Tag Archives: Campbell River

Forests, Politics

A Cortes Island Resident’s Contributions to the 2023 NDP Convention

Cortes Island resident Bruce Ellingsen was both a delegate to the recent NDP Convention in Victoria, and the original author of resolution #42 written for the segment called ‘Building a Sustainable Economy for All and Fighting the Climate Crisis.’ Unfortunately, he didn’t get to read it that afternoon.   

“We ended up only getting through 10 of the 69 resolutions, with the presentation to the floor and the debate for pros and cons to any of them,” he told Cortes Currents.

Bruce has a suggestion that would increase the number of resolutions that can be heard, and the delegate’s enthusiasm for citizen democracy, which appears later. 

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Politics

SRD Approved all but one of Cortes Island’s Grants in Aid

Editor’s note: The following report consists of highlights from a segment of the SRD Board Meeting of Nov 22, 2023. 

The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) Board approved all but one of Cortes Island’s 2023 Grant-in Aid applications. It was a long, often confusing, debate. The SRD Board denied the Cortes Island Academy’s application because, as Chief Administration Officer (CAO) David Leitch explained “this Grant in Aid is in contradiction to our policy in terms of awarding money to other senior levels of government.” The Board initially granted the other Cortes applications, then seemed on the verge of rescinding them. Their decision to pass most of the applications was followed by a motion to change the manner in which Grants-in-Aid are processed.

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Transportation

Envisioning The Future of BC Ferries on the Cortes and Quadra Ferry Routes 

BC Ferries and the BC Ferry Authority have launched a joint visioning initiative called ‘Charting the Course,’ which may help shape the future of this service for years to come. In today’s story, Deborah Marshall, Executive Director for Public Affairs and Marketing for BC Ferries, describes the survey and also answered some specific questions about the Cortes and Quadra Island routes. 

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Housing, Politics

SRD Seeks Electoral Approval To Raise Up To $10 Million For A Housing Service

The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) wants to set up its own housing service. They hope to raise up to $10,000,000 for applicable projects and non-profits. This is to be administered through loans, which projects must pay back, but would initially be funded through property taxes. The cost to individual homeowners is small, up to $25 a year for a house assessed at $500,000 until the service pays for itself. The SRD will be seeking your approval through an Alternate Approval Process. If 10% of the electorate (i.e.- 3,456 people) notify the SRD that they are opposed to this new service before 12:00 noon on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, it will be considered defeated and the SRD will have to consider other ways of raising the money.

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Jobs

Unions to Get More Power with Replacement Worker Ban

Editors note: The 300 or so employees of Rogers Communications Inc currently on strike in Campbell River, belong to  United Steel Workers, Local 1944.

According to statistics Canada, 29.7% of British Columbia’s workforce was unionized in 2022. While the word ‘union’ does not appear to be used often in our area, teachers working at the Cortes and Quadra Island schools are members of the Campbell River District Teacher’s Association. School District 72’s other employees belong to CUPE 723. CUPE 401 represents Vancouver Island Public Library employees on Cortes, Quadra and throughout Vancouver Island, as well as staff working for the city of Campbell River. United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 represents forestry workers and the 82 unionized workers at Strathcona Gardens Recreation Complex. There are undoubtedly more examples of unions in our remote corner of the globe.

In addition to the union aspect, this story is of local interest because it is about the struggle to obtain a liveable wage while prices continue to rise.    

By  Zak Vescera, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Raine Wright yells into his megaphone as men in neon yellow jackets circle around a chain-link gate outside an East Vancouver industrial yard.

They’re members of United Steelworkers Local 1944, some of the roughly 300 technicians who have been locked out by telecom giant Rogers after contract talks broke down and the union announced it would launch rotating strikes.

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