More closures are expected this year to commercial salmon fisheries, while the DFO ramps up a program encouraging fishers to leave the industry – part of an effort to thin out the fleet of boats licenced to harvest dwindling Pacific salmon stocks.

A recently released University of Victoria report of the Canadian Reconciliation Barometer shows that Canada’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous people continue to have significantly different experiences, with areas of disagreement around reconciliation.

The first report was developed by a team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action. The project team hopes the findings will inform public policy.

Paul Johnson was only eight years old when his mother, Pauline, was murdered in Vancouver. 

It’s been 38 years since her body was found, but to this day, her murder remains unsolved.

With only a short time together, Johnson holds onto memories of his mother through the stories his grandparents, aunts and uncles have shared with him over the years. That, and through the old photos that he keeps of her stored in his cell phone.

“It hurts every day that I can’t say, ‘I love you, mom’,” he said. “Part of me is lost.”

After more than three years of long travel delays on Highway 4 to the west coast communities, residents will be pleased to know the end is in sight for the Kennedy Hill road improvement zone.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure made the announcement Feb. 16, saying the Kennedy Hill project has reached a milestone as extended daytime closures will end on March 11.

The new traffic schedule, beginning March 11, will look like this:

* On weekdays, traffic queues will be released at the top of the hour between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m.

A group of Indigenous scholars and artists are collaborating on a unique garden that will not only serve as a celebration of art but also act as a teaching tool showcasing traditional knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation. And they have turned to Nuu-chah-nulth artists to take part in the project.

Tseshaht First Nation has begun work to locate unmarked graves at the Alberni Indian Residential School (AIRS) site, reclaiming lost souls by connecting with ancestors of those who did not return home.

The creation of its project team, ʔuuʔatumin yaqckwiimitqin (Doing it for our Ancestors), is grounded in values and lead by culture. Led by Tseshaht member, Melissa Gus, the team has begun gathering the knowledge needed to prepare the community and site for ground penetrating radar scanning.

Tsaxana’s “gathering garden” is growing a lot more than vegetables as it enters a third season.

Also known as Sara’s Garden, the community resource represents an old idea given fresh impetus during the pandemic, a means of building greater food security and self-sufficiency for the Mowachaht/Muchalaht community.

“Definitely momentum continues to build as the garden continues to grow,” said Kristi Walker, wellness co-ordinator for MMFN.

Stevie Dennis has always felt a natural affinity towards the sea. Growing up on the west coast of Vancouver Island, he’s spent his entire life working and living on boats. Be it as a commercial fisherman, diver or whale watching guide, he’s tried it all. But nothing called to him in the way kelp has.

That’s why over a year ago, Dennis and his business partner, Jordan White, launched Naas Foods, an Indigenous-led company that produces organic kelp products in Tofino.

More than 2,200 people lost their lives to the toxic illicit drug supply in 2021, according to preliminary data from the BC Coroners Service. 

Six more people die every day that decision-makers fail to respond to the crisis with “the urgency it demands,” British Columbia’s Chief Coroner Lisa LaPointe said.

Grieg Seafood BC Ltd. is introducing a new semi-closed containment system to all three of its fish farms in Esperanza Inlet, off the west coast of Vancouver Island. 

The new CO2L Flow system allows fish farmers to raise and lower farm enclosures, allowing farmed fish to benefit from the natural ecosystem, while protecting wild salmon, Grieg Seafood said in a release.

As ocean-based farmers, Rocky Boschman, Grieg Seafood BC Ltd. managing director, said one of the most commonly raised concerns is the transfer of sea lice between wild and farmed populations.