‘Pinball’ Clemons to speak at Bob Ewert lecture
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
He’s bouncing and careening back to Prince George like a pinball on a points streak.
Michael Clemons was known all over the football world as Pinball, and the name still applies now that he has scored as many big moments in the board room as he ever did on the field. He came to Canada as a CFL prospect in 1989 who already had NFL experience as a punt returner and receiver. He cut a route across the record books that few will ever touch.
Many fans from that era remember his dazzling runs, defined by tenacity, speed and agility that earned him his nickname. What many fans might not realize was he carried on doing the same thing after retirement, just as a coach, team executive (all of it with the Toronto Argonauts) and a number of social activist and business ventures. Of the six Grey Cups he won, half were in off-field positions.
When he comes to Prince George on Saturday, as the keynote speaker at the annual Dr. Bob Ewert Dinner and Lecture, he will focus on that evolution – how a person can grow into a leader, how a community can grow into a team.
“Great communities respond to challenges. When you have things going on in the neighbourhood that upset the community, you come together, you unify to make that change,” said Clemons after researching some of what Prince George has rallied around in the past.
Whether that is accommodating thousands of wildfire evacuees, banding together by the thousand to establish a university, or pulling as a team of 70,000-plus to pull off the Canada Winter Games, Prince George is emblematic of a place that works together for the greater good, whether the cause is large or small.
“There are still gaps,” he said, and zeroed in on the medical theme of the dinner event. “Whether that is rehab, or people who shouldn’t have to travel that far, or who are unable to get access because they can’t travel that far, there is still work for us to do, so in that, we must refine ourselves
Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons spoke at the second annual UNBC Timberwolves Legacy Breakfast on March 30, 2016.
and get better, and recharge so we continue to add that fuel to the community, to understand that we are growing, and sensitive to the needs of our community, and continuing to find the energy to address them.”
It takes both those elements, he explained, to create a culture of success. As people and as communities, you have to be on the lookout for the problems confronting you and your neighbours. Then, you have to forget that there are always problems, disregard that there is no end to need and apply yourself anyway to the causes that will help.
“When we don’t have challenges, what do we have to live for?” he said.
“I believe that’s what invigorates us.
That’s what charges us. I used to tell my players, there is always adversity in life. If you have no adversity, you know what that means: it means you’re dead.
“As long as we live, we will have chal-
lenge. And that’s the lifeblood. We certainly want to enjoy life, have a good life and look for balance in life, and adversity always gives us something to fight for and something to move forward for. Challenges are as important as blessings.”
The city got a taste of the Pinball Clemons experience in 2016 when he was the special guest at the UNBC Timberwolves Legacy Breakfast. In the span of 90 minutes, he went from someone the TV cameras had a hard time tracking to someone who could easily be your own neighbour. The city was charmed and motivated by his authentic presence and genuine energy for helping others.
“People there are wonderful,” he said, and while that sounds like an obligatory statement from anyone in the public eye who visits a new community, he started naming names and describing situations
Big cat seen roaming Pidherny-Hart Highlands
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
A cougar has been sighted in the Pidherny-Hart Highlands area.
Mike Nash and Judy Lett were on their way up Foothills Boulevard on Friday night when they saw the animal on the east side of the road, just below the Ridgeview area.
At first, they did not believe their eyes.
“It’s one of those things that hits you instantly – ‘wow, that’s odd, totally different’ – and then moments later you sort of put the pieces together and make an ID,” said Nash, a noted outdoor enthusiast who has written several books, columns and magazine articles.
Nash said he only saw the eyes reflecting in the headlights of his car but the movements strongly suggested the animal.
Lett got a better view.
“It was a little bit dark but I saw the flash of the eyes,” Lett said.
“And the way it was walking, it looked like a big cat. It almost looked like it was after prey, slinking along... it was cool to see.”
Even for Nash, it was something to remember.
He said it was only the second time he has ever actual seen the animal, the other being at dusk near Dease Lake, driving back from a backpacking trip.
However, the couple has come across signs of cougars passing
When cougars start being seen following people with dogs ... that’s behaviour we really want to take note of.
— Sgt. Steve Ackles, Conservation officer
through the greenbelt next to their home in past years, notably footprints in the snow indicating a large male had been following them on a trail they like to walk.
And Lett said walkers who frequent the Pidherny area recently came across the remains of a deer and suspect it was taken down by a cougar.
The couple has let the neighbours know so they can keep an eye out while walking their dogs or taking their children out for a stroll.
Conservation Officer Service
Sgt. Steve Ackles took the report in stride saying the animals only become a concern when they deviate from their typical “prey profile” – when they stop going after deer or raccoons or “even house cats.”
“When cougars start being seen following people with dogs – and typically, they’re focussed on the dog – during daylight hours in months other than say August
when the deer have spots, that’s behaviour we really want to take note of,” Ackles said.
Even then, it’s still a “very long stretch from a cougar stalking a dog to a cougar stalking a human.”
Regardless, even if a cougar appears to be simply going about its natural business, Ackles said it’s still worthwhile giving the COS the heads up by leaving a report on its 24-hour hotline (1-877952-7277).
“We really need those reports and sightings just to keep track,” Ackles said.
As for what to do if you come across a cougar, “definitely never turn your back or run from a cougar,” Ackles advised.
Instead, make yourself big, throw rocks and stare it down.
“Look right into its eyes like two boxers staring each other down,” he added.
Bear bangers and horns won’t make a difference.
“Noise does not seem to be a negative stimulus to them,” Ackles said.
Last year, there were 14 sightings in the Prince George area reported to the Conservation Officer Service – a far cry from the number of sightings on Vancouver Island.
“In Nanaimo, for example, we probably have four to five cougars living within city limits and typically, we would not remove a cougar from the population unless there was indication that it was going off its prey profile,” Ackles said.
from his last visit just to prove he was sincerely paying attention. He even suggested he’d like to start a Selan Alpay fan club after the local entrepreneur and philanthropist won his friendship last time here.
“We could use a little Prince George here in Ontario – that community in unity,” Clemons said.
Pinball lights up the room on Saturday at the Prince George Civic Centre starting with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner, lecture and more. The event is a presentation of the Northern Medical Society. In addition to Clemens, there will also be two other special guests at the Dr. Bob Ewert Dinner, with Dr. John Maile of Quesnel and Dr. David Snadden of Prince George being inducted into the Northern B.C. Medical Hall of Fame.
Seats are available via the Central Interior Tickets website.
Police seize $1M of cash, drugs
Citizen staff
A man and woman were arrested and Prince George RCMP seized $1 million worth of cash and cannabis from a home in the city.
Police said a search of the property – the address was not provided – uncovered more than 55 kilograms (121 pounds) of dried cannabis, a significant amount of other forms of cannabis products and more than $550,000 in cash.
Several firearms and ammunition were also seized.
“This is a substantial seizure
resulting from the investigation of persons previously not known to police,” said Insp. Shaun Wright in a statement.
“Our officers will continue to target those persons that do not abide by Canadian law, including the Cannabis Act.”
The suspects were later released without charge at this time, pending the completion of the investigation and charge approval from the federal prosecution service.
The action was taken on March 23 after the detachment’s street crew unit executed a search warrant on the home.
RCMP HANDOUT PHOTO
Police seized illegal marijuana, cash and guns from a home.
Hunter-Gauthier reflects on curatorial debut
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
In performance art it’s sometimes called the “wrap-up come-down” or the “fade to black blues” which might describe what Meghan Hunter-Gauthier was feeling on Monday. Her art exhibition, the first one she ever got to direct on the big stage at the Two Rivers Gallery, was coming off the walls and going into boxes.
The show was called Unbound, and maybe that was in deference to the theme of books and how they symbolically pertain to our lives, but it could also have meant how the assistant curator got to be the boss curator for this art show. Hunter-Gauthier is the main programmer for the Rustad Galleria inside the gallery and she is a major member of the overall curatorial team there under head curator George Harris, but for Unbound she was given the keys to the castle – one of the national A-class Canfor Galleries.
“The reach of the Canfor Galleries is quite a bit larger, so I got to work with artists from across the country,” said Hunter-Gauthier.
“We were at a point a year or so ago where we had to do planning for our upcoming exhibitions into the years ahead, and George kept asking me about what I saw for myself and how I wanted to participate in that,” she explained.
She talked to him about a show that would examine the book, and what society’s relationship was to that ancient mode of communication that is at a technological crossroads.
“I pitched that. He felt it had potential, so he
asked me if I wanted to run with that, all the staff here has been so supportive of me taking this step, George gave me a lot of trust and support, so it’s been great.”
Carolyn Holmes, the executive director at Two Rivers, said Hunter-Gauthier has been taking advancement steps ever since she got to Prince George.
“Meghan joined the gallery in 2016 as the interim assistant curator and became the permanent assistant curator in January 2018,” Holmes said. “Unbound is the first main gallery exhibition that Meghan has curated and it is beautiful. The public has responded very well to the exhibition and the artists as well. One of the exhibiting artists, Guy Laramé, visited P.G. for a panel discussion a couple of weeks ago and he couldn’t believe it was Meghan’s first exhibition. He praised her for the thought she gave to the selection of artists that are represented in the exhibition and each work that was selected.”
The other artists in this group display included Jennifer Bowes, Robert Chaplin, Adam David Brown, and Angela Grauerholz. They were brought together through research done by Hunter-Gauthier as she went looking for pieces of visual art that somehow talked about the book or used the book as a focal point.
“I’m very proud of it,” said Hunter-Gauthier.
“It was not without its moments of challenge, maybe moments of self doubt, but ultimately it was a great experience and the artists I got to work with were amazing people, and supportive and kind, and I’m sure it’s not always the case where you can come out of a project not only with deeper connections to colleagues, but also new friends.
“I’m happy with how it all turned out.”
Hunter-Gauthier grew up in Kipawa, Quebec. She earned her bachelor of fine arts in criticism and curatorial practice from the Ontario College of Art & Design University, then followed that up with a post-graduate certificate in arts administration and cultural management from Humber College.
She grew up in a community much smaller than Prince George, and one of her first jobs in the arts industry was with Four Elements Living Arts on Manitoulin Island (population about 14,000), but many of her peers entering the workforce with her were from larger centres and they had a harder time imagining themselves working in smaller urban settings, said Hunter-Gauthier.
When a job opportunity came up in Prince George, that was plenty big for her.
“It can be very hard in the Toronto context to get these sorts of opportunities that I’ve been getting here right from Day 1,” she said.
