Industry and trades April 2015

Thursday, April 30, 2015

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Industry TRADES

Rolling Mix Concrete PG Celebrates 16 50 years

PG 27

Canfor pulp makes electricity

Laying the tracks for The Little PG 12

Prince’s Future

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www.pgcitizen.ca | Thursday, April 30, 2015

the Prince George Citizen

April 2015

INDUSTRY AND TRADES

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Table of COntents pg 04 Co-Op getting deeper into Prince George..................................................................... pg 05 Invasive weeks counterattack.......................................................................................... pg 06 Canada North Resources Expo......................................................................................... Pg 08 Some museum artifacts know how to pull their own weight..................................... pg 10 Laying the tracks for the Little Prince’s future............................................................... pg 12 Northern Spirit Transportation......................................................................................... pg 14 Rolling Mix Concrete celebrates 50 years....................................................................... pg 16 WIDC wins awards............................................................................................................... pg 18 Dr. Larry Breckon................................................................................................................ pg 22 Minerals North Conference.............................................................................................. pg 24 Canfor Pulp makes electricity...........................................................................................pg 27 Tourism boosted by meetings......................................................................................... pg 29 Community Co-Op(eration)..............................................................................................

Cover Photo: Provincial ministers John Rustad (seated in excavator) and Shirley Bond (front row) gathered with students at O’Brien Training’s pipeline instruction campus to announce $30 million in funding to train aboriginal people in trades professions. The majority o students in O’Brien’s pipeline construction program are First Nations.

Citizen photo Frank Peebles

Photo Above: Minister of Aboriginal Relations & Reconciliation John Rustad takes the controls of an excavator at O’Brien Training while student Simone Spurr of the Nadleh Whu’ten First Nation shows him the campus of the pipeline program in which she is enrolled. Rustad and the provincial government was there to announce $30 million in new funding for aboriginal trades training.

Citizen photo by Frank Peebles

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the Prince George Citizen

April 2015

INDUSTRY AND TRADES

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photo SUBMITTED

The 91st Avenue Cardlock in Fort St. John.

Community Co-Op(eration) written by Frank Peebles

One retail venture in the region feels so strongly about co-operation in the community that the word is right in their name. In fact, it’s the only word in their name. Co-op.

The region-wide business is connected between hardware, building supplies, grocery, agriculture and fuel outlets (even a fleet of 18 vehicles for mobile petroleum and lube services). There is one or more of these locations in Terrace, Houston, Burns Lake, Fraser Lake, Fort St. James, McBride, Valemount, Quesnel, multiple Canfor sawmill sites in the area, Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Haida Gwaii, here in Prince George and the headquarters is still Vanderhoof where it’s been since 1944, and another corporate base in Fort St. John.

Vanderhoof’s group and Fort St. John’s group are separate entities on the day-to-day operations level but linked by the 210-member centralized partnership system operated under the Federated Co-operatives Ltd. centralized brand. This affiliation was founded in 1928 across Western Canada in order to make smaller “member” stores more competitive with the retail giants that were emerging then and are well established now. It gave the co-operating member stores a chance to increase their buying power for things like lumber, fertilizer, grain seeds, fuel and other staple products.

In exactly the same ways as publicly traded companies sell shares to investors, who then share in the profits, Co-op sells memberships to people who then share in the fortunes of the

group venture. That local community also benefits with employment, goods and services made available, and charitable contributions a part of their business plan.

“In the last five years, we allocated over $40.9 million to the membership. We have paid out in cash over $29.5 million,” said Allan Bieganski, general manager of the Vanderhoof operations, explaining that this generated for government – more public benefits – nearly $7 million in corporate income tax, plus they invested about $21 million in capital investments. In their 70-year history, he said, they have accrued a sales history of $2.1 billion.

No one can better explain the connection between Co-op’s sharing and a member’s benefits than Brad Lussier. He is the general manager of the Fort St. John operations, after getting his start working at the Vanderhoof division.

“We are involved in the communities by supporting different services and groups - more than $50,000 back to those causes here in our area last year, and we support the Kordyban Cancer Lodge, too, in Prince George,” said Lussier. “We made a commitment to give $25,000 to the lodge, because we believed very strongly that when people from the region need cancer treatment, we have that cancer treatment facility in Prince George but there also needs to be a place to stay while you’re there for those treatments.

And I unfortunately but fortunately got firsthand knowledge of that facility. It’s pretty phenomenal. I had to stay there for seven weeks for radiation and chemotherapy. I had throat cancer but things are OK now.”

the Prince George Citizen

April 2015

INDUSTRY AND TRADES

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Co-OP Getting Deeper into Prince George written by Frank Peebles

we are looking forward to expanding our Prince George presence in that industry,” he said.

If you spend any time in Vanderhoof, it doesn’t According to company statistics, said Bieganski, take long for the presence of Co-op to come clear. the Vanderhoof group sold a combined 172.1 The town’s main shopping centre is devoted to milllion litres of fuel products up from 167.6 milthe member-owned venture, plus several other lion from year before. subsidiaries nearby.

Brad Lussier, general manager of the Fort St. Co-op has two locations in Prince George, but John cluster of Co-op outlets said his division their presence here is more subtle. Instead of fresh achieved more than $101 million in sales last year, produce, deli, bakery, butcher shop, hardware, a record-breaking amount, and most of it was fuel. and many other retail services like Vanderhoof The majority of those products were purchased has, Prince George has only bulk fuel facilities. by the people working in the oil and gas industry.

There is one on the Hart Highway and one in the “We don’t like to brag and boast but we are so BCR Industrial Site, so they are not fixtures in the involved in the communities we operate in, and everyday household, but for industrial interests we are a conduit for so much of those communiespecially, they are the fuel-up ties’ local economies,” said location of choice.

Bieganski.

That is about to change.

“The No. 1 way we The petroleum market concontribute to our local One of thegovernment ways Co-op Industry, ditions in Prince George are economy is, we employ is set apart from other so favourable for Co-op, approximately 50 and First Nations need they are about to open people (in the Fort businesses is, community to work together to a commuter gas bar as St. John division) payback is not a well. and we have a great ensure that ourjust lands “We have many indiprogram for them,” corporate tactic,for it is built are protected future vidual members like you said Lussier. “Without and me who live in Prince a good employee base, right into their mandate. generations.

