Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Conservationists and many First Nations are celebrating a Federal Court of Appeal decision that upholds the closure of salmon farms in BC’s Discovery Islands.
A battle over the ultimate fate of open-net pen salmon farms in the region’s waters, between the mainland and northeastern Vancouver Island, has spanned close to five years.
Continue reading Appeal court ruling backs Discovery Islands salmon farm closures
Depending on which election poll you are looking at, the Liberals are leading by anywhere from 5 to 10 points nationally. The last poll to suggest the Conservatives were tied with them was taken by Abacus on February 4, 2025. An Angus Reid poll taken on April 7, 2025 found that in British Columbia the Liberal Party leads by 11 points.
It’s more difficult to get a breakdown riding by riding. While 338Canada’s projections are generally fairly accurate, they are calculated using a mostly proportional swing model adjusted with provincial and regional polls. In North Island Powell River there are currently at least three factors which this approach does not take into account.
Continue reading Three Reasons 338Canada’s Riding Projections Don’t apply in North Island Powell RiverFirst Nations leaders are calling upon the Conservative Party of Canada to drop Aaron Gunn, candidate for North Island-Powell River, due to a series of tweets he made between 2019 and 2021.
More than 150,000 First Nation, Métis and Inuit children were taken out of their homes and forced to attend residential schools between the 1870s and 1997. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission called the residential school system “cultural genocide” in its final report released in 2015.
Gunn tweeted: “Why are the report authors (and now Trudeau) sensationalizing truly horrific events, that need to be examined honestly, with a loaded word like ‘genocide’ that does not remotely reflect the reality of what happened.”
Continue reading First Nation Leaders Call Upon Conservative Party To Drop Aaron Gunn As A CandidateBob Chamberlain, former Vice President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and former elected Chief of the Kwikwasut’inuxw Haxwa’mis First Nation is endorsing NDP candidate Tanille Johnson in North Island Powell River.
“I just hope that your listeners are understanding and supportive of justice for First Nations people.”
“I hope they’ll vote for the NDP. I say that because I’ve been NDP my whole life. Back here I’ve got a sign when I ran for the NDP in Nanaimo.”
Continue reading Former Vice President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs endorses Tanille Johnson in North Island Powell RiverOriginally published by the Parliament of Canada
On 1 February 2022, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (the Committee) agreed to undertake a study to “examine how the Department of Fisheries and Oceans prioritizes, resources and develops scientific studies and advice for the department, how the results of scientific study are communicated to the Minister and Canadians, and how the minister applies data and advice provided by the department and other government departments to ministerial decisions.”The Committee heard from 57 witnesses over nine meetings held between 26 April 2022 and 7 October 2022.
Continue reading Report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans
