A Friday morning meeting could potentially decide the fate of the Tofino Bus service.
Vancouver Island’s only intercity bus service has not operated since this past December, when it was shut down in order to follow B.C. health regulations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Service was scheduled to resume in January but that was pushed back until this past Friday (Feb. 12).
Affordable housing in Tofino has been a longstanding issue the community has grappled with for years.
Renowned for its natural beauty and cultural richness, Ian Scott, Tofino Housing Corporation (THC) interim executive director, said that people are “chasing Tofino as a place to live having made money elsewhere, or choosing Tofino as a place to own a second home.”
In 2018, the median assessed value of single-family home in Tofino was $647,500, a 39 per cent increase from 2012, according to the 2018 Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Region’s Vital Signs report.
It has been nearly 50 days since the province began the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccine to Indigenous communities and FNHA is reporting that 16,000 units have been administered – mostly first shots.
As Levi Martin reflects on the Nuu-chah-nulth language, he rejects the notion that it is endangered.
Despite being one of an estimated 10 remaining fluent speakers within his nation, the Tla-o-qui-aht elder describes it as a “language in hiding.”
As a young boy, he absorbed his ancestral tongue during story time on his father’s lap.
The Port Alberni Shelter Society (PASS) has received $1 million in funding from the provincial government for six long-term recovery beds for women.
The province recently announced $13 million for more than 100 new adult treatment and recovery beds in 14 organizations for people struggling with substance-use challenges in B.C.
The six beds in Port Alberni will be located at the Port Alberni Shelter Society’s new Therapeutic Recovery Community located at the Shelter Farm, about 10 minutes from Port Alberni at 725 Franklin River Road.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BC CDC) has introduced maps that outline more specific information about where COVID-19 cases are located.
The BC CDC website http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data contains comprehensive information about the pandemic and includes a dashboard with up-to-date statistics. Containing information about cases, hospitalizations, recoveries and deaths, the COVID-19 dashboard is updated every weekday at 5 p.m.
An independent panel examining inequality and poverty in B.C. will continue to work with First Nations after handing a report to government that recommends against the idea of a universal basic income.
The expert panel on basic income was set up three years ago as part of a confidence and supply agreement with the B.C. Green Party during the 2017-2020 NDP minority government. In early February they weighed in, recommending against a universal income pilot project and in favour of broad reforms to the existing social support system.
Last year was the deadliest yet for fatal overdoses in B.C., and while many are calling for the decriminalization of street drugs, those with a close eye on the crisis are looking to medical professionals to take a larger role in prescribing safer alternatives.
Countless members of First Nation communities on Vancouver Island’s west coast will have to start thinking of new ways to get around.
Perhaps permanently.
That’s because the Tofino Bus, which provides services to 29 communities as well as 21 First Nations or organizations on Vancouver Island, will not be resuming service as previously scheduled this Friday, Feb. 12.
The Tofino Bus is currently Vancouver Island’s only intercity bus service.
The First Nations Health Authority has announced that it is now providing a free shingle vaccine to all elders over the age of 65. Previously, the FNHA covered the vaccine for only those between the ages of 65 – 69.
“Effective February 1, 2021, FNHA’s Shingrix® shingles vaccine coverage is available at no cost to First Nations elders who are 65 years old and older. This change is intended to make the vaccine accessible to a larger segment of the elder population. Coverage was previously limited to those aged 65 to 69,” says a FNHA statement on Jan. 29.