COAPCOAP + THE WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / TOPIC COLLECTION
Cowichan FOI & public accountability
Explore published reporting about freedom of information, access to public records and accountability in Cowichan.
17 matching archived articles · Page 1 of 1 · Articles retain their original dates.
COAP / 2024-08-18
North Cowichan's Climate Emergency: What's Really Going On?
The results of our Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Municipality of North Cowichan revealed a lot about how our local government is handling the so-called "climate emergency." After asking for documentation and data that would ju…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-07-10
Council Watch - July
Duncan: June 3 CAO: “Staff are reviewing the timing of the scramble crosswalk” Canada – Ingram Scramble Crossing Replacement with Protected Southbound Left Turn Signal. That Council direct staff to amend the Financial Plan to re-allocate th…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-07-10
CVRD’s Questionable Dealings with Nature’s Trust and Ducks Unlimited
I am the Chair of the Landkeepers Society and am responding to your recent article about the presentation to the CVRD Committee of the Whole by Reed Bailey. Mr. Bailey is a highly respected Land Use Planner from the Ministry of Agriculture …
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-05-24
Council Watch - May
April: - Rails to Trails’ spokesperson David Slade stated that federal and provincial funds were available for active transportation infrastructure, such as converting the railroad track into walking/biking paths, but not for reviving the r…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-04-18
Council Watch - April
Duncan: April 2024 Within the CAO report it was stated that the White Rd. “supportive housing” project which was delayed due to the original builder filing bankruptcy, will now be taken over by Knappett Projects Inc. to be finished late 202…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-04-18
A Nurse's Exodus - Systemic Failures Amid A Pandemic
In 2020, news of an impending pandemic came in from foreign countries. I was a new nurse working on a surgical floor in Duncan. Despite only graduating from nursing school recently, I was frequently the most senior on the floor and took the…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-04-18
North Cowichan Council Confronted By Unexpected Estuary Dilemma
As the story of the Cowichan Bay Estuary and the Dinsdale Farm continues to peel apart like an onion, each layer exposing the deeper story, we will continue to cover this saga until the day there is some sort of ‘ending’. As we have written…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-03-14
The Continuing Saga Of The Cowichan Bay Estuary
As we continue our coverage of the Cowichan Bay Estuary narrative that unfolded in June 2023, new details are emerging. The public was abruptly notified about the intention to remove dykes, a decision that would flood 70 hectares, including…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-02-18
LtE - Secret $61 Million
Dear WWIND, Every news media secretly took part in a $61MILLION Trudeau pre-election pay-off from your tax dollars. When news of this “emergency relief” payout to Canadian media was first leaked out, it was dismissed as “Misinformation”, a …
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-02-18
Controversial Land Amendments in British Columbia
The Province is quietly asking for public feedback on their amendments to the Land Act. They are asking for written submissions, no longer than five pages with no website links, no spam, and no profanity. Write to LandActamendments@gov.bc.c…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-02-01
The Uncertain Future of Our Public Lands
At the Crossroads of Change In Cowichan Valley, a community that prides itself on its strong connection to the land and its cultural heritage, the recent move by the British Columbia government to amend the Land Act has sparked a complex de…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2023-10-10
Tale of Dinsdale Farm
In the heart of Cowichan Bay, amidst the lush farmland and tranquil landscapes, a storm of controversy was brewing. Whispers and rumours swept through the community like wildfire, all centred on the contentious flooding of 70 hectares of pr…
Read the historical article →COAP / 2023-07-24
FOI Resources
FOI Resources Welcome to our comprehensive resource page on Freedom of Information (FOI) requests! If you've ever wondered how to access government information, navigate the FOI process, and craft effective requests, you've come to the righ…
Read the historical article →COAP / 2023-07-24
FOI North Cowichan OCP & Climate Caucus
FOI Request - Kate Marsh - Page 63 “Hello Alex, I am attaching a link to our new draft OCP process, including the OCP itself. It is based on Donut Economics a book by Kate Raworth. Nanaimo is the other Canadian City I am aware of that is us…
Read the historical article →COAP / 2023-07-24
FOI North Cowichan Climate Emergency
In May of this year, COAP sent an FOI request to North Cowichan asking to provide us with details about their declaration of a “climate emergency” back in 2019. We asked for a definition of which there was none. We asked for the partners th…
Read the historical article →COAP / 2023-07-22
How & Why to Write an FOI
FOI Overview A Freedom of Information (FOI) request is a formal way to access information held by the government or public bodies. It's like submitting an official inquiry to obtain specific documents or details that might not be readily av…
Read the historical article →COAP / 2023-06-01
Substantiate Climate Lens
** This article is from January, it was moved over for archive purposes. It relates to an active FOI we have with municipalities, see the following articles for updated information: https://coap.ca/foi-north-cowichan-climate-emergency/ http…
Read the historical article →