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GATEWAY

Your community voice for the north!

WEDNESDAY June 17 2015

John Fogerty visits PG July 26 The show on July 26 starts at 7:30 pm at Cn Centre and will be centered around this year, but also include his complete catalog of hits.

Canucks holding training camp in Prince George NEWS PAGE 3

Small communities still vulnerable to wildfires Forest Practices Board

NEWS PAGE 12

Raise the “steaks” with a new spin on a classic sandwich gateway grill PAGE 22

NEWS AND EVENTS FOR PRINCE GEORGE AND CENTRAL INTERIOR

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GATEWAYnews

Canucks holding training camp in P.G. this September Ted CLARKE

Trevor Linden is used to being at the focal point of rock-star receptions.

He got one Wednesday morning from a crowd of about 300 enthusiastic hockey fans at the CN Centre atrium when he announced the Vancouver Canucks have chosen Prince George as the site of their main training camp this September.

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Trevor Linden, president of hockey operations for the Vancouver Canucks smiles as elder Edie Fredrick prays for a Stanley Cup at an announcement that the Canucks will hold their training camp in Prince George in September. Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

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Neil Godbout managing Editor

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 3 Decked out in Canucks jerseys and holding team memorabilia for Linden to sign, the crowd used its vocal chords to let Linden know the Canucks will be welcomed with open arms when they come to CN Centre for the three-day camp, Sept. 18-20.

“I remember saying to the guys at camp in Whistler last year I wanted to go to Prince George for training camp next year and they kind of looked at me like, ‘why do you want to go there?’ and the reason I wanted to come is exactly what you saw here today,” said Linden, now entering his second season as Canucks president.

“People are so good up here, so kind and friendly, and I wanted our players to experience that. I want our players to see the type of passion the North has and I hope people from all around the region will come in for a day or two. We hope to create a type of fanfest atmosphere around CN Centre.”

The Canucks, the Prince George Cougars and city staff have been working together for months to plan the logistics of the camp.

Dan Hamhuis plays defence for the Canucks and Linden is good friends with Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Eric Brewer and despite both NHL players being minority owners of the Cougars franchise, Linden said they had no influence in the decision to pick Prince George.

“The fact they bought into the Cougars really had nothing to do with it,” said Linden.“We’ve never been here and I wanted to come here.There’s no reason we shouldn’t come here because they have an amazing facility and it’s perfect for what we want to do.”

The decision to refurbish Kin 1 arena as the major infrastructural improvement for the Canada Winter Games is paying dividends.The Canucks will be using the Olympic-sized ice at Kin 1, as well as CN Centre during their camp.

Tickets will be required to attend

Derrick to seek NDP nomination Citizen staff

Often a candidate in local elections,Trent Derrick will be seeking to be the NDP’s candidate in Cariboo-Prince George when the next federal election is held.

A date for a nomination meeting has not yet been set.

Derrick ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2005 and then for city council in 2008 and 2014. According to a press release issued Monday, those experiences “allowed him to understand the people of our region, make many connections throughout the community and to have been able to build strong, lasting relationships.”

Derrick is seeking the nomination because he believes that his “progressive values, wide range of experience, and ability to listen and understand the electorate concerns will be an asset to parliament and our region.”

Derrick has lived Prince George and area for 32 years - 22 in the city and 10 in Hixon - and currently runs a small business - the Spa of the North at the Coast Inn of the North - and is in the process of opening a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in Prince George.

He’s a member of the Gitxsan First Nation and holds a bachelor of arts degree in religion and theology from Taylor University College in Edmonton.

the on-ice training camp sessions to guarantee out-of-towners won’t be disappointed if the Canucks attract standing-room-only crowds, and the team will donate proceeds back to one of the city’s not-for-profit organizations. Linden said ticket prices will be set at a nominal rate.

Coming on the heels of the 2015 Canada Winter Games and the city’s 100th birthday celebrations, news of the Canucks’ decision to base their main camp in Prince George for the first time in the team’s 46-year history created a shockwave of excitement among fans and local businesses that stand to benefit when the Canucks are here.

