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COVID-19: BC Ferries To Resume Long Harbour Ferry Service

Service to return to seasonal service levels to respond to growing demand - In collaboration with the Province, BC Ferries is increasing service on routes to the Southern Gulf Islands as of June 9, 2020 to match capacity with demand and better meet the needs of customers. This includes the re-opening of the Long Harbour terminal on Salt Spring Island. Demand on the Southern Gulf Island routes continues to grow. Effective June 9, 2020, the Vancouver (Tsawwassen) – Salt Spring Island (Long Harbour) service will resume and the Victoria (Swartz Bay) – Southern Gulf Islands route will return to winter seasonal service levels. The routes will revert to the sailing times customers are used to seeing and are expected to alleviate the current demand pressures. Bookings for the Tsawwassen – Long Harbour route June 9 onwards are now open. Existing bookings made by customers on the Tsawwassen – Southern Gulf Islands route between June 9 and June 23 will be cancelled and the reservati…
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COVID-19: Lady Minto Hospital Medical Staff Association - Double Your Bubble

Dear Salt Springers, As you are all aware, many businesses and organizations are re-opening lately. Please be patient with new guidelines and potential wait times - people are doing their best, and we must be compassionate. Salt Spring medical professionals and hospital staff are working hard to plan for the best possible care of our community members now and in the coming months, taking into consideration the possibility of a second wave. We ask that everyone please head into summer cautiously, taking good care of ourselves and our loved ones, while continuing to social distance. Only "double your bubble" with a few trusted family or friends, and keep things local if possible. Please take a minute to read this overview of phased re-opening from Doctors of BC. Thank you!
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Serious Incident Under Investigation on Salt Spring Island

UPDATE: 2020 June 2nd - 12:35 PM Police are investigating after two people were found dead Monday on Salt Spring Island. Local RCMP were called to a home on Fulford Ganges Road just before 5 p.m. Officers found a 48-year-old man dead on the property and a 41-year-old woman suffering serious injuries. The woman later died. Police say no one else was injured or involved in the incident and there is no danger to the public. "Police are not looking for suspects and no charges are anticipated," RCMP Cpl. Chris Manseau said in a statement. UPDATE: 2020 June 2nd - 06:58 AM Serious incident occurred in our community late yesterday afternoon in the 1500 block of Fulford-Ganges Road. RCMP police investigators have been on site all evening and are still in place as of this morning. No details about the persons involved have yet to be officially released. Multiple police checkpoints, police tape and white police tents could be seen on the property. RCMP's Major Cr…
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Salt Spring Island Community Child Care Space Creation Program

The Capital Regional District (CRD) Salt Spring Island Parks and Recreation Commission (PARC) has received $832,725 in funding from the Province of BC to support the creation of child and infant care spaces on Salt Spring Island. PARC previously received $214,000 in funding from the Province to support the construction of a purpose-built classroom to house recreation based pre-school program at the Rainbow Road Aquatic Centre, which is scheduled to open in September 2020. This additional funding will be used to expand the Rainbow Road Aquatic Centre to include a permanent 1,500 square foot multipurpose room. The new space will be available for a new or existing non-profit child care provider to occupy during weekdays and will be open to community groups and recreation programs in the evenings and weekends. It is scheduled to open in September 2021. “We are excited to announce the creation of new child care spaces for the community as well as additional indoor spaces fo…
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Island COMEBACK a Regenerative Initiative To “Keep Our Island Vibe Alive” Launches

Salt Spring Island has joined a pandemic economic response and recovery initiative called Island COMBACK. Created by a diverse cross-section of BC’s rural islanders, this grassroots gift certificate and donation program will assist our most vulnerable businesses and community groups during the pandemic and beyond. Rural islanders are interconnected, strong, and caring. Island COMEBACK’s goal is to help each island be better able to recover from the current crisis. There are 18 rural islands taking part including Salt Spring. Island COMEBACK is both a people-first, e-commerce site designed to promote and sell island created non-perishable and durable goods and services, and a donation platform allowing Salt Spring community groups and organizations to receive funds to assist with their immediate needs. It calls upon our local community, and the world, to support the recovery of our rural island culture, and economy by purchasing a gift certificate, making a donation or by doi…
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Salt Spring Climate Action Survey Launched

