After over a decade of trying to secure funding, the final phase of construction for Hot Springs Cove’s Ah’ta’apq Creek Hydropower Project is underway.

As a windstorm blustered through the west coast, prompting a warning from Environment Canada, its need became all the more apparent.

Every month, the community barges trucks full of diesel through Clayoquot Sound. Residents within the remote village depend on the fuel to power and heat their homes. It racks up a price tag of over half a million dollars each year and poses an ongoing risk of a spill within the region.

A small Nuu-chah-nulth nation still awaits its day in court to prove Aboriginal title over its traditional territory, while the province prepares a case against the Nuchatlaht’s historical occupation of Nootka Island.

It’s been nearly four years since the 161-member First Nation filed its statement of claim to the BC Supreme Court, seeking Aboriginal title over approximately 20,00 hectares of land on Northern Nootka Island, territory that includes the village site of Nuchatlitz.

A new study has found that COVID-19 will have significant consequences on children’s mental health. Researchers at Simon Fraser University are urging government to invest in the province’s youth mental health services system so that children’s symptoms don’t extend through to adulthood.

One staff member at Tsawaayuus (Rainbow Gardens) has tested positive for COVID-19, Island Health stated in a media release dated Nov. 17.

“Island Health has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Tsawaayuus (Rainbow Gardens) long-term care home located in Port Alberni,” reads the statement.

Fears of COVID-19 have made two communities on Vancouver Island’s west coast that normally market themselves as tourist destinations ask those from B.C.’s hardest hit regions to not visit.

On Friday Nov. 13 a joint message came from the District of Ucluelet, Tourism Ucluelet and the Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce for residents in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal Health regions to “avoid all non-essential travel to and from these regions until November 23rd.”

A warning has been issued by Environment Canada, as “storm” force winds of 48 to 63 knots are expected to blow through the west coast of Vancouver Island.

It comes as no surprise to Dianne Ignace, who has been moving all of her belongings off the beach at Usk-tua to the 14-foot tideline for the past several weeks.

“We usually don’t get tides more than 13.1-feet or 13.5-feet at the max during the winter,” she said. “But when there’s a real big storm – and we’re expecting big ones – we try for the 14-foot tideline.”

A male school teacher has been suspended following several complaints from parents about inappropriate comments, verbally abusing students and showing up to class in a drunken state.

On Nov. 5 high school students raised the alarm, alleging that the teacher showed up to class drunk. One student hit the record button on his cellphone, which he kept hidden in a binder. The audio recording captured the voice of the teacher, who was rambling on about mating monkeys.

A third-party review looking into recent allegations against the Port Alberni Shelter Society (PASS) is now underway and is expected to take several weeks for completion.

Meanwhile, a tent settlement that gathered in protest outside of the shelter for the last few weeks was disbanded by Island Health on Nov. 13.

Graham Hughes has led the protest, and has remained at the camp since Oct. 23. He said that the tent residents were given a no-trespassing order the evening before the eviction began.

Thanks to more than $200,000 in federal funding, Ahousaht First Nation will soon be able to enhance its marine safety capabilities.

The Canadian government announced Nov. 6 that it will be providing $214,156 to the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation so it can add a search and rescue boat, as well as some required equipment, to its existing emergency services. During the announcement it was also revealed Nisga’s Nation would receive funding, more than $300,000, to also purchase a search and rescue boat and equipment.

More consistency is needed in determining who is permitted to accompany a loved one admitted to hospital, says those working closely with Nuu-chah-nulth families seeking emergency health care during the COVID-19 pandemic.