Prince George Citizen April 9, 2019

First in line

Doug and Jeanne Henning were first in line

Monday morning, 2.5 hours

Horgan vows to put B.C. timber to work

Derrick PENNER Vancouver Sun

Premier John Horgan promised that the province will build a major modernization of the Royal B.C. Museum using mass-timber components as a first step to kickstart demand for made-in-B.C., value added products.

Horgan, speaking at the Council of Forest Industries convention in Vancouver on Friday, offered the measure as an incentive for the industry’s co-operation in a process to revitalize the province’s Interior forest sector, which is grappling with the challenge of shrinking timber supplies due to wildfires and the mountain pine beetle infestation.

And it won’t just be the museum revitalization. Horgan said a new $1.9-billion St. Paul’s Hospital will use timber wherever it can. As for his government’s $20-billion capital plan, “to the greatest extent possible, mass timber will be the foundation of that construction.”

“Announcing that the Royal B.C. Museum upgrade will be done with mass timber is transformative for the institution and also for the sector,” Horgan said. “Similarly, St. Paul’s and other projects will create a domestic market, and from there, we can start to market

HORGAN

to other jurisdictions.”

Horgan talked about the concept as an election promise in 2017, but held it out Friday as an opportunity to an audience of some 650 industry representatives as he sought buy-in for a process to speed along a transformation of the industry from high-volume lumber production to high-value manufacturing. However, the industry is in the middle of shedding jobs by closing mills or reducing shifts to cope with those shrinking timber sup-

plies at the same time as Horgan’s government is trying to create jobs in forestry.

“If we don’t have a transformation away from the high-volume to the high-value economy, we’re going to be struggling,” Horgan said. “And this is not a surprise to anyone, nor did it just arrive on my watch. But as we deal with that downturn, we need to also deal with the approach.

“And that’s where I’m asking the industry to be innovative,” Horgan said, calling for companies, First Nations, community leaders and unions to take part in consultation talks. The process won’t replace existing consultations with First Nations or timber-allocation discussion, Horgan said. The idea is for people in B.C.’s Interior to come up with a common vision for revitalizing forestry.

“If I announce, as often happens at these COFI conventions, ‘This is the government’s view,’ there would be 100 people calling in to question the value of those incentives or restrictions,” Horgan said. “If I ask the people that are dependent on the industry to sit down and come up with a common position, we’re going to get better outcomes.”

— see ‘HOW DO, page 3

Council split decision on pot shops

Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

Two proposals to open privately-run cannabis retail stores in the city’s downtown met decidedly different fates at a city council meeting on Monday night.

Council voted 7-1 to deny a proposal to open a store at 1289 Third Ave. – the old Plateau Clothing store – after learning it would be located across from a school that caters to vulnerable youth.

Intersect Youth and Family Services at 1294 Third Ave is currently home to 32 students, ages 13-18 years old who, because of mental health challenges, are unable to attend mainstream school.

That they would look at a cannabis store every time they walked outside was a point repeatedly driven home by a handful of Intersect representatives during a hearing on the matter.

“Our youth that access our school should be afforded the same precautionary measures and even higher diligence due to their existing mental health and substance use challenges; and barriers to access the mainstream school systems,” Intersect executive director Shannon Croy said in a letter expressing opposition. It was enough to convince most council members to vote

against granting the proponent, Nasser Kamani, temporary use permit.

Having a cannabis store across the street from such a school is “really leading to temptation,” Coun. Cori Ramsay said. Coun. Terri McConnachie was the sole councillor to vote in favour. She argued that the target market is adults 19 years and up and that safeguards are in place to prevent sales to minors.

Backers of a proposal to open a store at 421 George St. were more successful as council members voted unanimously in favour of granting Grasshopper Retail Inc. a temporary use permit for the location.

The permit will last up to three years before Grasshopper will have to either apply for an extension or to rezone the property for the use on a permanent basis.

The intention is to give the city time to assess the impact of the store on the downtown. If there are problems, the city retains the power to pull the operation’s business licence and shut it down, council was told.

Although 10 neighbouring business owners provided expressions of support, two expressed strong opposition to both applications. Christina Watts, who operates an arts supplies store and Philomena Hughes, who runs a photography studio, opposed the application.

Prince George court docket

From B.C. Supreme Court in Prince George, April 1-5, 2019:

• Donavan Hans Smith (born 1989) was sentenced to 408 days in jail, issued a lifetime firearms prohibition and ordered to provide a DNA sample for possessing a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition, committed in Fort St. James.

• Mark Todd Rickard (born 1962) was sentenced to a 469-day conditional sentence order and three years probation, issued a 10-year firearms prohibition and ordered to provide a DNA sample for careless use or storage of a firearm and to jail time served for improper storage of a firearm, both committed in Vanderhoof.

From Prince George provincial court, April 1-4, 2019:

• Brandon Lee Charlie (born 1998) was sentenced to time served for breaching an undertaking or recognizance. Charlie was in custody for two days prior to sentencing.

• Kurt Werner Steinhauser (born 1982) was sentenced to 34 days in jail for theft $5,000 or under and to 21 days in jail and one year probation for a separate count of theft $5,000 or under. Steinhauser was in custody for two days prior to sentencing.

• Cheyanne Kylee McDonald (born 1991) was issued a one-year $500 recognizance after allegation of causing fear of injury or damage

to property.

• Joyce Margaret Rusk (born 1980) was sentenced to 13 days in jail for assault and possessing a weapon for dangerous purpose. Rusk was also sentenced to 18 months probation with a suspended sentence on the counts as well as a separate count of assault and two counts of breaching an undertaking, all committed in Mackenzie. Rusk was in custody for 19 days prior to sentencing.

• Emmanuel Anthony Chalifoux (born 1983) was sentenced to two years probation with a suspended sentence and ordered to provide a DNA sample for assault.

• Andrew James Westecott (born 1980) was sentenced to 60 days in jail, to be served on an intermittent basis, and ordered to provide a DNA sample for assault. Westecott was also sentenced to two years probation with a suspended sentence on the count and one count of mischief.

• Christopher Jorden Borisoff (born 1985) was issued a one-year $500 recognizance after allegation of causing fear of injury or damage to property.

• Charles James Fillion (born 1991) was sentenced to one year in jail and fined $1,500 for driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08.

• Clement Eugene Joseph (born 1974) was sentenced to 18 months probation for possessing

a weapon for dangerous purpose and uttering threats. Joseph was in custody for 46 days prior to sentencing.

• Shawn Ryan Underhill (born 1981) was sentenced to one day in jail and six months probation for breaching probation.

• Michael William John Wells (born 1988) was sentenced to one year probation for assault with a weapon and breaching an undertaking or recognizance. Wells was also issued a 10-year firearms prohibition and ordered to provide a DNA sample on the assault count. Wells was in custody for 232 days prior to sentencing.

• Frank Duward Cain (born 1981) was sentenced to 19 days in jail for breaching a probation order. Cain was in custody for six days prior to sentencing.

• Virgil Cain Johnson (born 1985) was sentenced to one year probation for theft $5,000 or under and to zero days in jail for breaching probation. Johnson was in custody for 124 days prior to sentencing.

• Teddy James Lowley (born 1995) was sentenced to one year probation for two counts of breaching probation. Lowley was in custody for 138 days prior to sentencing.

• Clinton Levi Poitras (born 1981) was sentenced to 27 days in jail for breaching probation and to one day in jail for a separate count of breaching probation.

• Brandy Lenay Potskin (born 1987) was sentenced to 18 months probation and fined $250 for theft $5,000 or under.

• Ronald James Sukkau (born 1963) was sentenced to 124 days in jail for attempting to commit an indictable offence or being an accessory after the fact and theft of a motor vehicle and to 21 days in jail for driving while prohibited under the Motor Vehicle Act, all committed in Vanderhoof, to 45 days in jail for possession of stolen property over $5,000 and breaching a recognizance or undertaking, both committed in Fort St. James, and to 21 days in jail for driving while prohibited under the Motor Vehicle Act and to seven days in jail for being unlawfully at large, both committed in Prince George. Sukkau was in custody for seven days on the Vanderhoof charges prior to sentencing.

• Warren Travis West (born 1993) was sentenced to one day in jail for failing to comply with a court order.

• Douglas Spencer Alec-Lolly (born 2000) was sentenced to nine days in jail for two counts of theft $5,000 or under and to one year probation on the counts as well as one count each of assault and a separate count of theft $5,000 or under. Alec-Lolly was in custody for nine days prior to sentencing.

• Timothy Vernon Adam Gagnon

Paddlers head up the Fraser River Monday morning after putting

(born 1983) was prohibited from driving for one year and fined $500 plus a $75 victim surcharge for driving while prohibited or licence suspended under the Motor Vehicle Act.

• Darcy Theodore Joseph (born 1980) was sentenced to zero days in jail for three counts of breaching and undertaking or recognizance.

Joseph was in custody for 34 days prior to sentencing.

• Nicholas Ronald Power (born 1985) was sentenced to 18 months probation with a suspended sentence and ordered to pay $1,314.62 restitution for mischief $5,000 or under.

• Alexis Faith Romaniuk (born 1994) was sentenced to one year probation for taking or occupying a vehicle without the owner’s consent.

• Vance Christopher Solonas (born 1970) was sentenced to 52 days in jail for breaching probation. Solonas was in custody for four days prior to sentencing.

• Paul Felix Stas (born 1956) was sentenced to one year probation for causing a disturbance and to zero days in jail for breaching a recognizance or undertaking. Stas was in custody for 42 days prior to sentencing.

• Jeremy Charlie Charlie-Tom (born 1998) was issued a one-year $500 recognizance after allegation.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten Open water

in at Paddle Wheel Park.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Man injured in drug-related shooting on Friday

Police continue to be on the lookout for three male suspects connected to a drug-related shooting Friday afternoon in the 2200 block of Quince Street. Multiple gun shots were reported in a targeted attack in the alley west of Quince Street between two groups known to each other Friday at about 4:15 p.m. Prince George RCMP located the lone victim of the shooting in an SUV near the scene a short time later. The victim, an adult male, was shot in the leg and transported to hospital with non life-threatening injuries RCMP believe there were witnesses to the shooting and are requesting that contact police at 250561-3300. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 1-8000-222-8477 or online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca. You do not have to reveal your identity and if information you provide leads to an arrest you could be eligible for a cash reward.

