PRINCE GEORGE
Stilts solve flooding problems for riverside homeowners
TED CLARKE
People thought Emma Broomsgrove and her partner Garrett Fedorkiw were out of their minds nine years ago when they decided to buy a house on a Prince George street prone to flooding almost every year from the Fraser River spring runoff. At the time they took possession of the house on Farrell Street overlooking Pad-
dlewheel Park, their street was partially under water.
But Broomsgrove and Fedorkiw had a plan to raise the nearly 1,000 square-foot house off its foundation and put it on stilts nine feet above the flood plain –seven feet higher than where it originally rested when it was built in the 1950s. They hired a local contractor, Helix Foundation Systems, who dug down and, using
steel beams, gradually picked the house up off its foundation.
The $120,000 project was completed last spring after two weeks of construction.
The couple spent a further $80,000 to renovate the inside of their now-waterproof house.
PARKADE REPORT UPSETS SKAKUN
ARTHUR WILLIAMS
An independent legal review into the city’s downtown parkade project that went millions overbudget didn’t go far enough, Coun. Brian Skakun says. Skakun said he still wants to see an external investigation into the matter by the provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs. In addition, he believes the city needs to follow the lead of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and request a comprehensive forensic audit of the city’s finances.
“This report leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Why was there such an effort to keep this information from the public and from council? Why did this happen?”
Skakun said he’s not satisfied the $34.16 million final price tag reported to council –$22.46 million for the parkade, $597,138 to connect the parkade to the city’s district energy system, and $11.1 million for water and sewer upgrades in the area and other off-site works – is the total cost of the project. The parkade project had an initial budget of $12.6 million.
The report spelled out the timeline of what happened and raised concerns regarding the city’s due diligence prior to signing the agreement with developer A & T Project Developments, Skakun said.
‘I HAVE on page 2
CITIZEN STAFF PHOTO
Emma Broomsgrove and her dog Birdy stand outside the front of their Farrell Street home in South Fort George.
VOLUNTEER WITH THE CITY OF PRINCE GEORGE
Makeadifference in your community!
The City is currently seeking residents interested in serving on the following committee:
•AdvisoryCommittee on Development Design One (1) Vacancy
This Committee meets bi-weekly or as needed, to provide advice to City Council on mattersrespecting policies and guidelines affecting the City’sphysical/built environment as well as applications for development permits in accordance with the Committee TermsofReference. The Committee serves to encourage well-planned development in the City that considersthe areas of public health, safety,convenience, climate, accessibility and aesthetics.
Applications from individuals with expertise, experience, certification and/or representation in the following categories will be considered. Clearly indicate on your application to which categoryyou are applying:
• Landscape Professional;
•Architectural or design representative associated with building construction and site development in the City of Prince George;
•Representative with experience in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED);
•Registered Professional Planner;or
•Representative from the NorthernRegional Construction Association.
The City is accepting applications to fill one (1) vacancy for atwo-year termeffective on appointment by Council and ending March 31, 2023.
Individuals interested in serving on this committee must be available to attend regularly scheduled meetings on Wednesdays from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Interested individuals should include aresume detailing their expertise, experience, and certification in the categoryto which theyare applying
Information on this committee including the application formand details on the application process are available on the City’swebsite (www.princegeorge.ca/committees) or maybepicked up from the Legislative Services Division, 5th Floor,City Hall.
Deadline for all Applications: 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Applications maybecompleted and submitted online (www.princegeorge.ca/committees), delivered to the Service Centre, FirstFloor,City Hall, at the address below, or emailed to cityclerk@princegeorge.ca.
Forany questions, or to have an application formmailed to you, please contact the Legislative Services Division at (250) 561-7655 or cityclerk@princegeorge.ca.
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REPORT FINDS ‘TROUBLING’ LACK OF DISCLOSURE
ARTHUR WILLIAMS
An independent legal review highlights several key missteps by the City of Prince George in handling the construction of a new underground parkade downtown that ended up going millions of dollars overbudget without city council knowing about it.
The preliminary budget for the project was $12.6 million, but the final cost came to $34.16 million – $22.46 million for the parkade, $597,138 to connect the parkade to the city’s district energy system, and $11.1 million for water and sewer upgrades in the area, and other off-site works.
In his report, lawyer and municipal law expert Sukhbir Manhas outlined a number of occasions when city council could have been informed of the real cost of the project, prior to
December 2020, when a report came to city council after a request by Coun. Brian Skakun.
The lack of disclosure to council started in November 2017, when council was briefed during a closed meeting on the proposed partnership agreement with project developer A &T Project Developments.
While the report to council in 2017 did make it clear that the city would be responsible for the cost of construction and any off-site services or other works, the report “does not contain any explicit cautions relating to the uncertainty around those costs; the report presents a best-case scenario,” Manhas wrote.
City staff were informed by project developer A &T Project Developments on July 4, 2018 that the project would be roughly $7 million over budget. A
report to city council in March 2019 continued to use the $12.6 million preliminary budget number, he wrote.
“Based on our review of this matter, other than in the November 2019, Staff Report to Finance and Audit Committee, at no time did the former City Manager bring the escalation in the costs of construction of the Parkade to the attention of City Council,” Manhas wrote. “This lack of disclosure in relation to such a significant financial matter is troubling...”
Under the contract negotiated with A & T, the city assumed responsibility for all the financial risk of the project
“Having made that fundamental decision, the City saddled itself with the additional costs it incurred,” Manhas wrote. “There was no real disincentive to the Developer ensuring that costs remained reasonable.”
‘I have been accountable,’ mayor says
from page 1
But it doesn’t say why the decision to withhold information from council was made and who made it
“I’m extremely disappointed and frustrated,” Skakun said. “No one has been held accountable. We (city council) can be held accountable on election day, as we should, but will no one on administration will be held accountable? That’s absurd.”
City council only has the power to hire and fire the city manager, he said. But once the new city manager is in place, “city hall needs to be turned upside down,” Skakun said.
Mayor Lyn Hall said the independent legal review was a fact-finding exercise, not a fault-finding one.
City council has already taken actions, like changing the city manager’s delegated authority to approve cost overruns and requiring regular reports on the use of that authority, to address the concerns raised in the report. The changes will mean coun-
cil has greater oversight and there will be increased transparency, both to council and to the public, he said.
When it comes to accountability for himself and city council, Hall said “history speaks for itself.”
“I have been accountable,” he said. “I have been in the role for six years, and I take it very seriously.”
Coun. Cori Ramsay said the report offers a concise picture of what happened, and how the parkade budget got so far off course.
“I think it is a fair assessment of what happened. It is what the public deserves – it really delivered on the timeline of what happened,” she said.
“Unfortunately, it is a hard lesson, and a hard pill to swallow.”
Coun. Garth Frizzell, who chairs the finance and audit committee and also received the November 2019 report, said the committee should have asked more questions.
“We didn’t ask enough questions We didn’t ask the right questions,” Frizzell said. “(And) we didn’t get
some information we really needed to make good decisions.”
Coun. Kyle Sampson said said he’s not interested in getting into blaming individual city staff members still working at city hall, despite his concerns about the way information was withheld from council.
“It’s really frustrating when it appears that you have been intentionally deceived. There was ample opportunities for this information to come to council...” he said. “I’m frustrated that it happened, but I am proud to be part of the team making sure this never happens again.”
Coun. Teri McConnachie said it’s time the public had “the unvarnished truth” about what happened.
“I’m pleased this is out there,” she said. “This happened on my watch. It was too much trust, not enough questions. This report, what it shows, is that there was several opportunities for council to be presented with truth and facts, rather than fiction and false numbers.”
‘Everybody thought we were idiots’
from page 1
Afthe city issued evacuation notices Friday to the residents of Farrell Street to inform them they might have to leave on short notice, the notice was lifed Monday. Broomsgrove and her King Charles Havanese dog Birdy have been watching from their deck as the river has steadily crept higher the past few days and part of their backyard is under water. But unlike her neighbours on the street, one of whom this week hired a plumber to move
the furnace and hot water tank out of the basement and onto the main floor, she has no fear about her house getting flooded.
“This is the first year we don’t have to worry,” said Broomsgrove. “Usually it would be a mad dash moving things around and the water would come up to the floorboards but it never in the came in the house in the time we had it.
“We’ve been planning this for years and saving our pennies.”
The house is next to the park and it has a million-dollar view but
Broomsgrove said she and Fedorkiw paid about half of what a similar-sized house was selling for in 2012
“We talked him down because it was under water,” Broomsgrove laughed “When we bought the house the water was up to the road. It was ankle-deep in the driveway Everybody thought we were idiots. It looked like a headache for most people but we could see the potential.
“We love everything about this area. We watch bears across the river, bald eagles – it’s like living in the country but we’re in town.”
‘This is so painful’ Lheildi T’enneh begin 215 days of remembrance
HANNA PETERSEN
During an emotional ceremony last Tuesday, the Lheidli T’enneh lowered its flag in front of Prince George city hall, next to a memorial of shoes and teddy bears placed on the steps in honour of the 215 children discovered buried at the site of the former Kamloops Residential School.
Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dolleen Logan gathered with councillors, elders and supporters along with city officials in front of a large crowd assembled in front of city hall.
Elder Darlene McIntosh began the ceremony with a heartfelt opening prayer
“This week marks an unforgiveable tragedy in the lives of our First Nations families. The shock of hearing of 215 children buried on Kamloops Residential School grounds has first nations and nonfirst Nations reeling in deep sorrow The families that never knew what happened to their loved ones as it left deep wounds in their hearts,” McIntosh said.
“We hear the cries of our little ones as they died alone without the comfort of their families surrounding them with love. Creator, this is so painful. Our hearts are bleeding We come together as a community, as a nation.”
Before the flag lowering, Logan acknowledged the Lheidli members who attended Lejac Residential School, in Fraser Lake, who were in attendance.
“I’ve heard what happened, some of what happened to my mom, my aunts, my uncles and our friends. They are the true survivors. They are the ones that made it home when so many didn’t,” she said
“That word survivors should never be attached to a child attending school. I encourage everyone to continue talking about residential school because it actually happened to little children. Don’t ever stop the conversation.”
Logan also called for the federal government to use the ground-penetrating radar used to discover the remains in Kamloops on every residential school site in Canada
The Lheidli T’enneh flag was then lowered to half-mast at 12 p.m in a moment of silence and it will remain lowered for the next 215 days as each day represents each child found.
After the flag was lowered, former Lheidli chief and current councillor Dominic Frederick spoke to the crowd.
“Us that come from residential school were branded with survivor but it goes deeper than that. We were also branded with a number, mine was 22,” he said. “No one - not one person can ever know or understand what we went through.”
Lheidli T’enneh councillor Crystal Gibbs said the May 27 discovery by Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc is the beginning of a sad truth.
“My family like many others had members we were taken and never returned. Their strength their resilience and their memory is why we are still here,” she said.
“I feel it’s very important to continue to teach our children and our grandchildren to be proud of where they come from and educate them. They need to have the ability to overcome and rise above the history that tried to erase them.”
Lheidli T’enneh councillor Joshua Seymour, whose grandfather attended Lejac Residential School, said Kamloops Residential School is just one of 140 across Canada.
“The last school closed in 1996 many of us could have went to that school that is how real it is. It is not in the past it is living history right now and this is where I feel that I agree with Chief Dolleen Logan when she says the federal government needs to put resources in to find those lost babies because those babies won’t rest and neither should we.”
“The discovery in Kamloops is a crime scene,” Joe Gosnell, Lheidli T’enneh executive director, added later. “Each residential school site in Canada should be considered a crime scene.”
The next day, the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George (RDFFG) lowered a Lheidli T’enneh flag to half-mast in support of the nation’s request to honour the 215 children found buried at Kamloops Residential School.
“There are no words that adequately capture the horror and dismay of this tragedy We are grateful to the Lheidli T’enneh for providing us an opportunity to join with them in grieving for the children and families forever impacted by residential schools,” says RDFFG Chair Art Kaehn.
Memoral moved to museum
Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dolleen Logan helps box up some items from the memorial at Prince George City Hall placed in honour of the 215 children that were recently discovered on a former residential school site in Kamloops. The items were collected from the steps of city hall on Friday afternoon and moved to The Exploration Place where they will be safely stored until a decision is made on a permanent memorial. In a news release, the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation said the children’s shoes and other items that made up the memorial are extremely important to all First Nations and community members. Chief and Council feel that before the rain arrived and for the protection of the items that people had placed at the memorial that it should be moved and stored at The Exploration Place.
K. Jensen
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE/LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE.
Sturgeon catch sets record
This is one whopper of a fish tale.
A sturgeon weighing in at 335.9 pounds (152.2 kilograms) was caught recently by a staff member of the Nechako White Sturgeon Conservation Centre (NWSCC).
The female sturgeon, the largest ever caught by the centre, will be spawned later this year at the conservation facility in Vanderhoof.
Sturgeon live in B.C. rivers and lakes and are among the world’s largest and oldest freshwater fish.
They’ve been known to grow up to 18 feet (5.5 metres) and weigh as much as 4,400 lbs (2,000 kg). Their lifespan averages 50-60 years and some have lived as long as 100 years.
The conservation centre announced Friday its annual release of juvenile sturgeon will be closed to the public this year In previous years, students from the region were given the opportunity to individually name the spawned sturgeon and participate in their release into the Nechako River in an event in Vanderhoof.
This year, the release into the Nechako River and Fraser Lake will be a virtual event, which will still allow students to
SUBMITTED PHOTO
A 152.2 kg sturgeon was caught recently by the Nechako White Sturgeon Conservation Centre near Vanderhoof.
name the two-year-old sturgeon and learn about their behaviour and characteristics through educational kits and online materials.
Each of the 200 juvenile sturgeon will be tagged with a number to allow easy identification if later captured.
Fifty of the spawned fish will have radio tags attached for tracking using radio telemetry, while 20 will wear acoustic tags that aid in remote tracking.
Sturgeon are considered an endangered species and the centre strives for their return to a healthy population while conducting research about them.