Mayor Lyn Hall was in Vancouver a few months ago when Linden confirmed the Canucks were coming but was sworn to secrecy. Hall’s immediate reaction after he got off the phone was to high-five a couple of people standing next to him he didn’t know.

“This is a big deal, we’re talking 50 or 60 players, staff, coaches training folks

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– this is their entire operation coming to Prince George,” said Hall.“I think this ranks right up there with the Canada Games, having a professional team like the Vancouver Canucks show up here for training camp.”

The Canucks will be in the city for four days and Hall said that will almost certainly be an economic boon to city hotels, restaurants and store owners.

“It’s going to provide people from the Central Interior and the northern part of the province a reason to visit Prince George during the training camp,” said Hall.“It’s held over a weekend so traveling will be a bit easier, the weather will be good.

“It’s a big thing for Prince George and it carries on the momentum we had during the Games. It’s our turn and the Games really lit a fire under this community.

We can hold large events like this – there’s a pride that’s welling over in this community and we just need to build on it.“

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GATEWAYnews

First Nations group’s report details mine dangers Frank PEEBLES Aboriginal nations concerned about the possibility of another Mount Polley Mine disaster have examined the potential dangers at other mines.

A report released today by the B.C. First Nations Energy and Mining Council puts mathematical meat to the argument that B.C.’s mining industry is a threat to ages-old food and ecology chains if that sector doesn’t do a better job of locking its water doors.That concern

was largely hypothetical until the dam at Mount Polley burst, sending an avalanche of water down the mountainside into Quesnel Lake.

No human casualties occurred in the massive torrent that lasted for days, but the impacts to the environment have been the subject of intense scientific scrutiny ever since and those studies are ongoing.

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 6 The event triggered a study of other mine sites across the B.C. interior.

“A detailed survey of central and northern B.C. shows the 35 tailings ponds at 26 mining operations on 48 key watersheds could impact 33 First Nations communities; more than 200 other communities, including most of the largest cities in the region; and 8,678 km of fish-bearing waters,” said Nelson Leon, the council’s president.

The document is called Uncertainty Upstream: Potential Threats from Tailings Facility Failures in Northern British Columbia. What it is not, Leon said, is an indictment of the mining industry.

“The analysis is not intended to imply all the tailings facilities analyzed will at some point fail, but says the work provides ‘a comprehensive summary of potential threats from future tailings facility failures in Northern British Columbia, as well as act as a cautionary exercise for future planning given the increase in interest and capacity for future mining operations throughout the region,’” he said.

Uncertainty Upstream includes detailed maps of the key watersheds.The council is sharing it with the provincial government as a public document, and will be available for First Nations to help them assess the risks to their communities.The focus is salmon, on which many B.C. aboriginal nations depend for food and trade.

The data shows a total of 3,275 km of waterways are immediately downstream of the 35 tailing ponds and 5,403 km lie in watersheds further downstream where potential contaminants could eventually reach.

According to the report, a full 80 per cent of Chinook salmon habitat in the region (12,813 km) is either downstream of a tailings facility or requires migrating through a potential contaminant flow path. For Sockeye, Coho and Chum species, the numbers are 79 per cent, 58 per cent and 47 per cent respectively.

Dave Porter, the council’s CEO, said the report would be a useful tool for First Nations looking to balance industrial activities on their territories versus the risks to natural values.

“In addition to threatening drinking water for the 33 First Nations communities and 208 other communities, including Prince George, Smithers, Terrace and other big centres, pollution from any breaches could be devastating to B.C.’s key salmon and steelhead, which the report notes are acutely sensitive to the copper that is common in acid rock drainage,” Porter said.

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 7 “Copper can be acutely toxic to adult salmon and steelhead in concentrations of as low as 50 parts per billion. Much lower concentrations can affect the sense of smell that guides salmon to their spawning grounds and leave juveniles more exposed to predators.”