George, and everybody is eliwe can’t do the cusgible to be a member, so we tomer service things we are going to make that availdemand on behalf of our able to Prince George people like they’ve never clients and customers. This is our 70th year of had before,” said Vanderhoof-based general man- being a business here. You don’t hear that very ager Allan Bieganski. He estimated a ribbon would often, so I hope that means we’re doing things be cut in 2017 on the new commercial fuel gas right.” bar. He did not disclose the location, but said that One of the ways Co-op is set apart from other announcement would be coming soon. businesses is, community payback is not just a “We have been asked a few different times corporate tactic, it is built right into their manabout putting a grocery store into P.G., but with date. When a community provides revenues, the the established consumer grocery patterns there Co-op provides public benefits in return, be it and the market penetration they have, we would sponsoring a sports team or an arts endeavor or a not grow the market, we would just dilute it, that medical need. just causes wars with your competitors, and then “Because our management and board memmargins go in the toilet and you are no further bers are part of the community, and our customahead,” said Bieganski. “It’s exactly the same with ers and employees have a vested interest in how hardware. You’ve got Home Depot and Rona and we operate, there is a lot of discussion around our Canadian Tire, you’ve got Northern Hardware table about what each Co-op community is up and the other Home Hardware locations, so I to and what is important to everyone, so we can just don’t know if we could crack that market respond better than a lot of companies can if they without diluting the profit margins of that busi- are based outside of the area. We have flexibility ness, unless there was something causing a lot in that area,” Lussier said. of growth in Prince George to show a bigger conFor more information, look up your local Co-Op sumer demand. location in person or visit their website at www.

“But in the fuel industry, we can look at that, coopconnection.ca.

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the Prince George Citizen

April 2015

INDUSTRY AND TRADES

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Photos for this article from bcinvasives.ca

Counterattack Giant Knotweed

Spartina

Common Reed

the food chain.

Even the giant plants of the forest, trees, can Agriculture, tourism and forestry are just some be threatened if the invasive plants lay down of the sectors threatened by invasive plants. roots in the wrong way. That’s why a not-forWhen dandelions sprout up in a lawn, home- profit group called The Invasive Species Centre owners can get cranky, but when some of the has launched a website especially for the super-spreaders on the B.C. fear list get their impacts to timber. In an area that has seen even roots into local soils, it could potentially spell resident predators go viral (the mountain pine disaster. beetle), the Prince George region is particularly “Our government is providing $297,500 to sensitive to how the death of a forest can inflict the Northwest Invasive Plant Council to help pain on a town’s economy. control the spread of invasive plants,” said Prince Forest Invasives Canada (www.forestinvaGeorge-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond this past sives.ca) provides an easily-accessible portal week. “Invasive plants, species introduced into for information regarding the invasive species British Columbia from other areas, can cause that threaten Canada’s urban and working forconsiderable economic and environmental ests and green spaces, said a statement eardamage and can disrupt natural ecosystems, lier this spring by The Invasive Species Centre. reduce biodiversity, increase soil erosion, alter The website features profiles of target species, soil chemistry and adversely affect commercial recent research and management strategies, crops. This investment is essential for protecting and in-depth discussions on the overall ecologiand preserving our landbase.” cal, social, and economic The B.C. government impacts of invasive spegives the NWIPC a grant cies in our forests. It Industry,plants, government every year to combat these includes the “three Ps” Invasive species green invaders. Also, the of the issue: pests, and First Nations need introduced into British Cariboo-Chilcotin region plants and pathoColumbia from other to work together to is getting $214,000 this gens. year for similar work in “Invasive pests areas,that canour cause ensure lands our neighbouring areas are a serious threat considerable economic and to the south. to the health of our are protected for future But is this enough? forests and urban environmental damage. generations.

Every spring, new discovergreen spaces,” said Dr. ies bloom of infested areas Taylor Scarr, Provincial where the ecosystem is under Forest Entomologist with threat. These invasive plants the Ontario Ministry of drop their seeds off of rail cars, trucks, tourist Natural Resources and Forestry, who contribvehicles, unconscientious garden centres and uted to the website’s creation. “These species bird seed vendors, and sometimes the flowers have the capacity to devastate entire ecosystems and leaves are so attractive to the eye that well- if appropriate management strategies are not meaning residents foster them in gardens and implemented. Programs and policies to combat floral plots, not realizing the damage they are invasive species must be early, aggressive, and setting in motion. sustained.”

According to a joint scientific study done Specifically in B.C. and specifically regarding together by Purdue University and University of invasive plants, the battle will be waged this year Kentucky, “invasive species can alter landscapes with a $1.7 million war chest provided by the in myriad ways and with varying degrees of Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource severity. These changes can be quick, large-scale Operations (from which the aforementioned and extremely difficult to reverse,” said study local amounts are provided). The ministry itself author Songlin Fei, a Purdue associate professor will spend another $735,000 on its own eradicaof quantitative ecology. “Invaders can change tion and prevention programs. a landscape in long-lasting ways. If we do not “The Invasive Species Council of B.C., based keep an eye on them, they could cause serious in Williams Lake, assists with program co-ordiproblems that can have impacts for decades or nation and communications, collaboratively centuries.” develops best management practices, and helps Invasive plants can destroy a park – and increase public awareness and reporting of invamost parks are established due to them being a sive species provincewide,” said minister Steve unique environmental setting. They can destroy Thomson. The council will receive some of his crops needed for the human and domestic ani- ministry’s outbound money to help the regional mal food chains. They can destroy natural habi- agencies involved in the invasive plant defensive tat in ways that kill or displace native creatures, response. that can in turn trigger the killing or displacement of still more creatures on different rungs of

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Invasive Weeds

written by Frank Peebles

the Prince George Citizen

April 2015

Quick Facts

INDUSTRY AND TRADES

The Invasive Plant Program identifies sites where invasive plant species have been found in B.C. and responds quickly to contain and eradicate them before they become established.

Some of the most intrusive plants in B.C. currently are: Japanese, giant and bohemian knotweeds; marsh plume thistle; European common reed; and Spartina.

Other targeted invasive plant species include giant hogweed,

7 spotted knapweed, garlic mustard, blueweed, common tansy, tansy ragwort, hoary alyssum, field scabious, leafy spurge, yellow flag iris, Himalayan balsam, and orange and yellow (nonnative) hawkweeds.

Members of the public can report sightings of invasive species anywhere in B.C. by using the Report-A-Weed smartphone app, by calling 1 888 WEEDSBC or by using the online reporting tool at: www. reportaweedbc.ca

Marsh Plume Thistle

the Prince George Citizen

April 2015

INDUSTRY AND TRADES

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Canada North Resources Expo

Bring Iron back to Prince George photo SUBMITTED

article SUBMITTED

as a priority “improvements to the transportation network that will grow the economy, meet the Returning to Prince George for its second edi- needs of [the region’s] growing population, and tion, the Canada North Resources Expo (CNRE) support expanding resource sectors”. The report includes all the equipment needed to get the goes on to discuss the government’s $2.5 billion jobs done! investment over the next three years in transporThis major industry event focuses on equip- tation infrastructure. ment and services for the forestry, heavy conThat’s what CNRE is all about. “There are huge struction and project infrastructure industries projects happening across the region right now,” for Northern Canada’s resource projects. Taking added Cusack. “They all need infrastructure, place May 29th and 30th, CNRE will take over the which is a crucial component of our event – from CN Centre with tons of big iron getting trees out to getinside and over four acres of ting people in. Big projThere are huge projects outdoor exhibits. ects need roads in and Industry, government Resource industries – out so other tradeshappening across the including forestry, heavy people can do their and First need region rightNations now. They all construction, mining, jobs.” to infrastructure, work togetherwhich to need LNG, and transportation Additional work– are the main economic ers are also needed isensure a crucialthat component of our lands driver of the northern for these masour protected event – from are forgetting future region of British Columbia. sive projects and trees out to getting As the “Northern Capital”, that’s where CNRE’s generations.

