Monday, May 31, 2021

BC's Daily COVID count continues to show declines, province nears 70 percent of first dose vaccinations


The work of British Columbians to reduce the curve of COVID continued to show results over the weekend with Monday's update from Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix making note of 708 new cases of the coronavirus, making for an average of 236 per day of the three day review period.

“Today, we are reporting on three periods. From May 28 to May 29, we had 258 new cases. From May 29 to May 30, we had 238 new cases and in the last 24 hours, we had a further 212 new cases. 

This results in a total of 708 new cases, for a total of 144,289 cases in British Columbia. 

There are 2,953 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and a further 139,562 people who tested positive have recovered. 

Of the active cases, 249 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 78 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. 

There have been 11 new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,703 deaths in British Columbia. Our condolences are with the family, friends and caregivers of the people who have died as a result of COVID-19."

Across the province, the COVID count was as follows: 140 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 394 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 18 in the Island Health region, 113 in the Interior Health region, 

There were  42 new cases of COVID reported  in the Northern Health region that brings the British Columbia total to 7,683 since January of 2020.

As well one new case of COVID was recorded in British Columbia by a person who resides outside of Canada.

The provincial vaccination program has continued to add to the listings of those who haver received their first  COVID shot: 3,250,161 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 179,954 of which are second doses. 

This means 69.7% of all adults and 66.1% of those 12 and older have received their first dose. 

While progress is being made, Doctor Henry also cautioned about the need to maintain awareness and the need to follow the health measures still in place, that as variant cases continue to develop.

 “While we are making significant headway in our immunization efforts, this is a time of caution for all of us. New strains continue to circulate and outbreaks are still occurring in all regions of the province. 

Immunizations are an extremely effective tool. But it takes time for them to fully protect us, which is why it is important we all stay vigilant to prevent further virus transmission in our communities."

Doctor Henry also took note of the revelations from Kamloops of last week and the discovery of the gravesites of 215 children who attended the Indian Residential School in that community.

“While there is much that is positive and encouraging on the horizon with the COVID-19 vaccination progress, we pause and mourn the 215 children whose remains were found at the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School. 

We stand with the families of children buried at Indian Residential Schools and honour the strength and resilience of those who survived. 

Let’s take this time of sadness to connect with our children, our grandchildren and families to honour those we have lost.”


The full statement for Monday can be reviewed here.

BC CDC data for Northern Health Region for Monday, May 31




BC CDC data for British Columbia for Monday, May 31



The BC Centre for Disease control has some valuable Coronavirus notes related to COVID-19 you can explore that information here.

You can learn more about the outbreak from both the Province and the Federal government from the links below:

Federal Government site

British Columbia Government site

The World Health Organization website also offers up the latest advisories on the global situation.

More from  Northern Health can be reviewed here 

You can review our archive of past statements and local information here.   

Local governments and organizations have also provided for increased awareness of COVID-19 issues, those past advisories  can be reviewed here.

For notes from across Canada and British Columbia we have been archiving the latest items through our political portal Darcy McGee


Ottawa Observations


Victoria Viewpoints

 




Region's cycling enthusiasts may get glimpse of future plans for Prince Rupert area tonight

Mountain Bike enthusiasts in Prince Rupert hope to see a project  similar
to this one in Terrace put in place locally in the future

With Go By Bike week off to a somewhat soggy start, Prince Rupert's cycling community will want to make note of a guest at tonight's City Council Committee of the Whole Session, with Craig Rimmer from the North Coast Mountain Bike Association to deliver a presentation to Council.

The ambitious plans for the Association most likely will be the subject of tonights conversation with Council, including the plans of the Association to develop a Pump Track for the use of cycling enthusiast in the community, a project which as we noted in January would be similar in style to a course that has been created in the Terrace area.

The association launched their fundraising efforts at the start of the year and tonight will provide a chance for Mr. Rimmer to perhaps update council on how that is going and what the any course development plans may look like for Prince Rupert.

Later in the evening, Council will receive a report from Corporate Administrator Rosa Miller, which will ask for Council to provide a letter of Support for the North Coast Mountain Bike Association as they seek out further funding for the track proposal.

In February, we outlined some of the early investigative work on the track concept that had taken place, with the North Coast Mountain Bike Association picking up some valuable allies to their cause along the way.

