Gateway june 2014

GATEWAY

New anti-spam regulations Businesses will have to make sure they have consent to send emails, newsletters, text messages and other electronic messages to customers or potential customers.

NEWS PAGE 20

Jump-start your business globalization skills careers PAGE 30

Nourish your child’s mental well-being Quality parent-child relationships are critical to a child’s mental wellness.

HEALTH & SAFETY PAGE 34

Cheryll Turcotte, with her sons Joshua, 14, left, and Samuel, 12, who both have Joubert Syndrome.

NEWS PAGE 3

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Your community voice for the north!

WEDNESDAY June 18 2014

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NEWS AND EVENTS FOR PRINCE GEORGE AND CENTRAL INTERIOR

Citizen photo by David Mah

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GATEWAYnews Brothers show courage Colleen Sparrow Publisher

Christine Hinzmann

Brothers Joshua and Samuel were never expected to sit up by themselves let alone run in a relay.

It wasn’t pretty, but it was really beautiful when Sam Huck, 12, who has a neurological disorder called Joubert Syndrome, recently ran in a relay, representing Foothills elementary on the track at Masich Place Stadium.

Mom, Cheryll, was crying her eyes out as Sam’s teammate passed the baton to him and then ran beside Sam, encouraging him through the race.

“To see Sam run – he’s not like lightning although he thinks he is – he worked so hard and you can see how hard he has to work to run, I was very, very proud,” said Cheryll.“When I looked back across the field there were not many dry eyes in the stands. It was amazing and a huge thank you needs to go to the teachers organizing the event and Sam’s teammates who supported him.”

The victory on the track was the culmination of a lot of years of overcoming obstacles, never giving up, always moving forward.

What was causing the symptoms in Cheryll’s babies remained a mystery for years.

After a lot of genetic testing Josh, now a 14-year-old D.P.Todd student, was diagnosed at six months old with having cerebral palsy because he wasn’t developing properly for his age.

But that wasn’t it.

That was when Cheryll first heard her son wouldn’t sit up, stand up, or walk like other boys.

“It was a pretty bleak outlook that the doctor gave us,” said Cheryll, who was living in the States at the time.“I got pretty angry at the doctor and asked him ‘how dare you?’ I told him that our son would be walking one day and when he did we’d have a party.”And they did – just

before his fifth birthday.

At three years eight months old, Josh was accurately diagnosed with Joubert Syndrome. Brother Sam was just under a year old at that time.

“It’s extremely rare,” said Cheryll of the little-known disorder.

Joubert Syndrome is a neurological disorder where the cerebellar vermis is under-developed, a part of the brain that affects balance and coordination, and can cause conditions like abnormal eye movement, mental retardation and hypotonia, which is low muscle tone.

Both boys started walking just before their fifth birthdays.

They have the same type of Joubert Syndrome and Cheryll said that explains the similarities in their development.

“Both the boys are in taekwon-do and they went from kicking two inches off the ground to being able to kick up to their shoulders,” said Cheryll.“For kids who have poor balance and coordination that’s an extreme achievement. It’s important for people who have kids with disabilities to know that there are sports organizations that will adapt their program for children with special needs. Parents just need to ask.”

Cheryll held Josh back a year when he was in Grade 1 but it was more for developmental aspects.

“They both definitely operate at a younger level,” said Cheryll, who builds mobile apps for industry for a living.

“Samuel is probably a little more on par than Joshua but they both have adapted programs in school and are with their peers.”

It wasn’t easy having two growing children who couldn’t walk until they were almost five years old.

“I had to start weightlifting to be able to carry them,” said Cheryll, ever the planner.“My thought was that I had

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Neil Godbout managing Editor

to be able to carry them both to safety if there was ever a fire. It was very physically challenging for me because I would have to carry them everywhere.”

And pushing two wheelchairs at a time wasn’t easy, either.

“I did learn to push two wheelchairs at the same time and it’s been challenging,” added Cheryll, who still has to help the boys when going upstairs.“It’s just an automatic thing, I don’t think about it any more.”

When they first moved to town nine years ago, they lived in a three-storey townhouse.

“People thought I was crazy but that’s how Sam learned to crawl,” said single mom, Cheryll.“It was the first time he’d crawled and he was three-and-a-half so the stairs were used as a therapy tool.”

Cheryll always encouraged the children to try.

“Kids fall down and they get back up,” she said.“I think too many people further disable their children by doing too much for them.”

When Cheryll was a young girl, she would always stand up for the underdog, encourage inclusion in school where special needs children were more segregated than they are today.

“There was a lot of teasing and kids getting picked on and I would always stand up for them so I guess I was preparing for this my whole life,” she said.“I’ve always been able to handle it and no, no nursing background but believe me when I tell you I have all kinds of background now.”

Cheryll is a determined mom trying to do the best for her children. She’s writing a book to parents of children with a disability about how to get past the pity party and get on with life.

“My kids are two of the most amazing children you could ever encounter,” said Cheryll.