Major Milestone Reached for Long-awaited 2030 Climate Action Plan - Transition Salt Spring has launched an online public engagement survey, giving Salt Spring Islanders a big opportunity to tell their leaders what they want to see in a climate action plan for their island home. “We’re really excited to offer Salt Springers this unique opportunity to participate online to help develop a climate action plan for our community," says Darryl Martin, chair of the volunteer committee working in cooperation with local officials to develop the Salt Spring Island Climate Action Plan. “We’re lucky to be one of six communities across Canada piloting this forward-looking community climate action tool.” With COVID-19 making in person public meetings impossible, the online tool couldn’t have come at a better time.  Participants are able to vote on policy options and community actions, and build a plan that works to reduce emissions as well as to prepare Salt Spring for higher wildfire r…
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Salt Spring Island Foundation COVID-19 Emergency Fund Reaches Goal

A $30,000 grant from the Vancouver Foundation Community Response Fund has boosted the Salt Spring Island Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Relief Fund to its $200,000 target. The grant is intended for rapid community response to support the needs of vulnerable populations. Foundation Board Chair Brian Lawson says, “We are extremely grateful for the generous community response. Reaching this Emergency Fund goal enables the Foundation to continue to partner with donors and local charities to deal with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Demand for the services of our non-profit organizations will undoubtedly increase as islanders experience loss of income and other challenges, including mental health issues, over the summer and beyond.” The Foundation’s emergency fund has already distributed $113,687 to Salt Spring charities, including over $50,000 in food gift cards distributed via local charities to those in need in the community. This has been made pos…
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Creative Project: Stay Home, Stay Safe

My wife and I were enjoying our fifth year on Salt Spring Island when the pandemic hit. As we hunkered down, like many others in this wonderful community, I looked for a way to use my unexpected free time to give back to the island. Our company, Terrier Marketing, works with manufacturers that supply the entertainment industry, among others. When one of them came up with images that could be projected on the sides of buildings, I knew I had what I was looking for. I needed to find a building that would provide a surface that could be projected on, and a corresponding secure location where I could locate the projector. A careful study of buildings along Fulford Ganges Road found only one pair of buildings that would meet my needs. Dan Spiess at Salt Spring Physiotherapy gave his permission to use his temporarily shuttered clinic and enthusiastic support for what he called “this noble project”. Jeremy Milsom at Salt Spring Inn allowed us to use his exterior wall as a screen. …
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COVID-19: Navigating Re-opening Local Businesses

As businesses are navigating the guidelines set out by the government, Public Health Officer, and WorkSafeBC, some are also experiencing extreme criticism from local residents about re-opening after nearly two and half months of being closed. Although re-opening our economy is daunting to many, every business is working hard to follow the guidelines and directives. Many of the requirements come at a high financial and human resource cost, leave their employees feeling vulnerable and affect overall business viability. We are so lucky to live in BC during this time, with the strong leadership and communication skills of Dr. Bonnie Henry and compliance by BC Residents our Province has been exemplary in flattening the curve. We must continue trusting her leadership and support businesses as they adjust to comply with the new business environment. Business owners are aware that it is not “Business as usual” and need locals to be understanding and supportive through this try…
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MLA Adam Olsen: British Columbia's Restart Plan

Last week British Columbia moved into phase two of our restart plan. Nothing about the past few months has been easy. Asking British Columbians to stay home, miss important occasions like births, funerals and religious celebrations, close their businesses, and stay at least two metres away from each other has been very difficult. However, it’s necessary in order to protect the most vulnerable people in our society - our friends, family and neighbours who are immune-compromised, and our elders. Thankfully we were successful in flattening the curve and limiting the transmission rates in British Columbia without having to close down our economy as far as many other jurisdictions did. Now officials have begun to ease the restrictions they are asking each of us to maintain the new habits we have learned while still limiting ourselves to 60% of our pre-COVID interactions. From what we are learning about this awful disease we will need to re-organize aspects of our society to…
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