After more than a year of social isolation due to the pandemic, diabetics and other foot pain sufferers are finding relief in the form of mobile foot clinics.

Prior to the pandemic, the NTC hosted annual health fairs where foot care professionals were brought in to see people. But gatherings like health fairs have been prohibited by provincial public health orders since March 2020.

In honour of this year’s Red Dress Day on May 5, sisters Nora Martin and Grace Frank are planning to hang three red dresses within Tla-o-qui-aht’s traditional territory.

“We want people to know that our family and relatives are still missing,” said Martin.

The national day of awareness aims to recognize and shed light on the increasingly high numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. 

The long delays Highway 4 travelers face as they travel between Port Alberni and Tofino and Ucluelet are about to get worse.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure issued a traffic advisory April 14 stating that more major blasting work needs to be done during daylight hours.

On March 16 the Kennedy Hill construction zone was closed for 10 hours to conduct major blasting safely, during daylight hours. At that time, boulders the size of houses were blasted off of the rock face. But there’s much more work that needs to be done.

After seeing the number of overdose fatalities nearly double over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the provincial government is pushing to decriminalize possession of illicit drugs.

An agency that provides substance use counselling to youth and families will be consulting with Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations to determine how to spend additional funds for overdose response.

West Coast Community Resources Society (WCCR) is among the 23 rural, remote and Indigenous communities and organizations to receive the extra support, totalling more than $1 million, from the B.C. Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions.

When Dr. Luke Williston first heard about the Tla-o-qui-aht men’s group, his ears perked up. 

As one of Tofino's primary care and emergency room physicians, Williston often treats patients who struggle with alcoholism and substance abuse. 

When he started seeing the same three men returning to the hospital nearly every month, Williston was at a loss. He arranged for counselling and prescribed medication, but none of his methods seemed to help.

Vancouver Island’s West Coast Trail is re-opening to overnight visitors in June 2021. 

The 75-kilometre trail runs between Port Renfrew and Bamfield, passing through the territories of Huu-ay-aht, Pacheedhat and Ditidaht First Nations.

In consultation with Parks Canada, “the three First Nations came to a decision to open it with safety precautions in place,” said Ditidaht First Nation elected chief Brian Tate. 

As the darkness of night set in, Hayden Seitcher resorted to his headlight to guide the way up 5040 Peak. It was only the beginning of October but the mountain was already covered in snow. Pushing through, the Tla-o-qui-aht man mounted higher until he noticed faint lights glimmering in the distance. 

He immediately recognized them as the 5040 hut. 

Alongside youth warriors, Evan Touchie, Ethan Tom, Daniel Williams and Tyson Touchie, Seitcher made the journey for the naming ceremony of the hut. 

Stevie Dennis and Jordan White live in their respective boats that are moored across from each other on Strawberry Island, in the Tofino inlet. For the business partners and friends, the ocean is their very lifeline. 

Recently, they further cemented their ties to the sea by launching their new business, Keltsmaht Kelp. Their aim is to integrate the natural benefits of kelp into the every day, while conducting ecologically-minded business.

As they work towards establishing a kelp farm in Ritchie Bay, the duo recently released its first product, kelp probiotic.

Some people might have simply glanced over the recent news that the provincial government will be providing funding for some remote communities in British Columbia to improve their Internet capabilities.

But for Julie Colborne, the mayor of the village of Zeballos, located within the traditional territories of the Ehattesaht First Nation, the news is rather significant.

“Economically it’s a game changer,” Colborne said. “It puts us on an equitable and more equal playing field with everyone else.”