Latest news with #RegionalDistrict
Hamilton Spectator
02-06-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Regional District receives Community Wildfire Resilience Plans
The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George received Community Wildfire Resiliency Plans for each of its seven electoral areas on May 22nd. The plans, which have not been officially adopted yet, outline wildfire mitigation initiatives based on community feedback and recommendations from consultants. The plan for Electoral Area H, which includes Valemount and McBride, was informed by feedback from residents last fall during an October 15th community meeting at the Dunster Community Hall. Consultants also surveyed the 1.5M hectare area to assess its topography and fuel sources. High-priority action items in the area include hiring a FireSmart coordinator for the regional district, organizing community chipper days to dispose of residents' vegetation and debris for free, and establishing a Community FireSmart and Wildfire Resiliency Committee in the Robson Valley. These items will improve the area's preparedness for wildfires and help engage residents in wildfire risk reduction measures, said RDFFG Manager of Communications and Culture Hilary Erasmus. 'Over the past few years, wildfires have continued to grow in both number and severity. We can't predict when and where a wildfire will happen,' Erasmus wrote in an email to The Goat. 'Establishing Community Wildfire Resiliency Plans … will provide the Regional District with guiding documents that prioritize activities to implement wildfire resiliency and mitigation initiatives.' Erasmus added that each plan is unique to its respective electoral area, giving the Regional District specific steps to improve that community's wildfire mitigation. To that end, the Electoral Area H plan also identifies several challenges to wildfire risk reduction in the area, such as the steep, heavily forested terrain and having just one emergency exit route in the communities of Dome Creek, Crescent Spur and Mountainview Road. Additionally, over 75 per cent of land in Electoral Area H's wildland urban interface – areas where human infrastructure meets wilderness – is on private land, limiting the opportunities for fuel management treatments, according to the plan. Nearly all the wildfire risk reduction recommendations in the plan can be covered with grants, according to Erasmus. As the Regional District begins implementing its plans, residents can look for updates on the RDFFG Facebook page, the Regional District website at , and look at advertisements in local newspapers, she added. She also encouraged residents to visit for more information. To view a copy of the plan, visit . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
02-06-2025
- Climate
- Hamilton Spectator
Blue River hosts FireSmart coordinator
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District's FireSmart Coordinator, Dan Funk, shared tips on reducing wildfire risk – as well as hot dogs and firefighting stories – with Blue River residents on the afternoon of May 22nd. Communities in the TNRDregularly invite Funk to educate residents on wildfire risk reduction, he said. His 25 years of experience in fighting fires comes in handy, giving him a keen eye for features on a building or the surrounding landscape which may catch fire. 'Your house isn't going to burn down because of a forest fire – your house is going to burn down from the embers thrown by a forest fire,' he said. In particular, Funk urges residents to make sure any gaps leading into their attic or deck are protected. A home's soffit – the material underneath the edge of the roof – often has holes or vents which embers can blow into, according to Funk. Once that happens, it's only a matter of time before an ember enters the attic and sets the top floor of a home ablaze – resulting in a structural fire that volunteer forces like the Blue River Volunteer Fire Department are not equipped to fight. 'I always start at the top [during assessments], and what's on your roof,' he said. 'We can all fight ground fires, but once a fire gets in the attic, it's up top… it's a different type of fire.' Other common culprits include outdoor furniture and the space underneath a raised deck, Funk added. He suggests taking outdoor cushions inside after using them, and says three-millimeter wire mesh can be applied behind or over the lattice underneath decks to prevent embers from getting underneath. Wooden decks should also be kept hydrated, meaning owners should paint or stain them, he added. Landscaping is another important tactic to protect homes during wildfires, according to Funk. Residents don't have to fall all the trees in their yard, but they should take care to remove any branches or long grasses within a five-foot radius from their home. Additionally, trees should be pruned to about six feet (two meters) above the ground, to ensure dead or low-hanging branches do not catch fire and serve as a pathway to light up the whole tree. Blue River residents can request a FireSmart assessment for free from the Regional District, allowing Funk to visit their property and make recommendations on how to improve a home's chance of surviving a wildfire. According to him, a home with good FireSmart practices in place has about a 92 per cent chance of surviving a fire, even if neighbouring homes burn. Funk said communities in the regional district are typically receptive to his FireSmart recommendations, and added that B.C. residents can learn more about FireSmart at . 'It's all about preventing loss,' Funk said. 'The assessments are about just saving people's homes from burning.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Global News
