Golden State Warriors top Raptors, stay alive in NBA final
Relay for Life beats last year’s fundraising total
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclark@pgcitizen.ca
The Relay For Life returned to familiar circles over the weekend at Exhibition Park and people took advantage of some decent spring weather conditions to show their support for the Canadian Cancer Society’s 27th annual fundraiser.
For 24 hours, moms, dads, sons and daughters gathered to open their hearts in a tribute to loved ones touched by the disease and they brought with them their wallets, purses and piggybanks to raise more than $325,000 for the cause.
“We’re thrilled that, we just had a really great year,” said Aimee Cassie, annual giving officer for the Canadian Cancer Society’s northern regional office.
“We are above last year. We announced $320,000 at the event last year and we were including money we knew was coming in. We will accept donations right up until August and typically we see quite a bit of money coming in after the event.”
After 25 years in a park-like setting at Masich Place Stadium, this was the second year the site of the relay was the paved parking lot in front of CN Centre and the Kin Centre.
The shock of trading soft grass and a rubberized walking track for hard concrete was made necessary by the Masich makeover to install an artificial turf field, which ruled out the possibility of hammering in spikes to anchor relay tents. The lengthy construction project meant an alternate site had to be found.
Organizers and participants welcomed the reconfiguration of the walking path back to an oval pattern, which helped bring back that sense of community that was lost somewhat on a rainy relay day last year.
“We’re so thrilled with the feedback we’re
getting from participants, they really liked the adjustments we made,” said Cassie.
“Last year we kind of had an H-shaped track because we tried to keep it the same distance as Masich and this year we went back to an oval and lost the distance. People
like to walk together as a community and they loved it. They got to see everybody walking and see the teams on either side of the track and we have that tent-city bond that we lacked.” — see ‘WE HAD THAT, page 3
Cannabis shops win city council’s support
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
Two proposals to establish privately-run cannabis stores unanimously won city council’s support on Monday night. Although a 25-name petition against the proposal had been submitted to council, just two people spoke during a hearing against opening a store in what was once the home of the Mai Thai restaurant in a strip mall off 484 Douglas St. Ken Simonar’s concerns revolved largely around the impact on traffic in the area although he did also note a potential for increased loitering and vagrancy, which he said has been a problem with the nearby BX Cold Beer and Wine Store. Judy Klassen suggested the shop’s name, Shire Green, would draw the eyes of young children. However, it was made clear that council can base its decision only on the land use and not on marketing.
Speaking in favour, Coun. Kyle Sampson suggested the impact on traffic and parking will be no worse than when it was a restaurant and noted the RCMP has indicated support for the use at the location. The store will be
operated by Justin Mousseau and Ted Brown, who have owned and operated the nearby BX Pub and BX Cold Beer and Wine Store for three years. Once up and running, they said they would host a town hall with neighbours every two
months to hear any concerns. No opposition was expressed when a hearing was held for a proposal from Ginny and Fred Burnett to sell recreational cannabis out of their Zaga’s Hemp Shop in the Redwood Mall at 1543 Victoria St.
The coast is not entirely clear for either initiative. Council limited their support to granting threeyear temporary use permits to allow the city to monitor for any trouble before deciding whether to rezone the sites for the use.
Mother dog, nine pups abandoned at dump
and nine
The BC SPCA is requesting the public’s help to find the owner of an abandoned mother dog and her puppies.
A Good Samaritan found the mother dog, who SPCA staff named Casey, inside a sealed box with her nine puppies at the Puntzi Lake Landfill, about 185 kilometres west of Williams Lake.
“There is no excuse for simply walking away from a pet and leaving them to die,” said Lorie Chortyk, the SPCA’s general manager of communications.
“Abandoning animals is against the law and individuals can be prosecuted for their crime.”
The family was discovered last Wednesday and stayed overnight at a local veterinary clinic. The dogs were transferred to the Quesnel and District SPCA in the morning because there was no foster home available for them in Williams Lake.
The mother is about a year old and is
believed to be a border collie, husky mix. Her five male and four female puppies are about a week old.
The mother is a bit thin and focusing on caring for her babies. Staff say she’s a timid but sweet dog.
The puppies will be ready for adoption once they are old enough to leave their mother at seven weeks of age.
The Quesnel and District SPCA is asking for donations of puppy pads, teething toys, sheets and small collars to help care for this little family. For donation and adoption inquiries please 250-992-7722 or visit the branch at 1000 Carson Pit Road.
“There is help available for pet guardians who are struggling to care for their animals. They can reach out to a local rescue or the SPCA instead of abandoning them,” said Chortyk.
Anyone with information relating to this case is asked to please call the BC SPCA’s toll-free hotline at 1-855-622-7722.
Walkers make their way around the route at Exhibition Park on Saturday night as part of the 27th annual Relay for Life.
Citizen staff
Puntzi Lake Landfill, west of Williams Lake.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
The proposed location for a cannabis retail store is seen at the corner of Carney Street and Fifth Avenue.
Construction nearing completion
Airport arrival entrance closed for 10 days
Citizen staff
The departures area doors will be the only way in and out of the Prince George Airport terminal for the next 10 days.
Starting Tuesday and continuing until June 21, the arrivals area doors will be off limits to make way for work to upgrade the sidewalk to new accessibility standards and start on constructing a new garden area, Prince George Airport Authority said Monday. Arrivals will still be able to collect their luggage at the carousel but will have to walk a little further to make their way out of the building. No disruptions to the flights are anticipated.
Departing passengers will be largely unaffected.
Other work underway include the repaving of a runway and expansion and paving of the longterm parking lot, replacement of the public address system and installation of a departure lounge restaurant.
Prince George provincial court docket
From Prince George provincial court, June 3-7, 2019:
• Leo Kirk Milton (born 1982) was sentenced to 49 days in jail for uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and to 30 days for breaching probation and to 18 months probation on the counts.
Milton was in custody for five days prior to sentencing.
