Horgan bullish on Site C, LNG
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
Premier John Horgan did not inspire a standing ovation upon entry, nor did he illicit any booing. He did not speak with evangelical fervor, nor did he lose anyone’s attention.
For this, his second consecutive year as a luncheon keynote speaker at the BC Natural Resource Forum, he and the crowd showed a casual comfort with one another.
His speech was calm, businesslike, funny at times and thought-provoking at others. He took time to run the list of his government’s challenges, and some of the key accomplishments in his view. It was an opportunity to throw the previous B.C. Liberal government under the bus to paint his NDPGreen coalition government in a campaign light, but he sidestepped such rhetoric.
Most of the challenges, he said, were outside of government control like recordbreaking forest fires, harsh floods, and the bite of China and the United States in global affairs.
Horgan also noted that some of the things done by the current government might seem surprising to an industrialist/business crowd.
He was bullish on developing liquefied natural gas. After careful review, he supported Site C Dam construction which he described as a “very controversial but fundamental project.”
He also stressed that two sub-topics of government were actually keystone enablers of natural resource development.
He said all the investment a government could make in the burgeoning tech sector was tantamount to investment in mining, forestry, oil and gas, agriculture and so forth because contrary to mental image, the tech sector did not mean making better video games, but rather making better tools for the natural resource sectors to use.
That might mean software, but it also might mean the 18-storey all-wood skyscraper now standing on the campus of UBC in Vancouver.
He complimented the industrialists of British Columbia for being longtime backers of the carbon tax, a system pioneered by B.C. in the North American context.
The carbon tax’s effects were examined
by the auditor general who determined it was pumping air into the tires of the B.C. economy at the same time as it offered its disincentive to pollute. While other provinces are openly warring over the crossCanada implementation, B.C. is carrying on with business as usual.
He also referenced the impasse at a small bridge on a small river by a small segment of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation acting in opposition to a natural gas pipeline. This
was a complex situation, Horgan outlined, that called on all sides working under the natural resources umbrella to be respectful of each other, for all sides have a degree of righteousness, and no side has overarching power.
“I’m hopeful that you’ll all agree with me that no one wants British Columbia to have a black eye on the international stage, when it comes to reconciliation, because we in British Columbia, successive governments,
Rally draws pro-resource crowd to Civic Centre
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
Preceded by a convoy of trucks parading through the city’s downtown, a rally in support of resource communities was held outside the Civic Centre on Wednesday.
About 50 people from across Northern B.C., most wearing blue overalls with reflective trim, showed up, many of them holding up signs saying “I ‘heart’ LNG,” “Resource Jobs = Schools” and “Yes to Jobs.”
A civil tone was maintained as they heard speeches, kicked off with a bit of cheerleading from the main organizer, David Johnston of the Kitimat-based group TheNorthMatters.
“If we look at the history of our great province and great country, what is it that the country’s built on?” he asked while standing in the box of a pickup truck.
“Resources,” the onlookers replied.
“Resources are the most important thing in our communities right now for creating opportunities for our families, for our kids and their kids,” Johnston said. “It’s something that we need more of and something we will continue to fight for.”
Speakers in favour of pipelines and related development followed. Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad was among them.
“I’m proud of the fact that this country and this province was built on our resources,” he said. “The benefits we have, the life we have are all based on the fact that we have been blessed with abundant resources.
“We have to make sure that we take care of the environment, we have to make sure that we’re respectful... but at the end of the day, it’s you guys, it’s our families, it’s our communities. That’s why this is important.”
Haisla Village elected chief Crystal Smith also spoke. She referred to the benefits the Coastal GasLink pipeline and the LNG Canada liquified natural gas project near Kitimat will bring to the 20 First Nations along the pipeline’s corridor.
“The communication needs to be about people,” she added. “Forget systems, forget governments, we need to come back to what we are doing for our people.”
The rally was being held as hundreds of business people and politicians had gathered at the Civic Centre for the start of the three-day B.C. Natural Resource Forum and just before B.C. Premier John Horgan was to deliver a speech to the delegates.
Johnston, who makes a living as an electrician, maintained TheNorthMatters movement he helped start is completely non-political.
“We don’t have any political messaging, we just care about families,” he said. “So these opportunities that are available, when the government sees that there is a mass movement pushing for it, whatever government it is, we’re hoping that it will listen to that mass movement of the majority of people and go ahead with projects.”
A handful of local members of the ardently anti-Trudeau yellow vest movement showed up in support but remained muted. And on the steps of the library stood one person bearing a sign saying “Wet’suwet’en Strong, No LNG.”
have been working hard to try and get our heads around what is a complicated issue –an issue of profound human rights and also of economic liberation,” he said, referencing the generational, systemic habit prior to recent days of natural resources and other economic development being unilaterally imposed on the traditional (and unsurrendered) territories of First Nations “for my benefit and your benefit but not their benefit.”
Liberals own legislature scandal,
Horgan says
Katie DEROSA Victoria Times Colonist
Premier John Horgan tried to place the legislative assembly expense scandal squarely at the feet of the B.C. Liberals, harkening back to 2011 when the then-Liberal government unilaterally appointed Craig James as clerk of the house. At a press conference Wednesday in Prince George, Horgan was asked to comment on sections of Speaker Darryl Plecas’s report that suggested James is not politically impartial, as his role requires, but closely aligned with the B.C. Liberal Party.
James and sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz have been suspended with pay since Nov. 20, when they were marched out of the legislature under police escort amid a criminal investigation. Plecas on Monday released a report accusing James and Lenz of “flagrant overspending” of taxpayer dollars.
The two men have said the allegations are “false and untrue.”
Horgan said James was “appointed arbitrarily, at the whim of (then-house leader) Rich Coleman” and that it was “absolutely unprecedented in British Columbian history.”
“At the time in 2011, I spoke passionately in the legislature, as did Adrian Dix, about how just plain wrong it was for the B.C. Liberals to assume that they can dictate how our institutions run,” Horgan said.
“It’s not supposed to be that way.”
The clerk acts as the chief executive officer of the legislature, overseeing rules and procedures and the legislature’s $70-million budget.
Following the retirement of longtime clerk George MacMinn, the Liberal government under then-premier Christy Clark installed James as clerk without the endorsement of all MLAs. The position is a lifetime appointment in order to ensure the clerk is free from political influence.
The Opposition NDP wanted the clerk’s job posted publicly so applicants could be selected by a bipartisan committee.
— see ‘WE HAVE MORE WORK, page 3
Premier John Horgan speaks with an attendee at the Northern Resource Forum on Wednesday.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
People wave signs in support of resource communities in Canada Games Plaza during a rally outside of the Civic Centre on Wednesday.
UNBC, Rio Tinto partnership to support students, research
Citizen staff
The University of Northern B.C. and Rio Tinto are forming a partnership to support students and grow the capacity for education and research in the region.
Rio Tinto will provide $450,000 over the next three years towards programs at the university that promote their mutual interests and values.
The focus will be on research and analysis of the socio-economic state within the Nechako Watershed region, initiatives in common interest areas such as the environment and experiential learning opportunities for UNBC students.
It is expected to include involving students in hands-on research programs, as well as internships and co-operative placements with Rio Tinto across a range of disciplines.
The partnership was announced Tuesday night at the B.C. Natural Resources Forum in Prince George to hundreds of delegates who have gathered to learn about the latest trends and opportunities in the sector.
“This partnership will build on Rio Tinto’s long standing support for UNBC, which includes being one of the initial funders of the Northern Medical Programs Trust that provides support to medi-
cal students in the North,” said Andrew Czornohalan, Rio Tinto BC Works operation director for power and services.
“We share UNBC’s commitment to advancing education and research in the region, which plays an important role in ensuring Rio Tinto BC Works stays at the forefront of the aluminum industry with a highly skilled workforce and the latest technologies. By developing relationships between researchers, educators and businesses like ours, we are encouraging a culture of innovation in our organizations and communities across the region.”
“As one of Canada’s leading
small universities, UNBC brings our research, teaching and learning expertise to a wide range of issues that communities are grappling with around the world,” said Geoff Payne, UNBC’s vicepresident of research and graduate programs.
“From water security, climate change and health care, to resource management, food security and ecosystem management, all of these issues can be studied in depth in a unique environment right at our doorstep in northern B.C., providing an opportunity for this partnership to create local solutions that will have a global impact.”
As one of Canada’s leading small universities, UNBC brings our research, teaching and learning expertise to a wide range of issues that communities are grappling with... — Geoff Payne
Concept design for new fire hall unveiled
mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
By the latter half of 2020, an elegant swoop will grace the skyline along Massey Drive.
The concept design for the new Fire Hall No. 1, complete with an artist’s rendition, was unveiled Wednesday at the site where construction will begin on the $15-million project “as soon as the snow melts.”
Perhaps the most notable feature, the building’s roof will follow a gradual curve along its 200-foot length, brought out all the more by the fact it will be clad in black metal siding although brightened with a glazed glass frontage along the five truck bays to make them “very open and visible to the public,” said architect Stuart Rothnie of HCMA Architects and Planning.
“The idea being that we’re trying to represent the capability of the fire department and not shut them behind closed doors,” he said. Inside, a fair amount of exposed wood
in the form of fir and larch will be incorporated into bays’ ceiling, although most of the structure will consist of steel and concrete in the name of longevity.
Over the course of about 200 feet, the building’s height will rise from 1 /12 stories at its western end to a “crescendo” of three stories on its eastern side, where the administrative offices, an emergency operations centre and a dispatch centre will be housed. A hose tower and radio tower will occupy the back side.
The unveiling was held at the site where it will be located, off Massey Drive, just north of the Northern B.C. YMCA.
“We wanted to create a very simple, clean form that, as you drive by, you recognize it very powerfully as the fire hall,” Rothnie said.
“Now there is a lot of use of black metal in here, but there are red accents that will pick up the fire engine red and we’re going to be using that a lot in the detailing of the windows, the canopies, the entry, so that you can actually iden-
tify this for other reasons as a fire hall.”
In all, it will hold five truck bays with all the support and suppression functions on one level, which Rothnie said will significantly improve turnout times. The location was chosen, in part, because it will increase the area firefighters can reach within eight minutes by 50 per cent.
Mayor Lyn Hall said the look left him “absolutely blown away.”
To lessen the chance of conflicts with traffic, access to the YMCA will be moved to its southwest side where patrons will enter and exit via Del Laverdure Way adjacent to the horseshoe pits and then wind around the back to the parking lot.
In October 2017, residents voted 83 per cent in favour of rebuilding Fire Hall No. 1 at the new location, where the footprint will be 50 per cent larger than its current home next to city hall.
That building is more than 60 years old.
L&M Engineering provided the engineering and IDL Projects will manage construction of the $15-million project.
Highway 97 closed north of city
Citizen staff
A head-on collision between a logging truck and a transport truck forced a closure of Highway 97 north of Prince George for several hours on Wednesday morning.
