Prince George Citizen February 12, 2019

Downtown Winterfest celebrates the North

Christine HINZMANN Citizen staff chinzmann@pgcitizen.ca

There were smiles throughout Canada Games Plaza in the heart of Prince George Sunday during the third annual Downtown Winterfest that despite frigid temperatures saw hundreds in attendance.

With his dad holding on tight a toddler sporting reflective sunglasses fit over her wooly tuque proudly took the lead on the Cottonwood Express mini rail train as it zipped along the tracks. Bright white hair peeked from underneath a faux fur cartoon fox hat and scarf combination sitting atop a senior’s head as she braced herself for the chilly, yet super-sunny day. The trend saw at least a dozen others donning cats, wolves, foxes and even a blue minion hat scarf combo as people tried to stay warm as they explored the many outdoor Winterfest activities.

A family left the stroller and bundled the children into a sled instead, while two grown men decided to get down while DJ Ant played that funky music.

GoodLife Fitness instructors encouraged many to Zumba their way to warmth, while others took a more traditional route and sipped on coffee, hot chocolate or indulged in a hot dog, fries, poutine or s’mores offered up at food trucks and outdoor booths.

The Northern Capitals female hockey team took to the street at about noon to play a friendly game with anyone who was willing to pick up a stick and shoot the puck.

“We know it’s chilly but Prince George is full of hearty people and they just had to come out and have some fun because this is a fun way to celebrate winter,” Colleen Van Mook, executive director for Downtown Prince George, said.

Over at Community Foundation Park beside the Four Seasons Pool there were two big ice slides and several smaller ones, including one that was built inside a giant whale spouting snow that found many small children laughing as they whooshed through it. The snow wall featured cutouts of people frozen in action that offered a chance for those in attendance to try to fit

themselves into different poses including one interesting shape in particular where the arms were far flung and the left leg was flexed at a jaunty devil-may-care angle. Many were smilingly successful in their efforts to fit their bodies to that one.

Inside the Civic Centre was the Winter Market that saw many vendors selling their wares and non-profits raising awareness and funds for their causes.

Matt Hutcheon, who attended the event with his daughter Erica, 7, said his family attends many events held in Prince George.

“For us it’s just a way to feel connected to the rest of the community and when you live in a northern climate you do your best

Car chase ends in arrest

Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

The public got an eyeful of police activity on Sunday afternoon. The red and blue lights swarmed the ground while the RCMP helicopter circled overhead in pursuit of a suspected stolen vehicle.

“Whoever the pilot was for that helicopter was incredible. It was like a scene from the movies,” said Britt Bruneau, one of the witnesses of the high-profile chase.

According to RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Craig Douglass, the incident had a few chapters, beginning on Highway 97 South just outside of Quesnel.

“Just before 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Quesnel RCMP received a report of a stolen pickup from the parking lot of a retail business in their community,” Douglass said. “Quesnel RCMP general duty officers located the vehicle travelling north towards Prince George on Highway 97. An attempt was made to stop the vehicle, however the driver fled at a high rate of speed. In the interest of public safety, officers did not pursue.”

Instead, the situation was relayed ahead to Prince George’s detachment and North District RCMP’s traffic units. The city’s police helicopter was also activated.

The suspect vehicle was located near the Red Rock community, the driver travelling in a northerly direction towards Prince George.

“After the driver again refused to stop for police, the vehicle was tracked into Prince George,” Douglass said.

The suspect vehicle entered the city and soon became noticeable to other drivers.

“He almost smoked us,” said Bruneau. “He was driving like an absolute madman. He did a couple 360s and ended up swerving in behind me so I pulled over.”

The helicopter was so close Bruneau could feel the vibration of the chopper’s air wash.

She estimated about 10 police vehicles were converging on their position, which was in the vicinity of Ginter’s Field where the road comes to an end. The driver got out and tried to flee on foot, Bruneau said. It didn’t work.

“Multiple general duty officers intercepted the vehicle near the southwest end of Massey Drive,” Douglass confirmed.

“The driver and lone occupant was arrested without further incident. Alcohol was a factor. As a precaution, the suspect was transported to hospital to be checked by medical personnel.”

The arrest came shortly after 4 p.m. Eric Roger Johnson, 27, of Quesnel remained in custody as of Monday on eight counts including motor vehicle theft, dangerous driving and two counts of assaulting a peace officer with a weapon.

No police or bystanders were injured in the incident, but the suspect’s vehicle did collide with a marked RCMP vehicle during the pursuit.

to celebrate it,” Hutcheon said. “I think this event is brilliant. We’ve gone to it the last couple of years and we have a chance to bundle up in layers and get out and embrace the climate that we live in and it’s great.”

Hutcheon had come in from the cold to explore the market with Erica after she had taken several turns on the ice slides and played street hockey.

“The big slides were the best because they were super fast,” Erica said, holding a stuffed pink rabbit. Bun-Bun was the newto-her prize she got when Hutcheon gave a donation to the Thrifty Friends Society, which in turn offered Erica a chance to spin

the wheel for a prize.

Thrifty Friends Society is a non-profit that runs the Thrifty Friends Boutique, 2930 Fifth Ave., where all the merchandise is donated and the entire staff is volunteers. All proceeds go to local causes and currently all funds raised will go to local children to attend Juvenile Arthritis and Juvenile Diabetes camps this summer.

“I am shocked there are so many people here,” Mary Jackson, volunteer for the Thrifty Friends Society, said. “People are coming in here (to the Winter Market) to warm up and then they realize there’s just as much indoors as there is outdoors and it’s just wonderful.”

Council approves $30.3M capital plan

Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

City council approved a capital plan that calls for $30.3 million worth of work for 2019 during budget discussions on Monday night.

Excluded was a plan to replace the 22-year-old dasher board system in CN Centre with an acrylic rink board and acrylic glass system, a $578,000 bill.

The Western Hockey League has mandated that this National Hockey League standard be in effect for the 2019-2020 season but council directed staff to negotiate a deal that would see the Prince George Cougars cover half the cost.

“I think it’s a large amount of money for us to pay,” said Coun. Kyle Sampson, who made the motion.

“It’s the user group (Cougars) that are going to require this, the other user groups in this facility don’t require this and it’s their league that has mandated this change so the request for us to pay 100 per cent seems to be a bit steep.”

Coun. Garth Frizzell said the Moose Jaw Warriors footed half the bill for the new boards in their arena.

Council voted unanimously in favor of Sampson’s motion.

Other major projects include nearly $2.7 million worth of upgrades over the next two years at Masich Place Stadium in preparation for the 2022 B.C. Summer Games.

The work includes upgraded field lighting, a replacement of the score clock and PA system, and new pathway lighting, electrical kiosks, fibre optic connection, irrigation, bleachers and site furnishings to support visitor services at the stadium.

It follows on $4.5 million worth of work centred on installation of a new synthetic turf infield and a resurfaced track and the additional work was greeted with some concern from council but not enough to keep the item off the budget.

Public works director Gina Layte-Liston said much of the work is interrelated and noted it will allow events to be televised. Not only is that a requirement for the Games but the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves have also asked for the capability.

Bookings at the facility are on the rise, she also said.

Nearly $1.4 million worth of upgrades and replacements at the Aquatic Centre are also on the books in advance of the B.C. Games.

And an $8.6-million project to replace the Aquatic Centre’s building envelope including roof, stucco and reconstruction of the parapet is on the books for 2020.

The mausoleum will be up for a $1.4-million expansion that will add 1,030 glass-front niches. The mausoleum is over 93 per cent full and, as of midSeptember, all of the glass-front niches have been sold as have 94 per cent of the marble-front niches, council was told.

CITIZEN

The Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum provided miniature train rides on Sunday at Canada Games Plaza as part of Downtown Winterfest.

Scott Road fire

Volunteer fire crews were on the scene of a fire in the 13000 block of Scott Road on Monday. The blaze broke out around 9:30 am. Volunteer firefighters from Buckhorn and Pineview had to deal with freezing temperatures while fighting the fire.

Poll takers call for 10 years jail for Humbolt driver

Citizen staff

The Citizen’s latest poll asked “The judge in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash tragedy is expected to hand down the truck driver’s sentence on March 22. What do you think the sentence should be?”

The popular vote with 30 per cent and 430 votes was “Crown is seeking 10 years followed by a 10 year driving ban and that seems right.”

Following that with 22 per cent and 305 votes was on the opposite spectrum that said “No jail time; he has to live with what he did for the rest of his life.”

With 19 per cent and 273 votes was “Defence is seeking one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half-years and that seems right.”

With 16 per cent and 219 votes was “More than 10 years,” while “More than five and less than 10 years” took 13 per cent and 183 votes.

There was a total of 1,410 votes. Remember this is not a scientific poll.

Next online question is “A report says the city needs to spend $79 million over the next 10 years to properly maintain civic facilities. How should the city pay for it?”

To make your vote count visit www.pgcitizen.ca.

Prince George provincial court docket

From Prince George provincial court, Feb. 4-8, 2019:

• Riley Wilfred Eastman (born 1987) was prohibited from driving for one year and fined $500 plus a $75 victim surcharge for driving while prohibited or licence suspended under the Motor Vehicle Act.

• Dallas Issac Peter John (born 1996) was sentenced to 57 days in jail for possessing stolen property under $5,000 and willfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer and to 22 days in jail for another count for possessing stolen property under $5,000 and to one year probation on the charges.

John was in custody for five days prior to sentencing.

• Kollin James Grainger (born 1990) was sentenced to one day in jail and 18 months probation for causing fear of injury or damage.

• Aaron James Morin (born 1990) was sentenced to 44 days in jail for being unlawfully at large. Morin was in custody for seven days prior to sentencing.

• Nathan Dennin Seymour (born 1978) was ordered to serve the remainder of a sentenced issued Dec. 17 for theft $5,000 or under in jail. He was originally sentenced to 30 days in jail and one year probation.

• Caroline Danata Karakootie (born 1996)

was fined $100 for breaching probation.

• Kayli Mitchell (born 2000) was prohibited from driving for one year and fined $500 plus a $75 victim surcharge for driving while prohibited or licence suspended under the Motor Vehicle Act.

• Deanna Lee Pierre (born 1974) was prohibited from driving for two years and fined $500 plus a $75 victim surcharge for driving while driver’s licence is suspended under the Motor Vehicle Act.

• Kyle Eric Smeds (born 1984) was prohibited from driving for one year and fined $1,000 for driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08 under the Criminal Code.

• Sheldon Curtis Viskovic (born 1979) was sentenced to three days in jail for two counts of breaching probation, committed in Prince Rupert.

• Braeden Robert Belcourt (born 1996) was issued a one-year $500 recognizance after allegation of causing fear of injury or damage and sentenced to zero days in jail for two counts of breaching an undertaking or recognizance. Belcourt had spent a total of 13 days in custody prior to sentencing.

