Prince George Citizen March 12, 2020

City, airport preparing for coronavirus

Arthur WilliAms Citizen staff

The City of Prince George and Prince George Airport are following the lead of public health officials on the global outbreak of novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, and taking steps to prepare hosting the 2020 World Women’s Curling Championship starting this weekend.

In a statement issued last Friday, the city said it’s been in regular contact with Northern Health and provincial public health officials to get reliable information about the disease.

“Health officials have indicated that the spread of various illnesses – ranging from colds and flu to COVID-19 – can be prevented if people stay home when sick, properly wash their hands, and disinfect surfaces that are frequently touched (such as door knobs, phones, keyboards, and hand-rails),” the city statement said.

“As the operator of many facilities that attract large numbers of people, the

city is also working to double-down on providing public information in all civic venues.”

CN Centre will be hosting athletes, support staff and spectators from around the world when the curling championship begins on March 14.

“As the organizers of the event, Curling Canada and the World Curling Federation have been working with officials from a variety official health agencies for guidance to help ensure a safe and healthy event,” the city’s statement said. “The organizers further report that teams competing in the WWCC are already in Canada training and acclimatizing. In fact, Team China has been outside of China for the last six months and training in Europe and Scotland.”

Prince George Airport Authority president and CEO Gordon Duke said the airport has already been taking steps to prepare, including adding additional

signage reminding visitors to wash their hands, stockpiling supplies of hand sanitizer, and reviewing internal plans. There is also a national pandemic plan developed by the federal government, if the disease were to begin spreading widely through the country.

“We have reached out to public health officials and we will continue to do that and stay in touch,” Duke said.

If a suspected case of COVID-19 were reported on a flight headed to Prince George, the airport would be ready to respond, he said.

“If an aircraft were directed to us... we do have a quarantine plan for how we would deal with that,” Duke said.”We will always take our lead and follow the direction of public health officials in that regard.”

The airport has also looked at its supply chain to ensure it has sufficient supplies if travel to China or other major supplier countries was interrupted.

Ski resort plan still active

The plan to build a year-round skiing resort outside Valemount has gained new prominence following the backers’ failure to establish a similar resort in the Kootenays, according a letter to the community’s mayor.

In the face of fierce opposition from local First Nations, as well as environmental protection groups, Glacier Resorts Ltd. agreed in January to back out of its long-running effort to build the Jumbo Glacier Resort in the Purcell Mountains.

“This means that the Valemount Glacier Destinations project is now poised to become the only high-alpine year-round glacier skiing destination in North America,” said project consultant Tommaso Oberti in the letter to Valemount Mayor Owen Torgerson.

A 60-year master plan agreement with the provincial government was signed in March 2017 but since then there has been little if any progress on the project which is to provide access to the summits of Mount Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Twilight Glacier, Glacier Ridge and Mount Arthur Meighen and base-area village with residential, hotel and commercial space.

The project’s price tag had been put at $100 million, but in January, Oberti told Glacier Media that a scaled-down version could be developed if between $50 million and $75 million is raised.

“If the money were to come in tomorrow, we would start construction this summer,” he said. “It would take a year to get the day lodge and initial gondola built, so you’re looking at the earliest possibility for skiers on the mountain being 2022.”

See SKI RESORT, page 4

Citizen staff/Glacier Media

citizen Photo by James Doyle

ChampIOn aT wORK

harshpreet Kaur works on her winning painting during the final round of competition at the seventh annual art battle Prince George on Friday night at the bob harkins branch of the Prince George Public library. Kaur competed against 11 other artists in the competition that saw painters created their pieces in 20 minutes. Kaur will go on to the provincial competition held in Vancouver later in the year.

Team canada eyes gold page 19

Ski reSort coStly

from page 1

In response to criticism that “Valemount is in the middle of nowhere,” and lacks an airport that can handle scheduled flights, Oberti noted it is about 80 minutes by car from Jasper, which he said could be the source of many visitors.

Moreover, in contrast to the opposition the Jumbo project received from the Ktunaxa Nation, the Simpcw First Nation is a partner in the Valemount project.

“The Valemount Glacier Destinations project has no equal and will be truly transformational once built,” Oberti said in the letter.

However, Hugh Smythe, a retired ski industry veteran, suggested $100 million

is the minimum to get a viable resort off the ground.

“You can’t build a rope tow, or a couple of fixed-grip lifts and think that you’re going to attract the numbers that you need,” he said.

“You’re going to have to put a ton of money into it. I’m talking about everything from the infrastructure, the whole works. There’s the road, the water, the sewer, the power – everything before you even start. Then there’s the lifts, trails, snowmaking and lodges and buildings, and everything like that.”

Oberti’s letter was included in the agenda package for the most-recent Fraser-Fort George Regional District board of directors meeting.

Speedee’s building could be new welfare office location

Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff

City council is seeking a meeting with the provincial government after learning it plans to move the Prince George’s welfare office to a new spot downtown.

An agreement to purchase the building at 490 Brunswick St., once the home of Speedee Stationers, has been reached in the name of relocating the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction from its current home at 1445 10th Ave.

In response, the Prince George and District Senior Citizens Activity Centre, located across the street at 425 Brunswick St., has submitted a 68-signature petition to city hall raising concerns about parking, foot traffic and safety.

“We are not against the people who require the services of the MSDPR, we are concerned about the congestion it will cause in the downtown core,” PGDSCAC administrator Treena Wight says in the letter. “Parking is the biggest concern as there is [sic] already issues of trying to find a parking space downtown.”

Wight went on to say there are plenty of other empty spaces in the city that could house the office and many of them have parking lots.

But in an emailed response to questions from the Citizen, the ministry said the provincial government has spent over a year in search of a new location “and

other vacancies in the city are not suitable for an SDPR office.”

The move is being made because the landlord for the office’s current location indicated the lease will not be renewed. It expires in early 2024 but the ministry has not yet confirmed a date to move the office, the ministry said.

The PGDSCAC learned of the plan through a letter from the provincial government’s real property division. In it, executive director Lorne Delarge said the office experiences the majority of inperson traffic during the monthly cheque issue week with the peak typically on the Wednesday and Thursday.

“However, in-person traffic has reduced in recent years with a significant number of clients accessing services online or over the telephone,” Delarge said.

The petition and letter were included in the agenda package for the Feb. 24 regular council meeting. Council voted unanimously to seek a meeting with provincial government officials but how much sway they will have appears in doubt as the site is already zoned for the purpose, according to the ministry.

“SDPR is committed to being a good neighbour and will continue to work with the community to ensure that the needs of the neighbourhood are met,” the ministry added.

Man wanted for sex assault

Citizen staff

Police are on the lookout for a man suspected of committing a sexual assault.

RCMP received a report of a woman being attacked from behind shortly before midnight on Fri., Feb. 21 as she was walking her dog in the area of 11th Avenue and Winnipeg Street.

The assailant then fled in a vehicle, according to the allegation.

The suspect is described as Caucasian,183 to 195 cm (6’0” to 6’5”) tall and weighing about 91 kg (200 lbs), with broad shoulders and muscular upper body, a skull tattoo on the back of his right hand and wearing a tight-fitted black hooded sweatshirt, jeans and heavy work boots.

The vehicle is described as a black or dark-coloured four-door sedan with a roof rack with bike attachments, LED headlights, white or silver rims, dual

exhaust and Alberta licence plate.

“All efforts to identify the suspect have been negative so far. Investigators are now asking the public’s help,” RCMP said.

Anyone with exterior cameras in the area of 11th Avenue and Winnipeg Street or anyone that may have witnessed something during this time are asked to contact investigators at 250-561-3300.

Police are also asking people to take precautions when out at night, including being aware of their surroundings, refraining from going out alone, advising others of where they are going and when they will return and immediately report all suspicious persons and incidents to local police - the incident was not reported to police until Mon., Feb. 24.

Information can also be provided to police through Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-8477 or online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca (English only).

Undetected cracks blamed for pipeline blast

The Canadian Press

A delayed inspection and a failure to predict how fast cracks could develop from corrosion are cited in a report describing the cause of an explosion and fire in an Enbridge natural gas pipeline northeast of Prince George in October 2018.

No one was injured in the incident but 125 people in a two-kilometre radius were evacuated as a precaution and the outage in the almost 50-year-old pipeline led to natural gas shortages throughout British Columbia.

In its final report, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada says the 90-centimetre (36-inch) pipeline - part of the T-South gas system that supplies much of southern B.C. - ruptured due to stress corrosion cracks on the outside surface of the pipe.

It said polyethylene tape coating applied to the pipe to protect it from

corrosion deteriorated over time, allowing soil moisture to come into contact with the pipe surface and leading to corrosion and cracking.

“The pipeline operator had a stress corrosion cracking hazard management plan in place for this pipeline,” the report says.

“The model used to predict crack growth did not take into account all potential uncertainties in the predicted crack growth... Additionally, an inspection of this pipeline segment scheduled for 2017 was deferred until the fall of 2018. As such, the existing cracks remained undetected.”

The TSB says cracking due to tape deterioration was also to blame for three other similar pipeline failures since 2002, all in TransCanada Corp. (now TC Energy Corp.) pipelines, near Beardmore, Ont. in 2011, at Swastika, Ont., in 2009 and at Brookdale, Man., in 2002.

The tape isn’t used in new pipeline construction but remains in place on many older pipelines in Canada, Philopoulos said.

“We know this incident has caused concern and disrupted the lives of so many people in the area and we really apologize for that,” said Michele Harradence, Enbridge chief operations officer for gas transmission and midstream, in an interview.

“We absolutely commit we’ve learned from this incident and taken steps to ensure the safety of our natural gas system. And we took those steps right away, as soon as we were able to get into the area to see what happened.”

Enbridge says it has completed enhanced pipeline inspections on its natural gas pipeline system in B.C. to prevent similar incidents from occurring.

“My community understandably remains very concerned about Enbridge’s

Derailment led to spill in creek

A CN Rail train which derailed near Giscome last Thursday spilled “a small amount of petroleum coke” into a creek near the tracks, according to the rail company.

The train derailed near Giscome Elementary School, blocking Upper Fraser Road and prompting the evacuation of the school.

“There is no danger to public safety and there are no fires or injuries at the site,” a CN Rail statement isaid. “CN environmental experts as well as regulatory authorities have been deployed to oversee the physical removal of the product from the creek.”

Petroleum coke is a coal-like substance produced as a byproduct of the oil refining process. Depending on the grade, it can be used as a substitute for coal in

operations through our territory, and for good reason,” Lheidli T’enneh Dayi Clay Pountney said in a statement.

“The TSB report is clear in its findings that Enbridge’s operations were lacking.” He noted the TSB confirmed members had only one exit route out.

“We stated from the beginning that our key concern was the safety of our members and other people living close to the gas pipelines,” Pountney said.

“We launched our lawsuit against Enbridge because we weren’t getting adequate and transparent answers. We now have some answers. It is time for Canada to learn and improve from these mistakes.”

In a response, Enbridge said it has completed an “aggressive integrity program” along its system to prevent similar incidents in the future.

- with files from Prince George Citizen

energy production.

CN Rail’s statement also increased the number of railcars derailed to approximately 27, from the approximately 20 reported on Thursday

The cause of the derailment is under investigation, CN Rail said in its statement.

The Transportation Safety Board has sent a team to conduct an independent investigation.

Citizen staff

A derelict house at the corner of Chilako and Ahbau has not yet been torn down despite an order from city council.

