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WEDNESDAY April 15 2015

NEWS AND EVENTS FOR PRINCE GEORGE AND CENTRAL INTERIOR

Canada North Resources Expo coming soon!

The Canada North Resources Expo is now hailed as a mustattend industry event!

The 2015 edition of this biennial expo will be on May 29 and 30 at CN Centre. Photo by Rob Stanhope

IIO review not enough for Matters family

Layoffs looming at CNC

The results from a review of the Independent Investigations Office have fallen short of what the sister of Greg Matters had hoped for.

Award-winning documentary of Highway of Tears

Theatre North West set for new season

Faculty in several programs at the College of New Caledonia are preparing for layoffs.

The award-winning documentary will be featured at the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival this month.

The physical improvements to their home theatre will now be accompanied by improvements to the product on the stage.

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entertainment PAGE 18

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Colleen Sparrow Publisher

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Neil Godbout managing Editor

IIO review not enough for Matters family Mark NIELSEN

The results from a review of the Independent Investigations Office have fallen short of what the sister of Greg Matters had hoped for.

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Tracey Matters speaks to media outside of Prince George Law Courts Monday on her way back into the coronors inquest into the dealth of her brother Greg Matters.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

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Cont’d from page 3 Tracey Matters is particularly critical of a recommendation to relax a rule preventing the IIO from hiring anyone who has been a police officer within the last five years.

In its final report, the committee appointed to conduct the review recommended the IIO be given the discretion

to appoint former police in “exceptional cases.”

The civilian-led watchdog that investigates police involve deaths and serious injuries for criminal wrongdoing would still have to justify such moves to the Ministry of Justice under the committee’s proposal.

So-called “special advisors” were brought in to help investigate the death

of Greg Matters, the Canadian military veteran who was shot and killed by an RCMP emergency response team member in September 2012, the first day the IIO opened its doors.

The IIO eventually concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing, a result that has not sat well with Matters’ mother and sister.

During hearings, Greg Matters’ mother, Lorraine, told the committee there should be “absolutely no ex-police or current police,” in the IIO. “The IIO seems to have done a backflip regarding its goal towards civilianization,”Tracey Matters said in an e-mail.

“How can you be totally independent and trusted if there are former/current police on staff?”

She went on to say she couldn’t help but think the recommendation was made in response to a civil claim the family has launched against the provincial government, the federal attorney general and Cpl. Colin Warwick, the RCMP officer who shot her brother.

“It seems the government has protected legally itself by making this decision,” Matters said.

How can you be totally independent and trusted if there are former/current police on staff?

– Tracey Matters During hearings, IIO chief civilian director Richard Rosenthal said two-thirds of the IIO’s investigators have a civilian background as of December and that in two years it has achieved the highest rate of growth in civilianization in the western world.

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 4 While the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman’s Office is at a similar level, “it took them 14 years to achieve that,” Rosenthal said.

A bipartisan legislative committee made up of eight MLAs, and chaired by Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Mike Morris, was established to evaluate the IIO in accordance with a statutory requirement under the Police Act to carry out a review by the end of the year.

Morris was the North District RCMP superintendent for seven years ending in 2005, when he retired after 32 years as a Mountie. The province’s conflict of interest commissioner gave Morris clearance to chair the committee, concluding the nearly 10 years he had been away from the RCMP has provided enough time to loosen the ties.

Tracey Matters said appointing an allparty committee to conduct the review was a poor decision.

“It lacks total independence given the IIO will be owned/inherited by any party and they won’t be prepared to make any real changes to how the system works until another ‘Greg Matters’ case presents itself,” she said.

A better answer in her opinion is an independent Royal Commission or inquiry, saying it’s what is needed “to understand where the cracks are in this broken justice system and how to fix it.”

She also called for the removal of Rosenthal, whose has been criticized over personnel issues,“given our experiences and hearing and reading the accounts of others.”

As of Thursday, 14 of the 24 investigators on the IIO staff have never been police officers, and eight of the 32 investigator positions in total are currently vacant.

And she supported a call to expand the IIO’s mandate to include alleged sexual assaults by police officers.

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Layoffs looming at CNC

CNC main campus in Prince George.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

Samantha WRIGHT ALLEN

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aculty in several programs at the College of New Caledonia are preparing for layoffs.

