Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - A week ago, on Monday April 19, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland presented Canada’s budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 to the House of Common. Since the finance minister delivered that speech, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s minority Liberal government has survived two non-confidence motions. These pertained to amendments. This morning, Monday April 26, the House will be asked to approve the Budget as a whole. THis is expected to prompt yet another non-confidence motion. The NDP party has promised to support the government and in this morning’s interview Rachel Blaney, the MP for North Island - Powell River will talk about the aspects of this budget she thinks work for her constituents? And what doesn’t?

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - A $50 million a year business seeks increased logging restrictions in the Outer Discovery Islands.

Ralph Kellar, ad hoc chair of the Discovery Islands Marine Tourism Group, cites studies showing that marine tourism brings just as much money into the local economy.

“The Discovery Islands proper were identified by tourism as an area of concern and exceptionally high value. For example, in Campbell River today there are twelve, perhaps more, motorized tour companies that exclusively the afore mentioned islands anf those companies generate over $10 million a summer for the Campbell River economy” said Kellar, whose family operates the sea kayak company Coast Mountain Expeditions out of Read Island and the Discovery Lodge on North Quadra Island.

“We kept seeing more and more clear cuts show up on the landscapes of the Discovery Islands, our operating area. We got tired of explaining this stuff to our customers,” said Kellar. “Most of the timber was being exported to the Orient and we were left with the clearcuts. There was virtually no return to the local economy, except for a few logging jobs.”

Last August, the Campbell River Business Recovery Task Force identified tourism and forestry as two of the three first dollar pillars of the city’s economy.

They said that the top four forestry companies with headquarters in Campbell River – Western Forest Products, Interfor, Mosaic and BC Timber Sales – pay an estimated $47 million in wages and benefits every year. Their operations extend over a considerable portion of Vancouver Island as well as the Discovery Islands. There were smaller companies as well.

“We conducted a study and ended up with a number we think is pretty realistic, maybe even a bit low, but the value of the Discovery Islands tourism, not including Campbell River, is about $50 million a year,” said Kellar. “That compares very favourably to the forest industry. Depending on the year, it would be the same size as and some years even bigger.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - A $50 million a year business seeks increased logging restrictions in the Outer Discovery Islands.

Ralph Kellar, ad hoc chair of the Discovery Islands Marine Tourism Group, cites studies showing that marine tourism brings just as much money into the local economy.

“The Discovery Islands proper were identified by tourism as an area of concern and exceptionally high value. For example, in Campbell River today there are twelve, perhaps more, motorized tour companies that exclusively the afore mentioned islands anf those companies generate over $10 million a summer for the Campbell River economy” said Kellar, whose family operates the sea kayak company Coast Mountain Expeditions out of Read Island and the Discovery Lodge on North Quadra Island.

“We kept seeing more and more clear cuts show up on the landscapes of the Discovery Islands, our operating area. We got tired of explaining this stuff to our customers,” said Kellar. “Most of the timber was being exported to the Orient and we were left with the clearcuts. There was virtually no return to the local economy, except for a few logging jobs.”

Last August, the Campbell River Business Recovery Task Force identified tourism and forestry as two of the three first dollar pillars of the city’s economy.

They said that the top four forestry companies with headquarters in Campbell River – Western Forest Products, Interfor, Mosaic and BC Timber Sales – pay an estimated $47 million in wages and benefits every year. Their operations extend over a considerable portion of Vancouver Island as well as the Discovery Islands. There were smaller companies as well.

“We conducted a study and ended up with a number we think is pretty realistic, maybe even a bit low, but the value of the Discovery Islands tourism, not including Campbell River, is about $50 million a year,” said Kellar. “That compares very favourably to the forest industry. Depending on the year, it would be the same size as and some years even bigger.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents: Four Quadra residents are seeking to have the public zoning meeting for the Gowland Harbour Views development, on Quadra Island delayed until it is possible to meet in person.

Land owner and applicant, Rick Schellinck, originally approached the Strathcona Regional District in the summer of 2010 

The current rendition of his application is to develop 51 residential lots, a campground, marina and two waterfront parks in Gowland Harbour.

The podcast includes clips from the presentations by Michael and Jean Stahnke, Mark Nighswander and George Murdoch, as well as a response by Cortes Island Regional Director Noba Anderson

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents: Four Quadra residents are seeking to have the public zoning meeting for the Gowland Harbour Views development, on Quadra Island delayed until it is possible to meet in person.

Land owner and applicant, Rick Schellinck, originally approached the Strathcona Regional District in the summer of 2010 

The current rendition of his application is to develop 51 residential lots, a campground, marina and two waterfront parks in Gowland Harbour.

The podcast includes clips from the presentations by Michael and Jean Stahnke, Mark Nighswander and George Murdoch, as well as a response by Cortes Island Regional Director Noba Anderson

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Born in New York, he chose Canada. Another two years passed before he arrived on a remote island off the West Coast. Paul Kirmmse remembers Cortes Island in 1971.

“I originally came here in January of ’71, looking for land. A guy gave me a job for the summer, beginning in April, serving coffee to the fishers and the loggers. There was a little cafe just above Mansons Lagoon, across from used to be the Barton store - which I understand is now the Cortes Island Museum. It was drug up the road and put in place to become the museum,” he says.

Kirmmse tried a variety of jobs that summer. He bailed hay for Ken Hansen, on what has since become Linnaea Farm. Jack Parry hired him to bag oysters, in the era before there were oyster leases or trays.

