Last year was a busy news cycle filled with record-breaking wildfires, as well as housing and toxic drug crises and global conflicts highlighted through protests here in B.C.
A HISTORIC WILDFIRE SEASON
It was a record year for wildfires in B.C.
With 2.84 million hectares burned from 2,245 wildfires, 2023 saw more than double the last record of 1.35 million set in 2018.
It was during a weekend in August that Premier David Eby declared a provincial state of emergency, saying the situation had “evolved and deteriorated quite rapidly.” The state of emergency lasted 28 days.
At one point, there were more than 37,000 British Columbians on evacuation alert and 25,000 on evacuation order.
FIREFIGHTERS DIE IN LINE OF DUTY
While wildfires topped the news for most of B.C. and Canada, it was also a deadly year for wildland firefighters.
B.C. Wildfire Service’s operations director, Cliff Chapman, said in his 21 years in the industry, he’s “never felt the heaviness that we are feeling this season.”
In B.C., six firefighters were killed in the line of duty while a seventh was killed in Alberta and another died in the Northwest Territories.
Devyn Gale, 19, was killed July 13 while working near Revelstoke. She was a third-year firefighter with B.C. Wildfire Service.
Zak Muise, 25, died on July 28 while working on the Donnie Creek wildfire. He was in a remote area, about 150 kilometres north of Fort St. John, when the UTV he was riding on rolled over a steep drop on a gravel road.
Then in September, four firefighters were killed in a highway crash when heading home after aiding wildfire response efforts in the Vanderhoof area.
DROUGHTS PLAGUE B.C.
B.C. was left parched in 2023. The province entered the year under minor drought conditions, which quickly turned into extreme ones as hot weather triggered an early snowmelt and regular levels of rain refused to fall.
By July, the provincial government said drought conditions had become unprecedented for that time of year. The impacts were far reaching, with wildfires exacerbated, farmers struggling to grow crops and feed livestock and waterways drying up.
The fall season brought some moisture, but not nearly enough to alleviate the issue. British Columbians continued to feel the repercussions into the winter as many ski hills put off their opening for weeks due to a lack of snow.
As 2023 closed, eight of B.C.’s 34 water basins are still at the two most extreme levels of drought. Only three are experiencing no adverse impacts.
SOGI 123 PROTESTS
Despite SOGI 123, or Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, being a part of school curriculum for seven years, it became the centre of protests – and counter-protests – at school board meetings and outside schools in 2023.
Protests led by the 1 Million March 4 Children group saw British Columbians calling for the learning guidelines to be removed from classrooms.
Meanwhile, those in favour argued the program helps keep children of all gender identities safe.
The debate made its way into the B.C. Legislature, with B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad facing criticism for comparing residential schools to gender and sexuality education in public schools.
BC FERRIES CHAOS
It was rocky sailing once again for BC Ferries in 2023. Staffing shortages and mechanical failures caused countless delays and cancellations, the company’s booking system crashed on numerous occasions and the union representing BC Ferries workers alleged unfair labour practices.
Things got so bad, the province announced in October that it would begin penalizing BC Ferries for missed sailings. The details of that are set to be released in spring 2024.
The marine transportation company says it’s also working to remedy its issues internally. It hired a new CEO and president at the start of 2023 – Nicolas Jimenez, formerly of ICBC – and four new vice presidents in October.
TOXIC DRUG CRISIS
B.C. began 2023 with the unrolling of its three-year drug decriminalization pilot project. The project, which allows people to carry small amounts of illicit substances on them, is intended to lower their number of interactions with law enforcement and reduce stigma against them.
The efficacy of the project has yet to be measured, but many advocates and experts spent the year pushing for a different type of change: safer supply. A BC Coroners Service death review panel recommended in November that the province introduce non-prescription access to safer supply, so fewer people have to depend on toxic drugs sold on the street. The province immediately rejected the suggestion.
While the BC Coroners Service has not yet released death tolls for the final two months of the year, 2,039 people died from the unregulated, toxic drug supply in the first 10 months, amounting to six to seven lives lost a day. It continues to be the leading cause of death for British Columbians aged 10 to 59.
HOUSING
Whether it was rising rates on a mortgage, unaffordable rentals, the threat of eviction, or outright homelessness, British Columbians had housing on their minds in 2023.
Both rental and housing prices continued to be some of the highest in North America, and a general shortage of each left people clinging on to what they had or desperately trying to find something if they didn’t.
Rates of homelessness jumped and the public regularly heard from people who were struggling to hold onto shelter.
In response, the provincial government set specific housing targets for individual municipalities, relaxed zoning and development regulations to allow for more units on single-home lots, pushed for more development near transit hubs, looked at issuing standardized building designs to expedite the process, limited short-term rentals and expanded speculation and vacancy tax to more communities.
RECONCILIATION ON A GLOBAL SCALE
A homecoming celebration in a northern B.C. village for a memorial totem pole after an absence of almost 100 years highlighted the reckoning of Indigenous ownership of cultural items and repatriation on a global level.
The House of Ni’isjoohl memorial totem, on display in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh since 1930, was returned to its ancestral Nisga’a Nation village home in the Nass Valley.
In an interview with Black Press Media, Indigenous Education and Governance Canada Research Chair Amy Parent highlighted the historical significance of this event at the time.
“It means everything to our family,” Parent said. “It’s like bringing home a dear grandparent that’s almost in their 90s and have never met that’s been imprisoned in a European museum for over 90 years.”
POLICING IN B.C.
Once again, Surrey’s policing transition dominated provincial news. The now-five-year saga has led to a back-and-forth between the City of Surrey and the province, specifically Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth.
In April, Farnworth recommended the city continue with its transition to the Surrey Police Service from the Surrey RCMP. Mayor Brenda Locke then went back and forth with Farnworth over a redacted report, accusing him of misogyny.
In July, Farnworth ordered the city to move forward with its transition. In October, he introduced legislation, updating the process to “remove uncertainty” when a municipality decides to change their police of jurisdiction, and a month later he temporarily suspended the Surrey Police Board.
SIKH ATTACK
What began as a shooting in Surrey in June has led to souring international relationships between Canada and India.
Surrey RCMP was called to the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara on June 18 for a report of a shooting in the temple’s parking lot. The victim was the gurdwara’s president, 45-year-old Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a vocal advocate for the independent Sikh state of Khalistan in India.
Three months later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons there was “credible” intelligence linking agents of India’s government to Nijjar’s death. In the weeks after Trudeau’s allegations, India told Canada to bring home dozens of its diplomats, India put a pause on e-visa services for Canadian nationals and hampered business relations.
B.C.’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team continues to investigate the killing, with the most recent update in August. U.S. prosecutors also claim Nijjar’s shooting is tied to a string of other politically motivated killings planned in Canada and the United States.