On June 1 pharmacists across B.C. officially expanded their scope of practice, which now allows them to prescribe contraceptives and medications for 21 minor ailments.

The aim is alleviating challenges accessing prescriptions and over-the-counter medications for residents of British Columbia.

Karleigh Lucas-Johnson has been given another opportunity to pick up some additional hardware from a prestigious Indigenous multi-sport games.

Lucas-Johnson, a member of Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, has been named to the British Columbia girls’ under 19 volleyball squad that will participate in next month’s North American Indigenous Games (NAIG).

The games, which are expected to feature about 5,000 athletes from across Canada and the United States, will be held July 15-23, primarily in the Nova Scotia capital of Halifax.

Just behind Ditidaht Community School sits a 36-foot western red cedar log that, in just six months, will be carved into a canoe by the Ditidaht Warriors.

As lead for the canoe carving project Tom Patterson of the Ditidaht First Nation will be guiding the way for seven to ten young Ditidaht members.

Youth participating in the project are excited as they anticipated it’s start. 

Ditidaht member Randall Tate, who is a Grade 12 student, has been a warrior for just over two years. For Tate this will be the first time participating in a canoe carving project.

For many generations Indigenous women and two-spirited people have been the victims of violence in disproportionate numbers across Canada. This fact prompted the federal government to launch a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in December 2018.

The inquiry panel traveled the country taking statements from more than 2,000 people. But their mandate covered more than missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, expanding to encompass sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence, bullying and harassment, suicide, and self-harm.  

Islandlink has resumed bus service between Port Alberni and Tofino or Ucluelet following a short interruption due to the Cameron Bluffs wildfire, which forced the closure of Highway 4 since June 6.

"We were forced to suspend service on June 8 due to the Cameron Lake fire road closure, cutting off Nanaimo, but now realize the people on the Coast also require local services," says Phillip Morgan, owner of Islandlink and TofinoExpressBus. "For them, the closure has gone on too long already, so today we have re-started those services."

With a forest fire still smoldering on the slope above, Highway 4 will be closed for another week and a half, according to an update from the provincial government on June 13.

In a midday press conference delivered by Rob Flemming, B.C.’s minster of Transportation and Infrastructure, a tentative reopening date for the weekend of June 24 was announced, allowing firefighting crews to further dampen the Cameron Bluffs wildfire while the hazards of a compromised mountainside over the critical highway corridor are assessed.

For some Indigenous athletes competing in the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) is the highlight of their athletic careers.

And some athletes are fortunate enough to participate in the multi-sport games more than once.

One of those athletes is Mazzari Tate, a Ditidaht First Nation member. He represented British Columbia in both canoeing and kayaking events at the 2017 NAIG, held primarily in the Ontario capital of Toronto.

Tate, a Grade 12 student at Nanaimo District Secondary School, is now gearing up for his second NAIG appearance.

As thousands west of Cameron Lake eagerly await when Highway 4 will reopen, the B.C. Wildfire Service is being “cautiously optimistic” about its efforts to contain the Cameron Bluffs wildfire after a weekend of some rain.

Since it was discovered on June 3, the forest fire burning next to Cameron Lake has grown to 254 hectares, according to an update issued on Monday by the B.C. Wildfire Service. Although this is more that the 208-hectare estimate issued on Friday, the Wildfire Service now has a clearer idea of the fire’s size due to a decrease in smoke.

It’s been five years since six-year-old Dontay Lucas was found unresponsive in his home in a townhouse on the south side of Port Alberni and now his mother and her husband, who have been in custody since May 2022, are appearing in a Port Alberni courtroom as the preliminary hearing begins.

In Canada, a preliminary inquiry is a judicial hearing that is used in serious criminal cases to determine whether the evidence assembled by the Crown against an accused person is sufficient to proceed with a trial.

For two sunny days, community members and guests gathered at Nitinaht lake to celebrate Paddle Days on June 7 and 8.

Each day began at Gus Bay, where Ditidaht Community School and guests partook in 100 m, 200 m, and 400 m canoe races.

Students and teachers battled for first, second, and third place while laughter, chanting, and cheering filled the North-East corner of the Lake.

Following the first morning of races were performances, shared meals and activities such as screen printing, axe throwing and archery, among others.