She is now turning her attention back to the Rustad Galleria’s rotation of art shows.
The focus of that viewing space is local and regional artists. Currently, the spotlight there is on Mo Hamilton’s collection entitled The 100 Houses Project. Vanderhoof painter Michael Rees is up next.
“It continues to surprise me how many local and regional artists I get to meet and know over time,” she said. “People keep coming out of the woodwork so that’s very exciting.”
She did not disclose if another opportunity was in the offing to program a second show in one of the Canfor halls, but senior administration agreed that Unbound was a rookie success for the up and coming Hunter-Gauthier.
Seniors housing symposium coming
Citizen staff
A symposium on seniors housing is on the schedule. It will be held on May 2, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Civic Centre. Admission is free.
B.C. Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie will be the symposium’s keynote speaker. Presentations from the city, BC Housing, and Northern Health are also scheduled and will be followed by question and answer sessions.
“One of the fundamental elements of a healthy and inclusive community is having a range of housing types to accommodate people of different ages, life stages, incomes, and abilities,” said city social development coordinator Sarah Brown.
“The City of Prince George plays a key role in housing in the community, and as such is excited to offer this symposium to community members.” The symposium will include a trade show giving information about a range of programs and services of special interest to seniors.
Participants, seniors in particular, are invited to register for the May 2 symposium via Eventbrite.
Go to eventbrite.ca and type Seniors Housing in Prince George: Symposium into the search field.
For further help with registration, call the Prince George Council of Seniors at 250-5645888.
Meghan Hunter-Gauthier, assistant curator at Two Rivers Gallery, stands in front of artwork by Jennifer Bowes, titled Beyond Surrender, 2013. Hunter-Gauthier debuted her first art exhibition at the gallery, called Unbound, last month.
MACKENZIE
NDP unveils plan for universal pharmacare
Amy SMART Citizen news service
COQUITLAM — The NDP is
promising to bring in a universal and comprehensive national pharmacare program targeted to begin in 2020 if the party wins the next federal election.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced details of the pharmacare plan Monday with health critic Don Davies at an event in Coquitlam.
“This is a bold plan, it’s going to take some courage. It’s going to take us standing up to pharmaceutical industries and insurance companies who don’t want us to bring this plan in, but we know this plan will work,” Singh said.
The plan would see every Canadian covered for a list of prescription drugs determined by an arm’s-length group of experts that it said would be protected from industry and political pressure.
The agency would evaluate drugs for coverage based on what is scientifically proven to be safe and effective, and on the best value for money, the party said.
It would save families who don’t currently have private drug coverage an average $550 per year and it would save employers about $600 per employee with extended health benefits, the party said.
Medications covered under the formulary would always have at least one option involving no upfront cost, in a move intended to nearly eliminate the co-payment system that the party said is a barrier to access.
If there is a generic drug available but an individual chooses a brand name instead, there would be a $5 co-payment with exemptions for vulnerable populations. It’s time to make medication available to all Canadians who need it, Singh said.
“We can’t afford not to do this at this point, given how difficult it is for so many people to get the medication they need,” he said.
The legislation would be modeled on the Canada Health Act and provide an annual pharmacare transfer to the provinces and
NEWS IN BRIEF
UNBC showcasing research at event
Groundbreaking and interdisciplinary research being carried out at UNBC will be showcased on the Cranbrook Hill campus this week.
It starts on Tuesday morning and continues through to the end of Wednesday and will cover topics ranging from the impacts of resource extraction to healthcare in northern B.C. to biochemistry and molecular biology. One of the highlights will be a three-minute thesis competition. Set for Wednesday from 2:30-4 p.m. in Bentley Centre 7-170/172, graduate students have three minutes to present their research and its impact to a panel of non-specialist judges and peers. The winner will be invited to the western regional finals on April 17 in Prince George. For the full listing of events, go to the UNBC homepage, unbc. ca, and click on Research Week: April 2-4. — Citizen staff
Dust advisory issued
The city’s reprieve from a dust advisory has been short lived. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change issued a
territories, with provinces paying about 60 per cent of the total cost and the federal government providing the remaining 40 per cent.
Davies, who represents Vancouver Kingsway, said the cost to provinces will be about the same as they are paying now.
It would cost the federal government an additional $10 billion annually on top of what the provinces already pay but Singh said it’s worth it, pointing to overall cost saving identified in an analysis by the parliamentary budget officer.
The report says the total cost of a national pharmacare program would be $23.7 billion in 2020, representing a $4.2 billion savings each year over the current amount being spent on drugs in Canada.
Last week, Singh said an NDP government would expand the tax on investment profits as part of a package of measures aimed to pay for pharmacare, affordable child care and housing.
“Those measures would free up billions that would be available for this as well. The rest of financing would be a matter of discussion between the federal government and provinces and territories,”
Davies said.
The federal government taxes 50 per cent of profits made on investments, or capital gains, but the NDP wants to increase that threshold – known as the inclusion rate – to 75 per cent. It said that would raise about $3 billion in revenue. The NDP have also talked about closing a stock-option loophole and cracking down on the use of bearer shares and foreign tax havens, which they say help the rich avoid paying their fair share of taxes to society.
Singh took aim at the Liberal government’s pharmacare plan, saying it puts pharmaceutical and insurance companies “in the driver’s seat.”
Drug spending in Canada is expected to surpass $50 billion by 2028, an expert panel has found.
In the budget, the Liberals promised a new agency to negotiate prescription drug prices for Canadians to try and drive down costs.
new advisory Monday afternoon after lifting one on Monday morning that had been in place for three days. It was issued in collaboration with Northern Health and will remain in effect until further notice.
“Persons with chronic underlying medical conditions should postpone strenuous exercise near busy roads until the advisory is lifted,” officials said.
“If you are experiencing symptoms such as continuing eye or throat irritation, chest discomfort, shortness of breath, cough or wheezing, follow the advice of your health care provider.”
— Citizen staff
Fire in mobile home extinguished
Prince George Fire Rescue quickly dealt with a fire that erupted at a mobile home late Sunday afternoon.
A total of 15 firefighters from three halls were dispatched to the scene in the 4000 block of Balsum Road at 4:42 p.m.
On arrival, crews found smoke coming from under the structure and quickly put out the fire, PGFR Asst. Chief Denis Poulin said.
The home’s two occupants got out safely.
Damage is estimated at $30,000 and cause of the fire remains undetermined.
— Citizen staff
tive.
100 Heroes looks to make a difference
Frank
PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
How to be a hero.
Colin Breadner has the formula. It won’t make you bulletproof, it won’t make you invisible, and it probably get you into a comic book but a new initiative in the city can qualify five-score people as genuine heroes.
Based on versions he saw in the United States and Kelowna, local entrepreneur and philanthropist Breadner brought the 100 Heroes initiative to Prince George. He is already halfway to his goal of 100 contributors to the program, which puts money into the hands of local charities.
“A lot of people don’t have a lot of time to give to charity, and a lot of people don’t have a lot of money to give to charity, so this makes a major contribution by only needing a little from each member,” Breadner explained.
Members can join the informal initiative for no charge. People who sign up (go to www.100HeroesPG.com for the steps to do this) can make three suggestions of local charities that could use a cash injection, as long as all the money is guaranteed to stay in Prince George. During April, three of the suggested charities will be drawn randomly out of a hat.
To be more involved in more than making the suggestions, you can contribute $100 and qualify as one of the 100 Heroes. All the money is put in a pool and all of it goes to one charity that emerges from the list of suggestions.
“That kind of single donation of that amount of money can be transformative for a charity,” Breadner said.
“We’re talking $10,000, so that can have a major impact on any not-for-profit organization’s whole year. That can leverage a whole lot for a community association or a sports group, an arts and culture
organization, a medical cause. It can change lives.”
Raising money for local charities can be stressful and deplete other resources in order to make even modest amounts of income, but this only takes an hour of the charity’s time.
That hour will be invested at Trench Brewery & Distillery’s great-room on April 29. The three randomly drawn charities “will each be given five minutes and a microphone,” said Breadner, “so they can tell us a story about themselves and how the money will be used. We don’t want them to talk about who they are and what they do, that will be set out in advance. That five minutes is for them to tell us all a story about that money and how it would help.”
The 100 people who chipped in their $100 will all be invited to attend this event, hear the three stories, and mark an X on a secret ballot to vote for their favourite.
“The winning not-for-profit will get the money –all of it,” said Breadner. “There will be no second and third place sums of money. The whole point is, if you cut down the money, you cut down the effectiveness.”
The runners up, though, can reenter for the next round of the process, which Breadner will facilitate to happen four times a year. The winner of the money pot cannot reenter the process for 18 months following their big win.
“Local people are doing remarkable work to make this a great community, and this will give them the chance to have a big voice, a big presence, and impact the community in ways many of them just can’t attain any other way, without a lot of hard work,” Breadner said. “Each time we hold a 100 Heroes event, some cause is going to get a really big boost based on small contributions working together.”
One stipulation of the winning charities is they have to issue a $100 tax receipt to the 100 people who contribute.
Sign up or become a $100 hero via Facebook or the initiative’s website.
Feds blowing smoke on pot supplies
Ontario’s first legal cannabis shops are finally here. One challenge they’ll face is Canada’s nationwide product shortage. That’s despite repeated federal government assurances of ample supplies.
Cannabis shortages certainly seem to exist. Ontario blames them for its initial 25-store limit. Alberta is also restricting shop licences, while Québec limits shopping hours.
However, federal officials disagree. Bill Blair, the minister leading Cannabis Act implementation, has repeatedly said supplies are “adequate” and even “exceed existing demand.”
Similarly, Health Canada last week claimed “there is not – as some have suggested – a national shortage of supply of cannabis.” It earlier had bragged that January’s dry (smoke-able) cannabis inventories were so large they equalled “19 times the amount sold.”
But the government’s own data shows it’s blowing smoke.
Statistics Canada numbers show licensed retailers aren’t selling much. Only one-fifth of national cannabis spending from October to December was legal. In January, legal sales fell five per cent.
Similarly, Health Canada’s latest update indicates January sales totalled about 15 tonnes of dry cannabis and cannabis oils (1 tonne = 1,000 kg). That’s for medical and recreational products combined. By contrast, its estimate implies monthly demand
is around 77 tonnes.
Cannabis oils aren’t the problem. Their sales volume rose four per cent, the third consecutive monthly gain.
