Port Hardy has a new manager for recreation and community services, just in time for the pool to reopen this summer.

Naomi Heith has stepped into the new role, after serving the District as community outreach coordinator. Raised in Port Hardy, she has a local connection to the community and a unique understanding of the North Island’s recreation challenges and opportunities.

She has big plans for more community events, programming guides and community outreach to promote health and wellness.

One of her first big jobs will likely be planning the pool’s grand re-opening — renovations are complete and the water is in, staff are now working on getting the heating system up and running before it opens in the coming weeks.

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One of BC’s biggest salmon farmers wants to see if algae makes a good feed ingredient.

Cermaq Canada and its feed supplier Cargill are introducing oils from algae to feed at several BC farms, to see if it can be a replacement for fish oil from wild fisheries.

German Campos with the company says it’s a big step to reduce dependence on marine resources, while still meeting fish health and product quality goals.

Salmon farmers still rely on fish oil from wild fisheries to make sure farmed fish contain heart-healthy Omega-3s. The algae oil is produced in Nebraska, grown in tanks at a large scale. If successful, it could significantly reduce dependence on wild fisheries.

The oil is produced by Veramaris, which says one ton of its algae-derived oil is equivalent to 60 tons of wild-caught fish. The company recently completed a three-year review with Canadian regulators and was granted approval in March.

The company uses a North Pacific strain of algae naturally rich in Omega-3s. It's an important part of the food chain in the wild — algae is eaten by zooplankton, which is in turn eaten by wild fish including sockeye salmon, giving their flesh its signature bright orange-pink colour.

"Implementing these innovative solutions demonstrates how quickly the aquaculture industry in Canada can move to adopt new techniques,” said David Kiemele, Cermaq Canada's managing director, in a news release. “Our company is proud to be one of the first movers in this space in Canada.”

Feeding trials will start in May. Cermaq says they will be using the feed on farms where fish are close to harvest size.

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The province is finally moving to ban illicit drug use in all public places, including hospitals, transit, and parks.

Premier David Eby announced the changes today in a press conference.

"The goal is that police have the authority and that everybody in the community knows it, so they don't have to use it," he said. "A police officer says, 'no, I'm sorry, this isn't the place where drugs are used, you need to go somewhere else,' the person listens and follows that direction. Hopefully and ideally to a site where there are medical professionals, connections to care, and potentially if that person's in that space and ready, connections to addictions treatment."

BC is now working with the federal government to give police back the power to prevent drug use in all public places. Possession of small amounts remains legal, and police will only arrest for possession in exceptional circumstances.

Eby said the province is working with Health Canada to change the terms of its decriminalization pilot program in BC, which is about halfway through its three-year duration. The province is asking the federal government to again make the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act apply to public drug use throughout the province, effectively prohibiting it. People will still be able to use in their private residences or lawful overnight shelters.

The province tried last year to modify provincial legislation to prohibit drug use in some public spaces, but immediately ran into legal challenges. Eby said the Attorney-General told him there was no end in sight to that case, so the province is now working directly with the federal government to use federal laws. He said he has the prime minister's assurances that the federal government will work collaboratively with BC.

The move comes after recent incidents suggested public drug use and related disorder is escalating, including a news story from Campbell River involving teens overdosing in a local restaurant, and a viral video from the Lower Mainland showing people smoking fentanyl at their restaurant table.

As well, staff in several BC hospitals including Campbell River reported patients were smoking fentanyl and other street drugs in their hospital rooms, causing health concerns for nurses and other patients.

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An orca calf trapped in a lagoon for a month after her mother died swam out on her own early this morning.

A statement from the Ehattesaht First Nation says kʷiisaḥiʔis the ‘Brave Little Hunter’ swam out of the Zeballos lagoon around 2:30 am, with the high tide. This morning, she was spotted moving into Esperanza Inlet, which connects with the open ocean.

The statement says the rescue team will now focus on encouraging her to keep going, so her calls will be hopefully heard by her family pod.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the local nations are asking people and boaters to keep clear of the area, to prevent anything from discouraging the orca from reuniting with her family.

The orca had been in the lagoon for a month after she and her mother entered chasing prey. When the tide went out, her mother was beached and died. The only entrance to the lagoon is a narrow passage under a bridge, only open at the highest tides.

Rescuers have been trying to encourage the calf to leave ever since, with almost 50 people involved in the attempts at one point, with everything under consideration from a helicopter lift, to banging metal pipes underwater.

In the end, the orca swam out on her own terms.

The orca is a Biggs killer whale, which eat mainly marine mammals. Rescuers have been feeding her seal meat during her time in the lagoon.

We will update this story as more information becomes available.

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The annual National Day of Mourning for workers killed on the job is coming up this weekend.

The mother of a young man who died at sea in a tugboat incident will be one of this year’s speakers. In February 2021, on the Central Coast, the MV Ingenika lost power during a sub-zero storm. The barge it was pulling passed over the tug, capsizing and sinking it. Two crew died, including Charley Cragg.

