ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
A6 | NEWS | THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021
CMA suspends Fort Nelson flights, decries federal inaction Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca Central Mountain Air says it will suspend flights between Fort Nelson and Prince George starting in February. Service will be suspended Feb. 3 to at least May 3, the airline said Tuesday. The move comes after flights were suspended between Fort St. John and Prince George this month. “Devastating declines in travel and extended provincial health advisories against non-essential travel have necessitated a significant scaling back of our scheduled operations for the foreseeable future,” said CEO Bob Cummings. “The federal gov-
ernment has been promising for almost a year that help is on the way to support these essential air services, but no such support has been received or clearly outlined. Our customers and the communities we serve are bearing the brunt of this inaction. In addition to supporting the local economies with the transport of essential workers, our airline and its dedicated staff fly customers to medical treatments and transport medical supplies, mail, and other vital cargo.” Flights between Kamloops and Prince George, and Edmonton and High Level will also be suspended starting in February. The airline says it has continued to operate the
routes while sustaining losses since the pandemic began, with only one short suspension last year. Cummings encouraged residents to write their MLAs and MPs, as well as the premier and federal transport minister, if they rely on its regional air services. “With government support, we would be proud to continue to serve our customers and maintain crucial airline connectivity in British Columbia and Alberta until demand returns,” he said. “If there is any chance to save vital air service to these communities, action must be urgently undertaken.” Peace River North MLA Dan Davies has co-written
a letter to federal transport minister Omar Alghabra and his provincial counterpart Rob Fleming, urging for a financial aid package. In the letter, Davies and provincial Opposition transport critic Michael Lee say Fort Nelson will be most impacted, noting it has already seen curtailed bus service over the last three years. Losing flights will severely restrict residents from medical, educational, and other essential services outside the community, they said. “In the face of the pandemic, we need to ensure that the transportation networks are sustained as an essential service, particularly to northern communities, which rely
critically on air transportation,” they wrote, “and also to ensure that these routes will be maintained to support the post-COVID economic recovery and growth, as well as health and safety, of these communities.” Suspended air services will also “severely impair” economic development in the region, they said. “The tourism industry in the region is COVID-19 battered and bruised,” reads the letter. “Hotels, guide outfitters, tour operators, as well as other businesses linked to travel will be further dealt yet another economic blow that may very well be the last straw and will likely prove unrecoverable for some.”
A business walk downtown Lilia Hansen and Moira Green from Community Futures and Russ Beerling from the Fort St. John Chamber met with Baptiste Marcere at the North Peace Cultural Centre last week, part of a walk downtown to get an update from businesses and connect them with support services to help with pandemic recovery. “We want to make sure business is aware of what government grants and training are out there, before the 11th hour when they’re desperate in need,” said Hansen.
Beerling said many businesses he’s spoken with have been keeping steady or seeing increased business. “COVID has been positive for a lot of people and it’s made people more creative,” he said. “We talked to some businesses last week that are going online and doing sales out of province now.” “They adapted with every change that the government put in place,” he said. “The biggest thing we’re hearing lots is supply. The supply chain is really hurting trying to get stock.”
ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021 | NEWS | A7
‘My chances for survival would be slim’ This excerpt is from the chapter ‘Being Battered by Turbulence’, from the book ‘No Old, Bold Pilots’ by Svend and Sheila Serup.
O
ne Saturday in the late autumn of 1977, I found myself in a flight that should have taken 25 minutes but took over three hours. And when I finally brought my little float plane down onto Tabor Lake, I had never felt so harried as I did that afternoon. At 1:30 p.m., I stood in the little cove at Weasel Creek where our camp stood. My day had already had its measure of problems with equipment, staff, and weather. That morning I had to cancel further road construction as the fall rains had not ceased. Logging was still in progress, but the logging truck had broken a walking beam and both the trucker and construction crew had gone out on the taxi boat earlier in the day. My trucker had promised to come back the next day with new parts so that the last few loads of spruce trees could be hauled to the lake and operations shut down for the season. As I prepared my plane for the flight to Prince George, I felt a strange uneasiness. The weather was unsettled, and an active storm was moving in from the west. I had been calling on the radio for a weather report with no luck in reaching anyone. As I was calling, I could see the storm engulfing the lake about 10 miles to
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Svend Serup climbs into his Cessna.
