Tag Archives: Powell River

Rachel Blaney on  the Housing Crisis, Homelessness and Campbell River’s treatment of the Art Gallery

When you get to Cortes, you can multiply all those economic stressors by three or four because we have  clients who have been suffering for years with precarious employment, precarious housing, and higher food costs than mainland food costs.” – Cortes Island Food Bank

It’s been a month since hundreds of Campbell River residents were shocked to learn that their city council appeared to be punishing the local art gallery for not confronting the homeless people camped outside its doors.  As city councilor Ron Kerr put it, “We certainly don’t need to give them tax deferrals if they’re not working with us.”

Local MP Rachel Blaney referred to the incident in the House of Commons when speaking about the housing and homelessness crisis:

“My region has seen the largest increase of unhoused people on record. There was a 106% jump in the Comox Valley and almost 70% percent in Campbell River. This is a catastrophe. The Prime Minister says housing is not a federal responsibility, as people and communities move beyond a crisis point. This while Conservative council members in Campbell River have begun targeting non-profits who provide essential services to the unhoused. When are the Liberals going to be an actual federal partner and build people homes? ” 

Continue reading Rachel Blaney on  the Housing Crisis, Homelessness and Campbell River’s treatment of the Art Gallery

The #1 cause of homelessness

“Scapegoating: the act of blaming a person or group for something bad that has happened or that someone else has done. Example: the scapegoating of immigrants for the country’s economic problems.” – Cambridge Dictionary

While it is easy to blame the unhoused population for their predicament, all of the recent ‘Point In Time’ (PIT) suggest they are indications of a much larger problem. 

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BC Ferries frustrates tourists ​– ​but they’re still lining up to come here

Originally published on qathet Living

So far this summer, 18 guests have cancelled their accommodations at the Old Courthouse Inn, due to problems with BC Ferries.

“It would have been many more, but I talked a lot of them down,” explained Kelly Belanger, who has owned the Inn for 11 years, and says he has never seen a summer like this before ​– ​​featuring unpredictable ferry overloads and cancellations.

“Most guests just look at the chaos as it’s being reported on the news, and believe they won’t be able to get here, so they call to cancel. I tell them, ‘No, actually, ferries are usually reliable. Get there two hours before your sailing and you’ll probably get on.’

Continue reading BC Ferries frustrates tourists ​– ​but they’re still lining up to come here

Beginnings of the Co-op at Refuge Cove

Norm Gibbon’s novel ‘Sea Without Shores’ is set in the tiny village of Refuge Cove, on West Redonda Island, during some of the years he was a member of the community. Refuge Cove’s story goes back several decades before that, but in today’s broadcast Norm outlines some of the history surrounding the beginnings of the Refuge Cove Land and Housing Co-op. 

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Breaking down crime statistics on Vancouver Island

Editor’s note: Trends to watch in Campbell River as well as other urban communities on Vancouver Island.

By Mick Sweetman,  CHLY 101.7 FM Nanaimo, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca

Violent crime in several Vancouver Island communities is on the rise according to new numbers from Statistics Canada.

Warren Silver, an analyst with Statistics Canada says that’s part of a broader trend across Canada where violent crime peaked in the mid to late 1990s before falling until recent years.

“Violent crime is something that we’re really tracking right now, because we’ve seen increases in quite a lot of places,” he said.

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