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GATEWAYnews

Bags of Love offered in time of need It’s the middle of the night and everyone is sound asleep.There’s shouting and heavy footfalls in the hallway and the bedroom door bursts open. Strangers are taking pajama-clad children from their beds before they can even reach for their favourite teddy bear or blanket and whisking them off in cars to deliver them to the home of a stranger.

From the program It’s My Very Own comes Bags of Love, which meets the immediate needs of displaced children in Northern B.C.

It’s traumatic enough when children are removed from their homes by child protective services but it’s often in the middle of the night, leaving the children with only the clothes they are wearing and nothing else.

“We need to do something about this,” said local organizer Irena Lipovszky.“We need to do something to touch these children’s hearts.This is a really traumatic time for them.The children are angry, upset, screaming, yelling, crying.

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 4 The Bags of Love are given so that the children know they are loved and cared for and that’s what this is all about.”

The local chapter of It’s My Very Own is a faith-based non-profit organization through the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Ralph Sommerville, who has since passed away, started the program in Prince George in 2008.

The Bags of Love contain grooming items, pajamas and slippers, books, stuffed animals, educational toys, and a handmade quilt at the bottom of the bag.

The program started in Kentucky in 2006 at a Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Today the program is in nine countries.

Lipovszky said when children are taken from their homes that are crack houses, for example, their personal items are considered contaminated with the illegal substance.

When the children are taken from their homes, they are placed in temporary foster care.

“The first thing they do is remove

their clothes and shower and then they are given new clothes, and the child is completely isolated,” said Lipovszky.

The Bags of Love are distributed through the Ministry of Children and Family Development and 796 bags have been received by children in the area since the local program started and there are another 60 on the shelf, ready to go when needed, she added. Prince George, Quesnel, Vanderhoof, McBride, Mackenzie, Fort St. James, and Burns Lake have been equipped with bags and a few have even gone into Smithers and Terrace, said Lipovszky.

“The fact that these children are being torn from their home and remember - no matter how bad things are, that is their home.They love their parents and through a situation that’s not of their own making it’s something that’s happening to them - they have no control,” said Lipovszky.“And the idea is to be able to give them something that they have control over - that’s theirs. So this is given to them and it stays with them.”

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

All the Bags of Love are age appropriate, divided between boys and girls in five different age categories from infants to 17 years old.

“At the top of every bag there’s a large stuffie they can cuddle, hug, squeeze, tell their plight to, get angry at - whatever they want, whatever they need - that stuffie is just for them,” said Lipovszky.

Donations of all kinds are needed and accepted including volunteers willing to

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help, cash, fabric to make the bags and quilts, grooming items like shampoo, toothbrushes, and toothpaste, and other things like activity kits, toy trucks and cars, journals for the older children, and even diapers for the wee ones.

To donate or for more information e-mail irenal@shawcable.com or call 250564-8967.

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GATEWAYnews

Road rescue chief honoured

Emergency Management B.C. is recognizing Prince George Regional Highway Rescue chief Keith Laboucan for his work improving safety on regional roads.

Laboucan has been named the province’s Public Safety Lifeline Volunteer award winner for 2014 in the road rescue category.

“I was shocked... but I feel honoured,” Laboucan said.“It’s my passion. I’ve been doing it ten-plus years. [But] it’s tough to talk about myself when it should be the crew and I that get this. We’re all out there seven days a week, 24 hours a week, 365 days a week on call.”

Laboucan started with the organization as a regular rescue volunteer and worked his way up to chief five years ago.

The annual awards acknowledge outstanding public safety volunteers in six categories: search and rescue, emergency social services, road rescue, emergency radio communications, Provincial Emergency Program (PEP) Air and a lifetime achievement award.

Attorney General and Minister of Justice Suzanne Anton will present Laboucan and the other winners with their awards in a

ceremony later this year in Victoria.

Prince George Regional Highway Rescue is a stand-alone volunteer road rescue service serving the rural area outside Prince George.

“Our service area is 24,000 square kilometres. It’s huge,” Laboucan said.“Most of the outlying areas in Prince George are the gray areas, with no volunteer fire service. [In those areas] the only people coming, if we weren’t going, is the RCMP and B.C. Ambulance. [But] we make all our calls, no matter the weather, day or night.”

The service responds to an average of 85 rescue calls per year, extracting people trapped in vehicles and fighting vehicle fires, he said.

As a stand-alone road rescue society, Prince George Regional Highway Rescue does not get regular government funding.

It is dependent on grants and donations to operate, something Laboucan said he hopes to discuss with Minister Anton when he meets her.

“We have some pretty big backers in town. [MLAs] Shirley Bond, Mike Morris and [former MLA] Pat Bell have done a huge amount of work for us,” he said.

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GATEWAYnews

Aboriginal groups not enthused by federal outreach

Arthur Williams

Two initiatives announced by Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford in Prince Rupert earlier this month to engage First Nations in the development of energy infrastructure projects, like pipelines, have received a lukewarm welcome from two local aboriginal groups.

Rickford announced the opening of a Major Projects Management Office in Vancouver – which opened last week – and a tripartite forum to include First Nations leaders, the province and federal government.

