The province says they are planning to build 60 supportive housing units in Courtenay after buying property on Braidwood Avenue.

According to an announcement, the land will also get a separate, permanent, purpose-built shelter with room for about 40 beds. The province adds the buildings will also have additional space to use as an extreme weather response shelter during cold weather.

The province says they contributed $4 million through BC Housing to buy the land through the Supportive Housing Fund. The land will be rezoned for supportive housing once it is approved by city council.

Construction is set to start early next year, and BC Housing will reach out to local businesses and neighbours this spring, ahead of rezoning, to share more information with the community.

Courtenay mayor Bob Wells says the efforts are needed to provide emergency shelter.

“The existing lease of the Connect Centre has always been a temporary measure,” said Wells.

“The proposed development application for the newly purchased property will be a top priority for city council and staff, and we look forward to working with BC Housing and social-service providers to address this significant need in our community.”

Courtenay-Comox MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard adds the community has been working hard to find a new location for a more permanent shelter and the deal signifies a great partnership between the city and province.

The project is part of a $19-billion housing investment from the province. They say there have been nearly 78,000 homes delivered or underway including 360 in Courtenay since 2017.

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Fanny Bay will be getting another 36 childcare spots at a daycare and school thanks to more funding from ChildCareBC.

According to the Beachcombers Education Society, the Little Oysters Child Care Centre was given just over $2 million. It is being provided by provincial investments and federal funding, which means there will be a total of 52 childcare spots.

The non-profit will also add capacity for 16 group multi-age care spots. Manager Kathy Fredrikson says it has come along at a time when childcare is very difficult for many families.

“In recent years, we have had parents in tears when there wasn’t a spot available for their child,” said Fredrikson. “We operate a nature-inspired enriched pre-kindergarten program that is very popular.”

The facility also operates a kindergarten to grade 7 school. Beachcombers Education Society president Zoe Lambert adds that working with the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative has also let them decrease the costs.

“We have been able to recue fees to parents by 30 per cent in the past two years,” said Lambert. “This has been a huge help to parents. We are already seeing a real benefit to children and families as a result of this government initiative.”

Little Oysters Child Care is now accepting registration. Fredrikson says they only have a few spots in the current childcare spaces, but they will be able to accommodate more when the expansion is complete.

The expansion is expected to be mostly done by summer, but not completely done until September 2025.

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A statement from the Ehattesaht First Nation says the deceased killer whale near Zeballos was pregnant, and they are still working to help the stuck calf.

This comes after the First Nation community members were able to secure and move the mother Biggs Killer Whale for a necropsy. While they do not know if the whale was hunting and then got stuck or if an underlying health condition caused her death, they did find the whale had an unborn female fetus.

Efforts to remove the live calf from the lagoon are ongoing, including attempts to use whale calls at high tide to entice the calf out of the lagoon. However, the First Nation says this was unfortunately not successful.

Discussions between the First Nation and the DFO are ongoing to decide on a path forward. They add they also suspended their forestry operations yesterday and have provided helicopter support to see if the whale pod can be spotted.

The calf has been named kʷiisaḥiʔis, which means “brave little hunter,” and more meetings will be held so they can create a plan to help her.

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A new dementia care pilot project is getting good results and is expected to be implemented in a new care facility this summer.

Providence Living is doing the project in partnership with the UBC Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes - which is evaluating the care model. It was launched in January 2023 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Comox.

Providence Living says it is designed to prepare staff for the move to the new long-term care village, Providence Living at The Views this summer.

According to quality, practice and program development executive director Jennifer Gibson, the model is based on the concept of a dementia village. It aims to be a more person-centred, rather than an institutional approach.

“Within the social-relational model, the rhythms and patterns of the day are grounded in a person-centred approach and the residents drive the day,” said Gibson.

“Instead of coming to work and reporting at a facility like a hospital, staff honour the concept of home. Teams work collaboratively, they support residents’ plans and goals for the day.”

Gibson says they have learned over the years that seniors “flourish” when they can maintain their independent and social connections along with routines.

The work they are doing with UBC is evaluating the impact of the pilot, and Gibson says the feedback has been positive so far.

“What we’ve heard is that the experience of being in the pilot is calmer and overall the staff are more satisfied with the way they are able to work in the pilot,” said Gibson. “There’s more controls in how residents are experiencing their day, and that’s true for family members as well.”

The pilot is preparing staff for how the care model will work when the new facilities are launched. Providence Living at The Views is expected to open this summer in Comox and will have 155 publicly funded beds and one private pay bed.

