ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
A10 | NEWS | THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2021
2021 COUNCIL BYELECTION Candidates talk spending, hens, policing, downtown There were 241 ballots cast during the first round of advanced voting on May 5, according to info released by the city last week. That was up from the 2017 byelection, when 116 ballots were cast in the first advanced poll, and which saw an overall turnout of just 7%. Election day takes place at the Pomeroy Sport Centre this Saturday, May 15, with a second advance voting poll on Wednesday, May 12. Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Special voting opportunities will take place May 13 at Peace Villa from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; Peace Lutheran Apartments from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.; and Heritage Manor from 4 to 5 p.m. A special voting opportunity will take place May 15 at the Hospital from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Candidates were asked a range of questions at an All Candidates Forum co-hosted last week by the Alaska Highway News in partnership with the Chamber and other local media. Here are some of their responses. Fort St. John’s latest financial plan shows a $112.8-million budget for this year, and $113.3 million for 2022. Candidates were asked what programs and services they’d like the city to spend more or less on, and what their priorities were for 2021 and 2022 as the city pivots to the post-pandemic world. JON GOSSELIN: We got a lot of money we can spend. One of the things that I see that we spend a lot on is transportation. I have ideas on how we can better deal with policing in our community. One of them is creating a regional police force that deals with out-of-town calls and one that deals with in-town calls so that way our units aren’t being stretched thin. One of the other most and more important things is making sure that we put money into the right stuff: for example social programs, youth centres, things like that, that are inclusive, and making sure that everybody in Fort St. John gets to benefit from this money. SARAH MACDOUGALL: We need to spend money on areas that will rebuild our community, whether that’s from an economic standpoint or a social standpoint, and things that will have the biggest ripple effect within our community. For example, if we are going to spend money on helping places like Northern Health recruit and retain employees, that is going to have a ripple effect of helping with the healthcare of our community, helping with the mental health crisis. Things that we can spend less on, we always need to look at the excess in our budget. What areas are we overspending on? For example, are we spending too much on wages, or are we spending too much on events that we could cut back on? There are always things to cut and trim, which I have a lot of experience on with the board at Totem Preschool and working within a tight budget. But ultimately getting the biggest bang for your buck is important. TRYSTAN JONES: The programs that I think require more support are the pro-
sustainable neighbourhood. That may be ambitious for Fort St. John, however, I do think we can take inspiration by partnering with our local indigenous communities to create not only cultural sensitive locations for them, but as well as create economic and social development, whether that’s through shops, boutiques, and services with mixed use development, so condos and buildings on top to create more sustainability.
Candidates in the Fort St. John May 15 city council byelection discuss the issues of the day during a virtual All Candidates Forum held May 3.
grams that are quite dear to me, and these are the social issues. I think that programs for survivors of domestic and sexual violence are insufficient in Fort St. John and I would wish to engage and provide as much support as I can. The RCMP report of 2020 made it clear that there are vulnerable women in our community, and more so now that require our support. I would also seek to engage with various antiracism programs, whether that’s through Resilience BC’s anti-racism network, or other such programs based around education and awareness. Our community requires healing and I think that providing support to our most vulnerable and uniting around them is what is most important. JIM LEQUIERE: Over the years, Fort St. John has spent a lot of money on its infrastructure but we still have areas in town, in my opinion, that have bad cracks, uneven roads, and sidewalks that are not safe for seniors to walk on. Also, we could use a good paved parking lot downtown. So if we’re talking about what we’d like them to spend more money on is fix up the infrastructure a little more with pavement and sidewalks. What we can spend less on: parking meters. Do we really need parking meters when we’re really trying to kick start the downtown core back to life? I think not. There must be a better way to recoup the lost revenue from those parking meters if we remove them. TOM WHITTON: As a city we need to start learning how to do more with less. We need to cut red tape on businesses. We need to make sure that they can get the quickest possible answers for setting stuff up, for getting permits, for moving through that ‘yes’ point to getting where they need to be for their organizations. We also need to empower our not-for-profit programs. Our not-for-profits are struggling to get money right now. We need to empower them to take on projects, whether that’s within the city or around the city. I think that’s a great opportunity for us to shave off some extras of the city and move them over to a notfor-profit organization. I’d like to see is a better plan on how we remove snow. I know there was two days of snow here and they got out and they took it on. I’d like to see a little bit more reflection on that to save a little