Chief Martin Louie, of the Nadleh Whut’en First Nation near Fort Fraser, said if the goal of the initiatives is to engage First Nations it has already started on the wrong foot – Louie did not hear of the announcement until contacted by The Citizen after the announcement.

The Nadleh Whut’en are a member of the Yinka Dene Alliance, one of six First Nations that have signed a declaration banning the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline from their traditional lands.

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 8 Instead of another office or forum to engage First Nations, the federal and provincial governments need to acknowledge aboriginal rights and decision-making authority over their traditional territory, Martin said.

“All the plans are laid on the table, and then they come to us to [say] if it is good or bad,” he said.“It’s not going to cut it anymore. We want to deal with the province so that we go through the regulatory process with them. If business wants to do business in B.C., they should come to us and tell us what is happening.”

Under the current consultation process, First Nations have very limited time to hire or otherwise obtain the expertise to provide well-researched feedback on proposed industrial projects, he said.

“It keeps us in the dark, because we don’t have the people who have the expertise about mining, about oil and gas,” he said.“[The consultation process]

is never going to work until we’re part of the decision-making process and revenue stream.”

Carrier Sekani Tribal Council Chief Terry Teegee – a group which has also been a vocal opponent of the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline – said the federal government should have made these efforts to engage First Nations years ago.

“It’s a real missed opportunity.They should have done this awhile ago. We’ve been talking about [Enbridge] for over nine years,”Teegee said.“Finally there is a presence here by Natural Resources Canada. [But] it’s yet to be seen how this office will work.”

The creation of the office and forum could be used as way for the federal government to say it has consulted with First Nations – a legal obligation – before approving major energy projections, he said.

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 10 “There is always the risk of [it being] set up to rubber stamp projects. [But] the courts have stated themselves... there has to be adequate consultation and accommodation,”Teegee said.“There could be some value, in terms of bringing up issues and trying to restart talks.”

ENGAGEMENT EFFORT The Major Projects Management Office, established in Ottawa in 2007, opened a western office in Vancouver last week.

The office provides a single contact point for First Nations and industry in B.C. and Alberta to “identify concrete action that will help support their involvement in West Coast energy projects in areas such as employment and business opportunities, and tanker and pipeline safety systems,” according to a statement released by Natural Resources Canada.

Although the majority of proposed liquified natural gas (LNG) pipelines and terminals – along with the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway duel oil/

condensate pipeline – are based in northern B.C., the major projects office was located in Vancouver because the city is a transportation and business hub, according to information released by Natural Resources Canada.

Rickford also announced the creation of a tripartite forum – involving First Nations leadership and the federal and provincial governments – to share information and discuss common interests in the energy sector.

Both measures were recommendations made by Douglas Eyford, special federal representative on West Coast energy infrastructure, in his final report to the federal government in December.

“Our government is committed to continue working in partnership with First Nations to strengthen their engagement in energy projects, with training for employment and business opportunities...” Rickford said in a statement.“Today we are taking concrete steps as part of our ongoing commitment and sustained engagement with First Nations...”

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GATEWAYnews

Heliskiing taking root in regional mountains

Money does fall from the sky, if you are a ski operator.

The powdered peaks of northern B.C. are stacking up with more and more international denominations.The trickle of Euros, pounds and greenbacks has become a steady stream.

The conventional downhill mountains of northern B.C. are well known among global skiers and boarders. Within two hours of Prince George there is Tabor, Purden, Powder King,Troll, Murray Ridge and Little Mac.The Hart Highlands Winter Club is right inside the city. Not much further away is Shames (Terrace), Hudson Bay Mountain (Smithers), and Marmot Basin (Jasper).

Many communities around the north - especially Burns Lake, 100 Mile House, and Prince George’s Otway facility at the top of the list - are also well endowed with nordic skiing trails.

These have their devout followers, but a niche industry is growing for heli-skiing and cat-skiing.

“We are getting tonnes of interest from magazines and

ski periodicals,” said Susan Clarke of Northern BC Tourism.

“And we do have these special places.These are not run-ofthe-mill downhill resorts.Those have their place, and it’s a very important place in the local winter economy, but this is a whole other side of skiing. It is a unique experience you can’t get anywhere else in the world.”

The list of providers is becoming lengthy and diverse.

Skeena Cat-Ski (Smithers/New Hazelton) takes skiers on wide tracks into the northwest powder even on days helicopters can’t fly.

When the helicopters can operate, besides Skeena HeliSki, Last Frontier HS, and Northern Escape HS are available.

Canadian Mountain Holidays (McBride), Crescent Spur HS, and Bearpaw Heli-Skiing (Prince George) are also on hand.

Skeena HS is one of the oldest in the region, with about 15 years of experience. It is owned and operated by a local man who grew up on northern B.C.’s slopes in a family keenly interested in the region’s landscape.

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 14 Giacum “Jake” Frei’s parents and other family members moved into a log house at Tchesinkut Lake (between Burns and Francois lakes, about 2.5 hours’ drive west of Prince George from Switzerland when he was a small child. He went on school trips to Hudson Bay Mountain, and also took his burgeoning love of skiing back to Europe on family visits.

