Premier David Eby says an agreement with the Haida Nation recognizing Aboriginal title over Haida Gwaii was a long time coming. The agreement signed Sunday avoided a potentially lengthy legal dispute between the Nation and the province, and Eby says the agreement marks a new way of recognizing Aboriginal title in Canada. Council of the Haida Nation President Jason Alsop says the agreement means Haida Gwaii will be overseen and administered according to Haida history, culture and values. Alsop says the nation has always asserted its title over the territory, and the deal puts to rest a longstanding conflict with the province.
BC acknowledged a sombre anniversary on Sunday marking eight years since the province declared a public health emergency over the toxic drug overdose crisis. Premier David Eby says the provincial government continues to try to strengthen mental health and addiction support services, saying the thousands of deaths have had a catastrophic impact on BC families and communities. Brittany Graham, executive director of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, says toxic illicit drugs will continue taking lives until a safe and regulated supply is available to the thousands of drug users across BC. Graham says the crisis will only get worse and people will continue to die unless governments of all levels and all stripes rethink their approach and invest in robust addiction support services, housing and mental health care.
The provincial government says tourism in BC continues to be a massive economic driver, contributing more than seven billion dollars to the province’s GDP in 2022 alone. Tourism Minister Lana Popham and industry leaders say the sector employs upwards of 154 thousand people, and generated 18 billion dollars in revenue in 2022. With tourism season heating up, they say the industry is still facing challenges from wildfires, flooding and drought after the pandemic, and cruise ships are forecast to bring in a record 1.27 million people to Vancouver this year.
Translink says its spring seasonal scheduling changes begin today. The transit operator says the changes mean more buses on 10 routes and the introduction of a trio of summer-time routes. It says other changes include reducing services on routes serving post-secondary institutions until the start of the new school year in September. Translink says it’s also reallocating buses on a number of routes that are overcrowded, and shifting bus times to meet times of highest demand.
The provincial government says women and gender-diverse people are still far too often the target of violence while marking the beginning of Prevention of Violence Against Women week. Parliamentary secretary for gender equity Kelli Paddon says this is especially the case for Indigenous and racialized women, immigrants and those with disabilities. Paddon says women face verbal, sexual and emotional abuse and coercive control over their finances. She says violence against women is more common than most can imagine, it takes many forms and it’s up to government and communities to unite to end harms faced by women.