Gateway to the North - Feb 2017 by Prince George Citizen

GATEWAY

Cash for caribou

Your community voice for the north! WEDNESDAY February 15, 2017

Province announces $27M fund to protect species, habitat

Citizen staff

P Handout file photo via CP

A woodland caribou bull roams Torngat Mountains National Park in Newfoundland in this undated handout photo.

NEWS AND EVENTS FOR PRINCE GEORGE AND CENTRAL INTERIOR

remier Christy Clark announced a new $27 million program to protect B.C.’s caribou population earlier this month. “That’s going to enhance habitat protection, it’s going to grow our ability to do research and monitoring, it’s going to support a maternal penning project, it’s going to help us control predator management,” she said. “All of those things are going to support not just our hunting and guiding industries which very much depend on making sure our ecosystems are in balance; not just our environment, which all of us want to protect for our children and their children; but also a lot of the industries who operate out there and need certainty on the landbase.” Several animal varieties in B.C. face extinction, if human intervention is not careful and concerted. There are birds, reptiles, water creatures, even insects on the provincial endangered species radar. Some of the best known are the Vancouver Island marmot, grey whale, bighorn and Dall’s sheep, and – especially close to home in the Prince George region – is the critical concern over the Nechako white sturgeon. Not far away are precipitously declin-

ing caribou herds. There are 51 woodland caribou herds throughout B.C., some of the most critically endangered ones within range of Prince George. These have been observed for years, and many measures taken in the past by government to try halting their declines. This has not worked. Clark said “stronger action is needed” and that’s what the new investment will trigger. According to the Ministry of Forests, this year’s installment will be $8 million, with an additional $19 million over the next two years. Government data indicated there are some 19,000 caribou in the province (divvied up among the isolated herds), compared to between 30,000 and 40,000 at the turn of the last century when the presence of caribou was considered widespread. “Biodiversity is really important in B.C. We know people want to protect threatened and endangered species, which many of these herds are,” Clark said. “Some of them have already been extirpated, they are gone, and they are never coming back. I think that’s an investment British Columbians want us to make.” While some of these measures will help the caribou specifically, some of the measures are expected to have ripple benefits to other aspects of the ecosystem as well.

www.pgcitizen.ca | Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

www.pgcitizen.cA

GATEWAYnews

Northern B.C. actor appears in Indian Horse film Citizen staff

Canadian bestseller is now being made into a movie, with a northern B.C. youth acting in a supporting role. Indian Horse, by writer Richard Wagamese, was featured in the 2013 edition of Canada Reads on CBC Radio championed by celebrity advocate Carol Huynh (Olympic gold medalist from Hazelton) where it won the reader’s choice award. It was also in the running for the similar Turtle Island Reads (by the Quebec Writers’ Federation) with actor Heather White as its champion. Indian Horse was the eventual winner of that event. Now it is getting a cinematic production as well. Super Channel has commissioned a movie version with major Canadian film

figure Stephen Campanelli calling the shots. Campanelli is the director behind the recent thriller Momentum starring Olga Kurylenko, James Purefoy and Morgan Freeman. He is also a 20-year veteran of Clint Eastwood’s production crew, working the camera for such masterpieces as Million Dollar Baby, Letters From Iwo Jima, Mystic River and American Sniper. Now Campanelli is telling a quintessentially Canadian story with the adaptation of Indian Horse. It’s the story of some aboriginal youth ripped from their families by the residential school system. The anguish and injustice of their brutal disconnection from home and culture is balanced by one bright spot: they do manage to find hockey. The main character is young hockey star Saul Indian Horse. Braeden Crouse, 14, never had to go to

residential school, nor did his parents, but they grew up only about an hour’s drive from Lejac that profoundly affected older generations in north-central B.C. Crouse did grow up well aware of his aboriginal background, however, and well

aware of hockey. He is a stalwart member of the Burns Lake Minor Hockey Association, and although he is typically quiet, he is quick with his wit and a wry sense of humour. — see ‘WE FELT, page 4

www.pgcitizen.ca | Wednesday, February 15, 2017

GATEWAYnews

‘We felt so close. I didn’t like leaving’ — from page 3 This inner churn got the attention of Campanelli and his casting crew when they put out a call for auditions. It was Crouse’s dad, Rene, who spotted the notice.

