After the remains of 215 children were found buried in unmarked graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in May, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau ordered that Canadian flags on federal buildings be flown at half-mast.

Now, it’s time for them to be raised, said Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole.

“I do think we should be proud to put our flag back up,” he said while speaking to reporters in Ottawa on August 26. “It's not a time to tear down Canada – it's a time to recommit to build it to be the country we know it can be.”

As the new school year approaches, B.C.’s Ministry of Education said that students can look forward to the return of full-time in-person learning.

While mask requirements and other health and safety measures will remain in place, sports, music, and other extracurricular activities may resume.

The San Group, a Canadian-based forest products company, and Pacific Mayfair Estates jointly announced that they are planning to develop a 73-acre property near the east end of Burde Street that would, if approved, create more than 2000 energy efficient housing units.

San Group owner Kamal Sanghara pointed out that there is a shortage of affordable homes in Port Alberni.

“People are leaving the community – we’re trying to bring families back,” he said.  

Sheltered within a large tide pool along the Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet, Kenneth Lucas took a deep breath before diving five-metres to the ocean floor. 

Armed with a weight belt and snorkel fins the length of his arms, the 15-year-old secured himself in place by clinging to a rock.

Behind him, Chris Adair pointed a flashlight into a dark hole under a boulder. A train of white tentacles came into view before Lucas kicked back to the surface for air. 

A new study has found that coastal Indigenous communities have managed their relationship with shellfish and sea otters for millennia. 

Written by Erin Slade, Iain McKechnie and Anne K. Salomon, the research challenges widely held assumptions about historical sea otter populations and is calling Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) into question.

Another election season is underway, after a mid-August announcement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Canadians will head to the polls on Sept. 20 – less than two years since the last federal election took place.

Highway 4 is closed in both directions at Cameron Lake, after a vehicle incident in Cathedral Grove this morning.

The B.C. Ministry of Transportation’s DriveBC site reported the incident at 8:49 a.m. today from the west end of Cameron Lake. An assessment is in progress, according to the provincial site.

Reports from the scene saw traffic at a standstill along Cameron Lake, while two black helicopters circled around the vicinity of the incident before landing. By 9:30 a.m. traffic was backed up to Koen Road, near Whisky Creek.

As the president of the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce, Terry Deakin is pleased whenever there is positive business news in the region.

That’s why Deakin was thrilled to see the Chims Guest House in Port Alberni host a special grand opening for its RV sites and Indigenous cultural centre earlier this month.

Chims, located at 6890 Pacific Rim Hwy., will have four fully serviced RV sites available for bookings starting next month.

“Anything we can add to our communities to build capacity for our tourism is great,” Deakin said.

When Natasha and Bill Dennis expressed their feelings about the pandemic onto a T-shirt a year ago, little did they know that the act would develop into a Port Alberni storefront that serves clients from across the region.

On Aug. 1 Billybeauty opened at 4567 Gertrude Street, offering custom-made T-shirt designs, as well as prints on other clothing - plus a variety wood, metal and glasswork the Dennises inherited from Ladybird Engraving, which they purchased.