This year his mother Genevieve will be speaking in Vancouver at the Day of Mourning ceremony.

Ceremonies are planned around the Island, the first will be on Friday in Courtenay and in Campbell River.

Here's the schedule for events in our communities, visit the official website for a full list and any last-minute changes.

Friday, April 26

• Campbell River: 10:30 am at Fire Hall 1, 675 13th Ave
• Courtenay: 10 am at Simms Park Pavilion, 5th St

Sunday, April 28

• Lake Cowichan: 10 am at Forest Workers Memorial Park, 46-58 South Shore Rd
• Nanaimo: 12:30 pm at Pioneer Waterfront Plaza, 90 Front St
• Powell River: 11 am at the Cranberry Cemetery Workers Memorial

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Amateur and professional scientists on the Island are invited to share knowledge about salmon, and how to better protect them.

UBC and the Pacific Salmon Foundation are co-hosting three events on Vancouver Island starting in Campbell River next week. They are managed by Dr. Brian Riddell, a world-renowned expert on Pacific salmon and former foundation president.

The Salmon Dialogues aim to collect local knowledge from communities and salmon scientists with the goal of more effectively rebuilding Pacific salmon production on the coast.

There are 13 dialogues scheduled around BC.

Organizers hope they will help encourage more open communication and collaboration to rebuild Pacific salmon stocks, and identify what actions should be top priority.

For more information, and to sign up, visit the official website.

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The health authority responsible for First Nations in BC has won an award for good governance.

The First Nations Health Authority provides health and wellness services to more than 200 First Nations communities across BC. Its goal is to reduce service gaps and promote culturally safe practices for Indigenous patients in the health care system.

This week, the health authority received the National Indigenous Good Governance Award from Honoring Nations Canada. The award was for community governance and programming.

Health authority CEO Richard Jock says they are grateful for the recognition, and thanked the many people and partners who are working to transform health programming for First Nations people in BC.

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A Vancouver Island man has received the highest recognition in the country for bravery.

Nick Rivers with Arrowsmith Search and Rescue received the Governor General’s Decoration for Bravery on Saturday night. CHEK News reports the award was for his actions in December 2020, when he rescued a man from a river north of Parksville.

Rivers was lowered into the water in a rope rescue, which required a lot of training, technical skill, and bravery to pluck the man from the freezing, powerful currents.

Rivers was able to rescue the man before he tumbled over a waterfall. He says it was the most intense rescue he’s ever done, and thanked his team and his training for making it possible.

In 1972, Queen Elizabeth II established a series of medals recognizing courageous acts. In the last 50 years, the Governor General has awarded Decorations for Bravery to more than 4200 recipients: Canadians and others, civilians and uniformed personnel, living and deceased—in recognition of acts of bravery in hazardous circumstances that range from potential drownings and vehicle accidents to animal attacks and burning buildings.

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A local doctor who has fought tirelessly for North Island communities was recognized nationally for his work last night.

The Society of Rural Physicians is holding its annual conference this weekend in Edmonton. Last night they held their awards gala, recognizing doctors across the country for their community efforts.

Dr. Prean Armogam from Port McNeill was nominated for the Rural Service Award. He’s served Port McNeill and the North Island for 18 years, and worked tirelessly to bring attention to the doctor shortage in the region. He has always spoken up about the critical importance of keeping physicians in rural communities.

He wasn’t selected as the winner but another Island doctor was — Dr. Donald Curtis, a family physician with a practice in Courtenay, received the award. Dr. Jane Bishop from Sechelt was also nominated.

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Talks between air traffic control workers and NAV Canada have broken down, and workers are now concerned they will be replaced by contractors if they strike.

The workers’ union and NAV Canada, a private not-for-profit corporation which operates air traffic control at airports across Canada, reached an impasse last week. The workers are represented by Unifor Local 1016, which says the company notified them it has a service contractor lined up in case of a strike.

Unifor national president Lana Payne says a recent victory on the East Coast should encourage NAV Canada to avoid a strike, and called on the federal government to move on Bill C-58 which has been working its way through parliament for months.

“We have been fighting tooth-and-nail for the federal government to pass anti-scab legislation now,” she said in a statement. “Let Unifor’s actions at CN Autoport be a warning to other companies that our union won’t tolerate scab labour. We will defend our members’ right to strike and to free and fair collective bargaining.

"My message to NAVCan: Unifor is ready. All of us.”

The union was on strike for more than a month at the Nova Scotia port, picketing to prevent replacement workers from entering the site. The strike ended earlier this month after the union's demands were met.

Workers in Air Traffic Control Training, Operational Support, Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), Flight Data Analytics and Aeronautical Information Management at NAV Canada locations from coast-to-coast are represented by Unifor. Workers recently voted 95% in favour of striking over wages, staffing, and scheduling issues.

They will be in strike position May 4.

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