There were only two days left before applications had to be in, but Crouse was instantly interested so he hastily got it completed and emailed in time. Then the family had to drive to Kamloops (where Wagamese now lives) to do live auditions,

when his application was shortlisted. Crouse went to Prince George to spend some holiday time with his mom, Rhoda. “My mom actually took away our wifi because my brothers weren’t doing their chores, but after awhile she gave me the password because I was doing my share,” said Crouse. “The first thing that popped up when I logged back in was a message from the film company saying they wanted me in the movie.” The filming was all slated for Ontario. Crouse and his dad trekked to the Peterborough area where the cast and crew assembled for several days of shooting. For two weeks they became a thrown-together family. “We felt so close. I didn’t like leaving,” said Crouse. “At first I was nervous but then I got used to it. It became a natural thing.” — see ‘I MISS IT, page 5

Crouse

GATEWAYnews

‘I miss it; I miss them’ — from page 4 Some of the work was a tedious chore. Filming often takes large blocks of time to get what, on screen, looks like the simplest scene. Other times, the action was so busy, hours would fly by in what seemed to him like minutes. He would then do his homework back at the hotel, sometimes falling asleep with the script in his hand. There were a lot of young actors involved in the cast. He got along with the adults, but it was the collection of kids who really bonded, he said. “I remember on the last day we had a scene with a snowball fight,” Crouse said. “Eva (Greyeyes, 14, cast member and daughter of famed performer Michael Greyeyes) said she was going to wreck everybody but by the end she was totally covered in snow. She got attacked. It was hilarious. That was my final day on set, so it ended on a good note. Everyone was laughing. I miss it; I miss them.” Some of the other kids in the cast were Lisa Oopik Minich, Skye Pelletier, Sladen Peltier as the 6-yearold version of Saul, Forrest Goodluck (he was Leonardo diCaprio’s son in The Revenant) as the 15-yearold version of Saul, and many more peers with whom Crouse shared the experience. The adults in the cast ranged from well known veterans like Michiel Huisman (Game of Thrones, Nashville, World War Z), Michael Murphy (Manhattan, Batman Returns, Away From Her, White House Down), Martin Donovan (Ant-Man, Weeds, Insomnia) and Evan Adams (Lost In the Barrens, Da Vinci’s City Hall, Smoke Signals) to newcomers like Will Strongheart, Ajuawak Kapashesit, Daina Barbeau, Melanie McLaren and Crouse. He had never been in a film before. He had only been in one school play, portraying Bill Sikes in a Grade 7 production of Oliver With A Twist at William Konkin Elementary School in Burns Lake. He is currently playing Piggy in a Lakes District Secondary School production of Lord of the Flies. He said his favourite class was drama with director/choreographer Rayanne Charlie and teacher Jim Mellen, but he never anticipated that interest would rise to this level. “I always loved watching movies, and I’d also watch all the special features on the DVD to hear the commentary from the directors and how they built the sets and designed the costumes,” he said. — see ‘IT WAS, page 6

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

www.pgcitizen.cA

www.pgcitizen.ca | Wednesday, February 15, 2017

GATEWAYnews

‘It was an honour’ — from page 5 “Now I understand a lot better what they are talking about. I’m already watching movies differently than I did before, thinking about how they made the scene and how they got the shot.” Part of the learning he received was knowing that the direction team was interested in casting him in one role, then changing their minds and slotting him into a different character. He didn’t get dropped from the project, he got reassigned based on the way his mannerisms jived with the crew’s vision of a boy in the script named Lonnie. “It was surprising. It was an honour,” he said. “I think 95 per cent of my lines were in Ojibwe. I don’t speak Ojibwe. I had to study hard. I think they could have cast an actor who already knew the language, but they wanted me. That felt pretty awesome. Lonnie’s trademark phrase was ‘ninigiiwe niin’

I’m already watching movies differently than I did before, thinking about how they made the scene and how they got the shot. — Braeden Crouse which means ‘I want to go home.’” Real home was a long way from Ontario. Crouse had never been that far east before. He had never flown on a jet before. He’d certainly never been around film stars of all descriptions. Now he is interested in pursuing a performance career, but he is far from the centres where that industry happens. — see FILM, page 8

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

www.pgcitizen.cA

www.pgcitizen.ca | Wednesday, February 15, 2017

GATEWAYnews

Film release date not announced yet — from page 6 “There are some pros and cons to living in a small northern town,” Crouse said. “If you live in a big city, there are more chances for you to be seen for acting opportunities, more jobs in acting, but in Burns Lake there’s no better place to be for fun on

dirtbikes, hockey, fishing, there’s just lakes and lakes and lakes. It’s amazing.” Indian Horse is in the post-production phase, during which all the film is edited together, sound is finalized, music is overlaid, and so forth. The release date for Indian Horse hasn’t been announced.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

www.pgcitizen.cA

www.pgcitizen.ca | Wednesday, February 15, 2017

GATEWAYnews

Wood research centre planned in Prince George Citizen staff

igh-tech and all-natural will soon be hammered together at a new building in downtown Prince George. Futuristic forestry has a new home on the national landscape. A customized laboratory and research centre is on the way, especially designed to test the structural properties and alternative possibilities of wood. Some of this work is already being done at the Wood Innovation and Design Centre (WIDC), where the Emily Carr University of Art + Design has a wood-focused education and creation program, and UNBC has a pair of masters-level wood engineering programs. The new Wood Innovation Research Lab (WIRL) will be built right beside it. Inside, UNBC will consolidate its other educational programs that involve wood technologies, creating a power centre for the