Prince George is a key conRecruiting Here feapeople in. stituency and a fitting host ture comes into play. for this biennial trade event.

Exhibitors who are look“We’re thrilled to be back in ing to grow their ranks will have Prince George,” said Mark Cusack, National Show signage onsite at the tradeshow, and visitors Manager, “especially during such a great year for who are job hunting are asked to come with the city with the recent Canada Winter Games resume in hand. A list of exhibitors who are presand the celebrations around its 100th anniversa- ently recruiting is available on the show website ry. The area is home to a variety of resource sec- at CNRE.ca. tors so holding CNRE there is a natural match.”

The 2015 edition of CNRE will also once The BC government recently released its BC on again include a Demo Zone. “The live equipthe Move 10-Year Transportation Plan, which lists ment demos were a real crowd pleaser in 2013,”

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the Prince George Citizen

April 2015

INDUSTRY AND TRADES said Cusack. “It’s a great platform for suppliers, manufacturers and distributors to showcase how their equipment works.” Visitors will be able to dig, drill, lift, carry, chip, break, bore, push and cut with the equipment, just like being on an actual worksite. By getting up close and personal, buyers can familiarize themselves with features and capabilities of different brands of machinery to make an informed decision.

Wellness is another area of focus for the event, and there will be a dedicated Health, Wellness & Safety Zone, sponsored by the BC Forest Safety Council. Offerings will include health screenings and information on a variety of important health and safety-related topics.

As part of CNRE, the Northern BC Safety Conference will take place. With a theme of “Driving Safety Home”, the conference offers practical information and tools to help manage safety challenges at work. Presentations will provide the latest information on high-risk activities such as distraction in the workplace and effective supervision of new and young workers. The conference takes place from 9am to 3:45pm on Saturday, May 30, onsite at the CN Centre. It is free of charge and suitable for all workers, supervisors and owners working in the forest industry in Northern BC. For complete details and to register, visit bcforestsafe. org/NBCSC. Additionally, don’t miss Bobby & Lori Goodson from the Discovery Channel’s “Swamp Loggers”, presented and sponsored

by Inland Group, Tigercat and Goodson’s All Terrain Logging. Look for them in the Inland Group’s booth. Goodson’s All Terrain Logging, Inc. (ATL) is a family-owned and operated business located in Jacksonville, NC. Bobby Goodson is a fourth-generation logger and has been a timber supplier for more than 20 years. The highly-skilled, hard working men who make up the ATL crew are happy to tackle the daily challenges that come with the dirty job of “swamp logging”.

CNRE is supported by the Resources Expo Society, the organization that formerly ran the show on a volunteer basis (the show was acquired in 2012 by Master Promotions Ltd., Canada’s largest independent trade and consumer event management company).

Representatives from the Society’s board sit on the show’s steering committee, and are joined by local organizations including the BC Forest Safety Council, Scotiabank, Leavitt Machinery, Initiatives Prince George, Inland Group, Wajax Industries, and the Logging & Sawmill Journal.

For complete details on this exciting event, visit CNRE.ca and find the show on Facebook and Twitter.

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SHOW HOURS Friday, May 29, 2015 9:00am - 5:00pm Saturday, May 30, 2015 9:00am - 5:00pm

LOCATION CN Centre Prince George, British Columbia Register for free today at CNRE.ca using Promo Code PG2010

Citizen photo by Dave MAH

photo SUBMITTED

Jonas Sirfalk and Bart Crossan chatted about the Komatsu processor as Jonas sat at the controls during the Canada North Resources Expo in 2013.

the Prince George Citizen

April 2015

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INDUSTRY AND TRADES

Some museum artifacts know how to

Pull their own Weight written by Frank Peebles The 6,000-pound steam engine at Fort George Park has been hauling the history of Prince George on its back since the moment it arrived here in 1912 with its four identical friends. They came by paddle-wheeler and rolled up and down the temporary tracks transporting supplies, equipment and people between Tête Jaune Cache (Mount Robson area) and Prince Rupert until that rail link was permanent. When that happened, the days of the river ships were ironically done.

The Foley, Welch & Stewart locomotive is known as The Little Prince today, but it was an ascent to royalty fit for a Broadway musical. He was abandoned at the age of three alongside his four brothers and sisters in the swampy waters of the Island Cache near the confluence of the Fraser and Nechako Rivers. They might have rusted into the silt of time were it not for some foresightful volunteers who spotted the historic significance of the

wood-burning Dinky machine.

Between 1920 and ’26 these volunteers mechanicked away at the five little engines, stripping parts from those too far-gone and installing them on the one in best condition, until it was whole again. Only one was worth saving in that way, and it was set up on a display platform in front of the rail station that existed then at the intersection of 1st Avenue and about Dominion Street, right beside the telegraph signal building slightly to the east.

There it sat until 1971 when still more foresightful volunteers arranged the ownership of the stationary engine to be the local public. Mayor Harold Moffat presided over the acquisition “for the use and enjoyment of the citizens, especially the children of the area.”

Its days of making history were not finished after all. A small army of caring hands built a railroad track around the southeast end of Fort George Park until Canada Day, 1978 when it officially rolled out

of Fort George Station as a passenger train – a role it has chugged through to this day.

“We are the shortest railroad in Canada at 2.2 kilometres,” said Tracy Calogheros, executive director at Exploration Place, the caretakers of The Little Prince. It’s a wonderful trivia note in national culture but it also comes with a lot of responsibility.

The locomotive and the tracks have to be officially certified several times a year for public safety; the people operating the engine and looking after the public must be properly licensed.

It hasn’t always been possible. All the certifications required of the machine and its operators were too much, a few years ago. Repairs were required that were beyond the means of Exploration Place’s budget. Tom Centes, a senior manager with the Wood Wheaton Auto Group, rallied support and the work got done. It was operational for its 100th birthday in 2012.

In 2014, the little engine gave more than 12,800 rides around those tracks. It ran for 124 hours on

31 dates. Each day it takes 4.5 hours to power up (160 pounds of steam pressure is required) and an eight-hour day burns a cord of wood. (Most locomotives burn coal, but the railroad construction crews knew coal was scarce and wood abundant in this region, so the Dinky engines were converted to biofuel.)

