More than half of the universities that gave honorary degrees to retired judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond say they are reviewing the decision following a CBC investigation into her claims of Indigenous heritage. The University of Regina along with McGill, Brock, Royal Roads, St. Thomas and Mount Saint Vincent universities all say they’ve been looking into the situation. Their statements came the day after Vancouver Island University announced Turpel-Lafond had returned her 2013 honorary degree. Reached by phone, Turpel-Lafond declined to comment on the calls for her honorary degrees to be revoked or the universities’ review processes.
The Blueberry River First Nation says a new agreement signed with the BC government signifies a new approach for government and business to work alongside First Nations. Chief Judy Desjarlais says the agreement, which lays out timelines for upcoming land management plans and oil and gas development agreements, is historic. The deal comes after a 2021 court decision that ruled the government violated the First Nations’ treaty rights because it allowed development without community involvement. Premier David Eby says the agreement provides momentum for future land planning agreements across the province.
A safe consumption site operated by the Nanaimo Area of Network Drug Users is one of two properties that have been designated by city council as nuisances. The designation allows property owners to be charged 250-dollars every time city services or the RCMP are called. NANDU has been subject to multiple complaints from the surrounding community since the site opened and a volunteer says it would have to be shut down because the group could not afford such a cost. One city councillor says that while Nanaimo needs overdose prevention sites, they can’t come at the expense of the peaceful enjoyment of people in the area.
One person has been critically injured in a shooting in downtown Vancouver. Police say it happened just after 10 last night as the victim was standing on Granville Street in the city’s entertainment district. The 32-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries. There’s no word on a motive for the shooting and police say no arrests have been made.
A First Nation in southeastern BC says it has reached a deal that gives it veto power over a proposed coal mine on its lands near Sparwood. Tobacco Plains First Nation Chief Heidi Gravelle says the agreement was reached with N-W-P Coal — based in New Zealand and Australia. Gravelle says the pact names the band as both the regulator and reviewer of the project, with the right to turn it down. She’s hoping the process will become a model for the development of future resource projects on Indigenous lands.
After a 10-year hiatus, Zellers is making a comeback this spring in 25 locations across Canada, including four in B-C. The company says stores are set to open within Hudson’s Bay locations in downtown Vancouver, Surrey, Kamloops and Abbotsford. Each one will be between eight-thousand and ten-thousand square feet. Hudson’s Bay says the new stores aim to offer a hint of nostalgia.