No injuries were reported from the crash, which occurred at about 6 a.m. near the Wright Creek bridge. The stretch was initially closed in both directions and with no detour as crews worked to get the trucks, trailers and debris off the road.
‘We have more work to do there’
— from page 1
At the time James was appointed, he was also acting chief electoral officer, in charge of administering the referendum on B.C.’s harmonized sales tax.
While at Elections B.C., James came under fire and even received death threats from anti-HST advocates who questioned his decisions on the HST citizen petition and Liberal recall campaigns.
According to the Speaker’s report, Lenz shared with Plecas his view that James was not impartial and that he was in fact very close with the B.C. Liberal Party.
Plecas wrote that he spoke with several witnesses, including Lenz, who suggested James was aligned with the Liberals “with some suggesting that Mr. James’s unexpected appointment as clerk of the house was connected to his ‘doing a job’ for the government as acting chief electoral officer.”
Horgan was asked if he feels vindicated for raising his protest to James’s appointment in 2011.
“I suppose that there’s vindication in that, I take no comfort in that, though,” he told reporters.
“But rather than vindication I prefer to have an independent, impartial clerk making sure the business of British Columbia is done in an open and transparent way and issues like excessive expenditures on what seem to be pretty bizarre items, just doesn’t happen again.”
In 2012, then-auditor general John Doyle released a scathing report of the legislature’s finances, saying the budget was such a mess it was impossible for him to tell if any money had been improperly spent. As a result, James oversaw sweeping financial reforms in the
legislature, appointing an audit working group, auditing public financial statements and requiring that MLAs post a scanned copy of receipts online and that constituency expenses are made public. Horgan said the audit led “to the better practices we have today, but clearly, those practices have been circumvented by the existing officers of the legislature. So we have more work to do there.”
Sohi announces funding
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
Three envelopes of money were handed out Wednesday from the federal government to First Nations in the northern region of the province. The funding was given to Aboriginal economic development projects that would help develop close-to-home jobs and solve some close-to-home problems within some rural communities. Each of these projects exhibited a technological advancement on behalf of local living.
The innovation word was the theme of the B.C. Natural Resources Forum held in Prince George and attended by federal Minister of Natural Resources Amarjeet Sohi.
“No relationship is more important than the one we have with Indigenous peoples,” said Sohi, as the money was announced. “Central to that is supporting economic development and respect for the environment. Today I am delighted to confirm three important investments. All of them were for initiatives that touched on innovative, grassroots First Nations projects.”
The projects were:
• $475,000 for Chu Cho Environmental to support an Indigenous bioheat project in Tsay Keh Dene Nation. The funding will enable Chu Cho Environmental – a company owned by the Tsay Keh Dene Nation – to assess the feasibility of using biomass to generate heat and power. Once completed, this project would be among the first of its kind to heat and power an Indigenous community in the province, demonstrating the power of innovation to create opportunities in a remote community.
• $64,629 for the Witset First Nation to support equipment upgrades, help train workers and enable new developments at the Kyahwood Forest Products facility located in Witset. This project was funded through Natural Resources Canada’s Indigenous Forestry Initiative (IFI), which facilitates economic development in Indigenous communities that rely on forests. The initiative is a featured component of Canada’s Softwood Lumber Action Plan.
• $50,000 for Tzah Tez Tlee Development Corporation in Fort Babine to help launch a feasibility study on a biomass heating system using excess wood residues from the mill to reduce the community’s reliance on diesel and help it transition to a low-carbon economy. This opportunity was funded through the IFI and the Strategic Partnerships Initiative.
Sohi said these projects were homegrown solutions to each of these communities’ unique circumstances. The funding was important in the overall goal of “providing Indigenous communities with the support they need to build the future they want.”
Sohi said he was personally inspired by these projects. As someone who served three terms on Edmonton city council before his entry into federal government, he was impressed by the northern solutions these initiatives represent.
“The funding that we have announced here today is for turning waste wood into energy – that’s remarkable – and getting remote communities that are not connected to the grid system off of diesel,” he said.
It was reopened to single-lane alternating traffic by midmorning.
“Police would like to thank the public for their patience as emergency services, tow truck drivers and highway personnel work to make the road safe for traffic,” RCMP said.
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
Stuart Rothnie, architect with HCMA Architects, speaks about the new plans for Fire Hall No. 1 on Wednesday.
HORGAN
Oversight failure in Victoria
If Speaker Darryl Plecas’s 76-page report released Monday on the outrageous spending going on at the legislature in Victoria is even half correct, MLAs failed in one of their core responsibilities as elected officials: overseeing the bureaucrats to make sure jobs are being done and tax dollars are being spent appropriately.
The primary focus of MLAs seems to be to take cheap shots against their political opponents during Question Period when the legislature is in session and to take cheap shots on Twitter against their political opponents whether the legislature is in session or not.
Meanwhile, there is an entire committee of MLAs from all parties that sit on the Legislative Assembly Management Committee. It is this group’s job to supervise the clerk of the legislative assembly, the senior bureaucrat in charge of all of the legislature staff and the work they do to keep the legislature operating smoothly so the MLAs can focus on working for their constituents and their parties. The supervision of the clerk means making sure the legislature is operating smoothly and the finances are in order. This isn’t exactly glamourous work for
ambitious MLAs looking to rise in the ranks. It’s the political equivalent of babysitting and it’s easy for MLAs to be distracted. Senior bureaucrats are knowledgeable, competent and experienced individuals who know how to manage their managers by showing how smoothly everything is going. With so much governing and politicking going on, who really has the time to make sure the bureaucrats aren’t running up huge personal expenses?
The job for MLAs is made even more difficult because they form relationships with the top civil servants. They like them and they trust them. They don’t feel comfortable questioning the performance of a bureaucrat with decades of experience and years in the top job.
Near the start of his report, Plecas admitted that he took the same approach in his early days as Speaker. He found the liquor cabinets in his office stocked with expensive Scotch and the freewheeling travel and spending of the legislature’s senior employees troubling, but he was more worried with learning the job, particularly in a legislature held together by a razor-thin NDP/ Green coalition.
Who was he – an MLA from Abbotsford,
despised by his former B.C. Liberal colleagues and kicked out of the party for agreeing to serve as Speaker for an NDP government – to question parliamentary tradition and practice?
Yet it’s exactly the job of the men and women elected to the legislature to question the men and women working for them in the bureaucracy.
Asking questions doesn’t make them sound stupid, it makes them sound curious and attentive. Challenging the conduct and decisions of the senior bureaucrats directly beneath them is not a sign of disrespect. Instead, it’s respect for their roles as elected representatives, respect for their constituents and respect for the responsibility of government.
Holding individuals in the public sector in positions of power accountable, whether they are politicians, journalists or concerned citizens, is not a personal attack on those individuals. It is the duty of all citizens in a working democracy to question authority and to hold those in authority responsible when their conduct appears less than satisfactory.
The leaders in that process of overseeing government bureaucracy, however, must be
YOUR LETTERS
Portable sawmills could reduce raw log exports
John Mcinnis opened a building supply business in downtown Prince George in 1920. His lumber yard covered an area of two square blocks. John was a founding member of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, now the New Democratic Party. He won in the provincial election of 1945 and served until 1949. During this time in 1948, he addressed Canada’s unfavorable balance of trade with the United States and called for a stop to the practice of exporting logs.
During my early 20s, I worked for Stolberg Mill Construction where we built sawmills and planner mills throughout B.C. and Alberta. Back then, largescale portable sawmills were engineered and fabricated to get closer to the wood supply, saving enormous transportation costs. Like today’s fashions, they were used and then put out to the back 40 to rust up. It’s a little late for them now, but for Dunkley Lumber and Carrier Lumber, they’re experts at building portable sawmills.
One of many reasons they are able to get away with exporting
logs is that they harvest the logs from remote areas and in this way they are able to operate under the silence of the remote back country of B.C. These portable sawmills can get to where they’re falling these huge diameter trees that are trucked to Stewart then loaded onto specially designed container ships for exporting. These barges are loaded weekly with 1,000 truck loads of logs. That’s 200 logging trucks loads a day, five days a week. With factoring in a two-week break at Christmas, that amounts to 50,000-plus truck loads each year exported from Stewart and then bound for American and Asian sawmills. This figure is less than half the yearly export of logs at a 125,000 truck loads exported annually. Cross boarder shoppers to the U.S. are lining up behind logs heading south as well.
Miles Thomas Prince George
City needs vagrancy, panhandling bylaws
I would like to commend Dean Soiland on his letter to The Citizen (Jan. 23). He asks why is the city allowing this to happen and is the city doing anything about it or is it ignoring the issue ? He is refering to the no-income people and the homeless hanging out all
over the city. The police are helpless without some bylaws to work with. The city needs to make some vagrancy bylaws and some panhandling bylaws. The problem is a lot worse than we know and the problem has doubled since the fires.
I also think the city should revisit using our tax dollars to build a park downtown. The park would be for whom?
I also think the city should revisit using our tax dollars to build a new swimming pool downtown. I think the location is wrong. We could build two small pools on the Hart and in College Heights where the families are. The Days Inn could be turned into senior housing and housing for the working poor, the forgotten who are trying to survive.
Helen Sarrazin
Prince George
Pot store overdue
I have a couple hundred thousand dollars to blow and I would like to start up a pot shop. All kidding aside, how long has it been since pot was legalized and we only have a couple of legal stores in the works? Come on. Do something.
Warner Bliskis
Prince George
LETTERS WELCOME: The Prince George Citizen welcomes letters to the editor from our readers. Submissions should be sent by email to: letters@pgcitizen.ca. No attachments, please. They can also be faxed to 250-960-2766, or mailed to 201-1777 Third Ave., Prince George, B.C. V2L 3G7. Maximum length is 750 words and writers are limited to one submission every week. We will edit letters only to ensure clarity, good taste, for legal reasons, and occasionally for length. Although we will not include your address and telephone number in the paper, we need both for verification purposes. Unsigned or handwritten letters will not be published. The Prince George Citizen is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please contact Neil Godbout (ngodbout@pgcitizen. ca or 250-960-2759).
SHAWN CORNELL DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING
our elected officials, whether they are at the local, regional, provincial or national level. These leaders are in the position to access information and insist on accountability for the senior civil servants who report directly to them. Failing or refusing to do so is a dereliction of duty and a betrayal of the trust voters have put in them.
Before he was premier, John Horgan sat on the Legislative Assembly Management Committee. Mike de Jong, a two-time B.C. Liberals leadership candidate and longtime cabinet minister under both Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark, has sat on that committee as well.
Based on the Plecas report, both they and the rest of their colleagues failed to adequately oversee the legislative clerk and spot the bureaucratic abuse happening right under their noses. The Legislative Assembly Management Committee met Monday and there was unanimous support in a comprehensive review of the entire legislative assembly operation. Better late than never, but hopefully the review will also hold this committee of MLAs partly responsible for its lack of attentive oversight as a contributing factor behind this mess.
