A sign reading ‘Police State’ is greeting northbound travellers on Highway 17.
The statement is part of a larger billboard erected on the flatbed of a pickup truck parked on a North Saanich property visible from the highway located just off Bazan Bay Road. Two signs in the form of sheriff badges flank the statement on the make-shift billboard, reading ‘By order Deputy Dixxon’ and ‘Johnny Sheriff Rotten.’ The first sign could be read by as reference to provincial Health Minister Adrian Dix and the use of the phrase police state suggests dissatisfaction with public health measures responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Smaller text (which is not fully legible from a distance) in the bottom-left corner of the sign identifies a person with the first name of Mike as a “Registered Sponsor under the Elections Act” and includes a phone number, which the Peninsula News Review has linked to Mike Pendray residing at 2090 Bazan Bay Rd. in North Saanich as per the database of the Registered Provincial Third Party Advertising Sponsors maintained by Elections BC. The location of the sign appears to match the address found in the database.
It is not clear when the sign first appeared. The PNR became aware of it Wednesday afternoon.
The PNR has contacted the number on the sign to find out more about the identity of the individual and the motivation of the sign.
Meghan Mason, spokesperson for the District of the North Saanich, said the municipality became aware of the sign Thursday. “At this time, the district has not received any public feedback or been in contact with the owner of the sign,” he said.
The PNR has also contacted Sidney/North Saanich RCMP and the Ministry of Health.
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