The main focus for North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice's work in the Legislature this week was a Monday afternoon question directed towards the Minister of Children and Family Services as well as statement later in the week on the theme of life at Dodge Cove.
Along the way, the MLA also would make note of a number of visitors that she introduced to the Legislature from the gallery on Monday and Wednesday, included in the list of those in attendance on Monday was Michelle Watson the sister of Angie Robinson, Ms. Watson was in Victoria as part of the efforts of Inclusion BC to seek more involvement of the British Columbia government for the needs of families with special needs.
Ms. Rice's main contribution to the Legislature week in Victoria came at the end of the Monday Question Period and involved her questions for the Honourable Stephanie Cadieux, Minister of Children and Family Services.
During her allotted time the North Coast MLA sought out more information on the progress of the government when it comes to the recommendations of the Coroner's Inquest recommendations stemming from the deaths of Angie and Robert Robinson
The North Coast MLA also offered up a short comment directed towards the Health Minister Terry Lake as part of a lager discussion between NDP MLA Nicholas Simons and the Minister related to Health Services contracts in the Sunshine Coast area (10:50 of the Thursday morning session minutes)
The Lax Kw'alaams First Nation has released the findings from a Report related to Lelu Island and Flora Bank
A string of documents released this week by the Lax Kw'alaams First Nation provides the latest viewpoint from the community when it comes to the issues of Lelu Island and Pacific NorthWest LNG's plans for it.
And after a quick read through of the flow of information of the last few days, you might get a sense that when it comes to Lelu Island and Flora Bank, officials at Lax Kw'alaams are on a very different page than those at Pacific NorthWest LNG, the proponent of the LNG Terminal near Port Edward.
The week's reading list also offers up some indication that the progress of engagement by the provincial government with Lax Kw'alaams when it come to the giant industrial project, may not be quite as forward moving as that observed by BC LNG Minister Rich Coleman earlier this month.
Such topics as the need for a social licence, the nature of Lax Kw'alaams Traditional laws and the importance of the Flora Bank to the fishery were key among the many observations made over the last five days.
The majority of the information from the end of the week, made frequent references to the details of a Science report delivered by team tasked by the Lax Kw'alaams government. With the focus of that report designed to review the nature of Lelu Island and the impact on the eco system of the Flora Bank estuary of development proposed for the immediate area.
The final four concluding comments from the Lax Kw'alaams commissioned Science Report, deliver perhaps the harshest criticism of the plan for an LNG terminal in the area, with the authors stating that there is considerable risk to Skeena salmon and their fisheries, as well as the observation that the proponent's proposal disregards science, and risks to fish population health and Aboriginal rights.
To get the complete picture however, we have to go to the first a document of the week from Monday, which provided some background into recent events related to the Lelu Island situation when it comes to the proposed development by Pacific NorthWest LNG and the nature of the exploratory work currently under way in the region.
As well, that update included a comment related to the current occupation of Lelu island by some residents of the community.
The update provided four main focus points:
An opening comment stating that the Lax Kw'alaams government is not in active negotiations with Pacific Northwest LNG. On the theme of the current occupation of Lelu Island, the statement notes it is a legitimate activity that is supported by many in the community. As for engagement with Pacific Northwest LNG, the statement further notes that Pacific NorthWest LNG did not supply the community with a comprehensive project description or with the scope of their planned work. As well Lax Kw'alaams suggests that Pacific NorthWest LNG does not understand the concept of social licence on Lax Kw'alaams' territorty even after two and a half years of dialogue.
The first information statement closed with a call for the Lax Kw'alaams community to show solidarity in the face of external pressure from government and industry.
Next came some background on Thursday that highlighted the the key results that the Lax Kw'alaams Science team had delivered as a result of their study on the Flora Bank region.
Some of the background from the report highlighted the importance of the Skeena river to the fishery
It focused on the habitat of the Flora Bank area and its importance to the fishery noting that the Flora Bank supports at least 40 salmon populations that come from the traditional territories of at least 10 First Nations.
Their review also noted concerns that the authors have when it comes to risks to salmon that they found through a review of the environmental assessment provided by Pacific NorthWest LNG, with the authors noting that the conclusion of the energy company that the project would have no impacts on salmon, is not the same conclusion that they have determined through their report.
