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Ella Stream in Critical Danger: When asked if the District of Sooke had discussions with the Federal Government about damage or potential damage to the Ella Stream and its environs, Sooke’s CAO, initially confirmed that conversations between the District and the Feds on this issue were numerous, and then when asked for specifics, backtracked.

After initially, stating, “I am happy to confirm there have been numerous conversation[s] with Federal and Provincial bodies over the years in regards to that project.”, when asked as to what these were, Sooke’s CAO changed their tune, to: “we are not aware of any direct federal correspondence related to this file between the District and the Federal bodies.”

When asked if there has been any indirect dialogue between the District and the Federal government, the CAO responded:

“I was not personally involved in any conversations between District, Provincial or Federal staff so I am unable to confirm.”

An area of the Ella Stream Watershed threatened by development.

Construction threatens the Ella Stream Watershed.

By Sasha Izard
Dec 26, 2025


About 2 minutes by vehicle from Sooke Town, is the Ella Stream. The Ella Stream flows into Sooke Bay, in an area known as Ella Beach, a remarkably picturesque stretch of the Pacific Northwest, often overlooked by the public, having been overshadowed by other beaches further up the coast, although to those who visit it, the question is almost invariably, why?

Yet not all is zen about this area, far from it. The stream and its riparian zone, watershed and ecology, are in major trouble.

Devastation to the Ella Stream has been much discussed on the Ella Stream Watershed | Facebook page.

At one section of the stream, it is interrupted with a giant pyramid sized mound of fill dumped on top of it.

The Province investigated, and found that the length of the stream had lessened. Nothing more to see here folks.

A group of concerned residents brought the issue of major human-caused environmental damage to the stream and its watershed to Sooke Council. The issue came before council on Nov 12, 2024.

The following is an agenda item for the Nov 12, 2024 Sooke Council Meeting on Sooke’s agenda’s page:

Meeting Agendas and Minutes | District of Sooke

The Ella Stream Watershed Group also emailed the council on the issue that fall.

Why then has the District, of Sooke not brought this issue up to the Federal Government? Shouldn’t they have reported it immediately to them?

I was told by residents that the District had not done so.

I brought this issue up to several Members of Parliament (MP Will Greaves, Elizabeth May, and Sooke MP Stephanie McLean).

On Nov 3, 2025 Sooke MP McLean’s Constituency Office wrote the following:

Hi Sasha,

Thank you for reaching out to the office of MP McLean via MP Greaves and highlighting this concern in our riding.

I will reach out to the federal department responsible for this and see what information we can find out. This could take a week or so – so begging for your patience here.

Have you reached out to Sooke Council to verify if this information was or was not shared with the federal government?

Liza

Constituency office for Esquimalt Saanich Sooke MP Stephanie McLean

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Almost 3 months later, MP McLean Constituency Office’s “a week or so” to find the information, has turned into the sound of crickets chirping on their end.

Although I have a lot of patience, being a Pyrrhonian Skeptic, and realizing that the situation is time sensitive, I kept looking for answers. I contacted Sooke’s CAO to hear first hand if the District had been in communications with the Federal Government on the issue.

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I immediately wrote an email to Sooke’s CAO Raechel Gray,

Hello,

I have a question.

Has the District of Sooke been in contact with the federal government regarding damage or potential damage to the Ella Stream, its riparian area and surrounding environs?

Thank you,
Sasha Izard

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Sooke’s CAO, Raechel Gray, replied the following day:

Hi Mr. Izard,

Thanks for your question.  I am happy to confirm there have been numerous conversation with Federal and Provincial bodies over the years in regards to that project. 

This link should take you to the latest update on the development that Council received last November.  High Level Status Report on 7044 Maple Park Terrace Development – Html

Please let me know if you need anything further.

Thanks,

Raechel

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Sooke’s CAO has not always been consistent, as was shown in the following article:

Sooke’s Director of Corporate Services denied that a document showing who was responsible for renewing the District’s UDI membership (in contravention of a council motion) was in the District’s custody and control. Now after much of the year has passed, I have a copy.

My skepticism certainly wasn’t assuaged.