— Citizen staff

Fire causes $750,000 damage

Damage is estimated at $750,000 after fire ripped through a commercial structure at a local business Saturday morning in the 9900 block of Willow Cale Forest Service Road.

Prince George Fire Rescue responded to the call at about 8:30 a.m. Saturday and sent 19 firefighters from four halls. Crews reported fire and smoke coming from a 120-foot lift elevator when they arrived at the scene.

Strong winds fanning the flames spread the fire to an adjacent process building. Damage was extensive to an electrical control room, according to Prince George Fire Rescue assistant chief Fred Wilkinson. Cause of the fire is undetermined and there were no injuries to employees of the business or to fire personnel.

— Citizen staff

Ratification votes draw mixed results at area sawmills

Tentative contracts have failed to pass ratification votes at seven northern B.C. sawmills.

In a bulletin posted Monday on its website, United Steelworkers Local 1-2017 said four of the 13 whose employers are represented by the Council on Northern Interior Forest Employment Relations rejected a proposal reached Feb. 13. As well, workers at two Canfor independent sawmills – Polar and Plateau – turned down proposals while those at Canfor’s Chetwynd sawmill accepted the memorandum of agreement.

Union representatives will meet with members at operations where ratification failed “so that the members can voice their concerns and we have a clear understanding of the issues before going back to bargaining with the employer,” the local said in the posting.

As well, a settlement at Tolko Lakeview in Williams Lake remains outstanding. The local said it met with members on March 23 and 24 to get their reasons for rejection and will resume bargaining on April 10.

— Citizen staff

B.C. hockey team finds kidney donor for coach

VANCOUVER (CP) — The coach of a Vancouver peewee hockey team has successfully ended his search for a life-saving organ donor. However, Stephen Gillis said his drive to build organ donor awareness is just beginning.

“My purpose now has to be to help others,” said Gillis in an interview Monday.

Gillis learned last week his former work colleague Michael Teigen was a match and would be donating one of his kidneys. Teigen saw a viral video posted by young members of the Spirit hockey team asking for help for their ailing coach.

“He is going to be my brother and I am indebted to him for the rest of his life,” said Gillis.

“I’ll shine his shoes, mow his lawn, shovel his driveway, be his mover, whatever he needs.”

The 38-year-old also met recently with the parents of Logan Boulet, the late Humboldt Broncos player whose donated organs saved six other lives, and said the Boulet’s work to create Green Shirt Day in support of organ donor awareness inspired his own plans.

“I do hope to work with others... to try to replicate what my home province of Nova Scotia recently did to change the legislation to make everyone opt in to the donor program.”

We need to change the legislation, not only in B.C., but across Canada,“ he said.

Museum streamlining childcare services

Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

The Exploration Place is a museum and a science centre, a combination common across Canada, but it is also a childcare facility and rare is too weak a word for that extra feature.

“We haven’t found another science centre or museum in North America that is operating an integrated learning program with out-of-school care or a science-based preschool,” said The Exploration Place CEO Tracy Calogheros.

There is a collection of childcare categories going on at The Exploration Place, and each one emerged on its own.

This past year, the range of in-house children’s services reached a point that it was smarter to make it its own department.

“Everything was growing so much that it made sense to streamline everything together,” said Robyn Reimer, manager of Integrated Learning, that new department that emerged from the strategic redesign of internal resources.

The programs that now align under the new system include Early Explorers Pre-School (four classes of 20 kids each, from age two and a half to five years), Fort George Explorers (after-school groups, one for kids in Kindergarten to Grade 2 and one for kids 5-12 years old), Fort George Explorers Summer Camp (full-day month long sessions for kids aged 5-12), Science Alliance Summer Day Camps (same but for kids aged 1-3 years), Explorers Urban Garden (outdoor program focused on composting, food security, basic gardening, and more), and some others as well.

“Our programs are fully subscribed –they are 100 per cent full,” said Reimer.

“If they built a whole other facility just for childcare, we could fill it, but one of the most important aspects of these programs is how closely we can tie these

programs together, utilize the amazing qualities of this place to stimulate the minds and imaginations of children. It just boggles my mind that no one else is doing it, it just makes so much sense.”

Museums and science centres do not typically experience their busiest hours on weekdays during work hours, so the timing of childcare plays well into the best opportunities to use the greater facilities in which the kids spend their days.

When a place is already set up to be a structure of discussion, a vessel into the past and the future, a site for explore eyes, then where better to have kids spending their days for months and years at a time if they connect with the place.

“A lot of these kids stay with us longterm,” said Reimer. “We become stable figures in their lives, and this place becomes an impactful force in their lives.

The relationships with the kids and their families have a lot of worthwhile qualities, but when you consider how a place like this can spark lifelong learning, it makes no sense to not do it.”

Reimer reported that many of the faces that come to work as volunteers for The Exploration Place, or get jobs as summer students, or behind the scenes staff were once kids in one (or more) of the childcare programs.

These childcare offerings also provide a dependable revenue stream to the museum, and provide the ability to leverage more funds from granting agencies, because funders know that the exhibitions and artifacts, the installations and their touring shows, all have a built-in relevance before the doors to the regular public even open. These childcare openings also help ease the stress in Prince George which, like most of Canada, has a shortage of available childcare.

‘How do we make the industry more competitive?’

— from page 1 Horgan sent a letter, dated April 1, to industry executives, First Nations, community and labour leaders looking for their participation in the engagement process. Instead of a top-down prescription, Horgan said government is looking for, and will support, development of an “inclusive, implementable TSA-level vision for industry competitiveness and community economic stability.”

The industry welcomed Horgan’s pledge to use mass timber in public projects to help create a bigger domestic market in B.C.’s export-dependent forestry sector.

“What the premier talked about today, what we’ve talked a lot about, is the best way to approach helping our industry is to grow demand,” COFI CEO Susan Yurkovich said.

However, Yurkovich said industry representatives are still figuring out Horgan’s offer to take part in the engagement process for revitalizing the Interior’s forest industry.

“I understand there is a desire to have a process to address challenges in the Interior and do that collectively, and of course I’m supportive of that,” Yurkovich said.

“(But) I don’t fully understand the process.”

John Rustad, the MLA for Nechako Lakes and the B.C. Liberal party’s forestry critic, said industry representatives are telling him that government is creating uncertainty that has them holding back on investments in what has

become a high-cost place to do business.

“Government needs to start looking at the challenges that industry has and have its initiatives in that context,” said Rustad, who was in attendance at the convention. “How do we make the industry more competitive?”

In

Julian Kallis, 10, uses a pH strip to check the acidity of snow during The Exploration Place spring break camp in March.

Spring B.C. election possible

The door is open as widely as it might ever be, so will the BC NDP walk through?

It will sound a little weedy and backhanded as a halfhearted, double-negative assertion, but I have not been convinced yet that a provincial election is not on as we get closer to summer. I know that many senior Liberals believe that, too, and that some New Democrats are murmuring about this as their most opportune moment.

The latest intriguing morsel to interpret comes in the form of radio commercials that have surfaced in recent days, paid for by the “NDP caucus,” claiming that B.C. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson is only interested in helping the rich. Of course their leader, they claim, is about helping all British Columbians.

Sure, sure, we get it: positioning the embattled listener as deserving and the empowered rich as undeserving is not exactly a novel scheme to secure support. But why tell people something if you’re not making

a call to action? Why spend anything now when the official election date is two years hence?

History has shown, and as I suppose Justin Trudeau hopes holds true, that even a few months is an eternity in politics, thanks in part to the short memories of many voters. Would any message about Andrew Wilkinson in 2019 stick in 2021?

It’s not as if we aren’t festooned with vanity press. The NDP government is swamping television with ads about its most recent budget, as do most governments under a non-partisan, public service guise. The radio ads, though, strike the same exaggerated pitch of a campaign message – so it’s worth wondering if indeed that’s what they will soon be.

After all, there remain very good reasons to call an election sooner rather than later.

The NDP has fulfilled much of its commitment it needed from the Greens to stay afloat in the legislature, in particular the referendum on proportional representation (which seemed a low NDP priority and played out as such). It can cut the ties

without significant unfinished business and hope it need not require its help again.

The Liberals, meanwhile, are in their most vulnerable position in some time. They are bearing debt and finding opposition a much more difficult exercise than it need be. Many arguments in the legislature are still about their record and not that of the new government. Like many parties that find themselves out of office after a long time in it, they are taking time to identify what their next chapter holds.

Beyond the legislature, though, lies a difficult long-term game that a risk-averse government might be wiser to test now.

Our economy is the country’s best, and our country’s is one of the world’s best, but no one expects it to improve, and there are several worrying signs that we might be swept into near-global recession some time in 2020.

Do you really want to be seeking re-election in the spring of 2021 in that case? The bite of NDP taxes will be felt most significantly by then, the tap will be turned down on the revenue stream from real estate that

Wrong numbers

Temporary Foreign Workers at the LNG Canada project in Kitimat will not be in the numbers as reported by Les Leyne on Friday in the Prince George Citizen. In fact, LNG Canada estimates that workers from outside Canada will comprise less than five per cent.

Put another way, fully 95 per cent of the workforce will be Canadian.

These estimates were released last summer in briefing notes to the NDP government from LNG Canada from March 2018. LNG Canada responded Wednesday to the belated “April Fool’s” brouhaha raised by Liberal Mike de Jong in a short and clear statement.

“We do not expect to use Temporary Foreign Workers and if required only at peak construction and in specialized trades,” said Susannah Pierce, director of corporate affairs, LNG Canada. For the record, here are the workforce requirements for the project.

• The project will be built over six years.

• At no single point in time will the Kitimat terminal facility construction require 10,000 construction workers.

• At peak construction, the project will require approximately 4,500 construction workers.

• Approximately 25 per cent will be labourers.

• 23 per cent will be plumbers/ pipefitters/gasfitters.

• 27 per cent will be made up from welders carpenters/scaffolders, sheet metal workers crane operators concrete finishers, electricians, cryogenic insulators and other trades.

• An important component of the LNG Canada project is that LNG Canada is committed to hiring 25 per cent apprentices for

the apprenticeable trades.

We anticipate that most of the skilled (Red Seal) trades will be available from B.C.

When the LNG Canada project begins construction, workers who are currently working in non-industrial construction (primarily residential) will likely move to the higher salaries paid for industrial work.

