A driver of a pickup truck was killed in a head-on collision early Monday morning on Highway 97 south of Prince George. RCMP, who were called to the scene near Buckhorn Road at 1 a.m., said the northbound pickup crossed the
and collided with a
Referendum results expected by Christmas
Citizen news service
Santa Claus may well deliver the most pressing political news of the year in B.C. – that of the electoral reform mail-in referendum.
“Reporting the results as soon as possible is a priority for us and we hope to be able to report results before Christmas,” said Elections BC spokesperson Andrew Watson.
“That said, how fast we are able to do this depends on turnout and the speed at which we are able to process completed voting packages,” he added.
Ballots are due in mailboxes by Dec. 7, a week later than expected due to a Canada Post workers’ strike.
On Monday, 39 per cent of registered voters have sent in their ballots. of registered voters have sent in their ballots. Well over one million ballots are expected to be counted in a secure, secret Great Victoria location by 60 to 70 Elections BC staff, Watson said.
The counting system is more complex than an election where voting officials hand out a ballot that is then cast. Here, the voting envelopes, including signatures, must be verified as valid before the ballots are extracted and counted by computer, starting Dec. 1. When deemed necessary, officials may contact some voters to verify information on their envelopes.
“It will take time to screen returned voting packages to ensure the requirements of the regulation governing the referendum have been met, and to separate the different elements of the voting
since 1916
Driver killed in head-on collision
Alcohol may have played a role in the crash, police added. The two passengers in the pickup and the driver and sole occupant of the semi-truck survived and were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
package in preparation for tabulating the results,” Watson said.
Where voters requested a replacement ballot, those ballots will only be counted after Dec. 7 to ensure duplicate packages are not included in the count.
The computing technology is similar to that used in Ontario’s recent provincial election. While Ontario experienced some issues with its computers, Elections Ontariosaid it had offered no advice to B.C. If a machine cannot read ballots, they will be reviewed manually.
If the computer rejects a ballot, staff will review it. If staff cannot determine voter intent, it will be deemed spoiled.
Once the results are finalized, they will be released to the speaker of the B.C. Legislature and to the public via the Elections BC website, social media channels, and a news release.
Voters were first asked to either choose to keep the current first-past-the-post (FPTP) provincial electoral system or switch to proportional representation (PR). With a second question they were asked to rank three PR systems.
If more than half the votes support PR, the PR system with the most support (by way of the second question) will be adopted.
If the second question is somehow spoiled on a ballot, it does not affect the first question, Watson said.
And, “The number of responses to Question 2 will not affect the results of Question 1. Question 1 is counted as a simple majority whatever the response to Question 2 is,” he said. The ballots will not be scrutinized by
partisan organizations. Bill Tieleman, president of No Proportional Representation Society of B.C., said his group will likely have observers pass through the Elections BC counting rooms, not unlike what occurred with the HST referendum vote count.
But considering over 100,000 ballots will be counted daily, “It would be rather challenging to scrutinize” the counting, said Tieleman.
In the 2011 HST referendum, observers swore an oath not to publicly disclose the proceedings they were observing, according to Elections BC.
A Nov. 20 poll by Research Co. indicates a dead heat in results, with 40 per cent supporting first-past-the-post and proportional representation, each respectively and 15 per cent undecided (and five per cent choosing not to vote). Younger and more urban residents were more likely to support PR. And according to a Nov. 8 Mainstreet poll, Mixed Member Proportional has 44 per cent support among the three choices outlined on the ballot.
With turnout sitting at 34 per cent on Nov. 29, Tieleman questioned whether a low turnout should be valid. He declined to give a number he thinks is appropriate. BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson said 40 per cent should legitimize the results.
The HST mail-in referendum had a 52.6 per cent turnout while prior electoral reform referendums (conducted at polling stations during general elections) in 2009 and 2005 had turnouts of 55 per cent and 61 per cent.
The stretch was closed for several hours, with a detour, to allow investigators to collect evidence. Names of the occupants were not released.
Deadline extended to get bus service on the road
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
The owners of a fledgling bus company working to get a service connecting Prince George to the southern half of the province in place secured a second deadline extension.
Merritt Shuttle Bus Service Ltd. now has until Jan. 7 to get at least two buses on the road. It originally had until Nov. 21 and then Dec. 1 under the terms set out by the Passenger Transportation Board.
The good thing is because we’ve already got a licence and we’ve already been authorized...we just need to get some money together for the buses.
— Gene Field
Co-owner Gene Field said Friday he remains in the process of getting investors to finance the venture.
“The good thing is because we’ve already got a licence and we’ve already been authorized...we just need to get some money together for the buses,” he said.
Field said municipal councils and First Nations are also being approached for support.
“We’re hoping that the communities will want to chip in, even if it’s like $5,000 each,” he said. “We’re going to bring in a lot of business and we’re going to be servicing their people.”
— see FOUR ROUTES, page 3
Under construction
A bird’s-eye view of construction of a new $44.3 million school to replace the 56-year-old Kelly Road Secondary School. Students will continue to attend classes at the existing school until the new school is ready. Once the new school is completed, the existing school will be demolished.
Prince George provincial court docket
From Prince George provincial court, November 26-29, 2018:
• Alexander William Alexie (born 1993) was sentenced to one day in jail and assessed $200 in victim surcharges for willfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer and breaching a recognizance. Alexie was in custody for 17 days prior to sentencing.
• Karl Robert Boreland (born 1988) was sentenced to 207 days in jail for possessing a weapon obtained by crime and to 18 months probation and assessed $500 in victim surcharges on the count plus possessing a break-in instrument and uttering threats and two counts of breaking and entering and committing an indictable offence. Boreland was in custody for 104 days prior to sentencing.
• Edward Joseph Brookfield (born
1985) was sentenced to one day in jail and one year probation and assessed $300 in victim surcharges for two counts of theft $5,000 or under and one count of failing to appear on a recognizance or undertaking.
• Reggie Marcel Patrick (born 1990) was sentenced to time served and one year probation, issued a five-year firearms prohibition and assessed $400 in victim surcharges for possessing a weapon for dangerous purpose, breaching probation and two counts of uttering threats and to seven days in jail and assessed a $100 victim surcharge for another count of breaching probation. Patrick was in custody for 53 days prior to sentencing.
• Sean Patrick Edward Smith (born 1985) was sentenced to 186 days in jail for breaching a recognizance and pro-
hibited from driving for two years and fined $500 for driving while prohibited or licence suspended under the Motor Vehicle Act. Smith was also assessed $275 in victim surcharges on the counts as well as one count of mischief. Smith was in custody for 118 days prior to sentencing.
• Cecil Izony (born 1962) was sentenced to one year probation and assessed a $100 victim surcharge for sexual assault and assessed a $100 vicitim surcharge for breaching probation. Izony was in custody for 23 days following his arrest.
• Mika Kristian Rahkola (born 1971) was sentenced to eight days in jail and one year probation and assessed $200 in victim surcharges for two counts of breaching probation. Rahkola was in custody for 23 days prior to sentencing.
Pool party to celebrate Aquatic Centre’s 20th year
Citizen staff
A free pool party will be held to celebrate the Prince George Aquatic Centre’s 20th birthday. It is set for Sun., Dec. 16, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., and will feature games, prizes, music, balloons and cake. Also, the latest Active Living Guide holds a copy of a vintage colouring sheet, which was originally printed in 1998 to mark the PGAC’s opening. Colour in the sheet and drop it off at the PGAC by the end of the day on Dec. 15 and your name will be entered in a draw for a 20th anniversary sport bag. The winner will be announced on the day of the pool party. In 1993, Prince George voted 8,815 to 2,652 – nearly 77 per cent – in favour of borrowing the money to build the facility.
In the time since it has opened, the pool has welcomed more than five million visits. An estimated 275,000 visitors per year use the facility as part of swimming clubs, for swimming lessons, or to just drop in for a splash.
The Aquatic Centre features include a 50-metre pool – which holds over 2.3 million litres of water – a wave pool, diving boards, and an on-site fitness centre.
Coastal GasLink files injunction against Unist’ot’en
Nelson BENNETT Citizen news service
Coastal GasLink, the TransCanada Corp. subsidiary that is building the $6.2 billion natural gas pipeline for the LNG Canada project, has filed for a court injunction against the Unist’ot’en protest camp south of Houston, B.C.
As part of a permanent occupation that has been in effect since about 2010 to block a number of pipeline projects, the Unist’ot’en have blockaded Morice River Bridge, which is part of a public access road.
Coastal GasLink says it needs to get across the bridge to begin work on the pipeline, the corridor for which is about one kilometre from the Unist’ot’en occupation camp.
The company has named leaders of the camp in their injunction application, which is to be heard Dec. 10 in Prince Rupert.
In a press release, Coastal GasLink said the decision to file for an injunction “was not taken lightly.”
“Unfortunately, after years of attempting to engage the blockade to work through a solution, this step has become a last resort and a necessary action in our efforts to safely gain access to the area.”
According to a Unist’ot’en news release, the company has also filed what they call a “SLAPP suit” (strategic lawsuit against public participation) against the occupation’s leaders in the form of a claim for damages.
The Unist’ot’en are a clan of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, which has a benefits agreement with TransCanada on the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
But the Unist’ot’en themselves remain vigorously opposed to any pipeline development in what they say are unceded lands.
“The Unist’ot’en Camp is not a blockade, a protest, or a demonstration – it is a permanent, non-violent occupation of Unist’ot’en territory, established to protect our homelands from illegal industrial encroachments and to preserve a space for our community to heal from the violence of colonization,” the group said in a press release.
The most recent addition to the Unist’ot’en occupation camp is a three-storey healing lodge. A spokesperson for Coastal GasLink said the camp is not in the pipeline corridor, so it would not require any buildings to be removed. The company simply needs for the bridge to be opened so they can get crews across it to begin work on the pipeline.
