Tag Archives: Justin Trudeau

Business, Opinion, Politics, Tourism

How BC will be directly impacted by a Trump presidency

By Sidney Coles, Capital Daily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Very few people voted in it, but dollars to donuts, many people across BC had their eyes, last night and into the early morning hours, on the American election. No matter who was going to win, the economic and trade policies of the next and 47th US president were going to impact life on the Island. Had Kamala Harris won, those impacts would have been less stark, less worrisome. From culture to immigration, to trade, the outcome of a Trump presidency will be felt in ways we can’t yet fully anticipate.

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Rivers & Oceans

Fishing communities welcome B.C. intention to reform licensing and quotas

Editor’s note: Fishing was one of Cortes Island’s major industries. The museum records the names of 28 boats and 40 individuals active during the 1970’s. Government regulations changed that. According to  the study SET ADRIFT: THE PLIGHT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA’S FISHING COMMUNITIES, 71% of the people working in the province’s commercial fishing industry lost their jobs. “What remains in the commercial fishery is not a vibrant and healthy fleet, but a fleet ravaged by consolidation.” DFO licensing practises “diverted the fish away from the populous small-boat fleet and delivered the resource into the hands of a venture capitalist…”

By Hope Lompe,  Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Fishing communities, harvesters and advocates are welcoming British Columbia’s intention to work with the federal government to reform the purchase system for fish licences and quotas for B.C.’s commercial fishing industry.

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Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

The Uncertain future of Salmon Farms in British Columbia

The future of fish farms in British Columbia is uncertain. On June 7, Judge Paul Favel supported the Ministry of Fisheries decision to not renew the licenses of 15 fish farms in the Discovery Islands, and denied a joint application by industry and the Laich-kwil-tach Nation for a judicial review. At the end of this month the licenses of the remaining 66 fish farms still operating in this province will expire. 

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Environment, Opinion, Rivers & Oceans

Salmon Update: CAFO Conditions, Mass Die-Offs, Manufactured Risks and License Renewals

Scientists at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden recently concluded that some farmed salmon die from depression. (This may not be too surprising, given the conditions in which they are kept.) In other recent research, a team of US and Canadian scientists has charted an ominous trend: mass die-offs of farmed salmon are increasing in both frequency and scale. Some observers question whether the industry, after decades of growth, may be past its peak and about to decline.

Meanwhile, DFO suggests that salmon farming licenses should be renewed this summer for six years rather than the current standard term of two years — only five years after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a campaign promise to shut down net-pen salmon farming in BC altogether by 2025.

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Politics

Green Party Leaders coming to Campbell River on March 2

Canada is expected to have another Federal election in October 2025. Green party leaders Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault launched their national campaign almost two weeks ago. Cortes Currents interviewed  them in Ottawa (via ZOOM) yesterday morning. They will be coming to the Maritime Heritage Centre in Campbell River on Saturday, March 2. 

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