A split for the North Coast NDP?

The bubbling cauldron of politics seems to be on the hot boil this week, with what appears to be a trial balloon on the rise from some would be supporters for an Independent campaign by recently defeated NDP candidate Joanna Larson.

The prospect of perhaps a split in the ranks of the local NDP and left side of the political spectrum, appeared as a topic on a local chat forum and with an occasional note on twitter Thursday.

The sudden appearance of the topic, apparently is designed to create a bit of buzz over a potential Independent provincial campaign for the President of the Prince Rupert District Teacher's Union.

Ms. Larson recently came in second to Prince Rupert City councillor Jennifer Rice in the NDP North Coast balloting for the nomination for the upcoming Provincial election.  A result that held a rather close vote count and one that seemingly caught more than a few local residents by surprise.

As observed during the course of the NDP nomination process, Ms. Larson appeared to have the majority of the more established of NDP veterans on her side of the voting ledger.

Yet, all of that high profile support did not provide for a victory on nomination day.

Since her nomination, Ms. Rice has been the focus of much attention, (much of it from the local weekly newspaper, the interest of which we have reviewed on the blog here and here) mainly revolving around her environmental history and the fact that she has for the moment, decided to remain on City council while she prepares for the upcoming provincial election campaign.

Should there be some fire, to the smoke of an Independent campaign from Ms. Larson, it would clearly signify a split in the local NDP, with the labour side of the party and the environmental side of it, seemingly on different pages locally.

While that all plays out, the prospect of an Independent candidate and eventually we imagine, word of a Liberal candidate at least, might transform what was shaping up to be a potential coronation into an actual election campaign.

Something that would be a welcome thing in the riding, offering as it does for an exchange of ideas on any number of different options for the future.

One could think up any number of political scenarios that could play out before that May vote count, the debates would be fascinating, the issues finally discussed in open forum and the results far from determined before the voting even takes place.

Should she enter the race as an Independent, Ms. Larson would of course bring her own agenda and with it the need to offer up her thoughts on local and provincial issues. Offering the voters an opportunity to learn more on her thoughts on education (of which she obviously would be familiar),  the environment and the local economy and where the North Coast will go into the future.

There of course is a danger that a three way race, could provide a window of opportunity for the BC Liberals and any potential campaign of the BC Conservatives.

A prospect from the more regimented world of party politics, which may in the end bring an end to the fanciful desires of the day of a new option on voting day for North Coast voters.

There is however, a precedence of sorts for an Independent MLA to sit as a representative for Prince Rupert. Graham Lea held that title for a short period of time back in 1985,  sitting as an Independent when he left the NDP, after a less than successful leadership bid.

His time as an Independent was rather short lived and he clearly by then had less in common with the NDP than would an Independent minded Ms. Larson.

Still, considering her background in the community and the support she has within the NDP from her past work, any prospective campaign could prove quite rewarding for Ms. Larson.

If on election day,  she would prove successful at the ballot box, one imagines it wouldn't be too long before she is brought into the larger NDP fold again, perhaps even as a key participant in the government of a Premier Adrian Dix should he form the government in May.

We're clearly a long way away from a mention on a social media site to the launching of political campaign, but it does seem to reflect some of the conversation in the community about our political options heading into the spring provincial election.

Then again, it could all just be some trouble making by opponents of Councillor Rice, looking to stir the pot and disrupt her campaign.

We clearly won't know much more about the speculation, until Ms. Larson addresses the topic in the days to come.

However, for pure entertainment value and to make the day for political junkies, voters on the North Coast can only be hoping for a "more the merrier" approach to the upcoming campaign.

Offering the opportunity for a full debate and examination of all the issues, by all the candidates that put their name up for consideration.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

To screed, or not to screed, that is the question!

When we last read the collected works of the Publisher of the Northern View, Prince Rupert's weekly editorial offering had provided a less than subtle request that Councillor Jennifer Rice relinquish her place on Prince Rupert City Council..

Todd Hamilton, the Northern View's publisher, seems at the moment to be providing for a one man campaign to provide some oversight on the newly nominated NDP candidate for the North Coast.

Weighing in on the theme of Prince Rupert's industrial future, mainly in the form of LNG terminal development and what he believes will be the moves of the NDP to slow that tide of forward momentum for the local economy.

For the most part, his approach has been to try to flesh out a declaration or two from the would be heir to Gary Coons seat at the Legislature, a task that to the moment, doesn't seem to have been particularly successful.

If nothing else, thus far his efforts have surely provided the Councillor/would be MLA the opportunity to learn the difference between the rather safe and secure environment of our municipal scene, where rarely a word of controversy is seen or heard, compared to the rather toxic at times atmosphere of the provincial scene.

In the last few weeks, the approach of the weekly paper's publisher taken has been a rather strident review of Ms. Rice's environmental leanings and how in Mr. Hamilton's thinking, they will run counter to any hopes of improving the Prince Rupert economy.

From the February 12th editorial of the weekly paper, we were offered up this synopsis of the Councillors current status compared to her hopeful ambitions for larger political glory in Victoria.

February 12th-- Prince Rupert City Councillor Jennifer Rice should resign her seat

Jennifer Rice should resign her seat on Prince Rupert City Council. Rice, or as some refer to her as, the-woman-who-never-met-a-megaphone-she-didn’t-like, recently defeated Prince Rupert District Teachers Union President Joanna Larson to capture the NDP nomination for the North Coast riding in the upcoming B.C. provincial election. In a nutshell, Councillor Rice and NDP nominee Rice can be one but not both.

Needless to say the description of Ms. Rice as "one who never met a megaphone she didn't like, didn't hit a particularly popular chord with a number of the Councillor's supporters.