• Sheldon Lee Gallerneault (born 1968) was sentenced to 27 days in jail and one year probation for theft $5,000 or under.

• Rory Willaim McCullough (born 1986)

was sentenced to one year probation and ordered to provide a DNA sample for uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, committed in Prince George, and fined $500 for possession of stolen property under $5,000, committed in Sooke. McCullough was in custody for one day prior to sentencing.

• Nicole Elizabeth Louise Alec, (born 1982) was sentenced to seven months in jail and issued a 10-year firearms prohibition for aggravated assault and to three years probation on the count as well as one count each of mischief $5,000 or under and breaching an undertaking. Alec spent a total of 213 days in custody prior to sentencing.

• Kahlilah Angeline Ketlo (born 1997) was sentenced to one year probation for possession of stolen property under $5,000, committed in Fort Fraser, to one day in jail for breaching an undertaking or recognizance and to zero days in jail for possession of stolen property and personation with intent to gain advantage. Ketlo was in custody for 45 days prior to sentencing.

• William Lee Kyle Lewis (born 1992) was prohibited from driving for one year and fined $500 plus a $75 victim surcharge for driving while prohibited or licence suspended under the Motor Vehicle Act.

• James Robert Kunka (born 1977) was sentenced to six months probation with a suspended sentence for willfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer.

• Matthew Alec Felix (born 1998) was sentenced to one year probation, issued a 10-year firearms prohibition and ordered to provide a DNA sample for breaking and entering and committing an indictable offence and to zero days for possessing stolen property over $5,000 and breaching an undertaking. Felix was in custody for 295 days prior to sentencing.

• Matthew Richard Steven Lozon (born 1994) was sentenced to 76 days in jail and one year probation and ordered to pay $1,000 restitution for theft $5,000 or under, to 30 days in jail for breaching probation, to one day in jail for a separate count of breaching probation. Lozon was in custody for eight days prior to sentencing.

• Ulysses Sydney Nicholas (born 1997) was sentenced to 93 days in jail and 18 months probation and issued a lifetime firearms prohibition for breaking and entering and committing an indictable offence and to zero days for possessing stolen property over $5,000, breaching probation and breaching an undertaking. Nicholas was in custody for 289 days prior to sentencing.

Plenty of fun at FrancoFUN NEWS IN BRIEF

Christine HINZMANN Citizen staff chinzmann@pgcitizen.ca

There was FrancoFun for everyone during the 34th annual winter festival including at Saturday’s Sugar Shack held in St. Mary’s hall on Gillett Street.

The festival celebrating the language and culture of Francophones started Feb. 1 and concluded with the Sugar Shack activities that saw two seatings for brunch because of its popularity, featuring the traditional meat pie called tourtiere and offered a maple tart for a sweet treat to end the meal. Taffy on snow was offered as well.

There were 250 tickets sold in advance for the event and more people were expected to attend.

Because of the severe cold wind and temperatures the outdoor activities were canceled and everyone came into the hall to listen to the Old Time Fiddlers and Le Pere Garneau et Les Rats d’Swompe while participating in the silent auction and dozens of raffle draws as part of the fundraising efforts for the Le Cercle des Canadiens Francais de Prince George Society, who organized the celebratory festival.

“It gives us a chance once a year to gather members in Prince George to celebrate being here,” Michel Bouchard, president of the society, said. “This is to highlight our community and gives us a chance to open ourselves to the larger community because we want people to enjoy the language and culture with us and it’s been a lot of fun.”

Bouchard said there were other activities held during the festival including a movie, a concert and a meal for seniors at the Prince George Chateau but because of the cold the outdoor skating event had to be canceled.

Bouchard wanted to thank the many volunteers who took on all the roles during the organization of the festival,

from the ticket takers to the cooks, and everyone in between.

Two of the volunteers and members of the society attending the Sugar Shack event were Veronique Hadikin and Sophie Cote, who both work for Ecole Franco Nord.

“The best part of this celebration is the

music and meeting up with people that we don’t get to see all the time,” Hadikin said, who has been a long-time member of the society and is a former vice president. Cote agreed and said she really enjoys the music and said it was important to showcase the traditional sounds with everyone who attended the festival.

City council approves 4.3 per cent tax hike

Mark Nielsen Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

City council approved a 4.3-per-cent increase to the property tax levy in passing an operating budget for 2019. Going into the meeting, council was looking at a four-per-cent hike but added another 0.3 per cent in the form of three enhancements adding up to $304,020:

• $75,000 to pay for a community cultural plan.

• $90,000 towards construction of the All Wheels skate and bike park in Blackburn – plus $22,720 per year for upkeep and servicing the washrooms.

• $116,300 to staff and service Masich Place Stadium. Of that, $101,800 would pay for two staff to cover weekends and evenings from April to November.

In all, the 4.3-per-cent hike works out to $4.45 million and out of that, $1 million will cover the new Employers Health Tax, based on a rate of 1.95 per cent of the city’s payroll.

The EHT was invoked by the provincial government to replace the Medical Services Premium and for the city, effectively accounts for a percentage point of the increase.

Council members took time to point out it is an increase they fought to prevent but is now a done deal.

“We asked for it to be removed from local governments, from regional districts, from school districts, and they said ‘yes, we will remove it, but only from the

school districts’ so we’re stuck with it,”

Coun. Garth Frizzell said.

A further $1.5 million will go towards snow control, raising that budget to $8.5 million while road rehabilitation will get a $650,000 boost and push that budget up to $5.65 million.

Coun. Brian Skakun expressed plenty of concern about increasing the snow control budget and was particularly critical of the city’s response to the this winter’s first major snowfall.

“I talked to a number of people including employees and we didn’t have fullytrained people out there when we could have, we had some issues with contractors, there’s issues of getting weeks behind cleaning fire hydrants and things like that,” he said.

“We have to do more work with our snow removal program and just throwing more money at it isn’t going to solve the problem.”

But others said the increase is necessary.

Coun. Frank Everitt noted what happened when the city did away with keeping grader operators on retainers as a cost-saving measure, only to go back to that arrangement when the city got caught unable to properly deal with a snowfall in 2014.

He also noted the increase is in part to build up a contingency fund so the city is not going to the taxpayer year after year to seek an increase.

The heat council might take in the near

Federal advertising dollars going to social media

OTTAWA (CP) — Social media websites like Facebook and Twitter now take in the lion’s share of federal advertising dollars, thanks to an ongoing increase in the use of digital advertising by government departments and agencies.

New figures show the federal government spent $39.2 million on advertising last year. Online ads made up two-thirds of this spending, and – for the first time ever – social media was the most-used digital-media platform, representing 43 per cent of digital ad spending.

Last year also marked the lowest amount spent in over a decade on traditional advertising outlets like newspapers and television. This comes as the result of a policy change in 2016 that saw federal organizations adopt a digital-first approach for communications.

Bob Cox, chair of News Media Canada and publisher of the Winnipeg Free Press, says he is concerned this policy not only hurts traditional media outlets like newspapers, but also means some, mainly older, Canadians are not seeing federal messages.

term will be “nothing to the heat we will take if we’re unable to meet the demand of the snow removal out there within our community,” Everitt said, and added the intent is to be proactive.

In the end, Skakun joined the rest of council in approving the increase.

The hike to snow control comes after the cost of winter sand pickup, amounting to $1 million per year, was transferred from the road service category to more accurately account for the true cost of the service.

In addition to taking on the cost of winter sand pickup, the $1.5 million increase is also meant to account for the “rare capital expenditures that the snow control function faces,” according to staff.

And in answer to the volatility in the amount of snow that can fall on the city from one year to the next, staff is also hoping it will be enough to generate a reserve equal to 25 per cent of the service’s net expenses, or $2.125 million.

The $650,000 increase to road rehabilitation will go towards maintaining bridges, gravel roads and urban lanes. At $5.65 million, the budget still falls well below the $7 million staff recommended in 2011 following an analysis by the asset management division.

A remaining $50,000 will go into the general infrastructure reinvestment fund, raising it by two per cent to $2.55 million to keep pace with inflation.

Aggressive moose seen near Ginter’s Meadow

Be careful if you’re going to take your dog for a walk in Ginters Meadow.

An aggressive moose cow and her calves are still active in the area, the city said in a notice issued Monday following a second incident in which a dog and its owner suffered injuries.

“Moose often regard dogs as predators and may become aggressive,” the city said .

Warning signs have been installed on the trails near Ginters Meadow as well as at the Meadow itself to help ensure visitors to the area are aware of the situation.

Residents are encouraged to use caution and leash their pets both while walking through Ginter’s Meadow and along nearby streets and wooded areas.

“Wildlife such as moose are part of the urban landscape in Prince George and, as always, residents are encouraged to exercise caution and be on the lookout at all times while enjoying parks and green spaces,” the city added.

— Citizen staff

Pedestrian injured after being hit by vehicle on Fifth Avenue

A pedestrian was injured while crossing Fifth Avenue on Saturday afternoon.

Police were called to the intersection of Fifth Avenue near Nicholson Street at about 1:45 p.m.

“Police and other emergency services attended the scene and located a 26-year-old female that had been struck by a vehicle,” RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Craig Douglass said.

“The female was transported to hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The driver remained on scene and witnesses stopped to assist.“

The woman and two other pedestrians were attempting to cross Fifth Avenue when she was hit by the vehicle as it was attempting to stop, Douglass said.

The investigation is continuing as to whom involved is responsible for the collision, but Douglass issued safety cautions to both kinds of users of the road.

It is important, to prevent unnecessary casualties, that traffic rules must be followed and a extra care applied as well due to the winter conditions.

“Police would like to remind pedestrians to ensure that vehicles are stopped before stepping out into traffic,” Douglass said, and added that

“drivers should also be on the lookout for pedestrians at all times and drive to the conditions.” — Citizen staff

Pod of B.C. dolphins seem hanging out with orcas

VANCOUVER (CP) — Drone flights have revealed an odd couple of the deeps.

Scientists from the Vancouver Aquarium are releasing video footage of dolphins hanging around pods of killer whales, two species that are usually more like predator and prey than Felix and Oscar. Biologist Lance Barrett-Lennard says the dolphins have learned to distinguish between resident killer whales and those just passing through. The resident whales don’t eat dolphins while the transient whales most emphatically do. Barrett-Lennard says researchers have known about the phenomenon for some time, but the drone footage showed just how close the two species interacted.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

Robert Doyon, vice president of the French Canadian Association of Prince George, makes maple syrup snow treats at St. Mary’s Hall on Saturday morning as part of the 34th FrancoFun Winter Festival.

Children need protection in the workplace

On Friday, First Call: B.C. Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition submitted an open letter to Labour Minister Harry Bains, calling on him to table legislation during the upcoming legislative session aimed at protecting children and youth from employment-related injury and exploitation.