City to level derelict home

Citizen staff

The City of Prince George will be hiring a contractor to tear down a derelict home after its owner missed a deadline to carry out the work.

“The process could involve going to tender or collecting quotes depending on the cost,” city spokesperson Mike Kellett said. “The cost will ultimately be billed to the property owner.”

The home at the corner of Ahbau Street and Chilako Avenue in the Spruceland neighbourhood was gutted after an Oct. 12, 2019 explosion and fire

that also killed a 41-year-old man.

The home, owned by Harjinder (John) Berar according to a staff report to city council, is well known to police and has been the subject of investigations in the past. Witnesses and video evidence show the occupants of the house were handling large quantities of gasoline at the time of the fire, RCMP have said.

Under an order issued by city council in January, the owner had until Feb. 28 to have the home leveled.

The fire remains under investigation, Prince George RCMP Cpl. Craig Douglass said.

Dangerous Quesnel intersection to close

Citizen staff

The B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure will be deactivating an intersection along Highway 97 in Quesnel this summer to improve safety along the busy route.

Highway access to Juniper Road – near the Motherlode carwash, Caravan Motel and Sylvan Motel – will be closed as part of the recommendations coming out of the Quesnel Transportation Study which was completed in 2018, a ministry press release said.

“(Analysis) determined the current configuration of this intersection, combined with the significant volumes of commercial traffic, contributes to a collision rate on Highway 97 that is higher than the

provincial average,” the ministry statement said.

A timeline for the closure hasn’t been determined, but signs will be posted notifying motorists of the change before the work is done to close the intersection. Access to Juniper Road from Highway 97 will be redirected to intersections on Quesnel-Hydraulic Road and Larch Avenue.

For more information about the Quesnel Transportation Study, including planned future improvements for Highway 97 intersections at Racing Road and Quesnel-Hydraulic Road, go online to www.gov.bc.ca/ quesneltransportationstudy.

Crash leads to charges

Citizen staff

A Prince George man faces charges following a wild ride that ended in a head-on collision with a semi-truck on Highway 1 near Chase.

Edward Gary Felix, 33, has been charged with one count each of dangerous driving, fleeing police and breaching probation.

Police said the events began just after 3 a.m. on Sun., March 1 when a suspected impaired driver refused to pull over. An alert was issued to other RCMP officers in the area and the vehicle was found swerving shoulder to shoulder and into oncoming traffic and at speeds over 140 km/h, according to police.

“Recognizing the possible risk to other motorists, the officer activated his emergency equipment in an attempt to stop the vehicle and alert any on-coming traffic,” RCMP said.

“The vehicle disappeared around

a 90-degree bend in the roadway, soon thereafter Chase RCMP officers discovered the vehicle had collided headon with an oncoming semi-truck.”

Felix was arrested nearby with help from a police service dog, while a 30-year-old Abbotsford woman was arrested at the scene and later released from custody.

“We are thankful that the semi-truck driver, our officers or any other members of the public were not injured as a result of this driver’s blatant disregard to anyone’s safety,” said B.C. RCMP Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet.

Felix, who has since been released from custody, is known to police and the court in Prince George. In October 2018, he was sentenced to 18 months probation in relation to a series of break-ins in the Norman Lake area. The counts included fleeing police after a spike belt was used to stop the getaway vehicle.

Bait property yields arrests

Citizen staff

A man known to the police and courts faces charges for allegedly trying to steal property planted by the Prince George RCMP to catch thieves.

Aaron Joseph Glover, 34, was arrested on Thurs., Feb. 28 remains in custody on counts of theft under $5,000, breaching a release order and breaching probation.

Glover has a criminal record for petty crime.

In all, six people were arrested over the course of two days that the so-called

bait property was deployed in the city’s downtown. Other than Glover, the others were released on documents to appear in court on June 3.

“Our bait programs are an effective use of our resources and produce positive results every time they are deployed in our community” said Staff Sgt. Kent MacNeill, acting operations officer for the Prince George RCMP.

“We want thieves to think twice before they make a decision to take anything that does not belong to them.”

Heritage homes added

The city’s heritage register has grown by two homes.

The additions of 2755 Hammond St. in the Nechako neighbourhood and 2280 McBride Cres. in the Crescents were approved at the Feb. 24 city council meeting.

Trelle Morrow was the architect for both homes, which were built in 1959 and 1957, according to statements of significance from the Prince George Heritage Commission.

Their designs came out of the so-called modern movement that became profuse following the Second World War. They are exemplified by low-slope roofs and expansive glazing in the living areas and represented a move away from single picture windows.

George and Helena Buchan originally owned the home on Hammond. He managed Arctic Mills until it was taken

over by the Pas Lumber Co. and she was a prominent professional artist in the city.

The home features exposed structural beams and wood decking.

“Exterior wood siding is in keeping the the overall theme of the house to use natural wood materials,” the commission says in the statement. “Brick paneling is installed on the street elevation as a contrast to the wood siding.”

Catherine King is the current owner.

John and Dina Nielsen were the first to live in the home on McBride. They were the proprietors of West End Motors and the local International Truck agency.

It features a split-level entrance, the fireplace was finished with Arizona sandstone on both the interior and exterior and the original pink bathroom fixtures remain in the house and are in “excellent condition.”

Shawn and Leslie Haines are the current owners.

Citizen staff

Citizen file photo

John and Dina nielsen were the first to live in the home on McBride Crescent, which has been added to the city’s heritage registy.

First Nations benefits proposal made

Arthur WILLIAMS Citizen staff

The First Nations Major Projects Coalition is calling on the federal government to consider its eight recommendations as part of a new benefits-sharing framework for resource projects in the traditional territory of First Nations.

In December, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau identified the need for a new benefits-sharing framework as a priority for his government.

The coalition put forward its recommendations during the group’s annual Industry Engagement Event in Prince

George last week.

“Effecting real change and progress can not be done by one party working in isolation,” coalition chairperson Chief Sharleen Gale said.

“The government could not have a better partner than First Nations. Decisions that we make in our communities are from the land up.”

Gale, who is the chief of the Fort Nelson First Nation, said Indigenous groups have traditionally faced, and continue to face, significant barriers to participating in development on natural resources in their traditional territories.

Many of the organization’s member

First Nations are interested in buying a stake in projects in their territories, but access to financing can be a major barrier, she said.

“Equity ownership offers a chance for our nations to fully take part in the mainstream economy,” Gale said. “When a First Nation is doing good, the benefits trickle up to the community.”

Chief Corrina Leween, of the Cheslatta Carrier Nation, said her nation bid on purchasing a stake in the Coastal GasLInk natural gas pipeline project, but weren’t able to secure the capital they needed.

“Cheslatta was squeezed out because the cost of capital was uncompetitive,” Leween said.

“We don’t want to be squeezed out of another opportunity on our lands. We want to be able to collaborate on projects... and to have a seat at the project governance table.”

The coalition made the following eight recommendations for the federal government as it looks at its new benefit sharing framework:

1) Leverage available tools within the federal fiscal framework to establish a program designed to support Indigenous groups with access to capital (such as loan guarantees) for a wide variety of resource projects.

2) Ensure maximum flexibility of those tools and programs to be able to support Indigenous groups with ownership objectives over a wide variety of project dynamics and asset classes.

3) Develop and sustain an Indigenous

major projects capacity fund to support Indigenous communities with professional advice and counsel necessary to undertake independent due diligence on projects.

4) Engage with Indigenous nations and Indigenous organizations on the development of qualifying criteria to define the size and scale of major projects and determine how the national benefits sharing framework would support Indigenous involvement in those projects.

5) Engage with Indigenous nations and Indigenous organizations who have direct experience participating in the commercial aspects of major project development on the design of a national benefits sharing framework.

6) Establish a joint-engagement and collaboration with industry and institutional sectors to support First Nations equity ownership across all sectors in the context of Indigenous rights and reconciliation.

7) Work with First Nations to design the appropriate mechanism that ensure benefits flow to community-level projects.

8) Ensure that benefits are established in a setting that confirms a rigorous and robust environmental review process that adheres to standards adopted by First Nations communities.

The Association of Consulting Engineering Companies — Canada and the Canadian Council for PublicPrivate Partnerships both supported the proposed recommendations.

What’s not in UNDRIP

For the past several weeks, the average Canadian has probably learned more about the Indian Act, matriarchs, hereditary chiefs, Indigenous systems of law and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) than they ever knew existed.

UNDRIP was announced with great fanfare.

This resulted in partly unjustified expectations and fears, because some people saw it as a new era. In some ways, it may be, simply because the adoption of UNDRIP brings more attention to the rights of Indigenous peoples.

Occasionally, protesters interviewed in the news seemed to think that UNDRIP (adopted in B.C. as Bill 41,) granted entirely new rights to Indigenous people. However, there are no “new-to-Canada” rights in it. This would explain why it passed fairly quietly and unanimously in the B.C. Legislature. The rights had already been granted, first, in Section 35 of our Constitution, and various subsequent Supreme Court decisions like Delgamuukw.

Since UNDRIP has been frequently cited in the last few weeks, I have spent quite a bit of time trying to understand the legislation. I was struck by how sensible UNDRIP seems. I was also struck by what I didn’t see.

I didn’t see a call for the superiority of one culture over the other. Rather, it begins by affirming that all people groups should be considered equal. Indigenous peoples should have the same rights to their culture, language, and history, as the non-Indigenous (do. I have heard influential people reference UNDRIP as

THINKING ALOUD

TRUDY KLASSEN

a reason for stripping away non-Indigenous culture. When asked to show where UNDRIP supported that, they couldn’t find any, so they modified their argument to a more conciliatory one.

This was a win for everyone in these tense times.

I don’t see that being Indigenous means being forced to provide for your family using only traditional means. What I found is that they have equal rights to participate in the economy.

I didn’t see that honouring Indigenous rights means no development in traditional territories. Projects in the state interest can proceed over their land, but with prior, informed consent. I don’t know how decisions are to be made on land use when there is internal conflict about it.

I didn’t see that non-Indigenous peoples should leave so that Indigenous people can enjoy full rights. I am very glad, because in my case, I would have nowhere to go, as I have no other real “homeland.” My ancestors left Holland in the 1500s, due to persecution, moved to Russia, then in the 1870s they moved to Canada after the Russian government reneged on their agreement.

I didn’t see anything that declares that non-Indigenous culture, institutions, history, etc. should be removed and replaced with Indigenous culture, etc.

SEE MY page 12

City’s unemployment down slightly

The city’s unemployment rate stood at an estimated 7.6 per cent in February, according to Statistics Canada labour market numbers issued Friday.

The figure amounts to a slight downturn from 7.7 per cent recorded in January and marks the end of an eightmonth streak of increases from a low of 4.2 per cent in June.

However, the rate was a significantly lower at 6.4 per cent for the same month last year.

As of February, 45,000 people were

Missing

employed, 3,700 were seeking work and 24,600 were not participating.

In January, 45,700 were working, 3,800 were seeking work and 23,800 were not participating.

For February 2019, 46,900 were recorded as working, 3,200 were seeking employment, 22,700 were not participating.

The unemployment rates for February and January were accurate to within plus-or-minus 1.2 percentage points, 68 per cent of the time.

For February 2019, it was plus-orminus 1.1 points.

man’s remains found

Remains found on the shore of the Fraser River in Quesnel have been identified as those of a man who had been missing for nearly two months.

Darryl Leblanc Jr., 25, had not been seen since Dec. 30, 2019. On Tues.,

Feb. 25, a man who was hiking along the shore came across the remains and called police. With help from the RCMP’s forensic identification section and the BC Coroners Service, they were determined to be Leblanc’s, Mounties said.

