GATEWAY TO THE NORTH - APRIL by Prince George Citizen

GATEWAY

Your community voice for the north! WEDNESDAY April 13, 2016

NEWS AND EVENTS FOR PRINCE GEORGE AND CENTRAL INTERIOR

Northern FanCon shooting for the stars Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@gpcitizen.ca

here are so many reasons to go. There’s the cosplay, the gaming, the comic book and graphic novel elements, the trade show full of galactic vendors, intense art, inspiring authors, and that’s just the general view. More specific fans of pop culture can salute the stormtroopers and imperial guards of Vader’s 501st Legion. You can kick the tires of a time machine that’ll have you spinning your wheels back to the future. You can go sci-fi speed dating. You can get your face painted, but not rainbows and sunflowers on your cheeks like at a country fair, oh no, more like some magic faerie bedazzled your face with unicorn dreams. It’s easy to tune into the main reason people are turned on by Northern FanCon, though. It’s the biggest collection of celebrities in one Prince George place in the history of the city. This year’s list is rippling with star muscle. This year’s list – and it is not yet fully disclosed, there are more big stars to come – include cosplay celebrities Nathan Deluca, Yelaina May, Andy Rae, and Ani-Mia. When we get down and dirty, the list starts with Dickey Beer, one of the most acclaimed superstars of the stunt industry (his credits include the Star Wars franchise, the Indiana Jones franchise, multiple James Bond films, and a litany of other major shows).

When we want to get animated, the colours shift to voiceover veteran Veronica Taylor who has been the voice of Ash in Pokemon, Amelia in Slayers, and April O’Neil in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She portrayed Scarlett in one of the G.I. Joe animated projects, and Princess Diaspro in the Winx Club series. Recently she was cast as Sputnik in the Astroblast serial, and her voice is heard in the video game World Of Warcraft: Warlords off Draenor. Her list of credits is scroll of Saturday mornings dating back to the 1980s. Mark Meer is a busy actor and voiceover talent as well. As a liveaction artist he has been lead character October in the Tiny Plastic Men series, he was in six episodes of Versus Valerie, and 18 episodes of Caution: May Contain Nuts. Every week, Canada turns him on as a member of CBC Radio’s award-winning comedy program The Irrelevant Show. He is known around the world, however, as central character Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect video game franchise. She is Scottish, she was almost Wonder Woman, she’s a darling of the sci-fi horror genre, and she has had one of the biggest years imaginable, as a recurring actor in two major series: Atlantis being one, Once Upon A Time being the other. One the sedate side Amy Manson has been in Agatha Christie and James Herriot fare, but on the scream and slash side she has been in a blood feud with Pumpkinhead and rumbled in the jungle in Blood Monkey, among others. — see DIVERSE, page 4

Citizen file photo

Ben Gibson dressed as Lord Mordekaiser from League of Legends at Northern FanCon 2015.

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GATEWAYA&E

CBC picks up Blackstone Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

ne of Canada’s most popular independent television shows is getting a bigger national audience and a Prince George face will be prominent on that screen. The show Blackstone has won numerous awards and critical acclaim for its gritty depiction of a fictitious Canadian First Nations community. Blackstone has been called the aboriginal Breaking Bad for its icy stare into the eyes of organized crime, government corruption, systemic family dysfunction, missing and murdered women, and all the social viruses of colonialism still coursing through Canadian blood. It is one of those shows that isn’t kidding with the preface warnings about viewer discretion. The honest depictions of hard-core life is exactly why audiences and critics have applauded Blackstone and it is why CBC television has purchased seasons three, four and five. The show was primarily contracted to show on the APTN and Showcase networks, but CBC gave seasons one and two a test with its widespread audience in honour of National Aboriginal History Month 2015 and found an eager viewership, so it is tak-

ing on the three remaining seasons. Blackstone wrapped filming last year. “The CBC’s reinvestment in Blackstone is a true testament to our cast and crew, and to the unfiltered and compelling storytelling that has become a benchmark of the show,” said Ron E. Scott, the show’s director, writer and inventor. “We are so grateful for the CBC’s platform as a means to expose more Canadians to Blackstone and to the true-to-life issues that are explored through its storylines.” The cast is a who’s who of Canadian aboriginal acting talent. Names in the recurring credits include well-known performance artists like Carmen Moore, Eric Schweig, Michelle Thrush, Nathaniel Arcand, Tantoo Cardinal, Andrea Menard, Justin Rain (one of the VIP guests at last year’s Northern FanCon) and many more. Prince George singer-actor Tommy J. Mueller was involved in an early storyline in the series and local actor Steven Cree Molison has became a national celebrity and award-winning thespian for his work in the core cast. Molison has always been a fan of the scripts he got to bring to life, even though some nay-sayers complained it went too far. “It brings those topics to the forefront,” Molison said. “It is a lot of stuff that affects our aboriginal community but affects all communities.” — see ‘IT’S TELLING, page 5

Local actor Steven Cree Molison part of show’s core cast Citizen file photo by Brent Braaten

Actor Steven Cree Molison holds his Leo award in a September 2012 file photo.

