Latest news with #Vancouverite
Global News
29-05-2025
- Global News
Community reeling after Horseshoe Bay bus crash kills child, critically injures mother
Multiple investigations are underway into a horrific bus crash in Horseshoe Bay that left a four-year-old boy dead and his mother in critical condition on Wednesday. The tragedy, which left a third person in hospital in stable condition, has left the community reeling. Students who witnessed the collision returned to the site Thursday morning to lay flowers for the victims. 'Everybody seemed a little in shock,' said North Vancouver teacher Keith Gallant. 'Having a relationship with some of the students, particularly the boys, wanted to try to model some healthy grief and so I bought some flowers and asked them all to take a piece and share a thought for the mom and for the boy that's lost.' 1:30 Child killed by bus in Horseshoe Bay Vancouverite Aaron Golden, who frequently travels through the terminal, told Global News he'd spent about an hour at the site reflecting on the tragedy. Story continues below advertisement 'It could be anyone. We all stand on sidewalks. It's tragic and it hits close to home,' he said. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'It hurts that it could have been you, it could have been someone you loved.' The collision happened around 3:30 p.m., a the bus stop just outside the BC Ferries foot passenger ticket booth. Witnesses say a TransLink bus jumped the curb, striking several people. 'The sudden death of a child is a uniquely tragic event severely impacting the family, witnesses, first responders and the community as a whole,' West Vancouver police Sgt. Chris Bigland said Wednesday night. 'To those who stepped up today and did what they could, thank you.' Police said they had spoken with the bus driver, and that the vehicle has been seized. 0:49 Horseshoe Bay bus crash leaves 1 dead, others injured Investigators have ruled out speed as a contributing factor, but are still trying to piece together exactly what happened and probing whether criminality was involved. Story continues below advertisement Police said they had no additional details to share on Thursday. TransLink declined to comment and referred questions to police. In a statement, BC Ferries thanked first responders for their swift response. 'We want to acknowledge the emotional impact on those who witnessed the incident, including our people, transit partners, and customers,' the company said. 'To our team members who stepped in to help, your courage and compassion mean more than words can express. We are deeply grateful and proud.' Gallant said the incident has left emotions raw across the North Shore. 'Bowen Island is feeling it. Horseshoe Bay is definitely feeling this,' he said. 'I hope people come together and take care of themselves, but particularly take care of our youth and model healthy grief.' Anyone with information or video shot in the area at the time of the collision is asked to contact West Vancouver police.
National Observer
15-05-2025
- Business
- National Observer
Gregor Robertson still doesn't get it
Like many Canadians, I was prepared to give Gregor Robertson a second chance. As a born and raised Vancouverite and someone who has been writing (and warning) about the housing market for almost two decades now, the appointment of Robertson as Canada's new housing minister didn't exactly fill me with optimism. His track record as mayor of Vancouver includes a 179 per cent increase in home prices that effectively priced an entire generation out of that city's housing market — and, in effect, out of that city. In fairness, nobody's track record during that period was very good, and much of the increase in home prices was due to inaction or indifference by the federal and provincial governments. Even so, given his obvious association with the period where Canada's housing market started to run away from millions of people, he was a risky choice as housing minister. His first few days on the job have shown why. For all of his well-documented telegenic charm, Roberston has never been a particularly effective communicator. That was on full display during his interview with the CBC's David Cochrane, where he seemed conspicuously short on answers and long on excuses. 'It's going to take years,' he told Cochrane. 'This is decades of building up a problem, so it's not going to be fixed overnight.' He refused to give a specific date when asked when his government would deliver on its promise to double home building. 'We're years away,' he reiterated. Cochrane captured the stakes of his new job at the end of the interview. 'I think every Canadian under 40 is counting on you,' Cochrane said, to which Robertson replied, 'Including my kids.' But, of course, Robertson's kids will be just fine. In Gregor Robertson's Vancouver, the children of wealthy and privileged homeowners were more than fine, actually; they were lottery winners. It was everyone else struggling — and, often, failing — to keep their heads above the economic waterline. When asked if Robertson's appointment was a signal that housing prices should not go down, Carney said that 'you would be very hard-pressed to make that conclusion.' Robertson then went out and made that conclusion for everyone the very next day, telling reporters that he doesn't think house prices need to go down — and that Canada needs to deliver more supply instead. That, of course, would make prices go down, all other things being equal. This is the truth that most federal politicians are still afraid to say out loud. If we're actually going to address housing affordability in this country, and especially overheated markets like Vancouver and Toronto, prices have to come down. Yes, that might mean that homeowners will miss out on some of the equity that's accumulated in their homes. But as former Housing Minister Nate Erskine-Smith said back in January during an interview with the Toronto Star, 'It's not the government's job to protect a certain amount of equity that has built up in a person's home.' Unless and until Carney and his new housing minister are willing to say the quiet part out loud, as Erskine-Smith did, it's going to be hard to take their housing pledges and policies seriously. No, they're not going to be able to single-handedly transform Canada's housing market overnight. It may well take years, as Robertson said, to see real progress on affordability. But they could change the way they talk about the issue right now, and in so doing let Canadians know they actually understand what needs to be done. Of all Mark Carney's cabinet picks, his decision to name former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson as his housing minister was the most controversial. So far, at least, it's also proving to be his most disastrous. That's why, if Robertson is going to win the trust and confidence of Canadians, he needs to acknowledge some of the mistakes he made as mayor of Vancouver, from his decision to initially downplay the risks associated with foreign investment to his habit of cozying up with the city's real estate developers. (So far, at least, he seems more interested in defending that record than learning from it.) Robertson needs to be honest about the tradeoffs involved, and stop pretending that we can somehow massively ramp up the construction of affordable housing without impacting the broader housing market and its often ludicrous prices. And if he won't do these things, Carney needs to find someone who will — and fast. The next election, whenever it comes, will be a referendum on the progress Carney's team has made on housing and other key cost of living issues. And this time, good intentions and big plans won't be nearly enough to placate young voters. The Liberals were given one stay of political execution on this issue, both because of Justin Trudeau's resignation and Donald Trump's menacing threats. They will not get a second one.
