Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce held their Annuarl General Meeting this month, with Chamber President Michelle Bryant-Gravelle providing for a review of her year at the head of the business organization (photo from PR Chamber Facebook page)
Michelle Bryant-Gravelle is winding down her one year term as President of the Prince Rupert Chamber of Commerce and earlier this month provided for one of her final addresses as the President to the Business Body.
Speaking last week at the Chamber's Annual General Meeting, Ms. Bryant-Gravelle recounted some of the work done over the last 365 days and reviewed the current membership levels, which have dropped to 256 this year, compared to 260 last year. An indication perhaps as to the slowing nature of the region's economy.
As well, the Chamber President made note of the efforts that the Chamber has initiated as it looks to increase membership with the business organization.
She observed how the Board had been faced with some tough decisions this year that they did not take lightly, with departures among the staff at the Chamber office and the elimination of one paid full time position, that owing to the current economic slowdown in the community.
Along with a quick review of the many events that the Chamber has hosted this year, she recounted some of the productive work that the Chamber has explored with the City of Prince Rupert through the Small Business Advisory Committee.
Ms, Bryant-Gravelle also outlined some of the Chamber's engagement with provincial politicians, where Chamber of Commerce representatives from around the province outlined the challenges and concerns that their communities are facing and the need for cooperation on a number of files.
As well, she put some focus on how the roster of members this year included four Indigenous women and with her one year term, the First Indigenous Woman President of the Chamber of Commerce.
She outlined how those themes of more Indigenous representative is what drove her to become involved with the Chamber Board, noting for the audience that Representation Does matter.
The Chamber President outlined how she wants her daughter and other Indigenous people to see that someone who looks like them, can be in a community leadership position, and make a difference in our community in a productive way, thereby debunking the negative stereotypes that still exist about our people today".
Ms. Bryant-Gravelle called for more inclusion on the Chamber in the years to come and left the audience with one final thought from her term.
"To all of you who look like me, continue to follow your dreams and know that you can make a difference, and to all of the people that don't look like me, please continue to open your minds and see the shift that is occurring in our community through reconciliation. Let's continue to make progress together, because in reality we can't do it alone"
You can watch her full address to the Chamber AGM from the video below:
The Chamber has yet to outline their process for selecting a new Board for 2018-19 and the election of a new President for the year to come.
You can review more notes from the Prince Rupert Chamber of Commerce from their website and Facebook page.
For a look at some of the items of interest from the Northwest Business sector see our archive page here.
Nathan Cullen and John Horgan at Prince Rupert City Hall on Monday
(Photo -MLA Rices' social media stream)
Premier John Horgan and Nathan Cullen wandered along the byways of the Northwest this week, making like Hope and Crosby on one of those old road movies (which would make Jennifer Rice Dorothy Lamar we guess?), with stops in at municipal buildings, industrial sites and college campuses, along with local watering holes all part of the trek through the region.
The Federal NDP MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley noted this week that his rendezvous with Mr. Horgan was part of his expanded role with the NDP in Ottawa, with Mr. Cullen serving as the party's British Columbia liaison.
The trip to Prince Rupert, Terrace and Kitimat put a focus on resource and rural issues, with the Skeena Bulkley-Valley MP, Premier Horgan and MLA Jennifer Rice meeting with Prince Rupert Council members at one of their stops in the city.
The three levels of government under on roof
(From Mayor Lee Brain's Social media stream)
Mayor Brain would also travel to Kitimat on Tuesday, to take in the Premier's meetings with the Northwest British Columbia Resource Benefits Alliance.
And while the Mayor, took advantage of his Facebook page to provide for another review of what the RBA is all about, other than a note that talks will continue, no indication as to whether that group is any closer to reaching an agreement with the province on their question was provided from their session with Mr. Horgan.
Regional leaders with Premier John Horgan for discussions on the Northwest Resource Benefits Alliance
(From Mayor Lee Brain's Social media stream)
Prior to their Northwest travels, Mr. Cullen issued a statement that noted some of themes that he and Premier share when it comes to the region.
