Infrastructure in Remote Communities

The Meares Island Cultural Centre will get some modernizing upgrades thanks to funding from the First Peoples’ Cultural Council.

The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation was awarded $400,000 from the FPCC as part of more than $5.4 million to support 16 projects that conserve, repair and develop First Nations heritage infrastructure in B.C.

The projects are made possible with funding from the Province of British Columbia’s 150 Time Immemorial Grant Program to the First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation.

The Ehattesaht/Chinehkint First Nation has been working with BC Used Oil Management Association (BCUOMA) to open a center so the remote community can recycle their used motor oil, oil filters, oil and antifreeze containers and antifreeze. 

“We worked with the team at BC Used Oil Management Association to develop a facility that our community members could drop off used oil program materials easily and at no cost. This has been an important initiative for us,” said Ryan Foster, Ehattesaht Operations and Maintenance manager, in a press release.

After three years, seismic upgrades announced for Ucluelet Secondary School (USS) have officially been completed. A similar project at Ucluelet Elementary School has also been finished.

Among the upgrades at USS include a new music room, administration offices, classrooms, a library, and a neighbourhood learning centre that can be used for additional child care space within the community.

The small, remote village of Houpsitas will soon see improved internet thanks to the provincial government’s investments in improving high-speed service to rural communities in the province.

In a statement made Nov. 8, the Ministry of Citizens' Services announced that faster internet will be coming to 10 Indigenous, rural, remote island communities, including Kyuquot.

Strategic Natural Resource Consultants (SNRC), a successful professional consulting firm specializing in natural resource management, has been purchased by the Ehattesaht/Chinehkint First Nation. Owning majority interest in the business will allow the nation to better manage their natural resources along with contracting services out to others.

“We are a small nation, for sure, but we have big ideas,” said Chief Councillor Simon John.

Work continues on the Bamfield Main Surfacing Project as the Huu-ay-aht community looks forward to safer travel conditions when the road is paved later next year. The road has been undergoing construction since 2020 with the goal of making the road to the remote communities of Bamfield and Anacla safer.  

One of the foreseeable changes linked to the Bamfield Main Surfacing Project’s completion is a change in the local economy, said Robert Dennis, chief councillor of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations.

Malachan, BC – The end of summer marks the beginning of the rainy season for most of Vancouver Island, however for the Ditidaht village, Malachan, the heavy rain means significant flooding which leaves the roads unsafe, and residents trapped. Seasonal flooding usually goes hand-in-hand with power failures, further isolating the residents from the outside world.

A routine trip from Tofino to Hot Springs Cove aboard a float plane turned terrifying after the aircraft faltered on take-off, cartwheeled, and settled on the ocean upside down. NTC President Judith Sayers was aboard that flight and was rescued from drowning by her son, who was also aboard.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has determined that two factors played a role in the accident: the wake from passing boats and possible errors in weight and balance calculations.

The Highway 4 – Kennedy Hill Improvement Project remains slated to be substantially complete this fall, with finishing touches outside of the roadway continuing throughout the winter. 

Drivers travelling on Highway 4 can still expect delays as the road improvement project enters the final stages of construction. The project is approximately 90 per cent complete.

Residents of Ahousaht are seeing heavy equipment busy on their main streets as work crews finish paving the remaining 75 per cent of gravel roads over the last week of August.

“It was a health and safety thing,” said former elected chief Greg Louie.

People in the community suffer from asthma and other respiratory conditions that are aggravated by road dust in the summer, or poor drainage and the mold it causes in the wet season.