In its recommendations the report calls for: •The protection of entire river, lake, and wetland ecosystems from industrial activities and impacts; •Renewed focus on establishing headwater-to-mouth watershed protected areas for river systems with full complements of migratory fish to

compensate for freshwater habitat and biodiversity lost and impaired in other watersheds; •Protected areas that encompass watersheds and waterways to ensure rivers remain intact and hydrological flows are unimpaired; •Mining companies and governments to ensure that impacted communities secure lasting, long-term economic benefits that enhance community health and sustainability; •Communities and the public to be protected by funding mechanisms for unanticipated post mine-closure impacts or financial burdens for cleanup and remediation.

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GATEWAYnews

Forest companies made less lumber in 2014 Gordon HAMILTON

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anada’s top lumber companies, struggling to make two-byfours from trees killed by the mountain pine beetle, made less lumber at home in 2014, but made up for it by increasing production at mills they own in the United States, according to a survey by industry consultants International Wood Markets.

The top five Canadian companies saw their production here drop by 3.6

per cent over 2013, according to Wood Markets. However, three of those five companies — Canfor, West Fraser Timber, and Interfor — have mills in the United States, and they made a dramatic increase in production from their U.S. mills.The other two on the Wood Products list of top five companies,Tolko Industries and Resolute Forest Products, do not have mills in the U.S. Cont’d on page 11

GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 10 West Fraser Timber, the number two company in Canada, is now the fourth largest lumber producer in the U.S. It increased its production of Southern Yellow Pine by 15 per cent. That shift even took the Wood Markets researchers by surprise, president Russ Taylor said in an interview.

It’s not just the acquisitions that have boosted production.

“Companies like West Fraser and Interfor are putting huge capital into those mills that they have acquired. That was the whole objective in buying them: to get more out of them,”Taylor said. he Canadians began moving into the U.S. little more than a decade ago, with the purchase of two mills in the U.S. South

by West Fraser. By 2014, Canfor, West Fraser, and Interfor owned 31 mills combined, producing 3.6 billion board feet of wood.

The trend has continued this year, with Interfor buying another four U.S. mills.

Taylor said a chief attraction of the U.S. South is its proximity to housing markets. Further, their U.S. production is not subject to trade action. B.C. producers expect to begin paying an export tax of between five and 10 per cent for their U.S. shipments beginning today, Taylor said, a consequence of a dip in lumber prices below a threshold negotiated in the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement.

In Canada, the decline in production is directly attributable to the mountain pine beetle.

“That’s basically a function of the mountain pine beetle and the inevitable change of moving away from utilizing dead wood,” Taylor said.

The three companies with the largest production within

Canada, Canfor, West Fraser Timber, and Tolko, all have sawmills in the northern and central Interior, the region that was most heavily affected by the mountain pine beetle infestation.

Although the infestation peaked a decade ago, its impact is now hitting lumber production, as fewer of the dead trees can be manufactured into wood products. Overall lumber production in B.C. dropped in 2014 for the first time in five years.

Canfor shut down a mill last year at Quesnel and West Fraser shut one down at Houston. Both companies cited the declining quality of mountain pine beetle timber in their decision to close their operations. Canfor’s Canadian production dropped 11 per cent from 2013, while West Fraser’s was off three per cent. Tolko was also down three per cent.

Montreal-based Resolute Forest Products and Interfor, with mills on the B.C. Coast, the Southern Interior and Kootenays, had production increases. Neither company is heavily exposed to beetledamaged timber.

Taylor said he believes B.C. Interior companies have already absorbed most of the impact of losing so much timber to the beetle. He said over the last decade 24 mills have closed.

Twenty-one of them have not re-opened and are not likely to, he said. The rationalization has already occurred in the Smithers-Prince George region and to a lesser degree in the Cariboo. He speculated that one or two more mills could go down but he does not expect lumber production to drop much further. Mills have adapted to the new B.C. reality by utilizing smaller logs improving their lumber recovery by investing in technology, he said.

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GATEWAYnews

Small communities still vulnerable to wildfires Mark NIELSEN The provincial government’s strategy for protecting communities from wildfires has worked for many larger communities such as Prince George, but has not been ideal for smaller ones, the Forest Practices Board said in a report highly critical of the slow progress made in B.C. In the 10 years since the release of the Filmon Report, which set out measures to prevent a repeat of the extensive damage that struck the Okanagan particularly hard in 2003, no more than 10 per cent of hazardous forest fuels have been treated, the FPB said in the report, issued this

week.