The Letters to the Editor section providing for one participant who was less than thrilled with Mr. Hamilton's typecasting of the candidate.

February 20-- Hamilton's comments show bias

Two weeks later, the Publisher is back to the topic, this time with a Shakespearean theme it appears. Perhaps setting the stage himself  for what would seem to be some kind of ongoing regular feature.

One that surely offers up any number of Shakespearean offerings as a title page, though depending on who you are talking to, the options are either from the genres of comedy or tragedy.

At the moment however, one thing seems pretty certain, the direction of any work would seem to be very much that of a soliloquy.

His latest contribution to the editorial pages takes to asking questions of the local union memberships and if they are inclined to see Prince Rupert's future stalled by the leanings of the local candidate and the NDP.

February 27-- Time for Prince Rupert to write the play

And again, the hyperbole meter was banging into the red for another week.

Or to quote MLA-in-waiting Prince Rupert city councillor Jennifer Rice, “[not a damn thing on LNG]” 

 To be fair, outside of “no” to any development, and a fear-mongering, near-hysteric, megaphoned diatribe against a long-proposed oil pipeline without an alternative solution, the 15 months into a 36-month term rookie councillor has not weighed in on what could be the LNG lynchpin of Prince Rupert’s economic life.

And as was the case from February 20th, the letters are starting to arrive, though in the early returns, they will serve to provide comfort to the Publisher that he's on the path of righteousness perhaps.

February 27-- Rice is in conflict of interest

We imagine other letters pro and con, are in the mail as we write this.

While there is a case to be made for the Councillor to surrender her seat on Council, something we have explored on the blog a few times now since her nomination victory. It would appear that the Northern View's editorial approach, may only serve to steel the resolve of the Councillor and her supporters in the community and within the NDP.

Likewise, as we have mentioned here more than a few times, the need is there for her to provide a clear presentation of her thoughts on the LNG industry in the region and how, or if, Prince Rupert should benefit from that development.

On that message the Publisher is correct in seeking more information from the NDP nominee, though one imagines that the nature of his methods certainly don't seem to provide for the opportunity for much of a conversation.

We imagine if Ms. Rice decides to provide for a manifesto of sorts on economic development and environmental concern, the recent temperature of Mr. Hamilton's approach, probably won't see the weighty tome of revelation delivered to the Northern View offices any time soon.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

LNG conference in Vancouver focuses on Northwest plans

With the BC Liberal's staking some of their political talking points to the development of the LNG industry in the province, this weeks International LNG conference is providing the backdrop to the recent thoughts of Premier Clark on the future of the industry in the province.

The two day conference opened up on Monday at the Vancouver Convention Centre and the opening day saw a number of presentations and panel discussions on the topic of Natural Gas development and the plans to ship it from Northwest terminals.

The Vancouver conference does appear to be more Kitimat focused than an overview of the Northwest, much of the discussion from the two day meeting seems to be concentrated mainly on the plans to develop the Port of Kitimat into an LNG shipment point.

Day One featured a number of overviews of the LNG plans, including perspectives from First Nations and Community leaders from the Kitimat region, as well as a review of the LNG development thoughts from a more global perspective, mainly focused on Asian destinations.

Skills and Development training and the impact of LNG development on the province's Hydro infrastructure also were part of the day's events.

Day Two will again focus on the Global Economics of LNG prospects, included on the agenda is a look at the potential markets for the product, with a major Panel session set to discuss on the economics and security of energy supplies from the LNG industry.

Transport Canada will provide an overview of Marine Safety and Security in the morning, while the afternoon and final session of the conference will examine the prospect of LNG as a Transportation Fuel.

You can review the entire agenda of events from the Conference Program link of the BC government website.

Some of the reviews and background of Day One of the conference can be found below

Vancouver Sun-- LNG optimism tempered buy uncertain market prices, B. C. geography
Vancouver Sun-- Proposed LNG project o B. C.'s north coast gets federal export license approval
Vancouver Sun-- B. C.'s LNG sellers may find Asian markets no pushover
Vancouver Province-- Clark updates gas pact
CBC-- Shell Consortium gets nod for 25 year LNG export license
CBC-- Fueling the Future with LNG (audio)
CTV BC-- B. C. Announces First Nations agreement, royalty credits to bolster LNG plans
Vancouver Observer-- Premier Clark opens her arms to LNG industry at Canada's first International LNG conference
Vancouver Observer-- Premier Clark at LNG conference: BC will not be undersold
Victoria Times Colonist-- More hopes pinned on liquefied natural gas prospects

Monday also offered up the news that the Federal Government had approved another export permit for the prospect of shipment from a North Coast port. The announcement of a 25 year export permit for LNG Canada Development Inc.  to export LNG  marks the third such long term export permit granted since 2011.

The Kitimat plans have been moving forward rather quickly over the last year. The announcement of the export permits and arrangements with First Nations on royalties, just the latest development in the lengthy process that leads from the concept of LNG development to actual shipments.

For the Prince Rupert region there are currently two LNG proposals actively under consideration, the Progress/Petronas project for Lelu Island. A project that as we outlined last week, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has recently issued a call for comments on, a process that will assist the agency in it's decision as to the further the scope of any review process to come for it.

The other project proposed for the North Coast is the BG group LNG project, which does not seem quite as advanced as the Petronas/Progress plan as of yet, but should it move forward would also see a terminal development take place in the Lelu Island area.

And as we explored on the blog last week, the Provincial Government is hopeful of a potential third LNG option for the North Coast, seeking to auction of land north of Prince Rupert, in an area once tapped by Dome Petroleum for a terminal back in the 1980's.

