Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper April 17, 2025

INTERESTING NEWS

Waiters in Tofino: ‘Where's all the

Indigenous servers?’

There's 15 restaurants in Tofino's bustling tourist industry, but just two local First Nations waiters work at them

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Tofino, BC — With waiters pocketing between $300 to $400 in tips on a good night in this sizzling tourist town, you’d think, considering the makeup of the area’s population blends 2,516 Tofino residents and 1,200 Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations (TFN), there’d be more than two local First Nations on deck taking food orders to take home a slice of that cake.

But the odd thing is… there isn’t.

“There are only two Indigenous servers in the Tofino area,” says TFN career server Joe Bob, a father of four who works three a shifts a week at ROAR Restaurant within Mandy Farmer’s ‘70s themed Hotel Zed.

“You just know from going out and eating,” adds Bob. “I’ve worked for the old Shelter Restaurant for a couple of years and I was their only native server, there was another Indigenous girl, but she was a busser. I worked at Brown’s Socialhouse when they opened too and I was the only native server there, you would think there would be more.”

Brown’s Socialhouse opened in October 2023 at Tin Wis Resort, a TFN owned and operated business.

Tla-o-qui-aht member Brian Quick is the other local First Nations server in Tofino. He also works at ROAR and owns The Windy Clipper barbershop on Campbell Street, Tofino’s main drag.

Both Bob and Quick have over four decades of combined experience in Tofino’s restaurant industry.

“I know that there are more status natives on the floor that don’t present as natives. But when it comes to local TFN, I know there are only two of us,” Quick told the Ha-Shilth-Sa.

“Where are all the Indigenous servers in a town that’s half Indigenous?” he asks.

Tourism Tofino lists 50 eateries in the town, which includes places that offer food-to-go, treats and coffee. Fifteen of those 50 eateries are classified as restaurants, offering indoor seating and dinner: Adriana’s Sandwich Shop, Basic Goodness Pizzeria, Browns Socialhouse, Jeju Restaurant, Ombre, ROAR, Schooner, Shed, Shelter, Spicy Hut, The BEAR Bierhaus, The Great Room at Long Beach Lodge, The Pointe, Tough City Sushi and Wolf in the Fog.

Quick points out that while there are a couple other TFN members working at coffee shops, spending two-plus hours with customers over a meal is an entirely different experience than getting something to-go.

“I’m being given all that time to brag

about where I’m from, to be a proud TFN and to direct a conversation into a place of education and learning is so important to me,” saysQuick. “I really try to encourage visits to Meares Island; go and learn about the place. Or spelling ‘Tla-oqui-aht’on a piece of paper… To have all that time is so key.”

Bob says a lot of international visitors he serves have never even met an Indigenous person before.

A2025 report released by Destination British Columbia about Indigenous tourism showed an increased desire from travellers to learn about culture, with 31 per cent of international visitors seeking Indigenous experiences and 88 per cent of Canadians expressing an interest in Indigenous cultural activities.

“It’s good to have that kind of representation of the region (in the front) because guests will ask what Tofino was like years ago,” said Bob. “I’ve had people ask, and I’ll inform them, that my family has lived here for generations, so hundreds of years, and I’ll tell them that the name Wickaninnish actually comes from my family.”

Myles Beeby is the manager of Hotel Zed and the president of the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce (TLBCC).

“Raising the profile for Indigenous People is hugely important to the chamber and should be to all businesses,” said Beeby. “We are so privileged to have them as a workforce.”

He was unsure as to why there are only two local First Nations working Front of House in Tofino’s lucrative restaurant industry.

“In many cases they are not interested; they are more soft-spoken. But there is

absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t see more Indigenous in the front,” said Beeby, adding that Hotel Zed is training their first Indigenous employee as a front desk attendant this month.

“There is a workforce that is untapped and there is a community of people that are looking to make their lives better. People are not talking about this, that’s why it’s not happening,” Beeby re-iterated.

The game changer

At the beginning of March 2025, BC Transit launched a new West Coast bus system connecting residents and visitors of Tofino, Ucluelet, Long Beach, the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ community of hitaću, and the Tla-o-qui-aht communities of Esowista and Ty-histanis.

The transit service runs seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and until 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Quick and Bob, alongside about 375 TFN members, live in the villages of Esowista and Ty-Histanis, located about a 10-minute drive from Tofino.

“Having that transit system is a game changer,” said Beeby. “It’s going to help people without vehicles get to work on time and get back from work at the end of their shift.”

Quick also lived in the village of Opitsaht for 20 years, a TFN community on Meares Island about 10-minutes by boat across the Tofino Inlet.

“I’ve had a business owner tell me they don’t hire Indigenous people because they live in Opitsaht and they’re always late because of boats,” Quick said. In the same breath, Quick lowers his voice and says that same business owner

also asked him, ‘Why does everybody in the nation have to go to a funeral when somebody dies?’

“Our culture is our religion. Grieving and connection to families is important to us,” says Quick.

He thinks if employers invested the same amount of money on hiring and training local First Nations as they did on bringing in “transient people that stay for a few months”, they could find “longtime, loyal 22-year employees” out of the process.

“It’s about putting in the work, you know?” Quick says.

Bob encouraged Nuu-chah-nulth job seekers in Tofino to apply for the job they want.

“Even if a job asks for certain qualifications, it never hurts to apply,” says Bob.

“For the restaurant industry, it doesn’t hurt to start out as a busser and gain some experience. That’s where I started out, as a busser at Sea Shanty, 21 years ago.”

Quick echoes that advice about landing an entry level position first and adds that the key to succeeding is expressing a desire to learn and go further and to “fight the fear of being the only native in the room.”

Bob is currently taking a training program, funded by Hotel Zed, to help him move into a management role. Quick is holding his restaurant gig, even while running a busy barbershop, because he loves the daily gratification of it all.

“It feels good to be able to impact people’s trips and day. That’s what I do it all for.And the money. The money is great,” Quick says.

Nora O’Malley photo

Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation member Joe Bob gracefully waits on dinner guests during his Monday shift at ROAR restaurant.

Stronger than Fentanyl: Drug supply gets more toxic

Nitazine brings an increased risk of drug poisoning, as the synthetic opioid is not detected in Fentanyl testing

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter

Asubstance stronger than Fentanyl has been detected in British Columbia’s unregulated drug supply, prompting an alert in the Northern Health region.

According to a statement issued by the province onApril 3, 2025, Nitazene, a substance stronger than Fentanyl, is surfacing in the unregulated drug supply in B.C.

“Nitazine is a synthetic opioid that is equal to, or more toxic than, fentanyl that cannot be detected on fentanyl test strips. This represents an increased risk of toxic drug poisonings,” health officials said in the statement.

On March 27 the Northern Health region issued a toxic drug advisory, warning substance users to beware of a white pill being sold on the unregulated market known as Oxycocet.

“Northern Health has issued a drug advisory for the Northern Health region.

Around white pill sold as ‘Oxycocet’has tested positive for isotonitazene,” stated the health authority.

They go on to state that Isotonitazene or “Nitazene” is a synthetic opioid that is equal or more toxic than Fentanyl and is not detected on Fentanyl test strips. According to drugfree.org, Nitazine is a powerful lab-made opioid with no approved medical use. Nitazine is about 40 times more potent than Fentanyl and may not show up on standard drug test kits. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that works like morphine but is about 100 times more potent. It is about 50 times more potent than heroin.

Symptoms of a Nitazene overdose

B.C.’s illicit drug supply has become increasingly toxic and unpredictable, according to recent health advisories regarding the presence of Nitazine. Pictured is Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhood inAugust 2024, a local health area that has consistently had the highest rate of fatal overdose in British Columbia. test your substances whenever possible,” the BCCDC advises.

are similar to other opioid overdose symptoms, including breathing that has slowed, is halting, or has stopped. Other overdose symptoms include non-responsiveness, loss of consciousness, pin-point pupils, blue or grey skin, discoloured lips, and/or fingernails.

Naloxone can be used to treat Nitazene overdose. The B.C. Centre for Disease Control encourages substance users, their friends and families to carry naloxone kits, available free of charge at most pharmacies in the province to First Nations people through their health benefits.

“Nitazene is only one of several substances that have been detected in the increasingly toxic and dangerous unregulated drug supply in B.C. It is helpful to

The BCCDC offers harm-reduction advice through their website towardtheheart.com.

To reduce the chance of overdose, substance users should avoid using alone.

“Start low and go slow and if using with a friend, try to alternate use to support one another,” Toward the Heart advises, adding to use in an overdose prevention site when possible and to always carry Naloxone.

Despite public complaints about taxfunded harm reduction services in the communities, the BCCDC says research has shown that harm reduction services not only saves lives but reduces

the spread of disease. Harm reduction services include safe consumption sites, the distribution and disposal of clean supplies like needles, and making Naloxone available.

“Harm reduction aims to keep people safe and minimize death, disease, and injury from high-risk behaviour,” reads the Towards the Heart website.

Harm reduction services also reduces the spread of diseases like HIV and hepatitis. In addition, it can increase referrals to treatment programs and services. Call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number right away if someone overdoses. For more information about harm reduction please visit towardtheheart.com.

Eric Plummer photo

First Nations drug deaths declining, reports FNHA

Officials are pointing to recent statistics as a sign that the province’s harm reduction approaches are working

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

Vancouver, BC - Fewer Indigenous people are dying from drug overdose – but the rate of improvement is less than what the rest of British Columbia is experiencing, according to data released from the First Nations HealthAuthority.

During a presentation onApril 14, the FNHApresented statistics that could be seen as an overdue ray of hope in the province’s toxic drug crisis. Last year 427 First Nations people in B.C. died due to illicit drug use, showing a 6.8 per cent decrease from the 458 lost to overdose in 2023. This news came nine years after the provincial government declared that the opioid crisis was a public health emergency.

SinceApril 2016, more than 16,000 people have died in British Columbia due to illicit drug use, and the issue continues to be the leading cause of death for residents under 60 – more than homicide, suicide and car crashes combined. Fentanyl was detected in 78 per cent of drug deaths last year.

Although the crisis continues to devastate communities across B.C., 2024 brought some encouraging news. The 2,254 fatalities reported by the BC Coroners Service last year represents a 13 per cent decrease from the tally in 2023 – and the lowest numbers since the societal restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic brought a rise in fatal overdoses in 2020. For the first time in years, the average toll even declined to under five deaths a day in November and December 2024. But First Nations people continue to be disproportionally impacted, and the gap

is widening. This portion of the province is now 6.7 times more likely to die from illicit drug use than the rest of the B.C. population, reports the FNHA.

“The is the largest gap we have seen between First Nations and other residents in toxic drug deaths since 2016,” said Dr. Nel Wieman, FNHA’s chief medical officer, during a press conference onApril 14.

The FNHAdata presents some important differences among the First Nations fatalities due to illicit drug use. While males accounted for three quarters of the deaths across the province last year, among First Nations people men comprise 60.7 per cent of fatalities, making Indigenous females 11.6 times more likely to die from illicit drug use than other women in the province.