The 2015 year will be one of change yet again for the Little Prince. Exploration Place will, if the plans can roll out as hoped, need 69 cords of wood this summer. The idea is to charge slightly more for a ticket to ride, but the rides will be longer and the workdays will be more frequent and each one longer.

“We have this rare machine and this unique opportunity,” said Calogheros. “Our Little Prince wears the city’s original green jacket (in reference to the beloved volunteer uniform of the recently held Canada Winter Games). We want that special place in local culture to be put to its best use.”

Not bad for a spry 103 years old.

the Prince George Citizen

April 2015

INDUSTRY AND TRADES

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Laying the Tracks for the Little Prince’s

written by Frank Peebles

Future

Operating The Little Prince costs Exploration Place more money than it makes. Its revenues in 2014 were $56,331 but its expenditures were $77,613 according to museum calculations. Not calculated on the red side of the ledger, the $16,854 in staff time devoted to the train’s functions.

There are other costs on the brink of being incurred, but community generosity has held back those expenses. For example, the railway is required by law to be inspected every month by a certified track safety specialist at a cost of $25,000 per year.

Pioneer Track & Rail’s Dennis Huot has done this work for free. Repair ballast and delivery has been donated.

For another example, a single throttle seal bolt wore out, but even such mundane equipment is no longer available for a machine as antiquated as this train. KJM Sales fabricated one from scratch, at no cost. It spared them $1,000 bill.

Five people must be certified to operate The Little Prince. Each one must complete a theory course, then put in 160 hours of train time. There is only one place to certifiably practice on a 24-inch track for the Antique Show Boiler Ticket qualification administrated by the BC Safety Authority.

Even to be a conductor sitting in the passenger seats requires a course every three years. Canadian Railroad Operation Regulations officials had to invent that course specifically for the Fort George Park Railway. continued on page 13

Citizen photo by Brent BRAATEN

the Prince George Citizen

April 2015

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continued from page 12 Exploration Place officials are aware that increasing The Little Prince’s workload will also increase its wear-and-tear and chances of disrepair, but the new schedule is required to offset the annual operating deficit. The new schedule for this summer is Thursday-Monday operations, from noon to 8 p.m.

This will give the operation 69 days of activity (123 per cent increase), 552 hours of operation (345 per cent increase), and bring in an estimated 35,000 passengers. That, and the new rate schedule, is expected to boost passenger revenues by almost double to $40,000.

Not counting the cost of museum staff time, this will allow the Fort George Railway to break even.

Major investments in repairs and restorations are on the horizon. A boiler inspection must be done in the next year or so, the passenger car seating areas need refurbished, the passenger car wheels and trucks need refurbished, Fort George Station needs a water system, a wood shed is required, the right-hand steam cylinder needs replacing, windows and doors of the station need work, and track modifications due to tree root growth is needed.

In what might be the most ironic photo in northern B.C. history, the Fraser River steamship Operator was filmed unloading the Dinky train locomotives (one of which is The Little Prince) that would play a key role in building local rail links. Those links ended the paddlewheeler era almost overnight.

Photo courtesy Exploration Place

the Prince George Citizen

April 2015

INDUSTRY AND TRADES

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Northern Spirit

Transportation

written by Frank Peebles

Paul Clermont, owner of Northern Spirit Transportation, standing among his fleet of buses.

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Citizen photo by Brent BRAATEN

include the cast and crew of Cirque du Soleil when their Dralion tour came to Prince George The 2010 Winter Olympics gave one local com- and needed a special combination of group pany a podium they were not going to relinquish. movement and world-class human relations conThere are no medals for mass transit, buses sidering the multitude of languages and cultural are not the star of any show, but we do know the backgrounds in this A-list set of athlentertainers. story of the little engine that could and Northern He and his drivers have also shuttled many of Spirit Transportation fits that fable. NST started the city’s visiting music and comedy stars from out as a small Prince George local business - a hotels to their venues and wherever else their man, a bus and a dream - and it turned into a busy whims decide. and growing hub of industry. Paul Clermont was That is the fun side of the business, but it comes the man, he now has several vehicles in his fleet, with its pressures to perform. Clermont will tell and his industry is now at the service of many you, though, that there is no stronger pressure other industries. NST hauls workers in the mining than his primary job: driving miners and foresters sector, the forestry sector, and even star perform- between their jobsites and their homes, and haulers and elite athletes. ing young athletes to out-of-town tournaments.

It may never have happened, though, were it As a family man - his wife Sandra is an active partnot for the Vancouver Olympic Games. That event ner in the company, and they are parents as well was so huge it required every transportation com- as entrepreneurs - he knows the pangs of worry pany in the province, and Clermont saw a chance felt by loved ones when a family member has to to be involved. He threw everything he had at the be out on the road. NST has more than 25 vehicles Games, plus more. in the fleet, now, each of them “We had five buses a highway ship that sails off and 18 crew going 24-7 loaded with precious human on the Whistler route, cargo.

Industry, government as the media shuttle.

Safety is taken no more and First Nations need We went every two seriously than putting hours around the someone at the helm of to work together to clock, plus one those ships. Clermont bus assigned to puts heavy company ensure that our lands the moguls crew for emphasis on hiring the are protected for future Cypress Mountain,” best possible drivers. said Clermont. What “We don’t really have a generations. he won’t say without high turnover,” he said. “We prompting is how other went through a major expantransportation providsion three years ago and added ers during those Games were not as reliable and 10 or 11 full-time jobs. Our challenge then was to when gaps in service emerged, the organizers attract those drivers and our challenge right after were impressed by Clermont’s work and asked that was to retain them. It’s a competitive market. him to up his game. He did. So the organizers There are more driving jobs available than there tapped him on the shoulder immediately after are quality drivers. So we treat our people well, the Olympics to stay on for the Paralympics that with a competitive wage and benefits package, followed. and we treat them like family because in many “We kind of hit it out of the park,” is all he will ways, they are.” shyly say. “The Olympics really were the catalyst Clermont is also careful not to let his business for us going forward.” momentum race ahead of reality. He and his famiAnd speaking of hitting it out of the park, NST ly live a modest lifestyle in order to keep company also became the official transportation company overhead down and channel profits into things for successive World Baseball Challenge events, like their staff and the maintenance of their vehiwhich involved not only reliable and courteous cles. And Clermont said he still remembers the shuttle service, but a keen sense of diplomacy as stings of startup to ever feel complacent about his well with culturally sensitive teams like Cuba, USA, business situation.

China, Japan, Chinese Taipei-Taiwan, and others. continued on page 15 Clermont’s service to celebrities grew to

NST started out as a small Prince George local business - a man, a bus and a dream - and it turned into a busy and growing hub of industry.

the Prince George Citizen

April 2015

INDUSTRY AND TRADES

15 continued from page 14 “I remember the banks wouldn’t give me a loan to buy my first bus, but they would give me a credit card.

I started my company on that. It was really risky, I don’t recommend that, but it

worked for me,” he said.