“Our pipeline is one kilometre south of that bridge and that camp, so it does not run directly in that camp,” said Jacquelynn Benson, a spokesperson for Coastal GasLink, said.
“We need that access road to finish some last minute fieldwork.
“We need to be able to cross that road because it’s the only access point that we can get to, to move the equipment in to start construction.”
Priest performs on stage during Knotfest USA in San
Judas Priest to blast their Firepower at CN Centre
Citizen staff
For the first time ever, Judas Priest is coming to Prince George.
The legendary heavy metal band will perform at CN Centre on June 14.
Tickets for the show featuring special guests Uriah Heep go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
Head bangers will want to see the group as they showcase their new music from their latest studio album Firepower, one of the band’s most successful efforts to date, while also showcasing the classics.
Judas Priest is on a North American tour
starting May 3 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., and ending June 29 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.
The Prince George show is one of 32 next summer.
Over Judas Priest’s almost 50-year career, fans will remember classic albums like British Steel, Screaming for Vengeance, and Painkiller, as well as anthems like Breaking the Law, Living After Midnight, and You’ve Got Another Thing Coming.
Tickets on sale Friday at www.ticketsnorth.ca or charge by phone 1-888-2936613.
Four routes planned
— from page 1
The company was among a half-dozen applicants who won Passenger Transportation Board permission in October to run long-haul services across B.C. as Greyhound Canada pulled out of Western Canada.
The plan is to run eight 22-passenger shuttle-sized buses along four routes centred on Merritt but also serving Prince George, Langley, Kamloops and Kelowna. Frequency of service along those routes must be at least three round trips a week.
MSBS also won permission to run four 48-passenger buses twice a day between the Highland Valley Copper Mine and Merritt and Kamloops.
As long as at least two buses are on the road by Jan. 7, MSBS will retain the rights to all of its routes, according to Field.
He said the company is also putting applying to operate along Highway 5 between Valemount and Kamloops, one of eight routes across B.C. that remain unfilled since Greyhound’s departure.
Million Dollar Quartet anniversary to be celebrated
Citizen staff
The 62nd anniversary of a seminal moment in rock and roll will be celebrated tonight.
It was on Dec. 4, 1956 that Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash gathered at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tenn. What followed was an impromptu jam session and recording by the four legends.
It also became the inspiration for the
play Million Dollar Quartet now running at Theatre Northwest and in that spirit a preshow chat will be held with Jack Grinhaus, TNW’s artistic director and director of this production, about rock and roll impresario Sam Philips, Sun Records and this historic recording session. It starts at 7 p.m. in the TNW lobby, an hour before the actors take to the stage for that night’s showing. Also, the run as been extended for eight additional shows, from Dec. 13 to Dec. 20.
Report calls for Nechako chinook hatchery
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff
mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
The authors of a report into the state of the salmon runs reaching the Nechako and Upper Fraser regions say a close look should be given to establishing a fullfledged hatchery to help bring the number of chinook on the rivers back up to a healthy level.
It’s among three recommendations
David Levy and Peter Nicklin have made on behalf of the Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance (UFFCA) and the Nechako Fisheries Conservation Program (NFCP) in a report completed in September after finding just 588 of the species on spawning grounds in 2017.
The Spruce City Wildlife Association operates a volunteer-driven hatchery on River Road but what Levy said what he and Nicklin have in mind are a “couple orders of magnitude larger” in terms of the numbers of fish involved.
Fish released from the hatchery would also injected with a metal tag that can be detected with the appropriate technology while they’re in the ocean.
Improving the state of the Nechako chinook would also help the southern resident killer whales, which are also in dire circumstances and also happen to hunt that particular run as it enters the Fraser, Levy noted.
Both SCWA president Steve Hamilton and Cariboo-Prince George MP Todd Doherty, who is the fisheries critic for the Conservatives, expressed support for the idea.
“That’s something Spruce City has been pushing for quite awhile now so we’re hugely behind it,” Hamilton said.
Levy and Nicklin are recommending a “feasibility evaluation” but Doherty is calling for quicker action.
“I’m not sure we need to do a feasibility study,” he said. “I think we’ve got great information today as it is.”
The UFFCA is a First Nations-run organization and the NFCP was formed in 1987 to monitor the effectiveness of conservation measures for the chinook and migratory sockeye salmon runs as set out in the
I’m not sure we need to do a feasibility study. I think we’ve got great information today as it is.
— Todd Doherty
settlement agreement between the federal and provincial governments and Rio Tinto. It sets out a “conservation goal” of 1,700 to 4,000 spawning chinook and since 1988, that goal has been met every year with the exception of five years.
The highest count was in 2015 when 8,300 were tallied.
In October, while Levy and Nicklin were working on their report, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada listed the Early and Late Stuart sockeye as endangered by. The authors consequently called for a recovery plan for the two runs along with improved oceanbased monitoring of the Upper Fraser chinook.
Hamilton said SCWA volunteers were able to gather a mere 1,200 eggs from Upper Fraser chinook this year and had to go to rivers near Quesnel to get them.
“The numbers aren’t what they should be, what they used to be, but we’re hopeful that they can get there again and this proposal that the UFFCA has put out is great and we hope that it gets some solid support,” Hamilton said.
The federal government’s fall economic statement issued last week included $100 million over six years to create a British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund. It will “focus on salmon habitat protection and restoration as well as ensuring the fish and seafood sector in British Columbia is positioned for long-term environmental and economic sustainability,” according to a Department of Fisheries and Oceans press release. Details on eligibility, project criteria and application are to be made public in the coming weeks. The full report is posted with this story at www.pgcitizen.ca.
Christmas tree cutting permits available in forest district
Citizen staff
Permits are now available for cutting down Christmas trees on Crown land.
The permits are free but must be carried at all times and available to show a natural resource officer, conservation officer or peace officer. The permits also set out the conditions under which a tree can be cut.
They’re available at the Prince George Natural Resource District office, 2000 S. Ospika Blvd., the FrontCounterBC office, in the Wood Innovation and Design Centre at 499 George St., or online at www.gov. bc.ca (type “Christmas tree permits” in the search field).
Local natural resource district offices can provide details about specific cutting requirements and approved harvest areas. Maps provided by the districts showing where the trees can be cut can also be checked online.
When cutting a Christmas tree, keep the following tips in mind:
• Leave home prepared. Bring ropes, gloves, tools, tire chains, a first aid kit, a mobile phone and warm clothing.
• Drive carefully and be prepared for logging trucks.
A resource road user safety guide can be found on the B.C. Forest Safety Council website, www.bcforestsafe.org.
• Make sure to find the right tree before cutting. Some permits specify only one tree can be cut.
• Do not leave a pointed stump as this may cause injury to livestock, wildlife, pets or humans.
• Choose a tree that can be cut near the base and is easy to transport. Wasted tree remains left in the forest can form a summer fire hazard.
• Clean up and remove all debris associated with the activity.
Members of the public are reminded to check online maps provided by districts to ensure they are cutting within a designated area.
Richie Faulkner of Judas
Bernardino, Calif., in 2015.
Tonight, Theatre Northwest will celebrate the 62nd anniversary of the Million Dollar Quartet session before the performance of the acclaimed play based on that incredible meeting.
On Dec. 4, 1956, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins came together at Sun Records in Memphis to play.
Before tonight’s performance, TNW’s artistic director (and walking/talking music encyclopedia on top of his own musical talents)
Jack Grinhaus will give a talk at 7 p.m. in the lobby about the historic session, before theatre goers can take in the show at 8 p.m. (sorry, tonight’s show is sold out, as is most of the run but extra shows have been added through Dec. 20).
Grinhaus’s talk will set the scene for this amazing gathering of four giants of 20th century American music.
The four men had far more in common than just the songs.
They were all young – Perkins and Cash were both 24 while Lewis and Presley were just 21.
They were all Southern men, born poor in small towns in Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee.
What they all lacked in confidence and polish, they more than made up for with raw talent and fierce determination. If there was a decent living to be made recording and performing popular music, they wanted in on some of that action.
A copy of Sixteen Magazine with a photo of The Million Dollar Quartet – Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash – was part of an auction of Elvis Presley memorabilia on auction in 2009. The magazine was signed by Perkins and Cash.
It was also a time of boundless opportunity. The post-war American economy was booming and modern technology and wealth were transforming the country. Yet much of that change was happening in the urban centres, while the rural areas, particularly in the South, remained as poor and isolated as they had been for generations.
Great balls of fire Zuckerberg a no-show at
Like all young men – and especially the ones who grew up in small towns but came to the big city for work and to escape the poverty – these four burgeoning musicians had huge chips on their shoulders. They were all, to varying degrees, angry, ambitious, stubborn, proud, resentful, respectful of authority and tradition but rebellious at the same time.
YOUR LETTERS
No good drivers left
A lot of people who drive feel they are good drivers and generally believe that they understand the rules of the road, but is this really true? Is there such a thing as a good driver in today’s world?
I don’t believe there is a good driver anymore. A good driver follows all road rules and all speed limits, all regulations and knows what all the road signs mean, and I really don’t think there is a driver out there that follows every rule and regulation. I know I don’t know every rule and regulation or even know what every sign means.
I see people do the speed limit on Central Street then as soon as they get to a main arterial road speed up to 20-30 km/h above
the posted speed limit. I see this all the time on 15th Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Massey Drive and Ospika Boulevard, which are roads I regularly use.
Then there are the drivers who stop in the road and don’t use turn signals when they want to turn left or right and the opposing lane drivers and drivers behind the vehicle are left wondering what the vehicle is doing. Even doing lane changes, how many drivers use their turn signals? I bet there is a healthy portion of drivers out there that don’t regularly use the turn signals. Then there are the vehicles themselves. Compared to 30 years ago, modern vehicles are up to 60 per cent lighter, more fuel efficient and have gadgets even James Bond would have wanted.