By 17 he had quit going to regular school in favour of correspondence education, had earned a sponsorship deal from the Salomon sporting goods company, and was apprenticing for a career in the outdoor adventure tourism sector.The dream never faded and now he is a longstanding member of the northern B.C. business community, and the startup proprietor of a leading company in this niche industry.

“January to April, that’s when the magic happens,” said Frei.“You’re trying to make all your money for the year in that short window, so if the weather is bad or you

have a problem employee or anything at all goes wrong, you carry that loss all the way through to next season.That’s what’s hard.The risk in this business is those variables.”

Eighty per cent of the world’s heliskiing takes place in B.C., he explained, because it is the best location in the world for minimizing those variables.

He explained that New Zealand, Russia, Turkey and other nations have some helicopter slope service, but those places have more warm weather events, or government interference in their business operations. B.C. has dependable snow, breathtaking scenery, challenging terrain, reasonable government regulation of the industry, ironclad safety protocols, and a stable political system.

Companies like his have to jump through a lot of regulatory hoops to get underway, he said, but once that happens “it is a lot of tweaking and maintaining your land-use plan, which is always a living document.”

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 16 Heli-skiing companies were hit hard by the effects of the global economic crisis in 2008 and that business has been slow to return.

“Heli-skiing’s golden era was in the late 1990s. When the crisis hit, the whole industry took a dump,” said Frei.

“For most HS companies, Americans make up the big majority of your clientele and they stopped buying. It took awhile for Europeans to infill for the missing Americans. Mine was always predominantly Europeans so I didn’t suffer quite as bad as some of the other companies. Now, the overall industry is showing signs of coming back to life.”

He sees emerging economies like China, Brazil, and India as long-term possibilities for a new client base but short-term business plans have to remain focused on the U.S. and Europe, Frei said. One HS adventure costs $10,000 to $15,000 plus travel expenses, so only those with deep pockets take part. But it takes more than

money.The clients also have to be skilled skiers but they bring high expectations with them.

“We have to do a lot of work in the offseason to maintain our equipment, tie up the paperwork for the season that just happened and get the paperwork ready for the next season, plus you have to go to trade shows and go hunting for your markets,” explained Frei.“I get maybe a couple of weeks off each year, and even then I’m working somewhat. But what helps us is having those gateway airports in Prince George,Terrace and Smithers so our clients have an easier time getting to us.”

That is getting easier every year, said Clarke, as the northern region of B.C. has been showing up in more and more publications and films aimed directly at the outdoor adventure tourist. She expects more calls to come in from reporters, bloggers, photographers and videographers interested in seeing the B.C. north, especially since there are so many different sorts of terrain and activity.

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GATEWAYnews

Big book signing showcases region Heavy readers will get a heavy load of authors in Quesnel.

One of the largest collections of local scribes ever assembled in one room will bring out the bibliophiles to the Cariboo District Library on May 24. Fiction writer Bev Fox made the arrangements as a tip of her hat to the peers she admires from the area, and also out of author empathy.

“I’ve done my share of library signings where not a lot of people have shown up,” said Fox, who wrote the novels Piper In Crisis and Piper’s Call (a third Piper novel is anticipated) and also writes poetry.“I had a brainstorm that if we got a number of authors to be there at the same time, it would draw that many more people, and a mix of people so there will be a better chance of readers finding good books they might be interested in.”

The library in Quesnel was interested in the idea, and other book industry contacts were happy to help as well. Fox said their input was necessary because the job of professional writer is often a solitary one. She only knew a handful of other authors from the region, and the model they had in mind was for a festival of 20 to 30.

“I felt like such an island all by myself, and I assumed others might feel the same way, which is another reason I wanted to see this happen, so we all got to see each other and meet one another, which can only help us all in the long run,” said Fox. One of the authors joining Fox on the list is Prince George’s Neil Godbout, editor of The Citizen.

Also joining them at the one-day fanfare are: Judy Alsager, Sage Birchwater, Samuel Blondahl, Jeff Bloom, Cindy Brandner, Lorne Dufour, Joyce Helweg, Steve Hunter, Stan Krumm, Patricia Joy MacKay, Albert McQuillin, Donna Milner, Margaret Pascuzzo, Diana Phillips, Jay Earl Robertson, Ruth Scoullar, DebiLyn Smith, Susan Smith-Josephy, Jean Speare, Jeanie Vant, Lin Weich, June Wood,The Quesnel Wordspinners, Ed Zaruk, and Margaret-Anne Enders These writers’ styles incorporate the genres of historical nonfiction, mystery, travel, romance, thriller, sci-fi, aviation, children’s, inspirational/Christian, photography, fantasy, educational, and many more.The authors will be available to hold conversations about their books, their writing process, their inspirations, their own favourite reading, or whatever readers want to bring up.

The event runs from 1 to 3 p.m.

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GATEWAYnews

Anti-spam laws to take effect soon Nelson Bennett New anti-spam regulations that go into effect July 1 will do more than prevent spamming within Canada by Canadian businesses. Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL) is a catch-all net that covers all forms of electronic messaging, from email and newsletters to social media and software downloads. Businesses that don’t comply face fines of up to $10 million.

Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL) goes into effect July 1, 2014, and will affect not just spammers, but virtually every business in Canada.

Businesses have just three weeks to make sure they have consent to send

emails, newsletters, text messages and other electronic messages to customers or potential customers, or risk running afoul of Canada’s new anti-spam law.

After that date, businesses need either the implied or express consent of customers to continue sending them electronic messages or face individual fines of up to $1 million and corporate fines of up to $10 million. And any email or text message a business sends asking for that consent will be considered illegal, and could result in heavy fines, if it is sent after July 1, 2014.

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 20 Many Canadian businesses may assume the law doesn’t apply to them, say Andrew Aguilar and Ryan Black, lawyers with McMillan LLP who co-authored a new CASL guidebook called Internet Law Essentials: Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL), published by Specialty Technical Publishers (stpub.com).

“Don’t let the anti-spam title fool you,” Aguilar said.“This is a wholesale regulation of electronic communications involving any businesses for any business purpose. Don’t just think that, ‘I’m not a spammer, so it doesn’t apply to me.’ I can’t think of a business in Canada that this wouldn’t apply to in today’s age.”

CASL covers all forms of electronic messaging – except phone calls, voicemail and faxes – that have any kind of commercial purpose.

For example, a newsletter that is strictly informational would not be subject to CASL, but one that contains advertising, solicitations or any form of promotion of a commercial nature would.

Salespeople who do cold calls by phone will not be able to make those same kinds of pitches by email under CASL, unless the email addresses they obtain were published somewhere (on a website’s contact list, for example), or otherwise had the express or implied consent of the recipient.

Companies that bought email lists will no longer be able to use those emails, unless they get the consent of the recipients, or have implied consent – implied consent being one of CASL’s many fuzzy areas.

“We’re lawyers and we’ve been looking at the legislation for four months, and we’re still figuring stuff out about it,” Aguilar said.“It’s not the clearest, most unambiguous law on the books.”

While emails tend to be the main focus of CASL, several other forms of communication – from social media direct messages to computer programs that are automatically downloaded when new software is installed – are also covered in the new law.

Small- and medium-sized businesses that do not have their own in-house legal and technical staff are not the only ones struggling to understand and comply with the new law.

“Bigger businesses have probably thought about the act, but a lot of them are scrambling right now to determine how it applies,” Black said.“As they apply it, they are learning it is more complex than they originally thought. There’s a ton of grey areas throughout the act.”

Once the new law is in effect, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) can levy fines against both corporations and individuals within those corporations. As of July 1, 2017, private citizens will be able initiate actions against companies that break the law.

Some leeway will be given to those companies that can demonstrate they at least tried to comply with the new law.

“If you do your best to comply, and you somehow technically fail, you’re a lot safer than someone who didn’t try to comply,” Black said.

For more information on the new CASL regulations, visit fightspam.gc.ca. To order your copy of Internet Law Essentials: Canada’s Anti-Spam Law, co-authored by Andrew Aguilar and Ryan Black of McMillan LLP, visit stpub.com.

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GATEWAYlife

Another historical interpreter once told me that “love is in the details.” The expression struck a chord with me, and from then on, when it comes to interpreting history, I have believed that paying strong attention to detail is what turns good work into great work.

In my own process, for example, I always try to pay careful attention to the details of language.

In Barkerville, I play a documented character that lived and worked on Williams Creek from 1864 until 1875. Our mandate for street interpretation is to address the town’s entire

history - from 1862 until 2014 – so I must therefore be able to speak about events that happened outside of the timeframe defined by my role. Like many of us at the site, I converse with careful attention paid to the use of the past, present and future tense.

In Barkerville you may hear me say something like “in 1958, the town of will transition from a fully functional municipality into a heritage site, or livinghistory museum.” By using the future tense (‘will transition’) rather than saying ‘did transition’ or ‘transitioned,’ I remain

authentically in role while simultaneously acknowledging the inauthenticity of the situation: my historical character, in her actual life, obviously could not have known what would happen to Barkerville almost 100 years after she died.

When Barkerville’s street interpreters speak about modern concepts within the confines of this ‘omniscient’ character concept, we are not re-enacting. We are acting. We are being authentically inauthentic.

It’s the details that make it work.

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History Town

by vanstralen

barkerville.ca

Barkerville will always be a passionate work in progress

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GATEWAYlife Cont’d from page 22 Whether I am on the street, inside a building, or frequenting a business in Barkerville, I always maintain historically authentic dialect, turns of phrase, and mannerisms. We take pride in the finer details of our antique appearance – proper hairstyles, accessories and attire are essential to presenting first-person educational programs at our National Historic Site. Female interpreters wear gloves and hats when outdoors, for example, and male interpreters remove their hats when entering a building.

For Barkerville interpreters, careful observance of historical details reveals our respect for the site, our audience, and the history we share - but we’re not the only ones who obsess over those small but crucial elements that make a visit to the site unique. Many of our merchants take great pains to obscure necessary modern conveniences like power outlets, credit card machines, and commercial cooking equipment.They also carefully

select merchandise and wares that fit our bygone story. Food and beverage providers pay attention to menu items that both meet visitor expectations and reflect our exceptional historical setting.

