Theodore Lovell, 22 months, checks out the Easter Bunny on Friday at Pine Centre Mall. This was Theodore’s second time visiting with the Easter bunny and according to his parents went much better then a year ago. Today is your last chance to visit with the Easter Bunny at the mall.
Elsie ROSS The Canadian Press
The National Energy Board (NEB) should find that the provincially approved pipeline that will transport natural gas from northeast British Columbia to the LNG Canada export project in Kitimat is properly within provincial jurisdiction, says the Canadian federal government.
In written argument submitted to the board’s hearing into the jurisdiction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project, the Attorney General of Canada rejects the arguments of environmentalist Mike Sawyer and Ecojustice that the project is a “federal undertaking” and as such should be federally regulated.
The federal government takes the position that the Coastal GasLink pipeline project is not a “federal undertaking” and is therefore not under the legislative authority of the National Energy Board Act.
“The Coastal GasLink pipeline project, located entirely within British Columbia, is not physically connected to the (federally regulated) NGTL and does not depend on the NGTL System for its gas to transport to the LNG Canada facility,” says the government. “Though both are wholly owned subsidiaries of TransCanada Pipeline Ltd., they have separate corporate structures that provide for separation of management, decision-making, information sharing and other aspects of operation and control.”
Further, there is no relationship of dependency between NGTL and the project, the government argues. “None of the participants have current arrangements or contracts with NGTL to supply gas for transport to LNG Canada and any potential future commercial arrangements between a participant and NGTL would have no bearing on the project’s separate transportation
function as a standalone operation,” it says. “In addition, the project is neither designed or approved to flow gas east to the NGTL System; there is no interconnection between LNG Canada and NGTL.”
CGL in its submission maintains that its project should be provincially regulated. However, if the NEB determines it is a federal work, the public interest requires the board to establish further processes for an orderly transition to federal jurisdiction to ensure no regulatory “gap” is inadvertently created and that construction of the pipeline (and the associated LNG Canada facility) is not frustrated, says the company. In his submission, Sawyer argues that Coastal GasLink is functionally integrated with the NOVA system as they are parts of TransCanada’s undertaking to move gas from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin to the LNG export market. The CGL pipeline, he says, will connect to the NGTL System and gas for the pipeline will come from the existing NGTL System, as well as from other pipelines.
Sawyer says he specifically disagrees with CGL’s suggestion that should the NEB find the pipeline is under federal jurisdiction it should suspend the declaration of federal jurisdiction until the board has issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) for the facilities which have just started construction.
“If CGL is in federal jurisdiction, then it requires a CPCN under the NEB Act,” he says. “The board will need the declaration of federal jurisdiction over CGL to provide constitutional support for the exercise of its statutory powers necessary to process and determine a CPCN application for CGL if one is forthcoming.” — see ‘THE TIME, page 3
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff
mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
A step towards making the Foothills landfill a source of fuel for FortisBC was taken this week when Fraser-Fort George Regional District directors approved in principle a deal to sell methane gas generated at the site to the company. The gas is currently flared off. Turning it into a revenue source has been a longsought-after goal for the FFGRD. Using it to heat greenhouses was considered at one point but the venture fell through.
“It’s been 25 years in coming,” board chair Art Kaehn said.
“Since 1994 the regional district has been looking for opportunities to find beneficial use of the gas that has been released on the landfill site and we’re very pleased
to have come to this agreement.”
Because the agreement spans 20 years, it remains subject to voters’ consent via an alternative approval process. If less than 10 per cent of the electorate express opposition through the process, directors can authorize the contract.
No dates have been set but the process is expected to take about three months. The agreement also remains subject to approval from the B.C. Utilities Commission.
Should those hurdles be cleared, the gas from the landfill will be siphoned off and injected into FortisBC’s natural gas distribution system.
FortisBC would pay the FFGRD $75,000 to $145,000 per year and be responsible for financing, constructing and operating a processing plant on the landfill to purify the gas before it’s pumped into the system.
— see FORTISBC, page 3
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
The three charities on the 100 Heroes shortlist have been announced.
This is the first ever shortlist for the fundraising system that was brought to Prince George this spring by local entrepreneur and philanthropist Colin Breadner.
The way the system works is, the public steps forward with 100 (or more) people donating $100 each. With that payment comes the chance to nominate three wor-
thy local causes. All the money involved must remain in Prince George. The nominations were placed in a bowl and on Friday, Breadner randomly reached into that bowl live on social media. He randomly drew three charity names from that pile.
“There are duplicates in there.
There are a few charities that were nominated several times, so we will just pull (the names) out until we have three different charities,” said Breadner as he went.
The three lucky charities were PG Animal Rescue Society, AiMHi
The nominations were placed in a bowl and on Friday, Breadner randomly reached into that bowl live on social media.
– Prince George Association for Community Living, and School District 57’s Community Schools
initiative. Those three selected charities (pending their verification) will send a representative to a 100 Heroes gathering where 100 people contributed $100 each into a single pool of cash.
The three representatives will make a short speech telling a story about their mission. The 100 in the room will then vote on the best presentation and that charity gets all the money in the pool.
Breadner clarified that the minimum 100 heroes mark was surpassed and “as of this morning,
there were 127 members” who put in their $100 contribution so “one of these nominees will walk away with, right now, with $12,700” but that total could still grow.
The inaugural event will take place on April 29, 6:30 p.m. at Trench Brewing & Distilling. To be there for the voting, you can still submit your $100 to the 100 Heroes campaign. Look them up on Facebook for more information or phone 250-552-3949. There is scheduled to be a rotation of four 100 Heroes events each year.
— from page 1
Building the plant will cost an estimated $8.5 million and cost a further $500,000 per year to operate, according to a FortisBC presentation to directors.
The FFGRD will remain responsible for upgrades and maintenance to the landfill’s gas collection system and would be obligated to supply 75,000 to
125,000 gigagoules of gas per year.
The deal includes a base rate of $1.25 per gigagoule to cover the FFGRD’s costs with annual increases to account for inflation.
On that basis, delivering 75,000 gigagoules would reap $93,750 per year, according to a staff report.
FortisBC is working to reach a
provincially-mandated goal of securing 15 per cent of its supply from renewable sources by 2030. Diverting gas from Foothills into the FortisBC system would reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 3,500 to 5,700 tonnes per year, according to the company.
The target date for getting the plant up and running is December 2020.
‘The time for the board to exercise its jurisdiction is now’
— from page 1
In its submission, Ecojustice says it adopts Sawyer’s arguments that the entire constitutional analysis is currently based on reasonable expectations that will materialize in the future. “The pipeline is not yet constructed and it is reasonable to expect a physical connection between CGL and the NOVA Gas Transmission Line System,” it says.
“In light of this reality, the time for the board to exercise its jurisdiction is now, otherwise it risks constraining the legal duties that must be exercised by the board and other federal authorities when the project falls under federal jurisdiction.”
For example, if the project falls under federal jurisdiction, it would require a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) from the NEB and a report to the federal minister with a recommendation and any conditions to be imposed by cabinet, says Ecojustice.
In addition to the requirements under the NEB Act, other federal statutes such as the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 and the Species at Risk
Act impose requirements on projects under federal jurisdiction, according to Ecojustice.
“Should the project fall under federal jurisdiction, the project would legally be subject to the requirements of both these federal statutes.”
If Coastal GasLink is substantially constructed or even completed by the time it is realized that it is subject to federal jurisdiction, the rigour and purpose of an assessment under CEAA, 2012 would be fundamentally compromised, says the group.
“Likewise, the ability of decision makers under CEAA, 2012 to determine whether to justify any significant adverse environmental effects or to impose meaningful conditions or recommendations would be severely constrained.”
Similarly under SARA, says Ecojustice, the board may find it is unable to ensure measures are taken to lessen or avoid the impacts of the project on listed wildlife, and thereby fail to comply with the requirements of that statute.
The hearing will be held May 2 and May 3 in Calgary.
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff
fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
Earth Day is a chance to put the welfare of the planet at the front of our minds, and in Prince George it is also a chance to consider those living with brain injuries. A public event on Monday seeks to connect the ideas of looking after the world and looking after our neighbours as well.
The city’s most prominent Earth Day event happens 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Exploration Place and the grounds of Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park.
There will be live music, information booths, fun stations, and feedback points to have input on your environmental priorities. It is also a fundraiser for the city’s Brain Injured Group (PGBIG).
One of the organizers of this coordinated effort is Echo Wylie who said the intention was to express care and compassion for every living thing “from amoeba to zebra.”
There will be silent auction items and raffles at the event to collect funds for PGBIG and raise awareness for this group
of people who need compassion and consideration, Wylie said, right along with the compassion and consideration for all other vulnerable elements of our globe.
“We are proud to be the designated charity for the fundraising efforts of the 2019 Earth Day celebration in Prince George,” said Alison Hagreen, executive director of PGBIG.
The day’s motto this year is Survival of The Species and Hagreen said “preventing and treating the effects of brain injury definitely blends well with this theme.”
Silent auction items and other forms of support can be provided by emailing nicoliaizu@pgbig.ca
Wylie said the more activity at the event, the better the family fun, so she encouraged anyone who felt like taking part as a business or agency to reach out.
“We are looking for anyone interested in setting up informational booths, who feel they can add positively to this grassroots event and inform the public of their work and how it relates to the environment / everyone,” Wylie said. Email pgearthday@ gmail.com to set up those arrangements.
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff
A plan to establish a cannabis production facility in Red Rock was advanced a step on Thursday when Fraser-Fort George Regional District directors endorsed an application to the Agricultural Land Commission.
However, pending approval from the ALC, the proponents will still need to win directors’ approval to amend the zoning for the site at 5070 Bellos Road.
Jeffery Bender and Glenda Curtis want to establish a “nonsoil based” grow operation over two hectares of the 16 hectare property, of which 580 square metres would be occupied by a building where the cannabis would be grown.
Permission from the ALC is required because the property is within the province’s agricultural land reserve and the
operation is not considered a farming activity. The quality of the land for agriculture is at the low end of the scale although with proper management, crops can be produced.
Prince George RCMP and the Prince George Cattlemen’s Association replied with concerns when the item was referred to them. RCMP said that while cannabis has been decriminalized, growing operations remain a target for break and enters and robberies and the site in question is a 25 minute drive away from the detachment.
The PGCA said it will decrease property value, create smell and is too close to homes.
A zoning amendment is needed because while the property is zoned rural which allows cannabis production, the use is limited to parcels 259 hectares or larger.
CP PHOTO Floodwaters are shown next to homes on a residential street in the town of Rigaud, Que. west of Montreal, Friday.
Sidhartha BANERJEE The Canadian Press MONTREAL — The Quebec government called for federal assistance Friday – including Canadian Forces soldiers on the ground – as the province braces for heavy spring flooding over the weekend.
The risk level hasn’t changed in recent days, but authorities now expect the brunt of flooding will begin on Sunday and last longer than expected, Quebec Public Security Minister Genevieve Guilbault told a news conference in Quebec City shortly after the request for help was accepted by Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.
While the situation could change depending on the weather, Guilbault elected to ask for assistance as citizens scrambled to protect their homes while heavy rain warnings were in effect for much of southern Quebec.
Water levels are already high and are expected to rise sharply with warm temperatures, snowmelt runoff and the heavy rainfall in the forecast until Saturday.
“My only priority is the safety of citizens,” Guilbault said.
“I will spare no effort over the next few days to ensure the safety of citizens.”
Officials in several communities are worried the flooding could be even worse than the record flooding of 2017 that forced thousands from their homes.
Guilbault said Canadian Forces brass were discussing with provincial officials where to
deploy military resources. She added she’d spoken directly with Brig.-Gen. Jennie Carignan and added the duration of their stay will depend largely on the situation on the ground.
Across Quebec, municipalities have been preparing sandbags and reinforcing homes as the rain is expected to intensify in the coming hours.
