Latest news with #PortMoody
Globe and Mail
11 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
This B.C. butcher is showing off her chops on an international stage
Mastering It is a summer series to introduce you to Canadians who have sought to rise above being simply good at their chosen endeavour – and who, by perfecting their skill, strive to become the best. The meat hits the table with a thud. Taryn Barker leans into the primal cut of pork shoulder, pushing a handsaw through skin and fat and muscle, the blade's teeth rasping in steady rhythm as they tear through bone. A final crack separates the butt from the picnic, the two halves falling open like a well-read book. Behind her is a flurry of activity as staff process a new haul into the butcher shop, trimming beef cuts and deboning chicken, assembling the items in a display case that is not merely stocked but curated, a veritable gallery of finely cut meats. Ms. Barker is the owner of the Little Butcher, a popular butcher shop in Port Moody, B.C. The shop put a focus on sourcing locally long before this year's trade war with the United States made it an act of patriotism; all meats and about 95 per cent of all products are sourced from British Columbia. Customers are greeted with a wall of local products: hot sauces from Victoria, seasonings from Vancouver, pickles from Falkland. But a small display of merchandise inside the store hints at more; at 36, Ms. Barker has honed her skills for two decades and butchered competitively on the international stage, representing Canada in what's been referred to as 'the Olympics of meat.' Ms. Barker got her start in butchery at the age of 16, working part time in customer service at a butcher shop in Langley. She took on more hours and responsibilities after graduation, along with other part-time jobs in the food-service industry. In 2012, she co-opened a second location in Port Moody with her boss; five years later, she would buy him out to become that shop's sole owner. As a fledgling small-business owner, Ms. Barker befriended like-minded others and learned about the outsized effects that even a small shift toward buying local could have on a community. She quickly decided that she would pivot her business to support independent food producers as much as possible. But supporting local farmers presented Ms. Barker with a challenge. At that point, she was skilled at processing 'block-ready' meat – large, untrimmed cuts of meat that need to be further broken down to be retail-ready – but not whole animals. 'At some point, I was like, I need to learn how to break down whole animals because that's the only way I'm going to be able to work with small farms – if I buy the whole pig or the whole cow from them,' she said. 'I needed to learn this, so I signed up.' Ms. Barker registered as an apprentice under a provincial skilled trades training program, enlisting a family friend and colleague as her mentor. Over several months, the two would pore through textbook materials and break down whole animals, Ms. Barker growing confident through practice and repetition. She studied detailed animal anatomy to guide her cuts and understand how muscle and bone affect taste and tenderness. She became skilled at using meat saws, band saws and cleavers. She learned how to make smarter cuts, using as much of an animal as possible while reducing waste. Ten years later, the Little Butcher now processes one whole cow, two whole pigs and around 150 chickens every week. A whole lamb arrives every two to four weeks. The challenge now is ensuring less popular cuts of meat are not wasted, she says. This has required a mix of education and creativity. She will tell customers, for example, that a pork picnic is as flavourful and versatile as a pork butt, and often less expensive. Pork hocks can be braised or smoked, or used in collagen-rich stews. Chicken drums, the least popular part of a chicken, are deboned, stuffed or marinated. In 2018, Ms. Barker made her competitive butchering debut in Auckland, New Zealand, at Butcher Wars, an international contest for individual butchers. She recalls being blown away by the creativity she witnessed. 'I just had a tablecloth on the presentation table with little white plates and the meat, and I thought, 'This is great. It looks so good. Stoked,'' she said. 'And then other people had crazy displays built. One guy had a little tricycle with picnic basket and all his products were displayed to look like a small picnic. I was just like, 'Oh my gosh, what is happening?'' Ms. Barker placed sixth in that competition, and fourth in a second Butcher Wars contest the following year, in São Paulo, Brazil. She has also represented the country twice as part of Butchery Team Canada at the World Butchers' Challenge. The competition is conducted over three-and-a-half hours, with each national team being given a side of beef, a side of pork, a whole lamb and five chickens that they must transform into creative, themed and value-added products that could still be sold in a retail setting. Ms. Barker said Team Canada faced a steep learning curve on its initial go, being docked points for 'silly mistakes' such as not having perfectly matching uniforms. But a renewed focus on practice for the next competition, held this spring in Paris, saw Butchery Team Canada place fifth out of 14 countries, 1.55 points behind first-place finisher France. Video from the competition shows a sprawling spread of colourful medallions, ribs, skewers, steaks, drums and sausages accented with flowers and red-yellow maple leaves: the four seasons of Canada. A team photo shows Ms. Barker, petite and grinning, flanked by seven male teammates. Ms. Barker says the international competitions have opened her eyes to how much more is possible. 'I would love to learn more about charcuterie, so that with my whole animals, things like the head and the trotters, we can be utilizing to make some really beautiful products,' she said, citing fromage de tête (head cheese) as an example. 'The whole butchery industry is so vast, and there is so much to learn. That is really exciting to me.'
