No sunshine after all after Sun Wave Settlement -- as the court room beckons again

Watson Island, the tar pit of Prince Rupert politics is bubbling once again, with word that the Watson Island Development Company is taking the City to court.

With the would be owner of the old pulp mill site seeking a legal decision over issues regarding the industrial site that once held the region's economic base and what was hoped would soon be an economic engine again.

"WatCo continues to be committed to the people of Prince Rupert, and to the purchase of Watson Island and the significant remediation and redevelopment work required to ensure that this important local asset is productive again and contributing to local employment and the tax base in Prince Rupert,"-- Part of the text of a statement from Watco Company President David Austin

Yes, just when we thought it was clear sailing for the industrial site on the outskirts of the city, Rupertites learned Thursday of the latest twist, a new shift in the plot if you will, in what has to be one of the longest running sagas in Northern British Columbia history.

The latest troubles at the Watson Island site and the return to the courts, apparently being placed at the door step of the Mayor  and Council.

That at least according to this press release from Watco on Thursday.

The key takeaway being: WatCo Director and Company President, David Austin, stated that he was extremely disappointed at the sudden change in direction by the City's Mayor and Council, precipitating the need for WatCo to commence litigation.

Further into the information package released by WatCo is a hint as to when the discussions over the sale of Watson Island may have fallen off the rails, with a reference that the two parties were still talking up until February to settle the terms of a definitive agreement.

With WatCo stating that at that time, they accepted all of the terms of the definitive agreement proposed by the City and the City then advised that it would not proceed with the sale of Watson Island to WatCo.

Another quote from the company would appear to offer up some of the background to the current status of the situation.

"WatCo has paid in good faith millions of dollars to the City over the past two years and now we must take legal steps to protect our shareholder's interests." -- WatCo Chief Executive Officer, Perry Braun outlining the company's position in its move to the courts.

As well in order to protect their interest in the situation, the Watson Island Development Company has filed a Certificate of Pending Litigation, so as to prevent the land from being sold to others while the litigation is outstanding.

According to a story in the weekly paper the Northern View, the Mayor was not available for comment on the situation, which if past history is any indication isn't a particularly great omen for those that may wish to know what's going on.

If past is prologue, then it may be helpful to take a refresher course on the lengthy tribulations of the Sun Wave days.

A time when more often than not, City Council took to the closed session of council to discuss the issues surrounding that court fight.  With updates for the public in open forum few and far between.

Today's shocker comes almost one year to the day, when the Mayor offered up a stark synopsis of the Watson Island situation and the impact of the time as to what it all may have meant for the City with the endless litigation, and now, well one year later, suddenly here we go again...

Clearly council needs to get out in front of this story this time, and offer up some kind of explanation as to what has gone wrong this time.

And more importantly for the city's residents offer up a much more open approach to information sharing with the public.

Considering things seemed to deteriorate in February, Council it would appear had at least two opportunities to offer up a heads up for the public, advising that there may be trouble on the horizon once again, for what seems like an endless horror story.

As recently as March 10th, the City Manager in his report to Council advised on the topic of Watson Island stating that the city "continued to strive towards their goals on that issue, though those items must remain in camera in nature" 

No alarm bells there, just the usual notice that it was something that council prefers to discuss in closed session. Though we suspect that the public will be looking for some answers this time around.

It's surely going to be puzzling to Prince Rupert residents as to why, with an apparent deal in hand and after the long nightmare of the Sun Wave Days, the City, if the WatCo information is correct, decided to not accept the negotiated deal.

The last thing anyone in Prince Rupert probably wanted to hear was Watson Island is back in the news and back in court, yet apparently here we are again.

With the developments of Thursday, it looks like we'll have to dust off the archive box of the Watson Island files, you can find updates on the situation placed here as the story moves forward.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

MLA Salutes Northwest Basketball Success at the Legislature

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice offered up her thoughts on the success of the Northwest in recent basketball tournaments through March, making mention of the Queen Charlotte Saints and Charles Hays Rainmakers as well as the success of the Prince Rupert Middle School during the course of her presentation to the Legislature.

Speaking to the morning session of the Legislature, Ms. Rice, for the most part she focused on the journey of the Saints, recounting for the Legislature how the Haida Gwaii squad captured the attention of the Vancouver media during their time at the AAAA basketball championships.

The Queen Charlotte Secondary Saints had a great showing at the 2014 BC High School Boys 4A Basketball Championships, despite coming from a single-A school. They are quite possibly the smallest school to have ever played at this level, the highest level of B.C. high school basketball. 

The team's efforts were recognized with the most inspirational team award, while Nathan Vogstad was presented with the most inspirational player award. 

Many members of the team then went on to compete in the junior all-native tournament in Kamloops. 

In the words of Desi Collinson, the coach of the Queen Charlotte Secondary Saints, basketball teaches you discipline, how you're supposed to carry yourself, the strong history that we have, the storytelling and how you should have a sense of pride. But just because you inherit something doesn't mean you have an automatic right to it. You have to work. A sense of who you are is going to make you a better person and a better basketball player. 


She also made note of the success of the Charles Hays Rainmakers, both AAA Boys and Senior girls, as well as offering support to the work of the Junior Girls Rainmakers and of the Prince Rupert Middle School which claimed their zones title in February.

The Charles Hays secondary senior boys placed second at the 2014 BC High School Boys 4A Basketball Championships in Langley last week, while the senior girls finished their provincials with a 15th place finish. 

The Charles Hays Secondary School junior girls also competed in the respective provincial tournament as well. 

In a sneak peek of what's to come, both the boys' and the girls' grade 8 teams from Prince Rupert Middle School won the respective zone titles in February as well.