It’s ironic the Liberals are attacking the NDP over TFWs

It was Gordon Campbell’s Liberals who imported and exploited 35 TFWs from Costa Rica to build the Canada Line.

That project oversaw the hiring of TFWs to excavate the tunnel at less than $4 per hour. The use of 80 Eastern European TFWs on the Golden Ears Bridge was horrific as well; again, under the watch of the previous Liberal administration.

In 2016, the Liberal government acquiesced to 40 per cent initial TFW labour to build an LNG facility in Prince Rupert, which could have peaked at 70 per cent TFWs.

That proposed project was subsequently cancelled due to LNG prices.

Tom Sigurdson

Executive Director

BC Building Trades New Westminster

Elder project worthy

I was sad to read Helen Sarrazin’s response to the story of two local UNBC researchers being awarded much needed research support for collaborative studies of Indigenous elder mental health.

Rather than be pleased with this deservedly special attention for a population whose suffering she clearly is ignorant of, Sarrazin turns this good news into a zerosum game, based on the assump-

tion that anything done especially for native people takes away from attention to all seniors.

In fact, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research have an annual budget of over $1 billion, substantial amounts of which go to the Institute of Aging which has diverse program of research on mental health issues for all the elderly. Sarrazin chooses to see the UNBC grant as an affront, implying that there is nothing special about the situation of Indigenous elders, notwithstanding what most thinking Canadians now understand about the unique impacts of residential schooling, the legacy of stolen lands and resources, forced relocations, bad water and housing, and by far the most depressing statistics in most every category including addictions, tragic deaths including suicide, etc.

This is not even to mention the day-to-day overt and covert racism that most Indigenous elders have had to face their entire lives, bigoted attitudes that inevitably leak out when anything positive happens to them.

Norman Dale Prince George

Mansour did right

I write to express my appreciation to Ms. Lila Mansour for her presentation at the recent Daughters of the Vote program in Ottawa.

I also wish to thank her for the respect and courtesy she showedby not turning her back on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when he spoke and for not walking out when the Leader of the Opposition, Andrew Scheer, spoke. Ms. Mansour is to be commended for having represented our federal riding so well.

Fred Speckeen

Prince George

CORNELL DIRECTOR

has fed government growth for years and the age-old perception of the NDP’s economic sub-competence could resurface.

The NDP stock is only going to decline. Very likely on the morning of April 17, in the aftermath of the one-term NDP government in Alberta, there will be a cascade of resumés arriving in Victoria.

Many of these CVs will come from British Columbians who in political opposition left to work for Rachel Notley’s government and will not wish to have jobs in opposition again. So they will need or want to leave to work for John Horgan as he leads the lone NDP government, now and in the near future. They would be big organizational boosts in a heartbeat, attuned to a campaign rhythm and prepared for another one. The door will be open only briefly for an election in June. July and August are out, and the fall belongs to the federal campaign, so that late-April period will be worth watching to see if there is a manufactured reason to ask British Columbia for a fresh mandate.

— Kirk LaPointe, Glacier Media

Area health care still needs work

The very first of these columns was “Education is the key.” There are numerous studies showing the societal benefits of a well-educated population.

These are not just limited to better jobs and education is not limited to just university degrees. Any step up the educational ladder improves health outcomes, longevity, social status, environmental protection and a host of other metrics. Education is the key to a better, brighter future for us all.

But education is particularly critical to our health care system in northern British Columbia. I would argue this is true for the rest of the province outside of the Lower Mainland and the capital region district as well. Or maybe I should say it is critical everywhere in the province but the level of health care education outside of the Lower Mainland and capital region district is insufficient.

Except these are broad generalizations. There has been a lot of work done already in regards to developing a distributed medical education system. Consider the Northern Medical Program which began as a result of a rally on June 22, 2000 with 7,000 citizens supporting the Northern Medical Society’s lobby for medical education in the region.

The resulting program involved many months of negotiations to achieve a medical school at UNBC. There was a great deal of trepidation amongst those involved. No one knew if it would be successful or practical. How would distance delivery work? Could equivalent courses be offered? How would practical experience be developed? Where would the students do their residencies?

Perhaps the most important question though was “would the students stay in the north once they finished their degrees?”

After a decade and a half, the answer appears to be yes. Not every doctor trained here stays here but enough to make the effort worthwhile. And many of the doctors who have moved away have gone into small town and rural practices elsewhere in the province or across the country. The NMP has a reputation for producing topnotch, capable physicians. Further, as mentioned on Saturday night at the Bob Ewert Memorial Dinner and Lecture, we are starting to see students who needed to go elsewhere for further training returning and establishing their practices in the north.

Perhaps more importantly, the presence of a medical school in the north has inspired a generation of students to complete their university degrees here and then continue on to medicine. So far, about 150 UNBC graduates have been admitted to the NMP and many

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others have been accepted into the Vancouver, Island, and Southern medical programs. The health care system is richer because of the educational opportunities. The same could be said for nursing. The collaborative program between the colleges and UNBC has graduated 1,436 nurses since 2000. Again, not everyone stays in the north and, according to a recent report, Northern Health is 121 full-time equivalent registered nurses short, but the Northern Collaborative Baccalaureate Nursing Program is graduating approximately 100 new nurses per year. Hopefully, this will trim the shortage over time. However, if one looks at the original planning documents for UNBC, two professions – physiotherapy and occupational therapy – were identified as critical components of health care in rural British Columbia. Some 30 years later, we still don’t have educational opportunities for either degree outside of the Lower Mainland.

And the need remains.

At the dinner on Saturday night, the guest speaker, Michael “Pinball” Clemons, among others, was sporting a badge proclaiming the need for PT and OT education in the north and at UNBC. During his speech, he spoke to the topic. He pointed out that while everyone might have access to physiotherapy, having to travel to Vancouver for an appointment doesn’t provide for equal access. Equity of opportunity is important.

Having a football player and coach talk about physiotherapy is appropriate but he also talked about teamwork. Increasingly, medicine is delivered in teams consisting of doctors, nurses, specialists, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists. All of these professionals must work together if we are to achieve acceptable health outcomes. And that means having enough “players” to allow the team to work.

The distributed model for medical education was an experiment in the early 2000s but we now know it works. A joint program between UBC and UNBC or an independent physiotherapy and occupational therapy program would go a long way to benefiting the northern two-thirds of B.C. It would start the process of getting us to equitable treatment. Both degree programs should be high on the list of priorities for health care in the north. Education is essential. And educating professionals where they will practice is way we should go.

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FanCon to host Art Duel

Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

Artists, start your paintbrushes.

A competition is about to burst out of the starting gates especially for local visual artists, but be warned, an arts superhero awaits the victorious challenger.

Northern FanCon is only weeks away, and one of the added features this year is the first official Art Duel.

“Art is a key element of FanCon,” said event coordinator Norm Coyne. “We bring in all these artists from all over the world, and the best of our own city. This is one more way to shine a big bright light on our local art talent.”

First, this Art Duel has its preliminary round and that is underway now. Artists get in on in by submitting a photograph showing what you’ve already done. Send in a single digital image of one piece of your art to normcoyne@unltd. me by April 15 at 11:59 p.m.

“We will post it to the FanCon page on Facebook,” said Coyne. “From there it will be judged by a panel of experts and also voted on by the public, a combination system. That’s how the final four will be chosen.”

Those four will be called forward to compete in a live paint-off on April 27 at the Centre Court of Pine Centre Mall during the annual Northern FanCon Pre-Party. Two painters will slap canvas at 11 a.m., the other two will joust colours at 1 p.m., and the two winners go head to head at the 3 p.m. final showdown.

“We are so honored to be able to host the Fancon Pre-Party at Pine Centre again this year,” said mall manager Jessica Brown. “This is such an amazing event that highlights local talent, creativity and individuality. We are thrilled to showcase some of the incredibly talented individuals that call Prince George home during the PreParty’s Art Duel in centre court.”

Whomever walks away victoriously from these wars of the canvas will have one final siege to wage. This final, epic Art Duel will be fought on the Northern FanCon Mainstage at CN Centre during the celebrity convention. The

opponent will be none other than Andy Poon, the animation and illustration celebrity artist who designs the look of so many of the CW Network’s superhero characters on television (Flash, Arrow, Deathstroke, Canary, etc.). He has also been involved in designing for Nerd Corps Entertainment, and he was also the grey matter behind the front cover of FanCon Legacy, the new graphic book commemorating the first five years of Northern FanCon.

“Andy Poon is, as far as B.C. artists go, a complete superstar,” said Coyne. “He is a major name and a master of many mediums. Andy has been with us since year one, he’s an O.G., and Northern FanCon was also his first convention so in a way we were born together, we grew together, and now we duel together.”

Artists with the courage to wage an Art Duel with Andy Poon are encouraged to submit their image for judging as soon as possible.

Farrell to tickle the ivories at Mayor’s Black & White Ball

Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff

A special guest musician will make a Prince George debut at the Mayor’s Black & White Ball For The Arts. This musician was already going to be there. In fact, he’s one of the organizers. This annual dinner and dance, now in its second year, mutually supports three of the city’s premier professional arts organizations: Theatre Northwest, the Prince George Symphony Orchestra and the Community Arts Council. Sean Farrell is the executive director of the latter of these and he is the one who will perform for the first time in his P.G. life.

In his youth, this would have been unthinkable. Farrell was a highly trained pianist with a concert career in his sights. But when asked when he last played, he replied “ummmm, 198... 1985 maybe?”

Why the sizable gap?

“I was in a bad incident. I was hit by a car and that did a lot of damage to my arm.”

He lost his professional stage aspirations, but he didn’t lose his piano knowledge. He was eventually convinced to apply himself to a small situational comeback. He will perform a short interlude at the ball.

Other live entertainment at the mayor’s event will include the voice of opera singer Melanie Nicol (director of Bel Canto Children’s Choir and manager of Fraser Lyric Opera Company), dance music by members of the PGSO, dancing by the performers of Judy Russell Presents, and live painting by Cara Roberts (a veteran of exhibitions, Art Battle competitions and fundraiser events).

It also features a sumptuous meal, an auction and fun fundraising features like only an arts event can provide.

“There are very few times in Prince George where formality is the theme,” said Farrell. “This

is a night that gives everyone permission to stand tall, to really pull out the stops.

