Province to fund cleanup of 1,000 km of B.C. coastline
The province has committed $3.6 million to clean more than 1,000 kilometres of B.C. shoreline, while employing tourism industry workers, youth, and Indigenous peoples.
Three organizations will split the funding, which will see tonnes of ocean trash and debris removed from areas including Haida Gwaii, the Discovery Islands and parts of Vancouver Island.
In total, the three projects will create 240 jobs, 163 of which have been earmarked for youth, according to the province.
"After a very tenuous year for tourism, we are very grateful to be able to offer this additional work to our staff including many local youth, as well as their community members and local businesses who will be assisting with the project," said Rick Snowdon, co-owner of Spirit of the West Adventures in Heriot Bay, B.C.
"It is a win, win, win, the beaches get cleaned up, folks get back to work and everyone can feel good about their contribution to this project," he said.
Funding for the shore cleanups comes from the B.C. "Clean Coast, Clean Waters" initiative, which launched in 2020 and continued in 2021.
Since the initiative began, roughly 550 tonnes of ocean debris have been removed from B.C.'s shorelines. The debris included plastics, abandoned fishing gear and polystyrene foam.
The three organizations receiving the funding are: the Misty Isles Economic Development Society ($2.3 million), the Campbell River Association of Tour Operators ($767,000), and the Spirit of the West Adventures ($563,000).
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.