DERBY REELS IN SUPPORT
Community reaps benefits of Tofino Saltwater Classic.
3
SMOKING SUCCESS
Hold On To Your Butts campaign yields huge bounty.
6
Westerly News
TOFINO-UCLUELET
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
WesterlyNews.ca
$1.25 (including tax)
ECONOMY
Living Wage has increased
Housing, childcare and food costs blamed for the rise ANDREW BAILEY
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
The cost of living on the West Coast is higher than anywhere else on Vancouver Island and second to only Vancouver in all of B.C. The Clayoquot Biosphere Trust recently released its bi-annual regional Living Wage report and 2017’s $20.11 an hour figure marks an 84 cent per hour, and roughly $540 per month, increase on 2015’s $19.27 calculation. The report shows that the West Coast tops Victoria’s living wage of $20.01, Revelstoke’s $18.77, Parksville’s $16.44 and the Comox Valley’s $15.96. The Living Wage represents what each parent in a two-parent, two-child, household must earn, while working full-time, to bring in the $71,565 household income the CBT’s report suggests is needed to cover the basic expenses of daily life on the West Coast. “It’s really a bare bones modest budget, it’s not enough to save up to buy a home, or pay your credit card bills or any debts you have, or save up for your kids to go to post-secondary [schools],” the CBT’s Faye Missar told the Westerly News. “It’s just enough to achieve an adequate quality of life in your region...The living wage is meant to reflect what a low-wage earner should earn, not necessarily someone with an undergraduate degree.” She noted the Living Wage decreased in many other regions, including Vancouver, after the federal government implemented a non taxable child care benefit last year, but rises in local housing, childcare and food costs bucked the West Coast off the trend. See RISING page 3
ANDREW BAILEY PHOTO
OTALITH A HIT: West Coasters, from left, Byron Estey, Thomas Estey, Dean Robin and Mike Cockcroft, front, partied into the fray at the Otalith Music Festival’s Seaplane Base fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon. The popular outdoor music festival lured hundreds of locals and visitors into its fun-filled ambience. Read about it on page 7 and see more photos on page 14.
Cops for Cancer challenge launched West Coast sisters call on local leaders to go bald, go pink, or donate NORA O’MALLEY
nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca
On Sept. 16, Ucluelet’s BC Ambulance Unit Chief Rachelle Cole and Ocean Village Resort’s Dena Bruno will shave their heads to raise money for Cops for Cancer. The sisters want to raise at least $10,000 over the next four weeks and, officially, challenge local ‘big fish’ living on the peninsula to join them in their efforts.
“The first on our list is her worship in each community. So, each mayor; Dianne St. Jacques in Ucluelet and Josie Osborne in Tofino,” said Cole. “The next would be each fire chief, so Ted Eeftink and Brent Baker. Then, we want to go to the police; chief Sgt. Manzini and chief Sgt. Pebernat. And then Bill Craven of BC Ambulance...We want them to either go pink, or to shave, or to give money. Or to encourage others in the community to do one of those three things.” See SISTERS page 11