Industry And trades July 2018
Cover Photo by Liam Schulze This Marion steam shovel was brought to the area in the mid1930’s by Thomas A. Kelley.
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British Columbia Burning Written by Frank Peebles
More than a million hectares burned. More than 65,000 had to flee their homes. And one book has so far been written. The 2017 wildfire season was longer, hotter and more intense than any in the known history of the province. The destruction far surpassed the previous historic hotspot of 1958. Reporters from all across Canada and some from other countries were involved in covering the calamity. One of the most involved was Bethany Lindsay. As a young veteran of journalism,
Lindsay knew she was in the throes of a rare event that was not confined to momentary impacts. The fighting of the fires was only one part of the story. How did it come to this? What must be done for the future? These were open questions that emerged from the smoke and flames. They are the pillars on which Lindsay’s book British Columbia Burning was built. Lindsay is based in Vancouver where she now works for the CBC, but she is a young veteran of the written truelife story. She started her journalism career at the North Shore News, went
international with The Cambodia Daily based in Phnom Penh for a year, then worked five years for The Vancouver Sun. Her background, though, was in another inquisitive profession and she feels it played a part in the writing of this book. Lindsay’s original studies were in biology. She discovered a preference to research and science communication over working in a lab, and that’s what propelled her almost clinical interest in the 2017 spate of B.C. wildfires. “More land burned just in September than the usual 10-year average,” for a whole fire season, Lindsay said to Citizen Industry & Trades. Realizations like that came at the end of the crisis. What first caught Lindsay’s attention, and that of almost every reporter involved, was the unfolding humanity. People were being drastically affected in a rush of despair and heroism. But even that came from a centralized event of scientific importance. Lightning usually comes in a cluster, and it usually travels across a region. If a storm system fires hundreds of highvoltage bolts to the ground, some of them are bound to catch fire. But what if there are more bolts than usual, over a wider landscape than usual, and the conditions down there are drier than usual? If only a few percentage points increase in each of these categories, it can be the difference between a problem and a catastrophe. “And that’s exactly what happened
on July 7,” said Lindsay. “I was in the newsroom that day and there was communication from the Cariboo Regional District that said ‘the fires are popping up faster than they can be written down’ because of the massive lightning storm. There were about 200 fires started within 24 hours, and really those were the fires that firefighters were fighting for the rest of the summer.” Entire communities were leveled by the flames and entire towns were cleared of their residents. Livestock had to be abandoned and whole ecosystems were
More land burned just in September than the usual 10-year average scorched. There weren’t enough firefighters and equipment in the province to hit back against the rolling disasters, and the plurality of the fires was one of the most difficult pressures to overcome. There were just too many places with too many fires. Other countries had to be called in for help. The Canadian
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Armed Forces and the RCMP had to intervene. Cities like Kamloops and Prince George became intake sites for tens of thousands of people displaced at once. “There is a really strong human element to the book,” Lindsay said. “It was incredible to talk to the people who’d experienced it firsthand, people on the Ashcroft Reserve whose homes were destroyed on that very first day, listening to their struggles, the lingering trauma they’re still dealing with. And then talking with people who, you know, went out of their way to help other people.” One who epitomized that selfless spirit for her was Jinwoo Kim, owner of Budget Foods & Gas in Clinton. In the depths of the chaos, the rush of evacuation, and the choking, ever present danger, he “made harrowing trips along the Pavilion Road to Lillooet to keep the village supplied,” she said. “He stayed throughout the evacuation orders to check on people’s houses and keep the firefighters supplied,” and when something wasn’t simply given away in order to keep the town and
the firefighting effort afloat, he would only charge bare-cost for these services. He did whatever he could out of love for his community, gratitude for the emergency responders, and recognizing his capabilities as a citizen. He was one of many who stepped up in what ways they could. The book tells these stories, and it points a finger not in blame but forward. “I didn’t really see (coming to specific conclusions) as my role as a journalist,” Lindsay said. Someone who can better assess topics like prevention, preparation and public policy is Gary Filmon. The former Manitoba premier is intimately knowledgeable about B.C.’s wildfire issues. He authored Firestorm 2003: Provincial Review that was supposed to set the blueprint for forest fire policy when the province was last gutted by interface destruction as the fires mindlessly swept through the trees and into the neighbourhoods en masse once before. His document has better known as The Filmon Report, clean and simple, like the clear list of recommendations contained therein.
