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A letter from Times Colonist Publisher Bob McKenzie

By now, most readers of the Times Colonist will be aware that the newspaper division of our parent company, Canwest Global Communications, has been granted creditor protection.

By now, most readers of the Times Colonist will be aware that the newspaper division of our parent company, Canwest Global Communications, has been granted creditor protection.

This move is designed to give the company breathing room while it restructures its debt, but I want to assure you that it will have no effect on the relationship between the Times Colonist and you, our loyal readers and advertisers.

The Times Colonist has been a part of the fabric of the community in Victoria and on Vancouver Island for 152 years. We were here when the colony was founded, and we'll be here as the city and the capital region continue to prosper through the next century. Every week, three-quarters of the adults in the capital region read the Times Colonist, according to the most recent readership data we have from NADbank, and those numbers are growing.

Throughout its long and colourful history, this newspaper has done more than just gather and disseminate the news. We've played a leading role in helping the community thrive.

Over more than half a century, the Christmas Fund has distributed vouchers and cash to more than 100,000 of the community's less fortunate citizens. Our annual Book Drive has raised more than $1 million for literacy projects on Vancouver Island over the past decade. Yearly events such as CanSpell and Raise-a-Reader have helped us reinforce our core values of contributing to the community. And our sponsorship of events like the TC Open have helped those events flourish - and put Victoria on the national and international map.

You can read our commitment to the community on every page of this newspaper, and that is not going to change. There will be no disruption of service because of the filing. The more than 250 employees of the Times Colonist will continue to deliver the news to you in print, online, via your mobile device or however you want to receive it tomorrow, as we do today.