He and Sandra had another goal, at the start of the company. As life-long residents of the area, conscious of the First Nations foundations of their community, they wished to have a reflective number of aboriginal employees.

It almost seems laughable now, said Clermont, with their goals amply surpassed.

“We have a base of about 30 per cent First Nations employees, and many of them are the backbone of the company, really,” he said. “Yes it was something we had in our heads at the start, but through the hiring process it just came so easily it wasn’t something we had to think about anymore. We are proud of that. We want to call ourselves a northern company, and to really do that you have to be able to reflect the north in your company’s profile.”

Sandra agreed that it was an intellectual goal but no American-style affirmative action was ever used. Once the most successful candidates were identi-

fied, the aboriginal content was thick all on its own.

“We are so happy to raise our family in the north, to base our business in the north and be contributors to the northern economy,” said Sandra, whose father was a professional driver for Greyhound so she was used to the family home being arranged around that all-hours / all-seasons business. “In our profession, the positivity about the north is meat on the bones, not just talk. The city of Prince George isn’t big enough for a company like ours to base itself on tours or groups going out of town for tournaments. That work is there, but what makes our company sustainable is the industrial contracts we have. We wouldn’t be here if they weren’t here, so that’s the proof that the northern economy is actually operating.”

With rapid but carefully measured expansions now behind them, they are waiting and readying for what might come next down the road of industry and trades in the north.

the Prince George Citizen

April 2015

INDUSTRY AND TRADES

16 written by Frank Peebles

Rolling Mix Concrete has solidified its reputation as a Prince George business leader. The construction company has passed a rare milestone for any firm: 50 years.

Adding to the heft of this accomplishment is their governance. They are still family owned and operated.

“As an independent company, you don’t often get to this level, a half-century in business,” said president and CEO John Paolucci. His father Joe Paolucci started the company in 1965, leaving the concrete business in Calgary by astutely spotting the market opportunity in Prince George’s booming economy.

Later, John and Danny Gialleonardo were also brought on board as shareholders. The PaolucciGialleonardo configuration remains to this day, despite the passing of Joe and Danny with time. Paolucci’s mother and sister, Paolina and Joanne respectively, help run the company right alongside him.

When you’re in the concrete business, your roots go deeper than people. You become part of the very foundation of your community. Rolling Mix is proud of the service they have provide to construct northern infrastructure like UNBC, the Prince George Courthouse, Kordyban Cancer Lodge, Exploration Place, Northland Raceway, and the Wood Innovation & Design Centre.

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As the community has grown, we’ve grown with it, and we’ve been lucky enough to be part of some huge projects over the years that mean a lot to us.

“As the community has grown, we’ve grown with it, and we’ve been lucky enough to be part of some huge projects over the years that mean a lot to us,” Paolucci said.

The company’s growth has not been explosive. Paolucci is a vastly bigger operation now than when it began because careful and measured steps were taken. Like cement itself, business growth must be carefully poured and allowed to cure, but once it hardens, you can build a sustainable future on it.

“When I started with the company, it was 1986, and we had a few cement mixers and one pump truck,” Paolucci said. His father had knowledge of the concrete business, but was just starting out as an entrepreneur with a few resources and a few customers, just building from one job to the next. Although he was barely out of high school, Paolucci saw ways of ramping up what his father had started.

So became a program of equipment investment and the staff development that has to go alongside each new piece of equipment.

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Today, Rolling Mix has 12 mixers, four pump trucks, four gravel trucks and the most important component is about 40 staff. It gives Rolling Mix a work radius of about 160 kilometres.

“We have very high employee morale,” Paolucci said. “We like to give our employees the chance to work with good, well-maintained equipment, we like to give them interesting projects to be part of and the most recent was the Wood Innovation & Design Centre, and we provide them a competitive employee package and include little extra perks when we can, especially when we get calls from customers telling us compliments about our people.

That gets recognized. Those customer compliments really make me happy, and the people here know it, so they strive for it.”

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For a company that provides people and other businesses an important service, you have to earn that good word of mouth.

It’s the best form of advertising.

Another key to their success is diversification. Rolling Mix also sells landscaping products and aggregate from their base of operations on Foothills Boulevard at the Otway Road junction.

They recently went into the advertising business as well, by including ads on their cement mixer barrels. It just made sense to do. Paolucci had become aware from the public, especially when Rolling Mix gave their buildings and trucks a 50th anniversary makeover, that the rolling stock got a lot of notice out on the roads and streets, so now they are doing double duty.

“We are a small town, in that way.

Word gets around quickly,” said Paolucci. “That can be a good thing or a bad thing, so for a company that provides people and other businesses an important service, you have to earn that good word of mouth. It’s the best form of advertising. So we make sure we are noticed, and we make sure it’s good stuff our people are doing and our company is doing. We support the community a lot of ways, because this is our home, and we want people to talk about us. We want to be known as good neighbours. I have a feeling of pride and satisfaction about our community, and I’m really proud of our company. Prince George goes above and beyond for its peo-

ple, so that’s the spirit we put into our business.

We do that a couple of ways: we donate to charities and support community causes that will help our neighbours, and we do the best work we can.”

Paolucci said the 50th anniversary wasn’t just a milestone, it is a celebration. They gave the buildings and vehicles an eye-catching green/ yellow paint job, they just had a tailgate party

at their sprawling headquarters. The Rolling Mix golf tournament is coming up in September, and a gala in November. But the sweetest celebration will be 2016 when they go into year 51, just rolling along, business as usual, aiming into their next half-century.

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widc wins awards STORY ON PAGE 20

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20 WIDC WINS AWARDS STORY FROM PAGE 18 written by Frank Peebles There was nothing wooden about the reaction to the Wood Innovation And Design Centre, when the engineers and architects of the province got to share their reactions to the new building.

The Prince George structure was opened on the final day of October, and the awards and official accolades are already rolling in.

The first was the annual Wood Design Awards handed out by the B.C. chapter of Wood WORKS!, a division of the Canadian Wood Council, one of the nation’s leading agencies promoting the use of wood in commercial, industrial and institutional construction. When the trophies were handed out, WIDC was easily the tallest tree in the awards forest.

There were nine awards given in the standard wood design categories, and WIDC did not receive any of those nor did any other northern B.C. construction projects, but when it came to the specialty awards, the big sticks went to bat for WIDC. The engineer trophy went to Eric Karsh of Equilibrium Consulting Inc. in Vancouver. He was cited for groundbreaking use of of cross-

laminated timber (CLT) in the building of Ronald McDonald House BC. “Known and respected internationally, he shows his love of using wood through innovative structural designs,” said Lynn Embury-Williams, executive director of Wood WORKS! BC. “He has developed the use of curved, organic shapes, cut from sheets of three-ply cross-laminated timber to form elegant roof and column elements at the UBCO Fitness and Wellness Centre in Kelowna.

