Latest news with #CowichanValley
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Pride celebrations get underway on Vancouver Island this weekend
Social Sharing Rainbows will be on display in the Cowichan Valley, the Alberni Valley, and Ladysmith this weekend, as Pride events get underway in the three Vancouver Island communities. Festivities begin in even more locations in the coming week, including Victoria, Parksville and Nanaimo. Cristin Elle, president of Cowichan Pride Society, says Pride is about both celebrating the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and advocating for their rights. The Cowichan Valley, which includes the city of Duncan, is about 45 kilometres north of Victoria. Elle told the CBC podcast This is Vancouver Island that her partner is trans, and growing anti-trans sentiment around the world makes it even more important to celebrate Pride. "There's a real fear about their identities being erased," said Elle. "So going to Pride, being involved in Pride … paves the road for the younger generation." Cowichan Pride is holding five events over three weeks, starting with a concert and drag show on May 31, and ending with a parade on June 22. Week of events in Alberni Valley About 50 kilometers northwest of Cowichan Valley, organizers at Alberni Valley Pride are hosting a week full of events — starting with a car wash on Sunday, June 1 in the heart of Port Alberni. "[The car wash] is a really good way to kind of just get the word out," said Crysta Stubbs, vice chair of the Alberni Valley Pride Society. "People come out, hold up signs … Let people know Pride week is starting." It's the first year Stubbs has been involved with the organization, and she said for the most part people in the Alberni Valley are excited about Pride. She told This is Vancouver Island that she does hear some pushback from people who wonder why the 2SLGBTQ+ community needs a week of celebration. But she said she's ready to explain that Pride is not about "us" versus "them," and that it's important for the queer community to get to celebrate themselves, and how far they've come. ""I am really excited about the opportunity to just talk with people," said Stubbs. "I don't mind having hard conversations." Nearly 20 island communities plan to celebrate Ladysmith, about 90 km northwest of Victoria, is holding its Pride festival on June 1. On June 2, Nanaimo, about 110 km northwest of Victoria, kicks off its festivities, which will wrap up with a parade on June 8. Victoria has events June 1 and 12. It's main celebrations will be held at the beginning of July, wrapping up with a parade on July 6. There are also Pride events this summer in Parksville, Langford, Saanich, Gabriola Island, Sidney, Tofino, Campbell River, the North Island, Qathet, Denman Island, Pender Island, and the Discovery Islands. For deaf and hard-of-hearing members of the community, ASL interpretation will be available at events in Nanaimo, Victoria, and the Comox Valley.
CBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Mayor calls on province to intervene in nearly 5-month-long Vancouver Island transit strike
Social Sharing The mayor of North Cowichan, B.C., says it is time for the province to step up and help end a months-long transit strike in his region. Transit operators with Cowichan Valley Transit walked off the job at the beginning of February in a push for higher wages, as well as washroom breaks and places to take them. The action has halted all regular bus services and limited HandyDART rides to people with renal dialysis, cancer treatment or multiple sclerosis appointments. Now, close to five months in, Mayor Rob Douglas says residents are getting frustrated. "People are really starting to feel the pain." Cowichan Valley Transit serves North Cowichan, Duncan, Ladysmith, Lake Cowichan and smaller and more rural communities in the Cowichan Valley — an area about 45 kilometres north of Victoria, along Vancouver Island's east coast. It's run by Transdev, a private French company that is contracted by B.C. Transit to operate 10 public transit systems in B.C. Negotiators for Transdev and Unifor locals 114 and 333 reached a deal back in April, but it was overwhelmingly rejected by union members. Employees say they want to shrink the pay gap between transit workers in the Cowichan Valley and those in Victoria — which the union says is a difference of $6.72 an hour. Transdev previously told CBC News that its goal in the negotiations is "finding a resolution that supports our employees while maintaining the long-term sustainability of transit services in the Cowichan Valley." Douglas said the strike is taking a toll on his community. He said he and some of his regional colleagues want the province to intervene, echoing calls made earlier by the union. That could mean forcing the parties to go to arbitration. Even though the transit system is funded publicly, the fact that it's operated privately means the labour dispute is between the employer (Transdev) and the employees. That means both B.C. Transit and the provincial government have been reluctant to step in. B.C. Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside said she understands the strike has made life difficult for people in the Cowichan Valley. She said the Labour Relations Board is providing mediation services to the union and employer, and that she has urged the parties to make use of that support to find a resolution. She's expecting a progress report from the mediator in the coming days. "So we're looking at what other possibilities there are under the [labour] code to assist the parties, once I've heard back from the mediator," Whiteside told CBC News. She would not say specifically whether she would order binding arbitration. A spokesperson for B.C. Transit said in a statement that the agency "understand[s] the frustration felt by customers, and that the job action is difficult for everyone involved in the region." "Our organization strongly believes in the collective bargaining process and hopes the two sides will reach an agreement soon," the spokesperson said. Douglas said he believes in collective bargaining, too, but that the strike has gone on too long. "It's time for the province to take on a bigger role in helping resolve this," he said.