The final four conclusions to that overview include:
Fisheries scientists have known for decades that the Flora Bank region is particularly important habitat for salmon. Federal and provincial fisheries scientists identified the area a critical salmon habitat and industrialization has historically been avoided due to environmental risks. Our data shows Flora Bank does not represent typical salmon habitat. In fact, the Flora Bank-Lelu Island area consistently had the highest abundances of juvenile salmon across multiple years of sampling. Using the standardized sampling techniques, catch rates for juvenile coho, Chinook and sockeye were more than twice as high in this region. Eelgrass habitat in Fora Bank supports vastly more salmon than any other eelgrass habitat within this region of the estuary. Based on our data, the proposed destruction of eelgrass habitat by PNW LNG poses huge risks to salmon populations. Furthermore, our research makes it clear that planting eelgrass elsewhere will almost certainly fail to mitigate these impacts. PNW LNG has stated that juvenile salmon are simply swimming through the Flora Bank area, and not feeding and residing in this habitat. If this is the case, PNW LNG may be less likely to have adverse impacts on salmon. However, we discovered not only are juvenile salmon actively feeding and residing in the Flora Bank area, some are residing for several weeks in this habitat. What this means is any changes to the Flora Bank ecosystem would likely impact the young salmon feeding there.
The Science Report itself is a five page document, it was released on Friday and explains the methods used by the Lax Kw'alaams Science team and their observations related to the Skeena watershed.
They outline the nature of the regional population patterns of Salmon, their residence in the Flora Bank estuary and the genetics of the marine life in that region as well as a review of some of the pathways of risk associated with the proposed LNG terminal for the region.
The conclusions to the Science Report highlights the four major themes from their review:
The PNW LNG project is proposed for a location (Flora Bank) that is especially important for salmon from throughout the Skeena River. Because of its poor site choice, the PNW LNG project poses significant and unacceptable risks to Skeena salmon and their fisheries. The proponent has failed to adequately assess the risks to fish and fisheries and has not presented scientific evidence to support their claims that fish populations will not be harmed. The proponent's current proposal disregards science and risks to fish population health and Aboriginal rights.
To this point, there has been no reaction or comment from Pacific NorthWest LNG related to the release of the community update, nor of the key points and full Science report released byv the Lax Kw'alaams First Nation.
Earlier in the week, representatives from Pacific NorthWest LNG had delivered an update on their proposed terminal project to Prince Rupert City council, you can review that presentation here.
There is no indication from any of this week's information from Lax Kw'alaams as to how much, if any, of their study and review of the Lelu Island and Flora Bank area has been submitted as part of the CEAA environmental review of the Pacific NorthWest LNG proposal.
That Federal review is expected to deliver its final comments sometime this year, or early in 2016.
UNBC claimed first place in the Small Universities category from Maclean's Magazine
They'll be renewing their subscriptions to Maclean's all across Prince George today, with word this week that the annual Universities edition of the Canadian news magazine had delivered impressive grades for the University of Northern British Columbia.
The Prince George based university, which has attracted growing numbers of post secondary students from the Northwest since it opened twenty five years ago, was rated at the top of the list for Small Universities in Canada, in the Primarily Undergraduate Category.
“This recognition from Maclean’s only supports what the residents of Northern BC already know - that UNBC provides a first-rate education and a foundation for the development of the next generation of leaders for our region, our province and our country,” ... “The dedication of our faculty and staff, the achievements of our students and alumni, and the generosity of our donors all contributed to this tremendous accomplishment.” --UNBC President Dr. Daniel Weeks celebrating the Universities achievements from the 2016 Maclean's University rankings
UNBC had top marks in five of the seven categories considered, among them; student awards, total research dollars, library acquisitions, student/faculty ratio, faculty awards, operating budget for full time student and library expenses.
There are however some areas where room for improvement was noted, the universities residences brought a lower mark owing to their age at 25, while the student graduation rates brought the University down a few marks overall. Though in comments for the Prince George Citizen, UNBC officials noted that some students may start their post secondary life in Prince George, but a number do transfer to other universities during the course of their studies.
Northwest Community College was quick to offer up its congratulations to their partner in education of Northern British Columbia, taking to their twitter feed to salute the achievement.
As might be expected, the good news for UNBC was quickly shared around the region by the various Prince George media outlets, some of their work can be found below:
With a couple of projects now under way for the City of Prince Rupert's infrastructure program known as Re:Build Rupert, the City has decided the time is here to offer up an update page for the status of some of the investments in the city's roads, sidewalks and other items of note.
The update of projects listings debuted yesterday with a spot on the City Council page of the City's website.
