logo
West Coast salmon habitat restoration earns financial boost, support toward completion

West Coast salmon habitat restoration earns financial boost, support toward completion

CTV News02-06-2025

The Pacific Salmon Foundation is helping push a major salmon habitat restoration project near Tofino over the finish line with $100,000 in financial support.
ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ (Tla-o-qui-aht) First Nation has been leading the recovery of a salmon watershed at Tranquil Creek, in partnership with Redd Fish Restoration Society.
'We're really excited. This is one of the bigger projects we've ever taken on and having it properly and thoroughly funded means we don't cut corners. We don't have to do things less than we intended,' says Redd Fish restoration biologist, Tom Balfour.
The multi-million-dollar project is in its eighth and final year of work. The groups are addressing historical impacts of forestry by recreating necessary log jams for salmon.
'That's been a restoration technique for a long time, but the difference for us here is working at a very larger scale,' says Balfour. 'At the end of this project, we're going to put over a thousand second-growth cedar conifers, cedar spruce hemlocks, into this river just replacing a process that was lost.'
According to Pacific Salmon Foundation, the project has restored more than 40 hectares of riparian habitat, planted 800 trees and installed 41 log jams. There are another 18 engineered log jams that are needed.
'Around the world, people are working hard to save and restore wild salmon,' says PSF CEO and president, Michael Meneer, in a news release. 'These fish – both Pacific and Atlantic – need our help. By working together, we can raise awareness for the challenges wild salmon face and help drive meaningful change.'
Balfour says the new funding will help address some unexpected financial hurdles – such as harsh winter weather eroding logging roads, which cost more money to maintain to access the site.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Canada is getting a second shot at becoming a major LNG player
Canada is getting a second shot at becoming a major LNG player