Part of the problem is that the current approach “requires numerous local governments to develop expertise and to use scarce resources and capacity to manage the wildfire hazard,” the FPB said.

“This model has worked for many larger communities such as Kelowna, Kamloops and Prince George, but it is not ideal for smaller communities.”

In answer, the FPB suggests shifting the role of local governments from “doer to facilitator” while the provincial government would “take a stronger role in technical leadership and project management.”

From 2005 to 2011, the City of Prince George leveraged $1 million of its own money with another $6.5 million from other sources, including the province, to treat about 500 hectares of timber to reduce the risk.

A community forest was also established that gave the city harvesting rights to about 4,800 hectares of forested Crown land within the city. But in early 2014, the city gave up the tenure as funding sources dried up and it no longer employs a community forest manager.

A separate agreement for land outside the city’s borders is being managed by the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, in partnership with the Lheidli T’enneh and the Prince George Cattlemen Association.

The report pointed to work done in the Vanderhoof Forest District as a success story.

Among the causes cited for the slow going was a failure to enlist the equipment and expertise of the forest industry, with the Vanderhoof Forest District “a notable exception.”

Largely through a small scale salvage program launched in 2005 and featuring competitive forestry “licences-to-cut” to reduce stumpage costs, two-kilometre buffers around communities in the forest

district were targeted.

Progress has reached the point where there are now “very few patches of economically harvestable dead pine” within those buffers and the program is now focussed on areas further afield.

In a response, a Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations spokesperson said that since 2004, the provincial government has provided $67 million to the strategic wildfire prevention initiative, including $5 million announced in March.

“This fund was set up specifically to help communities and First Nations mitigate wildfire threats,” the spokesperson said.

As of March 31, 284 community wildfire protection plans have been completed by local governments and First Nations and another 33 are in progress.

The report comes out just as forest fire season has begun in B.C.The massive Little Bobtail Lake forest fire in the Prince George Forest District covered 25,000 hectares by the time it was contained last week, although no homes were damaged.

“B.C. has been lucky it hasn’t had any catastrophic urban interface fires since Kelowna in 2003, but that has been luck and nothing more,” FPB chair Tim Ryan said in a press release.

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GATEWAYnews

Family fleeing Iraq moving to P.G. Frank PEEBLES A family of three that fled Iraq in mortal fear have found a home in Prince George.

In about three weeks they will arrive and take their first steps into democratic freedom.

A team of local volunteers cleared the path to host the refugees fleeing the violence of the Middle East. It took a lot of paperwork and planning, but that large (and growing) association of people is thrilled with anticipation of the young family now on their way.

“This is a young couple - he is 29, she is 26 - with a son almost 4 years old,” said Sergio Petrucci, one of the many local volunteers involved.“They are from Iraq.

They both have university degrees.They have been described to us as workaholics ready and willing to make the most of their new life in Canada.”

The reason they had to flee was the man’s profession, which was shared by one of his brothers: journalism.Their writings made them targets for murder, and when the threats extended to their families, there was little choice but to run.

Their first stop was Jordan, but that country is calling on international support to move the millions of displaced people in the region.

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 14 Canada’s government has been criticized for accepting too few of those desperate people, but this family made it through the bureaucracy from that end while the Prince George host contingent made it through from the other end of the same bureaucracy.

According to Petrucci, he was one of a handful of people involved in a conversation about helping out with this international need. It was a chat at church that got it going, but it soon amplified.

They quickly learned that in order to qualify as a refugee host group, they had to get through a lot of policy obstacles or, better yet, link with a pre-approved group that had already gotten the credentials. Being an ad hoc group of Catholics, they had a direct inroad to the Archdiocese of Vancouver, veterans of refugee intake.

The local group grew to more than two dozen people - not all of them Catholic, since the original organizers put the need to help at the forefront of their plans - and carried out the prerequisites.

The main concern of the government was ensuring the host group could look after the hypothetical refugees for a year.The government has a program whereby it will help for six months, but a solid one-year plan has to be in place in order to qualify as a host.