Offering up some notes on some of the current projects taking place, such as the 3rd Avenue Sidewalk rehabilitation program, a sewer project at Seal Cove and Bellis Roads and work on a retaining wall at Seal Cove Circle all getting the spotlight for the month.
And while he doesn't get a shout out in the first edition of the new information plan, a couple of projects that got their start during the final year of Jack Mussallem's term as Mayor get listed as well.
With the Fraser Street renewal project, Rushbrook Launch Improvements and the Landfill expansion project all making the Re:Build Rupert update listings for the end of October.
The addition of the timeline for the projects is a welcome item to the city website, allowing residents to have some idea as to how long it's anticipated for the projects to take place.
And while it's good to see the City keeping its residents up to date on the new era of infrastructure improvements, perhaps adding the cost of each project would give us all and idea as to how much such major projects take out of the civic budget.
Even better would be a chart included on the city website, in order to follow each project, allowing for comparisons of start and completion times and projected cost as opposed to the final bill.
Still, it's a good start to the concept of frequent updates, though there's no indication in the initial edition as to how often those updates will be added to the city's flow of information.
North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice had glowing praise for Dodge Cove in the Legislature on Thursday
While a lot of the time the commentary of the Legislature can take on a partisan and at times caustic tone, the Members statements portion of the Legislature Day often provides MLA's the opportunity to share some more celebratory thoughts on the areas that they represent.
An aural post card if you will of some of the things that the MLA's find bewitching about their home constituency.
Thursday during the morning Statements opportunity, North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice provided those in the Legislature chamber with a thumbnail sketch of the more relaxed lifestyle of Dodge Cove, tracing some of the events that have marked the history of the community across the harbour from Prince Rupert.
She outlined some of the traits of those that call the Dodge Community their home highlighting the varied background of those that have made the trek across the harbour to homestead.
Noting occupations ranging from teachers, artists and loggers to retirees and authors, in the latter category providing a shout out to the popular Prince Rupert area compilation of the Gumboot Girls (no doubt easily accessed through the Prince Rupert Library or at Eddies News)
It's baaaack ... in the news! A surprising name from the past for Watson Island appeared this week
"We certainly did what we could, I don't think we ever backed away from anything.And now we have a new group that is going to realize when local government legislation forces something upon you, what a hell hole it can be, and I'm talking about Watson Island, the thing never ends ..." --Former Mayor Jack Mussallem speaking at his final Council session in November 2014, offering the incoming Council a cautionary word on the nature of the City's Watson Island file.
That long running tale of the place that the past Mayor described as a hell hole for Prince Rupert returns to the forefront of our civic discussion this week, surely to make the rounds of the coffee shops and bars as something from the tales of Believe it or Not Prince Rupert style.
The discussion to be launched, coming from a notice published yesterday in the weekly newspaper that outlines the latest points of discussion from a former official of the Sun Wave group Mr. Ni Ritao, a key participant from the days of the Sun Wave company, and apparently someone who has some comments to make on how the past legal negotiations between the city and his former company evolved.
Noting in his published four point notification through the weekly paper, that he declares that the agreement entered on behalf of Sun Wave Forest Products in August of 2013 was made without his legal authorization and he considers it to be null and void with no legal effect. Adding that the arbitration order made two years later was based on an invalid settlement agreement and that he considers that to be null and void as well.
All of which makes for a swirl of events which we can now add to the always expanding list of issues related to the never ending saga of the industrial site.
For those who may be getting confused, and who could blame you, what with all the various players that have passed through those Watson Island gates in over the years, Mr. Ni Ritao has a fairly colourful history from his time in the BC spotlight.
When we had last heard of his story, it included some names from the BC Liberal's past and a bit of involvement for Ni Ritao with the Chinese legal system.
Apparently free now from whatever limitations he faced over the previous two years, it seems that Mr. Ni Ritao from his Shanghai base is back, more than a little annoyed and perhaps it appears ready to rumble.
Where these latest developments may take us is the thing of fortune tellers, or in the spirit of Halloween, spell casting witches. Though the sudden reappearance of Ni Ritao and his declaration that the previous agreement and arbitrations are "null and void" certainly takes us further into the way back machine when it comes to the long running story of Watson Island.
Following the publication of the notice, and a follow up story in the Northern View, an item which basically recreated the "declaration" quote for quote, the Mayor logged onto the paper's comments section and directed residents to the City's media release, which offered up the city's side of the renewed debate over their interaction with the Sun Wave group.