The lack of follow-through by the B.C. government and ultimately the B.C. population must have been somewhat on his mind as he read Lindsay’s book. “Those stories (in her book) of sadness and loss evoked memories of the hundreds of presentations I heard during my many public hearings in the B.C. interior following the dramatic fires of 2003,” Filmon said. “Lindsay leaves us with an ominous warning. British Columbia (like a list of similar jurisdictions) will face those risks and consequences to an everincreasing extent as a result of the effects of global climate change on our environment. As always, life is about choices, and this worrisome future will require us to make difficult and gutwrenching choices.” How will this province decide to manage its forests? How will it decide to manage land-use planning and urban development? What decisions will be made regarding construction materials, silviculture, managed burning, acceptance of damage, and investments in mitigation measures? What is known is global warming is real, and it is already playing a role in what B.C.’s forests look like. That includes the way fire burns on the changing ground. Precise predictions are not possible, said Lindsay, but based on the data and the input of firefighting experts, the speed of fires in the forest and the degrees of difficulty in wrestling those fires have demonstrably changed in this province. A fireguard used to be helpful, but now entire lakes are being jumped by advancing flames. The vegetation is changing, the water tables are changing, the fuel loads are changing, and on it goes.
That’s not isolated to 2017, that is a new kind of normal that is settling into place. Another consequence of global warming, she said, based on her research, is the way fires start in the first place. “(Climate change) affects fires in ways you might not normally think of,” she said. “It makes sense that hotter weather, drier weather, means more fires and more fire intensity, but also, warm temperatures mean more lightning. There is research in the U.S. that shows one degree of temperature increase means 12 per cent more lightning. Lightning causes more than 50 percent of fires in this province.” It may not evoke a rosy mood to look at the costs and efforts that may be needed to minimize forest fire damage. The cost of doing nothing is exponentially greater. The spray of vivid photographs and the treasure chest of information within the pages of British Columbia Burning is an entry point to those conversations. Lindsay only hopes she has no call to write a sequel any summer soon.
British Columbia Burning author, Bethany Lindsay is a CBC news writer from Vancouver who previously worked for the Vancouver Sun, the North Shore News and CTV.
Westcana gets apprentice award
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estcana Electric Wins Award for Energizing the Workforce Plugging apprentices into gainful employment and career development opportunities sparked an award for a Prince George industry/trades company. CNC awarded a Construction Leadership Award to Westcana Electric Inc. for their support of apprentices in the region. “Westcana has the highest number of registered construction trades apprentices in the CNC region,” said Frank Rossi, Dean of Trades and Technologies at CNC. “Employers play an essential role in the apprenticeship system in B.C., and we appreciate Westcana’s dedication to indenturing apprentices and providing the onthe-job training they need to become successful Red Seal tradesworkers.” Getting apprentices off to a productive start to their careers is a pivotal step in the provincial economy, since the natural resources sector and all its spinoff goods and services action is based largely on certified tradespeople. “Builders are the stewards of our built environment,” said Chris Atchison, president of the BC Construction Association (BCCA), one of CNC’s important partners in kicking off the careers of new tradespeople. “BC’s construction sector is larger than forestry,
mining and fishing industries combined, with projects currently underway valued at more than $75 billion...Our industry provides rewarding, challenging careers and it takes a great deal of commitment, skill and experience to succeed. As the construction season kicks into high gear, it feels right to celebrate the people who build our province.” According to BCCA and CNC information, construction is booming in our province “yet the industry predicts a shortage of more than 14,000 skilled tradespeople over the next eight years.” Only one in 70 B.C. high school graduates currently enter construction trades programs within one year of graduation. “B.C. needs that to be one in 10 in order to fill the gap created by 57,000 retirements throughout the next decade.” Rossi said CNC was proud to spotlight a company like Westcana as an emblem of what local companies can do to support the economy of this area and impact the entire province. “I hope everyone will take the opportunity to show appreciation for the people in construction whose hard work and dedication build the structures on which we all depend,” Rossi said. “The skilled workforce reaches into every community and plays a crucial role in our local economies.”
