Local Journalism Initiative

Living on B.C.’s below-poverty levels of disability assistance and already in debt means every treatment brings a Vancouver woman closer to running out of money and choosing the option to die. (Pixabay photo)

‘Jump or burn?’: B.C. woman is chronically ill, but dying of poverty

System will fund Medical Assistance in Dying but not treatments that help chronic fatigue syndrome

Living on B.C.’s below-poverty levels of disability assistance and already in debt means every treatment brings a Vancouver woman closer to running out of money and choosing the option to die. (Pixabay photo)
FILE -Dean Anderson holds up a sign before a march on the first National Day of Action to draw attention to the opioid overdose epidemic, in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C.’s overdose crisis: drugs, death and denial on the job

A recent survey of construction workers in B.C. found 1 in 3 self-reported problematic substance use

FILE -Dean Anderson holds up a sign before a march on the first National Day of Action to draw attention to the opioid overdose epidemic, in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The Canadian Coast Guard ship John P. Tully has been used to bring scientists to explore a large seamount region off Vancouver Island. (Devon Bidal/News Staff)

West Coast First Nations, feds reach tentative understanding on vast offshore region

Leadership mulls deal for proposed Marine Protected Area off Vancouver Island

The Canadian Coast Guard ship John P. Tully has been used to bring scientists to explore a large seamount region off Vancouver Island. (Devon Bidal/News Staff)
The Marine Detective Jackie Hildering wades into the water next to the humpback. (Emily Cowie/MERS photo)

‘Absolutely gutting’: Mourning the death of Spike the humpback whale

Observers suspect whale may have died from blunt force trauma after being hit by a boat

The Marine Detective Jackie Hildering wades into the water next to the humpback. (Emily Cowie/MERS photo)
An Atlantic salmon is seen during a Department of Fisheries and Oceans fish health audit at the Okisollo fish farm near Campbell River, B.C. Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018. The executive director of British Columbia’s salmon farmers association says a formalized consultation process for the future of the industry is welcome after several years of “ad hoc” discussions stemming from the Liberal government’s pledge in 2019 to end open-net pen salmon aquaculture off B.C.’s coast.��THE CANADIAN PRESS /Jonathan Hayward

Vancouver Island First Nations worry feds flip-flopping on B.C. fish farms transition

BC Salmon Farmers Association ‘heartened’ after its round of meetings with Fisheries minister

An Atlantic salmon is seen during a Department of Fisheries and Oceans fish health audit at the Okisollo fish farm near Campbell River, B.C. Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018. The executive director of British Columbia’s salmon farmers association says a formalized consultation process for the future of the industry is welcome after several years of “ad hoc” discussions stemming from the Liberal government’s pledge in 2019 to end open-net pen salmon aquaculture off B.C.’s coast.��THE CANADIAN PRESS /Jonathan Hayward
Container ship MV Kingston is being escorted from its anchorage off Victoria to Duke Point in Nanaimo. (Photo: Transport Canada)

MV Zim Kingston showed West Coast it’s not prepared to handle marine cargo spills

Parliamentary committee wants response gap plugged in wake of 2021 fire and spill off Victoria

Container ship MV Kingston is being escorted from its anchorage off Victoria to Duke Point in Nanaimo. (Photo: Transport Canada)
Seaspan B.C. tugboat operations ground to a halt after unionized marine workers launched job action at noon on Thursday (Aug. 25). (Seaspan photo)

How 165 workers parked tugboats and froze a B.C. shipyard

Other unions drawn into dispute between Seaspan, tugboat staff at North Vancouver shipyard, drydock

Seaspan B.C. tugboat operations ground to a halt after unionized marine workers launched job action at noon on Thursday (Aug. 25). (Seaspan photo)
Hundreds of Chilliwack secondary students and teachers took part in their school’s Reconciliation Walk in 2019. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)

Truth and Reconciliation Day: Education should be the priority, says B.C. Indigenous leader

Between 1831 and 1998, more than 150,000 children were thrust into Indian Residential Schools