But dry cannabis sales slid four per cent to 7.1 tonnes. That’s concerning because recreational users prefer dry products to oils. In October and November, dry cannabis captured 72 per cent of recreational sales nationwide. It got 90 per cent in Quebec and New Brunswick.
Altogether, just around 15 per cent of cannabis sold in Canada is legal. Even provinces with relatively plentiful stores have legal shares of only about 29 per cent.
Such widespread weakness can’t be solely due to some provinces having “difficulties” with “distribution systems,” as Blair has claimed. But neither he nor Health Canada has offered better explanations. That department collects extensive industry data but keeps most numbers secret. It publishes only inventory and sales totals. Fortunately, we can learn much from those.
For example, in January retailers sold 5.3 tonnes of recreational dry cannabis, while their inventory decreased 0.5 tonnes. So, they must have received just 4.8 tonnes of new product from producers. (Another 1.8 tonnes went directly from producers to medical clients.)
That implies retailers didn’t sell much dry cannabis in January because they didn’t receive much. January’s dry shipments to retailers were 21 per cent lower than December’s, which were already lower than November’s.
And retailers got little in January because
producers processed little in December. Another inventory comparison suggests producers packaged just 6.3 tonnes of dry products that month. That’s only threequarters of November’s rate. And inadequate to support existing sales. (It was December’s data that Blair claimed showed supplies are “sufficient.”)
This wasn’t a temporary shortfall. The average monthly packaging rate from November to January for dry cannabis products was around 7.6 tonnes.
This analysis suggests federal claims of adequate cannabis supplies are mere smokescreens for substantial shortages. Similarly, Health Canada claiming dry “inventories” were 19 times “sales” is just smoke and mirrors. It’s correct but meaningless.
Those inventories were mostly raw material or work-in-process: unfinished cannabis drying, curing or awaiting processing. Only 15 per cent was finished product, and less than half of that was at retailers. And existing sales are too weak to be worth targeting.
(Besides, inventory-to-sales ratios indicate little about availability. In some sectors, retailers hold less than two months of inventory.)
Comparing production to demand is more meaningful. January’s dry product packaging was about 8.0 tonnes, enough for perhaps a quarter of dry demand. Combined dry and oil packaging totaled 27 tonnes, about one-third of overall cannabis demand.
There’s another reason the latter fraction is low. The federal government hasn’t yet
YOUR LETTERS
Diet needed at city
Overspending by our city council and our city administration is a disaster for taxpayers, but it’s not the problem. It’s the symptom of the problem.
The problem is that both our city council and our city administration do not understand that overspending is a serious issue for taxpayers and Prince George’s fiscal health. In other words, they don’t see anything wrong with continually increasing their annual spend and increasing our taxes. They believe that increasing cost and increasing debt is unavoidable, and as long as they believe that, the present situation is OK and nothing will change. Our present situation with our city’s overspending of both our operating and capital budgets is very much analogous to the TV show My 600-lb Life. In that show, an unfortunate individual is struggling to reduce his or her weight down from 600 pounds in order to save his or her life from the ravages of obesity. Under the tough love guidance of Dr. Nowzaradan (Dr. Now), the patient struggles to gain control of his or her eating behaviour.
Our problem in P.G. is that we
want our city administrators to gain control of their spending habits (overeating) in order to avoid the ravages of overtaxation. At present, our city council is analogous to the enabler in the TV show. In My 600-lb Life, there is an enabler who brings food to the overweight subject and enables him or her to continue the detrimental eating behaviour. In our situation, city council brings food (money) whenever the administration requests it and the cycle of overeating (overspending) and weight gain (budget increases) continues.
Are there solutions to overspending?
Yes. Are there solutions to better budgeting?
Yes. Are there solutions to better project execution?
Yes, there are, but just like in My 600-lb Life, it’s not easy. In fact, it’s difficult and that’s why Dr. Now uses a tough love approach because he knows that he can’t change the behaviour of the 600 pound patient or the enabler. He knows that if they are to be successful they have to admit that there is a problem and that they have to provide the
determination to change. All Dr. Now can do is provide the process for success.
Our city council and administration both have to admit that they have a spending problem and they have to agree to change their behaviour. If they don’t admit that they have a problem, then nothing will change and our taxes will continue to increase and our fiscal health will continue to deteriorate.
In the analogy above, we (taxpayers) are Dr. Now and we are the ones who must practice fiscal tough love with our city council and our city administration. Our first step is to contact our city councilors and persuade them that their present practice of enabling the city to continue to increase their annual spending is wrong and that annual tax increases are not acceptable. Only when our city council understands that tax increases should be the exception and not the rule will we put ourselves on the road to fiscal health. Changing our spending practices in Prince George will be difficult and it will be a long road but we need to get started.
Alan Laundry, 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. 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. The Prince George Citizen is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour.
SHAWN CORNELL DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING
legalized cannabis foods and drinks. Those edibles constitute 43 per cent of sales in Colorado, California and Oregon. Their absence here leaves a big gap. The federal government really must stop playing make-believe about cannabis availability. Nonsensical supply claims raise expectations, and hence frustrations, among businesses and consumers. Similarly, Health Canada must stop playing hide-and-seek with information. It collects monthly fresh cannabis production and finished product packaging data. It should start reporting them. That clarity would help producers and retailers make better business decisions.
Producers are already making progress. Canada now has 164 licensed sellers, with hundreds more reportedly on the way. Total cultivation area rose 20 per cent in December alone. But it takes months for new sites to grow, process and ship cannabis to stores.
Retailers too are finally making progress in Ontario. They’ll make legal cannabis more available and therefore more competitive with black markets. Given Quebec’s results, Ontario’s first shops might average around $1.25 million in monthly sales each. Individual store’s results naturally will depend on location – and on the shortages it encounters. I wish them all the best.
— Michael J. Armstrong is an associate professor of operations research at the Goodman School of Business at Brock University This article is republished from theconversation.com.
Nothing to see here
It is now April and we are still talking about the “Jody Wilson-Raybould Affair” as it has come to be known. Late last week more details, including an audio recording, were released. This is the scandal which really isn’t a scandal but it doesn’t seem to want to go away. I say it isn’t really a scandal because while there is a sense Wilson-Raybould was treated badly, we have yet to see anything suggesting there was any illegal action or breaking the confines of morality within the government. Nothing particularly untoward happened.
Consider the case as a whole. It started in February 2015, under the Harper government, when an ongoing RCMP investigation finally laid charges of corruption and fraud against the Montrealbased firm over allegations it used bribery to obtain business in Libya. While the company proclaimed the charges were without merit, it did point out the alleged reprehensible deeds were committed by former employees.
For eight months – and with an election looming – the Conservative government sat on the case. Big cases like this one can take years to resolve so the timeline isn’t really surprising. Still, the Conservatives are not entirely innocent in the whole affair.
When the Liberals won the federal election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed WilsonRaybould Minister of Justice and Attorney General. She was the first indigenous person to hold the post and is eminently qualified. But the job combines being a politician heading up a department with being a legal official and overseeing prosecutions. A potentially awkward mix of responsibilities.
During the first three years in her new position, Wilson-Raybould oversaw the development of the legislation which would enable corporations to argue for a “remediation agreement,” which is essentially a plea-bargain allowing for reparations to compensate for previous bad behaviour. Not surprisingly, SNC-Lavalin was one of the corporations lobbying for such an arrangement. Nothing wrong with any of this so far.
Things got a bit trickier this past fall when, on Sept. 4, the prosecution service told SNC-Lavalin they would not be invited to negotiate a remediation agreement. Needless to say, SNC-Lavalin started to lobby government officials on the issue. And on Sept. 17, the prime minister and justice minister met
Mailing address: 201-1777 Third Ave. Prince George, B.C. V2L 3G7 Office hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday General switchboard: 250-562-2441 info@pgcitizen.ca General news: news@pgcitizen.ca
Sports inquiries: 250-960-2764 sports@pgcitizen.ca Classifieds advertising: 250-562-6666 cls@pgcitizen.ca
to discuss the case. It was at this meeting Trudeau told WilsonRaybould the decision was hers alone to make.
It was at this point presumably the situation got a little tense. While there is no doubt the prime minister wanted to see a remediation agreement, Wilson-Raybould stuck to her guns and argued such an agreement was not on the table. Ultimately, she was following the advice of the director of prosecutions and legal precedents. So on Jan. 14, Trudeau shuffled his cabinet after treasury board president Scott Brison resigned and Wilson-Raybould was moved from Justice to veteran affairs. Both are important portfolios but for many observers, it seemed she was being demoted. Reporters for the Globe and Mail started digging and citing unnamed sources the story broke that one of the reasons for the move was her lack of cooperation in the SNC-Lavalin case. Did the government bring in legislation to provide for remediation agreements? Yes. And likely at the request of big corporations who want such an avenue to avoid prosecution but this is nothing new. All sorts of groups lobby for legislation. It is what they are supposed to do and when the legislation makes sense, it is enacted.
Did the prime minister argue for the application of the remediation agreement to SNC-Lavalin? Yes. But that is what politicians are supposed to do – represent constituents and think about the interests of the country.
Did Wilson-Raybould deny the application? Yes. Or more accurately the director of prosecutions did and Wilson-Raybould chose not to overrule her. This is what a justice minister and attorney general is supposed to do under the circumstances. Was Wilson-Raybould eventually let go from the position over her refusal? Quite possibly, but that would not be anything new for a government. The only issue is the perception of pressure provided by the PMO. But they were simply doing their job. And if the recording released last week is any indication, they weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary.
So, where is the scandal? I am sure we haven’t heard the last of it.
Shawn Cornell, director of advertising: 250-960-2757 scornell@pgcitizen.ca Reader sales and services: 250-562-3301 rss@pgcitizen.ca Letters to the editor: letters@pgcitizen.ca
Website: www.pgcitizen.ca
Website feedback: digital@glaciermedia.ca
Member of the National Newsmedia Council A division of Glacier Media
NEWS IN BRIEF
B.C. receives money laundering reports
VICTORIA (CP) — Two reports on money laundering have been delivered to the British Columbia government after reviews aimed at shutting down the problem in real estate, luxury cars and horse racing.
The province says in a news release it commissioned the reports in September after widespread concern about B.C.’s reputation as a “haven” for money laundering.
The first report is by an expert panel on money laundering and it recommends rule changes that would close loopholes in the real estate market and increase transparency on who owns property in B.C.
The other report is by former RCMP deputy commissioner Peter German and focuses on potential links between criminal enterprises and the real estate, horse racing and luxury car industries.