Mayor Lyn Hall (far right) joined officials from CNC and Westcana Electric to celebrate the company’s strong support for apprentices in the local region.
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Building People Up
DART Plants The Seeds of Change Written by Frank Peebles
Bob Scott was a man with a green thumb and a golden heart. He was a hard-working, blue-collar entrepreneur with a vision for grassroots industry being the starting point for people at the grittiest lows of society. Twenty years after he launched his plan, and 10 years after his death, that vision is still right on the mark like a dart to a bull’s eye. This award-winning social advocate was prodded into action by the tip of another sharp lance - one that filled his veins with the poisons of addiction. “I found him a couple of times in alleys, passed out, the needle still in his arm,” said retired RCMP Const. Gary Godwin. “I arrested him a few times. He was still an active addict.” Apart from working the downtown streets and alleys of Prince George, in those days, Godwin needed some pruning done at home, so he called a random gardener from the business listings. “Dack was Bob’s street name. And there was Dack,” Godwin said, remembering the landscape maintenance vehicle that pulled into his driveway in about 2000. “Tattoos. Skinny as a ghost. Scraggly beard. I thought, woah, what have I done? I hope he doesn’t recognize me.” But Scott got straight to the awkward point. “He said ‘do you remember me? You arrested me more than once. Remember? But I’ve turned over a new leaf.’” Scott talked about how he had embraced the steps of sobriety that were keeping him focused on his yard
maintenance and gardening business, an enterprise he’d known since childhood. The floral beauty of Quesnel is still vividly connected to Scott, thanks to his landscaping efforts in the 1960s. That was before he slid as deep as one can go into hard and heavy drug use. He wondered himself how he managed to survive, but once he surfaced and applied himself to his former passion, landscaping, he found a perfect entanglement with nurturing greenery and nurturing other addicts. Scott proudly told Godwin that day that he was giving fellow addicts struggling through initial sobriety a chance to work alongside him in the care of lawns and flower beds. There was more, Scott told the agog police officer. He believed his recipe of hard work and daily busyness could be formalized into a program that would beautify Prince George and give meaningful growth to people who had few other chances to build a productive life. Godwin remembered what came out of Scott’s mouth next, and it changed the course of his own life. “Bob said ‘I need some credibility. Could I ask you to sit on our board, for this new group I have going? So I said yeah, sure.” Scott called his association with Godwin the Smoky & The Bandit Show. Addict and Mountie would go out together to raise funds and awareness. Together they would champion the Drug & Alcohol Recovery Team (DART) and the work done by their alladdict team toiling in yards, gardens and odd jobs. The work kept those in recovery out of their previous
cycles and keep them gainfully employed, subtracting them from their previous lives of crime and pain, and building them towards a sustainable, lawful life. DART formed in 1997 and got underway in 1998. Scott passed away of emphysema on July 18, 2008. This year marks that double commemoration. The organization today is helping more addicts than ever before. DART grew into a not-for-profit company based out of a warehouse in a downtown light industrial area. Godwin is now the president of the board. The DART executive director is Glen Grant, who coordinates more than a dozen people in the summer and about 30 people in the winter. Seasonally, they switch between lawn trimming, garden weeding, gutter cleaning, power washing, trail maintenance and other odd jobs to snow removal, sidewalk clearing, firewood stacking, garbage removal, and much more. DART has ongoing contracts with major companies and local government and they take on day-to-day calls for household help. They have been valued partners in initiatives like Communities In Bloom, maintaining the Welcome To Prince George signs, and keeping the Heritage Trail system spit-spot. Along the way they have elevated people who just needed a chance - sometimes a number of chances - to get into the gainful workforce. DART was a key item on their resumes as they moved on to private sector industrial work, or education programs. “The person I think of most is Bill Higman,” said Grant. “If anything epitomizes what DART is all about, it’s Bill. He suffered from mental health issues and addictions, he was sleeping in alleys, he was a train wreck. He said