“Today is an important day, we’re predicting we’ll reach the water levels reached in 2017 in the next 24 hours and even exceed it,” said Ginette Bellemare, the acting mayor of Trois-Rivieres, Que., about halfway between Montreal and Quebec City.
“For our citizens, it’s a race against time. They must mobilize and protect their property.”
Guilbault said the province will also allow stores – usually closed on Easter Sunday – to remain open this weekend so residents can stock up on supplies.
Thomas Blanchet, a spokesman for the province’s public safety department, said residents should be ready for a sharp spike in water levels that could come quickly, and he implored them to follow the instructions of local officials.
Blanchet said while there are no official evacuation orders in the province, some municipalities have issued preventative orders, such as Rigaud and Pointe-Fortune in southwestern Quebec.
Rigaud officials reported they expect a rapid rise in water flows on Saturday.
“The latest data confirms that water levels as high as those observed at the height of the May 2017 flood could be reached, depending on the amount of rain received, by next Monday,” the town said in a release.
In Laval, just north of Montreal, officials said some 1,500 homes and businesses were under flood watch. In Montreal, Mayor Valerie Plante toured various parts of the city under flood watch.
Plante said the boroughs were well prepared, having learned lessons from record floods two years ago.
“We’re putting all our energy, but in the end Mother Nature decides,” Plante said.
In Saint-Raymond, about 60 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital, 24 seniors in three residences have been moved to higher ground as the Ste-Anne River levels continue to rise.
Earlier this week, the Chaudiere River burst its banks and flooded a large part of downtown Beauceville, about 90 kilometres south of Quebec City. Officials there called it the worst flooding since 1971, with 230 homes and businesses flooded. At least 28 people remained unable to return home on Friday.
“With the forecast that we have, we will have heavy rainfall over the corridor from Outaouais to the Lower St. Lawrence,” Blanchet said.
“Those regions have a high risk of flood right now with the precipitation that’s announced and the warm temperatures that will increase the snowmelt.”
Marcia DUNN
The Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. —
A private cargo ship brought the makings of an Easter feast – as well as some Canadianmade treats – to the International Space Station on Friday, along with mice and little flying robots.
American astronaut Anne McClain and Canada’s David Saint-Jacques used the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm 2, to capture Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus capsule as they soared 415 kilometres above France.
The Cygnus and its 3,450-kilogram shipment rocketed from Wallops Island, Va., on Wednesday, completing the trip in a quick day and a half. It holds numerous science experiments, including 40 mice taking part in a tetanus vaccination study, and three boxy free-flying robots designed to assist astronauts inside and out.
It also carries so-called “smart shirts” and sample collection kits that will be used to gather data for a Canadian study on arterial stiffening and insulin resistance in astronauts.
NASA also packed more than 800 meals for the six station residents. Their holiday choices include pork chops with gravy, smoked turkey, potatoes au gratin, lemon meringue pudding and apricot cobbler.
The Canadian Space Agency says the Canadian-made items include smoked salmon, maple cream cookies and a bison chili based on Saint-Jacques’ favourite family recipe.
Northrop Grumman named this Cygnus the S.S. Roger Chaffee after the youngest of the three astronauts who died in the Apollo 1 spacecraft fire in 1967.
Laura KANE The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER — They both came from humble beginnings: small protests against marijuana prohibition where activists smoked weed in public, boldly defying what they considered an unjust law.
But as Vancouver’s 4-20 and Seattle’s Hempfest grew into large-scale occasions with vendors, prominent musical acts and tens of thousands of attendees, the Canadian event has drawn scorn and opposition from elected officials, while American politicians have tolerated and even supported the gathering.
Seattle’s more permissive approach could be a model for Vancouver, given that marijuana is legal now and there are no signs of 4-20 winding down, said Park Board Commissioner John Irwin.
“My approach is that we permit it. Logically, I think that takes some of the protest steam out of the event,” he said. “The other issue I have with not permitting it is you don’t have as much control in the negotiations that occur. You can’t set parameters.”
Irwin’s board colleagues have refused to issue a permit, citing costs, damage and safety concerns. But the city and police have not swooped in to shut down 4-20 either, instead they are taking steps to maintain public safety during the massive gathering expected Saturday at Sunset Beach.
In Seattle, Hempfest has grown to a three-day protest festival, or “protestival,” drawing large crowds to a 2.5-kilometre stretch of waterfront in Myrtle Edwards Park. Past speakers have included actor Woody Harrelson, former U.S. congressmen Dana Rohrbacher and Dennis Kucinich and various Seattle mayors and councillors.
The event has received a city permit every year since 1995, said Vivian McPeak,
Ottawa kicks in for Peace electrification project
executive director of Hempfest. Obtaining a permit is no easy feat – it takes all year and involves numerous meetings and many pages of plans that need to be approved by various city departments, he noted.
But McPeak said Hempfest has won support with its “safety first” approach. It rents extra automated external defibrillators in case anyone suffers cardiac arrest, employs its own trained safety patrol and security, aggressively prevents sales of cannabis at the event and doesn’t allow anyone to bring in alcohol, he said.
“It’s been about attention to detail. We’ve had to tangle with the city a couple times in the course of 27 years. It’s our 28th year and sometimes we don’t agree on things,” McPeak said. “But over the years, we’ve gained a lot of respect for all the people in the city departments that we work with.”
Seattle Coun. Lisa Herbold spoke at the event as a candidate in 2015. She said the city’s voters have long supported loosening the laws around cannabis, as they passed an initiative way back in 2003 that made pot possession the lowest police priority.
“Hempfest has always been considered a free-speech event focused on the ending the criminalization of cannabis users, supported by some prior administrations, several council members, and most importantly, the voting public,” she said.
Jodie Emery, a spokeswoman for 4-20, said she constantly points to Hempfest as a perfect example of what can be achieved by cities. However, she added that the Vancouver event has previously received some political support – former NDP MP Libby Davies spoke at a past 4-20, for example.
“In Vancouver, we’ve not really had this much vitriol in years,” Emery said.
Police have said the 25th annual event, featuring vendors selling marijuana, baked
Ottawa is kicking in close to a third of the cost of building a new transmission line that will increase access to clean power to the natural gas industry in the Peace region.
Work is already underway on the $289 million Peace Region Electricity Supply (PRES) project, which is a twin 230-kilovolt transmission line that will run from Site C dam to the Groundbirch region near Chetwynd. In a joint provincialfederal announcement Thursday, April 18, it was announced that Ottawa will contribute $83.6 million to the project, under the $180 billion Canada Plan.
The PRES will be the second electrification project undertaken by the province in the Peace. A number of natural gas plants now run on electricity, rather than natural gas, thanks to the Dawson Creek-Chetwynd Area Transmission (DCAT) project. Electrifying the natural gas fields in northeast B.C. is a critical part of getting a liquefied natural gas industry to fit within the greenhouse gas emission reductions targets set by the B.C. government under its Clean BC plan.
The province said the PRES line could reduce GHGs by 2.6 megatonnes annually. Electrification not only reduces CO2 from the burning natural gas to generate electricity for natural gas power plants, pipelines and other infrastructure, it can also reduce methane emissions, if pneumatic valves are replaced with electric actuators, since the pneumatic vales use gas pressure and release natural gas every time they activate.
— Nelson BENNETT, Business in Vancouver
OTTAWA (CP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, when the latter visits Canada next weekend. Abe and Trudeau’s two-day meeting on April 27 and 28 will centre on the upcoming G20 summit in Osaka in late June, as well strengthening ties between the two countries.
Trudeau’s office said in a statement the two will also discuss the revamped Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which the PMO said has created opportunities in both countries.
The Canadian and Japanese leaders are expected to address the media after holding their bilateral meeting. The pair most recently spoke at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting in Papua, New Guinea, last November.
Abe’s upcoming visit to Canada is part of a week-long trip to Europe and North America that includes stops in the United States, France, Italy, Slovakia and Belgium, as Japan prepares to play host to the G20.
RICHMOND (CP) — RCMP said a woman arrested at Vancouver’s airport for allegedly stealing a passenger’s purse is believed to be part of an organized group of thieves targeting airports.
The Mounties said the 60-year-old woman was arrested by Vancouver airport RCMP officers in conjunction with an ongoing undercover theft investigation. The RCMP said plainclothes teams have been at the airport conducting surveillance since March for theft issues primarily at the international arrivals terminal.
Police said other law enforcement agencies besides the RCMP are interested in the accused and have been involved in the investigation. RCMP said the woman is in custody and police are looking at the possibility of linking her with multiple thefts. RCMP Inspector Keith Bramhill said in a statement that thieves who specialize in theft at airports generally work in teams and di-
edibles and drug paraphernalia, is expected to be a big draw because of a concert by California hip-hop group Cypress Hill.
Providence Health Care said in a statement that 40 people, including four under 18 years old, were treated in the ER at St. Paul’s Hospital during last year’s 4-20 event. Those figures were down from previous events, the statement said.
Emery said 4-20 is a “permitted event in all but name,” in which organizers work closely with park board and city staff.
Organizers pay for security and toilets and there are paramedics and first aid stations on site, she said.
Last year, the event cost the city $237,356, of which organizers repaid $63,201. Unlike the Pride Parade and Celebration of Light fireworks show, 4-20 does not receive subsidies from the city, Emery added. Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart said he wants to see the event transform into more of a festival that would attract visitors. “What I would really like to see is to get it to a (permit-ready) status, where we could make this work in a way that moves it away from the confrontational protest type of vibe to a celebration and actually trying to build the industry here in Vancouver,” he said.
Yes, indeed, Jason Kenney is a political nightmare for Justin Trudeau and John Horgan. But he is also their dream.
Sure enough, the newly elected Alberta premier stands to be the foil that neither Rachel Notley could be nor that Doug Ford can be – an experienced and informed right-of-centre leader who will push and shove harder on the pipeline file than his predecessor and be more coherent as an enemy of the carbon tax than his Ontario counterpart.
But, to use a second meaning of the word foil: within it there is wrapped a splendid opportunity for the prime minister and the B.C. premier.
If in every story there needs to be a villain, and if in every pre-election period there needs to be a manufactured issue, Kenney provides Trudeau an impeccably timed black-hat adversary from a province in which there is practically nothing politically for the Liberals to lose.
And for Horgan, Kenney represents an even more formidable possible foe. Might Kenney be the bringer of brinksmanship? Might he let the western bastards freeze in the dark? Might he be a unifying force for
Albertans and British Columbians alike –tribally angry at each other, fully invested in their positions, and politically benefiting their leaders’ brands?
On reflection, the way this has played out has not been linear.
A year ago, Trudeau wanted to avoid Kenney the way Elias Pettersson wants to avoid a bodycheck. His government was ahead in the polls, had a puny Alberta base, and concluded the buttressing of Notley might at worst be a marginally good move – if for no other reason than to keep Kenney at bay. Trudeau did not want any anchor for antipathy in the West and Notley was by far the lesser of the possible problems. But along has come the tire fire of SNCLavalin, and three months into misery Trudeau is desperate for deflection of attention spans.
Bingo! Short-term political gold.
Kenney is not only a convenient nemesis on fossil fuel and climate change, but more maliciously, a perceived purveyor of intolerance on race and sexual orientation. Trudeau can paint him with the same brush he wields against the man he must now suddenly defeat, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer – not to mention the premier he must tame, Ford – and reprise his image as
a progressive, feminist, inclusive environmentalist, sleeves rolled appropriately over the raised elbows, a 21st century leader against 20th century throwbacks. The last few days of rhetoric about Nazi sympathizers and planet destroyers are but a taste.
Another non-linear development was the odd incompatibility of Notley and Horgan, the only two NDP leaders who could have built a western alliance but might as well have been in different parties.
Horgan could not – or, more precisely, would not – assist in the Alberta premier’s forlorn restorative plan for her economy that required progress on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
Trudeau bought the pipeline, Horgan devalued it, and when Notley could only predict and not provide shovels in the ground, she was one and done politically. She can thank Horgan for absolutely bloody-well nothing.
Now Horgan has Kenney as his neighbouring first minister, and he must know he has not seen anything like him. The premier-elect is canny, cunning, quick on his feet, Ottawa-savvy.
