Local island ingredients make holiday dinners grand
As this year draws to a close, I feel privileged to celebrate this season of togetherness as I take on a new role as British Columbia’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The holidays are a time to gather with friends and family, but it is also a time for us to support local producers by incorporating B.C. ingredients in our holiday meals. With so many products grown and raised here, a feast of B.C. products is both easy and tasty, and due to the mild climate and plentiful greenhouses in B.C., we are able to enjoy some of the best of B.C.’s vegetables even in the colder months. Here is a...
Read MoreA message from Lana Popham B.C;s Minister of agriculture.
To me, summers on Vancouver Island are emblematic of farmers markets, packed with local produce, patio season and afternoons spent on the beach, enjoying a picnic lunch. As the leaves begin to change and we welcome the arrival of autumn and the harvests of many B.C. fruits and vegetables, I also wanted to share some lesser-known products from Vancouver Island that feature in fall meals at my home. They are all part of the BuyBC program, which helps consumers recognize local foods through labels and marketing, making over 3000 participating products easy to identify and are a shortcut to...
Read More– The Office of the Seniors Advocate today released BC Seniors: Falling Further Behind, a review of the financial challenges facing B.C. seniors.
The report highlights the impact of rising costs on B.C. seniors who depend on government pensions and ranks B.C. as the lowest in its financial support for seniors compared to other provinces and territories. “Seniors I speak with tell me their pension incomes are not keeping up with rising costs and they are paying too much for rent, groceries, dental care, homecare, house repairs and other essentials,” said BC Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie. “Currently 45% of seniors in British Columbia are living on less than minimum wage and 25% of seniors are living on less than $21,000 a...
Read MoreChildren at Risk
One of the positives from COVID was that it shut down all my regular activities and gave me the time to focus on writing my first book, Children at Risk. The book is a thriller and I wanted to write it for forever. COVID gave me the time and opportunity to do it. Many years after I worked as a front-line social worker, I am haunted by some of the difficult and heart rendering situations in which I was involved. Though my story is fiction, the emotions of the main character, Lillian, are real. After having worked as a social worker for forty years, only briefly in child welfare, I was fed up...
Read MoreTake time in life to stop and smell the Lavender!
After 17 years of getting up at 5AM, driving in the city traffic to be at work for 6:45am with my suit and big smile. Working overtime Monday to Friday and making good money. I learned life was rushing by and I was only looking forward to time off on the weekends. During the week I would find myself daydreaming for what I had planned for the weekend. Thank goodness Google was invented. This is so much fun at work… Work was great, and the money was rewarding but the quality of life was depleting with the grueling long hours and the daily stresses life can bring. Time was a flying by. So,...
Read MoreMay we all walk in light and peace
My first look at Vancouver Island in Victoria BC was in 1970. I was blown away by the view on Dallas Rd and wanted to live here as soon as I saw it. The houses were so cute and cozy. I tried living in Vancouver for a few months but it was too rainy and big so we moved to Victoria. BC. We immigrated to Canada running away from the Vietnam War. I finally felt at home after living in Sweden for a few cold years. I am an artist through and through and would like to share my book with you called Journey of a Mystic Artist. It is a colorful, mystical adventure where I go to sacred shrines and...
Read MoreWomen’s Enterprise Centre
Supporting every stage of your small business journey. January 2022. Women’s Enterprise Centre Newsletter.
Read MoreSupport Island Farmers
During 2021 we witnessed floods and fire of biblical proportions and a world plagued by Covid. One of many issues it exposed, yet again, is how fragile our food and power supply is. The most current figures I could find regarding how much of the food we consume is actually produced here on the Island can be found on the Food ECO District Victoria on their web site – https://www.get-fed.ca They stated (March 3rd 2019) “Up until the 1950s, 85 percent of our food supply was grown locally here on the island (1). Today in 2019, our local food supply has dwindled to roughly 10...
Read MoreDownsizing
“I am not my stuff: we are more than our possessions. Our memories are within us, not within our things. Holding onto stuff imprisons us; letting go is freeing.” Joshua Fields Millburn In our North American Culture we tend to collect value and put a lot of emphasis on material things, the “stuff” in our lives. This really came to the fore front for me when I made frequent visits to Africa. I saw how simply the people in our village lived and though life was challenging there was a joy for life and a deep connectivity with each other that was not the norm in my...
Read MoreStill I Rise
You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, Weakened by my soulful cries? Does my haughtiness offend you? Don’t you take it awful hard Cause I laugh like...
Read MoreConstruction set to begin on new supportive housing building in Nanaimo
New building getting underway next week will provide secure homes with wraparound services for people in need Construction will get underway next week on a new 59-unit supportive housing building at 702 Nicol St. in South Nanaimo. The four-storey building features 52 studio suites for people experiencing homelessness in the community. In addition to the studio units, one floor will feature seven units with two beds each that will be available exclusively to vulnerable women — a service previously provided by Samaritan House at 355 Nicol St., which has been demolished in preparation for...
Read MoreCelebrate B.C. Women Entrepreneurs with #WEcreateBC
Online campaign will run until Women’s Entrepreneurship Day VANCOUVER, OCTOBER 28, 2020 – The inaugural #WEcreateBC campaign launched this week to celebrate the impact that women entrepreneurs have in creating businesses, jobs, connections, and communities in British Columbia. The campaign is a joint effort between Women’s Enterprise Centre (WEC) and Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (FEW) and will culminate in a virtual toast on Women’s Entrepreneurship Day on Thursday, November 19. “Women entrepreneurs play a key role in the economic success and recovery of our province, and they...
Read MoreRonna-Rae Leonard,
BCNDP Candidate for Courtenay-Comox I was proud to serve as part of the first government caucus in BC that was 50% BCNDP women, with 50% of the Ministers being women. Women need to see other women in leadership positions, who can and will reflect our lived experiences in setting policy to make a more equitable world. I have been inspired by other women in politics to rise above the undercurrent and overt sexism that runs throughout society, to give voice to the needs of women everywhere; and I am proud to be part of Team Horgan, to seek re-election to continue the work of government to see...
Read MoreNew! Join the Creative Industries Trade Accelerator Program
Increase your international sales – bursaries available for WEC clients The Trade Accelerator Program (TAP) has developed a special cohort specifically designed for those in the Creative Industries! Women’s Enterprise Centre is a Supporting Sponsor of TAP, and we’re delighted to share this special cohort, which will provide focused support for the following businesses: audiovisual; design (exhibit design, fashion design, artistic product design, public art design, urban design); music; performing arts; publishing (books and periodicals); visual arts; interactive digital...
Read MoreSheila Malcolmson
BC NDP Candidate for Nanaimo I am running for re-election because I love my community, love the coast, and want to keep fighting for it. After 16 years of BC Liberal cuts to services, schools, seniors care, and tax holidays for the wealthy and well connected, the NDP has been working hard to build BC back up. We’ve made a lot of progress for Nanaimo the past three years – investing in childcare, care homes and the hospital here, for example. We’ve advanced reconciliation with Snuneymuxw First Nation. There is still more to do and the BC NDP will keep supporting people...
Read MoreIf you’re thinking about building a website
getting more online traffic, outsourcing, or growing your business then don’t forget to join us for one of our free webinars! , August 27 [This Thursday!] | How to Plan and Launch a New Website September 10 | Export Ready: Resources to Grow Your Business Outside of BC September 15 | Privacy: How to Outsource Work While Keeping You and Your Customers Safe September 17 | How to Get and Grow Your Website Traffic: The Basics September 21 | Finding and Bidding on Opportunities with the Government of Canada Please see below for more information and feel...
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