Hwy 3 now cleared
Up to 70 mm of rain
Hwy 1 reopened after crash
Wide-scale death of trees
Holiday travel stays local
'A little place in paradise'
Threats in lobster industry
Celebrating Assad's fall
Syrian government falls
Telus in court fighting order
Cuts won't cause recession
TikTok ban upheld
Olynyk returns to court
Rockets bounce back
Crusaders upend Warriors
Princess returns to public
Amber Heard is expecting
Body problems started at 10
UPDATE: 5:40 p.m.
Premier David Eby was in Osoyoos Tuesday, attending the Stronger Together: Pro-Agriculture Rally and speaking with South Okanagan farmers.
"There's a lot of hurt and anxiety here. And it's important to be here firsthand to hear from the farmers," Eby said to reporters.
Starting at 2:30 p.m., the rally kicked off with a couple hundred of attendees at Gyro Park.
"Especially because the impacts of climate change both from forest fires and also from radical swings in temperature that have really decimated a lot of the tree fruits and the winery operations here.
"I was out at a farm earlier today and there cherry trees with leaves but not a single cherry on them. So many years in a row of lost crops."
Eby was not the only NDP member at the rally; Boundary-Similkameen MLA Roly Russell also dropped in to the event, organized by union BC Fruit Growers' Association.
"Being able to sit down with them and talk over the kitchen table to be able to say okay, you know, how do we help support you," said Russell.
In addition to the province announcing the $70 million replant fund to replace damaged crops, the NDP caucus says it’s aware that farmers are looking for more such as production policies and changes to insurance policies.
"We've received some suggestions from the fruit Growers Association about initiatives like low interest loans, or additional marketing programs for the fruits that are still growing despite the weather impacts to support farmers.
"Also supports for ensuring minimum prices with grocery stores. They're very helpful suggestions and there's also our crop insurance program, which we operate with the federal government."
When asked, Russell said he hopes answers from government will be coming soon.
"It's a pretty complex challenge that we're facing in terms of supporting how do we support farmers in all those different domains. And so we're gonna continue to figure out ways to do that."
3:20 p.m.
Premier David Eby showed up in Osoyoos Tuesday, following a media question period with provincial House Leader Ravi Kahlon.
Kahlon had explained the NDP caucus was in town to speak to locals about pressing concerns, including agricultural losses and lack of healthcare.
Eby appeared at a rally just a few hours later in Gyro Park, where more than 100 people in the farming community gathered to express concerns about lost crops due to fluxes in weather in recent years.
Castanet has a reporter on scene.
More to come.
ORIGINAL: 2 p.m.
B.C. House Leader Ravi Kahlon is in Osoyoos Tuesday morning, taking questions from the media and sharing his government's priories for the area.
The NDP MLA spoke about meeting with local farmers to see how his government can support them, and a replanting fund.
“This is a phenomenal place to be,” said Kahlon. “But we know that right now, there's some real challenges in this area.”
“We know because they've been through some really traumatic experiences, whether it was fires, whether it's the weather pattern changes that we've seen, it's had a real impact on this community.”
Earlier in March, the province announced $70 million in funding through its replant program to replace damaged crops with climate-resilient varieties.
When asked about the losses local South Okanagan farmers have been seeing year-after-year, Kahlon said that members of the NDP caucus will be meeting farmers and others in the agriculture sector to assess what supports they need.
“No doubt, people here have been really dealing on the frontlines of climate change and the impacts,” Kahlon said.
“The $70 million that we provided for both replanting, as well as climate resiliency is an important step. We know there's more supports that are going to be needed to support people in this region.
“I know the Premier is going to be meeting with folks over the coming days and the Minister of Agriculture and Roly Russell, our local MLA, are meeting with folks to figure out how we can continue to support them.
“What happens here — this global economy — is critical to British Columbia's economy.”
Members of the media also asked questions about healthcare in the South Okanagan, referring to the local general hospital repeatedly closing its emergency services overnight.
“We have been focusing on attracting more healthcare professionals to British Columbia, focused on training more people here in British Columbia, and recognizing people's credentials,” Kahlon said.
“But what's fundamental for people is if you don't have housing available to communities, it's hard to bring people to the community to work in the facilities we need.”
Kahlon also spoke to his government’s priorities moving forward.
“Housing, health care, support for the local economy. These are the things that I think are the most important.”
Members of the NDP caucus will be in the South Okanagan over the next few days, attending events, including Osoyoos’ Stronger Together: Pro-Agriculture Rally at Gyro Park Tuesday.
Kahlon's visit comes ahead of the upcoming provincial election, set for Oct. 19, 2024.