Fifty per cent of the First Nations deaths were to people under 40, while B.C.’s overall rate for this younger age group is 40 per cent.

The FNHAdata comes more than two

years into British Columbia’s three-year drug decriminalization project. With a Health Canada exemption under the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, people in B.C. are now free of criminal charges if carrying up to 2.5 grams of illicit substances like cocaine, crystal methamphetamine or Fentanyl.

This approach has faced heavy criticism as drug use became legal in public spaces, leading the NDP government to scale back its policy and ban illicit substances on the street and in hospitals last May.As an election approached, the Conservative Party of B.C. accused the government of fostering a “chaotic and permissive” approach to illicit drug use, with “failed ideological experiments”. Led by former Liberal MLAJohn Rustad, support for the Conservatives surged in the October provincial election, where they earned 44 seats in the legislature – within just three of the incumbent NDP.

“The Conservative Part of B.C. will never normalize drug addiction as a life-

style choice: it is a cancer that destroys people, rips families apart and leads to deteriorating communities,” states the party’s platform, which calls for an end to decriminalization.

“Decriminalization was never meant to be an active intervention to save somebody’s life. The whole point of decriminalization was to try to take some of the stigma away from the people who use substances,” said Wieman. “Stories have been shared with us of women who use substances privately because of the fear they have of losing their children or personal supports.”

This stance aligns with the hope amongst front-line workers that by feeling acknowledged and supported, some illicit drug users will eventually seek help to recover. Earl Crow works with the Portland Hotel Society and for the last 25 years has lived in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, an area that has by far the highest fatal overdose rate in B.C.

“We don’t tell people what’s good for them; we ask people, we respect,” he said during the FNHApress conference on April 14. “Part of the work for us is having good ears, just to be able to sit and listen. Not to suggest anything, they just need someone to listen to them.”

Crow also integrates Indigenous culture into his work, often smudging rooms, taking clients to sweat ceremonies in Vancouver or driving them to a Sundance ritual outside of the city.

“Connecting with them is very important in that way,” said Crow. “There’s so many people, we’ve done this for them, it had changed who they are. They woke up.”

Eric Plummer photo

People line up for food in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside inAugust 2024.

Answers into death hinge on coroner investigation

Chantelle Williams, who would have turned 19 on April 14, was an artist who loved to paint, says her family

By Nora O’Malley & Eric Plummer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter & Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

PortAlberni, BC – For the time being, it appears that answers will be hard to come by for those grieving the passing of Chantelle Williams, as a determination of cause of death hinges on a coroner’s investigation with no end date.

The 18-year-old died on Jan.28 after being found unresponsive on a Port Alberni street early in the morning. Two ambulances responded to a report from a passerby that came in at 5:06 a.m., transporting Williams to the West Coast General Hospital in critical condition, states B.C.Ambulance Services.

According to family members, she had been admitted to the hospital the day before for cirrhosis, an alcohol-related liver disease.After being released from the hospital she was taken to her group home, and checked on at 11 p.m., says the family. But a staff member checked again at 1 a.m. when they felt some cold air, only to find the bedroom window open and Williams gone, says her grandfather George Nookemus.

Afew hours later the teenager was found unconscious on IanAvenue, just a few blocks away.

Since her passing George Nookemus has been calling on the spirit of his granddaughter to come visit, but he can’t find her.

When he lost his wife, the same thing happened. Nookemus couldn’t find her for a while, until he went to the site of her car crash.

“They hang around the place where they die and I found her there,” said Nookemus. “When my late wife came to me it felt like someone was pushing my shoulder. She was with my mom and dad and the rest of my family. She was the one talking and the rest were just standing there. It made me feel better and happier.”

He plans to visit the 4900 block of Ian Avenue in PortAlberni, the place where a passerby found Williams’unresponsive body on Jan. 28.

“I might get contact there. I’m going to ask her to come see me and tell her to tell me who she is with,” said Nookemus, a master carver from Huu-ay-aht First Na-

tions territory. “You really put your heart into it and pray. Call them and pray.”

Williams would have celebrated her 19th birthday onApril 14. Her grandfather says she was also an artist who loved to paint.

“She did a native tent, like from Saskatchewan, and the background with mountains. It’s really nice.” said Nookemus over the phone from his home in Anacla. “She got her name signed on it. She used to paint some of the carvings for me when she came down. Like the smaller carvings of hummingbirds and stuff.”

At the time of her death Williams was under the guardianship of Usma Nuuchah-nulth Child and Family Services, and living in a group home run by the Inside Out Care Corporation.

As B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth, Jennifer Charlesworth has a “responsibility to review, and in some cases investigate” the death of a young person in care. But according to provincial legislation, the representative has to wait for one year to allow the B.C. Coroners’Service, the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) and any other public bodies “to complete their mandated reviews”, said Charlesworth in a statement sent to Ha-Shilth-Sa.

“If the BCCS and public bodies have not completed these reviews within one year of a child’s death, and there are no outstanding criminal investigations or court proceedings, then we may proceed to full investigation,” she said.

In the meantime the representative and her staff plan to visit PortAlberni in late

April to meet with service providers.

“We have undertaken an initial review, gathered documentation and spoken with leaders with the agency and the tribal council to both express our condolences for their tragic loss and to learn more about the circumstances surrounding this young person’s life, and death,” continued Charlesworth. “Our aim is to learn more about the challenges facing the community, share patterns that we have discerned within our mandated work and explore ways to better wrap around and support young people who are struggling.”

Usma is a department within the Nuuchah-nulth Tribal Council.

“We feel really bad about this tragedy, it’s awful,” said NTC President Judith Sayers. “It’s just so frustrating that you don’t know.”

Sayers added that the tribal council has been cooperating with the reviews and investigation to find answers into why the 18-year-old died.

“We’re cooperating as much as we can, and everything that we can do we will do,” she said. “We don’t know how long the coroner is going to take, and we’re hoping that MCFD is going to push that to a further conclusion.”

Looking ahead, the Representative for Children and Youth plans to undertake “a comprehensive review of governmentfunded staffed homes to illuminate where gaps in practice and quality of care exist and how we can ensure young people living in these environments are safe and well-supported,” said Charlesworth.

Chantelle Williams

Bail decision expected for man accused of murder

Derian Tate faces a first degree murder charge in the death of Patrick Charleson IV, which occurred in Nitinaht

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter

Nanaimo, BC – Counsel for a Ditidaht man accused of first-degree murder appeared in a Nanaimo courtroom onApril 15. They argued on behalf of 25-yearold father Derian Tate that he should be released on bail with strict conditions.

The Crown prosecutor argued against the application, but with a publication ban in place, few details can be released about the bail hearing.

But there was strong family representation at the courthouse as family members and supporters for both Tate and the victim, 23-year-old Patrick Charleson IV, were there.

According to initial police reports, it was about 7 a.m. on the morning of September 30, 2024, when the Lake Cowichan RCMP were summoned to a home at Nitinaht Lake on the Malachan Indian Reserve. There, they found Patrick Charleson IV, 23, deceased from a gunshot wound.

The community was placed on lockdown while the RCMP called in the Emergency Response Team. Several hours later, 24-year-old Derian Tate was arrested and later charged with firstdegree murder.

The family of Charleson told Ha-ShilthSa that the two young men likely didn’t know each other personally.

At a Hesquiaht-led press conference held in PortAlberni on Oct. 17, 2024, it was disclosed that Patrick Charleson IV, who is known by family and friends as He-Man, was visiting his father, Patrick Charleson III, that weekend. He-Man

of

lived at the Hesquiaht community of Hot Springs Cove.

Known for providing for family and community, He-Man was a fisherman and a hunter. He died just a few weeks before his 24th birthday, which would have been in December. He had close family ties connecting him to Hesquiaht andAhousaht with close family members in PortAlberni. Elected Hesquiaht First Nation Chief Mariah Charleson has said that his death has impacted all Nuu-chahnulth nations.

Tate has close familial ties in both the Ditidaht and Tseshaht communities, where each parent comes from.

Carrying framed photographs of his son, affectionately known as He-Man, Patrick Charleson III was joined by family members from both his home nation of Hesquiaht, and his Ditidaht family, at the bail hearing in Nanaimo.

According to Tina Joseph, common-law wife of Pat Charleson III, more than a dozen Ditidaht residents have approached their chief and council with a request:

“a banishment of Derian, along with his girlfriend,” she wrote in an email to HaShilth-Sa. She went on to say that they are awaiting a response from Ditidaht’s elected chief and council.

The BC Supreme Court Justice heard arguments from the provincial Crown Counsel Jodi Patsch and counsel for Derian Tate. He immediately imposed a publication ban, preventing publication of any evidence presented at the hearing. Adecision on whether or not bail will be granted is expected onApril 16.

Denise Titian photo

Family

Patrick Charleson IV attended the first day of a bail hearing inApril 15 in Nanaimo. Derian Tate is charged with first degree murder for the death of Charleson. Pictured are Joy Charleson (left), Tina Joseph and Patrick 'Man' Charleson

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Justice Council reflects on new strategy

It costs taxpayers $255,889 per year to keep an Indigenous woman incarcerated

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Vancouver Island, BC – The BC First Nations Justice Council (BCFNJC) is hopeful Canada’s new Indigenous Justice Strategy, which was released in March 2025, will advance change and address systemic discrimination and the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the justice system.

BCFNJC chair Kory Wilson said while long-term funding is vital to resolve this issue, it’s the will of everyone in the system that’s needed the most.

“Together we’re stronger,” said Wilson. Wilson stressed the need for everyone to work together to resolve the inherent issues of racism, discrimination and poverty Indigenous People face due to the legacy of colonialism. This encompasses people in the justice system and police forces to the Ministry of Children and Family, the Ministry of Education, teachers and the community workers.

“If you teach somebody and raise somebody to love life, to love learning and to love themselves, what I call the three ‘Ls’, they’re going to be okay. They’re going to be self-determining and unlikely to come in contact with the justice system,” she said.

The new federal Indigenous Justice Strategy complements the BC First Nations Justice Strategy developed in 2020 that charts a path for change with two paths: 1.) reform of the current justice system; and 2.) support First Nations in their restoration of traditional law and legal orders.

Canada’s Indigenous Justice Strategy outlines distinctions-based chapters with set-out priorities for action from First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The First Nations chapter has two paths: 1.) revitalization of First Nations laws and legal systems and 2.) reforming the Canadian criminal justice system.

Provincially, initiatives are already underway when it comes to revitalizing traditional justice systems. In Tla-o-quiaht First Nation (TFN) territory on the west coast of Vancouver Island, circuit court was relocated to Tin Wis Resort and the Wickaninnish Conference Centre, the former site of Christie Residential School, for the remainder of the year.

The move is a significant step for TFN’s local justice system and will “allow the Tla-o-qui-aht Justice committee to actively participate in the sentencing process”, according to a TFN news release. The nation is also in the middle of hiring a restorative justice co-ordinator to play a key role in “weaving together traditional Indigenous practices with the modern legal system.”

