Tag Archives: Sidney Coles

Disaster

BC Legislators in the hot seat to respond to a firefighting crisis

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Editor’s note: While there has not been a major fire on Cortes or Quadra Islands for decades, this could change as climate impacts grow stronger. I also think every British Columbian should be concerned when firefighters say ‘the wildfire system is in crisis’ and without ‘significant investments’ and ‘critical restructuring … will not be able to meet the demands of the coming wildfire season.’

By Sidney Coles, Capital Daily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Members of the British Columbia General Employees Union (BCGEU) went to the BC Legislature on Tuesday to meet with MLAs to lobby for transformational investments they hope will enhance public safety and make it easier for them to recruit and retain members.

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Housing, Spirituality

Mission or market? Churches are not always on the right side of the housing crisis.

Editor’s opinion: I believe Christianity needs to be ‘reborn’ in a form more palatable to the 21st century. I do not know what this would look like, but suspect it will be substantially different from what we see now, at least in its outward forms. At the moment, there are probably more Christians outside of the Church than in it.

By Sidney Coles, Capital Daily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The fiscal reality that churches are increasingly less viable solely as places of worship is repeating itself across the country.  Unable to count on tithes or bums in seats, churches have been either closing their doors or selling off and re-purposing their assets in a land and real estate market only too happy to receive them. And it’s paying big dividends.

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Jobs

Living Wage Symposium brought multiple sectors together to tackle the affordability crisis

Editor’s note: This is a local issue. 33% of the respondents to the most recent Point In Time count of Campbell River’s unhoused population said they lost their homes because of insufficient income. In the Comox Valley, this statistic rose to 56%. According to the 2021 Census, 38% of the renters in those areas are paying more than they can afford for shelter. This is also true on Quadra Island and on Cortes Island the number of tenants paying unaffordable rents was 47%.

By Sidney Coles, Capital Daily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

On Wednesday morning, representatives from the not-for-profit, private and public sectors gathered at the Living Wage Symposium at Victoria City Hall to discuss creative ways they can address the economic squeeze people are feeling in the CRD. The event was organized by the Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria (CSPC) in partnership with the United Way Southern Vancouver Island, Vancity, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Living wage Families for BC.  

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