The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) Board held its inaugural meeting on Wednesday, November 8. Provincial legislation requires regional districts to annually elect a Chair and a Vice-Chair for a one-year term at the first meeting of the Board after November 1.
Continue reading SRD Re-elects Baker Chair, Sinnot New Vice Chair
Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A lack of affordable, convenient, frequent and reliable options for travel between many Vancouver Island and Sunshine Coast communities was the top obstacle identified in a recent regional transportation survey.
Over the summer, the B.C. government funded extensive community consultations to study passenger transportation gaps faced by Indigenous, small, rural and remote communities on Vancouver Island and parts of the coastal mainland, as well as B.C.’s north and its southern Interior.
Poor connections between coastal communities, like ferries linked to transit, insufficient public transportation options to airports or harbours, and a lack of safe, accessible or low-emission services were other roadblocks highlighted in the Island Coastal Inter-Community Transportation study.
Continue reading Vancouver Island transportation survey highlights key connectivity gaps for communities
In the midst of the worst fire season in BC’s history, Premier Eby declared a state of Emergency last Friday.
However there are no major fires in the Discovery Islands. The Village Bay Lake Fire, on Quadra Island, seems to have been brought under control in a single day. Aside from that, the closest wildfires are in Phillips Arm and the Strathcona Provincial Park.
Cortes Currents asked BC Wildfire Information Officer Kimberly Kelly for an update on local conditions and insight into what they mean.
Continue reading Wildfire Update for our area: Day 4 of the State of EmergencyEditor’s note: a disappearing part of our heritage
By Alexandra Mehl, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Yuquot, BC – The Uchuck III is a beloved cargo and passenger vessel that has been serving Nootka Sound for decades bringing the Mowachaht/Muchalaht nation back to their ancestral home, Yuquot, while delivering supplies to remote First Nations and industry camps.
Each summer, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, the Uchuck III departs from the Gold River dock, travelling through the Muchalat Inlet to Nootka Sound, past Bligh Island, and arrives two hours later at Friendly Cove, also known as Yuquot.
Continue reading Decades of service in Nuu-chah-nulth waters for what could be ‘the last wooden freighter on the coast’Editor’s note: Smoke from these fires later spread eastward to Campbell River, Quadra and Cortes Islands, affecting air quality.
By Alexandra Mehl, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
On Saturday and Sunday, lightning struck throughout the Strathcona region causing six small wildfires to spark near Wolf River, Mount Con Ried, and Trio Creek.
“The majority of them are in upper elevation so there wasn’t a lot of fuel,” said Nick Donnelly, an information officer with the Coastal Fire Center, adding that these wildfires have no risk to the public or critical infrastructure. “They are still listed as out of control, but they are just in a monitor only stage because we’re not expecting them to grow further.”
Continue reading Six wildfires spark in Strathcona Region on Sunday