There is parking assist, all around camera views, lane assist, cruise control, ABS, antiskid tech and numerous other advancements to help people drive. All is great and dandy and I love the tech, but one thing all this modern tech does is it takes driving away from the driver and the driver feels a false sense of comfort because of the tech in the vehicle. YouTube is filled with videos of people who got into accidents because they relied on the tech to keep them safe. Yes, it has improved road safety, but it has also made driving that much more dangerous because of that false sense of security. So do you think you are a good driver?
Dean Soiland, Prince
George
LETTERS WELCOME: The Prince George Citizen welcomes letters to the editor from our readers. Submissions should be sent by email to: letters@pgcitizen.ca. No attachments, please. They can also be faxed to 250-960-2766, or mailed to 201-1777 Third Ave., Prince George, B.C. V2L 3G7. Maximum length is 750 words and writers are limited to one submission every week. We will edit letters only to ensure clarity, good taste, for legal reasons, and occasionally for length. Although we will not include your address and telephone number in the paper, we need both for verification purposes. Unsigned or handwritten letters will not be published. The Prince George Citizen is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please contact Neil Godbout (ngodbout@pgcitizen. ca or 250-960-2759).
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the United States but around the world, who felt the same. Their road to musical immortality had already been paved before them, by young Southern black men who went to Chicago, plugged in electric guitars and played the blues, or went to Detroit and played soul music. The same path would be taken a decade later and an ocean away by similarly inspired, talented and driven young men named John and Paul, Mick and Keith, Pete and Roger.
It would happen again in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the boroughs of New York City, as DJs started talking over dance records and then used the new technology to stitch bits and pieces of songs together while rapping words over top.
Like all young men, they quickly recognized their brotherly kinship but also sized each other up as competitors. They were also the right men in the right place at the right time.
Like all artists who find success, particularly at a young age, they sang songs that moved them and were surprised to find there were millions of people, not just in
The common thread for all of them was a homegrown music that easily translated to broader audiences, performed by ambitious young men (and a handful of women) who loved the spotlight and the pay cheques (and not necessarily in that order). The music of the Million Dollar Quartet is fabulous, of course, but the back story, both of that special day and of its four amazing participants, is even more incredible. If you’ve got tickets for tonight, don’t miss out on this opportunity to hear the rest of the story. Not only will you not be disappointed, you’ll come away with an even greater appreciation of those four great musicians and their timeless songs.
— Editor-in-chief Neil Godbout
international meeting
Almost all of us use Facebook. We scroll through our newsfeeds, post pictures of our kids, like and comment on our friends’ posts, and join groups with other Facebook users who have similar interests to share ideas.
However, it wasn’t until recently that we began to truly understand the darker side of Facebook.
A side where our personal information can be collected and used by third parties without our knowledge or consent and where the spread of misinformation is threatening democracies around the world.
As chair of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, I have been overseeing a study into many of these issues, as well as working collaboratively with my counterpart in the United Kingdom, MP Damian Collins, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee.
Both of us have repeatedly sent requests to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to appear before our respective committees.
These requests have always been denied, with Facebook sending lower level representatives who have been unable to answer many of our key questions.
In an act of further collaboration, on Oct. 31, Mr. Collins and I sent a joint letter to Mr. Zuckerberg requesting that he appear before an International Grand Committee on Disinformation and ‘Fake News’ in London. We followed up with two additional letters, the final one signed by representatives from eight countries calling on Mr. Zuckerberg to testify.
On Nov. 27, I, along with my committee vice-chairs MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and MP Charlie Angus, travelled to London to take part in this unprecedented hearing. All together, 24 representatives from nine different countries joined forces in an effort to hear from Mr. Zuckerberg himself about what he knew about the misuse of users’ personal data on
his platform and when. Unfortunately, Mr. Zuckerberg once again declined our invitation. Instead, we heard from yet another representative, this time Facebook’s Policy Solutions VP Richard Allan.
Like every other Facebook representative that has come before him, he was unable to answer many of our questions.
Not only that, but parts of his testimony were later refuted by Ashkan Soltani, tech expert and former chief technologist for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, during our afternoon hearing later that day.
It is becoming increasingly clear that Mr. Zuckerberg has little interest in taking responsibility for the misuse of his platform and the affect it is having internationally. The empty chair where Mr. Zuckerberg should have been sitting at our hearing in London is further proof.
As I said during the hearing: “In this room we represent over 400 million people, and to not have your CEO sitting in that chair is an offence to all of us, and to our citizens as well.”
When Mr. Zuckerberg refuses to show our countries the respect we deserve and answer our questions, you can’t help but wonder how much he truly wants to “fix” his platform as he has previously claimed.
We need to find solutions – especially with our own federal election less than a year away.
As a recent report by Canada’s Communications Security Establishment states: “Cyber threat activity against the democratic process is increasing around the world, and Canada is not immune.”
Indeed.
Bob Zimmer is the Member of Parliament for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies and chair of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.
Shawn Cornell, director of advertising: 250-960-2757 scornell@pgcitizen.ca Reader sales and services: 250-562-3301 rss@pgcitizen.ca Letters to the editor: letters@pgcitizen.ca
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Member of the National Newsmedia Council A division of Glacier Media
BOB ZIMMER
Special to The Citizen
NEWS IN BRIEF
New deal offers fast road to treaties
VICTORIA (CP) — The head of the British Columbia Treaty Commission says she expects a new deal between Indigenous groups and the federal and B.C. governments could help produce up to 10 new agreements within the next two years and 20 more after that. Chief commissioner Celeste Haldane says the accord pledges to speed up and transform negotiations. She says the agreement recognizes the need for a different approach to negotiations that results in faster treaties where all sides spend less time disputing the rights and title of Indigenous Peoples. B.C. started a modern-day treaty negotiation process in the early 1990s, but after spending hundreds of millions of dollars in legal and other costs, only seven nations have reached final agreements. First Nations Summit spokeswoman Cheryl Casimer says the accord offers negotiators a smoother process that sets the stage for more deals over less time. Out of more than 200 B.C. First Nations there are only a few dozen treaties.
Whale-watching group investing in whale conservation
VICTORIA (CP) — A British Columbia whale-watching organization is boosting its passenger surcharge to increase spending on science programs and salmon-recovery projects for killer whale conservation. Prince of Whales Whale Watching says the conservation fee charged to passengers will rise from $2 to $5 and will be aimed at supporting the endangered southern resident killer whale population. The company says in a news release the added fee is expected to generate more than $1 million over the next five years with the money going towards orca-based science programs and chinook salmon recovery projects, the preferred food of the resident whales.
Alan McGillivray, owner of the whale-watching company, says the southern resident population is struggling and one of the big reasons is reduced availability of prey.
Six killed on B.C. highways
VANCOUVER (CP) — Mounties in British Columbia say it has been a deadly few days on British Columbia’s highways, with six people killed in separate crashes. Chetwynd police say the male driver of a Ford F150 truck was ejected when the vehicle left Highway 29 and he was found dead at the scene.
A two-vehicle crash on Highway 1 in Lytton caused the death of a female driver whose vehicle pulled out onto the highway in front of a pickup truck. On Saturday, the driver of a westbound vehicle on Highway 1 at Mountain Highway in North Vancouver veered into oncoming traffic and died of his injuries.
Separate incidents on Sunday caused the deaths of two people on Highway 99 near Squamish and on Highway 1 near Salmon Arm.
A head-on crash early Monday on Highway 97 south of Prince George claimed the life of the driver of a pickup after the vehicle crossed the centre line and hit a semi truck.
Canadian astronaut joins space station crew
Sidhartha BANERJEE Citizen news service
LONGUEUIL, Que. — Canadian astronaut
David Saint-Jacques boarded the International Space Station Monday afternoon, declaring himself “astounded” by the journey and excited for the discoveries ahead of him.
After the hatch opened at 2:37 p.m. Eastern, Saint-Jacques and his two crewmates floated in from the docked Soyuz capsule, embracing the astronauts who have been at the space station since June.
“I am completely astounded by everything I have seen,” Saint-Jacques said during a brief conversation with family members on the ground at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in Kazakhstan.
Speaking in French, he described his first sunrise seen from space as “breathtaking.”
He said “it’s just the beginning” of the discoveries ahead of him.
Canadian Space Agency president Sylvain Laporte told the crew members there was “a lot of relief” when the astronauts entered the space station about two hours after docking.
“Although we knew that you were safe and sound, there was nothing like seeing you come through the hatch,” Laporte said.
Gov. Gen. Julie Payette, herself a former astronaut, was also among those watching the launch in Kazakhstan.
She offered Saint-Jacques a “Bravo, bravo, bravo” and told the space station crew they were an inspiration for humanity.
“The teamwork that you demonstrate today is exactly what we should replicate on Earth more often,” she said. “As the African proverb says, if we choose to go alone, we might go fast, but if we go together we go farther.”
The launch of the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft carrying Saint-Jacques, Anne McClain of NASA and Oleg Kononenko of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, appeared to go exactly as planned, lifting off at precisely 6:31 a.m. Eastern.
“We have liftoff,” a NASA television commentator said as the rocket roared into the sky under 930 pounds of thrust and at a speed of 1,770 kilometres per hour.
“Everything looking good, vehicle is stable –good first stage performance.”
The crew reported that all went well in the critical initial minutes after liftoff.
Back on Canadian soil, a crowd monitored
the launch from the Canadian Space Agency in Longueuil, Que., as the rocket began its trip to the space station.
Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains praised the successful takeoff and said the mission offers an exciting opportunity for scientific research that could have broad applications, in such things as robotics and aging.
“Space represents a lot of opportunities for a lot of Canadians,” he said at the agency office.
“It really is inspirational what David represents... today is an incredible day in space.”
Astronaut Jenni Sidey-Gibbons echoed the message, saying Saint-Jacques was a special role model for her and other young people who may be considering a future in space.
