COAPCOAP + THE WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / TOPIC COLLECTION
North Cowichan council & community policy
Follow the local debates about North Cowichan council, community planning, taxes and the practical effects of municipal decisions.
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119 matching archived articles · Page 3 of 5 · Articles retain their original dates.
WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-03-14
Council Watch - March
Duncan: Feb/March 2024 Duncan council met to reconsider their scramble crosswalk. Concerns noted about traffic backing up along Canada Ave. Protected left turns are now being considered as they accomplish the same goal of “protecting pedest…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-03-14
North Cowichan Rejects New Development Near Hospital, Despite Community Support
West Vista Terrace: A Case Study in North Cowichan’s Development Challenges Nestled just minutes from North Cowichan’s municipal heartbeat, a stone’s throw away from the new hospital, the West Vista Terrace project emerged in 2020, promisin…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-03-14
Track and Trade World For The Global Inventory Program: Your Garbage Is Next?
Have you noticed the growing intrusion of tracking and tracing in your daily life? Loyalty cards monitor purchases, debit cards track dining habits, Smart Meter technology, and now, even your garbage might be under surveillance. The recent …
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-03-07
Socialism vs. Solutions: Councillor Istace's Controversial Vision for North Cowichan
Misguided Governance: A Detriment to North Cowichan's Future In a recent council meeting, Councillor Chris Istace presented an argument that could only be described as a masterclass in bureaucratic double-speak, laced with a generous helpin…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-03-06
The Checkbox Dilemma: Self-Identification's Unintended Consequences in Equity Initiatives
The Inherent Flaws in Self-Identification In our collective endeavour to forge equitable and just societies, the mechanisms we deploy to achieve these objectives warrant rigorous scrutiny. Initiatives like those of the Cowichan Valley Schoo…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-02-29
Cowichan Valley Stands United: The Turning Point Against Incremental Impositions
Our close-knit community faced a watershed moment at the CVRD board meeting on February 28, 2024. A seemingly minor proposal to add a 3.39% tax for parkland acquisition into an overall 19.33% tax increase became the tipping point. This wasn…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-02-27
Joint venture between Duncan and North Cowichan - Safer Community Plan details
The Cowichan Valley has made headlines this month, the community's outcry for safety and stability has led to a series of public protests, underlining a deep-seated concern for the future. Amid the clamour for change, the common refrain is …
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-02-18
Edition - 009 February
View PDF version here Looking to advertise with WWIND? For sales and a rate sheet contact us at sales@wwind.caIf you’d like to submit an article for our next edition, contact us at editor@wwind.caView available packages and sizes here. Arti…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-02-18
Good Neighbours thrift store - Call to action
The North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP is currently investigating a suspicious fire in a commercial area. Just before 1:00 a.m., on February 10, 2024 the North Cowichan Duncan RCMP responded to a report of a structure fire in the 5000 block of York…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-02-18
Parks or Pockets, Green Space and Dwindling Bank Accounts
Parks or Pockets: Cowichan Valley’s Quest to Grow Trees and Shrink Wallets Amidst a whopping 19.33% increase in taxes, residents plan to protest outside the CVRD building on Ingram St, Duncan, February 28th, 1:30PM. The spotlight on the str…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-02-18
Council Watch - Feb
North Cowichan February 2024: North Cowichan wrapped up their budget debates and got a taste of Bill 44 The 2024 budget was accepted with Cllr. Findlay, and Cllr. Manhas in opposition to the 5.18% increase. Cllr Manhas opposed the budget fr…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-02-18
17 years of north cowichan
In our recent interviews in North Cowichan, the family behind this narrative prefers to remain anonymous—a reflection of a prevailing apprehension among many to share their stories, fearing potential repercussions from North Cowichan. Some …
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-02-18
Bill 44 overrides local governments
In November, the BC NDP swiftly advanced three pivotal bills: Bill 44, 46, and 47. These legislative measures marked a significant transfer of local powers to the province, superseding established Official Community Plans (OCP). Among the s…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-02-11
"New Greenopolis," where the air is clean, but the cupboards are bare.
Unpacking the Middle-Class Divide and the Silent Struggle The recent considered 15 to 19% tax hike by the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD), predominantly for parks acquisition, has sparked a debate that cuts to the core of community…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-02-10
Revolve Cowichan's Comical Missteps on Drug Policy
Revolve Cowichan Takes a Swing and Misses: A Witty Rebuttal to Far-Left Follies in Cowichan's Streets By: Taylor Wilson, Staff Writer at The Westward Independent In a recent blog post dripping with the kind of self-righteous indignation tha…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-02-10
CVRD squeezes through a 19.33% tax hit to residents
Squeezing Today for Tomorrow's Green: The Cowichan Valley Conundrum In the latest episode of "How to Squeeze a Stone," the CVRD directors took to the stage with a performance that left many of us in the audience scratching our heads. After …
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-01-21
Edition 008 - January
View PDF version here Looking to advertise with WWIND? For sales and a rate sheet contact us at sales@wwind.caIf you’d like to submit an article for our next edition, contact us at editor@wwind.caView available packages and sizes here. Arti…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-01-21
Demonizing single-family homes
After reading all of the local ‘plans’, from the OCP, the whole transportation plan, and the Climate Action and Energy Plan, it is clear what North Cowichan has in store for us until 2050. Many of these plans entail drastic changes to our l…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-01-21
Pitfalls in North Cowichan's EV Fleet
In recent reports from the Cowichan Valley Citizen and the Chemainus Valley Courier, the decision by the North Cowichan Council to transition its municipal fleet to electric vehicles (EVs) has come under scrutiny. This report aims to provid…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-01-21
Win against a Telecom Giant
On December 20th, North Cowichan Council faced a pivotal decision prompted by a staff recommendation to accept a lease from Rogers Cellular for the installation of six 5G antennas on a water tower in the densely populated Eagle View Place n…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-01-21
Chinese studies sway local policy?
In the past five months, North Cowichan and the CVRD have been visited by representatives from local climate groups, some with ties to larger, global non-governmental agencies. These individuals were instrumental in urging all local governm…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2024-01-21
Cowichan fights against drug sites
Cowichan Valley Community Center - Emergency Warming Site I read that people are very upset about our provincial and local governments’ desires to have free injection sites that are obviously not working. These cause huge problems and dange…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2023-12-14
Edition 007 - December
Looking to advertise with WWIND? For sales and a rate sheet contact us at sales@wwind.caIf you’d like to submit an article for our next edition, contact us at editor@wwind.caView available packages and sizes here. Articles within this editi…
Read the historical article →WESTWARD INDEPENDENT / 2023-12-14
Cowichan Valley's Council Conundrum
The North Cowichan Council meeting on November 1st resonated with the kind of deliberation that reverberates far beyond the council chambers. It wasn’t just about who gets to sit where or represent whom; it was about the very essence of rep…
Read the historical article →