Tabor ski hill plans huge expansion
MARK NIELSEN
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Tabor Mountain Ski Resort is seeking the provincial government’s go-ahead to triple the size of its footprint in order to convert the site into a yearround destination for skiers, snowboarders and mountain bikers.
The proposal comes in the form of a draft master plan, submitted in March to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operation’s mountain resorts branch. The proposal must also go through a rezoning process at the Fraser-Fort George Regional District.
The expansion would provide enough room to increase the number of ski runs to 31 from the current 20 and the number of mountain bike runs to 40 from 15 while also including the introduction of cross-country mountain bike trails.
It also would include room for an RV park, tent camping and an archery range
A new lodge to replace the one destroyed in a February 2018 fire is also in the plan.
The expansion would “make use of a large amount of area that has been held in reserve for Tabor for a number of years,” resort manager Conrad Jaye said.
“With more rounded winter and summer
activities, Tabor will be able to address and respond to unpredictable climate changes in stride, providing for much needed operational flexibility in order to stay in business and continue to be available for the public,” he says
The RV park would be located on a strip fronting the south side of Highway 16 and to the east of the ski runs and tent camping would be on land along the highway’s north side.
If the proposal is approved and goes ahead as planned, the expansion is expected to draw 700 more skier visits on weekends and 50-200 visits by mountain bikers per day. RV pad rentals would range from 60 to 100 per day and tent camping would fill five to 100 pads, depending on the time of year and whether events are being held.
Norm Clark of the Hickory Wing Ski Touring Club, which uses and maintains trails on the non-motorized side of the Tabor Mountain Recreation Area, said he is not happy with the proposed location of the RV park because it would eliminate a portion of the trail system.
“The best solution for us is they don’t put the campground there and they put it across the highway, where they’re already saying they’re going to put a smaller campground for tents,” Clark said.
BEAR ATTACK INJURES MAN
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The victim of a mauling is recovering, a conservation officer said, following a “surprise attack” by a black bear that had come to inhabit a remote work camp that had been vacated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was the first guys on site in over a year and a half,” B.C. Conservation Officer Sgt. Eamon McArthur said.
The worker suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries when the animal turned on him. He was evacuated to hospital and a co-worker killed the animal.
All remaining camp employees subsequently left the area while conservation
officers were called in to conduct a forensic investigation and ensure there was no ongoing safety risk. Officers have since given the all clear to reopen the camp
The camp is located about 70 kilometres northeast of Tsay Keh Dene, which is at the north end of Williston Lake.
McArthur urged people working or recreating in bear country to take precautions.
“Read up on the area, have your pepper spray, have your air horns, bear bangers, whatever you need to assist yourself,” McArthur said.
“Carry a satphone, carry an InReach, so you can make contact if something bad should happen And that’s for an animal attack or anything - spraining your ankle.”
MARK NIELSEN
Armed robber’s release revoked
MARK NIELSEN
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A man serving time for an armed robbery in Prince George was back behind bars barely a month after he was granted statutory release.
In September 2018, Wilfred Patrick Prince was sentenced to a further three years four months and 22 days in federal prison for a December 2016 incident in which he pointed a can of bear spray at a woman’s face during a holdup of a convenience store.
He and two others made off in a stolen minivan that police tracked down later that night.
According to an April 30 parole board decision, he was granted statutory release in December 2020, having served twothirds of his sentence, and was moved into a halfway house in an undisclosed community. But five days later, he tested positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine. Prince claimed he had used another person’s vape pen and thought it contained cannabis His case management team opted to maintain his release interventions and Prince was subsequently accepted into a 90-day substance abuse treatment program.
However, in early January, he was back
in custody on suspicion of consuming drugs
He had told staff that he was going to a pharmacy to pick up a subscription for suboxone- used to wean a person off opioidsbut went in the opposite direction and, upon return, appeared pale and sweaty.
By that time, staff had called the pharmacy and confirmed he had not been there
Following a hearing, Prince’s statutory release was revoked.
“When all relevant information is weighed, the Board finds that your risk while on statutory release escalated and
became undue and that the circumstances surrounding suspension were within your control,” a parole board panel member said in the decision. “Since your return to the institution, you have not completed interventions to reduce risk and prepare for another release.”
With the exception of those serving life or indeterminate sentences, statutory release is mandatory after an inmate has served two-thirds of a sentence. If the release revoked, the inmate must serve a further two-thirds in detention before being eligible for statutory release once again.
FLAGGER HIT BY TRUCK AWARDED DAMAGES
MARK NIELSEN
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A B.C. Supreme Court Justice has awarded a woman $527,373 in damages for the injuries she suffered when she was hit by a pickup truck while working as a flagger in Quesnel.
In a decision issued May 20, Justice Robert Jenkins found that Phoenix Rea has suffered diminished earning capacity and ongoing pain and suffering as a result of the Sept. 18, 2016 incident
In a summary, Jenkins said a then-23year-old Rea was directing traffic when her supervisor told her to stop a vehicle going through a portion of a construction zone closed to traffic.
During a trial, Rea testified the truck did stop when she held up her sign but when a co-worker approached to take a photo of the licence plate, the driver ““lunged his truck towards me” and struck with the front, driver’s side Rea recalled lifting her feet so she would
Man sentenced for attack facing new assault charge
MARK NIELSEN
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A man serving a sentence for a “brutal and savage” attack on a woman in a Prince George park is back in custody for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend.
Keanen Norman Duncan, 28, was sentenced in January 2016 to a further four years in prison followed by a 10-year longterm supervision order (LTSO) for a May 2013 incident at LornePark
Now serving the long-term supervision portion of his sentence in a halfway house, Duncan was arrested in Richmond on March 20 and remains in custody on a count of assault, according to court records.
In addition to the count, the parole board is recommending he be charged with breaching the LTSO. If found guilty of both counts and the assault is deemed an indictable offence, Duncan could face a further 10 years of long-term supervision on top of any sentence he receives for the assault. As it stands, his current LTSO lasts until January 2030.
According to a May 19 parole board decision, Duncan is alleged to have punched his girlfriend in the face at a transit station after the two and another person had been drinking at a shopping mall.
Duncan began serving the LTSO in January 2020. He initially completed a sex of-
fender maintenance program, participated in trauma counselling with a psychologist and secured full-time work as an electrical apprentice.
But by October 2020, he had breached a condition to abstain from drugs condition by using crystal methamphetamine and in December 2020, his residency condition was extended by a year
In sentencing him in 2016 for the attack at LornePark, a B.C Supreme Court Justice described Duncan’s actions as “unprovoked” and “brutal and savage.”
While he initially denied the act, Duncan eventually pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault, attempted robbery and uttering threats.
He also admitted to alcohol and drug abuse and to attacking the woman, who had been out walking her dog, to get some money to pay off a drug debt. When she told him she didn’t have any money, Duncan grabbed her by the throat and punched her in the head until she fell to the ground on her stomach, then assaulted her
The attack ended when a man living near the park heard her cries and ran over to help her.
When he yelled at him, Duncan got up and started to walk away.
Following Duncan from a distance, he called 911
Three days later, Duncan was arrested.
not get pulled under the truck. She went up onto the hood and then fell off such that her right arm hit the side view mirror and jarred her neck. She landed on the ground but did not hit her head. The driver, Daniel Law, then left the scene.
Following the incident, Rea said her whole body hurt, especially her right shoulder, neck, hip and ribs and in the months that followed, suffered migraine headaches and flashbacks. She attempted to return to work but would flinch as traffic
passed her and could no longer help placing the heavier signs. About a year later, she finally quit after a truck traveled too quickly toward her, causing her to shake, cry and hyperventilate.
Jenkins awarded Rea$250,000 for future loss of income, $135,000 for non-pecuniary losses, $104,000 for future loss of care, $24,800 for loss of past income and $13,573 in special damages.
Both Law and his employer at the time were named as defendants in the lawsuit.
NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION
What: Temporary Use Permit No. 246
When and Where:
1:30 p.m., Thursday,June 17, 2021 Regional District BoardRoom 155 George Street, Prince George BC
Owner: Elizabeth and Mervin Sadowick
Proposal: The purpose of Temporary Use Permit No. 246 is to permit Campground use and accessory uses on the subject property for athree-year period. The subject property is legally described as District Lot 7917 Cariboo District and is located at 11900 Six Mile Lake Road.
Need moreinfo? Acopy of the proposed Permit and any relevant background materials areavailable for review by the public on the Regional District’swebsite at http://www.rdffg.bc.ca/services/development/landuse-planning/current-applications/ or at the Regional District office, by appointment only,Monday through Friday,8:00 am to 4:30 pm, between May 10, 2021, and June 17, 2021. To make an appointment contact the Regional District at developmentservices@rdffg. bc.ca or at 250-960-4400
Who can Ispeak to? Daniel Burke, Planner II, 250-960-4400
Council backs student housing plan
ARTHUR WILLIAMS
City council is supporting a controversial student housing complex at the corner of Ospika and Tyner Boulevard.
The Hub Collection Ltd. is seeking to build a 256-unit, four-story student housing complex on a 5.6 acre lot located between Tyner, Ospika and Sullivan Crescent. City council approved third readings for bylaws to amend the Official Community Plan and rezone the site – located at 4500 Ospika Boulevard – on Monday night. Final approval of the bylaws was withheld until the city receives a third-party review of a geotechnical report from the developer
“I think the applicant has put a lot of thought into being good neighbours, It’s a good-looking development,” Coun. Kyle Sampson said. “My biggest concern is still the traffic.”
The only planned road access into and out of the development will be on the
northbound side of Ospika Boulevard, a spokesperson for The Hub Collection Ltd said during a presentation to city council. Ospika Boulevard is a busy street, and Sampson said he’s concerned the inconvenient access to and from the site will encourage residents to make illegal u-turns at the intersections of Ospika and Tyner, and Ospika and Davis Road.
“I’m worried about people cutting corners.. to save five minutes going to UNBC,” he said.
However, Sampson said, he wasn’t in a position to second-guess the traffic study done by the developer, which didn’t indicate any traffic issues as a result of the project.
Ultimately, it will promote Prince George as a place to get a post-secondary education, he said, and hopefully some of those young people will chose to stay in the city when they’ve completed their studies
“I think it is going to be a great home for
STUDENT WINS STEAM AWARD
CHRISTINE DALGLEISH
Samantha Burke, a Grade 12 D.P.
Todd Secondary student, has received a $25,000 national STEAM award for her excellent research work.
Burke has earned the STEAM Horizon award from Ingenium - Canada’s Museum’s of Science and Innovation, which goes towards her post-secondary education as she starts at the University of Alberta this fall. The award has gone to five Canadian students who brought positive changes to their community Burke’s project was about the little-researched condition known as aphantasia, which is the inability to create images in one’s mind. Burke, who suffers from the condition herself, fashioned a survey of self diagnosis for people to conduct online. There are varying degrees of imagination and some in the survey said they imagined so vividly they could smell and taste in their imaginations. Those people are deemed as having hyperphantasia.
“It was something that affected me personally so when I had the opportunity
in school to do a project on something I was passionate about I saw it as an opportunity to expand my knowledge on this and follow the trail on something I really wanted to learn about,” Burke said. “I went a little over board with my project but I think that worked for the best.” Burke is passionate about giving youth in rural areas more opportunities to expand their passions and understanding of STEAM fields, which include science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Burke has been involved in the community for many years, coaching at the gymnastics club and volunteering with Ness Lake Bible camp, and the Prince George Kids’ Club. She has also been active in extracurricular activities at school in the leadership program and the band program that has outreach in the community and notably with health care professionals in a program called the Kindergarten Health Circuit, which offers students in kindergarten a safe and welcoming environment when they receive immunizations and other necessary checkups.
a lot of students,” Sampson said.
Several members of council voiced similar thoughts, supporting the project despite some misgivings about the road access to the site.
“One of the things we need to consider is who this building is for,” Coun. Cori Ramsay said. “Students are not going to pay to park at UNBC and CNC all day when they can take the bus for free.”
The developer has committed to only develop 35 per cent of the site, and leave the majority of the trees and a seasonal runoff stream on the site undisturbed, Ramsay added.
Coun. Terri McConnachie said she understands the concerns from the neighbours about the infrastructure to support new developments, but “they can’t be something that roadblocks growth and development.”
“This is perfect infill development. That whole area is going to grow substantially,”
McConnachie said. “It’s going to be fantastic. I think it would be short-sighted not to support this.”
Only Coun. Brian Skakun voted against the project, which drew opposition from neighbourhood residents.
During the public consultation period from March 12 to April 9, the city received 26 letters and a 21-name petition against the proposal and nine letters in support The applicant also submitted a petition with over 40 signatures in favour of the project, however only 31 of the signatories were from Prince George.
He said a student housing complex is a great fit for the community, but he is concerned about the amount of traffic that will be diverted down Baker and Davis Roads because of the lack of access off of Tyner Boulevard.
“I will not support this project because of that,” he said. “There are other sites that the city can work with the developer on.”
Cyber security review planned after 2020 hack
ARTHUR WILLIAMS
The City of Prince George will be conducting an independent review of its cyber security after an online scammer nearly bilked the city out of $700,000 last year
City council approved spending between $25,000 and $40,000 to hire consultants to assess the city’s computer security.
“I think urgency is of importance here It’s just a matter of time before we are targeted by more sophisticated attacks,” Coun. Cori Ramsay said. “We have a lot of personal data... Facing a cybersecurity breach could be devastating, not just to the city, but to the residents. This is about protecting residents, keeping their data safe.”
In September, the city discovered it had been tar-
geted by a computer-based fraudster, who redirected $700,000 in payments that were intended to go to a contractor. With the help of financial institutions, the city recovered $325,000 of the stolen money
While it appears to have been a “social engineering scam” that began when the contractor was tricked into sharing confidential information that was then used to intercept the payments, it illustrated the need for a professional assessment of the city’s security, city IT manager Bill McCloskey said.
“Cybersecurity is a very specialized field,” McCloskey said. “We’re doing this off the side of our desk.”
When asked by council how urgent the review was, McCloskey said it is difficult to know, until it is too late.
“If something happens, then it was a dire need,” he said.
