Federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan used World Oceans Day, June 8, to introduce via Zoom “the largest, most transformative investment in salmon by any government in history.”

“Many Pacific wild salmon are on the verge of collapse, and we need to take bold ambitious action now if we are to reverse the trend and give them a fighting chance at survival,” Jordan said, announcing the Pacific Salmon Strategic Initiative (PSSI).

An inquest into the death of Jocelyn Nynah Marsha George is set to begin June 21, scheduled for at least five days, with the possibility of extending into the following week.

The 18-year-old Hesquiaht/Ahousaht woman died of heart failure after spending a night in custody at the Port Alberni RCMP detachment in the summer of 2016.

Under the Coroners Act, inquests are mandatory for any deaths that occur while someone is detained by or in the custody of a police officer. 

After six months of all-out efforts to recover bulk oil and diesel seeping from a sunken freighter in Nootka Sound, officials were surprised by how little fuel remains on the bottom.

“I think the biggest surprise was the lack of oil down there,” said Coast Guard Unified Commander Paul Barrett, remarking on a technical assessment that found 147 cubic metres (147,000 litres) of fuel remains in two tanks aboard the MV Schiedyk.

Three weeks after tensions with logging protestors erupted into a clash with forestry workers in the Walbran Valley, an apology was made to the Nuu-chah-nulth nations with forestry interests in the region.

On June 4 owners from Island Forest, a contractor operating in Tree Farm Licence 44, ventured to the Ditidaht dry-land log sorting facility to express their regret to the First Nation, as well as the Huu-ay-aht and Pacheedaht.

As Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks Guardians sang and drummed outside Gaia Grocery in Tofino, owner Amorita Adair was swept by emotions.

Through tears and a wide smile, she watched as the guardians thanked her for becoming a Tribal Parks ally in January.

“You helped us through our COVID-19 response, keeping our community safe through a really difficult time,” said Saya Masso, Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks director of lands. “We want to lift you up as you lifted us up.”

The B.C. government is deferring old-growth logging in the Fairy Creek and Central Walbran regions, spanning 2,000 hectares on southern Vancouver Island. 

The move was made following the Hišuk ma c̕awak Declaration, which was signed by leaders from the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht First Nations, who called for a two-year deferral of old-growth logging in those areas as they prepare resource management plans.

San Group is investing $100 million in Port Alberni facilities that will in the coming months see finished wood products leaving local shipyards rather than raw logs.

The announcement was made at the Coulson mill site on Seizai Road in Port Alberni on June 2. The facility has significantly expanded over the past few years accommodate the construction of a new mill and a lumber yard.

The yard was buzzing with activity as several lumber trucks lined up on the hill that drops down into the waterside mill site to be loaded with finished lumber.

After reviewing the BEI (Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes du Quebec) report on the investigation following the death of Chantel Moore, the New Brunswick Office of the Attorney General said they do not recommend any kind of homicide charges against Jeremy Son, the Edmundston Police Force officer that shot and killed Chantel on June 4, 2020, during a wellness check.

News of the remains of 215 undocumented children unearthed at the Kamloops Indian Residential School continues to reverberate through Nuu-chah-nulth communities, prompting the Ditidaht Ha’wiih to venture to another former site to make a statement.

The federal government released a National Action Plan (NAP) in response to the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people on Thursday, June 3. 

It comes two years after the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ (MMIWG) final report was released.