“I’ve met with John and his cabinet several times since being appointed the federal NDP’s BC Liaison in January. This is my first opportunity to personally accompany John out of Victoria and I’m happy to visit towns in Skeena-Bulkley Valley,” “John really understands the need to balance jobs and resource development with protecting BC’s increasingly fragile natural environment ... Prior to becoming Premier, John spent years working on natural resource and rural issues that put him in touch with development and environment issues happening today here in the Northwest and across BC.”
A look at how Mr. Cullen sees his role as the bridge between the Province and the Federal NDP can be found here.
Beyond the stop in at City Hall, the travelling party hosted a number of meetings with members of the community and mixed the workload with some social activities as well.
Social events in Prince Rupert and Terrace also were part of the trip through the Northwest this week -- Above from a stop at the Wheelhouse Brewing Co.
(Photo from MLA Rice's Social Media Stream)
Every good road trip needs some snapshots and North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice has chronicled some of the events from the Prince Rupert segment by way of her Facebook portal.
April brings a new opportunity for residents of the city to help to shape Recreation policy in the City of Prince Rupert, with City Hall issuing the annual call for Volunteers to the Recreation Commission.
There are five positions available for those in the community willing to give of their time to explore the issues related to Recreation in Prince Rupert, with the work of the Commission helping to shape the way the City approaches one of the most visible of its many departments.
The application period is a short one with the deadline for submissions to be provided to City Hall by Friday, April 6th.
To apply you must provide a letter of interest which includes a description of your skills and experience that may be relevant to the work of the Recreation Commission.
The work of the Commission, which includes both the volunteer members and participation of City Council members and staff, tends to be somewhat under the radar, with few details released about their efforts and even the scheduling of their meetings something that tends to pass by with little notice.
Still, as Recreation issues do make for one of the more frequent themes of Council Discussions, the work of the Commission does provide for themes for Council members to explore and to ensure that the community voice is heard, the call for volunteers is important.
Our compilation of some of the stories of note from the day, reviewing the political developments from the Provincial scene for Thursday, March 29, 2018
A lack of freight cars and delays in shipments are raising concerns across Northern BC's transportation system
Bruce Ralston has been in a letter writing frame of mind this week, with BC's Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology taking concerns from across the Northwest about a chronic shortage of freight cars to the Federal Transportation Minister.
In a letter to Marc Garneau, Mr. Ralston provided an overview of the problems that are being found in British Columbia, reviewing many of the troubles that CN Rail has had this winter and now into the Spring in meeting customer demand.
“The impact of unreliable, and inadequate, rail service extends far beyond grain producers in northern B.C., ... “Lumber mills and other industries, from Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson, are also being seriously impacted by the lack of rail service.”
The BC Minister has asked his Federal counterpart to work with Chambers of Commerce across Northern British Columbia to develop plans for improving oversight and performance of Canadian Nationals Rail system across the region.
“Minister Garneau needs to convey that the Prairie backlog at CN Rail is having a detrimental impact on northern B.C. families and businesses ... “Companies looking to invest in northern B.C. communities are understandably discouraged from doing so because of the risk and uncertainty caused by CN Rail’s unreliable service, “While the recent apology from CN is an important acknowledgement of how serious the situation has become, longer-term solutions need to be found.”
Mr. Ralston is not the first politician to take pen to paper on the issue, as we outlined earlier this month, the Federal Government expressed their growing concern over the ongoing issues with the railways through a letter penned by Transportation Minister Marc Garneau and Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay.
CN's struggles have had some significant effects on Prince Rupert Grain and the DP World Container Port at Fairview Bay through this winter, leaving grain ships sitting at anchorage awaiting shipments and at times leaving the container port to see occasional vessel redirections to Vancouver.
City Planner Zeno Krekic provided an extensive review of the elements for a new Development Procedures Bylaw
With the City of Prince Rupert operating under guidelines on development that are three decades old, the City Planning Department has been busy working out the details on an update to the community's Development Procedures Bylaw, providing Council with a look at the final result on Monday.
City Planner Zeno Krekic took the Council members through the elements of the final document, something which they have had some input on through its draft stage.
As he delivered his report to Council on Monday evening, Mr. Krekic noted that the updated Development Procedures bylaw will provide for more clarity and certainty with respect to the process of applications in amending Land use regulations or applying for land development permits.
