(North Cowichan candidate Brian Chambers)
ELECTION NOTEBOOK #13: North Cowichan candidate Brian Chambers says he no longer uses pseudonyms for on-line posts
‘I have to show the courage of my convictions. I can’t teach my children to hide behind what’s just correct by the norms.’
North Cowichan council candidate Brian Chambers says he’s used pseudonyms in the past to make controversial on-line comments, but that he no longer does so.
“I’ve talked some shit in the past,” he told Six Mountains.
“I’ll tell you a story. Once, a long time ago (in Toronto) I used to have a Twitter (account) …. And I remember a discussion going back, this is when the initial gun grab came along, right, and there’s comments on that….
“I posted something in response…you know, do guns kill people, I don’t think so, I think people kill people.
“I wrote, ‘the guns in my safe don’t kill anyone.’ Someone saw that, called the police, said ‘he has guns,’ called my cell phone and threatened to kill my family.”
Chambers continued: “So, over the course of time I’ve used a lot of different social medias and I’ve killed them off. It’s a cesspool and I get frustrated with the whole system….”
But he says he no longer uses pseudonyms.
“So, what’s happened now is that I’ve set up Facebook in my name…
“I have to show the courage of my convictions. I can’t teach my children to hide behind what’s just correct by the norms….
“I married into a Christian wife, a Christian family, and over the course of time I’m trying to build that path.
“We get looks. We pray in public. We get looks. We pray before dinner. We get looks. I get made fun of a lot for it.
“And then the people that I’ve found lately that I respect the most" are people who are themselves,
"despite the consequences."
“Me with my opinions are now me. And if someone…wants to call me and kill me, so be it.”
He concluded: “I have lots of controversial things to say and I’m happy to say them. I stand, I’d say, in opposition to most of the activists that come out. I am someone who is part of the silent majority.”
Read about the pros and cons of on-line pseudonyms: https://www.identity.org/pseudonymity-privacy-identity-digital-world/
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CAMPAIGN DONATIONS
The issue of campaign donations has surfaced in the election campaign.
Candidates are required to report donations, but not until after the election.
Mayor Rob Douglas sought to have council voluntarily adopt stronger rules on donations, especially by developers, but that initiative was deferred until after the election in a 4-3 vote.
(https://www.sixmountains.ca/article/5c05ee57-e99f-4e96-b453-ac8ec07270f1 )
The municipality spent thousands of dollars to get a legal opinion related to the use of celebrity trophy hunter Jim Shockey’s vintage 1930 Packard in the Duncan Days parade on July 12 last year.
In this photo, councillor Bruce Findlay is shown driving the vehicle; his passengers are councillors Tek Manhas, Mike Caljouw and Becky Hogg.
Shockey, founder of the Hand of Man Museum in Maple Bay, donated $500 to Findlay’s election campaign in 2022. (https://www.sixmountains.ca/article/8c1f261c-f5e1-44cb-999b-45e4cb210595 )
In November, council voted 5-2 to approve the museum’s request for a zoning amendment to allow for an expansion. Douglas and councillor Christopher Justice were opposed.
Local residents also signed a petition against the zoning amendment.
(https://thediscourse.ca/cowichan-valley/neighbours-push-back-on-hand-of-man-expansion )
Contents of the legal opinion remain a secret. "Unfortunately, we are unable to share the opinion," Chief Administrative Officer Ted Swabey said Monday.
Read more on "Ethical standards for locally elected officials," including the issue of pecuniary interest: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/local-governments/governance-powers/conduct-of-locally-elected-officials/ethical-standards
For the 2026 municipal election, individuals, but not organizations, can donate a total of $1,429.70 to a candidate or elector organization per campaign.
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MAYORAL DEBATE WON'T HAPPEN
North Cowichan mayoral candidate Chris Wilkinson has declined an invitation from CBC to participate in a radio debate with Douglas.
(Rob Douglas and Chris Wilkinson)
“There’s only so much one guy can do,” Wilkinson said. “We’ve got a small but mighty team. So, I’m doing everything I can. But some hard decisions have to be made and sometimes a ‘no’ has to be the answer.”
Douglas said he was open to a 15-minute debate on October 8. “I’d welcome it. Hopefully, he’ll reconsider.”
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A SIGN FROM JOHN DEERE
There is a story behind Chemainus farmer Don Allingham’s choice of green and yellow for his election signs: “Way back when, when I first started thinking about running, I didn't know what colour my signs should be. All my favourite colours were taken. Red, blue and orange. So, one day I was out in the field driving around in circles on my John Deere tractor. Then it came to me, green and yellow look good together. Yellow for the sun and green for the crops I grow. Plus no one else was using those colours, so that’s how I ended up green and yellow.”
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North Cowichan will hold advance polls from 8 am to 8 pm on October 7 and October 13 at Municipal Hall, 7030 Trans-Canada Highway.
Election day is October 17.
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— Larry Pynn, Oct. 5, 2026
