Rochelle Baker

Reporter Quadra + Cortes, B.C.

Rochelle Baker joins Canada's National Observer as a reporter, 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 7 years.

229 Articles

Sudden deaths triple in B.C. amid unprecedented heat wave

A minimum of 486 sudden deaths occurred over the past five days after dangerously high temperatures gripped coastal and Lower Mainland communities in an unprecedented heat wave this week, the BC Coroners Service reports.

By Rochelle Baker | News, Island Insider | June 30th 2021

Old-growth in contentious Fairy Creek region could be worth more standing than logged

Protecting old-growth forests near Port Renfrew could result in an additional $40 million in net economic benefits compared to logging as usual, according to a new study.

By Rochelle Baker | News, Island Insider | June 30th 2021

West Coast cleanup nets over 200 tonnes of marine debris

A shocking 210 tonnes of flotsam and plastic detritus was removed over six weeks from a mere 300 kilometres of B.C.'s intricate 25,000-kilometre shoreline in a massive cleanup of the ecologically sensitive shores of the Great Bear Rainforest.

By Rochelle Baker | News, Island Insider | June 28th 2021

B.C.’s new old-growth advisory panel 'a glimmer of hope' for ancient forests

The new panel will ensure the province is using the best science and data available to identify at-risk old-growth ecosystems and prioritize the areas slated for old-growth logging deferrals, said Forests Minister Katrine Conroy.

By Rochelle Baker | News, Island Insider | June 25th 2021

House committee pushes feds to scale up action to save wild salmon

Despite releasing its wild salmon policy 15 years ago, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has made little headway in stabilizing the decline of wild salmon, much less restoring at-risk populations, a parliamentary committee concluded this week.

By Rochelle Baker | News, Island Insider | June 23rd 2021

Star power harnessed to save B.C.'s old-growth forests

More than 100 celebrities and prominent voices — both national and global — have joined the battle to save B.C.'s old growth. But the Ministry of Forests says their efforts aren't going to work.

By Rochelle Baker | News, Island Insider | June 22nd 2021

Activists seeking to protect Canada’s old-growth forest say they are aligned with First Nations. Is that really true?

By protesting in places they’re not wanted, settler conservationists looking to save old-growth forests are being called out by some Indigenous leaders for exemplifying the colonial or paternalistic approach taken by their forebears.

By Rochelle Baker | News, Island Insider | June 21st 2021

Ottawa nixes restock requests for contentious B.C. fish farms

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has rejected two recent applications by Cermaq Canada to transfer 1.5 million fish to the company’s Venture Point and Brent Island sites following a decision by Ottawa last year to phase out salmon farms in the Discovery Islands by July 2022.

By Rochelle Baker | News, Island Insider | June 16th 2021

'It didn't have to be this way,' Wilson-Raybould said of Kamloops residential school

The unmarked graves at a Kamloops residential school are testimony to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's failure to make progress on his promise to radically shift Canada’s relationship with Indigenous people, says Independent MP and former Liberal justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould.

By Rochelle Baker | News, Island Insider | June 11th 2021

Ottawa outlines its $647M strategy to save Pacific salmon

Federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan revealed the initial framework and guiding principles for Ottawa’s $647.1-million Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) announced in the 2021 budget.

By Rochelle Baker | News, Island Insider | June 8th 2021