The spurt of announcements and interest in the proposed LNG developments of the Northwest has provided for a fair amount of review in the media these days, focused mainly of the projects and of the interest of the current BC Government to see the process move forward.

The CBC's Daybreak North program recently featured  a pair of reports on the LNG developments and in March, Bill Good, the host of one of the province's most listened to talk shows on CKNW radio Vancouver will be in Prince Rupert with a full three and a half hour program dedicated to the topic of LNG development.

Indicative it would seem of the growing interest in the proposals and providing perhaps one of the themes of the provincial election to come in May.

You can find more of our items on the LNG file from our archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Seattle takes notice of its competition up the coast

With thirty thousand jobs dependant on the transit of containers and goods in and out of the Port of Seattle, it appears that the increasing through-put levels of the Port of Prince Rupert are beginning to find some cause for concern for the folks that work the Seattle waterfront.

In fact, the concern of the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma is such, that KIRO TV recently dispatched reporter Graham Johnson to Prince Rupert, to see what is happening here and more importantly from a Seattle point of view, just how much impact  the expansion plans of the Port of Prince Rupert may have on Seattle's future.

Those expansion plans could see the Port of Prince Rupert having the same size and scope of that of Seattle by 2020, just seven years down the road.

Some observations of Johnson's trip north can be found on the KIRO website, the report takes a look at how Prince Rupert has moved from being but a blip on the global radar to a growing competitor for ports up and down the Pacific coast.

The report highlights the advantages that Prince Rupert has to offer shippers, less congestion at port side, the rail link that runs right to the container terminal and the shorter transit times both from Prince Rupert to inland markets and to overseas destinations.

The other theme of the report seems to be more Seattle centred, where municipal and state officials seem to have their focus on other issues, other than the transportation corridor that Seattle is part of.

In addition to that, it would appear that the competitive nature between the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle is working against a common strategy in Washington state, a situation that could be partially responsible for some of their troubles.

Included in the report are these two video reports, which highlight the troubles facing the Port of Seattle, which it seems from the tone of the report is having troubles finding its place in the changing nature of North America's transportation landscape.

The two video contributions are instructive for North Coast residents to better understand the impact that our particular gateway seems to be having further and further away from our corner of the Pacific.

Canadian Ports threaten Seattle Jobs

Local Ports undercut one another in race to the bottom

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Is Anyone up to run a Liberal Challenge on the North Coast?

Saturday night Premier Christy Clark introduced a large number of BC Liberal contenders for riding's in the upcoming Spring election, but if there is a North Coast candidate for the BC Liberals to be revealed, it apparently is going to be a pretty well guarded secret for now.

The Premier held a pre-campaign kickoff in Vancouver on Saturday, with sixty candidates serving as the backdrop of what will be Team Christy heading into the May election, a collection of Liberals ready for what appears to be a tough electoral road ahead if the recent polls are any indication.

ThreeHundredEight.com Poll-- February 19, 2013
BC Election 2013 Poll-- January 30, 2013
Mustel Poll-- January 29, 2013
Robbins Research Poll-- January 26, 2013
Angus Reid Poll-- January 21, 2013

And while those of the high profile and the relative unknowns were assembled for the public unveiling on Saturday, residents on the North Coast still have no idea if anyone is ready to step into the spotlight and offer up a challenge to the recently nominated Jennifer Rice for the NDP.

While it's perhaps understandable that the BC Liberals may be having a problem finding a candidate to take on the challenge of one of the safest of NDP seats in the Legislature, there is perhaps a window of opportunity for the right candidate, should someone be inclined to take the risk.

With development of resources and of the expansion of the port an important economic issue for the North Coast, many residents are still waiting for some kind of indication as to the plan from the NDP and the thoughts of the local candidate on those north coast development issues.

As things seem to stand at the moment, without a candidate for any other party, but in particular for the currently governing Liberals, the NDP in effect will be getting a free ride on the North Coast. Able to run a rather pedestrian campaign in the local riding, with no need to  explain where they sit on the many topics that may be of interest to North Coast voters.

So far, publicly anyways, the riding appears to be but a one woman show, with Ms. Rice, who is currently holding down the position of city councillor in Prince Rupert, the only declared candidate set for the upcoming election.

The BC Liberals and the BC Conservative party have both nominated candidates in the Terrace - Kitimat riding of Skeena to provide some competition for the NDP's Robin Austin, but just an hour and half west there has been nothing but silence from both parties.

Perhaps the local Liberals and Conservatives are just biding their time waiting until the election is closer, but to run an effective campaign, it would seem that the sooner your candidate is out there getting known, the better your chances on election day may be.

The task is perhaps daunting for the two other parties, however untested provincially as she is, one might think that Councillor Rice may not have as easy a task as the NDP might believe of claiming the riding that Gary Coons has held for the NDP since 2005.

A solid candidate for the BC Liberals could eat away at that margin of the last victory and depending on the campaign of Ms. Rice, could even possibly reclaim it for the Liberals.

Though considering the polls and the tired nature of the Liberal government, that is perhaps a long shot at best. Which may explain why, thus far, no one has found the prospect of a campaign something worthy of a run.

Which is too bad, it's one thing to earn your way to Victoria in a hard fought election campaign.

But to have the other side effectively run up a white flag on the whole concept, doesn't do much for the people that live in the riding, or for the electoral process either.

Some of the reviews of the BC Liberal pre-election kick off can be found below.

