Latest news with #TlaoquiahtFirstNation
CBC
3 days ago
- CBC
Chantel Moore's mother walks 33 km in B.C. on anniversary of daughter's killing by police
A couple of months after Chantel Moore, 26, was shot and killed by Edmundston Police during a wellness check in New Brunswick in 2020, Moore's mother and daughter were sitting in a Subway when an RCMP officer walked in. "She was beside me, trembling, this little six-year-old shaking, asking 'Are the police going to kill us?'" said Moore's mother, Martha Martin. Martin, a member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in B.C., said the moment in the sandwich shop led her to try and create a safer world for her granddaughter, and to honour her daughter's memory. She and other community members spent June 4 — the fifth anniversary of Moore's death — on a 33-kilometre memorial walk from the Tofino-Ucluelet Junction to Tofino, B.C. Martin said she chose to hold the walk on Vancouver Island rather than near her home in New Brunswick because of the difference in her relationship with local police in both places. "Right now I'm still not comfortable doing these kinds of demonstrations within the province of New Brunswick," Martin said. She pointed to the killings of Rodney Levi in 2020 and Iggy Dedam in 2024, who were both killed by RCMP in New Brunswick during mental health crises. In an emailed statement to CBC Indigenous, Edmundston Police Chief Steve Robinson said that the force is working to build relationships based on trust and co-operation, and that most staff have received cultural sensitivity training. "In regards to wellness checks, our Police Force is now equipped with body cameras and the mobile crisis service is regularly called upon when it is needed," he said in the statement. They have also hired a full-time outreach worker, Robinson said. An Indigenous-led crisis intervention team was operating in New Brunswick when Dedam was shot by RCMP but the team was not alerted by police until after Dedam was killed. 'A safer feeling' In order to feel comfortable holding an event for Moore in New Brunswick, Martin said she would like to have more conversations about the impacts of police violence which she says hasn't happened with any forces other than the Victoria Police Department (VicPD). "Being out here [in B.C.] and being able to work alongside [Victoria police] Chief Del Manak, there's a little bit of a safer feeling here than what it would be in New Brunswick," she said. Manak, who's been chief of VicPD for nearly a decade, said the department worked hard to build a relationship with Martin over the years since Moore was killed. They first met in-person at Saxe Point Park not long after Moore's death, when the community planned to hold a rally for her at the B.C. legislature. That began a years-long relationship where they mourned Moore and improved wellness checks, he said. Martin said she initially approached with skepticism, but when she saw follow-through, the relationship evolved. "The beauty of the relationship for me as the police chief was that Martha was the driving force behind making positive change in the Victoria Police Department in how police respond to mental health calls," Manak said. Manak said VicPD launched a new way to conduct wellness checks where a plainclothes officer works with a mental health clinician from the local health authority, and that the program is one of the highlights of his 35-year career. Manak also said he was struck by how little anyone seemed to listen to Martin after the deaths of her daughter and son. Max Martin, 23, died in an apparent suicide while in police custody six months after his sister's death. "Martha was a grieving mom and she just wanted answers," Manak said. "People weren't willing to give her the time to listen to her story and all I did was meet with her for an hour and a half and that really changed how I felt." Martin said she thinks it helps for police and other officials to understand the long term impacts violence does to families, and being able to tell her story has helped make positive change. "That gave me hope that, if we can get this done in Victoria, we can get this done across Canada," Martin said.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
West Coast salmon habitat restoration earns financial boost, support toward completion
The Pacific Salmon Foundation is helping push a major salmon habitat restoration project near Tofino over the finish line with $100,000 in financial support. ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ (Tla-o-qui-aht) First Nation has been leading the recovery of a salmon watershed at Tranquil Creek, in partnership with Redd Fish Restoration Society. 'We're really excited. This is one of the bigger projects we've ever taken on and having it properly and thoroughly funded means we don't cut corners. We don't have to do things less than we intended,' says Redd Fish restoration biologist, Tom Balfour. The multi-million-dollar project is in its eighth and final year of work. The groups are addressing historical impacts of forestry by recreating necessary log jams for salmon. 'That's been a restoration technique for a long time, but the difference for us here is working at a very larger scale,' says Balfour. 'At the end of this project, we're going to put over a thousand second-growth cedar conifers, cedar spruce hemlocks, into this river just replacing a process that was lost.' According to Pacific Salmon Foundation, the project has restored more than 40 hectares of riparian habitat, planted 800 trees and installed 41 log jams. There are another 18 engineered log jams that are needed. 'Around the world, people are working hard to save and restore wild salmon,' says PSF CEO and president, Michael Meneer, in a news release. 'These fish – both Pacific and Atlantic – need our help. By working together, we can raise awareness for the challenges wild salmon face and help drive meaningful change.' Balfour says the new funding will help address some unexpected financial hurdles – such as harsh winter weather eroding logging roads, which cost more money to maintain to access the site.
Globe and Mail
08-05-2025
- Health
- Globe and Mail
Grey whale washes ashore near Tofino, B.C. Cause of death unknown
A grey whale among a population that is listed as a special concern in Canada has washed ashore on a Vancouver Island beach. Parks Canada says the whale was spotted floating offshore on May 6, then it landed the next day on Long Beach in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve near Tofino. The federal agency is warning visitors to the popular beach not to touch the whale and to keep dogs on a leash. The Fisheries Department says in a statement its marine mammal response team is working with Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and Parks Canada to secure the animal and perform a necropsy. It says the cause of death won't be confirmed until after the necropsy reports are complete, which usually takes two to three months. The department says the whale is part of the Eastern North Pacific population, which was assessed in 2005 as being of special concern under the federal Species at Risk Act. Parks Canada says in a statement that its staff and Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Park guardians were on scene as the whale came ashore. It says access to the animal has been restricted both for health and safety reasons, and out of respect for the whale. 'The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation continues to steward the lands and waters within their hahuuli (traditional lands and waters) and will be determining how to respectfully steward the carcass,' the statement says. Parks Canada says that although the loss of a whale can be difficult to observe, it also provides important nutrients to other animals and the environment. A sperm whale came ashore on a South Carolina resort island on Saturday, and was euthanized late Sunday after veterinarians determined it was too sick to help. The town of Hilton Head Island in South Carolina says the whale will be buried on the beach. Whales often beach themselves when sick or injured, and the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida estimates about 2,000 whales come ashore each year. — With reports from The Associated Press