Wilson, who is from Kwakwaka’wakw in northern Vancouver Island, emphasized that the goal of both the provincial and federal justice strategies is to move forward and integrate First Nations laws and legal traditions.

“I remember, if we did something wrong as a kid, we would have to go and talk to your aunties and talk to your granny and talk to everybody, and sit there and listen to them while they impart some kind of lessons to you,” she said. “It’s not about being punished and put in jail. It’s about recognizing what you did wrong or the mistake that you made and then making sure that you make it right. It’s finding that balance and that restoration.”

It costs taxpayers $255,889 per year to keep an Indigenous woman incarcerated, according to Public Safety Canada. For men, it costs $146,456 per year.

“If we just simply keep one person out of the system for one year, that’s

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$250,000 that’s saved in the system. People have to keep that in mind and in perspective,” said Wilson.

Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council President Judith Sayers said for Nuu-chahnulth, to ensure peace there was a system in place to deal with people who broke the laws.

“If there was a sexual offender, they would bring them out into the ocean in a canoe without paddles and leave them. If you survived, you survived. Obviously, you couldn’t do that now, but my point is, there were laws in place about how to deal with people who offended,” she said, adding that there were also rules in place around wildlife and fishing.

“Even just coming and asking permission from the Ha’wiih to hunt or fish in his territory. If you didn’t ask that, you broke a law and you were asked to leave and your whole catch was taken away from you,” said Sayers.

When it comes to reforming the Canadian criminal justice system, Wilson prioritized training police officers to carry a more trauma-informed and culturally aware understanding into the field.

“If you’re doing a wellness check, you approach it from a wellness perspective. Do it in a different way that’s more gentle. If it’s wellness, approach with,

‘How am I going to help this person?’,” said Wilson.

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Kory Wilson, chair of the B.C. First Nations Justice Council, is stressing the need for collaboration in response to a new national Indigenous Justice Strategy.

Trump tariffs bring more uncertainly for forestry

With 65 per cent of B.C. lumber going to the U.S., a spike in import duties threatens another blow to industry

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

Vancouver Island, BC - Nuu-chah-nulth nations with a stake in forestry are hoping an industry reliant on exporting to the U.S. won’t suffer another blow due to an unpredictableAmerican president.

The alarm was raised early this month after the U.S. Department of Commerce announced onApril 4 that duties on Canadian softwood lumber would be raised, increasing from 6.74 to 14.38 per cent.

This follows a decision from the U.S. department to increase “anti-dumping” taxes on Canadian wood to 20.07 per cent.

If these duties come into effect later this summer, Canadian lumber will face taxes of 34.45 per cent when entering the American market, according to the B.C. premier’s office.

“This is an attack on forest workers and British Columbians,” said Premier David Eby in a statement, adding that the duties will result in “driving up housing costs forAmericans who voted for a president who promised to lower costs.”

Years into a softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the United States, U.S. tariffs currently sit at 14.4 per cent, but are expected to rise to 34.45 per cent – or higher – by September. The measure follows President Donald Trump’s “America first” agenda that got him elected in November, an approach that pledges to protect theAmerican forest industry.

The U.S. Lumber Coalition is in favour of the duties. Since the U.S.-Canada LumberAgreement expired in 2015, Canada expanded the sale of “below market value” wood toAmerican buyers, states the coalition. This resulted inAmerica’s share of the lumber market declining, mills closing and U.S. jobs being lost.

“Continued full enforcement of the U.S. trade laws is exactly what must happen to create jobs and advance production here at home for a stable, dependable supply of U.S.-made lumber to meet demand and help build theAmerican dream of home ownership,” stated the USLC.

Canadian lumber accounts for 85 per cent ofAmerica’s softwood imports, and comprises almost one quarter of the available supply in the United States.

“Canadian lumber mills receive government subsidies, among them below-market harvesting fees from publicly owned land,” continued the coalition. “Canadian lumber producers unfairly outcompete American producers and dump their unfairly traded softwood lumber in the U.S. market, putting U.S. lumber mills – which, unlike Canadian mills, operate under a free market – at a fundamental competitive disadvantage.”

This references the fact that much of Canadian softwood is harvested from Crown land, while more cutblocks south of the border are privately owned. But the assessment of a disadvantage is inaccurate, argues the BC Lumber Trade Council.

“British Columbia does not subsidize its lumber industry,” stated the council.

“Timber in B.C. is sold through a transparent, market-based system. Claims that B.C.’s system provides an unfair advantage are simply not supported by the facts. [The U.S. Department of] Commerce continues to employ flawed and misleading methodologies, resulting in the higher rates that were announced.”

For those relying on B.C. forestry, any claims that the industry is unfairly subsidized will be hard to swallow. For

equipment stands in

land. The Tseshaht and other First Nation’s rely on revenue from forestry harvesting in its territory. throw another layer on top of that like tariffs...”

decades forestry has been bleeding jobs, with 40,000 fewer positions tied to the industry than in the early 1990s.According to BC Stats, in 2023 there were 49,230 jobs in forestry, showing a 12 per cent decline from the 56,085 tracked a decade earlier.

Meanwhile, by 2023 the province’s annual harvest had dropped to approximately 35 million cubic metres – a low not seen since the early 1960s.

With 65 per cent of B.C.’s lumber exported to the U.S., barriers to the province’s biggest trading partner have some First Nations concerned about the future of the business. For the Tseshaht First Nation, forestry is their No. 1 revenue generator. Through a combination of salvaging, harvest licences, tenures, partnerships and revenue sharing with companies operating in its territory, forestry operations serve as the biggest complement to the First Nation’s government funding. Government funding covers 60-70 per cent of Tseshaht’s operations and services, according to Chief Councillor Ken Watts.

“Forestry is what keeps the lights on for Tseshaht,” he said. “There’s already issues within the industry. It’s already struggling with things like an increased cost to harvest, stumpage rates that the government charges us for our operations, there’s already been struggles. To

South of the border, not all in the industry favour Trump’s protectionist approach. The NationalAssociation of Home Builders estimates that the looming tariffs on Canadian lumber will add $9,200 to the average cost of a home in the U.S. Meanwhile, duties hitting other building materials will causeAmerican homes to cost even more.

“In the long run, tariffs will reduce the availability of building materials, resulting in higher prices,” stated the NAHB. “The president’s global action on tariffs, which will go into effect later this month, means that costs will rise for steel, aluminum, copper, home appliances and scores of other building materials sourced outside of the U.S.”

With the president’s tariffs changing on a daily basis as the stock markets wildly waver in response, LenApedaile is hoping that the confusion will clear in the coming months. He’s the general manager of Tiičma Forestry, which is owned by the Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations.

“It is a very, very challenging situation, the uncertainty,” saidApedaile. “It is going to take us a couple of months before we see a clear view.”

Tiičma manages tenures in Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’and Che:k’tles7et’h’territory on northwest Vancouver Island, selling most of the logs to mills in the Lower Mainland.

“We have to be able to sell logs; this is a very expensive business,” explained Apedaile. “Our costs in our area are

amongst the highest on the coast because of our remote location, barging in and out. We have to have a healthy margin to keep operating. We’re not going to be operating if we’re not going to make any money.”

Even so, Tiičma is looking at growth, following the $10-million acquisition of a forestry tenure from Interfor that was announced last July. This will boost Tiičma’s annual allowable cut by 104,000 cubic metres – far more than what it could harvest in the past.

Tiičma isn’t currently logging, but is in the planning stages of harvesting from the new tenure in early fall - if markets make this viable.

“We’ll be having 50-75 going fairly steadily,” saidApedaile of the workforce required for this harvesting. “Most of those will be contractors, and we’ll be using those contractors to provide opportunities to our citizens.”

Although forestry currently appears to be at a low point with little activity, the general manager remains cautiously optimistic.

“With forestry being cyclical as it is, the optimists figure that we’re going to be climbing out of it if Canada starts building houses - there’s still a lot of demand for house building in the U.S.,” said Apedaile, hoping that a recession won’t disrupt this outlook. “But that all hinges on the big ‘R’word; how much damage theAmericans do to their own economy and whether that ends up impacting that demand, because we will feel all of that as well. You can’t diversity overnight.”

Eric Plummer photo

Forestry

the Nahmint Valley, south of Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island’s vast reserve of Crown forest

David Eby

Meet your federal election candidates

Kris McNichol, Conservative

Kris McNichol is a husband, father, grandfather, a small business owner, and a community leader who knows firsthand what it means to work hard, overcome challenges, and build something real.

Kris is not a career poliÅcian. For over 24 years, he has built businesses from the ground upcreaÅng jobs, providing opportuniÅes, and fighÅng through every economic challenge that has come his way. Kris is commi"ed to standing up for families and businesses in Courtenay-Alberni in O"awa.

Chris Markevich, Green

I’m excited to be running for the federal Green Party in the next elecÅon. For over 10 years, I’ve been working with poliÅcal movements across Canada to help lay out a social democraÅc vision that brings Canadians together and li!s everyone up. A!er spending nearly a decade working and volunteering with the NDP, I knew that I needed to make a change. The challenges facing us in the world today demand bold, radical acÅons on the part of our government. I strongly feel that only the Green Party of Canada can make the case for that change.

Aaron Gunn, Conservative

Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper was unable to reach this candiate for comment

Courtenay – Alberni

Brian Cameron, Liberal

I am a trained and cerÅfied aircra! engineer living in the Comox Valley. I’m a husband to my wife, Clare and father to my 5-month-old daughter, Nel. I’ve lived on Vancouver Island for almost 10 years and have travelled all across the country from coast to coast to coast. I’m running in this elecÅon because I think Mark Carney needs a full term as Canada’s 24th Prime Minister. He’s the right person at the right Åme in this federal elecÅon. I’d like to ask for your vote. I’ll work hard bringing your issues to O"awa and do my absolute best to help Mark Carney make CANADA STRONG by helping make CourtenayAlberni strong.

Gord Johns, NDP

Before elected to Parliament, Gord lived in Nuu-chah-nulth territory in Tofino, serving as a municipal councillor and E.D. of the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. He saw how First NaÅons were being failed by a system that puts profits ahead of people and not geçng a fair share of federal investment in housing and infrastructure. He works Årelessly to bring Indigenous voices to Parliament and has spoken more on Nuu-chah-niulth issues in the House of Commons than any M.P. in the history of Canada.

North Island – Powell River

Jessica Wegg, Green

Jessica is a fierce advocate for human and civil rights and, as a lawyer, she defends those rights against corporate greed and government overreach. She comes from a long line of men and women on both sides of her family who have stood up for Canada and their communiÅes. Jessica is a devoted mother, wife, and friend. She loves to sing and work out. She is a terrible gardener. She lives in Comox with her family.

Jennifer Lash, Liberal

Jen has spent the last 27 years building her career and raising her family in B.C. She is an entrepreneur and the founder of two not-for-profit organizaÅons. Throughout her career, she has worked at the intersecÅon of the economy, conservaÅon, climate change, and reconciliaÅon.