Vancouver Sun-- B. C. Premier Christy Clark unveils candidates, talks economy in run-up to May 14 election
Vancouver Province-- Clark kick-starts campaign, introduces B. C. Liberal Party candidates
Globe and Mail-- B. C. Liberals try to pump up candidates for 'close election' at boot camp
The Tyee-- At pre-election kick-off, Premier Clark pushes debt as key wedge issue
CBC-- Christy Clark kicks off pre-campaign

On Monday, CFTK offered up the following reviews of the nomination situation in the Northwest.

Northwest Ridings soon to have BC Liberal Candidates
NW Liberal Candidates (video)

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

A third LNG site for Prince Rupert?

We could soon be reaching back into the past when it comes to LNG development on the North Coast, with word today that the provincial government is seeking to auction off crown land north of Prince Rupert for potential LNG terminal development.

The Globe and Mail outlines the background on the proposed auction of land located 30 kilometres north of the Prince Rupert, near Lax Kw'alaams.

Longtime residents of the city will remember that back in the 1980's we had our first taste of the LNG dreams, when Dome Petroleum put Grassy Point up on a map as a proposed terminal for their own LNG  Development plans. Of course, those plans never came to fruition as Dome suffered financial troubles shortly after those plans were drawn up.

Now some thirty years later, everything old, may be new again. And considering the recent flurry of interest in the prospect of shipping LNG out of the North Coast, Dome's old blue prints may yet come out of storage.

The Globe article suggests that the province most likely would prefer to offer the land up on a long-term lease and highlights the important detail that back in the 1980's Dome had an agreement with Lax Kw'alaams that would allow the project to go ahead, something that may be of value as a blue print for a new development in that area.

The development of an LNG terminal near Lax Kw'alaams could usher in a new era of change for that community, including the much discussed road access to it and the ability to expand their industrial base in the community that would come with it.

Back in the days of the Dome proposal there was some consideration given that with development of an LNG terminal there would be a need to provide a road link to Highway 16, with a proposed crossing out past Butze rapids across and the inlet and then along the shoreline and on to Lax Kw'alaams.

The prospect of a third LNG project for the North Coast would seem to reinforce the BC Liberal Government's intentions to make the most out of the LNG sector and to make the North Coast a major participant in that industry.

With the provincial election on the horizon, the topic of that development could become one of the key discussion points during the election campaign (providing the Liberals ever get around to nominating a candidate).

With the NDP and their candidate on the North Coast Jennifer Rice, required to offer up some thoughts on what seems to be shaping up as an important issue for the riding.

You can review our archive of LNG related items from our archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Nathan Cullen set to take to the Enbridge stage on Friday

Nathan Cullen, The NDP MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, is making his way back to Prince Rupert for his second visit in less than a week, this time for an appearance at the Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel hearings.

His Friday morning session is one of the more anticipated of recent speaking sessions in front of the panel, perhaps partly because of what has taken place in the past, rather than on what may be ahead for Friday.

In his last appearance in front of the Joint Review Panel, things got a little testy as Enbridge lawyers took exception to Mr. Cullen's line of questioning, suggesting that he was being disrespectful to the process, asking questions that they believed did not fit the parameters of the Hearings mandate.

Some of the items of note from his last appearance at the JRP in February of 2012, can be found below:

The Northern View-- What was said at the Rupert Enbridge hearings
CFTK-- Conservative MP Slams Cullen, RD Rejects Enbridge
CBC Northern BC-- Enbridge hearings resume in Prince Rupert
The Northern View-- Intervenors 'muzzled' at Enbridge hearings in Prince Rupert
CFTK-- Cullen, Enbridge Spar at JRP Hearings in Prince Rupert
Queen Charlotte Islands Observer-- MP Cullen talks about the land at Enbridge panel hearing
The Northern View-- Run down of 1st day of Prince Rupert hearings on Enbridge pipeline
Marketwire-- Pipeline tensions: Frustration mounts at Review hearings...
Opinion 250-- Enbridge hearings tense in Prince Rupert
Vancouver Observer-- Enbridge trying to "silence" speakers at oil sands pipeline hearings: MLA
The Northern View-- MP calls Enbridge request 'suspicious and shameful'
The Northern View-- Enbridge seeking time limit on non-Aboriginal speakers at Prince Rupert hearings

In a Northern View interview earlier this week, Mr. Cullen offered up the thought that Friday may provide for a bit of replay of those first discussions of a year ago, but it does not appear that he has any plans to scale back his approach in his second appearance in front of the panel.

The MP took to his twitter feed on Thursday night to advise that he would be in Prince Rupert Friday to cross examine Enbridge at the hearings, suggesting we imagine that Friday's session may provide for more of the fireworks of last February, with more than a few stops during the presentation on matters of procedure.

The Northern Gateway Hearings are in the middle of their second session of the month in Prince Rupert, this current sitting of the panel will continue on until the end of next week.

You can listen in to the Hearings through this live audio feed from the Convention Centre hall.

Our Archive of the current session can be found here, the full archive of our past items of note on the Joint Review Panel can be found here.

Cross Posted from the North Coast Review

Mr. Good's Great Adventure

One of British Columbia's best known broadcasters is hitting the road, seeking to learn more about development around the province, a tour which will feature a particular focus on Northern and Northwestern British Columbia.

Bill Good, host of The Bill Good Show, one of the province's most popular talk shows, has just started a cross province journey, with a Prince Rupert pin on the map for March 13th.

In addition to his planned trip to Prince Rupert, The CKNW talk show host, has set aside three other journeys through February and March.   Taking  his Good In Your Town series to Osoyoos, Kelowna and Prince George. 

At each stop along the way he will broadcast his top rated talk show live from the community, learning more about the topics of concern of each stop and with a focus on development and the future.

The Prince George leg of the tour took place today, with the main focus being on the Forestry, the growth of the Prince George region and the future of development in the Northern Interior region.