My basic understanding continued from page 11

Instead, Article 5 states: “Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions, while retaining their right to participate fully, if they so choose, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the State.”

That’s my basic understanding of what’s not there. Perhaps I have missed something, so I encourage people to read UNDRIP for themselves.

https://www.leg.bc.ca/parliamentary-business/legislation-debatesproceedings/41st-parliament/4th-session/bills/third-reading/gov41-3

Citizen staff

Citizen staff

OPINION

LETTERS To The ediTor

Settler reality

At the risk of offending readers, many who I deeply respect and care for, I wish to suggest that the conversation around naming a new secondary school in the Hart, at least how it’s been presented up to now, is overwhelmingly selfcentred and harmful. Much of the debate is essentially an exercise in white narcissism.

How else can you explain that a proposal intended to focus attention on Indigenous history and culture has the media, both social and news, putting the spotlight instead on whether a predominantly white community is OK with this idea?

As an immigrant person of colour with Indigenous ancestors from another continent, who is relatively new to Prince George, l must tell you that what has transpired is both bizarre and comically, yet tragically, absurd.

It is an indisputable fact that we live on the territory of the Lheidli T’enneh, a people that, according to archeological evidence, have for thousands of years called this place home. For contrast, let’s recall that Canada didn’t become a nation-state until 1867 and that Prince George didn’t become an official city until 1915.

And despite what many readers may think or want to believe, the forces of European colonization, which, let’s be frank, includes Canada, have never fully conquered Indigenous nations. The Spanish, French, British, etc. and their respective descendants may have succeeded in suppressing such peoples and temporarily establishing hegemony over them, but at no point have Indigenous nations agreed to surrender their natural rights to land or self-determination.

And just as importantly, they never will. While the flags, languages, and customs of dominant settler societies have fluctuated over the centuries, the enduring resilience of Indigenous peoples has remained constant. This is what history teaches us and there’s no reason to believe that will ever change. To expect otherwise requires self-delusion and leads to hubris.

Most of us readers, myself included, are settlers, which is not a disparaging term despite what many would like you to believe. It just means colonization made it possible for us to be here. After all, it is only because of guns, germs, and steel that I, an immigrant of South American origin with Spanish-speaking ancestors, many who originally came from Italy,

am today writing this article in English, a West Germanic language that was imported into Britain starting around the fifth century, for a newspaper based in the northwestern part of North America. Nothing about that last sentence intuitively makes sense when you think about it, but subconsciously most of us accept this as the natural state of things. Why? We’re so immersed in colonial thinking that we’re oblivious to how silly it sounds to an outsider hearing some white people complain about the idea of giving a high school an Indigenous name even though it’s located on Indigenous land. Imagine the mental acrobatics it takes to achieve such a pitiful lack of selfawareness.

Any discussion by someone who is non-Indigenous about matters that relate to Indigenous peoples is from the outset deficient if it fails to consider this context. And sadly, that precisely is what has been missing from much of this debate. Ignacio Albarracin Prince George

Proud of name

In the past week, I have found myself amazed by the student body of Kelly Road Secondary.

Just hours after the name change proposal was announced, Kelly Road students had created petitions, planned walkouts, and organized protests. Every day this week, we have been having passionate discussions about the new name, what Kelly Road means to us, our rights as students to have an opinion, and the protocols of the district.

My peers and I are outraged by the idea of a name change, and I would like to explain why.

One student gave me a quote that I find covers the thoughts of Kelly Road students elegantly: “In my opinion it wouldn’t matter if the name was French, Dutch, or any other language. We are getting hate for standing up for our school, we have nothing against Aboriginal peoples at all. Our school is Kelly Road and has always been Kelly Road for over 65 years, we don’t have much on the Hart for people to do or schools to attend, and Kelly Road has been celebrated through generations.” Everything she says is a beautiful depiction of the arguments we are making at Kelly Road, however, there is so much more to it. We are not just complaining over our desks in class, we are having meaningful discussions about other ways we could step towards

Member of the B.c. Press council a division of Glacier Ventures international corp e-mail: letters@pgcitizen.ca.

reconciliation in the new building. She gracefully explained one of these such ideas: “We should compromise. It was brought to my attention that we should have a park put on our school property named Shas Ti Park and I think that’s an amazing idea. We should also expand our Aboriginal programs in the new school with all the new space. Our voice should be heard, and we should not get hate for standing up for our Hart community.”

This is not the only idea that is being discussed, however, as thoughts on more in-depth education regarding First Nations culture prior to the European arrival in Canada are being mentioned and explored by the student body. Ideas of language classes for Native tongues or more time spent telling the stories of places like the Grizzly Trail (Shas Ti) are being mentioned as alternatives to a name forced upon the students of Kelly Road.

As she mentioned, we can compromise. Had the students been consulted prior to the announcement of the suggested new name rather than after, some of these beautiful ideas might have been taken into consideration and the community may have had input.

However, even as the new name and its meaning does hold weight among the widely-accepting Kelly Road students, it is hardly what we are upset about.

An Aboriginal student attending KRSS excellently explained; “It’s been my family’s school for generations. We’re just too proud of what the name means to us to see it go. If it were changed to anything else we would still be upset. It’s always been Kelly Road to us, and it always will be. I’m proud of the community we have.”

Our protest has nothing to do with the new name and everything to do with the old one. Kelly Road is where we attend class, experience enriching extracurriculars, make friends and partake in all the drama. It is where the boys park their jacked-up trucks on the snow banks in winter, where the Grade 8s make noisy chaos in the hallways, and in the end it is where we will stand armin-arm for something we believe in - the Kelly Road legacy.

This is the first time in my life that I have felt so strongly about something that I felt the need to get the word out to the community, however, as the first in my family to attend this school, it is my only wish to be the first of many to graduate from Kelly Road under the name that I have connected myself to for my most formative years. For this reason, I will gladly make this the first time I truly

exercise my rights to speak up and be heard.

We are unified as Roadrunners, proud and true. We will defend our home and fight for the name we will wear proudly for years to come. We will not be silenced and we will be heard.

Elizabeth Ann Byron Prince George

middle road

I would like to start by saying that it is not the name change itself, but rather the process, that is creating the turmoil.

Changing the name of Ft. George Park made absolute and total sense as it was a significant place of history to the original people of this area and the remains of some of their ancestors are buried there.

Maybe the majority of people today don’t remember John Kelly but that doesn’t mean his history should be extinguished with the stroke of a pen. What about all the streets in Prince George that are named after founding families, some of whom are all but forgotten by the current generation? As with Kelly Road Secondary School, these were the original names that held a lot of sentiment at the time and were a way of recognizing the accomplishments of those they were named after. Maybe half a century for the name is a short time in the grand scope of things, but it is still long enough that it is all that several generations remember.

The lack of foresight on behalf of the board members, that were elected as trustees to ensure the best for the students in SD57, has caused a lot of unnecessary friction, anger, frustration, angst, uncertainty, misunderstanding… and even racism.

Taking from one group to give to another has never worked throughout history and usually results in conflict. I am sure that is something this school board does not want. Compromise is far more effective when it comes to settling differences where both sides are justified in their views and opinions. Have we not learned from our past mistakes?

Many suggestions on a middle road have been brought forth for consideration. Recognizing the desires of everyone affected can be achieved while preserving the history of all. That really is what fairness and equality are all about. It is not too late to do the right thing. Open your minds to alternatives that can end this dispute.

Deirdre Burden Prince George

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PRINCE GEORGE

Prince GeorGe, We can Do Better toGether

As an Indigenous woman, a mother, a Lht’sumusyoo person (Beaver Clan), and Tribal Chief of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, I am shocked and dismayed at the racism occurring across the country, and particularly here in Prince George. The most heart wrenching part is that our children face the consequences of these hurtful acts. Take for example the backlash from students and adults about the proposed name change for the new high school under construction in the Hart. In the news, online, and on the street, I have witnessed harsh racist commentary. Is this the example that we, the citizens of Prince George, want to set for our children?

A CSTC member’s child was in her First Nations studies course at a local high school when the substitute teacher began spouting fictions about how First Nations people “get everything for free.” This student was the only Indigenous student in the class, and was targeted by this teacher. I have personal friends who have been keeping their children

Life

home from school because of the hatred they face there. This situation has made school feel unsafe for our children, and school is one of the most critical elements of our kids’ success.

Reconciliation is a partnership. This starts with a personal reconciliation with ourselves.

I remain committed to healing from our past and making amends with historical trauma passed through generations. While the governments have demonstrated their commitments through the recently signed Pathways Forward 2.0, I see in news articles and social media that racism is alive and well in Canada.

It’s important to remember that Indigenous people continue to be targeted by the criminal justice system, ignored by the health care system, and even threatened in the education system. While we are making progress in reducing the gaps between First Nations and non-Indigenous people, we need to do better together.

Polarized narratives persist in the news and media. On one side we have First Nations who are portrayed as noble savages who commune with nature, and therefore oppose all economic develop-

will find a way RELATIVITY TODD

the resulting pool does give one pause to consider the possibilities for living organisms. As Jeff Goldblum so succinctly put it in Jurassic Park, “life will find a way.”

ment. This narrative serves some NGOs’ agenda and fits their campaign against oil and gas.

On the other side, we see violence threatened against all Indigenous people because of the way some Nations exercise their right to decide what happens in their ancestral territory.

The fictional narratives and violent racism need to be dismantled. Fictions about First Nations receiving free money, not paying taxes, having priority access to health care, have persisted for too long, and allow some non-Indigenous people to justify their own anger, and target it at the most vulnerable in this society.

Dakelh people encourage respectful resolution to conflicts as taught in our Clans and practiced in Potlatch. Laying blame is not a solution.

If anything, the name change is a beautiful opportunity to highlight the relationship building between the Lheidli T’enneh people and citizens of Prince George. We are all here to stay and we must find a way to flourish in relationships founded on mutual respect.

I encourage our non-Indigenous neighbours to learn about the people who

have lived here since time immemorial. Reach out and make connections with First Nations people to expand your understanding. Our existence should not pose a threat to you; we have always been welcoming, and continue to show patience in rebuilding our relationships with our neighbours. I also encourage everyone to look into the Returning to Spirit workshops to better understand reconciliation in our daily lives.

I will leave you with this. There is a story told to us of Alexander Mackenzie and his crew crawling over the mountains in the dead of winter, hungry, starving and resorting to eating their dogs to survive.

Our people took them in. Fed them. Housed them. Cared for and nursed them back to health.

That is the foundation of our relationship, and I believe that through the hard work of reconciliation we can get back to mutual respect and care for one another.

Mussi Cho.

One of the books I have read while in New Zealand is How to Build a Habitable Planet by Charles H. Langmuir and Wally Broecker. It is an updated version of Broecker’s original book of the same name and spends a great deal of time discussing the geological construction of a planet like Earth.

This is particularly relevant in a country like New Zealand where the land seems to be forming under your feet. Fossil beds are exposed on beaches and in the walls of caves. Volcanic activity is generating new land offshore. Geothermal fields result in the generation of silica sinter and mineral deposits. There is a great deal of geological activity across the country.

But at the heart of the book is the question of what constitutes habitable. Neither Langmuir nor Broecker are from New Zealand so might be forgiven their narrow interpretation of what constitutes habitable.

