Fact-Checking MP Aaron Gunn: Are Private Property Rights Actually at Risk?

In the most recent round of a social media war of his own making, MP Aaron Gunn makes the misleading claim that the government is sending homeowners letters that their property may now belong to First Nations. 

His statement is based on a notification that the city of Richmond sent out to property owners, within the boundaries of the old Cowichan summer village of TI’uqtinus, in October 2025. 

To put this in context: the land should have been made into a reserve. Instead senior colonial officials ignored their government’s instructions to protect the settlement and purchased it themselves in a series of transactions between 1871 and 1914. After a lengthy lawsuit, the Supreme Court of British Columbia restored title to 800 of the village’s original 1,846 acres ‘over which they have proven sufficient and exclusive occupation.’ 

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A tale of two cities: Port Alberni’s new supportive housing is drafted for uptown while Campbell River takes a different approach

By Nora O’Malley, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Port Alberni, BC – In the face of public dissent, Port Alberni Mayor Sharie Minions holds the line on the construction of a controversial 55-studio unit supportive housing complex in the Uptown core.

“I don’t for a second believe that housing people within a neighbourhood where they are currently homeless is going to make it worse. I think it will make it better, and I feel very strongly about that,” said Minions during the Feb. 9 regular council meeting question period. 

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BC Hydro Replacing Switches on Pole-Mounted Transformers

BC Hydro is replacing the switches on pole-mounted transformers set up beside private residences and buildings on Cortes Island.  

They subcontracted this work to Allteck, an electric ransmission & distribution services company with a branch office in Nanaimo. A three-person crew arrived in Squirrel Cove on Tuesday, March 10. Two of them either use a bucket truck or climb the pole, while the third supports them from the ground. Once set up, the whole procedure typically takes about half an hour per transformer.

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BC Needs to Prioritize Seniors Aging in Place

The BC Seniors Advocate is calling upon the province to address a critical shortfall in long term care beds. There were 7,212 people on the waiting list during 2025 and the average wait time was 290 days. The number of seniors is increasing and the need for long term beds is expected to grow 49% by 2035. “We are in trouble,” warns Anna Kindy,  MLA for North Island and Health Critic for the Conservative Party, “This is why I am pushing for ‘aging in place.’ 

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Whats Current on Cortes and Beyond