— Editor-in-chief Neil Godbout
Trump’s base still behind him
This week marks Donald Trump’s second anniversary as president of the United States. The past two years have brought their share of controversies, including the special counsel investigation on Russian interference, the negotiations toward a new free-trade agreement in North America and the Republican party losing its majority in the House of Representatives, following a severe setback in last November’s midterm ballot.
Research Co. had the opportunity to ask Americans about their current head of state this month, as well as to review two topics that have dominated talk around the District of Columbia for the past few weeks: border security and the partial government shutdown.
Across the United States, 38 per cent of Americans approve of Trump’s performance as president while a majority (58 per cent) disapprove. Among self-described Republicans, Trump’s numbers climb to a more-than-respectable 64 per cent, with just one in five (20 per cent) disapproving of the way he has handled his duties.
It is not a surprise to see that only six per cent of Americans who identify with the Democratic party believe Trump has done a good job as president, but independents – who were not entirely enamoured by Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016 – are starting to become more critical of Trump. In this demographic, the president’s approval rating stands at 36 per cent and disapproval reaches 61 per cent.
On Jan. 8, speaking at the same venue where his predecessors addressed the country in times of doubt, tragedy and war, Trump pleaded his case to build a wall along the country’s southern border. The appeal did not resonate with a majority of Americans. In our survey, 54 per cent disagree with Trump’s assessment of the current situation at the U.S.-Mexico border as “a crisis,” while 43 per cent concur with their head of state. In spite of these countrywide numbers, Republicans are solidly behind Trump: 79 per cent say what is transpiring on the southern border is “a crisis.”
When asked about their views on Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, 55 per cent of Americans disagree with the president and 40 per cent agree with him. The political polarization of the country is unmistakable in this question: only seven per cent of Democrats side with Trump compared with 76 per cent of Republicans.
Trump had also suggested that he might declare a “national emergency” over the current situation at the southern border. Almost three in five Americans (59 per cent) believe this course of action would “definitely” or “probably”
Mailing address: 201-1777 Third Ave. Prince George, B.C. V2L 3G7
Office hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday General switchboard: 250-562-2441 info@pgcitizen.ca General news: news@pgcitizen.ca Sports inquiries: 250-960-2764 sports@pgcitizen.ca Classifieds advertising: 250-562-6666 cls@pgcitizen.ca
be unreasonable. But among Republicans, the proportion drops to a paltry 20 per cent.
Finally, we asked Americans to state who is more responsible for the recent partial shutdown of the federal government. A third of respondents (33 per cent) accuse the Democrats in Congress, while a majority (57 per cent) say the president is primarily to blame. Once again, Republicans are standing by their former and future nominee: only 20 per cent think this is, as the Democrats have branded it, a “Trump shutdown.”
There is much to ponder when analyzing the findings of this survey of Americans. For any other White House dweller seeking re-election, an approval rating lower than 40 per cent after two years in office would amount to a disastrous showing. But Trump is clearly counting on the unambiguous fervour that his base continues to bestow upon him, regardless of his actions, comments or tweets.
The Republican base is decidedly in favour of the way Trump is doing his job and their perceptions of the president do not waver hugely from issue to issue. More than seven in 10 Republicans approve of Trump’s performance, agree with his assessment that the situation on the southern border is a crisis, want to build the wall and think it would be justified for the president to invoke a national emergency if he wants to. Whoever becomes the Democratic nominee in 2020 will have a difficult time trying to move these diehard Republican supporters away from Trump. Independents are a different breed: they have fluctuated wildly in the past as presidential campaigns have progressed. In 2012, Mitt Romney overtook Barack Obama for a brief period as the first choice for registered independents in a tracking survey I conducted for a now defunct company. Obama ultimately rekindled with these voters and earned a second term in office.
As we move closer to the next presidential election in the United States, the behaviour of independents may define Trump’s political future.
At this point, Democrats are united in their disdain for the president, and Republicans are overly supportive of his decisions – even ones he has only hinted at possibly taking. Most independents are currently not amused by the president’s antics on issues like the border and the government shutdown, something which could cost him an election in 2020. Mario Canseco is the president of Research Co.
Shawn Cornell, director of advertising: 250-960-2757 scornell@pgcitizen.ca Reader sales and services: 250-562-3301 rss@pgcitizen.ca Letters to the editor: letters@pgcitizen.ca Website: www.pgcitizen.ca Website feedback: digital@glaciermedia.ca
Member of the National Newsmedia Council A division of Glacier Media
MARIO CANSECO Research Co.
Guest Column
Auditor general left out of legislature spending scandal
Graeme WOOD Glacier Media
As the spending scandal unfolds at B.C.’s Legislature, the province’s independent auditor general says she’s been left in the dark and provided little information.
Carol Bellringer said members of the Legislative Assembly Management Committee did not consult her prior to their decision Monday to bring in an outside auditor to open up the House’s books.
Bellringer said no one has told her why the committee wanted “a fresh set of eyes” on the legislature’s financial affairs, which were called into question by Speaker of the House Darryl Plecas Monday in a startling report.
“Well, that’s why you have an auditor general,” she said. “I am that fresh set of eyes. I requested that they reconsider.
“Just let us do it,” said Bellringer, who also expressed concern about oversight of the legislature. “If there is an implication of a lack of confidence in my office then that’s a huge problem.”
She added that no one has come to her with any formal complaint.
“I explained to them why we would be able to do it,” she said, noting the legislature hasn’t been audited by her office since she took on her role four years ago.
She said some committee members have reassured her privately that the decision has nothing to do with a lack of confidence.
“But, well, that’s the implication,” she said. “I said ‘well, it would be nice if you said that publicly.’”
On Monday the non-partisan, multi-party committee of MLAs chaired by Plecas voted unanimously for an outside audit.
Plecas’ report outlines allegations that now suspended Clerk of the House Craig James and Sergeant-at-Arms Gary Lenz abused the public purse with improper personal expense claims and unnecessary junkets. The impartiality of the clerk’s office was also called into question as an RCMP investigation continues.
Bellringer said if she were to conduct a full audit she would first need to know where to look – something she hasn’t been briefed on.
“I just don’t know what piece of the full operation to pick out and verify,” she said.
Bellringer said a number of things could be done to improve transparency. While expanding freedom of information laws to the legislature is one possibility, Bellringer suggested something as simple as online public disclosures is a solution.
She said she thought the Speaker of the House has “broad powers.” Asked where the buck stops on expense claims and salaries, Bellringer said there are “different layers of authority.” Generally, however, it is the Speaker who signs off on the clerk’s expenses, she said. Anything over a certain limit, such as capital expenditures, will go to the committee.
Bellringer said the committee audit committee should hold in-camera meetings without legislature staff, including the clerk, present.
The last time the auditor general audited the legislature was in 2012. Auditor General
John Doyle presented the House with a list of improvements that were needed. Bellringer said that list largely stemmed from a 2007 auditor general report.
“A number of the things we’re hearing today are things we’ve heard about before,” she said.
James became Clerk of the House on Sept. 1, 2011. He was hired in 1987 as clerk of committees. In June 2010, he left the legislature temporarily to become acting chief electoral officer.
Controversy also surrounds a retirement allowance provided to James. Plecas noted in his report it was generally understood that this allowance (13 days of pay for every year of service), created in 1984, was terminated in 1987 when clerks received a pay increase to compensate for a lack of retirement benefits. So, in 1987, James received a 10 per cent salary increase.
But after James became head clerk, then speaker of the house Bill Barisoff interpreted the allowance as still being on the books, something Plecas said is “troubling.”
Barisoff then terminated the benefit by an order, facilitating a $257,988 payment to James, not only before retiring but also based on his new salary as clerk of the house. Deputy clerk Kate Ryan-Ford declined her own $118,915 allowance for “personal reasons.”
Plecas claims the next speaker of the house, Linda Reid, ordered a report on the allowance by human resources director Jo-Anne Kern, who then concluded James’ payment was an “extremely generous interpretation” of the policy. Kern’s report went missing from the Speaker’s vault, noted the report.
“The only reason a copy has been located is that a former employee made and kept a copy, anticipating that its existence might one day be disputed,” claimed Plecas, who now questions the authorization of the payment.
In other allegations, Plecas noted, according to Lenz, excess liquor worth an estimated $10,000 was removed from storage and delivered to Barisoff’s house by James in 2013. But liquor remained in the Speaker’s office, as he noted three cabinets contained expensive spirits when he assumed his role over Reid.
“It had been my previous experience that the government does not pay for alcohol for staff or members’ personal consumption, so this was surprising to me,” wrote Plecas.
In a Jan. 21 joint statement, James and Lenz said Plecas’ allegations against them are “false and untrue.” They said Plecas has harmed their families by preparing a report in secret to “further blacken our reputations.”
BC Green Party leader Andrew Weaver said Tuesday the report will go down as one of the defining changes in the B.C. legislature and its culture of entitlement.
Plecas did not responded to a request for comment Tuesday.
James and Lenz have been suspended with pay since Nov. 20, when they were marched out of the legislature under police escort amid the cloud of a criminal investigation.
Ex-Mountie involved in Taser death suing gov’t
Amy SMART Citizen news service
VANCOUVER — A former Mountie involved in the death of a man jolted by a Taser at Vancouver’s airport is suing the federal and provincial governments for damages, claiming he acted in accordance with RCMP training.
Kwesi Millington was in charge of the Taser when he and three other Mounties approached a troubled Robert Dziekanski in 2007.
A public inquiry heard that Dziekanski was jolted five times with the Taser just seconds after the officers approached him. He died on the floor of the arrivals terminal.
A lawsuit filed in the B.C. Supreme Court this week alleges that Millington’s actions were in line with RCMP policy and standards, and he was a victim of negligence and defamation, including a failure by RCMP to correct “misinformation” it disclosed to media about what happened immediately following the event.
“The defendants’ conduct is reprehensible, calculated and exacted to cause harm to the plaintiff. As a result of the defendants’ extreme conduct, the plaintiff
B.C. Auditor General Carol Bellringer said she’s been left in the dark regarding the ongoing investigation into the spending of two senior B.C. legislature officials.
has suffered pecuniary loss, mental and physical injury,” the civil claim says.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
The RCMP, on behalf of the federal government, and the provincial government declined comment because the case was before the courts.
Millington and his senior officer, Benjamin (Monty) Robinson, were later found guilty in B.C. Supreme Court of colluding to make up testimony at the public inquiry into Dziekanski’s death. Millington was sentenced to 30 months for perjury.
The lawsuit filed Monday says that the Integrated Homicide Investigations Team found Millington and other RCMP officers acted in accordance with the RCMP’s training. A RCMP use of force instructor who trained Millington also testified during the inquiry into Dziekanski’s death that the four officers’ actions were consistent with their training, it says.