Tonight's Committee of the Whole appearance is set for shortly after 7PM, you can watch the live stream from the City website here.

More notes on this evening's Council session can be explored here.

While items of interest on cycling in the region can be reviewed from our archive page.

Seal Cove Salt Marsh work approaches midway mark on timeline of mid summer opening

PRPA Project and Field Services Technologist Khalid Elmourci exploring
the work area of the Seal Cove Marsh project

(photo from PRPA Twitter feed)

The Seal Cove area has been the centre of activity for a number of months now as crews from the Coast Tsimshian Northern Contractors Alliance began to lay out the footprint of the much anticipated Seal Cove Salt Marsh project, a habitat restoration program that will create the regions next recreation area.

From those early days of February, the project has now moved forward significantly with the installation of services and restoration work now underway at the mouth of the freshwater creek at recreation site that will be the focus point for the city's east side.

The next phase of the work will see eelgrass transplanted into the internal and mudflats area, along with some landscaping around the shoreline and the installation of a new pedestrian bridge, along with benches and lighting.

The design drawing for the Seal Cove Salt March project
on the east side of Prince Rupert

In an update on the project posted to the Prince Rupert Port Authority website today, Ken Veldman, the Port's Vice President of Public Affairs and Sustainability  made note of the changes that residents and visitors will see once the project reaches its end later this summer.

“These enhancements will bring new life to a part of Prince Rupert’s waterfront that’s been historically impacted by human and industrial activity.We are committed to ensuring the future of Seal Cove is cleaner, greener and more welcoming for the many species that call it home, as well as providing people with a safe place to take a stroll or sit and relax with family and friends.”

We most likely will hear more about the project later next month when the Prince Rupert Port Authority hosts its Annual Public Meeting, a virtual online event set to take place on Wednesday, June 16th at 5PM.

The four million dollar restoration project has been fully funded by the Prince Rupert Port Authority and is being developed on land provided by the City of Prince Rupert. 

Some of our previous notes on the project can be reviewed here.

For more items of note related to Port Development see our archive page here.



Pandemic related disruptions making for challenges for City's landfill expansion program

Council will hear of some challenges towards the expansion of
the City's landfill site tonight
(maps from City of PR website)

The progress for the city's expansion of the Ridley Island Landfill site is finding a few impediments owing to the COVID pandemic, a subject that will see Richard Pucci the City's Director of Operations providing an update for Council tonight, as well as a request for the green light to purchase some materials immediately.

The items of note from Mr. Pucci are the liner and HDPE piping material required for the landfill project, with the Operations Director to review the current situation as part of his report noting how without immediate action the result may be delays to completing the expansion this year. 

The cost of the materials somewhat unknown it seems owing to the fluctuation of prices and ability to access the supplies, the Director notes he will provide a memo later on for the council members as to the cost of purchase.

You can review below from the City's Agenda Package for tonight.


If his presentation is an in person (or by way of Zoom) report, Council members may have some questions to ask toward the landfill work and may want to take advantage of the Directors public availability to follow up with a few questions on the other major infrastructure project of the moment, that being the Woodworth Dam construction work.

There hasn't been an update on that work in many months, so tonight would make for a good opportunity to share some notes on whether it too has suffered from COVID related delays and where in the timeline for completion of it may be at; as well as if the cost of the work has increased and if so why.

The Woodworth Dam project was one of the first items on
the to do list from the Hays 2.0 timeline  of Spring 2018

The Woodworth Dam work which made for just one of many items from the Hays 2.0 presentation of April 2018 saw its first delay later that year, with the original plan to have most of the work take place in 2020


As they await the conclusion of that work, Prince Rupert residents remain on a  Water Quality advisory with recommendations that some residents will want to continue to boil water for some uses. 

Updates on the status of the Water Quality situation for residents are not something that are frequentl provided to the city website.

More notes on tonight's Council Session can be reviewed from our archive page here.

A wider overview of the city's infrastructure work is available here.

Adventure Paving set to be back in the driver's seat for 2021 Prince Rupert paving program

Prince Rupert's 2021 Paving project is set to be awarded
tonight, with Prince Rupert's Adventure Paving set to lay the
blacktop for the summer paving season


Tonight's Prince Rupert City Council session will signal the start of the 2021 paving program, with Council members to review a report and recommendation from Operations Director Richard Pucci who will outline the results of the City's recent call for tenders for the work.