• John Robert Wood (born 1960) was issued a one-year $500 recognizance after allegation of causing fear of injury or damage and fined $100 plus a $15 victim surcharge for driving without reasonable consideration under the Motor Vehicle Act.
• Andrea Leah Bowser (born 1978) was sentenced to zero days in jail for breaching probation.
• David Nicholas Joseph Johnson (born 1987) was sentenced to seven days in jail for breaching probation. Johnson was in custody for three days prior to sentencing.
• Logan Robert Solonas (born
1997) was sentenced to time served and 18 months probation for criminal harassment and two counts of breaching probation and issued a 10-year firearms prohibition and ordered to provide a DNA sample on the criminal harassment count. Solonas was in custody for 142 days prior to sentencing.
• Jared Blake Switzer (born 1985) was sentenced to 21 and 30 days respectively, to be served on an intermittent basis, prohibited from driving for two years and fined $1,000 plus $150 in victim surcharges for two counts of driving while driver’s licence is suspended under the Motor Vehicle Act.
• Russell Jack Gaucher (born 1975) was sentenced in Indigenous court to one year probation with a suspended sentenced for breaching probation and two counts of theft $5,000 or under.
• Daniel Willard Tom (born 1991) was issued a one-year $500 recognizance after allegation of causing
fear of injury or damage.
• Keghan Samuel Cosh (born 1982) was sentenced to 34 days in jail for mischief and theft $5,000 or under and to one year probation on the theft count. Cosh was in custody for 15 days prior to sentencing.
• Dale Curtis Currie (born 1978) was prohibited from driving for one year and fined $500 plus a $75 victim surcharge for driving while prohibited or licence suspended under the Motor Vehicle Act.
• Therese Indya Sam (born 1989) was sentenced to one year probation with a suspended sentence for theft $5,000 or under and to zero days in jail for breaching a recognizance.
• Warren Derek Sill (born 1976) was prohibited from driving for one year and fined $500 plus a $75 victim surcharge for driving while prohibited or licence suspended under the Motor Vehicle Act.
• Tyler Bert Sinclair (born 1986) was sentenced to 30 days in jail for breaching probation, breaching an undertaking or recognizance and two counts of theft $5,000 or under, to 15 days for a separate count of breaching probation and to six days for a separate count of theft $5,000 or under and to one year probation on the theft counts. Sinclair was in custody for four days prior to sentencing.
• Michael Richard Banks (born 1973) was sentenced to 15 days in jail, to be served on an intermittent basis, prohibited from driving for one year and fined $500 plus a $75 victim surcharge for driving while prohibited or licence suspended under the Motor Vehicle Act.
• Virgil Stanley Johnson (born 1985) was sentenced to 12 days in jail for theft $5,000 or under and to two years probation on the count plus assault and breaching probation.
Johnson was in custody for 50
days prior to sentencing.
• Julien Naseem Abdala Yasin Lazarre (born 1997) was sentenced to 65 days in jail and 18 months probation, issued a 10-year firearms prohibition and ordered to provide a DNA sample for aggravated assault and unlawful confinement or imprisonment. Lazarre was in custody for 386 days prior to sentencing.
• Jamie Wally Ralph Butler (born 1972) was prohibited from driving for two years and fined $2,000 plus a $300 victim surcharge for driving while prohibited or licence suspended under the Motor Vehicle Act.
• Brendan Sean Elliott (born 1982) was sentenced to one year probation for criminal harassment, wilfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer, obstructing lawful use of property, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and possessing stolen property under $5,000. Elliott was in custody for 220 days prior to sentencing.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
The exterior is almost complete on the O’Grady Heights Apartment by Broadstreet Properties. The new apartments are located on Stringer Crescent and O’Grady Avenue.
‘We had that relay magic back’
— from page 1
“Last year it was such a change,” Cassie added. “We had an extension and people could choose which direction to walk. This one we focused on keeping us united as a community. I felt we had that relay magic back. The weather was better this year so we definitely saw an uptick in attendance.
“It’s such a cool event,” she said. “Our participants are the heart and soul of this event. Our survivors are why we do this and our sponsors make it happen.”
For four straight years, Prince George was the leading fundraiser in Canada for the cancer relay until being dethroned last year by Terrebonne, Que.
Some of the teams started raising money as soon as last year’s relay was over and that helped pump up the grand total. Donations will continue to accumulate with some of the teams planning additional fundraising events leading up to the August deadline.
“Our teams were amazing,” said Cheryl Julien, the relay’s volunteer leadership chair. “The last time I looked the Canfor Cancer Crush-
ers were over $19,000 and the Red Lipstick Warriors were over $17,000 for them. It was just a really good year.”
pavement and make the place look a bit less like a concrete jungle.
“She started painting on Tuesday and she was still paint-
Researcher in anti-industry activism coming to P.G.
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff
fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
One of the leading voices in digging beneath anti-industry lobby groups is coming to Prince George. A grassroots pro-industry group called The North Matters is bringing Vivian Krause to a number of northern communities to hear directly from her on what she has uncovered in her investigations. Calling herself an “independent researcher” and having publication experience in such media as The Financial Post and her blog entitled
Fair Questions, Krause says she delved into the financial records of groups that oppose natural resource development and traced their funding to dubiously international sources, some of them surprising.
“Her carefully documented research on the funding network of foundations, and their influence on Canadian anti-resource groups has become widely known and highly valued by interested citizens of every stripe from coast to coast to coast,” said Dave Johnston of The North Matters.
The Prince George engagement with Krause
New sign unveiled at PGSS
Citizen staff
This year’s Aboriginal feast at Prince George Secondary School, an annual event to celebrate First Nations education success at the city’s largest secondary school, had an artistic grand finale.
A new public sign was unveiled that will welcome staff, students and visitors to PGSS. It was hand carved by noted Cree/Dakelh visual artist Clayton Gauthier, with helping hands from PGSS students and staff members. It was crafted out of cedar.