This comes after administration met with faculty late last week with a partial list of names from its two dental programs, upper level accounting courses, the focus

employment program in Burns Lake and the fetal alcohol syndrome program.

The plan, said CNC president Henry Reiser, is not to cut the courses completely but rather to suspend, review and offer renewed programs when they’re ready.

“Our delivery model needs to be investi-

gated,” said Reiser, adding some curriculum is dated.

The college is facing a $2.8 million deficit and this is part of the approach to “stabilize the finances of the institution,” Reiser added.

The exact number of affected faculty is

still being determined, but Reiser estimated about 20.

The college is required to notify faculty of layoffs by the end of March to comply with its collective agreement and those affected would be out of work starting Aug. 1.

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McBride workers vote to unionize Charelle EVELYN Collective bargaining will begin in McBride after village employees voted in favour of unionizing.

Ballots in a certification vote were counted Monday, with the results leading towards nine employees forming a bargaining unit represented

by CLAC. The vote was conducted via a mail-in ballot, which was sealed until the Labour Relations Board’s decision on an unfair labour practice complaint CLAC filed against the village.

That decision, reached Friday, dealt with the dismissal of McBride public works foreman John Aitken who was fired over the phone by village mayor Loranne Martin on Jan. 24, following Aitken’s attendance at a CLAC information meeting the previous night.

CLAC and McBride reached a settlement March 5, the details of which were not released.

“The parties are satisfied with the resolution,” said CLAC spokesperson Bruce Ryan, in a press release.

Though reinstated by the village, Aitken has chosen to pursue other employment.

“I would like to thank CLAC for their remarkable support throughout this entire process,”Aitken said, in a press release.

A Feb. 5 letter to village staff from the McBride mayor and council urged employees to vote against certification with CLAC. The letter stated the village “feels strongly that CLAC is not the right representation of this workplace.”

But according to a CLAC press release issued Monday, Martin said the village “has a great deal of respect for CLAC as a collective representative, and we genuinely look forward to working with them to continue to make McBride a better place to live and work.”

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 8 Before the notices can be formally sent, the Board of Governors, which meets March 27, must approve the program suspensions.

David Rourke, president of the college’s faculty association, said the meetings came as a surprise.

“We were expecting that the college would find administrative efficiencies to address their budget deficits,” said Rourke, referencing two new associate dean positions created for trades and health sciences.“It was our understanding that those positions didn’t need to be filled, that the college could operate quite well without those.”

“Right now they’re talking about cutting viable healthy programs, programs that serve important needs in our community.”

“These folks aren’t going to go down without a fight.The faculty in those programs are going to be making presentations to board on the 27th.”

Rourke said the proposed changes would affect full-time faculty who teach the courses, but Reiser suggested it would mostly affect part-time and sessional instructors given some instructors’ seniority.

While Resier was careful to clarify the suspensions are not cuts, Rourke said faculty has been dealing with program interruptions and layoffs since 2002.

“We’ve seen nothing but cuts from CNC,” Rourke said.“It’s semantics. Cancellation, suspension, discontinuation. In our view they’re all the same thing because there’s going to be an interruption of programing in any event so our members will be laid off and students will not have those opportunities until something comes back.”

Under the College and Institute Act a board must follow a process, including advice from its education council, for any cancelled courses.

Reiser said the college has every intention of offering the programs again, hopefully in the 2017 to 2018 school year.

Part of the problem, Reiser said, is the college’s history of offering low tuition.

Under provincial legislation, it can increase tuition by two per cent each year, but if a program is suspended and changed substantially, the college can re-

Unless the funding model changes then what will continue to happen is what’s going to happen now.

– Lily Bachand offer it at higher tuition rates.

In the meantime, Reiser said students, faculty and administration would each bear a third of the cost of addressing the $2.8-million deficit.

That also means cuts to operational staff, said Lily Bachand, president of local 4951 which represents more than 330 staff.

“We don’t know the full numbers yet,” said Bachand, because unlike the faculty agreement, operational staff can be laid off year-round.

At the very least, she said it should affect three in the dental department and at the next meeting, the board will consider a recommendation to close the daycare, which affects four staff.

Bachand noted these are still recommendations until the board approves them, but with the size of deficit, she expects it will be the worst year since she became president in 2005.

“Unless the funding model changes then what will continue to happen is what’s going to happen now,” she said, pointing out the province for greater support.

