All posts by Guest Post

Politics

Green Party deputy leader Jonathan Pedneault resigns

By Natasha Bulowski, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Green Party’s deputy leader resigned Tuesday for personal reasons, leaving 70-year-old Elizabeth May alone at the helm as party leader.

Jonathan Pedneault’s surprise resignation came more than a year and a half after he and May ran a successful campaign to be co-leaders in the Green Party’s last leadership contest. But before their shared leadership could take effect, party members had to agree to change the constitution to allow a co-leadership structure, a process that was delayed several times.

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Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

New system alerts coastal First Nations about hazardous spills on land and water

Editor’s note: According to the BC Treaty Commission’s Interactive Map, the waters of Von Donop Inlet and Carrington Bay, on Cortes Island, are within the traditional territory We Wai Kai and Wei Wai Kum Nations. They also claim Quadra, Read and Raza Islands, as well as Toba Inlet. These are all areas that are within the traditional territories of the Klahoose First Nation. whose principle village is on Cortes Island. The K’omoks and Klahoose First Nations have overlapping claims on Read, Quadra and Mitlenatch Islands.

By Madeline Dunnett, The Discourse,  Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A new notification system and app that alerts coastal B.C. First Nations about oil or hazardous chemical spills on their lands and waters was recently launched.

The initiative was developed collaboratively between 12 First Nations and the province’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. The process was coordinated by Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative.  

The system uses technology from Alertable, an emergency alert system that is used by various local governments to notify residents about critical alerts in their communities such as those related to floods or fires. 

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Energy, Politics

Fossil fuel execs outlined a 7-part playbook to influence governments and media. Here’s what you need to know

By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Last week, explosive claims made behind closed doors by a fossil fuel industry executive were made public. The claims — about how oil and gas giant TC Energy conducts its business — were made during an insider call at the company, which builds and operates crude oil and natural gas pipelines across North America.

The 42-minute spiel from Liam Iliffe, then a TC Energy executive, was part of a March “lunch and learn” session for 150 external relations employees across the continent. While the company said some of his claims were inaccurate and didn’t reflect how it operates, the leaked recordings have since made international headlines, sparked a probe from the B.C. government into his tactics and prompted harsh rebuke from politicians.

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Arts

Vancouver artist Sam Tudor adds first time Cortes show to new EP tour

By Louis Belcourt, CKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca

Sam Tudor, a recording artist based in Vancouver, is currently touring across BC to showcase their newly released EP and recently have included a show on Cortes Island as part of the tour.

Tudor, a self-taught musician and recording artist, has been recording and releasing music since 2014.

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Transportation

My airstrip concern: oversized private jet emissions

(Originally published on the Cortes Tideline)

By Barry Saxifrage

Judging by the big turnout at a recent community town hall, a lot of Cortes folks are concerned about the impact of the runway upgrade happening at the Lavender Farm. I’m writing to provide some information about one of those concerns – the extreme levels of climate pollution that this kind of airstrip enables. If you are concerned about the metastasizing climate crisis you might find this information of interest.

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