Mayor Merlin Blackwell

I have now met with or chatted with 4 of the 5 declared and undeclared candidates for the Kamloops North Thompson riding. I thank them for their time and look forward to an informed campaign on the issues we face in Clearwater and the North Thompson Valley. Good luck to all running!... https://elections.bc.ca//provincial-candi/candidate-list/

I’m deeply upset to hear that Dr. Bonnie Henry has had death threats and has been the subject of vile, toxic personal attacks. This is not okay. Period. Full stop. If you feel the need to do this, just stop. You are wrong, go get help, talk to a therapist or a priest.... When I decided to become an elected official, I realized that some people would treat me badly because of the job I signed up for. But that does not make it okay to threaten or bully us, or by extension, threaten or bully our families. You do not have the right to do that. Free speech is not free. Period. You may be free to say what you want, but there will always be consequences to what you say. Your free speech will determine how people see you, good or bad. Your social media postings will affect your job prospects, who will want to spend time with you, who will have respect for you. If your speech strays into violence, slander, or hate, you could easily face legal ramifications. We all can fall into the trap of losing our cool occasionally, but there is always a line that should not be crossed. We must do our best to maintain the civil discourse, that we have an argument based on facts and opinions , that does not devolve into personal attacks, name calling, shaming, or threats. Threatening someone’s life is not okay, even if you are just joking. Threatening violence is not okay even if you wouldn’t actually do it. Shaming and bullying is not okay, ever! Be the better person. If you have problems, get help. We are human, we all have faults and failings, but we all also have feelings. Remember that and the world will be a better place. Be kind, be calm, and be safe... wise words from a wise leader. Let’s show her, and others, the respect they deserve. Mayor Merlin Blackwell

Huge shout out to the Teachers, the School Staff, the Principals and Vice-P’s, and to the Students. Stay calm, stay safe, be nice to each other. You can do this! The rest of us who are standing somewhat on the sidelines of your experience are definitely thinking about you. Fingers crossed. None of us ever signed up for anything like this, but here we are and forward we must go! ... I know all of Council and our District Team are wishing you the best, Mayor Merlin Blackwell

*** note on this... to clarify... restaurants that take reservations are apparently required to contact trace, other may not. My experience elsewhere is that if you have a server, the restaurant that was contact tracing anyway without the legal requirement (same goes for some mask requirements), whether they take reservations or not.*** We are all One Degree of Separation here in Clearwater. If we think hard enough, we can find a connection between ourselves and any other pe...Continue reading

A good fight to join.

In honour of Elders Margaret Joseph and Sam Saul, a huge loss to our Simpcw friends.

Mayor "office" hours tomorrow, Tuesday August 18th, 8-30 to 11. we have have a socially distant chat somewhere in the building or outside, or you can call in at 250 674-2257

Give or take a week, we are about a month away from the Trans Mountain Work Camp opening. Soon there will be at least 800 new people in town, likely many more than that with subcontractors and associated service companies. There are only 250-ish workers in town right now, and you can already see the strain at a few businesses... imagine what 3 to 4 times as many people everyday are going to do to the restaurants, motels, retailers and coffee shops. I've spent the last f...Continue reading

the BC Tourism Association is asking the BC government to create an aid package for the tourism industry. The number is pretty high, over $600 million bucks. We can debate the number all day, but I firmly believe that we need to have some sort of rescue package for the tourism industry. I worked over 35 years in tourism, and owned a tourism company for about 17 years of that. Tourism is highly seasonal in BC... Summer in the camping industry was our Christmas... we made... 70% of our income in 9 weeks. That is gone this year. Both tourism and farming are seasonal, so I'm going to use a farming analogy as to why we need to support aid for the tourism industry. Harvesting an income from tourists follows a lot of the same patterns as growing crops. Lots of work and cash up front, with the reward later if all goes well. A farmer and his mule plows his fields, plants his seeds, and then gets to make his money if his crop grows and he has a good harvest, but once every few years, something goes wrong and the crop is lost. Does the farmer give up? no. He lives lean and borrows to try again. He feeds his plow mule, and he plans to make the loss back in a good year. Tourism Operators I know are a stubborn, determined bunch. I'm honestly not sure if they are the farmer in this analogy, or the mule. I was definitely in the "stubborn mule" camp as a tourism business owner. Anyway... to put it simply, we have got to "feed the mule" that is the BC Tourism industry. We cannot let it get too weak and we cannot let it die. Next year we have a chance to make back what we lost this year, but not with a dead industry, or one that is too weak to start again. Covid 19 has dealt the tourism industry with a loss that may take several years to recover from. Tourism people are very resourceful, they often have more than one job, but this is the kind of devastating loss that comes less than once in a lifetime, maybe once in a 100 years. No matter how strong or prepared our tourism operators are, they will need help on this one. Help BC Tourism Operators, keep them alive so they can recover what has been lost with future seasons. Feed the Mule! Mayor Merlin Blackwell a former tourism company owner https://infotel.ca//bc-tourism-industry-wants-680m/it75290