A portion of the discussion on the program today featured the importance of the Port of Prince Rupert on development of resources and as a job provider for the Prince George region.

His arrival was previewed in the Prince George Citizen on  Monday, outlining some of the scope of what the sessions are all about and giving us a glimpse as to what we may expect upon his arrival in March.

Broadcaster to sound off from P. G.

You can also examine the Prince George show from the CKNW Audio Vault or Podcast page, the entire show from 8:30 to Noon is included for your review.

His planned trip to Prince Rupert and broadcast across the province will be hosted at the Crest Hotel, with LNG and Port Development the main theme of his stop in the city, a community where he began his broadcasting career (with CHTK) back in 1965.

The LNG theme, Port Development, as well as the Enbridge Pipeline issue, have all been items one of much interest to Good over the last few months. They frequently have been the topic of discussion on his program and to give you a bit of a primer of the focus of his program in Prince Rupert, you can review some of those programs (listed below) from the CKNW archives (using this audio player).

Tuesday February 19 (8:48 -9 AM ) Is BC's LNG honeymoon over before it even really started?

Friday February 15 (11-11:30) A Busy year ahead for Port Metro Vancouver
Wednesday February 13 (9:18-9:30) LNG and BC's Green House Gas Targets

Wednesday February 13 (8:35-9:00) An All-Eggs-in-One-Basket Throne Speech?
Monday February 11 (10:30-11) Should Oil and Gas Industry get Tax Savings to Develop LNG in BC
Monday January 28 (10:30-11)  Pipelines, Prosperity and Oil Business with China
Friday January 25 (11-11:30) How Much would an Oil Spill Cost Taxpayers?
Tuesday January 22 (10:30-11) Oil on the Rails: What's Old Might be New Again
Monday January 21 (10:30-11) Risks vs Rewards for the Northern Gateway Pipeline Proposal

Above items and the shows listed below can be also accessed through the CKNW podcast page

Thursday January 17 (8:30-9:00) Is Enbridge's NGP a pipe dream?
Tuesday January 15 (8:30-9:00) Enbridge No More?

The format of the program, being a talk show, is of course discussion. With many guests, ranging from industry principals, politicians provincial and municipal and concerned citizens, all engaged in lively discussion that helps to bring the topic to public attention.

These community visits however, don't appear to provide for much of the open line aspect of a usual Bill Good show, making it more of a magazine type program for these visits.

Considering the current debate in the community over the prospect of LNG and Port development, his program on the 13th of March may make for the most concise review of the issue for all of us to share in.

It also provides the opportunity for both municipal politicians and those seeking the vote of the North Coast in the upcoming provincial election, to perhaps offer up their thoughts on LNG and Port Development in the community.

The Bill Good Show is available on line through the CKNW website daily from 8:30 to Noon. The talking points for each show are available here.

Archives of the show are kept on the website (see links above), as well as through the iTunes podcast application.

Cross Posted from the North Coast Review

Liberals deliver budget/election blue print

Whether it ever proves to be a working document won't be known until after the May election, but in the lead up to that election campaign, Premier Christy Clark's Finance Minister Mike de Jong delivered the Liberal governments blue print on Tuesday. 

A wide ranging document of number crunching that would provide for a small surplus, should all the revenue streams provide as designed.

Budgets heading into an election campaign provide much in the way of wishful thinking and the reality is that the document of today, may not hold much in the way of a final word after we go to the polls.

Should the NDP prove victorious, it's safe to assume that they would be redefining the financial plan with their slant firmly in place and should the Liberals grab yet another victory, there's a good chance that tweaking would quickly follow, usually in the form of a financial statement or some such convenience of government.

Still, the Budget is one of the key statements of any government, a road map of sorts of where they hope to go and how they hope to pay for it.

Some of the highlights from Budget Day 2013 included:

A projected budget surplus of 197 million for 2013, with anticipated surpluses of $211 million in 2014-15 and $460 million in 2015-16.

There will be a temporary increase in the personal income tax rate for those above $150,000 dollars, with an additional 2.1 percent to be collected over the next three years.

The Corporate tax rate will increase by 1 per cent

Medical Services Plan premiums will increase by 4 per cent on January 1st 2014

Tobacco Taxes will increase by $2 per carton effective October 1st.

The Government will sell off a number of assets hoping to generate $625 million for the province.

Starting in April of 2015, there will be an early childhood refundable tax credit in place worth up to $660,  for families with children under six

The Government will spend 32 million dollars over three years to create new child care spaces and spend 37 million dollars over three years to improve the quality of child care and services.

Using money from an educational fund created in 2007, there will be a one time grant of $1,200 for children born after January 1, 2007, which will be deposited into a Registered Education Savings Plan.

The Ministry of Education will get an increase of less than one percent, while the Ministry of Advanced Innovation and Technology will see a reduction of 46 million dollars over three years.

The Budget will set aside 54 million dollars for RCMP services over the next three years.

The full highlights package and other Budget related information from the Ministry of Finance can be found here.

More than a few observers have suggested that the Liberals have done Adrian Dix and the NDP a favour, putting in place some of the tax increases that the NDP were suggesting might  be necessary, though we imagine not for all the same reasons as the Liberals may have in mind.

The fact that the budget details revealed today, may not be of much concern by May was also a theme of many a political contributor today.

A valid thought considering the fact that the budget won't be debated or voted on prior to the May 14th election, making it really not much more than a talking point in the short term.

One person clearly not impressed with the document is Martyn Brown,  a Liberal insider who had little kind to say about the Clark Government's financial plan.