It alleges that public comments made by the RCMP following the death failed to state that its own internal investigation concluded the Taser deployment at the airport was “entirely consistent” with their training.
Managing editor Neil Godbout puts the news in perspective every day, only in The
Decisions, decisions
Duchess Park Condors guard Ethan Wood looks to make a play while being watched by College Heights Cougars
School gym during the annual PGSS senior boys basketball tournament.
Malla
at the Prince
Sports hall recognizing youth excellence
Citizen staff
When the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame holds its next induction banquet, a dozen of the city’s most promising up-and-coming athletes will be recognized with Youth Excellence Awards.
The PGSHOF revealed the list of names on Tuesday. Youth Excel-
lence Award winners who will be honoured during the March 30 gathering at the Hart Community Centre are: Colburn Pearce (basketball); Kimiko Kamstra (judo); Jonah Brittons (motocross); Ben Hendrickson (five-pin bowling); Natasha Kozlowski (golf); Anna MacDonald (trampoline); Eric Orlowsky (speed skating); Derian Potskin (baseball and fastball); Ainslee Rushton (lacrosse); Mat-
thew Shand (volleyball); Zenze Stanley-Jones (wrestling); and Jordan Vertue (swimming). The fathers of Pearce and Kamstra – Matt and Bruce respectively – are members of the PGSHOF. Matt Pearce, a former Canadian Football League player and a Grey Cup champion, was inducted in 1999. Bruce Kamstra, a national judo champion, entered the hall one year later, in 2000.
Previous Youth Excellence Award winners include: Olympian Meryeta O’Dine (2016); Olympian Sarah Beaudry (2012); Stanley Cup champion Brett Connolly (2010); Olympians Alyx Treasure and Megan Tandy (2007); national-team baseball player Amanda Asay (2007); national boxing champion Kenny Lally (2007); and Olympian Chris Wong (1999).
On the night of March 30, the
PGSHOF will also welcome its newest inductees: Cliff Hucul (auto racing); Brian Martinson (track and field); and Elisha Williams (wheelchair basketball). Details of the banquet time and information regarding tickets is expected to be confirmed by the end of January. Information on the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame can be found online at pgsportshalloffame.org
Patriots’ defence back on track heading into Super Bowl
Kyle HIGHTOWER Citizen news service
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It took an entire regular season and some tough losses, but the Patriots defence finally likes where it is at heading into its Super Bowl matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.
It hasn’t been perfect, but after a slow start to 2018 and fighting to find an identity following the departure of defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, the Patriots have found stability for a group that gave up 25 or more points five times through its first 10 games. The Patriots rarely revisit the past, but on Wednesday linebacker Kyle Van Noy said that part of their issues early on had roots in their Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia last February.
“It was just a humbling experience,” Van Noy said. “I feel like defensively we didn’t play well, so it’s just humbling to go through that opportunity like that.”
Over the latter part of this season, the Patriots have used that disappointment as motivation.
Following its bye in Week 11, New England’s defence held all but one of its final six opponents to 17 or fewer points. The exception was a 34-33 loss at Miami, which ended with the Dolphins scoring on a wild final play.
Last season the Patriots finished fifth in the NFL, allowing 18.5 points per game. This season they were just slightly worse, allowing 20.3 points per game – seventh best in the league.
In the playoffs they’ve had some of their best moments of
the season. They held Philip Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers to seven first-half points in the divisional round, then limited a Kansas City Chiefs offence that averaged a league-best 35.3 points during the regular season scoreless in the first half of the AFC championship game. Both times it allowed the offence to establish a cushion it would need in the second half.
“I think our team has done a really good job of putting the last
week behind us and focusing on that week that’s ahead,” Van Noy said. “You learn from those mistakes whether they’re good or bad and you try to fix those and keep trying to get better and better. This team has done a really good job of it.”
Defensive line coach Brendan Daly said some of it has been as simple as guys speaking up more on the field.
“I’ve been impressed with our communication and those guys’
ability to communicate with each other, get everyone on the same page in some very critical and difficult situations and be effective,” Daly said. “We’re going to have to continue to do that.”
It’s all come together thanks in part to the leadership of de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who took over primary play-calling duties this season. Initially he didn’t deviate much from the way Patricia did things. But he’s tried to simplify the
scheme over the latter part of season, which has helped his players be a lot more aggressive.
Cornerback Stephon Gilmore has particularly thrived in Flores’ system. During the regular season he was second on the team with two interceptions, had a team-best 20 pass defences and recorded his first career sack. His efforts earned the seven-year veteran his first AllPro team selection.
“He’s done a great job,” Gilmore said of Flores. “He can be a friend, he can be a coach and get on you so he can do everything for you. He really cares for the players. He pushes everybody every week and gets the best out of his players.”
He said preparation in practice has also paid off.
“Just trusting each other on the back end and those guys getting pressure up front,” said Gilmore, who has the team’s lone interception of the playoffs. “Everything goes hand-in-hand and we’re just trying to play fast and aggressive.”
The defence has also benefited from having a starting lineup that collectively missed just five games to injury.
Linebacker Dont’a Hightower missed one game during the regular season, but his 15 starts are triple the five games he was limited to last season after he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.
He finished the regular season with 50 tackles, a sack and his first career interception.
“My time on the field hasn’t always been as much as I wanted it to be, but this year it’s meant a lot to me,” Hightower said. “I’ve been out there, I’ve been able to play. Looking forward to keeping this thing going.”
AP PHOTO
New England Patriots middle linebacker Kyle Van Noy celebrates after sacking Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes during the AFC Championship game on Sunday in Kansas City, Mo.
Pacers lose Oladipo but beat Raptors
MAROT Citizen news service
Michael
INDIANAPOLIS — A promising season for the Indiana Pacers was instantly transformed when Victor Oladipo’s leg buckled and he fell to the floor in pain.
Indiana showed earlier this season it can win without the all-star guard, at least in the short term. Now, the third-best team in the Eastern Conference may have to push ahead without him for a much longer stretch.
Oladipo was carried off the court on a stretcher during the second quarter of the Pacers’ 110-106 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night with a serious right knee injury. He is scheduled for an MRI today.
“It is a serious injury and we’ll know more after the MRI,” coach Nate McMillan said. “We’re not going to speculate. It’s a tough situation. That kid has a beautiful spirit about him. He has always been one to try and to lift us up. We’ve got to lift him now.” Oladipo was injured as he scrambled to defend an outlet pass to Toronto’s Pascal Siakam and crumpled to the floor awkwardly. The severity was evident almost immediately as trainers draped a towel over the leg and players from both teams surrounded Oladipo while he was down.
No replays were shown on the video screen that stretches from free-throw line to free-throw line, and fans began chanting Oladipo’s name. When he did leave the court, Oladipo received a standing ovation and responded by waving to the crowd.
“I didn’t see what happened,” Siakam said. “Watching the replay, he stuck his leg while he was falling. That’s when he hit me. It’s just an unfortunate situation. It’s really scary, it’s tough.”
Losing Oladipo would be an enormous blow to the Pacers’ playoff hopes. He leads Indiana in scoring at 19.2 points per game and has emerged as a leader.
But after going 0-6 without Oladipo last season, the Pacers went 7-4 without their best player as he recovered from a sore right knee in November and December. And they still managed to hang on for their third straight victory Wednesday night – their first over Toronto in six tries.
“We’ve got to come together and play inspired basketball,” said Myles Turner, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds. “We can’t let this get us stuck in the mud. It’s emotion-
al, but we have to overcome it and play.”
It didn’t take long for supportive messages to start pouring in from around the league on social media. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, Phoenix guard Devin Booker, Washington guard Bradley Beal and Oklahoma City’s Paul George were among the first to respond.
Oladipo was acquired in a trade for George in the summer of 2017.
“Prayers up VO,” George wrote on Twitter, with four sets of the praying hand emoji to emphasize his point.
Thaddeus Young had 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Pacers, while Darren Collison added 16 points.
Toronto was led by Serge Ibaka with 23 points and 11 rebounds and Kyle Lowry
with 20 points. The Raptors again played without Kawhi Leonard, O.G. Anunoby or Jonas Valanciunas, but still made things tough for Indiana following the injury.
After jumping to a 24-16 lead at the end of one quarter, extending the margin to 3010 early in the second and finishing the half on a 9-4 run to make it 59-47 at the half, the Pacers fended off the Raptors’ late charges.
Toronto got as close as 98-97 after Ibaka made a five-footer with 4:20 to play. But Young answered with a three-point play and the Pacers made just enough plays down the stretch to hold on.
“It’s unfortunate,” Collison told the crowd. “We’ve got to keep going for him.”
TIP-INS
Raptors: Six players scored in double
Kvitova steps into Australian Open final
Citizen news service
Petra Kvitova beat Danielle Collins 7-6 (2), 6-0 on Thursday to return to a Grand Slam final for the first time since winning the Wimbledon title in 2014.
It’s also the first in what she has called her “second career” following her return from injuries sustained in a home invasion in the Czech Republic in late 2016.
The 28-year-old Kvitova will play for the Australian Open title against either U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka or Karolina Pliskova.
Kvitova missed the Australian Open in 2017 while she was recovering from knife injuries to her left hand. Her best run at a major after returning at the French Open in 2007 was a quarterfinal at the U.S. Open that year.
The eighth-seeded Kvitova is now on an 11-match winning streak, after warming up for the Australian Open with a title run in Sydney.
Collins entered the Australian Open with an 0-5 record in Grand Slam matches, but took out three seeded players en route to the semifinals, including a 6-0, 6-2 win over three-time major winner Angelique Kerber.
The match started under clear skies but was delayed at 4-4 in the first set while the retractable roof at Rod Laver Arena was closed with the temperature approaching 38 C. The first set was tight, containing one service break each, but Kvitova started to dominate in the cooler, indoor conditions.
• John Peers and Henri Kontinen combined to become the first pair through to the men’s doubles final after beating Leonardo Mayer and Joao Sousa 6-1, 7-6 (6) at the Australian Open. Peers and Kontinen, who combined to win the 2017 Australian Open doubles title, will play either the American team of Ryan Harrison and Sam Querrey or the French combination of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.
AP PHOTO Petra Kvitova makes a backhand return against Danielle Collins during their semifinal at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday.
• In the first of the men’s semifinals, 17-time major winner Rafael Nadal was set to take on 20-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas. Novak Djokovic is one of the combat-
ants in the other semi. He needed less than an hour to get through his quarterfinal match. The six-time champion was leading 6-1, 4-1 when Kei Nishikori retired with a sore right leg.
figures. ... Toronto was 12 of 39 on threes. ... The Raptors had won three straight without Anunoby, Leonard and Valanciunas. ... Toronto dropped to 8-2 on the second night of back-to-backs and 11-3 this season without Leonard. ... Ibaka had his seventh doubledouble of the season and also had three blocks. ... Lowry had five rebounds and seven assists. ... Leonard missed his fourth consecutive game to get some extra rest, but he’s expected to play Friday. The Raptors are 11-3 without him. Anunoby missed his fifth straight game for personal reasons. Pacers: Have won five of six. ... Indiana improved to 22-1 when scoring 110 or more points. ... Bojan Bogdanovic had 16 points and Domantas Sabonis had 12 while playing through foul trouble.
