Infrastructure in Remote Communities

Another storm is expected to hit west Vancouver Island tonight, concluding seven days of floods, power outages and road closures for several areas in the region.

Environment Canada is expecting heavy rain to begin this evening (Nov. 12), continuing through Friday and amounting to as much as 120 millimetres in some locations. Zeballos, Tahsis and Gold River are expected to be hit the hardest. Damaging winds of 80-100 kilometres an hour are also forecast for Thursday night.

The east coast of Vancouver Island took the brunt of an early November windstorm while west coasters gawked at 20-foot waves crashing off Ucluelet’s Wild Pacific Trail. 

BC Hydro says the fury of the wind peaked at around 1 a.m. on Nov. 8, knocking out power to about 50,000 customers on Vancouver Island. 

“Mother Nature certainly let us know who is in charge,” said Ted Olynyk, BC Hydro manager of community relations for Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.

Budgets are stretched thin and food banks across Canada are seeing more people with full-time jobs accessing their services.

Food Banks Canada’s annual HungerCount project tracks and reports on food bank visits and client demographics. This year, the non-profit said food bank usage has nearly doubled since March 2019, and nearly 18 per cent of food bank clients reported having a job, compared to 12 per cent in 2019.

A seed was planted for Cole Sayers 25 years ago, when the Hupacasath First Nation embarked on the development of an innovative clean energy plant that could power thousands of homes.

Under the leadership of his mother Judith Sayers, Hupacasath’s elected chief at the time, the First Nation opened the China Creek Micro Hydro Project in 2006.

The China Creek Micro Hydro Project was constructed at a cost of $14 million. Majority owner Hupacasath First Nation sells energy to BC Hydro through an energy purchase agreement that amounts to about $1.6 million per annum. 

Travellers from Port Alberni and points west are being advised that Highway 4 will be fully closed for maintenance on Wednesday, September 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The full closure will be between the gates at the Port Alberni Summit (locally known as “The Hump”) and Chalet Road at the east end of Cameron Lake.

This work includes danger tree management, catchment clean-up, road maintenance and ongoing slope and erosion concerns, according to the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. 

After six days of witness testimony and over a day of deliberation regarding the police-involved shooting death of Julian Jones, today a coroners inquest jury announced their recommendations to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

Construction begins this month on a microgrid designed to bring energy self-sufficiency back to one of Canada’s oldest village sites.

Located on the southern shore of Nootka Island, Yuquot is the ancestral home of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, a historic place whose name carries the meaning “where the wind blows in many directions”.

Most small communities tend to lean on ferris wheels and bouncy castles to amuse kids at summer fairs.

But the Ditidaht First Nation on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island took fun to a whole new level during their annual Ditidaht Days festivities on July 3 by providing free helicopter rides.

“It was awesome. We got to see the lake, the river and a couple of the beaches and then we went to little Nitinaht falls and we went swerving through the river,” said 19-year-old Ditidaht member Katrina Peter.

Down the dock of broken dreams lies a fleet of old fishing boats that are the end of their life – and there’s next to no money left in federal or provincial coffers to do anything with them.

The federal Abandoned Boats Program (ABP), which was launched in 2017 with an initial investment of $6.4 million, was not renewed. 

“There is no more funding for ABP at this time,” said Transport Canada in a May 29 email.

The program disposed of 223 abandoned and wrecked vessels in Canadian waters.

A new driving school based out of Nanaimo is aiming to bridge a long-standing transportation gap for rural and remote First Nations communities across Vancouver Island.

Routes Driving Academy, founded by Hupacasath First Nation member Randi-Leigh Macnutt, officially opened earlier this spring after nearly four years of planning, training, and navigating regulatory hurdles. While the school offers driving lessons to anyone seeking licensing supports, its primary focus is making driver education more accessible to people living in remote Indigenous communities.