the suspension of a Victoria firefighter.
Mayor Alto reaffirmed that she was not personally involved in the suspension of firefighter Josh Montgomery after he wrote to the premier opposing the city's support for a planned homeless outreach centre on Dowler Place. "I had nothing to do with any decisions made by the fire department, either operationally or with regard to personnel, nor would I."
On Thursday afternoon, the Premier released a statement saying "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. I've asked staff to follow up with the firefighter's union to see if there's anything I can do to support. First responders do heroic work in our communities. I will always stand firm in supporting the work they do to keep us all safe."
That prompted Friday's reaction from the mayor. "I am extremely disappointed that any provincial premier would feel it appropriate or necessary to make a comment on what is clearly an operational personnel matter of a local government."
"Particularly, as I believe he has said, since he is not in possession of all the facts," said Alto.
The suspension gained extra attention when B.C. Conservative candidate Tim Thielmann, running in Victoria-Beacon Hill, publically questioned whether the mayor or premier was directly involved in the decision. He characterized it as a "chilling retaliation" for political speech. He asked "was Mr. Montgomery's suspension at the insistence of the mayor or did it come from the premier himself?"
Thielmann's statement was likely the target of this comment by Alto during her Friday news conference, when she expressed concern that "any provincial - aspiring or existing - politician would use an incident like this to advance their own ambitions and self aggrandize their capacity in seeking public office."