The model is expected to be used at all future Providence Living locations in B.C., and they will require workers to be trained on the new model as they are hired.

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RCMP say they are investigating a reported assault that took place at a U15 minor hockey game that sent one player to hospital.

According to Vancouver Island Amateur Hockey Association president Al McCulloch, the incident was between two players, 13 and 14-years-old, on March 15 on Comox Valley and Nanaimo minor hockey teams.

McCulloch says the injured player was taken to hospital and is now out of hospital recovering in concussion protocol. He adds the other player is suspended indefinitely until the outcome of the investigation, which is also being done with BC Hockey.

McCulloch says the organization does not condone this type of behaviour in hockey, adding it does not belong in the game.

He adds they work to teach kids to play nice from the start, and situations like these are an anomaly.

“We try to work with them from a young age to explain proper rules, proper etiquette on and off the ice, proper behaviour,” said McCulloch.

“We don’t really condone stick work in general, if it’s a penalty it’s a penalty, but excessive, deliberate attempts to injure are the things we’re trying to remove from the game.”

McCulloch adds the subject of what is acceptable and what is not is brought up every year, but they need to teach kids at a younger age that things like this are not acceptable.

“It’s a continuous learning curve, much like ABCs in school, it’s a continuous lesson in life,” added McCulloch.

“Hopefully we get past it and our players do learn from it. Hopefully, the player is remorseful, and he’s learned from it eventually when he moves on and uses it as a lesson in life that there are repercussions to actions.”

He adds that he wishes the injured player a quick recovery.

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The Town of Comox is asking for public input for its first parks and trails master plan, which will help improve its parks and trails over the next decade.

The first phase of engagement is focused on getting ideas from the community. That includes how residents use Comox parks and trails today and their ideas for an inclusive and sustainable network.

This will be done over the next month, and you can share your input by dropping by an open house on April 11 between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at d’Esterre Seniors’ Centre. Pop-up events will also be in parks and community spaces throughout the month.

Engagement with K’ómoks First Nation and other community groups will also be done, and the feedback will be explored in the project's second phase in late summer.

“We are very excited to kick off our inaugural plan by engaging in this community process to explore parks and trails today and develop a strong vision and plan for the future,” said mayor Nicole Minions.

“As Comox continues to grow, it’s important we consider community needs, emerging trends, and opportunities to provide high-quality parks, active outdoor recreation and trail experiences for our residents to enjoy.”

For a list of all events and a community survey, click here. 

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As part of the Comox Valley Sewer Conveyance Project, upgrades to the Courtenay pump station are getting provincial and federal government support.

The federal government announced the funding today. They say $1,346,855 will come from the feds via the Green Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure program and the province is contributing $8,455,267 to the project.

Together with the Comox Valley Regional District’s $3,565,016 contribution, a combined total of $13.3 million will be used to replace the pump station.

The regional district says it is susceptible to coastal and river flooding, which poses environmental risks to water in the Courtenay River Estuary, Comox Harbour and surrounding agricultural areas.

Comox Valley Regional District Sewage Commission chair Doug Hillian says the funding will be crucial to the community’s safety and resilience.

“Upgrading the sewer pump station to withstand seismic activity, as well as seal level rise is imperative for protecting our infrastructure and ensuring the well-being of our residents for years to come,” said Hillian.

The work also includes electrical and mechanical upgrades to two other pump stations that face flood risks and the replacement of over nine km of sewer pipeline. It will be moved further inland to avoid erosion and storm damage from rising sea levels.

Other work will include beautification of the site through the completion of a mural by a K’ómoks First Nation artist, landscaping and the construction of buried utilities and linkage to the existing system.

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The province announced $39 million to benefit B.C. communities for disaster-risk reduction funding, many of which are on Vancouver Island.

According to the province, over 50 projects are getting funding through the community emergency preparedness fund. It will allow necessary changes like small-scale structural flood projects and improvements to community flood-mitigation strategies.

Projects include repairs to the Holland Creek weirs in Ladysmith to protect people from flooding and prevent damage to salmon-spawning grounds. They will get $2.75 million for the project and Ladysmith says the river has seen lots of damage over the last decade.

Courtenay will be getting $268,576 for a joint temporary flood-mitigation planning project with K’ómoks First Nation, Cowichan Tribes will get $150,000 for mobile flood control equipment and the Cowichan Valley Regional District will get $267,080 to create risk reduction policies and processes.