“We all want to. It’s in our personalities and it’s in a lot of our closets. This is the night where there is not upper limit. This is haute couture, red carpet, white glove service.”

There is a black-and-white theme, but patrons find all kinds of inventive ways to incorporate that while dressing in whatever colours their red carpet tastes call into action.

All the money raised goes to ventures of the three arts organizations, with special attention this year on the city’s micro-grant program, to provide key injections of cash in small amounts to ensure arts industry projects come to completion.

“It presents an opportunity for the CAC, Theatre Northwest and the PGSO to collaborate and take our relationships to the next level, and in a dignified and productive way for all of us,” Farrell said.

“We are three close but different organizations who had to learn together to work as a team, and we did, we learned a lot as we put this ball together, and we are seeing ways to do even more in the future.”

The planning process for the Mayor’s Black & White Ball For The Arts has actually gone on for three years, despite this being only the second year of operation. They were almost ready to go when a wildfire summer necessitated the event being postponed a year.

Mayor Lyn Hall has been a partner of this bonne fete – it really is a happy birthday project this year since the PGSO and CAC turn 50 while TNW turns 25 – since the beginning of the concert. He personally hosts each one.

This year’s Mayor’s Black & White Ball For The Arts is May 4 at the Prince George Civic Centre.

Tickets are available 24/7 on the Theatre Northwest website.

ANDY POON HANDOUT IMAGE

Artist, animator and illustrator Andy Poon created this image for the cover of FanCon Legacy. Poon will face the winner of the Art Duel competition on the FanCon Mainstage at CN Centre during Northern FanCon.

Saint-Jacques becomes fourth Canadian to complete spacewalk

Sidhartha BANERJEE

Citizen news service

LONGUEUIL, Que. — Astronaut David Saint-Jacques became the fourth Canadian to complete a spacewalk Monday, accomplishing several tasks alongside NASA astronaut Anne McClain in about six-and-a-half hours before returning inside the International Space Station.

After re-entering the space station, he hailed the mission as “a glimpse of the future as we venture further into space.”

He said the international effort was an excellent example of collaboration.

“Because when we manage to look beyond our differences, we achieve things that seem impossible,” said Saint-Jacques, the first Canadian to perform a spacewalk since 2007. “That’s how we progress.”

During the spacewalk, SaintJacques reported that McClain’s voice was faint at times. The problem worsened as their excursion drew to a close.

“We know that it’s a lot of hard work and a lot of big sighs of relief as soon as this hatch gets closed,” McClain said once the pair were inside the airlock.

Within moments, the spacewalkers could barely hear their colleagues over the radio loop. They had to shout and repeat words at times, as did the astronauts on the other side of the hatch.

McClain, meanwhile, reported having a thin layer of moisture inside her helmet. The change to her visor was noticeable in the last 15 minutes of the spacewalk, she noted.

NASA is wary about moisture inside helmets ever since an Italian astronaut almost drowned during a spacewalk nearly six years ago because of a water leak in his suit.

McClain insisted she wasn’t wet, and that the moisture was minimal. A crewmate later noted perspiration.

Saint-Jacques and McClain began the spacewalk half-an-hour earlier than scheduled.

Retired astronaut Dave Wil-

liams said astronauts prefer to have a cushion against the unpredictability of working in space.

Williams holds the Canadian record for the most spacewalks, with three for a total of just under 18 hours outside the space station during a 2007 mission. Those came at a time when there was extensive building going on at the station.

Now, astronauts are transitioning mostly to maintenance tasks, which partly explains the long gap since the last Canadian spacewalk by Williams.

The other two Canadian astronauts to have performed the feat are Steve MacLean in 2006 and Chris Hadfield in 2001. SaintJacques is on his first posting to the space station, which began on Dec. 3. The tasks took the pair all over the station and included relocating a battery adaptor plate, upgrading the station’s wireless communication system and connecting jumper cables along the midpoint of the station’s main truss to give Canadarm2 an alternative power source.

Libs say lawsuit threat needed to stop Scheer’s ‘misinformation’

Citizen news service

OTTAWA — Liberals are defending Justin Trudeau’s threatened libel suit against Andrew Scheer, arguing that the Conservative leader’s editing or deleting online statements proves he knows he’s gone too far in criticizing the prime minister’s handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair.

“The leader of the Opposition pretends that he will not back down and he tries to make a show out of it,” Government House leader Bardish Chagger told the House of Commons on Monday.

“We know that is false because while he is saying that, he has already been editing online statements or erasing them entirely.”

Scheer revealed Sunday that he’d received a letter from Trudeau’s lawyer, Julian Porter, serving notice of a possible libel suit over a statement issued on March 29, in which the Conservative leader accused Trudeau of leading a campaign to politically interfere with the criminal prosecution of Montreal engineering giant SNC-Lavalin and directing his former attorney general, Jody Wilson-Raybould, to break the law.

The notice is not an actual lawsuit, just a threat that one might come – a standard first step in a defamation claim. In the Commons on Monday, Scheer repeatedly taunted the Liberals to bring it on.

“Canadians are looking forward to the prime minister finally appearing under oath and testifying in a setting that he, himself, cannot control,” Scheer said, repeatedly asking the government to set a date for legal proceedings to begin.

Scheer denied having edited or deleted any posts on Twitter.

“No, I have not deleted tweets because I stand by everything I said in those statements,” he said.

But Chagger pointed to a tweet Scheer posted on March 31, the same day he received Porter’s letter. Originally, it referred to Trudeau telling “lies” about not knowing about a conversation the clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick, had with WilsonRaybould on Dec. 19. The tweet

was later deleted and a new one posted, she said, to replace the word “lies” with “falsehoods.” Wilson-Raybould surreptitiously recorded that conversation with Wernick to bolster her contention that the top public servant had issued “veiled threats” that her job as justice minister and attorney general was at risk if she didn’t agree to intervene to stop the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin on bribery charges related to contracts in Libya. Wernick’s lawyer said the clerk never relayed that conversation to Trudeau because everyone went on holiday the next day. When they returned in the new year, the lawyer said, they got consumed with planning a cabinet shuffle, in which Wilson-Raybould was moved to Veterans Affairs.

Chagger pointed to another tweet Scheer posted on Feb. 11, in which he asserted there is “potentially criminality at play in the Prime Minister’s Office.” That tweet was deleted, she said.

And she brought up a tweet Scheer deleted back in December after Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains served notice of a potential libel suit over the Conservative leader’s assertion that the minister was under RCMP investigation related to a land deal in Brampton.

“It is important that Canadians always know that we will not stand idly by while the Conservatives intentionally mislead Canadians,” Chagger said, adding that the Conservatives and their leader “have a history of making untrue and defamatory statements just for political gains.”

In 2008, then Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper launched a libel suit against the Liberal party over allegations that he had known about an alleged attempt by Conservatives to bribe independent MP Chuck Cadman in exchange for his support in a key confidence vote in 2005. The lawsuit made it difficult for then Liberal leader Stephane Dion to raise the issue during the 2008 election campaign. A few months after the election, which returned Harper’s Conservatives to power with a minority in Parliament, Harper settled the matter out of court with Dion’s successor Michael Ignatieff.

Not enough resources to fight money laundering, report finds

Dirk MEISSNER Citizen news service

VICTORIA — British Columbia needs more resources to fight money laundering, says Attorney General David Eby, who released part of a report that says there are no federal Mounties dedicated to working illicit cash investigations in the province.

Eby said Monday he’s troubled that the report by former RCMP deputy commissioner Peter German found the only dedicated RCMP money laundering resources in B.C. are tied to the provincially-funded Joint Illegal Gaming Investigation Team, which patrols activities at casinos.

“Despite two years of headlines about this issue, there are apparently no federally funded, dedicated police officers working on money laundering in B.C.,” said Eby, who stood alongside German at a news conference. “It is a disturbing piece of information and it’s an obviously troubling piece of information.”

The details come in the partial release of German’s second money laundering report, commissioned last fall by Eby to review the use of illicit money in

B.C. real estate, horse racing and luxury vehicle sales.

German’s initial report, released last June, concluded the province’s gaming industry was not prepared for the onslaught of illegal cash at the facilities and estimated more than $100 million was funnelled through the casinos.

The latest review found 26 federally funded positions at the RCMP’s E Division headquarters in Metro Vancouver under the umbrella of the integrated Federal and Serious Organized Crime Force, but not one of those was dedicated to money laundering investigations.

“Money laundering is a lot more than casinos, and obviously the issues we’ve looked at in the second review involve real estate, luxury cars and so forth,” German said. “That’s the issue. You’ve got a provincial unit dealing with the casino money laundering. You’ve got nothing else out there right now.”

Eby said he sent German’s report to Bill Blair, the federal minister responsible for organized crime. Blair, who met with Eby at least three times this year about co-ordinating responses to money laundering, said he will continue to collaborate with Eby and German.

Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques takes part in a spacewalk as seen in the livefeed from the Canadian Space Agency headquarters on Monday in St. Hubert, Que.

The Citizen archives put more than 100 years of history at your fingertips: https://bit.ly/2RsjvA0

After 36 years, Dalziel is a Kelly Cup

Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca

It took 36 years for Doug Dalziel to return to the Kelly Cup winners circle.

He got there Sunday at Prince George Golf and Curling Club, teaming up with an old friend, 1994 Brier and world champion Gerry Richard, and two much younger rock chuckers – skip Devin Burkitt and third Dustyn Wozny – to defeat Michael Dahms 7-3 in a nine-end final.

“My brother just reminded me, ‘Don’t wait 36 years to do it again,’” Dalziel said with a smile. “I hope not. This was an unbelievable week.”

The Burkitt rink had a couple of hiccups in their 11-game run to the championship, but when given a chance to bury Dahms in the seventh end when his rock caught a piece of something abnormal on the ice that caused his in-turn draw to verge right instead left, Burkitt had easy access to draw for three. That wayward pick broke open what had been a close game and Dahms was unable to recover.

“Right out of my hand it started going sideways, not like any other rocks have been going on that spot,” said Dahms, who lost a one-point game in the last end to Burkitt in the B event which put Burkitt into the Kelly Cup round.

Dalziel celebrated his other Kelly Cup win in 1983, the year he started curling, teaming up with his brothers Mel and Alton and Brian Mooney to win the big trophy.

