A coroner’s jury has recommended Vancouver police officers receive mandatory yearly psychological check-ins regardless of rank or what department they work in The recommendation was one of 12 to come following the inquest into the suicide of Vancouver police Constable Nicole Chan. Chan died in January 2019 during a mental health crisis after having relationships with two senior Vancouver officers, one of whom allegedly “extorted” her to continue a sexual relationship. Other recommendations include that the department recognize rumours and gossip as unprofessional behaviour in its respectful workplace policy, and ensure all officers attend rigorous in-person training.
BC Health Minister Adrian Dix has promised to provide public updates on the number of doctors who switch to a new compensation model. The new model, which came into effect yesterday, aims to close the pay gap between family doctors and those working in hospitals to help address the doctor shortage. It raises the salary of a full-time family doctor to about 385-thousand dollars per year, up from 250-thousand dollars. Dix says the new model won’t improve primary care overnight but will make things better.
The head of the union representing RCMP officers says charges laid against Mounties in Prince George are “far from timely.” Two Mounties have been charged with manslaughter and three others with attempted obstruction in the death of an Indigenous man in July 2017. Brian Sauve, president of the National Police Federation, says the six-year process leading up to charges created uncertainty for everyone involved and is simply unacceptable and unfair. The prosecution service says the charges were approved by an experienced criminal lawyer who has no prior or current connection with the officers.
A long-house post that was sold under duress more than a century ago is being shipped home to a First Nation in northwestern British Columbia. Dustin Johnson, the cultural program manager with the Gitxaala Nation says the three-metre tall house post that depicts a grizzly bear of the sea and her two cubs has “incredible” cultural value for the nation. Missionaries ordered it be chopped down and burned 138 years ago but it was saved when it was sold to an American fishing company and later acquired by the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. The museum agreed to return the post and it is expected to make its way to Prince Rupert by next month.
Vancouver is looking for public input on allowing more triplexes, fourplexes, fiveplexes and sixplexes across the city. Officials are holding a series of public open houses around the city and have launched an online survey. The city says staff will explain some of the specifics required to make these options achievable by simplifying regulations and streamlining processes. Feedback will help shape draft recommendations on what’s being called the “missing middle options” and will be reported to city council later this year.
The District of Kitimat has received 910-thousand dollars to develop a new composting facility. The facility is expected to process 15-hundred tonnes of organic waste each year. Up to two-thirds of the eligible project costs will be covered by the provincial and federal governments, with the District of Kitimat funding the rest. Mayor Phil Germuth says the facility will significantly reduce the community’s landfill waste and further its climate-action goals.