Mr. Karsh also co-authored The Case For Tall Wood Buildings report which introduced an innovative mass timber panel construction concept. Mr. Karsh was also the structural engineer of record for the remarkable Wood Innovation And Design Centre in Prince George.”

That award was followed by the architect trophy which went to Michael Green Architecture.

“This firm is always working on the next extraordinary wood structure, and has an impressive line-up of projects ranging from airports in Prince George and Ottawa, to a landmark social welfare facility fashioned from CLT,” said Embury-Williams. “The recently completed Wood Innovation And Design Centre, the tallest contemporary wood structure in North America, demonstrates economical and repeatable tech-

nologies for building high-rise structures with timber. Mr. Green was also the co-author for The Case For Tall Wood Buildings which was the subject of his high profile TED Talk.”

Green wasn’t finished being honoured for the WIDC project, however.

“The Wood Innovation Award recognizes creative and innovative approaches in the use of wood in building and product design,” said Embury-Williams. This year the winner was Michael Green for the WIDC work he did. “The structure represents a milestone in the future of tall wood buildings. The project introduces new methods of working with mass timber panels, specifically cross- laminated timber, and is a true showcase for B.C. wood products.”

The jury was a panel of experts in forestry, architecture and design. Collectively they described the WIDC project as “an exquisite interplay of structure and finish to provide a translucent, warm and inviting structure. The attention to detail is evident throughout, and provides pleasing aesthetic patterns which are both convincing and alluring.”

There were 12 categories for the 2015 Wood Design Awards, and together they combined to attract 107 nominations. It was the 11th time the awards have been bestowed for the best of wood construction in the province.

“Each and every one of these projects is spectacular in its own right, and demonstrates how wood can be used in innovative ways as an architectural and structural building material,” said Embury-Williams. “Wood products and systems have become the material of choice in mid-rise residential as well as for the institutional, commercial and industrial sectors. This is a paradigm shift, and it’s encouraging, as our communities and cities want more sustainable and healthier built environments. Here in B.C., designers and builders are leading the way by using wood because it is cost-effective; is renewable; has a

smaller carbon footprint; and because it creates beautiful and comfortable spaces where people love to live and work.”

In addition to those trophies, the most recent citation was the Award Of Merit from the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies of British Columbia.

“The iconic Wood Innovation and Design Centre in Prince George showcases British Columbia’s expertise and global leadership in wood design and construction,” said the organization’s Jimmy Kokaji. “Partnerships BC and the Owner’s Technical Team developed a Site Specific Regulation that allowed the tallest, multi-use wood building in North America to proceed. The building height goes beyond that currently allowed in the British Columbia Building Code for this building type. Working with the province, UNBC and researchers, the team developed the parameters for the building design and construction that will set the path for future wood buildings. Associated Engineering, as the structural engineer, demonstrated that all wood solutions could meet requirements for structural, fire, acoustic and vibration performance. Working together, the team produced the Request For Proposal documents and oversaw the delivery of this building. The work done reinforces British Columbia’s reputation as a pioneer in wood design and promotes future development and adoption of BC-engineering and produced innovative wood products and building techniques.”

Although not awards per se, WIDC was central to some other notable announcements in that same time frame. Architect Michael Green was bestowed with an honorary degree from UNBC. The building was the broadcast centre for national media during the 2015 Canada Winter Games. And UNBC and Emily Carr University both announced they were moving in and would be educational partners there.

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One of the driving forces behind the construction of the Medical Imaging Tech Program at CNC was the late Dr. Larry Breckon. A fund has now been established in his name to help students pay for this course critical to northern healthcare.

Breckon

written by Frank Peebles

are structuring it so successful applicants can receive a scholarship for their first year of studThe name most deeply associated with start- ies and, if they maintain a certain level of acaing the city’s medical imaging technician pro- demic standing, funding would also be made gram is the name now attached to gathering available to them in their second year.” funds for those students, even though the man The CNC program was launched as a himself is now gone. response to the Prince Dr. Larry Breckon was a George-based Northern one-man medical force in Medical Program, which Industry, government the Prince George comwas established to munity, according to graduate more docand First Nations need his friends and peers. tors in the north, for When he passed away the north. Medical to work together to on Dec. 8, it was a void imagining technolensure that our lands his many loved ones ogists were also a felt deeply. They quickhigh-demand profesare protected for future ly moved to establish a sion needed to work generations. memorial scholarship fund alongside those docin his honour. tors. Breckon was one “All the money we raise of the early champions goes to a fund to help those of this educational option who take the two-year medical imaging tech being established in this region. program at CNC. The tuition fee for that proBreckon had a particular love for northgram is just shy of $20,000. That blew me ern B.C. He graduated from medical school away,” said Dr. Laurie Cook, one of Breckon’s in eastern Canada where he was raised. His longtime colleagues and a close friend. “We first posting as a doctor was to communities

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Dr. Larry

He did so much for us all. The community at large has no idea what all he did to improve the lives of people in Prince George

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INDUSTRY AND TRADES in Newfoundland. Cook and fellow Dalhousie University classmate Dr. George Haley went the other way, settling in Prince George in 1973 and 1974 respectively. Both of them lobbied Breckon to join them in a land of opportunity they fell into immediate fondness for. He agreed, moving here in 1975. All three were general practitioners.

Breckon and wife Anne raised three children in Prince George, until he left both the city and his G.P. designation in 1986. He decided to switch into the radiology profession, studying back in Newfoundland. Upon completion of his studies, he came right back to Prince George.

“To a large extent, he came back because of the personality of the medical community here,” said Haley. “If I was coming out of medical school today and knew what I know now about the places I could have a practice, I wouldn’t give any place a second thought except Prince George. And Larry knew that, too.”

Breckon fit well with the proactive and above-and-beyond spirit most people in the local medical professions seemed to live by.

Cook said Breckon’s approach to medicine was infectious as well.

“When he came back and went into medical imaging roles, he did things differently, maybe because of his time spent as a G.P. but mostly just because that’s how he was: most people, if you have to go for X-rays, you never even see the radiologist, or only have momentary contact, but Larry was the opposite of that. He made such a point of getting to know people, coming out to interact, and he just never forgot a name.”

Haley laughed about how he took over some of Breckon’s patients when he first left in 0986 “and some of those people, 20 or 30 years later, they’d still remind me that they were Dr. Breckon’s people and I was just the fill-in.”

“He did so much for us all. The community at large has no idea what all he did to improve the

lives of people in Prince George,” said Albert Taylor, the now-retired manager of the hospital imaging department. He was alongside Breckon during the development of the CNC program.

“He was an extraordinary man. He would have been the first one to contribute to a fund to help offset the tuition costs of those students,” Taylor said. “Those students make quite a commitment. They have to pay upwards of $18,000 for the two-year course, and when they are dispersed around the north for their practicum positions, they have to pay their own travel costs and pay their own accommodations in those communities.”