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Diverse celebrity lineup headlining event — from page 1 After leaving his home country of Wales, and time spent at Britain’s National Theatre Company and Royal Shakespeare Company, Paul Amos moved to Canada where he did a couple of years at the iconic Stratford Festival on stage, then rolled into the crème of the country’s television industry. You’ve seen him on Degrassi, Warehouse 13, She’s The Mayor, and Combat Hospital. He was cast as Mister Gold in the Captain Canuck webseries, he is Dr. Roberts in Murdoch Mysteries, he is Vex in Lost Girl, and he is the lead role of Jacob Frye in Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate video game. Kris Holden-Reid has worn the maple leaf at the Pan Am and Pan Pacific Games in pentathlon, as well as being a medalist in fencing and riding. Oh yeah, and he acts, too. He landed his first lead role in his first audition, the 1994 TV movie Young

Mewes Ivanhoe, and he has been a regular on the screen ever since, notably as William Compton in The Tudors, in Underworld Awakening, K:19 The Widowmaker, and he

Burton is well known as Dyson the crime-fighting werewolf in Lost Girl. Starting her career as Robin on The Young And The Restless gave Candice Pat-

ton a launch pad to a career that is zooming at the speed of light, today. After long stints on Sorority Forever, and recurring parts on Entourage, Heroes, One Tree Hill and Man Up (along with single appearances on such hits as Grey’s Anatomy, CSI: Miami, About A Boy, etc.) she landed a plumb role in the glitzy series The Game and turned that into a major ongoing role in the acclaimed superhero TV series The Flash where she plays Iris West. Garrett Wang has become a familiar television face all over the world, thanks to his recurring role in the hit network show Star Trek: Voyager where he played the oft seen Ensign Harry Kim on more than 150 episodes over six years. You can expect a promotion this coming year as the Star Trek franchise adds more screen time for Wang. — see MEWES, BURTON, page 5

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Mewes, Burton, Dalton, Patton and more and Northern FanCon — from page 4 Wang has also been seen in such titles as Acts Of Violence, Alongside Night, Demon Island, and the short film Rising Sun. Jason Mewes is the voice of silence in his most known role. He is Jay to longtime pal Kevin Smith’s Silent Bob in their buddy movie franchise. He also worked with Smith in the acclaimed indie films Clerks and Mallrats, each time as Jay, which carried on into Chasing Amy, Dogma, Scream 3, Clerks II, and then he finally got his name on the title. Mewes is more than Jay, however. He has played in projects like Fanboys, Zack And Miri Make A Porno, a recurring role in the series Vigilante Diaries, and many more. Hollywood heartthrob Brett Dalton currently plays one of the most popular characters on one of TV’s most popular shows. Ramping up the fan fever for Marvel superheroes, Agents Of SHIELD has millions of fans tune in each week and audience love agent Grant Ward. Prior to getting his superbadge, Dalton had significant roles in films like Killing Lincoln and Beside Still Waters, as well as television projects like Nurses, Blue bloods, Army Wives, Robot Chicken, and the video game Until Dawn. Portraying one of the most recognizable characters on television can make a career for any actor, but Levar Burton has done it twice. As a youth he was cast in the lead role of Kunta Kinte in the smash hit television miniseries Roots. Then, after more than 10 successful years on various films and movies Burton pulled on the uniform of Lt. Geordi La Forge on the wildly successful Star Trek: The Next Generation, where he became a household name. If you

throw in the highly acclaimed children’s show Reading Rainbow in which he also starred, one could call Burton one of the most impactful actors of the last 50 years for successfully crossing intergenerational audiences. One of the “fastest” rising young stars on television these days is Candice Patton. She is one of the central figures in the hit series The Flash, playing the superhero’s unrequited first love Iris West. Patton was also a regular on the football-focused series The Game in 2013, and had multiple appearances in shows like Heroes, Man Up, Entourage, and others. She was in the movies The Guest, Commander In Chief and The Craigslist Killer. Also coming to FanCon are a couple of Walking Dead alumni. Nick Gomez (he has also had roles in Dexter, Treme, the movie Looper and recurring roles in last year’s The Red Road and this year’s TV hit Bosch) and Jeremy Palko (he was critically acclaimed in the TV hit Bloodline and the biopic film Walt Before Mickey) will pay P.G. a visit. The most recently added star is going to boost everyone’s mood. Michael Coleman plays Happy in the successful TV series Once Upon A Time. He’s also been seen in shows like Smallville and Supernatural. All these stars will be available for autograph opportunities and public interview appearances live onstage. Some activities require tickets, some are free with general admission. Northern FanCon runs May 13-15 at the CN Centre-Kin Centre complex. For ticket information log onto the official website or go to the Northern FanCon page on Facebook.