Neymar faces wait to determine extent of injury
Jerome PUGMIRE Citizen news service
PARIS — Neymar limped off with a recurrence of a right-foot injury during Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-0 French Cup win against Strasbourg on Wednesday, casting doubt whether he will face Manchester United in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 match next month.
The Brazil forward had just received the ball on the left when he raised his hand to seemingly signal to his coach Thomas Tuchel he was in pain, and looked to be in tears as he left the field at Parc des Princes.
A few hours after Neymar was taken to hospital, PSG said in a statement in the early hours of Thursday that “the first tests carried out showed a painful reactivation” of the fifth metatarsal in the right foot he fractured nearly exactly one year ago playing against Marseille.
PSG added that Neymar’s condition will be further assessed “in the coming days” to determine how long he will be out of the lineup. PSG travels to face a resurgent United side at Old Trafford on Feb. 12 with the return leg in Paris on March 6.
“All therapeutic options need to be envisaged,” PSG said on its website.
In February of last year, Neymar cracked the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, and he underwent surgery back home in Brazil. Although he recovered in time for the World Cup, he was not at his best in Russia.
Neymar limped heavily as he walked to the dressing room on Wednesday night, consoled by a PSG staff member, and looked visibly upset as he wiped his face with his right arm following his third significant injury in the space of a calendar year.
It was unclear how Neymar sustained his latest injury but he had been on the receiving end of a heavy tackle from midfielder Anthony Goncalves earlier in the match. Television images then later showed Neymar rolling off his sock and pointing to the side of his right foot.
A frustrated Tuchel said Neymar was not protected enough on the pitch.
“The referee didn’t whistle on one occasion, then two, then three and after that he ended up twisting his foot,” Tuchel said.
AP PHOTO
Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo is taken off the court on a stretcher after he was injured during the first half of Wednesday’s home game against the Toronto Raptors.
My puck
Vancouver Canucks defenceman Chris Tanev fights for control of the puck with Carolina Hurricanes right winger Nino Niederreiter during Wednesday night’s game in Vancouver. The Hurricanes were leading the Canucks 5-2 in the third period at The Citizen’s press deadline.
Ovechkin ties record in loss to Leafs
Citizen news service
TORONTO — The jubilant cheers coming from the Maple Leafs’ locker-room could have very easily been swapped out for a collective sigh of relief.
Nazem Kadri recorded his fifth-career hat trick as part of a four-point night and Auston Matthews snapped the second-longest goal drought of his career Wednesday as Toronto defeated the free-falling Washington Capitals 6-3.
William Nylander, who came in with just four points in 20 games since the end of his contract impasse, added three assists as the Leafs picked up a much-needed win heading into the NHL all-star break and their
league-mandated bye week.
“We wanted this one,” Kadri said. “We wanted to feel good about ourselves.”
Toronto, which doesn’t play again until Feb. 1, had lost two straight, five of six at Scotiabank Arena – including four in a row – and seven of its last 10 overall.
“We’ve felt like we’ve been trending in the right direction,” Kadri added. “It’s definitely nice to play a full 60 (minutes) and beat a good team.”
Nikita Zaitsev and Mitch Marner, into an empty net, had the other goals for the Leafs (30-17-2), while Morgan Rielly and Connor Brown added two assists each.
“Once we put in that kind of work, we can play with anybody,” said Toronto goalie
Struggling Oilers axe GM Chiarelli
EDMONTON (CP) — The CEO of the Edmonton Oilers says the firing of general manager Peter Chiarelli has him looking to root out larger problems in an organization that has missed the playoffs in 11 of the last 12 NHL seasons.
“We’ve got some real good players. We’ve got some real good staff. But there’s something in the water here in Edmonton that we don’t have right, and we’ve got to get that figured out,” Bob Nicholson told reporters Wednesday as the team formally announced Chiarelli’s departure as GM and president of hockey operations.
“The way that you figure that out is you talk to people. I’m going to try to open up more doors in all aspects of this organization to find out those little things that just haven’t been fixed over the last number of years for us not to be in the playoffs.”
Nicholson said Chiarelli was told he was out after the second period of the Oilers’ 3-2 loss at home to the Detroit Red Wings
on Tuesday night, although Nicholson said the decision was made earlier than that.
The Oilers lost their third in a row Tuesday and entered Wednesday night’s play three points out of a playoff spot.
Edmonton enters the all-star break one game under .500 at 23-24-3 and doesn’t play again until Feb. 2. The Oilers are in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight season and third time in four years under Chiarelli.
The Oilers have won just one playoff series since reaching the Stanley Cup final in 2006. In the past 10 years, the organization has had eight head coaches and three GMs.
This was a year the Oilers were expected to rebound back to the playoff form of two seasons ago. Nicholson was asked about Chiarelli’s reaction to the news.
“He was very professional about it,” said Nicholson. “He was disappointed.
“He really felt that he had let the orga-
Frederik Andesen, who stopped 41 shots.
Nicklas Backstrom, with a goal and an assist, Alex Ovechkin and Matt Niskanen replied for the Capitals (27-17-6).
Playing for a third time in four nights, the defending Stanley Cup champions lost their seventh consecutive game (0-5-2).
Braden Holtby, who had allowed 11 goals on his last 54 shots against before Wednesday, finished with 31 saves. T.J. Oshie added two assists.
Washington lost 8-6 in Chicago on Sunday and 7-6 to San Jose in overtime on Tuesday. The Capitals have given up 21 goals in its last three outings and have been outscored 36-17 during their slide.
Kadri is also the third straight member of
nization down in not having this team in the playoffs. And I think any time (a firing) happens a person is shocked but I really feel that he knew there was a lot of chatter so it wasn’t a huge surprise to him.”
In recent days, local bloggers and columnists had been calling for Chiarelli to be fired and some fans at the Wings game chanted “Fire Chiarelli!”
The Oilers fired head coach Todd McLellan in November and replaced him with Ken Hitchcock.
Nicholson said Hitchcock’s duties won’t change and that assistant general manager Keith Gretzky will inherit many of Chiarelli’s duties as the search begins for a new GM. Nicholson is in charge of hockey operations.
Nicholson stressed that the firing does not signal the season is lost, that the team is launching a full-scale rebuild, or that the Oilers will pull the trigger on a panic trade for short-term benefit.
the opposition to register a hat trick after Chicago’s Jonathan Toews and San Jose’s Tomas Hertl.
“We can’t give up that number of goals,” said head coach Todd Reirden, whose team has eight days to contemplate its latest setback. “We’ve got to figure out a way to keep the puck out of our net.”
With his goal Ovechkin, who is skipping the all-star festivities in San Jose and will have to sit out Washington’s game on Feb. 1 as a result, tied Sergei Fedorov for top spot all-time among Russian-born players with 1,179 points. “It’s a big privilege, especially when you played together and you learn a lot from that legend,” Ovechkin said. “I’m pretty sure Fed is very happy it’s me.”
“We’re going to put all of the onus on the group inside the dressing room because they have shown that they can do it,” he said.
“We will look to try to bolster the offence and the defence, but we’re not trading away our first-(round draft) pick. When you look at some of our other top prospects, we’re not giving them away unless we get some real good pieces back.”
Chiarelli was originally hired to rebuild the Oilers around superstar Connor McDavid in April of 2015, but has struggled to find the right pieces to play alongside the reigning Art Ross Trophy winner.
Many fans have never forgiven him for trading star forward Taylor Hall in 2016 for struggling defenceman Adam Larsson. He also traded away dependable scorer Jordan Eberle for what ultimately became Ryan Spooner, who was put on waivers this week. He has also inked underperforming forward Milan Lucic to a multi-year millstone contract at US$6 million per season.
Science behind MRIs dates back to 1900s
MRI or magnetic resonance imaging is now a fairly common medical technique. It can be used for any number of issues but it is the one of the best methods doctors have for examining soft tissue within joints, muscles, or the brain.
The science behind these instruments owes a lot to early physics and the development of quantum mechanics.
In the early 1900s, physicists were exploring the structure of the atom using a variety of techniques. At the time, the most popular atomic model was called the plum pudding, although we would likely call it the Chips Ahoy model now. The model consisted of a blending of positive (cookie) and negative (chocolate chips) particles into a solid atom.
In a 1909 paper, Ernest Marsden, Hans Geiger, and Ernest Rutherford were able to show the mass of an atom is actually in a tiny nucleus with an overall positive charge. They surmised the electrons orbited this nucleus much like the planets orbit the sun in a solar system atomic model.
electrons, but these nuclear magnetic properties are important and their effects are measurable. In the presence of an external field, a nucleus will line up with its north pole pointing at the field’s south and vice versa, much the same as a compass lines up with the Earth’s magnetic field.
One of the consequences of these developments in quantum physics was the need for instrumentation to measure and test the theories.
The time was truly one of excitement for scientists as new fundamental phenomena were described monthly. With the new model for the atom came many questions. Why were the electrons able to stay in their orbits? What do atoms really look like?
Over the next two decades, physicists were able to build a better picture of the subatomic world, which resulted in the development of Schrodinger’s orbitals and Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. The world of quantum mechanics is a very strange place where electrons exist in probability clouds arranged around a nuclear core.
One of the consequences of these developments in quantum physics was the need for instrumentation to measure and test the theories. This resulted in the development of electronics which came of age in the 1930s and ’40s, driven, in part, by physics but also by the world wars. Devices such as radar, jet engines and nuclear bombs came into being.
Quantum theoretical calculations had necessitated protons, neutrons and electrons have a property which was labelled spin. While sub-atomic particles don’t actually spin like a top, it is a useful analogy. One of the more obscure scientific instruments was built by Felix Bloch and Edward Purcell in 1930s and called a ‘nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer’ or NMR. It was an instrument designed to measure nuclear spin and test the theoretical calculations.
The spin of protons and neutrons in an atom result in the nucleus acting like a tiny bar magnets. This is not the source of magnetism in iron or steel, which results from
What an NMR does is position these nuclear particles in a magnetic field and then shines radio waves on them. When a nucleus is hit by a radio wave of just the right frequency, it will flip over. That is, it will turn so that the north pole is lined up with the applied north pole and the south with the south. Flipping like this results in some of the radio waves being absorbed and it was this absorption which was first measured.
This wouldn’t be very interesting except the nuclei of different elements all flip at different frequencies. You can tell the difference between, for example, hydrogen and fluorine by the wavelength of radio waves required to cause the nuclei to flip.
