All posts by Roy Hales

Asking the SRD to support the Old Growth Strategic Logging Review

Yesterday Cortes Currents published a story about local governments asking the BC government to defer logging in old-growth forests until the recommendations of the province’s Old Growth Strategic Review have been implemented. At the bottom of that story there are links to reports from the Comox Valley Regional District and the municipal governments of Courtenay, Cumberland, Lantzville, Metchosin, Nanaimo, Powell River, Port Moody, and Victoria. The Capital Regional District (CRD), which represents 13 municipalities and three electoral areas in Southern Vancouver Island, was going to vote on a similar resolution Wednesday, but the Pacheedaht First Nation said this would be a violation of the sovereignty and wishes of their nation. The CRD has not yet published the minutes of that Board meeting. Locally, Geraldine Kenny, from Sierra Quadra is asking the SRD (Strathcona Regional District) to support the old Growth Strategic Logging Review.

The Refuge Cove general store should soon be reopening.

This is the Desolation Sound’s only grocery store in a deep-water harbour and is normally open from June until September.

CEO Peter Wrinch emailed the following update from Hollyhock:

“The new restrictions threw a bit of a wrench in our plans for opening, so we have pushed our opening back to June 25th.”

Health

For the first time in over two months, the number of new COVID cases on Vancouver Island dipped down to single digits on Wednesday. They rose to 21 again Thursday and there are more cases in North Vancouver Island than a week ago, but the overall trend across the Island has been downward for more than a month.

A local government initiative to protect Vancouver Island’s old growth forests may have been checked by aboriginal title issues.

(Subsequent addition: The Capital Regional District will consider a revised motion on May 26th.)