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this many times: DART saved his life. People had to work hard to stick with him, he was not easy, almost unworkable at times, but he came around because DART is about loving people and not giving up on people.” When Higman passed away in 2016, he had his own house, and was living a productive life. “We’ve had some abject failures too,” said Grant, not wanting to falsely glorify DART’s record. “You can’t control people’s decisions. We are dealing with powerful forces, we are dealing with brain injuries, we are dealing with traumatized people, people who have strong competing influences sometimes. People make new mistakes, sometimes. But that just makes it even more impressive when you see it work for so many others. You know it’s difficult to struggle with their addictions and all the circumstances of their lives, and yet for so many of our workers, they get back on their feet and they stay up on their feet, and they do great work.” DART has a fleet of six trucks and trailers, snowblowers, chainsaws, weed-whackers, lawn mowers, yard aerators, various hand tools and safety gear. If formal certification is needed, workers can get it. They get a fair wage for their efforts, appropriate supervision, and when the day is done, each DART employee can look back and see what they’ve accomplished. “This is hard work, physical work, but it’s a job and it helps get people on the right path,” said Godwin. “It’s not a forever job, although sometimes people are here quite a while. That’s ok. It’s a stopgap to get people transitioned into mainstream life. For some, there aren’t really many other options.” Denise Poitras is a recovering heroin addict, but she’s the heroine of her work crew. A trail maintenance team was buzzing and snipping their way down one of the
Hudson’s Bay Wetlands trails, trying to keep up with this year’s strange spring bounty, and it was Poitras who led them along. She’s been with DART for seven years, one of the experienced veterans. Along with her was Ivan Kusnezoff, with two years of DART under his harness. “You have to have patience,” said Poitras. “We are all at different levels of recovery and just readiness to face the day, and we all have to remember that.” “We lead by example,” Kusnezoff added. “It’s a community. We benefit from each other.” “Since I’ve been at DART we have had three deaths, so I’ve seen the loss of what addiction can do. You become family through stuff like that,” Poitras said. She openly calls DART the reason she has transcended her own addiction. “You get a label - addict - but we are people who want to get up in the morning and do something good for people, be productive, help, get out into life. I’ve had my slips and falls, but DART has always been there to support me,” Poitras explained. Co-worker Carmen Gladue concurred, saying “DART is a very good company to work for. Very understanding. Keeping you in steady work, when you’re an addict, is keeping people in recovery. You need that, when you’re an addict. You need to know someone is going to support you, and be understanding. Everyone here knows what we’re going through. We’ve all been there. That’s a big part of the recovery process.” Gladue came from Dawson Creek. Another on the trail maintenance crew that day, Brandon Hancock, came from Labrador. Regardless of past addresses and geographies, they all came from a place of pain and overpowering compulsion
you can’t find on any map, but they can find their way away from there if the circumstances are right. DART is not what gets an addict to decide to quit drugs, but DART does provide a number of supports for those who take those first steps towards recovery. “My plan is to get up every day and come to work,” said Kusnezoff simply. That one-step-at-a-time philosophy is what gets him through the clawing fingers of the past and advances him towards a happier future. He urged other addicts willing to make a positive change to join him. “Give DART a try, one day at a time,” he said. “It’s a good place to work. And having a job gives you that credibility and a direction. A good direction.” That direction was pointed out by Bob Scott, who had precise vision 20 years ago of what a lawn and garden company could do for society, one addict at a time. That vision was as sharp and true as a dart.
DART team members Ivan Kusnezoff, Denise Poitras, Brandon Hancock and Carmen Gladue. Citizen photo by Brent Braaten.
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Building Up Her Industry Multi-Tooled Karen Anderson Wins Provincial Leadership Award Written by Frank Peebles
Building a career meant that Karen Anderson could also build just about anything. She took those steps deliberately and concretely: carpentry, scaffolding, forklift operating, this week she juggled her conversations with Citizen Industry & Trades amongst welding classes at CNC. These were evident developments, logical outcomes from training and hard work. What she didn’t have at the top of her
resume were words like “mentor” and “living example” but that was another kind of building Anderson was also doing as she helped construct buildings and other capital projects. The B.C. Construction Association (BCCA) moved those concepts higher up her career structure. Anderson was feted along with five other tradespeople at a gala event in Victoria attended by Premier John Horgan; the Honourable Melanie Mark Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training; and the Honourable Claire Trevana, Minister of
Karen Anderson has won an award for her carpentry work in theatre. Citizen photo by Brent Braaten.