In British Columbia, children as young as 12 years old can legally work at almost any job or task.

We’re not talking about babysitting or paper routes: 12-year-olds can work in most industries, the most common being food services and accommodation, but many are working in construction, manufacturing and resource-based jobs. We know where they are working, not because the Employment Standards Branch is monitoring, but because data tell us this is where they are getting injured.

When the Employment Standards Act was changed in 2003, B.C. became the only province that does not place legal restrictions on the occupations, tasks or time of day a child can work.

According to data obtained by First Call, every year over the past decade, children under 15 were injured on the job seriously enough for WorkSafe B.C. to pay out millions of dollars in injury claims. In some

cases, children have sustained life-altering injuries.

Over that same period, more than 2,000 children under the age of 15 claimed workrelated health-care costs.

In 2016, Canada ratified the International Labour Organization’s Convention 138, agreeing to set the minimum work age at not less than 16 years, the age of completing compulsory schooling.

First Call urges the B.C. government to modernize legislation and regulations, and live up to Canada’s ILO commitment.

Specifically, we call on the minister to raise the minimum age for formal employment to 16 with exceptions for light work that does not threaten the health and safety, or hinder the education, of children and younger adolescents.

We call on the minister to ensure hazardous tasks and worksites are entirely offlimits to workers under 18 and to provide adequate enforcement to ensure employer compliance.

We also call on the minister to set limits on the time of day for work (for example, prohibiting late night and overnight shifts) and set limits on the length of work time on a daily and weekly basis appropriate to age groups.

First Call’s position is based on widely accepted tenets related to child and adoles-

cent development, and the need for special protections related to employment.

We know not all work is harmful to children.

Appropriate light work of a casual nature can be beneficial to psychosocial development and promote self-sufficiency and confidence.

By contrast, though, some employers know that children and adolescents are generally more compliant, will accept lower pay and are less aware of safety issues and their rights than adults. And other employers simply do not understand workplace health and safety risks related to child and adolescent development.

International children’s rights advocates make a clear distinction between appropriate work experience and “child labour.” Child labour is never acceptable and refers to work that compromises children’s safety, is harmful to physical or mental development, and interferes with their education.

Child labour often accompanies family and community poverty. It also perpetuates poverty by depriving children of opportunities to pursue education and to develop fully.

B.C.’s 15-year experiment with deregulating child and youth employment standards has demonstrated that exploitation and injury will occur when governments do not

YOUR LETTERS

Anti-union rhetoric doesn’t hold up

LMS Reinforcing Steel Group president and chief operating officer Norm Streu’s rhetoric is hard to swallow in his recent guest column in the Prince George Citizen on the provincial government’s new Community Benefits construction framework.

Let’s recap: Streu concedes support for the basic principles of CBAs, and specifically “the idea that public money on construction projects should benefit the community, and especially disadvantaged members of that community, certainly sounds right.”

Where he has trouble, however, is with the prescriptive involvement of traditional trade unions and being “forced to rely on any workers the union chose to dispatch to us.”

Under the hiring provisions of B.C.’s Community Benefits Agreement, local workers are given priority, so it’s no wonder Streu has such contempt for the framework.

Streu’s company has brought in literally hundreds of temporary foreign workers for jobs. In fact, in one four-month period in 2012, LMS made four separate applications to the federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program

for 124 workers. In 2015, LMS applied to bring in 15 journey-level ironworkers. On the company’s application form, LMS indicated that neither formal education nor the ability to speak a specific language were required. The same application described how LMS received 90 applications from Canadians or permanent residents for jobs, but none were qualified for journeylevel work. This doesn’t reconcile with the request for TFWs with no formal education.

While LMS and any other contractor – union or non-union – can bid and be successful under a CBA, Streu is at least correct when he notes that workers are required to join a Building Trades union. And here’s why: the transparency of the collective agreements makes for more competitive bids (good for taxpayers) and allows all workers to receive the same wage for the same work at the same level. Union membership also allows access to a skilled labour supply from British Columbia and across Canada.

Think about that as you think about this: a recent job posting from LMS Reinforcing Steel Group on Indeed.com advertised a wage of $18 per hour for a commercial ironworker with at least two years’ experience. A near identical posting by LMS on an

Aboriginal employment services site that expired just in October offered $16 per hour.

The same level of experience for a commercial ironworker under the Ironworkers Local 97 collective agreement earns $22.37 to $23.27 per hour plus pension, casting much doubt on Streu’s claim that LMS “advances capable, hard-working employees far more rapidly than the trade union.” It is also common for our signatory contractors to pay union members above their set wage, based on production, knowledge and initiative.

As for Streu’s assertion that LMS employs more women, First Nations and new immigrants than our union, show me the data. Streu has no access to our membership demographic, nor do we his, aside from LMS’s many applications for Temporary Foreign Workers.

Traditional trade unions offer real apprenticeships, formal trades training, higher wages, better benefits, and a meaningful retirement package. In addition, this CBA explicitly states the need to incorporate under represented groups, and as we have made clear, there is a long and proud tradition within Local 97 of this taking place.

Doug Parton, business manager Ironworkers Local 97

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).

SHAWN CORNELL DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING

expressly protect children through legislation and regulation, and when those laws are not strictly enforced.

The British Columbia Law Institute’s recent report on the Employment Standards Act agrees that government must act, as do most British Columbians. A 2018 public opinion survey found a large majority of respondents (78 per cent) support the introduction of legislation to provide greater regulation of the employment of children age 12 to 14.

Stronger standards are needed because without government protections, some employers are hiring children for inappropriate and dangerous work and too many of them are getting injured doing those jobs each year.

Childhood is a period of life that should be dedicated not to work, but to education and development.

Government must do more to protect children and youth and ensure they are not at risk of injury doing jobs meant for adults.

First Call’s recommendations are supported by numerous organizations who join us in urging the minister to ensure legislative changes, based on these recommendations, are enacted this spring.

Adrienne Montani is provincial co-ordinator of First Call: B.C. Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition.

Political word games

Words are powerful. They can be used as a blunt instrument to beat an argument into submission or with the precision of a scalpel to cut away bunk and nonsense. They can also be used to obfuscate, manipulate, and intimidate. And if used well they can be used to hide the truth behind perfect reasonable answers.

Few examples of this are better than the ongoing denials from Sarah Huckabee Sanders. As the White House Press Secretary under U.S. President Donald Trump, she has gone to great lengths to deny any wrong doing on the part of the president. But in all of her responses, she doesn’t deny there was wrong doing. She repeatedly says the president had nothing to do with it. And she could be telling the truth as Trump wasn’t president when most of the acts of collusion occurred for which he and his team are being investigated. Indeed, even during the transition period, technically he wasn’t president, but president-elect. Huckabee Sanders is always very careful to say “The president wasn’t involved.”

I haven’t watched all of her press briefings (who has time?) but I don’t recall her making reference to Trump in any of her denials. She can make her statements and defend them as “the truth” because the president didn’t do any of these things.

Most of us would see through this sophistry. But in a 30-second sound bite, it does sound like a denial. And her repeated defence of the president is making for great television in the late night talk show circuit and on satirical programs such as The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight.

But this sort of use of language is not restricted to American politics. It is the stock-and-trade of politicians of all stripes around the world.

Consider the denials from the PMO over SNC-Lavalin. The the prime minister said “at no time did we direct the attorney general, current or previous, to take any decision whatsoever in this matter.”

He didn’t “direct” Justice Minister and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to interfere in the prosecution. But a lot hinges on the use of the word “direct.”

If someone suggests you should do something, is giving you a direction? Or if someone points out to you it would be in the party’s best interest if the prosecution agreed to offer SNC-Lavalin a “remediation agreement,” is that being directed?

The word direct means to control or manage the operation

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of something. In this case, that would be a direct order from the Prime Minister’s Office to pursue a particular path or approach. And this likely did not happen. But this is not what the government is being accused of in various editorials and by the leader of the opposition. Rather it is being accused of “pressuring” the minister of justice to take a particular stance and no one really knows whether or not it happened. Perhaps more to the point, no one really knows what pressure means in this case.

In the meantime, Wilson-Raybould has been shuffled to a new portfolio within cabinet.

While Veteran’s Affairs is deemed a demotion by some political observers – and perhaps it is – it is still a ministerial appointment within cabinet. It is also a post in desperate need of a strong hand on the tiller.

The optics look bad. The language looks even worse. And in an unusual move, Wilson-Raybould wrote a public letter after she was shuffled to Veteran’s Affairs saying “It is a pillar of our democracy that our system of justice be free from even the perception of political interference and uphold the highest levels of public confidence.”

“As such, it has always been my view that the attorney-general of Canada must be non-partisan, more transparent in the principles that are the basis of decisions, and, in this respect, always willing to speak truth to power. This is how I served throughout my tenure in that role.”

At the time she wrote this letter there was some puzzling over the intent. But these subsequent revelations now give her words a much darker twist. Was she, in fact, speaking to this scandal? Was she speaking to the pressure being brought to bear?

As we run-up to the election in October, scandals are the last thing the federal Liberals wanted. They have accomplished much in the past four years – from the legalization to marijuana to re-establishing science-based inquiry. They would like to focus the electoral rhetoric on the next four years. But, as with pretty much every previous government, scandal will likely come to dominate this election. In particular, scandal in Quebec which seems to be the Liberal party’s Achilles Heel. In the lead-up to the election, the Liberals will need to be very careful in choosing their words.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

B.C. hospital workers sign deal

BURNABY (CP) — British Columbia’s nearly 44,000 members of the Hospital Employees Union have ratifed a three-year contract agreement.

The union says its members voted 89 per cent in favour of the deal that gives its members health, safety and compensation improvements, along with job security. Union secretarybusiness manager Jennifer Whiteside says the agreement restores contracting-out protections that were taken away by the former B.C. Liberal government in 2002. Whiteside said in a news release that the agreement means health-care workers will be safer and their jobs will be more secure. The union said the agreement gives workers a general wage increase of six per cent and entry-level wages will be raised by phasing out lower steps in the wage grid. The contract covers a range of workers in hospitals, long-term care facilities, corporate offices, supply warehouses and health clinics.

B.C. limits court experts in auto insurance claims

VICTORIA (CP) — The British Columbia government is clamping down on the use of experts to cut costs and reduce delays in settling claims in motor vehicle accidents.