The new guidelines for developers feature a few revisions when it comes to General Application requirements, work on the Official Community Plan and Zoning Amendment provisions and the permitting and schedule of fees and payments categories.
One of the new notes that developers will wish to make note of, is a new provision of a six moth time limit to advise the City of their intent to move forward with their development plans.
That comes with a Lapse of Application requirement now in place, which will see the City close any applications should the applicant not advise them of their plans in that six month period.
The provision could be an important addition to the requirements, considering the vast number of development approvals that were made by Council over the last three years, that have yet to see any form of development take place.
Of the eight segments that were under review, the one element that seems to have been raised the most concern was related to developing a site profile and checklist process when it comes to Environmental Guidance on Contaminated Lands.
The requirements of the Contaminated sites passage caught the eye of Councillor Blair Mirau, who expressed a range of areas of concern, notably suggesting that he believed that the City might be taking on tasks that it is not required to do.
"From my perspective the province doesn't fund us, or give us the resources we need to deal with that stuff on the ground, and if they did, I'd be perfectly comfortable trying to do that for them, but without those resources supplied, I feel like we're taking on more than we need to in that regard"--- Councillor Mirau on a section of the new City policies on development.
Further discussion with Mr. Krekic on that theme allayed some of those concerns, with the City Planner also noting that some of Mr. Mirau's concerns over what the city requires funding for should be taken up with senior levels of government through the UBCM.
Mr. Mirau would return to the theme of site reviews later in the discussion, seeking a bit more clarification on the subject and asking for the opinion of the rest of council on it.
Mr. Krekic outlined some of the past practices of Council through the years, while the Mayor noted that the default of the city would be to send it to the Ministry of Environment to check and that the new wording provides the City with the flexibility to that, adding that Council should leave the wording as it is.
Councillor Mirau would also recommend some changes to language when it comes to requesting applicants to appear at Council in pre application meetings.
Councillor Cunningham also had some notes to review on the document, with some of his focus on a question as to which process the city will follow for those developments currently in the system and how Council would be addressing those.
Mr. Krekic noted that while the old provisions will remain in place, he will be contacting those that are outstanding to try and determine their intents within six months.
For those still working their way through the city's development process the old rules that have served the community for thirty years will remain in place, the new document to be in effect for any new developments that may come through the planning office doors.
Councillor Cunningham also expressed some concern over language that could see new projects slip through cracks and sought out some assurances that won't be the case with the new procedures, recommending for a slight change in the language to ensure Council is kept up to date on plans.
"What I don't want to see is a small to medium project slip through the boards, and we hear about it after the fact, which sometimes comes up, and we don't know anything about it because it never got to this level" -- Councillor Barry Cunningham
Councillor Mirau then suggested that Mr. Cunningham's provision be put in place for proposed developments over 100,000 dollars.
With Council providing for first, second and third readings on Monday, the revisions are well on their way to being adopted and put into motion.
The full discussion can be found on the City's Video Archive page, staring at the 60 minute mark.
Communities stretching from Terrace, through to the Nechako Valley and North into the Nass Valley saw a range of programs gain funding on Wednesday.
That as the BC Government allocated almost 1.8 million dollars through it's BC Rural Dividend Fund, with Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development relaying the list of projects to move forward.
Among some of the communities to benefit from Wednesday's funding.
Terrace --awarded $100,000 to identify a preferred location within the city for a transloading and logistics facility to move freight from trains to trucks, and to prepare a business case.
Smithers --awarded $80,000 to develop an active transportation plan that recommends upgrades to existing infrastructure, or opportunities for new projects. It will also upgrade the community’s Perimeter Trail system.
New Hazelton --awarded $250,000 for a northern B.C. tourism marketing initiative that both promotes the region as a whole and highlights local communities. Partners include Kermodei Tourism (Terrace), the Nisga'a Lisims government, the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine and Tourism Kitimat.
Nisga'a Lisims Government --awarded $100,000 for its Hospitality Art Recreation & Tourism Ambassador program, which is a custom training course aimed at helping members of the Nisga’a community gain entrepreneurial skills and understand how to infuse their culture and traditions into setting up and delivering their own business.