“It took some time and some work, but we are ready,” said Petrucci.“Once we got through the initial stuff, it was actually a really fast process.”

Before the trio from Iraq arrives, personal contacts have to be in place so they can smoothly obtain B.C. documentation like medical coverage and photo identification and bank accounts, have translation services in place so they are supported through the search for jobs and travails of daily life, and Petrucci gave high praise to the Immigrant and Multicultural Service Society for their strong support of this initiative.The city’s mosque and the St.Vincent de Paul Society were also instrumental.

“We want to do a great job of this so we can then look ahead at bringing more people to Prince George who need this help.We have a welcoming community and we can easily accept new families into our community, so we hope this can be repeated,” Petrucci said.

More help is needed, especially cash.What isn’t used for this inaugural family will be the nest-egg for the next one.All of it is under the supervision of the four local Catholic congregatons, led by the Immaculate Conception Church.

Anyone wishing to contribute to these efforts can call Franca at 778-349-0971. Donation cheques can be made out to Immaculate Conception Church with “refugee aid” in the memo line, and these contributions are tax deductible.

The new family arrives on June 23.

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GATEWAYnews

Northern Health turning to private clinic to reduce wait times Samantha WRIGHT ALLEN Northern Health has a matter of days to finish its pitch to the province for surgical support after the health minister announced $10 million to reduce wait times.

The health authority was already finalizing an agreement with a private clinic to help cut down on long wait times, in particular for cataract surgery which has 575 on the wait list.

That approach is now something the province is pushing for.

“We are maxed out in Prince George

in the hospital and have therefore turned to the Prince George Surgery Centre to help with that,” said Michael McMillan, chief operating officer for the Northern Interior.

That agreement has been in the works for months, but the first phase of the provincial strategy has planned as many as 1,000 more surgeries from June to August, which could mean dozens more surgeries in the region.

“Part of our conversation will be is there other work we can do? Can we use some of this funding to ramp up the cataract beyond what we had planned to

do already,” said McMillan.

In the short term the province’s focus will be on patients who have waited longer than 40 weeks. Monday’s press release noted that health authorities are seeing “unprecedented demand and increasing wait times” despite also increasing the number of surgeries by 33 per cent in the past 12 years.

Surgeries in the north with wait times longer than the 40-week benchmark include abdominal hernia repair, gall bladder removal, stripping varicose veins and knee replacement. McMillan also highlighted orthopedic surgery as a focus.

Prince George is worse off in some areas including ovarian surgery, fracture repair, knee surgery, shoulder surgery, and uterine surgery.The University Hospital of Northern B.C. consistently has longer waitlists compared to its smaller regional

counterparts.

In Dawson Creek skin tumour removal and male reproductive surgery both had top wait times of almost 50 weeks.

“We’re working hard on our local action plans,” said McMillan, adding those should be sent in a matter of days and Northern Health should have a better idea of what the funding will mean for surgery numbers in a couple weeks.

“It came about fairly quickly,” said McMillan of the funding.

For the north, it’s less a matter of recruiting the right specialists and more about the space.

“I think we’ve done a good job of attracting surgeons. I would say it’s about creating more capacity - actually provide operating time, particularly in Prince George,” said McMillan.

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GATEWAYlife

Cont’d from page 16 The move to use public money spent at private facilities is something other health authorities are doing, said McMillan. Last month, Island Health put out a request for proposals to house a maximum of 20,000 day surgeries over five years and a further 35,000 endoscopies in the south and central island in that same period.

There’s no provincial standard rate for using private entities. Last year about one per cent of all publicly-funded procedures happened in facilities like it - or 5,503 out of 541,886 surgeries.

“What happens is health authorities issue a tendering process and ask for

contracted services,” said McMillan, comparing it to residential care through private providers.

The Prince George Surgery Centre has three operating rooms and a six-bed recovery unit.

The one-time funding will see its second phase roll out in the fall, said the release, which referred to a February 2015 policy paper on improving surgical care in the long-term.

