Raven's Eye

As British Columbia plans to increase the number of wolves it culls to save endangered caribou, a pop singer has come out to criticize the strategy. Miley Cyrus of “Wrecking Ball” fame travelled to B.C. in September to discuss the wolf cull with members of Klemtu. And earlier that month she took to Instagram with a petition from Pacific Wild to stop the wolf kill. In response, Premier Christy…

Senior science advisor John Werring of the David Suzuki Foundation conducted tests in July that showed high levels of contamination—higher than the BC Contaminated Sites Regulations—where biosolids in the Nicola Valley were dumped. He supports the protest of biosolid dumping by the Lower Nicola Indian Band. “The independent tests confirm that biosolids must not be applied to land,” said Chief…

A decision by the Ministry of Children and Families to appeal a BC Supreme Court decision that found ministry staff disregarded the safety of children from a Vancouver family, exposing the children to an abusive situation, including sexual abuse, has “deeply disappointed” the First Nations Summit, reads a release. “This appeal clearly reflects continued bad decision-making by the Minister and…

A new agreement will allow Wei Wai Kum First Nation to harvest almost 9,900 cubic metres of timber per year from their traditional territories. The 25-year First Nations woodland licence was signed by Chief Robert Pollard and Steve Thompson, minister of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations. “We have enjoyed success with a variety of economic development projects, including the…

A First Nations burial site has been protected and the construction of a retirement home in the Gulf Islands has come to an end. 

The building is to be demolished after the government stepped in with some compensation for the owner. Grace Islet was found to be the site of 16 cairns, and even after the burial location was discovered, the construction of the home kept…

Of the B.C. Nations that have filed information under federal transparency rules, there are 55 chiefs that received compensation of less than $50,000 for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015. Only about a dozen chiefs earned compensation of more than $100,000. The chief of Bridge River Indian Band near Lillooet, population 457, earned less than $15,000, the lowest in the range of compensation…

Members of the Union of B.C. Municipalities will vote at their annual meeting Sept. 23 to Sept. 25 on whether to lobby the province for an expanded review of the Site C dam.  The City of Victoria has submitted a resolution to advocate for such a review and wants to know the “potential impact on BC Hydro ratepayers and provincial taxpayers” and on agriculture, the environment, and Aboriginal…

The West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations of Treaty 8 continue their fight against construction of the Site C dam. They are attempting to save thousands of hectares of old-growth forest and the eagle habitat located there. B.C. Supreme Court heard that Site C would cause “irreparable harm” to the two northeastern British Columbia First Nations. Their lawyer wants a stop-work order…

The Kwolwasut’inuxw Haxwa’mis First Nation on Vancouver Island is also creating a community energy plan to find ways to improve energy efficiency and identify clean energy opportunities and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. The nation will receive $30,000 through the First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund. The remote community is “off-grid” and not connected to the BC Hydro system. Its…

The Nations of the Naut’sa Mawt Tribal Council will develop community energy plans to manage energy consumption and develop strategies for future clean energy projects. The tribal council provides services to 11 First Nations in the areas of the Strait of Georgia and Strait of Juan de Fuca, and will receive $80,000 through the First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund to develop the plans. It’s…

The ‘Namgis First Nation is dipping into B.C.’s First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund for dollars to support an equity investment in the Kokish River run-of-river hydro-electric project, located on northeastern Vancouver Island, about 15 kilometres east of Port McNeill. ‘Namgis will own 25 per cent of the hydro facility, and Brookfield Renewable will hold 75 per cent. The $400,000 in…

The Environmental Assessment Certificate for Jumbo Glacier Resort has expired. In June, British Columbia’s environment minister Mary Polak said developers of the billion-dollar ski resort on top of a mountain in the East Kootenay region—challenged in court by the Ktunaxa Nation—will have to “start from scratch.” In 2010, the Ktunaxa Nation delivered the Qat’muk Declaration to the legislature…

A BC Hydro Media Relations press release July 7 says a new poll finds growing support for the Site C hydro-electric dam project on the Peace River that will flood a large area of the Peace River Valley in the province’s northeast. It says 59 per cent support and 22 per cent can accept Site C. Those opposed total 17 per cent. B.C. has approved the $8.8 billion dam, despite lawsuits proceeding…

Ian Campbell, Hereditary Chief of the Squamish Nation, is among the first cohort of 14 graduates from Simon Fraser University’s Executive MBA in Aboriginal Business and Leadership. The program is Canada’s first credited MBA for established Aboriginal leaders, entrepreneurs and others working with Aboriginal communities. Campbell, 41, has ambitious plans for his people. He now has the knowledge…

A clean energy project will harness ocean thermal energy to heat a new First Nations residential community and will receive $400,000 from the B.C. First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund. It will be an equity investment in a facility that will use the heat available, even in cold ocean water, to supply heat to a new town called Spirit Bay, a development of the Sci'anew (Cheanuh) Beecher Bay…