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‘It’s telling our own stories. We’re not being told what we are’ — from page 2 “The show is a great window into life on the rez, and sometimes aboriginal people don’t want us to shine a light on that stuff, but what it leads to is an understanding that this is a side of our culture, but a side of all culture,” Molison added. “It’s about everybody.” The CBC was interested in the program even before it bought the rights to show it. Molison and Scott were invited to sit in the signature red chairs for an interview on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight years before the CBC took that step. During that interview, Molison said it was important for aboriginal people to be the writers, directors and a big part of the cast in the telling of the Canadian aboriginal story. “It’s the first step of taking ownership,” he told Stroumboulopoulos and the nation. “People look at the show, they look at APTN, it’s

telling our own stories. We’re not being told what we are. We’re telling everybody else what we are.” Scott said that the reason the show was able to survive the highly competitive world of television production is because it was consistently more than shallow emotions spread across the screen like candy. The simulated scenes of violence, dirty living, spousal abuse, drug and alcohol abuse were authentic, and there was always a point to it. He called Blackstone’s plot-lines “the inspiring story of the undying hope and resilience of people fighting for a better life in the midst of adversity.” Internationally, Blackstone was picked up for broadcast by Hulu and HuluPlus (United States), Maori Television (New Zealand), SBS/NITV (Australia), and now this bigger-than-ever domestic platform. The dates and times when Blackstone will air on CBC have not yet been determined.

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Citizen file photo by Arthur Williams

A family camps on the north shore of Eaglet Lake on Sept. 14, 2014 directly across from the proposed site for Graymont’s Giscome Quarry and Lime Plant.

Quarry, lime plant delayed Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

n environmental assessment process for limestone quarry and lime plant proposed for a site near Giscome has been suspended to give its owners time to review the impact of us-

ing a haul truck rather than a conveyor to transport stone to the plant. Project manager David Chamberlain of Richmond-based Graymont Western Canada said recently the change is part of a plan to scale back the initial construction to one kiln from two in answer to a sagging market for the product. — ‘THE PROJECT, page 7

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‘The project is still a go and we’re very optimistic about this project’ — from page 7 As a result, the provincial government’s environmental assessment office has told Graymont it needs to determine the impact the change would have on such factors as dust and noise, Chamberlain said. The move comes slightly more than halfway through a 180-day review. Once the study has been completed, the review will resume from where it left off, according to Chamberlain. The long-term goal remains to have three kilns at the plant 400 metres from the shore of Eaglet Lake, about one kilometre from Giscome, and to have an overland conveyor transfer stone from the quarry, five kilometres away. “What’s happening is we’re reassessing a few components and what’s going to happen in the next few years, but the project is still a go and we’re very optimistic about this

project,” Chamberlain said. At full build-out, the quarry would have the capacity to extract up to 1.7 million tonnes per year with a life span of 40 years. The proposed plant site was previously used by CN Rail to quarry ballast rock and has an existing rail connection and gravel road access. Pending approval from the environmental assessment office and securing of related permits, Chamberlain expects to see construction begin in summer 2017. The initial construction is expected to employ 40 to 60 people, and the project is expected to create 10 to 15 permanent, fulltime jobs. Concern has been raised by some Giscome residents about the plant’s location and they have said it should be located next to the quarry, which is about three kilometres further away from the community.

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Right to die faces rural hurdles Samantha WRIGHT ALLEN Citizen staff, sallen@pgcitizen.ca

A UNBC Handout photo

UNBC nursing professors Catharine Schiller and Shannon Freeman.

ccessing the right to die looks very different in a rural setting. As the federal government grapples with a legislative framework for physician-assisted suicide and a June deadline to put it in place, policy makers must account for the realities of its more remote settings. “One of the issues is that the rural perspective and the rural resources can be very different than what people in the big cities

take for granted,” said Catharine Schiller, a lawyer, nurse and assistant professor in UNBC’s School of Nursing. Schiller recalled watching a recent interview that discussed an ideal setting where a family doctor who understood the intricacies of a person’s medical past and overall health would help the person make an informed decision (and only if they fit the parameters laid out in Carter v. Canada Supreme Court decision that a person must be “suffering intolerably as a result of a grievous and irremediable medical condition.”) — see BIG CITY, page 10

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Big city approach not a fit for rural areas — from page 8 “All I could think of was, that sounds so much like a big city perspective because when you talk to somebody who’s in northern B.C. where we have a shortage of family physicians, you’re unlikely to have had a family physician for years and years and years,” Schiller said. In many cases, it isn’t doctors who are the primary medical providers in these areas, she said, and the Carter decision didn’t address caregivers like nurse practitioners. “And many rural communities – more and more in fact – are implementing health delivery frameworks that are led by a nurse

practitioner not by a physician or they may be led by a registered nurse so how do those practitioners fit into this framework?” Schiller asked. For her, the rural perspective comes down to two key issues: who is involved in providing assisted death as an option and how can health authorities ensure access to those people? “Both of those can be very problematic in a rural setting,” she said, but the most recent February report from the Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying has started to recognize those discrepancies. — see RURAL ACCESS, page 11

Citizen file photo

The exterior of Rotary Hospice House is seen in a 2011 file photo. The Hospice House provides palliative care in the city, a service to which not all Canadians have access.

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Rural access issues ‘not insurmountable’ says Schiller — from page 10 “(The) limited access that people living in rural and remote regions of Canada may have to a physician, to ensure access to (medical assistance in dying) across Canada” must be taken into account said the preamble to the recommendation for a wider interpretation of medical professionals. “Pharmacists and other health care practitioners who provide services relating to medical assistance in dying, should also be exempted,” said the report, as should nurse practitioners and registered nurses working under the direction of a physician, from being found in violation of the Criminal Code. “There are a number of issues that became evident out of the Supreme of Canada decision that seem to be more problematic from a rural perspective but are certainly not insurmountable if we’re creative about

how we address them,” Schiller said.