bit of money for us. From 2015 to 2017, six new office, restaurant, and shop projects accounted for $10.8 million in construction downton. Still, there are many lots downtown sitting vacant and undeveloped, many of them owned by the city. Candidates were asked whether they think downtown is thriving, and what they think the city should be doing to incentivize the sale and development of downtown land. JIM LEQUIERE: We need to find partners, investors that are willing to build on those big vacant lots downtown, like 100th and 100th, or the Condill lot, and across from the Lido Theatre. We need structures, in my opinion, that have restaurants and delis and stores on the bottom, along with offices on the second floor, and I’d also like to see some condo suites on the third floor with balconies. The city has an economic development group and I think they should be laserfocused on getting investors downtown. There’s that old saying build it and they will come, and I most definitely want to see those big lots [developed] particularly now that borrowed money is so cheap. Of course, building materials are a lot more expensive now, but yes we have to fill those lots. TOM WHITTON: Do I think downtown is thriving? No. I made a post on Facebook the other day about the most exciting thing downtown being the piano. We definitely need a revitalization, we need some changes. The first thing we need to do is start working with investors. We need to get people interested in Fort St. John and we need to be championing them, just like we did with the doctors, all those types of programs we’re struggling on. We need to go out there, we need to find them, we need to show them this is the place that they want to invest their money. Then we need to work on streamlining the permitting process. That goes back to cutting red tape. Then we need to do incentives. Incentives are so important. If you fit our mandate, if you’re fitting what we’re looking to build, we will possibly look at two or three years of taxes, whatever it might be, whatever those incentives look like, maybe we put a nice sign up. We have the people, we have the capability, we can
do it. JON GOSSELIN: The downtown core definitely needs some upgrading. Those empty lots are quite an eyesore and I don’t think anyone would disagree with me on that. I would definitely agree with Jim. One of the things I was talking with some people about the other day was how we could have say the old hospital where we could build a big office suite there, where we had retail and restaurants on the bottom, and offices on top. I didn’t think about the suites on the third or fourth floors, but it’s definitely a good idea. We do need to get investors involved. We have to make sure that we are cutting red tape that we’re making everything easier because we live in a world now if it’s not streamlined it doesn’t work. We do have to do that, and create some more parking spaces, and just make it more easier for people to walk around downtown. SARAH MACDOUGALL: I sadly also do not believe that our downtown is thriving and it really has the potential to. We have some great local shops, restaurants, and amenities already down there but we need to fill those brownfield lots in. I think as we move forward with the 100 Street action plan that is going to be a great start. As we slow people down and make the downtown a vibrant destination, developers are going to want to get in on that action. They’re going want to build new shops, new services, and also places for people to live because we do know that young professionals, or folks without children, or older people on the brink of retirement want to live, work, and play in the same neighbourhood. As we develop that downtown, the developers will come and we can use cutting development cost charges or other tax incentives to promote them to come as well. TRYSTAN JONES: I think the downtown core is definitely in need for some revitalization. This is something I’ve thought a bit about already. One thing I do know that the city does have in place some tax exemption programs as well as a reinvestment fund. One of the best ideas that we could be doing is partnerships similar to what we’ve seen here in Vancouver at the Senakw development. That is a partnership with the Squamish, Musqueam, and TsleilWaututh nations to redevelop and create a mixed-use and