The sign features a polar bear centred at the bottom, wrapped around the sides by feathers. On top of the polar bear and between the feathers are the words PGSS Welcomes You. The primary colour is PGSS green, with black and white outlining and highlights.
Gauthier was asked by PGSS administrators to make the sign.
“There is a high number of Indigenous youth at the school,” Gauthier said. “Art holds a lot of power and they wanted to get the kids feeling more at home, in a sense. We incorporated the polar bear because it’s the school’s logo. As we were moving forward with the design, I put in two feathers, and the two feathers represent the road of life. Also, there’s two in there because of the balance that we need in our lives.”
Work on the sign began last fall in a space set up inside the school. Gauthier was pleased to welcome so many people into the carving process and to teach them some of the techniques involved.
“It was by whoever wanted to come and carve,” he said. “People came in and tried it out and some of them stayed right from the beginning until the end. It was a variety of ages, from Grade 8 to Grade 12, and there were even adults. Teachers were carving too – all people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous. They were learning about the tools and different carving techniques.
“You’ve got to share (the knowledge),” Gauthier added. “That’s what I really enjoy doing. It fills my heart to see these youth. At times, there’s youth that have never carved before but now they’re getting their parents to buy them carving tools and now they’re carving at home. That’s pretty cool.”
Gauthier’s own mentor was Peter George, a Wet’suwet’en master carver and educator in Prince George. One of their signature works together is a 16-foot by four-foot cedar carving that hangs in the lobby of the University Hospital of Northern B.C.
Work on that piece began in 2011.
happens Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel.
“Independent, self-directed, focused and articulate Vancouver-based researcher and writer Vivian Krause has made a real difference in the contentious, slanted campaigns against the largest contributors to our country’s economy – by shining a spotlight on the finances and structures behind many activist groups,” Johnston said.
To book your seat, go to the eventbrite website. Tickets are free but pre-registration is required.
“That was the first time I really got the chance to learn from an elder,” Gauthier said. “From his teachings, that’s where I’m at now with the carving.”
The new sign will become the focal point in a reimagined front foyer at the school.
ing Friday when we were doing the setup,” said Julien. “It felt to me more like the relay this year, because last year was so different. The oval was well-loved and wellreceived this year.”
Twenty walkers who paced the route signed up for the entire 24 hours but none of them quite made it to the end. One lasted until 3 a.m. Sunday after starting the relay at 10 a.m. Saturday. Live musicians played throughout the day until midnight Sunday, when a DJ took over. Flickering lights placed in paper bags to commemorate each departed loved one formed a row that encircled the entire track, leading up to the luminary ceremony at 10 p.m. That was followed by a fireworks display by StarlightFX and music from Pink Champagne.
“It’s nice to see the live bands come in, Pink Champagne was unreal,” said Cassie.
“It’s my dream to one day get a headliner but it costs so much money to bring them in. Cool fact: All the bands that come here donate their time, we don’t pay for anything.”
The Citizen archives put more than 100 years of history at your fingertips: https://bit.ly/2RsjvA0
Mandy Pavlova of MP Make Up Artistry spent hours using brightlycoloured chalk spray paint to decorate the a large chunk of
Members of the Daddy’s Little Angels team walk around Exhibition Park on Saturday morning during the 27th annual Relay for Life.
What gets lost relying on GPS
It has become the most natural thing to do: get in the car, type a destination into a smartphone, and let an algorithm using GPS data show the way. Personal GPS-equipped devices entered the mass market in only the past 15 or so years, but hundreds of millions of people now rarely travel without them. These gadgets are extremely powerful, allowing people to know their location at all times, to explore unknown places and to avoid getting lost. But they also affect perception and judgment. When people are told which way to turn, it relieves them of the need to create their own routes and remember them. They pay less attention to their surroundings. And neuroscientists can now see that brain behavior changes when people rely on turnby-turn directions.
In a study published in Nature Communications in 2017, researchers asked subjects to navigate a virtual simulation of London’s Soho neighborhood and monitored their brain activity, specifically the hippocampus, which is integral to spatial navigation. Those who were guided by directions showed less activity in this part of the brain than participants who navigated without the device. “The hippocampus makes an internal map of the environment and this
map becomes active only when you are engaged in navigating and not using GPS,” Amir-Homayoun Javadi, one of the study’s authors, said.
The hippocampus is crucial to many aspects of daily life. It allows us to orient in space and know where we are by creating cognitive maps. It also allows us to recall events from the past, what is known as episodic memory. And, remarkably, it is the part of the brain that neuroscientists believe gives us the ability to imagine ourselves in the future.
Studies have long shown the hippocampus is highly susceptible to experience.
(London’s taxi drivers famously have greater gray-matter volume in the hippocampus as a consequence of memorizing the city’s labyrinthine streets.)
Meanwhile, atrophy in that part of the brain is linked to devastating conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder and Alzheimer’s disease. Stress and depression have been shown to dampen neurogenesis –the growth of new neurons – in the hippocampal circuit. What isn’t known is the effect of GPS use on hippocampal function when employed daily over long periods of time. Javadi said the conclusions he draws from recent studies is that “when people use tools such as
GPS, they tend to engage less with navigation. Therefore, brain area responsible for navigation is less used, and consequently their brain areas involved in navigation tend to shrink.”
How people navigate naturally changes with age. Navigation aptitude appears to peak around age 19, and after that, most people slowly stop using spatial memory strategies to find their way, relying on habit instead. But neuroscientist Véronique Bohbot has found that using spatial-memory strategies for navigation correlates with increased gray matter in the hippocampus at any age. She thinks that interventions focused on improving spatial memory by exercising the hippocampus – paying attention to the spatial relationships of places in our environment – might help offset age-related cognitive impairments or even neurodegenerative diseases.
“If we are paying attention to our environment, we are stimulating our hippocampus, and a bigger hippocampus seems to be protective against Alzheimer’s disease,” Bohbot told me in an email. “When we get lost, it activates the hippocampus, it gets us completely out of the habit mode. Getting lost is good!” Done safely, getting lost could be a good thing.