Basketball is, in many cases, the lifeblood of the north coast, particularly for First Nations, which make up almost half of the north coast population. I stand here today and salute those young players who have worked so hard and represented their families, schools and communities so well.

You can review her presentation to the Legislature from the Draft Minutes of the Tuesday morning session (10 minute mark).

You can also view her remarks by way of the Legislature Video Archive, her recap of the basketball highlights can be found at the 10 minute mark of the House Video for the Tuesday morning session..

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

National Energy Board issues long term export licences to Pacific Northwest LNG and Prince Rupert LNG

Another benchmark moment for LNG development on the North Coast has been reached with confirmation by the National Energy Board on Wednesday, that the federal regulator had approved  long term export licences for both the Pacific Northwest LNG project and the Prince Rupert LNG project.

Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford announced the export licence approval in a press release late Wednesday, this is the last step in the Government of Canada's approval process for the issuance of an LNG export licence.

Minister Rickford recently took on the Natural resources post as part of the recent Federal cabinet shuffle, replacing Joe Oliver who took over the duties of Finance Minister.

The export licences mark the first announcement since his arrival to his portfolio and authorizes the export of up to 73.38 million tonnes per annum of LNG for the four companies.

The normal length of the export licence is between 20 to 25 years.

Pacific Northwest LNG has targeted exports of 19.68 mtpa per year by late 2018, while Prince Rupert LNG is proposing exports of 21.6 mtpa beginning in 2021.

Beyond the two Prince Rupert based projects, the NEB also issued licences for projects from WCC LNG for a terminal to be located either in Kitimat, or Prince Rupert and Woodfibre which has a proposal in place for an LNG terminal in Squamish.

The four export licences granted on Wednesday, follow the path of three previous licences issued since 2011.

The National Energy Board is now reviewing five additional applications.

You can review the announcement here, from the Natural Resources Canada website.

For the Petronas backed bid of Pacific Northwest LNG, Wednesday was a very good day in the news department, with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency announcing the start date for a 30 day comment period regarding their proposed development for Lelu Island.

Further information on the two Prince Rupert based LNG proposals can be found on our LNG archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

30 Day public comment period to begin April 2nd for Pacific Northwest LNG project

On Wednesday afternoon, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency announced the terms of a 30 day public comment period regarding the Pacific Northwest LNG project proposed for Lelu Island.

Public comments will be received starting on April 2nd and will be accepted by the Agency until May 1st.

The call for public comment comes following last months publication of an environmental impact study, which outlined among many items that the effects on air quality would not be significant, but would have an impact on the province's green house gas emissions. (pages 21 and 22)

As well as the environmental comments, the impact study also provided a glimpse of the Operation and management plans (page 46)

This next stage of the assessment process will provide the CEAA with public feedback on the project which will then be considered as part of a draft environmental assessment report.

As part of the process, there will be two Information sessions during the comment period, the first on April 7th at the Port Edward Community Centre with the second in Prince Rupert on Tuesday, April 8th at the North Coast Convention Centre.

You can review more information on the public comment process from the CEAA website, all submissions that are received by the Agency will be posted to the EAO website and will become part of the Agency project file.

Details on the process are also available from the provincial government's project information website

We have more on the Pacific Northwest LNG project available on our archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Northwest Community College turns down Enbridge bursary offer

A few weeks back we outlined that a new bursary was being made available to students at Northwest Community, as Enbridge Northern Gateway and the college announced plans to create six bursaries of 2500 dollars each for Northwest students.

It wold provide for a fifteen thousand dollar opportunity for local students to put towards their education. The bursaries were to be provided to assist in funding to help Northwest students access trades training at the college.

Two weeks later however, it appears that the community college has had second thoughts on the source of that bursary money.  Though as of today, the notice of the bursary program is still posted to their website.

CFNR was the first to report that NWCC has reportedly turned down the Enbridge bursaries, though no reason for that decision has yet to be delivered by the college.

According to the CFNR report, Ivan Giesbrecht who represents Enbridge, outlined that some 70 students had already applied for the bursary prior to the  NWCC decision not to accept the donation from the Canadian energy company.

The Terrace Standard offers up a bit of review of the timeline of the decision from the NWCC Board, as well as the short two sentence notice of their decision.

It is interesting to note that NWCC has received bursary donations from other companies in the Northwest in the last year, some of which come from corporations that are involved in controversial developments or industries in the region.

Yet at those times, there was no apparent hesitation in accepting that financial assistance for students.

Today, the Terrace Standard outlines that NWCC remains committed to providing bursaries and that the college is renewing discussions with Enbridge on the nature of their bursary opportunity, without the college becoming officially involved in it.

Clearly NWCC will have to provide a bit more information than a couple of sentences outlining their reversal on the Enbridge bursaries and how they believe it may develop in the future.

NWCC should provide Northwest residents with a better understanding of the Enbridge controversy in this particular case, as well as an overview of the process of accepting bursary opportunities.

More to the point, NWCC should offer up an explanation as to why in an era of financial struggles, they have chosen not to accept financial assistance from a prominent national company.

There is more about developments at NWCC available on our archive page

 Cross posted from the North Coast Review

On buses, boats and planes and the financial pain of airport access

One of the key elements for this year's City of Prince Rupert Financial planning is the growing deficit faced by the Digby Island Ferry, a financial burden that is closing in on 900,000 dollars for 2014 and clearly having an impact on how the City puts together its financial forecast.

The topic of access to the Airport made for much discussion on Monday night, ranging from recommendation from Councillor Ashley that the city should consider raising the rate of passage on the Ferry to some background information from former Mayor Don Scott and his thoughts that the city should be making its case to the province to take over the cost of that access.

On the proposed Ferry Rate increases, Councillor Ashley outlined some of her financial review on the airport ferry and how an increase of fifteen dollars for transit on the ferry would provided some relief to the growing cost of operations.

