Kyle Slavin
News staff
Saanich mayoral candidate David Shebib was arrested Monday by the B.C. Sheriffs Services officers at his West Saanich Road home.
A judge issued a warrant for Shebib’s arrest after he failed to appear in provincial court earlier this month.
Shebib is fighting a $100 ticket he received from Capital Regional District bylaw officers in August 2010 for “improper use of wash down” at Hartland Landfill.
“There’s a facility up there (at Hartland) – it’s a wheel wash for people to wash dust and mud off their wheels. It’s not meant for cleaning out the debris in the box of your pickup,” said Don Brown, the CRD’s chief bylaw enforcement officer. “He didn’t pay the ticket and we had to take him to small claims court (in May).”
A judge gave Shebib a deadline to pay the ticket. When he failed to pay, a summons was issued for a hearing on Oct. 3.
Shebib last week announced he is running for mayor of both Saanich and Victoria in the November municipal election, campaigning for a “new one-world government.”
Shebib was arrested at 5090 West Saanich Rd., the place he calls home and the location of his Garbage Guru free store. The business is also creating issues for Saanich police and bylaw officers who say they’ve been working with Shebib to avoid court.
“We’ve been dealing with issues on the property for over a year. We’ve been working to try and gain Mr. Shebib’s voluntary compliance, and I guess Mr. Shebib has his own agenda,” said Saanich’s senior bylaw officer Doug Roberts.
The recycled “treasures” and trash strewn about the property could contravene the unsightly premise bylaw.
“He’s also running his free store on the property, and it’s not zoned for a store,” Roberts said.
Shebib does not own the property and Roberts says the owner is co-operating with bylaw officers.
“We’ve received multiple complaints (about this property) from neighbours,” said Saanich police Sgt. Dean Jantzen.
Most revolve around traffic and parking issues as a result of people taking advantage of Shebib’s trading post-style store.
Shebib appeared before a judge Monday afternoon and was released on condition he attend his next-scheduled default hearing on Jan. 10, 2012.
kslavin@saanichnews.com