“The policy paper also supports alternative practice models, such as teambased physician practices that share referrals to the first available surgeon, multidisciplinary teams that include physicians, nurses and other allied health

care workers, and increased use of contracted surgical services,” the Ministry of Health release said.

It recommended permitting stays up to three days in private clinics, which would require changes to the Hospital Act. Meanwhile the BC Nurses’ Union said the capacity should focus on staffing levels, in particular nursing shortages.

“We know that B.C.’s 295 operating rooms often sit empty – especially at night and on weekends – because of a lack of funding,”Tuesday’s press release said.“Only 82 per cent are regularly staffed.The $10 million should be used to create capacity there first, not to increase profits for private clinics.”

What is considered an acceptable wait time varies from surgery to surgery and from speciality to specialty, McMillan said. Cancer, for example, has a very short window.

“There’s this constant striving for improving our performance against waitlist targets,” said McMillan, noting the province used to aim for 52 weeks as a benchmark.

“We’re working hard to understand where we can create some additional capacity and what that capacity can do in terms of reducing the long wait times for some people.”

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GATEWAYgrill

Raise the “steaks” with a new spin on a classic sandwich

Sometimes simple is best – and this classic steak sandwich is a prime example.

It’s a summer dish that layers on the flavours – briny olive tapenade, buttery stretch mozzarella and herbaceous, peppery notes of arugula – to please your palate.

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GATEWAYgrill Grilled Pepper Steak and Mozzarella on Baguette

Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Makes 4 servings

Ingredients: • 2 strip loin steaks, each about 10 oz (300 g) • 1 tsp (5 ml) salt • 1/2 tsp (2 ml) cracked mixed peppercorns • 1 red onion, sliced into ½-inch (1-cm) rounds • 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil • 1 baguette, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 4 • 1/3 cup (75 ml) olive tapenade • 6 oz (175 g) Saputo Mozzarellissima cheese, cut into ¼-inch thick slices • 1 tomato, sliced • 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) arugula Directions: 1. Preheat grill to medium-high and grease grates well. Pat steaks dry with paper towel, and season with salt and pepper.

2. Grill steak for 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium rare, or cook to your liking. Let steak rest for 10 minutes.

3. Toss red onion slices with olive oil. Grill onions for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until tender. Once steak has rested, slice thinly

against the grain.

4. Grill baguette cut side down for 30 seconds, or until lightly marked. Spread tapenade on half of the baguette slices and place Mozzarellissima slices on the remaining. Grill, covered, for 1 minute, or until cheese starts to melt.

5. Sandwich steak, onion, tomato and arugula between toasted baguette with tapenade and cheese. Serve immediately. www.newscanada.com

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GATEWAYhome&garden

Plant a thriving flower garden During the summer months, Canadians finally have a chance to relax and enjoy the sun.There is no better way to embrace the warm weather than planting a beautiful flower garden. Not only will it enhance the curb appeal and aesthetics of your front lawn but planting pollinator friendly gardens can act as a great food source for pollinators like honey bees.

GATEWAYhome&garden Planning is everything There are many things to consider before you start planting.Think about the space, colour, sunlight and fit. It’s important to pick a planting location that achieves the best sunlight for the flowers that you want to plant.Thinking about these factors beforehand will ensure that your flowers have the best possible growing environment to set them up for success.

Bee friendly For honey bees, summer means working tirelessly to find food, to sustain themselves and their entire colony before another winter begins.

Worker bees spend their days traveling from flower to flower collecting as much pollen and nectar as they can. But without a plentiful supply of blooming flowers, honey bees might not get the right nutrition and the cold months can be devastating on a hive.

Choose pollinator friendly flowers Planting pollinator-friendly gardens

are a great way to help honey bees find the food they need. Whether you live in a house or apartment building, you can dedicate a small part of your garden, balcony or rooftop to flowers that feed pollinators like honey bees. Consider plants like: lance-leaved coreopsis, sneezeweed, New England asters, dense blazing stars and golden tickseed.

Get the right seeds One of the biggest challenges with planting is choosing the right seeds.