Furthermore, different types of hydrogen will flip at different frequencies. A hydrogen contained in a water molecule will flip at a frequency different from one in an organic compound. For chemists, this was a major breakthrough as different compounds could be identified this way.
One other subtlety to the whole experiment is something called spin-spin relaxation. Once the nucleus flips, it is like an upside-down top and will recess back to its original position. The north pole will slowly migrate to the south pole of the external field and vice versa. The result generates something called a free induction decay signal which is measured by modern NMR spectrometers.
After NMR was invented, scientists began to wonder what would happen if you put living tissue inside an NMR. Could you detect the molecules and atoms within cells?
After many years of technological advance involving the use of superconducting magnets and three dimensional imaging software, examining cellular activity became possible. It was not long before this was adapted to imaging human body parts and so, from this fundamental interest in the physics of nuclear magnetic moments, we have magnetic resonance imaging or MRI machines.
From abstract physics to pure chemistry to practical medicine, scientific ideas change our lives.
Interactive, multimedia performance lets you hear ethereal music of spider’s web
Citizen news service
What do spider webs sound like?
If you’ve never considered the question, don’t stress: scientists and musicians have.
They’ve created an interactive, multimedia performance that lets you tour a spiderspun web that makes otherworldly music.
Spider’s Canvas/Arachnodrone, a sonic exploration of a spider’s web, is the result of a meeting of minds at MIT.
The project’s collaborators are Evan Ziporyn, composer and faculty director of the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology; composer/visual artist Christine Southworth; sound artist Ian Hattwick; spider researcher Isabelle Su. Also helping out a bit: a Cyrtophora citricola spider from South America.
SOUTHWORTH
The group took laser-scanned images of the spider’s web, then associated different parts of the web with different sounds. They were inspired by the intricate, yet tough
protein fibres that make up spider webs. The haunting, abstract music that resulted is paired with a visual component that gives audiences an interactive, spider’s-eye view of the web. Su controls the audience’s view of the web, guiding them through different components with a video game that serves up the different sounds depending on which part of the web she accesses. It’s an ever-changing performance deeply rooted in a collaboration among science, art, technology and a whole other species. The group isn’t done weaving their creative web: in the future, the collaborators will work to give the piece a virtual reality component, too.
Catch the first U.S. performances of Spider’s Canvas/Arachnodrone at MIT’s Sounding performance season next month, learn more about the collaboration at MIT News or check out Arachnodrone.com for images and video.
CITIZEN FILE PHOTO
The Prince George hospital got a new MRI unit in the fall of 2003. Here, Cindy Rousell, MRI supervisor at the time, explains how the machine works while MRI technician Leeanne Evanow acts as a patient.
TODD WHITCOMBE
Relativity
Rise of the dragon
Andrew DALTON Citizen news service
After five decades, Jimmy Page’s dragon has re-emerged from its lair.
Fender instruments on Wednesday gave the public its first look at its recreation of a Telecaster guitar that Page once painted with a dragon, a long-lost piece of six-string history that marked the guitar hero’s last days in the Yardbirds and first days in Led Zeppelin.
The instrument with the psychedelic green-and-red serpent on its body represents “a pivotal moment for the guitar and music,” said Paul Waller, the master builder who worked side-by-side with Page to make him a spot-on match of the guitar before making 50 more by hand to sell to the public.
The reboot was hatched when Page was looking through photographs for a book celebrating last year’s 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin. The dragon guitar, which he says was once his “Excalibur,” kept popping up in them, and he started to think it was time to get past his bitterness about its fate.
The 1959 Telecaster, pre-paint, had been a cherished gift from his fellow former Yardbird bandmate Jeff Beck.
“It was given to me with so much affection,” Page told The Associated Press in October. “I really wanted to customize the instrument, almost consecrate the instrument.”
Page first decorated it with mirrors, then pulled out poster paints and used his art-school skills to summon the dragon.
He would use the guitar to write and record songs like Dazed and Confused for the first Led Zeppelin album, work as significant as any in the history of the electric guitar.
But a clueless house-sitter, not thinking much of Page’s painting, put his own mosaic artwork over the dragon and presented it to Page as a gift. Page said it was all he
Director faces allegations of sexual assault
Page’s guitar reborn after 50 years on ice
could do not to hit the guy over the head with it. Instead, he stripped it bare and angrily threw it into storage, where it sat for 50 years.
The guitar-makers at Fender had thought about remaking the instrument long before Page himself came forward, because of its historic significance and as a way to claim for Fender a piece of Page, who among guitar nerds is associated with rival Gibson guitars.
“A lot of people were surprised to hear all of Led Zeppelin One was recorded on a Telecaster, that’s kind of mind-blowing,” said Waller, who has been building guitars since high school woodshop and whose creations have included a Telecaster for Keith
But a clueless house-sitter, not thinking much of Page’s painting, put his own mosaic artwork over the dragon and presented it to Page as a gift.
Richards and a fully functioning Stratocaster made of cardboard. Page wanted to recreate not just the design, but the form, feel and sound of the original, so Waller
NEW YORK (AP) — Director Bryan Singer has been accused of sexually assaulting minors in an expose published by The Atlantic. The Atlantic on Wednesday published a lengthy article about four alleged victims who
went to his house in London and the two took out the old guitar and took it apart piece-by-piece so they could recreate each part for the rebuild.
“Best day at work ever,” Waller said.
Page even made a trip to Fender’s California plant – the rocker’s first time inside a guitar factory – to inspect and help with the finished products.
“All the employees lost their minds,” Waller said with a laugh, “to watch somebody like Jimmy Page be totally enthralled with the machinery and act like a kid and be taking pictures.”
The 75-year-old Page painted at least a stroke on each of the 50
said they were seduced and molested by the Bohemian Rhapsody director while underage. Three of the men spoke on the condition of anonymity. Victor Valdovinos said he was molested by Singer on the set of Apt Pupil when he
Rhianna Dorris, Tom Taylor, Dean Chaumoo and Louis Ashbourne Serkis star in the Arthurian adventure The Kid Who Would Be King.
Classic quest set in modern times
Citizen news service
Do the Middle Ages hold the key to saving the world?
The Kid Who Would Be King suggests so. This contemporary, Arthurian-themed adventure encourages kids of today to look to the legends of the past – and to the lessons of medieval chivalry – in their search for a peaceful future.
The British writer and director Joe Cornish, who wrote the screenplays for Ant-Man and The Adventures of Tintin, is back in the director’s chair for the first time since his 2011 indie thriller Attack the Block. Here, he views King Arthur’s court from the vantage point of a divided and leaderless time (a.k.a. present-day England). For the most part, the conceit works, delivering a hopeful tale about the struggle between good and evil in a chaotic world.
Merlin, as it happens, is also a great sorcerer. Featuring a host of CGI effects – sword-wielding trees, battalions of skeletal monsters, and a serpentine Morgana – The Kid Who Would Be King harks back, stylistically, to the work of stop-motion pioneer Ray Harryhausen. And there are other nods to movies of the past: in the address of a fast-food joint, Cornish includes a sly reference to the filmmaker John Boorman, director of the 1981 Arthurian epic Excalibur.
But the movie drags a bit when it sends Alex on a quest to find his father. Although this journey – a scenic detour that leads to historic Glastonbury Tor – enables our young heroes to tap into their still-developing strengths, it’s ironic that it seems to lead the director astray from his own storytelling prowess.
But everything changes when Alex discovers a sword in an abandoned construction site...
The Kid Who Would Be King centres on Alex (Louis Ashbourne Serkis), a British schoolboy who is fed up with the bullies (Tom Taylor and Rhianna Dorris) who have been picking on him and his friend Bedders (Dean Chaumoo). He also longs to reconnect with his father, who left behind a book of Arthurian legends before he mysteriously disappeared.
But everything changes when Alex discovers a sword in an abandoned construction site – a sword that turns out to be Excalibur, the blade of lore that can be pulled from the stone only by the “true king.” Can this nerdy little boy possibly be that person? If so, he will have to face off against Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson of Mission Impossible: Fallout), an evil sorceress who thrives on the discord that runs rampant in the world.
Spoiler alert: he can. But only by emulating King Arthur, and by teaming up with his tormentors and following the guidance of a strange new schoolmate named Merlin (a delightfully bug-eyed Angus Imrie).
Cornish is at his best when Alex and his ragtag group stick closer to home, in an echo of Cornish’s 2011 film, which revolved around a group of high-schoolers warding off an alien invasion. (It may as well have been called Attack the School.) Like that (far gorier) film, this one also features a group of young people who put aside their differences to face an adversary. But Attack the Block had a raw energy that’s largely missing here – in part due to the movie’s PG rating and its younger target audience.
Still, the movie has a kind of optimism that is reflected in the new generation of English thespians in its young cast: Imrie is the son of actress Celia Imrie, and Serkis is the son of actor and filmmaker Andy Serkis. Patrick Stewart – a veteran of Boorman’s Excalibur who plays Merlin in his true, i.e., mature, form – represents the old guard.
The Kid Who Would Be King holds out no promise of an easy fix for the ills of the modern age. It does however suggest that our children may be the once and future kings that save us – but only if they follow the code of their elders. — Two and a half stars out of four
instruments Waller built.
“He was adamant about applying paint to every one,” Waller said. Fender is also selling assemblyline models of the guitar that are more affordable than the many thousands the handmade ones are likely to bring in.
Waller said he had been a bundle of nerves when the first of the recreations was sent to Page in England, and was deeply relieved when he heard back from Page that it was a dead ringer for his original.
“As soon as he opened the case he knew,” Waller said.
Page agreed, telling the AP that “If anything, the colours were just slightly richer.”
was in Grade 7. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office earlier investigated claims that male minors were pressured into stripping naked for a shower scene in Apt Pupil but declined to press charges.
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is shown at the Fender Factory in Corona, Calif., in October 2018.
PHOTO BY KERRY BROWN/ TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
Jean Marie Davey May 26, 1934January 17, 2019
A good wife, sister, mother, friend. A private, shy, faithful and committed woman.
Jean was born In Clouston, Saskatchewan. After she married her husband Bill in 1951, they moved to Prince George and Built their home on Parent Road where they raised their family. She is predeceased by her husband Bill and survived by 5 children: Robert (Annette), Charles, Gary, Valerie (Richard), Sheila (Dennis), 7 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren. She enjoyed being outside, fishing, trapping, hunting, camping, the casino, sports, dancing, gardening, talking, but above all,spending time with her family.
She will be remembered by her physical and inner strength and having a tender heart. Funeral will be held January 26, 2019 at 1:00pm from Immaculate Conception with Father Chris Lynch officiating. A reception will be held immediately afterwards with snacks and refreshments at 2 pm at the Royal Canadian Legion Local 43 at 1116 6th Ave. A special thank-you goes to her family, lifetime friends, the many neighbours from Marleau Subdivision and Asher Place. We would like to also thank the amazing doctors, nurses and medical staff at UHNBC, and Bryce the kind, skillful, social worker from ICU.