Saturated with devices, children today
might grow up to see navigation from memory or a paper map as anachronistic as rote memorization or typewriting. But for them especially, independent navigation and the freedom to explore are vital to acquiring spatial knowledge that may improve hippocampal function. Turning off the GPS and teaching them navigational skills could have enormous cognitive benefits later in life.
There are other compelling reasons outside of neuroscience to consider forgoing the GPS.
Over the past four years, I’ve spoken with master navigators from different cultures who showed me that practicing navigation is a powerful form of engagement with the environment that can inspire a greater sense of stewardship. Finding our way on our own – using perception, empirical observation and problem-solving skills –forces us to attune ourselves to the world. And by turning our attention to the physical landscape that sustains and connects us, we can nourish “topophilia,” a sense of attachment and love for place. You’ll never get that from waiting for a satellite to tell you how to find a shortcut.
— M.R. O’Connor is the author of Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World.
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). If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the web site at mediacouncil.ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information.
Involved dads happier, healthier
As Father’s Day approaches, it’s fitting that we reflect on the impact of child care on families and children. Fathers may want to stay home and raise their children, but it’s often not financially viable. A Pew Research Center study in the U.S. found that dads who work outside the home were just about as likely as moms to say they prefer to be home with their children (48 per cent of dads versus 52 per cent of moms).
Globally, paternity leave can increase fathers’ involvement within families and this has benefits for the children, the co-parent, the father himself, the economy and society.
When Quebec initiated a father leave, 85.8 per cent of new fathers took the five-week leave, whereas within the rest of Canada, only 30 per cent of fathers participated in a shared parental leave.
Various factors influence how much mothers will work outside the home and among these are expectations of the father’s work and role within the family. Fathers with more traditional views of being the primary provider will often work longer hours which may lead to conflict regarding family and work.
When mothers and fathers are co-parenting as a couple in a family, mothers are often more comfortable leaving the children and returning to work when the father is actively engaged with the children and she trusts the father as a partner and caregiver. Parents have to decide what is best for their family. Affordable and accessible child care is central to a family’s decision as to whether a parent will or will not work outside of the home.
Most fathers (90 per cent) indicate that parenting is their greatest joy. Fathers offer children unique and diverse experiences, and impact the child’s long-term development.
There has been a shift within Canadian families, where more fathers are staying home with their children.
Being an involved dad makes men happier and healthier and contributes to future generations of family involvement and gender equality: daughters are more likely to have greater career aspirations and their sons are more likely to become good life partners when dads are involved in their young children’s lives.
Gender equality refers to rights, responsibilities and opportunities which do not depend on the gender a person was born with whereas gender equity refers to the fairness of treatment for men and women according to their human needs.
Changing the fabric of society to provide both gender equality and equity will allow our children to thrive.
However, the role of being a primary caregiver in male-female parenting couples continues to largely reside with the mother for a number of reasons. A significant wage gap persists between men and women.
A Statistics Canada survey released in 2017 indicated women earn only 75 per cent of a man’s income.
This disparity increases when workers who aren’t full-time are
included – then women earn only 69 per cent of a man’s income.
Also, women with children earn 12-20 per cent less than women without children. Globally, the wage gap becomes larger when men and women have children, with men’s wages increasing and women’s decreasing after the birth of their children. In countries where there are more egalitarian views towards child-rearing the wage gap is smaller.
There is a global phenomenon called the motherhood penalty. Researchers from Denmark, a country which ranks high on gender equality, have found that after the birth of the first child, women’s earnings sharply dropped and never fully recovered.
This drop was not the case for men with children. This phenomenon exists within wealthy countries and highlights that, as long as mothers disproportionately carry the burden of work at home after having children, inequities in pay
are likely to remain.
Women in wealthy countries such as Canada tend to be over represented in low-paying jobs (48.9 per cent). Among the professions that receive the lowest wages and poorest working conditions are early childhood educators.
Women represent 98.2 per cent of the early childhood industry’s staff and directors. These educators continue to be undervalued.
Child-care centre staff earn only 69 per cent of the average wage for all occupations despite being part of a regulated profession. There would be a great benefit for children to experience both women and men in caring and early learning roles. But often, men – who tend to be socialized to consider themselves as primary breadwinners – cannot afford to work as early childhood educators. Among the professions that receive the lowest wages and poorest working conditions are
early childhood educators. Conversely, women are greatly under-represented in top-income jobs. Within the top one per cent of incomes, approximately 20 per cent of these top-earning positions are held by women.
Our children can’t continue to grow up in a world where only women raise them, either at home or in early learning and care. Countries like Canada can support this needed change by providing quality universal child care while nurturing a more stable early childhood profession and intentionally creating a more gender-balanced early childhood workforce. Through better wages and work conditions for all early childhood educators and mentoring for men entering the early childhood education profession, the world of early learning and care could become enriched as a whole and children would experience a greater diversity of caregivers. At the same time, governments and society could gain economically by investing more in quality early learning and care: for every dollar invested, the return ranges from 1.5 to almost three dollars with the benefit ratio for children in lower socio-economic environments being higher. This investment would boost children’s longterm developmental outcomes. This Father’s Day, we ask more fathers and men to speak up to participate in the global conversation to create a gender-equal world. Gender equity lifts everyone. — Nikki Martyn and Elena Merenda are the program head and assistant program head of early childhood studies at the University of Guelph-Humber. This article first appeared in The Conversation.
Genocide ‘obvious,’ commissioner says
The Canadian Press
The chief commissioner of the inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls says it’s “pretty obvious” that the tragedies amount to a genocide.