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3 days later, I wrote back:

Hello Raechel,

Thank you, that link is very helpful.  It mentions the Province many times, but I can’t find any mention of the Federal Government.  What are the specific communications that the District of Sooke have had with Federal bodies over this issue?

– Sasha

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2 weeks later, on Nov 21, 2025 Raechel responded:

Hi Sasha,

I confirmed with our Manager of Parks that we are not aware of any direct federal correspondence related to this file between the District and the Federal bodies. However, our understanding is that it would be the Province that would involve the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in Riparian Areas Protection Regulation report reviews (audits reports). If a Qualified Environmental Professional has identified a development may result in ‘harmful, alteration, disruption, destruction’ of fish habitat then they need to obtain authorization from DFO. Local governments can request DFO be involved in investigating enforcement issues but this has not occurred to date as there are no enforcement issues that would require their involvement.

Hope that helps clarify and please let me know if you need anything further.

Have a nice weekend.

Thanks,

Raechel

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I replied the same day:

Hello Raechel,

Thank you for your response.

“I confirmed with our Manager of Parks that we are not aware of any direct federal correspondence related to this file between the District and the Federal bodies.”

Which file are you referring to between the District and Federal bodies?

Thank you again,
Sasha

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Raechel replied 5 minutes later:

Hi,

I was referring to the Maple Park Terrace file that I provided the report link to as that is the development I am aware of that has recently been discussing Ella Stream and the impact of the development to the surrounding areas.  

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On Dec 8, I replied:

Hello Raechel,

Thank you for your response,

From your earlier email:

“I confirmed with our Manager of Parks that we are not aware of any direct federal correspondence related to this file between the District and the Federal bodies.”

Are you aware of any indirect federal correspondence related to this file between the District and Federal bodies?

“Local governments can request DFO be involved in investigating enforcement issues but this has not occurred to date as there are no enforcement issues that would require their involvement.”

How can you say that there are no enforcement issues that would require DFO’s involvement?  There is a giant pyramid-sized mound of fill on top of the Ella Stream, where there was none before, and in one of Provincial reports that you provided, it noted that the stream’s length has lessened.

Thank you again,
Sasha

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Hi Mr. Izard,

I am not sure what other information I can provide other than what was included in the public report regarding the development in the area.  Staff are following all direction provided by the governing bodies and are regularly monitoring the development to ensure that construction is occurring within the approved direction the District provided the property owners.

As I mentioned earlier – this report includes the most recent summary of the development and next steps as it progresses.

High Level Status Report on 7044 Maple Park Terrace Development – Html 

Thanks,
Raechel

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Hello Raechel,

Thank you for your response, but you did not answer my question.

Previously, you noted that as CAO you “are not aware of any direct federal correspondence related to this file between the District and the Federal bodies”.

Are you aware of any indirect correspondence between the District of Sooke and the Federal Government on this issue?

Thank you,
Sasha

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On Dec 12, 2025 Raechel wrote back:

Hi,

I was not personally involved in any conversations between District, Provincial or Federal staff so I am unable to confirm.  Provincial staff may have worked with Federal staff on the property in question but you would need to follow up with Provincial staff to confirm if or how they engaged with Federal staff when reviewing the Ella Stream situation prior to providing District staff and the developer guidance on next steps to be followed by the developer.

There is a Provincial contact included in the letter attached to the public report that may be able to provide you the information you are looking for.

All the best to you and yours this holiday season.

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Notably, Raechel had done a complete 180 from where she had begun in the email exchange, about a month and a week earlier.

She began by stating that the District had had numerous conversations with the Federal government on the issue, now she was stating that she wasn’t aware of any.

Raechel attached the following letter from a construction company operating in the area, to the Provincial (not the Federal) Government, to the email.

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Although the Province couldn’t put two and two together, why was the issue not reported to the Federal Government by the District of Sooke, its elected officials or staff? If it was, surely Sooke’s CAO would know about it. Yet, the CAO who had initially claimed in the email exchange, that the District had had many conversations with the Federal government, on the issue, ended up doing an about face, on the issue noting that she was not aware of any such discussions.

