Microsoft Crash Throws BC Health Authorities Back to Analogue Age
By Michelle Gamage Local Journalism Initiative Reporter On Friday computers around the world running the Microsoft operating system Windows 10 suddenly faced what is colloquially known as the “blue screen of death” before having their computer systems turn off and then slowly reboot. This was not a cyberattack but a major tech failure. That same day, cyber-security company CrowdStrike said an update it made to its antivirus software for Microsoft Windows caused the crash. Many B.C. health authorities, hospitals, labs and urgent and primary care centres, were affected. B.C.’s emergency dispatch system, as well as paramedic, wildfire and police services were not impacted, Premier David Eby said at a press conference Friday. Health Minister Adrian Dix said most systems were back online by midday, though he added it might take...
Register
Documentary sparks conversation about Indigenous-led wildfire resilience
By Dionne Phillips Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A new documentary film, The Test, explores how the community of Logan Lake’s wildfire preparations were tested in 2021. A recent screening and panel discussion hosted in Williams Lake sparked more conversations about Indigenous-led wildfire resilience. Logan Lake began its fire mitigation decades ago, becoming the first official FireSmart community in Canada in 2013 by setting in motion a series of measures to help protect infrastructure and homes from wildfire damage. The Test shows how community leaders assessed forested areas for wildfire risk and employed youth to thin it out, piling twigs and dead branches on the forest floor to burn in the fall. Homeowners also mitigated wildfire risks by cleaning gutters and keeping firewood away from their homes. Just weeks after wildfire...
Register
WorkSafe investigating after death at turbine project near Sussex
By Andrew Bates Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 22/07/2024 WorkSafeNB is investigating after a person died Thursday at a construction site for a turbine project east of Sussex. A subcontractor working on the Neweg Energy Project, 29 kilometres east of Sussex, died following an incident on July 18, according to Amy Pellerin of Natural Forces, a Halifax-based private power company. Construction work on the six-turbine project was halted immediately and reopened Monday following approval from WorkSafeNB, Pellerin said Monday. “Neweg Energy Limited Partnership was made aware of the terrible incident after the emergency services were contacted and we offer our most sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the individual who has passed,” Pellerin, the company’s director of Canadian development, wrote in a statement. WorkSafeNB communications manager Lynn Meahan-Carson...
Register
University of Regina partners with tribal council to deliver camp for elite athletes
Local Journalism Initiative 23/07/2024 00:22 From Alex Decoteau, Sasktchewan’s first Olympian; to the trailblazing hockey career of Fred Sasakamoose; to current athletes like Brigette Lacquette, the first Indigenous woman on Canada’s Olympic hockey team; there’s a rich history of Indigenous athletic success in in the province and a new training camp aims to continue that excellence. The University of Regina (U of R) in partnership with the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council (FHQTC) created a new coaching and performance camp, designed to give athletes from the 11 FHQTC First Nations access to top athletic coaching and development. “I think the biggest thing is creating opportunities in sport and recreation for Indigenous athletes, especially those who don’t have access to these facilities and coaches,” said Jordynn Pewapsconias, KHS Indigenous...
Register
Fuel spill sparks evacuation worries for Nunavut community
The Canadian Press 22/07/2024 A gasoline spill in Nunavut prompted what some officials characterized as an evacuation, although the territory’s government says no evacuation was ordered. The Department of Community and Government Services says an estimated 5,000 litres of fuel spilled because of a tank overfill Monday afternoon in Sanikiluaq, an island community of about 1,000 people in southeast Hudson Bay. The department says the risk to the community is minimal and no fumes were detected beyond the facility’s containment area. Nunavut MP Lori Idlout said on Facebook she hoped “the gas leak they experienced forcing them to evacuate” was addressed safely. But the Nunavut government says it has not issued any form of evacuation notice regarding the leak. A First Nation in northern Quebec that had been prepared to...
Register
K’omoks First Nation signs draft treaty with B.C., federal governments
The Canadian Press 22/07/2024 Officials with the K’omoks First Nation and the B.C. and federal governments have signed a draft treaty in a step toward the nation’s self-governance. K’omoks Chief Ken Price says it was an “exciting, memorable, and emotional day” for the community on Vancouver Island as it marked another step toward a treaty. Price says in a statement that many K’omoks leaders have been part of negotiations over the last 30 years aiming to “build the best treaty possible.” He says treaties are “the highest form of reconciliation between nations.” The draft treaty must still be ratified by a vote among K’omoks members, and Price says the next step is to ensure questions are answered to ensure their community members feel they are making an informed decision. A...
Register
Manitoba First Nation says members without health care due to nursing shortage
The Canadian Press A First Nation in northern Manitoba says many of its residents, including infants, elders and people with chronic health conditions, are going without basic health care because of a nursing shortage in the community. Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation’s nursing station has been open only for medical emergencies since last year because the community has just two nurses to service its 3,500 citizens. Chief Angela Levasseur says members are forced to travel outside the community to get basic care like bloodwork or medication refills. She is calling on the federal government to provide funding for an additional three nurses for the nation. Government data shows that nursing stations in remote First Nations communities in Manitoba were facing a 67 per cent operational vacancy in the last fiscal year. Levasseur...