Other municipal governments, including Dawson Creek, Saskatoon, Sask., and Burlington, Ont., have been targeting recently by online scammers, McCloskey said.
While councillors agreed on the importance of the review, several balked at using a third to half of city council’s $75,000 contingency fund to pay for it.
Coun Brian Skakun, who voted against the review, said that city council’s contingency is normally used to respond to requests from local community groups. If the review was a staff priority, it should be funded from the city’s operational budget, he said.
“We are cut to the bone,” city director of finance Kris Dalio said. “We have no
training budget. We have no travel budget We have nowhere to take this from.” Taking the money from the city’s general contingency fund could leave the city facing a shortfall at the end of the year, Dalio added Coun. Terri McConnachie voted in favour of the review, but said using council’s contingency fund, “reminds me of taking the kids’ tooth fairy money to buy milk.”
FORMER KINGS CAPTAIN FIGHTING MS
TED CLARKE
The diagnosis came quickly for Braiden Epp.
Within a month of checking into the emergency department at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, the 24-year-old former Prince George Spruce King found out what was causing him to lose his balance and making his arms and legs go numb
He was told he has multiple sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system that causes the immune system to attack the protective sheath that covers nerve fibres, resulting in communication delays between the brain and the rest of the body
It started about a month before his diagnosis when Epp woke up with back pain. As a hockey player for 20 of his 24 years, he’s grown up with a high pain tolerance level and that comes with playing a physically-demanding game. But this was different. His back was killing him and it kept getting worse, among the worst pain he’s ever felt.
He also noticed he was walking clumsily and stumbling to keep his balance at times. Having made the switch from hockey player to hockey official, Epp was in Port Alberni reffing a BCHL game in the Island Division hub when he really started thinking something was wrong with him He stepped onto the ice and his feet felt strange as he tried to dig his blades into the ice. With every stride, he felt a delay before his feet moved. He got through the
game but not without considerable effort just to keep from falling and he thought maybe he’d pinched a nerve in his back.
Ten days later, after working a full week as a labourer for the City of Nanaimo, he was back in Port Alberni for a Sunday evening game, the second-last of the season, when his condition worsened.
“I still had the back pain, so I was kind of worried I wouldn’t be able to skate and I told the guys I didn’t know what was going to happen and I stepped out on the ice and couldn’t skate at all,” said Epp. “I was falling down and so out of sorts and I only made it five minutes to the first TV timeout. I told the guys I’m going to get hurt, somebody was going to hit me, and it’s just not safe for me to be out here. I couldn’t move my feet at all, basically just coasting and using the boards as a support, and I left that game.”
He called his parents in Prince George, Deanna and Rod Epp, and they told him to go to the walk-in clinic to get checked, but with COVID protocols in place there was a long line of patients ahead of him and Epp wasn’t able to see a doctor that day He went back to work that week and felt fatigued every day That Friday, while driving his truck, his arms and legs went numb and were tingling. He drove right away to the hospital for the first of a series of tests that revealed the reason he was struggling. Epp played four full seasons in the B.C. Hockey League, three with the Spruce
CFL star to lead football program
TED CLARKE
Keon Raymond is the new director of football operations for the Prince George Kodiaks Football Club.
For nine seasons, he was a defensive back/linebacker and a two-time all-star who won two Grey Cups for the Calgary Stampeders. Now he’s coming to build the Kodiaks grassroots minor football program and give players from kindergarten to high school year-round opportunities to play
“I think the most important thing for me is getting in and ingratiating myself and the team into the community and getting the city involved and getting the city excited about something new,” said Raymond. Raymond helped pioneer 7-on-7 non-con-
tact football four years ago in Calgary, which has proved popular with players and has helped alleviate parents’ concerns about their kids getting injured.
Raymond arrives in July, after the season ends for the non-contact Kodiaks Youth Football League, which involves players in Grades 2-7, but will be at the helm for the Kodiaks travel teams later this summer. Prince George is the smallest city involved in the 7-on-7 Football Association of Canada. In addition to the 7v7 league, Raymond will oversee the Tyles on Spikes program, Kodiaks Youth Football League, Kodiaks rep teams, B.C. Provincial Football Association Academy and will co-ordinate coaching clinics and player skills camps
Kings before ending his junior eligibility in 2017 with the West Kelowna Warriors Epp decided three years ago to put his skills as a hockey player to use making calls on the ice. Within a year of him starting to work midget games in Prince George, he had earned his way to into the BCHL as a linesman
He continued that for another season before he moved to Nanaimo last August to enroll in the kinesiology program at Vancouver Island University and this past season he became a referee. The pandemic limited him to games in the Island Division hub but he enjoyed his time laying down the law on the ice.
Epp found out he had MS on May 25 and it didn’t take long for him to get involved in an effort to help find a cure for the disease. Dylan Ellison, his friend from Shas Ti Kelly Road Secondary School in Prince George, put together a web page for Epp to take part in the virtual walk for MS on May 30. He was part of a seven-team contingent from the city that entered a national fundraising contest and Epp and his team won it. They raised more than $30,000 for MS research and the total will be doubled by matching funds from the MS Society of Canada. Epp raised nearly $20,000 himself in the online contest, aided by a graphic Ellison put together to be used by Sticky’s Candy for a fund-raising T-shirt It depicts the No. 26 Spruce Kings jersey Epp wore when he was one of the team’s assistant
captains.
“We made so much noise and it was so surreal to see the community get behind me and all the texts and calls from ex-teammates, friends, people I don’t talk to, strangers - it was unreal the support I got and I think that’s what got me through those first five days was the people reaching out to me and making sure I was OK,” he said. “It was a tough time for me physically and mentally and that meant so much to me.”
As an aspiring phys-ed teacher, Epp is unsure of his long-term prognosis but plans to return to Nanaimo later this summer to finish off his degree at VIU, working with the same team of medical staff he’s been with the past two months
“They want me to find what my triggers are and try to avoid the stresses in my life,” he said. “They’re still waiting for a few blood tests to come back before I get on the medication that helps keep that stuff at bay. They say I should be able to lead a healthy life, by what they see so far That’s my plan, to stay active and keep living. I’m scared to try and skate again, because it was such a hard thing for me to lose that ability I do want to continue reffing, so I’ll work hard in the rehab process to make that stuff work and I hope to keep playing recreational hockey, which is such a big part of my life. It may not be at the highest level I want to get to but if I can still skate I’ll be more than happy.”
GARDEN PARTY LAUGHS SUPPORT CANCER FIGHT
CHRISTINE DALGLEISH
It’s time to host a Wheely Funny Garden Party. There’s no pressure though. You just supply the backyard, the comedians bring the funny. And the beer.
Mike McGuire and Cody Malbeuf are local comedians who offer live entertainment as a way to raise funds for cancer.
McGuire and Malbeuf are a part of the Wheelin’ Warriors, the 80-member cycling team from the north that has raised more than $1 million in the last eight years that goes to the BC Cancer Society All funds raised in the north stay in the north, McGuire said.
The cycling part of the challenge includes each participant in the province riding 100 km in one day on August 28 in their own community.
The event is now called the Tour de Cure. It used to be called the Ride to Conquer Cancer, a 250-kilometre bike ride over
two days that took place in the southern part of the province but the pandemic changed all that.
During the Tour de Cure there are also options for new participants to ride 50 km and those who are more experienced can ride 160 km
Wheaton Precious Metals is the title sponsor and McGuire said that during a week last year they matched donations raised so instead of raising $200 for each show they were able to donate $400 and that was a big boost for the cause
The idea that inspired the backyard shows was a fellow comedian in Edmonton that McGuire knows who started offering fireside shows during the pandemic so he could keep performing during the shut down of all venues.
McGuire took the idea, made it his own and ran with it.
Each Wheelin’ Warrior commits to raising $2,500 and since McGuire and Malbeuf
raised more than that, they started to share the wealth last year and will do the same this year if a fellow Wheelin’ Warrior books a garden party they will get the funds raised put towards their fundraising efforts.
McGuire and Malbeuf will also invite other performers to the stage during some of the shows. There’s nothing like giving a less experienced comedian a chance to try out their material to a smaller audience before they set foot on a big stage postCOVID.
“You only learn five minutes at a time and the only way you learn is by getting out in front of a crowd,” McGuire said.
That will also provide the audience an introduction to more live entertainers right in their own backyard.
McGuire assures potential hosts the material they will hear is not offensive.
“If you have us in your backyard we’re not going to go there and drop the
Mikkelson’s back in the saddle again
Glen Mikkelsen, the former manager of the CN Centre, will be returning to Prince George in a new position, as the city begins its restart plan for civic facilities.
In March 2020, public health orders restricting large gatherings led to the closure of multiple city facilities.
In July, ongoing closures of venues such as the CN Centre and the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre, as well as uncertainty over the duration of the pandemic, forced the elimination of both unionized and exempt positions including the managers of both facilities.
In March, the City of Cranbrook announced Mikkelsen accepted a position
as its new General Manager of Venues and Events. However, in an update regarding BC’s four-step restart plan and civic facilities, the city says that in order to position Prince George to again be able to attract and host concerts and shows at venues such as CN Centre, the city sought a Manager of Entertainment.
Mikkelsen was first hired in 2001 but
EveryChild Matters
F-bomb,” McGuire said.
McGuire suggested that not only would they be willing to do a traditional garden party but also a corporate morale booster for those businesses in town who wish to show their employees some appreciation by treating them to the show.
McGuire said this style of show might become a permanent part of his circuit.
“I’m going to be a Wheelin’ Warrior for life so I still have to raise money so if this is something the public wants we’ll definitely be willing to continue it,” McGuire said.
Pacific Western Brewery is donating the 24-pack of beer included in the Wheely Funny Garden Party package.
The ask is a minimum donation of $200 with all proceeds going to the Wheelin’ Warriors of the North fundraising efforts to be ultimately donated to the BC Cancer Foundation.
To book a party, contact McGuire at 250961-4767.
took the helm of the CN Centre in 2014.
Known for his whimsical style, he brought several shows to the northern capital, ranging from Cirque du Soleil to musicals, concerts by world-class musicians like Bob Dylan and various sporting events, like the 2020 World Women’s Curling Championships, which was unfortunately cancelled due to the pandemic.
HANNA PETERSEN
Gymnastics boosts jumper to new heights
TED CLARKE
Caleb Emon knows he has the brains, the athletic ability and the unrelenting drive to advance beyond community sports. He was just a young boy when he started thinking about expanding his own horizons.
He took his first tumbles on gymnastics mats at age 3 and by the time he was seven Emon wanted to take ballet lessons to help meet the standards to join the National Circus School in Montreal, a breeding ground for future acrobats in the Cirque du Soleil.
When he reached Grade 8, he started thinking track and field offered his best chance at attracting a college scholarship and began emailing NCAA coaches, asking them what he needed to do to train himself to get on college recruiting lists by the time he graduated high school. The 16-year-old Duchess Park Secondary School student still has a couple years of school ahead of him before he figures out where his postsecondaryf uture lies but he’s already got the jump on most of his peers.
Emon is an honour-roll Grade 10 student in the French immersion program at Duchess Park and for four afternoons per week he’s part of the PacificSport North sport school on the UNBC campus. He and other student-athletes train together in the weight room and in the gym and they have full-credit classes that focus on nutrition, mental training and sport-related career planning
Years of training with the Prince George Gymnastics Club in artistic gymnastics and trampoline developed Emon’s exceptional strength and flexibility so when he was looking for an outdoor activity he decided to give track and field a try. He joined the Prince George Track and Field Club six years ago and thought he might want to be a sprinter/hurdler but stopped jumping hurdles after a few too many faceplants. He’s still fast on his feet and competes in short distance running events but is focused more on high jumping and long jumping.
Emon wants to compete in the Olympics and he knows that’s not aiming too high. Prince George Track and Field Club alumni Alyx Treasure did it five years ago when she competed in the high jump event at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro
“I wasn’t aware of her until she came to
visit here in 2016, just before the Olympics,” said Emon. “I had no idea. It definitely makes me happy to see someone from Prince George do well, and it makes me want to do better too.”
The high jump is intimidating to many track athletes but Emon has never had that fear and looks forward to the day when he can jump his six-foot height and clear the bar at 1.83m.
“I just think it’s really cool because it’s not something that most people can do,” he said “It’s also fun to watch for me.”
Ross Brown is his jumping coach at the track club. Emon’s personal best in the high jump is 1.75 metres (five-foot-nine) By comparison, Bazil Spencer of Quesnel, the PGTFC record holder for senior boys high jump, jumped 2.03 metres in July 2019 to win the U-20 national championships. Emon’s PB in the long jump is 5.8 m and he’s finished the 100m in 12.1 seconds.
After years of artistic gymnastics, Emon started trampoline gymnastics in 2015, around the same time as national-level athlete Anna McDonald of Prince George. He still competes on the trampoline and last year qualified for the national champion-
ships but the event was canceled because of COVID. He won the virtual provincial meet this year in April when the video routine he submitted was judged the best of the lot.
Prince George hosted the Canada Winter Games in 2015 and he remembers the teams training at the gymnastics club at Exhibition Park and watching some of the athletes jump high enough to brush against the ceiling.
“I’ve been in gymnastics as long as I can remember,” said Emon “It gives me a lot more chances to work on jumping if I have to exercise and really work at it and there’s lot of cross-training There’s a lot of flexibility (exercises) and doing high jumping, that really helps.”
His gymnastics coach, Carolyn Emon, is also his mom. She had a background in dancing and competitive swimming before she moved to Prince George 13 years ago. Carolyn started coaching kinder gym, the youngest age group, at the gymnastics club and that’s what got Caleb started.
“He’s a pretty flexible kid and the tumbling lends itself to high jump and the double-mini for trampoline lends itself to long
jump because you’re doing the sprints up the runway and you have to take off on one foot and land two feet,” said Carolyn. “He does get a lot of cross-training that way.
“I would say if he was able to train track more often, just because the season is so short in Prince George, he would definitely be better at track because he’s always more nervous to try new skills with trampoline and it takes us a lot more pushing. Whereas track just feels natural to him.”