Her recommendation provided for some council members to offer caution on that theme, suggesting that an increase of the airport ferry rates may in fact drive traffic away from the airport towards the Terrace airport.

Councillor Garon, had a number of questions regarding Councillor Ashley's figures regarding the return to the city of the proposed increased rates.

She then called on her experience with the Airport Society and suggested that before Council makes any decision on a possible fare increase that they meet with the Airport to learn more about the impact such an increase may have on their operations.

With that suggestion on the table, discussion on the proposal for an airport ferry increase (and the overall discussion on the financial plan) for the most part came to an end until Council meets with the Airport society to gain further information on the topic.

You can review those discussions from the City Council Video Archive from the 2 hour thirty five minute mark up to the 2 hour fifty eight minute mark.

The theme of responsibility for airport access was introduced by former Mayor Don Scott, who offered up some thoughts  in the public comment portion of the Committee of the Whole part of the night's session.

He asked council if the city had pursued the issue of the Digby Island ferry further with the province.

Offering up the suggestion that in other areas of the province the highway would be extended to and the provincial government covers the cost of these kinds of transportation requirements.

Adding that he believes that access to airports is the responsibility of the provincial government.

The Mayor outlined that in the past the province has disputed that fact, he then went on outline some past funding on a study for more effective airport ferry study that would provide for a route from the ferry that would reduce the transit time to ten minutes.

That study was presented to the provincial government, which then advised that until there was enough demand from industry to warrant the change.  Leaving it to the city of Prince Rupert to decide to make those changes on their own. The Mayor then he suggested that with the prospect of increased economic development that project may be more feasible.

Mr. Scott then returned to the prospect of pursuing a legal opinion on the provincial responsibility towards airport access.

The Mayor advised that as it stands, the province continues to refuse responsibility for the road on the airport.

Councillor Thorkelson asked further of Mr. Scott as to why he believes the province is responsible for the airport access, he then outlined he believes it's part of their regulations and policies and recounted his time as Mayor and discussions with then City Manager Smith on the topic.

He suggested a review of the existing provincial policies and why the province continues to ignore Prince Rupert's access to the airport.

With that information Council asked staff to contact the Airport Society to explore the issue further, with Councillor Garon outlining that she believes the city should continue to push the province on the issue and seek clarification.

You can review Mr. Scott's presentation on the airport ferry issue from the City's Video Archive he begins his review at the 1 hour thirty eight minute mark, the discussion continues on to the 1 hour fifty three minute mark.

The twin themes of concern on the airport access issue, will clearly have a key impact on the city's financial prospects, so taking Mr. Scott's suggestion to explore the issue further with the province seems like a worthwhile use of legal resources.

It also is something that the local MLA for the North Coast should take up as part of her duties at the Legislature, seeking to learn more about why access in some communities is provided by the province but not on the North Coast.

You can find more  on the discussion points from City Council from our archive page.

For more on the theme of developments with the Prince Rupert Airport see our archive page on transportation.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

NDP MP seeks public support to stop Canada Post Cuts

The efforts to save Canada Post services across Canada have come the Northwest, as NDP MP Nathan Cullen launched a household campaign this past week to try and secure public support for the cause.

Arriving in mailboxes over the last week was a household mailer from the MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley seeking the support of Northwest residents to send a message to the Conservative government regarding the proposed changes to Canada's mail delivery system.

Residents are invited to sign on with the NDP in their plan to "save mail service in Canada" by filling out the card in their mail and returning it to Mr. Cullen c/o the House of Commons.

That reply of course comes with no postage required, as all mail delivered to MP's from across Canada is delivered free of charge.

A small bit of irony perhaps, considering the struggles that the Post Office has in meeting its financial targets.

The campaign to reverse the cuts proposed by Canada Post began in January with a number of high profile protests and information campaigns taking place.

So far the movement to save Postal Services has found support at the municipal level in Smithers. With that community's Town Council tackling the issue, having received a presentation from the Postal Union CUPW.

Smithers Council recently issued a letter of support in the bid to stop the proposed changes from the Post Office.

Smithers Town Council to send Letters Opposing Speculated Canada Post Service Cuts
Canadian Postal Workers Union Warns Smithers Town Council of Potential Service Cuts

Prince Rupert City Council has not, as of yet, received any delegations from the post office or postal union, nor have they discussed the issue in Council sessions.

More on the NDP campaign on postal service cuts can be found here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

BCTF takes its contract message to the public

With their spring break convention now over, the province's teachers have outlined five quick facts about any potential job action, should their negotiations with the provincial government not find common ground.

The BCTF outlined their five points by way of a web page released this weekend.

Among the key items of review for the public: the stages any potential job disruption may take and the requirement of another province wide vote before any full-scale job action is taken.

The BCTF also offered up some thoughts for parents as to how they could become involved in the dispute, suggesting that parents consult with their children's teachers about the supports that they need to help students succeed.

They also recommended that parent's speak out about their experiences in public schools and how things could be better.  As well as urging parents to talk to relatives and friends about the importance of an agreement that is fair for teachers and one that will provide better support for students.

The BCTF also points to a couple of Internet locations for more information, recommending that parents review the information found on www.aFairDeal.ca

In addition to that website,  they suggest that parent's make use of a number of BCTF social media platforms for updates and more background from the BCTF point of view.

With such social media sites as the BCTF facebook page, Twitter feed and You Tube portal highlighted as worth a visit.

You can review more of the BCTF talking points from this media release.

There is more on Education in the Northwest available on our archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

MP Nathan Cullen to turn focus to finance in shadow cabinet shuffle

Nathan Cullen, the NDP Member of Parliament for Skeena- Bulkley Valley will be taking up new duties in the House of Commons when Parliament resumes on Monday, as Mr. Cullen takes on the high profile Finance critics position for the NDP.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair made the shuffle on Thursday, shifting Mr. Cullen from his House Leadership duties to Finance, where he will keep watch over the new Conservative Finance Minister Joe Oliver's financial blue print moving forward.

