The historic "Quinny" was destroyed by fire last night.  

The Quinsam Hotel and pub, believed to be about 70 years old, suffered extensive damage.

Witnesses say the fire broke out just before midnight and hours later fire crews could not keep the flames from spreading throughout the building.

Everyone inside the building at the time made it out safely and no one was seriously hurt.

Residents and Visitors can now signup to receive free emergency notifications.

Simply visit https://strathconard.connectrocket.com

If you have any questions please give me a call at 250-830-6702, skoopman@strathconard.ca 

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Summer Reading Club registration is NOW open! If you have a young one 0-12 years old, check out your local library's Summer Reading Club and take a walk on the wild side! http://virl.bc.ca/summer-reading-club

If you’re a backyard BBQ master, you probably own the standard wire BBQ brush that most grill masters have. But did you know that these brushes are actually harmful and that doctors are recommending they be thrown away before they cause serious harm to your and your fellow diners?

Backyard cooks are now being told to ditch these brushes, as they can lead some severe health problems for those who utilize them. These brushes will often come undone during the grilling process and when the bristles fall onto the grill, they make their way into the food and lead to a host of problems.

When you swallow a bite of your BBQ goodies that contains bristles from these brushes, you could placing yourself at serious risk. The mouth and throat are placed in severe jeopardy and the flap of cartilage (known as the epiglottis) that provides coverage to the windpipe can be damaged.

These bristles have led to several patients requiring emergency medical assistance and if these issues are not treated in a timely fashion, they may even threaten the patient’s life and their long term health prognosis as a result.

Once the bristles work their way through the body, they can puncture any number of vital organs and in most instances, the bristles are not visible to the person who is consuming the tainted food. Emergency surgical procedures are often needed to save the patient’s life and if you are still using the same old wire brush, it is time to toss it away and start anew.

Please take a moment to pass this story along your grill master pals, so that they can take their proper precautions and save the ones they love from an uncertain fate. If you insist on continuing to use a wire brush, pay close attention to your grill and keep it free of all debris.

Almost seven weeks after the election, the Legislature finally returned for the Throne Speech and the next stage of an engaging time in BC politics. (It is interesting to note that in Britain this month the House of Commons resumed sitting within days of an election which too left a hung parliament.)

The session started with the election of a Speaker: Steve Thomson, BC Liberal MLA and former Minister of Forests stood unopposed and will work through the machinations of the coming week and if he chooses to stay, beyond.

The Throne Speech, as I always say, is the government’s vision. This time it was a BC Liberal conversion of epic proportions, in fact it was almost all of the NDP’s platform. The promises made ranged from investments in child care through increasing welfare rates to campaign finance reform and proportional representation. These are changes that we in the NDP have been demanding for years. We have tabled countless private members’ bills on them in the Legislature and all have been roundly rejected by the BC Liberals.

None of these promises made Thursday were in the BC Liberal budget of February nor were they in the platform they ran on in the election just two months ago. Indeed they have had 16 years to act, but only with the prospect of being ousted did they do anything.

It was in reality nothing more than a last ditch cynical attempt by Christy Clark and the BC Liberals to stay in power.

We will be back in the House next week for the debate. The Opposition will be bringing in a motion of no confidence in the government, which should be voted on next Thursday. If that is successful, the future lies in the lap of the Lieutenant Governor who will have to decide whether to ask John Horgan to form government or whether we should have another election.

In the hiatus between the election and the resumption of the Legislature I was able to turn my attention to some constituency issues.

Of particular note are developments at the new Campbell River Hospital. As most people are aware, parking meters have been installed at the site; I have been in conversation with Island Health reminding them of the NDP campaign promise that if we form government we would not allow paid parking at hospitals where it did not exist before.

The other serious concern is the helipad. It appears that while the public private partnership (P3) contract demanded a helipad rated by Transport Canada as H2, what was built was to a lower (H1) standard. This would significantly limit its use. I have taken this up with Island Health as has the Regional Hospital Board. While the current hospital has not had a helipad through construction, building one of high standard was part of the contract and is important for emergency transfers. Our hospital will be serving rural and remote areas with resource industries where air ambulance access can be vital.

I was very pleased to learn that work is soon to start on removing the diversion dam on the Salmon River. I raised the need for this last year with the then Minister responsible for BC Hydro as well as BC Hydro’s CEO; plans successfully passed the BC Utilities Commission and the removal will be in time for this year’s salmon run – soon to be unimpeded for 40km. This would not have happened without those who fight for salmon habitat in and around Campbell River and have long been campaigning for this decommissioning.

I will be back in the constituency for the weekend ahead of another week in Victoria. I can always be contacted by email at Claire.trevena.mla@leg.bc.ca, by phone at 250 287 5100 in Campbell River, 250 949 9473 in Port Hardy or toll free at 1 866 387 5100. I’m also on Facebook, and sometimes on Twitter @clairetrevena.