Originally Published February 2, 2020
The grounding of “March Wind” in January 2020 prompted Roy Hales to write a story about boats adrift. I’d like to dig (or dive?) a little deeper under that story and consider some of the factors that have led to the increasing number of derelict and dilapidated boats on the BC Coast.
Continue reading Vessels of Concern: Signs of the Times
On May 2, 2025, host Manda Aufochs-Gillespie was joined by Ashley Zarbatany to to unpack the outcomes of the recent federal election, explore the roots of confusion around strategic voting, and consider what these results might mean for the future of Canada and Cortes!
Continue reading Folk U: Unpacking the 2025 Election
What does it mean to be a neighbour on Cortes Island? This question is at the heart of the new Cortes Island Museum exhibition ‘Won’t You Be My Neighbour?’ curated by Melanie Boyle, Managing Director of the museum and Monica Hoffman. Opening Sunday May 4th the exhibit invites visitors on a visual and narrative journey through both the historical and contemporary communities that shaped life on the island.
“The idea of focusing on neighbourhoods came from the prior exhibition, ‘From the Ground Up,” explained Hoffman.
Boyle added, “We did touch on how people work together to build structures, in terms of collaboration. It was also about repurposing material and sharing of resources and, in a way, this is also what this new exhibition is about. Collective land arrangements are a way for people to live affordably on Cortes, to share the land, but also to share the material, resources and work collaboratively. So there’s a lot of overlap.”
Continue reading At The Museum: ‘Won’t You Be My Neighbour’ Exhibit Explores Community Life In Cortes IslandIt was Earth Day at Wild Cortes, Cortes Island’s centre for natural history, community science and collaborative conservation.
“It is a very exciting place to be, with new displays coming in every year, always on Earth Day. That’s probably the most important thing to say. It’s Earth Day, so let’s celebrate,” explained Sabina leader Mense, a professional advisor to Wild Cortes.
The centrepiece of this year’s displays is the ‘Humpback Comeback’ section highlighting the stunning recovery of Humpback Whales in our local waters.
Continue reading Earthday & the New Exhibits at Wild CortesI volunteered for the NDP Party during the 1968 election. Aside from that, the only campaign headquarters I’ve stepped inside was Elizabeth May’s Salt Spring Island office in 2019. So when in the midst of doing errands in Campbell River, I found myself with more than an hour to spare, it seemed like a fun idea to visit a campaign headquarters. Somebody told me the ‘red guys’ are behind Save On Foods, which is how I ended up at Jennifer Lash’s headquarters.
I did not find out about that yet another poll has been conducted in our riding until I returned home. Like poll #2, it shows the Liberals having taken over the second place slot. After contacting 318 voters in North Island Powell River between April 20 and 21, Spadina Strategies reported that 37% intended to vote for the Conservatives, 30% Liberal, 25% NDP, 5% Green and 2% were undecided.
Continue reading Visiting the Liberal Campaign Headquarters & poll #3 for our riding
