Did anyone notice July 20 was the 150th anniversary of B.C. joining Canada?
In usual times there would have been some kind of celebration, but these aren’t usual times. One of the few places I saw the anniversary noted was in a series of articles by Stephen Hume in the Vancouver Sun. They were well worth reading. B.C. has quite a history.
***
Flags were the topic at a special city council meeting last week. The question was should there be a Secwepemc flag flying outside city hall. Answer: why not?
***
Just as it seemed the pandemic was slowing down, the world was hit with scorchingly hot weather that messed up our lives. That was bad enough, but in B.C. it brought wildfires that seem bent on wiping out half the province, making life miserable for all living things.
What next? Famine?
Water shortages are causing droughts all over the place. That could mean food shortages. Scientists believe the hot weather is just a taste of what’s to come. We’d be wise to find ways to adapt to it. By “we” I mean all levels of government as well as the general public.
***
Why did Interior Health Authority have more than half the new COVID cases in B.C. last week? On July23, according to the news, IHA recorded 37 new cases. Fraser Health recorded 30, which doesn’t make us sound too bad but FHA has a population of around 1.9 million. IHA has 740,000 people. Of the five provincial health authorities, only Northern Health has fewer people than we do. According to reports, IHA has a number of towns with low vaccination rates. Is that why we led the parade in new COVID cases last week? Hopefully it’s just a blip, not a trend.
Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian and book author.