Don’t think of me as gone away, My journey’s just begun.
On January 14, 2019, David died at the age of 84 years. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Dorala (Sadler) Lindstrom, his son Michael Lindstrom (Brenda), daughter, Debi De Bin, 4 grandchildren and 3 great grandsons.
David was predeceased by daughter, Diane Lindstrom. David was born in 1934 in Santa Rosa, California and he married Dorala in 1954. David’s passion for music began at an early age and continued throughout his life. While in California, he received a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Education, and then earned his Masters in Vocal Performance in 1962. In 1968, David was invited to initiate the music program and also teach music at the new Prince George Secondary High School. Upon his acceptance of this position, the family moved from California to Prince George, BC, in 1969.
After Prince George Secondary School, he taught Music and Social Studies at Lakewood Junior Secondary School for many years.
His prolific music career included setting up the music program for School District # 57, assuming leadership of the Prince George Cantata Singers, taking part in a wide variety of musical performances, and supporting and participating in many musical endeavours throughout the region. His teaching career spanned 41 years. Through it all, his faith and personal relationship with God was the foundation of his life.
A Celebration of God’s faithfulness as He walked beside David, will take place February 4, 2019 @ 2PM at Fort George Baptist Church - 1600 Johnson Street, Prince George, BC. If you want to do something in memory of David, please do a kindness for an older person.
Florence Isabel Ashdown
April 29, 1923January 21, 2019
It is with deep sadness the family of Florence announce her passing. She was a kind, caring person and will be forever missed.
She is survived by son Wayne (Lynda) Oakman; son-in-law Terry Conant; grandchildren: Kim (Kelly) Stewart, Rebecca (Lorne) Gelowitz, Terry Fleming, Wendy (Barry) Oakman, Carol (Louis) Garant; great grandchildren: Reese, Tyson, Stephanie, Vanessa, Robert, Tiera, Sam, Matthew, Erica and Isabel and many nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by husband Gene Ashdown, daughter Diane Conant, mother and dad Arthur and Mildred Abbott, sisters Ann Cote, Elsie Bargy, Betty Blakely and brothers John and Vern Abbott. Florence was proud to have served in Canadian Armed Forces. Thanks to Dr. T Young and the staff of Gateway for looking after mom. There will be a private family service at a later date.
RITA MADAM passed away in hospital on January 22, 2019 at the age of 76 years. Rita is survived by her husband Bryan Faulkner and her children; Jerry, Carol, Brian, Mary Lou and Pierre Jr. She is also survived by her brother Tony (Nora) Lolly and sister Nancy (Jim) Williams. Rita was predeceased by her husband Pierre and children Loretta and Fabian. A prayer service and wake will be held on Friday January 25th 2019 at 6:30pm at St. Michaels Anglican Church Hall 1505 St’h Avenue Prince George BC, Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday January 29th at 12:00 noon at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish Burns Lake, B.C. with Fr. Dominic Apaatah officiating.
It is with great sadness we announce the passing of our beloved Mother and “Nanna,” Natalina Maria Pellegrino, who passed away peacefully on Saturday, January 19, 2019, at the age of 84. Natalina was born in Scigliano, Italy on December 23, 1934, and immigrated to Canada in 1963, to join her husband in order to build a better life for their young family. Natalina was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother whose greatest joy in life was to spend time with her family. Natalina is survived by her daughter, Filomena (Angelo), and sons Ted (Sherry), Hugo (Tracey), and Tony (Velinda). She will also be lovingly remembered by her grandchildren Daniela (Darren), Doriana, Briana (Paul), Stefanie, Sofia, Maximo and great-grandson Christian. Brothers Raimondo (Esterina), Albino (Algidia), sisters-in-law Elfida, Michelina, Pierina (Italo) Maletta and numerous nieces, nephews, family members and friends.
Natalina was predeceased by her parents Antonio and Filomena Astorino, her loving husband Egidio and by her brothers Francesco (Carmela), Giuseppe (Victoria), Carmelo (Irma), Domenico (Rosina), Mario, Emelio and sisters Alessandrina (Salvatore) Manfredi, Giuditta (Giuseppe) Damiano. Prayers will be held at Sacred Heart Cathedral on Thursday, January 24, 2019 at 7:00 pm followed by the Funeral Mass on Friday, January 25, 2019 at 10:00 am. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice. A special thank you to Dr. Higgins who provided care and support to Natalina and her family.
Localconstructioncompanywithrentalportfolio requiresareliable,full-timeAdministrativeAssistant. Dutiestoincludereception,generalofficeduties,and maintainingtherentalportfolio.
Pleasedeliverresumeandcoverletterto2255Quinn Street. 250-563-5291 mhusband@telus.net fortwoodhomes.com
In Memory of David Howard Lindstrom
MONEY IN BRIEF
Currencies
OTTAWA (CP) — These are in-
dicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Wednesday.
Feds weigh options to help millennials buy homes
Andy BLATCHFORD Citizen news service
OTTAWA — The federal Liberals have several options as they look for ways to help more millennials buy homes in an era of pricey real estate and rising borrowing costs, housing experts say.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau said earlier this week Ottawa is exploring measures to make home ownership affordable for more millennials, a generation made up of people who are now in their mid-20s to late-30s.
Morneau didn’t elaborate on what options he’s considering, but Canadians could learn more in the coming weeks when he releases an election-year budget that will also lay out Liberal platform commitments.
Major political parties have already started positioning themselves on the complex area of housing affordability. It will likely emerge as an important campaign issue ahead of October’s federal election, and the challenges of millennials and first-time buyers could attract a lot of attention.
“There’s no silver bullet to making housing more affordable for younger generations,” Paul Kershaw, an associate professor in the University of British Columbia’s school of population and public health, wrote in an email Wednesday.
“What we need to do is modernize outdated policies that make the regular housing market inefficient.”
The markets today
TORONTO (CP) — Canada’s main stock index dipped for just the third time in a month as lower crude oil prices hurt the key energy sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 25.43 points at 15,208.33 on a quiet day of trading after a rough December and 12-day rally in January.
“It seems like today the market’s just taking a breather,” says Anish Chopra, managing director with Portfolio Management Corp.
He said investors are digesting the news of the last few months that saw the worst December since 1931 followed by the best first month of the new year since 1987.
“Just like markets don’t go down in a straight line, they certainly don’t go up in a straight line, so for there to be a bit of a pause and a breather as the market finds its level that would seem appropriate.”
The energy sector was the biggest loser on the day, falling by 1.24 per cent on a further slip in the price of crude. Suncor Energy Inc. lost 1.45 per cent, followed by Royal Bank of Canada and TransCanada Corp.
The March crude contract was down 39 cents at US$52.62 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.92 per mmBTU. Energy prices fell on continued concerns about a slowdown in the global economy and an expected report about record U.S. shale production.
The consumer discretionary sector led the TSX, gaining nearly two per cent, helped by Restaurant Brands International Inc.
Its shares rose 9.6 per cent to $83.51 after the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen raised its dividend and announced changes in its executive suite, including the installation of a new CEO.
The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 74.92 cents US compared with an average of 74.96 cents US on Tuesday.
The February gold contract was up 60 cents at US$1,284 an ounce and the March copper contract was down half of a cent at US$2.65 a pound.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 171.14 points at 24,575.62. The S&P 500 index was up 5.80 points at 2,638.70, while the Nasdaq composite was up 5.41 points at 7,025.77.
Kershaw, who is also the founder of the Generation Squeeze group dedicated to informing policy decisions about the socioeconomic challenges of younger Canadians, said boosting a permanently affordable housing supply is one way to help.
He also recommended putting limits on zoning rules that encourage lower-density neighbourhoods. Kershaw’s been calling on Ottawa to provide incentives for cities to add supply in lands that are currently zoned for low density.
In recent years, Ottawa has taken steps to cool the hottest markets – such as Toronto and Vancouver – with the cross-country application of stress tests that have limited some people’s ability to qualify for mortgages and have reduced the size of new loans.
The stricter rules have played an important role in preventing Canadians from piling on more mortgage debt, but experts say they’ve also put home ownership out of reach for many new buyers.
“There’s a lot of folks that just don’t qualify
A “for sale” sign stands in front of a house in June. The federal government is looking for ways to help more millennials purchase their own homes, experts say.
to purchase anymore at the bottom end of that ladder,” said Paul Taylor, president and CEO of Mortgage Professionals Canada.
Taylor said the stress tests have succeeded in taking some of the froth out of the market and he believes the time has come for Ottawa to loosen them. In recent meetings with federal officials, he said he has recommended the reintroduction of insurance on 30-year amortization mortgages as a targeted way to help people at the lower end.
The coming weeks would be a good time for some changes with the busy spring season is approaching, he said.
“If we have another cool spring market, that’s going to have serious knock-on effects to the economy,” said Taylor, who was encouraged by Morneau’s comments.
Tom Storey, an agent with Royal LePage Signature Realty in Toronto, said young buyers can usually afford to keep up with monthly mortgage payments, but the effects of the stress tests have made it much more difficult for them to enter the market.
Storey said changes designed for first-time buyers – such as more lenient stress tests for them and bigger rebates on land transfer taxes
– could improve affordability.
“Millennials and the first-time buyers are eager to get into the market,” he said.
Pollster David Coletto said a housing policy aimed at millennials could be a vote winner among this increasingly critical demographic that he estimates will make up about a third of eligible voters in this year’s election. It’s now a bigger segment than the baby boomer generation, he said.
Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, said for the last two or three years his surveys have suggested that, along with jobs, affordable home ownership has been among the top two issues for millennials.
“There’s a passion and an intensity about this issue with younger people,” he said.
He added there’s a perception among millennials that Ottawa has actually made it harder for them to buy a home, even if the direct decisions to hike interest rates were made by the Bank of Canada and not the government.
The Liberals, Coletto said, have to find a way to mobilize and engage young voters like the party did in 2015. He believes there’s a lack of enthusiasm among younger voters right now, which represents a real risk for the Liberals.
Important to pick your battles, in hockey and taxes
The Lynn Valley Road Hockey League consisted of the East 27th St. Bruisers (my team), the 18th Avenue A’s (a bunch of elite rep A players), the Condo Kids (who couldn’t afford their own net) and the Ross Road Runners (who once had a player named Bryan Adams – yes, that Bryan Adams).
It was a huge moment when we defeated the elite 18th Avenue team in the second round.
They said we cheated, but in truth we were hungrier than them and less whiny. We had already beat Ross Road, so we found ourselves up against the Condo team of ragtag losers for the 1969 Manley Cup.
Their team could scarcely fill their roster. They had moderately-talented twins, along with their toothless little sister, whose plastic Super Blade constantly flew off her stick. There was a speed bump in the playing roadway and a kid who served as our play-by-play specialist and last-resort referee. He had a long trench coat, floppy dress shoes and a broken radio, which he held up to his ear while talking his way through the action in radio-voice. It was awkwardly flattering. Finally the game got going and we quickly realized how the shabby crew got to the final. They had a new kid.