Jen is passionate about helping the communiÅes of North Island–Powell River flourish. She will work to find the best soluÅons and will ensure federal economic and social programs are designed to meet the community’s needs.

Tanille Johnston, NDP

I’m Tanille Johnston, born and raised in Campbell River, and member of the WeWaiKai NaÅon. I am the first First NaÅon member to ever take a seat on Campbell River Council. I work as a Primary Care Manager with the First NaÅons Health Authority. I have my Masters and Undergrad in Social Work and have been a registered Social Worker for over a decade. I have recently been published in my first book and have been involved in poliÅcs for over 15 years and I’m ready to expand my service, commitment and energy to go to bat for North IslandPowell River

Jeff Kibble, Conservative

Declined to participate

Cowichan – Malahat - Langford

Kathleen Code, Green

I have long served my community through numerous non-profit organizaÅons, notably the Ecoforestry InsÅtute Society and Fairy Creek. It was at Fairy Creek that I began to understand the heartbreaking history of Indigenous people and the impact of contact. This, in combinaÅon with my educaÅon (poliÅcal science, psychology, criminology, environment), experience (reÅred from the BC Government as an economic development analyst) and skills (communicaÅons, policy and program management) makes me an ideal candidate to serve the people of Cowichan Malahat Langford.

Housing:

Blair Herbert, Liberal

Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper was unable to reach this candiate for comment

Alistair

MacGregor, NDP

It has been an honour serving as your Member of Parliament since 2015. I’ve served as the NDP Caucus Chair, CriÅcs for JusÅce, Public Safety, Food Price InflaÅon and Agriculture and Agri-Food. I’ve sponsored several bills, including a naÅonal soil conservaÅon strategy, a naÅonal brain injury strategy, and a naÅonal food cooperaÅve strategy. As your MP, I want to inspire your hope for be"er and invite everyone from across the progressive spectrum to join me in this elecÅon.

Over the last decade the cost of renting, buying a house as well as our grocery bills have dramatically increased. What does the government need to do to reverse this trend?

Courtenay – Alberni

Kris McNicol, Conservative

Out-of-control spending and high taxes have driven up the cost of everything.

AConservative government will rein in inflationary deficits, cut the carbon tax, and build more homes by removing gatekeeping barriers—getting shovels in the ground faster and making life more affordable.

Chris Markevich, Green

The Green Party has a plan to address housing affordability as well as tax fairness and the cost of living. We'll use covenants to make sure housing built with public money stays affordable, and close loopholes to stop criminals from using real estate to hide dirty money. We'll also eliminate the unfair tax advantages for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), and stop corporations from buying up single family homes. We will also implement support for local food systems to reduce grocery prices, as well as reduce regulatory barriers for small-scale processors to ensure local producers have access to food processing without corporate gatekeeping.

Brian Cameron, Liberal

AMark Carney-led government will continue implementing the Liberal plan to provide more than $25 billion in financing Canadian builders of pre-fabricated homes and a further $10 billion in low-cost financing and capital to builders of affordable homes. This should be good news for our First Nations in this Riding as well - as your Member of Parliament, I will work hard to help find ways for indigenous communities here on Vancouver Island to participate in this new program from a Liberal government.As a renter with a young family of my own, I particularly want to see rent costs and grocery bills reduced.

Gord Johns, NDP

Everyone deserve a safe, affordable place to call home - and indigenous people have been hardest hit by cuts to federal infrastructure and housing funding. More publicly funded housing needs to be built off-reserve for First Nations people who relocate to PortAlberni, Nanaimo and Victoria for school, work or to be closer to medical services. The NDP forced the government to make the largest investment in on-reserve housing during the last Parliament. But, its not enough and we aren’t done yet. Funding for housing for seniors and young families is especially required without further delay.

The Green Party of Canada has policies to address both the lack of housing and rising grocery bills.

Housing is not a privilege but a basic right. Until a few years ago, housing was relatively affordable, when it was discovered that big corporations were buying up housing stock and making huge profits. The Greens will build millions of affordable houses across Canada, covenanting them so they cannot be sold on the open market, but remain public and affordable. Elimination of taxes on incomes $40,000 and under, along with a Guaranteed Basic Income will provide immediate relief for Canadians.

People in our communities are really struggling with the cost-of-living at a time when corporations have enjoyed record profits.

The NDP plans to address the cost of living with a permanent GST cut and price cap on essentials; legislation to crack down on price gouging, surging, fixing, and shrinkflation; and with fairer taxation on excess profits. It is time for big corporations to pay their fair share. We are also committed to banning corporate landlords from buying affordable housing, fast-tracking and expanding the federal Rental Protection Fund, and helping community-led organizations keep housing affordable.

Cowichan – Malahat - Langford

Kathleen Code, Green

Alistair MacGregor, NDP

Housing:

Over the last decade the cost of renting, buying a house as well as our grocery bills have dramatically increased. What does the government need to do to reverse this trend?

North Island – Powell River

Jennifer Lash, Liberal

Agovernment led by Mark Carney will double housing construction over the next decade, targeting 4 million new homes. We’ll unlock private investment, foster innovation in construction, expand skilled trades training, and cut red tape to accelerate development. To support firsttime home buyers, we’ll eliminate the GST on homes under $1 million. We’ll also champion energy-efficient housing to reduce utility costs. In our community, we’ll partner with Indigenous peoples to improve housing availability, safety, and affordability. We’ll support small and non-profit builders, expand co-op and community housing. This comprehensive strategy will boost supply and create vibrant, inclusive neighborhoods where no one is left behind.

Tanille Johnston, NDP

Jessica Wegg, Green

We need to stop letting private corporations use our food and housing needs – basic human rights! - to make absurd profits for their executives. For housing, Greens will eliminate unfair tax advantages for Real Estate Investment Trusts and stop corporations from buying up single family homes and treating them like stocks to be traded, artificially driving up prices. We will invest in and build more government housing and use covenants to make sure they stay affordable (by which, we mean no more than 30% of a family’s income). For groceries, we will invest more in local infrastructure and community programs.

We know costs are too high in our riding, we need our government to level the playing field. Stop given tax breaks to billionaires and enforce equitable taxation.

As your NDP MP, I will push to:

· STOP giving handouts to big corporations

· REMOVE GST from your cell phone bill and home heating

· CAP costs on essential grocery items to keep your necessities affordable

We need everyone to have a warm, safe and consistent place to call home – because housing is a right. The New Democrats have a plan to create at least 500,000 units of quality, affordable housing in the next ten years, with half completed in the first five years.

As for the rental market, we’re committed to banning corporate landlords and investing in below market housing to open up affordable rentals and make home ownership a reality for the working class.

As your MP, I will advocate to end subsidies and tax breaks to big corporations, and CEOs to put more money in your pocket. We need to cap prices on grocery essentials. It’s time for people to get ahead and stop lining the pockets of billionaires.

Overdose crisis:

First Nations people continue to be impacted by the overdose crisis at an alarming rate, an issue experts have tied to underlying mental health issues. What do you think ISN’T being done do to help this issue?

Courtenay – Alberni

Kris McNicol, Conservative

The current approach has failed. We need to focus on treatment and recovery, not just harm reduction. Conservatives will invest in detox, recovery centers, and mental health supports to give people real hope and a path to healing.

Brian Cameron, Liberal

This is a very important issue for me personally, with many people close to me in my life being impacted and struggling with addiction. It is my personal belief that we need to work closer with our Indigenous communities and their knowledge keepers to find solutions that can combine traditional and modern practices to strengthen our communities for those in need. I also think there is more to be done in investing in treatment centers and health workers for and by indigenous communities. Our Liberal Government included $2 billion health fund for indigenous communities, I would work to expand that if elected. Finally, we can do more to stop the flow of drugs into our communities.

Chris Markevich, Green

Communities want their family members home, but at the same time the approaches sought out have been piecemeal at best. The problem of our times is truly "it takes a village". Governments must find new ways to build supportive communities from the ground up. Right now the system is inadequate, as it is very ‘top-down’and responsibilities are downloaded to provinces and cities. The Green Party believes in empowering First Nations communities by funding restorative justice programs that heal both victims and offenders. We’ll also work towards fixing the justice system that puts far too many Indigenous people in prisons.A national public health emergency must be implemented, in order to activate federal assistance to all communities, as well as bringing mental health care under the federal Canada HealthAct.

Gord Johns, NDP

They are our sons, our sisters, friends, co-workers and neighbours. It is toxic and deadly and Indigenous people are disproportionately affected. It’s a health issue, not criminal. We have to keep them alive to find a path to recovery. When their time comes, detox and treatment must be culturally appropriate, nearby and immediately ready for them. They may need support along the way, housing, counselling, a compassionate ear. Then, we need their help to warn others about their lived experience through prevention, education and talking with kids in their classrooms. We need a national health-based plan that prioritizes Indigenous people.

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Cowichan – Malahat - Langford

Kathleen Code, Green

The opioid crisis must be viewed as a health crisis, not just a prison sentence. It is estimated that 13% of Canadians have an opioid addiction and come from all walks of life and socio-economic levels, not just the streets. The Greens are advocating for a policy of evidence-based wrap-around services to be delivered with care and compassion. This includes proper and affordable housing, counselling and harm reduction with safer supply and safe consumption sites. There is much stigma and contempt for people with substance addictions and we must work to decriminalise the process, leading to better outcomes.

Alistair MacGregor, NDP

No community in Canada has gone untouched from the toxic drug crisis, and we can no longer afford half measures or ideologically motivated approaches to solving it.

This crisis needs to be declared as a national public health emergency to allow for dedicated federal resources to invest in treatment, eliminate wait times for mental health emergencies, support on-demand recovery services, and provide for dedicated mental health support teams that can help people on the street. I would also follow through with my national strategy on brain injuries, which would provide another important legislative framework for dedicated federal mental health resources.

Overdose crisis:

First Nations people continue to be impacted by the overdose crisis at an alarming rate, an issue experts have tied to underlying mental health issues. What do you think ISN’T being done do to help this issue?

North Island – Powell River

Jennifer Lash, Liberal

The current approach to drug addiction is not working. Many of those suffering from mental health and addiction are not getting the help they need. One of the main causes is the lack of supportive housing and treatment facilities, literally leaving people out in the cold. If I am elected, I will advocate for supportive housing that is linked to treatment facilities where underlying mental health issues can be diagnosed and treated.

Jessica Wegg, Green

Access to mental health care is too difficult – there aren’t enough providers, remote and Indigenous communities are particularly underserved, and what care is available can be too expensive for those who need it most. Mental health care is health care and it should be included in our universal public healthcare system, and it must be available everywhere – in our communities, schools, and prisons. This is part of the Green Party’s healthcare platform. (And because we consider mental healthcare to be part and parcel of healthcare generally, see my answer below for more ways the Green Party would address it).

Tanille Johnston, NDP

We’re not truly investing in a community-first approach. It’s been decades and decades of insufficient funding to First Nations-led care initiatives. This leaves major gaps in our communities that fail to address intergenerational trauma, addiction, and the mental health crisis that many of our Nations are in.