Register
Residents learn about the history of pemmican
By Alex Noad, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter When the Buffalo roamed the land which is now known as Canada, the Blackfoot people relied on it for all of their basic needs. A single buffalo could produce up to 500 pounds of meat. Without fridges to keep the meat cold how were they able to utilize it to nourish their bodies? The answer to this question is pemmican. Pemmican is a traditional food from ancient Indigenous culture. While each tribe used meat native to their areas, the Blackfoot people used primarily buffalo meat. The three components to pemmican were meat, fat and berries. Each component played a vital role in both nutrition and preservation. The meat was first dried, this was not only to preserve the meat, but it also made...
Register
Salluit man describes 8-month struggle to find home for family
By Cedric Gallant Local Journalism Initiative Reporter been in an eight-month battle with the Nunavik Housing Bureau to obtain a home for himself and his family. James Tarkirk, 24, lives with his partner, Alaku Poassie, who is seven months pregnant, and their two children ages three and four. He said he has moved from place to place while struggling to get answers for when the housing bureau will have a home ready for his family to move into. Currently, he’s staying at his mother’s place short-term while she is in Montreal. He might stay in the south permanently if he can’t get a house in Salluit soon, he said. The Nunavik Housing Bureau takes care of accommodation for nearly 98 per cent of Nunavik Inuit, under the Quebec Housing Corp....
Register
Wildfires erupt in B.C. with lightning, heat fuelling fire behaviour across province
The Canadian Press The mayor of a British Columbia Interior community says the area’s long-term care residents have been moved out as a fast-moving wildfire looms nearby. Barbara Roden, mayor of Ashcroft, B.C., located about 360 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, said Saturday that community remains under an alert to be ready to evacuate on short notice. Roden said the anxiety among residents is “settling down a little bit” as the nearby Shetland Creek wildfire appeared to push northward Saturday. “In the early stages of a fire, there is of course a lot of stress, a lot of fear, a lot of nervousness,” she said. “(But) we’ve seen that the fire has largely stayed in a northerly course, not veering off to the east towards Ashcroft or Cache Creek, the more...
Register
Feds release flood of conservation funding
By Natasha Bulowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Nearly $90 million in federal funding for a slew of nature conservation projects intended to reverse Canada’s biodiversity loss and protect more land and waters was announced Thursday. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s British Columbia Chapter (CPAWS) celebrated the federal government’s news, which advances Canada’s goal to improve biodiversity and protect thirty per cent of lands and waters by 2030. Three separate projects totalling $49 million will be in British Columbia, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced at a press conference in Whytecliff Park Beach in West Vancouver. “This funding has the potential to make a massive impact by protecting ecologically and culturally important ecosystems that hold and sequester carbon while benefitting clean water, air and wildlife,” said Tori Ball, conservation director...
Register
Fishing communities welcome B.C. intention to reform licensing and quotas
By Hope Lompe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Fishing communities, harvesters and advocates are welcoming British Columbia’s intention to work with the federal government to reform the purchase system for fish licences and quotas for B.C.’s commercial fishing industry. As part of the Coastal Marine Strategy unveiled last week, the province says it’s moving toward an owner-operator system for quota and licences. Under the new system, licence and quota holders would also need to be active fish harvesters — something advocacy groups and First Nations have been requesting for years. The current individual transferable quotas (ITQ) system allows corporations and foreign investors with deep pockets to buy the right to catch fish for the highest price, making it increasingly difficult for individual harvesters, First Nations and generational fishing families to stay...
Register
Province commits to ‘new vision for child welfare’ after 11-year-old’s preventable death
By Cara McKenna Local Journalism Initiative Reporter CONTENT WARNING: This story details abuse and neglect in the child “welfare” system that may be distressing or triggering. Please look after your spirit and read with care. The provincial government is committing to “a new vision for child welfare” after an investigation exposed dozens of failures that led to the preventable death of an 11-year-old First Nations boy in a “Fraser Valley” foster home. The Representative for Children and Youth (RCY) released a report this week that delves into the story of Colby — whose real name and specific community have been withheld to protect his identity — and the horrific abuse he endured that led to his untimely passing. The mistreatment of Colby and his eight-year-old sister — which included starvation,...