Dalziel coached Burkitt and Wozny for one year in the junior ranks but has known them a lot longer than that, having coached Burkitt‚s sister Fallon for four years when she was a junior.

The Burkitt crew played an unusual strategy during the four-day tournament, leaning on the front-end sweeping abilities of the crafty veterans – 60-year-old Dalziel and 63-year-old Richard – while the two 23-year-olds took on the high-pressure positions throwing late in the order.

“We had a good week, a long one with a lot of games and the guys threw well,” said Burkitt, who has played in five Kelly Cups with Wozny, his junior teammate for three seasons.

“We finally got one,” said Wozny. Wozny and Burkitt made it to the Kelly Cup round their first year and two years ago lost in the semifinal to Blake King, the eventual champion. They knew their fortunes might take a turn for the better when Dalziel rounded up his fishing buddy Richard to play with them.

Richard played lead for Rick Folk and they made three consecutive Brier appearances from 1993-95, running the table all the way to the world title in 1994.

“It’s awesome,” Wozny said. “He throws great lead rocks – you ask for where you want the rock and he’d put it there.” Folk has come up from Kelowna to play in the Kelly Cup but for Richard, who also lives in Kelowna, this was his first kick at the can.

“It’s a great event, they do so many things here to make it an upbeat event, with lots of games and lots of history and I got a chance to play with one of my best friends and two

champ again

great young players coming up into the game,” said Richard. “I’d really like to see them take the game up competitively, I was really impressed with what they did this week.

“They’re a lot younger and they throw the rock a lot straighter than we do and they made the shots.”

Four of their last six games came down to the last shot. After 11 games in less than four days, they were ready for some rest.

“We played a Brier this week,” said Richard.

Dahms missed a nose-hit for three in the third end that turned into a Burkitt steal.

“That one overcurled a bit and they got one out of it, and that was pretty deflating for the team early on but we knew if we kept playing our game and making our shots we’d have a chance in the end,” said Dahms, who skipped a team that includes third James Blanchett, second Chris Calder and lead Matt Gyorfi.

Down by three in the eighth, Dahms had a chance to score two but missed his shot and Burkitt stole another one, which pretty much snuffed any hopes of a comeback. Dahms added one in the ninth and that brought out the handshakes.

Burkitt beat Jeff Ginter of Dawson Creek

Cariboo Cats out of Telus Cup

Ted CLARKE Citizen staff

The Cariboo Cougars’ season is finished.

Jayden Grubbe popped in a rebound 46 seconds into overtime for his second goal of the game to give the Calgary Buffaloes a 3-2 win over the Cougars Saturday night in Calgary to compete a twogame sweep of the B.C. champions in the best-of-three Telus Cup Pacific regional midget hockey championship.

“Xavier (goalie Cannon) made some big saves for us and we got some timely goals to give ourselves a chance and put it into overtime, but they got the job done,” said Cougars head coach Tyler Brough.

“I thought we were kind of chasing the game a little bit tonight. It’s a tough one to swallow right now but at the end of the day, like I said to the boys, there’s nothing to hang our heads about. I’m extremely proud of this group. Nobody really (expected) us to do what we did except for the guys in that room and the coaching staff.

“They’re B.C. champs, they won the league, there’s only been a couple of other Cariboo teams that have done it.”

The Cougars held a one-goal lead in the first period but were unable to build on it. Booker Daniel got them started midway through the period, connecting with linemates Curtis Hammond and Lane Goodwin. The Cougars followed that with a couple of breakaway chances from Dan-

I’m extremely proud of this group. Nobody really (expected) us to do what we did...

— Tyler Brough, Cariboo Cougars head coach

iel and Alex Ochitwa that were foiled by Buffaloes goalie Gavin Bjorklund. Grubbe and Braden Plaschewsky hooked up for the tying goal 3:20 into the second period and the deadlock lasted until the 9:34 mark of the third period when Hammond, the Cougars’ leading pointgetter in the season, dragged the puck around a Buffaloes defenceman on a 1-on-2 and scored with his low shot through the pads of Bjorklund.

The Buffaloes scored the tying goal with 12:46 left in the third period. Calgary captain Justin Ross beat Cannon with his shot on a left wing rush to force overtime.

“The third (period) was back and forth, they had some opportunities and we had some opportunities, there were some big hits and both teams wanted it bad, so it was kind of fitting we got to overtime but unfortunately we couldn’t get to Game 3,” said Brough.

The Cougars dethroned the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds two

weekends ago in Abbotsford to win their third B.C. Hockey Major Midget League championship since the league formed in 2004.

After winning the league in 2008 they lost to the Buffaloes two games to one in the Pacific championship. As league champions in 2017 they did not play the regional series because Cariboo was the Telus Cup host team.

“It’s been uphill for B.C. to get through Alberta since the league started,” said Brough. “Only a few teams have made their way through to the Telus Cup through Pacifics. Hats off to Calgary, they’re a tough team that battled all the way to the end and at the end of the day they deserved to move on to the Telus.”

The Cougars lost the opener of the Pacific series Friday 5-2 and needed back-to-back wins to advance against the Alberta champions.

“That Cariboo team played hard,” Buffaloes head coach Brent Harrison told the Calgary Sun.

“They deserve a lot of credit. They didn’t give us much at all. They were a tough team to play against for both games.

“We were down – we never took the lead until that overtime goal. Our guys kept battling like we’ve done all year. We handled the adversity, and we kept fighting.”

The Buffaloes, who defeated St. Albert 3-0 in the Alberta championships, are returning to the sixteam national tournament, April 22-28 in Thunder Bay, Ont., after a 10-year absence.

7-4 in their semifinal Sunday morning. Dahms recovered from a 6-1 deficit to Pat Mourad in the Kelly Cup quarterfinal round to win 12-8 and in the semifinal came back from being down 6-1 to Blair Hedden of Quesnel to win 9-8.

Sponsored by Canuck Mechanical, the 92nd Kelly Cup involved 41 teams, including 15 from out of town. Other event final results were as follows: A event: Blaine Black 5 Darren Smale 4; B event: Ginter 7 Burkitt 4; C event: Garnet Boese 6 Mark Carswell 3; D event: Ron Vanderstar (Smithers) 10 Al Wieinsczyk 0; E event: Joe Rea 6 Cale Rusnell 4.

Binnema close to record time at swimming nationals

Ted CLARKE Citizen staff

Prince George Barracudas swimmer Josiah Binnema found butterfly heaven at the Canadian national trials in Toronto. He shattered his own personal record and won gold in his specialty, the 100-metre butterfly, touching the wall in 52.26 seconds, two-tenths of a second ahead of second-place Joshua Liendo of Toronto.

Binnema, a Cedars Christian school/University of Alberta graduate who trains in Vancouver at the High Performance Centre, came within 37/100ths of a second of matching the Canadian record (51.83) set by Santo Condorelli in 2016. Michael Phelps of the U.S. owns the world record (49.82) set in 2009.

The 21-year-old Binnema just missed the medal podium in two other events to the trials, finishing fourth in the 50m fly (24:41) and fourth in the 200m fly (2:00.97).

Swim Canada has named Binnema to the FINA world championship team that will compete July 21-28 in Gwangju, South Korea.

Danica Ludlow of the Barracudas won bronze at the national trials in the 400m freestyle, finishing in a personal-best time of 4:10.86. She also placed fifth in

the B-final of the 200m freestyle in 2:02.94. Ludlow is a thirdyear student at the University of Calgary.

Barracudas swimmer Haley Black, who won silver in the women’s 50m fly on Wednesday, was a fourth-place finisher in the 100 fly on Friday, clocking a personal-best 59.06 which broke the Barracudas club record. Black also trains at the High Performance Centre in Vancouver.

Black and Ludlow have qualified for the Canadian team heading to Lima, Peru for the 2019 Pan American Games, Aug. 4-10. Avery Movold of the Barracudas set new club records in the 100 backstroke (1:04.13, 34th), 200 freestyle (2:04.60, 26th – personal best) and broke the ‘Cudas standard in the 200 backstroke preliminary round (2:17.02) while on her way to a 20th place finish in the 200 back finals (2:19.95). Movold, a Prince George secondary school graduate, is in her freshman year at the University of Akron in Ohio.

Several Barracudas swimmers will be in Edmonton this week for the Western Canadian long course championships. The ‘Cudas will host the club’s annual Moose Meet Invitational, April 26-28 at the Aquatic Centre.

CITIZEN STAFF PHOTO

Kelly Cup champions Devin Burkitt (skip), Dustyn Wozny (third), Doug Dalziel (lead) and Gerry Richard (second) get their hands on the big prize after they beat Michael Dahms’ rink 7-3 in Sunday’s final at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club.

Atlantic bracket brutal path to East final

Citizen news service

Three of the top seven teams in the NHL are packed into a four-team murderers’ row playoff bracket and only one can reach the Eastern Conference final.

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s reward for finishing 21 points ahead of the rest of the league during the regular season is a first-round matchup against Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky and the all-in Columbus Blue Jackets, while the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs meet for the second consecutive year in the other Atlantic Division series.

“If you do win a round or two going through those two big guys, there’s still a couple rounds to go after that,” veteran Maple Leafs winger Patrick Marleau said. “It’s a hard path to win it, whichever way you look at it. It’s one of those things where you can’t get ahead of yourself.”

It’s not much easier in the Metropolitan Division half of the East bracket where the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals face the Carolina Hurricanes, who just ended the league’s longest playoff drought, and Barry Trotz’s New York Islanders meet the 2016 and 2017 champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

“Every game’s going to be tough,” said Islanders centre Valtteri Filppula, who faced Pittsburgh in the playoffs last year with Philadelphia. “It’d be pretty much the same (no matter) who we’d play, it would be tough games. Hopefully we can play well and get a good start at home and get the playoffs started the right way.”

For all the championships won by the Bruins, Penguins and Capitals over the past eight years, the East has plenty of fresh blood. The Islanders have home-ice advantage in the first round for the first time since 1988, the Hurricanes are in the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and the Blue Jackets are looking to win their first series in franchise history.

The first-round matchups in the Eastern Conference: BLUE JACKETS-LIGHTNING (Game 1 at Tampa Bay on Wednesday)

All the pressure is on Tampa Bay after lapping the field this season, tying the NHL wins record and boasting the league’s leading scorer in Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning haven’t played meaningful games for a couple of weeks and are now expected to flip a switch and raise their level in the playoffs.

