Trying to keep the grid up has been very challenging these past three weeks. BC Hydro crews were constantly on call throughout the region, since Christmas Eve, repairing power outages caused by falling trees and snow encrusted power lines. Sub-zero temperatures meant skyrocketing heating bills. When local resident John Sprungman recently asked why his lights were flickering, a BC Hydro repair technician informed him that Cortes Island is trying to draw more power than the infrastructure on Cortes can handle. BC set a new record for peak electricity demand between 5 and 6 PM on December 27th, 2021: 10,902 megawatts.
Continue reading Keeping the grid up on Cortes IslandTag Archives: Gov of BC
Fairy Creek: Roadside camp closes down; Elder Bill Jones given environmental award
Roadside, one of the last remaining Forest Defender camps at Fairy Creek, officially closed down yesterday. In the end, it was severe weather rather than police actions that brought this about.
An unknown number of Indigenous folks remain at a nearby watch camp.
Continue reading Fairy Creek: Roadside camp closes down; Elder Bill Jones given environmental award
As Omicron spreads, the number of unreported COVID cases keeps growing ( local data)
According to the provincial government’s Daily Update, there are now at least 3,906 active COVID cases on Vancouver Island. This statistic is low. The number of people who are believed to have COVID and gone into self isolation, but have not yet been tested, is growing
“As many people have noted in the past few weeks, we reached our capacity both from testing, from the lab equipment, from the personnel and the reagents,” said BC Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry on Friday.
Continue reading As Omicron spreads, the number of unreported COVID cases keeps growing ( local data)
We’ve been drinking a lot more alcohol during COVID, study finds
A new University of Victoria study found that British Columbians consumed more alcohol during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic than they have at any other point during the past 20 years.
Continue reading We’ve been drinking a lot more alcohol during COVID, study finds
First Nation leaders say BC implementation of UNDRIP is too slow
By Jacob Cardinal, Alberta Native News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
(ANNews) – It has been two years since British Columbia passed legislation requiring the government to align the entirety of its laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). However, despite the legislation, the change seen is extremely limited.
The mandate requires a huge undertaking that involves updating over 5,000 provincial laws. Two major changes announced by the province are: an amendment of the Interpretation Act and an amendment to the B.C Human Rights Code.
Continue reading First Nation leaders say BC implementation of UNDRIP is too slow