“We as a society we as a province need to say education is top on our list for our children for our future.

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Bottle drive planned to aid grieving family A Frank PEEBLES

child’s tragedy is motivating other children to help a grieving family.

At only three years of age, little Kenzie Ashton Boivin was fatally struck by a vehicle on Feb. 28 in the area of

Ospika Boulevard and Massey Drive. Her family is naturally overwhelmed with emotion, and those who know them are also moved by grief.

“It invades my brain,” said Jenna

Weldon, an early childhood professional who lived nearby.

“They live right across the street from my dad. We had our daycare there,” Weldon said.“She would be out playing with us sometimes, she was just a sweet little girl, so it is just heartbreaking. So we are trying to do what we can for a very nice family.”

Now at a different childcare location called Heart To Hart Preschool / After School, the kids in Weldon’s facility wanted to show solidarity.

“We think that there is a real value in teaching the children a sense of responsibility and civic engagement,” said Weldon.“We had a meeting with the children and explained to them what happened to Kenzie and how difficult this situation must be for her family to

deal with. The children came up with the idea of doing a bottle drive and then donating all the money we raise to Kenzie’s Family. We hope that be teaching the children to give back to people in need in their communities, we can help them to turn into more responsible adults.”

Being small kids, the best way for the bottle drive to happen was for an account to be set up at a bottle depot and have people drop off their returnables and channel the money into a special account instead of into the donors’ pockets.

The account’s name is Heart To Hart located at the BBK Bottle Depot. Patrons can drop of their empties and tell the attendant to apply the cash to that file. All of the money raised this way will go to the Boivin family.

GATEWAYnews

Houston pair face animal cruelty charges Canadian Press/Citizen staff hooves and suspected parasites,” said Two women who raised animals near Houston now face animal cruelty charges Marcie Moriarty, chief prevention and enforcement officer for the B.C. SPCA, after and potentially serious consequences. the Houston seizure.“There was no food A B.C. SPCA investigation ended with present in any of the enclosures and most charges against Karin and Catherine of the horses had no access to water.”

Adams after the seizure last August of 18 According to Moriarty, the dogs horses, 18 dogs, 15 birds, two cats and included German shepherds, poodle104 fish in various states of distress from crosses, two Chinese crested dogs, a their property about halfway between Newfoundland-cross, a pit bull, a MaltesePrince Rupert and Prince George. cross and a bloodhound-cross.They were If convicted, the pair face up to five “being kept in unsanitary conditions and years in jail, a maximum fine of $75,000 had dental issues and medical concerns, and a lifetime ban on owning animals.

When the animals were seized last sum- ranging from lacerations to extreme matting. Many of the dogs also appear to be mer, the B.C. SPCA sought public help poorly socialized and fearful.” to house the creatures and pay for their She added that the 15 birds – cockatiels, care. love birds, quail, budgies and a conure – “The horses were kept in unclean were also “badly neglected and housed and substandard conditions. Many were inappropriately.” underweight and several had overgrown

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Award-winning documentary of Highway of Tears case to be featured Vancouver Sun An award-winning documentary about the missing and murdered girls and women in the Highway of Tears case will be featured at the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival this month.

Canadian producer/actor Matt Smiley and Vancouver-born actress Carly Pope created the 80-minute film to raise awareness about the lonely stretch of Highway 16 between Prince Rupert and Prince George, where many girls and women have disappeared or been murdered during the past 40 years.

“It seemed like a lot of the women

were being forgotten,” Smiley said in an interview from Los Angeles.“Hopefully the documentary shows we should all care about each other. Because it’s an issue that can be prevented.”

Added Pope:“I believe the central message we’re hoping to convey is that this is something occurring in our backyards that we can no longer remain ignorant to ...There has been a grave injustice happening for a long time in our country.”

The RCMP’s E-Pana investigation, dubbed the Highway of Tears case, involved 18 unsolved murders and disappearances along Hwy 16 and two other B.C. highways, stretching over four

decades. An arrest was made recently in one of the historical cases, but the other 17 remain unsolved.

Many of the women were vulnerable, often hitchhiking on the highways. More than half were native.There was little attention on these cases until the creation of E-Pana in 2005, but recently its budget has been drastically reduced.

The documentary, simply titled Highway of Tears, has been featured at film festivals in various American cities, in Toronto and Montreal, and won an award handed out by actor Pierce Brosnan at a recent festival in Malibu, Smiley said.