“That was particularly important for me when I was growing up and I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for Canada’s early space program and, kind of, the heroes that pushed that forward,” she said.
“It’s incredible.” It was the first manned Russian launch since
First Nation to present oral traditional evidence at Trans Mountain hearing
Citizen news service
NANAIMO — The Tsleil-Waututh Nation will be presenting Indigenous oral traditional evidence to the National Energy Board at a hearing in Nanaimo.
A news release says the board is hearing new evidence about the environmental effects of Trans Mountain pipeline expansion including adverse effects of shipping to species at risk such as southern resident killer whales.
The oral traditional evidence will focus on potential impacts the project would pose to the Tsleil-Waututh culture and way of life, including their cultural relationships with whales, and how the expansion, if approved, would violate Tsleil-Waututh laws.
The Tsleil-Waututh will also file scientific expert reports with the board as evidence regarding potential impacts from shipping.
Chief Maureen Thomas says the expansion violates the First Nation’s laws and poses serious and harmful impacts to Tsleil-Waututh people and culture, as well to as their lands, waters, resources and way of life.
The new hearings are being held after the Federal Court of Appeal quashed the original approval for the expansion.
failed two minutes into its flight on Oct. 11. They managed to emerge safely despite a harrowing descent back to Earth.
A Russian investigation attributed the failure to a sensor that was damaged during the rocket’s final assembly.
On Monday, NASA announced Hague and Ovchinin will now launch to the space station on Feb. 28, along with NASA astronaut Christina Hammock Koch.
Saint-Jacques, 48, has spent years training for the six-month mission, which was originally scheduled for Dec. 20 but was moved up after the aborted Soyuz launch.
Aboard the station, he will conduct a number of science experiments, with some focusing on the physical effects of the weak gravity astronauts experience in orbit.
The last Canadian astronaut to visit the space station was Chris Hadfield, who was on a fivemonth mission that ended in May 2013.
a Soyuz rocket carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos’ Alexei Ovchinin
AP PHOTO
Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques, right, makes a heart with his hands for his son from inside a quarantine chamber on Sunday at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Saint-Jacques boarded the International Space Station on Monday after a successful launch of the Soyuz space capsule.
Newly-discovered B.C. cave may be largest in Canada
Helicopter crew
spotted cave in Wells Gray Provincial Park
Hina ALAM Citizen news service
VANCOUVER — A newly-discovered cave in a remote valley in British Columbia’s Wells Gray Provincial Park might just be the country’s largest.
The feature was spotted by a helicopter crew from the province’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change in March, when they were conducting a caribou census through the northeastern part of the park.
Geologist Catherine Hickson, who first went to the cave in September, said the discovery promises a dramatic new chapter in the story of Canadian cave exploration.
“It was absolutely amazing,” she said. “I immediately recognized that this was very significant.”
Before making the trip, Hickson and fellow researchers including John Pollack, a cave expert, spent months studying satellite imagery and rocks in the area, she said.
The entrance pit to the cave is about 100 metres long and 60 metres wide, and while its depth is hard to measure because of the mist from a waterfall, initial examinations show it is at least 135 metres deep.
“It’s about the size of a soccer field,” Hickson said.
“So, if you think of a soccer field and you put that soccer field on its end so you have this pit going down. Think about this giant circular or oval hole that just goes down and down and down. It is truly amazing.”
The cave is the largest known of its type, a variety of “striped karst,” which is marble interspersed with other types of ancient ocean rock, she said.
“It’s in an area where this size of a cave is unusual,” she said. “It’s an important landmark – an important feature for Canadians to be proud about.”
The people who first spotted the cave from the helicopter named it Sarlacc’s Pit, because of its similarity to the lair of Sarlacc, a creature from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. But a formal naming of the cave will happen after consultations with First Nations, she said.
The feature was formed underneath glaciers for potentially tens of thousands of years, so there is no way of knowing the real age of the cave right away, Hickson said.
“Right now, because of the recession of the glaciers, it is open to the sky,” she said, adding that as ice retreats from the land-
scape due to climate change, more such features might be discovered. Caves support a very unique ecosystem because they are dark so the flora and fauna living in such areas are acclimatized to those conditions, Hickson said. With this cave, the flowing water is at such a rapid rate that it may not allow many creatures to call the area home but further
research is needed, she said.
Although the cave is in a remote, rugged valley covered with snow and ice for a greater part of the year, Hickson said researchers are keeping the exact location a secret so as to preserve the unique area.
Hickson said further investigations and research of the cave and its unique geography will likely be carried out in 2020,
depending on funding.
“We think everything is known and everything has been discovered, but here’s a major discovery that is made in today’s world and likely has never been seen before and certainly not explored before,” Hickson said. “It’s just a message that there is still stuff out there yet to do and yet to be discovered.”
Canada’s chinook salmon populations in decline
Bob WEBER The Canadian Press
Half the country’s chinook salmon populations are endangered and most of the rest are in decline, according to a science committee that monitors the health of wildlife populations.
The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife In Canada reported Monday that of Canada’s 16 Chinook populations, eight are endangered, four are threatened and one is considered of special concern.
Only one, located in British Columbia’s Thompson River, is considered stable. The condition of two populations is unknown.
Endangered is the committee’s most serious ranking, suggesting the population is in danger of being wiped out.
“There are some where there is thought to be fewer than 200 fish still remaining,” said committee member and Simon Fraser University fisheries biologist John Neilson. “At that level, there would be concern about those stocks. That’s why we’re sounding the alarm.” Chinook salmon are both a major fishery in British Columbia and central to the lives and
culture of Indigenous people. Neilson said the new assessment is the most comprehensive the committee has ever done on the fish.
“From other studies and general knowledge on the state of salmon in B.C., there’s a lot of concern,” he said. “These are populations that are at the high end of needing some attention.”
Scientists believe the problem occurs during the part of their lives the salmon spend in the ocean. Some believe growing numbers of seals and sea lions, which feed on the fish, are behind the declines. Others say the warming and acidifying ocean is starting to affect the food web the salmon depend on.
“It’s a complex story,” said Neilson.
It’s time the federal government use its power to protect the fish and its habitat, he added.
The Species At Risk Act allows the federal government to issue emergency protection orders to control activity in critical habitat normally governed by the provinces. The federal government has used the power twice before for the western chorus frog and the sage grouse.
HANDOUT PHOTO BY CATHERINE HICKSON, B.C. MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE
A newly discovered cave in a remote valley in British Columbia’s Wells Gray Provincial Park just might be the country’s largest. The entrance to the cave, nicknamed “Sarlacc’s Pit” by the helicopter crew who discovered it, is seen in an undated handout photo.
8
Spruce Kings back in first overall
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
Goalie Braedon Fleming did all he could to give his Langley Rivermen a chance of pulling off a weekend sweep of the Prince George Spruce Kings. Everything except score goals.
He couldn’t do that. The Spruce Kings weren’t allowing much of anything that took their own goalie, Logan Neaton, out of his comfort zone. They doubled the Rivermen in shots and doubled them on the scoreboard, winning 2-1.
The Kings, still smarting from the 4-0 pasting the Rivermen laid on them Friday, got back to what they’ve done so often this season, playing like a team that deserves to have the best overall record in the B.C. Hockey League. They regained top spot with Saturday’s victory.
Ben Poisson fired the gamewinner 12:29 into the third period.
The win moved the Spruce Kings (21-8-1-2) one point ahead of the Chilliwack Chiefs (22-9-0-0) for first overall in the league. The Chiefs, second in the Mainland Division, have played one fewer game than Prince George.
Poisson’s goal came five minutes after Langley forward Ryley Lanthier tied the game with his first goal of the season. It came during a delayed penalty to the Chiefs and Max Coyle slid the pass to Poisson in the high slot and he buried it with a high wrister.
Dustin Manz gave the Kings their first lead of the night when he opened the scoring 12:59 into the second period.
The Kings outshot Langley 43-22. Neither team could score on their power plays. The Kings went 0-for-5 and the Rivermen were 0-for-2.
The Spruce Kings lost two players to injury early on.
Defenceman Dylan Anhorn collided with a Chief in an open-ice hit about four minutes in and left with a head injury. A few minutes later, winger Cory Cunningham left the game with an upper-body injury after he took a heavy hit. Both players will likely miss games due to their injuries.
“It’s nothing too, too serious but they’ll miss some time,” said Kings head coach Adam Maglio.
That comes as an especially crushing blow for Anhorn, who was invited to the Canada West tryouts for the World Junior A Challenge Dec. 9-16 in Bonnyville, Alta. He and Spruce Kings defenceman Layton Ahac were expected to take part in the tryouts for the team starting Monday in Calgary.
see BOCHEN, page 9
Mikhalchuk knocks stuffing out of Royals
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
The Prince George Cougars can breathe easier. They found their Belrusian Santa Claus and he showed up at the rink at CN Centre Sunday afternoon bearing a gift they all could share.
Vladislav Mikhalchuk pulled the wrapping off that pressure-relief present from the slot, 7:49 into the game.
The 19-year-old Cougars winger from Minsk, Belarus, pulled the trigger and unleashed a barrage of soft toy selections and warm-winter clothing offerings for the Salvation Army, launched from the crowd of 3,614. His goal was the first of three first-period markers the Cougars scored on their way to a 5-3 win over the visiting Victoria Royals.
Mikhalchuk was set up in front by a backhand pass from linemate Josh Maser, who scored the goal that got the fur flying in 2017.
Ilijah Colina did the grunt work along the end boards and dug the puck out to Maser and he fed Mikhalchuk standing in the slot for his seventh of the season.
“I couldn’t believe that, I was really excited to score that,” said Mikhalchuk, who scored two last week on the road against the Tri-City Americans. “We don’t have the Teddy Bear Toss in Belarus, they don’t even know about it.