Columbus has plenty of urgency, too, given that Panarin and Bobrovsky and deadline additions Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel and Adam McQuaid are pending free

Prince George is well-represented in the NHL Eastern Conference playoffs with Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper, right, looking for his first Stanley Cup after an outstanding regular season and Brett Connolly, above, of the Washington Capitals, taking a shot on Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens in their game last week, will try to win his second consecutive Stanley Cup.

agents. Things could blow up there if the Blue Jackets bow out in the first round.

MAPLE LEAFS-BRUINS (Game 1 at Boston on Thursday)

These teams went to seven games a year ago but are trending in very different directions now.

The Maple Leafs don’t know which version of goaltender Frederik Andersen will show up and have to hope their defence can withstand the big, bad Bruins. Boston tied Calgary for the second-most points in the league, has gotten strong goaltending from Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak, and is deep at forward and on defence.

HURRICANES-CAPITALS

(Game 1 at Washington on Thursday)

There’s no bigger contrast in the first round than Washington, in the playoffs for the 11th time in 12 years, going up against Carolina, which has 12 players who have no post-season experience.

The Hurricanes do have threetime Cup-winner Justin Williams as their captain and one-time champion Jordan Staal as their second-line centre, but the

Capitals’ big guns of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Braden Holtby are seasoned for this time of year. Winning last year also gives the Capitals extra confidence.

“It’s a fun time,” Ovechkin said. “You have to believe in each other and work hard. You can see we was down almost every series and we bounced back and win the series, so that’s the most important thing.”

PENGUINS-ISLANDERS (Game 1 at New York on Wednesday)

Nassau Coliseum will be rocking after the Islanders went from allowing the most goals in the league last season to the fewest this season and finished second in the Metropolitan Division. Trotz brought the structure that helped the Capitals win the Cup to Long Island, and goaltenders Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss have been much improved. Pittsburgh is still dangerous because of the high-end talent of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel.

“It starts with Sid,” Trotz said. “Sid’s still the standard and Malkin raises his game in the playoffs all the time.”

Koe settles for silver at curling worlds

Citizen news service

Canada skip Kevin Koe put on a master class of exquisite shotmaking during the world men’s curling championship, providing a bevy of highlight-reel shots that helped his team reach the final.

A magical in-off. Clutch triple takeouts. Even a rare quadruple takeout.

After two thrilling one-point playoff wins a day earlier, Koe couldn’t pull it out again in the biggest game of the competition Sunday night. Sweden’s Niklas Edin kept the pressure on and didn’t stop until he had a 7-2 victory and his fourth career world title. “It sucks, we wanted to win this so badly and it’s very disappointing,” Koe said.

“We’re pretty deflated. After the eighth (end) we felt terrible – a steal of two was disappointing. It’s unfortunate but they’re a great team.”

Edin stole three more points in the ninth end when Koe’s desperation quadrupletakeout attempt was slightly off the mark.

“It feels amazing.” Edin said. “This was probably the sweetest win of my career.

We’ve never played better than this for an event.

“It felt like we were dominating the whole week.”

Edin earned the first seed in the roundrobin standings with an 11-1 record and breezed through an 8-2 semifinal win over Japan.

He threw 90 per cent in the final to 78 per cent for Koe. Sweden finished at 92 per cent overall while Canada was 86 per cent.

“When we got that steal of two, we all knew that we were going to win that game,” Edin said. “It felt amazing and so emotional.”

Players had to wait through a delay of several minutes during that end so repairs could be made to the handle of one of Edin’s stones.

“Honestly I’ve never been that nervous in my whole life,” Edin said. “It was not a welcome delay.”

He refocused and made a double takeout to sit three.

“I was just trying to clear my head, just

slide out, technically make a good shot (with) a good slide,” Edin said. “It worked out. A bit of a luck there.” Koe, meanwhile, had to play a slower shot on uncertain ice. His draw came up short to give Sweden a two-point lead.

“It’s too bad what happened there before Kevin’s draw,” said Canada lead Ben Hebert. “That’s a bit of a joke. A 12-minute delay on this handle and the ice sits. Kevin threw it perfect, timed exactly how we wanted it to, the whole week it was kind of that. Then we just lost it a little bit just because the frost was creeping in. Unfortunate, but they played good, they deserved to win, obviously a good championship team.”

CITIZEN NEWS SERVICE FILE PHOTOS

Cavaliers comeback in OT to down Texas Tech

Eddie PELLS Citizen news service

MINNEAPOLIS — Now that, Virginia, is the way to close out a season.

Led by De’Andre Hunter and his NBAready game, the Cavaliers turned themselves into national champions Monday night, holding off tenacious, ferocious Texas Tech for an 85-77 overtime win –a scintillating victory that came 388 days after a crushing setback that might have sunk a lesser team for years.

But Virginia was better than that.

A season after becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 – the one thing that had never happened in a tournament where anything can – the Cavaliers watched a 10-point lead turn into a 3-point deficit before Hunter came to the rescue. The sophomore made the game-tying 3 with 12.1 seconds left in regulation, then made another with just over two minutes left in the extra period to give the Cavs the lead for good.

After going scoreless for the first 18 1/2 minutes, Hunter finished with a career-high 27 points, and if he leaves as a lottery pick – well, what a way to go out.

He helped the Cavs bring home the first NCAA title for a program with a colorful, star-crossed and, now, very winning history.

Nothing came easily – appropriate given where Virginia has been over the last year, with each of its 35 wins, and each of the team’s scant three losses, all punctuated by the reminder that only the end result would serve as the ultimate report

I told them, I just want a chance at a title fight one day. That’s all I want... You’re never alone in the hills and the valleys we faced that in the last year.

— Tony Bennett, Virginia Cavaliers coach

card on whether the Cavs could truly shed the baggage of last year.

“I told them, I just want a chance at a title fight one day,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “That’s all I want... You’re never alone in the hills and the valleys we faced that in the last year.”

Hunter’s key 3 gave Virginia a 75-73 lead, and after the teams traded possessions, Tech guard Davide Moretti scrambled after a loose ball heading onto Virginia’s end of the court. It appeared it would be Texas Tech ball, but a replay showed Moretti’s pinkie finger had barely scraped the ball. Virginia got possession, and worked the ball into Ty Jerome, who got fouled and made two free throws.

Brandone Francis missed a 3 on the other end, and Virginia pulled awaythe first time this game felt remotely comfortable, even after Kyle Guy, the free-throw-shooting hero of Saturday

p.m.

SATURDAY, APR. 20 x-Carolina at Washington, TBA MONDAY, APR. 22 x-Washington at Carolina, TBA WEDNESDAY, APR. 24 x-Carolina at Washington, TBA N.Y. Islanders (2) vs. Pittsburgh (3)

night’s win over Auburn, made a 3 to give the Cavs a 10-point lead with 10:22 left in regulation.

Guy is not Virginia’s only clutch freethrow shooter, by the way. The Cavs went 12 for 12 from the line in overtime to ice this game.

For the Red Raiders (31-7), well, what can you say?

The team full of overlooked grinders refused to quit. They fell behind by 10 twice in this game - seemingly too much in a matchup between two legendary defences - but just kept coming back. Jarrett Culver, also lottery-pick material, made a spinning left-handed layup over Hunter with 35 seconds left in regulation to put the Red Raiders ahead 66-65, and after Jerome missed a teardrop on the other end, Norense Odiase got fouled and made two free throws to make it 68-65.

The nation’s best defence couldn’t afford to give up a 3, but Jerome skipped a pass to Hunter, who was open on the wing – and spotted up and drained it. Culver missed a 3 with Guy in his face with a second left, and we were headed to overtime.

The last five minutes of regulation and the OT featured several one-on-one matchups between the two NBA-bound stars, and Hunter came out the winner. He finished 8 for 16 after an 0-for-7 start. Culver, who stayed in his hometown of Lubbock to see how far he could take Tech, went 5 for 22 for 15 points, continuing a cold-shooting Final Four; he went 8 for 34 over the weekend.

WEDNESDAY’S GAME Pittsburgh at N.Y. Islanders (Uniondale), 7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY’S GAME Pittsburgh at N.Y. Islanders (Uniondale), 7:30 p.m.

SUNDAY, APR. 14 N.Y. Islanders at Pittsburgh, 12 p.m.

TUESDAY, APR. 16 N.Y. Islanders at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.

THURSDAY, APR. 18 x-Pittsburgh at N.Y. Islanders (Uniondale), TBA SATURDAY, APR. 20

x-N.Y. Islanders at Pittsburgh, TBA MONDAY, APR. 22 x-Pittsburgh at N.Y. Islanders (Uniondale), TBA WESTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIVISION Nashville (1) vs. Dallas (WC1)

WEDNESDAY’S GAME Dallas at Nashville, 9:30 p.m. SATURDAY, APR. 13 Dallas at Nashville, 6 p.m.

MONDAY, APR. 15 Nashville at Dallas, 9:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, APR. 17 Nashville at Dallas, 8 p.m. SATURDAY, APR. 20 x-Dallas at Nashville, TBA MONDAY, APR. 22 x-Nashville at Dallas, TBA WEDNESDAY, APR. 24 x-Dallas at Nashville, TBA Winnipeg (2) vs. St. Louis (3) WEDNESDAY’S

Canucks look to rebuild next year

KARSTENS-SMITH Citizen news service

Gemma

VANCOUVER — It’s been a season of growth for the Vancouver Canucks, but after finishing outside of the playoffs for the fourth year in a row, players and coaches feel there’s still work to be done.

Standout performances from young players like Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat highlighted a season that saw the Canucks (35-36-11) finish fifth in the Pacific Division – up eight points from the end of last year, but still nine points out of a wild-card spot.

Despite a rash of injuries to the blue line, the team felt the playoffs were in reach for most of the season, coach Travis Green said at an end-ofseason press conference on Monday.

But there’s no “magic formula” for closing the points gap and making the post-season.

“When you look at it, the simplest version is score more, allow less,” Green said. “We’re going to be better next year. I have no doubt about it. I thought we took a good step this year and we’ll take another one next year.”

A number of young players stepped up this season, posting career highs and taking on new roles. Those players are key to the team’s future, Green said.

“We’ve got young players that I believe you can win with,” he said. “We need to make sure that our young guys continue to become those guys that you win with. And I believe that they can.”