However, walking past a geothermal vent spewing 70 C water and then seeing algae and bacteria growing in mats floating in

LETTERS

Clean air

I was disturbed to read in your Jan. 16 publication that there are three applications by Enbridge to amend their existing environmental discharge limits. One application seeks to increase discharge limits of VOC by 168 per cent. A total of 15 amendments are sought to increase the discharge of five different contaminants within a few kilometres of populated areas and none very far from Prince George.

I have been aware since moving to Prince George five years ago that air quality is not a top priority for many residents,

The range of habitability extends well beyond the range of environments humans can occupy unaided. Our comfortable 15 C average surface temperature with plenty of liquid water is only the most recent environment in which life has thrived. And certainly not representative of all life on this planet. Everywhere scientists have looked, they have found new organisms taking advantage of a particular niche within the world’s ecosystems.

For example, sea sponges, worms, and such have been found clustered around underwater smokers where temperatures can reach 300 C and pressures are over 200 atmospheres. Their metabolism is built around the consumption of hot mineral water which provides the molecules necessary. Other organisms found on the floor of the deep ocean survive by consuming iron and sulfur while excreting sulfuric acid and rust.

Organisms have also been found living in solid rock two kilometres into the Earth’s crust, within a lake half a kilometre under the Antarctic ice at temperatures of -25 C, and floating on the wind at altitudes as high as 10 km above the Earth’s surface. Scientists have even been able to revive 40

who put up with the pulp mill and refinery discharges on a regular basis without complaint.

When I bring it up, I hear something along the lines of “well, it’s way better than it used to be.”

I am concerned that this acceptance of contaminated air to a level that interferes with enjoyment of the outdoors, allows proposals from multinational corporations like Enbridge to not only continue but increase their pollution of our environment in order to increase profits with no real consequences or protest from the public.

million year old bacterial spores.

But perhaps the champion extremophile are the tardigrades. If there was a contest for cutest, they would win hands down. These tiny creatures, measuring no more than a millimetre in length, resemble eightlegged bears or a crumpled up manatee. They are nicknamed water bears and are able to withstand temperatures ranging from -200 C to + 150 C, a complete lack of water and oxygen, immersion in boiling alcohol, the harsh vacuum of outer space and radiation at levels thousands of times higher than we can take. They are life’s survivors.

They survive by entering a state of suspended animation, called cryptobiosis, in which body functions are shut down until conditions improve. They can remain in this state for decades if necessary and possibly longer. Learning their tricks might be the secret to interstellar travel.

Habitable means suitable or good enough to live in and as far as we know, the range of possibilities is quite diverse – perhaps more diverse than we even suspect. It is possible there are forms of life based on elements other than carbon and in media other than water although from our perspective both those possibilities seem far-fetched.

Having water and air certainly seem to be necessary criteria for a habitable planet

I lived in China for two years, a mid-sized city of eight million people. Some days we couldn’t see the sun for the smog. Most days, the air stank. I remember longing for Canadian air and feeling grateful that I was born and raised in and would soon return to a country that hadn’t forgotten what clean air was. I hope we never take our clean air for granted. Protecting it takes vigilance and foresight and strength to resist those who think an industry’s growth is more important than our own quality of life.

Susan Phillips Prince George

according to Langmuir and Broecker. Having reduced carbon makes sense as carbon’s ability to concatenate or build up long chains of atoms plays a major role for organisms on Earth.

Having an energy conversion mechanism would seem to be an essential component for any habitable planet. But beyond these few criteria, there is little more required. A recent report in the Nature Geoscience provides evidence the Earth was entirely covered in water as recently as 3 billion years ago.

This is well after the period in which it is thought life began on our planet and yet life did emerge without land. Their work is based on oxygen isotope ratios which are sensitive to transport across the ocean-atmosphere boundary and undergo isotopic separation in clay minerals. Their results, though, depends to some extent on assumptions about how land would behave over 3 billion years ago. It is unlikely any soil would exist and this is a key factor in oxygen uptake.

That said, if the Earth was once a waterworld or completely frozen as other research indicates, then our definition of what constitutes habitable would certainly be extended.

We may yet find life in other habitable environments elsewhere in the solar system, on Europa or Titan, and beyond.

Out in the Open

This is in response to the Feb.27 letter from Terry Receveur that you chose to publish. The simple fact is that you should absolutely not have published that letter. As you will notice from online comments, all the racists have now come out in glee - oh, look, we don’t have to hide our racism! It’s disgusting. You have contributed to normalizing racism, just as Trump has done in the U.S. Admitting to being a racist is not okay; neither is providing a platform for those who want to spew their vile attitudes.

Lise Johnson,Victoria

Mina Holmes, Tribal Chief, Carrier Sekani Tribal Council

Humanity’s struggle witH sin

My father is preaching on sin and the devil during Lent. For anti-theists and their bigotted allies, this is no surprise, but it will be to the people sitting in the pews. Since the Enlightenment, discussion of sin, as well as “Satan and all evil spirits who roam throughout the world, seeking the ruin of souls,” has waned. A rather odd phenomena, given that while much of our Christian theology relies on faith, the one indisputable, self-evident fact is that positive evil certainly exists.

All the skits about preaching hellfire and damnation, usually featured on networks with very low ratings, look quaint and ignorant.

Such topics get very little airtime in today’s churches, along with demonology, Lucifer himself, and what spiritual warfare means.

Even if we take it to an entirely human level, discussions on sin have fallen by the wayside for years. We’d rather be therapeutic than judgmental, so we try to explain wickedness away with modern terminology.

There is no doubt that neurosis, disordered passions and egoism are part of the reason why people do bad things. Perhaps some of these were wrongly diagnosed in the past due to our lack of scientific understanding. But the fact remains that with all of our modern tools and methods, we still can’t seem to solve a primeval reality that exists in every human being: the desire to act selfishly, to mock the virtuous path, even to throttle innocence and goodness.

Indeed, modern solutions to these problems have often had inhuman results.

From the best minds of the 19th century sprang all the horrors of the 20th, many of which live on today: eugenics gave us both the Aryan fantasy and the inferno of Buchenwald; dismissing all religion and free enterprise gave us secret police and gulags; and the will to power, wealth, or health created a culture of narcissism that degrades all of our lives behind a mirage of “freedom.” Evil exists.

The willful choice to gain by calumny and collusion exists as well - you can watch it live everyday.

But if our ideological cures to date have not solved this perennial problem

Prominent street artist Chalkmaster Dave will be creating a 3-D chalk art display at the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre.

The temporary art will be on display until April 7 and was funded by Engineers and Geoscientists BC to mark the organization’s 100th anniversary and National Engineering and Geoscience Month.

“For over 100 years, Engineers and Geoscientists BC has been at the forefront of shaping innovation and growth in British Columbia,” organization CEO Ann English said in a press release.

RIGHT OF CENTRE NATHAN GIEDE

while simultaneously creating situations worse than the disease, then it behooves us to search for a solution that simultaneously recognizes the need for personal conviction as well as a grand structure with the authority to affirm virtues and condemn vices.

Are there any suggestions?

I won’t fill in the blank with the obvious - my opinion on these matters has been clear for years.

Yet it is an exquisite paradox that in ages past, the true, good, and beautiful led many an agnostic soul to his Creator.

Now, we need a fourth - not in the literal sense, since evil is not a transcendental but rather an accident allowed to exist conditionally until its final defeat at the end of time - if only because it may inspire a mirrored reaction in our souls to stem this dark tide.

From recognizing our own failings, we may strive to enhance our good habits; from the realization that organizations exist solely for profiting from human suffering, we may in turn try to combat these by celebrating and protecting human dignity.

This infers hierarchy, meritocracy, core documents as well as endless commentary cited often at our designated meeting places.

But there is a twist to all this, an inevitable realization that threatens to break and crush any who chance upon it. Put simply, goodness for goodness sake isn’t compelling.

Even the most selfless martyrs and saints were hustling for the eternal reward of “well done my good and faithful servant,” spoken by the Almighty.

How can we expect people to settle for anything less?

There is still the mirror analogy. Organization demands an organizer, even a team - are we really expected to believe that evil has no director or board charting the course from below, given its prevalence and coordination in the world?

And how could we defeat such dark powers, except by invoking principalities of the light to aid us in battle?

Again, are there any suggestions?

Chalk art on display

“As we moe into the future, we will look to new solutions to drive our province forward. Although our world will change, our purpose will remain the same: to protect the public.”

The 3-D chalk art installation will showcase three major engineering feats which had a lasting impact on the province: the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the construction of the William R. Bennett Bridge and the demolition of Ripple Rock – a major navigational hazard in the Seymour Narrows.

Other chalk art displays will be created in Vancouver, Kelowna and Victoria.

Citizen staff

Music, Bunny love of Murray’s life

SENIORS’ SCENE

KATHY NADALIN

Alex Murray was born in 1932 and raised in Winnipeg, Man. By the age of 10, his parents and school teachers discovered that he had a beautiful soprano voice. His parents sent him for voice training lessons. As he matured, his voice changed from a soprano to a baritone voice.

Alex had a passion for singing at a very young age and he has been singing and performing ever since. He sang solos, took roles in operettas and oratories such as Handle’s Messiah, Haydn’s The Creation and Mendelssohn’s Elijah.

Alex said, “I enjoyed singing and entertaining from the start but I never considered turning my talent into a profession. Instead, I wanted a good steady job with a steady income that I could count on so that I could support my family.”

The Murray family left Manitoba in 1950 and settled in Victoria. Alex went to work for the CNR in a clerical position and nearly two years later he took a transfer and moved to Calgary where he met and married Betty-Marie (Bunny) Heath.

Alex reflected back and said, “Bunny was an accomplished ballet instructor, schooled at the Royal Academy of Dance ballet in Banff, Alta. and a member of the Banff School of Fine Arts.

“It didn’t take long and I was in love with her. She was a great dancer and I was a young man with a good voice. We had so much in common and we fell 100 per cent mutually in love. We got married in Calgary in 1954 and soon we started our family.

“Bunny got her nickname from her father who used to gently tweak her tiny nose as a child and then she would in turn wiggle her nose back at him like a bunny. This was always a special tease between the two of them.”

Alex Murray poses for a photo at his residence at the Prince George Chateau.

Alex was transferred to Richmond and worked out of North Vancouver.

In 1959, he went to work at Columbia Cellulose in their Vancouver office as their transportation manager. It was his job to supervise and negotiate the export of their wood pulp out of Prince Rupert to their overseas markets.

His take home pay was now much better so they bought a house in Richmond where they intended to stay.

“Eventually Northwood Pulp offered me a job working in Vancouver as their distribution manager for their pulp. The only problem was that the pulp mill in Prince George was still under construction and they were not ready to produce pulp. They wanted to retain me until they started production and to make a long story short, we sold our home and moved to Prince George in 1979.

“It turned out to be a great move. I retired from Northwood Pulp in 1992.”

As soon as they settled in Prince George, Alex formed the Alex Murray Singers (1981-1988). The choir was for women only and consisted of a three-part

harmony. Their accomplishments were many; the choir sang Broadway hits, some semi-classical music, sang to the shut-ins all over the city, held annual concerts and they were a part of the city’s popular Carol Fest.

Over time, Bunny became known as Mrs. M and her passion was the Performers North Assistance Fund. This fund supplied financial support to young performers who did not have the resources to pursue performing arts training.

Bunny believed that the funding was not to be necessarily based on talent but instead; it was to be based on passion and desire followed by talent for young people who would now be able to have a chance to develop their abilities.

Alex and Bunny had two children; Randy (Rosemary) and Judy (Bill) Russell who in turn gave them five grandsons; Andrew, Matthew, Jonathon, Christopher and Nolan and six great grandchildren.