Acomplicated credentialing process for Mental Health providers coming to Canada who want to work creates barriers to a potential work force to support us. The defunding of Jordan’s Principle that saw 1000s of First Nations at a loss for access to a counsellor was horrific and has yet to be rectified.

Funding for community-led solutions— like land-based healing and traditional practices—is inconsistent at best, despite their proven effectiveness. Meanwhile, housing and wrap-around social supports critical to recovery remain underfunded, exacerbating vulnerabilities.

We need urgent strategies that prioritize harm reduction, mental health care rooted in culture, and equitable access to housing and health services.

Health care:

One in five British Columbians are without a family doctor while others rely on the emergency department for primary care needs. Give us your best ideas to improve access to primary health care.

Kris McNicol, Conservative

Courtenay – AlberniNorth Island – Powell River

We’ll partner with provinces to fund more doctors, nurses, and incentives for rural health care. We’ll streamline foreign credential recognition so qualified professionals can start working—fast. Better access starts with common-sense solutions and real results.

Gord Johns, NDP

First, restore Liberal and Conservative cuts to provincial and First Nations health.

Second, negotiate Incentives to physicians and other health care professionals to practice in First Nations communities.

Third, increase federal funding for science-based curriculum and incentives for First Nations young people to pursue careers in healthcare.

Fourth, reform patient transportation funding guidelines to allow greater flexibility for family members to accompany patients traveling for care away from their home communities.

Fifth, increase support for training for health care professionals in culturally safe healthcare practices based on the teachings of Elders and Indigenous educators.

Brian Cameron, Liberal In 2023 the Liberal Government budget provided for an additional $198.3 billion over 10 years to focus on reducing backlogs, expanding access to family health services, and ensuring high quality and timely healthcare for all Canadians. That plan included $2 billion for an Indigenous Health Equity Fund that can benefit our Indigenous communities directly. If elected as your MP I will ensure part of that funding is used locally on First Nation territories within our Riding

Chris Markevich, Green

The Green Party has a plan to fundamentally transform healthcare delivery and funding in Canada. Building on our upcoming platform, we will provide stable, long-term funding to provinces and territories. We will train and hire more health care workers to improve access and cut wait times, as well as expand home care and community care. We will invest in public health care instead of allowing for-profit corporations to deliver more services. We’ll also work to expand medicare coverage, to make medicines free for everyone through universal pharmacare. We’ll provide dental care for more Canadians who can’t afford it, and cover mental health care so everyone can get the help they need.

Cowichan – Malahat - Langford

Kathleen Code, Green Best ideas include attractingAmerican doctors and medical professionals who no longer wish to work south of the border. Also, through a free education program, the Greens would train and educate an ongoing stream of medical professionals while caring for those individuals themselves through appropriate staffing levels and a proper work/life balance. We will work with communities to provide incentives to welcome them to rural and remote locations and ensure that culturally appropriate care is in place for Indigenous peoples.

Alistair MacGregor, NDP

Although healthcare is primarily under provincial jurisdiction, we need strong federal leadership to improve access to primary healthcare.

The NDP believes in strengthening the Canada HealthAct to stop privatization and crack down on cash-for care schemes. We want to ensure all Canadians can access a family doctor by 2030 by linking federal healthcare funding to provincial plans to provide access to primary healthcare.

The NDP believes in creating residencies for qualified, internationally trained doctors already living in Canada and implement a pan-Canadian licensure to help medical professionals practice where they are needed across the country.

Jennifer Lash, Liberal Equal access to quality healthcare is a fundamental part of Canada’s identity. While healthcare falls under provincial jurisdiction, we must work closely with the B.C. government to rebuild and modernize our healthcare system. Mark Carney will maintain robust health transfers and protect vital programs like dental care, pharmacare, and mental health support. We’ll invest in technologies that free up time for frontline workers and ensure every Canadian has access to a family doctor.Ahealthy economy supports strong healthcare, and strong healthcare supports a healthy economy.

Jessica Wegg, Green Greens will invest in our healthcare system and provide stable, long-term funding to provinces and territories. Greens will invest in healthcare worker training and compensation and will ensure improved working conditions. We will streamline credential recognition for internationally trained professionals and we will place a strong focus on underserved and rural areas, with stable funding for Indigenous-led health services, mobile health clinics, and expanded home care, community care, and telemedicine. Our goal is simple: a well-funded universal health care system that puts people first, not profits.

Tanille Johnston, NDP

Red tape prevents quick and efficient employment for doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and other health care providers coming to work in Canada. Our lack of focus in this area of enabling these providers is hurting patients.

With the NDP I want to fix this by:

· Equitably Investing in team-based care for First Nations communities.

· Scrapping provincial credential barriers so internationally trained professionals can practice faster.

· Empowering nurse practitioners and nurses to use their full skills—like diagnosing, prescribing, and managing chronic conditions—especially in rural areas through providing them supports that align with those accessible to their physician counter parts.

· Expanding midwifery and primary care teams to reduce ER overcrowding and ensure timely care.

Economy:

Right now, Canada’s sovereignty is being threatened by the U.S. Administration and faces its greatest economic threat in recent years. How does Canada respect the sovereignty of individual First Nations without compromising the greater interests of the country as a whole?

North Island – Powell River

Jennifer Lash, Liberal We need a Prime Minister who will defend Canada from threats to our economy and our sovereignty by building the economy and diversifying our markets. This is a transformational moment for Canada and First Nations must be partners in shaping Canada’s economic future. We can and must pursue national interests while upholding our obligations to Indigenous self-determination.

Jessica Wegg, Green Canada is what we make of it. For too long, this has been steered by a powerful few who truly serve only themselves. The Canada that they’ve built on extraction and exploitation isn’t the Canada that Canadians treasure: a diverse, respectful and peaceful society, that at once knows where it comes from, acknowledges the pain its birth occasioned, and strives to build a future that includes all and avoids repeating the mistakes from the past. Greens acknowledge Indigenous laws and ownership of these lands and commit to always consulting and working with First Nations as we grow together.

Tanille Johnston, NDP Canada's sovereignty is intertwined with that of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. We’ve only begun the journey of reconciliation.An NDP government will continue to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls toAction in partnership with communities. We'll end the 2% funding cap and ensure free, prior, and informed consent for projects impacting Indigenous rights.

We'll partner with First Nations to build sustainable, local economies that honor traditional knowledge that strengthens Canada by closing gaps in housing, clean water, and health care. By expanding culturally safe health services, including midwifery and primary care, we ensure timely access for all. Our vision is a Canada where reconciliation means shared prosperity and defending sovereignty starts with justice.

Courtenay – Alberni

Kris McNicol, Conservative Respecting Indigenous sovereignty means meaningful partnerships, not topdown control. We must protect Canada’s national interests—like resource development and trade—while working with First Nations to ensure shared prosperity and mutual respect.

Chris Markevich, Green Blanket colonialism cannot be allowed to continue.As Greens, we acknowledge Indigenous law and ownership of these land and prioritize consensus seeking and building, consultation and long term thinking. Key to our principles is that of self determination.As we fight for the future of Canada, we must uphold and live up to the values that define us as Canadians, and those include the search for a stronger relationship to the ancestral custodians of the lands that now give us shelter, food and belonging. There is no future for Canada without a strong alignment between our values and actions. This is why we commit to always consulting with First Nations on matters of national interest and ensuring that they have a seat at the table and are kept abreast of the various developments related to domestic security.

Brian Cameron, Liberal AMark Carney-led government will continue with the Liberal track record of leadership on overall reconciliation with First Nations across Canada. It is my hope that I can visit all local First Nations within the Courtenay-Alberni Riding as a priority should I become the Member of Parliament to personally commit to respect this sovereignty.

Gord Johns, NDP

Canada’s strength in the face of U.S. economic threats must be grounded in justice and reconciliation. Respecting First Nations sovereignty isn’t a barrier to national interest--it's essential to it. True nation to nation relationships mean shared decision making, not token consultation. Indigenous rights must be upheld in trade, resource and economic policy. When Canada honours its commitments to First Nations we build a more united country, one that leads with integrity on the global stage. I will keep fighting for Indigenous sovereignty as a core part of building an economy that works for everyone, not just the powerful few.

Cowichan – Malahat - Langford

Kathleen Code, Green

When it comes to tariffs, we are all in this together. The Greens would welcome an opportunity to consult with Indigenous leaders to learn about concerns, impacts and possible remedies. Forestry, mineral extraction, and environmental concerns would be top of mind and we will be opposing any new or expanded oil and gas facilities in favour of community and renewable energy resources. The Greens are proposing a Federal Strategic Reserve which would stockpile and then use resources such as lumber, steel and aluminum for domestic and First Nations use (ie home building) where mutually agreed and culturally appropriate.

Alistair MacGregor, NDP

Like many in our communities, I have felt betrayed by a country that was supposed to be one of our closest friends and allies. We must fight back using every tool that we can, ensuring workers, industry, and small businesses are looked after in every part of our country, including Indigenous communities. The interests of Canada and the sovereignty of First Nations are not mutually exclusive, as it is true that well-resourced Indigenous governance adds strength to Canada’s overall resilience and resolve. An effective response to the threat will require all levels of government, industry, and business to work together.

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Pronounced ‘Hii nin alt ish clue pitch hir qwaa case picks his saw cuu chumas pools', it means ‘Here comes spring, when all the flowers are blooming and the air smells sweet.’Supplied by ciisma

Illustration by Maddexx george

Courtenay-Alberni election candidates present views

Kris McNichol of the Conservative Party declined to participate in the event, which brought six candidates

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

With the federal election less than two weeks away, candidates for the Courtenay-Alberni riding came to PortAlberni’s RimRock Casino to present their views before an audience of hundreds.

The event was hosted by theAlberni Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Alberni Valley Transition Towns Society, providing voters a chance to hear candidates answer questions submitted from the audience. Present for the event was Brian Cameron from the Liberal Party, the NDP’s Gord Johns, who has represented the local region in Ottawa for the last decade, Chris Markevich from the Greens, Thomas Gamble of the People’s Party of Canada, theAnimal Protection Party’s Teresa Knight and Jesse Musial of the Christian Heritage Party of Canada. Conservative candidate Kris McNichol declined to participate in the event.

Speaking times were tightly controlled, with two minutes for each candidate to respond to questions. Topics addressed

included the rights of trans people, the doctor shortage, criminalizing residential school denialism, the government’s

implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, abortion rights, benefits for se-

niors and the temporary foreign workers program.eritage PArty of CanaPaty Canada’s federal election isApril 28.

Eric Plummer photos

NDPcandidate Gord Johns speaks to a packed room at PortAlberni's casino onApril 15.Also present at the election event were Thomas Gamble (below left), Chris Markevich, Brian Cameron, Teresa Knight and Jesse Musial.

Employers face high need for staff in PA & west coast

Despite continued decline of forestry, western Vancouver Island has more jobs than ever in post-COVID market

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

PortAlberni, BC -After years of pushing to get trained in a specialization that she deeply believes in, Darci Doiron is finally starting to find her niche in the workforce.

