Nathan Cullen has rural concerns over CBC Cuts

The announcement last week by the CBC, which outlined the scope of the 657 positions eliminated at the national broadcaster, has given NDP MP Nathan Cullen cause to raise his concerns over the possible impact on rural communities across Canada.

The Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP expressed his belief that as it is now, rural communities which he believes are already under-serviced, that will suffer the most and that any further cuts to the service reduces the ability of rural communities to remain connected.

“The CBC plays an important role in keeping rural communities such as ours connected to the national conversation with local programs and stations.”  ...  “We do not know the locations of the cuts yet, but regional services will be losing 48 positions. These cuts will further penalize francophone communities in rural areas.” -- Nathan Cullen on recent job cuts at the CBC and the impact from them to rural Canada.

Of the 657 job cuts, 100 are expected to come from various regions of the CBC.

In British Columbia, the cuts were not as drastic as in the east, with as of yet, no mention of any cuts to such services as the Daybreak North programming which serves Northern British Columbia from the Peace through to Haida Gwaii.

The nature of CBC Radio program was an issue for Prince Rupert City Council earlier this year, though a meeting with CBC executives last month (before the latest cuts) appears to have provided some answers to Council's questions.

You can review more of Mr. Cullen's concerns for the National broadcaster from this NDP press release, that was distributed last Friday.

We have more on media developments in the Northwest on our archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

MLA Rice raises issues on rural health requirements

Health issues in rural communities was topic of concern for the NDP last week in Victoria.

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice, working in her capacity as critic for Rural and Northern Health sent out a press release las Thursday, outlining some of the concerns of rural communities when it comes to health care funding across the province.

In her media release of April 10th, Ms. Rice highlighted the provincial governments struggles with rural health issues as an indication that they aren' preparing properly for the needs of growing economies.

 “Accessing medical services in the North is already a challenge. Many communities are faced with severe doctor shortages, long wait times for medical specialists, and inadequate mental health programs, yet the B.C. Liberal government has failed to address the uneven playing field when it comes to what’s available in the North versus the Lower Mainland.”

She called attention to ongoing issues in Fort St. John, where a walk in clinic option has had to suspend operations owing to a doctor's shortage in the community.

In addition to current concerns, she outlined how the growing issues of health care in the North could pose problems for the Premier's overall plan of LNG development for Northern British Columbia.

“If the Premier plans to invest in liquefied natural gas to the extent she claims, she had better start investing in growing our communities and ensuring services are available. No one is going to want to work in a community where their family can’t even get a doctor.”

You can review the full scope of the NDP MLA's talking points from this media release from the BC NDP caucus.

For more items of interest from the British Columbia Legislature can be found on our Archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Austin presses Natural Gas Minister Coleman for details on tax issues and other key items for Northwest

It's as though Skeena MLA Robin Austin has been reading our recaps of the ruminations of Prince Rupert City Council sessions of late.

Last Monday afternoon, Mr. Austin as part of his critics role on Natural Gas Development  took on the main speaking role at a Legislature Committee Session on LNG and many of his questions involved items that the North Coast Municipal leaders have expressed concerns over in recent weeks.

And while the majority of his questions were based on issues of note in Terrace and Kitimat, his line of questioning and the answers from Natural Gas Minister Rich Coleman, should be something that Prince Rupert council members may find useful to review.

On the issue of industrial taxation capping and the prospect of LNG taxation for the region:

I'd like to begin by just asking some questions around some comments that have been made publicly around an issue that is very important to those parts of British Columbia where there are proponents, hopefully, going to come to a final investment decision either later this year or early next year. That's to do with the issue of industrial taxation. 

I think in some way, judging from some of the comments that have been made by the minister and by the Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, it may also be tied in with the whole notion of a regional fund to bring some benefit back to the northwest. My question to the minister is: does the minister believe that there will be, or is potentially going to be, a capping of industrial property taxation in any of the communities in the northwest?

Mr. Coleman offered up the prospect of further discussion with municipalities on the issue, looking to strike a balance for both municipality and industry. Cautioning that in the case of LNG development, the Government won't know what may be required or the impact on each community that will take place, until the final investment decisions are made by the proponents of the development.