He is to the right what Horgan is to the left.
His first big move is to decide if he will
I both thank and apologize to Helen Sarrazin and Larry Barnes for having directly or indirectly implied they are bigoted or racist. It’s never good to attack people in these emotional debates and times, especially when the “most powerful man on earth” does little else. I tried to teach my kids, but apparently didn’t learn this well enough myself, that one should be hard on the issue but soft on the people. When I had the exchange with Larry last summer, the one referred to in his recent letter, it was because of an idea he advanced called the Solutrean Hypothesis, a now fully debunked claim that North American natives were preceded by white Europeans with the implication that their claims of Aboriginal title and prior rights based on eons of occupancy is invalid. A similar dust-up occurred over the discovery of the so-called Kennewick man, ancient bones that initially were thought to show Caucasian rather than typical aboriginal features. This also was eventually discredited. Scientists no longer debate the matter anymore than they do the existence of global climate change being significantly impacted by human activities. This has meant,
that the main remnant use of both discredited Solutrean and Kennewick hypotheses are made by white supremacist groups. However, again, I would concede that just because someone reads this guff and trots it out in 2018 does not make them a racist. Similarly, just because someone reacts to the news of a large grant to UNBC to study indigenous elders’ mental health, by advocating that the work should include all seniors, it does not mean that person a bigot or racist. So I withdraw and, to repeat, apologize for stating that implication in my response to Helen’s original letter. However, I would still stick to saying how sad it is that such a good news story elicited that kind of reaction. It is important to recognize that while all aging people (including me – I’m 70 now and apparently could be considered to be a tad mentally unstable!) face major psychological challenges, First Nations elders collectively have gone through a great deal that themes of the rest of us can hardly imagine. That is not to say that no other individuals have suffered, but taken as a group, there should be no argument with their sadly special status; there is overwhelming statistical evidence as well as the well known historic causal factors (land alienation, language loss, residential school
abuse, off-the scale-rates of suicide, etc.) that cannot be denied or ignored. And that is why it is perfectly justifiable for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to generously support UNBC on a project to investigate and mitigate the psychological consequences specific to indigenous elders.
Norman Dale Prince George
I cannot understand the gas prices that have been creeping up and up and our elected politicians do nothing but sit on their hands. All we receive is excuses. We all pay our fair share of taxes and insurance to own a vehicle. Why do we have to subsidize people who do not pay taxes and the ones that transit and they do not pay their fair share. It’s time to hold the gas industry politicians to the fire and maybe if we stand up and say no more my pocket is totally empty maybe it’s time to start to take money from their pockets of the politicians with some sort of revolt.
I for one have had enough of the lies and deceit from the politicians in power.
Harry Hall
Prince George
LETTERS WELCOME: The Prince George Citizen welcomes letters to the editor from our readers. Submissions should be sent by email to: letters@pgcitizen.ca. No attachments, please. They can also be faxed to 250-960-2766, or mailed to 201-1777 Third Ave., Prince George, B.C. V2L 3G7. Maximum length is 750 words and writers are limited to one submission every week. We will edit letters only to ensure clarity, good taste, for legal reasons, and occasionally for length. Although we will not include your address and telephone number in the paper, we need both for verification purposes. Unsigned or handwritten letters will not be published.
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truly unleash his enormously threatening campaign dark cloud: to restrict oil and gas shipments to British Columbia if Horgan’s Trans Mountain opposition persists. The constitutionally shaky law to do so isn’t his – he inherited it from Notley, who never exercised it – and he will frankly appear weak if he does not proceed.
The procession of a ruthlessly punitive law may, in the words of pitcher Satchel Paige, angry up the blood for Albertans, but it also carries with it political dividends for Horgan. While the British Columbian premier will bear some blame for precipitating the measure, the Albertan premier will be the provocateur. Lawyer up, everyone.
On balance, Horgan benefits because few in this province and beyond the Albertan borders will see Kenney as anything other than a nation-breaker. And if he doesn’t proceed, then Horgan will be seen as someone who can mollify the most oppositional of political forces. In a way, he can’t truly lose, even if many of us might. As for Trudeau, well, he is not out of the woods and Kenney will joyfully mess with his compass.
— Kirk LaPointe is the editor-in-chief of Business in Vancouver and vice-president, editorial, of Glacier Media
The Canadian media has long regarded Jason Kenney as the country’s most fascinating conservative. His decisive election as premier of Alberta this week ensures that his mystique will continue to grow. As federal immigration minister under former then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Kenney’s minor office became a tool of endless myth-making. In presiding over Canada’s largest immigrant intake in half a century, it was said that he had insulated the conservatives from any charge of racism or xenophobia. His omnipresence at multicultural meet-and-greets was held as proof that he had charmed the immigrant vote away from the left. When Harper won a third term in 2011, word spread that Kenney’s outreach had shattered the progressive coalition beyond repair. Books were written about how he contributed to a “seismic change” in Canadian democracy.
That little of this lore was supported by hard data was beyond the point (a Policy Options study said that its findings “do not support the hypothesis that the Conservative success in 2011 was a product of making headway with immigrants”). Kenney had proved he was creative, hard-working and a shameless self-promoter, and these are the things from which great political fortunes are made. His subsequent parachute into the center of Albertan politics only inflated his legend. At a pace that seems dizzying in retrospect, in fewer than two years Kenney became head of the Alberta conservatives, instigated a merger with the competing Wildrose Party and has now decisively been elected head of Alberta’s first United Conservative administration. That Kenney’s ambition remains unsatisfied was obvious in his first speech as premier-elect, which focused largely on national issues, including overtures to Quebec – in French.
In the likely event that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is reelected in October, conservatives will heap blame on Tory leader Andrew Scheer, who seems barely tolerated as it is. Assuming Kenney proceeds to spend much of Trudeau’s second term casting his province as an island of conservative competence in contrast to the prime minister’s liberal misrule, by 2023 Kenney will be hyped as Scheer’s self-evident successor.
Is Kenney’s seemingly unstoppable rise animated by anything beyond marketing, strategy and opportunism? If he is indeed destined to be the indispensable conservative of his generation,
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then Kenneyism demands examination as the plausible ideology of Canada’s future.
Kenney possesses remarkable skill at convincing the many factions of the Canadian right that he’s “one of them.” Social conservatives fixate on his Catholicism and history in the pro-life movement; fiscal conservatives point to his background as head of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. He can be wonky to wonks, ideological to the ideologues and pragmatic to pragmatists. Even obscure factions of the base, including libertarians, monarchists and gay Tories, have been on the receiving end of Kenney’s outreach. Unfortunately, when you purport to share everyone’s principles, you probably don’t share many. As his campaign for premier proved, Kenney remains a deeply conventional conservative of late-20thcentury vintage, convinced that elections are won exclusively on economic policy while eschewing anything “divisive” that might rattle the secular middle class. This includes abortion, entitlement cuts, LGBT rights and anything in the proximity of race or gender. He has been happy to contrast himself with the “nasty, negative, irresponsible populism I think the Trump phenomenon represents.”
In his marquee speeches, Kenney speaks of government primarily as a conduit for economic growth and job creation – issues of considerable concern to residents of Alberta, where growth in the gross domestic product is the slowest in Canada and unemployment sits at seveb per cent. His solutions are conservative orthodoxy: a mix of tax cuts and deregulation, plus fresh help for the province’s beleaguered oil and gas sector, which comprises a quarter of the provincial economy.
If Kenney possesses a philosophy prescribing appropriate limits to aboriginal power, he has never shared it. Because it involves a racialized minority, the issue probably reads to him as one of those nasty, divisive matters that’s best avoided. The issue calls for principled conservative leadership, however. If Kenney can champion a coherent solution to the judiciary’s existential challenge to his province’s defining industry, his future ambitions will be well justified.
J.J. McCullough is a political commentator and cartoonist
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‘lived his dream,’ parents say
Frank JORDANS
The Associated Press
BERLIN
— The parents of celebrated Austrian climber David Lama said Friday that he had “lived his dream,” as hopes he and two other top climbers survived an avalanche in the Canadian Rockies faded. Lama, fellow Austrian Hansjorg Auer and American climber Jess Roskelley have been missing in Alberta’s Banff National Park since Wednesday. Their sponsor, outdoor apparel company The North Face, said the three members of its Global Athlete Team are presumed dead following an avalanche.
“David dedicated his life to the mountains and his passion for climbing and alpinism shaped and accompanied our family,” Claudia and Rinzi Lama said in a statement posted on their son’s website. “He always followed his own path and lived his dream. We will accept what now happened as a part of that.”
The family expressed gratitude for the support it received “from near and far” and asked that their son be remembered “for his zest for life, his enthusiasm.”
Earlier, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Lama and Auer had “shaped the international climbing and alpinist scene in recent years with many achievements.”
Lama, 28, was feted for achieving the first free ascent in 2012 of the Compressor Route of the Cerro Torre, one of the most striking peaks in the Andes. The feat was captured in the 2013 documentary Cerro Torre – A Snowball’s Chance in Hell.
The son of a Nepalese mountain guide and an Austrian nurse, Lama had also won numerous climbing competitions in his younger years before devoting himself full-time to mountaineering in 2011.
Auer, 35, became the first person to free solo climb Italy’s Marmolada peak via the south face in 2007.
Parks Canada said the three men were attempting to climb the east face of Howse Peak on the Icefields Parkway on Wednesday.
Officials said safety specialists immediately responded by air and observed signs of multiple avalanches and debris containing climbing equipment.
Roskelley climbed Mount Everest in 2003 at age 20. At the time he was the youngest American to climb the world’s highest peak.
His father, John Roskelley, told The SpokesmanReview that the route his son and the other climbers were attempting was first done in 2000.
In the 2013 documentary, Lama addressed the constant peril extreme climbers are exposed to, insisting that the risks were carefully calculated – more like a game of poker than Russian roulette.
“I think it’s important to be aware of the risks, but in the end there will always be things that are out of our hands,” he said.
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Damn, this fish is delicious.
Of course, I’m bias in my assessment of the catch of the day we’re gobbling up at Sonny’s Restaurant on Hatteras Island in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
After all, my 26-year-old son, Alex and I caught the bluefish, triggerfish and mackerel ourselves just two hours earlier in the adjacent Pamlico Sound.
We’d been out angling with captain Ernie Foster and first mate Sumner Mattingly of The Albatross Fleet and had a startlingly successful morning.
As soon as Sumner launched four fishing rods in trolling formation, the bluefish start to bite.
Ernie may have captained the boat to his prime spot at the mouth of the Hatteras Inlet and the first mate been responsible for baiting the hooks and casting the lines, but Alex and I take all the glory.
We coax the catch repeatedly to the boat with rhythmic tugs on the rods punctuated by frantic reeling, huge grins on our faces.
Sated with a big catch, we motor back to dock chatting excitedly of fishing conquests past, present and future.
The sky is light blue, the water choppy and we’re famished.
Luckily, Albatross has a deal with Sonny’s to fry up proud anglers’ catches for lunch.
We’re sent off with the prime filets as BYOF (bring your own fish) customers to devour some of our catch lightly fried with French fries and cole slaw.
My son and I are lured to the Outer Banks not just for fishing bragging rights, but the region’s Wright Brothers first flight history, horseback riding, beaches, barbecue and Southern hospitality. Our horseback riding with Equine Adventures, also on Hatteras Island, is through maritime forest and along wide swathes of Atlantic Ocean beaches.
As a chain of skinny barrier island off the coast of North Carolina, the Outer Banks geography is all sand dunes and beaches.
The softness of the sand, and consistent Atlantic winds, is what attracted Wilbur and Orville Wright to Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks for the first four flights by a motorized airplane in 1903.
Alex and I check out the newly refurbished Wright Brothers National Memorial that commemorates the exact take off and landing points of those four short world-changing flights in a contraption made by the brothers of wood, cloth, wire and bicycle
Kitty Hawk Kites takes people out hang gliding close to the site the Wright
parts. We’re inspired to take flight ourselves and book a hang gliding lesson with Kitty Hawk Kites in Jockey’s Ridge State Park to run off the tallest sand dune and fly.
