Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - There have been a number of new revelations about Jeff Levine and the proposed Bliss Landing wood waste landfill.

Levine withdrew his proposal on December 15th and a Ministry of Environment spokesperson informed the quathet Regional District the same day.

"People have threatened me, verbally abused me, threatened my family. It's not worth it, it's absolutely not worth it. And it's all because this person called it toxic waste — and it's not," he told CBC news.

Levine added, “If you don’t agree with the industrialization of an area, that’s one thing to disagree with, but don’t try to turn someone into [an] environmental monster that’s going to dump hazardous waste on land and ocean and negatively affect people, because those are two different things.... I was guided by the Ministry of Environment by this process, and I followed the process.”

Variations of Levine’s story appeared in Cortes Currents, The Squamish Chief, and Powell River Peak.

He claims to have already lost $400,000 through the venture. 1.25

Much of the opposition came through a Change.org petition called “Major Vancouver developer planning on dumping toxic waste into Desolation Sound.”

The ‘developer’ in question was not Levine, but rather a Vancouver based company which he hoped would use his services. Levine has repeatedly said he does not have a contract with Bosa Properties, the owners of the Squamish old site, and will also be seeking wood waste from sites throughout the Fraser Valley.

The Squamish Chief reported that District of Squamish staff informed them that, “the District is not banning wood waste from being disposed of in town, but determined in 2017 that municipal land would no longer be leased for wood waste disposal, and that wood waste landfill on District property will be phased out by 2022.

As a result, Levine created a company and offered up land that he bought in Desolation Sound as a dumping spot for local businesses seeking to get rid of their wood waste.

He said he was hoping to attract the business of the SEAandSKY Bosa-Kingswood project on the Waterfront, which has been looking for a contractor to take the wood waste, as the area was previously the old Interfor mill site.

However, Levine hadn’t signed a deal with the company, as the province had yet to approve his project.”

A spokesperson for Boas Properties confirmed that no contract has been signed.

The report which Vancouver based Keystone Environmental prepared for Levine states, “The material to be landfilled will originate from several wood processing locations such as sawmills, dry land sorts and former sawmills where the saw dust, wood chips and bark was previously buried.”

Image taken from the from WATERFRONT LANDING SUB AREA PLAN, Squamish Community plan (2017)

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - There have been a number of new revelations about Jeff Levine and the proposed Bliss Landing wood waste landfill.

Levine withdrew his proposal on December 15th and a Ministry of Environment spokesperson informed the quathet Regional District the same day.

"People have threatened me, verbally abused me, threatened my family. It's not worth it, it's absolutely not worth it. And it's all because this person called it toxic waste — and it's not," he told CBC news.

Levine added, “If you don’t agree with the industrialization of an area, that’s one thing to disagree with, but don’t try to turn someone into [an] environmental monster that’s going to dump hazardous waste on land and ocean and negatively affect people, because those are two different things.... I was guided by the Ministry of Environment by this process, and I followed the process.”

Variations of Levine’s story appeared in Cortes Currents, The Squamish Chief, and Powell River Peak.

He claims to have already lost $400,000 through the venture. 1.25

Much of the opposition came through a Change.org petition called “Major Vancouver developer planning on dumping toxic waste into Desolation Sound.”

The ‘developer’ in question was not Levine, but rather a Vancouver based company which he hoped would use his services. Levine has repeatedly said he does not have a contract with Bosa Properties, the owners of the Squamish old site, and will also be seeking wood waste from sites throughout the Fraser Valley.

The Squamish Chief reported that District of Squamish staff informed them that, “the District is not banning wood waste from being disposed of in town, but determined in 2017 that municipal land would no longer be leased for wood waste disposal, and that wood waste landfill on District property will be phased out by 2022.

As a result, Levine created a company and offered up land that he bought in Desolation Sound as a dumping spot for local businesses seeking to get rid of their wood waste.

He said he was hoping to attract the business of the SEAandSKY Bosa-Kingswood project on the Waterfront, which has been looking for a contractor to take the wood waste, as the area was previously the old Interfor mill site.

However, Levine hadn’t signed a deal with the company, as the province had yet to approve his project.”

A spokesperson for Boas Properties confirmed that no contract has been signed.

The report which Vancouver based Keystone Environmental prepared for Levine states, “The material to be landfilled will originate from several wood processing locations such as sawmills, dry land sorts and former sawmills where the saw dust, wood chips and bark was previously buried.”