Probably the Premier's only saving grace from that particularly harsh outburst being, that Brown is the former Chief of Staff to Gordon Campbell, make what you will of all that internal Liberal nastiness.

Some of the other reviews of the Budget of 2013 can be found below:

Vancouver Sun-- Liberals' highly debatable budget plans include fiscal tricks, asset sales and tax hikes
Vancouver Sun-- Balanced budget a tricky balancing act for B. C. Liberals
Vancouver Province-- Corporate leaders give B. C. Liberals the business
Vancouver Province-- B. C. budget achieves balance, as billed
Vancouver Province-- Public skepticism over balanced books
Victoria Times Colonist-- Tax hikes, higher fees, selling assets are proposed measures to balance budget
Victoria Times Colonist-- Government makes $46M in cuts to higher education
Victoria Times Colonist-- Cuts to health spending but not transfers to health authorities
CBC-- B. C. Government tables lean budget
CBC-- What Budget means for you
CTV BC-- Tax Hikes, Asset Sales allows B. C. to balance budget
Global BC-- Finance Minister Defends Budget
24 Hours Vancouver-- The BC Budget Speech We never Heard from Finance Minister Mike de Jong
24 Hours Vancouver-- BC Liberals raising taxes to 'balance' budget
The Tyee-- BC Budget "Is it Credible?"
The Tyee-- BC's small surplus depends on asset sales and optimism
The Tyee-- Budget 2013 "not very good for young people': advocates
Georgia Straight-- B. C. government budget projects "modest" surplus, includes tax increases

Cross Posted from the North Coast Review

CEAA seeks comments on Pacific Northwest LNG project

A news release from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has set the wheels in motion to move forward the process of review for the first of the proposed LNG terminal developments for Prince Rupert.

The CEAA outlined the steps to come in examination of the proposal from Pacific Northwest LNG with this Public Notice  of February 19th, advising that the the first of the deadlines is fast approaching on March 11th.

As part of the modernized Canadian Environmental Act of 2012, the CEAA is in the process of determining whether a federal environmental review is required for the proposed project.

Towards that decision, the CEAA is currently seeking comments from the public on the project and its potential effects on the environment.

Those comments must be submitted to the CEAA by the March 11th deadline, after that date the Assessment Agency will determine the steps moving forward, posting a decision on its website stating whether a federal environmental assessment is required.

Should the CEAA decide that a full federal environmental assessment is required, the public will then have three further opportunities to comment on the project, as required with the public engagement aspects of the legislation of last year.

The news release can be found here, with a full summary of the project description also available for review.

Further particulars from the CEAA can be found on their reference page for the project, including contact information for those with questions or looking for more information.

The Pacific Northwest LNG project is the proposed Petronas/Progress Energy development, which would feature a shipment terminal on Lelu Island. As we outlined back on December 4th, their plans included the initial investment of 9 to 11 billion dollars, as well as the prospect of larger investment possibilities.

The first step towards that possible development is now underway, the March 11th deadline will provide for the first of the benchmarks that Pacific Northwest LNG will see along the way, the CEAA to determine at that time the scope of the review ahead and the timeline that it will follow.

The announcement of Tuesday, came on the same day that NDP MP Nathan Cullen outlined his thoughts on the topic of LNG development, expressing in an article in the Northern View his doubts that all of the proposed LNG developments will proceed.

You can review all of our items on LNG development in the Northwest from our Industrial Development Archive.

Cross Posted from the North Coast Review

Enbridge Hearings back for second February sessions

With a break of a week complete, timed we imagine owing to the arrival of the annual All Native Basketball Tournament in the city and the lack of hotel rooms that the event provides for. The work of the Joint Review Panel of Northern Gateway Hearings will resume today at the North Coast Meeting an Convention Centre.

Today's sessions mark the beginning of a two week grouping of the hearings, with the schedule for the next two weeks looking like this:

February 18-23              8:30 to 3:30 PM (Saturday 8:30 to 12:30 PM)
February 25- March 1   8:30 to 3:30

The full Schedule of upcoming sessions through to May can be found here.

Once again, the Hearings are being made available on line through a live audio feed from the Convention Centre.

Transcripts of sessions from each day will also be posted to the Joint Review Panel's website shortly after the day's proceedings have been completed.

The latest from the Joint Review Panel's website can be found here

While we have a compilation of items on the hearings from our Archive page here.

As we have with the past sessions, we'll provide items of note on the sessions of the developments from the hearings, those items for the period of February 18 to March 1 can be found below.

North Coast Review Items


Items from other media sources


CFTK-- Enbridge JRP Tuesday (video)
CFTK-- Haisla Nation Cross Examines Enbridge

CFTK-- Enbrodge Gitxaala Panel (video)
CFTK-- Northern Gateway's Final Hearings are Back in Session
The Northern View-- MP preparing to question Enbridge at Prince Rupert hearings

Cross Posted from the North Coast Review

Premier Clark's Prosperity Fund Plan hinges on electoral prospects for Liberals

When the Liberal Government of Premier Christy Clark delivered the throne speech this week, no corner of the province was paying more attention than the Northwest, which would seem to be the one section of the province to benefit the most from any massive expansion of the LNG industry in the province.

The Northwest as we have all been following of late, is pretty becoming the El Dorado of the Liquid Natural Gas rush, not so much for the resources to be found, but more for the transportation hub that it appears marked to be, the preferred shipment point to send the product to thirsty consumers in Asia.

As we have recounted in the past, (see our archive of LNG related items) at least two of the projects for export facilities have been tagged for Prince Rupert, a few more for Kitimat, with one export licence already granted for one of the Kitimat projects.