The first reactions from the new finance critic came by way of Mr. Cullen's twitter feed and facebook page.

Mr. Cullen was among six NDP MP's to change or take up duties as part of their shadow cabinet assignments as part of the shuffle, the full review of the NDP shuffle can be found here.

As he takes up his new duties in the House, a sample of what the Finance Minister may be in store for can be found from Mr. Cullen's reaction to the recent Conservative Budget of February, which he described as delivering on a "do nothing promise."

News coverage of the shadow cabinet shuffle generally found much to like about Mr. Cullen's shift to the critic's post for finance. With some suggesting that unshackling the Northwest BC MP from the stifling task of House leader, will provide the NDP with the opportunity to have one of their more forecful speakers direct his attention to the Conservative financial plan.


Canada.com-- NDP shuffles its shadow cabinet to face new finance minister
Ottawa Citizen-- NDP shuffles its shadow cabinet to face new finance minister
CBC-- NDP MPs swap critic roles in wake of Flaherty, Chow departures
Prince George Citizen-- Northern B. C. MP becomes finance critic
Northern View-- Nathan Cullen moved to federal finance critic position
CFTK-- New Job for Cullen in NDP Shadow Cabinet

You can review some of our past items on Mr. Cullen's work in Ottawa from our archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Mr. Cullen takes his Northern Gateway message to Vancouver Island

The message of those in opposition to the Enbridge Northern Gateway project is being brought to Vancouver Island this week.

As Nathan Cullen, the NDP MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley hosts a number of information sessions at communities on Vancouver Island, the Sunshine coast as well as a wrap up session planned for Vancouver.

Mr. Cullen started the tour on Wednesday with a session in Powell River,  outlining his thoughts and seeking to add to the support of those that do not wish to see the Enbridge project move forward. 

Still to come before the MP brings his tour to an end on Sunday will be appearances in Campbell River, Courtenay, Duncan, Victoria and Vancouver.

You can review the itinerary of the tour here,  as it works its way through the week. 

For those looking to review some of the feedback that the MP received from each stop, click on the facebook page links for a look into the discussions following each stop.

For those that might want to look in and see what Mr. Cullen is presenting to southern locales, Livestreaming options were being considered for the tour. Check the facebook page link for the session of the day for further information on that aspect of the presentation.

For more background on the Northern Gateway project see our archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

MLA outlines concerns over funding for Prince Rupert Family Counselling Service

During committee work at the B. C. Legislature this week, North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice raised a concern over what appears to be an evolving situation on funding for a counselling service in Prince Rupert.

As part of the discussion at the Committee of Supply on Spending Estimates for the Ministry of Children and Family Development, Ms. Rice offered up a quick review of the current status of Mental Health Services in the community and in particular a situation facing a group known as Northwest Band Family Counselling.

I received an e-mail about the Northwest Band family counselling group in Prince Rupert, which provides drug and alcohol counselling, family counselling to aboriginal people by aboriginal people. They're also getting funding from MCFD. They service non-aboriginals in our community, and they also service outlying communities from Haida Gwaii all the way up into the Gitksan territory over into the Stikine constituency

Ms. Rice concluded her review of their services by then asking Stephanie Cadieux, the Minister for Child and Family Development, for an explanation regarding the funding situation.

In her reply, the Minister observed that she was not immediately aware of the agency, or any potential funding relationship with the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

Ms. Cadieux also noted  that funding for programs related to drug and alcohol counselling would not be  provided through the Children and Family Development Ministry, but rather through the Ministry of Health. She did however, advise that she would look into the situation and follow up with the MLA.

You can review some of the work of the Committee of Supply from the Committee Record of the afternoon session of March 13th, Ms. Rice's contribution to the discussion arrives at just before the 1735 marker.

The session is also available on the Legislature Video Archive, the question on the funding issue arrives at the 229 mark on the player (1735 on the clock)

There is also more background on developments at the British Columbia Legislature to be found on our Legislature Archive.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

City of Prince Rupert's Ferry Study highlighted in Legislature debate on Ferry Cuts

Tuesday found a two pronged approach to the push back against pending ferry cuts in British Columbia, first as a large crowd of protesters gathered on the Legislature lawn calling for the attention of Transportation Minister Todd Stone on the the issue.

Bus loads of demonstrators rally against Ferry Service cuts at B. C. Legislature
BC Ferries cuts, fare hikes anger protestors in Victoria
Protest against BC Ferries takes place in Victoria

Inside the Legislature, the opposition NDP was looking to make their points as well, with some MLA's making use of a report commissioned by the City of Prince Rupert.

As we outlined on the blog back in February, at that time Mayor Mussallem outlined for city council the nature of a report commissioned by the City, designed to examine the impact of cutbacks on not only the North Coast but well into the heart of the Province.

As things turned out, the distribution list for Mayor Jack Mussallem's Ferry Study was apparently wide, as both Opposition Leader Adrian Dix and North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice made use of it on Tuesday.

The opposition leader launched the debate on Tuesday, making mention of his reading material from Prince Rupert and asking Minister Stone about the Government's lack of proper consultation on the impact of the cuts on the communities most affected.

With Prince Rupert's recently released study the centre point of their talking points on the potential impacts on pending Ferry Cuts to the North Coast routes. . . . My question is for the Minister of Transportation. Before announcing its reckless cuts to ferry services, the government failed utterly to look at the economic impact of its decisions. Not one economic impact study was done. 

