City finds funds
With a smaller than requested Powell River Community Forest grant, City of Powell River council will be borrowing internally to find almost half of the $562,000 needed to partially close the city’s former airport landfill site.
Council approved a $246,000 forest grant to help pay for the cleanup of the site. The remaining $316,000 will be borrowed internally from the city’s funds.
The city’s November 2 grant application came as the community forest board was finalizing its fall selections.
The site cleanup will allow the city to meet requirements of a provincial grant to extend Powell River Airport’s runway.
House defeats bill
A private members’ bill introduced by North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney last year that would have added the right to housing to the Canadian Bill of Rights was defeated 243 to 42 in the House of Commons on November 8.
Blaney said the federal government ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which included the fundamental right to housing, in 1976. That right, however, has not been formally incorporated into Canadian law.
Liberal and Conservative party representatives voted together to oppose the second reading of Blaney’s bill.
Liberals opposed said the bill would shift the federal government’s focus from providing housing funding to paying for legal challenges.
Conservatives opposed said the bill ignores the fact that provinces have jurisdiction to provide housing.