another job that made her smile, a fullTransportation; as well leaders from key time one-year contract to build sets and other blue-collar tasks for Theatre construction sector stakeholder groups including the four Regional Construction NorthWest, the premier professional drama company in northern B.C. Associations, the Industry Training “TNW was one of the most fun things Authority, and WorkSafe BC. All six of these cross-province VIPS were I’ve ever done,” she said. “I love theatre. I’ve been a Theatre NorthWest season honoured with a 2018 Construction ticket holder for the past six years and Leadership Award. a regular goer before that, and I always These spotlighted tradespeople and always admired the sets. I’ve said for contractors included: years to anyone who would listen that • Mary-Anne Bowcott, Westcom I’d love to build one of their sets, but it Plumbing and Heating, Sooke never occurred to me that it was actually • Amy Carr, Lewis Sheet Metal, Victoria a job.” • Max Ignatiuk, IGN Systems, Mission Eventually she said this to someone who • Becky Lupton, Seaspan Vancouver knew TNW’s backstage chief John Reilly Shipyards, Vancouver and also knew there was a job opening. • Jerry Pasitney, Horizon Electric, Having fun on the job has always been Kelowna Anderson’s main career goal. She likes And of course Anderson as well. the physicality, the sweat, the dust and “Nominated by her coworker dirt of all the trades at which she’s tried Stephen Chase, Karen Anderson is a her hand. The rewards have always been Journeyperson in carpentry from Prince tangible, like seeing a blueprint become George, where she is on the tools at Theatre NorthWest,” said Chris Atchison, a building, or getting caught up by the actors telling a story on a set she made BCCA president. from the same “Anderson has script they were been a mentor from. to many young It’s a great privilege working The BCCA trophy is tradeswomen. one more way she to honour the hardToday, she can feel pride in continues her work working women and her work. as a carpenter “The ceremony in men who are the while serving Victoria just blew the Construction backbone of B.C.’s me away,” she said. Maintenance & “They put us up construction sector,... Allied Workers at The Empress Canada and Hotel. The banquet teaching part-time was at the Royal at the College of BC Museum. We New Caledonia.” were drummed into the banquet hall by It was her CNC work that led to her some First Nations drummers from the provincial recognition, but the dominoes Victoria area, and we were right inside fell as a result of her own pursuit of a First Nations exhibit space so we were additional education. surrounded by artifacts and displays “I’ve been a carpenter since 1994, and from the earliest B.C. people. We had in 2009 I got asked to write a scaffold this amazing meal, and I got to meet training course for Chinook Scaffold these amazing fellow nominees, all of Systems, so sure, that made sense, I did whom are doing these amazing things that, and through that I discovered the within their trades. It was so interesting BC Provincial Instructors’ Diploma, so and inspiring.” I also went through that process and “It’s a great privilege to honour the hardwhat that meant was, I now have a working women and men who are the diploma allowing me to teach anything backbone of B.C.’s construction sector,” I am certified in (forklift operation, said Atchison. “We have a workforce scaffolding, carpentry),” Anderson said. of over 225,000 people building more CNC put that designation to use. In her than $75-billion in current projects. The off-time from workaday jobs, she would numbers are impressive, but it’s crucial take on teaching assignments for the that we stay focused on the individuals college. Her favourite was the campand businesses that rely on us to make based course in carpentry where she choices that ensure a productive and taught the workers how to build a bed. resilient sector.” This past year, she applied herself to – story continued from page 8
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Advertising Feature
ROCK-SOLID ON THE BUsINEss LANDsCAPE T
he foundation of Island Cache Stone Company is the Prince George community itself, and it’s solid as a rock. They are located where the two rivers flow together, where the power of nature is at full force. That’s where Island Cache Stone Company draws inspiration to shape the environment for local homes and businesses. This kind of inspiration can’t be found from an outsider chain store. Designs and materials are chosen with exceptional consideration when done by professionals rooted in this city for generations. “We are community-built,” said Lee Stevens, the general manager and cofounder of the all-local company along with business partner Cory Klein. “Cory and I are born and raised in Prince George. We are raising our families here, in a community that has an enormous heart and a lot of pride in our beautiful landscape. This isn’t a place people want to move away from anymore. This is a place families want to stay, a place that attracts people from all over the world, and we meet them when come here to Island Cache Stone Company looking to invest in their outdoor spaces. It puts us in a really privileged position. When people