The Skeena MLA then turned to issues of housing availability in the Northwest, particularly the current situations in Terrace and Kitimat.

I'd just like to go back specifically to some of the housing issues in the northwest. I know that the minister has spoken with folks in the district of Kitimat, and I know that he's been in touch with people in Terrace. I'm sure that they have told him of the housing crunch that's taking place today. 
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What is it that the minister can do in Housing to assist us in the northwest, to help those who have what I would call a normal wage, as opposed to those who are coming from out of town, who are earning these fantastic wages and who very often not only earn fantastic wages but have housing allowances given to them if they're not already put into a camp? This is creating a big problem in the northwest, and I just would like the minister to comment on those things.

Minister Coleman reviewed how the local communities can revisit their community plans to bring in some density and innovation into their community approach.

He also spoke to the issue of the temporary accommodations that were being created in work camps and how communities could learn from the Olympic experience to create supportive housing following large project development.

And with a question that proved timely by the time Thursday rolled around, Mr. Austin spoke to the issue of further consultation with First Nations in the region:

I would just like to move for a moment with regards to the potential of LNG and how it will affect First Nations groups. Of course, it doesn't have to be repeated here that the Haisla community are hugely in support of LNG. I know that Chief Councillor Ellis Ross has been on board with the companies and working with the government since day one, since early days, when the companies were coming to Kitimat and to Haisla territory probably six or seven years ago, long before LNG became something that most of British Columbia was aware of.
... 
My question is broader than that. Aside from those groups, my question to the minister is: in what way are this ministry and this minister working with the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation to discuss LNG? What are the working groups? How many people sit on them? What's the progress of these meetings with the First Nations?

Minister Coleman provided a fairly comprehensive review of the process involved in government and the various challenges that come from trying to bring all sides of the discussion together on subjects of this large an impact.

However, Mr. Coleman did not tip the Government's hand as to the nature of what must have been by Monday, the closing moments of ongoing talks between the Government and First Nations of the North Coast.

Most likely, he would have found it politically helpful to outline the nature of those talks as part of his response to Mr. Austin's line of questions. However, when it came to what would be the the major announcement of Thursday, Mr. Coleman did not let slip any of the details which highlighted the arrangement that the Provincial Government had made with both the Metlakatla and Lax Kwa'laams First Nations.

Over the course of his one hour presentation, Mr. Austin dug deeper into those issues and raised a few other items of note, key among them air shed concerns of the Kitimat region.

All of it as part of the back and forth with the Natural Gas Minister, a session which proved to be a fairly useful bit of background on a number of important questions for the Northwest.

The full review of the Committee session can be found here, both the timely questions of the day and the answers which Minister Coleman provided in return. The video of the Committee Session can be found from the Legislature Archive page for Monday afternoon.

Monday's Committee work was a fairly comprehensive question and answer session and one which provides much information not only for the City councils of Terrace and Kitimat, but one which offers up some background on issues of note to Prince Rupert City Council.

For anyone looking to learn a little bit more on the complicated topics that Council has been working through of late the full session is well worth the hour of time required towards it.

We're not sure that Mr. Austin got many of the answers that he had been hoping for from his inquiries of recent weeks.

Whether they were from the many, many questions he took to the Natural Gas Minister during this week's Committee session, or to the large volume  of questions to other Ministers during House sessions in the weeks that have already passed in this session of the Legislature.

But, for the residents of Terrace, Kitimat and the Nass, at least he's asking questions for them.

Prince Rupert council members may wish to review our Legislature Archives to see which of their concerns are being addressed in Victoria, even if they have been addressed by the member for Skeena.

For the moment, the work of  Mr. Austin,  seems to be about as close as they're going to get to a review  from any regional representatives in Victoria.

Cross Posted from the North Coast Review

Nathan Cullen puts his support behind John Horgan for BC NDP leadership

At one time he was considered one of the favourites for the job himself, but having made his decision to stay in Ottawa, Nathan Cullen now is being courted for a different reason.

Today, he threw his support towards John Horgan for the BC NDP leadership, which isn't really much of a surprise. Especially when one considers that after the withdrawal of Mike Farnworth from the campaign, there's only one candidate left for the job, that being Mr. Horgan.

