Latest news with #CampbellRiver
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
B.C. manufacturer creates first hybrid electric logging yarder
Vancouver Watch A Campbell River manufacturer that specializes in building machines for the forestry industry, has developed the first ever hybrid electric logging yarder.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
‘The first machine of its kind': Campbell River manufacturer creates first hybrid electric logging yarder
The first hybrid electric logging yarder has been put into business in Vancouver Island's Campbell River. T-Mar Industries Ltd, a Campbell River based manufacturer that specializes in building machines for the forestry industry, has developed the first ever hybrid electric logging yarder. 'This is the first machine of it's kind anywhere,' says Tyson Lambert, VP of T-Mar Industries Ltd. A logging yarder is a crane like machine that has been used in the industry more than a century. 'It's basically a zipline for logs,' adds Lambert. 'You put a log yard in a logging setting that's inaccessible to machinery.' Called the 7280E Hybrid Electric Drive Yarder, it has taken T-Mar five years to develop and uses electric drives that share power back and forth like a hybrid vehicle. '(It's) very different from a traditional machine where it's all mechanically linked and gears and clutches have to engage to make everything work,' says Philip Biebach, mechanical engineer for T-Mar Industries Ltd. According to T-Mar, the 7280E is more powerful, easier to run, better on fuel, and requires less maintenance than a typical yarder. It will also reduce the carbon footprint in the forest by using less fuel and reducing emissions, the company says. 'The engine is going to be spending all of its time at the peak clean burning region,' says Biebach. 'And not blowing the big cloud of black smoke every time you accelerate.' The first hybrid electric forest yarder is weeks away from being deployed into it's first logging operation, and the forestry industry will be watching closely. 'They really want to see this machine work because they're interested in using similar machines in their forestry operations,' adds Lambert. T-Mar adds this first-of-its-kind machine will be operated by a local forestry company on the west coast.
CTV News
07-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Transport committee to debate whether to study BC Ferries' Chinese ship contract
The BC Ferries vessel Island Nagalis, an island class ferry used to service Quadra Island, arrives in Campbell River, B.C., on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck OTTAWA — The House of Commons transport committee is meeting to decide whether to study BC Ferries' decision to purchase four Chinese vessels. BC Ferries announced last month that it hired China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards to build four new ships after a five-year procurement process that did not include a Canadian bid. Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland sent her B.C. counterpart a letter on June 20 saying she is 'dismayed' by the deal and expects BC Ferries to mitigate potential security risks. She also asked the B.C. government to confirm that no federal funding will be diverted to purchase the ferries. The Canada Infrastructure Bank contributed $1 billion to the deal and said in a June 26 statement that the new ferries 'wouldn't likely be purchased' without this financing. The transport committee meeting is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. EDT. This report by David Baxter, The Canadian Press, was first published July 7, 2025.
CTV News
26-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Federal bank loaning $1B for BC Ferries to buy Chinese-made ships
The BC Ferries vessel Island Nagalis, an island-class ferry used to service Quadra Island, arrives in Campbell River, B.C., Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck A federal Crown corporation is loaning BC Ferries $1 billion to help buy four Chinese-made ferries, a purchase that federal transport minister Chrystia Freeland recently said was dismaying and should involve no federal funds. Canada Infrastructure Bank confirmed the loan on Thursday, saying the new electric ferries 'wouldn't likely be purchased' without the financing. It says the low-cost loan consists of up to $690 million to buy the vessels and up to $310 million for electrification infrastructure. Freeland wrote to the province on June 16, asking B.C. to confirm 'with utmost certainty' that no federal funds would be 'diverted' to the purchase from China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards. Jeff Groot, executive director of communications for BC Ferries, says in an interview that BC Ferries signed the agreement with the bank before Freeland's letter to her provincial counterpart, Mike Farnworth. BC Ferries CEO Nicolas Jimenez says in a news release that the full loan would result in expected savings of about $650 million in interest. --- This report by Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press, was first published June 26, 2025.
CBC
29-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
B.C. driver charged after homeless woman struck and seriously injured while sleeping
Social Sharing A B.C. driver has been arrested and charged after a homeless woman was struck while sleeping in a back alley in Campbell River, B.C., last November, police say. Amberlee Joan Herman, 38, has been charged with: Two counts of impaired operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm. One count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. One count of assault with a weapon. One count of uttering threats. The incident happened at 12:30 a.m. on November 10, 2024, near Shopper's Row. At the time, police said the driver had been apprehended at the scene. Warrant for arrest The B.C. Prosecution Service says the charges were laid on April 10. Earlier this month, the prosecution service and Const. Maury Tyre with the Campbell River RCMP said there was a warrant out for Herman's arrest. The prosecution service says the warrant was executed on May 20, and Herman was released on an undertaking that same day. Herman's next court appearance is June 16, 2025, in Campbell River. Long recovery CBC News has tried to contact the victim, 53-year-old Darlene Smith , through family but was unable to reach her. Smith's sister, Samantha Billy, said earlier this month that Smith was back living on the streets, following the incident. Billy previously told CBC News that Smith had faced a long, intense recovery after she was hit. Initially treated at the ICU at Vancouver General Hospital, Billy said her sister sustained fractures to her spine, ribs and chest. She also had to be intubated to assist her breathing. She was later moved to the hospital in Nanaimo, Billy said over Facebook Messenger last December. There, Smith was starting to walk, and her memory was slowly coming back. "Her body still has a long way to go. She has a hard time sitting long and only walks a few steps," Billy said at the time. "We are hopeful she is on her good healing journey and in good spirits." Billy said her sister had been living in Campbell River for a few years, moving around different areas. She had been living in the tent with her son and daughter-in-law, who had stepped out just 15 minutes before the crash. Other people were also injured by the driver, Billy said, but RCMP spokesperson Const. Maury Tyre said he wasn't able to confirm that.
