DELTA – Growers are taking a closer look at pay structures as minimum wage hikes take effect this month. As promised during last spring’s election campaign, the BC NDP plan to raise the minimum wage to $15.20 an hour over the next four years. The first of four minimum wage increases took effect June 1, …
Wildfire, flood review has First Nations focus
KAMLOOPS – A report on the BC government’s response to the natural disasters that roiled the province in 2017 says those who know the land should have a greater role in future preparations for what it calls “the new normal.” Those people are first and foremost the province’s First Nations, who figure in almost all …
Hops revival gains traction with feds
CHILLIWACK – Fifty years ago, hops were a common sight across the central and eastern Fraser Valley with thousands of acres in production. About 20 years ago, the local industry ceased to exist as major brewers switched to lower-cost hops from the Yakima Valley. In the past few years, however, hop production has returned to …
Farmers’ markets focus on cultivating trust
VICTORIA – Consumers look to farmers’ markets as a trusted source of wholesome local produce. But as an undercover investigation in Ontario last year discovered, not all vendors are honest about their sources. Sometimes, what they claim to grow is from a wholesaler, a phenomenon not unknown at some markets in BC. The issue came …
Research is a focus of BC’s grape and wine sector
The British Columbia grape and wine industry began investing in research around 15 years ago, first with levies collected under the research and development committee of the BC Wine Institute and, since 2006, through the British Columbia Wine Grape Council (BCWGC), established under the BC Farming and Fishing Industries Development Act. The grower and winery …