As beginners, our five solo flights are as short as Wilbur and Orville’s, but they are a blast and
give us the same thrill as the aviation pioneers.
Even our accommodations are a nod to the brothers as we stay at the Days Inn Wilbur and Orville Wright. The oceanside location also means lounging and jogging on the wide beach and splashing in
a
the Atlantic. It’s also walking distance from Outer Banks Brewing Station, which we’ll frequent more than once for celebratory craft beers and pork barbecue.
Air Canada has boosted daily service from Toronto, and will soon inaugurate flights from Mon-
treal, to Raleigh, N.C., which is a three-and-a-half hour drive from the Outer Banks. The flights are on modern Embraer and CRJ jets, not Wright Flyers or hang gliders. Check out OuterBanks.com, AlbatrossFleet.com, KittyHawk.com and AirCanada.ca.
Donna SPENCER
The Canadian Press
CALGARY — Add the Calgary Flames to shocking Stanley Cup playoff exits this season.
The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Flames 5-1 on Friday to win their first-round series four games to one. The Avalanche advanced to the second round of playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Calgary topped the Western Conference with a 50-27-7 record, but bowed out to a team that sprinted the final two weeks of the regular season to secure the last wild-card berth.
Colin Wilson and Mikko Rantanen led Colorado with two goals and an assist apiece. Starter Philipp Grubauer 28 saves and repelled a Johnny Gaudreau penalty shot in the first period.
Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog scored while Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie had three assists apiece.
T.J. Brodie countered for the Flames, with Mike Smith stopping 27 shots in the loss.
The Flames follow the Tampa Bay Lightning in the hasty elimination of a top team from Stanley Cup contention.
The Lightning were swept in four straight by the Columbus Blue Jackets after earning the Presidents’ Trophy with the regular season’s best record (62-16-4).
Calgary ranked second in goal scoring in the regular season behind the Lightning and tied with San Jose. But after opening the series with a 4-0 victory, the Flames didn’t score more than two goals in any game after that.
The NHL’s highest scoring team on home ice this season mustered only one in Game 5 despite head coach Bill Peters juggling his lines in an attempt to spark the offence.
Playoff veteran James Neal was a healthy scratch for the Flames with Austin Czarnik drawing in on the third line for his NHL playoff debut. Gaudreau, Calgary’s top
goal scorer, was thwarted in the series. His frustration continued Friday.
Gaudreau’s penalty shot attempt was unsuccessful, he shot the puck wide on a clear first-period breakaway and had what would have been his first goal of these playoffs waived off for goaltender interference in the second.
Colorado was the more confident team Friday after coming from behind to win both the second and fourth games of the series 3-2 in overtime, and decisively beating Calgary 6-2 in Game 3.
The Avalanche continued to beat Calgary to the puck in all three zones and make the Flames chase and defend.
Rantanen’s wrist shot over Smith’s left shoulder 57 seconds into the third period deadened Scotiabank Saddledome as Flames fans began coming to grips with team’s impending first-round upset.
From the slot, Wilson redirected a MacKinnon shot on Smith stick side for a power-play goal at 14:47 of the second period. Wilson earned his first at 6:52
when Rantanen blocked a clearing attempt by Calgary’s Rasmus Andersson and dished to him in the high slot. The Flames were outshot 15-9 and trailed 2-1 after the opening period, with Brodie scoring with five seconds remaining to halve the deficit. The defenceman’s wrist shot beat Grubauer top shelf at 19:55 on a feed from Sam Bennett. When Gaudreau shot the puck wide on a breakaway, the Avs scored on the return trip to make it 2-0 at 15:38. Rantanen circled out from
behind Smith and put the puck off the back of the Calgary netminder to score.
Gaudreau had taken off on a partial breakaway just minutes earlier.
With Barrie and Cale Makar on his back, Gaudreau’s backhand was just wide, but he was awarded a penalty shot.
Gaudreau went forehand to backhand, but Grubauer snapped his left pad down to deny him.
Colorado scored first when Landeskog deflected a Barrie wrist shot by Smith’s glove at 9:40.
The Canadian Press
Joshua CLIPPERTON
BOSTON — Auston Matthews snapped a scoreless tie in the third period as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Friday to take a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal.
Kasperi Kapanen, with a goal and an assist, also scored for Toronto. Frederik Andersen made 28 saves.
David Krejci replied for Boston. Tuukka Rask stopped 25 shots.
The Leafs will look to wrap up the series at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Game 7, if necessary, would be back at Boston’s TD Garden on Tuesday.
The winner for Toronto came after Matthews took a pass from Jake Muzzin and wired a one-timer beyond Rask for his fourth of the playoffs with 8:27 left in regulation.
The Bruins challenged for goalie interference on Zach Hyman, but the call on the ice stood after video review.
The goal was also the fourth in the three games for Matthews, who, with his head down, pounded the dasher board on the bench in celebration when the goal was confirmed.
Kapanen, who came in with zero points in the series, helped set up his team’s first, and then scored its second when he finished off a 3-on-2 just 2:12 later.
Boston pulled Rask with under three minutes to go, and Krejci got the home side within one with 44 seconds left, which stood after a review for offside.
But Toronto held firm and will go home with a chance close out the Bruins for the franchise’s first series win since 2004.
Scoreless through 40 minutes, Leafs defenceman Travis Dermott made a huge shot block on Sean Kuraly early in the third.
Boston on Friday.
The Leafs got their first power play – after getting whistled for three against – when the Bruins were called for too many men on the ice, but couldn’t get anything through despite some good pressure before Matthews broke the deadlock.
The Leafs missed a big chance to grab a 3-1 stranglehold at Scotiabank Arena in Game 5, falling behind 2-0 early and 5-2 in the third period before a late rally came up short in a 6-4 loss.
Boston, which beat Toronto in seven games both last spring and in 2013 at the same stage of the playoffs, got its second power play of the evening early in the second, but Andersen stopped Patrice Bergeron on the Bruins’ best chance.
The Leafs goalie made another good save later in the period on Brad Marchand before Mitch Marner fired the puck over the glass to hand the home side its third straight man advantage.
But the only real opportunity came when Kapanen, who entered with three points in his last 19 games, fired high over Rask’s net on a short-handed breakaway.
The winger scored on a similar play while killing a penalty last spring – a goal that gave Toronto a 4-3 lead in Game 7.
Boston appeared to go ahead with 7:21 left in the period, but Krejci’s shot that looked to have gone in at first glance hit the post and stayed out, much to the chagrin of the mostly black-and-yellow clad 17,565 at
TD Garden. Tyler Ennis had another look for Toronto, stepping around Matt Grzelcyk off the rush only to have Rask get a glove on his shortside effort.
After being largely held in check through the first nine periods of the series at 5 on 5, the Bruins’ top line of Marchand, Bergeron and David Pastrnak registered six points in Game 4, although the latter played with Krejci and Jake DeBrusk most of the night as head coach Bruce Cassidy gave the Leafs a different setup.
Those combinations continued early Friday, with Danton Heinen against skating on the right side with Marchand and Bergeron, until Pastrnak was reunited with his usual linemates in the second.
Trailing the Bruins 3-1 in the series at this time last year, the Leafs pulled off a 4-3 victory at TD Garden to force Game 6 back in Toronto. The Leafs would win that one 3-1, but fell 7-4 in Game 7 in Boston after leading 4-3 through two periods.
Toronto carried over its strong play late in Game 4 into Friday’s opening period, but failed to generate any quality chances other than a deflection off the stick of Matthews that Rask handled.
Boston started to push near the midway point, with Pastrnak and DeBrusk coming close from in tight.
The Bruins got a power play, which had torched the Leafs for five goals on 11 chances through four games, but the visitors held firm. Andersen made a couple of big stops, including one on Bergeron.
Notes: Kuraly returned to Boston’s fourth line after breaking his right hand on March 21. Joakin Nordstrom was a healthy scratch. ... Puck drop Sunday is set for 3 p.m. ET. Boston played 12 afternoon games in the regular season, while Toronto suited up for only one – Jan. 3 at home against Minnesota.
Larry LAGE The Associated Press
DETROIT — Steve Yzerman is getting another chance to return the Detroit Red Wings to glory.
The Hockey Hall of Famer did it as one the game’s all-time great leaders, helping Detroit end a 42-year championship drought with the first of three Stanley Cup celebrations of his playing tenure in Detroit.
Now, he has a shot to do it as the Red Wings’ general manager.
The Captain is coming home, a move that fired up a fan base and drew emotional responses from ownership. Perhaps in vain, Yzerman tried to pump the brakes on all the excitement.
“This is going to take time,” Yzerman said repeatedly Friday as he made a plea for patience.
Yzerman provides hope and a jolt of energy for a franchise that desperately needs both after going three straight years without a playoff appearance.
His return means Ken Holland’s run as GM is over after 22 years, but he isn’t going far: He starts his new job as senior vice-president with a multiyear contract, replacing his GM deal that had only one season remaining.
Chris Ilitch, the president and chief executive of Ilitch Holdings, which owns the Red Wings, said Holland encouraged him to hire Yzerman to replace him after the Tampa Bay Lightning gave the Red Wings permission to talk to him about the job in March.
“He said, ‘Steve should be the next general manager of the Red Wings,”’ Ilitch recalled.
Marian Ilitch, the founder of Ilitch Holdings, appeared to get choked up during Yzerman’s news conference and couldn’t stop smiling afterward as she celebrated the return of a man she refers to as one of her boys.
“I did have a feeling that someday we would be together again,” she said.
Detroit drafted Yzerman No. 4 overall in 1983 and he helped turn around the franchise. His No. 19 jersey hangs in the rafters alongside those of Gordie Howe and other greats along with the franchise’s 11 Stanley Cup banners. He retired in 2006 and left two years later to lead the Lightning.
And now the man adored by fans and affectionately known in
the Motor City as The Captain is back.
Yzerman is taking the reins of a team that is enduring its worst stretch since the early 1980s when the team was known locally as the “Dead Wings” and needed to give away a car at each home game to get people to attend games.
“There’s a lot of work to be done,” Yzerman said. “We’ve been through this before.”
The Red Wings have been rebuilding under Holland, who has created salary cap space, stockpiled draft picks and developed a core of young promising young players such as 22-year-old centre
Dylan Larkin. Yzerman said he will retain coach Jeff Blashill, who was signed to a two-year contract extension toward the end of the regular season.
“Kenny Holland has done a real good job setting up so when the general manager came in, he’s
Yzerman is taking the reins of a team that is enduring its worst stretch since the early 1980s when the team was known locally as the “Dead Wings.”
ready to go contract-wise, draftpick wise,” said Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock, who coached Yzerman in his final NHL season and worked with him when he led the Red Wings to the 2008 Stanley Cup and Canada to Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014.
“He’s set up and ready to go. They’re good friends, they’ll work well together.”
Yzerman went into management immediately after retiring and Holland was his mentor in the front office. He began his postplaying career as vice-president of hockey operations under Holland in Detroit and was part of the organization during that ’08 championship.
Yzerman stepped down as general manager in Tampa Bay last year just two days before training camp, triggering talk he would come back to run the Red Wings. Yzerman’s contract with the Lightning expired when they were eliminated in the first round of the NHL playoffs earlier this week.
He built Tampa Bay into a perennial contender in eight seasons as general manager, making three trips to the conference final and an advancing to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final where the Lightning lost to Chicago.
“It’s a real exciting day for me to
see Steve Yzerman back where he belongs,” Holland said.
Yzerman spent his entire playing career with the Red Wings. He developed into a two-way centre under Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman after breaking into the league as a skinny, 18-year-old kid from Cranbrook, British Columbia, who was talented enough to score 39 goals and have 87 points as a rookie.
His body broke down over time and his 22-season career ended with his retirement in 2006 after leading the Red Wings to titles in 1997, 1998 and 2002. His career ended with 1,755 regular-season points, a total that led all active players when he retired and trailed just five in NHL history.
