While he didn’t live long enough to benefit from his win over British Columbia’s organ transplant rules, David Dennis’ victory five years after his death will benefit Indigenous people on waitlists into the future.
The Alberni Valley’s First Nation leaders are “extremely concerned, sad, frustrated and disappointed” by the temporary closure of West Coast General’s ICU, and are calling for measures to immediately restore intensive care at the hospital.
Nuu-chah-nulth caterer Lil’ Star Frank took beef off her menu after the price of roast beef climbed to $90 for a couple pieces that would only feed about 15 people.
For potlatches, she needs to create meals for upwards of 500 guests, and lately, her spending at the grocery store topples $3,000 for an event of that size.
“Food… I can’t even explain. I feel like, is my catering even worth it?” she said. “The beef sure went up in price. Same with flour, we’d be lucky to get it for $10 a sack. Even vegetables, I can’t believe it, like $10 for a bag of apples?”
Food insecurity has reached a record high of 25.5 per cent in Canadian households, according to the latest Canadian Food Sentiment Index report published by the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.
Another recent report from Island Health shows one in five Vancouver Island residents were concerned about food security.
Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council dietician and diabetes educator Rachel (Dickens) Greening thinks those numbers are probably even higher for Indigenous communities.
It’s flu season and you’re starting to feel achy, tired and your throat is a little sore. The mental juggling starts – do you go to work and risk spreading illness to other workers? Do you call the doctor…if you have one, and hope you can get that doctor’s note so you can take time off to recover? Maybe you think about going to a walk-in clinic or hospital emergency to get that note – but there’s sick people there and wait times are hours long.
A staffing shortage has forced the West Coast General’s ICU to close, meaning those taken to the hospital with life-threatening ailments will be transported out of Port Alberni to intensive care units elsewhere.
“This is a temporary measure until adequate nursing, allied health and physician staffing levels are in place for the ICU,” stated Island Health, noting that the closure began Nov. 20 at the Port Alberni hospital.
The newly passed federal budget includes language to “wind down research”, “scale back” some programs and “reduce management layers” within Fisheries and Oceans Canada – part of plans to cut half a billion in the department’s expenses over the next four years.
Tseshaht First Nation members Leisa Hassall, 36, and Sylvia Dick, 38, shot their first Roosevelt elk this fall.
Hassall dropped a four-by-four bull in the Comox Main area on Sept. 27 and Dick took down a massive seven-by-seven Imperial in the Taylor Arm area on Sept. 29.
“When I harvest animals, I am always thanking the Creator. Being connected to our culture and our traditional prayer is always a meaningful way of grounding ourselves,” said Hassall, who was hunting with her husband John Morgan Hassall and brother Jordan Dick when she shot her first-ever elk.
Nuu-chah-nulth history books can be hard to find and will command a steep price if they are rare and in good condition. That is the nature of the rare books business – the harder it is to find, the more value it has.
An internet search for the most valuable Nuu-chah-nulth history book doesn’t produce a title. Instead, the searcher will get a description of what collectors are looking for in terms of rare and valuable books.
In October the Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k'tles7et'h' First Nations marked a historic development in their government, with the first time hereditary positions have been changed to their legislature since the Maa-nulth treaty was implemented over 14 years ago.