Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Current - On March 29th, the city of Nanaimo passed a resolution calling on the provincial government “to immediately defer logging in all high productivity, rare, oldest, and most intact old-growth forests as recommended by the Old-Growth Strategic Review, until all 14 of the panel’s recommendations have been implemented.” This issue was hotly contested. Four of the nine councillors present, include Mayor Leonard Krog whose signature is at the bottom of the letter that subsequently went out, were opposed. Never-the less at least eight other municipal governments, and the Comox Valley Regional District, have passed similar resolutions calling implementation of of the province’s Old-Growth Strategic Review. In response, Campbell River passed an opposing resolution, calling for “an elevated direct response of support for Forest operations based on fact and science” at their April 26th Board Meeting.

This motion was brought forward by Councillor Charlie Cornfield, who did not explain what parts of the Old-Growth Strategic Review are unscientific, or how he came to that conclusion.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - CEO Peter Wrinch emailed the following update from hollyhock:

The new restrictions threw a bit of a wrench in our plans for opening, so we have pushed our opening back to June 25th. 

We are really keen to welcome our staff and guests back to Hollyhock. We deeply support the public health measures of the Public Health Officer and every time there are new restrictions it is hard on our team both working and non-working (just like it is hard on everyone). We are really looking forward to welcoming people back when it is safe to do so. 

I am continually inspired by the resilience and innovation of our team. Despite not operating in a "normal" way since October 2019, our team is constantly looking for ways to streamline our business, create new opportunities for programming, and welcome people to the land. We also continue to have success with our online gatherings. Two weeks ago, we hosted over 170 Women Entrepreneurs online for Social Venture Institute Women.

All photos courtesy Hollyhock

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - CEO Peter Wrinch emailed the following update from hollyhock:

The new restrictions threw a bit of a wrench in our plans for opening, so we have pushed our opening back to June 25th. 

We are really keen to welcome our staff and guests back to Hollyhock. We deeply support the public health measures of the Public Health Officer and every time there are new restrictions it is hard on our team both working and non-working (just like it is hard on everyone). We are really looking forward to welcoming people back when it is safe to do so. 

I am continually inspired by the resilience and innovation of our team. Despite not operating in a "normal" way since October 2019, our team is constantly looking for ways to streamline our business, create new opportunities for programming, and welcome people to the land. We also continue to have success with our online gatherings. Two weeks ago, we hosted over 170 Women Entrepreneurs online for Social Venture Institute Women.

All photos courtesy Hollyhock

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - For the first time in over two months, the number of new COVID cases on Vancouver Island dipped down to single digits on Wednesday. They rose to 21 again Thursday and there are more cases in North Vancouver Island than a week ago, but the overall trend across the Island has been downward for more than a month.

There were 153 active cases on Vancouver Island yesterday, which is less than a third of the 508 reported on April 9th.

There were only three schools listed on Island Health’s school exposure page, but one of them is École des Deux Mondes in Campbell River. The school has published a warning of possible exposures on May 4th and 5th. Island Health notified staff and students that may have been exposed need to self-isolate for 14 days.

The BC Centre for Disease Control released the most recent data for the Greater Campbell Health Area Wednesday evening. The number of active cases in the epi-week of May 2-8 was 6. That is five less than the previous week.

However there was a similar increase in the Comox Valley, where the number of active cases rose from 7 to 13.

There have been two cases in Powell River during both weeks and none in Vancouver Island North or West.

Top photo credit: People with protective masks during the COVID-19 pandemic by Jerónimo Roure via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - For the first time in over two months, the number of new COVID cases on Vancouver Island dipped down to single digits on Wednesday. They rose to 21 again Thursday and there are more cases in North Vancouver Island than a week ago, but the overall trend across the Island has been downward for more than a month.

There were 153 active cases on Vancouver Island yesterday, which is less than a third of the 508 reported on April 9th.

There were only three schools listed on Island Health’s school exposure page, but one of them is École des Deux Mondes in Campbell River. The school has published a warning of possible exposures on May 4th and 5th. Island Health notified staff and students that may have been exposed need to self-isolate for 14 days.

The BC Centre for Disease Control released the most recent data for the Greater Campbell Health Area Wednesday evening. The number of active cases in the epi-week of May 2-8 was 6. That is five less than the previous week.

However there was a similar increase in the Comox Valley, where the number of active cases rose from 7 to 13.