Attorney General David Eby says the changes to B.C. Supreme Court civil rules are intended to stop the disproportionate use of experts and their reports in court cases involving the Insurance Corporation of B.C. Eby says accident injury claims have increased by 43 per cent in the past five years and the use of experts has contributed to a 20 per cent rise in the corporation’s injury settlements in the past year. The attorney general says the changes are meant to encourage greater use of courtappointed experts to promote neutral expert opinions to assist in determining amounts for injury claims. He said last week that the financial situation at the public auto insurer is critical and getting worse, with losses of $860 million in the first nine months of the fiscal year. Eby, who’s the minister in charge of the Crown corporation, said the agency is on track for a year-end loss of $1.18 billion, compounding the blow of last year’s $1.3 billion deficit.

Snowmobiler killed in avalanche

BLUE RIVER (CP) — One person has died in an avalanche in eastern British Columbia.

North District RCMP Cpl. Madonna Saunderson confirmed the victim died Saturday when a slide came down on a group of snowmobilers south of Valemount in the Blue River area. Saunderson said the identity of the victim is still being confirmed and information is limited, but the body has been recovered. An Avalanche Canada special warning was posted Thursday advising backcountry users that weak lower levels of the snowpack had raised the potential for an avalanche along several eastern B.C. mountain ranges. Statistics posted by Avalanche Canada show the death is the fourth in B.C. this year. Two Alberta sledders died southwest of Invermere on Jan. 12 and a skier was engulfed Jan. 3, in the Hurley River and Pebble Creek area northeast of

Vancouver braces for second day of heavy snow

Citizen new service

VANCOUVER – Thousands of students across much of Vancouver Island and parts of British Columbia’s south coast were off school Monday as the region recovered from a winter wallop and prepared for another.

Schools in Greater Victoria, the Gulf Islands and Comox didn’t open following weekend storms that blanketed some parts of the Island with as much as 40 centimetres of snow.

A number of schools on the mainland, including the Sunshine Coast, Surrey, Langley and Mission, were also shuttered, along with the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford and Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo.

People were still digging out Monday from the weekend storms that brought heavy snow to Vancouver Island and howling arctic winds to parts of the south coast.

Environment Canada has issued another snowfall warning for the entire inner south coast including Metro Vancouver, excluding Howe Sound and the northern tip of Vancou-

ver Island.

“A long period of snowfall with total amounts of 10 to 15 centimetres is expected,” said the weather office, which predicted the snow would begin Monday afternoon and continue into Tuesday.

“This second disturbance will spread snow to virtually the entire south coast with heaviest amounts falling (Monday night). Total snowfall amounts will vary across the region with 10 to 15 centimetres falling in most areas with somewhat higher amounts possible on Vancouver Island.”

An arctic outflow warning was lifted for Howe Sound, but remained posted for the Whistler area as extremely strong outflow winds were forecast to continue Monday night, creating windchill values expected to be near -20.

BC Ferries cancelled the last round trips on several routes between Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island scheduled for Monday night because of the weather. It said the crossings were cancelled because of safety concerns for passengers and crew caused by road conditions

Trudeau confident of byelection win

Laura KANE Citizen news service

BURNABY — Justin Trudeau said the Liberal candidate in Burnaby South will be a strong voice for the community, as he campaigned on Sunday in the riding where New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh is seeking a seat.

The prime minister told a crowd of supporters that Richard T. Lee served Burnaby for 16 years as a provincial legislator and continues to work hard every day to put the best face forward for the city.

“We need strong local voices standing up for you, fighting for you in Ottawa, and that’s exactly what Richard is going to be,” Trudeau said. “Nobody make any mistake: the Liberal party is going to win this riding of Burnaby South.”

Lee is a former provincial legislator who replaced the Liberals’ first candidate, Karen Wang, after she resigned following an online post in which she contrasted herself, the “only” Chinese candidate, with Singh, who she called “of Indian descent.”

Singh is seeking his first seat in Parliament in the byelection, scheduled for Feb. 25, and earlier Sunday he attended the annual Chinese New Year parade in Vancouver.

After the parade, Singh called on Trudeau to waive solicitor-client privilege to allow

former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to speak about allegations the prime minister’s office pressured her to tell federal attorneys to drop the SNC-Lavalin prosecution in favour of a remediation agreement.

Trudeau has denied his office “directed” her.

While the Green Party of Canada has extended a “leader’s courtesy” to Singh by not running a candidate against him, other parties have not.

Conservative Jay Shin and People’s Party of Canada candidate Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson are also vying for a seat.

The New Democrats narrowly beat the Liberals in the riding in the 2015 election by about 550 votes. The Conservatives placed third, losing by about 3,600 votes.

Lee said he’s proud to be part of “Team Trudeau” because he believes in transparent, better politics and a strong, multicultural Canada.

“In Burnaby South, we need a committed, local champion for our community,” he said, adding he has lived in the Metro Vancouver city for 32 years.

Singh is a former Ontario legislator who has been campaigning in the riding since last summer.

Trudeau was met by protesters on both sides of the political spectrum at the Burnaby event.

based on the amount of snow that was forecast and service was expected to resume this morning.

On Monday, ferries were running after the first departures of several smaller vessels were delayed as crew members struggled to reach the terminals, while the decks of other ships had to be shovelled before loading could begin. Arrivals and departures were close to being on schedule at the Horseshoe Bay terminal in West Vancouver on Monday.

Clean up continued at a neighbouring marina where numerous small boats were damaged or sank during a powerful windstorm on Saturday.

The storm forced the closure of the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal for several hours because of damage to a breakwater and the amount of debris in the water.

Thousands of BC Hydro customers were without power during the height of the weekend storms, but the utility website showed just over 1,000 customers were still affected by midday Monday. Many were expected to have their electricity restored within hours.

Three Good Samaritans stabbed

WHISTLER (CP) — The RCMP say three males who tried to break up a fight early Monday in Whistler were stabbed.

All three were taken to hospital and police say one of the injured was in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. The other two were in stable condition.

Officers arrested three people in their early 20s at the scene. The Mounties say the three people who were arrested are from the Lower Mainland and are known to police.

A cyclist makes his way through heavy snowfall in Vancouver on Sunday. As people in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island were digging out from up to 40 centimetres of snow, Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning on Monday.

Sarah Champagne, a solo competitor in Sunday’s Prince George Iceman, makes her way around the Outdoor Ice Oval while skating a five-kilometre distance. The event flirted with cancelation because of the chilly temperature.

Sports Living up to its name

Athletes brave cold, cramped legs in 32nd annual Iceman race

Ted CLARKE Citizen staff

tclarke@pgcitizen.ca

The agony of racing the Prince George Iceman was never more apparent than the baseball-sized clump of muscle fibres that wreaked spasmodic havoc on the left leg of Ryan de Molitor just above his knee.

Cramps are a common side effect of the pounding dished out by the Iceman. The 32nd annual event – a combination of cross-county skiing, running, skating, more running and swimming – happened on Sunday but de Molitor got more self-inflicted torture than he bargained for in the final stage of the race, an 800-metre swim at the Aquatic Centre.

“I’ve never seen that before,” said Prince George Barracudas Swim Club coach Jerzy Partyka, who tried to help de Molitor stretch his leg back into shape on the pool deck at the Aquatic Centre.

“It’s just the risk of competition, I guess,” said a wincing de Molitor.

De Molitor was one of 38 soloists in the cold-shortened race, and the frontrunners had long finished by the time he arrived at the pool but he gritted his teeth and climbed back into the pool to complete his first-ever solo Iceman race in three hours eight minutes and eight seconds. He vowed it won’t be the last time.

“I’ve done the 10K (run) before but this is the first time solo,” he said. “I’ll do it again. I have to train a little bit more.”

It was dicey for organizers whether to go ahead with the race with the mercury hovering around -25 C while skiers gathered at Otway Nordic Centre for the first leg of Iceman. The start time was delayed one hour and it warmed up just enough in the bright sunshine to come close to the -20 C cutoff for cancellation. Close to 100 team skiers and the soloists left the gate in a mass start on a course that was shortened because of the cold from the usual eight kilometres to five.

“It was definitely touch-and-go. It was

Wendy Nemethy of The Lame Ducks runs down a path behind the Outdoor Ice Oval while competing in Sunday’s Prince George Iceman.

It was definitely touch-and-go. It was pretty disheartening to see the temperature drop between 7:30 and 8:30...

— Iceman registrar

Jim

Van Bakel

minus 25 to almost minus 27 out at Otway,” said Iceman registrar Jim Van Bakel. “It was almost exactly at minus 20 and it rebounded quickly and by the end it was minus 14.” There was a bit of confusion in the race to determine the men’s overall solo champion. Rob McDougall arrived at the pool thinking he was in first place but Jordan Bax was already in the water on his way to completing the last leg of the relay. As it turned out, Bax made a wrong turn during the fivekilometre run and missed a 500-metre loop and was told of his mistake by a volunteer on the course. He informed Van Bakel of what happened and after a discussion it was determined Bax would be assessed a two-minute penalty, which dropped him to second place.

For McDougall, 25, it was his first win in three attempts running the race solo.

“It was a bit of a surprise at the start with the ski being cut down to five kilometres because of the cold and, honestly, I gassed myself in the ski,” said McDougall. “The ski was probably the toughest event and that’s one of my better ones – it was the cold air, I had a hard time breathing.”

pretty disheartening to see the temperature drop between 7:30 and 8:30 – it went from

Cougars’ losing skid stretches to 13

Ted CLARKE Citizen staff

The losing streak has reached a diabolical 13 for the Prince George Cougars. The Vancouver Giants made it a baker’s dozen Sunday afternoon in Langley, playing inhospitable hosts while rolling to a 4-1 victory.

This was anybody’s game until the third period, when the Giants scored three

times to put it away. Giants captain Davis Koch got it started with a power-play goal 7:06 into the period, followed by evenstrength goals from Justin Sourdif and Tristan Nielsen. David Tendeck made 33 saves and was spectacular in the first two periods as the game’s first star, keeping the Cougars from adding to their early 1-0 lead. Ethan Browne got the Cougars off to a good start

nine minutes in when he banged in an endboard carom after Cole Moberg’s point shot went wide.

The Giants tied it 42 seconds into the second period. Bowen Byram hit Jadon Joseph with a stretch pass up the left side. He cut into the slot and lost control as he tried to shoot but Jared Dmitriw was there to corral the loose puck and dumped it into the net.

McDougall, like Bax, excelled in running as a student at D.P. Todd Secondary School and used his ultramarathon off-road running engine to put some distance between himself and the rest of the field during the two running segments.

see McDOUGALL, page 8

Taylor Gauthier came up with his best save of the game early in a Giants power play in the third period, denying Milos Roman’s deke attempt with a stick save. But on the ensuing face off, Koch took the puck on the left side and from the circle found the net behind Gauthier for a 2-1 Giants’ lead. Sourdif added to the count, the 15th of the season for the Giants’ rookie winger. see LAST WIN, page 8

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

McDougall, Poirier-Hardy claim solo titles

— from page 7

“I caught Jordan about a kilometre down the (10 km) run and then after that, as far as I know, no one passed me as far as the soloists, so I was under the impression that I won and it was a bit of a surprise to see him already at the pool,” said McDougall.

