A salmon farming company in BC is going to court to challenge the federal government’s decision not to renew the licences for its open net farms off Vancouver Island. Mowi Canada West has applied for a judicial review of the decision last month by Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray to shut down 15 salmon farms. The company wants a Federal Court to declare the minister’s February decision invalid and unlawful. The federal government has not responded to the application, but Murray has said there is uncertainty over the risks fish farms pose to wild salmon and it was committed to transitioning away from the open net farms.
Kamloops city councillors have voted to pause all five of the city’s standing committees pending a review of their terms of reference. The vote follows a move by Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, who appointed some of his friends and election supporters to the committees last week while removing three councillors as chairs. Council is creating a new committee to review the terms of reference for all of its standing committees including who can be appointed as chair. The community’s charter gives the mayor the authority to choose committee members but it’s up to council to establish terms of reference.
Teachers from across British Columbia have re-elected former Chilliwack elementary teacher Clint Johnston as president of their union. Johnston garnered more than 80 per cent of the vote from delegates at the BC Teachers’ Federation’s annual general meeting. Johnston faced Vancouver high school teacher Jillian Maguire, a climate advocate. Maguire ran on a platform calling for the B-C Teachers’ Pension Plan to divest its nearly 38-billion dollars in assets from fossil fuel companies.
A man who police say randomly robbed and assaulted people in Victoria at knifepoint has been arrested. The Victoria Police Department says an officer chased the suspect and zapped him with a conducted energy weapon. Police say the man had robbed and assaulted three people at knifepoint and possibly stabbed a fourth.
The Hospitality Vancouver Association is launching consultations on the economy of the city at night. The focus is on tourism, hospitality, arts, cultural and economic activity in the city that takes place between 5 pm and 4 am. Consultation in the coming weeks will include polls, one-on-one interviews and community meetings. The association says the goal is to create a vision for the sector and to establish a nighttime economy office.