Aside from a couple virtual club meets at Masich Place Stadium, the 2021 track and field meet schedule has been wiped out by the pandemic Emon has been to the provincial high school meet just once before, in 2019, but was injured and wasn’t able to perform up to his true capabilities. Those two years of training since then and the work he’s put in to improving his jumps are showing in his results on the practice field.
The PGTFC is hosting a club meet June 12-13 at Masich Place Stadium. Emon will have aged out for track and field when Prince George hosts the 2022 B.C. Summer Games but will be eligible to compete in trampoline, which allows older athletes.
KINGS FORWARD ACCEPTS NCAA SCHOLARSHIP
Prince George Spruce Kings forward
John Herrington became the latest U.S. college hockey prospect to commit to a scholarship arrangement with Lake Superior State University.
The 19-year-old centre from Hudson’s Hope was a key ingredient for the Kings in their climb to the B.C. Hockey League Chilliwack pod regular season championship. He scored six goals and picked up eight assists in 20 games as a BCHL rookie.
“With the shortened season and practices only for the most part of the year, being offered a scholarship was very unexpect-
ed,” said Herrington, in a team release. “It was a very exciting moment for me and my family and left us pretty speechless at first. I still don’t think it has totally sunk in yet.”
Herrington’s effectiveness as a BCHL forward grew as the shortened season progressed and the scouts were obviously watching.
“We are very proud of John Herrington and he and his family are very deserving of this achievement,” said Kings head coach Alex Evin. ”Since joining our team as an affiliate player, we have witnessed Johnny work extremely hard to improve each and every day both on and off the ice.”
Prior to joining the Spruce Kings, Herrington spent two seasons in the B.C Hockey Major Midget League based in Prince George with the Cariboo Cougars. He played eight BCHL regular season games and three playoff games with the Kings in 2019-20.
This year, armed with former Spruce Kings forwards Dustin Manz and Spencer DenBeste and former Cariboo Cougar/ Salmon Arm Silverback defenceman Jeremy Gervais of Prince George, the Lakers advanced to the Frozen Four in March, reaching the NCAA Division 1 semifinals for the first time since 1996. Lake Superior
State won the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Lakers’ season ended March 26 with a 5-1 loss in the semifinal to the University of Massachusetts Minutemen.
“Lake Superior has that small town feeling where everyone starts to know everyone and growing up in a town of 1,000 people, it should feel like home,” said the five-foot-10, 170-pound Herrington, who turned 19 on April 19. “I think I have to not only become bigger, faster, and stronger, but also working on protecting the puck and creating more space to make plays and get shots on net.”
TED CLARKE
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE/LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE
Caleb Emon, 16, shows off his long jump skills during a training session at Masich Place Stadium.
ALL HANDS ON DECK NEEDED
Mayor Lyn Hall is 100 per cent correct that the City of Prince George is in no position to go it alone when it comes to dealing with complex problems like homelessness, mental health issues and the opioid crisis.
This is the problem of municipalities everywhere in B.C. and throughout Canada. At the core, these are health problems, which means they actually fall under provincial jurisdiction. Provincial governments across Canada, however, have been off-loading costs and responsibilities like this one onto municipalities for decades.
That’s left municipalities like Prince George scrambling to either find ways to deal with it on their own or form a variety of partnerships. In this specific situation, the problem is so big and complicated that multiple public sector agencies and non-profit groups are working together
The spirit of collaboration between the
city, B.C. Housing, the First Nations Health Authority, Northern Health and so on is fantastic but it comes with problems of its own. The health and social services agencies work under the harm reduction model. That model does reduce harm for their clients/patients but it comes with significant harm and cost to downtown business owners and operators. And that doesn’t include the tragic end to an incredible social work career of Diane Nakamura, who suffered a horrible brain injury after being attacked on a downtown street by an addict who wanted her purse. Because she’s Diane, she’s devoted this next stage of her life to writing about brain injury and working with the Prince George Brain Injured Group (and her assailant has made promising steps to turn his life around.) Clearly, the victims here are not just the individuals living on the street and in tents. Business owners and operators, as well as their staff and customers, who have been physically and verbally assaulted, can’t be ignored.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Prince George should step up for street people
Only when a person recognizes their privilege do they appreciate the power and ignorance it affords them.
Bob Stewart’s piece on Prince George’s population of people experiencing homelessness (Street people need to step up for themselves, June 3) is tone deaf, especially in light of the news out of Kamloops last week.
Are we really still at the point where we shame and blame individuals for their misfortunes, traumas and negative life experiences that contribute to homelessness?
Words and phrases like “deserve,” “earn,” “accomplishment,” “lowest sides of society” and “street crawlers” simultaneously blame and dehumanize people experiencing homeless
It is no secret that individuals experiencing homelessness are navigating addiction and may be involved in other activities that society likes to pretend don’t exist in our communities
If only the solution to solving addiction and negative experiences that contribute to homelessness were as simple as finding the motivation and drive to change their experience.
It seems that we as a community forgot
that addiction is not a choice, and that there are so many factors that contribute to addiction, trapping individuals in a dark cycle. No amount of willpower or motivation or recognizing it’s “time to change” will “free” people of this experience.
Bob speaks of the successes he’s observed in rehabilitation through his work in corrections.
As someone who has also worked in a corrections setting at Camp Trapping, I am disappointed that a colleague in an adjacent field neglects that the conditions in corrections facilities are very different than those on the streets, and that this is why Bob sees success (although to be honest, I am hesitant to believe this as our corrections system is very broken).
Specifically, while in a corrections facility, individuals have their most basic needs met in ways that are impossible on the streets.
They are protected from the substances that make them sick and they have access to shelter and safety
I’m not surprised that Bob has witnessed success in the corrections setting, but it is problematic to frame it as individuals deciding it was “time to change.”
Perhaps if we were to replicate the same conditions at PGRC or PGYC (that is, providing shelter, food, educational
Housing first is what Hall and everyone else at the table agree is the best way forward but the devil is always in the detail. What are the support services that come with the housing (and who will provide it)? What kind of housing and where? Who can access it? Can couples stay together? Can people drink or use drugs while there? What about people with behavioural issues? Does a tent city constitute housing? Work is being done. Mayor and council deserve credit for spearheading the low-cost housing projects currently under construction on First Avenue, the Elizabeth Fry project on 15th Avenue and the Aboriginal Housing complex at 17th and Massey Allowing a temporary tent city for the people who won’t be able to access these housing options once they are available comes with plenty of challenges From a local government perspective, safety and security – not only for the campers but also for everyone else – has to be fully considered. Furthermore, there are legal considerations, from personal injury liabil-
ity and employee safety to possible court challenges once the city would order the tent city dismantled.
The discussion and the rallies and the high public interest are all good, except for the folks driving past the homeless or raging on Facebook or in our opinion section that “these people” should “just get a job.”
Thanks, tips.
You’re entitled to your opinion.
Meanwhile, for the adults in the room working toward meaningful, humanitarian help, the struggle continues.
Many hands make lighter work, the old saying goes. It won’t be perfect. In fact, it’ll be messy, since the partners at the table have different priorities
But the more everyone gets behind substantive efforts to help the individuals involved and to address the significant issues they are facing, the better off everyone will be, in both the short and long term.
- Editor-in-chief Neil Godbout
More letters on page 15
opportunities, cultural supports, counseling supports, nourishment and a sense of safety), Prince George would not be stuck in this pointless and stigmatizing debate.
When I see the tents downtown, I don’t see it as a nuisance or something that needs to be removed or cleaned up. Rather, I see it as a community of people who are struggling and coping as best they know how.
This community is deserving of our compassion and empathy; connection goes so much further than abstinence when it comes to addiction treatment. By all means, please throw more money at this “problem.”
Let’s invest money into affordable housing, better subsidies.
Heck, let’s throw money at expanding the capacity of our treatment centres, let’s put it towards harm reduction and towards removing systemic discrimination and other barriers to “success.”
You bet I’ve observed how people can overcome addiction and homelessness and change their lives, but I promise it was not the result of a simple change in mindset It’s because they had been shown love, kindness and compassion, sprinkled in with life skills education, confidence-boosting physical education and I repeat: because their basic needs were being met
MAILING ADDRESS
in ways that are impossible while street-entrenched.
How are you supposed to focus on improving your situation if you’re constantly in fight or flight survival mode?
Instead of criticizing this vulnerable community, let’s demonstrate compassion and empathy, something I know Prince George is capable of.
Sara Heembrock Prince George
What was media’s role in residential schools?
The news this past week of an unmarked burial site at a residential school in Kamloops is an unspeakable tragedy The new comes as a great shock to many. How could this profound story not have been public knowledge when these events were happening?
I would ask two media outlets that have provided the news to the central interior for decades, The Prince George Citizen and the CBC, what has been their role in all of this? What did they know and when? By their silence, were they tacitly in support of the practices of that time?
We await a clear response to these questions
Rolf van Driesum Prince George
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Residential school horrors a truth long known
Where were you when you heard about the 215 children found in an unmarked grave at the Kamloops Indian Residential School?
I had just logged off a graduation ceremony hosted by the First Nations Centre at the University of Northern British Columbia. Since it is conference season for me, I had been on numerous Zoom meetings that day and immediately before the celebration had been part of a panel with former colleagues at the University of Alberta talking about best practices when it comes to community-engaged/community-based research. The chair of the panel was my friend archaeologist Dr Kisha Supernant, who among other things has used ground penetrating radar to look for the remains of Indigenous children at residential schools
To put it mildly, this news changed everything and the next two panels I presented on under its shadow.
We know that Indigenous children died at residential schools. In the fall of 2019, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and Aboriginal People’s Television Network unveiled a red scroll 164 feet in length that contained the names of 2,800 students. What many people did not know is that those 2,800 children were simply those whose name we have. Another 1,600 individuals remain unnamed, although there is hope that with additional research this number will decrease.
Even this number is misleading since there were many more children who simply disappeared into the system and whose fate is unaccounted for. The 266page fourth volume of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada is all about missing children and unmarked graves. It estimated that it would cost more than $1.5 million to conduct a thorough investigation on the matter and notes that despite a desire to do so on their part in December 2009 the federal government refused to allocate these funds. As such, it has fallen to indi-
Thanks to the internet, I was recently reunited over the phone with a dear friend who I lost contact with 35 years ago.
It was my long lost buddy Jeff from university. We lived on the same floor in a co-ed dorm. Those were fun times After convocation in 1986, I lost contact with Jeff and his girlfriend Melisa, who I also held in high regard.
I recognized Jeff’s voice immediately He and Melisa got married, have two grown children and have resided in Toronto for over 30 years. Jeff said he had thought of me over the years, but with a busy career and raising two kids, there was little time to spare.
The week before I called him, Jeff googled my name and came across numerous articles I had written and also articles written about me. He read a story by CBC and discovered I had been assaulted and
viduals, individual nations and researchers to fund this research and the bad news is that it is highly unlikely that these 215 children will be the last to make the news in this manner.
The Mohawk Institute in Brantford, Ontario, was the “first” residential school in Canada. Established in 1828 as a day school by the Anglican missionary Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the Parts Adjacent in America, it become a residential school a mere three years later Strictly speaking, it predated the official residential school system in Canada, but it also heavily influenced the federal government when they started said system in the 1880s. So too did the American Indian boarding school system, although in the US it was the military and not various churches that operated them. By now, I like to think that at least at a basic level we are familiar with residential schools, so I will not labour the point. It is important, however, that from the start the system in Canada was built on two things: the belief that Indigenous peoples were categorically inferior and the desire to spend as little money as possible on dealing with them. Rather than ask the relatively small Canadian military to operate the schools, the federal government asked all of the well-established churches in Canada to run them.
I say asked because the federal government did not force any of them to take on this role and indeed many of the churches already had their own version of the system. I say well established because almost no churches that emerged during the Second to Fourth Great Awakening were asked to run a school. Similarly, the various Lutheran churches were too heavily associated with ethnic minorities and therefore not asked, although it should be noted that they operated similar schools for the Samí in Scandinavia. For the most part, these churches were paid per student, with no requirement that students actually receive an education.
was left with a permanent brain injury. This prompted Jeff to track me down. During our conversation, Jeff and I laughed about the funny crazy things we did at school. We used to wrestle with each other in the dorm hallways Jeff told me I used to beat him all the time, although I recall it was the other way around. We would hide and scare each other, chase each other up and down the hallways. Melisa often watched us and would shake her head. Jeff and I acted like siblings towards each other.
What I remember most about Jeff was what a solid, responsible and sweet guy he was. He moved to Canada from Malaysia to
Only around a quarter of students graduated and most, if not all, survivors left the schools having lost their language and culture, disconnected from their community, and/or uneducated/under educated. It is this last part that makes many people question whether we should even call them schools as education was secondary to assimilation and cultural genocide.
It is by now well known that sexual abuse is a problem in the Roman Catholic Church and residential schools were no exception. Factor in that from the federal government’s perspective they were the legal guardians of status Indians and were in essence handing this over to the churches, and it should come as no surprise that when abuses happened, they were more often than nought unreported.
As their quote unquote legal guardians, the federal government and churches agreed to allow researchers to conduct medical experimentation on the students ranging from how the human body handled malnutrition to the treatment of ear infections and had not legal responsibility to report these activities, or anything else, to the actual parents. Even if we exclude abuse as a consideration, the desire to run residential schools for as little money as possible meant that they were often in poor condition, overcrowded, and rarely attracted good instructors. Disease easily ran rampant. Furthermore, as the provinces all moved to professionalize teaching, more and more of those who taught in residential schools were unqualified to teach by provincial standards. (For their part the provinces did not care since status Indians are a federal responsibility and therefore so too is their education). As long as the church liked you, you had a job. At various points in time the Kamloops Indian Residential School was the largest in Canada, and as such it contained students from all over Canada. After all, if they do not have to go home during the school year it does not matter where you send them.
Today, the most popular residential
study, which I thought was quite courageous. Jeff was a disciplined student and was always going to the library. Not me I majored in socializing and was constantly inviting Jeff and Melisa to go out dancing with me. They were very organized with their time and always managed to squeeze in some fun between studying.
