Category Archives: Indigenous Nations

BC could use Federal funding to end the war in the woods

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A coalition of conservationists is urging the B.C. government to use federal funds to end the province’s new war in the woods on Vancouver Island, protect old-growth forest and establish targets for endangered ecosystems.

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Chainsaws, tree sits & arrests at Fairy Creek

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Tensions are escalating at old-growth blockades on Vancouver Island as chainsaws reportedly started up in the Caycuse region Friday and a clash between protesters and police the day before was posted to social media.

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Confessions of an ignorant Racist

The following piece is potentially triggering, and contains references to racism, racial slurs, and violence.This opinion piece is based on my personal experience and exploration within my lifetime, of the continuing cycle of systemic racism and colonial violence.

Associate professor Rajnish Dhawan, from the University of the Fraser Valley, makes a distinction between hate-based and ignorance-based racism. 

He is quoted in a series of programs that Fraser Valley Community Radio recently broadcast about Abbotsford’s hushed racist history.

That prompted me to think about the community I was raised in, across the river in Maple Ridge.

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Bringing everyone to the table; the new Liberal Chair for our riding

The Liberals placed third in North Island- Powell River during the 2015 election. In 2019: they sank to fourth – just behind the Green party. While this is challenging, Michael Ballard, the new Chair of this riding’s Liberal Electoral District Association, has a larger vision. He says the keys to moving forward as a society, is bringing everyone to the table. 

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The hushed Racist history of Abbotsford

By Aly Laube, Fraser Valley Community Radio, CIVL 101.7 FMLocal Journalism Initiative

Without the labour of Asian immigrants, who ran the city’s lumber mill and built railroads all over Canada, Abbotsford wouldn’t be what it is today. Many of the South Asian families in the valley are second and third generation Canadians with established roots in the local community. 

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