End of life care The discussion around rural access to assisted death is tied in with a similarly limited access to palliative care resources. “Among jurisdictions that have appropriate policies and procedures in place to ensure access to services, there is still a cited lack of resources, lack of training and geography (rural areas) that limits their ability to provide adequate palliative home care services,” said a Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association fact sheet. The association said 73 per cent of Canadians “feel that the provincial governments place too little priority on this end-of-life care.” — see ‘PALLIATIVE CARE, page 12

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‘Palliative care is not accessible to all Canadians’ — from page 11 A further 35 per cent rated it as “far too little.” Health minister Terry Lake has said the province won’t move on its own policies until the federal government has crafted its legislation. “Palliative care is not accessible to all Canadians at this time and there’s a large number of barriers to access of care, availability of care, appropriate timing for care,” said Shannon Freeman, also a UNBC nursing instructor, who recently published an article in BioMed Central of her study that looked at Ontario palliative home care patients who said they wanted to die. End-of-life care is a broad term that now must include both physician-assisted death and palliative care. “Physician-assisted dying cannot replace a good palliative care strategy that is also set up to succeed in rural settings and a good palliative care strategy cannot exclude the physician-assisted death,” said Schiller. “Both of them have to be part of the end-of-life care strategy that we develop and that end-of-life care strategy can’t be something that is only implementable in a big city.” In her work, Freeman found of the 4,840 clients studied, almost seven per cent said they had a “wish to die now.” “There’s quite a diversity in what that wish to die, what those clients are looking like,” she said.

Physician-assisted dying cannot replace a good palliative care strategy that is also set up to succeed in rural settings and a good palliative care strategy cannot exclude the physician-assisted death. — Catharine Schiller “Of people who expressed a wish to die, not all of them were experiencing intolerable suffering and pain. There’s a lot of variation.” Nearly one quarter – 23.8 per cent – also exhibited depressive symptoms, the study found. “These people were also more likely to be struggling with the meaning of life, exhibiting recent declines in cognition, exhibiting more weigh less and having more distress,” said Freeman. She also identified another group who said they wanted to die but didn’t show signs of depression. “These people were more likely to report having a positive outlook on life, still having things they feel that they can contribute, feeling completion in legal and financial matters.” — see ‘IT’S GOING, page 13

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‘It’s going to take time to develop that full end of life care strategy’ — from page 13 Her work has filled a need for nurses to better understand the patient population that might express the wish to die and “give some evidence to reduce some of the fear associated with having conversations about preferences at end of life.” The focus should be on looking at the whole person and not just their physical symptoms or the disease that they have, Freeman said. “Looking at how it affects all aspects of their life, so including their psycho-social needs, their family needs and their financial needs and we keep all of those parts of the person,” she said. “That we have a more total person view on how we provide care at end of life and it just doesn’t get sidetracked to be a very narrow-focused thing. “Because there’s such individual experiences that are happening as persons near end of life and it’s important that that individual experience be heard,” Freeman said. That must also include indigenous perspectives, Schiller said, which the recent committee report also recognized. “We need to make sure whatever we’re putting into place that applies to indigenous populations takes into account indigenous healing practices and making sure that we’re taking care of vulnerable populations and populations who may have different belief systems and different ways of approaching the health and healing,” Schiller said. The legal language, too, is not necessarily obvious. Citing “intolerable suffering,” Schiller noted: “what exactly that pans out to mean, it’s legal language and through that gets interpreted into clinical language and into individual clinical profiles of a person – how that gets applied – is going to be challenging to say the least.” While Schiller doesn’t think the June deadline is too soon to put policy in place – Quebec’s Bill 52 has done a lot of the leg work, she said – developing fair access to both palliative and physician assisted death will be an ongoing conversation. “It’s going to take time to develop that full end of life care strategy so while we’re developing those services we need to make sure that we’re doing the best we can to give people whatever options we can give them and to make sure the choices that they’re making are free and informed,” Schiller said.

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First Nations adopt surface water management plan Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca Leaders of the Nadleh Whut’en and Stellat’en First Nations say a regime for the regulation of the surface waters throughout the whole of their territories has been enacted and are calling on the provincial government to collaborate with them on the initiative. Proponents will now have to win their consent for projects that could affect any rivers, lakes, streams and creeks, according to a press release. And for approved projects, economic accommodation through such avenues as revenue sharing agreements, impact management

and benefits agreements and project equity arrangements will also be required. In an interview, Nadleh Whut’en elected chief Martin Louie said the move was made partly in answer to troubles they’ve been having with the Endako mine. “A lot of the mines have one outlet into the water or two at the most, but this one has seven or eight of them coming out of there and they go into different streams,” Louie said. “We tried to stop it and they’re using grandfather laws to protect themselves and do anything they want.” The standards set out in the regime for water quality are higher

than the provincial standards, according to the statement. The Nadleh Whut’en and Stellat’en territories are east of Prince George with their main reserves near Fort Fraser and Fraser Lake. “I’m not here to attract the activists, I’m here to attract the real environmental people,” Louie said. “That’s the difference.” In an emailed response, the Ministry of Environment said it has not yet received the declaration, and so is not in a position to comment on it specifically. “However the province and First Nations share an interest in protecting water now and into the future.”