Cullen outlined his enthusiasm for Mr. Horgan's aspirations with a press release today.

Mr. Cullen highlighted the strengths that he believes Mr. Horgan brings to the job ahead.

“John believes in good resource jobs that respect the planet and benefit local communities, and he can connect with British Columbians in any part of the province,” said Cullen. “This is the only way we’re going to build a 21st century British Columbia and John is the leader to get the job done.”

Mr. Cullen's support is not the first from the Northwest that the apparent leader in waiting has received, in March Skeena MLA Robin Austin offered his backing for Mr. Horgan's quest.

Mr. Austin was prominently listed in this list of names of MLA's that were supporting Horgan's bid, so far there has been no mention of the thoughts of the North Coast MLA Jeniffer Rice when it comes to Mr. Horgan's prospects.

The support of Mr. Austin is not the only connection to the Northwest for Horgan, who it appears once again has Dan Miller in his corner.

Horgan served the former Premier and North Coast MLA as his assistant during his time in Victoria and considered Mr. Miller to be his mentor on many issues.

In 2011, Mr. Miller was a key advocate for Mr. Horgan's run for the leadership at that time and from all accounts out of Victoria, he has again been advocating with the party for Mr. Horgan's leadership ambition.

Should Mr. Horgan receive the nod from the BC NDP next month,  it will be interesting to see how his mentorship through Mr. Miller and his own thoughts on development, may impact on the political relationship with the NDP's current North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice.

For more on Provincial politics and the legislature see our Archive page

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

North Coast First Nations sign agreement with Province on LNG

Wednesday brought another day of milestones for North Coast development of LNG infrastructure.

With word from the Provincial Government of an agreement between the BC Liberal Government of Premier Christy Clark and two prominent First Nations in the region.

The Premier heralded the signing of a revenue sharing agreement with the Lax Kw'alaams and Metlakatla First Nations, as a commitment towards reconciliation. Adding that it was an agreement which would create jobs as well as grow the economy and strengthen communities.

From the announcement of today, both First Nations will share a portion of provincial government revenues from the Sole Proponent Agreements related to Grassy Point lands and proposed developments of the Aurora and Woodside LNG projects.

Both Natural Gas Development Minister Rich Coleman and Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister John Rustad highlighted the certainty that the agreement brings to the region.

A partnership between the First Nations, provincial government and industry proponents that should provide the tangible benefits that First Nations leaders have been seeking from development in the region.

Towards that theme, leaders of both of the North Coast First Nations also hailed the agreement as one that will provide benefits to their communities

“We want to make sure our voice is heard when it comes to development within our traditional territory ... “These LNG revenue-sharing agreements are a good demonstration of what can be achieved when we approach development in the spirit of partnership and collaboration.”  --  Chief Harold Leighton, Metlakatla First Nation.

 “Our goal is to make sure our community has access to the right opportunities, through economic development, education and social development" ... “Working with government and with these proponents on revenue-sharing is positive progress in our drive to ensure LNG has real, tangible benefits on the ground in the Northwest.” -- Mayor Garry Reece, Lax Kw’alaams First Nation.

And while today's news is indeed positive news for the region, the framework agreement however is still something that is very much for the future.

Of the proposed developments for the North Coast, both the Aurora and Woodside developments are still a fair ways behind the pace of the more prominent plans of BG Gas and Petronas.

And with most LNG observers suggesting only a few of the growing number of projects for the North Coast will ever reach the finish line, the agreement of today still has a ways to go before it delivers much of what it promises.

Still, for the two First Nations communities with an interest in the Grassy Point ventures, today's announcement provides the blue print for further involvement and benefits from the two proposals.

As well as an indication that First Nations in the region are engaged in the process and looking to see the region's economic base continue to expand.

More background on the announcement of Wednesday can be found here.

For more on the proposed developments at Grassy Point see those entries from our LNG archive page

Cross Posted from the North Coast Review

Northern Gateway vote brings out the door knockers

The doorsteps of Kitimat are apparently becoming rather congested locations this week, as those in favour and against the prospect of the Northern Gateway pipeline make their case to the people of the Aluminum city.