“I knew he would want to get back home,” Bowman told The Associated Press.
“It has been nine years. It’s time. Home is home.”
Lori EWING The Canadian Press
ORLANDO, Fla. — Moments after Pascal Siakam led the Raptors to victory Friday night, a reporter began to ask the Game 3 star about the fact he’d only played seven years of organized basketball.
Danny Green stopped the reporter midsentence.
“What?” Green said, with a look of disbelief. “Sorry. I didn’t know that.”
In a season that Siakam has been touted as the league’s most improved player, he played like the Raptors’ MVP on Friday, scoring 30 points and hauling down 11 rebounds to lead Toronto to a 98-93 victory over the Orlando Magic.
The Raptors take a 2-1 lead into Sunday’s Game 4 of their best-of-seven openinground playoff series.
“He’s unbelievable. He’s the most improved basketball player in the NBA this year and he’s only going to get better,” said Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, who had 12 points and 10 assists and hustled to grab a big offensive rebound with 15 seconds left in the game.
Kawhi Leonard, who missed the previous couple of days because he wasn’t feeling well, had 16 points and 10 boards, while Green chipped in with 13 points.
Former Raptor Terrence Ross had 24 points, while Nikola Vucevic added 22 for the Magic.
Siakam shot 13-for-20 on the night, including a shot with 1:33 to play in the midst of a fierce Orlando rally.
The 25-year-old forward has been one of the brightest stories of the Raptors’ season, a player who worked his way up through Raptors 905 – the team’s G-League affiliate – to become a cornerstone of the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
How confident is he?
“It’s growing, and it helps when I have guys like Danny and the team supporting me,” Siakam said. “When you have things
going, they want to go to you and give you the ball. Just knowing and trusting my work. Every time I go on the floor it’s a blessing, and I trust my work, I work on things every day and try to get better.”
The Magic, meanwhile, are back in the playoffs after a seven-year drought, and the Amway Center was a noisy sea of 19,367 blue and white – the arena’s second-largest attendance in history. The Magic hadn’t lost at home in nine straight, stretching back to Feb. 22.
But the Raptors were riding momentum from a decisive 111-82 victory in Game 2. And picking up where they left off, they raced out to an 11-point lead.
The Magic caught a break when Marc Gasol picked up two quick fouls early in the second half to make it four, and had to take
Mark Didtler The Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. —
Mookie Betts and Mitch Moreland hit back-to-back homers for the go-ahead runs in the eighth inning and the struggling Boston Red Sox beat the MLB-best Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 on Friday night.
With the game tied at 4, Betts hit a leadoff shot off Diego Castillo (02) and Moreland connected three pitches later.
Christian Vazquez also homered and Brandon Workman (1-1) went 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the Red Sox, who are 7-13 and trail the AL East-leading Rays by seven games. Ryan Brasier worked the ninth to pick up his fourth save.
The Rays are the last team in the majors to have consecutive losses this season. Castillo was also the loser in a 6-5, 11-inning loss to Baltimore on Thursday night.
After 20 games last season, the eventual World Series champion Red Sox (17-3) were 10 games up on Tampa Bay (7-13).
Daniel Robertson, mired in an 0 for 21 slide, got the Rays even at 4-all with a two-run double during the sixth.
The inning was setup when Boston third baseman Rafael Devers misplayed what looked a doubleplay grounder from Avisail Garcia with one on and no outs.
a seat.
Vucevic, who’d been rendered a nonfactor by Gasol through the series’ first two games, took advantage, draining a threepointer to give Orlando its first lead since early in the game with 6:58 to play in the third. But the Raptors responded with an 18-2 run – Siakam scoring nine of the points – and closed the quarter with a 21-6 run to take a 76-65 advantage into the final 12 minutes.
“I think it showed some toughness for us. I really thought this was going to be a tough atmosphere to play in,” said Raptors coach Nick Nurse.
Lowry, in a humorous moment late in the third quarter, raced onto the court during a time-out to vigorously rub Serge Ibaka’s knee when the big man went down hard.
Lowry hit a three-pointer with 7:48 to play that gave Toronto a 17-point lead, but Ross followed up his three-pointer with a finger roll to cap a 21-10 Magic run that pulled Orlando to within four points with 1:55 to play.
A Ross three-pointer cut the difference to three, but Lowry grabbed a rebound off a Leonard miss that Magic coach Steve Clifford called “critical.” A pair of free throws by Leonard with 12.9 seconds clinched the victory for Toronto.
“I liked the way we came out... we’ve got to impose our will in this game,” said Nurse. “And then I liked us, how we answered.” Orlando had upset the Raptors to win Game 1, 104-101.
“It’s 2-1,” Clifford said. “It’s not like it’s 3-0. It’s 2-1. Handling disappointment is a huge part of NBA basketball and it’s a bigger part of playoff basketball.” Leonard had an off-night offensively, shooting 5-for-19 from the field. Coming off a 37-point performance in Game 2, the Magic threw several defenders at Leonard, including energetic 21-year-old Jonathan Isaac.
“Listen, that was a gutsy performance by him,” Nurse said. “He didn’t practise the last couple days... and for him to go out there and fight through that and still play 37 minutes... I’m most proud of his 10 rebounds, he was just battling, it wasn’t easy for him out there tonight.”
The Raptors dominated the first quarter, forcing seven Orlando turnovers, and Leonard’s dunk late in the frame had Toronto up 20-9. The Magic replied with a 12-4 run to pull within four points. The Raptors led 2621 to start the second.
Orlando continued to chip away at Toronto’s lead in the second, and pulled to within a point when Ross hit a three about five minutes before halftime. Then Ross threw up a shot from halfcourt at the buzzer. The crowd roared, and the Raptors went into the break with a narrow 48-45 lead.
Devers had a run-scoring double in the fifth for Boston’s first hit before Vazquez put Boston ahead 3-2 on his two-run shot to centre.
Vazquez has three homers and eight RBIs in his last five games.
Betts, hitless in his previous 12 at-bats, doubled in the sixth and scored as the Red Sox grabbed a 4-2 lead when J.D. Martinez extended his hitting streak to nine games with an RBI single.
Martinez has a hit in 19 of 20 games this season. Brandon Lowe hit his fifth homer in the last nine games, a solo drive that just cleared the fence at the 322-foot mark down
the right-field line in the second before Garcia’s third-inning RBI triple as the Rays went up 2-0. Trainer’s room
Red Sox: 2B Dustin Pedroia was examined by doctors Thursday and it was determined that his latest left knee injury is not serious. “We’re just going to let it calm down for a few days and then it should be all right,” Pedroia said. He was hurt in Boston’s game Wednesday night and went on the 10-day IL on Thursday.
Rays: Ace Blake Snell (fractured right fourth toe) will have a bullpen session Saturday.
“He continues to heal really quickly, which we’re very encouraged about,” manager Kevin Cash... C Mike Zunino went on the paternity list.
Special Delivery Boston GM Dave Dombrowski and manager Alex Cora presented Rays LHP Jalen Beeks with his 2018 World Series ring. Beeks appeared in two games last season with the Red Sox before being traded to Tampa Bay July 25 for RHP Nathan Eovaldi.
Up Next Red Sox RHP Rick Porcello (0-3, 11.12 ERA) and Rays RHP Charlie Morton (2-0, 2.18 ERA) are Saturday night’s starters. Porcello is 8-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 15 road starts against Tampa Bay.
Mike CIDONI LENNOX
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Chrissy Metz says she believed in miracles well before getting the call to meet producer DeVon Franklin to discuss taking the lead in director Roxann Dawson’s just-released faith-based drama Breakthrough.
Metz was already familiar with the film’s story of Joyce Smith, whose son, John, fell through ice on a lake in January 2015 and was drowning for 15 minutes before paramedics even started resuscitation efforts. By the time the boy was in the emergency room, he had gone so long without a pulse that doctors were ready to call time of death.
But Smith wouldn’t accept it. She was given permission to pray at her son’s feet as a last attempt at CPR was performed – and, much to everyone’s surprise, John’s pulse returned. And, eventually, he made a full recovery.
Metz recalled her first meeting about the film adaptation with producer Franklin and executives from distributor 20th Century Fox. “I thought we were just generally meeting, and then I ended up sharing the story of my mother’s medical emergency.”
In 2017, Metz’s mother, Denise, suffered a massive stroke, and even in front of her mother, doctors were openly pessimistic about a return to quality life.
Metz recalled her fury.
“I told those doctors, ‘You might think you know my mom, but you don’t know my mom. And you don’t know what she’s capable of ... So, if you don’t have anything nice or positive to say, you need to actually leave my mother’s room,”’ she said. “And then, of course, we come to find out that Joyce said those things to John’s doctors.”
Metz’s mom is home, walking, making what Metz called “a strong recovery” – and provided inspiration for her daughter’s portrayal of Joyce.
“To play, wholeheartedly, a woman who believes in miracles, you have to believe in miracles to some degree, I think,” explained Metz, who didn’t connect with the real-life Smith until two weeks into filming.
“I felt like I already knew her,” Metz noted. “I watched her on TV. I read her book, The Impossible.” But making the one-on-one contact did inform her performance. “Meeting her, you can’t help but realize she has been through hell and back, and is better for it.”
Three years ago, the 38-year-old Metz was perhaps the least-known of the seven original This Is Us leads. And while each in the cast has landed extracurricular gigs since the acclaimed and popular series’ 2016 debut, Metz is the first to be top-billed in a major studio theatrical release.
“It’s mind-blowing to know that when I first stepped foot on This Is Us, I felt like the inadequate, doesn’t have a resume, can I do this girl?” Metz said. “I learned so much from the cast collectively,” she continued, crediting her This Is Us co-stars for teaching her what it took to head up the Breakthrough cast.
Metz said movie scripts “aren’t pouring in,” but they’re coming, and the big issue is whether the movie is the right thing at the right time. She said she connected with her Breakthrough character and the film’s message of hope, as well as the producers’ eagerness to let her pursue another passion: singing.
Metz performs the new Diane Warren song, I’m Standing With You, over the film’s end titles.
“For me, it’s important for a movie to change me or change someone else,” Metz said.
Jane EISNER Special To The Washington Post
The Unwanted: America, Auschwitz, and a Village Caught in Between By
Michael Dobbs
Knopf. 346 pp. $29.95
Americans by and large do not deny that the Holocaust happened. They just are frighteningly fuzzy on the details. A national poll conducted last year found that nearly one-third of the respondents believed that two million or fewer Jews had died during the Nazi genocide, when the actual number is closer to six million.
Millennials display an even more shocking ignorance. Two-thirds could not identify Auschwitz as a concentration camp or an extermination camp; 22 per cent had not heard of or weren’t sure they had heard of the Holocaust at all.
Most Americans (80 per cent) said they had not visited a Holocaust museum, even though there are nearly 70 such museums and monuments in states across the country.
I don’t fit into those categories. I belong to that sliver of American Jews who could be criticized as too preoccupied with the Holocaust, periodically anxious that Germany 1938 could be just around the corner instead of a tragic moment consigned to history.
I’ve read numerous accounts of the Nazis’ attempts to exterminate European Jews, with the vicious acquiescence of their neighbours. I’ve watched cinematic treatments of the Holocaust and listened to survivors’ stories. I have visited the haunting remains of Bergen-Belsen and Theresienstadt, and seen the displays of human hair at Auschwitz, and trudged along the grim paths that led so many to their deaths. But even for someone immersed in the catastrophe of what happened to the Jews in the second World War, Michael Dobbs’ new book, The Unwanted: America, Auschwitz, and a Village Caught in Between, will still be a heartbreaking and timely read. With a reporter’s eye for narrative and a historian’s attention to detail and context, Dobbs re-creates Jewish life in Kippenheim, a German village near the French border, on the eve of the Nazi onslaught. Then, thanks to a trove of carefully assembled archival material, photographs and oral histories, he follows these Jewish families through harrowing cycles of deportation and desperation as they attempt to flee to safety.