“The skate was also hard, I was hurting a bit for sure on that. I had calf cramping in the pool and I really noticed it the last 100 metres. That’s my worst thing. I joined the (Barracudas) masters swim group and it helped a lot.”

McDougall clocked 1:52:21 and with penalty added Bax was 68 seconds slower in 1:53:29, just ahead of 2017 Iceman champ Cam McNamara (1:53:42).

Bax, 17, is on his way up the Iceman ladder and it seems only a matter of time before he reels in the title. He knew he and another runner went astray as soon as they were told by one of the course marshals and informed Van Bakel before the awards banquet began at the Civic Centre.

“Rob was ahead of me and I never passed him but I beat him in the swim so I’m thinking me and the other guy took a wrong turn,” said Bax. “This is my second time doing it solo and I got third last year so I was a little more nervous because I felt like I had expectations.”

In the women’s solo race, Jocelyn Poirier-Hardy held off secondyear medical student Emily Ertel to win the Icewoman title.

“It’s cold, and I need to practice the transitions,” said Poirier-

Hardy, a former high school track star whose strength is her running.

“Just the combination of four different sports and then the cold, it’s completely different from triathlon. But it’s fun, crazy and exciting. I had leg cramps in the pool on and off, but I kind of expected to be cramping.”

Having grown up in the Lower Mainland, skating is her weakest event, but Poirier-Hardy took it in stride and completed her 12 1/2 laps on the smooth-as-glass Exhibition Park ice oval without

incident.

“I just tried to settle and get my breathing down,” she said. “I knew people were going by but you just try to settle and glide and just try to get through.”

Poirier-Hardy, a 26-year-old forester, moved to Prince George from West Vancouver in May.

“The move has been good, a lot of friendly people and a lot of good sport clubs here,” she said. “I like the trails and like getting outside and it’s nice that everything’s close and Otway’s so nice.”

Family doctor Kajsa Heyes, Ertel’s roommate, was the women’s champion last year, and medical student Cara McCulloch won it in 2017. Ertel was hoping to keep the title in the hands of the medical profession for a third straight year.

“I wanted to keep up the tradition but didn’t quite have it today,” said Ertel.

Poirier-Hardy finished in 1:58:53. Ertel’s time was 2:09:56 and Jaclyn Rollins was the thirdquickest woman (2:21:31).

Spruce Kings close in on Chilliwack

Citizen staff

Mission accomplished.

Heading into the homestretch in the B.C. Hockey League season, the Prince George Spruce Kings set out on a three-game weekend road trip tasked with trying to run the table and win all three games against Mainland Division opponents.

For the first time all season in a threegame set they did exactly that, keeping the pressure on the Chilliwack Chiefs in the chase for first-place overall in the league. The Kings completed the task Sunday afternoon in Surrey, defeating the Surrey Eagles 4-1. Nick Bochen, Dustin Manz, Layton Ahac and Spencer DenBeste, with his second goal in two games, scored for the Spruce Kings. Holden Katzalay opened the scoring for Surrey, 6:17 into the game, the only Eagle to beat goalie Keenan Rancier, who stopped 33 of 34 shots for his third win in four games with the Kings this season.

That came on the heels of a 6-0 victory over the Langley Rivermen Satur-

day. Lucas Vanroboys scored two goals and added an assist while Logan Neaton made 17 saves for his fifth shutout of the season. In that game, DenBeste scored his first BCHL goal in 12 games since being acquired by the Kings in December from the Springfield Junior Blues of the NAHL.

The 19-year-old Lake Superior State

University recruit from Marquette, Mich., made it a 4-0 game in the second period after Ben Brar, Liam WatsonBrawn and Corey Cunningham chased Rivermen goalie Shane Battler from the game after he allowed three goals on 15 shots. Braedon Fleming replaced Battler in goal and gave up three goals on 10 shots in 30:11 of playing time.

Prince George began the trip with a 4-2 win Friday over the Coquitlam Express.

The perfect trifecta left the Kings (35-12-1-5) just five points behind the Chiefs (40-12-1-0), who they will face three times before the end of the season. Each team has five games left in the season and the Kings can control their own destiny if they keep winning. That won’t be easy against a Chiefs team that’s won eight straight.

The Spruce Kings will put their sevengame winning streak on the line Thursday night at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena against the West Kelowna Warriors. The Kings will try to avenge the 6-1 loss the Warriors hung on them Jan. 20 in West Kelowna, the last time they lost.

T-wolves draw Dinos in next round of playoffs

Citizen staff

The UNBC Timberwolves thought they might be traveling to Saskatoon to play the Saskatchewan Huskies in their next Canada West women’s basketball playoff test. Instead they’re going to Calgary for a date with the Dinos.

The 12th-ranked Winnipeg Wesmen made that official Saturday afternoon in Vancouver where they upset the heavilyfavoured fifth-ranked UBC Thunderbirds 76-64 in a sudden-death playoff. That means the T-wolves, the second lowest remaining seed of the eight

teams still in the hunt for the Canada West title, will play the second-ranked University of Calgary Dinos in a bestof-three quarterfinal series which starts Friday in Calgary.

Coming off an 80-78 playoff win over the Trinity Western University Spartans Friday in Langley, the T-wolves finished the regular season with an 11-9 record and are ranked ninth in the league with a Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of .525.

The index, adopted by Canada West two years ago when the league switched to an unbalanced regularseason schedule, is an indicator of the strength of each of the 12 playoff teams’

regular-season opponents and it determines the postseason seedings.

Saskatchewan finished the regular season with a 16-4 record, slightly worse than Calgary (17-3), but the Huskies’ RPI (.646) is slightly better than that of the Dinos (.642). Winnipeg (8-12, .473 RPI) ranked 12th and is the lowest remaining seed.

The T-wolves-Dinos series gets underway Friday at 5 p.m. PT with Game 2 on Saturday at 5.

If a third game is needed it would be played Sunday (noon PT start).

The teams did not play each other in the 20-game regular season.

Cold forces cancelation of Canmore World Cup races

CANMORE, Alta. (CP) — Arctic temperatures in Alberta have forced organizers to cancel competition at the biathlon World Cup.

The sprint races had initially been postponed to Sunday, but the International Biathlon Union announced that

both the men’s 10-kilometre and the women’s 7.5-km events had been cancelled due to minus-20 C temperatures in Canmore. The cold had been wreaking havoc on the World Cup event since Friday, with races being rescheduled and shortened.

Sarah Beaudry of Prince George, who now lives in Canmore where the national team is based, was hoping to race on her home course. She placed 34th in the shortened individual race Thursday and was part of the women’s relay team that placed 18th on Friday.

Other solo category winners were: Masters women – Beth Hillhouse (2:26:50); Grand masters men – Michael Buchanan (1:56:07); Masters men – Matt Janzen (2:53:07); Veteran men –Richard Harrison (2:11:02). In the team events, Chilly Nuts (Quinn Friesen, Euan Murrray, Lucas Nolli, Josiah Wilkinson and Tomar Branco) turned in the fastest time of the day, winning the junior boys team title in 1:35:26, while KRSS Roadrunners (Mya Blackburn, Kassidy Patrick, Breanna Day and Jenny Graham-Smith) topped the junior girls team category (1:44:27). Cedars Plus 2 (Brenn Smith, Max Whitehouse, Dawson Friesen, Callum Whitehouse, Samantha Smith) won the junior mixed team title (1:55:24), while Van Bien Ice Blazers No. 1 (Chloe Witso, Shea Baker, Victoria Sandhu, Kyah White, Kyla Van Loo) won the community school relay (2:21:52).

The adult team winners were: Open mixed – The Smogscreamers (Nick Bartell, Kajsa Heyes, Claire Shrimpton, Morgan Bennison, 1:44:20); Open women – CSFS Spirit (Amy Merritt, Lynda Foreman Leanne Garrison (1:59:04); Open men – Thighs of Thunder (Josh Van der Meer, Johnny Enemark, John Bowes, Zach Matyas, 1:38:42); Masters mixed – Oldsters (Laurie Hill, Joanne Morgan, Chris Budac, Lee Hill, 2:21:29); Grand master mixed –Oval Refrigeration Dream Team (Lye Dickieson, Tim Rowe, Ken Robinson, Buddy Bruintjes, Kathy Lewis, 2:08:41).

Last win was Jan. 12

from page 7

He was fed a crisp pass in the slot form Koch and after being denied by Gauthier he picked up his own rebound and fired it into the net.

Nielsen capped the scoring at 15:24 of the third, after he stripped the puck from Cougars defenceman Rhett Rhinehart at centre ice with the teams playing 4-on-4. Nielsen finished his breakaway with a high shot in over the glove of Gauthier.

“It’s a tendency that’s going through this team –it’s hard to put 60 minutes together for whatever reason,” said Mark Lamb, who took over Thursday as head coach when the Cougars fired Richard Matvichuk. “We do a lot of good things and then shoot ourselves in the foot and it’s kind of a team effort when we start doing that, and it starts to snowball. Our patience isn’t there at all.

“When momentum changes and they get a goal we seem to lose our composure and lose our patience and one leads to another. The way we’re built now, we can’t do that, we can’t score at will.

“The losing wears on people but you’ve got to overcome it. We’ve got to change a habit and putting a finger on that is something we’re going to figure out.”

Looking for a positive, the Cougars’ power play still ranks near the bottom of the league but it connected for a seventh-straight game and generated plenty of chances in their five opportunities. Lamb is looking forward to three days of practice to work out the bugs with his troops this week as they prepare for a weekend series at CN Centre against the Victoria Royals.

Vancouver dressed just 11 forwards for the game and lost one of them when Brayden Watts got hurt in the first period. The Cougars were without defenceman Joel Lakusta (concussion) and centre Ilijah Colina (who returned to his home in North Delta to sort out some personal issues).

Gauthier, who left Friday’s game in Kelowna with a head injury midway through the third period, made 25 saves in the Cougar nets Sunday. The Cougars outshot the Giants 33-29.

Vancouver won eight of the nine games in the season series with the Cougars. The win clinched a playoff spot for the Giants (37-13-2-10) who remain first in the B.C. Division. The Cougars (16-32-4-2) remained eight points behind Seattle for the second wild-card playoff spot in the WHL’s Western Conference. They have 15 games left, while the T-birds still have 16 to play. The Cats began their weekend Friday in Kelowna, losing 4-3 to the Rockets after taking a 3-1 lead.

The Cougars haven’t won since Jan. 12, when they beat Kelowna 4-0. Prince George has nine home games left this season.

A pair of skaters brave the cold at the Outdoor Ice Oval on Sunday during the 32nd annual Prince George Iceman.

