Tag Archives: Gov of Canada

Communications, Community, Jobs

Angst in America as Canada launches new plan to poach foreign tech workers

By Fabian Dawson, New Canadian Media, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Canada’s newly unveiled approach to attract foreign tech talent is being met with angst in America while being heralded as a game changer for the country’s emerging technologies, according to experts.

But for the multi-pronged Tech Talent Strategy to work, Canada needs to ensure that there is a clear and predictable pathway toward obtaining permanent residency, said immigration experts and IT consultants.

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Education, Jobs, Rivers & Oceans

North Island College offering free course for entry level marine employment

Editor’s note: This is an opportunity for Cortes, Quadra and other Discovery Islanders.

North Island College is offering a free 20-day course for people who are unemployed, partially employed or precariously employed and wish to become deckhands, operate tourism related vessels or take the first step towards obtaining certification as tugboat operators.

“You have to be at least 16 years old, a resident of BC and have a social insurance number – so be a permanent resident of Canada. You must be ready to train. If you are unemployed,  if you’re a high school student, if you’re in grade 11 or 12 and you’re 16 years of age, you can do this course. If you are only employed part-time because you can’t find full-time in what you want to do. If you are only employed seasonally or casually or precariously, you can apply to be part of this program,” explained Mary Ruth Snyder,  Executive Director of the Campbell River & District Chamber of Commerce , which has partnered with the college on this project. 

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Rivers & Oceans, Transportation

Canada’s new cruise ship rules don’t plug loopholes for major source of wastewater pollution

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The federal government says some new cruise ship pollution measures are now mandatory, but environmental groups say the move still doesn’t plug gaps that permit the ongoing contamination of some of Canada’s most sensitive coastlines.

Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra announced Friday that voluntary measures established last April on the discharge and treatment guidelines for sewage (black water) and grey water — which includes kitchen water, laundry detergent, cleaning products, food waste, cooking oils and grease as well as hazardous carcinogens and other pollutants — will be mandatory immediately under an interim order. 

But the largest source of acidic waste water from cruise ships and other vessels will continue to flow into the ocean unabated, said Anna Barford, shipping campaigner for Stand.earth Canada. 

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Cost of Climate Change

Canada must speed up decarbonizing ports to slash rising shipping emissions

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Canada urgently needs to chart a course of action that will dramatically reduce the shipping sector’s surging greenhouse gas emissions, says an international coalition working to decarbonize the maritime sector. 

Each year, international shipping creates a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. If the sector was a country, it would be the sixth largest emitter of CO2 emissions, roughly equivalent to Japan. 

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Seniors

Restart of Seniors Helping Seniors

Elinore Harwood posted a thank-you note in the Tideline last week. Writing on behalf of the Board and membership of the Cortes Island Seniors Society (CISS), she stated that Carina Verhoeve had been ‘a fine Coordinator.’ This was the first indication many Cortes residents had that the ‘Seniors Helping Seniors’ program was no longer being funded. When Cortes Currents contacted Verhoeve, she said the funding for her program had been terminated eight months ago. Now the Seniors Helping Seniors program has been restarted under the auspices of a new senior’s society.

“Seniors Helping Seniors is a wonderful initiative and program. I’m happy that it has started way back, I am happy that it has been going all these years and I am even more happy that it’s continuing. It offers essential services to seniors and if we are lucky,  we will all be seniors at some point,” explained Verhoeve.

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