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| Skeena Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach issued a statement today towards the state of labour negotiations between the BCMEA and ILWU Canada as the deadline for a potential strike gets closer to the 8 AM Saturday point |
The MP who represents Skeena-Bulkley Valley, which includes a large number of port workers at terminal facilities in Prince Rupert, has put his voice to the call for the Federal Government to remain involved in the ongoing collective bargaining process.
NDP MP Taylor Bachrarch, noting of the ticking down of the clock towards a potential strike action tomorrow morning at 8AM issued a statement today, along with the NDP labour critic Alexandre Boulerice to remain proactive in their tole in the negotiations.
The MP's concerns echo the three pivotal areas of dispute for the ILWU with the Employers under the BCMEA umbrella.
With the MP noting of the ILWU position on the erosion of union work resulting from contracting out, potential job losses from automation, and the need for fair compensation in the face of inflation.
"The issues the ILWU has raised are important ones and given the state of Canada's supply chain, the stakes are very high. We need the ministers to show up, protect workers' rights, and ensure an equitable deal is reached as soon as possible." -- Skeena Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach
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ILWU Canada issued their 72 strike notice on Wednesday morning, setting the stage for a potential withdrawal of labour on the province's waterfronts as of tomorrow morning.
There have been few details released since the strike notice was issued Wednesday.
Over 7,000 port workers across the province from Prince Rupert to Vancouver and on Vancouver Island are poised to act on their notice.
The Federal government has not issued any further updates of their own since their statement of Friday noting of their continued support for the negotiations.
You can follow the path forward from both sides of the discussion from the links below:
More notes on labour themes in Prince Rupert can be reviewed here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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| The City's release of their Statement of Financial Information made for some questions from a member of the public on Monday evening |
As we outlined at the start of the week, the City of Prince Rupert released the volume of financial review, listings and charts that makes for the annual release of the Statement of Financial information or SOFI as. its known.
Cost of work on Infrastructure and that of supplies and services surged in 2022
SOFI report shows one million dollar increase to civic payroll totals for 2022
Slight uptick for City Council members salaries from 2022 Statement of Financial Information
The City's complete Documentation was provided last Friday as part of the Agenda for the Monday Council Session, with Council members to received the report from the CFO.
With its placement on the Agenda, the report was available for public comment and towards that opportunity one city resident came forward in the comment period to ask a number of questions towards some of the documentation.
City resident Terry Sawka used the Public Comment period to speak to five areas of note related to the SOFI Report for him.
"The Airport Ferry, there's dollars attached in the financial report on page 47, the question I have is what does it cost to operate the ferry to the airport and what is the cost per passenger on the ferry to the airport. My understanding is the cost is rolled into the ticket price or some how or another.
Also on page 47 there's an item called franchise fees, if I could get an explanation what that means.
Now a little bit more serious, reading farther on, on page 38. The 10 million plus, maybe 11 million dollars that was used to finance the expansion, or Renos of the airport in 2020, were suspended. And the information that's in there is that it was reinstated in March 1st of 2023, my question is why were those payments that are done twice yearly suspended.
The other question I have coming out of the report, it cost 3.7 million dollars to remediate Watson Island. Was there any revenue generated by the people that took Watson Island apart, because there are a lot of items there that worth millions and millions of dollars. I worked there for 35 years and I'm quite familiar with some of the stuff that was worth a lot of money.
What is the revenue generated from Watson Island, we all talk about it's in the paper how Watson Island is generating revenue, but I have yet to find any numbers how much is it generating?"
Council received and approved the report during the Regular Council session, with the report passing through the proceedings with no comment from Council members.
The City's Chief Financial Officer Corinne Bomben, didn't add much to the conversation, her comments towards the report noting of the volume of information available for review.
"It's all in the report, this is a standard publication that needs to be done every single year under the Financial Act' -- City of Prince Rupert CFO, Corrine Bomben
One member of Council did circle back to the comments from Mr. Sawka from the start of the evening.
With Councillor Nick Adey speaking at the end of the Council session, recapping the presentation from Mr. Sawka and asking that a reply be provided to the city resident.
"In response to questions that were ask during the public questions.
There were questions related to the Airport Ferry Operating costs and the cost per passenger, there was a question around franchise fees and what that represents.
There was a question around the Airport Renovation suspension of those and the reinstitution in 2023 and why they were suspended in the first place.
And finally the Watson Island remediation, I assume there is a distinction in this question between the revenues that are being generated on Watson Island under the Legacy and the revenues that might have resulted from the disposal of materials coming off of the island.
I'm focusing on those questions, not necessarily to get an answer tonight to them, but as a request that at the very least some answers to those questions are provided for the person who was asking them" -- City Councillor Nick Adey.
The City's Corporate Administrator Ross Miller outlined that both she and the CFO had taken note of the questions and how the response would come for them.
"I myself have noted the questions, as I'm quite certain our CFO has as well. And we will, someone will get back, likely Ms. Bomben, will get back to Mr. Sawka with those answers"
All of the documents related to the Statement of Financial Information can be reviewed from the Agenda from Monday evening starting on page 114.