He was asked to look at the industries after he released the results of a review last June on money laundering in Lower Mainland casinos. The government says it will review both reports before making them public later this spring.
Finance Minister Carole James says money laundering is a serious problem in B.C.’s real estate market.
“Our real estate market should be used for housing people, not for laundering the proceeds of crime. That’s why we asked our expert panel to review our rules and regulations, and to offer concrete actions that we can take to clean up our real estate sector,” she says in a statement.
Conflict of interest commissioner dies
VICTORIA (CP) — British Columbia’s Conflict of Interest Commissioner Paul Fraser has died after a brief illness.
The B.C. Office of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner says in a statement Fraser died Friday. The statement says members of the legislature relied on his counsel, guidance and advice for more than a decade and Fraser will be remembered for his wisdom, professionalism, warmth, generosity of spirit, sense of humour and joie de vivre. Fraser, a lawyer, had been B.C.’s conflict commissioner since Jan. 1, 2008 and was unanimously reappointed to a third term in May 2018 by the members of the legislature. He handled conflict of interest complaints against former B.C. premier Christy Clark, former Alberta premier Alison Redford and B.C. Attorney General David Eby. Fraser also served as chairman of two federal commissions, including the 1983 Fraser Commission on prostitution and pornography in Canada and an Industrial Inquiry Commission following a 1995 national railway strike.
Commissioner proposes cap on ferry rates
VICTORIA (CP) — A preliminary decision by the BC Ferries commission would cap annual ferry fare hikes at just over two per cent for five years starting in 2020.
The Office of the BC Ferries Commissioner says in a news release that a maximum yearly fare increase of 2.3 per cent is based on total operating expenses increasing at, or just above, the rate of inflation. At the same time, Commissioner Sheldon Stoilen expects the trend of increased ferry traffic will level off by next year.
The proposed price cap covers BC Ferries’ fifth performance term, which begins April 1, 2020 and ends March 31, 2024. The commissioner has until September to finalize the decision and public comments are being accepted until the end of June.
BC Ferries was permitted to implement annual fare hikes of up to 1.9 per cent during the last five-year performance term, but Stoilen says average increases were lower than the maximum allowed.
Wilson-Raybould criticized for recording phone call
Teresa WRIGHT Citizen news service
OTTAWA — The Liberals escalated their criticism Sunday of Jody Wilson-Raybould’s decision to secretly record a phone call with the country’s top bureaucrat, with a prominent cabinet minister declaring her unease with the former attorney general remaining in caucus.
Labour Minister Patty Hajdu told the CBC she believed it was “unethical” for Wilson-Raybould to secretly record her Dec. 19 conversation with Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick. A 17-minute audio clip of the call was released on Friday by the House of Commons justice committee, along with a 43-page brief from Wilson-Raybould that includes emails and text messages.
In a CBC interview Sunday, Hajdu said she has never recorded a colleague’s phone conversation and would never do so covertly.
“I think it’s unethical. I think it’s deceptive,” Hajdu said.
“If you’re going to record a conversation and it’s between colleagues, I think it’s the responsible, ethical thing to do to advise the person on the other end of the phone that you are recording.”
In the call, Wernick repeatedly asks Wilson-Raybould why she was not using all the tools at her disposal on the SNC-Lavalin case. She pushes back, saying she would not override the decision of the director of public prosecutions to pursue a criminal prosecution against SNC-Lavalin for bribery and fraud related to its activities in Libya.
Wernick told her Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was “quite determined” on the matter and would likely “find a way to get it done one way or another.”
In her written submission, Wilson-Raybould acknowledged recording the conversation was an “extraordinary and otherwise inappropriate step,” but said she felt it necessary to have an exact record of what was discussed.
Wernick declined to comment but his lawyer, Frank Addario, said recording the call was “inappropriate.”
The former attorney general testified earlier this month that she believes she was moved out of the justice portfolio to Veterans Affairs in a mid-January cabinet shuffle as punishment for refusing to succumb to relentless pressure last fall from Trudeau, his senior staff, Wernick and others to intervene in the SNC-Lavalin case. She resigned from cabinet a month later. Treasury Board President Jane Philpott resigned a week afterward, citing a loss in confidence in how
the government has dealt with the ongoing affair.
Some Liberal MPs have been growing increasingly upset with Wilson-Raybould and Philpott’s seeming desire to keep fanning the flames of the controversy, and have been quietly discussing among themselves how to deal with the pair. The expectation now is that caucus members will insist on expelling them at their next meeting on Wednesday, or earlier if an emergency meeting is called.
Hajdu told the CBC she will defer to the prime minister and her Liberal colleagues on whether Wilson-Raybould and Philpott should remain, but added her discomfort at sharing a caucus with someone who might be recording conversations.
“I, personally, don’t feel comfortable, personally, with a colleague who may be recording me without my knowledge,” she said.
Meanwhile, Trudeau’s former principal secretary Gerald Butts provided information to the justice committee Sunday in response to materials filed last week by Wilson-Raybould.
Butts said in a tweet his information comprised notes and texts of exchanges between himself and Wilson-Raybould. He told the justice committee in March he believes nobody from the Prime Minister’s Office did anything wrong and that WilsonRaybould never complained about facing undue pressure. Butts resigned as Trudeau’s principal secretary last month.
ICBC challenged over payouts
Citizen news service
VANCOUVER — A legal battle is shaping up in British Columbia with the trial lawyers association promising to fight a move by the government-run auto insurer to overhaul claims payments and how it resolves disputes.
Effective immediately, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia has set a $5,500 cap on pain and suffering payments for minor injuries, which the Crown corporation describes as payments “recognizing the inconvenience and emotional distress of being in a crash.”
The corporation is also sending all disagreements about how minor injuries are determined, or disputes about any injury claim below $50,000 to a civil resolution tribunal.
On its website, the corporation says the tribunal can be used without the need for legal representation, but the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia has warned the government that it intends to launch a constitutional challenge.
The association says the revisions have the potential to unfairly cut compensation for crash victims. Association president Ron Nairne says in a statement that the new process could also restrict access to the courts, denying claimants of a basic human right guaranteed by the Charter of Rights.
HADJU
Canada warming twice as fast as rest of the world, study shows
Mia RABSON Citizen news service
OTTAWA — Canada is warming up twice as fast as the rest of the world and it’s “effectively irreversible,” a new scientific report from Environment and Climate Change Canada says.
At stake is just how bad that warming gets, said several scientists presenting the Canada’s Changing Climate Report in Ottawa Monday.
The report is the first in a series of scientific assessments the department is producing and the first that zeros in on the changes Canada is seeing as a result of global warming.
Based on the work of 43 federal and university-based scientists who reviewed published scientific literature over the last two years, the report is stark in its findings, says Elizabeth Bush, a climate-science adviser at Environment Canada.
“We are already seeing the effects of widespread warming in Canada,” said Bush. “It’s clear, the science supports the fact that adapting to climate change is an imperative. Urgent action is needed to reduce emissions.”
The report says the average temperature in Canada is 1.7 C higher today than it was 70 years ago, while the average global temperature is up 0.8 C.
The Canadian Arctic has been hit even harder, with a 2.3 C increase, creating a risk that by the middle of this century most marine regions in the Canadian North will be ice-free for at least a month at a time.
Warming is happening even faster in winter, with a 3.3 C average temperature increase between December and February, leaving southern Canadians with more winter rain and northern Canadians with melting permafrost and less sea ice.
More rain and less snow could have a significant impact on the availability of fresh water in parts of the country, particularly in the summer, the report notes.
Snow that accumulates but doesn’t melt until later in the year is effectively banked water.
Warmer winters also mean certain species that can’t survive our winters now will
Canada is warming up twice as fast as the rest of the world and that warming is “effectively irreversible,” a new scientific report from Environment and Climate Change Canada says. The report expects most regions of the Canadian
will be ice-free for at least a month every year by the middle of the century.
start to do so, bringing pests and diseases to Canada we aren’t used to seeing.
The report was conceived of four years ago, when the department’s in-house scientists wanted the information to go along with Canada’s annual reporting on its climate-changing emissions. But it is coming out the week the federal Liberals are rolling out the signature piece of their climate-change plan: a carbon tax in four provinces that have no equivalent policies of their own. It applies in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick.
Canada is aiming to cut its carbon-dioxide emissions by about 200 million tonnes by 2030 with policies like the carbon tax, phasing out coal power, and investing in public transit, green energy and building energy
efficiencies. But the United Nations suggests Canada needs to cut emissions even more to prevent the worst climate-change impacts.
The scientists briefing journalists on the new report acknowledged the emissions cuts need to be global but also said cuts anywhere can have an impact on climate everywhere.
The report makes clear that the climate impacts we’re already seeing are going to stay with us for “centuries to millennia” even if we hit the emissions cuts believed necessary to slow warming to a more manageable pace.
Bush said, however, there are two vastly different pictures for Canada depending on whether the world makes significant progress towards cutting net greenhouse-gas
emissions to zero by 2050.
The report shows if the world can do that, the average temperature increases in Canada by the end of the century will be less than 3 C even in the hardest-hit parts of the country.
But if the world keeps emitting at the same rate, most parts of Canada will see increases of between 7 C and 9 C, with the far reaches of the Arctic seeing temperature changes in excess of 11 C.
“We are kind of at this fork in the road,” said Chris Derksen, an Environment Canada research scientist specializing in ice cover. In the worse scenario, Canada will see 10 times as many deadly heat waves and twice as many extreme rainstorms, the report says.
The midnight sun shines across sea ice along the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago on July 22, 2017.
Arctic
Kings take winning streak on the road
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
Nolan Welsh has played a lot of hockey in three years as a B.C. Hockey League right winger. Safe to say what he did to his former team Monday night in Victoria has to rate as the highlight of his career. His two-goal, one-assist effort in a 4-2 win over the Victoria Grizzlies left the Prince George Spruce Kings one win away from eliminating the Grizzlies from the BCHL playoffs.
Traded by Victoria to the Spruce Kings two summers ago, the Grizzlies were probably wishing they still had the services of the 19-year-old Whistler native on their side.
Welsh scored the gamewinner while shorthanded seven minutes into the second period and connected for the insurance goal while on the power play in the third period to spark the Kings to their 11th win in 12 playoff games this year. They can sweep the best-of-seven Coastal Conference championship with a win in Game 4 tonight in Victoria. Lucas Vanroboys and Layton Ahac also scored for the Spruce Kings. Defenceman Max Coyle had a pair of assists. Riley Hughes and Kyle McGrath lit the light for the Grizzlies, who have lost all three games of the series by 4-2 counts. A three-goal second period gave the Spruce Kings the edge.