The information statement addressed some of the points from Ni Ritao's Wednesday's notification and outlined the string of events that have taken place related to the Sun Wave issue over the last two years.
The latest in developments would seem to be adding on to the city's woes when it comes to Watson Island. Earlier in the summer we made note of another legal issue, that involved the Watson Island Development Company and its efforts in the courts with the City of Prince Rupert over the site.
As we outlined on the blog in August, WATCO found some success in the courts from the most recent proceedings of July and August, setting the calendar for further legal work heading on into February of 2017.
Should Ni Ritao follow up the prospect of further legal action himself, Prince Rupert residents could see the fascinating situation of duelling lawsuits over the same industrial lands that continue to haunt the community.
With all of this renewed focus on a topic that few at City Hall it seems ever really want to discuss in public, it surely is now time for the Mayor and Council to provide the residents of the city with a more comprehensive update than just a media release.
Delivering as much information as their legal representatives might allow for, as to where the City is with these two participants in their legal travels. As well, any update for the public should offer up information as to the current cost to the city of maintaining the industrial site, background on any outstanding issues related to the site and details as to just how much the legal requirements of the Watson Island file are costing the community.
In previous years, while the topic was a challenge, the city did deliver occasional updates on such things as "burn rates" and the occasional hopeful indication that the long nightmare may soon end.
Mayor Brain even took on that same sunny outlook earlier this year, speaking to the CBC's Carolyn de Ryk in May, at that time he observed that the residents of Prince Rupert would see the City move forward with Watson Island, expressing that belief that the situation was going to end this year, or as he put it in May "very soon".
As the events noted above with WATCO have illustrated, that perhaps was at best a bit of an optimistic overview.
Nor since the new team at City hall took office one year ago, has the City provided residents with any kind of status report on when there may be closure on the situation.
Considering the events of yesterday and the ongoing issues with the WATCO file, closure for Watson Island may be something that for Rupertites remains as elusive as ever and still apparently somewhere far down a road, one that seemingly has no end of twists and turns.
An interesting approach to North Coast development came up following Monday's Prince Rupert City Council meeting, with Mayor Lee Brain providing what appears to be the city's guiding focus when it comes to the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG development.
As we outlined on the blog yesterday, representatives of the company provided Council with an update on their plans as part of Monday's meeting, offering up some background on the latest environmental work, design modifications and community engagement related to the project.
Noting that they are now within the final 100 days of the CEAA review, with the company awaiting the findings of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and further engagement with the Federal Government.
Where the discussion for Prince Rupert gets interesting comes following the council meeting. Where as part of a report on the progress to this point for the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline and the Lelu Island Terminal, CFTK television's Christa Dao, noted that the Port Edward Council has offered its support for both of those proposals.
Mayor Brain spoke to the City's position on Pacific NorthWest LNG to TV 7's Christa Dao on Monday
However, in the short portion of the story that featured Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain, Ms. Dao observes that the same level of support that Port Edward has shown for Pacific NorthWest LNG, is not the case at the moment when it comes to Prince Rupert.
With the Mayor noting in his comments on the status of discussions with the company, how the City is still in benefits negotiations with Pacific Northwest LNG and haven't signed on with the company yet, observing that at the moment the city is being a neutral party.
The Mayor's comments on behalf of Prince Rupert are intriguing, offering up as it does the concept of neutrality for the City when it comes to a major project for the region.
Particularly one that at the moment, is the only one of the proposed LNG projects on the North Coast that appears closest to the development stage. A major industrial development which would deliver up to 600 jobs related to plant operations, spur on spin off employment in the region and add billions of dollars of investment into the region.
We wonder however, if that neutral position has the endorsement of the other six members of Prince Rupert City Council, who unfortunately didn't get any camera time as part of the CFTK report to share their thoughts on LNG development.
Considering the impact that the Pacific NorthWest LNG project might have on the community, using the term neutral seems an interesting choice of words for a Mayor and City Council, especially for a group which has been hammering home the message for a year now of the prospect of major economic growth to come for the region.
We imagine that representatives of Pacific NorthWest LNG might have been looking for a slightly stronger declaration of support for the project, which if launched would have significant impact on Prince Rupert.
Though a look back through some of their previous visits to Prince Rupert Council over the last few years, will show at times a rather mixed reaction to their proposed development for Lelu Island from some members of City council.
