Victoria mayor slams B.C. premier over firefighter suspension

The mayor of Victoria says she is “extremely disappointed” in B.C. Premier David Eby for publicly weighing in on the suspension of a city firefighter this week.

Mayor Marianne Alto on Friday reaffirmed that she had nothing to do with the decision to suspend firefighter Josh Montgomery after he penned an open letter to the premier opposing the city’s support for a planned homeless outreach centre in his neighbourhood.

The letter touched off a political firestorm after a B.C. Conservative candidate in the upcoming provincial election seized on the firefighter’s cause and claimed his suspension was a “chilling retaliation” for political speech.

The firefighter’s union issued its own statement on the suspension, decrying the “misinformation that has been circulated amongst the public regarding employment matters with one of our members.”

Eby and Alto initially distanced themselves from the matter, with both issuing statements saying they had nothing to do with the fire department’s decision. But the premier’s office released a follow-up statement Thursday questioning the decision to suspend the firefighter.

“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,” Eby said.

Eby ‘not in possession of all the facts’

Hours later, Alto condemned the premier’s involvement in the matter during a news conference at Victoria city hall.

“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,” Alto told reporters Friday. “Particularly, as I believe he has said, since he is not in possession of all the facts.”

The mayor also indirectly criticized Tim Thielmann, the B.C. Conservative candidate for Victoria-Beacon Hill, who ignited the controversy by insinuating either the mayor or the premier had pressured the fire department to suspend Montgomery.

“I had nothing to do with any decisions made by the fire department, either operationally or with regard to personnel, nor would I,” Alto reiterated.

“It is not my expertise and I have absolute confidence in the leadership of the fire department, as I do in the leadership of the city, to make whatever decisions they feel necessary in the best interests of the city.”

Referring to Thielmann, the mayor said she is concerned 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 – which I believe to be a very high calling.”

Firefighter suspended without pay

The firefighter’s unpaid suspension, which was scheduled to take effect Friday, was imposed following the publication of his open letter slamming the city’s “outrageous” and “reckless” support for the homeless outreach centre in Victoria’s North Park neighbourhood.

Montgomery’s letter called on the premier to “take immediate action” to intervene to stop the facility from opening near the firefighter’s home.

Montgomery wrote that the homeless facility at 2155 Dowler Pl., which will include harm-reduction services for drug users, is “just 100 feet from where my young daughters, ages 4 and 6, play outside our home.”

The city has agreed to provide up to $1.8 million in annual operating funding for the Dowler Place facility, on top of a one-time $300,000 grant to help the SOLID Outreach Society acquire the property.