The 34-year-old Tseshaht member is currently halfway through gaining practicum hours needed to become a certified yoga therapy instructor, while also using her expertise to work at the Kackaamin Family Development Centre in Port Alberni. Six years into her own sobriety, it’s a practice Doiron has used to find her own healthy balance.

“If you have addictions, you’re trying to escape,” explained Doiron. “I didn’t want to be with myself with these feelings, so I would escape through alcohol or marijuana or whatever it may be.”

Yoga enabled Doiron to learn how to sit with herself, something she believes can benefit others by honing the ability to understand internal body signals.

“We have the power to regulate our nervous system,” she said. “Yoga increases interoceptive awareness. That’s this internal awareness of what’s happening emotionally, mentally, physically. It’s a holistic practice that has helped me with grounding and coping.”

As the overdose crisis rages on, this could be particularly beneficial to First Nations, who face a fatality rate six times that of the rest of British Columbia’s population, according to the First Nations HealthAuthority. Last September the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council declared a state of emergency due to the opioid crisis and its underlying mental health issues.

Doiron has already applied her training to First Nations, and foresees yoga therapy being applicable to a range of issues, from youth suicide prevention to managing chronic pain and treating intergenerational trauma.

10

“I went out into a more remote Indigenous community and taught them nervous system regulation, breathing techniques, cortisol reduction, things like that,” she said. “When you have chronic pain there’s a constant holding pattern. Yoga will address those holding patterns and start to send different signals to the brain at the same time that the chronic pain is coming down.”

OnApril 10 Doiron shared how her career journey has progressed to the crowd at a job fair at theAlberniAthletic Hall, which was hosted by the Nuu-chah-nulth Employment and Training Program.After years of attempts, she got funding for a two-year yoga therapy program, which became available online after the pandemic. NETP paid for half of her school-

to get back into the job market…Rent is really high, food and gas too.”

Career options appear to be growing, despite the continued decline of Port Alberni’s forestry industry. Built on a reputation as a mill town, the city has been hit with major manufacturing facilities closing in recent years. Hundreds have been left out of work from the 2022 shutdown of theAlberni Pacific Division sawmill and the San Group’s mill closure south of the city last year.

Despite these closures hitting the historically foundational forestry industry, jobs keep coming up in PortAlberni. In March of this year theAlberni Valley Employment Centre posted 130 per cent more jobs than it had in March 2019. Sales and service comprised almost half of these jobs, which entails retail, cleaning, hospitality, serving and cooking occupations.

As the employment centre’s manager, in 2018 Bill Brown started seeing the local job market “tightening up”, as employers had trouble filling positions.After the lull of the pandemic, this need for workers intensified.

ing cost, the other portion covered by the Tseshaht First Nation.

“By the fourth time I applied for the same thing they saw my file, how many times I was applying for this,” said Doiron, who also benefitted by the school charging her half the cost of the course due to her being an Indigenous student. “I’m a single parent as well, so having the ability to do it online was something that appealed to me.”

The need that Doiron is tapping into is part of an ongoing demand in the region for health-related specialists, with nurses, care aids and mental health support topping the list of in-demand industries. This is particularly the case in Port Alberni, where more than one third of the 331 jobs advertised in March came from Island Health, according to theAlberni Valley Employment Centre’s listings.

Construction and building maintenance are also in high demand in the city, says NETP Manager Melanie Cranmer, as is early childhood education. While working with clients, her department encourages them to focus on how training and jobs can lead to their long-term career goals.

“What are their interests? What are the things that get them going and wanting to see themselves in five years?” said Cranmer. “We always make sure that we’re fitting them to the goal that they would like.”

NETP has also seen more elders come through their doors looking to re-enter the workforce, as daily costs increase beyond what a pension can shoulder.

“Elders are really suffering with their rate of CPP,” said Cranmer. “They want

“Businesses had survived on grants and loans for a while, and there was all this pent-up energy to get the economy going again,” he said. “Job demand skyrocketed. That skyrocketing effect from the pandemic was heightened by the fact that older people were retiring from the workforce at a more rapid rate.”

Brown has seen newcomers help to diversify the city’s economy by opening up new businesses. Examples in the last five years are two breweries that have opened in PortAlberni, new bakeries across the street from each other onArgyle Street, as well as the more upscale Brie & Barrel andAntidote restaurants.

“Some of these local businesses that are opening recently, they’re people who have come from someplace else. They see an opportunity here that perhaps we don’t even recognize ourselves,” observed Brown. “Our economy is bringing in, somehow, more people that are looking for larger city-style amenities, and the market seems to be providing those.”

TheAlberni Valley Employment Centre also serves the west coast communities of Tofino and Ucluelet, where companies are undergoing a hiring blitz. In March the employment centre listed 345 jobs for these small towns - more than PortAlberni and three times the number of jobs listed for Tofino and Ucluelet in March 2019.

“The west coast, they went through those ups and downs through the pandemic, and they realized they were caught short-handed when a boom of tourists showed up that they didn’t expect,” said Brown. “I think they’re gambling that the Canadian tourists who usually go south are going to displace theAmerican tourists.”

Eric Plummer photo

OnApril

Darci Doiron shared her path in yoga therapy at a career fair hosted by the Nuu-chah-nulth Employment and Training Program at theAlberniAthletic Hall.

Queer language words celebrated at storytelling event

Using ancestral language, Nicki McCarthy shared her version of the Two-Spirit Nuu-chah-nulth creation story

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, B.C. – Ten years ago, Hesquiaht First Nation and Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ elder Nicki Love McCarthy asked Nuu-chah-nulth knowledge keepers if they knew of any words that described queerness.

Through a flurry of texts, emails and Facebook messages, the knowledge keepers were able to bring these words forward, and McCarthy generously shared them during a Sunday,April 13 afternoon presentation in the Sičquuʔuƛ (Sitch – KHOO – ootl) Theatre in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve’s Kwisitis Visitor Centre.

Sičquuʔuƛ is the late Barbara Touchie’s Nuu-chah-nulth name and means “a dorsal fin coming around a point of land”. Touchie was dedicated to revitalizing Nuu-chah-nulth language and culture.

Parks Canada renamed the theater after her in 2016.

“I’m very grateful for the language people. Our words are so beautiful and very concise and very direct,” said McCarthy, who describes herself as a new kind of elder, poet, writer and researcher, committed to redistributing ancestral teachings in a contemporary society.

She is also the central regional coordinator for the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council’s Teechuktl Mental Health Services.

“Barbara was a great, beautiful human and storyteller. She said that if we can learn the international phonetics, we can speak the language,” said McCarthy.

“That was a big shift, I think.As I say, becoming of the language, we have to learn to read it so that we can speak it.”

She thanked all the grannies, with a particular tribute to her Granny Louise McCarthy, the lady who never forgot anything, for being the best knowledge carriers of all.

With only a handful of fluent speakers left, Nuu-chah-nulth is a language on the brink.

“But fortunately, we have folks that are bringing it back and keeping it alive,” said McCarthy.

Supported by the Coastal QueerAlliance and the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust, McCarthy’s talk on Nuu-chah-nulth queer language included a special tale of the Two-Spirit creation story.

McCarthy said she wrote the Two-Spirit creation story herself because other than a story from the Ojibwe area about warriors dancing around the trans women to win their love before going to war, there

was no other story out there.

“Long after I turn to dust, I want to leave something behind, and I’m hoping that this story stays,” she told the audience before telling her Two-Spirit himwica (gentle way of teaching).

One version of the story tells a time before light. A dark time, which light was kept secretly in a hoopaquinum guarded by the great Chief. The Chief of all Chiefs. Raven heard of this light, as they like shiny things, and wanted the light and attempted many times, trying to release it but failed.

One day, he had a new idea. He transformed himself into an Indian tea leaf and put himself in a small food box of the great Chiefs’ daughter. She ate the tea leaf and in due time gave birth to Son of Raven.

The reborn Raven asked his new now grandfather, the great Chief, to see the light in the hoopaquinum. The great Chief eventually agreed and opened the box, showing the light.

Son of Raven transformed himself once again, this time back into Raven. He stole the light and he bit down hard on it not knowing a large piece of light fell off and back down into the hoopaquinum.

- 7:00 am - 10:00 pm

Raven flew high into the sky carrying the light with him, creating the sun that shines down on us today.

The great Chief saw the large piece of light left behind in the hoopaquinum nestled between his dancing shawl and his whale bone war club, he asked the light, ‘What do you want to be?’

The light wanted to be human and picked up the essence of the dancing shawl and the war club. So the great Chief transformed the light into the first Two-Spirit Nuu-chah-nulth.

“Living in each and every Two-Spirit Nuu-chah-nulth today is that light,” McCarthy continued. “So be that light and shine on to the world. Let them see how bright you are within your community. I need you here. Our queer people need you here. I thank you for shining your light onto others. I thank you for shining the best parts of you. For my queer folk, you are the greatest act of human love that you are here.”

After McCarthy’s talk, participants were invited to hold and ask questions about whale bones she carved to resemble traditional tools found pre-contact. McCarthy also showcased an orca tooth necklace, eagle feather fans, fox tails and salmon fish skin leathers, which she wants to turn into a dress.

Hesquiaht Two-Spirit artist Naasʔi ʔawatin led the group in a screen printing workshop following McCarthy’s redistribution of queer language knowledge.

Naasʔi ʔawatin said their design was inspired by McCarthy’s personal logo and represents Two-Spirit, with two faces topped with an orca fin, wolf and eagle.

“The animals guide in our culture, the wolf is usually a guardian spirit. It changes obviously nation to nation. The eagle is a guide, high above seeing the world, and the orca whale is the holder of ancestral wisdom,” they explained.

Queer folk in the Nuu-chah-nulth community were traditionally name givers, according to McCarthy. Two-Spirits would settle disputes and were often called Uuštukyuu (pronounced ooshtuck-uu), meaning ‘someone who can see things that other people can’t’.

Here is the list of Nuu-chah-nulth queer language words McCarthy shared, noting that she respectively acknowledges regional dialects of the words and language is never static, but always becoming.

ʔaƛac̓u (Two-Spirited):Aterm representing the blending of masculine and feminine energies.

łuučuk (More Like a Lady):Arespectful acknowledgment of femininity.

čakupšiƛ- (Became a Man): Referring to gender transformation.

łuucmackʷi - (Was a Woman): Recognizing feminine identity.

kʷissuuqƛ (Queer, Non-Hetero-Normative)Affirming diverse sexual orientations and gender expressions

Nora O'Malley photo

Nicki McCarthy shows her whale bone carvings during anApril 13 presentation on Nuu-chah-nulth queer language words.

Victoria gallery showcases the life of Tseshaht artist

Retrospective delves into societal impact of George Clutesi, complemented with works inspired by his legacy

By Olivia Thomas Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor

Victoria, BC –An exhibition celebrating the life and legacy of Tseshaht artist, writer, and cultural leader George Clutesi is set to officially open this month at the University of Victoria’s LegacyArt Gallery. Building on the acclaimed exhibit held at theAlberni Valley Museum in 2023, this new presentation expands the narrative to include never-before-seen works, intergenerational reflections, and contemporary artistic responses from across the Nuu-chah-nulth world.