It was also screened last year at UNBC

in Prince George last year, where many relatives of the victims attended.

The provincial government has enacted some safety recommendations sparked by the high-profile case in recent years, but won’t budge on funding public shuttle buses along Highway 16 so women without cars are not forced to hitchhike.

Smiley hopes the documentary creates enough public debate to get the buses funded, and also to convince the federal government to hold a national inquiry into Canada’s long list of murdered and missing women.

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Highway of Tears documentary producer Matt Smiley. Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

“In the last year, we have definitely gained a lot of momentum,” Smiley said.

Advocates argue the actual number of historical, unsolved cases of women victimized along B.C. highways is much higher than 18. And Pope noted that violence against women continues today in all areas of the north.

“The most pressing aspect of the story we were telling is why this keeps occurring,” said the actress who has appeared in shows such as 24, Californication and The Tomorrow People.

“This is relevant today, has many root causes, and is in need of attention and change.”

The Highway of Tears documentary is narrated by Canadianborn actor Nathan Fillion, who plays the title role in the TV series Castle.

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UNBC to hand out honourary degrees UNBC will hand out honourary degrees to Xeni Gwet’in Chief Roger William and former UNBC President Dr. Charles Jago during a May convocation ceremony.

William will be recognized for his part in the historic 2014 Supreme Court ruling that found aboriginal land title extends to areas that were traditionally used for hunting, fishing and other activities.

The unanimous Supreme Court decision overturned a ruling by a lower court and recognized 1,750 square kilometres of territory for the Tsilhqot’in First Nation, located near Williams Lake.

The UNBC release noted William filed his case with the provincial Supreme Court in 1990, the same year the university was founded and that he “has been a lifelong advocate for the preservation of the traditional Tsilhqot’in way of life.”

William has been active in the region as a board member with the Cariboo Chilcotin Aboriginal Training and Educa-

tion Council since 1990 and since 2011, a representative on the Cariboo Regional District Board of Directors, the release said.

Jago, meanwhile, will be recognized for his tenure as university president between 1995 to 2006 and most recently from 2008 to 2009.

“He is a passionate advocate for Northern issues and was instrumental in the establishment of the Northern Medical Program,” the release said of Jago, who holds a PhD in History from Cambridge University.

Jago, who is a Member of the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia, became the namesake for the Northern Sport Centre when it opened in 2007 for his role in its development.

Both will receive their degrees on May 29,William in the morning at the College of Arts, Social and Health Sciences ceremony and Jago in the afternoon at the College of Science and Management ceremony.

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Complaints of bullying causing resignations at local SPCA Samantha WRIGHT ALLEN In matter of weeks Prince George’s SPCA has lost two staff members, who resigned citing complaints of bullying, and the rest of its eight-member community council, also to resignation.

One staff member remains on stress leave.

Former branch manager Angela McLaren gave her notice March 20, followed days later by contract fundraiser Andrea Sowers on March 25.

“I have had to endure ongoing ridicule, humiliation, loss of dignity, my identity and the ultimate loss of my ability to safely work in a now toxic environment,” wrote McLaren in the notice. She had been on stress leave for five weeks after four years on the job.

“Due to bullying and harassment my doctor didn’t feel it was safe for me to return to the environment,” said McLaren, who is 18 weeks pregnant.

About three weeks ago, the two made a complaint through WorkSafeBC. None of the allegations have been proven while BC SPCA and WorkSafeBC investigate.

Lorie Chortyk, BC SPCA spokeswoman said they have been cooperating with WorkSafeBC. “There’s definitely been a staffing issue between some individuals that we’ve been dealing with,” said Chortyk, but couldn’t say for how long, citing staff privacy.“We don’t have evidence of harassment at this point but obviously we want to cooperate in any way and get to the bottom of this.”

The provincial organization has sent up an interim manager to help with the North Cariboo District Branch, which Chortyk said is functioning as usual.The location has six full-time kennel attendants, one part-time and seven on casual.

Chortyk said complaints involving staff present an awkward situation when made public.

“In situations like this we obviously have to respect privacy of employees and not discuss their personnel files but people they have the ability to go out and say anything they want out there.”

On March 10, the chair of the community council emailed the BC SPCA to advise that three quarters of the members were resigning due to the treatment of its branch manager.