In his report to Council, the Operations Director notes that the City received only one compliant bid for the work for 2021, with a recommendation to award the work to Adventure Paving with the cost for the roadwork ahead to come to 863,682.44 plus taxes.


The recommendation may be welcomed by City Councillor Barry Cunningham who had offered up a range of concerns over last years awarding of the paving contract to an out of town competitor, a topic that has re-appeared from time to time at Council sessions since that work was completed in the fall of 2020.

We  outlined some of the concerns over last year's paving work, as well as to list the areas to be paved for 2021 with this blog item of May 13th.

More notes on what's on the Agenda for tonight's Council session can be explored here.

A wider overview of past Council discussions can be reviewed here.

A look at some of the past work on infrastructure by the city is available here.


City Council Preview: Monday, May 31, 2021


It's report night for Prince Rupert City Council, with the majority of the evening's work load focus directed towards reports from planning, finance and Operations Departments.

The City's Financial Officer Corinne Bomben has requested some time to deliver a presentation to council tonight, though no hint as to the topic is included in the Agenda for the evening.

A pair of variance requests mark the contribution of the city's contract planners at iPlan on the night, while Richard Pucci will be providing for a pair of reports for council with the Operations Manager to share notes on the landfill expansion project and the city's paving plan for 2021.

Council members will also consider a request for a letter of support for the work of the North Coast Mountain Bike Association as they look to raise funds for an asphalt pump track for the community.

It being a Committee of the Whole night, the city's elected officials will be able to learn more about the plans for that track, as Craig Rimmer, of the North Coast Mountain Bike Association speaks in the Committee session.


A chance for council members to share any reports, questions or make any inquiries will bring the evening's work to an end.

With Public Orders in place towards Social Gathering, a note posted to the Agenda Page for tonight's session indicates that this evening's meeting once again will once again be a remote participation affair, with no members of the public allowed into the Chamber.

"In accordance with current Provincial Orders, scheduled Regular Council Meetings have moved to a remote format for public access. - available on Citywest Cable Channel 10/310, and live streaming at www.princerupert.ca/live. Videos of the City’s Council meetings are also posted to YouTube in the days following the meeting. In the interests of public health and safety, at this time no one will be permitted into City Hall to view in the gallery, in order to ensure we can maintain physical distancing requirements. Staff and Council attendance is also limited, with most calling in via conference. Thank you for your understanding." -- An update on the process ahead for Council sessions from the Agenda Page for Prince Rupert City Council

Those with an interest in tonight's Public Hearing and council session can view the Live Feed from the City website, or on Cable Television from CityWest Cable Channel 10/310.


Council will also host a Special Closed Session set for 5PM , the meeting closed to public owing to consideration of labour relations or other employee relations, acquisition, disposition or expropriation of land or improvements and negotiations and related discussions respecting the proposed provision of a municipal service that are at their preliminary stages.

************************************************************************

REGULAR SESSION OF CITY COUNCIL

Adoption of Agenda and Past minutes -- The Mayor will review the agenda for the evening and Council will adopt the minutes of past meetings.

Petitions and Delegations

Report from the Chief Financial Officer  --  Ms. Corrine Bomben will make a Presentation to Council, no indication of the topic is listed on the agenda.  

Reports and Resolutions

Report from iPlan -- Council will receive a report from the city's contract planners at iPlan related to a variance permit request for a property on 7th Avenue East (see page 11 of Agenda package)

Report from iPlan -- Council will receive a report from the city's contract planners at iPlan related to a variance permit request for a property on 11th Avenue East (see page 20 of Agenda package)

Report from Director of Operations-- Council will receive a report from Richard Pucci, the City's Director of Operations who will outline a the details to the 2021 Capital Paving Program Award  (see page 27 of Agenda package)

Report from Director of Operations-- Council will receive a report from Richard Pucci, the City's Director of Operations who will outline a request resolution from Council towards purchase of items required for the Landfill Expansion project.   (see page 28 of Agenda package)

Verbal Report from the Corporate Administrator -- Council will receive a report from Ms. Rosa Miller who will outline the nature of a request for a letter of support for the North Coast Mountain Bike Association towards plans for an asphalt pump track for the community.