Image taken from the from WATERFRONT LANDING SUB AREA PLAN, Squamish Community plan (2017)

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - A new report from the BC coroners service states that as of the end of November, there were 153 suspected illicit drug overdose deaths.

30 of these were in the North Vancouver Island Health Service Delivery area, which stretches north from Courtenay and includes rural locations like Cortes and Quadra Islands, as well as urban centres like Campbell River.

This brings the total of deaths in North Vancouver Island since 2016, the year BC declared the number of drugs overdose deaths a public emergency, to 153.

A little more than half (55%) of the deaths in 2020 occurred in private residences. 28% were social and supportive housing, SROs, shelters, and hotels and other indoor locations. 15% in vehicles, sidewalks, streets, parks and other outside locations. There have been no deaths reported at supervised consumption or drug overdose prevention sites.

70% of those dying were aged 30 to 59 and 81% were males.

Campbell River Fire chief Thomas Doherty said that calls for overdoses are becoming a regular occurrence and there are times when firefighters have had to save the same drug user more than once in the same day.

“There’s not enough paramedics out on the street to handle what’s going on. We’re heading in a real bad direction when it comes to the health services on the street right now, and we’re here to help and support our paramedics locally, and certainly support more resources for them, but at the same time we want to make sure we’re giving the citizens of Campbell River the best possible care that they can receive, ”he said.

Campbell River RCMP spokesperson, Cst Maury Tyre, emailed Cortes Currents, “We have seen anecdotally at the RCMP level anyway, an increase in overdose calls that we are responding to and there have been near deaths and deaths, presumably related to overdose in recent weeks and months.”

 

“Presently in Campbell River there seems to be a batch of Opiates that are a bit more potent than in the past. Users are well aware that what they are getting is Fentanyl but there has been a presence of Carfentnil in the drugs since last year. Another insert into the drugs in the last few months has been the introduction of Benzodiazapines which apparently smooth out the "high", but seriously counter acts the Nalaxone/Narcan. We have seen people take 4-6 doses of Narcan to bring them back whereas before it was 1 or 2.”

 

>>>Crime and the drug trade

There were numerous drug related crimes reported in Campbell River this year. Ten people were charged, and charges recommended for 10 others, for trafficking on January 9th. On August 30th, police responding to a noise complaint ended up arresting a 34-year-old man from Campbell River for possible drug trafficking and possession of stolen property charges. The following night, a Campbell River man was hospitalized after being attacked by two assailants with a hammer. In the arrests that followed, police seized several grams of illicit drugs as well as stolen drugs.

“this is a stark reminder of the violence that follows the drug trade. The homes that house this activity are a plague on the community and the local RCMP are constantly investigating these houses,” said Cst Tyre.

Yesterday, Cst Tyre reported, “Three local women will likely be facing multiple charges of possession for the purpose of drug trafficking, after a significant stash of cocaine and cash was located in an apartment building on 7th Avenue in the early hours of December 19th, 2020. A warrant was executed the following evening at an apartment in the 800 block of 7th ave. In total over $5000 cash, over an ounce of cocaine, several grams of fentanyl, several grams of methamphetamines, and several grams of MDMA were seized. Two of the females were well known entities in the local drug trade and it's believed the cocaine was being used to manufacture crack.”

Photo credit: RCMP by Charles Leblanc via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - A new report from the BC coroners service states that as of the end of November, there were 153 suspected illicit drug overdose deaths.

30 of these were in the North Vancouver Island Health Service Delivery area, which stretches north from Courtenay and includes rural locations like Cortes and Quadra Islands, as well as urban centres like Campbell River.

This brings the total of deaths in North Vancouver Island since 2016, the year BC declared the number of drugs overdose deaths a public emergency, to 153.

A little more than half (55%) of the deaths in 2020 occurred in private residences. 28% were social and supportive housing, SROs, shelters, and hotels and other indoor locations. 15% in vehicles, sidewalks, streets, parks and other outside locations. There have been no deaths reported at supervised consumption or drug overdose prevention sites.

70% of those dying were aged 30 to 59 and 81% were males.

Campbell River Fire chief Thomas Doherty said that calls for overdoses are becoming a regular occurrence and there are times when firefighters have had to save the same drug user more than once in the same day.

“There’s not enough paramedics out on the street to handle what’s going on. We’re heading in a real bad direction when it comes to the health services on the street right now, and we’re here to help and support our paramedics locally, and certainly support more resources for them, but at the same time we want to make sure we’re giving the citizens of Campbell River the best possible care that they can receive, ”he said.