Marion Buller made the remarks in a speech Monday at a conference on the topic held by the University of British Columbia in collaboration with Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
“We made what to me is pretty obvious, but it’s turned out to be controversial, finding of fact that the disappearances, murders and violence experienced by Indigenous women and girls ... is genocide,” she said
The inquiry’s final report, released last week, detailed a deliberate and persistent pattern of abuses against Indigenous women, girls, two-spirited people and LGBT individuals, which it said can only be described as a genocide.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not directly answered questions about whether he agrees with this finding, but has said he accepts it.
Buller said in an interview that she welcomes the national discussion about the meaning of genocide.
“I think once people get over, maybe, the shock of the word genocide, I think we’re going to move then onto focusing more on our calls for justice, but we have to have these awful, difficult conversations to start with.”
She said there is more than one type of genocide.
“The type of genocide we’re talking about in our report is generations of underfunding, generations of marginalization, generations of moving communities to new locations without consent, generations of taking children without consent,” she said. “As my
colleague, commissioner (Qajaq) Robinson said, it’s death by a million paper cuts.”
The prime minister has promised a national plan to address the issues raised in the report. Buller said she’s not worried about the possibility that the plan won’t be
ready until after the next federal election.
“I don’t think something like a national action plan should be rushed, because there has to be the proper participation of Indigenous people, Indigenous organizations,” she said.
Buller said she’s pleased with Trudeau’s response so far and relieved that he accepts all of the inquiry’s findings of fact.
“That means he believes the families and survivors and their truths,” she said. “So, I think it’s maybe one or two positive steps forward. I just hope over the course of the election we don’t take steps backward.”
Buller also said she isn’t concerned that a new government won’t accept the finding of genocide. There are activists, survivors and family members across Canada who are not going to allow the report to sit on a shelf gathering dust, she said.
“Whoever forms the government is going to be facing a lot of, I think the polite word would be encouragement from all those groups.”
Buller, who was the first female First Nations judge in B.C., also took aim at the media in her speech, accusing some pundits of not actually reading it.
She said she was disappointed no media outlet applied to give evidence during the inquiry because the media play a role in how Indigenous women are perceived.
“I thought, and I hoped, that the media would want to take an active part in what we were doing, and they would want to be able to do some self-examination as well,” she said.
Treatment of Indigenous women not a genocide: Scheer
The Canadian Press
“Genocide” isn’t the right word to describe what’s been done to generations of Indigenous women and girls in Canada, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said Monday.
“I believe that, as most Canadians do, that every single life lost is a tragedy, has a huge impact on families and loved ones and that there are concrete things the government can do, that all levels of government can do, to help protect vulnerable people in our society, specifically Indigenous women and girls,” Scheer said on Parliament Hill.
“That being said, the ramifications of the term ‘genocide’ are very profound. That word and term carries a lot of meaning. I think the tragedy involved with missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls is its own thing, it is its own tragedy, and does not fall into that category of genocide.”
The federal inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls released its final report a week ago. The report says that under international law, a genocide doesn’t need a single directing mind, or to be an organized campaign of violence.
The inquiry’s four commissioners included a long separate argument for why
Canada’s “series of actions and omissions,” from residential schools to poor health care to unsafe transportation to indifferent or even hostile policing, have allowed Indigenous women to be targeted in numerous ways that add up to what they called an ongoing genocide.
“Canada has displayed a continuous policy, with shifting expressed motives but an ultimately steady intention, to destroy Indigenous Peoples physically, biologically, and as social units,” through oppressive colonial actions that have persisted since Europeans began settling, the commissioners’ argument says.
The inquiry report says it’s impossible to count the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada accurately. One reckoning by the RCMP found 1,186 applicable cases in its files over the past 30 years alone. The Mounties do not police the whole country, not every missing person is reported and not every death becomes a police matter.
The use of the term “genocide” in the report instantly sparked arguments over whether the inquiry commissioners’ label is accurate and whether those arguments risk obscuring their other findings and the 231 recommendations they made.
CITIZEN FILE PHOTO
Regional Chief Terry Teegee, left, and Chief Commissioner Marion Buller from National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, appeared at the B.C. Assembly of First Nations 14th Special Chiefs Assembly in Prince George on March 9, 2018.
Plastic ban proposal targets straws, styrofoam
The Canadian Press
A national ban on the most harmful single-use plastics will very likely force restaurants and fast-food outlets to find nonplastic materials for takeout and delivery containers but plastic bottles for water and soda are more likely to be improved rather than phased out.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday his government is starting the regulatory work to ban toxic single-use plastics because the garbage infiltrating the world’s waterways is out of hand.
“As parents, we’re at a point where we take our kids to the beach and we have to search out a patch of sand that isn’t littered with straws, Styrofoam or bottles,” he said. “That’s a problem, one that we have to do something about.”
Nothing is going to be banned overnight, with the process to implement a federal ban or limitations on a product under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act usually taking two to four years. The goal is to make decisions on everything on the list by 2021.
“It’s going to take a little bit of time to
make sure we get it absolutely right because this is a big step but we know that we can do this by 2021,” Trudeau said.
The process includes an assessment of each product, a proposed regulation, a public comment period, and then the final decision by cabinet.
Trudeau said Canada’s plan will “closely mirror” that of Europe. In March, the European Parliament agreed that by 2021 the European Union will ban almost a dozen single-use products including plastic plates, cutlery, cups, straws, plastic sticks in cotton swabs, balloon sticks and stir sticks, and Styrofoam cups and take-out food containers.
Oxo-degradeable plastics including plastic grocery bags, which break down into tiny pieces with exposure to air but never fully disappear, are also to be banned.
Plastic beverage bottles won’t be banned in Europe but the EU will require them to contain a minimum of 30 per cent recycled material by 2030, and a collection rate for recycling or reuse of 90 per cent by 2029.
Europe is putting new onus on producers of plastics to ensure they are recycled or reused, including the makers of fishing
nets, which are among the most prevalent plastics trapping fish and polluting water bodies.
An official at Environment Canada, speaking anonymously because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, said Canada’s focus will be on banning things that are the most harmful, or the hardest to recycle.