That is only part of the story, however. An equally important – and infuriating – narrative unfolds in the halls of American power, where President Franklin D. Roosevelt is presented again and again with the opportunity to take in these Jewish refugees but, more often than not, accedes to political expediency and public pressure by doing nothing. Even first lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s valiant efforts to persuade her husband to sign a refugee bill for children alone were rebuffed. And this was before the full horrors of the Holocaust began.
Dobbs opens his story in November 1938 as 14-year-old Hedy Wachenheimer cycles to school in a nearby village on a day that would change her life forever. Caught in an avalanche of anti-Jewish violence, she is finally able to return to Kippenheim only to find her parents gone, as Nazi thugs ravaged Jewish homes and businesses. Her father and other men were arrested and sent to Dachau. She is eventually reunited with her mother and an aunt, who wait in fear for the violence to subside and her father to be released.
Though Jews had lived in Kippenheim peacefully with their neighbours for centuries, from then on, Hedy wanted only to leave Germany. “Tens of thousands of Jews squeezed into cupboards in attics and basements, or cowering under beds and bathtubs, in villages and towns across the Third Reich had precisely the same thought,” Dobbs writes. “Any doubts about what they should do were swept away in an instant. A single hope remained: emigration.”
That hope would be dashed as often as it was realized. Some Kippenheimers believed they had found salvation on a ship, St. Louis, which ended up sailing across the Atlantic and then back to Germany, as Cuba and the United States refused to accept the heartbroken refugees. A few, like Hedy, were able to escape to Britain through the Kindertransport program, which allowed persecuted children to enter on temporary visas.
When I learn of how ignorant some Americans are about the Holocaust, I want them to read the story of Kippenheim’s Jews, to confront the fact that a supposedly civilized nation can commit acts of genocide. Some of the Jews of Kippenheim survived by pure luck. Others survived because of the moral courage of those who risked all to help them.
At the end of his historical account, Dobbs returns to the village with one of those survivors and sees, on the street across from the synagogue, the home of the Valfers, another Jewish couple who were deported to Gurs and died in Auschwitz. It turns out that their house now belongs to a family of Kurdish refugees from Syria, who had fled their homeland during the brutal civil war. The story continues.
Jancee Dunn takes a flippant look at the very odd traditions of childrearing during the
Jancee DUNN Special To The Washington Post
Ungovernable: The Victorian Parent’s Guide to Raising Flawless Children by Therese Oneill Little, Brown. 288 pp. $25
There was once a time, writes the historian Therese Oneill, when “parents were not enslaved to the whims of ultra-confident toddlers.” There was no counting to three, no half-hearted threats to suspend iPad privileges.
“You simply told him to act and he did, respectfully.” This golden, pre-permissive-parenting idyll, it turns out, predates not only electronic devices, but household electricity itself.
Any parent who makes regular use of the phrase ‘Excuse me, I don’t like your tone’ has likely been tempted to fire up H.G. Wells’ time machine and blast back to the Victorian era, when children were meekly obedient. It was a time, notes Oneill, when “Dickens’ Tiny Tim would have wept with gratitude over your heart-smart lentil loaf, not whined and gagged throughout the meal.”
Contrasted to 21st-century parents, flailing and racked with doubt, Victorian parents basked in moral certitude. We may not be ready for Dickensian day care, but is there anything we can learn from 19thcentury parenting?
Not really, as it turns out. In Ungovernable: The Victorian Parent’s Guide to Raising Flawless Children, Oneill delves into the era’s highly dubious child-rearing practices. Using a similar format to her previous book, Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady’s Guide to Sex, Marriage and Manners, Oneill deploys quotes from various 19th-century pundits, archival illustrations and photos, and snarky commentary that informs the reader about “discipline, morals, and the devastating repercussions of allowing a child to eat fruit.”
Using advice that is entertainingly bizarre – and frequently galling – she explores topics such as conception, pregnancy, education and recreation. Chapter titles are acidly funny: “My Child Will Eat Neither Mush, Mucilage, Porridge, Pablum, Gruel, nor Loblolly. Is Pickiness God’s Way of Culling the Herd?”
From the dusty annals of family planning guidebooks, she excavates popular theories, typically mansplained by doctors with ambiguous degrees. One book posits that a woman in “a higher state of sexual vigor and excitement” at the time of conception will produce a boy. Another claims that when a pregnant woman sees a distressing image, she may directly transfer this “maternal impression” to the child’s appearance; one pregnant woman who beheld pictures of a bear gave birth to a furry baby “with bearlike claws” (quick, hide the spider pictures!).
In the chapter detailing health maintenance, it’s surprising the already appalling child mortality rate of the period wasn’t even higher, given the ways wellmeaning parents could kill their offspring with the popular remedies of the day – a gulp of turpentine for constipation, a dose of the deadly poison strychnine for palsy, a dollop of ground tin to expel intestinal worms. How did anyone survive to adulthood?
Oneill’s general cheekiness can occasionally be her undoing. Some of the terminology she uses gets too cute (a baby is a “tiny tummy tag-along,” breasts are “milk muskets” and so on.) She often uses a Q&A format in which a “reader” asks questions, but the jokey repartee, while funny, can grow wearisome (“How’d the Penisocracy manage to hijack the most sacred tradition of womanhood?” “I think you made that word up, and I like it, though it’s rather harsh.”) It’s unnecessary, because Oneill is so adept at extracting intriguing historical tidbits: Who knew the first official maternity dress was designed in the early 1900s by Lane Bryant, namesake of the plus-size retail chain?
Oneill warns early in the book that she wrote it to entertain and inform, and would only address, but not dwell on, how miserable that era was for so many children. When she does veer from the snark, however, it’s welcome. Explaining Victorians’ avoidance of fresh fruits and vegetables and reliance on brandy for their children, she writes that “plain” food, inadvertently made safe through alcohol or rigorous boiling, were the smartest choices to feed a child.
In a chapter devoted to discipline, she recounts the story of New York City orphan Mary Ellen Connolly, who was brutally beaten and starved by her guardians. With the help of Henry Bergh, founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Connolly testified against them in court. At that time, there were no similar laws that protected children from physical abuse, and her testimony prompted a crusade to prevent it.
Ungovernable serves as a reminder that pseudoscience is hardly a relic of the past. And have we fully evolved? A century from now, readers will probably snicker that nearly everything early-21st-century parents fed their children came in nugget or squeezepouch form. In the meantime, Oneill’s irreverent guide is a reality check for those who might romanticize the era of strict self-discipline and unchallenged parental authority.
“Welcome to the past,” she writes. “It’s quite awful here.”
Thomas HEATH The Washington Post
One of the biggest things on my mind these days – right up there with the Washington Nationals’ woeful bullpen – is retirement. I am a few months from turning 64, so I’m not putting in my notice anytime soon. But 25 million or so Americans, ages 55 to 64, are, like me, wondering what they will live on during their “golden years.”
I have to be honest: I thought the hard part was living within your means and saving for retirement. It’s not.
Trying to figure out how to cash out your nest egg – your tax-deferred retirement account, your taxable investments or both – so it will last the rest of your life can be even harder. It has me gnawing at my fingernails. There are many variables when figuring out retirement finances. How well do you want to live? Do you want to leave anything? Do you want to help the kids or others? Charity?
One point that needs to be made is this: if you’re worried about your retirement money lasting, pay off as much debt as possible before you retire. Get rid of the monthly mortgage and car payments if you can. Keep credit-card debt under control.
Jeffrey DeMaso recently wrote a two-part series on this subject for the Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors, a newsletter for which he is director of research. So I called him.
The first question is, “How long do I have left?”
Men who make it to age 65 in 2020 will have, on average, an additional 19.3 years, according to the U.S. Social Security Administration. Women that age will have, on average, an additional 21.7 years. So let’s just say, right off the bat, that you can expect to live for 20 years after retiring.
Now let’s discuss, “How much do I need?”
Household expenditures for Americans 65 or older, as of 2017, averaged $49,500 a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Income from Social Security and pensions for those same households averaged just shy of $25,000, the BLS said. (We are talking pretax money here.)
“That leaves a $25,000 gap that you need to fill,” DeMaso said. Where do you get that money?
Statistics on retirement savings are all over the place.
Vanguard Group reports that its average 401(k) account, the popular tax-deferred employee savings plan, holds $104,000.
The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College said data from 2016, the most recent available, indicated that households approaching retirement had a median balance of $135,000 in a tax-deferred 401(k) or individual retirement account (IRA).
The median account balance for someone in their 30s earning $40,000 to $60,000 a year is $34,799, according to the Investment Company Institute, which represents the mutual fund industry.
The median account balance was $375,718 for people in their 60s who earn $100,000 a year and who have had decades to save, according to ICI.
Let’s say, for argument sake, that you have saved $1 million and that you want to depend primarily on the income that it generates and to preserve the principal.
A million bucks sounds like a lot, but is it really?
Many money managers live by the “ four per cent rule.” That rule of thumb, intro-
duced in 1994 by financial adviser William Bengen, posits that a retiree can live safely for 30 years withdrawing four per cent from their portfolio, with annual adjustments for inflation.
Four per cent of $1 million is $40,000 pretax dollars. That takes care of the $25,000 gap, at least on paper.
But stock markets fluctuate. Your $1 million portfolio might increase to $1.3 million in a good year. Or it could get crushed, the way the Standard & Poor’s 500 index was crushed when it finally bottomed out March 9, 2009. The peak-to-trough drop – from Oct. 9, 2007, to March 9, 2009 – was 56.78 per cent.
If you invested $1 million in an S&P 500 index fund at the top of that market cycle it would have been worth about $432,200 when the market hit bottom.
“Investors need to be able to ride through that kind of volatility,” said Howard Silverblatt of S&P Dow Jones Indices.
“People in their 20s will see many bear markets. Retirees may not have the time to ride out a down market.”
There has been a lot of discussion about the four per cent rule, with some people arguing that you should withdraw less and others arguing that you can withdraw more.
It depends, in part, on whether you want to preserve your principal at all costs or are willing to spend it down as you grow older.
Some thrill-seekers may pull out eight, nine or even 10 per cent, but financial advisers do not recommend that you spend at that rate for very long.
“If it’s only going to be for a couple of years, maybe that’s fine,” DeMaso said. “But retirement isn’t static. If you think you can stay at eight per cent for decades, that’s probably not realistic. The four per cent rule still does roughly hold.”
I don’t know that much about the bond
market. But I am pretty sure bonds aren’t paying anywhere near four per cent, unless you go into high-risk territory. You can probably find some dividendpaying stocks – for instance, shares in oil companies, telecoms and utilities – that yield four per cent or more. But you might sacrifice long-term appreciation because dividends tend to be paid by lower-growth companies.
One way to conquer your fear of running out of money is to buy an annuity. Most annuities are sold by insurance companies. They aren’t cheap. They can be complicated. And you are handing over a big chunk of cash, maybe your entire life savings, which can be difficult for some of us.
“Annuities can sound really great on paper, and they try to remove the risk of running out of your money, which is what everyone is worried about,” DeMaso said.
“But they are often expensive. There is not a free lunch.”
Our financial adviser has talked to me and my wife about annuities, but we balked for the reasons DeMaso cited.
A Marcus online savings account, with Goldman Sachs, is paying 2.25 per cent annual interest. That would yield $22,500 on your $1 million in savings. Not bad for a savings account these days.
As a financial conservative, I lean toward the classic balanced investment portfolio of stocks, bonds and enough cash to ride out any tumult. Stocks are a hedge against inflation because the companies that issue them can increase prices.
BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink has said that people should be 100 per cent invested in the stock market and stay that way. But stocks will almost surely drop at some point, as they did last fall, when the S&P 500 fell 14 per cent. So having some bonds – to absorb the volatility and keep
your blood pressure down – is wise. I also keep some cash around to tide me over for a year or two, so I don’t have to sell stocks in the midst of a shellacking.
But how to create a stream of income from a balanced portfolio?