But even if the government didn't bother to do one, the city of Prince Rupert did. They commissioned a report on the economic impact of these decisions on the north. The findings were clear. Liberal ferry cuts will damage the local, coastal and provincial economies. Will the minister please tell us why his government chose to ignore reality and go ahead with cuts without understanding or even looking at their economic impact? ...

Will the minister listen to the mayor and council of Prince Rupert and to the people in ferry-dependent communities, including the people on the lawn of the Legislature, and put these cuts on hold until their full economic impact is understood, at least by him?

The Transportation Minister for the most part advised that he and the government were inclined to stay their course, listing off a number of instances of low ridership and the cost of running ferries for such low payloads.  Insisting that in order to have an affordable and sustainable Ferry System, tough decisions had to be made.

He went on to advise Mr. Dix of his recent meetings with the Mayor and representatives of other coastal communities where very frank discussions were held on the nature of the Government's plans.

Later on in the debate on Ferry Cuts, North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice offered up some questions for the Transportation Minister, highlighting some of the economic impact of the cuts will have on the tourism industry.

Prince Rupert businesses note that B.C. Liberal ferry cuts will undermine the local economy. Pineridge Bed and Breakfast in my constituency says: "We expect an immediate 40 to 60 percent loss of income if these cuts go through." Even businesses outside of the tourism sector are concerned. Like Advantage Print and Design, which says: "Our business has multiple tourism industry partnerships.

 If ferry traffic is down, these businesses will suffer, and so, in a trickle-down effect, our business will also suffer." Again, to the minister, why is he trying to shutter the hospitality industry instead of trying to grow it?

The Transportation Minister deflected that particular barb, suggesting that the NDP has no particular solutions if their own in mind to contribute, something he believes British Columbians are waiting for.

He then pivoted on the theme of the economy of the Northwest,  asking Ms. Rice and the NDP as a whole, whether they were prepared to "get on board with LNG", which advised might be pretty good for Prince Rupert and the Northwest.

The full discussion on the proposed Ferry Cuts took up about 20 minutes of the Legislature schedule on Tuesday morning, you can review the full scope of that discussion from the Legislature Draft minutes, the topic starts at the 1035 mark carrying on until 1055.

The Video of Tuesday's exchange is also available from the Question Period section of the Legislature Video Archives. The Ferry Questions launch at the very start of the Question Period.

We have more on items on BC Ferries on our Transportation Archive.

There is also more background on developments at the British Columbia Legislature to be found on our Legislature Archive.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

MLA Rice seeks progress on Oppal Commission recommendations

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice continued her reproach of the provincial government on the theme of the Oppal Commission recommendations. Returning this week to her questions and concerns regarding the need for access to transportation across Northwest British Columbia.

Her comments from the Monday morning session, follow on her inquiries of Justice Minister Suzanne Anton last week, as the North Coast MLA sought to gain a commitment from the Provincial Government, towards a shuttle bus service between the isolated communities along Highway 16.

In December 2012 Commissioner Oppal's recommendations included to develop and implement an enhanced public transit system to provide a safer travel option connecting northern communities, particularly along Highway 16. Oppal called on the provincial government to immediately commit to such a system. 

The government will boast that they are now enacting missing-persons legislation, as recommended by Commissioner Oppal. However, they have done next to nothing to bring in the other recommendations called for by Commissioner Oppal in 2012.

The topic of the shuttle bus has become one of Ms. Rice's leading issues since her arrival in Victoria last spring and one which she makes frequent mention of with her time in the Legislature.

Through the course of her review of the transportation issue Monday morning, Ms. Rice, calling on personal experience along the highway, also expressed concern over the sporadic nature of cellular phone service across the highway corridor, something which she would like to see addressed as well.

I just think that this is such a simple and easy thing, an easy tool that we can use to make it safer for women and their children in the north. Alternatively, I think the next best thing would be to have cell service — continuous cell service — between Prince Rupert and Prince George...

The province has yet to make a commitment towards any shuttle bus service, advising last week that they are in contact with local communities across the region to seek an answer to the transportation issue.

You can review her full contribution to the discussion at the Legislature on Monday from the Legislature record her comments begin just past the 1050 marker on the right hand side.

You can also watch her comments to the Legislature from the House Video Archive for Monday morning, Ms. Rice's discussion points start at the 51 mark on the video counter (10:51 AM)

You can review more of our items of note on Provincial politics from our Legislature Archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Khutzeymateen encroachment key concern for Jennifer Rice in Legislature

Thursday's proceedings of the British Columbia Legislature provided North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice opportunity to weigh in on the discussion over the Provincial Government's Second reading of Bill 4, The Park Amendment Act.

With a key concern for Ms. Rice on the theme of LNG pipeline routes and a potential threat to the Khutzeymateen grizzly bear sanctuary near Prince Rupert .

Calling on some of her experience as a naturalist, Ms. Rice outlined some of the background on the sanctuary and her concerns over some recent encroachment into the region by LNG survey crews looking to develop pipeline routes for the proposed LNG terminals of the North Coast.

You can imagine how concerned people were to learn that a contractor working for an LNG proponent started flying helicopters over the area and sending people into the ground without any permits or permission recently. They were told not once but twice — three times — that what they were doing was inappropriate, yet they did it anyway.

She framed her many of comments to Legislature around the strict guidelines that tourism operators are required to follow while in the region and to which the contractors, in her belief did not observe.


Here we are with tourism operators going above and beyond, following the letter of the law, doing what they can to protect the integrity of the reserve and minimize disruptions to grizzlies and other bears, yet these contractors would just fly in with their noisy helicopters. No doubt, these contractors would say they were doing research — research that this bill could allow, research that undermines the integrity of the only safe haven for grizzlies on the North Coast. 

Key to her concern is what she calls the vague wording of Bill 4, which she fears could undermine the reasons why many of our parks were created in the first place. Opening them up to activities that are incompatible to the nature of their development in the first place.

