Sayonara 2024
Northern Beat's annual news hit parade
A last hello of the year to you all,
Hope you’ve made peace with 2024 and are poised to jump start the best year of your life.
To celebrate the politically tumultuous 365 days we’ve just survived, here’s a quick look back at a few notable events chronicled on Northern Beat’s pages.
Top story of the year: RCMP gag order after BC NDP on hot seat for safe supply.
Most viewed columns: BC public health streams severely addicted patients into long-term care homes, Premier Eby vows to only work with MLAs who hold ‘acceptable’ view, BC government refuses to compensate property owners displaced by Aboriginal title, BC healthcare system demands silence over safety, Proposed legislative changes give Indigenous nations statutory power on land use.
Most read OpEds: BC has lost its way on addiction care, but there’s a path back, Destigmatizing drug use a big mistake, say scientists, Resistance is brutal: Behind decolonial frontlines, Build reconciliation on Canadian constitutional law, Woke identity politics is law of the land in BC.
Longest read story: John Rustad: Phoenix from the ashes.
Most viewed profile: Kevin Falcon: Politics, purpose and his politics-free zone, .
Heavily shared news stories: Wildfire of rumours: Finding truth in dangerous times, Prescription drug transactions outside drugstores in five BC cities, AB minister challenges BC government on drug diversion: ‘Let’s prove it.’
Other important stories: BC NDP blindside NE residents again with more secret land negotiations, Safe supply drugs now part of organized crime, BC government stance on drug activities at odds with reality, Government legislation will undermine legal system independence, DULF fiasco raises questions about government complicity in illegal activity, David Eby on public drug use and being an activist.
Lighter fare: Fort Nelson man passes buck to premiers for a half century.
Older stories that found new life this year: Sonia Furstenau: Shaking up the status quo, Dawson Creek mother of missing man pleads for answers, Lift nurses vaccine mandates to ease staffing shortfalls, say critics, Terrace: unchecked crime, a ‘community in crisis,’ Occupy Blue River: High-conflict protest, two rules of law, and Romancing the Stone, panning for gold in BC.
Notable natural resource stories: Northwest communities finally get piece of natural resources action, First Nations resource tax proposal gets nod from Poilievre, Advice for BC forests minister: put communities first, Frustrated resource-dependent voters turf urban-centric BC NDP, Horgan’s vision for rural working class resource sector a bygone NDP era, Environmental exemption for wind farms is wrong, say NE officials, Energy creation, consumption are necessities.
Agriculture and forestry: Okanagan farmers lose farm-to-table lifeline with tree fruit co-op closure, Can’t see the forest for the missing trees.
Healthcare: ‘Nobody signed up… to be exposed to fentanyl in the workplace,’ says nurse, Dawson Creek uses road budget to cover provincial healthcare gap.
That wraps 2024.
As always, thanks for reading and supporting independent journalism.
Hope you ring in the new year with style, surrounded by the ones you love.
Until, next year…
Fran
Ideas, suggestions and story ideas, contact Fran@NorthernBeat.ca
For brain calisthenics, read NorthernBeat.ca.