“Government and society pulled together to do what needed to be done” when COVID-19 hit the province in early 2020, despite being unprepared for a province-wide emergency. That’s the finding of an independent review of the province’s response to the pandemic, released December 2. Report authors Bob de Faye, Dan Perrin and Chris Trumpy – …
covid-19
Federal election call
This past weekend’s federal election call means Canada will go to the polls September 20. Ongoing wildfires and drought in BC as well as public concern over COVID-19 variants have prompted criticism of the election’s timing. By law, a federal election wasn’t necessary until 2023. The call came following a run of funding announcements targeting …
Farmers market returns
The Langley Community Farmers Market started up again on June 16 with a solid turn out, following a one-year hiatus. To breathe new life into its return this year, the weekly market has hired a marketing manager to help generate a buzz in the community. It seems to be paying off. More than 250 people …
Sector events start growing
This summer could see a revival of agricultural fairs and trade shows, following last week’s announcement of BC’s reopening plans. BC Fairs members met June 1 to discuss plans and protocols as BC prepares for a full reopening of the province by September. Many fairs that usually happen later in the summer are planning to …
WorkSafeBC increases inspections
The single-largest cause of on-farm injuries in the farm sector according to WorkSafeBC is falls, but with the COVID-19 pandemic still going strong the provincial agency is doubling down on efforts to make sure the farm sector is adhering to its safety plans designed to curb the risk of infection. WorkSafeBC announced May 8 that …
Sunrise Poultry COVID outbreak
Sunrise Poultry in Surrey was well aware of the risk COVID-19 posed its workers and community prior to Fraser Health declaring an outbreak at its plant last week. “COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country and the risk remains,” it stated in a post to its website updating the community on steps it was …