In the podcast above he talks about the beginnings of Cortes Island's oyster's business as well as anecdotes from Mansons Landing, Squirrel Cove and Whaletown.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Born in New York, he chose Canada. Another two years passed before he arrived on a remote island off the West Coast. Paul Kirmmse remembers Cortes Island in 1971.

“I originally came here in January of ’71, looking for land. A guy gave me a job for the summer, beginning in April, serving coffee to the fishers and the loggers. There was a little cafe just above Mansons Lagoon, across from used to be the Barton store - which I understand is now the Cortes Island Museum. It was drug up the road and put in place to become the museum,” he says.

Kirmmse tried a variety of jobs that summer. He bailed hay for Ken Hansen, on what has since become Linnaea Farm. Jack Parry hired him to bag oysters, in the era before there were oyster leases or trays.

In the podcast above he talks about the beginnings of Cortes Island's oyster's business as well as anecdotes from Mansons Landing, Squirrel Cove and Whaletown.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - There are isolated reports of increased violence, both physical and verbal, as a result of the increased isolation during the pandemic.

In Campbell River, RCMP Cst Maury Tyre reports, “We are seeing a lot of escalation in basic disagreements due to the level of language that people are using causing greater and greater offence to others. Then simply put, people who are on edge just aren’t able to walk away. In some cases we are seeing arguments occur over minor traffic events or the behaviour of someone else’s pet. None of these events should have escalated to violence.”

“Police attended multiple fights during the afternoon on April 17th, 2021. Unlike most instances of violence that the police attend, drugs and alcohol were not involved in these incidents at all.”

“Maybe it’s the fact that people have been spending more time behind their keyboards during the pandemic and they can get away with saying whatever they want without any real repercussions,”

“A reminder to the public, even if you find yourself in a consensual physical altercation, you can still be criminally charged for Causing a Disturbance or worse if someone is severely injured.”

It has been a year since Diane Palmer, of the Campbell River and North Island Transition Society told the National Observer that Historically, violence against women jumps when there is widespread societal distress.

Tanya Henck of the Cortes Island Women's Resource Centre clinic recently mentioned this in an interview with De Clarke, of Cortes Currents.

“We were already noticing it back in last May. I’d say it’s pretty consistent that there’s now three to four times the amount of calls we were getting before. And aside from relationship crisis we are also getting people trying to deal with mental health issues, Covid stress.”

She believes the number of incidents would probably drop as much as 80%, if Cortes were not also dealing with a rental crisis.

According to a report from Statistics Canada, Almost a third of all police-reported violence happens between intimate partners.

While women were more often the victims, there were also a significant number of male victims.

In 2018, there was more violence in boyfriend-girlfriend situations than marriages. A large percentage of these cases involved former boy or girlfriends

“Women in rural areas experienced the highest overall rates of intimate partner violence, with rates close to four times higher than those for men in these areas.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - There are isolated reports of increased violence, both physical and verbal, as a result of the increased isolation during the pandemic.

In Campbell River, RCMP Cst Maury Tyre reports, “We are seeing a lot of escalation in basic disagreements due to the level of language that people are using causing greater and greater offence to others. Then simply put, people who are on edge just aren’t able to walk away. In some cases we are seeing arguments occur over minor traffic events or the behaviour of someone else’s pet. None of these events should have escalated to violence.”

“Police attended multiple fights during the afternoon on April 17th, 2021. Unlike most instances of violence that the police attend, drugs and alcohol were not involved in these incidents at all.”

“Maybe it’s the fact that people have been spending more time behind their keyboards during the pandemic and they can get away with saying whatever they want without any real repercussions,”

“A reminder to the public, even if you find yourself in a consensual physical altercation, you can still be criminally charged for Causing a Disturbance or worse if someone is severely injured.”

It has been a year since Diane Palmer, of the Campbell River and North Island Transition Society told the National Observer that Historically, violence against women jumps when there is widespread societal distress.

Tanya Henck of the Cortes Island Women's Resource Centre clinic recently mentioned this in an interview with De Clarke, of Cortes Currents.

“We were already noticing it back in last May. I’d say it’s pretty consistent that there’s now three to four times the amount of calls we were getting before. And aside from relationship crisis we are also getting people trying to deal with mental health issues, Covid stress.”

She believes the number of incidents would probably drop as much as 80%, if Cortes were not also dealing with a rental crisis.

According to a report from Statistics Canada, Almost a third of all police-reported violence happens between intimate partners.

While women were more often the victims, there were also a significant number of male victims.

In 2018, there was more violence in boyfriend-girlfriend situations than marriages. A large percentage of these cases involved former boy or girlfriends

“Women in rural areas experienced the highest overall rates of intimate partner violence, with rates close to four times higher than those for men in these areas.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - More than 800 adult Cortes Island residents were vaccinated during the Whole island immunization March 25th to 27th, and the previous clinics at the Klahoose village, but some people still missed out. If you are one of them, there is still a chance to get vaccinated.

Call Public Health to book an appointment on April 28th with Cortes Island’s health nurse. Limited number of spots available. 250-850-2110

Or call 1-833-838-2323 to book an appointment with Quadra Island’s immunization clinic May 3rd to 7th.

Vaccination update for Quadra residents

Adrienne Breen, Patient & Public Engagement Advisor at Island Health, emailed that some Quadra Island residents have mistakenly been booked into Campbell River

“I understand that initially, some Quadra Island residents experienced .challenges with the provincial booking system. If you or someone you know encounters this challenge, telling the booking agent that you are within the Island Health Authority and are eligible to book at the clinic in the Quadra Community Centre will help them clarify and get you booked in,” she wrote.

Photo credit: COVID 19 by Ricardo Huñis via Flickr (Public Domain)