This weekend offered up an advance poll on the plebiscite, which will outline what level of support there is in the community for the controversial pipeline project.

The main voting day comes up this weekend, with Saturday the final voting opportunity on the issue.

The campaign has featured a fairly intensive advertising campaign, with Enbridge delivering their message through a variety of options including door to door encounters.

Not to be left standing on the sidelines, the campaign against the project has taken to the community as well, an approach joined this weekend by NDP MP Nathan Cullen, who recounted some of his experiences in the community from Friday through his facebook page.

The final push comes this week, with one final advance polling opportunity to arrive on Wednesday from 8 AM to 8 PM at the Tamitik Sports Complex.

General Voting day on the non-binding plebiscite is on Saturday, April 12th, from 8 AM to 8 PM, taking place at two locations.  With both the Tamitik Sports Complex and Mount Elizabeth Middle Secondary School hosting voting locations on the Saturday.

The Question that Kitimat voters will vote on is:

Do you support the final report recommendations of the Joint Review Panel (JRP) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and National Energy Board, that the Enbridge Northern Gateway project be approved, subject to 209 conditions set out in Volume 2 of the JRP's final report?

The answer Yes or No the two options for consideration on voting day.

Those looking for a bit of background information on the topic before voting day can access the report from the Joint Review Panel on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project here

Those seeking more information regarding the plebiscite can learn more from the District of Kitimat website.

As well, we have more on the project available from our archive page

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

MLA Rice raises Highway 16 and Ferries issues in Thursday morning session

The MLA for the North Coast offered up two short questions to the Transportation Minister on issues of interest to Northern British Columbia on Thursday. Asking them during  the morning session on estimates of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

Her first question for Minister Todd Stone, continued on her theme of recent weeks of seeking more information on transportation issues for aboriginal women in remote communities along Highway 16.

 I have two questions. The first is in regards to Highway 16. I think I've kind of got the gist of a conversation yesterday with the Minister of Transportation and another member. I'm just looking for clarification on what, if any, action is going to be taken on addressing the needs of aboriginal women living in remote communities between Prince Rupert and Prince George. 

The Minister advised that discussions between the provincial government and community stakeholders to review the transportation aspect of the Oppal report.

With three Provincial ministries, Transportation, Justice and Community Services now collaborating to identify safe transportation options for residents of the Highway 16 corridor.

As a follow up question, Ms. Rice then made an inquiry regarding BC Ferries, picking up on the theme of the City of Prince Rupert report of February and the desire to see an economic impact analysis done on the cuts to be put in place on the northern routes.

A different topic. I know that this question has been posed before, so I'm going to just frame it a little bit differently. We on this side of the House have been asking for an economic impact analysis of the recent cuts and fare hikes to B.C. Ferries. My question would be: what would it take in order to have this be conducted by the provincial government?

On that topic he didn't seem to agree with the aspect of a required study, suggesting the larger issue is to fix the ferry system, a commitment that he stressed the province is determined to follow through on.

You can review the full exchange between Minister Stone and MLA Rice from the Legislature record. Ms. Rice's questions are the first ones of the session.

For more items of interest on developments at the Legislature see our Archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

MLA Rice suggests revival for land based search and rescue in place for North Coast

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice made a short presentation to the Legislature on Wednesday, recounting for the Members the tragic story of Adam Moore, the young Prince Rupert resident who died earlier this year.

She offered up a review of the case, the impact his passing had on the community and how it may have provided for the community to look to start up its search and rescue group again.

This past winter was a particularly hard one for the community of Prince Rupert. Several lives were lost in a spate of crashes on Highway 16 over the span of a few short weeks, giving new meaning to the term Highway of Tears. One of those lost was 26-year-old Adam Moore. Adam went missing in the early hours of December 29, seemingly vanishing without a trace. He was a beloved son, a brother, a cousin and a friend to so many. 

His disappearance rallied our community into action, as hundreds of volunteers joined the search, desperate to bring him home. Prince Rupert waited, holding out hope that Adam would be found alive and well. Sadly, the search came to a tragic end on January 8, when his vehicle was discovered submerged in the ocean. 