Globe and Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Striking Transdev transit workers to rally in front of B.C. legislature
VICTORIA, BC, May 28, 2025 /CNW/ - Unifor will hold a rally in front of the B.C. legislature today to support Transdev transit workers who have been on strike for over 15 weeks – since February 8 – in the Cowichan Valley.
CBC
08-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
North Cowichan mayor raises concerns about pedestrian safety in wake of teen's death
North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas says he's frustrated the province is not following through on its promise to build a pedestrian bridge over the Trans Canada highway through his community. It comes after a 17-year-old high school student was struck and killed Tuesday night while crossing the same highway — the third pedestrian to be hit on the highway by drivers in the Cowichan Valley in the past month. The mayor says this tragedy underscores ongoing safety concerns in the community, which has been calling for a pedestrian overpass for over a decade. Without it, he says he's worried about residents, particularly students from schools near the highway, who frequently jaywalk to reach businesses and restaurants on the other side. "We've got the Trans-Canada Highway running right through the middle of our community," Douglas said "It is an area that gets a lot of pedestrian traffic, and this does create some pretty major safety concerns." He says he has been in discussion with the Ministry of Transportation since 2023 about putting a pedestrian bridge over the highway at James St. in North Cowichan, near Quw'utsun Secondary School. Douglas said he expected to see it confirmed in the 2025 provincial budget — but was told recently it wasn't going to happen. However, B.C. will fund fencing around the stretch of highway between James St. and Beverly St., plant trees and raise the median to discourage pedestrians crossing. While Douglas is grateful for the barriers, which he says were part of the original plan, it doesn't relieve his concerns. "It's definitely a let down from our end, because we had been promised that already, plus this pedestrian overpass," he said. Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth, who didn't rule out a bridge at some later date, says he believes the fencing will be a significant first step for the community and denied the decision was due to funding issues. Once the barriers are installed, he says the ministry will be conducting additional studies to "discover what additional safety measures are required." "We take these safety concerns very seriously," he said. 3 pedestrians struck in a month RCMP say a semi-truck hit a 17-year-old on the Trans-Canada Highway at Trunk Road in Duncan around 8:40 pm on Tuesday. The teen died in the hospital from their injuries. The 17-year-old was a student at Quw'utsun Secondary School, according to Jeff Rowan, the assistant superintendent of communications and community relations for the Cowichan School District. "It's tragic," he said. "We're certainly working with staff and students and the community to do all we can to support." Last month, two pedestrians were struck and injured, one critically, on the Trans Canada Highway in North Cowichan between York Road and Beverly Street, near Quw'utsun Secondary School and close to the intended location for the pedestrian overpass. Rowan says it's a busy area, one that students often cross on their lunch breaks to reach fast food restaurants across from the school. "People are coming in at highway speeds and then they're told to slow down, [but] it is still a fast area," Rowan said. "Our concern, of course, is for the kid's safety; we have schools on either side of the highway." Rowan says the community is seeking additional answers from the Ministry of Transportation about the new barriers, including whether they could be climbed, what results other communities have seen from them, and what they will look like. Student's death 'heartbreaking': Cowichan Tribes chief Cowichan Tribes Chief Cindy Daniels said the community's cultural workers are reaching out to support students and youth in the wake of the tragedy. "It is heartbreaking for our community to experience another Cowichan youth being fatally injured as a pedestrian in our community," she said in a statement. "I extend my deepest condolences to the family members, friends, peers, and teachers as they grieve this loss. For many of our people, walking is their primary way to get to and from their daily activities," she wrote. "With vehicle traffic continuing to increase, we continue to need safer options for pedestrians through the highway corridor."