You can review more of her background on the Khutzeymateen, as well as her thoughts on Bill 4 from the Legislature Draft Minutes, her comments begin just before the 1150 mark.

Ms. Rice's presentation to the Legislature can also be found on the Legislature's House Video Archive for March 6th, her contribution to the discussion of Bill 4, begins at the 11:49 AM mark of the Video player.

You can review more of our items of note on Provincial politics from our Legislature Archive page.

Cross Posted from the North Coast Review

Questions on Shuttle Bus for Highway 16 raided in Legislature by North Coast MLA

During Thursday afternoon's Question Period at the British Columbia Legislature, North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice took the issue of the much discussed shuttle bus for Highway 16 to Justice Minister Suzanne Anton.

Reminding the Justice Minister of the shuttle bus option was a recommendation of the Missing Women's Commission of a year ago and as of yet, the Provincial Liberals have yet to commit to putting that recommendation into motion.

Communities along the Highway of Tears have spoken. They want a shuttle bus to ensure women and girls have safe, accessible transportation. Perhaps the minister doesn't understand that there is absolutely no public transportation whatsoever for many of these communities. Billboards telling women not to hitchhike are a cruel joke when many women have no other way to get to where they're going. Again, to the Minister of Justice: will the B.C. Liberal government follow its own recommendation and bring in a shuttle bus along the Highway of Tears, yes or no . -- North Coast MLA, Jennifer Rice, in the Legislature on the topic of a shuttle bus for Highway 16

The Justice Minister offered up her interpretation of the Oppal Commission report for the North Coast MLA, advising that she believed the term "shuttle bus" was not used.

Suggesting that instead, that it recommended that the province provide for development and implementation of an enhanced public transit system to provide for safer travel options in northern communities, particularly along Highway 16.

She went on to advise the North Coast MLA of the government's commitment to work with local governments to identify safer transportation options connecting those communities, which she called an ongoing commitment.

Our government is committed to working with local governments to identify safer transportation options connecting those northern communities, and it's with the partnership of local communities that that will happen. That's something that is a commitment the government has made, and it's an ongoing commitment. -- Justice Minister Suzanne Anton on transportation across Northern BC

The Justice Minister also took the opportunity of the question from Ms. Rice, to review some of the Provincial Government's focus in recent months on the issue.

Highlighting the province's recent improvements to real-time policing procedures, through the PRIME system which links police across the province with information and analysis of incidents in a more immediate fashion.

NDP MLA Maurine Karagianis, took issue to some of the Justice Minister's talking points on the issue,  criticizing her answer and offering up a number of other questions regarding the province's handling of some of the recommendations of the Oppal report.

You can review the full exchange in the Legislature from the Legislature's draft minutes, found at the  1045 mark on the right hand side.

As well, the Video Review of the question and answer session can be found from the Legislature Video Archive,  it starts at the 10:41 AM mark during the March 6th Question Period Video.

You can review more of our items of note on Provincial politics from our Legislature Archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

MLA's Rice and Austin working to secure access to Exstew recreation area

Posted Notices along Highway 16 that access to the popular Exstew recreation area may soon be eliminated, has resulted in a fair amount of discussion on the nature of the shrinking amount of  access to recreation options in the Northwest.

The prospect of losing access to the popular Exstew recreation site, which is located some 36 kilometres west of Terrace, has particularly struck a chord with many, both in Terrace and Prince Rupert.

Exstew is famous not only with Northwest residents, but is a location that has been promoted a fair amount by the Province as well. Listed in many tourism pamphlets and online articles, as a must see stop along Highway 16, with the waterfall of the region a particular feature of the area.

The controversy flared up in recent days, owing to a notice which has appeared on a CN rail crossing advising that the crossing will no longer be maintained by CN and will be closed off as of April 1st, 2014.

As the questions as to what's going on apparently began to come in, Jennifer Rice the MLA for the North Coast outlined some background the topic on Wednesday.

The North Coast MLA posted an update on the situation to her facebook page, providing some background on the change in access issue and the steps that she and Robin Austin, the MLA for Skeena were taking to address the issue.

Advising her constituents that with the Ministry of Forests facing budget restraints, the Ministry which is responsible for the recreation site itself, has no plans of taking on the maintenance provisions of the road or rail crossing at this time.

A situation which for now it seems will shift the onus for providing for the road access to the recreation site to the Northwest Forestry Company, Coast Tsimshian Resources LP .

They are responsible for the logging roads in the area, and it's to them, that the province will now seek out further information on the topic of  maintenance for the road and rail crossing area.


In her Facebook notice, the MLA advises that the Ministry of Forests is currently attempting to make contact with Coast Tismshian Resources so as to determine their intentions for the road and crossing maintenance issue.

Should the resource company decide to de-activate the road, Ms. Rice advises that both she and Mr. Austin the MLA for Skeena would pursue the issue further with the Ministry of Forests.

The MLA outlines that one solution may be to make the case for the Ministry of Forests to allocate funding towards taking over the CN crossing permit and road maintenance liability, as a benefit for the public.

With the spring and summer weather soon to arrive, Northwest residents will be hoping to see a resolution to the problem sooner rather than later.

Looking to have access to one of the more popular of recreation areas maintained for those that live in the region.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

BCTF vote brings 89 per cent approval of strike option

Following three days of voting, members of the British Columbia Teachers' Federation delivered an 89 per cent mandate for their leadership to use a strike option, if necessary, to further their negotiations with the Provincial Government.