Beyond any impressions that Pacific NorthWest may have about the lack of declared support from Prince Rupert, the stance of neutrality may catch the attention of Premier Christy Clark.
We suspect that taking a neutral position on issues related to LNG, is not the kind of vision that the Premier was thinking of, nor will it deliver the kind of future that she probably has in mind.
It's not the first time that the City has remained on the sidelines when it comes to discussions related on the theme of LNG development, other than on their own preference for a terminal development at Tuck Inlet.
There does not appear to have been any official Prince Rupert contribution provided towards the CEAA process for Pacific NorthWest LNG and as we noted on the blog earlier this month, the comment period for the proposed Aurora LNG Digby Terminal passed without any contribution from the City of Prince Rupert.
An interesting approach to North Coast development came up following Monday's Prince Rupert City Council meeting, with Mayor Lee Brain providing what appears to be the city's guiding focus when it comes to the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG development.
As we outlined on the blog yesterday, representatives of the company provided Council with an update on their plans as part of Monday's meeting, offering up some background on the latest environmental work, design modifications and community engagement related to the project.
Noting that they are now within the final 100 days of the CEAA review, with the company awaiting the findings of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and further engagement with the Federal Government.
Where the discussion for Prince Rupert gets interesting comes following the council meeting. Where as part of a report on the progress to this point for the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline and the Lelu Island Terminal, CFTK television's Christa Dao, noted that the Port Edward Council has offered its support for both of those proposals.
Mayor Brain spoke to the City's position on Pacific NorthWest LNG to TV 7's Christa Dao on Monday
However, in the short portion of the story that featured Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain, Ms. Dao observes that the same level of support that Port Edward has shown for Pacific NorthWest LNG, is not the case at the moment when it comes to Prince Rupert.
With the Mayor noting in his comments on the status of discussions with the company, how the City is still in benefits negotiations with Pacific Northwest LNG and haven't signed on with the company yet, observing that at the moment the city is being a neutral party.
The Mayor's comments on behalf of Prince Rupert are intriguing, offering up as it does the concept of neutrality for the City when it comes to a major project for the region.
Particularly one that at the moment, is the only one of the proposed LNG projects on the North Coast that appears closest to the development stage. A major industrial development which would deliver up to 600 jobs related to plant operations, spur on spin off employment in the region and add billions of dollars of investment into the region.
We wonder however, if that neutral position has the endorsement of the other six members of Prince Rupert City Council, who unfortunately didn't get any camera time as part of the CFTK report to share their thoughts on LNG development.
Considering the impact that the Pacific NorthWest LNG project might have on the community, using the term neutral seems an interesting choice of words for a Mayor and City Council, especially for a group which has been hammering home the message for a year now of the prospect of major economic growth to come for the region.
We imagine that representatives of Pacific NorthWest LNG might have been looking for a slightly stronger declaration of support for the project, which if launched would have significant impact on Prince Rupert.
Though a look back through some of their previous visits to Prince Rupert Council over the last few years, will show at times a rather mixed reaction to their proposed development for Lelu Island from some members of City council.
Beyond any impressions that Pacific NorthWest may have about the lack of declared support from Prince Rupert, the stance of neutrality may catch the attention of Premier Christy Clark.
We suspect that taking a neutral position on issues related to LNG, is not the kind of vision that the Premier was thinking of, nor will it deliver the kind of future that she probably has in mind.
It's not the first time that the City has remained on the sidelines when it comes to discussions related on the theme of LNG development, other than on their own preference for a terminal development at Tuck Inlet.
There does not appear to have been any official Prince Rupert contribution provided towards the CEAA process for Pacific NorthWest LNG and as we noted on the blog earlier this month, the comment period for the proposed Aurora LNG Digby Terminal passed without any contribution from the City of Prince Rupert.
Monday's council session wandered through a number of items both on the Agenda and of a free form style, yet by the time the evening came to an end, there was nothing to share from our municipal representatives when it came to a recent LNG conference in Vancouver.
The LNG in BC Conference, which was the third annual event, highlighted the state of the LNG industry in 2015 with the Liberal Government of Premier Clark still anticipating strong results from their efforts to build an industry from the ground up.
The gathering brought together a range of municipal and provincial officials, as well as key industry players, with a number of workshops and information sessions designed to showcase the progress of the industry, with a number of key announcements made and information sessions taking place during the three days.
The province outlined some of background to the events at the end of the conference.