In Fort St. John, the issue of allowing backyard hens is an idea yet to hatch. Though city council shelved the idea in 2018 over bylaw and SPCA capacity concerns, candidates were asked whether they would bring back the issue back to council if elected as a matter of food security. JON GOSSELIN: Absolutely, not just backyard hens but gardens in our front lawns. Why are we relying on outside sources to feed us when we can do that ourselves? It doesn’t make any sense to me. TOM WHITTON: This whole topic has been controversial since it first started. My personal opinion on it is that if what’s happening in your backyard is not harming somebody else’s property, and you can add some value to your own life in some way, that’s important. As a council, I think we need broad public input on these factors. That’s the big thing, going back to the community and saying, hey, what do you guys want? JIM LEQUIERE: My answer to that is yes, but it’s just not that simple passing a bylaw to allow backyard hens. The reality is what do your neighbours say on either side? Are they opposed to hens? What happens to the hens when they escape? Is it the SPCA issue, or the bylaw officer’s issue? As it is now, the City of Fort St. John has a poundkeeper agreement with the SPCA for dogs and cats, not chickens. So either the city must hire more bylaw officers to deal with our feathered friends, or allow the SPCA to take over the whole animal control law and enforcement, which is a very hefty price tag. TRYSTAN JONES: I definitely think we can do more to perhaps bring hens back in to town. Like Jim said, there’s definitely a lot more nuances to it then just simply passing a motion. As someone who grew up on a farm, we grew our own food and hunted our own meat. Having food sustainability is vitally important. It’s also vitally important for creating sustainable communities that don’t necessarily need to be purchasing their goods from the local Safeway and they can do it at home. This will provide more sustainability not just within our families but also within the community. SARAH MACDOUGALL: Food security is a big issue facing us today and the step toward backyard hens is a step in the right direction for food security. I also agree that we need engagement, we need to hear from the community, because whatever we do in our backyards does impact our neighbours. So we need to ensure that folks are on board if we want to move forward with this.
ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
A14 | NEWS | THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2021
TOM SUMMER PHOTO
Left: Pastor Art Voth of the Evangelical Mission enjoys the sunshine at Fish Creek. Right: The Fort St John Alliance Church has reopened its library after closing last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Church Librarian Erin Salmond says the doors are open for anyone looking to borrow their next spirtual or faith-based read. Visitors are asked to wear masks.
Children’s prayers and dreams
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hat is more powerful – an Empire or the prayers of a little boy? A little boy’s prayer at bedtime went something like this, “Lord don’t forget your people Israel when they shall be returned to their land.” At the time Israel had been under control of the Ottoman Turkish Empire for 400 years. During the First World War, the Empire began to collapse. General Edmund Allenby of the British Army was selected and charged with liberating Jerusalem without firing on the people or the City. On December 11, 1917, two days after the Turkish Forces raised the white flag General Allenby got off his horse and out of reverence for the Old City in Jerusalem removed his hat entering the Old City through the Jaffa Gate on foot. The British involvement was not always so positive as on the date History was changed. Who was that little boy faithfully praying – none other than General Edmund Allenby. Contrast that little boy with another who in the late 1930s when he was about eight years old was infatuated with the Moon and started telling his family and friends that one day he was going to the moon. You can imagine the mocking and teasing he received as this was well before NASA, astronauts, Kennedy Space Center, or any plans of government on going to the moon. He ultimately received his Master’s Degree in aeronautical and
JOHN GRADY instrument engineering. In 1961 as a test pilot in the US Air Force his aircraft crashed on a training flight. He broke both his legs, his jaw and had a serious concussion that caused a loss of memory. He felt that any hope of being accepted as an astronaut would be rejected. He was right in that two separate applications to become an astronaut were rejected before he was finally accepted. In 1971 that young eight year old boy with a big dream became Astronaut Colonel James Irwin landing on the moon with Apollo 15. According to Jim he was a nominal Christian but two events on the moon changed his life. The first was that he had spent almost three days on the lunar surface collecting geological material and developed an irregular heart rhythm that would cause him problems later. The second was while he was conducting an experiment, he was having serious problems and could not come up with an answer. Out of desperation Jim stopped and prayed and the solution was revealed. All of sudden 238,000 miles from earth he felt the supernatural presence of the Lord. This supernatural event was so significant that upon returning to earth
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Autographed photo of Astronaut James Irwin while on the moon.