“Teachers voted so overwhelmingly in favour because the government has tabled unfair and unreasonable proposals that would undo the class size, class composition, and specialist teacher staffing levels we just won back in a BC Supreme Court Ruling,” ... “The employer’s salary offer is also less than what was given to other public sector workers and ignores how far BC teachers have fallen behind their colleagues across Canada.” --BCTF President Jim Iker speaking after receiving the overwhelming support of job action if required 

Of the 41,000 teachers in the province represented by the BCTF, 29,301 filled out a ballot over the last three days. With 26,051 of those voting, choosing to provide their negotiators with the option to take strike action, if required.

While the strong support for strike action from those that voted, provides the BCTF executive with a  mandate at the negotiation table, it does not mean that classroom instruction is destined to be interrupted once again, any time soon.

BCTF President Jim Iker outlined that the BCTF would not consider strike action unless it was "absolutely necessary", suggesting that any use of the strike mandate would depend on the status of the current round of negotiations with the Provincial Government and the Employers' Association.

Any decision of the BCTF to move towards a full scale walkout, would require another vote by the BCTF membership.

The announcement of the Strike Vote results, with video of the announcement was made available by the BCTF, streamed through the Teachers' Federation website (see here)

The full review of the mandate and where the BCTF intends to direct its energies next can be found from this advisory posted to the BCTF website.

The first reaction from the Provincial Government came from Education Minister Peter Fassbender, who released a statement through the BC Government website.

He also spoke on the topic of the strike mandate, with Vancouver radio station 1130 CKWX on Thursday evening (listen here)

The call for a strike vote was first announced on February 25th, you can review some of the background on the decision to seek out the strike mandate from our blog item of that day.

Some of the observations on the results of the Thursday evening vote can be found below.

Updates to this theme will be updated as they become available.

Mar 9-- Vcr 24 Hrs-- B. C. Teachers should be praised for trying to fix broken classrooms

Mar 7-- CKNW-- BCTF President Jim Iker with Michael Smyth (audio vault March 7 830-9 AM)
Mar 7-- CKNW-- BCTF President steadfast in refusing to tell the public teacher wage demands
Mar 7-- BCCPAC-- BCTF wins strike mandate but says job action not imminent

Mar 6-- News 1130-- BCTF President Jim Iker speaks about the teachers vote (audio)
Mar 6-- News 1130-- BC Teachers vote overwhelmingly in favour of job action
Mar 6-- CKNW -- Government reacts to teachers job action plans
Mar 6-- CKNW-- Large number of BC teachers favour strike action
Mar 6-- CBC-- B. C. teachers vote overwhelmingly 'yes' in strike vote
Mar 6-- Globe and Mail-- BC teachers vote in favour of strike action
Mar 6-- The Tyee-- Teachers vote in favour of gradual strike action
Mar 6-- Victoria T C-- Teachers vote 89% in favour of job action
Mar 6-- Van Sun-- B. C. Teachers vote in favour of strike
Mar 6-- Van Province-- BC Teachers vote 89 per cent in favour of strike action to support demands
Mar 6-- Global News-- B. C. Teachers vote 89 per cent in favour of strike action

For more background on education issues on the North Coast can be found on our Archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Skeena MLA Austin raises many questions regarding NWCC in Legislature Committee Session

Questions surrounding recent events at Northwest Community College, made their way into the British Columbia Legislature this week.

As Skeena MLA, Robin Austin made a number of inquiries on the theme of the college to the Provincial Government's Minister of Advanced Education, Amrik Virk .

Mr. Austin, who called on some of his past experience as an Education critic, used his time at a Committee of Supply session on Thursday morning, to provide a short review of the current state of relations between the college and faculty.

An atmosphere that has seen the two sides head off to court and tribunals in recent years, with faculty unions recently gaining a victory over the process of layoffs at the College.

Mr. Austin began his line of questions seeking some background on the number of administrative positions in place at the College, seeking to identify how much public money was being spent on administrative costs against other parts of the operational budget.

To the minister, my question is: since 2001 what has been the increase in the number of administrative positions at Northwest Community College?

The Minister advised that his Ministry does not track administrative positions separately from other positions, though with some 25 million dollars invested in Northwest Community College since 2001, a variety of positions could have increased in that period.

Mr. Austin then endeavoured, without much immediate success, to try and determine from Minister Virk as to the amount of legal fees in the recent court case and whether that money was coming out of the pool of money dedicated towards educating Northwest students.

There's been an unfortunate amount of disputes that have happened within Northwest Community College. I'd like to know, if the minister could let us know: how much has Northwest Community College spent on legal fees for matters of labour relations associated with the laying off of about 30 employees in 2012? ... 

Clearly, when we have an institution that has had to go to court, it would be interesting, I think, for the public to know to what extent those dollars that would have gone into educating our students has had to be spent on dealing with this dispute. 

He was advised that the Ministry did not have any specific details on the legal allocations, but would follow up on the member's question.

An answer that the MLA for Skeena, advised the Committee that he would welcome.

Then, referencing instructions that the province has apparently delivered to institutions to cut their administrative costs to save money, he asked how the Minister and his staff would know what savings have been achieved without a proper tracking system on administrative costs.

There's a line item in the ministry's budget this year that is asking all of the post-secondary institutions to cut their administrative costs in order to save money...  My question is: if that is a specific request by the ministry, how is it that the minister and his staff are going to be able to know what savings are achieved in administrative costs if they don't actually track what the administrative costs are in the first instance?

The Minister advised Mr. Austin that that the institutions were tracking their savings for all administrative services projects, as part of this reporting requirement. Adding that they were working collaboratively with each other across different sectors, as well as with ministry staff at the same time on this important work.

The Skeena MLA also had a few questions when it came to the upcoming Core Review that the College is about to embark on, particularly when it came to the consultation phase of that review.

When Northwest Community College undertakes its core review, are community organizations, including First Nations, consulted? If so, what is the community consultation process for that core review? .

