TOGETHER WITH

Welcome to this week’s Sunday Briefing. In this issue:

Now on to today’s briefing.

-Emily, [email protected]

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SPONSORED BY REED POPE

Reed Pope Business Lawyers is a leading business law firm based in Victoria, offering top-tier service to a wide range of clients involved in local, national, and international transactions. For over 18 years, Reed Pope lawyers have served as trusted counsel to entrepreneurs, start-ups and emerging companies, established businesses, high-net-worth individuals, investment funds, and other investors. The firm has deep expertise in entity formation and structuring, capital raising and investments, acquisitions, exit transactions, and general start-up advisory services.

Reed Pope is proud to support the local and provincial tech sector and is excited to partner with Victoria Tech Journal to help increase visibility for innovative start-ups, scaling technology companies, and the broader ecosystem. Learn more.

Most people know that driving and flying contribute to carbon emissions, but a new tool from Victoria-based Shift Technologies wants to show how much impact your daily internet habits might have on the environment. The company launched its Browsing Footprint Calculator this week, which asks users about everything from how often they use AI tools to how they manage their email to estimate their digital carbon footprint—particularly relevant as more people become aware of the significant energy consumption behind AI services like ChatGPT and image generators.

Shift is sweetening the deal by promising to offset a full year of internet emissions for anyone who tries the calculator—that works out to roughly 0.229 tonnes of carbon or about 3,230 hours of online time. "We're not just raising awareness—we're providing a pathway to immediate impact," said CEO Neil Henderson.

The move fits with Shift's broader pitch as a carbon-neutral browser that automatically estimates and offsets users' online emissions while they browse. The Victoria company, which is part of the Redbrick portfolio and operates as a Certified B Corp, has built what it calls a Carbon Meter directly into its browser to track environmental impact in real-time.

SPONSORED BY COAST

The COAST Hub, a versatile coworking and event venue in downtown Victoria, is now accepting bookings.

Ideal for local and visiting companies, the Hub offers competitive rates for private offices and coworking desks, plus configurable spaces suitable for everything from meetings and workshops to events. Email [email protected] for a tour.

🌱 We are the champions, my friends: Tarrin Sam from the Songhees First Nation took the helm as acting executive director of the Indigenous Prosperity Centre, succeeding founding leader Christina Clarke.

🎓 I get by with a little help from my friends: The University of Victoria landed $5 million from Mastercard Foundation for Indigenous programs while the region saw new hiring, job fairs, flight routes, and tech funding announcements.

💸 Money can't buy me love: Victoria maintained its spot as Canada's fifth priciest rental market with one-bedrooms at $2,090 despite a modest cooling trend across the nation.

SPONSORED BY REED POPE

Reed Pope is a leading business law firm with longstanding ties to the Victoria tech sector, advising local start-ups, emerging companies, and investors on entity formation and structuring, financings, M&A transactions, and general corporate matters.

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September 25 | VIATEC’s Open House and AGM

Join at Fort Tectoria for an early evening of connection, celebration, and community. After the AGM, the doors swing open for an Open House, complete with more networking, good vibes, and a chance to explore Fort Tectoria like never before. VIATEC will have a few stations set up for you to ask questions about upcoming events and opportunities, and if curiosity piques... tours of Fort Tectoria.

October 3 | Resilience of Ice-Rich Permafrost Beneath Mine Waste Facilities

This presentation will highlight select case histories from John Kurylo’s last 15 years of project work in cold-region mining environments. Examples will focus on earth dams and waste rock facilities constructed in or on continuous, discontinuous, and high-alpine permafrost. John will share the challenges of designing for ice-rich ground conditions, some of the constraints and risks encountered, and examples of thermal and deformation responses that shaped engineering, construction and operation decisions.

October 26-29 | Ocean Floor Explore

No one is systematically exploring the 75% of undiscovered ocean floor. Ocean Floor Explore aims to change that by uniting leaders in blue investing, philanthropy, technology, and exploration to pioneer a new funding model for ocean discovery.

Have something or someone we should know about?

Reply or email [email protected] so we can work together to spotlight the lesser-known stories of Victoria's tech ecosystem.