Leonard rises to challenge for Raptors

Citizen news service

TORONTO — Kawhi Leonard was challenged by his head coach to show some fire and when it mattered most, he came through.

Leonard had a game-high 30 points and hit the winning shot with 4.2 seconds left as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Brooklyn Nets 127-125 on Monday.

Toronto head coach Nick Nurse said the NBA allstar appeared unmotivated over the last four games.

“I just think he’s got to get a little bit more engaged, right?” Nurse said earlier Monday. “I always say go out there and ‘destroy some people’ or whatever it is. You know? You’ve got to get motivated.”

Leonard insisted he wasn’t aware of Nurse’s comments before the game, but welcomed the challenge and motivation.

“Even if you are going out there and having 20 points and you win, you want the coach to motivate you and to tell you what you are doing negative on the floor that is causing the team (issues),” Leonard said.

With both teams trading baskets and tied 125125 in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter, Leonard took a jump shot that went off the backboard and into the basket.

The performance drew praise from Nurse.

“He was good. I don’t know if he was dominating, but he was better than he’d been,” Nurse said. “I liked his aggressiveness to go get it, even though he knew they were collapsing a lot.”

Marc Gasol, making his home debut after being acquired for Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, C.J. Miles and a 2024 second-round draft pick last week, had 16 points off the bench with 11 of those coming in the fourth quarter. He added a pair of assists and some key defensive stops in the fourth.

“I had butterflies in my stomach,” Gasol said when hearing the ovation from the crowd as he checked into the game for the first time. “It kind of made me feel like a rookie again.”

D’Angelo Russell had a team-high 28 points for the Nets (29-29).

Going high

Kevin Labanc of the San Jose Sharks scores top-shelf against sprawling Vancouver Canucks goalie Michael DiPietro during the second period of Monday night’s game in Vancouver. The Sharks beat the Canucks 7-2.

Connolly stays hot for Capitals

Stephen WHYNO Citizen news service

WASHINGTON — Evgeny Kuznetsov is scoring, the Washington Capitals are winning and it feels like the playoffs in February.

Kuznetsov continued his hot streak with two goals and two assists, leading the Washington Capitals to a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night. The leading scorer in last year’s playoffs has six goals and six assists in six games since the All-Star break, and the defending Stanley Cup champions went 4-1-1 on their longest homestand of the season.

Kuznetsov had just 10 points in his previous 18 games before getting on this roll.

“Even if things not going well, you have to work and not just hard work, you have to smart work and you just have to wait for your chance,” Kuznetsov said. “When chances come up, you just have to execute.”

Kuznetsov isn’t the only one executing right now. Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-leading 38th goal and had two assists and Prince George’s Brett Connolly, Christian Djoos and Jakub Vrana scored for the Capitals, who had their lines from the Cup final put back together and produced all over the lineup.

“We played together before, so we have some chemistry,” said Vrana, who scored his 17th goal. “It doesn’t really matter who you play with. There is always some chemistry between each

other here. Today we play like playoffs last year and important win.”

The Capitals got the win and overcame a spate of three hooking penalties in 7:19 in the first period. They’re tied for first in the league with 201 minor penalties – a problem that they hope to fix as they go on the road for the next six.

Players were happy leaving on a jet plane because of an offensive outburst and 29 saves from backup goaltender Pheonix Copley, who was making his second start in three games.

It was a rougher night for Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, who allowed six goals on 31 shots behind some uneven defence.

“That team scores a lot of goals and they have a deadly power play,” said Kings forward Austin Wagner, who scored twice. “We’ve got to try to stay off it next game, but we have to focus on the next game and take it into the next one.”

Tyler Toffoli and Oscar Fantenberg also scored for Los Angeles, which went 3-2-1 on its six-game trip and remains eight points out of the final playoff spot in a tight Western Conference race with many teams to pass.

“The challenging part probably isn’t the points, it’s the leapfrogging teams because everyone’s playing each other,” captain Dustin Brown said. “It’s going to come down to a math problem. If we perform well, it still might just come down to a math problem.”

Djoos’ goal was his first in 62 games

dating to Dec. 30, 2017. He missed 24 games with compartment syndrome in his left leg before returning Saturday. Connolly has scored four goals in four games.

Penguins top Flyers

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Matt Murray made a career-high 50 saves and Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night. “When you’re out there, you don’t really think about that,” Murray said of the shot total. “You just do what you can to try to stop the puck.”

Jake Guentzel and Nick Bjugstad also scored and Kris Letang had an emptynetter for the Penguins, who snapped a four-game losing streak while winning for just the fourth time in 12 games. Pittsburgh entered holding the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Murray was a wall for the Penguins, withstanding an offensive flurry by Philadelphia that included a franchiserecord 28 shots in the second period.

“He was great, especially in the second period,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “That’s the type of game he’s capable of.” Jakub Voracek scored for Philadelphia, which lost for just the second time in 11 games. The Flyers could’ve pulled within four points of Pittsburgh with a victory, but now stand eight points behind the Penguins.

Stamps GM ‘optimistic’ Mitchell will stay in Calgary

(CP) — Calgary Stampeders general manager John Hufnagel feels good about his chances of re-signing quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell.

The CFL star is among several players scheduled to become free agents today.

“He’s not signed yet,” Hufnagel said Monday at McMahon Stadium. “We’re talking. I’m very optimistic something will get done. I just don’t know when.”

After leading the Stampeders to a Grey Cup and winning the award for the CFL’s most outstanding player for the second time in his career, Mitchell worked out for several NFL teams in the off-season. No deal was announced south of the border for the 28-year-old from Katy, Texas, contributing to Hufnagel’s confidence in bringing Mitchell back in the fold.

“I would expect that if he was going to sign an NFL contract, it would have been done, but what I expect and what’s actually going on behind closed doors, I’m not sure,” the GM said.

The other hurdle to retaining Mitchell, however, is the price tag.

If Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly can command around $700,000, as he is rumoured to be able to do when he hits the free-agent market, the bidding for Mitchell couldn’t be far off that number. “It’s quite significant, no question about it,” Hufnagel said.

“I have a budget with Bo Levi. Now, I said I’m optimistic, but does it fit the budget? We’ll have to see. I have a good number. Hopefully that number works.”

It will also have to be a competitive number because of the number of established quarterbacks on the market this year. Ottawa’s Trevor Harris joins Mitchell and Reilly as the free-agency headliners, but only Hamilton (Jeremiah Masoli) and Winnipeg (Matt Nichols) have starters under contract.

Female acts, rap songs dominate Grammys

Citizen news service

LOS ANGELES — Women and rap triumphed at the Grammys on Sunday as female acts took home top prizes including album of the year and best new artist, and Childish Gambino made history when his hit This Is America became the first rap-based track to win record and song of the year.

Kacey Musgraves’ country-pop release Golden Hour won album of the year, and British singer Dua Lipa won best new artist – a year after female voices were somewhat muted at the 2018 ceremony and the Grammys were criticized for the low number of female nominees.

Six women were nominated for best new artist, and five of the eight album-of-the-year nominees were women, including Brandi Carlile, who described herself as “a kid from the ’90s from Lilith Fair.”

“Those women were just dominating those platforms. They were dominating those arena and amphitheatre stages. They were getting record deals. They were becoming record executives themselves,” Carlile said. But watching those gains “backslide for the last 20 years has been heartbreaking.”

“Tonight gives me hope as a mother of two young daughters,” said Carlile, who won three honours in the Americana category and was the most nominated women with six.

Musgraves and Gambino were the night’s top winners, taking home four awards each. This Is America also won best music video and best rap/sung performance.

Ludwig Goransson, who cowrote and produced Gambino’s song, said he was surprised a rap song had never won in the past.

“If you listen to the radio or if just you watch our culture or look at the most downloaded and streamed artists and bought albums, you see what’s at the top and what people listen to and you see what people get inspired by. It’s about time something like this happened,” he said backstage.

Gambino’s historic win comes years after rappers have struggled to win in the top categories,

including Jay-Z, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar. Drake, who has lost in the big four categories over the years, told the room of musicians that winning awards isn’t necessary if you have real fans attending your concerts and singing your songs.

“Look, if there are people who have regular jobs who are coming out in the rain and the snow, spending their hard-earned money to buy tickets to come to your shows, you don’t need this right here. I promise you. You already won,” said Drake, who won best rap song for God’s Plan.

He tried to continue speaking but was cut off as the ceremony suddenly went to a commercial.

The last time a rapper won album of the year was in 2004 with Outkast. Only a handful of rappers have won best new artist. Cardi B also made history as the first solo female to win best rap album (Lauryn Hill won as a member of the Fugees at the 1997 Grammys).

She was shaking onstage as she tried to give a thank-you speech with her rapper-husband Offset holding her arm.

“The nerves are so bad. Maybe I need to start smoking weed,” she said as the audience laughed. “I just want to say thank you everybody that was involved... I want to thank my daughter.”

At the 2018 Grammys, male acts dominated in nominations, and the only woman competing for the

top award, Lorde, did not get a chance to perform onstage.

Recording Academy CEO Neil Portnow, who last year said women need to “step up” and later acknowledged that it was a “poor choice of words,” seemed to address his 2018 comments during Sunday’s show.

“This past year I’ve been reminded that if coming face to face with an issue opens your eyes wide enough, it makes you more committed than ever to help address those issues. The need for social change has been the hallmark of the American experience, from the founding of our country to the complex times we live in today,” said Portnow, who did not seek a renewal on his contract, which ends this year.

Lipa alluded to Portnow’s 2018 words when she won best new artist: “I guess this year we’ve really stepped up.”

The Grammys kicked off with a group of powerful women, including Michelle Obama, describing the role of music in their lives.

“Music has always helped me tell my story,” said Obama, who surprised the audience with her appearance. “Whether we like country or rap or rock, music helps us share ourselves. It allows us to hear one another.”

Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith and Jennifer Lopez also spoke and stood in solidary with Obama, Gaga and Alicia Keys, who hosted the show.

“Yes, ladies,” Keys said. “There’s nothing better than this.”

Gaga won three Grammys, including best pop duo/group performance for the Oscar-nominated hit Shallow, a win she shared with Bradley Cooper. Gaga performed

the song solo since Cooper was in London for the British Academy Film Awards.

Dolly Parton was honoured and performed alongside Miley Cyrus, Musgraves, Maren Morris and Katy Perry. But the country music icon truly shined when she sang Red Shoes with country foursome Little Big Town providing background vocals.

Yolanda Adams, Fantasia and Andra Day teamed up for a stirring performance of (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman in honour Aretha Franklin, who died last year.

Diana Ross earned a standing ovation when she emerged onstage in a bright red dress to perform Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand) and The Best Years of My Life. She celebrated her 75th birthday early with the performance, saying afterward, “Happy birthday to me!” Her actual birthday is March 26.

