It's getting tougher to make ends meet

The ends don’t meet. The 2022 Living Wage report claims two parents on Vancouver Island, north of Victoria, need to earn $24.26 an hour to afford housing, food, child care and other expenses for a family of four. It’s even higher in Victoria at $24.29. The minimum wage is $15.65. In Metro Vancouver each need to make $24.08 an hour, up 17 per cent from 2021. The Centre for Policy Alternatives defines the living wage as what a household with two working adults and two children needs to make ends meet. That includes food, housing, child care and some education costs, but does not factor in savings for retirement, buying a home, debt repayment or emergency expenses. The most expensive are the things people can’t afford to cut corners on – food and housing. MORE

On that note, if you’re set on a real Christmas tree, there’s a sharp price increases in store for you. Wild weather over the past few years, combined with rising inflation, is leading to sharp price increases. It takes about 10 years to grow a tree, and the extreme heat in 2021 scorched many maturing branches – and that was before the floods came. Farmers are also having to deal with the rising cost of fertilizer, fuel, farm equipment and insurance. MORE

News Bulletin Editor Greg Sakaki is top notch, he earned first-place honors in the Canadian Community Newspaper Awards which resumed after two years hiatus. The Bulletin won in no less than seven categories as News Media Canada announced the 2020 and 2021 winners. Greg won first place in the Best Multimedia Feature category in 2020 for his Black Lives Matter event at Maffeo Sutton Park. Read all the rest of the awards HERE

Respiratory illnesses are on the rise in B.C., with the majority of cases being young people. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry updated respiratory illness figures on Wednesday, detailing who’s getting sick and impacts to the healthcare system. Dr. Henry said youth are falling ill to acute respiratory infections, with the influenza A strain in particular impacting people 19-years-old and younger the hardest. MORE

A new label, but what about the content? BC Liberal party members have voted to change the name of their party to BC United, leader Kevin Falcon has announced. The name change will go into effect after the next provincial convention of the party, he said.

Have you got what it takes? The RCMP’s Information Session Career presentation offers the chance to hear first-hand from recruiters about career opportunity in the force. Get details of the recruiting process including the requirements and expectations for applying and how to prepare for each stage. It’s tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 18, at 4:00 p.m. at the Nanaimo Detachment. Check it out by calling 1-877-726-7472 or email lmd_proactive_recruiting@rcmp-grc.gc.ca