Rochelle Baker
Journalist | Quadra Island |
English
About Rochelle Baker
Rochelle Baker is the Quadra and Cortes Islands reporter for Canada's National Observer, thanks to a grant from the Local Journalism Initiative of the Government of Canada. Rochelle has worked as a newspaper reporter and photographer in BC's Lower Mainland for over 10 years.
Health care on North Vancouver Island is in an ‘evolving state of crisis,’ new leaked document shows
Alert Bay, a ferry-dependent community of 1,200, is expected to have no doctors staffing its emergency department and medical clinic by early December, a document obtained by Canada's National Observer shows.
B.C.’s North Vancouver Island braces for fall as health-care crisis threatens to get worse, leaked documents reveal
Port Hardy Hospital is experiencing a critical doctor shortage that is endangering patient and physician safety, according to information provided to Canada’s National Observer from an Aug. 17 meeting between a number of the town’s physicians and Island Health.
The humpbacks return
The surge in returns in the last decade to the waters off northeast Vancouver Island, where humpbacks were once eradicated by whaling, is an opportunity for redemption and continued conservation.
Transport Canada says most cruise ships reported compliance with new wastewater guidelines
Critics contend the federal government's assessment of the cruise sector's compliance with new pollution guidelines isn't transparent, and the proposed rules don't address the biggest source of wastewater.
Overnight closure of Alert Bay ER extended, but shuttering island emergency rooms is off the table
The increasing reliance on temporary contract nurses is contributing to the hollowing out of public health care, health policy experts suggest.
Tiny B.C. coast community launches its first official Pride celebration
Pride events are important to help rural queer and trans youth rural accept themselves and feel welcome in their home communities, say organizers with the Discovery Islands Pride Celebration.
Reflections on the extraordinary power of slow water
In her new book, Water Always Wins, author Erica Gies says stop resisting, just go with the flow.
Alert Bay residents worried as overnight ER services shut down for two weeks
The problem of staffing shortages in ERs is playing out not only in Alert Bay but at hospitals across the North Island region and the province.
Jody Wilson-Raybould awarded Order of B.C. for being ‘a force for change’
The former federal justice minister, renowned for holding government to account, is among 14 outstanding British Columbians who received the province’s highest honour this week.
DFO dragging out marine protection plans on West Coast, First Nations say
The sticking point to moving forward with long-planned marine protected areas on B.C.'s Central Coast is the DFO Pacific branch's objections to proposed fisheries measures, say First Nations.