Evening News Update for April 16, 2020

NANAIMO —An inmate from the Mission Medium Security Institution has died from COVID-19. The unnamed inmate was transferred with six others, to a secure ward at the Abbotsford Regional Hospital yesterday. The federal prison in Mission is struggling to control a COVID-19 outbreak there. So far, 50 inmates and four guards have tested positive for the virus.

Post-secondary students who are feeling anxiety over COVID-19 can call a new mental health hotline, designed specifically for them. The "Here2Talk" initiative will connect students to online professional counsellors or to other mental health resources in their communities. The 24/7 helpline also comes with an app for easy access. Other student aid includes a provincial Emergency Financial Assistance Program. Students can apply through the financial assistance departments at the college or university they attend. As well, students will not have to make any payments on their student loans until September.

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog. 📷: File Photo by Jesse Woodward.

The Mayor of Nanaimo says a new provincial aid plan for municipalities will pit communities against one another. Leonard Krog says he's disappointed the province did not announce the deferral of all property taxes in every municipality. Instead, the province has said municipalities do not have to pay school board taxes they collect on behalf of the province until the end of the year. That means each municipality will have to decide whether to collect school taxes on time in July, but pay the province later, or whether to allow local taxpayers to also delay paying their school taxes. Krog predicts the provincial policy will result in a hodge-podge of tax collection schemes among municipalities and that will lead to hard feelings between communities.

The province has also given municipalities the option of dipping into their capital reserve funds to pay operating expenses, and local governments will be allowed to carry debt into the next fiscal year. Krog says Nanaimo is in a good position to borrow from its capital reserves because it has a lot left in them, thanks to conservative spending in the past. He says council will discuss whether to implement the new provincial policies at a special council meeting on Monday.

Featured

Lisa Cordasco

Senior Reporter and News Director — Lisa is responsible for creating the station's first morning news current affairs show on CHLY. She is also deeply involved in training and mentoring student and citizen journalists who volunteer their time at the station. Before joining CHLY, Lisa spent 35 years in various roles at CBC Radio, from host to reporter. Her passion for journalism and radio has led her to Nanaimo, where she intends to provide CHLY listeners with news they can use, in an alternative radio environment. Her other not-so-secret passion is costuming for any occasion.

Have a tip? Email: news@chly.ca Find us on social media at Twitter: @lisacordasco / @chly1017FM

Funded by Sustaining Donors and the Community Radio Fund of Canada and Heritage Canada’s Local Journalism Initiative. Sustain CHLY’s News Department for many years to come by signing up for a monthly Sustaining Donation.