the west. I quickly made my decision to get away before the storm arrived. My plan was to fly east along Clearwater Creek, then through one of the mountain passes southward to Mackenzie. From here, the vast central B.C. plateau would give me room to fly under or around storms for the last 100 miles to Prince George. I felt a sense of impending doom. Even though I relied on my intuition, I was a businessman and I was continually making decisions on the in-
formation I had at hand. I knew that when intuition and reason failed, there was still a third power and I confessed my uncertainty. I asked for God’s protection on the flight, and then I cast off from the dock. Shortly I was airborne over the main lake. Banking the plane to the east, I began flying along the Clearwater inlet. Here the turbulence rattled the plane. As I flew towards the end of the inlet where the creek emptied, the peaks in front of me were ob-
scured by clouds, and snow was falling all along the high ground, closing the passes. As I gained altitude, I tried the radio vainly. If I was going to commit to proceeding into one of these narrow passes in marginal conditions, it would be helpful to know the weather on the Mackenzie side of the mountains. If the fog and rain were extensive, I would become trapped. My chances for survival would be slim as I was not licensed nor equipped for instrument flying. I remembered that over a year ago, a single-engine Piper Comanche plane with four Americans bound for an Alaskan hunting trip had disappeared between Prince George and Prince Rupert. In this rugged terrain, it would not be easy to locate a downed aircraft. At 4,500 feet, I could not reach Prince George on the radio. I knew I should be flying at 6,000 feet to gain radio contact in this area, but the overcast skies prevented me from soaring any higher. By turning a little, I could see the storm closing in behind me, and I quickly banked the plane into a tight 180 degree turn so I would not be cut off from the lake. The turbulence was becoming uncomfortable. Just as I was over the creek, my eye caught something disturbing on the instrument panel. A bright red light was flashing on the right-hand side. Above it were the words: ‘High Voltage.’
Soccer club’s futsal pitch now open
MATT PREPROST PHOTOS
How much for extra haggis? It was a sold-out Robbie Burns Night in Fort St John on Saturday, Jan. 23, with Masons and Shriners serving up 85 drive-thru meals to honour Scotland’s most favourite bard. The supper raised an estimated $1,000 for Shriners Hospital for Children. Above: Rebecca Hall, Kelsi Murphy, Misty Hall, and Tania Hall of Peace Catering serve up meals. Below: Mason Scott Wisdahl braved the chill to manage the steady lineup of cars outside the Masonic Lodge.
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Quinn Grey chases after the ball during U5 practice at the Fort St. John Soccer Club’s new futsal pitch on January 17, 2021.
Dillon Giancola sports@ahnfsj.ca The Fort St. John Soccer Club’s new futsal pitch inside the curling arena is now open. Teams have been using the pitch for practice since the start of the new year, giving the club two different playing surface options as well as space to accommodate more kids. “Registration is down this year, but in a normal year, more than half of our kids are playing in school gyms,” said soccer club president Darren Snider. “Having this location will hopefully allow us to get out of the school gyms, and that will open up the gyms more for everyone else.” The soccer and curling clubs announced a partnership last year that splits the arena in half, helping the
curling club stay viable while giving the soccer club more space for kids. The cost of the upgrades were pegged at $200,000. The soccer club recently received $20,000 in 2020 BC Winter Games legacy funding that will go towards the cost of the flooring and a new wall that separates the futsal pitch from the curling ice sheets. The pitch consists of a bright, soft, snap-together floor, and comes after new turf was installed in the kid’s fieldhouse last summer. The ball rolls faster on the pitch than on artificial turf, and Snider said it has advantages over turf for the club’s youngest ages. “It will also help build a sense of community in our club. Everyone will be playing at the same spot, instead of one team at Dr. Kearney and another team at Ma Murray,” Snider said.
ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021 | NEWS | A11
Calls for COVID benefits to be reinstated Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca Peace River North MLA Dan Davies is calling on the NDP to fully reinstate a supplemental COVID benefit for those living on income and disability assistance. In a release, Davies says Wednesday marks the first day that persons with disabilities will see their COVID income and disability payments cut in half, from $300 per month to $150. “Despite John Horgan’s insistence that persons with disabilities would not see cuts to the vital supports they depend on, the grim reality of this poorly-planned benefit is now coming to the surface,” said Davies, the Opposition critic for social development and poverty reduction, in a statement. “Today — on the first day that thousands of individuals and families will see their income assistance cheques cut in half — these backlogs are going to affect the most vulnerable members of our communities the hardest.” Davies first raised his concerns about the cuts in the legislature in December. Social Development Minister Nicholas Simons responded by saying those on income
or disability assistance would end up receiving more with both the supplement and the recovery benefit launched before Christmas. But, as the CBC reported, that increase only amounts to $50. The government meanwhile has approved more than one million applications and $682 million in COVID benefit payouts. Nearly half a million applications have been flagged for review. In Fort St. John, one resident said he’s been waiting for more than a month for his recovery benefit payment after applying on the first day the program opened on Dec. 18. “Is this program even still working, and why do so many of us, especially on disability, old age pension, or income assistance, appear to be left to the bottom of the pile?” Dennis Hetman wrote in a letter to Alaska Highway News. After filing his application, Hetman says he was asked two days later to provide two bills with his address, two pieces of identification, and his tax return to support his application, which he did. After several calls and emails to the government for an update over the last month, he only received a form letter response from the pre-
mier’s office Tuesday, after his concerns were published. The letter said the ministry of finance was conducting a manual review and needed the extra documents to confirm his eligibility. It gave no timeline on when he could expect to receive his benefit. Hetman said the payment clawbacks and delays weren’t fair. “I have lived in the Peace all my life and now am watching many small businesses closing forever, jobs are being affected as the pandemic rages on. I don’t feel my classification should have to add stress to all of this,” he wrote. “Bills still MATT PREPROST PHOTO come monthly but gov- ‘Smile’ - acrylic on canvas by Sandy Troudt, part of the “She Said, He Said” collection on display ernment support has at Peace Gallery North until February 6, 2021. dropped to nothing.” Davies says he has heard from many in similar positions. “With hundreds of thousands or even millions of applications still being processed, it could be weeks or even months until persons with disabilities will see this one-time cheque,” Davies stated. “It is time for John Horgan to admit he made a mistake and fully reinstate the $300 monthly COVID Disability and Income Assistance supplement his NDP government took away from vulnerMATT PREPROST PHOTO able people.” Detail of ‘Saskatoon Delight’, eco-mono-print on watercolour paper by Miep Burgerjon.
Forced to close over technicality Dillon Giancola sports@ahnfsj.ca
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Unit 1 turbine runner arrives at Site C after travelling from Sao Paulo, Brazil, by ship to Prince Rupert, and transported on a customized truck to the project site, January 2021.
Triumph Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness says it was forced to temporarily suspend operations k by the Provincial Health Department last wee, after city bylaw officers inspected the fitness center following an anonymous complaint. Combat sports and martial arts are currently prohibited under the Provincial Health Order. However, according to owner Tosha Mytron, the gym has modified its services to focus on fitness, and bylaw officers sent to investigate found nothing wrong with the way she was operating. “We have modified our programming to be fitness based, and have switched to being more of an open gym, where people can lift weights, use the punching bags, and work out,” she said. “The officer who inspected us said she was impressed with the modifications, signs, the use of masks and gloves, and that the gym is mapped out into six-foot spaces.” Mytron says she was told she was doing everything she needed to be doing under the provincial health
guidelines. However, after the report was submitted to the provincial health department, the ruling stated that since ‘martial arts school’ was on Mytron’s business licence, she had to shut down. “Even though my business license says we are a martial arts and fitness facility, and that the facility has been adapted to fitness-based programming and I have been completely compliant with the guidelines, I’ve had to shut down because my license has the words ‘martial arts school’. That doesn’t make any sense,” said Mytron. Mytron praised the bylaw officer , and said they were pleasant to work with and did an excellent job. “The officer and the city have been fantastic. She was thorough, kind, and very informative,” said Mytron. “I understand they have a job to do and think they handled themselves very professionally.” Mytron is currently exploring options that might allow her to reopen, hopefully over the coming week. “I want my business to survive and am willing to follow the protocols and I’ve put a lot of work into doing that,” said Mytron. “It’s very frustrating.”
