After 109 shipping containers were knocked off a cargo ship near Vancouver Island on Friday, Oct. 22, communities on the west coast are left with many unanswered questions.
The number of containers has grown from the original estimation of 40. The containers went overboard when the vessel, known as MV Zim Kingston, encountered rough seas.
A single-vehicle accident has claimed the life a Huu-ay-aht man just one week after physical work on road improvements began.
The BC RCMP issued a statement saying that there were four occupants in the single-vehicle accident.
“On October 24th, 2021, just before 1:30 a.m., the Port Alberni RCMP were advised of a single-vehicle collision on Central South Main Forest Service Road near Frederick Lake near the Centre Main Connector,” stated the RCMP press release.
Another traveler saw the accident, gave assistance and called for emergency services.
Dozens of Nuu-chah-nulth people are receiving preventative foot care services closer to home, thanks to the efforts of NTC Health Promotion Worker Matilda Atleo.
With the elevated risk of Type 2 diabetes for Indigenous people in general, specialized foot care is especially important to avoid the risk of amputation and also to help keep people mobile. But there are very few professional pedorthists north of Nanaimo, according to Atleo. And with the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer people are willing to travel away from home for foot care.
On Monday, Oct. 25 the Nickel Bros moved a building from the Best Western Plus Tin Wis Resort to the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation’s main administration office, which sits off the Pacific Rim Highway in Tofino.
The relocation makes way for a new outdoor swimming pool the nation is building for the resort and its new development project, the Tsawaak RV Resort and Campground.
It will also provide additional office space for the nation’s economic development corporation.
Judith Sayers and Mariah Charleson have been re-elected as president and vice-president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, after running uncontested for the roles.
Both were named to serve for another term of four years on Oct. 26 at the NTC’s Annual General Meeting, which was hosted online via Zoom due to the ongoing risk of gathering during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sayers and Charleson were the only candidates to submit their names for the leading roles in the summer, but a vote from NTC society members was still held in order to follow the tribal council’s existing bylaws.
There’s no denying 2021 was a record-breaking summer in terms of temperatures on Vancouver Island.
Though the heat has obviously subsided now, thus eliminating immediate dangers to forests and streams, plenty of analysis is still taking place.
“With the change to a typical fall weather pattern, most of the summer’s impacts relating to the high temperatures and low streams flows in the West Coast and Alberni Valley area have been alleviated,” said a spokesperson with the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.
Vancouver Island University (VIU) has launched a new program for Indigenous elders, for residential and day school students, as well as 60s scoop survivors who want to learn basic language skills such as reading and writing.
The new program, called the Literacy Circle, began Oct. 18 at the Nanaimo Campus. It’s a seven-week, self-paced course that offers students individualized education based on what they want to learn.
The Highway 4 Kennedy Hill Safety Improvements project was originally slated for completion in the summer of 2020.
That spring, the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure announced that its end date was pushed back to the winter of 2021.
Now, it’s expected to be “substantially complete” by September 2022, with finishing touches continuing into the fall.
Jennifer Charlesworth is pleased to see action is being taken to continue supporting youth and young adults throughout the province.
It was announced late last month that the B.C. government would be extending COVID-19 emergency measures, thus providing continued access to the Agreements with Young Adults (AYA) program until March of next year.
“It’s been extended in recognition young people are disproportionately affected by the pandemic,” said Charlesworth, who has served as the province’s Representative for Children and Youth since October of 2018.
After generations of watching others mismanage their forests, the Huu-ay-aht are seeing themselves in a different position, with a growing stake in Crown land and plans to double the number of citizens employed in the industry.