McLaren said she has been having problems with some members of staff throughout her four years as manager, which she said the BC SPCA knew about.

“We were always encouraged not to do formal reports. A lot of it’s been verbal over the phone, and I do have some emails,” said McLaren, who could not provide copies of the emails as she was out of the country.

She said she had them printed, but was shut out of her email while on stress leave, so couldn’t forward them.

“When there’s three of us saying the same thing, then you have to recognize there’s something definitely going on.”

Sowers said while her direct supervisor at the provincial office was very helpful and supportive, she was also told not to make a formal complaint.

When asked if staff would ever be advised not to make a formal complaint, Chortyk said “Absolutely not. We have a very clear policies around respectful workplaces.”

In her resignation letter, McLaren said what she considered bullying was treated as a personality conflict between staff.

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 16 Sowers, who started at the shelter in July after four years as a volunteer, described the workplace as stressful and intimidating.

“There’s been silliness, name calling, just constant accusations of wrongdoing, all kinds of things,” said Sowers, who was reluctant to speak for fear of its impact on her family.“I’m angry, I’m hurt, I’m scared.”

Sowers said the annual fundraising gala in May, an event she’d been organizing, is now cancelled because none of the volunteers wanted to be involved. This year’s target goal was $50,000.

“Once everybody found out what was going on, they don’t want to support (it).”

Chortyk said the organization respects the volunteers decision to step away.

“I think in respect to the community council volunteers, I think when there’s personalities involved, people have alliances or loyalties to certain people so we certainly understand that there could be reasons that people are taking that step,” Chortyk said.

Norma Allison, one of the council members who resigned, said loyalty has nothing to do with it.

“I wouldn’t say that it’s based on how friendly I am with the manager,” said Allison, who has volunteered at

Prince George branch since 1973 and on-and-off as a council member for 10 years.

“It’s because I don’t believe she is getting the support that she requires in order to perform her duties,” said Allison, who said she hasn’t been witness to any of the alleged bullying but could see that McLaren was increasingly distressed.

“Since (McLaren’s) been here, she’s brought down the statistics of euthanasia, and animals being returned to the shelter from adoptive parents. She has done such good things with the animal related programs.”

McLaren said in the last two years she helped to increase the live release for cats by 35 per cent, from starting point of 55 per cent to 95 per cent.

That increase has been a focus for the SPCA across the province, said Chortyk.The North Cariboo Branch now sits at 89 per cent, compared to the provincial average of 87 per cent.

Michael Fazakas, chair of the community council, sent the resignation email representing six of the eight council members.

“The lack of support from provincial office for its managers did not sit well with the majority of the community council members,” said Fazakas, who was McLaren’s friend previous to his time on council.

He said he was surprised that no one at the organization reached out to the community council for input following their resignation.

“Very lackluster response.”

The AGM to vote in the new council members is Tuesday night, but McLaren said filling those spots might be a challenge as candidates must have renewed membership for 30 days prior to be voting on council.

Kathi Travers, who sat on the provincial board for nine years but left in June, said she brought the issue up several years ago.

“I’m outraged by it,” said Travers of McLaren’s situation, adding past managers have also had complaints.“Let’s face it there’s always three sides to every story, but this story I’ve been hearing too long.”

But Chortyk said the board wasn’t the right body to make the complaint; that all complaints should be through its human resources department.

Said Travers,“I don’t think the board could have done much about it. I think the management should have done something about it.”

Again Chortyk cited privacy rules preventing the BC SPCA discussing any allegations of previous complaints.

“There is no way we would not be dealing with it fully and quickly and I know that that’s happening,” she said.

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GATEWAYentertainment Kent Allenas as Malleable Charlie Brown, Kim Kondrashoff as Pipe Fitting Charlie Brown and William Vickers as Wullie MacCrimmon in Theatre North Wests Production of The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon. Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

Theatre North West set for new season Frank PEEBLES

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irst Theatre North West renovated its lobby and seating area, and now it is renovating the system of producing plays. Let the wild rumpus begin.

This past year was the 20th anniversary for TNW but rather than expect presents and a party from the public, the organizers decided to do the gift giving.The physical improvements to their home theatre will now be accompanied by improvements to the product on the stage.