But the program is working brilliantly, Taylor added. The first cohort of 13 graduates entered the workforce in 2013 and 10 of them got jobs in the northern region.

“Prior to 2011, the only place in the province that taught these skills was BCIT,” Taylor said.

“There was a chronic shortage of them in northern B.C. because students down there weren’t exposed to northern life. Larry knew that if you could train them in the north, too, the chances were much better that those students would stay here, and he was absolutely correct, and we are all benefitting from that today.”

To make a donation, visit the CNC website (www.cnc.bc.ca), scroll down the left-hand column and click on the heading Donate To CNC, then click the Ways To Give link. The first option is a link to CanadaHelps.org, and the first scholarship offered by that online form is the Dr. Larry Breckon Memorial Endowment Fund (shortcut: www.canadahelps.org/dn/5725).

Supporters of the fund like Cook, Haley and Taylor hope the public helps build up the fund to make it easier for these important medical professionals to graduate from our home program, and that the members of the medical community in particular contribute to this endowment account.

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Minerals

North

Conference to be

HELD IN

MACkenzie STORY ON PAGE 26

Citizen photo Frank Peebles

Teaching the fundamentals of the mining industry is one of the ongoing goals of the Minerals North Conference.

Here, a Vanderhoof student get to try her hand at excavation at the 2014 event. This year’s Minerals North edition will be in Mackenzie.

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Photo from mineralsnorth.ca

Mineral’s North Conference to be held in Mackenzie story from page 24 written by Frank Peebles The Minerals North mining conference organizers moved their event by one weekend this year, smack into the path of a conflicting major trade show. They traditionally hold their annual event on the May long weekend but bumped it this year to May 27-29 (preliminary optional events on May 26) and bumped into the Canada North Resources Expo on at the same time at CN Centre in Prince George.

Minerals North organizer Sue Clark said the northern economy is busy now to the point that it’s hard to choose any date that doesn’t conflict in some way, but in this case they are suffering no ill effects heading into this year’s edition, being held in Mackenzie.

“It was a bit of an issue on our minds, it gave us nerves at first,” said Clark, when they realized they were stacked up with the big biennial all-industries multi-event. “But our trade show filled up well in advance. That’s the biggest

component of our event, and it is full. And we really went after the clients to make sure it was going to work so it has brought out people who don’t normally come. We have a different trade show profile than we’ve seen before, so it feels fresh and exciting.”

Even the Canada Winter Games has had a discernible effect on the event, with traditional sponsors unable to commit resources to Minerals North after supporting the Games, but Clark said that was all for the greater good of the area and will rebound. In the meantime, the conference again found new contacts.

What could have troubled the event more critically is the global price of natural resource commodities. Operational mining companies are not making the same amount of money this past year or two.

However, those searching for new deposits are still doing their work, and those with proposed mines for the near future are still setting up to begin work in anticipation of stronger prices soon.

Government is certainly still in the business of environmental, safety and taxpayer value regulations so that part of the industry is en pointe.

First Nations are, thanks to the success of the William (Tsilqot’in) Case at the Supreme Court, more firmly ensconced than ever before in territorial land-use consultations.

With all the other industries active in the region on big-scale projects, and the babyboomer retirement wave still rolling through society, labour shortages and skills training is front-of-mind thinking for those active in the sector or aspiring to be active.

Downturn in prices or no, the mining industry has a lot to talk about these days, and Minerals North is always the northern region’s smartest conversation about rocks, minerals and rare earth.

“The market conditions have caused the industry to do a rethink and it has caused us to do a rethink,” Clark said. “We have a couple of those things I’m really looking forward to

myself, like the talk by BCIT’s Rob Stevens the day before: a mining essentials course for the lay-person to understand the mining industry from exploration to reclamation so we are bringing that education to the community.

“I’m also looking forward to the discussion on unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) used for mapping.

“We also have the McLeod Lake Indian Band doing a cultural workshop, which is much different for us. We have typically made sure to have important aboriginal issues on our agenda, as they pertain to the mining industry, but this is taking a step away from ‘how do we communicate?’ and a step toward ‘who are we?’”

There is a heavy emphasis on youth engagement this year, and a big presence from Barkerville for some entertaining education rooted in local mining.

The province’s Minister of Energy And Mines, Bill Bennett, will be one of the keynote speakers. Three-time Grey Cup winner and retired CFL superstar Geroy Simon is another.

For a full description of speakers, discussion panels, and other trade show/conference features, look up the Minerals North website and click on the 2015 agenda.

Clark recommended looking over the schedule of events as soon as possible and making the necessary plans to attend, since this is one of the years Minerals North is happening in one of the region’s small towns. Accommodations must be confirmed in advance.

“It presents different challenges when it’s in a smaller community,” said Clark. “We have to be creative around catering and accommodation, however that means lots of variety and more community inclusion than when you do it at a larger place. It is part of the goal of the association to make sure the smaller communities always have a chance to host. This conference engages First Nations, communities large and small, different levels of government, and industry all in the same smaller, quieter room than a lot of other industrial conference settings.”

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Canfor Pulp

Makes electricity STORY ON PAGE 28

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28 Canfor Pulp Makes electricity STORY from PAGE 27 A pulp mill is already one of the world’s biggest recycling plants. In Prince George, Canfor’s Intercontinental Pulp Mill operation just grew another layer.

The first layer was using wood residuals to become pulp and paper products used all over the world.

The second layer was capturing maximum amounts of the chemicals involved, refurbishing them, and cycling them back into the process (Canfor estimates greater than 90 per cent recovery of the cooking chemicals they started with for each batch of pulp).

The new layer – something Canfor has been trying since the 1970s – is to have in-house electricity generators to turn the factory’s own heat into its own electricity. This spring they flicked the switch to continue their journey of being one of North America’s largest producers of bioenergy – electricity made from their woodbased production process itself.

The making of pulp products is one of the most scientifically and technologically complicated processes in the industrialized world.

Vast amounts of heat, chemicals and processes are required to make the machines perform

their precise duties. It is like a massive kitchen in which a complex meal is being prepared, and the recipe and oven temperature has to be almost perfect or dinner is ruined.

Well image, some Canfor staff thought many years ago, if that vast amount of heat (the main recovery boiler runs at 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit) could be used to generate electricity. This was first accomplished at Intercon in the 1990s, but this year that old system is being discontinued in favour of a modern power plant that just went online. It cost $33 million and took about a year to construct, but it is now impacting the electricity profile of the whole province.

“We used to have to purchase power from BC Hydro but now it is reversed. We actually send BC Hydro a supply of green, renewable power over and above our own usage,” said Martin Pudlas, Canfor’s Vice-President of Operations for their pulp division. “The scope of the project was to build an entirely new turbine hall building, to tie in the existing steam piping and power system infrastructure, and then the installation of a new turbine and generator. It is not a standalone facility, it is part of an integrated system.”

