Tag Archives: Radio

How will Campbell River’s next Council address homelessness? 

2026 is a municipal election year and some people hope Campbell River residents will use this opportunity to elect a city council that will help alleviate the homeless situation.

“We have an opportunity as a community to come together and actually create solutions with the support of the city, because they are the only ones that have the capacity to be able to do the longevity of some of these projects, but they need us. They need the nonprofits, they need the grassroots, they need citizens and residents to help them and to buy into those solutions in ways where we create a much more inclusive, safe, welcoming community for everybody, not just for some,” explained Sue Moen, a Kwesa Place volunteer and coordinator for the Campbell River Community Action Team. 

“Many of these counsellors and new people are going to be campaigning over the next 10 months. I think that’s really important for voters and citizens to say, ‘okay, how are you going to work with others to do this?’”

Continue reading How will Campbell River’s next Council address homelessness? 

Annual Christmas Bird Count 2025: interview with George Sirk

One of Cortes Island’s longstanding traditions is the Christmas Bird Count; for almost 25 years, local residents have volunteered in a coordinated week-long audit of the island’s bird life. For many years this effort has been coordinated in the field by longtime islander George Sirk, host of CKTZ’s ‘Nature Boy‘ which kicks off a new season at 9:30 AM on Wednesday, January 7, 2026.

Roy Hales interviewed George about this year’s bird count.

Golden-crowned Sparrow
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The Big Oil Playbook: recent Environmental Defence publication

That charitable organisation Environmental Defence has recently published a 23 page report called Big Oil Playbook : Fossil Fuel Industry Exposed. The report is playfully illustrated, but quite serious in concept; its purpose is clearly laid out on the first page:

The goal of this report is to paint a clear picture of how oil and gas companies operate, how they generate support for the industry and leverage it against effective climate solutions. Some of their tactics, like greenwashing and lobbying, have been well-publicized. Yet others have been largely hidden from the public, like funding astroturf groups, supporting anti-renewable energy campaigns, and infiltrating educational institutions.

The report documents ten established tactics used by the fossil industry in its battle against climate activism and decarbonisation policy.  Currents interviewed one of its lead authors, Emilia Belliveau from Environmental Defence Canada, about this project.  The broadcast version of this story is in two episodes. In the first part, Emilia explains the ten standard tactics. In the second part we dig a bit deeper into the details: how these tactics work, and their effects on communities and political life.

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Decrease in Street Crime Reported in Campbell River

 As of the end of 2025, Campbell River, RCMP reported a significant decline in crime within their jurisdiction. Roy Hales interviewed Inspector Jeff Preston of the RCMP and Campbell River’s Director of Community Safety, Jeff Fort, to find out what they think about these statistics, whether there really is a decrease in crime and what may have caused this.

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Looking back on Hollyhock in 2025 and what lies ahead in 2026

It has been nine months since Katia Sol took over the helm as Hollyhock’s CEO. She has also had more than two decades of experience working with nonprofits, starting as a volunteer in a Bolivian Indigenous community and going on to co-direct the Ecology of Leadership at the Regenerative Design Institute, founding her own coaching and leadership development business, and teaching at Stanford University. In today’s interview she talks about this past year at Hollyhock and what lies ahead in 2026. 

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