THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2017 VOL. 74, NO. 16
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Clark preaches Site C, job security to voters BRONWYN SCOTT Alaska Highway News
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Christy Clark was in Fort St. John on April 18 to express her party’s continued commitment to Site C and to drum up support for the BC Liberals in the lead up to the provincial election May 9. The BC Liberal leader had MLA candidate for Peace River North Dan Davies at her side at the podium to tell the assembled crowd of dignitaries and tradesfolk that
the BC Liberals are the only party that can get Site C built. “I’m here with Dan today to talk about a really clear choice for our future. It’s a choice between a bright future and going backward. It is a choice between growth and decline,� Clark said. “If we get re-elected this project will go ahead. The opposition each have a plan. Under the NDP, Site C would be dead. Under the Greens, it would be deader.� The media event was held
at Inland Concrete, one of around 225 Peace River businesses benefitting from Site C work already underway. “Site C, as you know, is a multi-year project. It’s going to mean that even more people have work in the future; it means job security for the people who are already employed at places like Inland Concrete. “Rather than having to go from job to job and hunting for new work every time a project ends, the men and
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women behind me are much more likely to be able to have certainty to be able to look after the people that they love,� Clark said to applause. The BC Liberal platform includes a commitment to continue to grow new markets for agriculture and natural resources, to become a global leader in technology, tourism, film and advanced manufacturing, and to making record investments in schools, hospitals, transit and roads.
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Sediment issues piling up at Site C
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Christy Clark speaks to supporters at Inland Concrete in Fort St. John on Tuesday afternoon.
Education a hot topic at NPSS forum Student loans, post-secondary studies debated ALEISHA HENDRY ahendry@ahnfsj.ca
Four of the five Peace River North candidates ventured to North Peace Secondary School on Tuesday for an All Candidates Forum geared towards the students. Organized by Grade 12 student Annie Peachey, the forum gave students the
opportunity to hear the candidates’ thoughts on topics like post-secondary education, affordable housing, and marijuana legalization. “It’s a really important opportunity because there’s going to be at least 100 students at this school that will be eligible to vote on May 9, and a lot of them don’t know
about the political parties and what their stance on the issues are,� said Peachey. NDP candidate Rob Dempsey, Liberal candidate Dan Davies, and Independent candidates Bob Fedderly and Jeff Richert took part in the forum, sharing their platforms and ideas on the issues.
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BC Hydro is once again facing heavy fines after environmental inspectors found excessive sediment runoff into the Peace River at the Site C dam site last month. Federal officials with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) inspected the dam site between March 24 and 28, and found sediment problems at three locations that threaten to impact fish in the river. According to a CEAA notice, BC Hydro’s erosion and sediment mitigation measures “were not effective in preventing sediment-laden water from entering fishbearing waters.� CEAA intends to issue its environmental order on April 21, and is giving the Crown utility until April 30 to provide it with erosion and sediment control plans, undertake remediation works, and provide water quality sampling reports from one creek that was impacted. BC Hydro is facing fines of up to $200,000 on a first offence if it does not come into compliance with the conditions of its environmental certificate. Fines increase to $400,000 on subsequent offences. Site C spokesman Dave Conway told the Vancouver Sun that more than 2,200 inspections of the dam site were undertaken between September 2016 and March 2017 to ensure erosion and sediment control compliance. See SITE C on A3
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