are passionate about their community, they have a deeper vision for their home, which puts a wonderful pressure on us to bring their vision to life.” If past generations built their Prince George lives on proverbial sand, today’s homeowners are building on stone. They are building with everlasting materials, with next-level beautification, with professional consultants who live by generational values. Their spacious headquarters is home to all the building blocks of your personal environment: paving stones, gravel, retaining walls, staircases, water features, shrubs and trees, fences, soils (Sun-Ko bagged soil is their own original recipe), mulch, outdoor furniture and garden features to last the ages - plus the equipment and know-how to set it up perfectly. Rock and wood are ancient raw materials, but there is also a cutting edge to the landscaping industry. Island Cache Stone Company has honed in on innovations like synthetic lawns (year-round greenspace!), CORE Glow effects (illuminated rocks!), tumbled glass pebbles, materials formed in laboratories and materials forged in volcanoes. You can see it, touch it, ask questions, wander the display park so you get a sense of how it all flows together. Their yard is an outdoor showspace to spark the inspirations for your own yard. “We felt at the start that some amazing beautification has been going on all over Prince George. The city is coming together. There’s a new culture of pride and doing things right the first time,” said Cory Klein. “We wanted our community to have options they’d never had before. People deserve access to landscaping resources without having to drive south for hours. Your home is your biggest investment and your space is where your life happens. It should be exactly what you want it to be. A few years ago we kept noticing that some of the engineers in this city wanted us to do the same stuff over and over again, it was overly basic and totally impersonal. Lee and I couldn’t stand that. We wanted to be part of a change. People’s views of Prince George aren’t the same as when we were kids. People love this city. We believe in our neighbours and consider strangers to be our friends. That’s changed the way people
set up their homes and businesses and properties. We’re right in the middle of those dreams.” “This is definitely my passion and I get new energy for it every day,” said Lee Stevens. “We aren’t trying to sell ‘stuff.’ We are here because people believe in this big space we call Prince George. We want our small personal spaces around our home and the place we work to be so comfortable and personal that we’re inspired to pass it on to future generations. We have everything to make that come true for you, because we wanted that for our own families and for their families to come. If we can help you do that, you’ll think of Island Cache Stone Company when you do whatever comes next.” They are located at 180 River Road beside Cottonwood Island Park, just east of the Railway & Forestry Museum - two of their favourite outdoor recreation features of the city. Open seven days a week, they are home to an Uncle John’s Greenhouse and their large demonstration space runs on all-natural, unfiltered community power. Are you a business involved in industry and trades? Contact Cheryl Stewart at the Prince George Citizen (250-562-2441 or cstewart@pgcitizen.ca) to arrange an advertorial that tells your story.
Thirst For Gold
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Mount Milligan Mine Water Shortage Continues
Written by Frank Peebles
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n-site water has become scarce at the Mount Milligan Mine location. Located north of Fort St. James, west of Mackenzie and diagonally to the northwest of Prince George, the gold/ copper operation is one of the drivers of the local industrial economy. As with most mines of its kind, Mount Milligan is required to be a closed loop for water, meaning that moisture onsite stays on-site and all hydrology is carefully accounted for. Water that is used for industrial purposes is held on premises in storage ponds and in some ways can be recycled. A shortage in incoming water was identified as a problem in December when a precipitation shortage triggered the temporary closure of the mine. Ownership company Centerra Gold Inc. reportedly lost 10 per cent in share values when that occurred. Wells were dug on the campus of Mount Milligan in the hopes that would cover off the shortfall but as of July, the company said it had to ask for an amendment to its current Environmental Assessment permit to allow for an off-site water source. “The Company has filed a formal request with the BC Environmental Assessment Office for an amendment to its environmental assessment certificate to provide additional
The reclaim barge on Mount Milligan’s south pond if hardly afloat during the mine’s water shortage.
short term water sources through to 2020, and to initiate the development of a longer term water supply plan for subsequent years,” said John Pearson, Centerra’s vicepresident of investor relations. “With respect to short term water sources, the amendment request specifically seeks permission for Mount Milligan to access additional water from groundwater wells as well as from surface water sources at Philip Lake, Meadows Creek and Rainbow Creek, in each case, in a manner that is protective of the environment.”
