Tag Archives: Gold River

Disaster

SRD Concerns About BC’s New Emergency And Disaster Management Act

The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) has some serious concerns about BC’s new Emergency and Disaster Management Act, which came into effect on November 8.  

According to a provincial government video, “We know people are worried about the climate driven challenges across British Columbia that are significantly affecting our families, communities, economy, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Modern realities like frequent floods, wildfires, drought, and extreme heat, as well as the COVID 19 pandemic have a lasting impact on people and communIties. A significant step in our response to these challenges involves modernizing BC’s emergency management legislation to include the requirement that the emergency management plans of provincial ministries, local authorities, and critical infrastructure operators are informed by risk assessments.”

 At their Wednesday Dec 13 meeting. Protective Services Coordinator Shaun Koopman told the SRD Board his concerns with the way the government was implementing these ideas:

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Politics

SRD Re-elects Baker Chair, Sinnott New Vice Chair

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.

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Transportation

Vancouver Island transportation survey highlights key connectivity gaps for communities

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.

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Fire

Wildfire Update for our area: Day 4 of the State of Emergency

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.

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Rivers & Oceans, Tourism, Transportation

Decades of service in Nuu-chah-nulth waters for what could be ‘the last wooden freighter on the coast’

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Editor’s note: The Uchuck III is the last in a series of steamships that began with the Uchuck, built in Vancouver during 1928 for the Packers Steamship Co. The Uchuck I, was built in Coal Harbour, Vancouver, during 1941 to replace the Uchuck and by 1946 was making three scheduled trips a week from Port Alberni to Bamfield, the south shore of Barkley Sound and Ucluelet before , and returning home. A second vessel, the Uchuck II was added in 1948 to handle the increased traffic. A third vessel, the Uchuck III, was purchased for the fleet in 19521.

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’ →