“The audience and the sponsors needed to be properly thanked for 20 years of supporting this organization,” said artistic director Jack Grinhaus.“Between the people who founded this theatre company and the people who bought tickets and volunteered their time and invested their support all kinds of ways, we were in a position to go to the next level.”

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Cont’d from page 18 So with the current season of plays not yet complete (award-winning drama The Secret Mask opens April 23), and with World Theatre Day freshly arrived (this past Saturday), Grinhaus pulled back the curtain on the brand new 2015-16 season. For those who have become used to how TNW had done business, it was a dramatic departure.

“Just to assure everyone, though, I want to make it really clear that we aren’t getting off base, we’re just adding bases,” he said.“Instead of four plays and that’s all, we are going to do our four mainstage productions as usual, but we are including two presentation tours (plays produced by others elsewhere and brought in for a local viewing), and one original local piece.”

The four mainstage pieces have a subtle difference audiences would probably only notice in a subliminal sense, but Grinhaus wasn’t being cagey. He explained that previous TNW plays were typically

sourced from farther back in time. On Golden Pond, Biloxi Blues, Brighton Beach Memoirs and the like came from a pocket of plays that had been audienceverified by Hollywood but he knew there were other ways to be assured that a play would be a hit. He went looking into those pockets.

To give the season a theme,TNW is calling the whole package Taste And Aesthetic because each one talks about or will be built around elements of those two words.

First, he found the Tony Award-winning comedy (for Best Play, no less) Art,

by Yasmina Reza, which ran for 600 performances on Broadway and now is available to community theatres for their interpretation.

“It is fast-paced and it’s funny the whole ride,” Grinhaus said.“It’s about this guy who buys a $200,000 painting, but the painting is just a completely white canvass.This just infuriates one of his best friends, and thoroughly confuses his other friend, so there the three of

them are locked in this debate we’ve all been in about just what is art anyway?

They hilariously argue over morals and artistic values, tastes, and it gets into what friendship really is and what’s so great about the way Yasmina Reza wrote it is, you’ll be having that debate in your own head at the same time, and be changing sides on yourself.”

The second mainstage play is A Christmas Carol, which is a holiday favourite dating back more than a century. It has been done by TNW two times in the past, so in keeping with the theme, this time Grinhaus is changing the aesthetic.

“We are bringing in someone named Heather Davies who is an internationally renowned adaptor of plays,” he said.“We aren’t going to veer off of the Christmas Carol story, that will all still be there, we are keeping the family Dickens show but we are going to give everyone a steampunk,Tim Burton kind of feel to it and really push the visual elements into new territory so people get more

from Christmas Carol than the same old predictable views. It’s a story that has been rebooted a thousand different ways over the years, so we know it lends itself well to re-imagining.”

Mainstage No. 3 will be the play Dreary And Izzie by a TNW favourite.The playwright Tara Beagan also wrote Thy Neighbour’s Wife which was a smash hit for them in 2010.This new play is a love story and stitched into the clothing of the script is an examination of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Grinhaus said he was aware that this region (the Burns Lake campus of the College of New Caledonia) was a national leader in FASD research, and, like most communities across Canada, has this disease running undercurrents through local society.

“To add some extra audience value to this, we are going to have Tara Beagan here in person to direct the play, and her partner Andy Moro is a production designer so he will be here working on the production as well,” said Grinhaus.

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GATEWAYentertainment

Kirk Smith as Reverend Pringle and Elinor Holt as Annie Brown in Theatre North West’s production of The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

Cont’d from page 20 And because of all the local implications with the play’s subject matter, this is the opportunity Grinhaus spotted for extra legacy impact.

“Awhile back,Theatre North West ran a New Works Program which was a call for local playwrights to submit their stuff, and one would be workshopped and given a professional workover.That was before my time here, but I saw a chance to produce that play as a companion piece to Dreary And Izzie and that play is called Highway Of Fears by our own Betsy Trumpener and it is about exactly what you think it’s about, so again, tackling that hard reality and bringing it out in the open for public thought and

public discussion. And, it’s a chance for Betsy, who many will know already is a really strong writer, to be mentored directly by Tara Beagan. It will also mean that Betsy is the first local playwright to be professionally performed by Theatre North West so that’s a great fit with our goals of taking a big step forward after our 20th anniversary as a thank-you to our community.”