CBC
22-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Port Moody fire department issues warning for Burrard Inlet trail goers
The Port Moody fire department is out with a reminder that trail goers near the Burrard inlet stay off the mudflats. As CBC's Michelle Morton reports, the surface can be like quicksand.
CBC
22-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Port Moody, B.C., officials urge people to stay off mudflats which can act like quicksand
Social Sharing Officials are warning residents to stay off the mudflats in the Port Moody arm of the Burrard Inlet, which can act like quicksand and trap people. The mudflats are one of the last remaining such areas on the inlet, where mud and sediment are visible when the tide is low, and officials say rescues can be costly and time-consuming. As the weather warms and more people use the trails around the inlet, the city and firefighters say people should avoid walking on the mudflats, which can appear deceptively firm. Port Moody Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Mike Cornish said the number of emergency calls to the mudflats increases during late spring and summer. "It takes crews out of their regular response routines for a couple hours, at least, for every rescue," he told CBC News. "So there's definitely inherent issues with that." Cornish said that someone who gets stuck in the mudflats during the hotter months can often get dehydrated and become anxious, especially as they struggle to get themselves free. "We usually have two to three rescues a year [that] we have to perform on the mud flats, depending on the year and how many people are out there," he said. "But it's kind of been progressing every year with more people visiting the parks." Every time that firefighters are called out to the mudflats, they have to deploy a small vehicle, load it up with equipment and clean up afterwards. Cornish urged people to follow the signs posted along the trails and not deviate from marked paths. "The mudflats are nice to look at, but they're more dangerous than they seem to be," the official said. Colin Godwin, a cyclist who was with his dogs on the trail Monday, said that if people were to get stuck in the mudflats when the tide rises, that would be a major problem. "I've had this dog run away after the birds on the mudflat, and it's a horror show," he said. "You can't go out on the mudflats. You're just bogged down."
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Climate change is prolonging allergy season, B.C. doctors say
Itchy eyes, runny nose, congestion, and sneezing are all common symptoms of seasonal allergies. Dr. Angeliki Barlas, an allergist based in Port Moody, B.C., says that climate change is a contributing factor to worsening symptoms and longer allergy seasons. "People will often tell me I feel like I'm suffering almost year-round because pollen season is more prolonged and much more intense," "We're finding that with climate change, the warming of the environment has been causing pollen to become more inflammatory and affecting the immune system much more," Barlas told CBC's Daybreak North. Dr. Davidicus Wong, a family doctor in Burnaby, shared a similar message about climate change worsening allergy symptoms in an interview with CBC's Baneet Braich. He says that with a warmer climate, pollinators are being tricked into pollinating early. WATCH: How to manage seasonal allergies this spring: Barlas, who is president of the B.C. Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, an organization made up of physicians who specialize in allergies, says that a warmer climate releases more pollen into the air, affecting those with respiratory issues more seriously, and for longer periods of time. "People might find that their asthma becomes worse during these seasons as well, which can be detrimental to our health-care system in general." Air pollutants, such as wildfire smoke, add another layer onto worsening allergy symptoms for those affected. Barlas says that microscopic pollen interacts with smoke when there is a fire, causing the air to become inflammatory and harder on the immune system. "Patients with asthma tend to find that their symptoms will flare up with wildfire smoke exposure, and as a result of that, requiring more medications, requiring presentation to their doctor or even to the emergency department." Barlas says that environmental control is an important piece of preventing allergy symptoms during high pollen season. Close the windows in your home and vehicle to prevent pollen buildup, and make sure to shower and wash your clothes when you get home if you happen to go on a hike, he says, since lots of pollen will build up while outside. If you are going to take medication to treat allergy symptoms, Barlas recommends staying away from Benadryl. "There's been lots of research recently that Benadryl can have long-term negative effects, including memory loss and dementia." Instead, her team recommends using non-drowsy antihistamines such as Claritin or Allegra. Barlas says that allergy patients need to be referred by their primary provider, such as a nurse practitioner or family physician, to receive immunotherapy, a desensitization treatment for allergies. Although there are no allergists in northern B.C., allergists on the Lower Mainland take online appointments for northern patients using telehealth, says Barlas.
