Tag Archives: Toronto

Michael Keith (Part 2): on Cortes Island 

Michael Keith was ‘blown away’ when he visited Hornby Island twenty years ago.

“I was like, ‘Wow, imagine living in a place like that.’ I remember going back to Toronto and telling my friends, ‘they don’t even lock their doors there. It’s incredible!’”

He was enamoured by the spectacular seascapes at Tofino, when he played there a few years later. 

Keith went through a divorce, sold his house, and then hooked up with a professor at the University of Toronto.  

“My new partner who I’ve been with for 10 years,  introduced me to Cortes because she would come here for getaways from Toronto. I was gigging two or three times a week, and teaching in Toronto. She wanted to move here. I came, checked it out and just fell in love with the land. We were fortunate enough to get a tiny little place.”

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Wildfire Smoke Is Making Us Sick

By Michelle Gamage, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It’s early June and there are 80 wildfires burning in the province, according to the BC Wildfire Service dashboard. 

There are evacuation orders in place for areas of the Peace River Regional District, and localities close to significant fires are blanketed in smoke.  

Fires are also bringing hazy skies to  Vancouver and other areas of the province farther away from active  fires. Across the continent, smoke is coating Toronto and New York right now. 

While smoky days and even weeks might be a  regular feature of future Canadian summers, they’re not something we  should be complacent with, according to health experts. 

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Michael Keith (Part 1): Inspirations then and now

Nur Michael Keith has been living on Cortes Island for the past 6 years, but has been a professional musician for most of his 56 years. 

In the beginning of a two part series, he talks a little about his earlier life, inspirations and we listen to three of his songs. 

At one point during our interview I asked about his first name, ‘Nur.’ 

Michael explained, “It was something I gave myself. ‘Michael’ is from my birth parents, ‘Keith’ is from my adoptive parents and ‘Nur’ I gave myself. I sometimes go by Nur Michael Keith.”

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Canada is facing the largest wave of Ukrainian immigration ever

By Yuriy Umansky, New Canadian Media, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

More than seven million Ukrainians were forced to leave the country when Russia invaded Ukraine  –   20 per cent  of the country’s population. And while most of the refugees are remaining in Europe, many have applied for a visa to come to Canada.

According to the Canadian government, Canada has received almost one million applications under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET) and has approved more than 650,000.

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Canada desperate for construction workers

By Fabian Dawson, New Canadian Media, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Desperate for workers, Canada is implementing several immediate measures to bolster its skills and trades sectors including allowing successful candidates to bring their family members to the country.

In addition, several provinces are opening their doors wider to ease crippling labour shortages while creating pathways for out-of-status migrants to help Canadian employers.

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