National Observer
05-05-2025
- General
- National Observer
Emma Rae Lierley
Emma Rae Lierley helps communities stop deforestation. As senior communications manager for the forests program at the Rainforest Action Network, this Vancouverite amplifies the voices of communities all over the world contending with corporations destroying their forest homes. By Patricia Lane Emma Rae Lierley
National Observer
05-05-2025
- General
- National Observer
Seeing and saving the forest for the trees
These in-their-own-words pieces are told to Patricia Lane and co-edited with input from the interviewee for the purpose of brevity. Emma Rae Lierley helps communities stop deforestation. As senior communications manager for the forests program at the Rainforest Action Network, this Vancouverite amplifies the voices of communities all over the world contending with corporations destroying their forest homes. Tell us about your work. Massive corporate greed is driving the destruction of rainforests for products like palm oil, soy, beef, pulp and paper, viscose used in clothing, timber and cocoa — to make items that line our local store shelves and to line the pockets of Wall Street bankers. Tropical rainforests teeming with life are burned, bulldozed and cleared to make room for monoculture crops. Brands we all recognize make products with a short life. But the damage to rainforests is long-lasting and far-reaching. We help grassroots organizations in places like Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil identify and hold accountable banks and mega-corporations, like Proctor and Gamble, Unilever, Nestle, PepsiCo and others, that create the demand or finance the destruction. Our campaigns pressure corporations and hold them accountable for the impact of their supply chains. We bring members of affected communities into their boardrooms and use advanced technology when it is needed to illustrate our concerns. Our efforts can take a long time, but we do succeed. For example, we recently provided some of these companies with high-resolution satellite images showing deforestation in an Indonesian protected area in the Leuser Rainforest. This area is the only remaining place on Earth where Sumatran orangutans, tigers, rhinos and elephants still coexist in the wild. Millions of people depend on it for their clean water, and it is the customary land of dozens of Indigenous communities. Supporting the human rights of Indigenous people is one of the very best ways to protect our planet. Emma Rae Lierley helps communities stop deforestation. As senior communications manager for the forests program at the Rainforest Action Network, this Vancouverite amplifies the voices of communities all over the world contending with corporations. Palm oil grown from trees planted in this illegally deforested area risks entering the supply chains of these major companies and also flies in the face of their own 'no deforestation' commitments. Some of these companies have immediately responded, cutting off their bad suppliers. Of course, we have to make sure they continue to remedy the destruction caused, and we'll be there to hold them accountable. What makes your work hard? We engage with some of the biggest companies in the world, but we are a small staff working with local people who often feel very vulnerable for good reason. Right-wing governments generally display less concern for conservation and human rights, which means more danger for land or forest defenders. We must wait until people are ready. Even then, our work takes time and so much destruction can happen during the wait. What keeps you awake at night? We work across the globe, so we are aware of climate-change-impacted events in many different places. We live in an era of climate collapse. The heat domes and massive wildfires and floods and smoke are all happening now. It is hard to see decision-makers move so slowly or in the wrong direction. What gives you hope? When communities succeed because they spoke out using both local and international people power, it is a great feeling. Everyone needs forests. Whether they are in your backyard or thousands of miles from you, they are cleaning the water and the air, and cooling our Earth. It matters to me that I get to play a part in protecting them. I have a toddler who is just starting to explore the world, and it's incredible to watch him discover all the beauty on this planet. I want to be able to tell him I helped leave it better than I found it. How did you get into this work? I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and spent entire summer days in the forests of Cascadia. These wild spaces are a part of me, and I want to protect what I love. I also love stories. My work allows me to combine those two passions as I help impacted communities tell their stories in ways that will inspire others, the corporations who can affect the supply chains and the donors and members of the public who will help make change. Is there anything you would like to say to other young people? You don't have to change jobs to make a difference. Wherever you find yourself, there is an opportunity to help. We need to build a future with a stable climate, justice and equity. We need everyone — artists, teachers, doctors, union workers. Figure out how you can bend whatever kind of work you do toward sustainability and justice, and do it! What about older readers? We need you. It is easy to justify inaction with stories like: 'It's always been this way,' or 'Nothing will change,' especially if you have been disappointed with inaction in the past. The great challenge is to use your wisdom, experience, time and money to work with us to build the future we need. What kind of ancestor will you be?