Sooke’s Viewpointe Estates faces environmental scrutiny | Sooke News Mirror

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The letter continued:

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A tributary of the Ella Stream. The tributary, and the area around it, as well as other areas of the watershed are threatened by development. Already areas of the watershed appear damaged by human intervention.

An area of the Ella Stream Watershed threatened by development. Much of the watershed is likely to be obliterated at current trajectory.

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My emails to Members of Parliament on this subject:

This fall, I brought the issue up to my MP Will Greaves. I spoke to him about it and about another issue that I wrote about in an article, by phone.

On Nov 1, 2025 I wrote the following email to Greaves:

Hello Will,

Thank you for your discussion on the phone yesterday, where I brought up the Ella Stream in Sooke.

The following document attached to this email contains documentation of major environmental damage to the Ella Stream and around it, to which I have been informed by a Sooke local (who is afraid of speaking out himself), that this may have been a federal crime.

I was told that the presentation attached was delivered to Sooke Council, but that Sooke council did not report it to the Federal Government which they should have (according to the person who told me).

I ask that this be investigated by your office and the Federal Government, and the stream, riparian zone and areas around it be protected according to the full regulations in place.

After you review this document, I would like to speak to you on the phone again about it in the future.

It is crucial that we protect the environment of Southern Vancouver island, which is under severe threat of degradation.

Thank you again,
Sasha Izard

The attachment to my email was one that was sent to me by a concerned resident.

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The same day, I sent the following email, with the same attachment to newly elected Sooke MP Stephanie McLean, who MP Greaves had suggested that I get in contact with on this issue:

Hello Stephanie Mclean,

MP for Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke.

I am forwarding this email that I sent to my MP Will Greaves.  He suggested on the phone, that as this is your riding that I should inform you about the issue as well.

Please investigate.

Thank you,
Sasha Izard

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The same day, I also sent the following email, with the same attachment to Green Member of Parliament Elizabeth May. May did not respond to the email.

Hello Elizabeth May,

I am forwarding this email that I sent to my MP Will Greaves.  It is important that everything is done on the federal level to look into this serious matter, involving major environmental degradation on Southern Vancouver Island, and what may have involved a federal crime.

Please investigate.

Thank you,
Sasha Izard

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On Nov 3, 2025 – MP McLean’s Constituency Office replied to my email:

Hi Sasha,

Thank you for reaching out to the office of MP McLean via MP Greaves and highlighting this concern in our riding.

I will reach out to the federal department responsible for this and see what information we can find out. This could take a week or so – so begging for your patience here.

Have you reached out to Sooke Council to verify if this information was or was not shared with the federal government?

Liza

Constituency office for Esquimalt Saanich Sooke MP Stephanie McLean

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Hi Liza,

Thank you for your help.

“Have you reached out to Sooke Council to verify if this information was or was not shared with the federal government?”

I have heard that from a local.  I will email the District’s CAO right now and ask them that question.  I will bcc you on the email.

Thank you,
Sasha

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Conclusion,

I kept MP Greaves, and McLean regularly updated in regard to the Sooke CAO’s response.

Their offices have well been informed by myself, of the CAO’s changing narrative in regard to discussions between the District and the Federal government. While confident in the beginning of the exchanges, that the District had numerous conversations with the Federal Government on the issue, by the end of it, she admitted that she wasn’t aware of any.

Meanwhile, as the clock ticks, the fate of the Ella Stream Watershed hangs in the balance. Might it be saved, before it dies the death of a thousand cuts, while the politicians and bureaucrats turn a blind eye?

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See also:

Index of articles regarding Sooke – CRD Watch Homepage

Index of CRD Watch articles concerning the environment/ecology. – CRD Watch Homepage

The UDI successfully lobbied the government against environmental streamside protection regulation. – CRD Watch Homepage

Offshore on shore? Prime ecological land on the shore of Oak Bay, up for sale for over 50 million dollars – reveals giant Elephant in the Room loophole in the so-called “Foreign Buyers Ban”. – CRD Watch Homepage

Sooke’s Viewpointe Estates faces environmental scrutiny | Sooke News Mirror