Considering the investment that the North Coast would seem to have in the proposed LNG industry, it's puzzling that those that may have been in attendance, did not share any of their findings from the three days in Vancouver.
In previous years, when Council members would travel on city business out of town, they would following their return (though not always) provide a short update at the next available public session of Council, eager it seemed to inform the Council members and those at home as to what they had learned from their travels.
Council Members reportedly were in attendance at the LNG in BC conference in Vancouver Oct 14-16
That at times proved to be part of the focus of then Mayor Mussallem's session ending Mayor's Report, which featured a thumbnail sketch if you will of his travels on behalf of the city.
In the case of this month's LNG conference however, despite a fairly active Social media engagement on a number of topics from City Hall and the recent hiring of a Communications Manager by the City, the only indication that Council members were even out of town, comes by way of the minutes of a Regional District Council session, not a document that we imagine gets a lot of reading.
This highlights what appears to be a few policy shortcomings of late when it comes to what the City and City Council as a whole considers information that may be of interest to the public.
While the City offers up notes on community events and the some of the latest spending initiatives of the Mayor and Council as part of a frequent stream of information through its range of media options.
For the most part when it comes to updates on key issues that would surely be of interest to the public (Watson Island, CityWest, labour issues and Lot 444 developments, to name a few) those larger and potentially more controversial topics are left out of the flow of regular information from City Hall.
As for the theme of road trips on city business, when it comes to transparency on travel issues, residents of the City shouldn't have to read the fine print of another body of government's meeting minutes to learn what their municipal officials have been up to.
That it would seem, is the kind of information that should be made available on the city's own website, advising residents when their elected officials are away on business on behalf of the city.
In larger cities, updates on the work of their Council members and their travel is fairly easy to find, with those larger communities even providing an easy to access review of expenses claimed during those kinds of trips.
It's really not too much to expect that we be told in a timely fashion that council members and senior staff may be travelling on our dime and when Council members return, we should also receive some form of a report from those that were away, advising us as to what information they have brought back with them from their journey.
As they have at the end of many City council sessions previous, housing issues once again dominated the conversation on Monday evening, as council members took stock of where they are at on a file that they've been engaged with pretty well since they took office last December.
To start the discussion off on Monday, the Mayor provided a short overview of the latest developments between the City and the various stakeholders in their housing committee. Noting that they haven't made much progress from the last Council session, but that they are hopeful of moving the process forward in the weeks to come.
He also advised that they had assessed a list of city properties that they had identified from their recent tour of the city and created an internal city report as to which lots might be accessed when it comes to housing issues or other uses.
Councillor Thorkelson then took charge of the majority of the discussion, sharing some of her recent discussions in the community regarding housing concerns, noting that the Mission of the Good Shepherd is looking to find partners to create some affordable housing in the community.
However, she also outlined that the group is looking to address needs ranging from housing for families, to the need for just overnight beds for in town residents who may be homeless for a short period of time.
As Ms. Thorkelson recounted, like many other groups, the Mission of the Good Shepherd is running into problems in trying to access funding for their proposal to purchase and renovated a building for that purpose.
With that as the background to the current situation, Councillor Thorkelson then offered up a concept that may soon become part of the discussion for Council members on how best to tackle the issue of housing need in the community.
Making note of one approach to the situation may be through what is called cross subsidization, which would see rental properties scale their revenue from rentals, with some rents higher than others in the same building, a process which would provide for subsidized accommodations for those that may not have the means for higher rents.
As part of her presentation to council members on Monday, Councillor Thorkelson observed that it could be the quickest way for the city to address the current situation and to access some affordable housing int he community.
Providing the suggestion that the city could talk to the developers coming to town to adopt the concept voluntarily, or if required, to put some bylaw changes in place for current developers that are looking at housing proposals in the city at the moment.
That would introduce a process which would make it a requirement to either build the cross subsidized accommodation concept as a stand alone structure, or have part the concept incorporated into their current proposals for the community setting aside a number of units for subsidized housing.
She noted that this is the process that takes place in parts of Vancouver, with subsidized housing on one side and high rent housing on the other side of the same building, something that is called corridor housing.
A look at the Vancouver approach can be found here from the City of Vancouver website, which explains that city's focus on social and market rental housing. Whether concepts designed to answer the needs of a metropolitan area of over 1 million residents can be delivered to a community of less than 13,000 is perhaps something however that might require a little further study.
