The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) will be holding its 2022 convention in Whistler on September 12 -16. Local governments traditionally seek interviews with high level provincial officials. The interviews can be up to 15 minutes long and cover up to 3 topics. The SRD chose their topics at the Wednesday June 15 Board meeting.
Continue reading What to discuss with the Premier and Minister of Municipal AffairsEditor’s note: Vancouver Island’s last major earthquake was in January 1700 and measured +9 on the richter scale. Earthquakes of this magnitude occur roughly every 500 years (but could be as little as 200 years or as much as 1,000 years – Dr. Gerard Fryer, University of Hawaii). The largest local earthquake in more historic times only measured 7.3 and occurred in 1946. The epicentre was Cumberland, Union Bay and Courtenay, where 75% of the chimneys crumbled, but building swayed as far away as Vancouver. There were reports from Campbell River, Powell River and on Cortes, Quadra and Read Islands.
By Melissa Renwick, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Deep under the ocean’s surface off the west coast of Vancouver Island lies a mountain range of around 50 underwater volcanoes – measuring from 1,000 to 3,000 metres high.
These seamounts, as they’re more accurately named, are the reason earthquakes and tsunamis threaten British Columbia’s coast, said Cherisse Du Preez, head of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) deep-sea ecology program.
Continue reading West coast expedition explores deep-sea habitat never seen beforeThere have been many droughts in Vancouver Island’s history. A University of Victoria study of tree ring data found that some were worse than anything in modern records, but also predicted a mega-drought is coming. This year’s wet Spring may make a difference, but there have been reports of wells running dry every summer since 2014. Consequently, increasing numbers of people throughout the Gulf Islands, Vancouver Island, Quadra and Cortes Islands have turned to rainwater harvesting.
Continue reading Harvesting Rainwater on Cortes and Quadra Islands
Last month, there was a celebration in honour of three women who returned 47 acres on Read Island to the Homalco First Nation.
“There’s a lovely little sort of swamp on it, the bluffs and you can see the sea, but I live on Quadra and Helen lives in Vancouver and we rarely went out to it,” explained Eileen Sowerby.
Continue reading Returning 47 acres on Read Island to its original ownersSometime in the next three weeks, Canada’s Minister of Fisheries, Joyce Murray, will decide whether the licenses for 79 fish farms will be renewed.
“I heard a rumour that the minister laid out her options or her ideas to cabinet and cabinet has the plans right now. They’re figuring out what to do. We can expect an announcement quite shortly on the plan around the transition of farms out of British Columbia and also the licensing decision,” said Stan Proboszcz, senior scientist with the Watershed Watch Salmon Society.
Continue reading Waiting for DFO to decide the fate of open-net pen fish farms