Centerra’s statement acknowledged that getting the additional water would require the consultation of both regulatory agencies and also the First Nations germane to the mine. Those First Nations were already closely connected to the development and ongoing operation of the Mount Milligan operation. The consultation process was anticipated to be complete during the fourth quarter of 2018. “Although the company is committed to working with regulators and Indigenous groups in this regard, there can be no assurance that Mount Milligan’s short- and longterm water needs will be satisfied,” said Pearson. “In the short-term, there is a risk that throughput levels at Mount Milligan may need to be reduced in the fourth quarter of 2018 if, among other things, the company does not receive regulatory approval to access these further groundwater and surface water solutions on its expected timeline; the flows from presently permitted or new sources are not as great as expected; dry weather conditions experienced in the first half of 2018 persist in the second half of 2018; the company is unable to recover significant amounts of water that has drained into sands and gravels within Mount Milligan’s tailings management facility; or actual water levels in Mount Milligan’s tailings management facility vary significantly from those predicted in the Mount Milligan’s water model, which is the subject of ongoing evaluation and refinement.”
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Testing Their Mettle
Safety Is Top Of Mine In BC Competition Written by Frank Peebles
Northern B.C. was well represented at the 63rd Annual Provincial Mine Rescue & First Aid Competition. The 2018 event was held in Kimberley, a frequent host community for the industrial tournament held each year since the 1950s. It pits mining companies against one another for the best sports possible saving lives. “Each and every day, the professional mine safety and rescue personnel at British Columbia’s mines play a critical role in keeping workers safe and making mining one of the safest heavy industries in B.C.,” said Michelle Mungall, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. “Thank you to all of the women and men who participated in this year’s Mine Rescue and First Aid competition, and congratulations to this year’s winners.” The Mine Rescue & First Aid competition tests teams’ knowledge of the Western Canada Mine Rescue Manual in three main categories: three-person first aid, surface
mine rescue and underground mine rescue. There are written and practical components. There are, in some cases, regional competitions first, then the provincial event. Some winners move on to the biennial National Western Regional Mine Rescue Competition. According to the BC North Central South Mine Rescue Association, an organization dedicated to promoting the principles of safety, rescue and emergency response within the mining industry, the idea is to constantly hone the cutting edge of these practices, and learn from what incidents do unfortunately occur. “Through sharing and collaboration between B.C. mines, we believe that we can prevent similar incidents from occurring in other mines,” said a statement issued by the association. It was added that “friendly competition designed to challenge and train teams in new and current techniques” would pay off for mine workers everywhere. These competitions
SAFETY FIRST
were “imperative to long term success in the mining community.” The ministry supports these annual competitions for another reason as well. The competitors get to know each other and the mining companies get to see an annual demonstration of what’s available in tools and possible through training and techniques. That helps with Human Resources as these professionals move from community to community, and it also helps forge relationships when mutual aid might be required. “This annual event ensures that British Columbia’s mine rescue teams are trained to the same high standards, and highlights the
B.C. mining industry’s commitment to health-and-safety best practices,” said minister Mungall. “Through the ongoing co-operative efforts of mine employees, mine management, unions and regulators, mining continues to be one of the safest heavy industries in B.C.”