The evening will come to an end with any Additional Items as well as Reports, Questions and Inquiries from Members of Council.

Council members can  take advantage of the period to offer up any items or concerns that they have for consideration on the night. 

The Live broadcast of the City Council session can be found here, a video archive of past sessions is available here.

Our items of note related to the May 31, 2021 session can be reviewed here

While our archive of all sessions for 2021 for Council is available here.   


City Council Session: Monday, May 31, 2021






Our archive of items from the session can be found below.

Regular Session of Council for  Monday, May 31, 2021

Home page and archive of sessions can be found here 

Live Broadcast of session can be found here

Agenda for the Regular Council Session for May 31, 2021

Agenda for Committee of the Whole Session for May 31, 2021


Preview of Council Session for May 31, 2021



Attendance

Mayor Lee Brain -- Present by Zoom
Councillor Nick Adey -- Present by Zoom
Councillor Barry Cunningham -- Present by Zoom
Councillor Blair Mirau -- Present by Zoom
Councillor Reid Skelton-Morven -- Absent
Councillor Wade Niesh -- Present by Zoom
Councillor Gurvinder Randhawa -- Present by Zoom

Minutes of Regula  r Session of Council,  Monday, May 31,  2021
(not available yet)


Video Recording for Monday, May 31, 2021 Council Session




 




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North Coast Review Items related to the Monday, May 31, 2021 Session of Council 



Further notes, as well as any Media items from other sources for the May 31, 2021 session can be found in our Discussion Points from City Council feature.  

To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.


Kamloops Residential school graves discovery will put focus to reckoning of past, recognition of victims and families

Kamloops Residential School
(photo from Thompson Rivers University)

The horrific news from Kamloops of Thursday of the discovery of 215 graves of children who attended the Residential School in that British Columbia community has given Canadians a weekend to consider the unfathomable.

How could the names of those children go unrecorded for so long, how could their families be left to never know of their fate and why have we neglected and not addressed a situation that has long been known, but never taken on as our own to complete.

The first word of the confirmation of the mass grave site came from Kamloops First Nations representatives with Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, which outlined the work that was done to determine the location of the graves.

"It is with a heavy heart that Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir confirms an unthinkable loss that was spoken about but never documented by the Kamloops Indian Residential School. This past weekend, with the help of a ground penetrating radar specialist, the stark truth of the preliminary findings came to light – the confirmation of the remains of 215 children who were students of the Kamloops Indian Residential School."

Perhaps the comments that resonated the most when it comes to the news from the weekend were delivered by Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, British Columbia's former Representative for Children and Youth who noted in many media appearances over the weekend that:

"The discovery of buried remains of 215 children at a former residential school is horrific — but not shocking ... A mass grave is a crime scene, a mass grave is a place where there’s probably evidence of gross human rights violations" 

And from those words and observations a journey of reckoning and reconciliation should now begin.

Locally the Nisga'a Nation was the first to speak to the Kamloops discovery, issuing a statement on Friday.


From Saturday forward, notes on gestures of remembrance followed from the Prime Minister and Premier Horgan and others. 

And  as the weekend evolved local leaders from the municipal, provincial and federal political spectrum shared their statements through Social Media


A public gathering Sunday at Prince Rupert's Court House Cenotaph offered a forum for School survivors and their families along with residents to the North Coast to share in the grief of the Kamloops graves discovery and to share a resolve to continue to call for action on other unknown locations.

School District 52 as well relayed their approach of recognition of the Kamloops graves and the resolve to continue the work ahead on reconciliation.


The weekend has served as a prologue for what will be a long journey ahead for Canadians, for Kamloops is just one location of what will be many, many more announcements of discovered graves and the need to dedicate not only resources; but required action to the past that needs to be charted, with names listed, causes of death if possible established.

It will not be an easy road this one ahead, but it is one that needs to be travelled.

As a nation, a province and among those religious institutions such as the Catholic Church which ran the Kamloops school and others, the need to move quickly towards a comprehensive review of each Residential School site records, should be the starting point. 

The forensic work the guiding force that will determine how many more graves will be identified, how many more families will need to be notified and how many more stories will need to be told.

The Residential Schools story is not a dusty history lesson of a century ago, the Kamloops facility closed in 1977, the program of Residential Schools finally ending in 1990

The still haunting spectre of the Residential Schools made for one of the many recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report,  a document which identifies the way forward and yet remains an extensive collection of goals for reconciliation that requires much work to address.