With a petition and court challenge now in motion to try and bring an end to the Federal government's plans for a Tanker ban on the North Coast, those in favour of the Federal plan are marshalling their forces to make sure their voices are heard as well.
The background to the call for signatures notes that it is supported by Coastal First Nations, and local groups including the Prince Rupert Environmental Society and T. Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation.
And while not mentioning any groups by name, the petition would seem to be an answer to recent moves from those in the Northwest that would like to overturn the Liberal plans for a tanker ban on the North Coast.
A petition drive to seek support just such a call was launched on February 5th, with a closing date of June 5th.
Earlier this year, we outlined the plan by supporters of the Eagle Spirit Pipeline and Oil Terminal, known as the Chiefs Council, who launched a Go fund Me Initiative, to provide for funding towards a court challenge
As we noted last week, the Lax Kw'alaams Band Council also launched a court challenge against the Federal moves, filing their documents at the Prince Rupert Court House last Thursday.
The petition to support the tanker ban was opened for signatures on March 27th and will close for participation on July 25th.
As of Thursday morning, close to 600 signatures had been collected for the support the tanker ban petition.
The Bill to regulate the transport of crude oil in North Coast waters is known as Bill C-48 and has just passed the Second reading stage of the Parliamentary process
You can learn more about the petition drive and sign on if you wish from this link.
Our compilation of some of the stories of note from the day, reviewing the political developments from the Provincial scene for Wednesday, March 28, 2018
“Salmon are essential to the people of the Northwest. We must respect and protect this precious resource and now, more than ever, be guided by conservation as our watchword.” -- From MP Nathan Cullen 's comments on the Northwest fishery on Tuesday
Skeena Bulkley Valley NDP MP Nathan Cullen has provided for a number of themes related to the state of the upcoming salmon season, with the MP issuing a statement yesterday that traced some of the recent engagement that he has tried to develop with Federal officials.
Two weeks ago Mr. Cullen noted his frustrations with DFO and Federal fisheries officials when it came to getting updates on fishery management plans, once again highlighting that level of concern in his opening notes of yesterday.
“It is absolutely imperative that elected officials have access to local senior managers about fishery management thoughts and plans as elected representatives are often the first people anxious user groups turn to when tough decisions are on the table,”
Towards those discussions, the statement notes that Mr. Cullen "pressed DFO to pursue more aggressive management strategies to rebuild depleted North Coast salmon stocks, impose sharp restrictions on large commercial fishing lodges, and release 2018 harvest numbers as soon as possible."
Tuesday's notes also recount how Mr. Cullen has heard from many user Groups and First Nations representatives noting that all are on edge over the situation with the MP"s statement offering up some of the background to those concerns.
Projected record low sockeye and chinook returns to the Skeena Watershed this season and DFO considering a total closure of these species have all user groups and First Nations fishers on edge. Many have contacted Cullen with their concerns in recent weeks. Climate change and warmer waters are causing severe mortality in salmon stocks, tensions among user groups, and threatening First Nations cultures, area economies and lifestyles in ways not seen previously in the Northwest"
From his statement, the MP notes that his recent telephone briefing with North Coast Senior Managers was helpful in delivering the concerns of constituents and opening the channels of communication with the department.
His commentary ends with the MP and his staff noting that they will continue to be in contact with DFO senior staff locally, that as officials consult on the draft harvest plans for the upcoming season and make their final allocation decisions.
Devlin Fernandes and Nathan Randall from Ecotrust Canada were in attendance Monday evening, delivering a presentation on their upcoming plans and the launch of the North Coast Innovation Lab
Council members took in a presentation Monday night from the community group Ecotrust Canada, with Devlin Fernandes and Nathan Randall from the Prince Rupert office providing a bit of a preview of where their plans will take them this summer, as they continue to build up their presence in the community.
It was a return presentation for the EcoTrust group, which had previously appeared in 2016, with Monday's review retracing some of the history of the organization and the nature of some of the fishery related projects that they have taken on since that time.
