THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017 VOL. 74, NO.22
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Grade 4 students from School District 60 were challenged to tug at this moose hide to see if they could break it as part of Doig Days festivities on Thursday, May 25. None could. For more on this year’s Doig Days, see story on A10.
Greens, NDP partner under four-year deal ‘Worrisome territory,’ MLA-elect Davies says MATT PREPROST & ALEISHA HENDRY editor@ahnfsj.ca, ahendry@ahnfsj.ca
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Columbians voted for a change from the Liberals, Horgan said. “I’m very excited about the prospect of stable government and demonstrating to British Columbians that we can do great things when we work together. We can do great things across party lines when we have a government in place that’s anxious to do that.” Both Weaver and Horgan took questions from reporters outside the legislature. Media tuning into the announcement via teleconference were not given an opportunity to ask questions. Further details about the agreement between the two parties were expected to be released on Tuesday, following its ratification by the NDP, but were not released by deadline. See DEAL on A4
North Peace student off to prestigious MIT
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The BC Green Party says it will support the BC NDP in forming a minority government in the legislature. Party leader Andrew Weaver made the announcement next to BC NDP Leader John Horgan outside the legislature Monday afternoon. The two parties say they have reached a four-year agreement, with the Greens giving the NDP its support on budget bills and confidence motions to “provide a stable minority government over four years,” Weaver said. The deal comes after four negotiating sessions with the NDP, which was expected to ratify the deal with its caucus on Tuesday, Weaver said.
“What was obvious to us, the BC Greens, is there is so much commonality in this legislature,” Weaver said. “There are so many ideas that all parties share. In the end, we had to make a difficult decision, a decision we felt was in the best interest of British Columbians.” The final ballot count from the May 9 election left the province exactly where it was on election night with neither the Liberals nor NDP holding a majority of seats in the 87-seat legislature, while the B.C. Green Party retains its role as potential king-maker. The final count left the Liberals one seat short of a majority with 43 seats to 41 for the NDP and three for the Greens. With 60 per cent of voters casting a ballot for the NDP, Greens, or other smaller parties, British
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What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s a question few high school students have the answer to. But North Peace Secondary Student Jessica Telizyn knows exactly what she wants to do— she wants to be a surgeon. With such a career on the horizon, Telizyn will head to Massachusetts this month to attend MIT Launch, an entrepreneurship camp hosted by the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The school has
Jessica Telizyn
carefully selected students from all over North America to attend. “The acceptance rate is 12
per cent,” Telizyn said. “I’m one of two Canadians (going).” The focus of MIT Launch is to bring the ambitious youth of the world together, encourage entrepreneurship, and promote business skills. During the program, which runs twice this summer, students will work toward launching their own real startup companies. Many of these companies exist beyond the program, and continue to grow even after the students have returned to high school for the fall semester.
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Mayors respond to political pact Mayors in the North Peace say they will continue to advocate on behalf of the region and rural resource economies regardless of who forms government in the B.C. legislature in the coming weeks. A potential NDP minority government supported by the Greens would end 16 years of Liberal governments since 2001, and produce the first minority government in more than 60 years—taking the province into “unknown waters,” Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman acknowledged. “We don’t know what the deal between the NDP Party and the Green Party contains and we can’t speculate on how the agreement came about,” Ackerman said. “What we do know is that we have worked tirelessly to protect and promote the interests of our community and we will continue to do that no matter which party forms government. Our citizens voices will be heard.” Details of the agreement between the NDP and Greens were expected Tuesday afternoon after deadline. The NDP hold 41 seats, with the Greens having agreed to add their three behind the party for any budget and confidence motions in the legislature over the next four years. “It’s encouraging to see an agreement in place to provide government to the province. But it’s still fragile,” Hudson’s Hope Mayor Gwen Johansson said. See MAYORS on A11
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