The Residential School System and the harm it caused and continues to inflict on the survivors was an important part of the focus  at the time of the report.  


The need to resolve to allocate resources towards missing children and burial information also made for an important passage of the TRC report  and yet many of those key Calls to action  have yet to be acted upon.


Among the many areas requiring attention is the call for recognition of their role in the past by the religious organizations; in this instance Kamloops that of the Catholic Church and their responsibility to speak to the past and to apologize for what they did unto others.


There can be no further delay in reviewing each of the Residential School locations, to account for those who died with no acknowledgement at the time and for accountability as to how they perished.

All the words of the weekend and what will come in the future need to be followed by a concerted effort to address the horrific period of those times.

It should come with a dedication to ensure that no measure is left undone to identify and pay proper respects to those who lay buried both in Kamloops and in other unmarked and unknown burial sites wherever they may be found across the nation.

For families that have been impacted by Friday's announcement and for what may now be ahead, there is a service available to assist you with the Indian Residential School Survivors Society of BC offering live telephone support at 1-800-721-0066. 

Another starting point on the journey can be the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation which hosts a wide number of resources and information to share.

A cross section of some of the national coverage of the Kamloops burial site and what the future journey for us all will be can be found here from our political blog D'Arcy McGee.







Real Estate Tracker: Week ending May 30, 2021

A pair of new listings move the total price of our list of ten review up slightly, with one property on each side of the McBride Street line making for the new additions of the top ten listings of single family homes in the community.

The newest properties an indication of the increasing price point as the summer selling season prepares to launch.

The split between the east and west of the city remains at six properties listed on the west side of the city marking four to the list for the area east of McBride for the review.

The listings below are purely for information purposes, for further background on the properties recorded, see our links page for access to the individual real estate listings.

The Archive for our weekly review can be found here

Our list of the top ten priced homes for the week ending May 30, 2021 can be explored below:





Real Estate listings on the West Side of Prince Rupert
Week ending May 30, 2021



The total value of the list of ten now sits just under the 7.7 million dollar mark.

The lowest mark for the review of the week is at $595,000  while our top end from the last week remains marked  at the price point of  $1,200,000


Below find our findings as of the Week ending May 30, 2021

1138 2nd Avenue West                $1,200,000 --     Remax 
555 4th Avenue East                      $899,000 --      Remax 
1160 11th Avenue East                  $799,000  --     Remax
152 Bill Murray Drive                   $735,000 --      Remax
232 4th Avenue West                     $725,000  -      Remax. 
2085 Graham Avenue                    $725,000  --    Realty Executives 
1933 Graham Avenue                    $699,000 --     Remax
120 Dibb Place                              $698,000 --     Remax
920 Prince Rupert Blvd.                $639,000 --     Remax   
515 Pillsbury Avenue                    $599,000 --     Remax



For more items related to Real Estate see our archive page here.  

For background on Housing issues in the region see our past items here.

To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.





























Sunday, May 30, 2021

Blog Watching: Week ending May 30, 2021

The road back to normal times saw some significant mileage achieved this week, with a number of announcements offering up a day ahead when the word COVID may be of the historical note,  rather than a current event.

Our notes on a pair of COVID related themes topped the list of five for this week, with the city finally reaching the Zero Case mark for the first time since January, while the details of the much anticipated second dose vaccination clinic were released by Northern Health.

The path ahead to normal from the BC Government also claimed some significant attention from our notes of the week as the Premier outlined the BC Restart plan for the months to come.

Our look at the arrival of the city's property tax bills and an update from Mayor Lee Brain also found a large audience, as did our review of a court case which concluded this week in a Prince Rupert Court Room with CN Rail assessed a significant fine for a 2017 pesticide program along the Skeena main line.

And what could be a major concern for the local cruise base industry gained some attention, with concerns from a range of officials on the recent signing of a bill into law in the US that will allow cruise ships to skip Canadian ports in their transit to and from Alaska. A measure some are concerned may become a permanent one for the US cruise industry. 

However, the top item of interest for the week was the COVID case count for the Northwest and Prince Rupert's success at reaching zero for a week and the prospect of second vaccinations in just a few weeks.