Victoria’s big scoring line connected for the opening goal of the game 1:56 into the period. Alex Newhook got the puck in deep and spotted Hughes for an easy tap-in. But just 30 seconds later the Kings answered with a goal from Vanroboys. He popped in the rebound after linemate Corey Cunningham,
the BCHL’s player of the week, let go a hard shot that went off Kurtis Chapman’s glove and dropped just outside the crease.
The Kings kept their feet moving in the Victoria end while holding the puck and were rewarded with the lead three minutes after Vanroboys’ goal. Patrick Cozzi spotted defenceman Ahac creeping into the slot and he let go a wristshot that sailed in past Chapman’s glove.
Welsh made it 3-1 game at the 7:24 mark of the second, scoring the Kings’ third shorthanded goal of the playoffs. The play started in the corner where Coyle used his body to shield the puck and tie up
the Grizzly forecheckers. Welsh then forced Carter Berger to cough the puck up at the blueline along the right side and while trying to maintain control Berger lost his helmet and had to leave the ice.
That set up a 3-on-1 for Welsh, who chipped the puck ahead to Ben Poisson. He fed it to Dylan Anhorn, who passed to Welsh, and he ripped a shot in behind Chapman.
The Kings got into penalty trouble late in the period and got caught with too many men on the ice. Kyle McGrath won the ensuing face-off and got the puck back to Newhook, who took it deep and fed it back to Berger and he set up McGrath for a onetimer from the
Beaudry gold in biathlon pursuit
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
There was gold in the hills of Callaghan Valley for Prince George biathlete Sarah Beaudry. The 24-year-old World Cup veteran captured the final solo race of the season Saturday at the Canadian/North American championships on the site of the 2010 Olympics, winning the women’s 10-kilometre pursuit. Beaudry, a member of the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club, had two misses in four shooting bouts and crossed the finish in 27:05.1. Megan Bankes of Calgary (1+0+0+1, +59.5) won silver and Emma Lunder of Vernon (3+1+0+2, +1:52.2) claimed bronze. Christian Gow of Canmore took the men’s 12.5 km pursuit in 29:33.2, with one miss on the range. He was just 7.5 seconds ahead of his brother Scott (0+0+0+2), while Nathan Smith of Calgary (0+0+1+1,
+20.4) captured bronze. In the junior women’s 7.5 km pursuit, Emily Dickson of Burns Lake won her third gold medal of the competition. Dickson (1+2+1+1) finished in 30:32.7. Gillian Gowling of Whistler
(0+0+0+1, +1:1.9) and Larissa Black of Squamish (2+1+1+1, +1:21.1) won silver and bronze respectively. Dickson began the championships Wednesday with a goldmedal result in the sprint and also won the individual race on Thursday. On Sunday she teamed up with Ryan Elden of Quesnel to help the B.C. team win silver in the junior individual mixed relay. They finished 11.8 second off the winning pace of Calgarians Pasquale and Adam Runnells.
Other Caledonia Nordic Ski Club pursuit results were as follows: Senior boys 7.5 km: 8thNicholas Veeken; 10th – Damian Georgyev; 12th – Liam Connon; 24th – Quinn Neil. Senior girls 7.5 km: 9th –Brynn Witwicki; did not finish –Lia Huggett. Master men 7.5 km: 13th –Alan Witwicki.
circle beat Logan Neaton and cut the deficit to 3-2.
In the third period, Welsh scored his third of the playoffs on a power play 3:44 into the third period.
He parked himself in front of the net and deflected in Ahac’s shot from the point, the Kings’ 39th shot of the game. The Kings had more energy in their legs and went into lockdown mode, controlling much of the play the rest of the game.
The Spruce Kings outshot the Grizzlies 22-9 in the first period, taking advantage of some bad giveaways in the Victoria end and wayward breakout passes they intercepted in neutral ice, but
couldn’t score. Ben Brar was denied on two breakaway chances. Logan Neaton picked up his 11th win of the playoffs, making 27 saves in the Kings’ nets. They outshot the Grizzlies 46-29.
In Game 2 Saturday at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, Cunningham scored two goals, including the gamewinner, 18:57 into the second period, to give the Kings their second win in the series. Dustin Manz also scored a pair to help cinch the victory for the Spruce Kings, who improved their playoff record on home ice to 7-0.
Riley Hughes and Cameron Thompson, both on Victoria power plays, scored for the Grizzlies. Neaton won his 10th game of the playoffs, making 19 saves as the Kings outshot the Grizzlies 27-21.
Cunningham, who led the Kings with a goal and an assist in Friday’s series opener, had four goals and four assists in 11 games heading into Monday’s game.
The Grizzlies survived a sevengame series with Powell River after sweeping Alberni Valley to start the playoffs and they’ve been unable to amp up their game another notch to keep pace with the Spruce Kings, who needed just five games to eliminate Coquitlam, then swept Chilliwack in a fourgame series.
Game 5, if necessary, will be played Thursday in Prince George. If Game 6 is needed it’s set for Saturday in Victoria, with Game 7 scheduled for Monday in Prince George.
Game 3 of the Interior Conference championship between the Vernon Vipers and Wenatchee Wild will be played tonight in Vernon.
The Wild tied the series 1-1 Sunday with a 3-0 win at home.
Canucks ink college goalie, defenceman to entry-level deals
Citizen news service
VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks have picked up a pair of collegiate players, signing goalie Jake Kielly and defenceman Brogan Rafferty to entry-level contracts. The team announced Monday that Kielly has inked a two-year deal, while Rafferty’s contract is for one year.
Rafferty joins the Canucks from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., where he played three seasons.
The 23-year-old native of Dundee, Ill., appeared in 38 games this year, putting up four goals and 20 assists. Kielly has spent three seasons playing for Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., where he posted
a 26-11-2 record, a 1.91 goalsagainst average and a .929 save percentage this year.
The 22-year-old is currently up for the NCAA’s awards for best collegiate hockey player and most outstanding goaltender.
The six-foot-two, 201-pound netminder from Eden Prairie, Minn., also played for the U.S. Hockey League’s Tri-City storm in 2015-16, helping the team to the Clark Cup Championship.
Canucks general manager Jim Benning says in a statement that Kielly has had an “outstanding collegiate career” and will add further depth to the team’s goaltending.
Vancouver will play its final home game of the season on Tuesday when it hosts the San Jose Sharks.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
Prince George Spruce Kings forward Corey Cunningham leaps into the glass in front of cheering fans after scoring one of his two goals against the Victoria Grizzlies on Saturday night at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena. The Spruce Kings won that game 4-2. The Kings were in Victoria on Monday, and won 4-2.
BEAUDRY
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
Prince George Spruce Kings forward Dustin Manz goes one-on-one against Victoria Grizzlies goaltender Kurtis Chapman to score his second of two goals in a 4-2 Spruce Kings victory on Saturday night at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
Cariboo Cats champions again
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
Given the chance to get their hands on yet another B.C. Hockey Major Midget League championship, the Cariboo Cougars had the ‘X’ factor working for them between the pipes and their four-line forwards stepped up to handle the scoring load.
They overwhelmed the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds 8-2 Saturday in Abbotsford to win the best-of-three series 2-0 – avenging their two-game loss to Fraser Valley in last year’s final.
“Those boys earned it,” said Cougars head coach Tyler Brough. “We got some bounces when we needed them, our execution was good and our power play scored when we got a few opportunities and we got great goaltending.
“It was nice to get that early lead, we kind of knew we had momentum coming in (to the first intermission) and it carried through to the second (period) and we just locked everything down and it worked out.”
Jaxon Danilec spiced the Cougar attack with two goals and an assist, Brendan Pigeon fired a pair of goals and Fischer O’Brien finished with a goal and two assists. Booker Daniel, Connor Fleming and Brett Fudger also scored for Cariboo in Saturday’s clincher.
“We got four goals from our so-called fourth liners,” said Brough, referring to centre O’Brien, left winger Fleming and right winger Danilec.
“This team has prided itself all year on playing four lines and having everyone involved and in a game when we can clinch a championship we have our fourth line show up and score four of our eight goals.
“Connor was playing through an injury (to his ribs) and we weren’t sure if he was going to play but he buckled down and got taped up (by trainer Pam Solmonson) and played through it.”
The T-birds wilted in the face of the Cougars’ forechecking and that kept the puck in the Fraser Valley zone for much of the game, as reflected by the score.
“We had great efforts from our captain Grady Thomas right through to Brett Fudger and Lane Goodwin, kind of an unsung hero for winning face-offs and killing penalties,” said Brough.
“Those guys just propelled this team to
the championship and we can go up and down the lineup talking about guys because it was done by committee.”
Xavier Cannon, who was perfect in a 3-0 shutout win over Fraser Valley on Friday, also backstopped the win in Game 2. Brough and his assistant coaches, RJay Berra, Hayden-James Berra and goalie coach Lyman Miller and general manager Trevor Sprague had a difficult decision on their hands who to start in goal. Devin Chapman won the second and third games of the semifinal series with the Vancouver North East Chiefs, allowing just two goals in each of those games.
Cannon and Chapman have been trading starts ever since Chapman was returned to midget from the BCHL Salmon Arm Silverbacks a few months into the season.
“It’s a good problem to have and these guys are making it very hard on us, we’ve got two Grade-A starting goalies,” said Brough.
“X shut them out Friday with a good effort and we decided to go back to him and he
got the job done.”
Fraser Valley won home-ice advantage for the final by virtue of its first-place finish, one point ahead of the Cougars.
Brough admitted his team drew added motivation from what happened to them in last year’s final.
“As soon as we got the job done against the Chiefs that was my speech after the game just to let them know there was unfinished business for us,” said Brough.
“They came into our building last year and swept us and we owed them.”
Thomas, a 17-year-old native of Williams Lake who had a goal and five assists in seven playoff games, is in his third season with the Cougars. He knew his team was strong when they were assembled in September but it took them few months to establish their identity.
“At the start of the year we didn’t know how good we were going to be, nobody does, but as the year went on we just kept working and we outworked this (Fraser Valley) team,” said Thomas.
“It felt great to come back to their barn and beat them two in a row.
“We had a harder go than them in the playoffs, we played some harder teams so I feel we were more prepared for this final. Last weekend (Chapman) kept us in that second game and we went to overtime (and won) and this weekend Cannon was unstoppble. It all started in the first game, we didn’t give the much at all and that created some momentum.”