Another memory I have of our dorm days were the Yukka Flux nights. Yukka Flux consisted of bottles and bottles of hard alcohol and various cut up fruit like grapes, apples and oranges. We mixed all the ingredients in a large garbage can and let the fruit soak for most of the day
There was a guy who lived on our floor named Elu, who was from Singapore. Like Jeff, Elu was an excellent student. I basically saw Elu in the kitchen and the rest of the time, he was at the library or studying in his room. I thought it would be a good idea to introduce him to Yukka Flux and give him a good Canadian university experi-
school in public discourse is Hogwarts. A total of 158 people die in the Harry Potter books and that is a residential school were most of the students are being raised in their language and culture and where many of the instructors are good and do not consider their students to be inferior It is easy to point at Hogwarts or a real boarding school like Eton College, and imagine e residential schools were similar Nothing could be further from the truth. Indigenous peoples soon learned that residential schools were horrific places where they did not want to send their children. A lot of people talk about the 1920 amendment to the Indian Act that made attendance mandatory. This date, however, is misleading as prior to this date Indigenous parents had actively resisted sending their children only to be forced by Indian Affairs. What changed is that in the early twentieth-century Indigenous parents began hiring lawyers It is also the reason why the Indian Act was amended in 1911 and 1927 to restrict the right of status Indians to hire lawyers.
And this fact is one of the great divides that exists in Canada. Indigenous peoples have always known about the horrors of the residential school system and it is revealing that as soon as many restrictions were lifted with the 1952 amendment to the Indian Act that many nations took steps to either run their own school or have their children attend provincial schools. These 215 children all have families who are still wondering what happened to them. As such, this announcement opened up this wound and many families are hopeful they will finally have an answer For many non-Indigenous peoples, however, it was not until the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that they heard anything and even then, many bristled at calling the residential school system a genocide.
Now they have to deal with the bodies.
- Prof Daniel Sims is the chair of the First Nations Studies department at UNBC and a member of the Tsay Keh Dene First Nation
ence. Jeff and I laughed when we recalled how much Elu loved eating the fruit and how sick he felt the next day. When I got off the phone with Jeff, I felt quite emotional. I had to sit with my feelings and thoughts to figure out what was going on with me. I finally came to the conclusion that I felt happy - genuinely happy. Since brain injury, there have been very few times that I have felt true happiness or laughed until my belly hurt. This has sadly become a rare experience for me. Since my injury, my short-term memory has been terrible and this will most likely be the case for the rest of my life. To be able to retrieve clear memories from over 35 years ago was a huge gift. And the fact Jeff remembered me after all these years and took the time and effort to find me is even a bigger gift. This has lifted my spirits and will easily carry me for the rest of the year
You are good medicine, Jeff.
Excuses, little action for Indigenous people
Another heart wrenching discovery of 215 children in a mass grave brings out the scale of the assault on Indigenous people in Canada at just one residential school after a 16-year exercise took place with the release of the Truth and Reconciliation by the Government of Canada.
The release of this extensive report from the survivors of residential schools came with calls to action to change the course for First Nations people. Indigenous leaders, organizations, advocacy groups are speaking out, exposing the lack of government action. It begs the question of how many more atrocities, how many more First Nations people dying at the hands of RCMP, how many more government racist systems need to be exposed before the Government of Canada takes action that goes beyond an apology and acknowledgement of the wrongs our people endured.
The Government of Canada must stop making tax dollars as an excuse or delay to take real action. The federal government created the barriers Indigenous people live with today. Real change is never going to happen until the prime minister, provincial premiers and mayors across the country acknowledge the wealth of this country was built from the land once occupied by Indigenous people.
The theft of the land by the colonizers changed the course of history for the original inhabitants. We hear terms like decolonization, but what does this mean? It means something different, depending on the effects and impacts For Canadians, it means “their” tax dollars and a costly enterprise to change what was put upon Indigenous people. For Indigenous people, it means taking action to stop the continua-
GUEST COLUMN
JO-ANNE BEREZANSKI
tion of colonizing created by the Indian Act and making amends to right the wrongs. This is an easy fix, but will it happen? Not in my lifetime and not until the Crown changes this course for all those countries taken by British colonizers. UNDRIP called for change for Indigenous peoples around the world, but this will never happen. Why? Money! That’s the only thing that can right the wrongs for the failed attempts to extinguish the original people who occupied the land. Our ancestors never gave up the rights to the land, but today, hundreds of millions of “taxpayer” dollars are spent fighting the Constitution of Canada Government is fighting with itself to determine how to break the Indigenous people by dragging them through the courts with tax dollars, on both sides!
The newcomers became government surveyors who created maps of where Indigenous people lived, hunted and travelled for trade. It was this same government that placed them on reservations. It was illegal for an “Indian” to leave a government reserve, it was illegal for an “Indian” to work off a reserve, it was illegal for an “Indian” to trade, to farm, to visit family if they didn’t live on the reserve they inhabited, it was illegal for an “Indian” to keep their children. The government controlled every aspect of the original inhabitants and they still do There is not one Indigenous person living on a reserve who owns the land or the house they inhabit. This is held “in trust” by the government.
The recent discovery of the bodies of 215 children at the Kamloops Residential School is tragic, but not at all surprising.
In 1907, Medical Inspector Dr. Peter Bryce provided a report to the Department of Indian Affairs regarding the horrendous health conditions at residential schools across Canada which resulted in up to 75 per cent of the children dying of tuberculosis. The Canadian government chose to do nothing, thus knowingly and intentionally killing Indigenous children, meeting the requirements of the 1948 United Nations definition of the crime of genocide.
It should be added that tuberculosis was only one of many lethal dangers these children faced. The call to examine the sites of other residential schools across Canada for unmarked gravesites is not only reasonable, it is a necessary part of our national healing process.
What struck me as well about the discovery in Kamloops was my personal connection to it A man whom I consider a dear friend and mentor was the principal of this
Imagine how your life would be, if every hospital and school was run like reservations are run in this country Hospitals and schools were created by government, they are run and paid for by tax dollars, but Canadians expect and demand that standards are met in the running of these Institutions Yet the very wealth of this country excuses the deplorable, disgusting, Third World living conditions on every government owned and operated Reserve. This is the tool the government uses to continue colonizing Indigenous people Unless a First Nation community is willing to give up the rights and title to what is referred as “traditional territories,” the government continues to own reserves and makes First Nations accountable for the conditions on these reserves.
What government has allowed is for First Nations to work with Industry to extract timber, water, mining, development to address the poverty inflicted on them to exist on government reserves. What does this look like to other Canadians? It makes our people look disingenuous when we educate about our culture, traditions and ancestorial respect for the land. This allows non-natives to make racist, discriminatory remarks towards our people. So just as our ancestors were deceived so the colonizers could take everything from the land, the new way is to leave no choice for First Nations to do government dirty work so Indigenous leaders can create a better life for their children.
If the government had any intention of changing the course of a dishonourable past that caused the disgusting, deplorable, heinous crimes against a people, they would immediately implement action to fix what they created!
The big announcement by the federal government was $5 million to build 32
LESSONS IN LEARNING
GERRY CHIDIAC
school in the 1940s.
Fergus O’Grady became bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Prince George in 1956 and recruited thousands of volunteers, called Frontier Apostles, from all over the world to work for him. I was one of these people, teaching at a Catholic school in Prince George from 1985 to 1987
O’Grady was seen as a builder and an innovator. In 1986, he was given an honorary doctorate from the University of British Columbia. Today there is a street that bears his name in Prince George, and another with his spiritual motto, Domano, an abbreviation of Domine Mane Nobiscum, Oh Lord remain with us.
With the revelation in Kamloops, there are calls to rescind his honorary degree and rename these streets.
While that may be necessary to take
these steps in the future, the more immediate and important task is to discover the truth behind Fergus O’Grady
In his book Man’s Search For Meaning, Holocaust survivor and renowned psychologist Viktor Frankl tells us: “There are two races of men in this world, but only these two – the ‘race’ of decent man and the ‘race’ of indecent man. Both are found everywhere…. Is it surprising that in those (depths of the human soul) we again found only human qualities which in their very nature were a mixture of good and evil?”
Could we expect Fergus O’Grady to be any different? He was adored all over northern British Columbia when he was alive and, when he died in 1998, his funeral was one of the largest ever held in Prince George.
He often said: “When I first became bishop, I traveled all around the diocese asking the people what they wanted They all told me they wanted schools, so I figured out a way to build them schools.”
One of the most accessible books on Indigenous history in Northern BC is Stoney Creek Woman, the story of Dakelh
houses on a Cowichan reserve. Do the math, folks, this is $156,000 per house So how much has changed? Look to the past to learn what was once unacceptable (starve a people/take their children) Today it’s acceptable to deprive a people of a home and drinking water The Government of Canada would never tell a Canadian “renter” they are responsible for repairs, appliances, in a rented home in Canada. This is what reserve housing is: government subsidized housing and building a home on a budget of $156,000 serves as another example of a racist system. The leaders in First Nation are responsible for building a government rental home on a budget that barely represents the cost of building today So while government brags about this announcement, it leaves us questioning the motivation More millions given to First Nations to improve government reserves, really!
Here is an idea I keep pushing: give a portion of every tax dollar and user fee collected in this country from every level of government and industry to the tribe that inhabited that land before they were moved to a reserve. Then meet with Indigenous leaders to address the systemic problems the colonizers created and do their part to catch up with the rest of Canada. We can’t change the past but we can change what we do today and it is overdue for government to stop making First Nation responsible for the damage created by government. For Minister Bennett, Minister Miller and the Prime Minister to say they are meeting with First Nations to come up with an acceptable plan or appealing to every level of government is nothing more than another delay tactic.
- Jo-Anne Berezanski is an Elder with the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation who lives in Victoria.
elder Mary John. She was born in 1913 and survived the notorious Lejac Residential School. She points out how her community was always petitioning the government for a day school. O’Grady found creative ways to construct and run such schools all over the diocese. John was also hired to teach Dakelh language and culture at nearby St Joseph’s School in Vanderhoof, an idea that was considered very progressive in the 1970s.
But what skeletons does Fergus O’Grady have in his closet? A thorough study of Catholic archives, many of which have been stored in Rome to make them inaccessible to Canadian researchers, is required. It is also necessary to talk to Indigenous community members who are familiar with O’Grady and his legacy
The truth may make us uncomfortable, but it is a vital part of the reconciliation process we need to go through to heal our communities and our nation of the wounds caused by our cruelty, ignorance and ethnocentrism.
May this truth be the legacy we leave for future generations.
Propaganda at the centre of town
Four years ago, I called for the dismantling and removal of a piece of public art in the middle of downtown Prince George that celebrates residential schools and the colonization of Indigenous peoples by white settlers.
It was the third time I had called upon a newly sworn-in city council to do something about that disgraceful mural.
Maybe now, with the horrific discovery of 215 child victims at the Kamloops Residential School, Prince George city council will have the courage to act
On Tuesday, while residential school survivors shared their stories to a crowd in front of city hall, about 100 metres away, the mural stood next to Four Seasons Pool, a literal embodiment of systemic racism and whitewashed history.
It is not public art. It is propaganda.
It was put up in 1967 for Canada’s 100th anniversary to honour the brave settlers and celebrate everything they did to Indigenous peoples to build a future free of them and their influence
Maybe now, Prince George city council will have the nerve to do something about this horrible edifice that is already crumbling from neglect.
The entire piece is offensive but two parts of it are not only racist but broadcast outright lies.
First, the centre top centre panel features Indigenous people dutifully sitting at the feet of a Christian missionary, who looms over them, while in the background, the church is much larger than the nearby teepees.
To imply that Indigenous peoples did not have spiritual practices before the settlers arrived and received such teachings obediently and with open arms is false.
The statement at the bottom of the mural speaks the settler truth.
“They sought furs and the Pacific but found their future in the waiting forests.”
Who is “they?”
The mural’s placement and its continuing existence within sight of City Hall at the heart of Prince George suggests this is
the official and only acceptable version of history, that there was no history worth noting before white settlers came to this region and that colonization saved Indigenous peoples from a pitiful existence.
On social media, several local residents are calling for the renaming of O’Grady Road in College Heights, named after John Fergus O’Grady, who was a priest at the Kamloops Residential School before coming to the Prince George diocese to serve as bishop.
UBC is already in the midst of revoking O’Grady’s honorary degree, bestowed upon him in the 1990s for his contributions to education.
Removing the centennial mural and renaming O’Grady Road (and while we’re at it, could something be done about Gladstone Drive, named after a British slave owner who had no connection to Canada or Prince George?) isn’t about rewriting history, it’s about righting history.
Reconciling truth with history
Recently I had an interesting conversation. I noticed a women adding honey to her tea. I am always curious about people’s motivation for using honey instead of table sugar, so I asked her.
She said she didn’t want to eat sugar. I pointed out honey is sugar, so she said she only ate natural sugars. Whereupon I pointed out there aren’t any “un-natural” sugars and pretty much everything we eat has sugar
She responded “Well, I have done a lot of research on sugar, so I use honey.”
It was a short conversation – just a matter of interest for me and probably annoying for her so I do apologize I am not going to get into the details of sugar production. Suffice it to say both honey and table sugar are refined. It’s just one of them takes place in the stomach of a bee and the other a factory
What really caught my attention in our conversation was the statement “I have done a lot of research.” I am fairly certain she and I have a different understanding of research. The definition of research is: “the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions,” according to Google The OED makes the distinc-
tion research is about “critical study.”
Academic research is, for the most part, about critical study.
It involves dozens of sources of information and sometimes years of effort It isn’t about reading an on-line website nor talking to friends nor participating in a Facebook chat group. Research is about looking in depth and discovering the facts for yourself, which is difficult work and sometimes life consuming. Indeed, for many of my colleagues, research is how we define ourselves.
But as one of my profs used to say: “if you can’t argue both sides of an issue, you don’t understand the issue.”