The fourth mainstage TNW offering next year will be another first. B.C. playwright Morris Panych is a Canadian legend, earning smash box office returns for his many works, and two of them 20 years apart have won the Governor General’s Award showing his consistency of high quality.

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GATEWAYentertainment Cont’d from page 21 None of his works has ever been staged by TNW, however, so Girl In The Goldfish Bowl will be the first.

“It is such a heartbreaking but hope-instilling story,” Grinhaus said, and Panych has already agreed to be a consultant on the production, so all the creator’s intentions are detailed.That will be needed, said Grinhaus, because Panych is not a conventional writer.

“There is a different system to the language, a different rhythm to the words. It’ll take the audience probably half an hour to learn how to hear it, but you’ll love it, you’ll ride right along with it.You certainly won’t miss what the story is saying.”

That centres on a girl going through the last stages of childhood, facing the winds of mortality through the death of a pet and responding by clutching onto ritual and afterlife hopes and ultimately her imagination as her family dysfunction starts to rise to her consciousness.

Grinhaus called it “devastatingly funny, absurd, and genuine” while the Governor General called it Canada’s best English language play of 2004.

The two presentation tour shows are going to be audience treats, said Grinhaus, and because they are so different in nature to what TNW typically produces, he

carved them off to be their own mini-series.

The first needs no introduction. Where The Wild Things Are is a classic children’s book, made into a popular opera and also adapted to the theatrical stage.

This version was nominated for a Dora Award which celebrates the massive annual works done in Toronto theatre, but it was produced by Prince George’s own Kim Selody (now the artistic director of Presentation House Theatre in North Vancouver) who is coming back to his hometown to put it on display here at Theatre North West.

The second of these import shows is the wildly popular cultural magnifier called The Tale Of A Town. Its directors come to any given city, town or neighborhood and they engage in cultural research wearing theatrical lenses.The research is welded and wired together into a play that reflects the town back to itself. It has never been done in Prince George and Grinhaus, less than a year as a local resident himself, can’t wait for what the presenters discover. Since it is the city’s 100th anniversary, what better time to be made into a personalized civic play?

“Each year we are going to do this: bring in a couple of productions that are a little outside the box,” he said.

“One of them will always be a presentation especially

for children, so Where The Wild Things Are is starting that tradition off.

“We wanted to make these changes, these upgrades, because we had come to a point where we were in a position to go for it, if we wanted to, so we’re going for it and when you do that, you have to go after it hard,” he said.“This next season, we are going to give people a smorgasbord of different theatre things, and people will let us know what worked and what didn’t work, and that will form the plans for the season after that. We want to bring up surprises and new feelings and thoughts, but with the assurance it’s not going to be freaky or offensive, just a sense of not knowing what’s going to happen next, like a good book.”

With more and different productions, the way tickets are sold must also change.There will be different packages available, so people can tailor the kind of shows they want to see or the level of prices. More details on the revamped ticket system will be unveiled soon.

“All these advancements are not ambitious. It is well within our capabilities as an organization, and it is what Prince George deserves,” Grinhaus said.“Prince George has earned it, through all these years of support and showing in a sustained way that this is a theatre town.”

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GATEWAYhome&garden

Plan a staycation in your outdoor space

With warmer weather around the corner, many of us have our sights set on a summer vacation. But in 2015, the weak dollar has forced many globetrotting plans to be placed on hold in favour of the vacation at home, a staycation.

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GATEWAYhome&garden Cont’d from page 24 We asked home décor and furnishings expert Cindy Jardim of Lowe’s Canada what at-home vacationers can do to create a relaxing oasis on their balcony or in their yard. Jardim is at the epicentre of seasonal fashions in home décor and it’s her job to anticipate what’s coming next.

“This year’s biggest shift in outdoor spaces is towards creating an all-inclusive atmosphere so that the backyard is a seamless getaway,” says Jardim.“Why not redirect some of your hard-earned travel dollars to create a retreat you can enjoy for years?”

Here are Jardim’s tips for achieving your outdoor oasis:

Set the mood: Comfortable outdoor furniture – daybeds, sectionals and even recliners – are key to creating a great space.

“From relaxing after a long day, to lingering with family and friends long after a meal is over, comfort should be a top priority,” explains Jardim.“Start with neutral pieces that will act as the base and add pops of colour and pattern with décor accessories. Accent pieces can show off your style and make it easy to keep up with trends.”

