“Local governments are well placed to [determine] … what’s required for community safety.” ––David Eby When it comes to regulating drug use in public, most B.C.’s municipal councils fall into one of two camps. They’re waiting to see if upcoming provincial legislation restricts public drug use to a level they can live with, or they’re […]
“I do feel like I’m on the last lap of a 25 [kilometre] race.” –Sean Bujtas Progress may be painfully slow, and there’s nothing even in writing yet, but Terrace’s mayor says he hasn’t given up hope Premier David Eby will cut a revenue-sharing deal with the province’s cash-strapped northwest municipalities. Sean Bujtas said the […]
The Conservative Party of BC will enter the Fall legislative session with official party status, making it the first time since 1996 that four parties will be recognized in the legislature. “We’ve already made history!” Conservative Party Leader John Rustad declared after former BC United MLA Bruce Banman crossed the floor, doubling Rustad’s caucus to two […]
“If you severed your femoral artery, they wouldn’t put you on a bus with a tourniquet and send you to Prince George for vascular surgery.” ––James Cordeiro Last week, Premier David Eby lobbed a lifeline to northern residents, committing his government’s support to a First Nations-led, local government-backed detox proposal for Terrace, in what would […]
Interior, northern and rural communities that rely on B.C.’s oil and sector have been left wondering about the future of the industry after government abruptly fired the head of the province’s independent energy regulator and signalled even more major changes are coming to provincial energy law. Premier David Eby’s cabinet announced last week it had […]
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon had scant details for local leaders at the annual Union of BC Municipalities conference about what exactly is coming in his housing legislation when the session resumes next month, but it sounds like push is coming to shove on some fronts as far as the province and local governments go. Kahlon […]
“It will replace fentanyl. No it won’t. It is safe. No it isn’t.” ––Addictions physician It’s official. Public health policymaking has become a faith-based pursuit. British Columbian and Canadian government elected and senior public health officials are such fervent believers in the gospel of “safer supply,” they preach unproven benefits as truth, embrace self-reporting by […]
“We don’t have the luxury of time between emergencies right now in British Columbia.” ––David Eby Premier David Eby emerged from his latest tour of B.C.’s fire-ravaged southern interior with a pledge for a task force of experts to ensure a better provincial response next wildfire season. But some of the community leaders he met […]
Thirty years ago, Coho salmon vacated Georgia Strait and did not return in substantial numbers until this spring. Their disappearance is still a mystery. As is their resurgence. “We have not found good correlates to explain why they suddenly started exiting the Strait at much higher rates, no clear links with things like herring abundance […]
“Hansard stopped documenting what the heckles were… It’s not like the old days.” ––Nicholas Simons The B.C. legislature will soon be a lot quieter, after veteran MLA Nicholas Simons, the most prolific heckler in provincial politics, announced an end to his long political career. Simons said he won’t seek reelection in 2024 after 19 years […]
“More and more people will work remotely … [living] in this giant house in the hinterland enjoying a full and proper lifestyle. That’s what’s coming.” ––Richard Kurland While the majority of British Columbia’s new immigrants are still landing in Metro Vancouver, more and more are settling in the northern and rural areas of the province. […]
“It doesn’t matter what either one of us believes, the fact is you need to fix the problem and deliver service to the people in B.C.” –Michael Goetz Should B.C. nurses who refuse to get vaccinated for COVID-19 still be banned from working in the province’s short-staffed healthcare facilities? It’s a question being mulled over […]
“Kitimat is the most beautiful community I’ve lived in, hands down.” Walsham Tenshak The small coastal B.C. community of Kitimat might seem an unlikely place to find other expat Nigerians, but Walsham Tenshak discovered the opposite. “We have an entire community,” said Tenshak, who moved to Kitimat a year ago. “We had a picnic in the summer. […]
“This is not a long-term plan for growing food in British Columbia.” ––Jeremy Dunn B.C.’s cattle and dairy sectors are slamming the provincial government over new emergency water orders that have cut some of their farmers off from growing hay and corn for their livestock during a widespread feed shortage. Industry leaders, who stood publicly […]
“BC Hydro identified those two locations for us … and suddenly the door was shut.” ––Ken Shields A northern B.C. forestry company is taking the provincial government to court for approval to run data farms that it says could help subsidize its existing sawmill and keep hundreds of people employed during turbulent times in the […]
