The Sunshine Coast has been one of the last small markets in Canada to be served by two newspapers. Unfortunately, that is about to change as market conditions have resulted in this being the final issue of The Local Weekly. Suffice it to say, leaving a community that you have been an integral part of ... Read More »
On March 25, the SCRD board endorsed its 2021 budget, solidifying this year’s property tax rate increases of between 5.5 and 24.5 percent. Area A (Pender Harbour) will see the largest percentage increase on the SCRD portion of 2021 property tax bills. Increases for the remaining areas, with the exception of Island jurisdictions, will be ... Read More »
The Sechelt and District Chamber of Commerce added five new faces to its board of directors at the 2021 Annual General Meeting hosted online on March 26. The new directors are Derek Thebault, Gaetan Royer, Jessica Hemingway, Laurie Reid, and Rory Gowler. They joined returning board members John Henderson, Carolyn Minchin, Nick Farrer, Albert Trinh, ... Read More »
District’s tractor stolen Sunshine Coast RCMP are investigating a report that a green 2010 John Deere tractor was stolen from the Sechelt Public Works yard on Allen Road in Sechelt. The tractor was last seen on Monday, March 22, at 3:15pm and was bearing BC license plate X49097. The tractor in the photo is the ... Read More »
Sechelt wants to create 11 new positions in 2021. It remains unclear whether council will support that single year 16 percent increase over existing staff levels. At the March 24 Committee of the Whole meeting, Human Resources Manager Lindsay Roberts put forward a prioritized list of the new staff requests. Topping that list was an ... Read More »
Details on how reduced restrictions on visiting with residents of long-term care will be implemented at Coast facilities will be announced shortly. Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) spokesperson Celso Pereira told the Local, “VCH knows that the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly difficult for seniors in long-term care and assisted living. The easing of visitation restrictions ... Read More »
To address rising COVID- 19 case counts, protect people and communities and help break the chain of COVID-19 transmission, the provincial health officer amended the provincial public health orders this past week, effective March 30. “COVID-19 continues to create challenges for people and businesses throughout BC, and we are grateful for the sacrifices people continue ... Read More »
While the response to the COVID-19 pandemic remains the primary focus of all orders of government in Canada, there are two other health matters I will be updating you on this month. Parliament passed Bill C-7 into law on March 17, amending Canada’s Criminal Code provisions on medical assistance in dying (MAID). I have heard ... Read More »
Rate increases for 2021 housing rentals have been capped at 1.4 percent by the Province. With property tax levies set to increase by multiple times that rate, the profitability of long-term accommodation rentals is reduced. Gibsons area resident and former council member Lee Ann Johnson raised concerns about this on March 23 during the Town’s ... Read More »
The “Team Sunshine Coast” approach was used by Gibsons on its initial online 2021 budget public engagement session. Town council and staff tapped into Zoom meeting expertise developed by their counterparts in Sechelt to host an interactive session that was attended virtually by about 30 people on March 23. With advice from frequent Zoom user ... Read More »
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