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This Year’s Winners
General Awards: • The John T. Ryan National Mine Safety Regional Award (BC and Yukon): New Gold Inc • New Afton Mine • Chief Inspectors Award (Team): Orica Sand and Gravel • Chief Inspectors Award (Individual): Kelly Miller Underground Mine Rescue Awards: • Best Bench Technician Trophy: Dave Heathfield – Sullivan Mine • USWA Mine Mill Trophy (Best Underground Coordinator): Travis Murphy, Bruce Jack Mine • Richard Booth Award (Best Written Score For Underground Team): New Afton Mine • Sullivan Cup (Best First Aid by Underground Team): New Afton Mine • Barry Abbott Memorial Trophy (Best Underground Practical Skills): New Afton Mine • Best Performance In Underground Smoke: New Afton Mine • Keith Bracewell Memorial Award (Best Obstacle and Recovery): Silvertip Mine • Levitt Safety Fire Trophy (Underground): Bruce Jack Mine • Overall Underground Winner: New Afton Mine Three-Person Miners’ First Aid Awards: • Three-Person First Aid (Best Three-Person Team): Line Creek Mine
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• Kathy Lofstrom Memorial Trophy (Best Three-Person Coach): Sandy Duncan - Line Creek Mine Open Pit Mine Rescue Awards: • Ron Brown Memorial (Best Extrication For Surface Team): Gibraltar Mine • Maurice Boisse Memorial Trophy (Best Practical Bench Skills): Highland Valley Copper Mine • Levitt Fire Trophy: Highland Valley Copper Mine • East Kootenay Mines Industrial Safety Association
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Trophy (Best Written): Line Creek Mine • North South Central First Aid Trophy (Best First Aid): Highland Valley Copper Mine • EKMISA Best Surface Rope Task – Highland Valley Copper Mine • HVC Highest Non-Aggregate Points: Highland Valley Copper Mine • Overall Surface Mine Rescue Winner (Highest Overall Aggregate): Highland Valley Copper Mine
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Lumber Judgments
Written by Frank Peebles
Local forestry professionals are making the grade on a provincial scale. Prince George and the Cariboo-Omineca region is home to several of the winners from the 50th Annual BC Lumber Grading Championship held this year in Kelowna. The event is hosted by the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI). “The only competition of its kind in the world, top lumber graders from around the province gather to demonstrate their skills in their craft,” said COFI spokesperson Mina Lauden. “To compete, graders identify the species of the wood, assess roughly 70 different characteristics and assign one of 21 grades to the piece of lumber. They also complete a threehour written exam which tests their knowledge of lumber grading.” The brightest spotlight from this year’s competition shone on Prince George’s Brian Marsh, who works for BID Group (COMACT Division). Marsh, said COFI organizers, “scored the highest practical mark in the entire event and won the Champion of Champions Division, the toughest competition which
is open only to past winners.” Just north of Prince George at Bear Lake is where Canfor’s Polar Division is headquartered and that is where Jason Nie works. He won the firsttime competitor’s category at the championships, with Michelle Johnson of Weyerhaeuser – Drayton Valley in second place. The general category for BC’s Top Lumber Grader ended up with a tie awarded to Naresh Parmar of Canfor – PG Sawmill and Kamaldip Sandhu of Tolko Industries – (Soda Creek Division) Williams Lake. In second place was Steven Brown of Tolko – Lavington Division. Julia Scott of Lakeland Mills - Prince George was third. “Julia now holds the position of the highest scoring female contestant in the Grading Championship history,” said Lauden on behalf of COFI organizers. The 2018 Corporate Team Winners were the Canfor – PG Runners from the PG Sawmill Division in Prince George. “Team members Naresh Parmar, Sajjan Minhas and Jason Nie earned the top combined score,” said Lauden. “This annual lumber grading competition is an opportunity for lumber graders to
showcase their skills and the quality of their work,” said Gary Desrosier, Quality Control Manager for COFI. “In the 50 years since the first championship, the forest industry has been adapting and evolving. This year we were very pleased to have the highest scoring female contestant in the Grading Championship history. We look forward to continuing to increase diversity in the championship and industry going forward.”
Next year’s competition will once again be held by COFI in Kelowna. COFI is accredited by the Canadian Lumber Standards Accreditation Board and the American Lumber Standards Committee, among other organizations, to provide lumber inspection, certification and grade marking.
Julia Scott of Lakeland Mills and Jason Nie of Canfor Polar Division were some of the local lumber grading professionals who scored among the best of B.C. at the 50th Annual BC Lumber Grading Championships hosted by COFI. Photos courtesy of COFI
Grand champion Brian Marsh expertly examines a slice of BC lumber.
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