Canfor’s previous machinery at Intercon could generate 12-15 megawatt hours of electricity per hour. The new machinery will roughly double that.

This is all possible because a wood chip, the basic building block of pulp and paper, is made up of 50 per cent cellulose and 50 per cent lignin. When those parts are separated by the complex process inside a pulp mill, the cellulose gets turned into pulp and paper products and the lignin is in turn burned to generate heat. This burning creates massive amounts of heat – Canfor is giving that heat an extra job.

It is pressurized in the form of steam. That was already being done. Low-pressure steam is needed for the pulp-making process, but there was also high-pressure steam available. That is now (as it was in the 1990s first version) being used to push turbines to make electricity.

“It is not about using more fuel; it is about using the existing fuel much better,” said Pudlas.

“Our goal is to use what we already have to its maximum value” One doesn’t simply run down to Radio Shack and buy a pulp mill power generator. The best equipment manufacturers in the world had to sit down with Canfor and BC Hydro officials to create the schematics then manufacture the parts for this incredibly complex vision. Every calculation and every component has to be precise for it to operate safely and efficiently.

Brett Douglas, the Senior Project Manager, said part of the trick was to take 600 pounds per square inch (PSI) of incoming steam pressure and adapt that to two streams of steam pressure, one of them 65 PSI, and the other 165 PSI. That was then applied to a generator that had to turn at a precise number of revolutions per minute.

The whole new system had to begin with a foundation as perfect as the machinery that

would sit on it, as an indication of the complexities involved.

“The foundation pad goes down eight feet, all one solid base done in one pour. That’s to ensure no vibrations,” said Douglas. “There were 30 cement trucks lined up, one after the other. It was something we had to get right. Stability is essential to this equipment.”

Eighty people were working on this one construction project during its erection. Other than the handful of proprietary specialists from the manufacturing companies sent in to set up the turbines and generators themselves, all of those construction specialists were from the Prince George area.

“To build a this type of project, that has such significant technology involved, and use almost all local contractors – that is a real success story,” said Pudlas. “That demonstrates the level of talent we have in the local contractor community.”

“We also assigned a number of our own people to the project, to ensure it stayed on time, on budget and with maximum safety standards always in practice. We had a great project team; in-house personnel and contractors all working together, and BC Hydro people were key as well.

I was gratified to hear from the contractors just how talented our Canfor people were to work with, and we had a pretty demanding set of needs that got met by our local contractors, so that says a lot about the expertise in northern B.C., and the way northern B.C. does business.

This was a major success.”

It makes Canfor into one of North America’s green power generating successes. The company has been on a campaign to make power with its excess heat company-wide. In this region’s facilities, they make a combined 130 megawatthours per hour. The newest flagship installation is now in service at the Intercontinental Pulp plant.

Citizen photo Frank Peebles

Project supervisor Brett Douglas was a leading figure in the construction and installation required for Intercontinental Pulp Mill to generate enough energy off its own milling processes to become a seller of electricity to the B.C. grid instead of buying power.

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Tourism boosted by meetings Citizen photo by Frank Peebles Tourism Prince George has new backdrops for their appearances at meetings, conventions and special events – a sector this city is poised to capitalize on. TPG’s meeting and convention specialist Jen Tkachuk and CEO Erica Hummel (left to right) are set to unveil a strategy for that kind of economic stimulation.

Meetings are big business. So many industries hold conferences and seminars that they are now recognized as their own industry, and it is one of the sectors Prince George is best at.

Today is the national awareness day for the meetings and convention speciality. Tourism Prince George (TPG) considers it an occasion to celebrate, and one of the best things to ever happen to our region.

TPG has been working for many months on a strategy around the meeting and convention form of tourism. This region doesn’t have Disneyland, it doesn’t have a tropical beach, it doesn’t have an Eiffel Tower. Tourism has to be attracted here another way. What Prince George does have is the luxury of geographic and cultural centrality, cost-effectiveness, plenty of amenities without bustle, and plenty of urban sophistication in a wilderness setting. On one hand, Prince George is no Vancouver or Calgary; on the other, we are no Vancouver or Calgary.

“The tourist that comes for a meeting tends to spend four times more money in a local economy than the tourist passing through on a pleasure trip,” said Jen Tkachuk, TPG’s meeting and convention sales manager. “They usually have extra dollars at their disposal because the convention takes care of a lot of the planning and

expenses of the trip.”

If the recent Canada Winter Games wasn’t proof to the local population that this city is desirable and interesting, it certainly was to the rest of Canada. The statistics for the Prince George Civic Centre show the trend in outside interest towards our (perhaps too) humble home. The number of conventions held at the PGCC in 2014 was three; the number in 2015 was 12. The number of other special events held at the PGCC in 2014 was 12; in 2015 it was 19. By the way, 2015 isn’t over yet.

Furthermore, there are already nine conventions and 12 special events booked to be at the PGCC in 2016 which is a number bound to grow as well.

TPG’s chief executive officer Erica Hummel said the fact Prince George has this sort of facility is already a win for the local economy.

According to her research, Prince George is one of only 19 municipally owned convention centres in Canada, and it’s the second busiest in B.C. “Having the Civic Centre is a unique bonus,” said Hummel. “They allow us to put bids together more efficiently because the City is a partner in so many things we do, and has the same mandate to boost the local economy, so we work well together.” continued on page 30

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30 continued from page 29 TPG being the source of incoming sports, industry, government, church, culture and education events is going to be a bigger part of their mandate, said Hummel. But on top of that, Tkachuk is also there to help other companies, agencies, schools, associations and organizational groups bring in their conferences, conventions, seminars, trade shows, festivals, tournaments, AGMs and any event they might be thinking of.

“We will sit with you and help you create your

bid package, we can help with pre- and post-event itineraries, we can help you make arrangements, even get together details for you like gift bags for delegates or the gifts for your keynote speakers and VIPs,” Hummel said. “We want to help your events succeed, so all those incoming delegates feel like they got red-carpet treatment and leave feeling special and impressed with Prince George.

If they do, they may recommend Prince George to others, or want to come back later on their own.

We might get more conventions booking a return engagement in Prince George. All of that helps

our hotels, our restaurants, our service industry, and the benefits to the region radiate from there - people moving here, people investing here, looking at getting a job here, people supporting others to move here...”

Tkachuk said the city is an easy sell on paper - the symphony orchestra, professional theatre, excellent hockey to watch, a diverse array of topnotch restaurants - but the reputation for helpful and welcoming people has now gone national and that has to be experienced to be truly appreciated.

Prince George should be smiling like National

Meetings Industry Day is a birthday, said the TPG officials. Its one of things this city does best. It’s our kind of day.

To celebrate the theme, Tourism Prince George held their own AGM and tourism conference at the Prince George Civic Centre on April 23. It brough more than 100 people together, which generated a small economic impact of its own, and the discussions centred on new ways to stimulate more of these same events.