The Minister advised Mr. Austin that his Ministry was just starting to receive the interim progress reports, with an understanding that Northwest Community College is building their core review on a strategic plan process, which includes extensive community consultation.

Mr. Austin outlined that once the Ministry of Advanced Education receives the plan regarding the consultation process, that it be shared publicly.

The Skeena MLA was also advised that the Ministry would ask the college to follow up directly with Mr. Austin regarding the their consultation process.

Mr. Austin had one final thought on developments at Northwest Community College, approaching the theme of administrative issues at the college, particularly with a focus on the turnover rate and level of administration positions at NWCC in recent years.

As we outlined on the blog in January that is a turnover rate, that now involves the search for a new President, with the current President of NWCC set to leave shortly for a position with Medicine Hat College.

I was wondering whether the minister could let us know what the turnover rate of employment of administrators at Northwest Community College has been over the last few years. What has been the severance and recruitment costs involved in this?

Minister Virk was unable to provide the statistical review for Mr. Austin on that topic on Thursday, but did advise that he would have Ministry staff review the questions and to provide him with follow up on the topic.

Like Mr. Austin, it's safe to suggest that the residents of the Northwest will be awaiting delivery of some of the outstanding answers from the session with much interest.

Looking to learn more about some of the past developments and of the current atmosphere at the various campus locations of the college.

You can examine the Skeena MLA's full review of those and other items of interest on  NWCC  through the Draft Minutes from the Thursday morning session.

The archived video of the Thursday morning Committee session can be found from the Legislature website, Mr. Austin's questions start at the 30 second mark.

There's more on the latest events at the British Columbia Legislature available on our Archive page.

We also have further background on developments at Northwest Community College available on our Education Archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Rice to Liberals: Risky to put all our eggs in the LNG basket

Earlier this week we made mention that Skeena MLA Robin Austin appeared to be carrying the bulk of the LNG discussion in the Legislature since the current session started in February.

 Wondering if the NDP caucus might let Jennifer Rice, the MLA for the North Coast, and who represents one of the communities that is at the centre of all the proposed development, be allowed to share some thoughts.

Those digital bytes had barely reached the Internet, when we scanned the Legislature Records for this week and discovered that Ms. Rice took to the Legislature on Monday afternoon, having settled in to offer up some points for thought.

As part of her debut speech for this session on the theme of the Liberal budget, Mr. Rice, offers up caution to the Provincial Government, suggesting that they not put all of their economic eggs into the LNG basket, frequently referring to the province's LNG strategy as some kind of panacea.

Among her take on the LNG issue, were concerns over the impact on habitat destruction and climate change targets, as well as a lack of focus on skills training.

A boring budget lacks the needed boldness that will tackle uncomfortable issues such as growing industrial development and habitat destruction; LNG development while also maintaining our own climate change targets; and the issue of needed skills training, while at the same time we have the use of temporary foreign workers. Not to mention growing inequality and poverty amongst our citizenry.

On the theme of the growing list of proposed projects for the Northwest, the MLA had concerns over
the approach the Provincial government is taking and some of the pitfalls that she believes follow that path.

Time and time again we've heard how LNG is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we must act quickly or we'll lose out to other jurisdictions such as Australia. And yet we still have no real, concrete plan, no idea what this panacea is going to look like. There is no funding for communities such as mine in Prince Rupert to prepare for its first boom in over a decade. We still have wooden water pipes, and we lack primary sewage treatment in a marine area known for its global ecological significance.

The whole panacea of LNG seems to have been at the cost of the forestry and the tourism sectors. I think it's really risky to put all our eggs in the LNG basket, particularly as that industry is saying one thing and the provincial government is saying another. 

Touching on the large list of would be LNG proponents, she suggested that the province is not approaching the question of LNG development realistically and doesn't have a strategy in place to address what she believes will be skills shortage in the Northwest

Industry seems to be more realistic, talking about one or two projects maybe coming to fruition, yet there are nine to 12 that are proposed for the north coast. People in my communities, such as Prince Rupert, are very anxious for the jobs that these industries will supposedly bring. Many need skills training and upgrading, yet we've seen a cut to those parts of the budget. 

If I could just summarize, there's no question that we have a skills shortage, yet we have no strategy to deal with the skills shortage. I'm particularly interested in this because people are anxious in North Coast, with high unemployment, to actually embrace these LNG jobs that are supposed to be our panacea. Yet we don't really seem to have a strategy of getting those people on the ground. .

She also finds fault with the Province's approach to First Nations in the region, a strategy which she believes is lacking and does not take into account the sudden surge of development and the pressures that will come with it.

. . There's no doubt that in North Coast 44 percent of my constituents are aboriginal. Yet there is very little in the budget to talk about, with these increasing pressures that are going to be put on northern communities, a real strategy for dealing with aboriginal land claims or even just aboriginal issues in general. I don't see how we can have the LNG panacea without a real strategy around aboriginal needs, particularly in the northern part of our province

Ms. Rice's efforts on the LNG discussion mark the first lengthy review of her thoughts on the topic.

Her commentary in the Legislature this week, does however provide the Liberals and voters of the North Coast, with a bit of a baseline to follow for future reference on the theme of LNG development.

For many, it may be the first glimpse they've had as to where she is on the topic and how she's representing the views of the constituency that she represents.

You can review the full exchange through the Legislature Record of March 3rd, Ms. Rice's talking points arrive just after the 1700 mark on the register on the side of the page.

Her presentation to Legislature chamber is also available through the Video Archive of the Afternoon session for March 3rd, The LNG discussion part of the larger Budget review starts up at the 212:00 mark of the Legislature Video player.

You can review more of our items of note on Provincial politics from our Legislature Archive page.

For more on LNG development on the North Coast we have a wide range of topics available on our LNG Development Archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review