CBC
25-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
Machete attack, dislocated jaw: Nurses detail violent incidents at Fraser Health hospital
Two nurses are speaking out about violent incidents they experienced while working in the emergency department at Eagle Ridge Hospital (ERH) in Port Moody, B.C. — saying the Fraser Health Authority (FHA) has failed to provide a safe working environment, and has sought to silence employees who speak out. Veteran nurse Arden Foley says she is not returning to work because of lingering post traumatic stress from an attack by a patient. Victoria Treacy, says she was suspended and placed under investigation by Fraser Health after she spoke out about a patient who threatened her colleagues with a machete. The health authority said Treacy, who currently works at the hospital as a casual FHA employee, wasn't suspended or put under investigation. However, the women's stories are two of many included in a lawsuit filed against the health authority in the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on June 6. Nurses speak out against violence, machete attack at Fraser Health ERs 7 hours ago Duration 3:09 In the lawsuit, emergency physician Kaitlin Stockton alleges that her job was threatened by the authority after she tried to warn patients about lengthy delays in the ER. It also alleges that deteriorating work conditions in emergency rooms have led to preventable deaths, and describes a slew of violent incidents against employees. In one instance, a nurse was allegedly strangled by a patient, and after eight weeks off work, suffered four broken ribs from a separate attack. In another, a physician allegedly suffered injuries after being attacked by a pit bull in the ER. "These events are so common that they are normalized and are rarely if ever acknowledged by FHA management and leadership," the lawsuit alleges. Fraser Health told CBC News it does not comment on matters that are before the courts. When CBC News asked about violent incidents, the authority responded with a statement. "We are deeply concerned about the violent incidents that occurred at Eagle Ridge Hospital in November 2024 and January 2025 and the impact it had on staff and medical staff," the authoritysaid in the statement. "In March 2025, we increased security staffing in the Emergency Department at Eagle Ridge Hospital in direct response to recent violent incidents. We also strengthened training for site security and increased on-the-floor coaching to ensure staff are fully prepared to respond effectively." Speaking out after attack Treacy, 37, was working a night shift in ERH's emergency department in January 2025 when a man threatened staff by yelling and wielding a large machete. Treacy said she called security and assisted her colleagues in evacuating patients from the area. She then spoke to several media outlets, saying the incident led her to fear for her own safety and that of her colleagues and patients. She said the same standard of security should be in place at ERH as there is at larger hospitals in the region. A few days later, Treacy says she was contacted by the travel nurse agency that contracts her to Fraser Health. According to the lawsuit, she was told the health authority was asking her not to come in for her next scheduled shift because she was being placed under investigation. The lawsuit states "after FHA failed to take action or implement changes following the January 14th, 2025 machete incident, the nurse who had been threatened by the patient went public to advocate for better security measures at ERH. In response, FHA initiated an investigation into the nurse and suspended her during the process." In a statement, Fraser Health said it "did not suspend the agency nurse involved, nor did we initiate an investigation into their conduct." "We recognize that this was a traumatic and distressing event for everyone involved and understand that health-care workers often face highly challenging situations." But Treacy said in an interview with CBC, that her understanding was that she was being fired. "I [spent] an entire weekend thinking my job and my career were jeopardized," she said. "To speak out about safety and my personal experience and to be told not to go back to work was extremely devastating and extremely worrying." Treacy said because she was a travel nurse under contract at the time, she never signed documentation preventing her from speaking to journalists. "My main message with those interviews was to ask for help and say these are the things that are actually happening," she said. "I just never thought that asking for help and asking for safety in our workplace would potentially impact me." The incident is listed in the lawsuit against Fraser Health as one example of "a psychologically unsafe and toxic workplace, where staff fear speaking out or advocating for themselves and patients due to a culture of retaliation against those who do." Jaw dislocated, PTSD Foley has worked as a nurse for 46 years, in a career that took her from the operating room to the emergency ward. Foley said she is speaking out now because she no longer works at the health authority. She said that on Nov. 20, 2024, she was on shift at ERH when she was badly injured by a patient who had suffered an overdose. Foley said she was in the process of unhooking them from a machine in order to discharge them, when they suddenly and violently kicked her in the head. The force of the kick allegedly slammed her against a wall. According to the lawsuit "the assault left the nurse with a jaw dislocation, a concussion, and PTSD. This nurse has not been able to return to work." Foley filed a claim with WorkSafeBC, pressed charges against the patient and quit her job. "It took me weeks just to not think of him and the incident. I felt very angry at the time. I didn't feel that I had done anything wrong and yet I was still blaming myself, thinking maybe I could have done things different," she said. "I've never experienced an assault or violence or aggression as I did that day." In a statement, the health authority said "a Fraser Health manager reached out to the nurse on November 21 to offer their support and communicate the supports and resources that are available through Fraser Health for employees who have experienced violence in the workplace." Foley accessed counselling to help with the symptoms of her post-traumatic stress, but ultimately decided not to return to nursing after speaking with her colleagues. "Everyone I talked to there was telling me how the situation had deteriorated — the working conditions, the increased workload, and instances of aggressive, abusive behaviour toward our staff and other patients," she said. "Losing my identity as a nurse was what this incident has cost me — I lost my identity with my career, and now it's over." The B.C. Nurses' Union (BCNU) said the number of violent incidents that force their members to take time off work has been on the rise. According to the union's website, they represent about 50,000 nurses. BCNU said the number of claims for nursing staff — including licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses and nursing coordinators and supervisors — climbed 48 per cent from about 29 a month in 2016 to about 43 a month in 2024. "None of us were ever expecting that this type of violence would occur in our careers. It has escalated dramatically even since I became a nurse and unfortunately we do need better safety measures," Treacy said.
