Surprised by threat of lawfare in Motorsport Circuit case
I was unsurprised to learn that our North Cowichan mayor is asking for another public input regarding the rezoning for expansion of the Motorsport Circuit. This was resoundingly turned down by the public and nearly the entire council. Apparently the previous council on which he sat accepted the track may have implied permission for further growth.
I was, however, more surprised to learn that the reason for his request is the actual threat of “lawfare” (legal warfare) from the owners of this facility.
From what I can determine online (I welcome any corrections) the main owner who might have the financial ability to threaten our small community is a group called German Auto Import Network (“GAIN”), out of Toronto. From their website (gain-vi.ca), I learn that they have a number of car dealerships on southern Vancouver Island whom we might want to identify if they continue this threat to our community’s right to govern its land use.
The dealers involved are listed here: https://gain-vi.ca/companies/.
An online magazine describes the racetrack as an “auto racing country club” (European model) where purchasers of cars from some of the dealer-owners are offered a chance to play with their cars. They also run a luxury resort so that their most well-off visitors don’t have to use local hotels.
I welcome any fact-checkers who can correct any mistakes in the above.
Perhaps this threat, if Mayor Siebring’s statements are true, needs to be published more widely and the businesses involved identified.
Peter Lake
North Cowichan