Councillor Cunningham also had a few thoughts on the topic, addressing the theme of funding for housing options. Making note of one current funding program in place and suggesting that with the change of the Federal Government there may be additional money provided towards housing issue, suggesting that city staff should be keeping track of any changes or new grants when it comes to housing opportunities.
For his part of the conversation, Mayor Brain noted that the City does have someone on staff that is actively keeping track of any grant opportunities that may be available to the community. He did suggest that while the city doesn't traditionally seek out housing grants, that the City could pass on that information to community groups that could make use of that process.
Councillor Niesh offered up an alternative to Councillor Thorkelson's suggestion, observing that developers in the region that might not wish to adopt the model that she suggested, could instead provide funding towards an affordable housing fund, that could be directed towards addressing housing issues in the community. He suggested that city staff investigate that process further to see how other communities handle the issue.
Before staff might get too bogged down in exploring housing strategies in other communities, Councillor Mirau noted that there is a draft report available for study on the topic from Urban Systems, a document which did offer a range of policy options for the city to take a look at.
Councillor Thorkelson also observed that there have been similar studies delivered for Terrace and Kitimat as well, but remained determined to move forward some discussion on her initial theme, reinforcing her belief that having developers buy into the cross subsidization model is the best approach at the moment to address the housing issues in Prince Rupert.
The full discussion on housing concerns can be found from the City's Video Archive, it starts at the one hour seven minute mark.
Prior to the start of review of the regular agenda for Monday's Regular Council Session, representatives from Pacific NorthWest LNG provided Council members with a short update on the latest information related to their proposed LNG development for Lelu Island.
Ms. Tessa Gill and Mr. Derek Baker delivered a short slide show presentation to go along with their project review, offering up some background when it comes to the ongoing work to prepare for development should the company receive Federal approval at the end of their CEAA evaluation process.
Pacific NorthWest LNG outlined the timeline that they are working under when it comes to the Lelu Island project
As part of the update, the Pacific NorthWest reps outlined the process to this point, noting that the company had moved forward with their plans on a conditional stage, while they await Federal approval for their development.
As part of the slide show presentation, the path to this point was provided, with the process now nearing the end of the CEAA review stage, should they receive the required approval, the final step would appear to be a final review by the company as to the financial viability of the project.
She also updated council on some of the approaches that the company has made with area First Nations as part of their engagement process.
Ms. Gill also reviewed the nature of the construction process and reinforced the design of the facility and how it is not located on Flora Bank, but adjacent to it and that they have removed the need for a major dredge in the area. Highlighting the suspension bridge as one of the ways that they have responded to community feedback.
As well she provided some further background on the results of the habitat studies that they have taken on as part of their planning for the project.
She observed that their studies have provided them with modelling data that suggests that there will be no significant impact on the marine environment or on Flora Bank, as well as offering up some details on the nature of their studies into the eel grass of the Flora Bank region.
Some of the work to this point on the proposed terminal project was outlined for Council on Monday evening
Pacific NorthWest LNG reps provided a look at some of the environmental work that they have done to date
In addition to the environmental items discussed, the Pacific NorthWest reps reminded Council of the upcoming educational opportunities available through NWCC for November offering residents of the community to prepare for potential jobs associated with the operation of the terminal.
Mayor Brain offered up the first of some questions from Council members, asking for an outline as to any agreements that Pacific NorthWest LNG has signed with Lax Kw'alaams. While Ms. Gill did not offer up any specific details on any engagement with the Lax Kw'alaams First Nations government, she did note that the company has varying levels of engagement with all area First Nations regarding the investigative works related to the project.
Councillor Mirau asked if they had a timeline in mind for moving forward with the project. Ms. Gill noted that the situation was up to the regulator and that there were 100 days left on the regulatory clock. Noting if they accept their submission, there would be a need for consultation and Ministerial review, with the potential for further requirements.
In an answer on potential employment numbers form Councillor Kinney and Councillor Randhawa, the approximate number would be 300 full time employees of Pacific NorthWest, while another 300 full time positions through other contractors that could be created as part of other services required for the terminal complex.
Ms. Gill also noted that it was the preference of the company to hire local workers, though there would be the need for some experienced workers from outside of the city. When it comes to the construction aspect of the project, while the preference again is to hire local, there will be a requirement larger than the local workforce can provide.
Councillor Thorkelson followed up on the environmental modelling aspect of their work and seeking clarification on what the process is in delivering that to CEAA and providing comments related to their previously submitted information.
