North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice will be on the road through the next three months consulting British Columbians on maternity issues
Jennifer Rice will be taking to the road over the course of March and April travelling across the province to learn more about the challenges that mothers to be face in rural and remote communities of the province.
The North Coast MLA is launching the Maternity Matters Tour which gets underway this week when Ms. Rice holds sessions in the Bella Coola Valley from March 4th to 7th.
Later in the month she'll be heading into the Cariboo region, with stops planned in Quesnel, Clearwater and Ashcroft.
The main focus of her tour to hear from residents in rural and remote British Columbia to hear more of the challenges in accessing maternity care outside of larger centres and what issues face residents when it comes to care for their baby.
More trips are planned in April, May and June, though for the moment other than an April 22nd journey to Bella Bella, no other sessions are planned for the moment for the North Coast of Haida Gwaii.
You can review the MLA's itinerary and get more information on how to contact Ms. Rice from her media release announcing the tour.
Prince Rupert didn't capture quite the same amount of interest this week as it did the week before, as the Legislature moved on to other issues beyond the state of water at some of the city's elementary schools.
The topic did receive a bit more exposure as North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice called for expanded testing of water in Northwest schools, taking one more run at Health Minister Terry Lake on the concerns over water in the region.
Ms. Rice also had some thoughts on the Provincial Government's treatment of Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, the Representative for Children and Youth, calling attention to a number of reports in recent months on the situation facing at risk children in the province and seeking a public statement of support for Ms. Turpel-Lafond and the work of her office.
As we do at the end of each week of the Legislature session, we outline some of the main notes of interest from the North Coast MLA's work week.
Ms Rice was listed twice in the archive of participants for the seven sessions of the Legislature in the House, or for those listings related to her work on House Committees for the week of February 22-26.
On Monday afternoon, Ms. Rice returned to the theme of seeking answers related to the water situation in some Prince Rupert schools, seeking an expanded testing process for all schools of the Northwest.
Monday morning found Ms. Rice seeking answers on the provincial government's treatment of the Representative for Children and Youth, asking the province to publicly declare support for the work of Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafon and the work done through her office.
Supporting responsible LNG development will be the theme of a Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on Tuesday at the North Coast Convention Centre.
Chamber organizers are looking for a large turnout of community members next week, hoping to attract those who may be curious to learn more about LNG and other industries proposed for the region.
From the luncheon information session, the Chamber is looking to build support in the region not only for LNG industry, but for other forms of development on the North Coast.
As part of the Tuesday event, the Chamber has assembled a roster of speakers from a number of areas of the community to share their thoughts on how the industry can benefit the community.
Among those scheduled to take part in the lunch time forum are:
Blair Mirau Clifford White, Elected Chief, Gitxaala First Nation Dave MacDonald, Mayor, District of Port Edward Glen Edwards, President, ILWU Local 505 James Witzke, Tsimshian Environmental Stewardship Society
The Tuesday event takes place from 11:45 AM to 1:15 PM, tickets cost 25 dollars for members and Not-yet Members alike.
The Deadline for Reservations is 8AM of March 1st and reservations are required as No Tickets will be available at the door.
British Columbia's NDP members Carole James and Mike Farnworth join Vaughn Palmer to discuss the alternatives to Site C, MSP premiums and disability benefits
Two items of interest for the Northwest were found in a lengthy media release from Alberta based AltaGas as part of their Fourth Quarter and Year End Results report.
As the Alberta company outlined its financial picture form a troubled year in Alberta's oil and gas sector, highlighting some of it's plans and advising investors as to some areas where change is being made or has already taken place.
On the good news front, the company once again highlighted its plans to ship propane out of the proposed terminal site on Ridley Island.
On propane exports, AltaGas signed a sublease and related agreements with Ridley Terminals Inc. (Ridley Terminals) to develop, build, own and operate the Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal located near Prince Rupert, British Columbia on a portion of lands leased by Ridley Terminals from the Prince Rupert Port Authority. The facility will be designed to ship up to 1.2 million tonnes of propane per annum and will be built on a brownfield site with a history of industrial development, connections to existing rail lines, and an existing marine jetty with deep water access. AltaGas is working towards reaching a final investment decision in 2016 with commercial propane exports targeted for 2018, subject to First Nations consultations and necessary approvals. On February 11, 2016, AltaGas filed an application with the National Energy Board for a 25-year propane export license.
However, for those on the North Coast hoping to see some progress with the launch of the LNG industry in the region, AltaGas had some disappointing news.
Noting that their proposed development for Kitimat was now putting a halt to the plans for the Douglas Channel LNG project owing to economic conditions.