Everything will be run through a full scientific assessment as well as a socio-economic-impact review before any proposals for bans or regulations of materials are made, he said.
There may be some exceptions to bans if certain uses of products are critical or irreplaceable, he said.
Styrofoam take-out containers are among the products most likely to be banned in Canada. While restaurants favour them because they’re cheap, lightweight and good for hot or cold food, there are already a number of alternatives. Styrofoam containers are also among the worst for the environment; they break down into tiny little pieces that are easily ingested by fish, animals and ultimately humans.
Plastic straws are already on their way out by restaurants’ choice, but will almost
Lake crash kills two OSOYOOS (CP) – The bodies of two men have been recovered from Osoyoos Lake in British Columbia’s southern Okanagan, following a high-speed collision between two power boats.
Osoyoos RCMP Sgt. Jason Bayda says a specialized police dive team located the bodies of a 35-year-old Kamloops man and a 36-yearold Maple Ridge man on Sunday evening.
The men were aboard a boat that witnesses say flew into the air and immediately sank after T-boning another boat on the lake just south of Osoyoos.
Three men in the second vessel
certainly be covered by the Canadian ban nonetheless. A high-profile campaign against plastic straws last year drove numerous multi-national food and beverage companies – including A&W and Starbucks – to replace plastic straws with paper versions, and many restaurants just stopped automatically putting straws in drinks as a first step.
Plastic bottles, however, are unlikely to make the list of banned products. The official said bottles are an area where Canada could require a greater amount of recycled material, and set national targets so 90 to 100 per cent of them are collected for recycling.
All of that would trigger provincial and municipal governments to up their recycling games.
Canada currently throws out 12 times the plastic it recycles, and there are only about a dozen domestic recycling plants. Requiring more recycled content in bottles or other plastic products would create a larger market for recycled plastic material that would in turn, spur economic activity in the sector and an explosion in the number of sorting and recycling plants.
managed to cling to a portion of its hull and were rescued by other boaters who rushed to assist.
Bayda says two of the survivors were taken to hospital in critical condition while a third was listed in stable condition.
Bayda says RCMP crews remain on the lake attempting to raise what’s left of both boats from the bottom, and an investigation into a cause of the crash continues.
Big fine for butt toss
VICTORIA (CP) – A “lit”terbug was issued a hefty fine after a Victoria police officer caught him flicking a cigarette butt out his car window.
Victoria Police Chief Const. Del Manak says he was travelling southbound on Highway 17 on Saturday evening in his unmarked police car when he noticed the driver of a Ford Mustang flick a burning cigarette butt out of his car window. He says the driver had been putting the ashes out of the window most of the way, then took one last drag and threw the butt, which “went in the air and landed on the road.”
Manak says he had a clear view since he was behind the car of what he thought was irresponsible behaviour so he pulled the driver over and handed him a $575 ticket.
Pettis soars in Blackwater win
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
Jess Pettis was wincing in pain with an icebag wrapped around his wrist while he awaited his postrace podium interview Saturday at Blackwater Motocross Park.
Nobody said it would be easy defending his title as the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown MX 250cc champion.
Despite a broken wrist that happened in practice, a month before the season began a week ago in Calgary, Pettis hasn’t missed a beat. Given the chance to race on home soil again, the 22-year-old from Prince George made the most of it.
In Moto 1, Pettis zipped to the front of the 40-rider pack to guarantee a $250 cheque for winning the hole shot, then took advantage of early-race leader Dylan Wright’s mechanical failure at the start of Lap 8 to take over the lead and held it the rest of the way – the first-ever win for Pettis on home soil in three years of racing the Rockstar national series.
“It definitely exceeded my expectations for sure, I just wanted to get out there and ride some smooth laps and get some consistent points and I’ll take a win for sure,” said Pettis. “Dylan had a bike issue but I was there to salvage it and I just put myself in a good position. I got a good start and rode some good smooth laps and didn’t make any mistakes and got the win.”
In Moto 2, Pettis nailed his fourth hole shot in four series races but couldn’t hold off Wright, who made the pass on the first lap. Wright was all alone up front and Pettis appeared to be on his way to locking up second place, 11 laps into the 16-lap race, when he lost control and dumped his bike into
the banners decorating a lowspeed corner. That dropped Pettis into fifth place, his eventual finish order.
After finishing fourth in Moto 1 just behind Josh Osby, Wright used his spare Honda to take him to the top of the podium in the second race.
“I have an awesome team and I just hopped on that second bike and they got me racing in the second moto and I got off to a good start again,” said Wright, a 21-year-old from Ottawa. “I ended up making the pass on Jess there a couple laps in and was just able to ride my own race up front. We’re healthy and got another moto win this weekend but we need to get that overall though. Hopefully
next weekend (in Minnedosa, Man,) we’ll get some luck.”
Wright won both races in Prince George a year ago and he says that’s not the only reason the steep and hilly Blackwater course rates as one of his favourite tracks on the eight-race circuit.
“It’s the downhills and highspeed stuff, I kind of excel a bit at that,” Wright said. “It’s a bit of rough, rutty, rocky, it gets technical and I like that kind of stuff. The environment here is awesome.
“I know this is Jess’s hometown and it’s kind of cool to see him put it on the top of the box that first moto. If there’s anybody else I would have wanted to win that moto it’s Jess, in front of his hometown, it’s special to do it at home
and hats off to him, he rode great today.”
Michigan rider Marshal Wetlin couldn’t catch Wright but jumped ahead when Pettis fell and Wetlin put a lock on second place, equalling his finish from the first moto to claim bragging rights for the day and the lion’s share of the points, with Wright second and Pettis third.
“This is what I’ve been working for,” said Wetlin, who just missed the podium in Calgary with two fourth-place results. “I’m 23 years old and I’ve dedicated about six years of my life, probably 350 days a year to this exact moment.
“I haven’t won a race since I’ve been in amateur and for me to win today is pretty uplifting for me.