In his second full-year in the NHL, Boeser tallied 56 points (26 goals and 30 assists) over 69 games. Still, the 22-year-old winger feels like he’ll have more to give next season.

“I feel I’ve learned a lot throughout this whole year,” Boeser said. “I’ve taken steps as a player. And I still personally think that I can take a huge step (next year).”

Pettersson dazzled from the very beginning, scoring on his first shot in his first NHL game.

His production slowed as the season continued, but the 20-year-old Swede still led the Canucks in scoring with 66 points (28 goals and 38 assists) in 71 games, breaking the franchise’s record for points by a rookie. He’ll be a top contender for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie when the awards are handed out in March.

Pettersson said he didn’t know exactly what to expect coming into the NHL. He knew the play would be tougher, the schedule more gruelling, and grew to learn the importance of taking care of his body between games.

“I started really good,” he said. “I wasn’t really happy with my (entire) season, but I started really good. I think as the season went on, teams started scouting me more and tried to put more focus on me. So I kind of had both the up of the season and the down of the season.”

Following the retirement of veterans Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Horvat grew into a pivotal leadership role with the Canucks. He was the only player to suit up for all 82 games and notched new career highs in goals (27), assists (34) and points (61).

While the 24-year-old centre sees a bright future for the team, he said the players also know what they need to work on come next fall.

“We want to find consistency in our game and not have those lulls,” Horvat said.

“Let’s go on a 10-game winning streak instead of 1-13. So I think to change that for next season, we can’t accept losing, can’t accept win some, lose some. Having consistency in our game is going to be huge.”

Vancouver remained within the playoff race until after the all-star break, but struggled to string together wins down the stretch and went 5-4-1 over its final 10 games.

AP PHOTO

Virginia’s Kyle Guy and Texas Tech’s Davide Moretti chase a loose ball during the overtime in the championship of the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament on Monday in Minneapolis.

Urban, Musgraves top ACM awards

Citizen news service

Grammy-winning duo Dan + Shay

solidified themselves as the hottest group in country music with multiple wins at the Academy of Country Music Awards, where Keith Urban was named entertainer of the year and Kacey Musgraves won three honours.

Urban won the top prize Sunday with his ninth nomination for the award, besting Chris Stapleton, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean, who held the title the last three years.

“Baby girl, I love you so much,” Urban said, looking to his actress-wife, Nicole Kidman. “To the fans out there, you are amazing. You have no idea what you mean to me.”

Urban also won entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards in November – his first time winning the prize since 2005.

No women were nominated for the top ACM honour. Musgraves was the sole women up for album of the year. She won twice when Golden Hour picked up top album – as an artist and co-producer of the project. She was also named female artist of the year.

Musgraves said the award “goes out to anyone woman, girl, or anybody really” who has been told “her perspective or style is too different.”

“Just stay at it. It’ll work out,” said Musgraves, who won four Grammys earlier this year, including album of the year and best country album.

Other categories didn’t feature many female nominees: Bebe Rexha was the only woman competing for song of the year with Meant to Be, while Maddie & Tae was the sole female act up for duo of the year.

But both honours, along with single of the year, went to Dan + Shay.

“I think somebody got the cards mixed up tonight,” Dan Smyers said onstage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. “This is all incredible. We are all winners tonight.”

Smyers technically won five honours –picking up double wins in song of the year as artist and co-writer (shared with Jordan Reynolds and Nicolle Galyon) and single of the year as artist and co-producer (shared with Scott Hendricks). Shay Mooney, who won three awards for his role in the duo, didn’t write or produce the song.

Even Thomas Rhett jokingly dedicated his male artist of the year trophy to Dan + Shay.

“I am going to give this to Dan + Shay so they can go home with four,” he said.

Rhett also gave a shout-out to his wife who sat in the audience: “You are smoking hot tonight.”

Rhett performed Sunday, while Dan + Shay hit the stage to sing Keeping Score alongside Kelly Clarkson, hitting impressive high notes. Chris Stapleton’s performance was also a highlight.

The singer-songwriter, who often performs with his wife, Morgane Stapleton, sang onstage as she held her hand over her stomach (she is pregnant).

Emmy-nominated This Is Us actress Chrissy Metz made her live singing debut and gave an emotional performance onstage, teary-eyed at the song’s end.

Metz sang I’m Standing with You from

the upcoming film Breakthrough, which she stars in.

She was joined onstage by Carrie Underwood, Lauren Alaina, Mickey Guyton and Maddie & Tae – the performers all wore blue dresses and sang in unison.

Ashley McBryde, who won new female artist of the year, also was memorable: nearly in tears, she strummed her guitar and beautifully sang Girl Goin’ Nowhere.

The 35-year-old was nominated for best country album at the Grammys and recently earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for her performance on CBS This Morning Saturday. McBryde shined again onstage when she joined Eric Church to sing The Snake.

Jason Aldean kicked off the awards show with a fun performance featuring the hit-

making duo Florida Georgia Line. Aldean earned the Dick Clark Artist of the Decade Award.

“More than anything – thank you to the country music fans (and) country radio, you guys have changed my life forever,” he said. “This is one of the proudest nights of my life.”

Reba McEntire, who hosted the show for the 16th time, told several jokes. When she mentioned the collaborative performances of the night – Khalid and Kane Brown and Brandi Carlile and Dierks Bentley, among others – she said she would perform with rap star Cardi B. She said they could sing her song No U in Oklahoma, then said: “And that’s okurrr with me,” earning laughs from the audience.

Get tips to improve your bottom line, every Friday with business coach Dave Fuller

Celine Dion adds more tour dates

Citizen news service

Celine Dion is sliding a few extra Canadian tour dates onto her schedule before tickets go on sale to the general public.

Less than a week after revealing plans to embark on an extensive world tour, the Quebec chanteuse is adding more shows in her home country.

Dion will perform a third night at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Sept. 30, in addition to the previously scheduled performances Sept. 26 and 27.

She’ll also play a second show in Toronto on Dec. 10, on top of one booked for Dec. 9.

Other new dates include extra shows in Boston on Dec. 14 and Miami on Jan. 18, 2020. The announcement comes shortly after a pre-sale for Dion’s fan club began Monday morning. Tickets for the first leg of her tour become available to the public on Friday.

Fleetwood Mac postpones shows

Citizen news service

Fleetwood Mac is postponing four Canadian tour dates as singer Stevie Nicks deals with the flu. A statement issued by the band says this week’s concerts will be rescheduled including a show in Winnipeg on Thursday, and Edmonton on Saturday. A stop in Calgary on April 15 will also be pushed. The Edmonton and Calgary dates were previously postponed last November when an unnamed band member fell ill.

Concert promoter Live Nation says ticketholders will receive further details shortly and refunds will be made available.

Fleetwood Mac is also cancelling their gig at Jazz Fest in New Orleans on May 2. They were brought in last week to replace the Rolling Stones after Mick Jagger announced his heart surgery. Mick Fleetwood says in a statement his band hopes to reschedule all of the Canadian dates in October and November of this year. “The flu has sidelined Stevie for a couple of weeks but she is on the mend and we look forward to getting back out on the road.”

CITIZEN NEWS SERVICE PHOTO

Dan Smyers, left, and Shay Mooney, of Dan + Shay, pose in the press room with the awards for song of the year and single of the year for Tequila, and duo of the year at the 54th annual Academy of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday in Las Vegas.

HOLMES,RICHARD MARCH27,1922-APRIL9,2011

Youheldourhandswhenweweresmall, Youcaughtuswhenwefell, Theheroofourchildhood, Andoflatteryearsaswell. Everytimewethinkofyou, Ourheartsjustfillwithpride, Andthoughwe’llalwaysmissyou,Dad, Weknowyou’rebyoursides. Inlaughterandinsorrow Insunshineandinrain, Weknowyou’rewatchingoverus, Untilwemeetagain. Alwaysinourheartsandthoughts, Yourlovingfamily

Francis “Frank” Gordon Smith

Francis “Frank” Gordon Smith of Pavilion Lake, BC passed away on April 3, 2019, at 73 years of age. Frank was born in Regina Saskatchewan on October 13 1945. He is survived by his loving wife Heather Smith, children; Lee (Joanne) Smith of Calgary, Todd Smith of Kamloops, Kerri (Aaron) Svendsen of Prince George and Erin Smith of Kamloops, Grandchildren; Ethan, Benjamin, Maxwell, Brooke, Kendall, Logan, Kadance, Caelan and Atlin, his brother Tom (Betty) Smith, his sisters Sandra Beulens, Kathy (Mike) Woodland and Nancy (Dan) Peirce. Frank was a very active athlete for all of his life, playing flag football, running, playing golf, and cycling. He still enjoyed playing oldtimers hockey and curling. He was an avid BC Lions fan. He had a great love for the outdoors, camping and backpacking with his family, fishing, hunting, and gardening. Following a 39 year career as an Electrician at the Prince George Pulp mill, he enjoyed his retirement out at Pavilion Lake. Frank was known and will be missed for “his” sense of humour and his helping hand. A Funeral will take place 10:00 am on Saturday, April 13, 2019, at St. John the Baptist Church, Lillooet, BC with Father Peter Altamirano officiating. Memorial donations may be made to Lillooet Hospital

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Big Tech feeling data privacy heat

The markets today

Canada’s main stock index moved to within one percentage point of an all-time high Monday despite some investor concern that corporate profits will decline in the first quarter.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 11.14 points to 16,407.29. That’s the highest level since Aug. 27 and just 160 points off the high set July 12. The market appeared headed to breaking a five-day winning streak until it turned positive near the end of trading.

It was propelled by the key oil sector which gained 1.5 per cent as several producers shares rose. Crescent Point Energy Corp. led by closing up more than 12 per cent on the day.

The gains came as the price of West-Texas Intermediate reached its highest level since November as OPEC continues to curb output, along with the threat to output from unrest in Libya and sanctions on Venezuela and Iran. The May crude contract was up US$1.32 at US$64.40 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was up 4.4 cents at US$2.71 per mmBTU.

“So broadly, oil prices are being supported by the view that global production could continue to be curbed a little bit. That’s putting a little bit of a floor under oil at this stage,” said Craig Fehr, Canadian markets strategist for Edward Jones.

Health care was the weakest sector on the TSX, losing 1.16 per cent as most cannabis producer shares fell, including Cannaroyalty Corp., Cronos Group Inc. and Aphria Inc.