It really feels like the last 5 months have been the longest 2 years ever. If you’re not feeling Covid Fatigue, then you are a rare person right now. Information overload, the differing views on how to deal with this, the constant need to adjust our daily routine, the economic devastation they all take a toll on our nerves , our relationships, our wallets and our overall mental health. I’m generally a very patient person, but even I have got downright snappy a few times in... the last few weeks It’s hard to keep an even keel in this time of constant change. I will owe a few people a beer when this is all over and I won’t be alone in that. All that aside, I am feeling incredibly lucky to be a British Columbian. Our provincial leadership team has done a world class job on Covid response. Calling this a World Class job is not hyperbole it’s the truth about how well the leadership of BC has done on this. If BC were a nation, Dr. Bonnie Henry would be our national treasure. We've been very lucky as well, just having our school spring break fall later than other provinces probably saved us from dozens of extra Covid cases. Leadership or luck, we have been given a gift. Now the hard part We cannot squander this gift. This pandemic isn’t over yet. Covid is alive and well out there. We’ve seen recent spikes in our province, bigger spikes in neighbouring provinces, and something far scarier if we peek through our fingers at what is happening south of the border in the U.S. of A. There has been some very promising news on the vaccine front in the last few days, but the likelihood is that Covid 19 will be with us for many, many months to come. We cannot let our guard down. We are becoming complacent in our good work and good fortune. We can’t do that. We must continue to follow our training, our best practices, everything we have learned in the last 5 months. We must continue to pay attention to Dr. Bonnie Henry, and we must hold the line for her, for our doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers. And we must hold the line for all of us, for our parents, for our kids, and for our community. Another thing It’s okay to wear a mask. I will start wearing them in public spaces. I already wear them in public spaces in other towns, so I might as well get into the habit here. Haida Gwaii has had cases now, some of the most remote places in Canada have had cases we have just been extremely lucky. But let’s not count on luck. Wear a mask in public spaces, keep your circle of people tight, wash your hands, and in the words of Dr. Bonnie "Be kind, be calm, and be safe". We can do this! Mayor Merlin Blackwell

On July 2nd of this year, the Clearwater River Road washed out inside the boundaries of Wells Gray Provincial Park. This is another blow to our community. Our local tourism economy has already taken a devastating hit from Covid 19, and without timely action on repairs to the Clearwater River Road, our local tourism operators could see even more damage in these already crippling financial times. After the loss of our local mill and the subsequent tenure transfer, it is crit...ical for Clearwater to protect and, when possible, enhance every remaining economic opportunity we have left. This road provides critical access to a key sector of our tourism economy, the Whitewater Rafting industry. I could see some reticence on the Provinces part in repairs if we were only asking for that group, but the Clearwater River Road also provides access for thousands of whitewater kayakers, is the access point to Sylvia and Goodwin Falls 2 of Wells Gray’s more spectacular waterfalls , and is the only road access to some pretty amazing fly-fishing and remote camping spots on the Mahood and Clearwater Rivers. Let's hope all government agencies that would be involved in fixing the river road can come together on this and come up with a solution. Mayor Merlin Blackwell

Canada Day is upon us again Congratulations on being a Canadian! You have won the lottery. You live in one of the best countries on Earth Canada, and in my personal opinion, the best province in that country - British Columbia. Just by living here you have such a remarkable leg up over the vast majority of the people living on our little blue planet. We have an amazing healthcare system. The services you can access for free in BC are the envy of much of the world...Continue reading

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day to our friends, the Simpcw, the greater Secwepemc Nation and to all the Indigenous people in our valley who are marking this day today. Honoured to live in the traditional territory of the Simpcw and Secwepemc Nations. Weyt-kp xwexweytep( which I have just learned is hello everyone).

The retirement two of these three gentlemen (oops) will leave some enormous turnout gear to fill. On behalf of our area, not just Clearwater, I thank Tom and Jan for your service. And I would like to thank Dan for his 20 years of Service - sorry for retiring you early, please stay as long as you can lol. Such depth of character and knowledge in this picture. Respect. If you want to be part of the Clearwater Fire Department, I urge you to contact them through their Facebook page, or through the DOC office at 250-674-2257. It’s fun, you learn stuff, and you can be part of something truly special in Clearwater.

The truly amazing story of our local Wells Gray Community Forest. So much good for so many coming from doing things the right way. A truly outstanding organization run by people with only the best of intentions.