“Water is the lifeblood of our industry, it doesn’t matter what commodity you are in.” Jennifer Dyson B.C. announced funding for a new “dating service” of sorts last week to match farmers and ranchers with available hay and grain supplies during the ongoing record drought and wildfire season. The $150,000 investment to the Access to […]
After the BC Conservatives won an unprecedented 20 per cent of the vote in a Vancouver Island by-election in June, beating both the BC United and the BC Greens for second place, some supporters predict a political sea change, while pundits are mixed on the party’s potential political appeal. “A lot of people around the […]
“They go there… because that’s their emergency department that they’ve always gone to.” Isobel Mackenzie A Merritt senior found collapsed outside a hospital emergency department that was closed due to a staffing shortage is just the tip of the iceberg for how the elderly in rural British Columbia are grappling with the province’s ongoing healthcare […]
Written By Spencer Hall, Special to Northern Beat
Posted
Spencer Hall is an investigative reporter with Energeticcity.ca. Disrupting the Peace is a series on crime in northeast B.C. This is an excerpt of part two. “The burden of running and operating a business right now is overwhelming.” –Kathleen Connolly Business owners frustrated with repeated break-ins say property crime has never been worse in Fort […]
“We’ve got to start looking at this, because we could cripple an entire industry.” ––Mike Pritchard Business is booming at Vanderhoof’s livestock auction — and that’s bad news right now for British Columbia’s cattle sector. Droughts and wildfires have left farmers and ranchers reeling from a hay shortage, which is getting so bad that many […]
The question is what, if anything, will Ottawa do? writes Rob Shaw Fast-built modular housing for B.C.’s rural and remote communities, tax breaks for rental construction buildings and freeing up government land for public housing projects were just a few of the ideas pitched by provincial housing experts, and B.C. government officials, to Canada’s deputy […]
“Some people did the right thing — they went to the closest place they could get to, where it was safe for them and their family.” ––Mike Bernier When Tumbler Ridge residents were abruptly ordered to evacuate due to wildfires earlier this month, the province urged the 2,400 residents to drive more than an hour […]
“There are probably twice as many [pinnipeds] as there have been for the last several thousand years.” ––Carl Walters The time has come to reconsider limits imposed on west coast seal hunting, according to some Indigenous and non-Indigenous stakeholders and academics. Allowing seal and sea lion hunting on the west coast would provide economic and […]
“We need to act now to meet this growing demand to ensure we stay on track with our climate goals.” ––David Eby Premier David Eby’s ambitious plan to electrify the province’s oil, gas and mining sectors, to help government meet its climate targets, has always been shadowed by one niggling question: Does BC actually have […]
“It’s a challenge [in] … rural smaller communities in B.C., but that’s a real focus of the province.” ––Adrian Dix Politicians have a reputation for taking the summer off, but Health Minister Adrian Dix says he’ll be spending his vacation in an unusual way: Travelling across the province visiting its many beleaguered, understaffed, overstressed hospitals. […]
“Just think if we had taken it more seriously 20 or more years ago, how much farther along we’d be.” ––Bob Gray Canada must be “on a war footing” and spend “big, big money” to tackle the problem of wildfires in what is shaping up to be one of the hottest summers and worst fire […]
“I think we are moving down the road to something cool here.” ––Joel McKay Northern B.C.’s patchwork system of community shuttles and long-haul bus service will continue until 2027, under new funding unveiled by the provincial government this week. Transportation Minister Rob Fleming announced $5 million for the Northern Development Initiative Trust to continue 18 […]
The New Democrat government and its top medical health officers have heavily staked their decriminalization gambit on the drug policies of Portugal, Switzerland, Germany and elsewhere, using the European successes as a shield against criticism and proof the experiment will work in B.C. But the comparison is ill-informed and disingenuous. Beyond the commonality of having actual […]
Very few people have seen B.C.’s north quite like Cailey Brown. From the smallest backroad to the busiest highway, from Prince Rupert to the border of the Northwest Territories, Brown has driven all the roads in between. In fact, it’s her job. As the Ministry of Transportation’s northern region surfacing manager, part of Brown’s duties […]
People with addiction issues who’ve spent time in provincial prisons paint a bleak picture of what it’s like trying to recover while incarcerated. “I’ve done a lot of prison time over the years,” said Harry, a 44-year-old Nanaimo resident who asked to be referred to by his first name only. Until about four years ago, […]
“Regardless of where somebody lives, we want to be able to get them [care] on time.” Kim Nguyen Chi When 74-year-old Linda Kerr was diagnosed with breast cancer last January, her only option was to make the more than six-hour-drive from Cranbrook to Kelowna — an arduous winter journey even in the best of health. Two […]