Our Curatorial and Visitor Experiences teams are constantly attending to a myriad of details that provide guests the opportunity to feel connected to another time. Be it garbage cans encased in wooden barrels or modern fire hydrants concealed by realistic facades, we try to eliminate anything anachronistic that may jar your eye.These details might not occur to you when you visit Barkerville, but they quietly impact your experience.

Our presentation isn’t perfect. Of course it’s not.There are many areas where attention to detail can be enriched, and we are always trying to improve.This is true of any heritage site and part of the excitement and challenge of working at a living history museum as large and as complex as Barkerville comes from understanding that our job is, and always will be, a passionate work in progress.

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GATEWAYlife Surgery centralization needs to stop: health care group Part 2 of a three-part series It used to be common place for residents of rural B.C. to have basic surgical procedures done at their local hospital, but as more and more small-town operating rooms close their doors, patients have to travel longer distances to get care.

The centralization of surgery isn’t new nor is it unique to this province, but proponents of rural health care are making the case that it’s a trend that needs to be stopped or even reversed to provide better care to those living in small town - including communities in northern B.C. General surgeon Dr. Nadine Caron is among a group of specialists and general practitioners who believe that giving certain family doctors extra training - known as enhanced surgical skills (ESS) - is an important step in keeping rural care local.

“GPs in Canada do surgery is some places, in certain circumstances, with appropriate training and it has been proven to work,” she said.

ESS doctors are part of a surgical continuum, which Caron said also includes specialist general surgeons and subspecialists. Each group on that continuum has a different skill set and provides a different type of service to patients.

Caron was part of a national working group that helped put together a standardized curriculum to train ESS physicians on a suite of skills that can be done in smaller hospitals. Currently a program exists in Prince Albert, Sask., which trains two family physicians a year on a variety of skills like hand surgery and Caesarean sections.

The ESS graduates work in rural operating rooms, often

alongside general practitioners who are trained to deliver anesthesia as well as operating room nurses and other specialists.

Yet despite ongoing efforts to train ESS doctors, operating rooms in small communities continue to close their doors.

The reasons for the demise of rural surgery are varied. Dr. Stu Iglesias, the ESS lead for the Rural Co-Ordinatation Centre of B.C. said technology has played a big role in the centralization of care.

The rise in the use of dialogistic imaging equipment, like CAT scans, in planning surgery means smaller communities can’t keep up.

Advanced surgical techniques also allow for precise procedures that are minimally invasive, but require extra equipment and special training to complete.

“These are high capital cost, technical changes in surgery so it has been difficult for these small communities to keep up with the technology and even keep up with the training,” he said.

Northern B.C. used to get many of its GP surgeon-trained physicians from South Africa where basic surgical procedures including c-sections were part of the training for family doctors in that country, according to Northern Health medical lead for perinatal programs Dr. Brian Galliford. But changes to licensing and certification requirements in Canada as well as training programs in South Africa have eliminated that option, leaving Canadian-trained ESS physicians to fill the void.

The Prince Albert program has been running for six years now and Caron said the formalized program is important to give both the medical community

and the general public the confidence that the appropriate training is being done.

“It’s one of the fundamental

questions that has always been raised - how can someone perform a procedure a general surgeon has trained for five or

six years and an ESS surgeon has trained for one year,” Caron said.

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GATEWAYlife Cont’d from page 25 “I think it’s going to be really important to ensure we don’t shy away from that question but that we we’re very comfortable that we can say that given the proper training, the focused curriculum, the focused training, the ongoing [continuing medical education], the ongoing mentorship, the collegial support, always have a place to transfer a patient that the [ultimate] outcome of that is going to be an ESS surgeon with the skills to provide an important service to their community.”

ESS physicians aren’t the only ones doing surgery in rural hospitals. Often specialists from larger centres visit the smaller hospitals because it gives them access to more operating room time and means their patients don’t have to travel as far to get treatment.

Dr. Bret Batchelor, a recent graduate of the Prince Albert ESS program who works in Vanderhoof said the ear, nose and throat, orthopedic and plastic surgeons from Prince George who routinely visit St.

John Hospital benefit both local patients and rural physicians.

“It’s a great way to actually meet these doctors that we’re constantly referring patients to and meet face-to-face,” he said.“In other rural centres you might constantly refer patient to specialists and never meet them for years on end.”

The specialist visits also give Batchelor and the other ESS doctors in Vanderhoof the chance to assist on different procedures when required.

“At the end of the day it improves patient care because you’re increasing the communication lines between the referring doctor and the doctor being referred to,” Batchelor said.

It’s not just patients who are better served by having some surgery closer to home, Iglesias said communities come out as big winners as well. It becomes much easier to recruit high-ranking private sector employees in natural resource industries if they know that their local hospital can do some types of surgery especially c-sections.

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GATEWAYlife Cont’d from page 26 “We’ve created communities that you might be able to die in but you can’t be born in anymore,” he said.