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Yahoo
Why now's the time to visit Canada's Campbell River, the ‘Salmon Capital of the World'
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). Bald eagles circle overhead, black bears patrol the forested riverbank and harbour seals frolic in pools near the estuary mouth. Imagine you're immersed in a fast-flowing river, face down with a mask and snorkel, observing one of nature's greatest spectacles: a chaotic maelstrom of fish racing towards you, all possessed with a deep-rooted instinct to fight the current and progress upstream. This is Campbell River's annual salmon run, an epic journey of hundreds of thousands of fish from the Pacific Ocean, returning to their freshwater spawning grounds. A fishing and lumber town on the east coast of Vancouver Island, Campbell River is regularly touted as the 'Salmon Capital of the World'. Five species of the sleek, ray-finned fish — pink, coho, chinook, chum and sockeye — frequent the local rivers, where they congregate in mind-boggling quantities during the summer and autumn spawning season. In 2024 — a bumper year by all accounts — an estimated one million pink salmon were reported to have returned here after travelling thousands of miles across the Pacific. Despite the numbers, the chance of glimpsing these creatures in the open ocean is surprisingly slim. To see them in abundance, it's far better to don a wetsuit and float down the shallow Campbell River from late July to September, when the salmon run is taking place. Enabling visitors to witness this remarkable subaquatic event, local dive shop, Oceanfix, organises self-guided snorkelling tours during peak spawning season, accessible to anyone with two hours to spare and a healthy curiosity for Mother Nature. 'It's something you have to experience to truly comprehend,' says Stephen Neff, owner and diving instructor at Oceanfix. 'Being in the water with the salmon, you don't just witness their journey — you become part of it. I remember one time, I wasn't surrounded by hundreds, but thousands of them, a living, surging current of determination. As I floated downstream, they parted around me, utterly focused on their singular purpose. It's one of the most extraordinary spectacles I've ever seen — and I've explored some of the world's most incredible dive sites.' A native Vancouverite, Stephen spent 35 years working abroad in Switzerland, the UK and China before moving back to British Columbia in 2023. 'I turned my hobby into a profession,' he says of his relocation to Campbell River and acquisition of Oceanfix. 'I was in the corporate world, but longed to be near the ocean, somewhere where the nature was still intact, and Campbell River has some of the world's best cold-water diving.' Perched on Discovery Passage — a nutrient-rich strait between Vancouver Island and Quadra Island — Campbell River thrives with marine life, its waters power-washed by fast-moving currents. The result? A super-sized ecosystem teeming with giant Pacific octopuses, wolf eels, towering bull kelp forests and dazzling carpets of red anemones. One legendary oceanographer, Jacques Cousteau, ranked the area second only to the Red Sea as one of the world's top dive sites. The route begins at a logging bridge on the Gold River Highway, where wetsuit-clad swimmers launch bravely into an underwater obstacle course of rocks, fishing lines and fast-moving aquatic life. There are two main rules, explains Stephen: keep your head in the water to avoid the rocks and don't attempt to pick up any souvenirs. 'The water can go quite quick,' he warns. 'You don't need to be a strong swimmer, but you do need to be able to swim. It's definitely adventurous. I've had people come out of there and say, 'it was exhilarating but I was terrified'. One journalist emerged with eyes the size of saucers.' The question of how to balance conservation with tourism is complicated, but despite the challenges, Stephen remains relatively sanguine. Low-key and strictly seasonal, snorkelling is said to have a minimal impact on the river's delicate ecosystem. 'There are also several local initiatives,' says Stephen. 'Take the Greenways Land Trust — we collaborate with them, supplying equipment and training some of their divers. Visitors can also get involved with their Streamkeepers programme that monitors fish presence and helps environmental restoration in the river,' he explains. First Nations communities are also reclaiming stewardship of these waters, planting oxygenating eelgrass in the estuary which was destroyed over the years. 'It's a catch-22, but I do believe tourism has a positive influence,' he states. 'When people come to Campbell River, it finances other activities, such as some of the farm trust funds organised by the city to replant the estuaries. With no tourist income, there would be no way to finance these projects.' 'Furthermore, the snorkelling doesn't damage anything,' he adds. 'It's only a couple of hundred people who do this with us per year and we're the only operator.' The experience is both thrilling and epiphanic. 'Visitors come back to the shop knowing that they've experienced something they probably never will again,' Stephen states. 'A churning underwater roller coaster that will open your eyes to the beauty and fragility of Vancouver Island's natural elements.' Published in the Coastal Collection 2025 by National Geographic Traveller (UK)To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