As a community, we mourned his passing. Yet even in darkness of this tragedy, there was light. Prince Rupert came together in a way that is rarely seen in this day and age. From the searchers out combing the ditches on a 140-kilometre stretch of highway on foot, to the drivers who kept a constant watch as they drove their normal commute, to the emergency response organizations who searched tirelessly, to the people who cooked and baked and opened their homes and their hearts to the searchers, Prince Rupert was united in a quest to find Adam. 

As part of her remembrance of the young man, Ms. Rice outlined that out of the tragedy has apparently come a renewed commitment from some in the community to rebuild the areas once highly regarded land based search and rescue unit.

Perhaps most profoundly, Adam's disappearance highlighted the very real need for a land-based search and rescue organization in our community. Realizing this, a group of passionate, dedicated community members are currently in the process of bringing such an organization to fruition. Sadly, none of this will bring Adam back, but hopefully it will help spare another family from the devastating loss of a loved one.

The volunteer group that Ms. Rice speaks of drifted into inactivity in recent years, a situation that has concerned many in the region, as past incidents of overdue hikers, campers or back country enthusiasts have at times required the need to call upon the Terrace based unit for assistance.

Such was the case earlier this year in the Adam Moore search, in fact as the accounts of the time highlighted it was through the work of the Terrace based unit that Mr. Moore's car was discovered off of the Galloway bridge region.

It will be a welcome thing for the community, if indeed the North Coast version of a land based search and rescue group does come back into operation.

The BC NDP caucus posted her speech to the Legislature to their You Tube channel on Wednesday.
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You can also review the MLA's speech to the Legislature from the Video Archive for Wednesday afternoon House session, she makes her remarks at the 31 minute mark of the Video Player counter.

The transcript of her remarks can be found in the Legislature archive page, just below the 1400 mark on the right hand index.

For more items on the developments at the British Columbia Legislature see our Archive page.

Cross posted from North Coast Review

Ferry Advisory Committee outlines "three realities" for Province regarding BC Ferry service

With BC Ferry fare hikes going into effect today and schedule cuts coming on the 28th of April, the Ferry Advisory Committee chairs have outlined their ongoing concern over the impact of government decisions on the coastal ferry system.

In reaction to this months season of change, the Committee Chairs delivered their major concerns over the latest developments with a press release timed to the rise in fare rates today.

Providing for a number of observations, as to how the latest fare hikes will just prolong ferry problems up and down the coast.

The Committee Chairs Issued a call on the Province to back away from more user pay and consider what they call the three realities.

Among them:

BC's coastal region and the ferry system are intertwined and depend on each other for survival.

It costs money to operate and maintain assets of one of the largest ferry systems in the world.

All of BC benefits from affordable ferry service. Policies that substantially change the service need to be supported by some analysis of costs, benefits and economic and social impacts.

You can review their entire review of the Government's Ferry plans  from the Ferry Advisory Committee Chairs website.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Skeena MLA Austin seeks more info on LNG preparation in Northwest

Regular readers of our Legislature pages will have noted that in recent weeks we have made frequent  mention of Skeena MLA Robin Austin's efforts in Victoria. A very busy period of time for the neighbouring MLA, who since the Legislature resumed sitting in February has made a number of inquiries of Government ministers regarding the impact of LNG development in the Northwest .

In particular, and of note for all ridings of the Northwest has been his focus on what preparations the provincial government have in mind to assist the region with the prospect of growth on a very fast pace.  (see here)

Last week Mr. Austin once again explored the theme of the scale of developments planned for the Northwest, wondering what preparations the Government have made to assist communities and the residents of the region to take advantage of those opportunities to come.

Both in accessing the jobs that will be available and in assisting in the municipalities of the region with the growing issues that they face.

Thanks to the member for West Vancouver–Sea to Sky for his comments and for bringing forward this motion this morning. He mentioned, of course, a potential new LNG plant in his riding. I think it's fair to say, as the MLA for Skeena, that I think I'm the person in this Legislature who has witnessed the greatest benefit so far from any potential LNG developments because, of course, this started in Kitimat probably about six years ago now. In fact, the largest project, which has spent the most capital, sits in the district of Kitimat — that, of course, being the Chevron-Apache project.

