MARCH
• On March 1, Sunshine Coast resident Kim Darwin, who ran in the last provincial election as the B.C. Green candidate for Powell River-Sunshine Coast, announced she would run for leadership of the B.C. Green party. The only other declared candidate as of March 2 was Cowichan Valley MLA Sonia Furstenau.
• A group of high school students was headed to Russia despite COVID-19 throwing a wrench in their travel plans. But on March 3, School District No. 46 (SD46) issued a statement that all other overseas travel was cancelled for the remainder of the school year, based on information from the World Health Organization, Global Affairs Canada, provincial health officer Bonnie Henry and the Ministry of Education.
• On March 4, Dawn Miller was recognized for her role in founding the Women’s Enterprise Centre, which just marked 25 years of financing, training and mentoring women business owners.
• Sechelt Hospital Foundation executive director Jane Macdonald said generous donations allowed her organization to purchase two pieces of much-needed hospital equipment for kids who need ultrasounds or X-rays at Sechelt Hospital.
• The Davis Bay - Wilson Creek - Selma Park Community Association announced they had no objection to the renaming of Wilson Creek to ts’ukw’um. However, the Pender Harbour Area Residents Association opposed the name change for Madeira Park to salalus.
• A newly-installed, 28-panel solar array on the roof of the Sechelt Seniors Activity Centre was officially launched March 17. The array was installed in memory of James Pawley, who died last year and was an active board member of the Sunshine Coast Community Solar Association as well as an advocate on climate change and alternative energy.
• Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth declared a provincial state of emergency on COVID-19, including restrictions on gatherings and business. On March 17, bars, pubs and other businesses with liquor primary licences were ordered to close. Restaurants and cafés unable to keep people at a distance of at least one metre were ordered to shift to offering take-out and delivery only. Public-facing business outside were also opting to close their doors or limit interactions, moving online, and allowing staff to work from home.
• Michelle and Doug Sikora, owners of the S&M Medicinal Sweet Shoppe in Gibsons, were taking the B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and the Community Safety Unit to court after a raid on the store on Feb. 18. The Sikoras claimed the enforcement action amounted to “a warrant-less search and seizure of medicinal cannabis and medicinal cannabis products from a medical cannabis dispensary” in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
• Researchers from Environment and Climate Change Canada were on the Coast to track the movements of several species of gulls, including at the Sechelt landfill. “There’s high priority in the government right now on collecting ecological baselines for the Salish Sea,” said project lead Mark Hipfner. Gulls in particular are a good indicator species.
• On March 26, Medical Health Officer Geoff McKee spoke to SCRD directors about the potential local impact of COVID-19. As of March 11, 46 cases had been confirmed in B.C., including four people who recovered.
• Kim Darwin officially launched her bid to become the next leader of the B.C. Green Party, but the usual launch event and planned press conference were cancelled because of concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Effective March 17, to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 and overwhelming the public health system on the Sunshine Coast, a slate of community events were cancelled or postponed, and public facilities were closed, including recreation centres, community halls, sports fields, District of Sechelt facilities, libraries, and childcare service.
• In a release March 17, BC Ferries announced travellers could remain in their vehicles on all car decks, to promote social distancing and help prevent the spread of COVID. They also moved to close the gift shop and limit food service.
• Despite reassurances that supply chains were intact and food was plentiful in Canada, Sunshine Coast grocery stores were dealing with panic buying, long lines and cleaned-out shelves. Stores also implemented stricter hygiene rules in response to COVID-19.
APRIL
• Floatplane companies flying in and out of Sechelt suspended regular flights in response to the pandemic, but were still offering charter, freight and emergency travel flights.
• Former Gibsons mayor Wayne Rowe was appointed to the B.C. Ferry Authority’s board of directors April 1.
• Gatherings of more than 50 people were prohibited by B.C. public health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Christians on the Coast prepared for a physically-distanced, virtual Easter.
• A survey of Sunshine Coast businesses found that 85 per cent of local entrepreneurs saw revenue loss and were worried about surviving the impacts of the COVID pandemic. Many were adapting, innovating and forming new partnerships to meet the challenge. Twenty-seven per cent said they are now effectively closed for business with no revenue at all.
• BC Ferries cut sailings on the Langdale-Horseshoe Bay route to six round-trips per day and started screening passengers for potential symptoms of COVID-19, in response to new measures announced by Transport Canada on April 5.
• BC Parks announced the immediate closure of all provincial parks just ahead of the Easter long weekend.
• In the ongoing legal battle over the evacuated Seawatch subdivision in Sechelt, the district issued a demand through legal counsel to developer Concordia Seawatch and the property owners to “carry out their obligation to repair the subdivision.”
• Gibsons council voted April 7 to approve development permits for a new project at the Five Corners intersection in Lower Gibsons. The property was being used as a site to display The Beachcombers boat Persephone, which would have to be relocated.
• On April 9, SCRD directors awarded a $239,980 contract for the phase-four raw water reservoir feasibility study to Integrated Sustainability Consultants Ltd. – the same company that conducted the previous phases.
• Busy BC Ferries sailings over the Easter weekend prompted a social media backlash from residents claiming the ferry traffic was mainly tourists and vacation property owners acting against the advice of B.C.’s public health officials against non-essential travel.
• Dr. Bonnie Henry rejected the idea of ordering travel restrictions. “I don’t believe there is a need for stepped-up enforcement, or lockdowns or any of those types of measures,” she said.
• Sunshine Coast school district added more solar panel installations at three elementary schools, making it far and away the largest producer of solar energy of any school district in the province.
• Casual employees had their work schedules cut or cancelled, but no layoffs were announced for regular SCRD staff.
• Federal Transportation Minister Marc Garneau announced that, as of April 20, Transport Canada would “encourage” the use of masks by passengers on boats, ferries, trains and buses, but they weren’t made mandatory.
• Local politicians addressed the influx of weekend visitors from off-Coast in a letter stating, “There is no question that tourists are not welcome right now … Our message since March is the same today: Stay home and explore the Sunshine Coast later.”
• In an April 19 message, organizer Phill Murray said, in light of the ongoing pandemic, the 2020 Sea Cavalcade in Gibsons was cancelled.
• Testing became available for anyone in B.C. with COVID-19 symptoms.
• The Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts cancelled its 2020 season due to the potential health threat posed by COVID-19, said producer Jane Davidson.
• Gibsons Wildlife Rehab Centre’s new trailer was ready to receive wildlife patients, and on April 24, animals were moved into their new more spacious abode.
• Sunshine Coast RCMP members paused for a moment of silence on April 24 to honour the 22 people, including RCMP officer Heidi Stevenson, killed in a shooting rampage in Nova Scotia.
• Signs went up at the entrances to shíshálh Nation lands on April 24 advising people that “shíshálh Nation lands are closed to non-residents” as a safety measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
