The owner of a fishing charter company has been fined thousands of dollars for violating the Marine Mammal Regulations by feeding seals at a marina in Prince Rupert. Fisheries and Oceans Canada says it was alerted to the situation by the Prince Rupert Port Authority and its investigation determined that the man was cleaning fish dockside after a fishing charter trip and began entertaining his clients by feeding the seals. It says in a news release that he pleaded guilty last fall to disturbing and feeding seals in July and August 2020 at the Cow Bay Marina. The department says a provincial court judge has issued him a 10-thousand-dollar fine.
The BC Court of Appeal has tossed a criminal contempt conviction against an Indigenous pipeline protester who was sentenced to 45 days in jail back in June of 2021. The Appeal Court found the trial judge didn’t properly consider 70-year-old Jim Leydon’s evidence about violating an injunction outside Trans Mountain’s tank farm in Burnaby in 2019. The court ruling says the trial judge made no mention about Leydon’s state of mind during an Indigenous pipe ceremony, which he believed was permitted by police at the time. The appellate panel ordered a new trial for Leydon, to be scheduled in early August.
The BC government says drought conditions and wildfires in BC are making it difficult for farmers and ranchers to feed their animals. The province now says it’s launching a program that matches farmers to those who have hay and grain, going to other jurisdictions including the United States to source feed and hay for BC farmers. Kevin Boon with the BC Cattlemen’s Association says prices for feed will be increasing, but it’s an animal welfare issue when their food is at stake. The government is partnering with the association on the program, and helping with the added costs during a feed and hay shortage through funding from the federal-provincial AgriStability program.
The family of two British Columbia children who are the subject of an Amber Alert says their disappearance has had a “devastating” affect on their big sisters and brother. Surrey RCMP say the whereabouts of eight year old Aurora and 10 year old Joshuah Bolton remain unknown, with the last confirmed sighting at a Merritt, BC, gas station on July 7th. A written statement by their family says the children are loved and missed. The statement also says the missing pair are “exceptionally close” to their entire extended family, particularly their cousins, whom they visit often and with whom they enjoy swimming, having sleepovers and playing outdoors.
A labour movement researcher says more large scale disputes like the industrial action at British Columbia’s ports may be on the horizon. Sociology professor Barry Eidlin says port workers are facing “existential” questions about their jobs related to automation and maintenance jurisdiction, while also dealing with rising cost of living. Eidlin says the issues facing port workers are also affecting others, who may increasingly consider strike action as a negotiating tactic in future labour disputes. Local chapters of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada met at several locations across the province to discuss a tentative deal with the BC Maritime Employers Association.
Hospitality workers at a work camp in Kitimat have averted a strike and won significant wage increases months after unionizing. Hundreds of camp workers at Cedar Valley Lodge, which accommodates those working at an LNG Canada construction site, have won up to 40-per-cent wage increases after voting to strike earlier this month. UNITE HERE Local 40 president Zailda Chan says the collective agreement is groundbreaking and that hospitality workers should be valued and not disrespected. The union says the workers involved were the lowest paid at the site, and the new agreement includes wage and vacation pay increases, better benefits, and a retirement plan for kitchen workers, janitors and housekeepers.