Red Plate Rage, or Red Plate Hate has been simmering for years in BC, but lets not be part of the problem now that Covid has highlighted the request to stay close to home. We are all in this together, no matter what side of an imaginary line we live on. The BC Parks announcement that out of province campers will not be welcome this year has definitely put the spotlight on this. There are a lot of reasons someone will be driving an Alberta plated car in BC... many people st...ill work full time in the resource industries but live in BC, so keeping their Alberta insurance makes sense when they are actually driving 20 out of 30 days a month in Alberta. Many people work on projects on both sides of the border ... there are just as many BC Plates on the Alberta side at certain times. Many rental car and RV companies register their vehicles in Alberta. My personal pet peeve is the Out of Province Vehicle Inspection policy... this one should've been eliminated years ago. Anyone who has gone through this knows it can be a royal pain and very expensive... I can see many people delaying switching to BC plates as long as humanly possible just on this one issue. As the Mayor of Whistler Jack Compton said to me last night "a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian". We need each other more than ever as we have bigger problems to deal with. due to this pandemic. We definitely need to stop racism, and we really need to come together as a country... from a safe physical distance. Be Canadian first, and be kind, Mayor Merlin Blackwell

wow... did not expect this. https://www.cbc.ca//b-c-parks-campsites-closed-to-non-b-c-

May 16 Update 1. There are 21 new positives for a total of 2428 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in BC. 181 are in Interior Health. The outbreak at Abbotsford Reg...ional Hospital involves 6 staff and 2 patients. There is continued follow up by Public Health around community outbreaks at the Oppenheimer Group, the poultry sector, the Mission correctional facility and the Kearl Lake camp in Alberta. 49 people are in hospital and 11 of these are in ICU. There has been 1 additional death for a total of 141. There are 355 active cases and 1932 people have recovered. 2. Dr. Henry suggested this weekend is the time pause and consider how you will apply safe social interaction rules, both at home and at your place of business. Effective May 19 she has cancelled the Public Health Order requiring personal services to close. She has also modified the order affecting restaurants and bars, who may reopen provided they meet the appropriate Worksafe BC Guidelines, which were also released last night. 3. The focus of public health initiatives has expanded to consider how to safely interact in the continued presence of the virus, when we know there are ongoing risks for infection. Dr. Henry suggested businesses may wish to develop pods of workers that work different shifts than other pods. There are specific recommendations around engineering barriers, which seems to mainly mean that every place should have plexiglass barriers in place. Reducing the number of people in any indoor space will help maintain physical distancing. One-way flow through stores will minimize contact. 4. The issue of masks was discussed again. Non-medical masks can be helpful in places where physical distancing cannot always be maintained, such as on transit or at the hairdresser. Since these masks protect others from you, they are most effective when everyone wears them. They are not a substitute for the other measures that are more effective such as washing your hands and keeping 2 metres apart. Masks are now required in Canada for travel on planes, trains and buses. Some stores are requiring that all patrons wear masks to enter. Each business will have to decide when and where a mask is appropriate, but we will be asking everyone coming for a face-to-face appointment at the clinic to wear a mask. 5. Prime Minister Trudeau announced that Health Canada has approved the first Canadian clinic trials for a possible Covid-19 vaccine. These will take place at the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology at Dalhousie University in Halifax. 6. All the provinces and territories are starting to ease restrictions over the next weeks. The timeline is varied, depending on what measures existed originally and how the virus is progressing in each location. BC will be watching very carefully over the next 2-4 weeks before considering further relaxation beyond the measures due to start on Tuesday. There are widespread recommendations against interprovincial travel and it would appear this weekend citizens are taking precautions and mostly staying close to home. The next few weeks will be interesting for all of us. Please think carefully about how you want to expand your bubble and continue to look out for each other in the coming days.

Afternoon folks, A bit of an update on what's been going on behind the scenes. I had a very productive video call with North Thompson Mayors and MLA's Milobar and Stone yesterday. The group was generally in agreement on the key issues to do with moving the economy forward in a covid 19 world. It was a wide ranging discussion on the economy, especially forestry and tourism, and what we need to get done to help. We will continue these calls every week or so to keep each ot...her informed and to work together to push upper levels of government for solutions. I am in touch with a Trans Mountain representative on almost a daily basis to try and get more local hiring underway for parts of the TMX project that are happening in our area. The District has written a letter to the Forest Minister to try and move forward issues that are still outstanding from the Bill 22 tenure transfer. I also expressed strong concern to the Minister about truck contractor issues, but I have heard that there has been some resolution on that front thanks to other parties getting involved. The Trails Task Force and the Forestry Working Group are back at work doing good things, and looking for grants and other opportunities on those fronts. Councillor Shelley Sim is chairing a new Economic Development Committee made up of local business and community leaders. Our next meeting is after the weekend. I look forward to hearing ideas from these folks on how to move the economy forward. The District office will open next Tuesday for ICBC and district transactions. I have no idea when driver road tests will begin again. We will let you know when we know. North Thompson Park should be open today for day use, along with some parts of Wells Gray (Yay!). In an effort to ensure that local safety concerns were addressed, I was able to pre-tape some questions for the Environment Minister for his interview this morning on CBC Kamloops. He has suggested that BC residents will be given priority camping at BC Parks this summer. I spoke with CFJC's Adam Donnelly today as well on the same subject for TV news. We as a community have done a fabulous job of dealing with two tough situations in a row. You all are champions. Keep adapting and moving forward. None of this has been easy on anyone. Sometimes it gets hard not to get down about all of this, but that does us no good in the long run. We need to keep positive and you will keep all of us up. Thank you all for being such good neighbours to each other, for taking care of each other, and for following the lead of the remarkable Dr. Bonnie Henry. Wash your hands, physical distance, keep your circle small, stay within your region if you can. Mayor Merlin Blackwell