In the course of her government's Throne Speech, the Lieutenant Governor delivered the pre election thoughts of a struggling Liberal government, one which seems to banking all of its political capital on the chase for LNG development and dollars.

. .

As the speech delivered point after point, it became obvious that the Liberal's are hoping that British Columbian's will buy into the prospect of untold billions of revenues from an industry that it would seem to the Liberals is more than ready to start writing the cheques.

An economic driver that will deliver such things as the opportunity to reduce debt, improve social services and dreamer of dreams, eliminate the provincial Sales Tax.

In short, the LNG hoopla it seems, is our very own version of the Alberta Oil Sands. The Liberal's and more to the point, Premier Christy Clark, hoping to ride the euphoria over it all into yet another majority government at the Legislature and turn the province into the ultimate of resource based economies it would seem.

So we're not sure which is more problematic for the Premier in the days after her speech was delivered.

The fact that pretty week EVERYONE has panned her Prosperity fund hoopla, suggesting that the massive growth of the LNG shipment industry isn't going to happen with quite as much gusto as the Premier suspects  (damn there goes every Rupertites' retirement thinking).

OR, the fact, that pretty well everyone sees the Throne speech as some kind of pie in the sky electoral blue print, a wishful wish list for a government that seems to be losing its resonance with the population with each passing day.

The prospect of LNG development and with it the need for transportation facilities on the North Coast, will clearly be a part of the future, but we suspect not with the same frantic pace that the declarations of the past week might suggest.

For those on the North Coast thinking that the gold rush is almost upon us, the cautionary tales perhaps will serve to put a bit of a brake on the rather over zealous declarations of a boom time set to rise on the horizon.

The reviews of the Premier's Prosperity declaration have, for the most part, been of the it's not going to quite happen that way variety, a sample of many of them can be found below.


The Province-- Pipe dream: No flush future for B. C. Natural Gas exports
The Province-- Christy Clark's $1-trillion gas0boom 'fantasy finding favour with forward-thinking LNG firms
The Province-- Christy's miracle Prosperity Fund should wipe out deficit as quickly as it ushers in world peace
The Province-- LNG looks years ahead, as B. C. Liberals hope to ride gas boom to election
The Province-- B. C. Throne Speech: LNG royalties expected to fuel fund that could wipe out provincial debt
The Vancouver Sun-- B. C. Liberal throne speech: something of a gasbag
Vancouver Sun-- Clark projects LNG windfall in throne speech
Vancouver Sun-- Two leaders push natural gas for different reasons
Vancouver Sun-- LNG fuelled prosperity is far from a sure thing
Vancouver Sun-- Oil and gas producers balk at LNG Tax
Victoria Times Colonist--  Clark toys with gassing the sales tax
Victoria Times Colonist-- Throne Speech: BC government creates 'prosperity fund' from natural gas sales to pay down debt
Victoria Times Colonist-- Liberals miss a golden chance
24 Hours Vancouver-- Throne Speech touts "Prosperity Fund" to eliminate debt
The Tyee-- LNG revenue to be used to pay down debt: Throne Speech
The Tyee-- Will Dix Get Gassed by Clark?
CBC-- Christy Clark banking on new fund and upgraded image
CBC-- B. C. to use gas revenues to pay down debt
CBC-- Throne speech focus on natural gas

Cross Posted from the North Coast Review

BC Ferries gains 20 percent reduction on Terminal Taxation

Up and down the coast of British Columbia, municipal governments will have to reconfigure their accounts receivables, after word came out Friday that the province's ferry transportation provider has gained assessment reductions on taxation of Terminal facilities in the communities that it serves.

BC Ferries was granted assessment reductions of varying degrees on Friday, ranging for the most part between 20 to 22 percent, a new fixed number which brings  an end to the long running dispute between the Ferry Corporation and the communities which host their terminals.

And while a 20 percent reduction may seem like a loss to those communities, things could have been a lot worse financially for budget makers in the affected municipalities.

Originally, those communities were looking at a much more significant reduction in revenue gained from terminal taxation, after assessments of those facilities were reduced drastically.

In the case of one of the busiest terminals in the province, Horseshoe Bay, the assessment there had been pegged at just 20 dollars, an incredulous amount to West Vancouver Municipal officials, who threatened to take the whole thing to court.

Other Communities, including Prince Rupert were to be faced with similar drastic reductions in property assessments for BC Ferries properties, which would have had some serious implications for the budget process of all.

When word of the revised assessment plan was released back in November of last year, The Northern View outlined some of the background on the issue facing the City of Prince Rupert .

The backlash up and down the coast to that new math, resulted in discussions between the provincial government, BC Assessments and the Ferry Corporation, as Bill Bennett, the Provincial Government's Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister brought the parties together to try and find a more workable number.

Those sessions have now resulted in a new formula of calculation, which will see a 12 percent reduction in the case of the Horseshoe Bay Terminal, but still pegs its value at around 47 million dollars, which should be a little more beneficial to West Vancouver.

As mentioned above, the remainder of the province's host communities will see reductions of between 20 to 22 per cent for the most part.

Details of the agreement were revealed Friday, in this News Release from the Provincial Government.

In the past the City of Prince Rupert has received about 46,000 dollars from tax revenue on the terminal property at Fairview, which was valued at 1.8 million dollars.

With this new formula in place, the reduced assessment will apparently result in a reduction of about 20 percent in property taxes for BC Ferries in Prince Rupert.

Resulting in a reduced amount of revenue for the City of Prince Rupert, which may require the City to find other sources to make up for that anticipated shortfall.

CFTK Television had the first of the local reports on the revised assessment situation on Friday.

BC Ferries Tax Dispute (video)
BC Ferries Reach a Property Tax Agreement

Details on the larger picture province wide can be found below.