There have been two cases in Powell River during both weeks and none in Vancouver Island North or West.

Top photo credit: People with protective masks during the COVID-19 pandemic by Jerónimo Roure via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Yesterday Cortes Currents published a story about local governments asking the BC government to defer logging in old-growth forests until the recommendations of the province’s Old Growth Strategic Review have been implemented. At the bottom of that story there are links to reports from the Comox Valley Regional District and the municipal governments of Courtenay, Cumberland, Lantzville, Metchosin, Nanaimo, Powell River, Port Moody, and Victoria. The Capital Regional District (CRD), which represents 13 municipalities and three electoral areas in Southern Vancouver Island, was going to vote on a similar resolution Wednesday, but the Pacheedaht First Nation said this would be a violation of the sovereignty and wishes of their nation. The CRD has not yet published the minutes of that Board meeting. Locally, Geraldine Kenny, from Sierra Quadra is asking the SRD to support the old Growth Strategic Review.

“Be it resolved that the SRD call on the provincial government to

immediately defer logging in all high productivity, rare, old and mostly

intact old-growth forests as recommended by the Old-Growth Strategic Review, pending the implementation of all 14 of the panel’s recommendations,” said Kenny.

“We ask that the SRD call on the Government of British Columbia to

allocate sufficient funding to enact deferrals in an economically just

manner, and in the full spirit of reconciliation to support the economic

transition of affected First Nations communities—and all non-First

Nations communities, too— from unsustainable old-growth logging to the development of long-term sustainable local economies.”

“The United Nations[ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has

determined that we now have less than ten years to do everything

possible to reduce global emissions and avoid climate catastrophe. The

protection of primary forests has been identified as one of the best

global solutions to address climate change. The BC government and all

elected officials must act quickly to protect these globally significant

carbon sinks. It is the government’s responsibility to the people of

British Columbia to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and

associated land-use changes through an immediate ban on old-growth logging.”

“Public support for protecting old-growth is evident: 55,000+ people have

signed a petition to end logging in at-risk old-growth forests across

B.C. Thousands more have sent emails, made phone calls, and reached out on social media. More broadly, the Sierra Club’s recent polling

indicates that over 90% of people living in British Columbia support

action to protect endangered old-growth forests.”

“We demand that our elected officials act as climate leaders and

immediately stop the destruction of the globally essential carbon sinks

that are BC’s remaining old-growth forests. It is encouraging that the

Resolution to do so has been supported to date by the communities of

Cumberland, CVRD, Lantzville, Nanaimo, Port Renfrew, Metchosin, Colwood and Powell River, with more signing on daily.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Yesterday Cortes Currents published a story about local governments asking the BC government to defer logging in old-growth forests until the recommendations of the province’s Old Growth Strategic Review have been implemented. At the bottom of that story there are links to reports from the Comox Valley Regional District and the municipal governments of Courtenay, Cumberland, Lantzville, Metchosin, Nanaimo, Powell River, Port Moody, and Victoria. The Capital Regional District (CRD), which represents 13 municipalities and three electoral areas in Southern Vancouver Island, was going to vote on a similar resolution Wednesday, but the Pacheedaht First Nation said this would be a violation of the sovereignty and wishes of their nation. The CRD has not yet published the minutes of that Board meeting. Locally, Geraldine Kenny, from Sierra Quadra is asking the SRD to support the old Growth Strategic Review.

“Be it resolved that the SRD call on the provincial government to

immediately defer logging in all high productivity, rare, old and mostly

intact old-growth forests as recommended by the Old-Growth Strategic Review, pending the implementation of all 14 of the panel’s recommendations,” said Kenny.

“We ask that the SRD call on the Government of British Columbia to

allocate sufficient funding to enact deferrals in an economically just

manner, and in the full spirit of reconciliation to support the economic

transition of affected First Nations communities—and all non-First

Nations communities, too— from unsustainable old-growth logging to the development of long-term sustainable local economies.”

“The United Nations[ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has

determined that we now have less than ten years to do everything

possible to reduce global emissions and avoid climate catastrophe. The

protection of primary forests has been identified as one of the best

global solutions to address climate change. The BC government and all

elected officials must act quickly to protect these globally significant

carbon sinks. It is the government’s responsibility to the people of

British Columbia to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and

associated land-use changes through an immediate ban on old-growth logging.”