We can look again at dividends, but they’re unlikely to provide enough. The S&P 500 dividend yield is 1.97 per cent. Do the math, and your $1 million in an index fund is throwing off $19,700 a year in dividends.
Another option is to sell some stocks or mutual fund shares every year instead of trying to preserve your principal and live only on the dividends.
“People should focus on the total return of their portfolio,” DeMaso said. “That includes capital appreciation and dividends. The point is not to be singularly focused on income. Look at the whole portfolio.”
There are some other strategies out there. You could get a reverse mortgage. And some states and localities allow retirementage homeowners to defer property taxes, with the deferred amounts to be paid with interest when the house is sold.
“Home equity is usually a person’s largest asset,” said Amy Grzybowski of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
“If you have a gap in terms of the income you need and don’t have enough through traditional pensions or Social Security, you can tap your home as an asset.”
You can also work, and save, until you’re 70, when the Internal Revenue Service will make you start spending your retirement savings.
If you have your savings in a tax-deferred retirement account, the IRS will require that you begin withdrawing a minimum amount after age 70 1/2. It’s called the required minimum distribution, and it currently is in the neighborhood of that golden four per cent rule.
BEIJING — Chinese e-commerce tycoon Jack Ma has long been an example of how the power of big dreams, strong leadership and sheer elbow grease can create massive fortunes in China’s go-go economy. Yet, recent remarks by the head of Chinese online business giant Alibaba that young people should be prepared to work 12-hour days, six days a week have prompted a public debate over work-life balance in the country.
Ma is one of China’s richest men and his comments brought both condemnation and support as China’s maturing economy enters a period of slower growth – and young people look to escape the drudgery their parents often had to endure.
Even the People’s Daily newspaper, the ruling Communist Party’s mouthpiece, issued an editorial this week saying mandatory overtime reflects managerial arrogance and is “impractical and unfair” for workers. Online complaints included blaming long
work hours for a lower birth rate. “The anxiety of companies is understandable, but the way to alleviate anxiety is not
making employees work overtime as much as possible,” the People’s Daily said.
The debate has exposed contradictions in modern Chinese society, where the Communist Party was officially founded on improving conditions for workers and peasants but also calls for huge sacrifices to build a powerful and prosperous nation.
Wang Dao, 29, who works in the media industry, said long working hours should not be compulsory, though hard chargers will inevitably put in the extra time.
“For startups and strivers, (long hours) are valuable, but it should not be advocated for everyone,” he said.
Ma, 54 and with a fortune estimated at around $40 billion, has responded to the criticism by saying work should be a joy and also include time for study, reflection and self-improvement.
“Real ‘996’ is not simply working overtime,” Ma posted on his Weibo microblog this week, referring to the concept of work-
ing from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days out of the week. “It’s not tedious physical work and not related to exploitation.”
Attitudes toward lengthy work hours are changing as Chinese incomes rise and employees have more options for entertainment and relaxation, said Han Jun, a professor at School of Labor and Human Resources at Renmin University in Beijing.
“Employees want to enjoy their leisure time more and are less willing to work long hours,” Han said. As Chinese industry develops, companies need more than just hard work and firms that pressure employees to work too many hours might be hurting themselves, he said.
“The need for skills and creativity is getting higher,” said Han. “Asking employees to work too long will cause work quality and employee efficiency to decline.”
Just as Chinese schools require hours of homework and extra study from students, Chinese companies demand overtime from their workers without putting that in writing, said Yang Baoquan, senior partner at the Zhong Yin Law Firm in Beijing. That allows employers to avoid violating Chinese labour law and puts their workers at a disadvantage when seeking to assert their rights, Yang said.
“There is a certain connection between personal hard work and happiness and wealth growth. But it is not necessarily at the cost of the right to rest and at the cost of crossing the legal red line,” Yang said. With growth slowing, companies are under more pressure than ever to demand overtime from their workers, even if they don’t declare so openly, said Zhang Liyun, an associate professor at the China University of Labor Relations.
Advocacy of “996” by business leaders such as Ma is their way of sending a semicovert warning to less motivated workers, Zhang said.
Associated Press researcher Yu Bing contributed to this report.
Michelle BRUNNER
Special to The Washington Post
Designers love scenic wallpaper for its ability to transform a room.
Unlike regular wallpaper, which often has a repeating pattern, scenic wallpaper fills an entire wall with a single, mural-like image.
Usually depicting an outdoor tableau, the wallpaper brings nature inside and lends old-world appeal to a space. Just flip through any recent design magazine and you’ll probably see a well-appointed room with walls covered in largescale images of flowering vines or swaying trees.
“People embrace things that feel handmade and have a link to the past,” says Susan Harter, who makes hand-painted scenic wallpaper in her Port Townsend, Washington, studio. “At a time when we’re being bombarded with technology, it’s nice to be in a haven of one’s own making. It’s like entering a peaceful mini-Eden.”
Until recently, if you wanted the look, you had to splurge on custom wallcoverings from luxury brands such as Zuber et Cie, Gracie Studio, de Gournay and Fromental. Those handmade paper or silk panels can cost thousands of dollars, and that’s without installation. But scenic wallpaper has become far more accessible. Thanks to digital-printing technology that allows retailers to duplicate the look inexpensively, you no longer have to blow your entire decorating budget on a few pricey panels of chinoiserie.
High-definition printers aren’t exactly new to the luxury wallpaper business; the London-based brand Iksel has been producing high-end digital collections based on hand-painted works since 2004. And Harter’s company, Susan Harter Muralpapers, has been using the technology for several years to turn her handpainted murals into custom canvas wallcoverings.
Now, mass-market retailers are getting in the game: Anthropologie, Minted, Tempaper and U.K.-based Woodchip & Magnolia are just a handful of the compa-
nies offering lower-priced versions, making it easier than ever to embellish a blank wall with a painterly image of a meadow or garden. Wallpaper murals from Anthropologie and Woodchip & Magnolia can be ordered online for less than $300.
Even renters can upgrade their space with a nature-inspired scene: Minted offers abstract landscapes created by independent artists in peel-and-stick panels, starting at $330, and Tempaper’s removable wallpaper features chinoiserie-inspired blooms and lush tropical foliage at $12 per square foot.
Scenic wallpaper has been enlivening homes for more than 300 years. Most examples can be traced back to two different styles: Chinese panels and French panoramic scenes. According to Greg Herringshaw, assistant curator of wallcoverings at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design
Museum in New York, the earliest examples of hand-painted decorative panels came from China in the late 17th century. They often featured flowers, birds and trees, or tradesmen at work and were rendered in an intentionally naive, shallow perspective.
The popularity of chinoiserie soared through the 19th century, and the wallpaper made its way to Europe and the United States as an import from the East India Company, following the trade routes of the time.
French panoramic papers used a more realistic perspective and showed highly detailed landscapes. The first documented example of a panoramic paper appeared in France around 1803. It was block-printed by hand and attributed to Zuber et Cie, the oldest still-operating wallpaper company.
“Early French papers were meant to be travelogues that fit
with the whole idea of the grand tour, depicting scenes of Roman ruins or exotic lands,” Herringshaw says.
Zuber still uses the same labour-intensive technique, which involves carving designs onto wooden blocks, dipping the blocks into hand-mixed pigments and stamping them onto paper.
Because of its expense and dramatic appearance, scenic wallpaper has traditionally been used in high-traffic rooms where visitors would be impressed by such a lavish display. (A fine example of Zuber paper adorns the Diplomatic Reception Room in the White House.)
Today, you’re still most likely to spot the wallcoverings in places where guests congregate, especially dining rooms.
For a home in McLean, CavinWinfrey covered the dining room walls with a luxurious, one-of-akind design from Gracie Studio. The homeowners are avid birdwatchers, and the gilded paper reflects a variety of flora and fauna that are indigenous to the region. For another project, she canvassed the walls of a sitting room, literally, with murals from Harter depicting bucolic rolling hills in the English countryside.
Lower-priced scenic wallpapers are gaining acceptance in design circles, too.
Anthropologie’s Etched Arcadia mural, for example, was recently used by two different interior designers known for their mix of traditional and modern elements: Lauren Liess of Great Falls created a statement wall in her offices using the grisaille (or gray-toned) forest scene; Northern Virginia designer Alison Giese liked it so much she installed it in two different projects.
The newfound accessibility of scenic wallpaper also helps homeowners solve a variety of routine design problems.
Take the ever-present open floor plan: “Murals are the perfect way to define a space,” says Giese, who used one to delineate a dining room in an open-concept living area.
And for the space-challenged, a scenic landscape can make a big difference.
“It seems counterintuitive, but a mural can make a small space feel much larger,” Herringshaw says. Another bonus is that the wallpaper becomes the focal point of the room, reducing the need for additional art.
“Any place you have a feature wall is a good place to try a mural,” Giese says.
It’s also an easy way to add character to your space, especially if it’s not blessed with a lot of architectural detail.
“A mural brings a lot of personality to a room,” Herringshaw says. “It also says a lot about the person who installs it.”
“There isn’t usually as much furniture to obstruct the view,” says Alexandria, Va., designer Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey. “The table and chairs are generally centered in the room as opposed to sitting on the periphery, and they also tend to be more formal spaces.”
Margaret Catherine Cosh (nee Vickers)
It is with sorrow and heartfelt loss we say goodbye to our beloved Margaret. Loving wife, mother, Grandma and Granny. She will be missed and will always have a place in the hearts of her loved ones. Margaret was born April 26/1933 in Nipawin SK and deceased April 14/2019 in Prince George BC.
Survived by her loving husband Ray Cosh, adored children Donna (Jon), Darrell (Donna), Garry (Darlene), Catherine (Paul), Vicki (Rod), Al (Val) 15 beloved grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews and many dear friends.
Predeceased by her parents James and Margaret “Birdie” Vickers, 5 brothers, 3 sisters and her favourite Pomeranian Rusty. Margaret and Ray were married for 65 years. They moved to Prince George in the summer of 1972. She worked in laundry at the hospital for over 20 years. She’s been a member of the Women of the Moose since 1980. She was proud to hold the position of Senior Regent twice. She was also a member of The Red Hat Society.
Donations to the charity of your choice should be made in lieu of flowers.
No service by Margaret’s request. A Celebration of Life to be announced at a later date.
The most important thing in Margaret’s life was family which were many! She gave time and thought to all she loved. Thank you for being amazing at everything a woman can be. Sister, Aunty, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother and Friend.
It is with broken hearts the family of Norman Everett Howe announce his passing on April 14, 2019. He is survived by his wife and best friend of 43 years, Anne, his children, Lorie, Glenn and Cristel, his brothers Steve, Gary, Ron, Doug, his grandchildren and great grandchildren. No service at his request, but a gathering at the farm is planned for the summer. Donations are welcome at the Prince George Hospice House.
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OTTAWA (CP) — Markets were closed on Friday for the Easter holiday. These are indicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Thursday. Quotations in Canadian funds.
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — A global team of experts next week will begin reviewing how the Boeing 737 Max’s flight control system was approved by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA says experts from nine international civil aviation authorities have confirmed participation in a technical review promised by the agency.
Former National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Chris Hart will lead the group, which also will have experts from the FAA and NASA. They will look at the plane’s automated system including the way it interacts with pilots. The group will meet Tuesday and is expected to finish in 90 days.
The Boeing jetliner has been grounded around the world since mid-March after two crashes killed 346 people. Investigators are focusing on anti-stall software that pushed the planes’ noses down based on erroneous sensor readings.
TOKYO (AP) — Global stock indexes were mostly moderately higher in quiet holiday trading on Good Friday as some markets were closed. Trading was closed in France, Germany and the U.K. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.5 per cent to finish at 22,200.56. South Korea’s Kospi inched up 0.1 per cent to 2,216.15.
The Shanghai Composite gained 0.6 per cent to 3,270.80. Some other markets remain closed for the holiday, including in Canada, the U.S., Hong Kong and Australia.