Alex concluded by saying, “I am so proud to be the patriarch of the talented Murray-Russell family.

“Bunny worked from home and

raised our children. She was a superb teacher and an incredible stage and acting director. Between the two of us, we started producing musicals in 1979. We got involved with the Prince George Symphony Orchestra and sang in the HMS Pinafore and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, to name a few. Together we prepared the music for the chorus.

“Bunny and our daughter Judy built an incredible dance school here in Prince George. As time went by, the studio successfully evolved into Enchainment Productions Inc. on Opie Crescent.

“I want to take this opportunity to say that Bunny, Judy, Bill, the entire Russell family and I successfully produced over 47 productions – both musicals and plays – since 1979. We also did 16 runs of the fantastic Prince George seasonal favourite The Nutcracker accompanied by the Prince George Symphony Orchestra.

“I am now semi-retired but the rest of the family is still going strong.

“Bunny was the love of my life. Sadly, she passed away in 2011 after a long battle with cancer.”

Corporate DemoCrats untrustworthy

Pierre Trudeau once said to an American audience that “living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant... One is affected by every twitch and grunt.”

The United States has built one of the most powerful empires the world has ever known. The founders created an ingenious system to allow for free enterprise while also protecting the democratic rights of its citizens. They have faced some dark times, yet our neighbours to the south always found a way to pull through. When they needed them, great leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt stepped forward and brought the country through the crisis.

The United States is again facing a crisis. Since the Reagan era, income disparity has increased and life for ordinary Americans has become more difficult. Wealth and power have become concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer people. The American educational institution lags behind other developed

LESSONS IN LEARNING

GERRY CHIDIAC

countries, and life expectancy is actually dropping in the nation that was once the envy of the world.

The society which emerged from the Civil Rights era full of hope and optimism is becoming less and less tolerant. Genocide Watch, which assesses active and potential points of conflict in the world, concludes that the United States is at Stage 6 of the 10 Stages of Genocide. In other words, they are at the stage of polarization, characterized by polarizing propaganda being prevalent in the media.

The problem in the United States isn’t the structure of its democracy, it’s that power is in the hands of too few people. Though there are officially two main political parties, both are controlled by the power elite, and both promote policies which will continue to make rich

people richer and poor and middle-class people poorer.

These corporatists also control the media and public opinion polling companies. It is thus very difficult to get a clear idea as to what is even happening in that country. One can only hope to find credible information from much smaller and far less influential alternate media sources.

There is a glimmer of hope for improving the standard of living of ordinary Americans to that of citizens in other industrialized countries, where people enjoy free health care, a living wage, and excellent education systems. There is a progressive wing of the Democratic Party which is supported by growing numbers of Americans. The problem is that corporate America is doing all that they can to stop them, as evidenced by the obscene sums of money being spent to keep Bernie Sanders from gaining the party nomination as their presidential candidate in 2020. Corporate Democrats do not seem to realize they have lost the trust of the American people. Many voters were

so disillusioned by the lack of progress during the Obama years that they either voted for Republican Donald Trump or stayed home on election night in 2016. Donald Trump may be a corporatist himself, but at least he’s honest about it. He does not pretend to support human rights while passing policies which benefit only the rich.

If corporate Democrats have their way, Obama’s vice president Joe Biden will be their presidential candidate in 2020. Many doubt that he can generate enough trust from the American people to defeat Donald Trump.

Four more years of Trump will be as disastrous as the election of Herbert Hoover over Franklin Roosevelt would have been in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, if not much worse. Perhaps it is time for Canadians and citizens of other progressive countries to speak more openly in the media about the injustices faced by the common person in the United States. They deserve the same rights we have, and we need to remember that the potential instability of their country will impact all of us.

Citizen Photo by James Doyle

Tough year for kings

Ted Clarke Citizen staff

After winning their first league title last year and coming within a game of a national championship, the Prince George Spruce Kings were swept by the Trail Smoke Eaters in the first round of the B.C. Hockey League playoffs held las week.

Here’s what happened and what’s next for the Kings:

OffSeaSOn

- General manager Mike Hawes was left with 17 positions to fill from the team that went to the Canadian junior A championship.

- Alex Evin was promoted as a first-year BCHL head coach to replace Adam Maglio, who jumped to the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs in the off-season.

Just a month into the season, Evin’s associate, Jesse Leung, left the team for personal reasons and was replaced by Colin Minardi.

RegulaR SeaSOn

- The Kings went 18-32-3-5-0 overall which dropped the Kings to a 15thplace finish in the league and that pitted them in a crossover playoff against the highly-touted Smoke Eaters.

- They won a league-low seven games at home, going 7-15-3-4-0, their worst home record in 15 seasons.

Twelve of those 22 defeats were by onegoal margins and six were two-goal losses.

- The Kings lacked forward depth and

nexT SeaSOn

consequently scored a league-low 150 goals, averaging 2.58 per game in the season.

- Injuries devastated the blueline and top-line winger Chong Min Lee had his season cut short by the need for shoulder surgery just 24 games into a 58-game schedule.

- 12 different players came and went.

- Home crowds averaged 976, eighthbest in the 17 – team league and just slightly below the 983 crowd-count average last season.

- Evin will be back for the second year of a two-year contract.

- Fifteen players are eligible to return.

- The Kings will lose seven players off the roster, including overagers Nolan Welsh, Jarin Sutton, Jett Alexander, and Preston Brodziak, and college recruits Lee, Nick Bochen and Nick Poisson.

- Sixteen-year-old centre Fin Williams is a BCHL star in the making and his feisty nature and considerable play-

making skills will serve the Kings well for at least the next two seasons until he’s ready for the NCAA at Michigan.

- Fan favourite Corey Cunningham thrived in his second full season playing the wing for his hometown team and led the Kings with 26 goals, finishing second to Poisson with 44 points.

- Goalie Carter Woodside joined the Kings in November from the KIJHL and developed under Evin’s tutelage into a solid netminder capable of winning games his teammates did not deserve.

- Mason Waite joined the Kings from the North American league and his toughness, skating ability and smart decision-making provided a bastion of stability to the injury-plagued defence corps.

Key quOTeS:

Hawes

“It certainly didn’t play out the way we intended. We were a younger, inexperienced group and there were some growing pains.”

Welsh

“We showed we can be a good team, especially for the guys coming back. This is a big step for them to get their first experience in the playoffs and I thought a lot of them did well and it’s just going to build for next year.”

Evin

“I’m proud of our guys, the way they handled themselves as people and citizens in the community. It’s a good locker-room in there.”

Citizen photo

prince George Spruce Kings forward Andrew Seaman breaks in alone and tries to put the puck past trail Smoke eaters goaltender Logan terness last tuesday night at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena in the fourth game of their playoff series.

Team Canada eyes world curling gold

Ted Clarke Citizen staff

There’s a box of priceless treasure awaiting Kerri Einarson and the rest of her teammates when they arrive in Prince George this week to begin their quest for World Women’s Curling Championship.

It’s the bounty they earned for winning the Scotties Tournament of Hearts two weeks ago in Moose Jaw. Inside that box is the Team Canada gear they’ll be wearing on the ice at CN Centre for a nine-day tournament which could be the culmination of their collective curling dreams.

“I am most looking to receiving our Canada jackets, I really can’t wait to put that maple leaf on our back,” said Einarson.

“It feels really amazing and I think it’s finally starting to sink in.”

As Manitoba champions, Einarson and her team of third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard, lead Briane Meilleur and alternate Jennifer Clark-Rouire won the right to represent Canada and their home club in Gimli when they beat Rachel’s Homan’s Ontario rink 8-7 in the Scotties final, Feb. 23.

“Even putting the Manitoba jersey on for the Scotties was super-exciting for us, so it’s going to the same thing with the maple leaf, even more exciting, and I just get goosebumps thinking about

going to thrive off of that crowd and we’re going to feel the support behind us so I think that will be a good thing,” said Einarson.

The Scotties win was sweet vindication for the 32-year-old Einarson, who lost to Jennifer Jones in the national final in 2018 in Penticton, after finishing fourth in Canada in 2016.

Sweeting was a Scotties finalist as the Alberta skip in 2014 and 2015 and never lost faith she would get another chance.

“You never know for sure but we worked really hard and were having a good week and that’s all you can do is put yourself into those finals and one day it’ll pay off,” said Sweeting.

“The team just played really well. We got a couple breaks early and just ran with it. In that tough of a competition, that’s all you can do.”

Sweeting has never been to Prince George but heard positive reviews from curlers who attended the Road to the Roar Olympic trials qualifier at CN Centre in November 2009.

it now,” said Meilleur. “I know we can’t wait to get those uniforms and put them on for the first time and really let it sink in. It’s going to be a really surreal feeling.”

Canada will take on Eve Muirhead of

Scotland in the first game for both teams Saturday, at 7 p.m. Einarson doesn’t think she will feel any added pressure when she’s on the ice calling the shots for the host team.

“I don’t think so, I think we’re just

“They said it was just an excellent time and a really great venue and such a great host city,” said Sweeting, who lived with her family in Manitoba until she was 13, before moving to Saskatchewan and eventually Vegreville, Alta. “I’m looking forward to getting there and getting settled in and playing in front of that great crowd.”

Coronavirus plans in place for curling event

Citizen staff

If you’re worried about an increased threat of catching coronavirus and plan to avoid the crowds at the World Women’s Curling Championship, Kathy Henderson wants to put your mind at ease.

The chief executive officer for Curling Canada says every possible safeguard is being considered to ensure the safety of the athletes, officials, volunteers and fans who will converge on the city for the nine-day championship, March 14-22.

“Right now, as we proceed with proper precautions, the risk is extremely low of an outbreak in Prince George,” said Henderson.

“On behalf of Curling Canada we have confidence the health authorities in Prince George are prepped. The World Curling Federation has been communicating with the teams and the member nations about what they should be doing. We are ensuring that everybody knows proper public health protocols and pro-

cedures. The situation can change, and when and if it does, we’ll be prepped for any change. Right now, everything’s a go and we’re taking all necessary precautions.”

Henderson receives daily updates from the World Curling Federation, which is the ultimate authority for international curling events, and is also communicating with all levels of government and health authorities.

Concerns have been raised due to the fact four of the 13 women’s teams coming to Prince George - China, Japan, South Korea and Italy - are countries where the highest incidences of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases have been reported.

“I don’t know all the details on all the teams but what I do know is many of the teams have been practicing in Canada for weeks, if not months,” said Henderson. More than 100,000 cases worldwide have now been confirmed. Of the 3,400 deaths attributed to the virus, 3,015

were in China. In B.C., eight new cases were diagnosed Thursday and 51 people nationwide have been infected. Although one of the latest B.C. cases, a woman in her 80s, is in critical condition in Vancouver hospital, nobody has died in Canada from COVID-19.

Team Canada skip Kelly Einarson of Gimli, Man., said she’s not fearful the virus will overshadow the curling when begins her quest for the world title next Saturday at CN Centre with her team - third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard, lead Briane Meilleur, alternate Jennifer Clark-Rouire and coach Patti Wuthrich.

“I haven’t really worried about that too much,” said Einarson. “I’ve just kind of focused on us and our performance and not worrying too much about the coronavirus.

“I think we’re taking the necessary precautions and we’re just making sure we’re doing all those right things. I am not worried about it, as long as we’re

doing what we can to keep ourselves healthy.”

