Central Saanich first responders step up at Tour de Rock fundraiser
A pair of Central Saanich first responders are stepping up to help children fighting cancer.
Central Saanich Fire Chief Kenn Mount and fellow Tour de Rock team member Cpl. Pat Bryant, from the Central Saanich Police Service, are climbing aboard their training spin bikes to raise money for this year’s Cops for Cancer ride. The pair will ride nonstop for three hours from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on July 8 in the square in front of Peninsula Pizza at Central Saanich’s Pioneer Village Shopping Centre on East Saanich Road.
“We were at Camp Goodtimes (recently) and I think that was the real turning point for me,” said Bryant. “Getting together with those kids for a couple of hours, hanging out and playing games with them was truly special.”
Peninsula Pizza owner Rick Scott says having members of the Cops for Cancer team in front of his business at the busiest time of the day helps to raise awareness for Tour de Rock.
“Pat (Bryant) approached us and said, 'Let's set up some riders in front of the store and do some fundraising.' We, of course, said yes,” said Scott. “We’ve given them a venue and we will make a donation as well.”
“Bringing awareness to cancer, cancer research and fundraising, that’s pretty much how it works,” he added. “People in the community see us fundraising, they donate money and the research goes on.”
Bryant says he has spoken with a number of alumni riders from the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock and they have all said the ride is an incredible experience. He says the fundraising ride for children and families fighting cancer is something he has wanted to do for a very long time.
“I’m in the final year of my career and I thought this was a special way of going out,” said Bryant. “Just to give back to the community and kids living with cancer and its a passion of mine to fundraise for them and support them.”
This year’s Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock ride will mark the 25th anniversary of the fundraising event. It is also the first year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that a full team of riders will make the 1,200-kilometre journey down Vancouver Island from Port Alice to Victoria.
“It's the first ride since the pandemic with a full team,” said Bryant. “I’m riding with some incredible people, so come out and support the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock 2022.”
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, which organizes the annual ride, this year’s fundraising goal is to raise more than $600,000 for children facing cancer and paediatric cancer research.
Bryant says he and Mount haven’t set a fundraising goal for Friday’s event, but he's confident the community will rally for such a worthwhile cause.
“(The goal is) as much as we can get,” he said. “We would be very appreciative of all the funds that we can collect.”
The 25th anniversary of the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock ride starts Sept. 7 in Port Alice and wraps up two weeks later in Victoria’s Centennial Square on Oct. 7.
To donate to this year's fundraising ride for childhood cancer, go to the Tour de Rock website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.