While the PortAlberni exhibit centered on Clutesi’s role as a cultural leader within his community, the UVic retrospective broadens the lens, highlighting his contributions to art, literature, and cultural resilience. Dr.Andrea Walsh, an associate professor and Smyth chair in Arts and Engagement in UVic’s Department ofAnthropology, has helped curate this ambitious exhibition.

“We didn’t attempt to cover his entire life—we don’t dive deeply into his amazing movie career or his work as an advocate and political figure,” Walsh explains.

“Instead, we focus on his contributions to art, and the ways in which his artwork intersected with human rights and cultural policy.”

The exhibit includes pieces from multiple institutions across British Columbia, including UVic, UBC, the Royal BC Museum, and theAlberni Valley Museum. It also showcases art brought in by members of the public from private collections, as well as deeply personal items from the Clutesi family—ranging from large-scale oil paintings to the original manuscript of his iconic book Potlatch.

“What makes this exhibit unique is the presence of the Clutesi family’s own contributions—art their father and grandfather created, and items that reflect his influence and humanity,” says Walsh. Clutesi, who rose to national and international recognition through his art and writing, including his participation in Expo 67, remains a towering figure in the history of Indigenous cultural expression in Canada. Yet his most profound legacy, Walsh says, may lie in the personal connections and inspiration he sparked in others.

“It’s an interesting show because it also reflects the people he impacted,” she notes. “His art has been valued through time, by Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences alike.”

The retrospective includes artwork spanning from the 1920s to the present, showcasing the arc of Clutesi’s creative output alongside new pieces by emerging and established Nuu-chah-nulth artists.

Among these are works by UVic-based Nuu-chah-nulth scholars and artists who were asked to read Clutesi’s writing and respond creatively. Walsh says that Ehattesaht scholar Dr. Dawn Smith created a hand-made shawl in tribute, while Huuay-aht scholar, Dr. Tommy Happynook, contributed a series of painted drums inscribed with a poem to Clutesi.

“This is a show that is retrospective and grounded in historical work, but it also branches out into the present,” says Walsh. “It’s about legacy, influence, and intergenerational connection.”

Aparticularly moving component of the exhibit is a new documentary film created in collaboration with survivors of theAlberni Indian Residential School (IRS), where Clutesi once worked as a custodian. For over 13 years, Walsh and

Storm, an oil painting completed in 1959, is

ria's LegacyArt Gallery this month. The show runsApril 16 - July 26 at 630 Yates St. her team have partnered with survivors and their families to repatriate artwork created by children at the IRS. In the film, survivors reflect on their memories of Clutesi not just as an artist, but as a source of quiet strength and comfort during an era of profound trauma.

MarkAtleo, a survivor ofAlberni IRS who contributed to the documentary, recalls Clutesi’s gentleness and cultural knowledge.

“He was very knowledgeable in our culture—he taught lots of songs, different stories,”Atleo remembers. “He was a custodian, and he gave us a way to stay out of the way of the supervisors. He was very patient with teaching art. It was different art than mine, but I really enjoyed watching and listening.”

The exhibit also features rare archival materials, including a signed copy of Potlatch Clutesi gave to a student named RobertAllard, yet another trace of the personal bonds he formed with the children he worked with and mentored.

Ultimately, the UVic art exhibition is more than a gallery display; it is a living testimony to the enduring power of cultural leadership, artistic expression, and community memory. Through original works, oral histories, and the voices of new generations, the exhibition honours Clutesi not only as a foundational figure in Nuu-chah-nulth art, but as a compassionate presence who left a profound mark on all who encountered him.

“George Clutesi was inspirational,” Atleo says. “He was connected to our people, and he gave a lot to us.”

“He changed life for our people. He is the one who got the potlatch ban lifted. Everything he did, he only did to change the future for his grandchildren,” said family spokespersonAnn Robinson. “We know everything is connected and Uncle George knew how to teach that, he was a writer, an actor, a dancer, a singer, a historian. He was one of the anchors of

our people.”

According to Robinson, this marks the third time the exhibit has been showcased; first in PortAlberni, where it ran for two years, followed by a year-long display at the Bill Reid Gallery. It is now set to open at the University of Victoria, with a soft opening having occurred onApril 15, 2025. Participating artists include Hjalmer Wenstob (Tla-oquiaht), Timmy Masso (Tla-o-quiaht), Marika Swan (Tla-o-quiaht), and Petrina Dezall (Mowachaht/Muchalaht). Partici-

pating University of Victoria scholars are Dr. Dawn Smith (Ehattesaht) and Dr. Tommy Happynook (Huu-ay-aht). The exhibit will be open to the public as ofApril 16th at 10AM. The gallery hours are Wednesday to Saturday 10-4 PM. The gallery is free to the public. The Legacy will have an official opening for this exhibit on the day of May 8, 2025, from 1-3 PM, and this event is also free and open to the public. The LegacyArt Gallery is located at 630 Yates St. in Victoria.

University of Victoria photo

The

among the works by George Clutesi on display at the University of Victo-

Hello everyone. Hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying warmer weather and the new growth all around. Sending heartfelt condolences to those families, friends and communities that have had a loss.

It has been a busy month with lots of work and meetings. I attended the two-day First Nation Climate Change conference. Dr. David Suzuki was one of the guest speakers. There was a lot of technical information being presented by professors. It was a good conference with breakout groups. One of the professors presented on the role of forests in flooding. How forests have always had a role in preventing flooding. But with forestry practices the way they are now, such practices means more flooding. This professor had to fight passionately for people to believe this. Yet we in our communities have always known that the clearcuts and taking of forests allow more water down the mountains quickly with nothing to hold back the water. I had never realized that if the world can become net zero, that means that it is from the point that we are at. We cannot go back. Summary of climate projections for B.C. included

• Warmer winters and few days below freezing

• Hotter summer days and more frequent and intense heat waves

• Less rainfall and longer dry spells in the summer

• More precipitation in the fall, winter and spring

• Wet days become wetter

NTC had a meeting with the province, Indigenous Service Canada, Island Health and the First Nations HealthAuthority on the NTC state of emergency on toxic drugs and mental health. Three of our Nations attended and were able to report on what they have been able to do in their communities and where they are still lacking resources. We were funded to hold a summit where our nations can come together and prioritize recommended actions and put them into a strategic plan. Then we go back to the governments for the money for implementation.

TheAlignment Summit is set for May 20-22nd. We committed to regular meetings and a meeting before the summit so we can be informed on B.C. resources prior to the summit and then right after to report on our needs. The Representative for Children and Youth will be coming to work with Usma and the directors will be meeting with her. She has been doing work on the effects of the toxic drug and mental health crisis on our children and we will be collaborating with her and letting her know the Nuu-chah-nulth situation. We continue to advocate for more political support and resources for all of our communities. B.C. called a state of emergency 10 years ago, and how much has been accomplished? We need to act quickly as we all face the loss of so many lives to this crisis.

I also attended the First Nations Summit. The Task Group gave very comprehensive reports as they are involved in many things. The Minister of State for Trade Jagrup Brar, Premier David Eby and Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Christine Boyle all made virtual presentations and answered questions. There was a lot of talk over how long it is taking to conclude final agreements. K’omoks and Kitselas have approved theirs. With B.C. in such budget crisis there will likely be less resources to work with, including a hiring freeze and less ability to populate tables. It has

been 20 years since the leadership accord. That is when the three organizations in this province, the First Nations Summit, the BCAssembly of First Nations and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, decided to work together in a unified way to advance the rights and title of First Nations. Much has been accomplished and much more work needs to be done. When you have all the leaders speaking about the same things, we are much stronger. Motions were passed to ensure that First Nations are included in talks about the trades and tariffs and impacts on our rights. Canada and B.C. are looking at fast tracking developments and this cannot impact First Nations territories in a way where our rights may be taken away. Other motions were about water and housing and infrastructure, mining, emergency services, the rising costs of living, the systemic racism in policing and supporting the establishment of a National Children’s Commission.As you can see, there are many issues addressed at these meetings. The federal election is at the end of the month. I know voting in elections can be a hard thing, but it is these governments who make the laws and policies we have to live with and they set the budgets for our funding. So ensuring we have a government that will prioritize our rights and title is important. In theAlberni riding Gord Johns has always worked hard for the Nuu-chah-nulth. On the other hand, having Pierre Poilievre as Prime Minister would be a disaster for First Nations people. If you watch the news or follow Canadian politics you will know he would not be prioritizing any of our issues.

I still continue to work on the Heritage ConservationAct transformation process. We are working on an amended act that can protect our heritage sites and objects, with joint decision making as envisioned in United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Engagements will be starting in May on the foundation for an amended Heritage ConservationAct. Hopefully looking at legislation next fall if we get what First Nations want.

I also continue to work on justice and policing Issues. Had a meeting with the Assistant Commissioner John Brewer and got updates on body worn cameras and policy changes. We are going to work on a communications protocol so we are kept informed and involved with what is happening with the RCMP. This work is being done with the B.C. First Nations Justice Council.

I look forward to reporting to you next month on all the issues I work on that affect Nuu-chah-nulth-aht in our lives and communities.

Cloy-e-iis

Judith Sayers

Nurturing our roots

Every Wednesday

4841 Redford Street

Every Wednesday 1:30pm – 3:00pm Drop-In.Asafe space for parents and their young children to learn Nuu-chahnulth culture and language through storytelling, songs, and connection. Join our supportive group in a relaxed environment where you can connect with others without any pressure. Share your experiences and make new friends while we create a space of acceptance and understanding. For more information contact Fanifau @ 250-724-3939

NTC Haahuupa with Cherie Elliot

April 9th, 22nd, 28th

4841 Redford Street, PortAlberni, BC

1:30pm to 3:30pm Everyone Welcome

Cultural Brushings

April 14th

4841 Redford Street, 5th avenue entrance, PortAlberni, BC

1:30 – 3:30pm NTC Health Department presents Cultural Brushings with Lee Lucas

Driver's LTraining

April 25th

President’s Message &Community Beyond

4090 9thAve.PortAlberni, BC

9:00am to 3:30pm. Call the NETP office to register 250-7231331, seats are limited.

NTC Men’s Group with Lee Lucas and Richard Watts

April 29th

4841 Redford Street, PortAlberni, BC

1:30pm to 3:30pm Snacks and drinks provided

Second annual Tseshaht Lightning Open Basketball Tournament

May 16th to 19th

PortAlberni, BC

Senior Mens, senior womens, U17 boys, U17 girl, U13 boys and U13 girls teams. There will be awards, a dance and lahal halls. Live streamed on hashilthsa.com. All vendors are welcome. Location details to come.