The demise of family doctors who can do surgery also imperils the future of GP anesthetists, since the two often work in tandem. Caron said losing anesthetists can also hurt the level of care provided in rural settings because those doctors have specialized training on airway management that can be crucial in an emergency situation.

National organizations representing surgeons, gynecologists and obstetricians and rural family physicians are working together to develop a policy paper on the crisis facing rural surgical care and what can be done to fix it. Iglesias said he hopes the paper will “serve as a springboard” to get the issue onto the agenda of health care decision makers in government.

Currently, Iglesias said the fight is to keep the rural operating programs that are still in existence alive.

“I know of no instance where a surgical

service that has ever closed that has ever come back,” he said.“We’re really looking at trying to keep the ones that haven’t closed yet going.”

Caron agreed, noting the situation is perilous in many understaffed rural operating rooms.

“The first thing is to maintain [our rural surgical services] because it’s such a crisis that at any given time everything is on the bubble,” she said.“One physician leaves, one physician gets sick and [that community’s] entire system collapses.”

Given time and political will, Batchelor is more optimistic that rural surgical crisis can not only be stabilized, but it can also grow. He’d like to see a plan in place where governments and health authorities target certain communities that are the right size and are in the right proximity to other towns and build a rural surgical program, “There wouldn’t be enough volume for each of the specific towns to have an operating room, but to have one that’s within 45 minutes of any of those centres is really very important,” he said.

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GATEWAYcareers

Jump-start your business globalization skills www.newscanada.com The global marketplace operates 24/7, giving both big and small businesses a chance to reach countless new customers.To succeed in this ever-changing, technology-driven world, one thing is certain: increased skills and knowledge are required in the workforce.

“For many adults, when the workplace and their profession are increasingly focused on doing business in other parts of the world, they can advance their career and demonstrate the value they bring to their organization by identifying and building new skills,” says Dr. Ward Ulmer, associate dean at Walden University’s College of Management and Technology.“Globalization has created a supply-and-demand not available even 10 years ago—and the driving factor is the advance of technology that is opening up the marketplace.”

Globalization, he continues, presents both a challenge and an opportunity for workers since organizations need professionals who can find ways to help the business grow. In today’s fastchanging environment, online higher education is an especially effective way to help employees achieve this needed knowledge.

Making the commitment to continue your education can have an immediate return on investment for your business

and professional goals, he explains.

Working adults who opt to continue their education at an internationally attended online university are putting their newly acquired skills to work right away. And adding this type of value to your organization is not as difficult as one might think. Advanced technology makes it convenient for working adults to earn bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees online—and on a timeline that fits with their family, professional, and other commitments.

As you work to complete your degree, be sure to focus on this short list of skills improvement for the global market: • Adapt your current communications skills, including how to leverage social media.

• Enhance your analytic skills so you can interpret data from different parts of the world.

• Exchange best practices and work as part of a global team.

• Understand and appreciate the cultural differences for various

nationalities.

The online classroom gives students a unique and highly valued opportunity to learn and interact in a virtual environment, which is not usually available in a traditional classroom. It’s also worth mentioning the importance of the faculty and their credentials when choosing a university.

“Our faculty consists of scholarpractitioners who are active and highly experienced in the global economy,” Dr. Ulmer points out.“And the students are connected to others around the world in a constant exchange of realtime ideas and best practices.”

To learn more about the skills and knowledge in demand in the global marketplace, take a look at www.

WaldenU.edu/globalskills.The website also offers details about more than 80 degree programs at Walden, an accredited U.S.-based university, in the disciplines of health sciences, human services, social work, management, psychology, education, public health, information technology, and more.

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GATEWAYhealth&safety

Be prepared when exercising and playing in the heat

www.newscanada.com

Canadians wait so long for summer to arrive that some of us overdo it a when exercising outdoors, especially during unexpected heat and humidity early in the season.

It takes a while for our bodies to become acclimatized to warmer temperatures and our bodies regulate heat more slowly during hot, humid weather, causing us to overheat that much easier.

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health&safety Cont’d from page 32 Before you head outdoors this summer, take a moment to understand the potential health risks of being active outdoors in extreme heat.

While being physically active has many health benefits, it can increase your risk for heat illness, especially in those with breathing difficulties, heart problems, a mental illness such as depression, hypertension or kidney problems. Even those without any chronic health conditions can be at risk without proper precautions.

Get informed: • Ask your sports organization or trainer if they have a plan for extreme heat.

• Ask a friend or buddy to watch you during extreme heat; if you suffer from asthma, carry your inhaler with you and make others aware of your condition.

• Modify or reschedule your activities.

• Work out early in the day or in an airconditioned facility.

• Check the Air Quality Index for air quality conditions.

• Check local weather forecasts so you can plan accordingly.

Keep yourself safe: • Stay hydrated by drinking fluids and eating raw fruits and vegetables.

• Wear sunscreen and insect repellant.

• Allow your body to recover from heat exposure by sitting in the shade or heading to an air conditioned area.

• Watch for signs of heat exhaustion such as dizziness, fainting, nausea, vomiting, headache, rapid heartbeat and extreme thirst.