National women’s team coach and manager Elaine Dagg-Jackson said the team is taking the medical advice of Bob McCormick, the lead medical doctor for the Canadian Olympic Committee and also has a full-time health and wellness officer, Karen Watson, who guides the athletes on issues concerning nutrition, supplements and doping issues.

“This whole process is about impeccable hygiene, including handwashing, covering your nose and mouth when coughing, trying to cough and sneeze into your arm away from others (and) avoiding close contact with anybody who’s ill,” said Dagg-Jackson.

“We have precautions if any team member becomes ill. There is a process for self-isolation and special care.

“We have all sorts of backup plans in place, but really the whole thing hinges on due diligence and impeccable hygiene.”

Curling Canada photo by andrew Klaver

From left, Kerri Einarson, Patti Wuthrich (coach, back row), Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard, Jennifer Clark-Rouire (alternate, back row) and Briane Meilleur celebrate their 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts championship Feb. 23 in Moose Jaw, Sask.

This past Christmas, we spent a few days in downtown Calgary at a swanky hotel, paying something like 25 per cent of the normal price because there was just so very much room in the inn.

The very heart of Cowtown was notquite-eerily deserted as the pressing throngs headed to the ski hills for their dream vacations – among many, many thousands of others getting away from it all. It was a very pleasant fluke.

The posh domicile was barely half full, and the holly jolly desk clerk threw in free breakfast for the family – a seasonal gesture he offered before he saw the size of my extended family. Mwa ha ha, uh, I mean Ho Ho Ho!

The markets also headed for the hills this week again.

Actually, US markets are vaguely positive at this point on the five-day week, but the main winner seems to be unpredictability. On the other hand, as and when the COVID-19 runny nose blows over, as all the others have done, it’ll be

Zigging when others zag Management burnout solutions

How often have you seen management who look like they would prefer to be anywhere else but at their desk? Lately I have been working with a couple of managers of different organizations who are exactly in this position. They are lacking energy having worked to exhaustion for the company. They are starting to be short with their coworkers and their families, and in one of the cases, they were internalizing their frustrations and shutting down their communication with their boss. Does this sound familiar?

If you are a manager and you are feeling trapped, underappreciated, struggling in a company where you have no sense of ownership or purpose, you are not alone. In fact, it is quite common for managers who are focused on achieving the company’s vision and goals to get to this state of personal discouragement.

Michael Gerber puts it well in his book

Dollar-Forty-Nine day and the crowds will rush in after the bargains. Indicators from our RBC Economics team weigh in with encouraging core data, but for now it’s all tempered by the uncertainty of the intrepid bundle of chemicals sneezing red and green on the screen.

The US labour market was on solid footing through the first two months of the year with back-to-back payroll gains of 273,000.

That represents the best two-month increase in two years. A dip in the unemployment rate back to a 50-year low also made for what would normally be an encouraging report, though wage growth remained contained at three per cent year-over-year.

But given its backward-looking

The E Myth Manager where he states that there are rules of successful management which I summarize here.

To be a great manager, you need to know what you want to become and have a clear vision of what you want to do with your life.

You have to be willing and able to take responsibility for your future and managing yourself. You need to decide whether the future that you dream of, can be achieved doing what you are doing. If you want to be a good manager you need to hear and see yourself as others hear and see you and you really have to care about and show interest in those people you supervise.

This process of finding your own life’s vision is not always a simple task. As

nature, these numbers will do little to soothe financial markets amid growing worries about the economic impact of coronavirus. Labour market data likely won’t be the first to show signs of economic dislocation related to the outbreak and containment efforts. Business and consumer confidence information will be key indicators predicting an economic slowdown. Purchase Manager’s Index (PMI) data will show supply chain disruptions, and consumer spending data (particularly on travel, tourism and hospitality) are likely to show the earliest impacts. But any drop-off in hours worked (if people are forced to stay home due to school or workplace closures) or layoffs due business disruption would indicate a deeper impact from the coronavirus outbreak. So while recent payroll numbers are impressive, this data is already well past its sell-by date. All of us intend prescience as we stab at market timing, but we are up against Eris, (the Goddess of Chaos), and clearly outmatched. The most reliable ideas are

stay-fluff marshmallow-big, juicy, and low-hanging. Solid earnings, reliable dividends, long-term viability, and the occasional good old early-bird discount if we happen to have cash on hand when Woodwards has too many bananas.

Put another way, if you had a welldesigned global balanced portfolio the day you hung up your chocolate-a-day advent calendar last year, but fell and hit your head and lay in a coma until yesterday, chances are your portfolio would be about where it was the day you fell over.

Plus, you’d have 24 chocolates to eat. Not a bad deal really.

- Mark Ryan is an investment advisor with RBC Dominion Securities Inc. (Member–Canadian Investor Protection Fund), and these are Mark’s views, and not those of RBC Dominion Securities. This article is for information purposes only. Please consult with a professional advisor before taking any action based on information in this article. See Ryan’s website at: http://dir.rbcinvestments. com/mark.ryan

a successful manager, you may have always thought that you have had to focus on achieving the company objective. But let’s look at it this way. If the company objective is for you to drive a team of people to achieve high sales goals, you might be invigorated by this if your personal vision is to have lots of money or be a top sales manager. However, if you decide your purpose in life is to work in a low-stress environment and spend more time with your family which is more important than achieving high sales or more money, then of course you are going to feel unmotivated and eventually burned out. While it might be counterintuitive, as a manager you must think about what you personally need first. If the company can provide for many of those needs you will be able feel energized in managing that business. Ultimately as Gerber says, once a person has decided that the management position has potential, the manager needs to think like an owner in terms of where money is coming from

CMA offer direct flights to Calgary

Central Mountain Air will be launching direct flights to and from Calgary starting on May 3.

Flights will depart Prince George at 4:25 p.m. six days a week, Sunday to Friday, and arrive at 7:15 p.m.

Return flights will leave Calgary at 8 a.m., Monday to Thursday,and arrive in Prince George at 9:05 a.m. Calgary flights will depart at 10:45 a.m. on Fridays and Sundays, arriving in P.G. at 11:50 a.m.

Central Mountain Air announced other flight changes on Thursday, including new service between Fort St. John and Edmon-

ton, and the cancellation of direct flights from Prince George to Dawson Creek.

“We are excited to increasingly connect vibrant the communities of Prince George and Fort St. John to Alberta and the rest of the world with convenient and costeffective air service,” Central Mountain Air CEO Bob Cummings said in a press release.

and where it is going. A great manager looks at the processes of the business and tries to make them better. A great manager understands the needs of their staff and works to help them to reach their potential. By achieving success in these areas, you will be re-energized, re-motivated as a manager.

As business leaders we need to ensure that our managers are not burning out by giving them the skills, opportunities, and trust, to build and improve our organizations. We need to encourage, celebrate, and enjoy the successes that these managers create and not be threatened by them. Both leaders and managers have a responsibility to better their workplaces by creating environments and cultures that are conducive to fulfilling lives, dreams, and visions of both owners and managers.

- Dave Fuller, MBA, is an awardwinning Certified Professional Business Coach. Email your questions to dave@ profityourselfhealthy.com

“Direct flights between Prince George and Dawson Creek will end on March 30.

Central Mountain Air will be competing with WestJet, which also offers direct flights between Prince George and Calgary.

The airline will be offering special introductory rates, up to 40 per cent off, on flights to Calgary from May 3 and July 19.

Living with spoons

Therearemanyphysicaleffectsthatbrain injured survivors struggle with. Today I want to share with you the limited number of daily activities survivors are capable of accomplishing. If boundaries are not established, this will lead to energy crashes.

At the Brain Injured Group (BIG), members like me are taught the Spoon Theory. The theory is that well-rested brain injured folks start their day off with 12 spoons. Getting showered and dressed can take up two spoons.

Making a meal can take away two spoons. Having a phone conversation can deplete two spoons. Five spoons are gone after a grocery shopping trip. A survivor can use most of their spoons by noon. Then what for the rest of the day?

It could mean a lengthy nap, quiet down time and no spoons left to clean the house, make dinner or socialize with a friend. Depending on the amount of daily activities done in a day, a survivor may wake up the next morning and have only six spoons, three spoons or none.

I still struggle with pacing myself. There have been many times I have been in bed for three days recovering from trying to be productive after all 12 spoons were gone for the day.

BOGGLED

DIANE NAKAMURA

These are called energy crashes and they are a common symptom which is grossly misunderstood.

With brain injury, it takes survivors so much energy to focus and complete tasks that prior to the injury was a piece of cake. Family, friends and employers often have difficulties understanding how exhausting it is to have a brain injury and only nr capable of accomplishing a fraction of the tasks we did before.

Family members in particular have a difficult time with this because they are used to survivors being there for them unconditionally.

Kids, including adult kids can become frustrated, angry and resentful because their brain-injured parent cannot meet their needs. This is a normal and natural response.

As survivors grieve the loss of who they once were, so do the people around them. Brain injured survivors are often regarded as lazy, unmotivated, selfish, not trying

hard enough to get better - the list goes on. Survivors become stressed very easily and this can cause the spoons to disappear very quickly.

For me, any type of stress, negativity and drama causes me to flood or shut down.

Flooding is a whole other topic which I will cover in my next column.

In order to conserve spoons throughout the day and evening, survivors have to be regimented in their schedule.

Generally, I am capable of doing two outings a day, like attending an appointment, grocery shopping, meeting a friend for lunch.

My calendar is like my bible.

I look at my calendar before I schedule appointments and outings in order to avoid overloading myself.

Last minute requests do not work because they have not been planned into the schedule. I inform people that I need at least 24 hours notice and even then, I may not be able to accommodate their requests depending on what’s going on in my world.

Most days I’ve spent my 12 spoons by 5 p.m.

As a result, I rarely go out in the evening because I don’t have the energy to socialize - or even talk. When I’m exhausted, I slur my words like I’m intoxicated from

Revenge of the nerds

The tech guys from Vancouver were in recently. Something about “network upgrades” and “migrating onto the corporateservers”andsomeotherKlingon talk no one understands but they like to spout in fancy polysyllabic tongue twisters to make themselves feel good and sound important.

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, the 10 most terrifying words in the English language are: “I’m from the IT department and I’m here to help.”

We didn’t get off to a good start when one of the nerds scurried into my office to ask about blahblahblahblah. He didn’t like it when I replied that if he’d stop speaking tech nerd 2.0, I might have an idea what he wanted. And it went downhill from there. Each day, everything got worse and by Friday morning, I couldn’t even log onto my computer, never mind access the network, read emails, update the website, chat on the phone (run through the

NIGHT SHIFT

NEIL GODBOUT

Interweb), edit the stories of reporters or anything else I’m supposed to do. If weather forecaster is the only job in the world where you get paid to be wrong more than half the time, tech support is the only job in the world where upgrades are downgrades, you get to talk down to your customers without consequence and where you get to create problems (like network enhancements and server migrations) in order to fix them at a later time of your choosing.

Unfortunately, I’ve taken it out on the equipment in the past.

“You’re missing your screen cover?” the tech guy asked me as he was “working” on

my computer.

“Oh, that’s just what happened the last time I had the endless spinning wheel of death while trying to get work done on deadline, which is all the time in my world,” I replied.

Instead of answering, because computer geeks don’t follow standard conversation protocols because it is beneath them, he abruptly looked down at the keyboard and started typing urgently (none of them can touch type).

Then he sat back to watch the spinning wheel. He took a breath and opened his mouth, I suspect to ask about the handsome dent on the top of my monitor, but then thought better of it.