and serving long term with NASA he knew the Lord was calling him to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the different nations around the world, so he started a Ministry named High Flight Foundation. While in Vancouver I was very fortunate to have met Jim in the late 80s and we developed a friendship. On a couple occasions I had Jim share his incredible testimony to people who normally would never enter a church setting. Jim was ever the adventurer and had gone on an unsuccessful search for Noah’s Ark but had
determined he knew where it was located and was planning on a further search to Mt. Ararat, and invited me to join the expedition. Unfortunately, the irregular heart beat had caused serious heart issues and before the planned trip he died of a major heart attack. Two boys with different visions but the same Lord in both. As parents and grandparents it is so important that we are sensitive to the prayers and dreams of children and to the Lord’s purposes for them. John Grady writes about faith and lives in Fort St. John.
The Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting
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arren Buffett is widely acclaimed as the World’s Greatest Investor. Buffett is the Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, the $587-billion multinational conglomerate. Each year at the Berkshire annual meeting, Buffett and Berkshire Vice-Chair Charlie Munger take questions from shareholders. All sorts of questions. It’s totally great. Unfiltered insight from two of the greatest capitalists, but also two of the greatest thinkers, of modern times. Over the last year some investment trends have emerged. We have new technologies that have given retail investors unprecedented access to capital markets. We have had the emergence of new investment theses that have apparently created instant wealth, including cryptocurrencies and meme stocks. And with the pandemic we have millions of people staying at home, with time on their hands. Some of
these people are getting out their phones to trade stocks. Quite a few people, as a matter of fact. A bunch of high-flying, speculative investments. Novice investors who only know a bull market. Very few barriers to trading. So, what could go wrong? Potentially, quite a bit as a matter of fact. And that was a recurring theme of this year’s Berkshire Hathaway meeting. So what is Buffett’s advice to new investors? “It’s not as easy as it sounds.” He offered some perspective by showing a slide of the 20 largest companies on the planet, including Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Tesla, and his own Berkshire Hathaway. His question for investors, how many of these companies will remain in the Top 20 list 30 years from now? Using history as a guide, Buffett then showed a slide with the Top 20 companies 30 years ago. And not a single one of those best ideas from 1989 was able to maintain their leadership
BRAD BRAIN position. Every company on the current list is a new entrant. For that matter, some of the biggest companies in the world were not even around 30 years ago. Even further, some of these companies operate in industries that didn’t even exist 30 years ago. So, tell me again about how confident you are that your stock picks will have an enduring competitive advantage. There is an app called Robinhood that has become the preferred method of stock trading for many new investors. One of the attractive aspects about Robinhood is that offers free stock trades. But there is a difference between the costs you see, and the costs you pay. Buffett talks about how
Robinhood has influenced the “casino aspect” that has manifested in the stock market, where people are inclined to take a gamble on a high risk bet that may pay off big. Of course, if you have a chance to win big, the other side of the coin is that many people will lose big. That’s how gambling works. Although Buffett enjoys most of the spotlight, it is not uncommon for his partner Charlie Munger to come away with some of the best sound bites. Buffett is not shy about speaking plainly and has previously called bitcoin “rat poison squared.” Munger was even more pointed. He called bitcoin disgusting and contrary to the interest of civilization, backing it up by saying, “Of course I hate the bitcoin success. And I don’t welcome a currency that’s so useful for kidnappers and extortionists and so forth. Nor do I like shoveling out a few extra billions and billions and billions of dollars to somebody who just
invented a new financial product out of thin air.” As you would expect, these strong opinions stirred up some controversy, and some of the reaction was to dismiss Buffett and Munger as some doddering, out-of-touch, nonagenarians. But before you do, consider this:. Nobody at the top of the ski hill thinks they are going to hit a tree on the way down. But it happens. Buffett and Munger are two of the brightest investment minds on the planet, with decades of experience. Their brilliance and their achievements are beyond debate. A wise person will hear them out.
Brad Brain. CFP, R.F.P., CIM, TEP is a Certified Financial Planner in Fort St John, BC. This material is prepared for general circulation and may not reflect your individual financial circumstances. Brad can be reached at bradbrainfinancial.com.