• Heat illnesses can lead to long-term health problems and even death.These illnesses include heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat fainting, swelling of hands, feet and ankles, heat rash, heat cramps and dehydration.

• The most serious heat illness is heat stroke, which can be fatal. Symptoms include a core body temperature of 40.5ºC/105º F, confusion, lack of sweat and unconsciousness. Call 911 immediately if you see someone with these symptoms.

• If you see someone going into shock from heat stroke, move them to a cool place, apply cold water to large areas of their skin and clothing and fan them as much as possible.

More tips for staying safe in the heat can be found at www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/sun.

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GATEWAYhealth&safety

Nourish your child’s mental well-being this summer

If great weather, lazy days, and vacation living aren’t enough, here’s one more reason to love summer: It can be good for your child’s mental health.

“Quality parent-child relationships are critical to a child’s mental wellness” explains Dr. Wendy Craig, a psychology professor at Queen’s University.“But when the reality of daily life consists of rushing through dinner and homework to shuttle the kids to soccer practice, it leaves little time for the intimate, oneon-one moments that create a positive parent-child bond.”

Craig says the slower pace of summer presents a unique opportunity for parents to boost kids’ mental wellness by making their relationship a top priority. She offers these simple tips for creating meaningful interactions with kids during the summer months: Hit the road: Long car trips offer a great opportunity to talk and bond with your kids. Share memories of your

favourite childhood trips, discuss plans, play conversation-based games.

Make a meal of it: Take advantage of a less hectic schedule to eat dinner as a family more often. Studies show that regular family dinners lower rates of substance abuse and depression, while improving kids’ grades and self-esteem.

Lend a hand: Seek out volunteer work that you can do together, like donating time at a local food bank or doing yard work for an elderly neighbour. Helping others teaches kids empathy and makes them feel empowered.

Play on: Engage in outdoor sports or other leisure activities. Playing together fosters a healthier, happier relationship with your kids. It also boosts confidence and builds resilience, which contribute to positive mental health.

For additional tips on supporting children’s mental wellness during the summer and throughout the year, visit longlivekids.ca.

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GATEWAYhome&garden Keep clean-up a breeze this barbecue season

www.newscanada.com

There’s nothing better than firing up the grill and enjoying your summertime favourites on the patio. But even if your next barbecue masterpiece is fingerlicking good, it can still leave a mess.

Spend less time on prep and cleanup and more time enjoying the season with these easy backyard barbecue tips, courtesy of the Canadian paper towel brand, Royale Tiger Towel: • Save trips back and forth to the kitchen. Use a sturdy tray or condiment caddy to carry your favourite toppings, cutlery and napkins in one trip.

• Don’t let spills and messes build up on the outside of your barbecue. As soon as the surface cools, spray it with barbecue-friendly cleaner and wipe with a paper towel. Do the same for any work surfaces and patio furniture.

• Corn on the cob is a staple for many

backyard meals, but removing the silk can be tough. Make it easy by running a moistened paper towel over the kernels after the husk has been removed.

• Keep paper towels secure and within reach by attaching the holder to the bottom of a picnic table.Then, just pop in a roll as needed.

• Help create a non-stick surface and reduce the mess that’s left behind after grilling by dipping a paper towel in a small amount of oil, holding it with metal tongs and carefully rubbing it over the barbecue grate.

• Quickly chill drinks by wrapping a bottle or can with a wet paper towel and sticking it in the freezer for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Just keep track of the time to ensure drinks don’t freeze all the way to avoid an unwanted mess.

GATEWAYgrill

Chef-approved

summer salsa Fussy food isn’t right for dining al fresco. Instead, simple, easy and fresh is the mantra of patio entertaining this season.That’s why chefs and home cooks alike turn to everyday party favourites like tortilla chips as an easy solve for speedy and delicious summer-time dishes.

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www.newscanada.com

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GATEWAYgrill Cont’d from page 37 Kevin Prendergast, the executive chef at the Toronto Hilton says adding seasonal or tropical fruit to something you’re already serving, like salad or salsa, can create an instant taste twist that your guests will enjoy.

“Patio entertaining is about keeping it simple and light with seasonal snacks that suit almost every taste,” says Prendergast.

“This time of year Canadians have access to an incredible array of summer flavours, so with a little creativity, it’s easy to put a fresh spin on a salsa by using fruit to create a dip paired with tortilla chips, or a condiment topper for barbecued foods like grilled fish.”

Get your inspiration for fruit salsa from the beautiful colours found in the produce aisle of your local grocery store.

Try mixing spicy salsa with watermelon or lime salsa with blueberries for a refreshing combination that will delight your guests.

Having a go-to source for your recipes is also an easy way to come up with ideas of what to serve when time is of the essence. Online recipe resources like Tostitos.ca have hundreds of ideas including this mango salsa.

Simple Mango Salsa Serves 8 people Ingredients 1 ripe mango 1/4 cup chopped onion 1/3 cup Tostitos salsa 1 bag Tostitos tortilla chips Directions Time – 10 minutes Cut the mango in little cubes.

Combine mango, onion and salsa in a serving bowl.

Serve immediately with Tostitos chips.

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