Overnight, major U.S. stock indexes capped the holiday shortened week with slight gains, although the marginal upward move was not enough to keep the benchmark S&P 500 index from snapping a string of three straight weekly gains.
The S&P 500 gained 4.58 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,905.03.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 110 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 26,559.54.
The Nasdaq composite inched 1.98 points higher, or less than 0.1 per cent, to 7,998.06. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap dropped 1.85 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 1,565.75.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil added 7 cents to $64.07 a barrel. It rose 0.4% to settle at $64 per barrel Thursday. Brent crude, the international standard, added 0.5% to $71.97 per barrel.
CURRENCIES: The U.S. dollar rose slightly to 111.92 Japanese yen from 111.89 yen late Thursday. The euro weakened to $1.1247 from $1.1258.
In a statement Friday, the FAA said aviation authorities from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to help with the work, called a Joint Authorities Technical Review.
The group will evaluate the automated flight control design and determine whether it complies with regulations. It also will decide if changes need to be made in the FAA’s approval process.
Chicago-based Boeing is working on a software fix to the planes’ anti-stall system, known by its acronym, MCAS. In both an October crash off the coast of Indonesia and a March crash in Ethiopia, a faulty sensor reading triggered
What would happen if you had to sell your business this week due to illness?
Recently a man contacted me because his doctors told him that due to his illness, he had to stop working immediately. The problem was that he owned a business.
How, he asked, could he comply with his doctors’ orders and stop everything? There were staff, customers, and orders to think of.
He had bills to pay, and on top of it all, everything in the business revolved around him. My heart went out to him and his family in their challenge, because there had been times in my business career where I might have been in the same situation.
If he worked for government or industry this fellow would be fine, he could take a leave from his job, get compensation from an insurance program and rest up and get healthy. As a business owner, things are different and unfortunately often tragic.
Most business owners who cannot work in their business stand to lose everything. There are some estimates that most business owners have 50-90 per cent of their total assets tied up in the business.
This means if they get sick or are forced to retire without getting their money out of the business, they could be ready for the poor house.
Unfortunately, most business owners are not prepared for a
MCAS and pushed the plane’s nose down, and pilots were unable to recover.
Pilots at U.S. airlines complained that they didn’t even know about MCAS until after the October crash. They then received computer training that described the system and how to respond when something goes wrong with it.
On Wednesday, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said the company completed its last test flight of updated flight-control software. Muilenburg said test pilots flew 120 flights totalling 203 hours with the new software. The company is expected to conduct a crucial certification flight with an
quick sale or transition of their business. A study published by ROCG in October 2008 found that only nine per cent of business owners had a written plan to exit the business and another 33 per cent said they had plans but they were not formalized or written.
So, what would happen if you had to sell your business this week due to an illness? Chances are that you would only get pennies on the dollar for what you own. The truth is that only 25-30 per cent of businesses are ever sold.
The majority close down with the owner selling off the assets, inventory and property – if they are fortunate enough to even own the property. You have probably seen with your own eyes, closing out and liquidation sales where stock and inventory are sold for a fraction of what the owner paid for them.
FAA test pilot on board soon, possibly next week.
“We are making steady progress toward certification” and returning the Max to service, Muilenburg said as he stood in front of a Max jet at Boeing Field in Seattle. Muilenburg said he went on a test flight that day and saw the updated software “operating as designed across a range of flight conditions.”
In the U.S., United Airlines has removed its 14 Max jets from the schedule until early July, while American, with 24, and Southwest, with 34, are not counting on the planes until August. It could take longer before
The intention of this article is not to have you concluding that all business owners are doomed to failure and a bleak future if they are hit by illness. However, we need to be prepared and to have previously considered our options. if our lives are to change directions due to unforeseen circumstances.
As business owners we must clarify our options. Yes, we could close the doors and walk away if we have enough money in the bank, but my observation after working with business owners for years is that most don’t have enough money to survive for 20 or 30 years without their income.
Other options would be to have a liquidation sale, sell the business to staff, family members, competition, or another interested business party. This would provide some income for us and our family provided the business is worth anything. But those options all take time.
Fire me off an email if you want to know the five things that buyers are looking for in a business.
Having a plan written up for our family and employees to follow
foreign airlines can use their Max jets. Regulators outside the U.S. once relied on the FAA’s judgment in such matters but have indicated plans to conduct their own reviews this time.
Foreign countries may impose additional requirements, delaying the use of the Max by their carriers.
For example, FAA experts concluded in a draft report that while pilots need training on the antistall system, they do not need additional time in flight simulators. Canada’s transportation minister said this week, however, that he wants simulator training for Max pilots. Air Canada has 24 Max jets.
if something happened which left us unable to manage our business, is a great first step. Sharing that plan would be a necessary second step. The challenge of most of us who run a business on a daily basis is that we procrastinate about planning for worst case scenarios which would ensure that we can benefit from the value we have created. Unfortunately, before we know it, our time in the business is up and we have failed to realize our dreams or to prepare for the future.
Regrettably, the fellow who reached out to me hadn’t been able to create a valuable business and was going to be forced to sell the business for its assets at a fraction of the amount of his investment. I hope this doesn’t happen to you.
Start preparing early and have a plan of action in the event that a disaster could possibly strike you.
Dave Fuller, MBA, is an awardwinning business coach and the author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy. Is your time running out? Email dave@profityourselfhealthy. com before its too late.
on their
bell towers, and a frantic rescue effort saved the monument’s “most precious treasures,” including the relic revered as Jesus’ Crown of Thorns, officials said.
Monique EL-FAIZY, Sarah PULLIAM BAILEY The Washington Post
PARIS — A symbol of Paris, a triumph of Gothic architecture and one of the most visited monuments in the world, the Cathedral of Notre Dame is a beloved icon for millions across the globe. But for many in this largely Catholic country, especially for the most faithful, the medieval masterpiece is a sacred space that serves as the spiritual as well as the cultural heart of France.
So as it burned on Monday – during Holy Week, which precedes Easter – Parisians gathered on the other side of the Seine, embers blowing onto their heads, praying and crying as they sought fellowship in their shared disbelief. As night fell, people clutched flickering candles, still praying as ochrecoloured plumes of smoke billowed in a dimming sky. The sound of hymns filled the air.
The fire is another blow for Catholics in France, where a cardinal was recently convicted of a sex abuse cover-up. And Catholic churches in France have reportedly come under attack in recent months; a cross of human excrement was found at one church and a beheaded statue of Jesus at another.
Far more to the French than just a tourist attraction, Notre Dame – “she,” as the French refer to “Our Lady” – is very much a working church. Among the roughly 30,000 people who walk through the massive arched entryway every day are devoted Catholics who worship under its wondrous stained-glass windows, attending one of its many masses and vespers.
The building belongs to the French State,
but the Catholic church holds the rights to its use and the archdiocese is responsible for its administration and operation. At one point referred to as “the eldest daughter of the church,” the nearly 800-year-old Notre Dame is the liturgical centre of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris in a country that has long been identified with Catholicism.
“It’s something one thought would last forever,” said Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest who said he’s visited the cathedral many times. “This affects all Catholics in France but all people in France. It affects Catholics around the world but all people in the world. It’s a central icon of civilization.”
And yet even amid such a loss, it’s important that people remember Notre Dame is still just a building made of stone, said Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, spokesman for the Bishop’s Conference of France, on the French television network TF1. As Holy Week begins, Catholics are urged to be the “living stones of the Church” as they celebrate the mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ, “source of our hope,” the Conference said in a statement.
Catholicism was the official religion of France until the revolution of 1789, and until that point, French kings enjoyed close relationships with Popes. In 2017, 60 per cent of adults in France identified as Catholic, according to the Pew Research Center.
While Catholicism is still the largest religion in France, the church’s ranks have steadily dwindled over the past three decades.
Still, France remains a stronghold of Catholicism and a destination for many pil-
grims, for whom Notre Dame remained an essential holy site. Among the many relics held at the cathedral are a thorn of crowns said to have been placed on the head of Jesus before his crucifixion and a piece of the cross upon which he died.
Built between 1160 and 1260, Notre Dame survived riots in the 16th Century, the upheavals of the French Revolution in the 18th, damage from bombing in the First World War and from bullets in Second World War.
When it was built, it was one of the tallest in the western world and is considered a classic piece of Gothic architecture, said Tom Lucas, a Jesuit who is a professor of art history at Seattle University. It took around a hundred years to build before it was largely completed in 1260. Victor Hugo’s novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1831 helped to bring popular interest to the cathedral.
“It was a remarkable piece of work on every level, a symbol of beauty and serenity as a spiritual centre for the French people and an emblem of the city,” Lucas said.
The cathedral has had its share of challenges over its 700-plus years. During a revolt by the French Huguenots 1540s, several sculptures were damaged by the Protestants who considered them idolatrous. The spire came down in the 1700s after it was damaged by the wind. During the French Revolution, heads were chopped off of statues of biblical characters, and a goddess of liberty replaced the Virgin Mary in some places, Lucas said. Never, though had it suffered damage as severe as that inflicted in Monday’s fire.
Ibecame a Christian in Oct. 1995 in my early twenties. Immediately I was passionate about telling anyone who would listen about Jesus. I had found the true God that forgave me of my sinful past and I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. The leaders of my church probably didn’t know what to do with this exuberant new believer that would preach to anyone who would listen. Their gracious response was to funnel that passion and so they assigned me to my very first Sunday school
CLERGY COMMENT
PASTOR KIMI ORTON GATEWAY CHURCH
class as a teacher. I had been a Christian for three months. I had no clue what I was doing as I led this group of boys and girls in Gr. 3 and 4. I got my curriculum and studied every word of it as I prepared and got ready. I was so pumped to tell the kids in my
class about Jesus. I went to the first Sunday school class that day and was blown away by the knowledge, the faith, the encouragement of the kids in my class. They already knew Jesus. They taught me. Discipled me. I was the adult, but they were certainly the teachers. I tried to catch up to their faith, and went and bought a kids Bible and read it quickly to try figure out this God thing. Here I was called to make disciples…. To lead this group of kids and they were discipling me.
Despite the French emphasis on laïcité, which roughly translates to “secularism,” many of the nation’s milestones were marked in Notre Dame. In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte was consecrated emperor of France there. In 1944, General Charles De Gaulle and General Philippe Leclerc attended a mass in the church to mark Paris’ liberation from the Germans. And in 1966, world leaders flocked to the cathedral to pay their final respects to former French president François Mitterrand.
“All the big events in our history unfolded in Notre Dame,” journalist Stéphane Bern said on French television.
The masons who worked on the cathedrals like Notre Dame often knew it wouldn’t be complete within their lifetime, an expression of one’s devotion to God and to the church, said Judith Dupre, a structural historian who wrote on the architecture of churches.
Churches like Notre Dame provided art freely in a democratic manner, since people didn’t have to pay to see the inside, she said. For the first time, peasants could go in and see people who looked like them depicted in wood, stone and glass. “By extension, you could see yourself as a potential saint,” she said. The stained-glass windows were a promise of heaven for many people.
Perhaps after St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Notre Dame is likely the most famous cathedral in the world, said Krupali Krusche, an expert on historical building preservation at the University of Notre Dame who led the digital preservation of the Taj Mahal and the Vatican’s Belvedere Courtyard.
A couple years later I started pastoring at a church and had the opportunity to lead and encourage faith in others. I never forgot the simplicity of how my Gr. 3 and 4 kids taught me how easy it was to follow Jesus. Sometimes we over complicate it. God’s plan is simple. The cross equals love. Perfect love. There’s no hidden formula or ritual you need to perform. With God, what you see is what you get. He wants to adopt you into His family and is waiting for you to say Yes. You see that is the thing with
adoption, God our Father initiates it with each of us. He wants us in His family. This Easter weekend I pray you encounter God’s perfect love for you. Find a church service. I pray you open your heart to the One that knows you and wants you to know that you belong in His family. The power of Jesus life, death and resurrection is life giving to you. I pray you become Jesus disciple and chase after getting to know Him more and more each day. Happy Easter!