This is where things can get complicated. When it comes to societal issues – be it climate change, fluoridation, old growth forests, chemicals in our foods, or even sugar – in order to fully understand the issue, there is a lot of time and energy involved. Years of study and work
Instead of doing the research, most
people rely on blogs and postings and discussion groups and Google searches and Wikipedia and all of the modern sources, which provide information but generally don’t provide understanding. We gain superficial knowledge at the expense of real understanding. And given we are living in a “post-truth age,” we often can’t even be sure of the facts.
Which brings us to history.
History was once considered a “scientific discipline.” After all, the data was accessible and the facts incontrovertible. But history is written from one person’s perspective. My view of any situation carries my inherent biases as does anyone else’s Two people can look at a single incident and take away quite different interpretations. Lawyers have been making money off of these differences since time began. At its heart, history is supposed to be a true and accurate record of events, especially public events. The discipline of history is supposed to provide a systematic or critical analysis of events as we understand them. However, given everybody sees history from their own perspective, historical research is extremely hard to do because the facts are never incontrovertible.
We have been watching this play out in the media over the past year. Some of the
In that spirit, however, a word of caution is necessary
For the settlers lashing out at the Catholic Church, please stop Tens of thousands of Indigenous Canadians, many of them elders and residential school survivors, remain devout Catholics to this day.
When Mary Gouchie, one of the Lheidli T’enneh’s most revered elders, died in 2019 at age 97, she received a full funeral mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral
Yes, the Catholic Church should atone for its sins.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should make another formal invitation to the Vatican for Pope Francis to come to Kamloops and pray with the Indigenous members of his congregation, to hear their stories, to seek their forgiveness and to offer support and reparations.
In the meantime, there are easy, meaningful actions that Prince George city council can take to let residential school survivors in our community know they have been heard.
After a practicing Catholic receives the sacrament of confession, he or she is asked to give penance through a small act of contrition, in exchange for forgiveness and the right to receive Holy Communion. Removing the offensive mural and renaming O’Grady Road are two such small acts of penance for the horrible sin of residential schools.
things we all “knew” are turning out to be wrong or, at least, a distortion of what happened We can even see this in real-time where some American politicians have chosen to describe the attack on the U.S. Capitol as a peaceful visit by some tourists. Really? Were we watching the same video? Closer to home is the horrible history that has been revealed in Kamloops. I don’t know how to process this information other than with sadness and concern. I want to say, as Neil Godbout did in a column last week, “I am sorry,” but that is not enough. My heart goes out to all of the families affected by residential school system None of us can change history but we can do the research and gain understanding. And we can be damn sure to learn from history so that nothing like the residential school system ever happens again. And that brings us to two more words: truth and reconciliation.
Truth is about the facts Incontrovertible and undeniable facts, such as bodies in unmarked graves
Reconciliation is about finding a way to make our relationship with the victims and their relatives whole. Both are going to require a lot of research on the part of each and every one of us before we will be able to come to an understanding but it is work we must do.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Spare me from white saviours
People like Neil Godbout and the other dinosaur media are like a guy giving a speech with his fly down.
We, your captive audience, indulge you while quietly embarrassed for you. We are not blown away by your conventional, neutered, low-energy ideas.
We are not impressed by your pandering to every trend. I think when the woke media across Canada heard about the Kamloops mass grave, they were secretly thrilled, not appalled.
Social justice armchair quarterbacks like Godbout are mortgaging society’s future while they fatten themselves on vanity projects and virtue signaling.
I am Cree.
My grandmother went to residential school and even I know that a mural from 1967 is a precious piece of history.
Unfortunately, self-appointed white saviours like Godbout can use the newspaper to pander and preach all they want without anyone to debate them.
Some people don’t build anything. They only know how to tear things down and preside over decline, kind of like our iconic Citizen newspaper.
It, like Prince George, is held hostage to incurious, turgid minds
J. Morin Prince George
Evicting the homeless is modern colonialism
On Tuesday, June 1, we gathered together at the Prince George City Hall to honour the 215 children who were found at the Kamloops Residential School.
Our flags were lowered to half-mast and the Lheidli T’enneh flag will not be raised again until January 2, 2022
Our act of remembering is not just a symbolic gesture, but calls us to action today
Prince George is in the midst of a complex and protracted social crisis, which is most visible in our downtown core.
The criminalization of poverty, the overdose crisis and enduring racism are magnified on the foundation of our colonial history.
While we have some excellent agencies in town, these social services set against the magnitude of this crisis pose insurmountable barriers for people who need support the most.
However, over the last two weeks I felt hope that the city was maturing its approach to tackle our social crisis.
About ten days ago a small number of people set up simple but stable residences at Third and George.
While their tents are not ideal or longterm solutions, in the face of an emergency a simple residence is a start.
I heard that the city intends to evict these people from their residences. From what I understand, there is no plan for where they can go.
I am deeply concerned by this for three reasons:
- It is ethically wrong and it perpetuates
the trauma and violence of residential schools. Many adults and youth on the street were directly affected by residential schools through parents or grandparents who survived. As the country is rocked by revelations of child graves and our city makes symbolic gestures to lower the flag, an act of eviction re-enacts colonial patterns.
- It is fiscally irresponsible From a cost-analysis standpoint, our current simplistic approach to homelessness costs PG taxpayers more. Shuffling people along without a plan creates a higher demand for institutional services (hospitals, paramedics, RCMP, etc ), which is more expensive We have already had costly overruns this year It would be fiscally irresponsible to allow another unnecessary overrun, when there are more cost-effective solutions available.
- It contradicts our vision. We say we want to be a catalyst of the modern Canadian North and that we value imagination and innovation. To revert back to simplistic strategies that shuffle people along with hope that the problem goes away is naïve and lacks imagination and innovation. We have an opportunity to be leaders of the North, to demonstrate what real actions towards reconciliation looks like. To move people from their residences without a plan, in no way reflects our vision or values.
I conclude with a strong plea to not evict the people at 3rd and George from their residence.
Until permanent housing is available elsewhere we need a designated place for people to sleep and store their belongings. As a taxpayer, I request that the city provide public spaces to defecate, urinate and wash in close proximity.
The Lheidli T’enneh flag will be lowered until January 2, 2022. I would like to challenge the city to have permanent and stable housing before the flag is raised again.
I write as a citizen of Prince George and do not represent any organization.
Amelia Merrick
Prince George
Housing details needed from city council
I have just read our mayor’s comments on all the government housing that is being planned for Prince George.
As a taxpayer, I would like to know exactly who is going to be able to live in this housing?
Is it just for marginalized people? Is it just for Prince George people? Or are we going to be bringing people here? Are we going to be bringing more problems into the city?
The biggest question I have is can our infrastructure handle the new load and is it going to be set up ro handle the load, like our hospital, our schools, our seniors care facilities and hospice care, policing, etc.
We have a complex issue that no one wants to talk about or deal with or know how to deal with.
I guess that’s why we don’t hear anything from our city councillors on the subject.
If you don’t have a downtown business or live in the Bowl, you probably don’t care, until you find out there is no room at the inn for yourself or a loved one.
Why would we want to promote a tent city anywhere in our city?
Helen Robertson Prince George
Residential schools a human tragedy
I have needed some time to articulate exactly what I felt was appropriate to say and how I could honour my thoughts around what recently happened.
This past week it came to light that the bodies of 215 Aboriginal children were found buried at a former B.C. residential school.
All of them undocumented deaths
At first, I couldn’t even comprehend the totality and horror of the situation.
Because although it has always been inherently part of my culture and upbringing, it always seemed relevant yet distant.
To imagine that not only is this still an active part of who we are but the very real families that who are only now allowed to begin a new stage of grieving.
I am the first generation in my family that has not been subjected to residential schools.
But the impacts have still been felt We live in a time of so-called upheaval and change where human rights are at the forefront.
Still, I don’t connect to the word’s reconciliation or culpability.
It spurred me to do some digging into how not only the emotional aspects are still felt but what are the lasting “tangible” impacts.
It is estimated more than 150,000 children attended residential schools in Canada from the 1830s until the last school closed in 1996
The NCTR estimates about 4,100 children died at the schools, based on death records, but has said the true total is likely much higher.
In an article regarding addictions, Aboriginals seeking help were as high as 17 per cent compared to the Canadian average of eight per cent.
The provincial rate of children in care with the Ministry of Children and Family services as of 2019 was 6,263 with 4,111 of those being identified as Aboriginal.
Although Aboriginal people are only 5.9 per cent of the adult population of British Columbia, they are 29.7 per cent of the adult population in correctional centres and 25.8 per cent of people under community supervision.
Graduation rates for Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Students as of the 17-18 school year showed a gap of 16.9 per cent.
And according to Stats Canada, only 58.6 per cent of First Nations people between the ages of 25 and 54 years lived in a household that was defined as food secure.
Now these statistics were found on a very surface Google search and obviously outdated, but this was what I could find at a glance.
So what do these numbers mean in the
grand scheme of things?
We need change.
The change and healing that we are so desperately seeking still eludes us.
What limited resources I have come across have done nothing to aid in my journey to recovery.
Intergenerational trauma is a very real thing.
So real that studies have shown it’s altered our DNA.
This isn’t an issue of Aboriginals alone. This is an issue of community and government.
Because, believe it or not, society is only as strong as its most vulnerable members.
Education, compassion, unity These are the core building blocks of eliciting change.
So, before you think that this isn’t your problem, I implore you to examine your humanity closer and redefine what it means to be a member of our society
Laura Mueller Prince George
The children’s deaths must not be in vain
Re: “Residential school victims remembered,” June 3.
Some people need to believe that such atrocious occurrences happened “long ago” or “in the past” and that, or therefore, humanity could/would not allow them to happen again, in our much more modern times.
I, however, doubt that is the way largescale societies let alone border-segregated, independent nations necessarily behave collectively.
After 34 years of news consumption, I have found that a disturbingly large number of categorized people, however precious their souls, can be considered thus treated as though disposable, even to an otherwise democratic nation. When the young children of those people take notice of this, tragically, they’re vulnerable to begin perceiving themselves as beings without value.
When I say this, I primarily have in mind Indigenous (and perhaps Black) Canadians and Americans. But, tragically, such horrendous occurrences still happen on Earth, often enough going unrealized to the rest of the world.
The Indigenous children’s mass grave, as sadly anticipated as the find was (and others are expected), must not be in vain. Rather, it must mark the start of a substantial progressive move forward for Indigenous peoples, especially regarding life’s fundamental necessities (proper shelter and clean air, water and food) Frank Sterle, Jr White Rock
HORO SC OPES &P UZ ZLES
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Hill dwellers
Spur
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Poker opener
Gives forth
Marvels 36. Alcoholic liquor
37. Scraped 40. Upper class 41. Scored on the serve 43. Bonnets 44. Leave 45. Withhold 46. Papa 47. Decoratea cake 48. Thatwoman 50. Chip enhancer
of
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PUZZLE NO.821
HOW TO PLAY:
Fill in the grid so thatevery row, everycolumnand every3x3 boxcontains the numbers 1through 9only once
Each3x3 box is outlined with adarkerline. You already have afew numbers to get you started. Remember: you must not repeat the numbers 1through9inthe sameline,column or 3x3box.
TheCOVID-19vaccinesaresafeandeffective againstcatchingandspreadingCOVID-19. Gettingvaccinatedisthemostimportant toolsupportingourrestart. Pleaseregisterandgetvaccinated!
https://www.getvaccinated.gov.bc.ca/s/
ByHeatherWalker,Re-DeployedQuesnelCOVID-19ImmunizationFrontofClinicSupervisor,andPhysicianQualityImprovementCoordinator, SpecialistServicesCommittee:ApartnershipofDoctorsofBCandtheMinistryofHealth.
AstheCOVID-19vaccineroll-outcontinues throughNorthernHealth,weareseeing communitymembersofallagesattendthe clinicstoreceiveadoseofthevaccinethat canprotectthosetheyloveandthegeneral public.
Theresponsewe’reseeinginourcommunities isreassuring;it’screatingahopeinpeople thatwehaven’tseeninawhile.It’sthehope thattheywillbeabletogobacktoasense ofnormalcythathasn’tbeenseeninquite sometimebutwill,mostlikely,notresemble anythinglikelifewasin2019.Wewatchasour childrendiscoverastrengthandresiliency thattheyneverneededbeforebutwealso watchastheystepupandrealizeasense ofcommunitytodowhattheycanfortheir neighbours,family,friendsandoftenstrangers. Weareraisingthenextgenerationtobe compassionateandkindinatimewhereitis neededmorethanever
Asmanyofusadultsstrugglewiththe directionoftheworld,ourchildrenare steppinguptotheplate.
Today,inQuesnel,wehadourfirstbrave 12-year-oldcomeinwithherfamily.Hername isEhlanaWilliamsandsheattendsRedBluff Elementary.Ehlanaspentsometimewithus
andansweredsomeofourquestionswiththe hopethatshecouldinspireotherstocome downandgetvaccinated.
Whatmadeyouwanttocomedown andgetvaccinatedtoday?
“Mystep-momtoldusthismorningthat wewereallowedtocomedownwithoutan appointment,somybrotherandIcamedown today.Myparentstoldmethatonceweallget it,Icanseemyfamilysooneranddothethings thatCOVIDisrestricting.”
Whodoyouwanttoseeafteryou getvaccinated?
“Lola,mystepmom’smotherandthenIwantto seemygrandmaandpapainNewBrunswick.”
Whatdoyouwanttodoonce youareable?
“Sleepoveratmyfriends’,Imissdoingthat.I’m gladthatIgettoseetheminschoolbutImiss havingsleepovers.”
Whatwouldyouliketosaytoothers, especiallykids,aboutthevaccine?
“Itdidn’tevenhurt!Itfeelslikeatinymosquito bite.Andit’sbetterforusinthelongruntogetit –ifyouthinkaboutittoolong,itcanstressyou out,justcomegetit.”
TheQuesnelCOVID-19clinicstaffwanttothank
allofthecommunityfortheamazingresponse andsupportthattheyhaveprovidedtousall. PatientslikeElhanaarethereasonwearehere everydayworkingtowardsensuringthatweall staysafe.Welookforwardtoafuturewhereour childrenwillbeleadingwithinourcommunity.