My staff were also struggling, trying to do their jobs with both hands tied behind their backs. The only consolation I was able to provide was to pass out more of the chocolate chip cookies photographer James Doyle brought in and make sports

alcohol. I often don’t return phone messages, texts or emails after 5 p.m. because my day is done.

For the purpose of survival, it’s vital for brain injured survivors to set boundaries with the people in their lives.

This is so extremely difficult to do because accepting the new normal for the survivor and others can take a long time.

Say if us survivors had a bandage wrapped around our heads, it wouldn’t be an invisible disability and perhaps the people around us would acknowledge our limitations. I

’ve experienced many incidents of people not respecting my boundaries and for us survivors this is extremely frustrating and upsetting.

Even trying to educate people on the effects of brain injury can be an uphill battle.

I’ve learned to expect that some people will get it and others won’t.

As difficult as it is for survivors to wrap their heads around their new normal, the people in their lives experience the same. For survivors to maintain balance (physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual) and healthy relationships can be an ongoing struggle.

conversation.

“You can login now,” tech guy said, walking away.

So I did.

And my computer was as good as new.

And by good as new, I mean that the computer has forgotten all of my settings, network connections, preferred applications and everything else about its identity. Meanwhile, the Image Archive server, where we keep all of our photographs dating back to 2000, disappeared and they were trying to find it. We were in a panic but they seemed so calm. That’s probably because their flight back to Vancouver was leaving in four hours.

I offered them a ride up to the airport (so I could drop them off in Salmon Valley) but they cheerfully pointed to the full-size pickup rental sitting in the parking lot.

I asked them if they had a licence to operate heavy machinery.

They didn’t laugh.

Hateful comments can haunt you: expert

arthur williams Citizen staff

Sticks and stones may break bones, but posts online can haunt you forever, according to a social media expert.

UNBC assistant professor Kafui Monu’s research is focused on social media and business, which includes how human resources professionals use social media to screen potential hires.

“I actually just read a recent paper looking at how human resources professionals are using social media,” Monu said. “It is very easily searchable, to the point it can be highly automated. In the future... and when I say the future I mean a year from now, bots will be designed to search

people’s social media posts. No person has the time to search through everything, but a bot does.”

A recent, and yet-to-be-published, research paper looking at social media use found that examining social media posts was just as good or better at predicting a person’s personality traits and fit with a company’s corporate culture as formal personality testing, Monu said. While social media posts are “curated” by the poster, they still represent a clear insight into that person’s attitudes and behaviour, he said.

Posts of a racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise bigoted nature could be red flags for a potential employer.

In addition, he said, depending on company policies around social media, employers may be within their right to discipline or fire an employee for offensive comments online. Comments that cross the line into hate speech, as defined in the Criminal Code of Canada, could face legal consequences as well, he added.

Citizen stories on the Wet’suwet’en blockade of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, the railway blockades in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, and the proposed renaming of Kelly Road Secondary School has prompted a flurry of heated comments online.

One comment, made on a change.org petition, to keep the Kelly Road name,

suggested Indigenous people should “get a job & pay taxes like the rest of us or starve & die,” and should be run through a wood wood chipper if they don’t want to work. That prompted one person to forward a screen shot of the comment to the poster’s employer, The Citizen and the RCMP. One comment characterized anyone opposed to the Kelly Road name change as “Nazis.”

Others suggested the railway blockades could be solved with water cannons or running people over with trains.

A spokesperson for the Prince George RCMP did not return requests for comment on whether police are investigating any of those comments as possible hate crimes.

CL ASSI FIEDS

Please

In Loving Memory of

In Loving Memory of

October 30, 1997March 8, 2019

There is a special angel in Heaven that is a part of us. It is not where we wanted her to be but where God wanted her to be.

Natalie was here but just a moment like a night-time shooting star. And though Natalie is in Heaven

She isn’t very far.

Natalie touched the hearts of many like only an angel can do. We would’ve held her every minute, If the end, we only knew. So, we send this special message to Heaven up above.

And send her all our love.

Please God, take care of our angel Nats

4ever Loved 4ever Shining 4ever 21

Nick & Molina, Kalen, Kinnon Terry & Connie Zoey & JD…numerous family and friends

JODY SCHROEDER 2x63.8 PGC001972

SCHROEDER,GerhardJ.

July08,1948-February24,2020

ItiswithgreatsadnessthatthefamilyofGerardJohann SchroederannounceshispassingonMonday,February 24,2020,attheageof71.Afterwinningseveralbattles withachronicheartconditionoversixyearsandlivinglife thewayhewanted,Gerardpassedawaypeacefully, surroundedbyhisimmediatefamilyattheSaintPaul’s HospitalinVancouver,BC.Gerardhadafulllifeand careerinBritishColumbiawithaten-yeardetourin Edmonton,Alberta,beforereturningtoPrinceGeorge, BC.GerardplayedhockeyinMerritt,foughtforestfires, becameamillwright,journeymancarpenter,automobile mechanic,andbuiltseveralbusinessesoverhiscareer. Gerardwillbelovinglyrememberedbyhiswifeof50 years,Gitta;andhischildren,Jody(Kathy)andRyan (Danielle).Gerardwillalsobefondlyrememberedbyhis siblings,Naomi,Billie,andPaul;theirfamilies;andbyhis fourgrandchildren,Nicole,Ashley,KatieandJackson. ACelebrationofLifeinmemoryofGerardwillbeheldon March21forfamilymembers.InLieuofflowers,those whosodesiremaymakememorialdonationsinmemory ofGerardtotheHeartandStrokeFoundation,at14807 Ave,PrinceGeorge,BC-V2L3P2.

REMEMBRANCES

CARRIE STEVENSON

2x26.1

PGC001973

Guillet,MaureenP.

April05,1947-February29,2020

MaureenGuillet,72,leftusonFebruary29,2020,with herchildrenbyherside.ShewasthewidowofFrank Guillet,whopassedawayin1991,andhadsharedmany greatyearsofmarriagetogether.Mrs.Guilletissurvived byherchildren,Mark(Carrie)andJoey(Heidi);andher fourgrandchildren,Travis,Hailey,Danielle,andBlake. Sheisalsogoingtobemisseddearlybyhersisters, Sheila(Wayne)andColleen(Neil);andbrother,Jim (Mary);andmanyniecesandnephews. AMemorialServiceforMaureenwillbeannouncedata laterdate.

Jesse Steppler

Oct 21, 1954 - Jan 31, 2020

With great sadness we announce the passing of Jess. He loved golf, fishing, road trips, backyard fires and talking about his family. Jess couldn’t go anywhere without being spotted because of his fedora, big smile and his willingness to help.

He leaves a big hole in the hearts of his children Adam and Dawn (Beth and Jason). His grandchildren Owen, Casandra, Kersten, Austen, Haley, Emily and Olivia, his brothers Barry and Terry, his sister Michelle and his numerous nieces and nephews. Jess was predeceased by his parents Clarence and Ruby, his sister Sharon and brother Cliff.

We hope Jess is happy where he is with a coffee and a “smoke full of sunshine” and Eva by his side.

In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to the Prince George Hospice Society. Celebration of life will be held at the Legion on March 15th, 2020 from 11 am to 4 pm .

Ben

and Greg. Grandchildren Brandan ( Candace), Christopher (Micaela), Rachael (Jonathan), Cassidy, Jordana (Matthew), Laura Wall (Geordan), Naomi , and predeceased by Thomas Arjen. Greatgrandchildren Brynlee and Reuben. The celebration of life will be held at Westside Family Fellowship on Sunday, March 8th, 2pm. In lieu of flowers, consider gifts to the New Life Center (1164-3rd Ave Prince George).

PARISIAN 2x46.3 PGC001974

Parisian,Gerry(Sonny)JohnEdward November21,1971-December14,2019

ItisheartbreakingtoannouncethatSonnyParisianhas diedattheageof48.Heissurvivedbyhiswife,Jennifer; andboys,AshtonandTristan.Predeceasedbyhisfather, Gerald,heleaveshisstepmother,Joanne;mother, Patricia;sisters,Laurie,Gerri-Lyn,Isca,andAmee-Jo; andanadoringcollectionofaunts,uncles,cousins, nieces,andnephews,andfriends.Aproudfather,hard worker,andafun-lovingandloyalman,hewillbe rememberedforhisamazinghugs,bigsmile,andaneven biggerheart.AcelebrationofhislifewillbeheldonApril 4at5PMattheKinsmenHall,777kinsmenplace,Prince George,BC.

Obituaries In Memoriam

Natalie Rae Cameron

Ben Spyker

Feb 2, 1935Mar 4, 2020

Ben Spyker Sr. went home to Jesus March 4, 2020. Loved greatly, missed by family and friends. Born February 8, 1935 in Den Haque Holland. Survived by wife Marlene, sons Raymond,

Jr. (Laurie),

JENNIFER

May 26, 1923 –Dec 4, 2019

A celebration of life will be held at 11:00 AM on March 14th, 2020 at the Royal Canadian Legion 1116 Sixth Avenue, Prince George BC.

Linda Anne Benoit

January 17, 1951March 6, 2020

Linda passed away after a courageous battle with cancer in Prince George, BC.

She will be lovingly remembered by : her soulmate Stewart Bertrand, daughter Tina Benoit (Ian), siblings Brian Huculak (Robin), Lori Clapson (Bryan), Karen Huculak, Gail Gomilar (Rudy), Michael O’Keefe (Colleen), Doug O’Keefe, Aunt Josie Lenhart.

Predeceased by: grandparents Max & Nadia Jankow, grandmother Anne Hucular, father Alex Huculak, mother Mary O’Keefe, brother Larry Huculak.

There will be a celebration of life at a later date in Prince George, BC and Edmonton, AB. Memorial donations in Linda’s name can be made to the Prince George SPCA.

Arthur Buse

July 13, 1933 –March 08, 2020

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Art on Sunday morning. He went home to be with the Lord with his children around him at Rotary Hospice House in Prince George.

He is survived by his wife, Gertrude, daughter Betty Ann and husband Eric, son Arthur and wife Joanne, his grandchildren and their wives Joshua and Ryann, Stephen and Kristen , Nicolas, Matthew and Kassie, his great grandchildren Jayden and Zoe, and his brothers, Bill, Adolf, Dieter and George and their families.

Art was born in Europe and immigrated to Canada in 1948 with his parents and brothers, settling in Barrhead, Alberta where he began his carpentry career. In 1969, Art moved his family to Prince George where they have resided for the past 51 years. He worked for Viking Construction until his retirement and then became more involved in the community with Kiwanis, serving as president, for a number of years and Habitat for Humanity where he assisted in the construction of a number of homes. He was actively involved in Our Saviours Lutheran Church where they attended and faithfully served for 51 years. Art and Gertie enjoyed visiting family, gardening, travelling, and warmer climates in their retirement years and cherished time with family.

Art will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Our Saviours Lutheran Church 11:00am on Saturday, March 14, 2020.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Prince George Rotary Hospice House or the Prince George Cancer Clinic.

KNOX (Leeson), Donalda

May

Aug 31, 1923 - Mar 2, 2020

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Donalda May Knox. Mom went peacefully to be with her Savior on March 2, 2020 at the Health Care Centre in Brooks, Alberta. She was born August 31, 1923 at her home in rural Saskatchewan. She was 96 years old. She has gone bravely into eternity, looking forward to many happy reunions.