The DC LNG Consortium, comprised of AltaGas Idemitsu Joint Venture Limited Partnership (AIJVLP), EDF Trading Limited (EDFT) and EXMAR NV (EXMAR), announced today its decision to halt development of the DC LNG project due to adverse economic conditions and worsening global energy price levels.
AltaGas announced on Thursday that development on the Douglas ChannelLNG project was being halted
That proposed development was a smaller scale LNG project, which planned to make use of a floating terminal concept in the Kitimat area.
Woodside Energy has plans for an LNG Terminal near Lax Kw'alaams
We haven't heard much in recent months when it comes to the proposed LNG development for Grassy Point, with the Australian energy company Woodside keeping their options pretty close to the vest for that area of the North Coast near Lax Kw'alaams.
That however does not mean that they haven't been following up on their plans for the proposed development, with the latest progress on the project set to be provided to the public in March.
Woodside Energy will share more information in a bit over two weeks, having scheduled an Open House for March 10th at the North Coast Convention Centre. Taking place in the Grizzly Room, from 4 until 8 PM, the supper time information session will also offer a Buffet Dinner between 4:30 and 6 PM.
Residents who attend the Open House will be able to gain more background to the proposed development that would be implemented in two phases, with an initial production capacity calling for shipment capacity of between 6-15 million tonnes of LNG per annum, with the ability to increase overall capacity to to up to 20 million tonnes.
Before they can move forward with their application however, Woodside will require an environmental assessment certificate, the Open House and comment period is part of the process required to apply for that certificate.
Following the Open House, a thirty day period for the submission of comments towards the Draft Application will get underway.
Details related to the Draft Application Information requirements will be posted to that website as of March 3rd, with published copies also available at the following locations on the North Coast.
Prince Rupert Public Library 101 6th Avenue West, Prince Rupert Prince Rupert City Hall 424 3rd Avenue West, Prince Rupert Port Edward Municipal Office 770 Pacific Avenue, Port Edward
It's of interest to note that to this point, there is no indication that a copy of the Draft Information requirements will be provided for the community of Lax Kw'alaams, which would be the closest community to the proposed development site.
Cover page of report (from Woodside Energy website)
The two proposed terminal options for the Grassy Point site (from the Woodside Energy website)
When it comes to the project's progress, there hasn't been a lot in the way of updates to the Woodside Grassy Point LNG page found through the Australian energy company's home page, with the most recent items on the project dating back to September of 2015.
There also has not been much in the way of additional material posted to Government websites that track the flow of information on the major LNG projects in the province.
The listing of documentation provided to the Canadian Environmental Association to this point can be found here.
While background on the project provided to the British Columbia Environmental Office can be examined here.
Grassy Point is not the only North Coast location that Woodside is also involved with, they also have a share of the proposed Kitimat LNG project, partnering with Chevron on that LNG development.
As part of the City of Prince Rupert's Budget consultation process, city council will be seeking a wider overview of the current arrangement between Prince Rupert and Port Edward when it comes to taxation collected from Ridley Island and how it is shared with the District of Port Edward.
Councillor Blair Mirau raised the item at Monday's council session, asking for some background on the topic from the City's Financial Officer Corrine Bomben and noting that he believes that the arrangement may be causing some pressures on the City's revenue challenges and cost pressures.
Mr. Mirau, noting that he had previous to his time on Council not been aware of the arrangement, suggested that it is a topic that warrants further investigation and discussion by Council.
Ms. Bomben provided a thumbnail sketch for council on the nature of the Ridley Island Tax Sharing Agreement, observing how the current arrangement calls for the City to provide 17 per cent of the taxes collected by the City from Ridley Island sources would be directed to Port Edward.
Noting for Council, that in the last year that percentage resulted in the City of Prince Rupert providing 700,000 dollars to the District of Port Edward.
From that information, Councillor Mirau noted that he believes that it's a tangible amount of money that has a significant impact on the City of Prince Rupert and provides for an important topic for discussion during the Budget process and something that warrants further consideration.
You can review the discussion which came as part of the Budget Presentation from the City's Finance Department from Monday's Council session available from the Council Video archive, the full Budget presentation starts at the 37 minute mark, while the portion related to the Ridley Island Tax Sharing Agreement can be found at the 54 minute point.
On Monday night members of Prince Rupert city Council offered their support towards a correspondence from the City of Port Coquitlam, seeking a change in the formula for funding under the Federal Government's Build Canada Grant Program.
The letter from Port Coquitlam is part of a resolution from that community for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and Union of British Columbia Municipalities that calls for a reduction in the municipal requirements for the Grant Program, calling the current level of one third of the cost as too high for local jurisdictions.
At the moment, according to the correspondence from Port Coquitlam the current level of funding rests at one third each from each level of government, with Port Coquitlam instead recommending a change in that formula, one that would see the Federal Government provide 50 percent of the funding, the Province to deliver 40 percent for significant projects, which would leave the municipalities to provide for the remaining 10 percent.