“It was a nice pass by Maser, he found me. I just scored because it was almost an empty net. It gave us the lead and put us in a good mood to keep playing.”
After bottoming out the night before in a de-
We don’t have the Teddy Bear Toss in Belarus, they don’t even know about it.
— Vladislav Mikhalchuk
moralizing 5-1 loss to the Royals at CN Centre, Mikhalchuk’s snipe was just what they needed to forget about a slump that left them pointless in four games. The pressure of scoring what was officially called the Un-Teddy Bear Toss goal early in the game was obvious for a team that was showing signs of its youthful vulnerability, having lost three of its last four on home ice. From the opening puck drop the Cats already had glide in their strides. Mikhalchuk’s first of the game put smiles on their faces and they relaxed even more after that, posing for pictures with the stuffies they picked up off the ice.
“It was a big win for us,” said Maser. “Obviously lately we haven’t been playing our best hockey and tonight I thought we really brought it. It was a real good shift we were having and we had them kind of hemmed in their own zone.
“That was kind of the message before the game, just have fun out there. Lately we’ve been gripping our sticks too tight and it’s been costing us. We all love the game of hockey so we just had to play for fun out there and things will go our way.”
Maser and Colina each finished with a goal and two assists playing in the Cougars’ last
home game of the 2018 calendar year. They won’t be back for a game until Jan. 9.
The Cougars kept pouring it on after the ice was swept of all that donated debris and they were rewarded near the end of the period with two more goals, 28 seconds apart. Defenceman Rhett Rhinehart picked an opportune time to jump into the play and entered the zone with Jackson Leppard, who waited until Rhinehart had a stride on Dante Hannoun before he fed him a perfect pass. Rhinehart finished with a high backhander to beat goalie Brock Gould, playing just his fifth WHL game.
Mikhalchuk collected his second of the game with 1:05 left in the period. Ethan Browne got the puck to him and he dropped to one knee to avoid the check of Ty Yoder and skated in on Gould, going forehand-backhand to tuck the puck in under the crossbar.
“Nights like that, if you don’t score early you just start putting more pressure on yourselves and that’s the last thing we needed after the way the last couple games went,” said Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk. “I thought we were real aggressive the first six or eight shifts and then Vlad goes out and scores the big goal. It was a relief and guys started playing with confidence and we all know what confidence does to a young group.”
The Cougars started the second period under siege and Royals winger Tarun Fizer came close to scoring on a wraparound try 30 seconds in when goalie Taylor Gauthier lost his stick and his balance, but Austin Crossley was there to bail him out and got low to the ice to smother Fizer’s shot.
— see CATS HOPING, page 8
College Heights falls short in battle for B.C. bronze
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
By the time the College Heights Cougars walked out onto the B.C. double-A provincial volleyball court to face the Langley Christian Lightning for the bronze medal Saturday afternoon in Langley they were emotionally spent. Less than a day earlier they gave all they
had and played the match of their lives in a semifinal playoff and came up a couple points short of beating the George Elliot Coyotes, the only team to rank ahead of College Heights throughout season.
The Cougars were gutted by that 17-15 loss to the Coyotes in the fifth and deciding set and could not replicate the level of play that nearly
put them into the championship match. They lost the bronze medal in three sets to the Lightning, 25-20, 25-17, 25-23.
“This tournament we played the best volleyball we’ve ever played and it was a ton of fun,” said Cougars setter Zach Ohori, one of five Grade 12s on the team.
— see SHAND, page 8
Prince George Cougars forwards Vladislav Mikhalchuk, right, and Josh Maser help collect teddy bears and other items thrown onto CN Centre ice by fans on Sunday afternoon. In the Cougars’ annual Teddy Bear Toss game, Mikhalchuk scored the goal that brought stuffed animals and warm winter clothing out of seats occupied by 3,614 spectators. The Cougars beat the Victoria Royals 5-3.
Cariboo club ends hot November with wins
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
After two convincing wins over the Vancouver Northwest Hawks over the weekend it’s becoming more and more obvious the surging Cariboo Cougars are doing all that’s being asked of them by their coaching staff.
How could Tyler Brough and his assistants not like what they saw out of their team on the big rink at Kin 1?
Starting with a 4-2 triumph Saturday night, the Cariboo Cats stomped the Hawks 8-2 in the rematch Sunday morning to keep pace with the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League-leading Fraser Valley Thunderbirds.
“I was pretty impressed with our weekend, I thought our puck possession was dominant,” said Brough. “We’re getting lots of shots on, our power play’s working. For me, the base of this team is just hard work and if we outwork a team we’re going to have success.”
All four Cougar lines got themselves on the scoresheet Sunday. Curtis Hammond, Booker Daniel and Brennan Bott each fired a pair for Cariboo on Sunday. Grady Thomas and Lane Goodwin also scored. Hayden Gelbard and Trenym Confortin were the only Hawks shooters to beat goalie Devin Chapman, 17, making his second start since joining the Cougars from the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
“He definitely brings a calming influence back there,” said Brough. “He’s played at the higher level –not a lot of shots but some pretty good quality shots at the end of that game and he stood tall for us.”
Goodwin, Daniel, Fischer O’Brien and Brendan Pigeon took care of the scoring for the Cougars Saturday, while Brendan Buhr (with a deflected shot that hit the ceiling before it went into the net) and Liam Hudson were the Hawks’
marksmen.
Xavier Cannon notched the win in net. Cannon spent time in the BCHL with the Spruce Kings last week, filling in as backup, and he played a few minutes at the end of the game for the Kings Friday against Langley.
“(Cannon) adds that calming presence back there and when our team breaks down they make saves for us,” said Brough. “It’s a deadly combination (in goal) in my opinion and with the way we’re going, we’re happy right now.”
Pigeon, a 17-year-old from Williams Lake, has jumped into the top-10 in the league scoring race,
Tandy part of 10th-place World Cup result for Canada
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
Prince George biathletes Megan Tandy and Sarah Beaudry tested their rifle aim and ski speed against international competition for the first time this season over the weekend in Europe.
Tandy, 30, skied the second of four legs in the BMW World Cup mixed team relay Sunday in Pokljuka, Slovenia, and helped Canada to a 10thplace finish. Rosanna Crawford of Canmore, Nathan Smith of Calgary and Scott Gow of Canmore also wore the maple leaf in Sunday’s race.
Tandy and Crawford had just one miss each and together used just two spare rounds, while Smith and Gow shot clean. They finished 2:33.2 behind the gold medalists from France (Anais Bescond, Justine Braisaz, Martin Fourcade and Simon Desthieux), who finished the relay in 1:10:02.8.
Switzerland (Elisa Gasparin, Lena Haecki, Benjamin Weger, Jeremy Finello) won silver, 38.7 behind, and Italy (Lisa Vitozzi, Dorothea Weger, Dominik Windisch, Lukas Hofer) took bronze, 52.1 off the pace.
In the single mixed relay Sunday, Megan Bankes of Calgary and Christian Gow of Canmore placed sixth. They were 37.8 seconds behind after 10 misses on the range in four shooting bouts.
— see BEAUDRY, page 9
playing on a line with Thomas and Brett Fudger. Pigeon was the Cougars’ choice as the inaugural winner of the team’s Hard Hats and Hockey Sticks award as the hardest-working Cougar in the month of October, while Bott was chosen for the award for November.
Pigeon collected a goal and an assist Saturday and was held to one assist Sunday.
“We had a bit of rough start to both games (allowing the first goal in each) and we just bounced back and played hard,” said Pigeon, who leads the Cougars in scoring with 15 goals and 27 points in 20 games.
“My linemates are giving me the puck and I’m shooting every-
thing I can.”
The Cougars were the hottest team in the league in November, putting together a 6-1-1 streak that got them on the list for their 14th-straight appearance at the Mac’s Invitational tournament in Calgary, which starts Dec. 26. The only blemishes in the month came when they travelled to Richmond to face the Greater Vancouver Canadians, Nov. 17-18 – a 2-2 tie followed by a 3-1 loss.
“They outworked us and it cost us a weekend and I think the group learned from that,” said Brough. “We’ve outworked the teams we’ve played the last two weekends and we’re moving up in
the standings.”
The Cougars have two more league weekends before the Mac’s. They’ll be in Langley and Delta this weekend against the Valley West Hawks, then host the T-birds in what could be a battle for first place, Dec. 15-16 at Kin 1.
“They swept us when we played them down there so that will be a good test before Mac’s,” said Pigeon. “I went there last year and it was definitely a fun tournament. If we just compete like we have done, we’ll be fine.”
• The Cougars raised $2,200 for the Canadian Cancer Society Saturday through their annual Pink in the Rink promotion.
Cats hoping to build away from home rink
from page 7
Fizer’s persistence paid off nine minutes into the period when he tracked down his own rebound and raised it in over a fallen Gauthier.
The Royals drew to within a goal a couple minutes later on a fluky play with three seconds left in Cole Moberg’s interference penalty. Hannoun broke in on the left side and with nowhere to go centred the puck into crease and it deflected in off Rhinehart’s skate.
The Cougars answered late in the period with a power-play goal from Colina to restore their three-goal lead. Colina, who also scored Saturday, took a pass from Rhinehart and fired off a wrist shot that beat Gould.
Most of the third period was played in the Cougars’ end and the shot count (13-1) told the tale. But only one of those 13 got past Gauthier. Matthew Smith snuck in a weak one along the ice from a sharp angle that went in between the goalie’s legs for the Royals’ third goal.
While Gauthier knows he should have stopped it, he had an otherwise solid outing and was thankful for his chance to reward his team after giving up four goals in the first period on Saturday.
“(Saturday) night was a tough one for everyone but we came out swinging and got the first one quick and just built off that,” said Gauthier, rated a B prospect for next year’s NHL draft. “It’s nice to see we were able to bounce back so fast. I’m happy the coaches have enough trust in me that they’re willing to put me back in after a rough night.
