• Building wildfire resilience throughout B.C.

  Source: British Columbia - Government News
  Date: 2026-09-13 20:00:00.0
  Tags: [British Columbia, Emergency, Climate, Environment, Infrastructure, Indigenous]

  The Government of British Columbia announced an investment of $15 million under Budget 2026 for the 2027 FireSmart Community Funding and Supports (FCFS) program, with applications opening October 1, 2026. Delivered in partnership with the Union of B.C. Municipalities and the First Nations’ Emergency Services Society, the program funds local wildfire-risk-reduction projects, education, home assessments, and mitigation planning. Since 2018, approximately $190 million has been invested through the initiative, supporting more than 300 communities, including 158 First Nations and 155 local governments.

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• Powering Metro Vancouver’s first net-zero-emission school

  Source: British Columbia - Government News
  Date: 2026-09-11 18:30:00.0
  Tags: [British Columbia, Education, Energy, Environment, Climate, Infrastructure]

  The Government of British Columbia and BC Hydro announced that École Snokomish Elementary in Surrey has opened as Metro Vancouver's first all-electric, net-zero-emission school and latest Power Smart Champion. Supported by CleanBC funding and more than $14,000 for an initial energy study, the 27-classroom, 655-student school utilizes a heat-pump-based HVAC system designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 89% and avoid an estimated 961 tonnes of emissions over 15 years. The project directly advances Surrey Schools' target to lower emissions by 40% by 2030 and aligns with BC Hydro's Power Smart 2.0 plan to drive public building energy efficiency.

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• Strengthening public notifications, evacuation-route plans

  Source: British Columbia - Government News
  Date: 2026-09-09 15:30:00.0
  Tags: [British Columbia, Emergency, Climate, Indigenous, Infrastructure]

  The Government of British Columbia, through the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness and administered by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, has approved more than $1.3 million for 29 projects across 36 First Nations and local governments via the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund. The funding supports the development and updating of evacuation-route plans, route mapping, public-notification plans, and tabletop validation exercises to enhance disaster readiness. Notable recipients include the Neskonlith Indian Band, the District of Kitimat, the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George (partnering with the Village of McBride, Village of Valemount, District of Mackenzie, and Simpcw First Nation), and the Town of Creston, among 25 other regional districts and First Nations. Since 2017, the CEPF has allocated approximately $7.8 million across 212 projects for this specific funding stream.

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• As Carney advances Vancouver port expansion, environmentalists raise concern for at-risk species

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-09-05 08:00:00.0
  Tags: [National, British Columbia, Infrastructure, Transportation, Environment, Climate]

  The federal government has issued a mandatory notice under the Building Canada Act to designate the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 port expansion project in Vancouver as a project of national interest, initiating a 30-day consultation period. Led by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the $10 billion three-berth container terminal expansion—backed by a federal-provincial funding agreement—aims to increase port capacity by nearly 50 per cent and generate $100 billion in annual trade capacity. Environmental groups, including Environmental Defence, and biological scientists have raised concerns that national-interest status could fast-track approvals and give Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet discretionary power to bypass environmental safeguards under the Species at Risk Act, potentially threatening endangered southern resident killer whales and chinook salmon habitats within the Fraser River Estuary.

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