INTERESTING NEWS Canada’s Oldest First Nations Newspaper - Serving Nuu-chah-nulth-aht since 1974 Canadian Publications Mail Product Vol. 46 - No. 23—December 12, 2019 haas^i>sa Sales Agreement No. 40047776
Port Alberni’s connector bus depot closes, First Nations travelers urged to purchase tickets online call for salmon emergency
A succession of depot closures leaves seniors waiting in the cold, including an Ahousaht Ha’wilth
By Mike Youds Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor
By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter Port Alberni, BC – Wilson’s transportation has announced the closure of its Port Alberni bus depot located at 4541 Margaret Street, effective Nov. 30, 2019. Starting Dec. 1, 2019, travelers can catch the bus around the corner at the 7-Eleven convenience store located 4934 Johnston Road. In addition to the change of the pickup/drop off location, there will no longer be a ticket agent. Instead, passengers are encouraged to purchase tickets online using credit cards or Visa debit cards. Tickets may be purchased directly from bus drivers using cash or credit cards. However, passengers run the risk of missing their bus if all of the seats were sold online prior to their arrival. Ahousaht Ha’wilth Rocky Titian is on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. He and his wife Maryanne are regular bus travelers as they attend medical appointments in Courtenay and Vancouver. “The hardest part is waiting,” said Maryanne, adding that they often stand in the rain waiting for buses in Tofino. With the closure of several bus depots, the couple can spend as many as three hours waiting outdoors for bus connections. “I just wish they had proper places to wait,” said Maryanne. “Our clothes get wet, his medications get wet and we have to sit on the bus with cold, wet clothes.” For appointments in Courtenay, which is about an hour drive from Port Alberni, the couple must take the long bus route to Nanaimo to make their transfers back north to Courtenay. “Sometimes we wait three hours outside,” said Maryanne. Michelle Campbell works in the Ahousaht Administration Medical department making medical travel arrangements for members. She says that both bus depots in Tofino and Ucluelet closed several weeks ago, wreaking havoc on bus travelers unaware of the changes. For Ahousaht patients living on Flores Island a trip to town begins with a boat ride to Tofino. The Tofino Bus is heavily
Photo by Maryanne Titian
Ahousaht Ha’wilth Rocky Titian is on the waiting list for a kidney transplant due to Type 2 diabetes. He and his wife Maryanne rely on the bus service for medical appointments in Courtenay and Vancouver. used by those that don’t have their own driver. vehicles and the bus depot used to be “But I saw an old lady that tried to get within walking distance of the dock, in on the bus; she didn’t have the right central Tofino. change and couldn’t get on the bus,” he Now passengers are directed to go to the said. He added that he doesn’t do onTofino Tourist Information Centre at 1426 line banking either and neither do many Pacific Rim Highway, a distance of seven seniors. kilometers outside of town, to catch their As of Dec. 1, travelers heading to the bus. west coast by bus must catch their ride at “We learned the hard way how to get the 7-Eleven parking lot at 4934 Gertrude our passengers on the bus,” said CampStreet. bell, after hearing from angry, stranded Breanna Green of VIConnector encourmembers. ages people to purchase their tickets For Ahousaht patients traveling by bus, online to reserve a seat. Campbell contacts Wilson Transportation “They may use a major credit card or a and reserves seats, asking that the passen- debit Visa card,” she told Ha-Shilth-Sa. gers be picked up in town at the Co-op Bus drivers can take cash payments, but parking lot. it’s first come, first served for walk-ups. “We send them a purchase order and For more information about local bus they issue confirmation numbers which schedules go to VIConnector.com or we give to the patients,” Campbell said. call 1-866-986-3456. The bus service Wilson Transportation then bills the naprovides daily scheduled bus trips on tion. Vancouver Island from Victoria to Port Rocky Titian says he just has to give his Hardy. name and confirmation number to the bus
Inside this issue... Road paving in Ahousaht............................................Page 2 Preparing for storms...................................................Page 4 Gooseneck barnacles: Seafood of the future?............Page 6 Trial over smudging in schools............................ Page 8-10 Real-life material needed for NY museum...............Page 14
Lillooet, BC - With a narrow winter window in which to clear salmon passage at Big Bar Slide, the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) is urging federal and provincial governments to declare a state of emergency. “Extreme efforts and resources must be put forth immediately to preserve cultures and ways of life that have existed for thousands of years,” said BCAFN Regional Chief Terry Teegee. Collectively representing B.C. Assembly of First Nations, First Nations Summit and Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), the council wants Ottawa and Victoria to direct more resources at a grave and immediate threat to salmon migration while ensuring First Nations have greater authority to deal with emergencies attributed to climate change. Although the slide barrier was reduced over the course of last summer in a co-ordinated response, remaining rock poses a significant obstacle to salmon on their migratory path to Interior spawning grounds. Early Stuart sockeye and early chinook runs are at greatest risk of collapse. “The remaining blockage will undoubtedly impact upstream First Nations’ access to food sources next year and has the potential to severely impair future cycles of salmon stocks, which will be cause for huge losses to First Nations, commercial and sport fisheries in future years,” said Lydia Hwitsum of the First Nations Summit. FNLC’s urgent appeal came in a news release Monday, the same day Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns called in the House of Commons for a “salmon emergency.” “This is not about blame or shame,” Johns told the House after explaining the threat to the lifeblood of B.C.’s greatest salmon resource, the Fraser River. “This is about doing the right thing, right now. We need action.” Teegee said First Nations leaders in communities along the river continue to feel a lack of communications about extensive work needed in the river channel as the water level drops. “What’s really being planned in the next few months? This is the opportune time to do something,” Teegee said. “There is a limited amount of time.”
If undeliverable, please return to: Ha-Shilth-Sa P.O. Box 1383, Port Alberni, B.C. V9Y 7M2