Campbell River RCMP spokesperson, Cst Maury Tyre, emailed Cortes Currents, “We have seen anecdotally at the RCMP level anyway, an increase in overdose calls that we are responding to and there have been near deaths and deaths, presumably related to overdose in recent weeks and months.”

 

“Presently in Campbell River there seems to be a batch of Opiates that are a bit more potent than in the past. Users are well aware that what they are getting is Fentanyl but there has been a presence of Carfentnil in the drugs since last year. Another insert into the drugs in the last few months has been the introduction of Benzodiazapines which apparently smooth out the "high", but seriously counter acts the Nalaxone/Narcan. We have seen people take 4-6 doses of Narcan to bring them back whereas before it was 1 or 2.”

 

>>>Crime and the drug trade

There were numerous drug related crimes reported in Campbell River this year. Ten people were charged, and charges recommended for 10 others, for trafficking on January 9th. On August 30th, police responding to a noise complaint ended up arresting a 34-year-old man from Campbell River for possible drug trafficking and possession of stolen property charges. The following night, a Campbell River man was hospitalized after being attacked by two assailants with a hammer. In the arrests that followed, police seized several grams of illicit drugs as well as stolen drugs.

“this is a stark reminder of the violence that follows the drug trade. The homes that house this activity are a plague on the community and the local RCMP are constantly investigating these houses,” said Cst Tyre.

Yesterday, Cst Tyre reported, “Three local women will likely be facing multiple charges of possession for the purpose of drug trafficking, after a significant stash of cocaine and cash was located in an apartment building on 7th Avenue in the early hours of December 19th, 2020. A warrant was executed the following evening at an apartment in the 800 block of 7th ave. In total over $5000 cash, over an ounce of cocaine, several grams of fentanyl, several grams of methamphetamines, and several grams of MDMA were seized. Two of the females were well known entities in the local drug trade and it's believed the cocaine was being used to manufacture crack.”

Photo credit: RCMP by Charles Leblanc via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - A new report from the BC coroners service states that as of the end of November, there were 153 suspected illicit drug overdose deaths.

30 of these were in the North Vancouver Island Health Service Delivery area, which stretches north from Courtenay and includes rural locations like Cortes and Quadra Islands, as well as urban centres like Campbell River.

This brings the total of deaths in North Vancouver Island since 2016, the year BC declared the number of drugs overdose deaths a public emergency, to 153.

A little more than half (55%) of the deaths in 2020 occurred in private residences. 28% were social and supportive housing, SROs, shelters, and hotels and other indoor locations. 15% in vehicles, sidewalks, streets, parks and other outside locations. There have been no deaths reported at supervised consumption or drug overdose prevention sites.

70% of those dying were aged 30 to 59 and 81% were males.

Campbell River Fire chief Thomas Doherty said that calls for overdoses are becoming a regular occurrence and there are times when firefighters have had to save the same drug user more than once in the same day.

“There’s not enough paramedics out on the street to handle what’s going on. We’re heading in a real bad direction when it comes to the health services on the street right now, and we’re here to help and support our paramedics locally, and certainly support more resources for them, but at the same time we want to make sure we’re giving the citizens of Campbell River the best possible care that they can receive, ”he said.

Campbell River RCMP spokesperson, Cst Maury Tyre, emailed Cortes Currents, “We have seen anecdotally at the RCMP level anyway, an increase in overdose calls that we are responding to and there have been near deaths and deaths, presumably related to overdose in recent weeks and months.”

 

“Presently in Campbell River there seems to be a batch of Opiates that are a bit more potent than in the past. Users are well aware that what they are getting is Fentanyl but there has been a presence of Carfentnil in the drugs since last year. Another insert into the drugs in the last few months has been the introduction of Benzodiazapines which apparently smooth out the "high", but seriously counter acts the Nalaxone/Narcan. We have seen people take 4-6 doses of Narcan to bring them back whereas before it was 1 or 2.”

 

>>>Crime and the drug trade

There were numerous drug related crimes reported in Campbell River this year. Ten people were charged, and charges recommended for 10 others, for trafficking on January 9th. On August 30th, police responding to a noise complaint ended up arresting a 34-year-old man from Campbell River for possible drug trafficking and possession of stolen property charges. The following night, a Campbell River man was hospitalized after being attacked by two assailants with a hammer. In the arrests that followed, police seized several grams of illicit drugs as well as stolen drugs.

“this is a stark reminder of the violence that follows the drug trade. The homes that house this activity are a plague on the community and the local RCMP are constantly investigating these houses,” said Cst Tyre.