CBC

time2 hours ago

  • CBC

Canada is getting a second shot at becoming a major LNG player

A decade after a promised boom in the liquified natural gas industry failed to materialize, Canada has arrived at the starting line, rekindling some aspirations of becoming a major LNG player. The long-awaited LNG Canada project is now up and running — and there are six more projects in various stages of development. If all of them come through, together they would represent $109 billion in capital investment, according to Natural Resources Canada. This comes amid renewed political appetite to build major infrastructure, bolster the Canadian economy and diversify exports away from the U.S. But the U.S. still leads Canada by a wide margin as an LNG exporter, and even if all projects currently under development end up being built, some warn Canada may have already missed the chance of being a major player. "I don't think Canada's ever going to be an LNG-exporting superpower," said Ed Crooks, vice-chair of the Americas for global consultancy Wood Mackenzie. But he said the country has plenty of room to ramp up its export capacity. 'It means prosperity' One proposed facility is in a small fishing community about 800 kilometres north of Vancouver. The Nisga'a community of Gingolx, population roughly 500, is known as the seafood capital of the Nass River. In the next few years, it could have a conspicuous new neighbour: Ksi Lisims LNG, a floating terminal that will export LNG to Asia. The project is proposed by the Nisga'a Nation of B.C. in partnership with Rockies LNG, a group of Western Canadian natural gas producers, and Western LNG, a Houston-based company that develops LNG export facilities. "It means, in one word, prosperity," said Eva Clayton, elected president of the Nisga'a Nation. Clayton said the nation has gone "through the trenches" over the last 10 years to get the project off the ground, and hopes to make a final investment decision later this year. Failure to launch Ksi Lisims is among seven proposed LNG projects at various stages of development. Most have Indigenous ownership or partnerships — a major shift from the projects proposed a decade ago. At the time, a few dozen LNG projects were proposed in B.C. as part of an initial wave of interest in the nascent industry. The majority of those projects were cancelled for a variety of reasons, such as regulatory hurdles and a crash in commodity prices. The U.S. only began ramping up its LNG exports in 2016, but has continued to build to become the world's largest exporter of LNG. Some experts say the diverging outcomes speak to the level of policy uncertainty and red tape that companies in this country have had to contend with. "One of the fundamental problems has been it's been very, very difficult to build any kind of energy infrastructure in Canada," said Crooks. "Anything you try and build, there are a lot of people that have objections," he said, pointing to community groups and environmental activists raising concerns with either the specific location or broader ecological impact of a project. WATCH | Can Canada become a global LNG powerhouse? Exploring Canada's LNG potential as first-ever exports begin 4 minutes ago Duration 4:15 Times may be changing. Ottawa, along with B.C. and Ontario, have each passed legislation aimed at speeding up major projects — though not without opposition. Public polling suggests Canadians are becoming more comfortable with the idea of new infrastructure, including pipelines. Demand for natural gas is expected to grow 70 to 80 per cent through 2050, according to Wood Mackenzie. That's thanks to a variety of factors, ranging from the world's growing population to power demand from AI data centres and air conditioning to the role of natural gas as an alternative to coal. Canada has significant natural gas reserves, and B.C.'s Northwest coast provides a quick and secure route to markets in Asia. The U.S. is eyeing the same opportunity. While much of the U.S. export facilities are located on the Gulf Coast, one proposed $50-billion mega-project is located in Alaska. The White House is backing the project, including around $30 billion US in loan guarantees. "It could be, certainly, a major competitor for projects on Canada's West Coast," said Martin King, a Calgary-based analyst with RBN Energy. Heather Exner-Pirot, director of energy, natural resources and environment with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, says the Alaska project does face certain logistical challenges. Because of where the resource is located, it would need a longer pipeline traversing terrain, and materials, equipment and labour would have to be transported to isolated areas, driving up costs. Still, she said, the project could present a pretty compelling case to investors. "Alaska really wants it and all levels of government are aligned," said Exner-Pirot. "You have the secretary of energy, you have the governor of Alaska, you have everyone getting together and saying, 'We want your investment, we'll build fast, we're a reliable exporter." Ellis Ross, Conservative MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, isn't convinced the current political momentum around building major projects will translate into success. "What I see right now is this rhetoric — it's virtue-signalling," said Ross, who is also former chief councillor of the Haisla Nation. "I don't think this government is truly sincere in turning Canada into an energy superpower, let alone fast-tracking major projects." Rushing in Others are concerned the country is veering in the wrong direction, green-lighting projects without fully considering the environmental consequences. The community of Kispiox, about 300 kilometres up the Skeena River, is known as a fishing destination and boasts being the steelhead capital of the world. "This is one of the rare parts of the world where you can drink from the streams, you could drink from the rivers," said Kolin Sutherland-Wilson, elected chief councillor of the Kispiox Band. The community is also about 15 kilometres from the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line, which would transport natural gas from northeastern B.C. to the Ksi Lisims project on the coast. Sutherland-Wilson said community members are concerned about the impact on the local watershed and salmon population. While the B.C. government recently approved the pipeline's continued construction, he expects there will likely be further protests, and is part of a group challenging the pipeline's approval in B.C. Supreme Court. "I would say this is the calm before the storm right now," he said. WATCH | Opposition to new pipelines persists in B.C.: Local communities worried about pipeline required for Ksi Lisims LNG 4 minutes ago Duration 2:39 Kathy Clay, president of the Kispiox Valley Community Centre Association and Chief Councilor Kolin Sutherland-Wilson of the Kispiox Band explain their concerns about the proposed pipeline. Climate concerns are another variable. Natural gas can help countries get off coal, but it is still a fossil fuel. While the pendulum of public discourse has recently swung away from climate change, it will inevitably swing back, said Crooks at Wood Mackenzie. Window of opportunity That means Canada has a narrow window to capitalize on the current upswing in LNG demand. Dulles Wang, another analyst with Wood Mackenzie, said the next five to 10 years will be critical, when demand from markets in Asia is expected to be strongest. "Beyond that, the story is a lot murkier, because the role of gas in the energy space is becoming much more uncertain," said Wang, a director on the firm's Americas gas and LNG research team, who said that at a certain point, renewables could start to displace natural gas. "The clock is definitely ticking." Clayton with the Nisga'a Nation is optimistic about breaking ground on her LNG project next year. She's eager to see the first vessel come up the river to pick up the first shipments, which could happen as early as 2029. "It's going to be amazing, and it's going to be bringing a lot of smiles and happiness to our people," said Clayton. "We see the project not just benefitting for the moment, but in perpetuity."