Higher fines in effect for causing fires Citizen staff Increased fines for a variety of wildfire-related violation tickets came into force this month. Anyone caught contravening specified open burning and campfire regulations could now face fines more than three times higher than last year’s penalties, the provincial government said. For example, the fine for not complying with a fire restriction under the Wildfire Act has tripled from $345 to $1,150. Failing to properly extinguish a burning substance, such as a cigarette, will now cost an offender $575. In all, the regulatory changes announced March 10, significantly increase ticket fines for 19 different violations under the

Wildfire Act and another seven violations under the Wildfire Regulation. “This government has acted on behalf of all British Columbians to crack down on reckless behaviour that could put lives, communities and resources at risk,” Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson said in a press release. “We encourage everyone to do the right thing this fire season by learning more about responsible fire use and making sure they follow the rules.” On average, 30 to 40 per cent of wildfires in British Columbia each year are caused by people and last year’s 2015 fire season was one of the busiest in recent years, with more than 283,400 hectares burned.

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Tories spent most in election Samantha WRIGHT ALLEN Citizen staff, sallen@pgcitizen.ca

rince George’s two MPs outspent and outraised their competition both during and in the run-up to the 2015 federal election. Conservative colleagues Bob Zimmer and Todd Doherty each spent more than $70,000 on election activities, according to Elections Canada data. The incumbent Zimmer outpaced his counterpart – and CaribooPrince George first-time representative – by an additional $30,000 for a grand total of $100,542. Doherty’s tally more than doubled second-place Tracy Calogheros, who spent $28,419 and took 31.5 per cent of the riding’s vote for the Liberals. Doherty made gold with blue with 36.6 per cent of the region’s voting members. In Zimmer’s riding, Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies, the comparison is not complete as neither Liberal Matt Shaw or NDP’s Kathi Dickie have their expenses publicly available online. They lagged far behind Zimmer – who nabbed half of the electorate – with 24.9 per cent and 15.5 per cent, respectively. Doherty raised $161,119, three times Calogheros’ $50,053.29 and more than two times NDP Trent Derrick’s $71,999. After spending $60,383 Derrick took third place in ballots, with 25.8 per cent of the vote. He also reported the most contributors

Doherty to his campaign, with 402 compared to Doherty’s 32, Calogheros’ 17 and Zimmer’s 63. Each dedicated most of their funds on advertising, with Doherty’s $46,304 again doubling Calogheros in that department. Doherty had the advantage with voter calling, assigning $6,120 to that duty, while the others chose not to use the service. Derrick spent the most on office expenses with $12,481 for three offices located in Prince George, Williams Lake and Quesnel. Both Doherty and Derrick reported salaried staff, whereas Calogheros had none. Zimmer spent more but raised less than Doherty, with $147,120 in contributions and transfers, $80,000 of which was from associations. — see ZIMMER, DOHERTY, page 19

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Zimmer, Doherty outspent opponents by large margin — from page 18 More than half was for advertising and he spent a further $17,779 on office costs and $16,425 on a voter calling service. Zimmer and Doherty each recorded more than $6,000 in personal expenses, which don’t count against the Elections Canada cap. Both Zimmer and Doherty had expenditures not subject to the Elections Canada limit – or as it says “incurred outside the contest period” – of $11,390 and $22,061, respectively. The spending limit for both ridings was just above $250,000. None of the candidates came close to pushing past those parameters, though Zimmer was the leader in that regard, filling 38.6 per cent of his spending limit. Among the fringe candidates Independent for Cariboo-Prince George, Sheldon

Clare, spent about $13,000 and raised about $15,000 (from 68 contributors), while the others who made a blip on the ballot spent less than $5,000. A Canadian Press analysis found that on average Conservative candidates spent $90,665, outpacing the average $71,660 spent by Liberals. The average New Democrat candidate spent just $54,404 while the average Green spent only $12,642. That could help explain why the marathon 11-week campaign came down to a battle between the better-resourced Liberals and Conservatives, with the NDP and Greens squeezed out, it said. The data has not yet been reviewed by Elections Canada, which its website notes may include updates and minor corrections to the original return submitted by candidates.

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Hospital receives training simulators Christine HINZMANN Citizen staff chinzmann@pgcitizen.ca

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MLAs Shirley Bond, left, and Mike Morris, right, and Advanced Education Minister Andrew Wilkinson administer treatment to ‘Andy’ during a session at the University of Northern B.C.’s lab where students gain hands-on experience handling patients as part of their nurse’s training.

ew colleagues Andy, Annie and Annie will join the team in the school of nursing to enhance the hands-on experience offered to students as part of their training at the University of Northern B.C. Andrew Wilkinson, minister of advanced education, made the announcement that the university will receive $103,400 toward purchasing simulation mannequins for healthcare training. Simulation Andy is a complex

simulator that can demonstrate a heart attack and even cry, while the two simulation Annies are more basic models. The focus for this government funding is aimed at skilled workers like those in healthcare under the Skills for Jobs Blueprint. “We’re accomplishing a mission when we can train people right here in Northern B.C. with stateof-the-art equipment so they can serve here in Northern B.C,” said Wilkinson. In the North Nechako region the 2024 labour market projections say the healthcare and social assistance industry will be among the top five growth sectors, he added. — see TRAINING, page 21