It is truly inspiring to see what has been done and the amount of dollars that has been spent just in preparing the site. They've essentially moved a side of a mountain in order to create the terrain that's required for a site, and some people say that they've spent between $800 million and $1 billion just in pre-preparation.

When you talk about LNG, hon. Speaker, the numbers are quite staggering to think of. Companies come in and can invest up to $3 billion, I'm told, and then might even walk away and not make a final investment decision. The numbers are staggering, and it's made a lot of people quite successful in terms of the jobs that are being created....

We also need to understand that while these companies are spending millions and millions of their shareholders' dollars, the government also has a responsibility to look into some of the infrastructure needs in the region. I brought this up before, and I'll say it again. 

There is one bridge in Kitimat — one bridge — that takes you from the residential side of the community to all the industrial development that takes place on the west side of the Douglas Channel. 

That bridge is falling apart. When the mayor and the council say that we need some help to fix this, the government says: "Well, we don't have any dollars coming in yet. We need to have a final investment decision. We need to see actual revenues coming in." That's way too late to be making these kinds of infrastructure needs. There are things that need to be done to take advantage of this.

Mr. Austin clearly understands his role in Victoria, having raised an important issue such as infrastructure and keeping it as a high profile issue in the Legislature.

The full account of his presentation can be found from last Monday's (March 24) Legislature record, Mr. Austin outlines the infrastructure concerns at the 10:50 mark of the discussion.

The Video presentation is available from the House Video Archive for March 24, view it at the 53 minute mark of the video player.

The Skeena MLA was back on point last week and again today, seeking to get a more firm commitment from the government on the need for improved training in the Northwest.  Of particular concern to him were training opportunities for the region.

On that theme he provided a short history of the NDP's concerns when it comes to post secondary education in the region and the need to provide proper funding for Northwest Community college.

I rise this morning to speak about Northwest Community College and skills training in the northwest. The bedrock of building any new industry in British Columbia is a skilled workforce. Unfortunately, Northwest Community College, which should be the epicentre of training for all the projects proposed and underway in the northwest part of the province, has been woefully under-resourced for a number of years now.... 

 Before going into the specifics of projects which are going over budget because of this government's failure to properly fund colleges like Northwest Community College, I'd like to outline a short history of this government's failures on skills training in the northwest. training in the first place. 

Before going into the specifics of projects which are going over budget because of this government's failure to properly fund colleges like Northwest Community College, I would like to outline a short history of this government's failures on skills training in the northwest. 

 Things have not gone well since the start of the government's mandate, when the government left a hole in the ground in Prince Rupert for a number of years, rather than keep the promise made by the outgoing government to build a Northwest Community College campus in that community. 

My former colleague from the north coast used to tell stories about how they would drag a sign saying Gordon Campbell College out to the hole in the ground and hold protests over this symbolic gesture of a new building rather than fulfil the commitment to build a new campus.

Years of opportunities were lost because of the time that this government stalled before building that campus. Of course, then, after the campus was built, this government never provided the college with sufficient operating funding to make the best of it. That's where we are today, with colleges and universities being asked to slash $40 million from their operating budgets, choking innovation and driving up tuition fees.

The full account of Monday's talking points can be found from the Legislature record here, his commentary is recorded at the 1020 mark.

Mr. Austin's review starts at the 20 minute mark on the video player and can be viewed from the Legislature Video Archive for the Monday morning session of March 31st.

When it comes to asking questions on major concerns of the northwest in recent weeks, it's Mr. Austin who appears to have taken up the bulk of the talking points for the Northwest in the Legislature.

The North Coast's MLA Jennifer Rice hasn't been particularly active during the public roles of Legislature sessions in recent weeks. In fact, for these first few months of the new session, she hasn't raised the profile of the riding very much since the Legislature returned in February.

It appears that when it comes to discussion on development in the Northwest, the topic has for the most part been left to Mr. Austin to carry the bulk of the debate.  Mainly as would be expected with a Terrace or Kitimat slant, though as we have seen from time to time offering an occasional mention of developments on the North Coast.

We have more on Legislature developments in Victoria available on our Archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review