Teacher shortages persisted this school year. What's being done to fill the gap for the next?
Teacher shortages persisted this school year. What's being done to fill the gap for the next?

CBC

time2 hours ago

  • CBC

Teacher shortages persisted this school year. What's being done to fill the gap for the next?

Burnout, fear and violence: Why more teachers are leaving the classroom 18 hours ago Duration 6:03 Social Sharing For several months this year, Katherine Korakakis' kids had substitute instructors that were "not qualified to teach the subject," said the Montreal parent, whose province started this school year thousands of teachers short. "It wasn't a math teacher who was teaching math. It wasn't a French teacher who was teaching French." She was already worried about learning loss after the pandemic, and scrambled to get her teens extra tutoring, a luxury she knows not everyone can afford. "Having a child score in the high 90s … one year in math and then having a non-qualified teacher coming in the second year and the child scoring a 50 — there's something wrong here," she said. Teacher shortages have become an issue in nearly every province and territory. Kids facing one substitute teacher after another. French taught by a non-speaker. Relying on uncertified adults to supervise classrooms. While some governments suggest an aging workforce and growing populations are behind the shortages, teachers themselves point to working conditions. So what's being done to improve the situation for next year? 'Just getting through the day' In Surrey, B.C., Anne Whitmore noted that in her children' 17-class elementary school, four teachers were on leave as the school year concluded. Whenever a classroom teacher was away, her kids said, they sometimes got a substitute for part of the day, but also likely saw another class's teacher, the librarian, the music instructor and the principal fill in. "How do you learn in an environment where you have no continuity?" Whitmore asked. "They're trying to scramble and have some kind of educational content, but really they're just getting through the day." Constantly backfilling others leaves fellow teachers, support staffers, guidance counsellors and administrators delaying their own responsibilities to students, "who now don't have access to those adults when they need them," said Brampton, Ont., high school science teacher Jason Bradshaw. Alison Osborne, who served as president of the Ontario Principals' Council this year, describes the situation as the worst she's seen in her 17 years as a principal, with administrators "constantly monitoring our phones just to see what the situation we're going to be walking into the next day," she said. What's influencing shortages? The overall number of educators in K-12 public schools rose slightly — around three per cent — from 401,286 in 2018-2019 to 413,667 in 2022-2023, according to Statistics Canada, but depending on the region, the figures have wavered during that period. CBC News asked each provincial and territorial ministry of education about teacher shortages, with B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and New Brunswick responding. Some cited retirement of an aging workforce and rapid population growth as key factors influencing current shortages. WATCH | How teacher shortages came to 'a crisis point': How teacher shortages came to 'a crisis point' 2 days ago Duration 1:20 Limited housing and a higher cost of living have perennially kept more teachers from certain regions, including remote and rural areas, said Clint Johnston, president designate of the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF), the national group representing the unions of more than 365,000 K-12 teachers and education workers. Yet Johnston says today's working conditions are what's behind current shortages, as teachers bail on the traditional 30-to-35-year teaching careers. "There's a lot of certified individuals in most of our provinces and territories, but … they're not sticking with it," Johnston said from Vancouver. "There's not enough support workers. There's not enough teachers … everyone's workload has gone up and become untenable." An online CTF survey last fall drew nearly 5,000 responses from Canadian teachers, education workers and principals. While not statistically representative of the 365,000 educators represented by its members unions, those who chose to respond paint a difficult picture. Nearly 80 per cent of respondents reported struggling to cope, 55 per cent had experienced violence or aggression over the year prior and 77 per cent called students' needs "significantly more complex" than five years earlier. The constant pivoting educators were forced into during COVID-19 also took a toll, says science teacher Bradshaw. Given that a key pandemic lesson was to take better care of ourselves, "that can mean stepping away from stressful work … where you feel you're being overextended." Job 'isn't worth the conditions that we're facing' Some areas are struggling to attract young people to the