The Cougars, who won the provincial crown in 2017, will go on to face the Alberta-champion Calgary Buffaloes in a best-of-three Pacific region championship series which starts Friday in Calgary. The winner will advance to the Telus Cup midget national championship in Thunder Bay, Ont., April 22-28.
The Cougars’ roster also includes forwards Curtis Hammond, Alex Ochitwa, John Herrington, Brennan Bott and Jackson Hassman; and defencemen Max Arnold, Jacob Gendron, Matthew Magrath, Matthew Marotta, Brophy Dunne and Ethan Floris.
Williams offering Kings a glimpse of the future
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
Most B.C. Hockey League players good enough to warrant scholarship offers from college hockey teams don’t sign those commitments until they’re already well established at the junior level.
Fifteen-year-old Prince George Spruce Kings centre Fin Williams is an exception to the rule, simply because he’s an exceptional hockey player. He’d only played four games in the BCHL as an affiliate player when the University of Michigan Wolverines decided they wanted him in their future and sent him an NCAA commitment letter to sign.
Michigan spent enough time watching the North Vancouver native play this season with the Burnaby Winter Club midget prep team to know it made sense to make Williams an offer he accepted March 11. It didn’t take long for Williams to make a big impression on Spruce Kings fans, giving them a taste of what they can expect for the next two seasons.
Less than five minutes into Friday’s third-round playoff game
against the Victoria Grizzlies, Williams got to a loose puck behind the net that was mishandled by Grizzlies goalie Kurtis Chapman and came out on a wraparound with a backhander that was on its way into the net until Grizzlies defenceman Carter Berger swatted the puck away with his glove. Williams came that close to his first BCHL goal.
Then in Game 2, about six minutes into the third period, Williams heading into the corner in the Victoria zone and laid a clean shoulder check on Grizzlies forward Marty Westhaver. The inpact left Westhaver in pain, favouring his shoulder, and he left the ice immediately and headed for the dressing room. Losing Westhaver, one of the leading pointgetters in the playoffs with eight goals and seven assists in 13 playoff games for any duration would be a major blow to the Grizzlies and he did not play in Game 3 Monday in Victoria.
“Sean Donaldson beat out the icing (call) and the puck slipped out loose to (Westhaver) and I saw a chance to hit him and knock him off the puck,” said Williams. “I was just trying to bring
energy to my team and I think I did that with that hit.”
Two impactful shifts, and fivefoot-11, 170-pound Williams is just getting started.
“He finds a way to contribute and he’s such an elite player,” said Kings head coach Adam Maglio.
“Fin is the type of kid, he wants to play so bad he’ll play any role and do what’s right for the team. He really has a pro mentality, it’s not just his skill set. He’s going to
be an offensive contributor and at the same time when he needs to kind of spark the team he can do those things to make an impact in the game.”
The Kings are obviously feeling good about the fact Williams chose Prince George instead of playing in the WHL with the Swift Current Broncos, who picked him in the third round, 54th overall in the 2018 bantam draft.
“I wanted to get an education and it’s always been a dream of mine to play in the NCAA and it was a hard decision but I committed to the University of Michigan,” Williams said.
“I really wanted to play for the Spruce Kings based on what they have going here and where the program’s heading and the coaches. This is going to be a key spot for me in my journey for the next couple years and I really believe in them to help me get to the next level.”
Six Kings on the current roster are Burnaby Winter Club alumni and that made it easier for Williams to make up his mind. In 50 games this season with his midget team in Burnaby, playing in the Canadian Sport School Hockey
League, Williams scored 18 goals and had 37 assists for 55 points. The Kings called him up for two regular-season games in October and two in January.
In March at the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer he was one of Team B.C.’s top scorers with five goals and four assists in seven games.
“That was so cool to compete against the top players in my age group across Canada, we didn’t do too well but we all learned a couple things and used it for motivation,” said Williams.
He’s thrilled to be along for the ride as the Spruce Kings push for their first-ever BCHL title and playing in front of two packed houses at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena was unlike anything he’s ever experienced in his career.
“It was a cool atmosphere in here, something real cool for me to a part of as an (affiliated player),” said Williams.
“I’m just really happy I’m able to be here and be part of the journey in the playoff run they have going now. It’s exciting for me to learn from the older guys in the room and the coaches and the level of hockey they have here.”
WILLIAMS
HANDOUT PHOTO
The Cariboo Cougars defeated the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds 8-2 on Saturday in Abbotsford to win the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League championship.
Hess, Orioles defeat the Blue Jays
Neil DAVIDSON Citizen news service
TORONTO — After 24 scoreless innings by their starters, the Blue Jays ran out of arms and ammo Monday.
Sean Reid-Foley, summoned from TripleA Buffalo to step in for the injured Clayton Richard, lasted just two innings as the Baltimore Orioles jumped into an early 5-0 lead.
David Hess pitched 6 1/3 no-hit innings and Jonathan Villar and Trey Mancini homered as the Orioles built up a 6-0 lead before the Jays rallied with two runs in the seventh, one in the eight and two in the ninth.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. struck out to end the comeback in the ninth with Teoscar Hernandez stranded on third as Baltimore hung on for the 6-5 win.
The Orioles (3-1) extended their win streak to three while snapping a 10-game losing streak at Rogers Centre. Toronto (23) lost its second in a row.
Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer and Freddy Galvis had a solo shot for Toronto after Hess exited following a near-flawless 82-pitch performance that included 50 strikes.
Baltimore’s relievers did not match Hess’s heroics.
Still Hess, Pedro Araujo, Mike Wright and Richard Bleier, who entered in the ninth after Brandon Drury singled, held the Jays to six hits. Baltimore had six hits.
Down 6-3 in the ninth, the Jays put men on second and third with one out. Pinchhitter Kevin Pillar’s sacrifice fly made it 6-4 and Hernandez’s triple made it 6-5. Bleier got the save.
Just 10,460 fans took in the game at the Rogers Centre, the lowest attendance of the young season. Opening Day drew 45,048. After four strong starts, the Toronto pitching faltered and the Jays trailed 4-0 after the first and 5-0 after the second as ReidFoley (0-1) struggled.
In contrast, Hess (1-0) retired 19 of 20 Jays in his 20th career start. He dispatched the first nine Jays he faced, a streak that ended with a Billy McKinney walk to open the fourth. It marked the fourth time in five games that Toronto failed to get a runner on base in the first three innings.
“It has been a struggle,” Montoyo said. “I’m not going to defend our offence right now but I know we’re going to hit. That’s what they do. They have a past, they have a record and we’re going to hit. We’re just not hitting right now.”
“But also you’ve got to give them credit for making a comeback,” he added. “We
could have just died and not do anything but we came back, one run away, tying run on third base. You’ve got to give our offence credit for that.”
The 25-year-old Hess, a fifth-round pick of the Orioles in the 2014 draft, exited with one out in the seventh after Drury lined out hard to shortstop Richie Martin. Hess, who went 3-10 with a 4.88 earned-run average as a rookie last season, allowed just one walk while striking out a career-high eight. Oriles manager Brandon Hyde said he took Hess out because he was on a pitch count given he had thrown 42 pitches in a two-inning outing on Opening Day. Still Hyde called the walk out to the mound “terrible.”
“I hated to do it, but for David’s health and one of, hopefully 30-plus starts, it was the right thing to do,” he said.
Hess said he understood his manager was “trying to keep health the primary thing.”
Hess was replaced by Araujo, who gave
up a walk and saw the no-hitter disappear when Grichuk hammered a shot over the left-field fence.
Toronto’s Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Matt Shoemaker and Trent Thornton had combined for 24 scoreless innings in the first four games of the season against visiting Detroit.
But that streak ended with a four-run Baltimore first inning that saw the Orioles send nine men to the plate and Reid-Foley throw 34 pitches.
Villar got things going with a two-run homer with one out. After Mancini singled, the Jays had a chance to end the inning on a double play on Rio Ruiz’ infield grounder. But Galvis could not hang onto the throw at second.
A Renato Nunez walk loaded the bases and got the Jays bullpen working. ReidFoley walked Chris Davis to score another run before a wild pitch scored Ruiz to make made it 4-0.
Cedric Mullins was hit by a pitch to open the second and eventually scored on Mancini’s sacrifice fly to increase the lead to five. Thomas Pannone replaced Reid-Foley to open the third. Reid-Foley threw 52 pitches, 32 for strikes, giving up five runs (three earned) on four hits, two walks, three strikeouts, two wild pitches and one hit batsman. He faced 14 batters, getting just six out.
“Just come in tomorrow and get better,” Reid-Foley said after the game. Pannone stemmed the flow of runs with four innings of scoreless relief. He ended his one-hit, five-strikeout stint with a marathon Mullins strikeout that required 12 pitches to complete. Toronto reliever Sam Gaviglio took over in the seventh, giving up a solo 408-foot homer to Mancini in the seventh. Wright yielded the Galvis homer in the eighth. Stroman is expected to start Tuesday for Toronto against Andrew Cashner.
Green comes up big in Raptors’ win over Orlando
Lori EWING Citizen news service
TORONTO — Moments after Danny Green had one of the best offensive performances of his career, the Toronto Raptors guard beat a hasty exit to a nearby medical facility for tests on his injured thumb.
Green jammed his left thumb in the first quarter of a 121-109 victory over Orlando that clinched Toronto the Atlantic Division title for the fifth time in six seasons. He went on to have seven threepointers and a season-high 29 points.
“He got it taped up a little bit at halftime,” coach Nick Nurse said.
It apparently didn’t affect his shooting.
“It did not,” Nurse deadpanned.
Green’s seven threes were one shy of his career high of the eight he had in a 24-point performance in a January 19 win over Memphis. His X-rays were negative. He was undergoing an MRI on Monday night.
Kawhi Leonard and Serge Ibaka had 15 points apiece, Marc Gasol chipped in with 13, Kyle Lowry had 12 and Fred VanVleet finished with 10 for the Raptors (55-23), who stretched their win streak to four in a row.
Evan Fournier topped the Magic (38-40) with 21 points, while Montreal native Khem Birch had 11.
The Raptors, who’d lost twice to the Magic earlier in the season, got off to a slow start, but found another gear in the second quar-
ter, turning an 11-point secondquarter deficit into a 10-point lead by halftime seemingly with ease.