R&B singer H.E.R., who won two R&B awards, stunned as she played her guitar and sang. Chloe x Halle, nominated for two awards, impressed when they sang Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack’s Where Is the Love.

Ariana Grande won her first Grammy in the same week that she publicly blasted Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich and accused him of lying about why she was no longer performing at the show. Beck was a double winner during the pre-telecast, taking home best alternative music album and best engineered album (nonclassical) for Colours. Emily Lazar, one of the engineers who worked on the album and won alongside Beck, was the first female mastering engineer to win in the latter category.

Handmaid avoiding Game of Thrones

Lynn ELBER Citizen news service

PASADENA, Calif. — Resistance is the theme when The Handmaid’s Tale returns this summer with 13 episodes for its third season, but the Hulu drama is avoiding a collision with the final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones.

The dystopian drama will debut three new episodes on June 5, streaming service Hulu said. Other episodes will follow on subsequent Wednesdays.

The return date contrasts with the previous seasons’ April debuts and puts the drama outside the eligibility window for this year’s Emmy Awards. It also keeps The Handmaid’s Tale out of the path of juggernaut Game of Thrones, which starts April 14.

The latter wasn’t a consideration, Craig Erwich, Hulu’s vice-president for original series, told TV critics Monday.

“We simply wanted to give the show as much time as possible to maintain the quality it has,” Erwich said. As for the Emmys, he said, TV academy voters will be able to consider the series as a whole when it competes.

The Hulu drama collected six Emmys for its first season, including best drama and best lead actress for Elisabeth Moss, who stars as June. Although it earned three awards in 2018, including for Samira Wiley, it lost the top trophy to Game of Thrones, while Claire Foy of The Crown won the top drama acting trophy.

The new season of The Handmaid’s Tale will focus on June’s struggle against the repressive regime of Gilead, Hulu said in a release.

Other characters will be forced to take a stand as well, with “blessed be the fight” the guiding prayer for rebels. Hulu also promised “startling reunions” and betrayals in the upcoming season.

The Handmaid’s Tale is based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel of the same name. Its cast includes Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd and Samira Wiley.

Bryant finds fit with Shrill

Citizen news service

Saturday Night Live star Aidy Bryant says she was drawn to the Hulu series Shrill because of the chance to play a woman who is about more than her weight.

The six-part comedy debuting March 15 is based on Lindy West’s memoir, Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman, which Bryant said struck a chord with her.

She identified with the book’s portrayal of a world that is “telling you you’re wrong for existing the way you do, even if you don’t feel that way,” Bryant told a TV critics’ meeting Monday. “You feel like, ‘I have a lot to offer the world and why do I have to do it in a size-two package?”’

But the series, which Bryant co-wrote, isn’t what she called a “fat festival” that’s obsessed with weight.

“Our show isn’t really about being fat and it’s also really not about dieting and it’s really not about her body,” she said of her character, Annie. Ultimately, she said, it’s what any TV show is about: a character trying to achieve her goals and the family and friends who surround her. That circle includes a difficult boss (played by John Cameron Mitchell) and her close buddy (English comedy actress Lolly Adefope). Abortion also figures in the show, as it does in West’s memoir. Series executive producer Elizabeth Banks said she felt “having a positive, normalizing representation of women’s reproductive rights on television would also be a really good idea.”

AP PHOTO

Kacey Musgraves performs Rainbow at the 61st annual Grammy Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles.

DONALD GLOVER, AKA CHILDISH GAMBINO

MOSS

Catharina Blok (nee Witvoet) March 21, 1931 – February 5, 2019

Catharina (Rini) passed away at home, in the arms of her husband Dirk. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She had a smile and laugh that filled the room with sunshine.

Rini was born in the Netherlands, a daughter of Albertus and Geesje Witvoet. She was predeceased by her brother Harry Witvoet and grand daughter, Shannon Parsons.

In January, 1953, Rini sailed from Rotterdam, Netherlands to Halifax with only a trunk full of belongings and entered Canada through Pier 21 leaving her family behind. She bravely boarded the train and travelled across Canada to Edmonton sitting up the whole way. There she met up with her fiancé, Dirk Blok and they were married the next day, January 30th. They just celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary. Together with her husband, Dirk, they built a life from next to nothing, providing their children with support and opportunities.

Rini and Dirk established their home in Prince George where they raised four children: Richard Blok (Lynn), Gerda Blok-Wilson (Galt), Maria James (Brian Shaw), and Maureen Parsons (Grant). She (Oma) loved her grandchildren: Nathan and Blake Blok; Claire, Andrea and Stephanie Wilson; David, Liah and Corey Parsons and her 12 great grandchildren.

Rini’s many passions included music, gardening, philanthropy, reading, wildlife observation, church life and faith in God, celebrations and good food. She shared these enthusiastically with all she met. Rini was a founding member of the Prince George Cantata Singers and supported the development of the performing arts in the city. Her beautiful contralto voice warmed the hearts of Prince George audiences for years and her vegetable and flower gardens were the envy of many professional gardeners. Her gardening skills transferred to reforestation and she worked for TAWA Enterprises through Western Canada during the 1980s along with Dirk.

Rini’s family is grateful to everyone who contributed to her care. Dirk, her soulmate since 14 years of age, provided round the clock care for the last three years. She often commented that she had won the million dollar lottery when she met him. Rini lived truthfully and expressed her love unconditionally. She embraced and was so grateful for her good fortune and new life in Canada. She will be missed greatly but the memories will live on. A celebration of life will be held Friday, February 22, 2pm St Giles Presbyterian Church, 1500 Edmonton St. Rini and Dirk helped to provide clean water to 15 communities across Southern Ethiopia. The number one killer in the world is contaminated water and in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to HOPE International Development Agency for similar development: www.hope-international.com

Ohlemann,Klaus February27,1940-February3,2019

Itiswithdeepsadnessweannouncethepassingof ourbelovedhusbandandfather,KlausOhlemann,on February3,2019.Heissurvivedbyhislovingwife, SandraOhlemann;histwochildrenandtheir spouses,DarleneLoland(Mark)andSteven Ohlemann(Shuree);andhisfivegrandchildren, Chris,Megan,Zach,Channing,andTatum.

KlauswasbornFebruary27,1940,inKassel, Germany.HeimmigratedtoCanadain1956and attendedtheUniversityofOregononatrackandfield scholarship,wherehereceivedhisdegreeinlanduse planning.HemarriedSandraOhlemannin1966and raisedhisfamilyinBritishColumbia. Hisproudestaccomplishmentsarehiscontributions tothedevelopmentofWhistler,hislife-long commitmenttotrackandfield,andhisfamily.Hewill betrulymissed.

Acelebrationoflifewillbeplannedatalaterdate.

WELOVEYOUALWAYSANDFOREVER

CORBY, Sidney - It is with saddened hearts that the family announces the passing of Sidney Edward Corby, who died suddenly in his home on February 07, 2019. Sid, was born in Tisdale, Saskatchewan but made Prince George home for the past 67 years. He was the only son of Alf Corby & Doris Corby. He was beloved husband of Peggy Corby and cherished father of Treena and Kirk, admired father-in law to Michael Chase and Michaela Corby and proud grandfather of Ari, Nola and Kohen.

Sid was a long time employee of Canfor (previously Rustad Bros.) and retired 10 years ago. In his retired years, he enjoyed fishing at Francois Lake, telling jokes around the campfire, coffee chats with this buddies, Sunday visits with his best friend Kent Clifford, hunting with his son, having a beer with his bother-in -law Junior Brent and beating all his friends at crib.

Big Sid was a devoted husband, a mentoring father and a loyal friend. He will be sadly missed. Honouring Sid’s wishes, he is to be cremated. There will be no funeral service. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Prince George Hospice Society.

JOYCE MARJORIE MAGEE

December 17, 1929January 29, 2019

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of our sister. She was predeceased by her 2 daughters Marjorie and Judy, her infant son Lyle and sister Frances. She is survived by her 3 grandsons, Rocky, Jonathon and Neale, 3 great grandchildren Katherine, Jaden and Cameron, sisters Marian and June, brother Garry (Ruby) as well as s numerous nieces and nephews. She was loved by many and will be greatly missed by all who knew her. A small gathering to remember Joyce will be held at a later date.

Gerard Joseph Kehoe March 19, 1948- February 5, 2019

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Gerard Kehoe. Gerard passed very peacefully with his grandson, Jesse, by his side. He was an amazing friend, father, grandpa and great grandpa who will be greatly missed. He was an amazing grandfather to many grandchildren and two great grandchildren, Jordan and Logan. Gerard was a long time truck driver and equipment operator spending a lot of his time in camps. Whenever he was home from camp he loved to spend as much time as possible with his many grandchildren and developed a close bond with them all. Gerard had a long and hard battle with cancer and had beat it once. The family would like to say a special thanks to the amazing staff at Simon Fraser Lodge, Dr. Larson, and to Gerard’s close friends Doug and Janet for helping care for him throughout his battle. Gerard’s Celebration of Life will be held at the Elks Community Centre (Formerly Moose Hall) at 633 Douglas Street, Prince George, B.C. on Saturday February 16th at 11am. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to a charity of your choice.

We’ll miss your infectious laugh!

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 started the week lower as it absorbed weakness in the key industrials and materials sectors driven by SNC-Lavalin woes and lower gold prices. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 64.48 points at 15,568.85, after hitting an intraday low of 15,545.94.

North American markets were stuck Monday between risks from trade uncertainties between the U.S. and China and the positives from U.S. corporate earnings, says Craig Fehr, a Canadian markets strategist for Edward Jones. Investors will continue to react more to headlines, tweets and rumours about trade talks and the potential for a second U.S. government shutdown the longer the distance from corporate earnings reports, he said.

“The markets seem to be reacting in much more of a binary way which is that any whiff of rumour of some advanced talks is treated quite positively from the market and then any news or tweets related to a setback in that negotiating process has been treated rather negatively.”

In Canada, earnings reports from natural resources companies is always important, but the financials sector, particularly banks that begin reporting Feb. 26, will largely determine the performance of the TSX, said Fehr.

“So I’m looking at the earnings out of the financial services sector as probably the barometer for what we can expect from the economy over the balance of the year, which I think is going to be positive but materially slower growth than we’d hoped for at this stage,” he said.

In Monday trading on the TSX, the health care sector dropped 2.66 per cent as several cannabis producers saw their shares dip. It was following by telecommunications, industrials and materials. Industrials dropped as SNCLavalin shares decreased 7.4 per cent to $34 after the beleaguered engineering and construction firm warned that its profit for 2018 will be even lower than it cautioned in January, due to problems at a mining project in Latin America (see story, right). Materials fell on weaker metals prices. The April gold contract was down US$6.60 at US$1,311.90 an ounce on a stronger U.S. dollar. The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 75.22 cents US compared with an average of 75.36 cents US on Friday.