Predeceased by her parents Joseph Henry (Harry) Leeson and Hazel Della (McNevin), 11 siblings, husband John Allen Munro Knox, daughter Linda Patricia Knox, grandchildren Norman Charles Shaw Jr, Donald James Shaw, James John Edward Knox, Christle Alexis Kucheravy, great grandchildren Shanna Lee Lortie, Carl Ronald Hanson, son’s-in-law Robert Blackwell and Wilfred Bourque.

A long-time resident of Prince George from 1948 to 2000, she retired to Chase for several years. Mom was an avid musician, and played in numerous bands in Prince George, Vanderhoof and Chase, BC over a sixty-year time span. She was self taught and played the guitar and the piano, as well as enjoying several other instruments. She also enjoyed serving as a Sunday school teacher for over 30 years at the First Baptist Church in Prince George and worked as a Nurses Aid at an extended care hospital.

Survived by her children: Karen (Grant) Hommy, April (Norman) Shaw, Donald Knox, Della Bourque, Jane Blackwell, James Knox, Carol Knox, Dennis Knox and numerous grandchildren. Special thanks to the caring staff at Brooks Health Care Centre.

Funeral service will be held in Prince George, BC on July 22, 2020.

BLACK PRESS - CLASSIFIEDS

R0011800231

3.00x77.0-BW

PG16 / 615595

Certified Millwright

Babine Forest Products is currently searching for a Certified Millwright to join our Burns Lake operation.

The successful candidate will have substantial knowledge of machines and tools, including their design, use, repair and maintenance. You will have experience installing equipment, machines, wiring or programs to meet specifications. You will be confident in determining the appropriate tools or equipment needed to complete a job and must be able to troubleshoot efficiently and be proficient with mathematics.

The demands of this position require that you; are in good physical condition, are able to visualize how something will look after it has been moved or rearranged, have the ability to see details at close range, have excellent manual dexterity and coordination.

Preferred qualifications would be a minimum of 5 years in an in a sawmill environment and certification from a recognized institution. Good verbal and written communication is also necessary for this position.

Babine Forest Products, working jointly with First Nations, provides equal opportunity for employment including First Nation status privileges. We offer competitive compensation, benefits and the potential for career advancement. Hourly rate for this position is per the USW Local 1-2017 Collective Agreement.

Resumes will be accepted until March 23, 2020. We wish to thank all those who apply; however only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Please forward your resume to:

Anne Currie, Human Resources Assistant Babine Forest Products Limited 503-291-5591 (Confidential Fax) #HRCanada@hamptonlumber.com

Babine Forest Products Limited, Burns Lake BC

BLACK PRESS - CLASSIFIEDS R0011800274

3.00x84.0-4C PG16 / 615595

Mar 27(Recert) Mar 28 & 29 (New) 1-866-737-2389 or roadsafetytcs.com

HIRING Drivers

*Fort St James, Prince George, Quesnel, Mackenzie, Chetwynd, Williams Lake* Contact Tanner @ 250-571-7879 or send resume to Work@arrow.ca Website: jobs.arrow.ca

R0011800231

MAINTENANCE SUPERINTENDENT

Hampton Canada Services Ltd. is currently searching for a full time Maintenance Superintendent to join our Fort St. James Forest Products operation. The Maintenance Superintendent reports directly to the Canadian Regional Operations Manager and is responsible for day-to-day comprehensive maintenance activities for the operation.

The successful candidate will have strong communication, mathematics, organization and problem solving skills. Red Seal certification in industrial mechanics (Millwright) is preferred. Good hand-eye coordination and a strong understanding of mechanical and engineering concepts are required. You should be detail oriented with an ability to meet deadlines and oversee teams, and have advanced knowledge of Microsoft applications (specifically Excel). Familiarity with financial and production metrics, dimension sawmill and planer operations (including maintenance requirements), capital projects and budgeting would be an advantage. Core responsibilities include: coordinating activities such as cleanup, training, staffing, and tracking the maintenance needs for the facility, working closely with each department to ensure machine centers produce what’s needed to fulfill our customer obligations and ensure that the facility is properly maintained and protected from losses.

We offer competitive compensation, benefits and the potential for advancement and provide equal opportunity for employment.

Resumes will be accepted until March 31, 2020. We wish to thank all those who apply; however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Please forward your resume to:

Anne Currie, Human Resources Assistant Hampton Canada Services Ltd. 503-291-5591 (Confidential Fax) #HRCanada@hamptonlumber.com

Fort St. James Forest Products, Fort St. James BC

r0011800274

Jones, Samuel George

LARGE Res. lot, serviced, green belt on back, Oak Ridge Cres, Hart hwy. $89,900 obo 250-5623886 LOT for Duplex, 4-plex or apartment/condo. Fully zoned. Ready for permit. Near Multiplex & Walmart. 250-961-6786

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VELOPMENT OF A PEST MANAGEMENT PL AN

Integrated Vegetation Management Plan Reference Number: TCE – CGL 2020/25

Applicant: Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd

450 – 1st Street S W., Calgary, Alberta, T2P 5H1

Phone: 1-778-328-5301 Toll-free: 1-855-633-2011

Fax: 1-403-920-2200

Email: coastalgaslink@tcenergy com

As per the Integrated Pest Management Regulation of British Columbia, Section 61(1) notice is given that a draft Integrated Vegetation Management Plan (IVMP) has been prepared for the Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project (the Project) The purpose of this plan is to provide a framework to manage the growth and spread of invasive plants and noxious weeds and to control undesirable vegetation required during construction and operation of the Project

The geographical areas covered by this proposed IVMP overlap with Peace River Regional District, Fraser Fort George Regional District, Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine, and the District of Kitimat Specifically, these areas include locations near the communities of Dawson Creek, Fort St John, Groundbirch, Chetwynd, Prince George, Vanderhoof, Fraser Lake, Burns Lake, Houston, Smithers, Kitimat and Terrace The IVMP will apply to all components of the Project including the pipeline right-of-way, compressor and meter station sites, access roads and ancillary sites. The IVMP will be active from 2020 to 2025

Herbicide applications are intended within the areas to which the IVMP applies to control invasive and noxious weeds and undesirable vegetation

The herbicides that may be used under this IVMP are included in the table

A person wishing to contribute information about a proposed treatment site, relevant to the development of the pest management plan, may send copies of the information to the applicant at the address above within 30 days of the publication of this notice.

*Trade Name(s) Active Ingredient

Telar XP Chlorsulfuron

Lontrel 360/Transline Clopyralid

Banvel VM Dicamba

Clearview Brush Aminopryalid/ Metsulfuron methyl

Milestone Aminopryalid

Hasten NT Methyl and ethyl oleate (esterified vegetable oil)

Tordon 22K Picloram

2,4-D Amine 600 (Ester 700)

MCPA Ester 600 (Amine 600)

Roundup

2,4-D

MCPA

WeatherMax Glyphosate

Roundup Transorb Glyphosate

Arsenal Imazapyr

Garlon RTU Triclopyr

Navius VM Aminocyclopyrachlor Metsulfuron methyl

Esplanade SC Indaziflam

Karmex DF (XP) Diuron

*Note: Alternative products containing any of the Active Ingredients above or combinations thereof may be substituted for the products mentioned on this list

Proposed methods of applying pesticides may include: cut surface, basal bark, or foliar/broadcast applications including; backpack, AT V or truck mounted sprayer

The proposed IVMP and maps of the encompassing area can be examined at the following libraries:

• Dawson Creek Municipal Librar y

• Fort St. John Public Librar y

• Chetwynd Public Librar y

• Prince George Public Librar y Vanderhoof Public Librar y Fraser Lake Public Librar y Burns Lake Public Librar y

• Houston Public Librar y

• Smithers Public Librar y

NORTH CENTRAL BAILIFFS LTD 2x94.0 R0011804111 COURT BAILIFF SALE

www.northcentralbailiffs.bc.ca

The Court Bailiff offers for sale by tender bid, interest in the following goods of the Judgement Debtor(s): Thomas Scanlan & Timothy Scanlan, DBA Precise Towing, pursuant to a Writ of Seizure and Sale, Prince George Registry No. 1956417. *Preference may be given to bulk purchaser*

Power tools, Hand tools, Socket sets, Welders, Pressure washer, Sand Blasting tank, Tool chests, Tool carts, Engine hoist, Jack stands, Hydraulic vehicle jacks, Bottle jacks, Pallet jack, Ladders, Shop brooms, Shovels, Engine analyzer, Battery charger, Tire pump, Generator, Wheel carts, Electrical cords, Light stand, Storage bins, Office supplies, Computer monitor, Printer, Office chairs, Flat Deck Box, 1978 Ford F350 Custom VIN# F37SCBC5562

Item(s) can be viewed at our 2706 Jasper St. & Ottawa St and 3rd Ave compound(s) in Prince George. Go to www.northcentralbailiffs.bc.ca to view photographs. Closing date: March 30, 2020. Highest or any other bid not necessarily accepted. Bidders are solely responsible for determining the make, model, year of manufacture, condition, quantities, sets and or usefulness of all items for tender. All items are sold on an “as is, where is” basis with no warranty given or implied. As vehicles have not been inspected, we are declaring that they may not be suitable for transportation and may not be compliant with the motor vehicle act. Sale is subject to cancellation or adjournment without notice. Terms of sale: Immediate payment in full by bank draft or cash only upon acceptance of successful bid. Call (250) 564-4900 for details.

R0011805134

CROOKED RIVER NOTIFICATION

3.00x70.0-BW

PG16 / 615595

Coastal GasLink hereby gives notice that a submission has been added to the Navigable Waters Registry pursuant to the Canadian Navigable Waters Act for public comment described herein and its site and plans.

Pursuant to paragraph 10(1)(b) of the said Act, Coastal GasLink has deposited with the Minister of Transport, on the on-line Navigable Waters Registry http://cps.canada.ca/ and under registry number 800, a description of the following work, its site and plans:

Proposed bridge over Crooked River in British Columbia at Latitude North: 54°39’20” Longitude West: 122°45’31”.

Comments regarding the effect of this work on marine navigation can be sent through the Common Project Search site mentioned above under the Comment section (search by the above-noted registry #800) or, by sending your comments directly to 450 - 1 Street S.W. Calgary, Alberta, T2P 5H1 or 1-855-633-2011, if you do not have access to the internet.

Note that comments will be considered only if they are received not later than 30 days after the publication of this notice.

Signed at Calgary, Alberta this 12 day of March 2020

Lara Smandych

BLACK PRESS - CLASSIFIEDS

R0011805136

STUART RIVER NOTIFICATION

3.00x70.0-BW PG16 / 615595

Coastal GasLink hereby gives notice that a submission has been added to the Navigable Waters Registry pursuant to the Canadian Navigable Waters Act for public comment described herein and its site and plans. Pursuant to paragraph 10(1)(b) of the said Act, Coastal GasLink has deposited with the Minister of Transport, on the on-line Navigable Waters Registry http://cps.canada.ca/ and under registry number 721, a description of the following work, its site and plans: Proposed bridge over Stuart River in British Columbia located at Latitude North 54°10’29.30” and Longitude West 123°40’55.00”.

Comments regarding the effect of this work on marine navigation can be sent through the Common Project Search site mentioned above under the Comment section (search by the above-noted registry #721) or, by sending your comments directly to 450 - 1 Street S.W. Calgary, Alberta, T2P 5H1 or 1-855-633-2011, if you do not have access to the internet.

Note that comments will be considered only if they are received not later than 30 days after the publication of this notice. Signed at Calgary, Alberta this 12 day of March, 2020

Lara Smandych

R0011805134