The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 75.05 cents US compared with an average of 74.70 cents US on Friday. The June gold contract was up US$6.30 at US$1,301.90 an ounce and the May copper contract was up 3.75 cents at US$2.93 a pound.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 83.97 points at 26,341.02 as Boeing shares lost 4.4 per cent following an analyst downgrade. The S&P 500 index was up 3.03 points at 2,895.77, while the Nasdaq composite was up 15.19 points at 7,953.88.

Fehr expects investors will take a wait-and-see approach this week until Friday’s start to first-quarter corporate earnings reports signals what the season will be. Fehr said markets are anticipating that earnings will be a little weaker without last year’s support from U.S. corporate tax cuts. Revenues should rise even though corporate earnings could fall for the first time since 2016. However, what could move markets is commentary from companies about their outlooks.

Citizen news service

Momentum is gaining in Washington for a privacy law that could sharply rein in the ability of the largest technology companies to collect and make money off people’s personal data.

A national law, the first of its kind in the U.S., could allow people to see or prohibit the use of their data. Companies would need permission to release such information. If it takes effect, a law would also likely shrink Big Tech’s profits from its lucrative business of making personal data available to advertisers so they can pinpoint specific consumers to target. Behind the drive for a law is rising concern over the compromise of private data held by Facebook, Google and other tech giants that have earned riches by aggregating consumer information. The industry traditionally has been lightly regulated and has resisted closer oversight as a threat to its culture of free-wheeling innovation.

Support for a privacy law is part of a broader effort by regulators and lawmakers to lessen the domination of companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon.

Some, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic presidential candidate, have called for the tech giants to be split up.

The Trump White House has said in the past that it could endorse a broad data privacy law.

The big tech companies have been nervously eyeing a tough privacy law taking effect next year in California. That measure will allow Californians to see the personal data being collected on them and where it’s being distributed and to forbid the sale of it. With some exceptions, consum-

ers could also request that their personal information be deleted entirely.

Whatever federal privacy law eventually emerges is expected to be less stringent than the California measure and to supersede it. As a result, the tech industry is trying to help shape any national restrictions.

“This is the first time ever that the industry wants legislation,” said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a privacy advocacy group. “The industry is terrified.”

On Tuesday, a House committee will press Google and Facebook executives about another urgent concern involving Big Tech: whether they’re doing enough to curb the spread of hate crimes and white nationalism through online platforms. The Judiciary

Committee hearing follows a series of violent incidents fueled in part by online communication. Facebook, used by two-billionplus people including over 200 million in the U.S., has been a particular lightning rod for industry critics. Having had its reputation tarnished over data privacy lapses, a tide of hate speech and a spread of disinformation that allowed Russian agents to target propaganda campaigns, Facebook appears ready to embrace a national privacy law.

Facebook’s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, published a column calling for tighter regulations to protect consumer data, control harmful content and ensure election integrity and data portability.

“The internet,” Zuckerberg wrote, “needs new rules.”

Amazon says it has built its business on protecting people’s information, “and we have been working with policymakers on how best to do that.”

“There is real momentum to develop baseline rules of the road for data protection,” Google’s chief privacy officer, Keith Enright, has said in a policy paper. “Google welcomes this and supports comprehensive, baseline privacy regulation.”

A sweeping “privacy shield” law in the European Union, covering how tech companies handle personal data in the 28-country bloc, should be a model, Zuckerberg wrote. EU regulators recently fined Google $1.7 billion for freezing out rivals in the online ad business – their third penalty against the search giant in two years.

Another 12,000 oil patch jobs to be lost in 2019: forecast

Citizen news service

Direct employment in Canada’s oil and gas sector is expected to fall by more than 12,000 jobs this year, according to a new report from PetroLMI.

The number of workers is forecast to drop to about 173,300 in 2019, a decline of 23 per cent from 226,500 in 2014, according to the 2019 labour market update published Monday.

PetroLMI, the labour statistics information division of Energy Safety Canada, says about 12,500 jobs are at risk this year due to factors including low commodity prices, a decline in investment spending and uncertainty about getting oil and gas to market due to full export pipelines.

“Until such time as additional export capacity becomes available, the employment outlook for Canada’s oil and gas sector will continue to be impacted,” said PetroLMI vicepresident Carol Howes.

The report comes as Alberta enters its fourth month of government-ordered oil production curtailment designed to free up pipeline space and reduce stored barrels blamed for steep

price discounts last fall.

The report estimates that about 7,600 oil and gas field services positions will disappear this year (nine per cent of the workforce), along with about six per cent or 3,700 jobs in exploration and production and five per cent or 1,400 oilsands positions.

The pipeline workforce is forecast to grow by about two per cent or 200 jobs.

“As we’ve been saying for several years, the oilfield services sector has been severely damaged, and 2019 will be the same if nothing changes,” said CEO Mark Scholz of the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors.

“Market access continues to be the number one issue, as lack of infrastructure has cost Canada billions in investment dollars.”

The CAODC reports that only 36 per cent of its members’ drilling rigs were employed in the first quarter, which is traditionally the busiest time of year in Canada as frozen ground allows access to remote backcountry drilling sites. The industry relocated 16 Canadian rigs to the U.S. in 2018, up from six in 2017, and is continuing to send rigs south of the border this year.

Calgary-based Trican Well Service Ltd. reported recently it cut 160 jobs due to a 40 per cent decline in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2018 as drilling activity slowed in Western Canada.

The Petroleum Services Association of Canada said in January it expects 5,600 wells to be drilled this year, down from 6,948 in 2018, due to what it called deteriorating investor confidence in Canada.

The oil and gas labour market shrank quickly in 2015 and 2016 following a commodity price collapse and remained relatively flat through 2017 and 2018, PetroLMI said in its report.

Employment is expected to decline in most producing provinces except British Columbia, which will benefit from pipeline and new natural gas processing activity with an increase of about two per cent or 200 positions, it said. Alberta, as the largest energy-producing province, is expected to have the most jobs at risk at 9,600, or about six per cent of its total oil and gas workforce. Saskatchewan, meanwhile, is expected to have about 600 positions, also about six per cent, at risk.

CITIZEN NEWS SERVICE FILE PHOTO

Google refused to send its top executive to testify in September 2018 before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.

CITIZEN

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a joint hearing of the Commerce and Judiciary Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington in April 2018.

Cap on arsenic in food pondered

Citizen news service

Health Canada says it will launch a months-long consultation process this year on setting a maximum level of arsenic allowed in rice and rice-based food, including baby cereal.

Currently, there is no hard limit on arsenic in rice-based food in Canada and the U.S., despite existing regulations in Europe.

Although the toxicity of arsenic depends on its chemical form and level of exposure, the naturally occurring element can cause various health issues including skin lesions, nausea and diarrhea, with long-term exposure associated with an increased risk of cancer.

“Health Canada will continue to take steps to help ensure that dietary exposure to arsenic is as low as possible for Canadians, including infants and young children,” said Maryse Durette, senior media relations adviser for Health Canada, in an email.

A proposal for these new measures should be available for consultation with the food industry, professional organizations and consumers by mid-2019, Durette said.

“In the near future, Health Canada will recommend new maximum levels for inorganic arsenic in rice, consistent with those established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an international group that sets safety standards for foods.”

While the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) monitors arsenic levels in baby food, the process of setting a cap is taking years due to consultations with stakeholders including the food and health industries – and because the science that tells us how much arsenic is dangerous is still emerging.

The limit enforced by the European Commission – 200 parts per billion (ppb) for adults and 100 ppb for infants – was set in 2016 based on research showing that higher arsenic concentrations were associated with an increased risk of cancer.

Arsenic is ubiquitous in our environment, in the soil, air and water, with concentrations near mining sites skyrocketing to levels that can be carcinogenic.

Because of the risk to human health, total arsenic and its various types, including inorganic arsenic, the form considered most toxic, are measured in bottled water, juices and nectars, fish protein, baby formulas, foods and supplements by regulatory bodies

around the world.

The potential for high arsenic concentrations in rice-based foods, including infant cereals and biscuits, is a higher concern because arsenic can accumulate in rice as it grows in the standing water of paddies.

The Europeans moved to cap infant rice based food at 100 ppb, half the level of 200 ppb recommended for adults, because rice can form a major component of the diet for babies.

Those recommendations were made based on two 2010 studies of a Taiwanese community, in which researchers found that if the concentration of arsenic was above 100 ppb, there was a greater risk of urinary and lung cancer in children and adults.

While the average inorganic arsenic concentration tested in Canada by CFIA on different infant cereals was approximately 100 ppb, certain brands of infant food exceeded the European legal limit, with the highest measurement being 200 ppb, according to a CFIA Food Safety Action Plan report, which conducted testing in 2015 on samples collected between 2011 and 2013.

Although Canada and the U.S. adhere to the CODEX Alimentarius standards set by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, each government must first consult with “stakeholders” before implementing additional safety measures like those set by the Europeans for infant food and this takes time.

In a recent review of arsenic tolerance in apple juice, for instance, representatives from a whopping eight industries weighed in, including the Canadian Beverage Association, Heinz Canada, Juice Products Association (American) and Societe des alcools du Quebec. These stakeholders were asked for comment regarding limits for apple juice in 2014 – and regulatory changes have not yet been implemented.

Another barrier to implementing maximum levels of allowable inorganic arsenic in baby food is uncertainty regarding how much arsenic is too much.

The Taiwanese studies cited by Europe in its decision to cap levels in baby food at 100 ppb described the health effects of arsenic contamination consumed by approximately 7,000 people. Since the time of these Taiwanese studies in 2010, scientists say there is still much to learn about the cancer risk at low arsenic levels.

As recently reviewed by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, Center for Environmental Health in the U.S., the risks associated with arsenic for different types of cancer, such as liver, bladder, kidney or lung cancer are highly variable and the reason for this variability is not understood. They recommend additional studies on large populations of arsenicexposed people of different age and gender.

Expert committees, including the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, recognize there are other, non-cancer areas of concern for the toxicity of inorganic arsenic, such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Scientists at the FDA are currently testing the effects of arsenic on neurodevelopment.

CITIZEN NEWS SERVICE FILE PHOTO

In this 2011 file photo, rice grows in a field near Alicia, Ark. Health Canada is looking at setting a hard cap on the maximum level of arsenic in rice and rice-based foods.