Thankfully there are pollinator garden programs like Buzzing Gardens, which provides free pollinator-friendly seeds with an online sign-up at www. beesmatter.ca. Using a pre-packaged seed kit will make planting your pollinator garden quick and easy.

From planning stages to choosing the right environment for your seeds, these four tips will give you a garden to be proud of and a beautiful place to share with your friends and family. www.newscanada.com

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GATEWAYhealth&safety

Proper supervision is essential for summer

water safety Spending time in and around water is lots of fun, especially for young children. However, drowning is the second leading cause of preventable death for kids under 10 years of age, and children under five are most at risk.

The backyard pool is the most common place where children under five drown.

Drowning can occur in as little as 10 seconds and in just inches of water. Parents and caregivers are advised to be vigilant around all types of water – bathtubs, pools, beaches, even splash pads.

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GATEWAYhealth&safety Cont’d from page 28 Here are some tips for effective supervision: • Never leave children alone near water.

And stay close – always within arms’ reach.

• Use a tool like the On Guard card – worn around the neck to designate a specific adult who is responsible for supervising children in or around water.

Give the card to another adult to take over if you need to turn away for any reason.

• Make sure to give 100% of your attention when supervising. Put cellphones, magazines and barbecue duties aside.

• Watch the face – especially the eyes.

Many victims don’t call, wave, or signal for help because they can’t keep their head or arms above water.

• At the pool, the lake, or the beach, young children and non-swimmers should wear a life jacket or personal flotation device (PFD).

• Never rely on a single measure to prevent young children from getting into a pool. Use multiple barriers or strategies like four-sided fencing to restrict access.

In addition to supervision, swimming is a life skill that every child should learn – and the lifesaving society points out that teaching children survival swimming skills is like an immunization against drowning.They recommend taking Parent & Tot lessons at your local pool to give toddlers a positive introduction to water, and looking for swimming lessons for older children. More information about the On Guard card and additional water safety tips are available at www. lifesavingsociety.com. www.newscanada.com

GATEWAYhealth&safety

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GATEWAYsports&leisure

Five top golf tips to help boost your game

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hen it comes to golf, it’s the little things that can have the biggest impact on your game. Whether it’s your first attempt, or 10th season, golf expert Bob Weeks has got you covered at the links this summer with these five tips: Choose the right clubs: Regardless of your experience or skill level, choosing the right equipment can be the difference between duffing it and striking the ball straight down the fairway. It’s important to work with a professional to get the clubs bestsuited to your game and then, to have them custom fit.You should be fit for the length, loft, lie angle, shaft flex and even the grip size. If your clubs aren’t custom fit, it will be like walking around in shoes that are the wrong size.

Cont’d on page 34

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GATEWAYsports&leisure Cont’d from page 32 Get on the ball: Choose the right kind of golf ball for your game. While golf balls all look the same, it’s what’s inside that determines if it’s right for you. Golf balls fall into two categories: distance or control. Distance balls are generally two-piece balls with a large core and a cover.They are harder and better suited for higher handicappers or beginners. Control balls, usually three- or four-piece balls, are softer and spin more meaning they will land on the green and stop. More skillful players should use these.

Consider the elements: Weather is always a factor in golf and dealing with it must always be considered. For instance, in cold temperatures, the ball will travel shorter distances, so take more club.The opposite is true for warmer temperatures. If you’re playing into the wind, swing easy as that will keep the ball from spinning too much and rising up into the breezes. And downwind, make sure to judge the intensity of the breezes so you can choose the proper club.Your ball will roll further than normal on a downwind shot so take that into account.

Putting and chipping is priority: Lots of players like to boom their drives and will spend a lot of time on the range hitting their drivers. But if you want to improve your scores, you should spend more time working on your putting and chipping. Since most average players miss a lot of greens, the best way to save strokes is by chipping it close and making more putts. Focus more on your short game than your drive and you will improve.

Play the 19th hole: Win or lose, there’s no better way to celebrate than hitting the 19th hole. Less is often more in golf and the same applies when considering what to eat and drink after a round. Molson Canadian 67 for example is specially brewed with 67 calories and an ABV of 3% per 341ml, offering a light, refreshing alternative for active players. www.newscanada.com

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