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To really capture that vacation feeling you can set the mood with lighting.

For example, Lowe’s has LED lights and solar powered chandeliers, says Jardim, that are easy to install and can help keep a garden party going late into the night.

Flameless candles can also set the perfect ambience for any soiree, without worrying about wind blowing them out.

Extend your stay: Don’t let the elements stop you from enjoying your outdoor space. With the right shelter – a gazebo, pergola, or heavy-duty umbrella – you can add ambience and architectural interest while increasing your time outdoors, rain or shine.

“Fire pits are also great for adding that cozy feeling to your backyard,” Jardim points out.“Just be sure to check your bylaws. A fire pit can extend that precious patio time and keep you warm in your outdoor space early in the spring and late into the fall.”

With a few simple additions, your very own private oasis becomes attainable. www.newscanada.com

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GATEWAYfashion

How to find the best spring dress

Warmer weather lets us cast off the heavy layers of winter and slip on a little dress and sexy sandals for easy summer style.This season’s trends are a mixture of bold patterns and flattering silhouettes for every body type.The style specialists at Sears Canada advise us to watch for these top three prints, followed by two figure flattering shapes when shopping for a new best dress: 1. Fresh Florals. Embrace your femininity with a classic floral print.Whether you gravitate towards a big bold floral or a soft subtle print, both are on the must-have list this season.

Play-up your favourite pattern in shapes with a defined waist or with an oversized cut and pair your floral dress with attention-getting accessories.

2. Stylish Aztec.Add a bit of edge to your look with an Aztec

print.This contemporary pattern gives an added touch of dimension.

Best characterized by its jagged lines, shapes and range of colours, Aztec offers a bold look that is inspired by the northern tribes of South America.The print has been spotted on runways everywhere this season in pants, tops, bathing suits and bags.

3. Black and White.There is nothing more timeless than a black and white colour-block combination. Rock this look for an elegant statement that is universally complimentary to most complexions and body types.

From polka dots to straight lines to geometrics, a monochrome look is versatile and adaptable. Stretch your creativity and add a pop of your favourite summer colour with bright accessories and shoes.

The secret to making any pattern work is the silhouette of your dress.

Two of the hottest shapes this

season are: 1. Maxi.The maxi dress is a huge trend again this year and rightly so, as it elongates the body, emphasizing a slender silhouette.

Experiment with an empire waist or a straight cut and easily go from day to night with fun accessories.

Funky jewelry paired with flats or heels feels fresh this season.

2. Fit and Flare.This classically feminine silhouette offers one of the most flattering shapes for every body type.Tight at the top and flared at the waist, this look gives the illusion of a smaller waist and thinner leg.This style works for slimming-down curves and emphasizing the bust. In any pattern and colour, the fit and flare is perfect for all occasions.

With the versatility of prints, the options to experiment and try something new are endless. www.newscanada.com

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GATEWAYgrill

Give your grilled chicken big flavour

Grilled chicken on the barbecue is a summertime staple for many families. Not only does grilling on the open flame add a smoky taste, it makes clean-up a breeze.This tangy lemon marinade as seen in Walmart Live Better magazine is going to turn everyone’s favourite bird into a juicy and flavourful feast that is sure to please.

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GATEWAYgrill Cont’d from page 28

Lemon & Garlic Grilled Chicken Preparation time: 10 minutes Total time: 1 hour Serves: 6 Ingredients • 8 skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces • 1/2 cup lemon juice • 3 tbsp Olive Oil • 1 tbsp Garlic Powder • 1 tbsp Dried Oregano Leaves • 1 1/2 tsp Basil Leaves • 1/2 tsp salt • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions 1. Trim excess fat from chicken skin (this will prevent flareups on the grill). Make several shallow cuts in the chicken to allow marinade to infuse.

6. Remove chicken from marinade (do not discard marinade). Barbecue with lid closed for 15 minutes then baste chicken with remaining marinade.

2. Whisk lemon juice with oil, garlic powder, herbs and salt in a large bowl. Season with pepper.

7. Flip chicken and continue grilling with lid closed until chicken feels springy when pressed, 15 to 20 more minutes.

3. Add chicken and turn to coat. Marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes or refrigerate up to 4 hours.

Look for additional recipes and barbecue ideas at www. walmart.ca/recipes.

5. Preheat barbecue to medium-low. Oil grill.

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