Tag Archives: Quadra Island

Wood Stove Smoke Pollution In Courtenay, Campbell River, Quadra and Cortes Islands

Wood smoke is not good for your lungs or the planet. It produces particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers, which is small enough to inhale, travel through our bloodstream, and cause a range of health problems. According to Dr Gary Fuller, the average wood burning stove emits six times as much particulate matter as a modern diesel lorry. This can be a problem in a cities like London, Vancouver or Victoria, but what about rural Vancouver Island communities like Courtenay, Campbell River and Cortes Island?   

Continue reading Wood Stove Smoke Pollution In Courtenay, Campbell River, Quadra and Cortes Islands

RIEP Presentation: US Tariffs & How Island Economies Can Respond

Around 100 people signed up for the Rural Islands Economic Partnership 2025 Virtual Forum. At least 10 were from Cortes Island and there were others from Quadra, Bowen, Texada, Hornby, Denman, Cormorant, Malcolm and the Gulf Islands, as well as the Broughton Archipelago. Several of the topics were of great importance to islanders. One of the foremost was Aaron Cruikshank’s analysis of the impact US tariffs will have on island economies and what we can do about it.

Cruikshank is the founder of CTRS, a Market intelligence company from the Lower Mainland that has worked with hundreds of organizations and governments over the past 20 years.

Continue reading RIEP Presentation: US Tariffs & How Island Economies Can Respond

Disruptions of CityWest Services on Cortes and Quadra Islands

CityWest’s internet service for Cortes Island was cut off again, sometime after 10:44 on Saturday, March 8, and not restored until after 9:00 on Monday, March 10. This is the third or fourth time in the last 12 months. 

The outage did not affect CKTZ, which relies upon Mascon de TELUS, but did shut down numerous CityWest customers (including Cortes Currents).

‘Rumour’ has it that the fibre cable was cut somewhere on the underwater stretch between Denman Island and Williams Beach.  

Continue reading Disruptions of CityWest Services on Cortes and Quadra Islands

This Week: 2025 Rural Islands Economic Partnership Virtual Forum

The 2025 Rural Islands Economic Partnership (RIEP) Virtual Forum is coming up on Thursday, March 6 and Friday, March 7. Two of the organizers, Francine Carlin and Kate Maddigan are my guests today.

“ It’s going to be a jam packed two half days, 9:15 AM to 12:30 PM.  Our virtual events are really unique because we all live on islands or remote coastal communities and don’t have the opportunity to get together as a collaborative regional grouping. So it’s important to have these virtual events that bring together people from all across the coast and the islands, up from North Island as far as Alert Bay, to Sooke and beyond. So we have a pretty broad reach and this year it’s really important, particularly with the events in the world around economic  issues that relate to  our local  economic and social wellbeing,” explained Francine Carlin, Chair of the Rural Islands Economic Partnership

Continue reading This Week: 2025 Rural Islands Economic Partnership Virtual Forum

NDP Candidate Tanillle Johnson Visits Cortes Island

NDP candidate Tanille Johnson recently visited Cortes Island, where 20 people were waiting to see her in the Pioneer Room at Mansons Hall. The event was sponsored by Cortes Island’s Climate Action Network, which also provided lunch. 

Johnson said she prefers small meetings like this,  “I’ve been spending most of my time going to people’s houses, meeting with their friends,  I like to think that I’m a very truthful, honest person and I actually care about what happens in this riding. It means a lot to me, like my family, generations and generations, lived here.”

Continue reading NDP Candidate Tanillle Johnson Visits Cortes Island