His own team didn’t like him. His stick was too long, his bell-bottoms too short, his hair too greasy and his snap shot oh so deadly. He played with a dorky smile on his face; it was like a game to him… weird. He had a broken arm, protected by an ugly white plaster cast with dog hair and a piece of gum stuck to one end. Occasionally he put the gum back in his mouth for a few more chews, which sort of weakened my resolve to live.
It was a best-of-three and we lost in the third game in overtime – our turn to whine. More importantly, by the end I had made a new friend who would prove to last a lifetime. We fought occasionally, but we had too much in common not to bond. Children of divorced
single moms, hockey geeks, poor and often in detention after school.
U.S. tax battles
Speaking of battles, let’s look at the tax traps for U.S. citizens living in Canada. There are over 7.6 million U.S. citizens living abroad. Based on the 2011 Canadian Census, over three million are U.S. citizens living in Canada. Just like Canadians, they will own various types of assets, some of which will grow, produce income and possibly receive preferential tax treatment. The difference for Americans in Canada is that they need to abide by both Canadian and U.S. tax rules, making their tax situation much more complicated. While the system of foreign tax credits and rules under the Canada U.S. tax treaty are often helpful, there are numerous tax traps that Americans in Canada can easily fall into, sometimes with very serious consequences. RRSPs and RRIFs work for Americans in Canada. The tax deferral that Canadians enjoy until funds are withdrawn equally apply under U.S. income tax rules and while there is no deduction for U.S. income tax purposes upon contributions to RRSP plans (except for contributions to certain group RRSP plans), these contributions can be withdrawn on a U.S. tax free basis.
TFSAs do not work for Americans in Canada. The U.S. will tax the annual income. Also RESPs funded by U.S. subscribers don’t work. They are taxed annually in the U.S. on the income earned. Worse, since TFSAs and RESPs are trusts, Americans in Canada who are
contributors or beneficiaries may have to file complex U.S. trust information forms annually. Americans in Canada that participate in a number of non-(U.S.)-qualified retirement income and deferred compensation plans from Canadian employers must consider whether these plans are subject to punitive U.S. tax rules. Failure might result in immediate U.S. taxation of the deferred compensation, an interest charge, and a 20 per cent penalty. Americans in Canada may have established Roth IRAs, IRAs, and 401(k) plans before coming here. Roth IRAs are similar to TFSAs as there are no deductions for contributions to the plan and the growth may be withdrawn from the plan tax-free. Canada will provide the same tax treatment if no contributions are made while here, with proper documentation. No further contributions may be made to the Roth IRA while they are resident in Canada.
U.S. 401(k)’s and IRAs can in many cases be transferred to Canadian RRSPs on a taxneutral basis. Although the withdrawal from these accounts are subject to U.S. taxation and potentially an additional 10 per cent early withdrawal tax, it may be possible to obtain full foreign tax credit relief in Canada, resulting in tax neutrality. It is important to do an analysis to ensure tax neutrality since the strategy does not work for everyone.
The U.S. views American-held trusts and corporations in Canada as foreign legal structures, and notwithstanding that these structures are taxable in Canada, the U.S. taxes these structures quite differently, often resulting in double taxation.
Mark Ryan is an investment advisor with RBC Dominion Securities Inc. (member – Canadian Investor Protection Fund), and these are Ryan’s views, and not those of RBC Dominion Securities. This article is for information purposes only. Please consult with a professional advisor before taking any action based on information in this article. See Ryan’s website at: http://dir.rbcinvestments.com/mark.ryan.
U.S. markets were helped by strong fourth-quarter earnings reports by companies like IBM, Proctor & Gamble, and United Technologies. “Many a
MARK RYAN
‘Seismic shift’ has happened in corporate world
He is not an old fellow, a mere 45, but Matt Barrie has seen our concepts of careers change and change and change. His grandfather, for instance, would have taken a job and aimed to stay with it until retirement. His father would have thought of taking a job for 20 years and then starting a business to spend the second half of his career.
Barrie thinks of jobs in terms of five- to 10-year periods.
The generation that follows him looks at jobs in two-year cycles. Then there are the millennials, for whom there is even less permanence but the familiarity – preferred or not – of job-hopping and freelance work. The changes are partly practical, partly attitudinal, partly economical, but they remind us of the grand challenge as a society to shift policy to accommodate emerging values about work and its role in shaping identity.
Barrie, an Australian tech entrepreneur, is CEO of the giant job board Freelancer.com, a rich trove of global opportunities that has
about 30 million users worldwide. He is at ground zero on the gig economy, and while it’s not always a pretty vista, he is effusive about its qualities. I spent time with him last week for our daily podcast at Business in Vancouver (it’s online at biv.com). His perspective offered a vector into the world that ranges from side hustles to full-time projectbased toil.
Barrie believes the corporate world has undertaken a seismic shift in only the last two years in the tension between embracing and repelling the concept of freelance labour. Until recently he would take meetings with firms that would look to validate their fears of freelancing – security clearances, cultural differences, legal worries, education standards and the like – but now he notices a vastly more positive, proactive climate.
He argues that this is the world we want more of, a flexible context for work that is enabled by digital technology to permit almost anything to be done from almost anywhere. It’s a context of far less exclusion and far more opportunity. There are healthy questions to consider, among them concerns of
exploitation and what if anything can be done when offshore expertise usurps the local worker.
Barrie’s service isn’t entirely agnostic. It won’t undercut labour laws in matching employers and workers. It encourages freelancers to be wise about their value and charge sufficiently to take care of any medical or other benefits. While there are easily found online critiques of the model he touts, these feel more attached to a nostalgic wish of greater security than missives about the burgeoning norm.
We know our market has a talent challenge and we are not alone. But the old-style approach of fashioning a job description, commissioning a recruitment firm, reviewing resumés to create a short list of applicants, spending time and perhaps money interviewing the finalists, incentivizing them to move, expending effort to train them, providing golden handcuffs to retain, then praying for a lengthy and productive contribution... well, that’s not the deal as much anymore. If you Google “gig economy,”
Pay gap in Canadian tech jobs nearly $20K per year: study
Citizen news service
TORONTO — Women in Canadian tech jobs, with a bachelor’s degree or higher, earn nearly $20,000 less a year than their male counterparts – and that pay gap can be just as stark for visible minority and Indigenous tech workers, a new study says.
The Brookfield Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, housed within Ryerson University in Toronto, crunched 2016 Statistics Canada census data with methodology based on the U.S. ONet system for skills breakdowns.
It found a $19,750 pay gap between female and male workers with a Bachelor’s degree
or higher, with women averaging $75,500 a year, compared with $95,100 for men.
The report defines tech workers as people either producing or making extensive use of technology, regardless of industry.
The research encompasses both digital occupations, which typically contribute to the development of hardware or software, and high-tech occupations that require advanced technical skills and usually includes engineers and scientists.
When all Canadian tech jobs are examined, regardless of education, the pay gap shrinks to $7,300 with men earning $76,200 annually on average and women earning roughly $68,900.
Across visible minority groups, the study found women receive lower compensation than their male counterparts in almost all cases. The exception was Chinese women, with an average salary $73,430 – about on par with Chinese men.
Meanwhile, Indigenous tech workers were paid significantly less than their non-Indigenous counterparts.
Inuit tech workers, regardless of sex, made about $45,000 per year on average. Workers identifying as First Nations earned $64,000 and Metis tech workers averaged $71,700.
The Canadian tech sector has grown by 24 per cent over 10 years, becoming the country’s third highest category for jobs for growth.
Alaska jobs report shows growth in oil, gas industry
Citizen news service
JUNEAU, Alaska — Alaska’s oil and gas industry experienced modest growth last month as some sectors of the economy have continued shedding jobs, according to a state jobs report.
December employment numbers released Friday by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development show some losses from the recession are slowing, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported.
“The negatives have, generally speaking, gotten considerably smaller, especially in negatives like oil and gas, which was a big, big loser,” said state economist Neal Fried. More people were employed in the oil and gas industry in December than the same month in 2017, Fried said.
“policy” and “Canada,” you will get little else but a batch of very dire think pieces by economists and labour specialists on how we have not got ready for what has already hit us. About one-quarter of our labour force is in this “non-traditional” category, mainly because of lack of choice, but our socialinsurance programs are caught in a time warp. Little is happening to help with the hand-wringing. In watching the world the way he does, Barrie has concluded we are headed in the next decade for half of all work freelanced. Older workers will keep a hand in their fields, stay-at-home parents will find more ways to juggle family with enterprise, younger people will want to blend their expertise with the experiences of travel – any number of circumstances, now that technology avails it, are possible. His advice to the worker: don’t sell yourself short, charge enough to weather the rainy day and be the “master of your destiny.”
Kirk LaPointe is editor-inchief of Business in Vancouver and vice-president, editorial, of Glacier Media
Technology of future delivers doughnuts
Citizen news service
FAIRFAX, Va. — A fleet of high-tech robots has deployed at a northern Virginia university for the noble purpose of delivering pizza, doughnuts and coffee on demand to students.
More than 25 knee-high, coolershaped robots began delivery duty Tuesday at George Mason University in Fairfax.
Ryan Tuohy, senior vice-president for business development at San Francisco-based Starship Technologies, which makes the robots, said hundreds of delivery orders were placed on the service’s first day.
The company’s partnership with Sodexo, which holds the catering contract at George Mason, means students can get deliveries from Blaze Pizza, Starbucks and Dunkin for a $1.99 fee. A convenience store is also participating and more vendors are expected to join the program later.
The six-wheeled robots can climb curbs and hold up to nine kilograms of cargo.
The robots drew smiles and bemused looks from students who stopped to take pictures as they plodded along campus Wednesday making lunch deliveries.
Justin Plassmeyer, a senior computer science major, got a pizza delivery Wednesday as his friends watched and took photos. The robot took about eight minutes to make a delivery that a person walking briskly might have done in five. The robots are slowed a little by the need to use ramps instead of stairs.
“It’s not the fastest thing in the world,” Plassmeyer said. “If you’re really hungry, it’s probably faster to walk and get your food yourself. But if you’re just a little bit hungry, it’s perfect,” he said. He also said he appreciates the novelty of “having a little robot bring your food.”
Tuohy said college campuses are an ideal setting for Starship robots to operate: college students are interested in technology and innovation, and campus grounds are generally pedestrian friendly. The robots can’t go up and down steps, but campuses are required to be wheelchair accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Tuohy said, “so there’s going to be a ramp somewhere.”
The robots are learning the fastest routes to navigate the campus, and will eventually learn to avoid heavy trafficked pedestrian routes, willing to travel a longer distance if they can save time by moving more quickly on a less-travelled path.
KIRK LAPOINTE Business in Vancouver
BARRIE