Funding of $42,402 has been approved for Parksville for an Arrowsmith dam inundation study. The Strathcona Regional District is also getting $400,992 to update the Oyster River floodplain map and help build its path forward with an understanding of balance and expression of culture.

Ladysmith mayor Aaron Stone says the project will help remove the risk of erosion along its banks, improve the restoration of aquatic habitat and ensure the continued enjoyment of the trail system.

“Additionally, funding to repair the intake weir further ensures the long-term supply of water to the town’s filtration plant,” said Stone. “Which is integral to distributing safe drinking water to the entire community, Stz’minus First Nation and the Diamond Water Improvement District.”

Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen says they have worked with communities to develop B.C.’s first integrated vision for provincial flood preparedness.

“The new B.C. Flood Strategy will guide our continued work with First Nations, local government agencies, the agricultural sector, industry and conservation organizations,” said Cullen.

“Together, we can build stronger communities that are resilient to flood hazards in a changing climate.”

For more information, click here. 

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The Comox Valley School District says students had an impressive debut at the Canadian Pacific Regional FIRST Robotics Competition.

The district says Team 9641 finished fifth in the province and got the Rookie All-Star Award up against teams from Alberta, Michigan, Hawaii, China, Brazil, California, Idaho and others from B.C.

Making their mark in the first qualifying match, the team allied with teams from Calgary and Hawaii and was often the higher scorer in their alliances.

The teams also faced a double knockout before losing their final match against the alliance that would eventually go on to win the tournament.

The team’s efforts are being praised for their significant achievement, especially as they faced supply chain, coding and technical problems. The district says they demonstrated resilience and dedication.

“These students should be incredibly proud of themselves moving from Vex Robotics to FIRST Robotics,” said team mentor and SD 71 district careers coordinator Steve Claassen.

“This strong showing demonstrates the talent within the Robotics71 program, which is supported by the district’s continued focus on technology programs.”

The team thanks all its sponsors who made the journey possible for them.

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A Conservative motion in the House of Commons to stop the federal carbon tax increase was defeated today, and local politicians are offering opinions on the situation.

The motion would have frozen the carbon tax, which will see a 23 per cent increase on April first. The Tories say this is not supported by 70 per cent of the provinces and 70 per cent of Canadians.

However, the motion was defeated 205 to 119 in the House of Commons. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre plans to introduce a motion for a vote of non-confidence tomorrow. He said in parliament today that the vote would let Canadians decide if they want to continue with the tax.

On the Island, Courtenay-Alberni NDP MP Gord Johns says the motion would not have applied to B.C. because it has had its own carbon tax since 2008. On the provincial government’s website, it says the federal government’s carbon plan means all provinces must have at least a price of $65 per tonne for 2023.  

Johns says the move is simply a diversion from corporate greed, which he says is causing inflation.

“We heard from the governor of the Bank of Canada, we heard from the PBO, that on a $100 bag of groceries, the carbon tax has an impact of inflation of about 0.15 per cent, that’s $0.15 on a $100 bag of groceries,” said Johns.

“We did our own calculation on the big five grocery stores that are having record profits and on a $100 bag of groceries last year, that was $3.20 that went to corporate greed.”

Johns adds the Conservatives have not agreed with other taxes in the past, like the removal of GST on home heating, that would have impacted British Columbians and lower energy bills.

Meanwhile, Conservative candidate for North Island – Powell River Aaron Gunn says B.C. already has some of the highest gas prices in Canada and around $0.70 per litre of gasoline goes to the government.

He says that compounds and ends up increasing the cost of many goods.

“When you increase the price of growing the fuel for the farmer growing the food or the driver transporting the food, you end up taxing everyone who buys the food as well,” said Gunn.

Gunn adds a recent study showed the carbon tax means a family of four will pay $700 more for groceries in 2024, and the tax is planned to increase over the next few years.

He says the planned increases mean other provinces will have to continue to increase their taxes in line with the federal government.

Gunn says he is hopeful that the non-confidence vote motion will pass tomorrow. However, he says he is pessimistic that will happen, and the country will see an election this spring as it will depend on how the NDP votes.

The federal government says it is estimated that the carbon tax will contribute to around one-third of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions reductions. 

It adds that every province or territory can design its own pricing system tailored to local needs or choose the federal system. The feds only provide the benchmark, and if the localized system does not meet that, the federal system will be put in place instead.  

According to the government, around 90 per cent of fuel charge proceeds go back to families through the Canada Carbon Rebate payments, which reach eight out of 10 households. 

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