Tag Archives: Gov of Canada

Food, Transportation

Nanaimo port expansion floats potential solutions for Vancouver Island supply chain woes

Editor’s note: The city of Campbell River has a goal of growing the equivalent of 10% of its food supply by 2031 and 50% by 2060. Thanks to the 2018 LEAP Report, there is more precise data for Cortes Island  – 63% of the respondents stated that 21% of their food was produced locally and close to half of these grew or sourced +51% of their food on Cortes. The percentage of people consuming local foods was highest among people with low incomes.  Surprisingly few respondents said they obtain less than 10% of their food locally.

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Expanding Nanaimo’s Duke Point Terminal could strengthen Vancouver Island’s vulnerable supply chain and improve the flow of food, fuel and essential goods when climate disasters or other disruptions strike, according to the Nanaimo Port Authority. 

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Rivers & Oceans

Fish farm giant Mowi suing fisheries ministers, taxpayers for Discovery Islands closures

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

An international aquaculture giant is suing two former Canadian fisheries ministers for alleged damages from a federal decision to close fish farms in B.C.’s Discovery Islands region.

Mowi Canada West, a subsidiary of the Norwegian seafood company, filed a civil suit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in March against the Canadian government that personally names former fisheries ministers Bernadette Jordan and Joyce Murray. 

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Fire, Indigenous Nations

Frantic escapes, damaged homes and lost time: First Nations hit hardest when wildfire season comes

By Matteo Cimellaro, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Debbie Rupke (Tomma) heard a rattle at her door. It was her cousin in a panic, telling her they had only minutes to leave. Strong winds had shifted, and the Bushcreek fire, which has burned at least 43,084 hectares north of Kelowna so far, was bearing down on their homes. Rupke (Tomma) had returned from Vancouver the day before, so she grabbed her yet-to-be-unpacked suitcase and her most precious memento: a family portrait of her daughter she gave up for adoption at 15.

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Communications

Delores Broten: The problem with Facebook

Google and Facebook took in $9.7 billion in advertising revenue during 2020, while the revenues of more traditional news outlets – who produce much of the actual news being posted on Facebook and Instagram – are failing. In response to Bill C-18, which requires them to pay Canadian media outlets a fraction of their advertisement revenues, the dynamic duo will no longer let Canadian news outlets post. 

This was brought home to Cortes Currents on Wednesday, August 2, when Facebook served notice that as a news outlet, Cortes Currents Facebook posts will no longer be viewable inside Canada. 

As only about 10% of my web traffic actually comes through Facebook, my reactions were mixed, but the strongest was curiosity. 

So I reached out to some local media outlets to find out:

  1. What is their opinion of the situation?
  2. How does being cut off from Facebook affect their publication? 

The first to respond was a well known former Cortes resident, Delores Broten of the Watershed Sentinel.  

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Animals, Rivers & Oceans

Research groups sound alarm after three whales reportedly struck by ships off West Coast

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Three whales were reportedly struck by vessels in northern B.C. waters over a 10-day period last month, raising West Coast humpback researchers’ concerns over the risk shipping poses to the marine mammals.

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