Prince Rupert reaches zero in weekly BC CDC COVID update --  The long road to get back to Zero counts of COVID which was last seen in Mid January, saw the first pit stop at the zero mark. As Prince Rupert's case count for the week of May 16 to 22nd indicated the mark had finally been reached, with hopes for continued success to come.  More welcome news arrived at the end of the week, with plans now under way for another mass community vaccination to administer the Second COVID vaccination shot from June 14  to July 9.   (posted May  26 , 2021)

That article was followed by:

Tax Bills and message making arrive in the mail from the City of Prince Rupert  -- The 2021 Tax Bills have been delivered across the city and along with the annual request for payment on your property taxes is the State of the City notes from Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain.     (posted  May 26, 2021) 

CN Rail pleads guilty in 2017 pesticide incident, assessed 100K fine in Prince Rupert Court -- The national railway was in court related to a pesticide program along the CN main line along the Skeena River through Terrace to Prince Rupert    (posted May 28, 2021) 

BC's restart plan to be dictated by Data not Dates; benchmarks subject to change to meet evolving situations -- Premier John Horgan, Health Minister Adrian Dix and Doctor Bonnie Henry were among a number of officials to outline the path forward for British Columbians of our way out of our times of COVID.        (posted May 25, 2021) 

Chamber of Commerce, MP Bachrach raise concerns over American bill, fate of Cruise industry in Prince Rupert  -- With a short signing ceremony making a bill into law, the American Cruise industry charted a return course to Alaska for 2021, the question now for those in Canada, will the temporary allowance to skip Canadian port calls become a permanent option in the years to follow.      (posted May 26, 2021) 

You can find our weekly Blog watching feature posted every Sunday morning by 9AM, making for a handy way to catch up to the week that was, at a leisurely weekend pace.

You can also review the full listings of the week just past, from our Blog Archive index page found on the right hand side of the page.

For those looking for updates to items as they are posted to the blog, don't forget about our email alert access.

A daily review of the latest items on the blog can be delivered to your email in box, simply by entering your email address into the information bar, items posted to the blog will be delivered to your e-mail account each day.

You can find the link to that feature on the upper, right hand side of the blog. It can be found underneath the Follow the North Coast Review by Email indicator.

As well, those who use Twitter can get updates as we post new items from our twitter feed

Our archive of weekly Blog Watching can be found here.   

To view the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.

Friday, May 28, 2021

Friday's COVID count sends British Columbians off to the weekend with a benchmark of just 317 cases for the day

As fast as it rose on Thursday, today's COVID case review shows a strong trend downwards with the province finding just 317 cases to report on the day, one of the lowest levels for 2021.

That case count and the accelerating pace of the provincial vaccination plan made for the narrative to today's written statement from Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix.

“Today, we are reporting 317 new cases, for a total of 143,581 cases in British Columbia. 

There are 3,441 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and a further 138,360 people who tested positive have recovered. 

Of the active cases, 292 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 79 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. 

There have been two new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,692 deaths in British Columbia. Our condolences are with the family, friends and caregivers of the people who have died as a result of COVID-19"

Across the province, the case count was as follows on Friday: 73 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 163 new cases in the Fraser Health region, five in the Island Health region, 60 in the Interior Health region, 

There were 16 cases recorded  in the Northern Health region, the total number of cases of COVID in the Northern Region since January of 2020 is now listed at 7,641.

No new cases of COVID were reported from people in British Columbia who reside outside of Canada. 

Today's statement also noted the progress of the provincial vaccination program.

3,106,269 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 160,885 of which are second doses. This means 67.2% of all adults and 62.7% of those aged 12 and older have now received their first dose. 

 “This has been a milestone week in B.C.’s COVID-19 pandemic response. Our restart plan began, our surgical renewal strategy resumed and we have started the accelerated delivery of second doses to people throughout the province."

As we noted earlier today, the Prince Rupert area is on track for a Second Dose Clinic in the community in mid June, with those who have registered now being contacted to book their Second Dose vaccination, with emails and texts arriving across the city today, with more on the way over the next number of days.

The full statement for Friday can be reviewed here.   

BC CDC data for British Columbia for Friday, May 28

BC CDC data for the Northern Health Region for Friday, May 28




The BC Centre for Disease control has some valuable Coronavirus notes related to COVID-19 you can explore that information here.