As for what the future may hold, Ms. Fernandes noted how Ecotrust Canada is looking to build on the previous work of the Hays 2.0 plan and ReDesign Rupert initiatives. And outlined how a program that their Vancouver office operates in the Downtown East side may make for a good fit for the Prince Rupert region.
Towards those goals, the organization has created something called the North Coast Innovation Lab, which Ms. Fernandes noted is looking to work on tangible projects that will build a resilient economy in the community, with the lab designed to provide for research, facilitation, design, incubation and project coordination capacity to activate community-led projects.
To deliver on those ambitions, the local office will build community capacity for social innovation through workshops, partnerships, events and other forms of interactive learning.
Mr. Randall provided for the review the Innovation Lab concept and how it will be introduced into the community, with Ecotrust having held consultation sessions in the past with community members to determine some of the initiatives that they may be able to work together on, with more in the way of consultation to come through the Spring and Summer.
He made note of such areas as growing the local economy for fish and marine products, downtown revitalization, place making and livability, and economic diversification through entrepreneurship.
Ecotrust hopes to have project incubation underway this summer with two graduate student positions to be filled to provide for supports for their work.
On Monday night they also outlined the nature of the fundraising options that they have access to, as they look to move their projects forward.
As part of their overview they noted that they had recently received funding from the Rural Dividend Fund, something which we provided some background on last week with this item from the blog.
As they look to secure further funding, they also asked for the support from the City of Prince Rupert as they look to access grant funding for 70,000 dollars from the Northern Development Initiative Trust, their request was one that really only requires the approval of council to approach NDIT for the funding, with no financial commitment required by the City.
In the follow up period to the presentation, Council members then asked a range of questions, with Councillor Randhawa inquired about the level of businesses interest in their programs and supports.
Monday's Presentation from Ecotrust Canada gave Councillor Barry Cunningham one more opportunity to push for the development of Fish Market sale location for the City's Cow Bay Floats
Councillor Cunningham had one question for them, inquiring about the prospects of a project that he has long been looking to see developed, that of a Fish Market location for the Cow Bay Marina floats.
The answer he received didn't quite deliver the blue print for development that he might have been hoping, with Mr. Randall and Ms. Fernandes noting that some study would be required with one of the two grad students to be tasked with looking into marine options and what might be required to deliver on that project and what hoops may be in the way before it could move forward.
Mr. Cunningham noted that the only hoops that should be faced would be those put in place by the city by way of permission, which he suggested should damn well be approved by the City.
The Councillor then recounted some of the history to his attempts to move the fish market initiative forward, adding how he would like to see that project in place by this summer.
"The only hoops I see is getting permission from the city which they bloody well better give you cause it enhances tourism, as well as brings people from down the line to buy our product, one complaint I get all the time is, we live in a port city and you can't buy fresh seafood from the fishermen. This is something that I started asking well over a year ago, I know you're only involved in it now, but I would really like to see something up and running by this summer, so that when people do come from Smithers, Terrace or wherever they can actually walk down to the dock and buy crab, shrimp or prawns" -- Councillor Cunningham continuing his quest for a public fish market to set up at Cow Bay Floats during the Summer.
You can review some of the background to that proposal from the councillor below:
As part of his push towards seeing his Fish marked concept come to life, Mr. Cunningham outlined that from his conversations with fishermen they would be quite receptive to the idea of being able to set up on the dock and sell their product
He also made an observation as to the local economy and the fishing industry on the North Coast, making note as to how the current herring fishery was now underway, and with it that a large volume of the fish that has been caught in the region is now being sent to the south for processing, a theme we explored on the blog on Tuesday.
Ms. Fernandes made a note that the first person that their grad students will contact for research will be Councillor Cunningham to learn more on the fish market proposal, she then outlined how ecotrust Canada does have concerns as to the nature of the adjacency of the fishery and the best way to address local jobs related to fish industry.
To bring the presentation to a close, Mayor Brain noted that he had been working closely with them, and then offered his praise for their work to this point and thanked them both for their efforts and looked forward to working collaboratively with them.
Council then voted to approve their support for the bid for a grand from NDIT.
You can review the full presentation from Ecotrust from the City's Video Archive, starting at the thirty six minute mark.