The March crude contract was down 31 cents at US$52.41 per barrel.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 53.22 points at 25,053.11.

U.K. economy takes turn for the worse

The British economy has not had a worse year since the global financial crisis and Brexit uncertainty is clearly to blame. The government even admits it.

Official figures released Monday showed that a lack of clarity over Brexit weighed on businesses throughout 2018 and kept a lid on their investments.

For 2018 as a whole, the economy grew by 1.4 per cent. The last time it performed so weakly was in 2012, during Europe’s debt crisis. The last time it had a worse year was in 2009, when it contracted by 4.2 per cent in the wake of the global financial crisis that brought much of the world’s banking system to its knees.

Monday’s figures showed the slowdown gathering pace as the year came to an end. A surprise 0.4 per cent contraction in December means the economy grew at a tepid rate of only 0.2 per cent in the fourth quarter, down from 0.6 per cent in the third quarter.

That backs up other indicators that suggest the uncertainty over Brexit is increasingly hurting the economy at a time when global trends, like a trade war between the U.S. and China, are weighing on world growth.

Business investment fell at the end of last year for a fourth straight quarter – the first time that has happened since the financial crisis.

With less than 50 days to go to Brexit day on March 29, firms have no idea what the country’s new trading relationship with the

There is no doubt that our economy is being overshadowed by the uncertainty created by the Brexit process.

— Philip Hammond, British Treasury chief

EU will look like, so they’re taking a safetyfirst approach that involves some relocating activities – and jobs – to continental Europe.

Though Britain’s Treasury chief Philip Hammond argued that the British economy remains “fundamentally strong,” he conceded Brexit unease was taking its toll.

“There is no doubt that our economy is being overshadowed by the uncertainty created by the Brexit process,” he told Sky News. “I’m afraid this has gone on longer than we would have liked.”

While the British economy largely held up better than expected in the immediate aftermath of the June 2016 vote to leave the European Union, firms are getting edgier as Brexit day draws nearer – the government had expected to be ratifying a withdrawal agreement with the EU by now.

There is no sign that the uncertainty, described as the “fog of Brexit” by the Bank of England, is going to lift anytime soon, so the economy is not expected to have improved at the start of this year.

Prime Minister Theresa May is struggling to salvage the Brexit deal she agreed on with the EU late last year after it was overwhelmingly rejected by British lawmakers. She’s trying to eke out concessions from the EU, particularly on a controversial provision intended to make sure no hard border returns between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

It’s unclear she will be able to get any concessions and fears have grown in recent weeks that Britain could crash out of the EU without a deal. That’s a worst-case scenario that the Bank of England has said could see the British economy shrink by eight per cent within months and house prices collapse by around a third as trade barriers like tariffs are put up on EU-U.K trade.

In 2018, net trade was a drag on the British economy as it imported more than it exported, a possible reflection of the waning effects of the prior year’s fall in the pound and a slowing global economy.

Analysts were careful not to conclude that the British economy would start contracting in the first quarter of 2019, not least because British consumer spending tends to be resilient.

“Today’s data bring clear signs that Brexit uncertainty is depressing the economy, but we would not rush to conclude yet that GDP is on track to fall outright in the first quarter,” said Samuel Tombs, chief U.K. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

“Solid growth in households’ spending, thanks to low inflation and robust labour income growth, should keep GDP on a slightly rising path.”

SNC-Lavalin shares hit 10-year low

Christopher REYNOLDS Citizen news service

MONTREAL — SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. has slashed its profit forecast again due to problems at a Chilean mining project, plunging its share price to a 10-year low as the beleaguered engineering giant faces obstacles at home and abroad.

The Montreal-based company reduced its guidance for 2018 by more than 40 per cent Monday and halted all bidding on future mining projects. That comes two weeks after it halved its forecast from November amidst a diplomatic feud between Canada and Saudi Arabia – a key source of oil and gas revenue – and delays on its project with Codelco, Chile’s stateowned copper mining company.

SNC has agreed to settle a dispute with Codelco through a “fast-tracked” arbitration process. But the hit to SNC’s mining and metallurgy business will be bigger than what it had said on Jan. 28 because arbitration won’t be completed in time to recognize the revenue in its 2018 results, the company said.

SNC said it expects “significant recoveries in the future.”

Shares dropped more than seven per cent to close at $34 Monday – their lowest since April 2009 – as the company’s legal and diplomatic hurdles continue to loom large.

On Monday, the federal ethics commissioner launched an investigation into allegations the Prime Minister’s Office put pressure on former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to help the company avoid a criminal

prosecution following heavy lobbying from the company.

Trudeau has denied that the minister “was ever directed by me or anyone in my office to take a decision in this matter.”

Federal prosecutors told SNC in October they would not invite the company to negotiate a remediation agreement over fraud and corruption charges that stemmed from alleged dealings with the Libyan regime under Moammar Gadhafi between 2001 and 2011.

SNC has filed for a judicial review of the decision, which closed the door on a potential deal that would see the government set aside the criminal charges in return for fines and other penalties. A conviction on the charges filed in 2015 could prevent the company from bidding on any federal project for up to 10 years.

Last month, SNC chief executive Neil Bruce said ongoing diplomatic tensions between Canada and Saudi Arabia were hurting business and forcing the company to consider a possible retreat from the oil-rich state.

The feud, as well problems with the mining project and an arbitration loss in Australia, prompted the company to cut its financial guidance on Jan. 28, resulting in a drastic drop in the company’s shares.

Last week, SNC-Lavalin shareholder Ruediger Martin Graaf requested permission from Quebec Superior Court to bring a class action lawsuit for what he calls the company’s “false or misleading” statements about the situation in Saudi Arabia.

In its revised forecast Monday, SNC attributed the mining problems in Chile to subcon-

tractors and factors out of its control.

“The challenges on this mining project are mainly due to unexpected site conditions, greater than expected environmental and safety measures and underperformance from subcontractors,” the company said in a statement.

SNC called the issues an “isolated incident,” but said it has stopped all bidding on future mining projects and launched a review of its management structure for mining and metallurgy, which brought in $433 million out of $2.92 billion in revenues in 2017.

The company has also deployed Ian Edwards, its new chief operating officer, to personally work on strengthening the local project team.

SNC did not name Codelco in its revised guidance Monday, but analysts widely acknowledge it as the problem project.

SNC said adjusted diluted earnings per share from the division of its engineering and construction business for 2018 will now be in the range of 20 to 35 cents, down from an already reduced forecast of between $1.15 and $1.30 in January from $2.60 to $2.85 in November.

That translates into an expected fourth quarter loss of $350 million before taxes and interest for the mining and metallurgy segment, according to SNC.

Adjusted consolidated diluted earnings per share for the company as a whole are expected to be in a range of $1.20 to $1.35, down from $2.15 to $2.30 forecast in January and 3.60 to $3.85 in November.

Pan PYLAS Citizen news service

British Prime Minister Theresa May holds talks with Joseph Muscat, prime minister of Malta, at 10 Downing Street in London on Monday.

Iconic newsman dies at 90

Citizen news service

TORONTO — Longtime CBC foreign correspondent Joe Schlesinger, who spent decades covering war zones and global events that shaped history, has died after a lengthy illness.

A spokesman for the public broadcaster says Schlesinger died in his home at age 90 with his wife, Judith Levene, by his side.

Retired CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge said even through his health struggles Schlesinger maintained his journalistic fire, criticizing the current coverage of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

“It was a difficult time but at the same time he didn’t lose his spirit,” said Mansbridge. “He was the kind you always looked up to as one of the top foreign correspondents in the world.”

Schlesinger was born in Vienna in 1928 and raised in former Czechoslovakia. He and his younger brother fled to England in 1939 after Hitler occupied the country. When he returned home in 1945, Schlesinger discovered that his parents had been killed in

the Holocaust. Mansbridge said Schlesinger’s own experience drove him to write about the Syrian refugee crisis, even after his official retirement from the CBC.

“He had a passion for journalism, strongly believed as we all do that it’s one of the important pillars of democracy,” he said. “But he also had a compassion for those he covered. And he showed it right to the end.”

Schlesinger began his journalism career in 1948 with The Associated Press in Prague. When the Communists began arresting journalists in Czechoslovakia two years later, he moved to Canada, attending UBC and working at the student newspaper.

The love of a good story, and the thrill of the hunt took him to London and then to Paris, where he eventually began working at the International Herald Tribune.

The Order of Canada member joined the CBC in 1966, becoming executive producer of The National, but was drawn back to reporting as a correspondent in Hong Kong, Paris, Washington and Berlin.

Ian Hanomansing, the

Vancouver-based co-anchor of The National, remembers being intimidated by Schlesinger’s distinguished resume when they started working together on CBC News Network’s Foreign Assignment in the late 1990s, but said he was soon disarmed by his co-host’s gentle demeanour.

“It wasn’t like there was ever a moment I worked with him where I wasn’t aware of his wealth of experience,” Hanomansing said in a phone interview. “He was a

Schlesinger being remembered for compassionate reporting,

window not just into the world he saw, but also into the world of the foreign correspondent that I don’t know quite exists in Canada now the way it was then.”

Hanomansing said Schlesinger’s penchant for listening propelled him on global assignments, racking up first-hand accounts of history as he covered the Vietnam War, guerrilla wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador, the Iranian Revolution and the first Persian Gulf War.

While he never lost his hunger for getting stories on the air, Schlesinger brought the same humility to his interactions in the newsroom that he demonstrated abroad, Hanomansing said, refraining from pulling rank on junior colleagues. In the wake of Schlesinger’s death, Hanomansing hopes some of those qualities have rubbed off on the now-experienced journalists who learned from him, so they can be passed on to the next generation of reporters.

“Even if he wasn’t the person telling the story, the life he lived was extraordinary,” he said.

“When you add all the stories that he told about other people’s lives, I

hope younger people get a chance to see some of that work.”

Speaking by phone while reporting in Venezuela, CBC correspondent and The National co-anchor Adrienne Arsenault said she can hear Schlesinger’s advice ringing in her ears, prodding her to find “the thing” about the story that will have Canadians talking the next day.

“I keep thinking I better pull up my bootstraps, because Joe would insist upon it,” Arsenault said with a wistful laugh. “He never stopped being completely curious about the world, really full of this wild wonder, and all sorts of things amazed him.”

Schlesinger retired in 1994 but continued to work for the public broadcaster as a correspondent and online columnist until 2015.

Ahead of receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Canadian Journalism Foundation in 2009, Schlesinger reflected on his long career as a globe-trotting journalist in a CP interview.

“I have a career of wandering around the world, watching the universe unfold and actually getting paid for it. It’s like a little boy’s dream.”

SCHLESINGER