24-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
Metro Vancouver board makes changes after damning governance report
Following a report by Deloitte, which deemed the Metro Vancouver Regional District's governance structure 'large and unwieldy,' some money-saving decisions were made at Friday's board meeting. The board says it will eliminate meeting fees while travelling on Metro Vancouver business and eliminate double stipends for meetings exceeding four hours. 2:13 Metro Vancouver governance review released 'I think it was important to deal with that today,' Metro Vancouver Chair Mike Hurley said. 'Could I put a number on what that savings will be? In my experience, it wouldn't be very much.' Story continues below advertisement Metro Vancouver says it will also create a governance committee and strengthen the organization's internal audit function. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I still do think there's need for major systemic changes, and I think you pointed to many of those, and hopefully that will be part of the overall governance review as we move forward,' Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said. After the board meeting, Deloitte report author Shayne Gregg told reporters his company had 'done a lot of governance reviews that I would say are a lot more damning than that one.' 'But in terms of the opportunity there, I think that's where I'm focused,' he added. 'The processes are generally in place now and working well.' 4:45 Metro Vancouver votes on cost saving measures During the meeting, new questions were raised by the finance committee chair, who is a chartered professional accountant. Story continues below advertisement 'The problem is, I'm not able to do my job here with knowing that there is information that is lacking and not transparent,' Pardeep Kooner, a Surrey Councillor, said. 'I'm just trying to figure out where the accountability lies.' Chair Mike Hurley later responded, saying, 'Director Kooner is more worried about her professional designation and how she would do things, and those questions are all very valid and will be answered; however, I'm not concerned at all about how Metro Vancouver handles finances.' Metro Vancouver's governance review was announced earlier this year, following spending revelations and news the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant is an $3 billion overbudget.
Hamilton Spectator
16-05-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Rural B.C. officials receive ‘gratitude' over landfill resolution before ostrich cull
NAKUSP - Aidan McLaren-Caux is used to being stopped in grocery store aisles by people who want to discuss issues as a local politician, but a federal agency's decision to cull a flock of 400 ostriches in Edgewood, B.C., has brought the region and local officials 'an extraordinary amount of attention.' 'A lot of the attention has come from elsewhere, so other parts of the province, and the country and even internationally,' he said Friday. 'It's definitely a topic of conversation at coffee shops.' McLaren-Caux is a board vice-chair with the Regional District of Central Kootenay, which passed a resolution Thursday not to allow the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to dispose of ostrich carcasses in its landfills pending further testing of the birds for avian flu. The agency ordered the birds destroyed in December after avian flu was found on the farm and a Federal Court ruled to uphold the decision earlier this week. More than 8.7 million birds have been culled in British Columbia since a highly infectious form of the avian flu showed up on farms starting in the spring of 2022. The board resolved 'to withhold acceptance, at any landfill' of ostrich carcasses from the farm, where the flock has been ordered destroyed by the agency. The board resolution says the landfill acceptance hinges on further testing by either the Canadian Food Inspection Agency or the Ministry of Agriculture, until the number of birds infected or exposed to the virus is confirmed. McLaren-Caux said the resolution's 'intentions are difficult to capture,' because it passed as written after an emotional meeting with supporters of the farm opposed to the planned cull. McLaren-Caux said regional officials received hundreds of emails before the meeting and the rationale behind the landfill resolution was to possibly give the farmers and ostriches 'a reprieve from the cull order.' 'I think all the directors have received many, many emails since yesterday from people expressing gratitude about the decision,' he said in an interview on Friday. 