Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
BC Ferries got a half-billion-dollar cash injection on the weekend to keep fares below inflation and help electrify the fleet.
However, while Premier David Eby and Transportation Minister Rob Fleming offered details on fare objectives over the next four years, they provided little information on the province’s goals for weaning ferries off fossil fuels.
Continue reading West Coast electric ferries lack the power to ditch diesel
“One of our mandates is to create good employment for Islanders who are here full-time year round. And for our youth returning in the summer as well. It’s a great place for people who move to the island to start out and get to know the culture of the island by working with us.” –– Mary Lavelle
The Cortes Natural Food Co-op is one of the top five or six employers on the island, an attraction for tourists and visitors, and the go-to grocery store for many year-round residents. Active members enjoy several benefits, but membership is not required to shop there — so the store serves many times more people every year than its approximately 360 active members.
Employing 20 people even in the off-season, and with over $2 million in sales each year, the Co-op is a significant island business. But it also makes a conscious effort to be a good neighbour. As General Manager Mary Lavelle put it during our interview, “Staff, board, management — we’re always considering the community. That is one of the factors that we always consider in our decision making: our community. And I think that’s part of what makes us so special.”
Continue reading More Than Just A Store: Cortes Natural Food Co-op
Will the SRD set up a transit system from Campbell River to the West Coast of Vancouver Island?
There has been friction between some of the Strathcona Regional Districts rural areas and municipalities in the past. This was thought to have ended with the new board, but there have been a couple of recent occasions when the electoral areas felt their wishes were being overridden. In both cases, this pertained to research rather than policy. Electoral Areas A and D were not allowed to withdraw from the feasibility studies for a proposed transit system from Campbell River to the West Coast of Vancouver Island. None of the Electoral Areas were interested in having their Fire Departments come under the administration of a proposed Fire Chief for the SRD.
Thus at the Board’s Feb 2 meeting, Regional Director Gerald Whalley of Area A announced, “The electoral areas have come to the unanimous conclusion that we are being unfairly treated by the Board. Therefore, I move that the Board convene an open mediated service review as soon as possible. And if I have a second for this motion, I will speak to it .”
Continue reading SRD Board: How can electoral areas opt out of services?
Campbell River has been talking about opening up its streets to food trucks for years. Only 28 of the 600 respondents to a 2018 survey were opposed to the idea, and there have been food trucks at some venues. At their February 9 meeting, city council took steps to make this more of a regular occurrence.
Continue reading Opening Campbell River up for food trucksAccording to the Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) press release of February 18, 2022, “There are multiple stressors on wild salmon, including: climate change; habitat degradation and destruction; regulated fishing as well as illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. Given the state of Wild Pacific Salmon, the Government of Canada is taking a highly precautionary approach to manage Atlantic salmon aquaculture in the Discovery Islands area.”
Licenses for the 15 remaining fish farms in this region will not be reissued.
Continue reading DFO Decision: Discovery Island Fish Farms remain closed