“Last night kind of hit me a little harder, not only because
I have so much pressure from the draft but I hold myself to a really high standard.
“I’m very happy with how I bounced back today and gave the team a chance to win.”
Considering they’ll be living out of suitcases the next six weeks, having another win to relish was a critical accomplishment for the Cougars (11-14-1-2). They’re only one point behind the second-place Royals (13-10-0-0), who still have five games in hand over Prince George.
“Going on the road for awhile now, it might be a blessing in disguise,” said Matvichuk.
“This time of year it’s tough to play at home because you’re thinking about going home for Christmas so we’ll be able to manage their time and what they’re doing and do some teambuilding stuff and we’ll be alright.”
LOOSE PUCKS: The crowd count was a season high but it was the lowest ever for a Cougars Teddy Bear Toss game at CN Centre… The Cougars will hit the road for games in Portland Friday and Saturday… Mikhalchuk says there is one advantage to playing on the road – more chances to get noticed. “I like play away, more scouts,” he said. “Here in P.G. we are really far and not as many scouts come to P.G.”… Penalty timekeeper Steve Pudney was hit with the puck in the second period, which left him bleeding above his right eye. After getting repairs he was back at his volunteer post for the rest of the game. John Morrison, co-supervisor of the off-ice officials, presented Pudney with the puck that hit him, wrapped in white hockey tape which read: “First head shot,” and “with blood,” written in a red ink.
Shand a standout at provincial tournament
— from page 7
“It was quite upsetting going out in the fifth set last night, being so close and ending the game on a kind of iffy call – it threw us off a bit for the next day. It was a tough loss, pretty sad. We’ve been fighting for this since Grade 8, it’s everybody’s dream to win provincials and it was tough getting that out of our heads and it affected us more than we would have liked.”
Sparked by strong net play of Grade 12 veterans Caleb Kastelein and Ethan Visscher and a standout effort from setter Jonas Van Huizen, the Lightning once again denied College Heights a provincial celebration, picking up where they left off two years ago when they defeated the Cougars for gold. Langley was the threetime defending provincial champion.
several university and college team recruiters watching them play in the four-day tournament.
“I think we were a little too disappointed about (Friday’s match) more than anything,” said Cougars head coach Linden Smith. “We had a tough time getting some traction today, we were too focused on yesterday.
“We definitely weren’t seeing the blocks by the other team as well as we have in the past. Honestly, I don’t think it was anything Langley did, it was mainly us. Everything we did well all year we seemed to struggle with just because we were in our own heads from the start. That (semifinal) was the peak they played all year for and to fall short like that was a tough thing to let go.”
Abbotford Christian, which won a three-set semifinal Friday over Langley Christian, beat George Elliot 3-1 (26-28, 25-23, 25-21, 25-18) in the double-A gold medal match.
Cougars hitter Matt Shand, a provincial under-18 team member, was the offensive star for College Heights and he and Cougars middle blocker Dayton O’Neill attracted interest from
“When (Shand) has been on, everybody has been on with him,” said Smith. “This weekend was these guys peaking at the right time, it was the whole team working together. It was a very successful season, I’m very proud of the boys.”
For the Cougars’ graduating players –Ohori, Shand, O’Neill, Raphael Rodrigues and Nolan Minck – Saturday’s game was the last of their high school careers.
“We’re extremely fortunate to even be here,” said Ohori.
“It’s such a great opportunity and a great life experience for the guys. We had an awesome weekend.”
Smith wasn’t coaching College Heights in 2016 but was co-coach of the Cougars with Jay Guillet in 2011 when they won the silver medal after defeating Langley Christian in the semifinals. This year, Hans Minck was Smith’s coaching assistant.
The Kelly Road Roadrunners, the north central zone runners-up, lived up to their No. 7 ranking with a 2-0 (25-23, 25-19) win over Richmond Christian in the seventh-place placement match Saturday.
• At the B.C. double-A girls championship in Burnaby, the Kelly Road Roadrunners won their Saturday morning playoff against Smithers 2-1 (19-25, 25-14, 15-10), then lost a lengthy two-set (35-33, 25-22) battle for 13th place to John Barsby of Nanaimo. Kelly Road placed 14th out of 16 teams.
• At the 20-team single-A girls provincials in Nanaimo, the Fort St. James Falcons lost 2-0 in the 15th/16th-place playoff and ended up 15th. The Cedars Christian Eagles of Prince George placed 19th.
Sports Tip? Call 250-562-2441
Cariboo Cougars forward Alex Ochitwa tries a wraparound against the Vancouver Northwest Hawks on Saturday afternoon at Kin 1.
the cause.
Nylander, Leafs beat deadline with deal
John CHIDLEY-HILL
The Canadian Press
TORONTO — If William Nylander ever decides to give up his hockey career he might consider a move to Las Vegas.
“I haven’t played that much poker but maybe I should give it a try,” said Nylander with a laugh on Monday night, two days after the 22-year-old winger re-signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, ending a months-long contract holdout that sometimes resembled a highstakes game of Texas hold ’em. Nylander and Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas agreed to a six-year deal that carries an annual average value of US$6.9 million less than an hour before Saturday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline. Dubas filed the official paperwork with the NHL and players’ association with minutes to spare, officially ending the impasse.
“If I’m sitting here right now saying that with 45 minutes left and he’s not signed that I had no concern, then I’m a liar,” said Dubas, laughing. “Yes, there was concern.” Nylander’s entry-level contract expired on July 1 and negotiations stretched through the summer and into the season, ultimately forcing him to miss a third of Toronto’s 2018-19 campaign. Although the two sides had been in regular contact, things didn’t get moving until the 11th hour when Nylander called Dubas to get a deal done.
“It was getting into the last 40 minutes before the deadline and I was talking to my agent and I said ‘let’s just call him,’ and I think that phone call really got everything done,” said Nylander.
Nylander is coming off back-toback 61-point seasons, including 20 goals and 41 assists in 2017-18.
The Calgary-born Swede has 48 goals and 87 assists for 135 points in 185 career games. He also has two goals and six assists in 13 post-season appearances.
Coming into this season, he was
considered a top-six forward for the Maple Leafs. But Toronto has thrived without him, compiling a 19-8-0 record that puts it near the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
His teammates, who were in St. Paul, Minn., to play the Wild on Saturday night, anxiously watched the deadline approach.
“I was checking my Twitter feed probably every 15 seconds, that’s for sure,” said Kasperi Kapanen, who was Nylander’s roommate last season. “Obviously kind of went down to the wire there and I was getting nervous a bit but once it was done it was a good feeling.”
Nylander’s return raises two important questions for the Leafs.
The first is an immediate one: what line will he play on now that
he’s back? Kapanen has stepped up in his absence and been effective on a line with Auston Matthews and veteran Patrick Marleau, putting away 10 goals and eight assists in 27 games, all career highs.
Head coach Mike Babcock was tight-lipped with media about his line combinations on Monday.
“Good question,” said Kapanen when asked about a possible line change. “Nothing for sure right now. Obviously, the team’s been playing well and we’ve got to stay focused on what we’re doing right now and keep playing.”
The second question is a financial one, as Nylander’s signing makes for a potentially difficult situation for Dubas as he tries to fit his young stars’ salaries under the
league’s hard salary cap.
NHL dealing with issues while giving Seattle a nod
SEA ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — The NHL is dealing with some uncertain situations as it prepares to finalize expansion to Seattle.
The Ottawa Senators’ downtown arena project is in danger of falling apart, and Arizona Coyotes owner Andrew Barroway is looking for a partner as he tries to secure a long-term home in the desert. Meanwhile, the league would like to begin making plans for a 2020 World Cup of Hockey but has no guarantee of labour peace that would allow such a tournament to take place.
Commissioner Gary Bettman updated the Board of Governors on those topics Monday on the eve of the vote that’s expected to award Seattle the league’s 32nd franchise. The team would begin play in the 202122 season, a year after original plans because arena renovations aren’t scheduled to be finished until the fall of 2020. Bettman says the salary cap is projected to go up to roughly $83 million next season, up from the current $79.5 million limit.
Matthews, who won the 2017 Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year, Kapanen, and Mitch Marner, who leads the team with 38 points (six goals, 22 assists) are all due to become free agents at the same time. That is on top of superstar forward John Tavares’s seven-year deal worth $11 million per season that was signed this past summer.
“We’ve already begun those conversations and we’ll continue them with the ambition of having them concluded as soon as possible,” said Dubas. Toronto plays in Buffalo tonight. Nylander wasn’t sure if he would be ready to join the team on Thursday in Detroit or on Saturday in Boston. CP PHOTO
Denver tops Raptors
TORONTO (CP) — The Toronto Raptors were seven seconds away from possibly salvaging a bad game, and potentially capturing their ninth consecutive victory. Instead, Nikola Jokic had three free throws in the dying seconds and Toronto’s eightgame winning streak came to an end at the hands of Jokic, Canadian Jamal Murray, and the Denver Nuggets. Murray, from Kitchener, Ont., had 21 points, while Jokic had a triple double – 23 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds – in Denver’s 106-103 victory over Toronto on Monday night.
Beaudry cracks top 10 in IBU Cup women’s pursuit
— from page 8
Thekla Brun-Lie and Lars Helge Birkland of Norway won gold in 38:26.7. Austria (Lisa Therese Hauser, Simon Eder) won silver, 8.5 seconds behind, and Ukraine (Anastasiya Merkushyna, Artem Tuchenko) captured bronze, 20.7 behind. At the IBU Cup events in Idre, Sweden, the 24-year-old Beaudry finished eighth
in Sunday’s women’s pursuit. She passed seven skiers who left the start gate ahead of her in the 15-kilometre event. Beaudry started the race 15th, her finishing position in the 7.5 km sprint race on Saturday. In the pursuit, Beaudry missed four of her 20 targets. She stopped the clock 1:27.4 after gold medalist Svetlana Mironova of Russia crossed the finish.