Corinne Bomben, the City of Prince Rupert's Financial Officer read the correspondence into the record at Monday's Council session and offered up an explanation for Council members of the details related to it.
At the conclusion of her presentation on the topic, Council members followed up on a motion from Councillor Mirau to offer their support to the proposed resolution from Port Coquitlam.
You can review the short discussion on the topic from the City's Video Archive starting at the one hour one minute mark.
The mill rate, It's a term that can create a furrowed brow and at times a bit of puzzlement from local residents, perhaps wondering what the abandoned pulp mill on Watson Island has to do with their tax load.
And while somewhere in a line item in the Finance office, the actual pulp mill probably does represent something in the expenses and revenues categories for the City of Prince Rupert (see pages 11 and 12 of the Budget Report from this weeks Council Agenda), in the case of determining how much your tax bill will go up in July, this mill rate term refers to something else completely.
To help better understand all of that financial jargon, the City's financial department has put together a tutorial page and info-graphic on the city website, designed to help residents determine what kind of increase they might be looking at with Council set to consider a proposed 2 per cent increase come this spring.
The three step process requires the home or business owner to have their assessed value from the recently delivered Provincial property tax assessment, with the resident then to find the proposed mill rate for your property class, followed by the use of a formula provided by the Finance Department to calculate the impact of the proposed mill rate.
A mill rate calculation chart from the City of Prince Rupert
(click to expand)
You can click on the image below to view the chart, or go to the city websitewhere the chart can be found as well.
For more items related to the 2016 Budget process see our Budget archive page.
Further background on issues from Prince Rupert City Council can be reviewed from our Council Archive page.
However, the Province is moving forward on a more immediate road project for the First Nation community, one focused on the existing road that runs to the North end of Tuck Inlet.
The Province of British Columbia announced its plans for an Open House this week, looking to provide further background for the proposed road work that will see paving work and safety improvements such as concrete barriers, speed reader boards and pullouts to be made along the 17.5-kilometre road, including the replacement of one bridge.
The work is part of a remediation plan for the road that leads from Lax Kw'alaams, to the ferry dock at the north end of Tuck Inlet, providing for the current link for the community to Prince Rupert and beyond.
Thursday'sOpen House will take place from 3 until 8 PM at the Lax Kw'alaams Recreation Centre.
The project, part of the Ministry's 10 year Transportation plan, follows up on a Memo of Understanding (MOU) which was singed last year with the community, signalling the start of engineering work on the project.
The start of the major construction project is expected to begin this summer.
You can learn more background on last year's memorandum of understanding on the project here.
Kevin Stunder, the proponent of a proposed housing development for Drake Crescent appeared at Council on Monday evening to outline the project
Prince Rupert City Council has decided to wait two more weeks before making a decision on a request for zoning changes to a parcel of land on Drake Crescent, with Council looking for further information from staff and its work with the developer on amenities and on how many units will be built before moving on the zoning issue.
Monday's Council session featured a Public Hearing on the issue, though no residents appeared in Council Chambers to outline any concerns related to the proposed development during the course of the session.
Council did hear from realtor Keith Lambourne, who speaking as President of the Prince Rupert Chamber of Commerce voiced that group's support for the proposed development, noting that there is an immediate need for more housing in the community, with many rental groups in the city featuring no vacancies at the moment.
Kevin Stunder, the proponent of the development for Drake Crescent also provided his thoughts on how the project would come together, calling on some of his past experience in other communities on property development.
On the topic of when the housing development might start, Mr. Stunder did note that no decision would be made until there was some indication of forward movement provided by the major proponents of major industrial projects in the community. Adding for Council that he hoped to have a better idea as to what form his development would take and the timeline for it by the summer.
He also observed that he hoped that Council could see the value in moving forward with some housing for the city on a parcel of land that fits in with the City's Quality of life official community plan.
A multi unit housing development has been proposed for Drake Crescent at Prince Rupert Boulevard
Later in the Council session, Council Members returned to the zoning issue, as part of the Regular Council Agenda, reviewing the findings of the public hearing and discussing further the desire to see parks and amenities included as part of the proposed development.
City Manager Robert Long provided some clarification on the topic for Council, while City Planner Zeno Krekic also outlined some guidelines as to how the process works.
When it comes to the theme of the proposed amenities for the area in question, the City Manager noted there were two paths that the developer could follow, one being through a financial contribution, or as discussed earlier by way of active participation in the development of those amenities.
Councillor Niesh spoke in favour of the proposed zoning change, noting that there has been no opposition expressed regarding the proposed development. However he noted rezoning the land at the moment was not urgent, as the developer had observed that he won't be moving ahead until some indication of major industrial development in the community is moving forward.