Yesterday, Cst Tyre reported, “Three local women will likely be facing multiple charges of possession for the purpose of drug trafficking, after a significant stash of cocaine and cash was located in an apartment building on 7th Avenue in the early hours of December 19th, 2020. A warrant was executed the following evening at an apartment in the 800 block of 7th ave. In total over $5000 cash, over an ounce of cocaine, several grams of fentanyl, several grams of methamphetamines, and several grams of MDMA were seized. Two of the females were well known entities in the local drug trade and it's believed the cocaine was being used to manufacture crack.”

Photo credit: RCMP by Charles Leblanc via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)

Max Thaysen /Cortes Currents - Today we hear a first-hand account of a concerning hunting episode On October 24 in Smelt Bay, Cortes Island. We'll hear from Conservation Officer Brad Adams, a local authority on the laws around hunting. And then we'll take a deeper dive with Sabina Leader Mense into the some ecological considerations of hunting around Cortes.

Cortes Currents learned of the reports on a local facebook page, We Heart Cortes Island, that described a scary situation.

Kim Lotnick tells us the story.

Kim was walking on the beach with her dog. The weather was stormy and the seas were rough. She saw someone canoeing and thought that it was wierd that someone would be out on the water.

Through her large headphones, she heard a loud blast like a gunshot. She turned to look and saw a flock of birds flying away from the canoe, and something flopping in the water that looked like a seal.

She would later learn that another witness to the scene saw that it was a goose.

Kim began filming. And the person in the canoe was watching her as something was pulled into the boat.

Kim describes feeling terrified and many terrible thoughts flashed through her mind about what revenge the hunter might take on her for filming his actions.

The canoe followed her as she hurried to her vehicle.

She says the hunter was probably just heading in the same direction, and might have spoken to her, to discuss the situation. But she was not going to stick around to find out. At the time, she felt like she was being chased.

She called 911, and was transferred to the Quadra RCMP. They told her that seal hunting was out of their jurisdiction, and suggested she call the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Kim says she understands that illegal hunting would be out of RCMP jurisdiction, but would expect them to express more interest in shots fired at smelt bay.

Safely at home, Kim sought support from friends and from the Cortes Island facebook group, We Heart Cortes Island. Another person replied to her post about the situation, saying that another witness had seen that it was a goose that was shot. And another respondent informed the group that it was goose season and if properly licenced, the hunt was probably legal.

Kim says that she did feel a little better knowing that the hunt may have been legal, but it still made her feel, “totally uncomfortable”.

To get some clarity on the laws around hunting, we contacted the Conservation Officer for the North Island Region, Brad Adams.

Officer Adams informs us that in Management Area 1, our area, there is an open hunting season that includes Canada geese, ducks, coots, snipes, snow geese, ross geese, “there's quite an assortment”, he says. The season is October 3rd to January 22nd.

Photo credit: Smelt Bay by Djun Kim via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)

Max Thaysen /Cortes Currents - Today we hear a first-hand account of a concerning hunting episode On October 24 in Smelt Bay, Cortes Island. We'll hear from Conservation Officer Brad Adams, a local authority on the laws around hunting. And then we'll take a deeper dive with Sabina Leader Mense into the some ecological considerations of hunting around Cortes.

Cortes Currents learned of the reports on a local facebook page, We Heart Cortes Island, that described a scary situation.

Kim Lotnick tells us the story.

Kim was walking on the beach with her dog. The weather was stormy and the seas were rough. She saw someone canoeing and thought that it was wierd that someone would be out on the water.

Through her large headphones, she heard a loud blast like a gunshot. She turned to look and saw a flock of birds flying away from the canoe, and something flopping in the water that looked like a seal.

She would later learn that another witness to the scene saw that it was a goose.

Kim began filming. And the person in the canoe was watching her as something was pulled into the boat.

Kim describes feeling terrified and many terrible thoughts flashed through her mind about what revenge the hunter might take on her for filming his actions.

The canoe followed her as she hurried to her vehicle.

She says the hunter was probably just heading in the same direction, and might have spoken to her, to discuss the situation. But she was not going to stick around to find out. At the time, she felt like she was being chased.

She called 911, and was transferred to the Quadra RCMP. They told her that seal hunting was out of their jurisdiction, and suggested she call the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Kim says she understands that illegal hunting would be out of RCMP jurisdiction, but would expect them to express more interest in shots fired at smelt bay.