'Just looking at my email inbox, some of the messages that expressed relief or gratitude for our decision have come from people who expressed a very different opinion a day or two earlier.' He said the district has no authority over federal decisions, but it does have power over regional waste management, and given how the motion is worded, he believes any positive test for bird flu would mean 'our landfill would have to accept animals that had been culled.' The resolution does not specify whether the landfills will accept or reject the bird carcasses based on positive or negative tests. He said the regional government's limited powers mean that they had to try to adopt a 'balanced approach' to an issue that has galvanized people to flock to the farm property since it was thrust into the spotlight. 'The people who are supporting the farm have definitely taken advantage of kind of the viral nature of social media and YouTube and all the things to get support and support from even far away,' he said. Dozens of people have heeded the call of the farm's owners to converge upon the property, about 575 kilometres southeast of Vancouver, to stop the Canadian Food Inspection Agency from moving ahead with the cull of the flock of ostriches. McLaren-Caux said if the birds get tested and are found to be well, the hope is that the cull order will be rescinded. 'We have our legal, our kind of prescribed structures within which we have to work, but as human beings, none of us want to see this happen,' he said. 'You know, it's a small business, there's 400 large animals. None of us want to see them dead.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
07-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Village of Pemberton eyes 14.2% tax increase for 2025
Taxes are set to go up in Pemberton. At its May 6 meeting, Pemberton's mayor and council gave first, second and third readings to a five-year financial plan containing a 14.2-per-cent municipal tax increase for 2025. 'This was a tough process,' said Mayor Mike Richman. 'There's a significant increase in our budget here. We know that. And I think all of council has sort of stated in different ways that to do less would have been—as much as we want to keep things as affordable as possible, we've kept our tax rate quite low and to do less [of an increase] would be irresponsible.' Pemberton's budget reflects the Village's stated priorities during this year's budget seaso n; namely, addressing aging infrastructure, maintaining amenities once grant funding has expired and building up reserves to meet the needs of a growing population. Through the 2025 budget season, council has asked for a handful of revisions to the budget, including a five-per-cent contribution to address historically low general reserves and to start saving for the cost of a future municipal police force , contributions to water and sewer reserves to pay for future upgrades to meet a growing population and the establishment of a Speĺkúmtn Community Forest Spending Policy . 'So, you heard loud and clear that we need to take care of our infrastructure,' said Richman of the budget and tax increase. 'That we're growing and putting these reserves aside is a step in that direction. Starting the reserves towards policing is a step in that direction to try to ease the pain of what's coming with that. So it's been a tough budget as well, but I believe we've landed in the right place and I just want residents to know that it's still very lean.' Pemberton's council approved a five-per-cent tax increase in 2022 , an eight-per-cent increase in 2023 and 9.8 per cent in 2024. After unanimous approval of the five-year financial plan, council also gave first, second and third readings to a host of other tax and utility rate bylaws. A breakdown of 2025 tax rates by dollars of tax per $1,000 of taxable property value can be found in council's meeting documents. The report also breaks down tax rates by contribution to the municipality—including reserves and the community engagement fund—to the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and to the Sea to Sky Regional Hospital District. The frontage rate for sewage remains at $5.24 per metre of sewer adjacent to a property. The water frontage rate has increased from $3.20 per metre in 2024 to $6.97 in 2025, per a new bylaw. Councillor Ted Craddock suggested considering charging for road frontage in a future budget. Other municipalities use revenue from road frontage taxation to pay for road maintenance and development. User fees for water and sewer rates have also increased from last year, broken down by class of property. Council laid out a series of capital expenditures to fund over the next five years, including a new municipal hall and council chambers building, fire engine replacements, a new firehall, electric vehicle chargers, upgrades to public parks and a new water treatment facility. A full list of projects to be funded through the 2025 budget and beyond is available in the five-year financial plan . A new RV sani-dump was also discussed, with $33,000 set aside for a hypothetical replacement for the old RV waste hook-up in the 2025 budget, which closed along with the visitors centre in 2024 . With RV season approaching, chief administrative officer Elizabeth Tracy suggested installing one next to the Pemberton transfer station might be the way forward. Council directed staff to look at replacement sites. A draft final budget was circulated during a committee of the whole meeting on April 22. Council is set to vote on its 2025 budget during a May 13 special council meeting. The 2025 tax rate, effective Jan. 1, 2025, is up for adoption then.