Citizen file photo

Premier Christy Clark announced the province will fund the creation of a Wood Innovation Research Lab in Prince George during the B.C. Natural Resource Forum on Feb. 1. research and development on the

Potential customers are reading this ad right now. Call 250-5623301 to advertise in Gateway today

cutting edge of the forest industry. Premier Christy Clark made the announcement on Feb. 1 at the B.C. Natural Resource Forum held at the Prince George Civic Centre. She said UNBC president Daniel Weeks had been envisioning the place probably as long as he has been in his position and government actively joined the plan about a year ago. That included successfully lobbying the federal government which eventually agreed to invest about half of the $4.5 million needed to create the facility. The City of Prince George is contributing the land on which it will be built. “We are very grateful the feds stepped up. That’s really, I think, what clinched the deal,” said Clark. “The other part of it is, the

The other part of it is, the WIDC has been so successful we need to now grow it. Contrary to what critics of it at the time said, it is already too full. — Premier Christy Clark WIDC has been so successful we need to now grow it. Contrary to what critics of it at the time said, it is already too full.” The event was a province-wide gathering of heavy hitters in the worlds of forestry, mining, petroleum, and other natural resource

sub-sectors. It was a place where economic diversity was frequently on the discussion table, and part of that was talking about the technology sector. Some suggested the tech sector was sequestered to the Lower Mainland and was driving the majority of the economic health B.C. is currently enjoying, after a couple of years of low commodity prices slowed the sales of wood, minerals, energy products, etc. It was an eye-rolling point of discussion for Weeks, who had only to point to this WIRL announcement as the latest evidence. “There’s always that moment where you wish you could just grab the mic,” he said with a laugh. — see ‘THIS IS, page 12

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

www.pgcitizen.cA

www.pgcitizen.ca | Wednesday, February 15, 2017

GATEWAYnews

‘This is extraordinarily high-tech’ — from page 10 “Anyone who thinks forestry or any of the resource industries isn’t high-tech doesn’t understand what’s going on,” Weeks added. “We’re working with the forest industry, taking those forest products, and looking at them in the most high tech ways you can imagine. “This is extraordinarily hightech. Our (UNBC) scientists are looking at how to build with wood in ways that are strong as titanium

and steel. This is way ahead of the curve – way ahead.” Add to that the research being done in Prince George on how to turn the microscopic building blocks of trees into vehicle fuel and other unexpected public uses, and you have the common tree standing as the new frontier of technology, said Weeks. “After we launched the (WIDC) program, what we found out very, very quickly was, to really take it to the next level, we needed what

we call a high-head lab,” Weeks explained. “Much like this room right here (the Civic Centre, with its cavernous ceilings) so our students could build not just models but actually build large-scale structures. You can’t do that in just any building. It has to be purpose-made. It will really integrate with the spaces we have there already.” Clark said it was an investment in the forest industry, and its paradigm-smashing future, but

it was also an effort in spreading economic diversification to regions outside the VancouverVictoria cluster. “We need to have a rural technology strategy which we are already seeing in many places in the province,” the premier said. “In many small towns, with the very attractive lifestyle you have outside the urban areas, are really attracting a lot of tech. We just need to make sure the infrastructure is there, and most important-

ly, that the talent is there. That means investing in technology-related programs at universities and colleges and even in high schools that are well distributed across the province, not just in the Lower Mainland.” The new WIRL building is expected to be complete about a year from now. It will add another spark of economic traffic to the George Street area of town. — see PROJECT, page 14

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

www.pgcitizen.cA

www.pgcitizen.ca | Wednesday, February 15, 2017

GATEWAYnews

Project to boost downtown activity — from page 12 “The City of Prince George is providing the land for this new lab because we believe so strongly in the partnership that the city has with UNBC,” said Prince George Mayor Lyn Hall, on hand for the announcement. “Attracting more students downtown is

critical to our revitalization efforts and enhancing Prince George’s capacity for forest product innovation is perfectly aligned with our economic development strategy. Thank you to the governments of Canada and British Columbia for joining with us to realize this great opportunity for Prince George.”

Wednesday, February 15, 2017