Annual Yuquot Camp-Out

July 27th toAugust 10th

Dates are set; I am taking names for U-chuck, friendly reminder MMFN members are top priority on the list. Email names to recreation@yuquot.ca

25 Years Ago in Ha-Shilth-Sa

Vol. 27 – No. 8April 20, 2000

Tseshaht fisheries technicians Lanny Ross and Herman Watts count the previous night’s catch in the screw trap

Tseshaht helps DFO see into future

In February 2000, two rotary screw traps were anchored above Paper Mill Dam on the Somass River. These traps received daily counts and cleaning by Fishery Technicians Lanny Ross and Herman Watts.

“The information we’re collecting here gives us knowledge about what’s coming back to the river, and helps both DFO and the First Nations,” said Lanny Ross, who along with Herman would count 14,000 fry in a week.

Data collected was sent to Jim Lane, Southern Region biologist, then on to

DFO and finally the Tseshaht First Nation. This project helped both the DFO through the collected data, and the local First Nations as they learned research techniques and actively participated in the stock assessment. Throughout the Nuu-chah-nulth territories rotary screw traps are also used on the Henderson River, and the Gold River. Data collected was invaluable to the management strategies of the salmon stock and enabled new strategies to be implemented to ensure the growth of salmon runs for future generations.

Employment and Training

Port Alberni Friendship Centre

Volunteers Needed

Need work experience? The Port Alberni Friendship Centre is looking for interested applicants for various positions. Call 250-723-8281

Herring rebound will be limited by marine mammals

The commercial harvest increased this year, but Tseshaht remain ‘beggars’ for the time-honoured local resource

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

Recent data on Pacific herring presents encouraging indications of a rebound, but there’s currently too many marine mammals eating the small fish for the species to return to what was seen decades ago, according to a study presented to Nuuchah-nulth leaders.

Jim Lane, Uu-a-thluk’s acting program manager, gave a presentation on the fouryear herring predation project to the Nuuchah-nulth Council of Ha’wiih Forum on Fisheries in February. Funded by the B.C. Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund, the study was jointly conducted by Landmark Fisheries Research, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council’s Ua-a-thluk department.

Data shows a dramatic increase in the populations of steller sea lions and harbour seals on the B.C. coast since hunting the animals was banned in the late 1960s. Sea lions on the west coast of Vancouver Island dropped to less than 2,500 in the mid 1960s, but their population has steadily grown to over 10,000. British Columbia’s harbour seals also declined to approximately 5,000 in the late ‘60s, but after the hunting ban numbers surged to over 10,000 by the ‘90s, a level that has remained stable since.

“Those populations have increased almost exponentially,” said Lane of the pinnipeds.

Pacific hake also prey upon herring, but the population of this fish has fluctuated in the region since 1970.

“When water temperatures are cool, there’s less hake that migrate in,” explained Lane. “When water temperatures are warmer, we get a lot more hake migrating into the west coast of Vancouver Island. When it’s really warm they go all the way to Haida Gwaii.”

Meanwhile, the number of humpback whales off the B.C. coast has risen sharply since the 1990s, growing from approximately 2,000 to 5,000 over the last three decades.An estimated 13 per cent of this population is feeding off the west coast of Vancouver Island, where humpbacks comprise 70 per cent of herring predation, according to the study.

“Humpbacks are so large, their consumption of herring proportional to those other predators – even hake – outweighs them in their impacts,” said Lane.

The Biologist also noted that there are far fewer older herring in Nuu-chah-nulth territory than 40 or 50 years ago.

“That might be to do with preferential animals such as humpback whales and others eating the older herring as opposed to the younger herring,” he said.

Humpback whales account for 70 per cent of the herring

four-year study funded by the B.C. Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund.

Calculations into herring biomass show the species peaking in 1975 at over 200,000 tonnes off the west coast of Vancouver Island – a number that declined to under 50,000 in the mid 2000s. In recent years the biomass had increased, growing from under 15,000 tonnes in 2015 to 65,500 last year in the region.

But so has the amount of herring getting eaten by humpback whales and other predators, and this is why Lane doesn’t expect that the species will return to the volume that fed coastal fisheries in the 1970s.

“There’s just too much mortality from predation that didn’t exist back then,” he said. “Predator consumption is approaching total biomass that’s being produced. There’s a lot of herring being reproduced - so the recruitment is really good- but they’re getting eaten at a fairly high rate. That really affects rebuilding and what you can expect from rebuilding.”

Harvest quota increases in 2025

This spring herring fisheries across the West Coast are wrapping up, after enjoying a season with an increased catch quota and new harvest opportunities. In recent years the Strait of Georgia has been the only region to consistently host a commercial seine and gillnet herring fishery, where the catch quota increased from 10 per cent of the species’estimated biomass last year to 14 per cent in 2025.

This fishery was open March 5 -14, with a maximum harvest of 11,600 tonnes.

With the intent of catching female herring while they are full of eggs, smaller commercial seine and gillnet fisheries also took place off the central B.C. coast and near Prince Rupert, with respective harvest rates of 4.7 and five per cent. Some groups see the commercial herring fishery as an unsustainable activity that threatens the species’ability to rebuild, including WSÁNEĆ hereditary chiefs, who in November demanded an immediate moratorium on the catch due to the fragility of stocks.

In an email to Ha-Shilth-Sa, Fisheries and Oceans Canada contends that this year’s harvest numbers follow “precautionary approaches that support the longterm conservation of stocks” that are based on “peer-reviewed science advice”. Herring are considered a keystone species for the B.C. coast, making up a significant portion of the diet of salmon that many First Nations consider foundational to their ancestral culture and health. For two decades Nuu-chah-nulth have opposed a commercial herring fishery on the west coast of Vancouver Island, but this year a commercial spawn-on-kelp harvest took place. DFO expected that the commercial harvest of herring roe (eggs) on kelp would remove just 1.3 per cent of the region’s biomass, an activity that occurred with the approval of the Nuu-chah-nulth fisheries forum.

“Recent research indicates 78 per cent of the herring used in a closed [spawnon-kelp] operation survive, compared to 0 per cent in seine and gillnet fisheries,” wrote Wickaninnish, CliffAtleo, chair of the Council of Ha’wiih, in a letter to

DFO in November.

Even still, not enough herring have returned to Barkley Sound for Tseshaht members to enjoy siiḥmuu, herring eggs that collect on branches, in their home territory. Since 2004 the First Nation has spent $20,000-50,000 annually to purchase herring eggs from Bella Bella, said Tseshaht member Les Sam during the February fisheries meeting. He recalls when Tseshaht members once waited in the Broken Group Islands for signs of the spawn, notifying boats in PortAlberni when it came time to collect.

“As a young man, young kid, the herring spawn was almost like Christmas for us,” said Sam. “Everybody worked together to drop trees for other families for the harvest. We didn’t leave anybody out.”

Sam recalls when his pickup truck was filled with siiḥmuu to be brought back to the main Tseshaht reserve next to Port Alberni.

“My late dad Chuck Sam, he said, ‘You put a tarp out in the front yard, and you empty that truck out onto that tarp, and you phone all the people of Tseshaht to help themselves’,” said Sam.

Most of the herring catch goes to Japan, where markets are hungry for the females loaded with eggs. Sam reflects on overharvesting in the 1970s that led to the species’decline.

“It was like a gold rush and they overharvested it. Warnings were sent out,” he said. “In our territory there’s no longer a feasible spawn there to bring home to the people. It’s been gone since 1983. It left us to be beggars for that resource.”

John Ford/Fisheries and Oceans Canada photo

being eaten on the west coast of Vancouver Island, according to a

Kurt McLeod photo

Known as k̓ʷaqmis or siiḥmuu, herring eggs that gather on branches are a timehonoured delicacy in Nuu-chah-nulth communities. This siiḥmuu was collected in Ahousaht territory.

Canada ramps up protections for endangered orcas

Increasing vessel distance, banning scrubber waste, adjusting salmon fishing closures among planned measures

By Olivia Thomas Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor

Ottawa, ON – With only 73 individuals remaining, the Southern Resident killer whale population is facing a critical moment in its survival. In response, the Government of Canada has announced a new suite of proposed measures to further protect the endangered species that inhabits the waters off British Columbia’s coast.

On March 6 the federal government unveiled additional actions aimed at tackling the three major threats identified as jeopardizing the survival of Southern Resident killer whales: physical and acoustic disturbance, reduced prey availability, and environmental contaminants. These proposals build on measures already introduced since 2018, ranging from fishing closures and sanctuary zones to noise reduction efforts and salmon enhancement projects.

“The Government of Canada is committed to protecting at-risk species, including the iconic Southern Resident killer whale,” said Diane Lebouthillier, who was minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard when the new measures were announced in early March. “Working closely with First Nations and stakeholders, we will build upon our actions to date so we can achieve a healthy future for this beloved species.”

The new proposals include increasing the minimum vessel approach distance to reduce stress on the whales, progressively banning the discharge of scrubber system washwater in key habitats, adjusting salmon fishing closures for 2025 and

Fisheries and Oceans Canada photo

With only 73 individuals remaining, the Southern Resident killer whale population is facing a critical moment in its survival.

2026 based on foraging patterns, and setting interim benchmarks to track and manage underwater noise levels.

Recognized under Canada’s Species at RiskAct since 2003, Southern Resident killer whales are particularly vulnerable due to their small population size and slow reproductive rate. The survival of each individual whale is critical to the species’long-term recovery, which experts warn could take decades.

Environmental and cultural significance weigh heavily in the government’s efforts, say federal officials.

“The Southern Resident killer whale holds tremendous symbolic and cultural significance to many, especially in British Columbia and to many Indigenous people in this country,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, minister of Energy and Natural Resourc-

es. “Many British Columbians follow the lives of these whales over the course of many years, and feel a deep sense of personal connection and investment in their wellbeing.”

As part of the next steps, the government will consult with First Nations, wildlife management boards, local stakeholders, and affected industries to gather input on the proposed actions and explore mitigation options for any resulting impacts.

The measures are part of a broader strategy that includes ecosystem restoration efforts by Parks Canada, which manages critical habitats in the Gulf Islands and Pacific Rim National Park Reserves.

“The steps we are taking today build on a suite of measures and investments made since 2018,” said Steven Guilbeault,

minister of Environment and Climate Change. “We are ensuring endangered species such as the Southern Resident killer whale can survive and thrive.”

Limiting underwater noise and environmental pollution from marine traffic, such as vessel exhaust scrubber washwater, remains a key focus.

“Scrubber systems are designed to remove pollutants from the air emissions coming from marine engines,” said a media contact at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Scrubbers remove pollutants from engine emissions but discharge acidic and chemical-laden water into the ocean, threatening marine life. The proposed prohibition of this discharge in critical whale habitats is one of the government’s most direct actions to combat such pollution.

Despite the challenges, government officials emphasize a balance between conservation and commerce.

“Limiting the impacts of vessel traffic on Southern Resident killer whales, while ensuring the safe and efficient movement of people and goods, is a key priority for our government,” said Transport Minister AnitaAnand.

Formal decisions on the 2025 measures, including fishing regulations, are expected in early May, according to Lara Sloan of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada media communications.

As the Southern Resident killer whale population teeters on the brink, the government’s intensified protection efforts represent a crucial step in securing a future for these important creatures in Canadian waters.