You can review the full suite of conversation on the topic from the City's Video Archive from the Monday Council Session.
Mr. Sawka's questions lead it all off at the one hour mark on the night, Council's approval of the SOFI information and Ms. Bomben's statement can be found at the 2 hour 2 minute mark, while Councillor Adey notes on the topic and the Corporate Administrators comments towards a civic reply come along at the 2 hour 23 minute mark
The Federal and Provincial governments will be investing close to 780,000 dollars into School infrastructure in Prince Rupert with funding for SD52 to be directed to a pair of ventilation improvement projects.
The funding which was announced on Thursday will see $414,560 put towards ventilation improvements for École Roosevelt Park Elementary School, while $362,740 has been put towards similar improvements to the ventilation system at Charles Hays Secondary School.
The Roosevelt School work will increase fresh air intake by installing unit ventilators to improve ventilation in classrooms and shared spaces.
The project at Charles Hays Secondary will increase fresh air intake in classrooms by installing new air handling units to regulate and circulate air.
The funding comes from three shared Federal/Provincial streams: COVID-19 Resilience stream, the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure stream, and the Green Infrastructure stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP).
The Prince Rupert schools were two of seven projects in the province to share in the funding from yesterday's announcement, which you can read here.
More notes on Education in the Northwest can be reviewed here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
Of the list of topics that can make for some extensive conversation at a City Council session, Housing and Parking top the list of those that make for the most challenges and the most in talking points.
Monday night Council members tackled a Zoning Amendment for a bylaw that began its journey in 2022 as they moved forward on the relaxation of required Parking spaces in specified areas of the city.
The main thrust of the amendment will see those who are looking to develop mixed use properties in the community no longer have to provide for parking spaces or payments in lieu of towards it.
Councillor Cunningham put much of his focus for the discussion on what would be the state of Parking on Third Avenue; though as Mayor Pond observed that larger issue is part of a broader approach that Council will be taking on later in the summer.
"Interestingly in a report they touched ... you know when you gather a group of business people and building owners to talk about parking. They not only talk about the Bylaw that you're considering they talk about broader Parkin issues.
So in the report, you'll see that there seems to be a favourable view towards some sort of parking management system, that's code for meters.
Something that takes away from having to have two hours, five hours or three, and just says pay for it, you want to stay for three, pay for three.
You know people often confuse parking meters as some sort of cash grab, but honestly they are the best way to manage parking in any tight situation. Because it allows individuals to determine how long they want to stay and how much they are prepared to pay for that' -- Mayor Herb Pond
Towards when the larger parking strategy will be brought forward, Ms. Pope offered up a review of the path taken so far by Council, noting that when the Transportation plan comes forward it will have more a more extensive section on parking, something anticipated to be brought forward for consideration of Council this summer.
Councillor Niesh also spoke to the topic noting of the challenges of the amount of land available to allocate towards parking and how it impacts on redevelopment of the downtown area.
Councillor Adey also observed of the past actions related to consultation with property owners in the community and spoke towards some themes related to the Fraser street area and other elements up for review as part of the parking management review.
The details to the amendment that gained third reading can be found from the agenda package starting on page 174.
The full discussions on Monday released to Parking can be reviewed from the City's Video archive starting at the 2 hour eight minute mark.
The report from Monday and the Transportation plan will serve as Council's blue print for further discussion in the months ahead on the issue of parking in the community and you can review the details to it below:
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The 2023 budget has just reached the finish line, with your property tax bill due July 4th and as of Monday, the City has made a shift for future Budget planning which will see an earlier start for 2024.
The details were released in a Report from Corinne Bomben, the City's Chief Financial Officer that was part of the Council Consent Agenda on Monday night.
The document noting how the new timelines for Budget creation will enable Council to pass the Five Year Financial plan bylaw as close to the start of the fiscal year as possible.
The shift in the timelines on Budget prepaation is something a number of other communities across the province have done, including as the report notes, the City of Terrace.
In past years the City Budget was usually approved by mid May.
The new process which will start immediately will see Council receive a draft Budget in September, with the public consultation period to take place in October, Council would then adopt the Five year plan in December.
The main focus for the change is outlined in the Report from Ms. Bombem below:
Changing the timing of the budget process will enable the City and the community to gain certainty of operational service costs for the calendar year earlier than has occurred historically as well as provides for greater opportunities for success in achieving Council’s strategic goals.
Towards the change, the call for Community Grant applications was recently moved up, with the application period as we noted earlier this week, now set to close in August.
Council members had no comments to make towards the report, which was accepted as part of their Consent Agenda approval process.
The Full Report for Council that outlines further details towards the change to the Budget Process timelines can be reviewed below:
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You can explore the City's Financial themes on past Budget preparation from our archive page here.
More notes from Monday's Council session can be reviewed here.
Other themes from City Council can be explored through our archive page.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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| Visitors to Lakelse Lake Provincial Park will find some upgrades for their hiking adventures this summer |
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Yesterday, the Province of British Columbia shared some of the details towards its new online program that will help residents in need of a consultation on minor ailments, prescriptions and contraceptives book an appoint with local pharmacists.