Councillor Kinney noted the contribution of Keith Lambourne and his perspective on what is required for housing in the community at this time.
Councillor Thorkelson then put forward the motion to direct staff to discuss and work on a proposal and contract with the developer, regarding amenities and the number of units to b built on the property in question.
Adding the note that the finished agreement be provided to Council first, so Council could hold further discussion on the issue before taking the zoning requirement to a final vote.
Councillor Cunningham asked that it be brought to Council as soon as possible, with hopes of having it added to the Agenda for the next meeting of March 7th.
By way of a final look at the issue, Councillor Mirau outlined his one concern on the process, offering his belief that the city remain consistent in their policy development with this development and any other developer that may follow.
Council then put any final decision on the zoning issue off until next month.
You can review both the Public Hearing aspect of the issue and the discussion on the proposed zoning issue from the City's Video Archive.
The Public hearing portion starts at the beginning of the evening's proceedings , while the zoning discussion takes place starting at the 1 hour one minute mark.
Further background on Housing issues in the Community can be found here.
CFO Corinne Bombern outlined the start of the City's Budget Process on Monday evening
Prince Rupert City Council received an update on some of the budget issues that they will be considering this spring as they move forward with the City's budget process, with the City's Chief Financial Officer delivering her report on where the city's finances are at heading as the City moves towards the Budget consultation sessions.
Monday evening, Ms. Corinne Bomben offered up the annual review of the City's financial situation, providing a video display session which outlined the details of the financial plan for the year ahead.
The report opened by providing some of the service challenges that the city faces each year at budget time, highlighting the expenses and the limited options in revenue collection.
Starting with the operation of the Digby Island Ferry, Ms. Bomben explained how neighbouring communities benefit from their proximity to the service but only pay a user fee. Further noting for Council that the residents of Prince Rupert not only pay the user fee but provide a subsidy, which for 2016 is expected to be at the 1 million dollar mark.
The ongoing issue of Provincial Tax Caps on major industrial operations was explored, with a revew as to how all of the city's industrial operating activity qualifies for these capped rates. Something which means that the city receives diminishing revenue from those areas.
To go along with the industrial cap issues, Ms. Bomben also outlined the nature of the low returns the city receives from the provincial offset grant process.
The Tax Cap Legislation burden that is found from those conditions placed on the city was highlighted, showing the impact that is found on residential, light industrial and commercial sectors which require increases each year to make up for the transfer of that burden. Which is the main contributing factor towards the tax rate increases in the community.
Ms. Bomben made a point of noting that all of the Port of Prince Rupert's tenants in the area pay the full 100 percent of taxes that the city bills them, but that its the limitations that are in place by the provincial legislation that is providing for challenges for the City.
Budget requirements related to preparing for growth were reviewed, noting that the city will continue to fund planning for Major Projects initiatives through Legacy Inc, those programs last year provided for studies on land base use and population surveys, as well as the start of the Re:Design Prince Rupert program through UNBC's Community Development Institute.
This years budget will provide for the same level of funding to the Major Projects initiatives.
There will be no increases to the mill rates when it comes to the funding of civic operations, however to focus on reserves and future capital replacement issues, the Finance Department is recommending a 2 per cent increase to the mill rate for 2016 for those purposes.
To help those following at home, Ms. Bomben then outlined how the mill rate works and how home owners could determine how it would be applied. Noting that the "mill rate" would be reduced once again as it has over the last four years and explaining how that would impact on Taxpayers in the community.
Ms. Bomben also outlined the variety of grants and tax deferral options available advising residents to contact City Hall to learn more about them.
As well, she noted that BC Assessment will release their revised roll which could provide an impact on the proposed mill rate.
To close her presentation the City's Financial Officer noted that the public will have two opportunities to offer comments on the Budget Process, the first at a community forum at the Lester Centre on March 14th, the second at the March 21st session of Prince Rupert city Council.
Council was asked to defer any decision until after those public consultation sessions in March.
Council members asked for some clarifications on the industrial taxation levels and how much revenue the Recreation Department would be receiving through the increase in fees adopted earlier in the month.
Councillor Mirau asked for some clarification and discussion on the nature of the Ridley Island Tax Sharing Agreement on Ridley Island between the City and the District of Port Edward, she provided some background on the topic and offered to provide a more expansive report on the situation for the next council session.
Council then accepted the Report for further consideration. You can review the documentation that accompanied her presentation from the City's Agenda package on Page 7, it features a number charts on revenues and expenditures for further examination.
More on the Budget Presentation and the full Council Session of Monday night can be found on our Council Timeline Feature.
You can review the full presentation to Council from the City's Video Archive it starts at the 37 minute point and continues until the sixty one minute point.