I’ve done the professional thing for a long time and have never really been on top for me to come here and actually win, it’s a big deal for me.”
Pettis felt the pressure of living up to expectations as the defending series champ in front of family and friends but that went away as soon as the gate dropped for his races.
“I feel I succeed off some pressure and sometimes those are my better rides,” he said.
“It was an amazing day, coming into day I had the same plan as last weekend, just salvage some points, being hurt and all, I got another hole shot, my KTM is really fast and got a great start and for over half the race I had the overall but made a mistake and fell over in a corner but got back up and gave it my best and that was a third overall today.
“I’m really sore and feeling banged up but it’s all good. I pushed the limits with (his injury) but I’m happy to get through the day. It bothered me a lot, to be honest, but I feel I was riding pretty conservative. I’ve been working hard off the bike and I’m happy to see I’m still in a good place to begin the series. I cannot wait until I’m 100 per cent healthy because I feel we can do some good damage out here.”
Tim Olmstead, Pettis’s orthopedic surgeon, was on hand to watch the race and said the break in Pettis’s forearm was located right near the spot where screws were inserted two years ago to secure a plate on his ulna.
While Pettis probably would have benefited from an injection to kill the pain, Olmstead was worried about freezing the ulnar nerve which might have affected his ability to grip the handlebars. — See THREE on page 8
CITIZEN
PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
Jess Pettis pumps his fist after winning the first 250cc Pro Moto on Saturday at the Blackwater Motocross Track.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
Jess Pettis races around the Blackwater track on his way to victory.
Weekend sports action
Three local riders took part in 450 cc event
— from page 7
In the 450cc pro class, B.C. boy Colton Facciotti of Aldergrove made the only series stop in his home province a memorable one when he led from start to finish in the 18-lap second moto. Combined with his second-place result in the first race, that gave him the overall title.
Moto 1 winner Phil Nicoletti of Cocheton, N.Y., was runner-up in the first race and second overall, while Shawn Maffenbeier of Swift Current, Sask., was third overall after a pair of fourth-place finishes.
Nicoletti stuck close to Facciotti almost
the entire second moto, waiting for him to make a mistake, which never happened.
The New York rider, who now makes his home in Florida, was within a split-second of catching the defending series champion until the late stages.
“It was a bit of dogfight, I haven’t had a race where I had someone on my heels the whole moto like that in a long time,” said Facciotti, 31, who was tied with Cole Thompson of Brigden, Ont., for the points lead heading into Saturday’s races. “Luckily I was able to conserve energy, ride smart and I was able to pick it up a little but at the
end and come away with it.”
Pettis was the only local rider in the 250cc class but there were three 450cc pro riders who drew large cheering sections as hometown favourites.
Jake Jose of Prince George finished 24th overall and likely would have ended up higher in the standings if not for a mechanical failure that dropped him out of 14th place in the first moto. The 18-year-old limped across the line 35th in the first race and was 23rd in Moto 2.
Twenty-year-old Hayden Wolff of Prince George was 29th and 32nd and placed
In the
and
and
In the
32nd overall. Dean Johnson of Fort St. James – the oldest rider in either class, just two months shy of his 50th birthday – was 32nd and 35th and ended up 35th overall out of 37 riders.
women’s class, Avrie Berry of Washougal, Wash., won the six-lap second moto
was second in the first to place first overall ahead of Eve Broduer of Laval, Que.,
third-place Shelby Turner of Barons, Alta.
FXR Premix class the top three overall in order of finish were Nathan Bles of Bayfield, Ont, Jake Piccolo of Abbotsford and Boston Boots of Ogden, Utah.
CITIZEN PHOTOS BY JAMES DOYLE
Above, Stephanie Sedgwick prepares to fire an arrow Sunday morning at the Silvertip Archers’ outdoor facility while competing in the club’s annual outdoor 3D tournament. Below left, cyclists make their way onto Shelley Road South on Sunday while competing in the Koops Bike Race. Below right, Northland Nissan Assault player Doug Porter gets off a shot on goal past Westwood Pub Devils defender Colton Poulin on Sunday at Kin 1.
Golden State beat Raptors in nail-biter
Lori EWING The Canadian Press
TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors will have to wait to win their first NBA title in franchise history.
Stephen Curry had 31 points while Klay Thompson finished with 26, and the visiting Golden State Warriors edged Toronto 106105 to slice the Raptors’ lead in the NBA Finals to 3-2.
The best-of-seven series heads back to Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., for Game 6 on Thursday.
Kawhi Leonard had 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to lift Toronto past the Splash Brothers as Curry and Thompson both had big threepointers down the stretch.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse believes his team is capable of bouncing back after the tough loss.
“Our team has reacted all year long great to bad losses. It takes a lot to beat this team,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.
Six Raptors scored in double figures: Kyle Lowry had 18 points, Marc Gasol had 17, Serge Ibaka finished with 15, Pascal Siakam chipped in with 12, and Fred VanVleet finished with 11.
In uncharted territory in their Finals debut, the Raptors are looking to capture the first championship for a Canadian franchise in one of North America’s four major sports leagues – NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB – since the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series.
And they’re carrying the pride and dreams of a country along with them.
Kevin Durant had 11 points in 12 minutes in his first game of the series after injuring his calf in the West semifinals. But he didn’t last long. The 10-time all-star reinjured the right leg with 9:46 to play in the second quarter, and had to be helped to the lockerroom.
“I just told the team I didn’t know what to say because on the one hand I’m so proud of them – just amazing heart and grit they showed. On the other, I’m just devastated for Kevin. It’s a bizarre feeling we all have right now,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. Later, he referred to the night as “an incredible win and a horrible loss at the same time.”
Durant went down with 9:46 to play in the second when he planted his right foot. Fans initially cheered before Lowry, Ibaka and Danny Green waved their arms to quiet them. They chanted “K-D!” as Durant was helped to the locker-room.
Toronto trailed for most of the night, never leading by more than two points in the first half before falling behind by 14 points in the third quarter. The Warriors led 84-78 with one quarter to play.