Pays out water stations loan
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Upstream view showing the spillway with stilling basin weirs and the powerhouse and generating station at Site C, December 2020.
The Peace River Regional District says it has paid out a $2.9-million loan for the building of five water fill stations in electoral area B. The loan for the projects has been paid off with Peace River Agreement and gas tax funds. Payments would have extended over 20 years, and the PRRD says ratepayers will save repaying both the principal, and an estimated $887,400 in interest. “This will save the residents from having to pay the long term borrowing principal and interest payments for many years to come,” the PRRD said. Building the water stations in Buick, Rose Prairie, Feye Spring, Prespatou,
and Goodlow was approved through referendum in June 2017. The PRRD’s rural budgets administration committee approved the loan repayments in October.
ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
A12 | NEWS | THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021
Part 1 in a series
Wildlife management in B.C. - who cares?
I
am a hunter and outdoor enthusiast. I have spent my life hunting, fishing, and wandering our backcountry. I care deeply about our critters and their habitat, and our ability to sustain our hunting and fishing cultures. As years pass, my concern for how our natural resource is being managed increases. The importance of wildlife, habitat, and effective management to successive governments in Victoria has been slightly above 1 on a scale of 10 (10 is great, 1 is it ain’t working). In fairness to our current government and their policies, the past three or four governments rated on a similar scale. I first noticed the indifference of government towards this natural endowment and our environment back in the 1990s. This indifference began when government started the defunding our dirt ministries. At the time I was working for a forest company and understood why government was doing this to the Ministry of Forests, but never paid a whole lot of attention to what was happening with the other ministries. We had just been through a complete upheaval with the new Forest Practices Code and its ultra-prescriptive environment. Everything was seemingly enforcement-focused: write a ticket, issue a fine or a stop work order for all transgressions of these new laws. In response to industry concerns, the newly formed BC Liberals changed the legislation and began to reduce ministry staff and regulation to help reinvigorate our industry. I won’t get into the debate on whether they were successful or not, as we went from the defunding strategy straight into the mountain pine beetle epidemic. Good resource
EVAN SAUGSTAD planning was thrown out the window with the new direction to try harvest as much beetle pine affected wood as possible, and this evolved into what we have today. As the forest ministry was gutted, other dirt ministries received similar fates, including environment, mines, agriculture, and parks. The exception was energy with the expanding natural gas industry. Some of what happened made sense and was likely needed, but it did not stop there. Over the next two decades every successive government budget seemed to commit fewer and fewer dollars to fund the management of our natural resources as more and more of our tax dollars were moved to fund social programs, of which the vast majority focused on our largest cities. To our big city cousins, this made sense, as after all, “Can’t those critters who live on their own out in our natural wonderland just look after themselves?” To those of us who live, work, and play in our natural environments understand just what the value is, and it did not make sense. Although I have never had formal training in wildlife or habitat management, I have lived it my entire life. I picked up a fishing rod before I was old enough to go to school, started hunting before I entered high school, and then spent my life working in the outdoors and with our resourcebased industries. Hunting and fishing are in my DNA, and like many of you, it is firmly entrenched in my culture. I make no apology for
EVAN SAUGSTAD PHOTO
A mule deer in the South Peace.