Bochen will fill Anhorn’s
— from page 7
“It was a pretty emotional game, we lost a couple guys early and the guys stepped up to get the win,” said Maglio. “I thought we did a really good job with the puck, it was improved from (Friday) night, they eliminated turnovers and obviously the chips fell where they should. We had some good opportunities and probably should have had a couple more (goals). It was a hard-fought
game both ways.”
Ingela Andersson of Sweden won silver, 17.6 behind Mironova, and Anastasiia Morozova of Russia was the bronze medalist, 21.7 behind.
Emma Lunder of Vernon placed 32nd, after a 27th-place result in Saturday’s sprint.
In the men’s 20 km pursuit, Carsen Campbell of Bedeque, P.E.I., placed 31st and Aidan Millar of Canmore was 50th.
Campbell ended up 20th in the 10 km sprint Saturday and Millar was 28th. Racing resumes Wednesday in Pokljuka with the men’s 20 km individual race, followed Thursday by the women’s 15 km individual event. The IBU Cup tour switches to Hochfilzen, Austria, starting a week from Wednesday with the women’s sprint.
spot at Canada West camp
Taking Anhorn’s place at the Canada West camp will be Spruce Kings defenceman Nick Bochen. “It’s certainly a bad news/good news situation,” said Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes. “It’s very unfortunate that the injury to Dylan will prevent him from attending the camp. He’s been tremendous for us this season and I know that he is very disappointed.”
“Nick is an elite young player and the leading scoring rookie defenseman in our league. He and Layton will represent our team very well at the camp this week.”
The Spruce Kings head into the week with 43 points, followed by Chilliwack, with 42, and the surging Penticton Vees, who have 41. The Kings are three games into a sevengame homestand.
“It’s going to be tight and it’s still early,” said Maglio. “We’ll go into the Christmas break and come back in January and that’s when things will start to shake out, same as last year. We don’t expect Chilliwack to slow down. Tonight was another divisional game and beside Surrey, all four teams are in the mix here. We’re just past the halfway mark, there’s lot of hockey here. You want to give yourself a chance the last 10 or 15 games into that stretch run.”
Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander smiles as he speaks to the media regarding his new contract with the team on Monday in Toronto.
Fully acoustic
Citizen news service
CANMORE, Alta. — Ellen Braun admits she was a little nervous when she and bandmate Joe Shea were asked to perform in a cave deep in the heart of Grotto Mountain.
But the singer-songwriters who make up the folk duo Trundled got harnessed up, put on their helmets and went to what’s called the Grand Gallery – part of the Rat’s Nest Cave near Canmore, Alta., – in October.
“It’s a big, giant room in a cave,” she said in an interview.
They immediately started a sound check and sang an a cappella version of one of their songs.
“It was so cool how our voices just resonated off the walls,” said Braun. “It was a really amazing experience.”
The musicians will haul in their guitars on the next trip Dec. 16 for a full acoustic concert – one of four shows which are part of the Spirit in the Mountain concert series at the cave this winter.
Similar concerts have been taking place for about a decade in an area called the Volcano Room, which is about 100 metres underground inside Tennessee’s Cumberland Caverns. They draw fans from around the world who are interested in live music and cave exploration.
Adam Walker, who owns Canmore Cave Tours, said the Grand Gallery concerts started in 2015 when the company was asked by the town of Canmore to get involved in its Christmas festivities.
“We’ve always known it to be a pretty incredible place to have some music, but we never formally created an event,” he said. “In 2015, I said, ‘What the heck. Let’s give it a go.”’
A local community choir performed in the cave for five nights.
Walker said the experiment provided a template for holding other cave concerts, which include a 30-minute hike up to the cave and then a 20-minute journey down about 10 storeys –
Hefner items sold at auction
Concerts featuring Alberta bands will be held in mountain cave
nearly 50 metres – into the Grand Gallery.
“You have to earn it,” he said. “It’s not for everybody, but it’s a really private performance. There are only 24 people plus the musicians inside, so it’s really small and intimate.”
Walker said they will hand out blankets and cushions for people to sit on as they listen to the hour-long concert.
“The acoustics in the cave are phenomenal.”
Braun said she and Shea are looking forward to performing and will even record a few of their songs in the cave.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The typewriter Hugh Hefner used in college was the top-selling item at an auction of the Playboy magazine founder’s possessions.
Julien’s Auctions says the Underwood Standard portable typewriter sold for $162,500. His complete set of Playboy magazines sold for $76,800, and a gold ring with a hidden compartment containing a Viagra pill sold for $22,400.
Hefner’s iconic smoking jacket fetched $41,600. Hefner was 91 when he died in September 2017. The auction took place Friday and Saturday in Los Angeles. Proceeds will benefit the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation, which defends civil rights and civil liberties.
Court slaps Arnault with second rape conviction
David KEYTON, Jan M. OLSEN Citizen news service
STOCKHOLM (AP) — The man with ties to the Swedish Academy that awards the Nobel Prize in literature lost his appeal Monday to have his rape conviction and a two-year prison sentence reversed and instead was convicted of a second rape.
The Svea Court of Appeal on Monday gave Jean-Claude Arnault 2 1/2 years in jail for raping the same woman twice seven years ago.
In October, the 72-year-old Frenchman, who is married to a former member of the Swedish Academy board, was found guilty of one rape in 2011 and sentenced him to two years. He was acquitted of a second rape because the victim said she was asleep at the time and the lower Stockholm District Court said her account wasn’t reliable.
“I was actually in that cave maybe 15 years ago or more,” she said. “I never would have imagined... that I would be a full-time musician and booking a gig in there.
“Neither of us had ever sung in a cave before.” Other bands involved in the concert series include The Silkstones, an indie-rock group from southern Alberta on Dec. 14; Elk Run and Riot, a Canmore folk-rock band, on Dec. 15; and Seth Anderson, a local folk musician with East Coast roots, on Dec. 17.
Queen, with Lambert, opening tour in Vancouver
Citizen news service
LOS ANGELES — Queen and Adam Lambert are launching a six-week North American tour following the release of the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. Live Nation announced the 23date tour Monday. It will feature original band members Brian May and Roger Taylor with Adam Lambert singing lead. It will kick off in Vancouver on July 10. It will end in Charlotte,
N.C., on Aug. 23. Other venues include Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta. Tickets for the Rhapsody tour will go on sale on Dec. 7. Lambert says they have been “designing a brand new visual spectacle that will reframe these iconic songs and we are excited to unveil it!” He first shared the stage with Queen during the 2009 American Idol final.
The tour follows the group’s September run in Las Vegas.
But the appeals court made “a different assessment,” saying it was “beyond any reasonable doubt that the accused was guilty of rape” in the second case.
The woman’s deposition “gave a credible impression,” adding that her account “was strongly supported by those of several witnesses,” and found them “reliable and sufficient” for a conviction. The court also said it had taken into consideration Arnault’s age and “the unusually long time from the offence committed to the prosecution.”
In Sweden, rape is punishable by a minimum of two years and a maximum of six years in prison.
Arnault’s lawyer, Bjorn Hurtig, said the Frenchman was “seriously stunned, stupefied and saddened,” and they would appeal to Sweden’s Supreme Court.
Elisabeth Massi Fritz, the lawyer for the unnamed victim, told Swedish broadcaster SVT that her client was “extremely grateful and relieved.” Prosecutor Christina Voigt called the sentence “a reasonable penalty.”
The sex abuse scandal led eight Swedish Academy members to either leave or disassociate themselves from the secretive body’s 18-member board. Amid the chaos and reputational risk, this year’s Nobel literature award was postponed to 2019.
The charges against Arnault, the husband of poet Katarina Frostenson, have rocked the prestigious body and prompted Frostenson to leave it. He is also suspected of leaking the name of Nobel Prize literature winners – allegedly seven times, starting in 1996.
The Nobel Foundation warned the academy that if it doesn’t resolve its tarnished image, it could decide that another group would be a better Nobel host.
Earlier this month, the body said five Swedish Academy members and five outsiders –two authors, two critics and one translator – will pick two Nobel literature winners next year, the 2019 winner and the delayed 2018 winner. They will also later choose the 2020 Nobel winner. All are Swedes. In 2017, 18 women came forward in a Swedish newspaper with abuse accusations against Arnault. An academy investigation found in April that “unacceptable behaviour in the form of unwanted intimacy” had taken place in the ranks of the prestigious institution.
The academy’s former permanent secretary, Sara Danius, quit in April at the same time as Frostenson, leading observers to wonder why some of Sweden’s most accomplished women appeared to be the taking the fall for a man’s alleged misconduct.
ARNAULT
HANDOUT PHOTO
Ellen Braun and Joe Shea, part of a musicial duo Trundled, will sing in a cave under Grotto Mountain near Canmore, Alta., in December.
As the family of the late Larry Norbeck, we would like to express our deep appreciation for all the support and caring given to us when Larry passed away -
AL SHUMEY
Born November 12, 1931
With heavy hearts and profound sadness we announce that our beloved and devoted husband, father, grandfather an great grandfather passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family. Survived by his loving wife June, son Abbie (Linda), daughter Denice (Mike), grandchildren Tamara, Mandy, Colin, Mathew, Andrew, Ben, great grandchildren Sydney and Lauren. Dad loved family times paying cards and games, as well as golfing with the boys. We will all miss his great sense of humor. Special thank you to Drs. Geddes & Attia and Dr. Appleby & Nurse Erica for their compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cancer Society. No service by request.
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MONEY IN BRIEF
Currencies
OTTAWA (CP) — These are indicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Monday. Quotations in Canadian funds.
The markets today
TORONTO (CP) — Canada’s main stock index began the week higher as Alberta production cuts helped to lift oil prices to their largest gain since June, while investors felt relief from a preliminary trade truce between the U.S. and China.