“They were just shooting a high percentage in that first quarter. It then turned the other way and they started missing shots,” said Leonard. “It’s good for us with five games left (in the regularseason). There’s good value in playing a competitive team in the end who is fighting for playoff position... that can only help us.”
Green had three threes and 11 points in the third quarter, and when VanVleet drilled a three-pointer with 2:17 left in the frame, the long bomb put Toronto up by 24 points. They cruised into the fourth with a 95-75 lead.
None of the starters saw the
floor in the fourth quarter.
Orlando made a run in the dying minutes after Nurse had emptied his bench, pulling to within eight points with two minutes to play.
But that’s as close as the Magic would come.
The Magic began the night one spot out of a playoff spot in the East, a half game back of eighthplace Miami. Monday’s game was the first of four games for Toronto against teams playing for their post-season lives. The Raptors visit Brooklyn on Wednesday, Charlotte on Friday, then return home to host the Heat on Sunday, the Raptors’ final regular-season game at home.
Nurse was happy to have some competition after blowout wins in Toronto’s last three games (two
versus Chicago, and one vs. the New York Knicks).
“I’m glad this team’s in town because they’re gonna play their butts off,” Nurse said before tipoff.
“I’m not so sure we’ve had a team play their backsides off here in a few games. It’s been just a little bit too easy, right?
“Not taking away anything from anybody. But we’ve been pretty comfortable here, and I wouldn’t mind maybe a little bit more stress. I don’t know why.”
Orlando could end up being Toronto’s first-round opponent in the playoffs. More added value to Monday’s win. Toronto shot 19-for-37 from three-point range. The Raptors’ season high is 21 threes.
Prince George Spruce Kings vs. Victoria Grizzlies (Spruce Kings lead best-of-seven series 3-0) Game 3 SPRUCE KINGS 4 AT GRIZZLIES 2 First Period No scoring. Penalties – None. Second Period 1. Victoria, Hughes 4 (Newhook,
(sh)
Victoria, McGrath 5 (Berger, Newhook) 14:39 (pp) Penalties – Williams PG (roughing) 7:05, Anhorn PG (interference), Bucheler Vic (slashing) 9:50, PG bench (too many men, served by Wilson) 14:29, Cozzi PG (goaltender interference) 15:40, Lee PG (unsportsmanlike conduct) 19:01. Third Period 6. Prince George, Welsh 3 (Ahac, Coyle) 3:44 (pp) Penalties –
Power plays – PG: 1-2; Vic:2-6. Referees – Trevor Nolan, Jeff Eden; Linesmen – Cole Cooke, Chris Van Deventer. Attendance – 1,254. Scratches – Victoria: D Nico Somerville upper-body injury), F Marty Westhaver (upper-body injury); Prince George: F Spencer DenBeste (healthy), F Tyler Schleppe (healthy), F Craig MacDonald (healthy), D Jason Chu (healthy). Three stars – 1. Nolan Welsh, PG; 2. Layton Ahac, PG; 3. Lucas Vanroboys, PG. SATURDAY’S RESULTS Prince George Spruce Kings vs. Victoria Grizzlies (Spruce Kings lead best-of-seven series 2-0) Game 2 GRIZZLIES 2 AT SPRUCE KINGS 4 First Period 1. Victoria, Hughes 3 (Newhook, Berger) 7:15 (pp) Penalties – Watson-Brawn PG (hooking) 6:06, Johnson Vic (interference) 10:41, Hughes Vic (roughing) 16:31. Second Period 2. Prince George, Cunningham 3, 2:10 3. Prince George, Manz 6 (Bochen, Brar) 12:15 (pp) 4. Victoria, Thompson 5 (Berger, MacDonald) 14:31 (pp) 5. Prince George, Cunningham 4 (Ahac, Lee) 18:03 Penalties – Bucheler Vic (unsportsmanlike conduct) 2:10, Veilleux Vic (double slashing) 4:17, Brar PG (boarding) 8:29, Johnson Vic (roughing) 11:40, Keranen PG (roughing) 13:48, Vanroboys PG (slashing)
Baltimore Orioles right fielder Joey Rickard, right, dives but can’t make the catch on a double hit by Toronto Blue Jays centre
fielder Randal Grichuk, not shown, as Orioles centre fielder Cedric Mullins looks on during a game in Toronto on Monday.
Film industry players meet at CinemaCon
Citizen news service
The movie industry – everyone from the Hollywood studios that produce the films to the companies that make the screens, speakers and seats in theatres –are descending on Las Vegas this week for CinemaCon. The future of film going will be in the spotlight as the annual trade show kicked off Monday at Caesar’s Palace. There will surely be much celebration and self-congratulation for the record 2018 box office year, which exceeded $11.8 billion in ticket sales in North America, and recent successes like Us and Captain Marvel. Yet this year’s CinemaCon is coming at a time of great change in Hollywood. Streaming and how long movies play in theatres have been a conversation staple at CinemaCon in recent years, but Walt Disney Co.’s justcompleted acquisition of 20th Century Fox will be the elephant in the room.
“People are really wondering what this consolidation is going to look like for the entire business,” said Kevin Grayson, president of domestic distribution for STX Films. On a practical level, it means there won’t be a separate presentation from Fox, which always staged an elaborate production, usually involving its former distribution chief in some kind of costume.
“We will absolutely miss the Fox presence, but we also need to support and embrace Disney for what they bring to our industry and what they’re going to look to do to further bolster the distribution line of great product,” said Mitch Neuhauser, the managing director of CinemaCon. “It’s going to be a very bittersweet convention. But we will change with the times and move forward in a productive way.”
In other words, the show must go on. Disney, which has been the market-leader for three years running, along with three of the other major studios, Universal, Warner Bros. and Paramount (Sony is sitting this year out), will come armed with splashy new footage, trailers and some of their biggest stars to hype their slates for the summer movie season and beyond to an audience of theatre owners, from the biggest chains to the smallest mom and pop shops. It’s not just the biggest studios. Lionsgate, Amazon, Neon and STX Entertainment will also be present, with some showing sneak peeks of upcoming films like Wild Rose, Late Night and Long Shot. STX will kick off the main studio presentations Tuesday after a few remarks on the state of the industry. “It really gives us that opportunity to shine a light on STX and show that we are not here for the short term, we are here for
the long term,” said STX’s Grayson.
STX specializes in mid-range and midbudgeted commercial films like The Upside and Second Act. CinemaCon is an essential space to interact with not only the big players in exhibition but the people who own “twins and triples” that are just as essential to their business.
“We’re releasing 10 to 12 films this year and 12 to 15 next year,” Grayson said. “So when the other studios are making the tentpoles, it allows us to fill that gap. ”
Outside of the main theatre, there will also be a whole world on the trade exhibition floor showing the latest and greatest in everything from theatre technologies to concession snacks.
“There has been a non-stop momentum of new technology that is driving the industry,” said Neuhauser.
Ray Nutt, the CEO of Fathom Events, which specializes in event cinema, from classic movies to the Metropolitan Opera
and even sporting events, agrees.
“That box office record doesn’t just happen because there’s good content out there,” Nutt said. “It happens because the amenities in the theatres are awesome these days, whether it’s luxury seating or enhanced food and beverage. These are all things that make going to the movie theatre special and one of a kind.”
Julien Marcel, the CEO of Webedia Movies Pro, a tech and data company for the theatrical industry, predicts that there will also be much discussion over the “second digital revolution” in movie going.
“All movie experiences start online and the key challenge for exhibitors is how to adapt with this second digital revolution,” Marcel said. “The first digital revolution was when projection moved from analog to digital. Now we’re at the heart of the second digital revolution where the marketing goes all digital and the ticket sales go all digital.”
Marcel’s company recently published
a study that said there was 18.7 per cent growth in online ticket sales in 2018. Movie tickets purchased online currently make up about a quarter of all ticket sales. He also expects there to be a lot of focus on the “subscription economy.” MoviePass might be struggling, but AMC and Cinemark have found successes with their own models and more companies are gearing up to do the same.
And even with all the changes afoot, the mood at CinemaCon is optimism.
“I’ve been around this business for 30 years now and it was always something that was coming along whether it was cable television or the VCR that was going to kill the industry,” said Nutt. “But people in this industry keep innovating in different ways to keep people coming back out to the theatre to have that communal experience. It’s pretty gratifying to see the resiliency of the industry.”
CinemaCon runs through Thursday.
Harry Potter books burned in Polish parish
Citizen news service
Priests at a Catholic parish in northern Poland have drawn criticism after they burned books, including from the Harry Potter series, and other items that their owners said had evil forces.
Images from the burning at Gdansk’s Mother of Church parish on Sunday were posted on Facebook by Catholic foundation SMS z Nieba (SMS from Heaven,) which uses unconventional means to carry out its religious work.
In the pictures, flames are consuming an African wooden mask, a small Buddhist figure, figurines of elephants and books on personality and magic, as well as those by J.K. Rowling. They were all brought in by parishioners, who were encouraged by the priests to clear their homes of objects that had evil forces. Influential in Poland, the Catholic Church objects to Harry Potter books, which are international bestsellers, saying they promote sorcery.
In the photos, priests and altar boys can be seen watching the burning objects.
The foundation said the book burning was intended to alert parishioners to bad influences that it says come from magic and the occult.
Many comments under the Facebook postings condemned the book burning, recalling that also happened in Nazi Germany before the Second World War.
Some said this taught hatred and asked if the next in line for burning were witches, like in the Middle Ages.
The event was criticized by the Rev. Wojciech Parafianowicz, spokesman for the diocese of Koszalin, where the foundation is based, who said he “did not like this form of priestly activity, which is wrong.”
But, speaking with the wpolityce. pl news portal, Parafianowicz argued that the occult and magic “have a bad influence on human life.”
A popular commentator on religion, Pawel Guzynski, a Dominican Friar, said on Facebook the burning was “rather the fall of wise faith than of unwise superstition.”
CITIZEN NEWS SERVICE FILE PHOTO
This April 26, 2018, file photo shows CinemaCon attendees walking through the lobby during CinemaCon 2018 in Las Vegas, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners.
John Gregory Temperley
Greg was born in Powell River on Aug. 4, 1930. He died in Prince George on March 29, 2019. He worked many years in aviation as an aircraft maintenance engineer after attending the Spartan School of Aeronautics in 1949. He did maintenance and overhaul work on fixed wing aircraft and on helicopters until 1983. Greg held the Imperial Oil agency at the Prince George airport from 1965 to 1978. He drove school buses for School District 57 from 1984 to 1992. Greg was predeceased by his parents, his first wife, Eileen, and his second wife, Peggy. He is survived by his sister Muriel, his Aunt Gladys, and several cousins in Powell River. He is also survived by his two nephews and his niece and their families, in Abbotsford. No service by request.