Victoria Times Colonist-- B. C. Ferries must pay taxes on terminals
Victoria Times Colonist-- B. C. Ferries won't be able to sidestep municipal taxes for its terminals
Victoria Times Colonist-- Devalued Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal boosted to $47M from $20 after talks
Vancouver Sun-- Horseshoe Bay ferry Terminal assessment boosted to $47 million
Vancouver Sun-- BC Ferries reaches deal on assessment of terminals
Nanaimo Daily News-- Assessment settlement reached with B. C. Ferries
CBC-- BC Ferries agrees to pay West Vancouver property taxes

Cross Posted from the North Coast Review

After further review at Council, double duty for Councillor Rice is allowed

The soon to be  very busy schedule ahead for Councillor Jennifer Rice was the topic of some review at Prince Rupert City Council this past Tuesday, as Council sought clarification and further information on whether Councillor Rice could continue as as sitting councillor, while engaged in the soon to be launched provincial election campaign.

As we have noted on the blog earlier, Councillor Rice secured the nomination for the NDP riding of the North Coast last month and will carry the NDP colours into the May election campaign.

With what is expected to be a rather hectic schedule ahead, some in the community have expressed the thought that perhaps Ms. Rice should surrender her position on council as she seeks higher office.

We touched on the issue earlier this week with a look at the subject of much discussion around town.

And the theme that she should remove herself from council, was the featured item of a rather blistering editorial in the Northern View earlier this week, one that focused more on her environmental beliefs, than on civic governance for the most part.

The topic of double duty however does seem to be a popular one around City Hall these days. Judging by the comments made to Council by Acting City manager Dan Rodin prior to his presentation, the local paper, as well as some local residents, have apparently made previous inquiries to City staff about the issue.

So, with some interest apparently percolating around the community, the City Council received a report from Mr. Rodin on Tuesday (page 20) that examined and explained the situation as best that staff and legal counsel's research could determine.

From the presentation by Mr. Rodin, we learn that as it is now, there is nothing that suggests Ms. Rice should step down from her council duties as she conducts a provincial election campaign.

Nor, as Mr. Rodin recounted, it seems (and in a bit of a surprise), that  there is actually no requirement that she should surrender her seat, even if she proves successful in that May electoral campaign.

Mr. Rodin, did advise Council that should Councillor Rice, (like any councillor) miss a number of scheduled sessions (the regular sessions as outlined from the start of the year, not any special sessions called through the year) she could face disqualification from Council as per the Community Charter.

He then relayed some of the options that Council would have to consider, should they be reduced to five councillors and a Mayor for the remainder of this current council term, dependant on the timing of any potential resignation.

Even with that possibility in mind, it seems that more and more council members are relying on technology to take part in Council sessions while away, so the practice of participation could seemingly continue over the telephone lines, without actually having to be in council chambers.

In the past other councillors have taken part in sessions while out of town,  Councillors Thorkelson and Ashley come to mind, mainly over the telephone.

And in a timely twist, Councillor Rice herself took part in Tuesday's session by phone, no doubt listening in with interest  as her status as the NDP candidate for the North Coast was discussed.

You can listen in to the review yourself from the City's website, the council session is available in both audio and video format, Mr. Rodin delivers his Report to Council check in at the 1:10:00 mark and it continues on until 1:17:00.

We did notice however that the new era of long distance participation from Councillor Rice didn't exactly provide for much content on this occasion.

For the bulk of the Tuesday session, not much was heard through the telephone link and in fact, the only contribution that the Councillor made on the night's proceedings, (coincidentally right after they discussed her situation) was to inform council that she could not longer participate in the council session, as she had to depart the meeting early, as she had to catch a flight.

Which probably won't help the cause of those that support the thought that she can combine both civic duties and provincial ambitions, with the same amount of dedication, at the same time.

Should the bulk of Councillor Rice's attendance with council in the future end up coming from a long distance phone line and in between flights, we imagine the calls for her to step aside may get a little louder as we get further along towards the provincial election campaign.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

For the BC Job Fair caravan, the road does go west after all!

When we last left the folks from the BC Jobs Plan and their Canada Starts Here program, the here of the Job Fair project it appeared was Terrace, as that Northwest community had been offered its second Job Fair in less than six months.

Since our post of December however, it seems that the travelling road show folk have found a map that charts a path westward to the coast, as Prince Rupert is now pencilled in for one of the much anticipated Job Fairs for March 22nd.

The one day exhibition of job opportunities will take place at the Highliner Plaza Hotel on First Avenue West, running from 11 am to 6 pm. 

The Job Fair presentation will arrive in town after a roll through the Central part of Northern BC and the Northwest, that will have taken the travelling road show of job opportunity from Prince George to Smithers and Terrace.

As past events elsewhere have shown, the Job Fair concept has been well received in the other communities that it has arrived in. Offering up information on not only on companies and employment opportunities, but providing details of the requirements for jobs not only in the Northwest, but province wide.

In some cases, the sessions have offered participants the chance to make that valuable first impression with a potential employer on the spot.

Past events have also featured sessions with post secondary education advisors, who have provided detailed background on the education required and available, to obtain some of the high profile jobs currently on the job market.

We imagine that as we get closer to the March 22nd event, more information will be coming our way as to what may be available to Prince Rupert job seekers.

But for those that like to keep up to speed on the latest developments, the BC Job Fair organizers have a twitter feed with daily updates on what participants might expect to find, you can access that feed at #BCJobFair.

You can also learn more about the Job Fairs from the BC Jobs Plan website, which offers up tips and further information to make the best of your Jobs Fair experience.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review