$1.75
($1.67+GST) ($1.26 when you subscribe)
The Rocky Mountain Goat News PM42164515
Thursday, December 8th, 2016
Serving Valemount, McBride & the Robson Valley since 2010. Locally owned & operated.
Volume 7 Issue 49
Community Forest gets democratic reform by EVAN MATTHEWS
McBride Library update A03
Crafting a festival
The McBride Community Forest Corporation (MCFC) is looking to fill the two vacant positions on its board of directors by mid-January, and it plans to do so by way of an election. Historically, the Village of McBride Council has appointed all MCFC board members. Bryan Monroe and Loranne Martin are the other two current board
members. In an advertisement, MCFC says it’s experiencing a time of transition and restructuring, as the staff and board are looking to “put into place a framework for responsible fiscal and forest management and a positive relationship with the community,” as the organization looks for “people with forestry, financial and community volunteer experience.” Two former board members, brothers
Gary and Randy McFarland, resigned in October. Gary had been on the board for three weeks, Rich says, while Randy had been on the board since February. Due to public pressure over the past number of years, Rich says MCFC’s sole shareholder — the Village of McBride — is now showing interest in trying to do “what’s right” in regards to the public’s perception of how the organization is run.
Cont’d on A10
A03
Kinder Morgan op-ed A04
RCMP report A07 Listings on A15! P15!
Photo: Evan Matthews Santa arrived to the lighting of Valemount’s community Christmas tree with some unusual suspects. Rather than showing up with his eight faithful reindeer, Santa rolled up with The Valemount Fire Department, saying, “A slightly different red light guided me here, tonight.”
Pipeline money won’t show until all approvals in Unclear how money will benefit training local workers
Prince George
Tis the season A08
by LAURA KEIL Kinder Morgan says Valemount will receive the $185,000 Community Benefit Agreement sum once all approvals are in – and construction could be as early as next fall. With the federal government’s conditional approval to nearly triple the capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline, the President of Kinder Morgan Canada Ian Anderson says he is hopeful construction can begin soon. “I don’t think I’d be sitting here today saying what I’m saying if I didn’t fully believe that we could continue on the path to building and executing on this project,” he said in a teleconference the Goat was a part of on Nov. 30th, a day after federal approval. Kinder Morgan is still awaiting final approval
on the BC government’s five conditions before it receives all its permits to build. Four projects in Valemount could receive funding according to a Village of Valemount document: On the list of projects is an estimated $80,000 towards the mountain bike park and bridge construction – though the bridge has now been built; $50,000 for education funding for programs related to the pipeline industry; $50,000 towards the water intake project; and $5,000 to fund a consultant to update the Village’s Emergency Plan. Neither the Village nor Kinder Morgan has clarified how the $50,000 towards education programs would benefit local workers if the money is delivered when construction is about to begin. The construction could create an economic boom locally for at least six months, based on some estimates. Kinder Morgan has committed over $4.6
million for agreements with local governments situated along the pipeline in both BC and Alberta. In addition to direct benefits, residents are able to register on Kinder Morgan’s website to bid on contracts once they are posted. People can register here: https://csi.kindermorgan.com/csi/ While exact information on local contracts is not yet available, contracts could include vendors and suppliers for heavy equipment, construction supplies (fencing, portable toilets, gravel/soil, gloves/boots/safety equipment) trucking, food/catering, landscaping, IT, laundry, first aid, traffic control and many more areas.
Pipeline incidents recap Data on Canada’s major pipelines shows 1,050 reported incidents across Canada over the last
Cont’d on A06