The 15-foot wooden cougar sculpture erected this summer to block forestry workers from accessing the Upper Walbran Valley in Pacheedaht First Nations territory is a pile of cold ashes on the dirt road.
On Friday, November 21 the Huu-ay-aht’s government office in Anacla issued a water advisory to its citizens due to a biofilm inside the water tank.
Biofilm is a bacterial film composed of a mixture of different micro-organisms that are held together and protected by glue-like materials (carbohydrates). The glue-like material that micro-organisms secrete allows them to attach themselves to surfaces.
The family of a man who was murdered in Port Alberni four years ago are hoping for long-overdue answers after an individual linked to the apartment where his body was found faced a series of convictions this fall.
Melinda Camille Martin, 34, has been released from a Lower Mainland prison after serving sentences for several violent crimes including assault against peace officers, brandishing an imitation gun and slashing the neck of a liquor store employee during a botched theft.
British Columbia is looking to the Far East to find more of a future for the forestry industry, as the sector continues to be hammered by escalating tariffs from its biggest trading partner.
US duties on softwood lumber exported from B.C. and the rest of Canada tripled this year, growing to an average of 45 per cent after President Donald Trump imposed an additional 10-per-cent this fall. This means that lumber sold to American customers is 45 per cent more expensive south of the border with the tariffs that collect this additional revenue for the U.S. Treasury.
Logs and branches that wash ashore, known as drift logs, are a common sight along the coast of Western Canada. Often used as natural benches and firewood, it’s easy to accept them as part of the scenery.
However, a recent study published by UVic biologist Dr. Tom Reimchen and two of his students, Esteban Pérez Andresen and Melanie Marchant, reveals that drift logs are a significant cause of the destruction of intertidal ecosystems over the coasts of Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii.
With snow on the mountain tops and cold, wet nights chilling city streets, Vancouver Island’s most vulnerable will be seeking out a warm place to sleep.
The helping agencies of Vancouver Island’s urban centres are preparing to open their warming centres and extreme weather emergency shelter beds.
Funded by the provincial government, there will be 771 extreme-weather response (EWR) shelter spaces provided.
Port Alberni has the second lowest living wage in the province, according to a recent report by Living Wage BC.
The 2025 report shows Port Alberni’s living wage at $22.60—the hourly amount that someone needs to earn to meet their basic expenses (including rent, food and transportation). Government taxes, credits, deductions and subsidies are taken into account and it does not include debt repayment or savings for future plans.
This November B.C. MLAs punted into oblivion a pair of private members’ bills concerning First Nations.
On Nov. 19, Independent MLA for Peace River North Jordan Kealy put forward the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Statute Repeal Act. His bill was blocked from advancing by a vote of 48-43.
Travelers using River Road can expect delays and detours as work begins this fall on a new roundabout to be installed at the intersection of River Road and Beaver Creek Road in Port Alberni.
For years the intersection, which also involves access to Clutesi Haven Marina, has been troublesome during times of heavy traffic through the Highway 4 corridor. There are no traffic lights at the intersection, making left turns from Beaver Creek Road or the marina onto Highway 4 difficult.