Victoria firefighter suspended for letter to B.C. premier criticizing homeless facility plan

The one-day suspension of a Victoria firefighter has erupted into a political firestorm after a Conservative Party of B.C. candidate accused the B.C. premier and the city's mayor of involvement in the disciplinary decision.

A statement from Premier David Eby's office called the accusation "completely false," while a statement from the City of Victoria says Mayor Marianne Alto has "no role in the operational decisions of the Victoria Fire Department."

Firefighter Josh Montgomery was suspended without pay by the fire department after he wrote an open letter to the premier expressing his opposition to a planned homeless outreach centre near his home in the city's North Park neighbourhood.

"The escalating violence and alarming decisions being made by City of Victoria officials have put my life, the lives of my colleagues, and the safety of our community at severe risk," the letter said, referring to a July attack on a paramedic outside a downtown homeless shelter.

Montgomery wrote that the planned outreach centre 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 firefighter called the city's support for the centre "outrageous" and "reckless," and called on the premier to "take immediate action" to intervene to stop it.

'Chilling retaliation'

Once Montgomery's suspension came to light, B.C. Conservative candidate Tim Thielmann seized on the firefighter's cause, calling the one-day suspension a "chilling retaliation" for political speech.

"We demand an account," Thielmann, the Conservative candidate for Victoria-Beacon Hill, said in a statement. "Was Mr. Montgomery's suspension at the insistence of the mayor or did it come from the premier himself?"

The premier's office, denying it had any role in the suspension, said Eby "seeks out information from front-line workers and welcomes feedback of all kinds."

"First responders do heroic work in our communities and we stand firm in supporting the work they do to keep us all safe," the statement added.

The president of the Victoria firefighters union, in an effort to quell the "misinformation that has been circulated amongst the public regarding employment matters with one of our members," said the union has initiated an internal process on the matter in accordance with its collective agreement with the city.

Montgomery's suspension is to take effect Friday, union president Jeremy Wilson said.

A Victoria spokesperson said the city would not comment further on the internal personnel matter.

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.