field, with even brand new teachers experiencing burnout. Having found engineering work isolating after obtaining a bachelor's in biology, Jadine Kirst chose to become a teacher instead since she loved working with kids, felt inspired by lifelong educators she knew and saw the need for more teachers. Her enthusiasm quickly evaporated, however, after just one year teaching Grade 8 in a francophone school in New Brunswick. "We had students figuring out loopholes so that they could look at pornography on their in-class iPads. We had a few students who threatened my life — one of [whom] needed to have their locker searched for weapons," she said. Once, asking a student to stop talking mid-lesson sparked a barrage of insults and profanity, with Krist feeling "futile" as she tried to calm his screaming. "I couldn't call the principal; the principal was probably too busy dealing with other students," she said, recalling feeling alone, without any recourse and worn down. She still works in education, but no longer in the classroom. "People who aren't aware of the reality today still look at teaching as an excellent job with two months off and a great pension, but it isn't worth the conditions that we're facing." WATCH | Teachers' federation leader on past classroom challenges on his mind 'to this day': 'I think about it to this day,' teaching leader says of own classroom complexity challenges 2 days ago Duration 1:41 Clint Johnston, incoming president of the Canadian Teachers' Federation, shares a personal story about the challenge of supporting a wide spectrum of students from his time as a B.C. classroom teacher. What's being done about shortages Several ministries of education that responded to CBC News' queries noted ongoing efforts to address the problem, including: Launching new recruitment campaigns and strategies (N.B. and Alberta). Funding programs for rural and remote teacher candidates to train in their home communities (B.C. and Alberta). Bursaries for teacher-candidates or cash incentives for new teachers who relocate to remote regions (B.C. and Alberta). Developing certification programs targeting those without formal qualifications already teaching in schools (Quebec). Ontario and New Brunswick are allowing teachers' colleges to accept more students, while several regions have also floated the idea of accelerating or condensing teacher training, including in Ontario (which had initially doubled the length of study a decade ago to stem a vast supply of new teachers outstripping jobs available for them). Streamlining educator training is of course possible, says Brock University professor David Hutchison, yet he thinks it would likely cut into the invaluable time aspiring teachers spend inside real schools. He also predicts a negative impact to the parts of teacher training that were added more recently, for instance about student mental health, use of technology and artificial intelligence, or teaching students whose first language isn't English or French. "These are the new realities of being a student in Ontario and other provinces as well and we have an obligation to prepare [new teachers]," he said. While Ontario principal Osborne welcomes any effort to entice people to education, she worries whether they'd stick around without real change to classroom conditions. "When we talk about recruiting new teachers, new education workers, I'm not sure it's always an appealing environment to work in," she said. Science teacher Bradshaw wants to see deeper, ongoing investment versus short-term fixes. "If [governments] want to show teachers that they are valued and respected and give people a reason to come into … and stay in this profession, we have to know that they're going to invest in us long term," he said, including pay that keeps up with inflation (versus sign-on bonuses) and increased mobility, since where a teacher starts may not be where they want to stay. What do aspiring teachers think? "Knowing that teachers are needed everywhere is awesome," said teacher-candidate Serzna Issadien, who's nearing the end of a Brock University program mixing an undergraduate degree with a bachelor's of education. Still, she's uneasy about initiatives that may "just flood the market with more teachers" without adequate training, given the chaotic reality she's already seen, having filled in as an emergency substitute in the St. Catharines, Ont., region. Bridgette Walpole, another teacher-candidate close to completing her Brock training, is eager to dive into her dream profession despite a belief that most don't really understand the job nor the mix of classroom challenges today. "From a student's perspective, you see [teachers] handing out assessments. You see them standing at the front of the class delivering content," she said. "You don't see them creating the actual materials for each and every student that learns in a bunch of different ways. You don't understand the many different hats that they wear…. You're really everyone all at once."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store