The January crude contract gained four per cent or US$2.02 to US$52.95 per barrel.
Western Canadian Select rose 9.6 per cent or US$1.48 to US$16.93 after Alberta Premier Rachel Notley instructed the province’s energy regulator to direct oil producers to cut production by 8.7 per cent starting Jan. 1. Oil prices also rose on continued expectation that OPEC on Thursday will cut production by up to 1.5 million barrels a day to support prices.
“I think those two factors combined are providing a little bit of lift for oil prices,” said Craig Fehr, Canadian markets strategist for Edward Jones.
The S&P/TSX composite index reached its highest level in nearly a month, closing up 77.16 points to 15,274.98. The energy sector gained almost four per cent and higher gold prices helped the materials sector to rise more than two per cent.
The February gold contract was up US$13.60 at US$1,239.60 an ounce and the March copper contract was up 2.2 cents at US$2.81 a pound.
Health care fell 1.8 per cent as shares of cannabis producer Aphria Inc. plunged nearly 28 per cent after short-sellers called the Canadian company a “black hole” and alleged its recent international acquisitions totalling $280-million were “largely worthless.”
The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 75.81 cents US compared with an average of 75.18 cents US on Friday. That’s the biggest daily gain since Oct. 1.
The January natural gas contract was down 27.3 cents at US$4.34 per mmBTU.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 287.97 points at 25,826.43. The S&P 500 index gained 30.20 points at 2,790.37, while the Nasdaq composite was up 110.98 points at 7,441.51.
A weekend 90-day ceasefire between the U.S. and China on imposing higher tariffs was a catalyst for global markets to rise even though a final resolution is far from certain, Fehr said.
“It is far too early to sound the allclear signal when it comes to the trade tension that exists between the U.S. and China,” he said.
“That’s an encouraging signal that both sides are willing to come to the table but this is far from a concrete agreement that provides a road map for what trade looks like going forward.
‘We are still not doing enough’
Leaders stress need to win support for climate measures
Frank JORDANS, Monika SCISLOWSKA Citizen news service
KATOWICE, Poland — As leaders attending the UN’s annual climate summit heard fresh warnings about the dire consequences of leaving global warming unchecked, a new issue emerged Monday as a pressing concern: how to persuade millions of workers their industry can’t have a future if humanity is to have one.
Hosting the talks in the heart of its coal region of Silesia, Poland tried to set the tone for the two-week meeting by promoting the idea of a “just transition” for miners and other workers facing layoffs as countries adopt alternative energy sources.
“We are trying to save the world from annihilation, but we must do this in a way that those who live with us today in the world have the best possible living conditions,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said. “Otherwise they will say, ‘We don’t want such policy.”’
The issue of a “just transition” isn’t restricted to workers in energy industries who might lose their jobs. Many economists argue that ambitious curbs on greenhouse emissions require raising the cost of carbon fuels – one of the measures that triggered large-scale protests in France by motorists feeling the squeeze at the pump.
Scientists say the only way to keep average global temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century is to phase out the use of fossil fuels by 2050. That is the most ambitious goal set in the 2015 Paris agreement, which negotiators from nearly 200 countries have come to Katowice to finalize.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a dramatic appeal to leaders Monday to take the threat of global warming seriously, calling it “the most important issue we face.”
“Even as we witness devastating climate impacts causing havoc across the world, we are still not doing enough, nor moving fast enough, to prevent irreversible and catastrophic climate disruption,” Guterres told delegates from almost 200 countries on the second day of talks.
Famed British naturalist Sir David Attenborough echoed his warnings, telling the gathering that the “collapse of our civilizations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizons” if no urgent action is taken against global warming.
The 92-year-old TV presenter blamed humans for the “disaster of global scale, our greatest threat in thousands of years.”
Without naming specific countries, Guterres chided the nations most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions for failing to do enough to meet the goals set in Paris.
Citing a recent scientific report, the UN chief urged governments to aim for net zero emissions by 2050. Net zero emissions mean that any greenhouse gases emitted need to be
Economic challenges remain, Powell says
Citizen news service
WASHINGTON — United States Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Monday that despite solid economic progress, the country still faces a number of challenges ranging from slow wage growth for lower-income workers to sluggish productivity and an aging population.
Powell said in remarks at a Fed award ceremony that these challenges remain even though unemployment is near five-decade low and the financial system has been bolstered since the 2008 financial crisis.
While there have been recent gains in wage growth, Powell said that wages for lower-income workers have grown quite slowly over the past few decades.
He also noted that a decades-long decline in economic mobility has made it more difficult for lower-income Americans to move up the economic ladder.
In his remarks, Powell praised the work of the Fed’s community development staff and former Fed Chair Janet Yellen, who put a special emphasis on efforts to help disadvantaged communities during her 16 years at the Fed, including the last four as Fed chair.
I think that in the future we will look back and we will either laugh at them or we will hate them.
— Greta Thunberg
soaked up by forest or new technologies that can remove carbon from the atmosphere.
Such cuts would require a radical overhaul of the global economy. But Guterres said governments should embrace the opportunities of shifting to a “green economy” rather than cling to fossil fuels such as coal, which are blamed for a significant share of man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
U.S. officials have kept a low profile at the talks so far. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced Washington’s withdrawal from the Paris accord, saying it’s a bad deal for Americans, and repeatedly questioned the science behind climate change.
By contrast, action film star and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger drew crowds and applause at the UN conference Monday for insisting that many in the United States remain committed to the agreement.
“America is more than just Washington or one leader,” he said, calling Trump “meshugge” -– Yiddish for “crazy” – for deciding to withdraw from the Paris accord. Schwarzenegger said he wished he could travel back in time – like the cyborg he portrayed in The Terminator – to stop fossil fuels from being used.
The Netherlands, a country with a long history of pumping oil and gas from the ground, is also among the places most at risk from rising sea levels caused by global warming. With millions of people in the Netherlands living in low-lying areas, “you have your evidence and your case in point to make, sure, that you prevent sea levels from rising even further” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told The Associated Press.
Asked about the recent protests in France, one of which turned into a riot in Paris on Saturday, Rutte said politicians must work to get all of society to back the measures needed to tackle climate change.
“That means talking, talking, talking,” he said. “With all societal organizations, politicians, all citizens being involved if they want to.”
More talk is doubtlessly necessary, including at the international level. Poland’s President Duda told reporters that his country, which relies on coal for 80 per cent of its energy, would work to reduce its reliance on coal but never entirely give up its “strategic fossil fuel.”
Among those addressing conference participants this week is a 15-year-old Swedish activist, Greta Thunberg, who has inspired students around the world to campaign against global warming.
Thunberg criticized leaders, such as Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who failed to come to the climate talks.
“I think that in the future we will look back and we will either laugh at them or we will hate them,” she told The Associated Press. “It’s very sad, but if they don’t do anything right now that is the truth.”
Powell did not discuss the Fed’s current interestrate policies in his appearance.
The central bank has raised rates three times this year and is expected to boost rates for a fourth time later this month. Powell sent the stock market surging last week when he signalled that the Fed may decide to slow the pace of rate hikes next year.
Investors had been hoping to learn more about Powell’s current thinking in testimony he was scheduled to deliver Wednesday before the congressional Joint Economic Committee. However, that appearance was cancelled because of the government closure for the funeral of former President George H.W. Bush.
AP PHOTO
World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva speaks during the COP24 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland, on Monday.
Transform gingerbread into a stately layer cake
Good gingerbread is dark and moist, with an intriguing hint of bitterness and a peppery finish.
Usually it’s a rustic square cake or maybe even an attractive Bundt, but it’s never quite sophisticated enough to serve as the centerpiece holiday dessert.
We wanted to transform homey gingerbread into a stately layer cake. The problem? Traditional recipes are too moist to be stacked four layers high. We knew we could fix the excess moisture problem by cutting back on the molasses or coffee in our recipe or adding a bit more flour. But both strategies would lighten the colour and dull the flavour.
Instead, we added a conventional cake ingredient that’s unconventional in gingerbread: cocoa powder. Cocoa contains a high proportion of absorbent starch; just 1/4 cup of it soaked up the cake’s excess moisture, so the crumb was no longer objectionably sticky. The cocoa also deepened the colour and flavour of our gingerbread without making the cake taste chocolaty. As a bonus,
to
it diluted some of the gluten, making the cake’s crumb more tender. Sprinkling chopped crystallized ginger over the top of the cake completed the holiday gingerbread revamp. Use a 2-cup liquid measuring cup to portion the cake batter. Do not use blackstrap mo-
lasses here as it is too bitter.
Gingerbread layer cake
Servings: 12-16
Start to finish: 3 hour 30 minutes
1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) all-
purpose flour
1/4 cup (3/4 ounce) unsweetened
cocoa powder
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup brewed coffee
3/4 cup molasses
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
5 cups frosting
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger (optional)
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line pans with parchment paper. Whisk flour, cocoa, ground ginger, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and cayenne together in large bowl. Whisk coffee, molasses, and baking soda in second large bowl until combined. Add sugar, oil,
eggs, and fresh ginger to coffee mixture and whisk until smooth. Whisk coffee mixture into flour mixture until smooth. Pour 1 1/3 cups batter into each prepared pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pan, discarding parchment, and let cool completely on rack, about two hours. Wipe pans clean with paper towels. Let pans cool completely, regrease and reflour pans, and line with fresh parchment. Repeat process with remaining batter.
Line edges of cake platter with four strips of parchment to keep platter clean. Place one cake layer on platter. Spread 3/4 cup frosting evenly over top, right to edge of cake. Repeat with two more cake layers, pressing lightly to adhere and spreading 3/4 cup frosting evenly over each layer. Top with remaining cake layer and spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. Garnish top of cake with crystallized ginger, if using. Refrigerate until frosting is set, about 30 minutes, before serving.