As the government explains it, the program which goes live today, is similar to the Get Vaccinated system where people booked appointments to get their COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations.
Through the new online booking system, people can search for available appointment times at nearby pharmacies based on their minor ailment or contraceptive needs.
Appointments can continue to be made by calling or visiting a pharmacy. Walk-in service without an appointment is also available at some pharmacies.
The scope of duties for pharmacists in BC was expanded at the start of June which allow them to prescribe for 21 minor ailments and contraceptives
As of June 27, 2023, more than 25,000 people have seen a pharmacist for an assessment.
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| Plans for housing on Hays Cove Avenue at Frederick made for much discussions by Council on Monday evening |
A pair of apartment proposals to address some of the city's dire need for accommodation moved forward on Monday evening, with both the Hays Cove Apartment planning and that for an apartment building on Ninth Avenue West at Lisa Walters Drive both finding success for the motions in front of council on the night.
Of the two, it was the Hays Cove plans that generated all of the conversation, that following some push back from area residents at the last Council session on June 12th, where they expressed concerns over the process in place towards notifications.
That topic was addressed at the outset of the Council session by Mayor Herb Pond who acknowledged of some confusion from the June 12th session towards what residents could or could not speak towards.
That topic carried forward into the public Comment period on Monday evening, as one resident from the area, Dawn Quast asked for some clarification as to why the topic was back up in front of Council.
Mayor Pond speaking to the process, noted that in effect the night was a reset after the public notification concerns of two weeks ago.
"This is coming back to Council for reconsideration, it could be passed tonight, it could not passed tonight, but the decision is in front of Council this evening ... we're looking at the matter afresh tonight.
Given the fact, that the reason for doing that ... it would appear that the notification process failed, without a proper notification process it's hard for Council to make the right fully informed decision.
So pause, back up, notification is complete, now were here again"
The full discussion would come a bit later in the Council session with many of the Council members revisiting many of their commentary and concerns of two weeks ago. Much of it not related to the actual motion of the night that of a request for the height variance and parking variance.
With City Manager Rob Buchan not in attendance on the night, the task of keeping Council aware of the process that has been put in place related to delegation to staff, fell to Planning Manager Myfannwy Pope.
She took Council members through the elements of the process relevant to the night, that of the request for the height variance and parking themes.
The pertinent element of that a key portion of the Report for council that was first introduced in May and was included as part of the Council Agenda on the night .
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Ms. Pope noted that the appeal for the property in question was that the lot was City owned and the Zoning was already in place for a multi family structure.
She also observed that shifting the focus to another city owned lot could have an impact on the timelines towards the federal funding element of the Rapid Housing initiative.
As part of her overview she also reminded Council that they had previously delegated Development Approval to staff. Something which means in this instance the topic would not come back to Council for a decision, but there were two other processes involved, a Development Permit process and a Building Permit process.
Councillor Nick Adey seemed to put the best focus for Council of the concerns of the residents when it comes to the process in place.
"I just want to acknowledge that if I was sitting in the gallery and I was a person that was feeling very uncomfortable with this project.
I have the highest regard for staff and the highest regard for the intention of staff to take all of these things into account.
But if Im a member of the public my point of connection is with Council.
And so I don't know that I would feel very comfortable with knowing that this was the last council deliberation on this. So I just want to acknowledge that that may be how people are feeling.
I think if it does go forward based on the vote, I think that its really incumbent upon staff to honour those points of view in the process that follows and I would like to assume that that's the case."-- Councillor Nick Adey
For her part of the discussion on the night, Councillor Teri Forster noted of Council's previous decision to delegate the process to staff.
"At the last council meeting, I believe I raised, we delegated this to staff and its important that if we delegate things that we can't be going back and forth. We need to sort of pick a path and follow it.
That said, just wondering if there is a possibility of making a motion that specific projects would have to come back for the Building permit or not.
Just wondering cause that is sort of what I'm hearing from some of the discussions, is that sort of a question ... we're going around again on the same thing which makes me think that there might be appetite for a middle ground" -- Councillor Teri Forster
Following some further discussion to the theme, a vote of five councillors in favour and one against, that being councillor Adey, moved the height variance request forward.
Though from the conversation on the night there was a provision put in place: that application for a Development Permit be brought back to Council prior to approval, to understand how community concerns regarding the proposed variance and project will be mitigated.
More background to the Council Discussion of Monday can be found from our Council Timeline.
The second housing proposal that of the apartment plans for city owned property on Ninth West adjacent to Prince Rupert Middle School moved forward without any comment from Council.
The councillors having discussed that proposal extensively two weeks ago.
For Monday the fourth and final reading for the variance request passed with no discussion.
You can follow work of Council on both from the City's Video Archive.
The Hays Cove conversation starts at the one hour, twenty minute mark, the Ninth West Zoning Amendment Bylaw approval takes place at the 2 hour 20 minute mark
More notes related to Housing in the city can be reviewed here.
Further items of interest from the Monday Council session can explored here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