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Training in the north, for the north — from page 20 The prediction is there will be more than 25,000 openings for registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses, more than 2,500 for general practitioners and family doctors and more than 2,000 for specialists. “One of the things I believe in passionately is that when you train people in a particular region of the province, they tend to stay there and they tend to help fill those gaps we have right here in Northern British Columbia,” said Shirley Bond, MLA for Prince George Valemount. “So the nursing program and other medical programs that we have here are absolutely critical in making sure we have the quality of care that northern residents deserve.” As Wilkinson, Bond and MLA Mike Morris took a tour of the school of nursing’s lab where up to 16 students at a time get hands-on training using a variety of

simulator mannequins, several students divided into groups of three were practicing to insert an intravenous line into a simulator arm, while others were examining a large incision in a simulator mannequin’s stomach and one station hosted a variety of simulated incisions awaiting sutures. “We need cutting edge equipment in order to produce our graduates and nursing, as you all know, is one of the most popular programs here at UNBC,” said Daniel Weeks, UNBC president. “Our graduates are making a difference across Northern B.C.” About 75 per cent of the nursing students who attend UNBC are from the area and from those who come to the university from outside of the province one in five choose to stay and work in Northern B.C. after their training, added Weeks. “That’s an outstanding testament to what we have built here,” said Weeks.

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Program aims to preserve aboriginal oral history

Samantha WRIGHT ALLEN Citizen staff sallen@pgcitizen.ca

Citizen file photo

UNBC librarian Allan Wilson holds one of the cassette digitizers that will be used by the Indigitization program to preserve aboriginal oral history and recordings.

ven if aboriginal oral history is recorded, it still might need a second step to ensure it’s saved. A new program, dubbed Indigitization, aims to help northern First Nations communities preserve that history in a digital form. “We really want the communities themselves to identify what they want to do,” said Allan Wilson, University of Northern B.C.’s librarian. UNBC announced earlier this month the Northern B.C. Archives and Special Collections would be forming “a unique partnership” with the University of British Columbia’s Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, as well as UBC’s museum of anthropology and library and archival studies departments. The archives have bought a digitizing kit so communities can come to them for help converting their oral archives into a futurefriendly format. “It’s for community audio cassette digitizing,” said Wilson, adding they have already done one workshop. There might be recordings out there from elders,” he said. “Audio degrades and we’re concerned

about this.” It will be offering an Indigitization Grant Program for a community-led approach, which will offer hands-on training workshops and the use of an Indigitization Tool Kit for the necessary conversion to “a preservation digital format.” “The archives hopes to assist those indigenous communities in northern B.C. that are seeking to build capacity and effective in-house management of its digital heritage resources,” the UNBC announcement noted. “There are obvious cultural sensitivities so really this is a community program where those communities identify with what do they want to convert,” Wilson said. The archives already has three working memorandums with different bands for other projects, Wilson said, and the hope is to build similar partnerships. “It’s early days, we’re working with folks, seeing the interest but also encouraging them to explore this opportunity and look at the Indigitization program and in particular to look at the grants.” For more information on the program, interested communities can visit the Indigitization website at www.indigitization. ca or contact the Northern BC Archives at: archives@unbc.ca.

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Date set for Legebokoff appeal hearings Citizen staff A date has been set to hear the appeal of Cody Alan Legebokoffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s convictions of first degree murder in the deaths of four area women. It will be held on May 25 in Vancouver, according to an online posting for the B.C. Court of Appeal. In September 2014, Legebokoff was sentenced to life in prison without eligibility to apply for parole for 25 years. Following a 3 1/2-month trial at the Prince George courthouse, a jury found him guilty of the charges in the deaths of Stacey Stuchenko, 35, Natasha Montgomery, 24, Cynthia Maas, 35, and Loren Leslie, 15. Legebokoff is questioning the fairness of the proceeding and is seeking to have a new

LEgebokoff trial held in Vancouver.

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Cats couldn’t keep momentum after Christmas Citizen file photo by James Doyle

Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca

Prince George Cougars player Kody McDonald tries to stickhandle the puck between Seattle Thunderbirds Jerret Smith and Andreas Schumacher on March 30 at CN Centre.

he cracks in the Prince George Cougars’ foundation started showing in January. By then, it was far too late to patch the leaks. The fact they were swept out of the WHL playoffs in four straight games by the Seattle Thunderbirds should not come as a total shock to Cougar followers. After all, the Thunderbirds were and still are the hottest team in the league, dating back over the last month of the season. When they ended the Cougars’ season at CN Centre, 4-3 in overtime, it was the 17th win in the last 18 games for Seattle. They hadn’t lost in regulation time since Feb. 20, a one-goal decision to the Everett Silvertips – the team the T-birds now face in the second-round of the playoffs.