being one of the thousands of consumptive users of our natural resources, as we are part of it. Although I will likely reach the end of my life before I see the end of hunting and fishing, I do fear we will see it end, at least how we currently know and experience it. That being said, in the short term we are on the track to see hunting, fishing and trapping severely diminished, and in the longer term, likely see it become the exclusive right of a privileged few. I wish to see neither happen, as it does not need too. My wish is to see the exact opposite occur, where wildlife, wildlife habitat, and sustainable hunting, fishing, and trapping opportunities are enhanced and passed for all successive generations to enjoy. My wish is to also see a prosperous rural economy that uses our natural resources wisely, while respecting the needs of wildlife and the conservation of habitats required for their survival. For this to happen, we
the people of B.C. need a common vision. We as a people with many differing perspectives, wants, needs, and desires, must resolve our differences and work for better management of our natural resources. I do have hope. A new process has begun with the BC Wildlife Federation taking the lead and engaging with other environmentally minded organizations including consumptive (i.e. hunting/ fishing/trapping) nonconsumptive (i.e. preservationists, birders and wildlife viewing), aboriginal peoples, and other interested individuals. The goal of this coalition is to advocate for biodiversity and ecosystem health including the restoration and long-term sustainability of fish, wildlife, and habitat in British Columbia. Coming together is not easy as we all have our own beliefs and ideals, but so far, have agreed that we must work collaboratively within a consensus-based approach and collectively solve our problems.
We agree that our current government is not meeting our collective needs, and that government is in dire need of new directions. We also agree that as a united group we must convince government that our vast natural resources must be better managed so we all can enjoy B.C.’s great outdoors long into the future. Despite all the bleak stories you may hear about, there is hope, and that hope is what I wish to focus my writings on during the next few weeks. Although I have my own opinions and theories on what has happened, and why, and what we should be doing to help better our future, I do recognize that there are others. Although these are my opinions, I write this in the hope that they can help frame our issues and lead to common understandings. Evan Saugstad is a former mayor of Chetwynd, and is one of hundreds of thousands of B.C.’s hunters and fishers. He lives in Fort St. John.
Aims to immunize 5,600 a day Northern Health aims to vaccinate 5,600 northerners a day against COVID-19, starting in April. Last week, the province provided a public update on its plans to vaccinate 4.3 million British Columbian adults by the end of September. There are 229,110 people aged 18 and up who will be eligible to be vaccinated in the next eight months, according to technical briefing material released by the province. As of Jan. 22, more than 110,000 doses of vaccine had been administered province wide, including more than 5,600 in the Northern Health region, according to BCCDC. “We know it will take a few months, but we have an end in sight,” provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said. “We have made it this far, we have shown we can do this.” The province estimates that 715 full-time people will be needed to administer vaccines in order to meet its September target. That includes the equivalent of 40 full-time immunizers, plus support staff, in the Northern Health region. The province’s plans are based entirely on the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the two currently approved for use in Canada, Henry said. If new vaccines become available, they will be used to accelerate the province’s plan. The province is currently in Phase 1 of its plan – focused on long-term care residents and workers, frontline healthcare workers and remote, rural indigenous communities. Phase 2 is expected to start some-
time in February and run until the end of March. In Phase 2, all seniors 80 years old and older will be eligible to be vaccinated, along with indigenous seniors 65 and up, any healthcare workers not yet vaccinated – including staff in community home support for seniors – and vulnerable populations like the homeless. “The single greatest risk factor for COVID-19 is increasing age,” Henry said. Phase 3 is set to begin in April and run until June, and will begin the vaccination of the general population, starting with people aged 75 to 79, and working forward in five-year age groups. Those in the 75 to 79 age group and 70 to 74 age groups can expect to get their first dose in April, and second vaccine dose in May. Those aged 65 to 69 should be eligible for their first dose in May or June, and second dose in June or July. Those in the 60 to 64 year old bracket should be eligible to be vaccinated in June, with a second dose in July. In addition, Phase 3 will see those people between the ages of 16 and 69 who are extremely vulnerable because of health conditions like cancer, cystic fibrosis, severe asthmas, organ transplant recipients or other serious conditions will also be eligible to be vaccinated. Phase 4 will run from July to September, and will cover the rest of the adult population in five year age groups.
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Ray Lebreton and his furry pals Winger and Macy enjoy the milder winter, Jan. 11, 2021.
— Prince George Citizen
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Baptiste Marcere demos his guitar skills at the art gallery, Jan. 12, 2021.