EhlanaWilliamsisthefirst12yearoldin QuesneltogetherCOVID-19vaccine.You mightnotbeabletoseeit,butthereisa smileunderthatmask!
HOURS: Monday-Friday8:30am -3:00pm •Closed 12:00pm -1:00pm forlunch OFFICE/PHONE
Obituaries
It is with deep sadness we announce that on April 20,2021 Sonja Stoltz, loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and daughter passed away at the age of 79. Sonja was born in Stjordal, Norway to parents Olaf and Andrea Westgaard. Sonja was predeceased by her parents, loving husband Wayne Stoltz, sister Karen, brother Roger. She is survived by 6 children, 14 grandchildren, 1 great-grandchild, 2 sisters,2 brothers, sister-in-laws and brother-in-laws as well as many wonderful friends.
Not enough gratitude can be expressed to the nurses and staff at Kamloops Hospice House for their compassion and respect given to our Mom the last days of her life. A special thank you to Dr. Del Begio for making Mom feel valued and comfortable, she truly felt blessed to be cared for by such wonderful people.
Mom was a very loving mother who always greeted you with a smile and a hug. She loved family more than anything and was always there to listen and give advice with unconditional love and support. Mom had a heart of gold and a beautiful spirit that shone brightly wherever she was and with whoever she encountered.
Mom, you were by every measure the best wife, mom, mother-in law, grandmother, sister and friend imaginable. The world as lost a wonderful person and Heaven has gained a beautiful soul. You are greatly missed every day.
Love, Trent, Sher, Benjamin, Krystal and all your family and friends
Mom’s wishes were to be cremated and laid to rest next to the love of her life, Wayne to be together forever. No funeral service by request.
Condolences may be sent to the family at DrakeCremation.com
REMEMBRANCES
Obituaries
Rosarino (Ross) Marotta
October 23, 1938May 24, 2021
Rosarino (Ross) Marotta was born on October 23, 1938 in Colosimi, Cosenza Italy. He moved to Canada at the age of 21 and made his way across the country to Prince George, where he resided with his brother, Ugo (Vanda) Marotta. In 1962, he met his beloved wife and lifelong partner, Teresa. They had two children, Peter and Anthony.
Ross is survived by his wife of 56 years: Teresa; his two children: Peter (Lynne) and Anthony (Rosanna); and his two grandchildren: Nicolas and Daniella. He is also survived by his siblings and brothers in law; Ines (Antonio) Manfredi, Elena DePalma, Franca (Santo RIP) Pascuzzi and Tony (Barb) Miniaci. Nephews, nieces and family, Vince (Romana RIP) and Anthony Manfredi, Frank Manfredi, Anna (Phil), Roberto, and Michael (Marissa) Sciara Vince (Susy), Matthew and Carly Marotta, Louisa, Vince, Anita (Mike) and Daniel DePalma, Alfredo and Mario Pascuzzi Bonnie (Tony) and Danny Miniaci, Mario and Michael (Whitney) Miniaci.
Predeceased by his parents Vincenzo and Maria Marotta, Antonio and Margherita Miniaci (Inlaws), brother Ugo and sister in law Vanda Marotta and brother in law Joseph Miniaci.
Ross was a devoted husband, father, grandfather (nonno), brother, uncle and friend. He was the type of person that would give you the shirt off of his back - he will be fondly remembered by those close to him with his favorite phrase: “Watch Your Back”.
Ross’ main focus was to love and provide for his family and those around him. The family would like to thank all those who took part in the care of Ross. Words cannot express our sincerest gratitude.
A prayer service and visitation for Ross was held on Sunday May 30th at 2:00 pm at Assman’s Funeral Chapel. Funeral Mass was held on Monday May 31, at 2:30 pm at Sacred Heart Cathedral with Fr. Rectorino officiating. Cremation followed at Fraserview Crematorium.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to either the Parkinson’s Society (https://www.parkinson.bc.ca/donate/) or to the Prince George Hospice Society (https://www.hospiceprincegeorge.ca/donate/givetoday/).
Obituaries
Evan Alwyn Short
Mountain Park AB - August 23, 1927Union Bay BC - April 16, 2021
Evan died peacefully at home at the age of 93 in Union Bay. He is survived by his brother Alan Short of Medstead SK. His children - Leif, Cameron, Twyla, Kevan (Cynthia), Wendy and Ian - sixteen (16) grandchildren and eighteen (18) great grandchildren.
Predeceased by parents: Hildur (1988) and Harold (1980) Short Medstead SK: grandson Orin Short (2004): great-grandson Conner (2010): 1st wife Joyce (2010): 2nd wife Elizabeth (2014): sister-in-law Doreen Short (Feb 2021).
Spruce Capital Feeds or the “Horse in the Sky”
Evan was owner and operator: 1969-1993 Evan and his son Kevan spent many an hour from early am to midnight loading and unloading trucks of feed and fertilizers, with many extra buddies and customers around, enjoying the action. Unexpected drop-ins were always offered the never- ending cup of tea!
Dad’s supportive family and friends include brother-in-law Earl Cleland; his travelling and reminiscing buddy about small town Prince George and the wonderful climate of Vancouver Island. Also, filling in each other on the adventures and misadventures of the family kids growing up in Prince George. Special nieces and telephone pals: Ali (son) Short ,Rosetown, SK, Shannon Cleland Victoria, Deb Trask, Fort St. John and Diana Trask, Port McNeill. Talkative nephews and more telephone pals: Murray Short Medstead SK and Colin Cleland, Calgary AB. Special Christmas morning caller Penny Mackenzie (Ohlin); the neighbourhood kid who was part of the extended kids along with her dog. Dad’s favourite communication was via the telephone. And he enjoyed the many conversations especially during the covid19 isolation. Dad never embraced the cell phone regardless of the many attempts by kids to move him into the 21st century. A travelling free spirit grandson Logan Short would show up unannounced for a shower and a bed to sleep in which always brightened Dad’s day. Unexpected visitors were always an enjoyable time for Dad. Dad had one last visit with great-grandson Jasper before the covid19 isolation. Dad said he had been around a lot of babies but Jasper was just about the most perfect baby he had encountered. That was one of his best visits and he was thankful Darby and Jasper beat the pandemic shut down. Dad’s supportive friends from Union Bay: Greg, Stuart, and the ladies from the Credit Union were greatly appreciated.
Dad moved to Vanderhoof to pursue his last foray into farming. He relished the farm as it was like the life on the farm in Medstead, SK. The family farm is still active and being carried on by Alan’s two sons Trevor and Murray Short. Unfortunately, age forced Evan to sell and retire to Union Bay. He laughed about being a landlubber to spending his final years watching the ocean every day.
Sonja Evelyn Stoltz (Westgaard) 1942-2021
Weare very saddened at theloss of John, adearhusband,father, friendand pillar in thecityofPrince George forthe past 65 years. Born to John andHelen Reimer of Arnold,B C, he learnedastrongworkethic anda positive outlook on life, countering thedifficulties of growingupinthe “dirty thirties.”Hebecameaborn-again Christianwhenhewas 12, takingto heartJohn3:16 “For Godsoloved the worldthathegavehis oneand only Son, that whoever believesinhim shall not perish but have eternallife.”NIV
John wasajack-of-all trades. By the time he was25hehad work experience in farming, carpentr y, mining, bridgebuilding, tree-felling, equipmentsales, andconstruction. Moving to Prince George in 1952, he earned tuitionfor BriercrestBible College(near Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan)and attended from 1954 to 1957. Therehemet hiswife, GwenCole, andtheyhaveenjoyed being married andbestfriends fornearly64 years.
Formanyyears John worked forErwin Homes, travellingagreat deal,arranging buildingpermits andsub trades in
John BReimer
Augu st 14, 1931 -May 20, 2021
thebuildingindustr y. Ahighlight for him wasconnectingwithChristians in each town.Asacontractorfor hisown company, RainbowVentures, he built many buildings andhousesinPrince George (and many otherplaces) leaving alegacyofworkcrews whoexperienced hishonestand strongworkethic of doingajob well anddoing it right.
John hadaheart formissionand ministry.Hewas very involvedinhis church,inthe ChristianBusinessmen’s Committee (CBMC) andorganizedthe annual Mayor’sprayerbreakfast.John Reimer wasapillar in thebusiness community,and atirelessadvocatefor hismuch-lovedNessLakeBible Camp
From itsbeginningin1953 John spent much of his‘sparetime’ investinginthe camp;manyhours in prayer andhands on,from helping buildthe first barge andspendingweekends clearing brush on thenewlyacquired land,toprocuring buildingmaterials andvolunteers, scoutingfor summer staff,asaboard member,and of course,building! He andhis wife,Gwen, authored “NessLake BibleCamp” achronicledhistory of the camp,in2018.
John wasaman of deep faithand relationship with God,awonderful friendand encourager. From age19, he committed to readinghis Bible daily. Oneofthe most positive people youwould ever meet, he wouldtalk to anyone andtry to encourage them (and tell them aboutcamp!). He believed in hiskids, supportedwhattheydid andinvestedtimewithhis grandkids. Hismottoinlifewas ‘there’s always somethingtobethankful for.’
He served on theboard of Briercrest BibleCollegefor 26 yearstravelingto Saskatchewan twice ayearathis own expense.Inlater years, he andGwen volunteered their time andskills to serve in projects in Ecuador, Brazil, England, Spain, Kenya, Hawaii,Trinidad and even Cuba.Avacationwas neverfully forleisure,there were always projects to be involvedinand people to help. John reflectedonthese experiences, “I am so thankfulthatmywifeand Iwere abletodothese things together andwe arethankful forthe safety God gave us even when we were in dangerousplaces. Most of all Igive thanks to my Lord and SaviourJesus Christ.”
John andGwenalsokeptbusywith their bedand breakfastwhere John thoroughly enjoyedplaying tour guide with their B&B guests, pickingthemup from thetrain to bringthembackto enjoyGwen’shospitality.
John neverfailedtoenjoy life, andhis favouriteway to relaxwas fishing! He lovedtotakehis kids,grandkids,many friends andvisitingguests out fishing. Countless fishingtrips with sons PJ and Al to lakestoo numerous to nameor ocean fishingwhentheycould arrange it.Too many stories make it difficult to know wheretostart or stop!
John waspredeceased by hisparents John andHelen Reimer,sisterRuthand brothers Rubenand Alvin. He will be greatlymissedbyhis belovedwifeGwen, daughter Ruth Anne (Jim) MacKnee, sons Paul (Michelle), Al (Diane), daughtersLinda,Valerie (Wayne) Dirks, brotherDan (Freda), sisters Mary Stevens, Hilda(John) Falk,Leona (Davidson), sister-in-law Rose Reimer, 14 grandchildren, 2great grandchildren, numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and countlessfriends
ACelebration of Life will be held on Saturday,June 12 at 10:30AM at the Westwood MB Church parkinglot. Sign up at https://www.westwoodchurch.bc.ca/ Limitedspace is availabledue to restrictions.Itwill be live-streamed, andaccessiblefor laterviewing online. LivestreamLink: https://www.youtube.com/c/westwoodchurch
Condolences, memories, photos andtributesmay be shared andviewedhere. https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/prince-george-bc/john-reimer-10202834
Ness Lake BibleCamp https://nesslakebiblecamp.campbraingiving.com (tothe generalfund) 23705 Camp Road, Prince George,B CV2K 5M1
In lieu of flowers, donationsmay be madeInMemor yofJohnReimer, to: WycliffeBibleTranslators, Canada https://www.wycliffe.ca/give/ (Projects: BibleTranslation) Toll-freeat1-800-463-1143 •MondaythruFridaybetween 8:30am-4:30 pm Mountain Time Make outyourchequetoWycliffeCanada. Include aseparatenotethatstates, “In Memory of John Reimer,for theworkofBible Translation.” Mail to:WycliffeCanada 4316 10 St NE Calgary,ABT2E 6K3
Fred Gilliland
Feb 14, 1946May 12, 2021
The family of Fredrick R Gilliland are deeply saddened to announce his sudden passing on May 12, 2021. Originally from Fredricton, New Brunswick, Fred spent most of his life as a forklift operator in BC. He will be greatly missed by his wife Kathie, his children Paulette (Darryl), Raymond, Christine (Tyler), his grandchildren Kirra (Charles), Noah, Sylis (Deanna), Jayden, his only great grandchild Taylon and all his many relatives and friends.
See ya later
Beverlee Moleschi
1939-2021
It is with deep sadness we announce, on Monday, May 3rd, 2021, Beverlee Moleschi, loving wife, mother, grandmother and sister, passed away at the age of 82.
Beverlee was was born in Langley, British Columbia to Reginald and Edna Harrison.
She was an excellent cook and enjoyed preparing meals for her family and friends. She loved music, dancing, singing and playing the guitar. She loved to spend time near the water, whether it be at the lake or river. She was a beautiful, loving woman who cared deeply for her family and friends. Spending time with family meant the most to mom. Her unconditional love, kindness and grace was freely given. A rare and beautiful spirit with a heart of gold, who never knew a stranger. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her.
Beverlee is survived by her husband Evan, son Rae, daughter Katherine (Don), son Gary (Kelly), brother Darwin (Luda), grandchildren Mitchell, Alyssa, Landon, and Baylee, as well as many wonderful family and friends. Proceeded in death by her parents, and her sister Dawn.
Cremation with no service at this time. Because of Covid, a Celebration of Mom’s life will be at a later date.
Condolences may be sent to the family at DrakeCremation.com
Lee Lena Shaw
July 16, 1929May 31, 2021
Peaceful and free from pain No more suffering for you again…
Lee was born in Elkpoint,Alberta and went to Yellowknife to begin her Nursing career where she met her future husband, Warren. Their first child, Brian, was born in Yellowknife and the family moved to Grande Prairie where son, Allan, and daughter Judy, were born. With a brief stay in Fort St John, the family moved to Prince George. Ever since Lee was a young girl, she enjoyed social gatherings and the dancing activities associated with them. Lee was predeceased by husband, Warren, and son, Allan... forever remembered by Brian (Maria), Judy and grandsons, Kyle, Brandon and Dylan.