“It seems a little bit more lopsided than it was – winning those overtime games was

huge, if we don’t win those, it’s a whole different series,” said Seattle head coach Steve Konowalchuk. “I was really happy with our depth. The Cougars play hard and they didn’t quit, they’re a good competitive hockey team. It was a tough series and we’re fortunate to have the sweep.” The two teams split the season series 2-2 and T-birds captain Jerret Smith knew it would be a punishing playoff. “They were hitting us all series and we just hit them back and played our game and tried to stay out of the chirping and talking,” said Smith. “They played hard all series and they were a tough opponent for us. It was very important to wrap it up in

four, it gives us a few days to rest up and get some guys healed for the next series.” Joy in Cougarville has been in short supply the past three months. Back on Dec. 20, the Cats made the CHL’s honourable mention list as one of the top major junior teams in the country. Their fine season to that point, when they had a 20-10-1-1 record, gradually unraveled on them. They went on a 16-21-2-1 slide and limped into the playoffs, having lost their last five regular-season games. “We seem to have this lull after Christmas – last year we had a bit of a lull but we rebounded and this year we didn’t seem to have that,” said Cougars head coach Mark Holick. “I’m just disappointed, I thought we could make some more headway in the playoffs. I really loved our first half and it’s been boggling the mind as to what’s ailing us in the second half here. We have to find a way to figure it out and continue to move forward so we can make that big push.” As bad as it now seems for the Cougars, losing all four games of the best-of-seven series, it could just as easily be tied. Lost in the shuffle is the fact two of those games required overtime to decide. — see ‘THEY’RE PROBABLY, page 25

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‘They’re probably one of the most physical teams we’ve encountered’ — from page 24 The T-birds outshot the Cougars badly in the first two games in Seattle, but the Cougars pushed them into OT in Game 1, losing 3-2. Game 2 was close until Seattle scored twice in the third period, winning 4-1. The only blowout came in Game 3, a 5-0 shutout. “They’re probably one of the most physical teams we’ve encountered this year, they finish checks well, their gap is good in

the neutral zone and they all have good size – even their smaller guys are thick,” said Holick. “But we’re in overtime in Game 1 and we had three or four good chances to end it and we didn’t. That’s two games in overtime in a sweep, it could easily be 2-2 and we could be going down for Game 5, with Game 6 here. The only game I was unhappy with was (Game 3). “But I’ll give our guys credit, with no Ruopp, no Anderson, no

Gabrielle, the guys who came in and substituted did a great job. Down 2-0 in an elimination game, they could have easily taken the easy way out and they didn’t. It’s unfortunate the tying goal came on the (penalty kill) because our PK was excellent. “Three of the four games we were right there. I’m proud of our guys, they competed hard and it was a tough series. There’s a lot of icebags going on in our room right now, a lot of guys needed some attention.”

With the exception of Game 1, the T-birds built early leads which took a lot of the pressure off. Seattle’s top four defencemen – Ethan Bear, Smith, Jared Hauf and Turner Ottenbreit – are all big boys who move the puck well and they did their jobs, manhandling the Cougars to clear the defensive zone, which made it a lot easier for goalie Landon Bow to see and stop the puck. They held the Cougars to just six goals in the four games, a

1.43 per-game average, and Bow was good when he did get tested, posting a .935 save percentage while stopping 86 of the 92 shots he faced. Ty Edmonds was a lot busier in the Cougar nets, stopping 129 of 142 shots for a .908 save rate and 3.65 goals-against average. While Edmonds did allow a couple of weak ones, he kept his team within striking distance in three of the four games. — see EANSOR, page 26

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Eansor, Barzal had Cougars’ number

Citizen file photo by James DOYLE

Prince George Cougars player Brogan O’Brien moves the puck away from the outstretched stick of Seattle Thunderbirds player Jared Hauf on March 30 at CN Centre.

— from page 25 Nick McBride played 36 minutes in a relief role in Game 3, stopping 22 of 24 shots for a 3.29 average and .917 save percentage. Among the Seattle forwards, Scott Eansor was an absolute beast in the series. Known for his defensive abilities and his speed, he killed penalties, won key faceoffs, and picked up two goals and an assist. He also filled in admirably at right wing on the top line with Mathew Barzal and Nick Holowko, taking the place of Keegan Kolesar, who was suspended for his brutal hit from behind on Cougars captain Sam Ruopp in Game 3.

Barzal had three assists in Game 4 and left no doubt he’s one of the elite players in the league. Just watch the replay of the serieswinning goal to see what he did on the play, using his body and powerful stride to shield the puck along the boards until he spotted Smith on the point. Smith unloaded and Nolan Volcan got to the rebound at the side of the net to end it, 34 seconds into OT. “They were doing whatever they could to get under (Barzal’s) skin and at times crossed the line on him and he played right through it and he was a huge part of our win,” said Konowalchuk. — see ‘WE TRIED, page 28