You can learn more about the outbreak from both the Province and the Federal government from the links below:

Federal Government site

British Columbia Government site

The World Health Organization website also offers up the latest advisories on the global situation.

More from  Northern Health can be reviewed here 

You can review our archive of past statements and local information here.   

Local governments and organizations have also provided for increased awareness of COVID-19 issues, those past advisories  can be reviewed here.

For notes from across Canada and British Columbia we have been archiving the latest items through our political portal Darcy McGee


Ottawa Observations


Victoria Viewpoints

 



 

UFAWU-Unifor release report on future of Commercial Salmon Fishery

Four key areas of recommendation make for the findings of a forty four page report commissioned by UFAWU-Unifor following a conference earlier this year which explored the many challenges and concerns that the commercial fishery and those who work in the dwindling number of fish plants face in the province.

The report was created following the Future of the B.C. Commercial Salmon Fishing Conference, which took place on January 21 and 22, 2021. 

It details the many recommendations voiced by the active commercial salmon harvesters who attended the conference. The plan to create the report originated when the deputy minister created a small working group to provide policy input on the future of the salmon fishery. 

That working group was made up of representatives from UFAWU-Unifor, the Area C Harvest Committee, Area D Gillnet Association, Area E Harvest Committee, Area G Trollers Association, Commercial Fishing Caucus, Native Brotherhood of B.C., Native Fishing Association, Northern Native Fishing Corporation, Northern Trollers Association, and others.

Titled the Future of Commercial Salmon Fishing, the document provides some background to the rich history that the industry has seen in the province, as well as their blue print towards a viable and vibrant commercial salmon fishery.

Among the Recommendations are 2 towards improving salmon runs, Five to the atopic of allocation of the Resource, 4 exploring access to the Resource and 6 recommendations on the topic of governance, with five more items up for consideration towards entry and exit planning.

Each of those topics gains some extensive review which you can access here.

The conclusion to the report calls for all levels of government to address the current state of crisis that they state the industry is in, with DFO policies among the key areas of concern for attention.

"Fishermen are in absolute agreement that there is no productive relationship between active fishermen and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. This must change." -- One of the key statements from the recently produced report on the Commercial Salmon Fishery

The document further notes that the federal and provincial governments need to decide if there is room in B.C. for a successful commercial salmon fishery, and if so, what should it look like, who can participate, and what changes need to be made to make it viable, vibrant and sustainable. Governments must be upfront with their decisions so that people can get on with their lives. 

"Harvesters have made many recommendations for DFO on improving salmon runs, salmon allocation, salmon access, governance and licensing. Now we would like to see the government's support in making these recommendations a reality." -- UFAWU-Unifor President James Lawson

The document has been submitted to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, though so far the Federal department has not had any comment on the findings and recommendations

More notes on the North Coast fishery can be explored from our archive page here.


Go By Bike week hits the streets of Prince Rupert Monday


The City of Prince Rupert's vision for more cycling infrastructure
from the 2030 Vison planning of earlier this year
(From City of PR redesign Rupert website)

Residents of the Prince Rupert area have the weekend to tune up their two wheelers and prepare for a week dedicated towards biking across the city, the province and the nation, with GoByBike Week pushing down on the pedals first thing Monday morning.

In addition to your daily journey on your bike, you can also join in on the Riches of Prince Rupert Scavenger Hunt, posting photos of you and your friends completing the hunt around the community.

Contact the Go By Bike organizers for more details at (250) 627-4100 or by email at changemakerseducation@outlook.com 



So far Prince Rupert organizers have seen some good momentum build for participation in next week's event, with three teams and twenty riders logging on to take to the streets.


You can join them from this registration page

Once the week is underway you may find your contribution included in the ongoing updates to participation in the project as well as your opportunity to qualify for a range of prizes for putting the pedals and wheels in motion.

Next week is the first of two Go By Bike Weeks planned for 2021 with a fall ride planned from September 27 to October 10th.

For more notes on the week ahead an Go By Bike in Prince Rupert see their Facebook page

The prospect of moving forward with a community cycling plan was one of the elements of the City's 2030 vision plan you can explore that from the redesign Rupert website, the City Core Cycle plan can be reviewed on page 33.

A wider overview of North Coast and Northwest community events can be found here.