James Walter Crawford
1973 - 2021
James Walter Crawford, 48, of Petitcodiac, passed away at his home on Friday, June 4, 2021. Born in Plaster Rock, he is the son of Mary Toner (the late Arnold) and Murray Crawford.
James was crane operator for Chark Trucking in BC; a job he really loved and was very skilled at. He also drove truck, travelling often with his faithful canine companion Chloe, who predeceased him. He made his home on both the east and the west coasts of Canada, forging many strong relationships along the way.
In addition to his parents, James is survived and sadly missed by his brother, Malcolm (Cara) Crawford; nieces and nephews, Tasha (Jeff) Frenette, Alex (Ashley) Crawford; great nieces and nephews, Bryson, Kayden, Mia and a baby girl Crawford on the way; former partner, Tami Khalembach; her children, Stephen, Jake, Tanner, Braeden, Spencer; many aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Predeceased by an infant brother, Paul Murray Crawford.
Arrangements in the care of Salisbury Funeral Home (506-372-4800). Family and friends will be invited to celebrate James’ life when Covid restrictions ease. Interment in Stickney Cemetery at a later date.
If desired, memorials may be made to the Canadian Cancer society, SPCA, or (as James would say) the empty pocket fund.
www.keirsteads.ca
Established Franchise Photography Business Serving Northern B.C for over 35 years
Gross Revenues of $150.000 plus annually from seasonal work
Lots of opportunity to expand the business. Transition support available to the right buyer
Serious Enquiries Only
Office 250-596-9199 Cell 250-981-1472
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Established Franchise Tax Preparation Business Mackenzieservicing and McLeod Lake area for over 30 years.
Gross Revenues of $85,000 to $90,000 Annually and Potential to expand revenues in a growing economy.
Transition support available for the right buyer. Serious Inquires Only Office (250)997-9003 Home (250)997-5538 Cell (250)990-0152
To place an ad call 250-562-6666 or email cls@pgcitizen.ca
EMPLOYMENT
Management/Administration
Toys/Games/Puzzles
Alot
Notices / Nominations
Carefree
When:
Memberships
Personal Messages
CL ASS 1 COMPANY DRIVER/ WAREHOUSE WORKER
BC-based LTL freight company transpor ting perishable/dr y freight.
$23.53-$25.53/hour + Benefits Must be legally able to work in Canada. Ref 2021-3
Email: jobs@clarkfreightways.com Fax: 604-472-2136
CAREER OPPORTUNITY
Dollar Saver lumber operates a lumber remanufacturing operation in Prince George We currently have an opportunity in our management group for a Sales Production Coordinator.
This position is responsible to perform the following functions:
• Purchase of raw material for the remanufacturing operation.
• Sales of finished products to existing customers.
• Ensure optimal inventories are maintained.
• Ensure customer ’s needs are being met.
Qualifications for this position include:
• A thorough understanding of operations in a modern sawmill complex.
• A thorough knowledge and familiarity with lumber Grades and sizes.
• Good computer skills including proficiency with Microsoft Excel.
• The ability to deal with customer needs in a calm constructive manner.
• The ability to adjust to rapidly changing conditions and developments.
• The ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Good analytical skills.
The position offers:
• A competitive salary and benefit package
• Opportunity to work in and exciting dynamic environment.
• Opportunity for advancement.
Please submit your resume to Frank Skerlak, General Sales Manager at fskerlak@lumber.ca or Bev at: gobbi1@telus.net Only those persons chosen for an interview will be contacted.
Business For Sale
Deals on Wheels...
Firewood
PRE 1968 COINS, ROYAL CANADIAN MINT COINS, US MINT, COLLECTIONS +. WANTED CANADA, USA & WORLD COLLECTIONS! Todd’s Coins 1-250-8643521
Bedroom/Bedding
Mills/Equipment
Adjustable Hospital bed ETUDE-HC bed kit. Very lightly used. includes: Beech head and foot board, power operated head and foot deck sections, 4 function control pendant with function lock outs (mattress not included) $2000 250 964-9417 pics at http://invacare.ca/doc_files/Etu de_Booklet.pdf
Writing an effective classified ad is easy when you use these time-tested principles.
Writing an effective classified ad is easy when you use these time-tested principles.
• Use a keyword. Start your ad with the item for sale, ser vice offered or the job title.
• Use a keyword. Start your ad with the item for sale, ser vice offered or the job title.
• Be descriptive. Give customers a reason to respond. Advertisers have found that the more information you provide, the better the response.
• Be descriptive. Give customers a reason to respond. Advertisers have found that the more information you provide, the better the response.
• Limit abbreviations. Use only standard abbreviations to avoid confusion and misinterpretations.
• Limit abbreviations. Use only standard abbreviations to avoid confusion and misinterpretations.
• Include price. Always include price of the item for sale.
• Include price. Always include price of the item for sale.
• How to respond. Always include a phone number (with area code) and/or street and email address. To place your ad call: 604-630-3300
• How to respond. Always include a phone number (with area code) and/or street and email address.
To advertise, call 250-562-6666 or email cls@pgcitizen.ca
To place your ad call: 604-630-3300
PAY
all gold, Estate jewelry, scrap or unwanted, coins & currency, antiques, Rolex. Unbeatable pricing,
Domestic Cars
2013 Kia Soul , 46000 km, immaculate, standard trans, heated seats, a/c, winter tires $10,000. (250-562-5377)
2007 Ford Focus, 159014 km, silver, 2 sets of tires on rims/regularly serviced. $3990.00 obo (250)612-1808
Motorcycles
SUZUKI Bandit 1200, great shape, recent tune-up and brakes. (250)613-5981
2006 HARLEY DAVIDSON Wide Glide. Low mileage. 250-6170443
2005 HARLEY DAVIDSON FAT BOY Anniversary Edition. 22,000 km $14,500 613-8567
2002 BMW 1150 RT motorcycle, excellent cond. $5500. (250)5643152 (250)640-8267
RVs/Campers/Trailers
Wolfcreek 8’ truck camper, never used. 1998 model, all extras $36,000.00 OBO 657 Faulkner Cres (236) 792-7734
2010 Sportsman 28’ trailer w/ 13’ slide, electric awning. Like new. $20,000.00 OBO 2679 Queensway St (250)981-3583 DL 7239
Sports Utilities & 4X4s
2012 RAM 1500 4X4 short box, loaded, maroon. Extended 7 yr 160k warranty. 21,000 kms, too much to list. Equity. $39,000 owing. Take over payments. 250301.0221, 250-967-4268
Trucks & Vans
2006 DODGE Cummins diesel, 4x4, 4 dr, Lb, auto, 2 owner, receipts since new, no accidents, 107K, $27,900 obo.
Parts Trucks
Apartments / Condos-For Sale
Houses for Sale
Property For Sale
Easy access. Mountainscape views. Private. 250-479-5545 2294 Queensway St. Fully service, C6 zoning, will take partial trade of motorhome, trailer or pick-up. $149,500 (250) 981-3583
ACRES Corner of
HOMES
REAL ESTATE LISTINGS
DESIGN TRENDS • HOME IMPROVEMENTS & RENOVATIONS • OUTDOOR LIVING
2021 Pantone colours of the year in your home
For 2021, Pantone announced not one but two colours of the year: Ultimate Grey and Illuminating. Here’s how to incorporate these shades of natural, stony grey and warm, uplifting yellow into your home
IN THE BEDROOM
Opt for bedding or pillows that combine both colours. For a more dramatic change, consider painting the walls grey and furnishing the room with a bright yellow bedside table, lamp or reading chair IN THE LIVING
ROOM
Add touches of these trendy shades by replacing curtains, throws, cushions or rugs. You could also hang artwork that features these colours
If you want to use paint to make an impression, consider creating a grey or yellow accent wall, and provide contrast by placing a footstool, shelf or side table in the other colour against it Wallpaper in these shades can also wow.
IN THE KITCHEN
Find accessories or small appliances in grey or yellow. Look for serving dishes, oven mitts, towels, toasters and more in these colours. You can also change your chair cushions, tablecloth and table runner
Ultimate Grey and Illuminating can be integrated into any design style Consider bringing these colours that evoke fortitude and optimism into any space that could use a pick-me-up.
your dream door startshere
A space dedicated to your well-being is a must in 2021
Calm and inspiring spaces are becoming increasingly popular To design your own little wellness retreat, choose a spot in your home that’s as removed as possible from all noise and activity.
Once you’ve selected a location, surround yourself with colours that evoke nature such as sky blue, forest green and stone grey Be sure to have at least one live plant nearby
Additionally, consider including a com-
fortable chair, a soft mat and decorative or meditation cushions A lamp emitting a soft glow or a light fixture with a dimmer switch can be useful for lighting the space according to your preferences
Once the space is set up, use it for meditating, daydreaming, reading, breathing deeply, writing in a diary or listening to music
In 2021, a respite from the stresses of everyday life may be exactly what you need
GO FOR GOLD.
Top three ways to increase the resale value of your home
If you’re planning on selling your home, it’s wise to consider making a few strategic upgrades. A fresh coat of paint is a great place to start, but if you have the budget, certain renovations can raise the value of your property and accelerate its sale Wondering which projects to tackle? Considerthefollowing.
AN EXTRA BATHROOM
How to buy a home when you have a bad credit score
If you can only update one room in your house, make it the kitchen. Modern cabinetry, granite countertops, recessed cabinet lighting and new appliances will add real value to your home as much as sevenpercent,infact.
AN INCOME SUITE
Nothing entices buyers quite like the possibilityofoffsettingmortgagecostswithrentalincome.Whetherit’sinyourbasement or another part of your home, an income suiteisguaranteedtoincreasethevalueof yourproperty.
Putting in an extra bathroom isn’t cheap, but you’ll make a profit in the long run. You don’t want to eat up too much usable space, but if you have a rarely used closet orperhapsaroomunderthestairs,thengo ahead and put in that call to your contractor Existing bathrooms can also be updatedforadecentreturnoninvestment. THE KITCHEN
Most lenders won’t consider granting homeloanstoCanadianswithlow creditscores.Butifyoufeelyournumber doesn’t reflect your current financial situation, there are a few options available to you that can make homeownership areality
INCREASE YOUR DOWN PAYMENT
Ifyouhavetheresources,increasingyour down payment can make you a more attractivecandidatetocreditors.Afterall, the more of your own cash you put towardstheproperty,thelessriskthereis forthelender
USE A CO-SIGNER
Thoughitmayputunduestressonyour
personal relationships, getting a friend or family member to co-sign your loan can make you a more attractivecandidatetolenders.Thebestbetis tospeakto local lenders about the particulars of your situation in order to determine ifthisisapossibility
GET
A PRIVATE MORTGAGE
Big financial institutions are usually thefirsttocometomindwhenapplying for a mortgage, but there are other options. A private mortgage can come fromanyonewhohasthefinancialcapacity to advance you the needed funds. Friends, family members and private investors are all potential lenders. There are drawbacks to this type of agreement, however, so make sure you walk in with eyeswideopen.
Even with a bad credit
Four tips to sell your condo quickly
Ifyou’veoutgrownyourcondo,it’stimeto think about putting it on the market. But sellingacondoisabitdifferentthanselling a house. For one thing, condos tend to sell faster, which may require you to move on short notice if a good offer comes in. Employ these four strategies to make sure thingsrollalongsmoothly.
1. A COMPETITIVE PRICE
Youneedtounderstandthemarkettoknow whatpricerangeisreasonableforyourunit. Look at listings to determine asking prices fornearbycondossimilartoyourown,and price yours in the same ballpark. You can go slightly lower to bolster interest from buyers.
2. HIGHLIGHT YOUR ASSETS
Condo living is largely aboutthelifestyle,which isconvenientandhasslefree in comparison to owning a house. Your current building undoubtedly has its own unique features to emphasize. These may include a gym,aswimmingpool,a garage, a great view or a uniquelocation.Alsounderline benefits provided by the neighbourhood itself,suchasproximityto shoppingorpublictransportation.
3.
DECLUTTER
Store,donateandthrowoutasmuchaspossibletoincreasevisualspace.Halvewhat’s inyourclosetstomakethemappearbigger Keep surfaces clear and clutter-free, and packawayallpersonalmementoslikephotographs and knickknacks. Clean everythingfromtoptobottomandfixorreplace anything that’s damaged. Costly renovations, however, should be avoided unless recommendedbyarealestateprofessional.
4. OFFER INCENTIVES
To crack a tough market, you can offer incentives like covering closing costs or payingcondofeesinadvanceforasettime frame. Doing socan enhance the appeal of your particular unit and (hopefully!) spark anoutpouringofoffers.
Should you buy a summer cottage?
Wonderingwhetherornotinvestinginacottagemakessense?Whilethememories you create may be priceless, any vacation property you purchase comes at a cost financialandotherwise.
THE PRICE TAG
The average price for a vacation home in Canada ranges between $177,500 and $625,500, depending on the location. Yearly costs associated with a second mortgage presuming you have a primary residence that isn’t already paid off can easily come to $10,000 at the lower end of the spectrum.You’ll also need to factor inthecostsformortgageinsurance,propertytaxes,utilitiesandmaintenance.
THE UPKEEP
Like your primary residence, your cottage will require ongoing care. The lawn will need to be mowed and the driveway, plowed. There are floors to be washed, windowstobecleanedandgardenstobeweeded.Inshort,prepareyourself(andthe kids!)foracottageexperiencethatinvolvesmorethanafewchores.
THE LIFESTYLE
Cottagingisalifestyle;especiallyifyouwanttoensurethemoneyyouinvestholds up to the amount of use you get out of it.Weekends, holidays and maybe even full summerswillbespentupatthecottage.Isthissomethingthatwillsuityouandyour family,nowandintheyearstocome?
Whendeciding whetherornotto buyacottage,carefullyconsider theprosand cons.Ifitworks foryou,great butforeveryone else,rentingisa hassle-freeoptionthatcanbe justascharming.
DETACHED SHOP