Hundreds of Chilliwack secondary students and teachers took part in their school’s Reconciliation Walk in 2019. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)
RCMP are seen here making arrests May 17 near Argenta, B.C., north of Nelson. A group had been camped out protesting a logging company’s plans for the area. Photo: Louis Bockner
RCMP are seen here making arrests May 17 near Argenta, B.C., north of Nelson. A group had been camped out protesting a logging company’s plans for the area. Photo: Louis Bockner
The Slocan Valley. File photo

‘We’re so clean’: Slocan used more than 27 million litres of water in July

That works out to about 3,246 litres of water per person per day

The Slocan Valley. File photo
Six emergency shifts at Port Hardy Hospital remain uncovered in September, according to minutes of a recent Island Health meeting. (Island Health photo)

Health-care crisis poised to escalate on Vancouver Island, leaked documents show

Three doctors expected to be working in September in Port Hardy, a community that needs seven

Six emergency shifts at Port Hardy Hospital remain uncovered in September, according to minutes of a recent Island Health meeting. (Island Health photo)
Jared Towers photographed this humpback whale and four others in 2018 near Port McNeill, Alert Bay, and Hanson Island. JARED TOWERS PHOTO

Discovery Islands resurfacing as a B.C. humpback hot spot

Gentle giants returning to waters of northeastern Vancouver Island and not just passing through

Jared Towers photographed this humpback whale and four others in 2018 near Port McNeill, Alert Bay, and Hanson Island. JARED TOWERS PHOTO
Southern resident orcas off the shores of Tofino. (Photo credit: John Forde and Jennifer Steven)

$3.1 million pumped into B.C. marine noise reduction as advocates call for targets

Efforts underway to help protect endangered killer whales from increased traffic

Southern resident orcas off the shores of Tofino. (Photo credit: John Forde and Jennifer Steven)
A giant Pacific octopus shelters on a reef near Campbell River, awaiting the return of the tide. Alistair Taylor photo

Drastic fluctuations turning B.C. West Coast intertidal zone into ‘murder scene’

Rare tides, climate change occuring at a faster rate than intertidal animals can evolve or adapt to

A giant Pacific octopus shelters on a reef near Campbell River, awaiting the return of the tide. Alistair Taylor photo
Port McNeill Hospital. (Gazette file photo)

Primary health care `collapsing’ in B.C. rural communities, critics say

ER closures on northern Vancouver Island called a symptom of larger problem

Port McNeill Hospital. (Gazette file photo)
A nurse administers the coronavirus vaccine last year. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Boost now or wait? What you should know as B.C. counts down to its next COVID shots

B.C. is only officially recommending second boosters now for older and extremely vulnerable people

A nurse administers the coronavirus vaccine last year. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
The Canadian Coast Guard ship called John P. Tully has been used to bring scientists to the Explorer Seamount — Canada’s largest underwater mountain. (Devon Bidal/News Staff)

West Coast expedition off B.C. explores never-before-seen deep-sea habitat

‘We are going to habitats that nobody’s mapped before, that nobody’s seen before’

The Canadian Coast Guard ship called John P. Tully has been used to bring scientists to the Explorer Seamount — Canada’s largest underwater mountain. (Devon Bidal/News Staff)
Save Old Growth demonstrators blocked the northbound Pat Bay Highway early in the morning on June 13. (Courtesy of Save Old Growth/Twitter)

Save Old Growth protester shatters hip during B.C. highway blockade

Campaigners say they will continue actions until old growth logging is halted in B.C.

Save Old Growth demonstrators blocked the northbound Pat Bay Highway early in the morning on June 13. (Courtesy of Save Old Growth/Twitter)
A critical part of Campbell River Estuary restoration is the planting of native species like sedge grass to prevent erosion. (Binny Paul, Campbell River Mirror)

B.C. estuary a showcase for the reclamation of ruined habitat

Sterile former industrial wasteland in Campbell River e being restored as prime fish habitat

A critical part of Campbell River Estuary restoration is the planting of native species like sedge grass to prevent erosion. (Binny Paul, Campbell River Mirror)
The Emergency Room entrance at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. (John McKinley file)

B.C. Indigenous family files complaint for mistreatment at Vancouver Island hospital

Island Health said it acknowledges man did not receive culturally safe care

The Emergency Room entrance at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. (John McKinley file)