“Public support for protecting old-growth is evident: 55,000+ people have

signed a petition to end logging in at-risk old-growth forests across

B.C. Thousands more have sent emails, made phone calls, and reached out on social media. More broadly, the Sierra Club’s recent polling

indicates that over 90% of people living in British Columbia support

action to protect endangered old-growth forests.”

“We demand that our elected officials act as climate leaders and

immediately stop the destruction of the globally essential carbon sinks

that are BC’s remaining old-growth forests. It is encouraging that the

Resolution to do so has been supported to date by the communities of

Cumberland, CVRD, Lantzville, Nanaimo, Port Renfrew, Metchosin, Colwood and Powell River, with more signing on daily.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Refuge Cove general store should soon be reopening.

This is the Desolation Sound’s only grocery store in a deep-water harbour and is normally open from June until September.

According to the website, “During the summer, the store is well stocked with block and cube (best on the coast) ice, groceries, marine hardware, souvenirs, local books, fuel, tackle, and ice cream novelties and cones!”

The associated fuel dock serves customers on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, through-out the winter months.

Lucy Robertson emailed Cortes Currents that the store was impacted by the pandemic last summer, “We did notice a downturn in sales and traffic as a fair number of our customers are from the USA. It was a quieter summer in Refuge Cove as a number of families who have second homes here were not able to make the trip.”

“I did have the impression that there was an increase in the number of new Canadian boaters last summer and that people were spending more time out on the water in general. Many customers were making an extra effort to resupply locally and support the smaller places. We also had a lot of support in the form of kind words and deeds from our local community and from visitors.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Refuge Cove general store should soon be reopening.

This is the Desolation Sound’s only grocery store in a deep-water harbour and is normally open from June until September.

According to the website, “During the summer, the store is well stocked with block and cube (best on the coast) ice, groceries, marine hardware, souvenirs, local books, fuel, tackle, and ice cream novelties and cones!”

The associated fuel dock serves customers on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, through-out the winter months.

Lucy Robertson emailed Cortes Currents that the store was impacted by the pandemic last summer, “We did notice a downturn in sales and traffic as a fair number of our customers are from the USA. It was a quieter summer in Refuge Cove as a number of families who have second homes here were not able to make the trip.”

“I did have the impression that there was an increase in the number of new Canadian boaters last summer and that people were spending more time out on the water in general. Many customers were making an extra effort to resupply locally and support the smaller places. We also had a lot of support in the form of kind words and deeds from our local community and from visitors.”

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - A local government initiative to protect Vancouver Island’s old growth forests may have been checked by aboriginal title issues. 

The controversial Fairy Creek logging blockade is within the traditional territory of the Pacheedaht First Nation, which has ”secured commitments from tenure holders and the government of BC to suspend operations.” They are strongly urging outsiders to "show an appropriate level of respect to the sovereignty and wishes of our nation" and "respect our desire for self-determination."

Prior to this, the Comox Valley Regional District, and municipalities of Powell River, Courtenay, Cumberland, Lantzville, Nanaimo, Port Renfrew, Metchosin, Colwood, Victoria and Port Moody all passed resolutions requesting the province defer logging in old-growth forests until the recommendations of the province’s Old Growth Strategic Review have been implemented.

While it has not yet had time to respond, some local residents have asked the Strathcona Regional District Board to follow suit.

A similar motion was on the agenda of the Capital Regional District (CRD Wednesday, but the Pacheedaht “strongly encouraged CRD to continue to focus on policy, planning and service delivery, and to work with our Nation and the nearby communities on priority matters within CRD jurisdiction.” 

Their memorandum summarized three key points from a letter message the Pacheedaht sent the CRD a month earlier:

(1) "Pacheedaht First Nation is concerned that third-party interference on our Nation’s interests and affairs including resource stewardship is polarizing and harming our community, and we have asked for it to cease." 

(2) "Pacheedaht is conducting an inclusive Integrated Resource Stewardship Plan (IRSP) involving our entire community to guide the future management of our Traditional Territory." 

(3) "Pacheedaht does not welcome unsolicited interference or involvement from others."

In closing, the memo states, “In the event that Pacheedaht First Nation determines at some point in the future that our Nation would benefit from increased involvement from CRD in the stewardship of our Traditional Territory, we will contact you.”

The CRD has not yet published the minutes of their May 12th meeting, but a CTV news reporter noted that of 2:35 PM it had not been discussed.

Image from old growth protest in Campbell River