Register
Prophet River First Nation prepares for Chief and Council elections
By Ed Hitchings Local Journalism Initiative Reporter PROPHET RIVER, B.C. — Prophet River First Nation (PRFN) has published its final lists of candidates for the positions of Chief and Council. Shelley Chipesia, Sheree Reno, Kirk Tsakoza, and Brian Wolf will try to unseat incumbent Chief Valerie Askoty. Askoty has served as PRFN Chief since 2021, when she defeated Tzakoza and Reno. She recently told Energeticcity.ca about her ambitions for a potential second term, which included nominating a board to oversee PRFN’s economic development corporation. “It should be run as a business separate from the Nation, away from political interference,” said Askoty in an interview on July 10th. “At the end of the day, Nation members are the stakeholders.” Two officials will be chosen from a pool of 10 candidates for...
Register
Manitoba Métis president ticketed for fishing without a licence, province says
Canadian Press 19/07/2024 A recent interaction between a conservation officer and David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Métis Federation, appears set to become the latest skirmish in the battle over Indigenous hunting and fishing rights in the province. Chartrand was given a ticket last month for angling without a licence on a lake near the northern community of Cranberry Portage, the government’s central communications agency said Friday. Chartrand has until Aug. 14 to respond. Such tickets can carry fines of $298. Chartrand said he has not been charged with anything, was not breaking the law, and was exercising his right to fish. “One of the officers was trying to figure out what he had to do, and I think he was not properly briefed,” Chartrand said in an interview this...
Register
B.C. Interior residents get ready to go as rapidly growing wildfire threatens
The Canadian Press 19/07/2024 15:53 It’s the first time The Inn at Spences Bridge has been empty since April. Dorothy Boragno, who owns the inn with her husband Michael Findlay, said Friday they watched thick smoke across the Thompson River from the out-of-control Shetland Creek wildfire that has already forced others to evacuate. “We’ve been through fires before, so we know what happens, and if they get close, usually we get firemen to stay at our hotel, so we’re not too worried yet. But it does bring back bad memories,” said Boragno. The Shetland Creek fire in the southern Interior more than doubled in size from Thursday to Friday, due to what the B.C. Wildfire Service said was “significant overnight growth” and more accurate mapping. The fire is now listed...
Register
Brant County Health Unit confirms mosquitoes collected test positive for West Nile
BRANTFORD, ONT. – The Brant County Health Unit (BCHU) has confirmed mosquitoes collected last week, as part of the unit’s surveillance program, have tested positive for the West Nile virus (WNV). The mosquitoes were collected from a residential neighbourhood in Brantford. It the first lab confirmed evidence of WNV in Brantford-Brant this year. BCHU explained mosquitoes can transmit WNV to humans after becoming infected by feeding on the blood of birds carrying the virus. Residents can take the following steps to protect themselves and their families from mosquitoes: Cover up. Wear light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and pants with tightly woven fabric. Avoid being outdoors from early evening to morning when mosquitoes are most active and likely to bite, as well as at any time in shady, wooded areas. Reduce mosquito breeding...
Register
Top court says government can be held liable for making unconstitutional laws
The Canadian Press 19/07/2024 The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the state is not immune from liability for drafting and enacting laws that are later found to be unconstitutional. In a ruling Friday, a majority of the top court said governments have a limited liability for laws that are found to violate the Charter. The decision paves the way for a New Brunswick man to take the federal government to court over two laws passed by the former Conservative government in 2010 and 2012. Joseph Power was convicted of criminal offences in the 1990s, served a prison sentence, and then went on to become a medical radiation technologist. He was suspended from work in 2011 when his employer learned of his criminal record, and he applied for a...
Register
A Conversation With Calgary Stampede First Nations Princess Margaret Holloway
By Deena Goodrunning, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 19/07/2024 13:27 The Calgary Stampede First Nations Princess holds many roles and responsibilities. Not only does she represent “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth” alongside the Calgary Stampede Princess, she also represents the First Nations of Treaty 7 and Elbow River Camp on a local, national and international scale. Elbow River Camp, previously known as Indian Village, has been a part of the Calgary Stampede since it first started in 1912. The tradition of the Calgary Stampede First Nations Princess began in 1965 when Gloria Littlelight from the Tsuu’tina Nation was crowned as the first Calgary Stampede First Nations Princess. Since then, a young woman from one of the five nations of Treaty 7 (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, Stoney Nakoda, and Tsuut’ina) is annually...
Register
Wildfire near Spences Bridge, B.C., explodes in size overnight as heat wave continues
The Canadian Press 19/07/2024 The out-of-control Shetland Creek fire in British Columbia’s southern Interior has more than doubled in size due to what the wildfire service describes as “significant overnight growth” and more accurate mapping. The fast-growing fire, now listed at 124 square kilometres in size, up from 57 square kilometres, has prompted evacuation orders and alerts between the communities of Spences Bridge and Ashcroft, east of Kamloops. An update posted to the BC Wildfire Service website says conditions are hot, dry, and windy, and there’s potential for continued substantial growth of the fire today. It says the blaze advanced about six kilometres in the northwest direction parallel to Highway 1 Thursday night. The service says 71 firefighters and six helicopters are currently battling the blaze in addition to structure...
Register