Safely at home, Kim sought support from friends and from the Cortes Island facebook group, We Heart Cortes Island. Another person replied to her post about the situation, saying that another witness had seen that it was a goose that was shot. And another respondent informed the group that it was goose season and if properly licenced, the hunt was probably legal.

Kim says that she did feel a little better knowing that the hunt may have been legal, but it still made her feel, “totally uncomfortable”.

To get some clarity on the laws around hunting, we contacted the Conservation Officer for the North Island Region, Brad Adams.

Officer Adams informs us that in Management Area 1, our area, there is an open hunting season that includes Canada geese, ducks, coots, snipes, snow geese, ross geese, “there's quite an assortment”, he says. The season is October 3rd to January 22nd.

Photo credit: Smelt Bay by Djun Kim via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)

Max Thaysen /Cortes Currents - Today we hear a first-hand account of a concerning hunting episode On October 24 in Smelt Bay, Cortes Island. We'll hear from Conservation Officer Brad Adams, a local authority on the laws around hunting. And then we'll take a deeper dive with Sabina Leader Mense into the some ecological considerations of hunting around Cortes.

Cortes Currents learned of the reports on a local facebook page, We Heart Cortes Island, that described a scary situation.

Kim Lotnick tells us the story.

Kim was walking on the beach with her dog. The weather was stormy and the seas were rough. She saw someone canoeing and thought that it was wierd that someone would be out on the water.

Through her large headphones, she heard a loud blast like a gunshot. She turned to look and saw a flock of birds flying away from the canoe, and something flopping in the water that looked like a seal.

She would later learn that another witness to the scene saw that it was a goose.

Kim began filming. And the person in the canoe was watching her as something was pulled into the boat.

Kim describes feeling terrified and many terrible thoughts flashed through her mind about what revenge the hunter might take on her for filming his actions.

The canoe followed her as she hurried to her vehicle.

She says the hunter was probably just heading in the same direction, and might have spoken to her, to discuss the situation. But she was not going to stick around to find out. At the time, she felt like she was being chased.

She called 911, and was transferred to the Quadra RCMP. They told her that seal hunting was out of their jurisdiction, and suggested she call the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Kim says she understands that illegal hunting would be out of RCMP jurisdiction, but would expect them to express more interest in shots fired at smelt bay.

Safely at home, Kim sought support from friends and from the Cortes Island facebook group, We Heart Cortes Island. Another person replied to her post about the situation, saying that another witness had seen that it was a goose that was shot. And another respondent informed the group that it was goose season and if properly licenced, the hunt was probably legal.

Kim says that she did feel a little better knowing that the hunt may have been legal, but it still made her feel, “totally uncomfortable”.

To get some clarity on the laws around hunting, we contacted the Conservation Officer for the North Island Region, Brad Adams.

Officer Adams informs us that in Management Area 1, our area, there is an open hunting season that includes Canada geese, ducks, coots, snipes, snow geese, ross geese, “there's quite an assortment”, he says. The season is October 3rd to January 22nd.

Photo credit: Smelt Bay by Djun Kim via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - The licenses for 19 salmon farms in the Discovery lslands expired today. Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is reissuing licenses for 18 months, during which time “no new fish of any size may be introduced into Discovery Islands.” “fish at the sites can complete their growth-cycle and be harvested,” but “all farms be free of fish by June 30th, 2022.”

interview with Stan Proboszcz, Science Advisor with the Watershed Watch Salmon Society, as well as clips from previous interviews with independent biologist Alexandra Morton and Chief John Hackett, of the Tla’amin First Nation, as well as press releases from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the BC Salmon Farmers Association about the closing down of open net salmon farms in the Discovery Islands.

Photo credit: Protesting in front of Cermaq Canada in Campbell River on Sept 26, 2020 – Rod Burns photo

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - The licenses for 19 salmon farms in the Discovery lslands expired today. Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is reissuing licenses for 18 months, during which time “no new fish of any size may be introduced into Discovery Islands.” “fish at the sites can complete their growth-cycle and be harvested,” but “all farms be free of fish by June 30th, 2022.”

interview with Stan Proboszcz, Science Advisor with the Watershed Watch Salmon Society, as well as clips from previous interviews with independent biologist Alexandra Morton and Chief John Hackett, of the Tla’amin First Nation, as well as press releases from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the BC Salmon Farmers Association about the closing down of open net salmon farms in the Discovery Islands.

Photo credit: Protesting in front of Cermaq Canada in Campbell River on Sept 26, 2020 – Rod Burns photo