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‘We tried hard and played hard’ — from page 26 “The whole series guys were hacking, slashing and whacking him and he fought through it and showed he wasn’t going to be stopped and that’s a good learning experience for him,” Konowalchuk added. The Barzal line was good, but so was centre Cavin Leth and his wingers Andreas Schumacher and Alexander True. They were in on all three T-birds’ goals in Game 1 and had a hand in three of the five they scored in Game 3. Secondary scoring like that is money in the playoffs. Seattle GM Russ Farwell is looking more and more like a genius for his three separate deadline deals with Swift Current to acquire the 20-year-old Bow and 19-yearolds Leth and Schumacher, all of whom excelled in the four games. “They’re depth was really good and they kept coming shift and shift, just relentless

pressure pretty much,” said Cougars centre Jansen Harkins. “They’re a good fast physical team and we tried hard and played hard most games, it was just an unfortunate outcome for us.” Special teams weren’t much of a factor. The Cougars went 3-for-18 on the power play, while Seattle struck on 2-of-16 chances with the man advantage. The Cougars also, for the most part, avoided taking dumb penalties which cost them dearly during the season as the league’s most penalized team. The Cougars can take pride in the fact they won half of their regular-season games (36), just seven wins shy of the Prince George franchise record for wins in a season (43), and they made the playoffs for the second-straight season. But the fact they did not get beyond the first round is a huge disappointment for a team which

started out looking like they belonged in the WHL’s upper echelon with the likes of Victoria, Brandon and Kelowna. Injuries were way down this season. Much of the credit for that has to go to the Cougars full-time athletic therapist Craig Hyslop and the fact ownership allows the team to leave a day or two earlier to stay a few extra nights in hotels to make sure the players are well-rested for road games. So what does the future hold? The Cougars are loaded with 1997-born players, a group which includes goalie Nick McBride, defencemen Tate Olson, Shane Collins, and Luka Zorko, and forwards Harkins, Brad Morrison, Jesse Gabrielle, Brogan O’Brien, Jared Bethune and Aaron Boyd. They will play as 19-year-olds next season. Among the 1998-born potential returning players are defencemen Josh Ander-

son, and Joel Lakusta, and forwards Kody McDonald, Kolby Johnson, Bartek Bison and Josh Curtis, while the 1999s are defenceman Max Martin and forwards Adam Kadlec and Justin Almeida. It would be safe to assume Edmonds and defenceman Ruopp will be back next season as 20-year-olds, but with only three overage slots available, there won’t be room for one of either forward Colby McAuley or defenceman Shaun Dosanjh. Holick is under contract for one more season with an option to extend that another year, and as is the nature of the coaching business, he’ll be under the gun to get his older team deeper into the postseason next year. Cougars GM Todd Harkins will have lots of decisions to make over the summer as the Cougars gear up for what should be their most productive season in the past decade.

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Senior Cougars hang up their jerseys Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca

hase Witala disappeared on his own down the tunnel which leads to the Prince George Cougars’ dressing room. The 20-year-old winger couldn’t bear the thought that his Western Hockey League career is over. After five seasons playing for his hometown Cougars, Witala struggled with saying goodbye to his teammates and the fans who have been behind him for so long. “My stomach kind of dropped there as it hit me that my career is done here and it kind of hit me pretty hard there, it was a pretty crazy feeling for sure,” said Witala. “I was pretty lucky to spend my five years with my hometown team. I got to stay home with friends and family and it was a lot of fun doing that.” Before he left the ice, the most prolific scorer in the Cougars’ 22-year history in Prince George raised his stick to salute the CN Centre crowd, joining the team’s other two overagers – defenceman Joe Carvalho and right winger Luke Harrison – in one final tribute. Witala joined the Cats in 2011 after graduating the major midget Cougar ranks and went on to play five seasons, finishing

witala with 40 goals and 79 points in 2015-16 to lead the team. “I have so many mixed emotions, it’s obviously sad to be done your junior career, but also exciting to be starting a new chapter (playing pro hockey),” said Witala. “There’s a lot of excitement for the future here and I wish I could be a part of it but my time is done here. That 1997 core group will be one year older and it should be a pretty good year for them and I’ll be following them for sure.” — see ‘THIS KID, page 30

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‘This kid played hard and competed hard every single night’ — from page 29 Witala capped a five-year career with the Cougars by becoming the franchise’s alltime regular-season leader in goals (120) and points (239). Just days after Witala’s junior career ended, he was snapped up by the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. The Marlies, who signed him to a tryout contract, are affiliated with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. “He’s a hometown boy and he’s a kid who, when you look up what it’s like to be a Prince George Cougar, his picture will be there,” said Holick. Carvalho had his most productive season in four years with the Cougars, finishing with two goals and 29 assists, having played all 72 games for the first time in his career. The native of Burnaby stands just five-foot-eight and weighs only 170 pounds but used his astute hockey instincts, speed

Carvalho

Harrison

and quick reflexes to blossom into one the Cougars’ most effective defenceman. Carvalho became one of Holick’s go-to guys

on defence at the end of his first season and despite his small body played a large role in the team’s success.

“Joe is five-foot-nothing and (weighs) 100-nothing and he plays in one of the best junior leagues in the world,” said Holick. “This kid played hard and competed hard every single night.” Carvalho says he will likely end up playing university hockey in the CIS next season. Harrison joined the Cats Nov. 25 in a trade for a sixth-round pick from Brandon, after starting the season with Spokane and Kamloops. The well-traveled native of Kelowna also played 2 1/2 seasons in Victoria. Although he played just 49 games in four months with the Cats, he made the most of his time in Prince George. “When I got here I fit in right away,” said Harrison. “The players, the fans, the coaches, the trainers, they’re awesome and they made the final season of my career a great one.”

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