LEA,BrendaEleanora September15,1956-March26,2019 BrendawasbornSeptember15th,1956,andpassed awaypeacefullyinhersleeponMarch26,2019. BrendahadalongbattlewithAlzheimer’sthatshe foughtalongsideherbestfriend/husband,David (Dave),andwassobravelyfought. WithBrenda’sundyingfaithinGod,shehasgoneto meetourLordandSaviorinHeaven.Weknowshe wasgreetedatthegatebyallthosewhohavegone beforeher.Weweresoblessedtohaveherinour livesforthetimeshewashereonearth. Inherpassing,sheleavesbehindherhusband,David S.Lea;daughters,AmandaLeaandTriniaLea;and heronlyson,DavidS.T.Lea.Brendawas predeceasedbyherfather,AdolfWronski,andher adoringmother,NellieWronski,aswellasherloving parents-in-law,TedandMargaretLea.
"I’llseeyouagain,thisisnotwhereitends.I’llcarry youwithme."
ACelebrationofLifewillbeplannedatalaterdate. AnydonationsshouldbesenttotheSPCA,asBrenda lovedallanimals.
Harry “Grant” Collins, age 79 of Prince George passed away peacefully at Hospice on Friday March 29th surrounded by his loving family.
He is survived by his wife Corinne of 59 years, brother Barry Collins of Kamloops, son and best friend Kelly Collins (Betty Ann) of Prince George, daughters Colette Evans of Prince George and Colleen Nakamura of Virginia, Aunt Elsie Stein of Dawson Creek, 4 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren & numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Grant was predeceased by his father Sidney Collins and Mother Ethel (Fraser) Collins, sister Faye Arndt, niece Debbie Wilde, and Aunt Myrtle Coxe all from the Dawson Creek area.
Grant was known for being a good friend, a helpful neighbour and a hard worker who spent most of his career in logging & trucking and was the head of the Central Interior Loggers Association for a couple of years. Grant and Corinne also owned a business and lived in Hawaii for almost 20 years. In their retirement, Grant and Corinne made several trips across the United States to escape the Prince George winters, and visit with daughter Colleen. Grant very much enjoyed spending time with his daughter Colette, they would clear land together, and Grant was always willing to help do repairs around her home and enjoyed a good camp fire, and a smokie or two. Grant spent a lot of time with his son Kelly working on trucks, old cars, helping in the yard, stoking the fire or just hanging out chatting with and supervising the boys. Grant will be sadly missed by his family, friends and faithful dog, Tuffy. Funeral Service will be held on Saturday April 6th, 2019 at Assman’s Funeral Chapel in Prince George, BC. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Established Franchise Photography Business Serving Northern B.C for over 35 years
Gross Revenues of $150.000 plus annually from seasonal work Lots of opportunity to expand the business.
Transition support available to the right buyer
Serious Enquiries Only Office 250-596-9199 Cell 250-981-1472
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Established Franchise Tax Preparation BusinessMackenzieservicing and McLeod Lake area for over 30 years.
Gross Revenues of $85,000 to $90,000 Annually and Potential to expand revenues in a growing economy. Transition support available for the right buyer. Serious Inquires Only Office (250)997-9003 Home (250)997-5538 Cell (250)990-0152
Adult & Youth Newspaper Carriers Needed in the Following areas:
• Hart Area • Driftwood Rd, Dawson Rd, Seton Cres,
• Austin Rd.
• • Lakewood
• Pilot, Limestone, Mica, Nelson, Selwyn, Valley, Urquhart, Quartz, Azure, Elkhorn Pl & Cres, Ochakwin, Bowren, Chingee Ave, Dome Ave, Cascade Ave, Delta Pl, Jackpine, Quentin Ave.
• • Lower College Heights • O’Grady Rd and Park, Brock, Selkirk, Oxford, Simon Fraser,Trent, Fairmont, Guelph, Gladstone,Hartford, Harvard, Imperial, Kingsley, Jean De Brebeuf Cres, Loyola, Latrobe, LeicesterPl, Princeton Cres, Prince Edward Cres, Newcastle, Melbourne, Loedel, Marine Pl, Hough Pl, Guerrier Pl, Sarah Pl, Lancaster, Lemoyne,
• Upper College Heights
• St Barbara, St Bernadette, Southridge, St Anne Ave, Bernard, St Clare St, St Gerald Pl, Creekside, Stillwater.
• • KGV Area • Wainwright St, Burden St, Irwin, Harper, 1st, 2nd, Douglas, Hammond,Nechako Dr, Carney, Douglas, Melville, Tofield, Alward, Ewert St, Freeman St, Gillett St, Laurier Cres
• • Central • Pineview • Domano Full Time and Temporary Routes Available. Contact for Details 250-562-3301 or
Few Brexit options remain
Citizen news service
Britain is running out of time and options for Brexit.
U.K. lawmakers have thrice rejected the divorce deal struck between Prime Minister Theresa May’s government and the European Union. Facing an April 12 deadline to present the EU with a new Brexit proposal or crash out of the bloc, lawmakers met for new votes Monday to try to agree on a plan – and rejected all the options.
With May clinging to hope of persuading Parliament to back her Brexit deal if she asks a fourth time, a look at the most likely options:
NO DEAL
Most politicians, economists and business groups think leaving the world’s largest trading bloc without an agreement would be disastrous. It would impose tariffs on trade between Britain and the EU, bring customs checks that could cause gridlock at ports, and could spark shortages of essential goods.
Brexiteer lawmakers in May’s Conservative Party dismiss this as “Project Fear” and argue for what they call a “clean Brexit.” They have urged her not to compromise and to ramp up preparations to leave the bloc without an agreement on April 12. Parliament has voted repeatedly to rule out a no-deal Brexit, but that remains the default position unless a deal is approved, Brexit is cancelled or the EU grants Britain another extension.
May says the only way to guarantee Britain does not leave the EU without a deal is for Parliament to back her deal – which lawmakers have already rejected three times.
MAY’S UNDEAD DEAL
After almost two years of negotiations, Britain and the EU struck a divorce deal in November, laying out the terms of the departure from the bloc and giving a rough outline of future relations.
But it has been roundly rejected by lawmakers on both sides of the Brexit divide. Pro-Brexit lawmakers think it keeps Britain too closely tied to EU rules. Pro-EU legislators argue it is worse than the U.K.’s current status as an EU member.
Parliament has thrown it out three times, although the latest defeat, by 58 votes, was the narrowest yet. It was rejected even after May won over some pro-Brexit lawmakers by promising to quit if it was approved.
May is considering one last push this week, arguing that Parliament’s failure to back any other deal means her agreement is the best option available.
SOFT BREXIT
On Monday, Parliament voted on four alternative proposals to May’s rejected deal after lawmakers seized control of the schedule from the government. None got a majority, but the votes revealed a solid block of support for a “soft Brexit” that would maintain close economic ties between Britain and the EU. A plan to keep the U.K.
in an EU customs union, ensuring seamless trade in goods, was defeated by just three votes. May has ruled those options out, because sticking to EU trade rules would limit Britain’s ability to forge new trade deals around the world.
But tweaking her deal to adopt a customs union could gain May valuable votes in Parliament. It also would likely be welcomed by the EU and would allow Britain to leave the bloc in an orderly fashion in the next few months.
NEW BREXIT REFERENDUM
Parliament also narrowly rejected a proposal for a new referendum on whether to leave the EU or remain.
The proposal for any Brexit deal to be put to public vote in a “confirmatory referendum” was defeated by 12 votes. It was backed by opposition parties, plus some of May’s Conservatives – mainly those who want to stay in the bloc.
Her government has ruled out holding another referendum on Britain’s EU member-
ship, saying voters in 2016 made their decision to leave. But with divisions in both Parliament and in May’s Cabinet, handing the decision back to the people in a new plebiscite could be seen as the only way forward.
BREXIT DELAYED
The alternative to a “no-deal” departure is to delay Brexit for at least several months, and possibly more than a year, to sort out the mess. The EU is frustrated with the impasse and has said it will only grant another postponement if Britain comes up with a whole new Brexit plan.
The bloc is reluctant to have a departing Britain participate in the May 23-26 European parliament elections, but that would have to be done if Brexit is delayed. Still, EU Council President Donald Tusk has urged the bloc to give Britain a Brexit extension if it plans to change course.
A long delay raises the chances of an early British election, which could rearrange Parliament and break the deadlock.
North American stock markets opened the second quarter higher Monday on unexpected manufacturing growth in China and positive data in the U.S. Everybody was writing off China and stoking fears of a possible recession, but positive manufacturing data signals that forecasts of doom and gloom may have been misplaced, says Allan Small, senior investment adviser at HollisWealth.
The monthly purchasing managers’ index rose above 50 for the first time in several months, pointing to increased activity. An economic report out of China also showed growth in exports, employment and orders. Positive news also came out of the United States, with manufacturers growing at a faster pace in March and construction spending increasing in February. However, retail sales fell in February.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 125.97 points to 16,228.06 Monday in the first day of trading in April and the second quarter.
Small said it’s premature to say the second three months of 2019 will mirror the first three, which saw the Toronto market gain 12.4 per cent.
“You’re looking historically at a pretty good month,” he said of April.
Seven of the market’s 11 major sectors rose, led by consumer discretionary, along with the powerhouse energy, financials and industrials sectors.
Energy gained as the price of crude hit a near five-month high on hopeful signs of higher demand from China. Cenovus Energy Inc. rose 4.7 per cent on the day.
The May crude contract was up US$1.45 at US$61.59 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was up 4.6 cents at $2.71 per mmBTU.
Financials was up on a stabilizing yield curve after it inverted last week. Laurentian Bank, TorontoDominion and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce were up nearly two per cent. Materials led on the downside as metals prices fell.
The June gold contract was down US$4.30 at US$1,294.20 an ounce and the May copper contract was down 1.1 cents at US$2.92 a pound.
The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 74.98 cents US, up from an average of 74.83 cents US
CITIZEN NEWS SERVICE PHOTO
Anti-Brexit demonstrators brought an effigy of British Prime Minister Theresa May near College Green at the Houses of Parliament in London on Monday.
CITIZEN NEWS SERVICE PHOTO
Pro-Brexit supporters attend a rally in Parliament Square after the final leg of the March to Leave in London on Friday.