A Leonard three-pointer gave Toronto its first lead since the first quarter with 5:13 to play. He would score seven more points within the next minute-and-half and his basket with 3:28 to play put Toronto up 103-97.
Back-to-back threes by Curry and Thompson put the visitors back up by three with 57
seconds to play. And then with the nervous crowd on its feet, the Raptors pulled to within a point with 30 seconds to play after a Warriors goaltending call on a Lowry basket.
The Warriors were then called for an offensive foul, giving Toronto the ball, but Lowry’s three at the buzzer was way off and bounced off the backboard.
Draymond Green contested the shot well and appeared to get a piece of it.
“It felt great out of my hands,” Lowry said. “He got a piece of it. That’s what great defenders do.”
The Raptors opened their historic playoff run by dispatching Orlando in five games. It took a Leonard buzzer-beater – and a wonderfully improbable four bounces off the rim before the ball fell through the hoop – to top Philadelphia in seven games. The Raptors trailed 2-0 to Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference final, before neutralizing Giannis Antetokounmpo and beating the Bucks in six.
Since acquiring Leonard for DeMar DeRozan last summer, the team’s lofty goal has been an NBA title. The mantra has been to remain even-keeled throughout – never too
high, never too low. Leonard has been their Zen master.
Game 5 was more of the same. While hundreds of thousands of nervous fans gathered for viewing parties from coast to coast, the Raptors have remained locked in.
“These games are tough, and we realize how hard we have to play, and we have really tried again to make it a focus,” Nurse said in his pre-game availability.
When the Raptors dropped Game 2 of the Finals at home, Nurse told his team in the locker-room: “All we got to do is go get one (at Oakland).”
“Kawhi said ‘Expletive that, let’s go get them both,”’ Nurse said.
They just need one win now at Oracle for the title. The series would return to Toronto for a Game 7 if needed.
The Raptors were cheered on by a starstudded crowd that included hockey star Wayne Gretzky, French soccer star Thierry Henry, former Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista, Sir Richard Branson, and actor Eugene Levy.
Drake, dressed in a plain black T-shirt, sang along with the Scotiabank Arena crowd, his head swaying, eyes squeezed
shut, in a spirited rendition of “O Canada,” kick-started by opera singer Doug Tranquada.
American singer Monica, who sang the 1998 hit The Boy is Mine with Brandy, performed the U.S. anthem.
Kerr had been hopeful Durant’s return would impact the game, saying before tipoff: “Even without having played, he’s still such a huge threat and he can get his shot off against anybody and we’ll see.” The two-time Finals MVP, and the league’s most valuable in 2014 made his presence felt immediately, scoring back-toback three-pointers in the first two-and-ahalf minutes. The Warriors made their first five threes, but the Raptors replied with an 11-2 run to take a brief two-point lead. The Warriors led 34-28 heading into the second.
The Warriors led 39-34 when Durant went down.
DeMarcus Cousins had seven points in the next minute, his three-pointer putting Golden State up by 11.
The Warriors would go up by 13 but the Raptors finished the half with a 15-5 run and they went into the halftime break trailing Golden State 57-54.
Rory McIlroy wins RBC Canadian Open to write his name in history books
John CHIDLEY-HILL
The Canadian Press
ANCASTER, Ont. — Rory McIl-
roy examined the RBC Canadian Open trophy closely, reading the names to himself, soaking in the history of the 110-year old championship.
His name will be the next one etched on to the trophy’s silver surface after he fired a 9-under 61 on Sunday for a dominant sevenshot win. McIlroy joins Tiger Woods, Lee Trevino, Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen and Arnold Palmer as the only players in golf history to win the U.S., British and Canadian Opens, the three oldest championships on the PGA Tour.
“Just looking at some of the names, even on just this side of the trophy, Sam Snead, Bobby Locke, Arnold Palmer, Tigers Woods, Nick Price, some of the greats of the game have won this trophy,” said McIlroy.
“So for me to put my name on this is something special.”
When it was announced in March that McIlroy would play in this year’s Canadian Open - his first time playing a competitive round here – the North Irishman made it clear he wanted it to be the sixth national title in his trophy case.
On top of the U.S. (2011) and British (2014) Opens, McIlroy has also won the Australian (2013) and Irish Opens (2016). McIlroy
also counts the Hong Kong Open (2011) toward his nationalchampionship tally.
As if that wasn’t enough, even more history was within his grasp on Sunday.
McIlroy, who sank nine birdies and eagled No. 17, was on pace for a record-setting round. But a bogey on 16 put a 59 out of reach and then a bogey on 18 meant that he would not match the tournament record 10-under 60 set by Brandt Snedeker on Friday and Carl Pettersson in 2010.
“Yeah, 61... it’s um. Yeah,” said McIlroy with a visible wince.
Added McIlroy to a round of laughter: “I had a chance to shoot a 59. Sorry for being disappointed up here but I had a chance.
Mackenzie Hughes, $125,400
Stephan Jaeger, $125,400
Hank Lebioda, $125,400
Collin Morikawa, $125,400
J. de Jesus Rodriguez, $125,400
Paul Barjon, $79,257
Ben Silverman, $79,257
Harris English, $79,257
Dustin Johnson, $79,257
Danny Lee, $79,257
Justin Thomas, $79,257
Erik van Rooyen, $79,257
Sangmoon Bae, $55,100
Jim Furyk, $55,100
Joey Garber, $55,100
Nick Taylor, $55,100
Scott Brown, $46,075
Peter Malnati, $46,075
Joaquin Niemann, $46,075
Chris Thompson, $46,075
Talor Gooch, $34,327
“I played 17 wonderful holes, I was 10 under through 17 holes. I shot 4 under through the back nine with two bogeys, so I guess that was pretty good too.”
McIlroy began the day tied atop the leaderboard with Matt Kuchar and Webb Simpson, but the North Irishman was untouchable after four birdies on his first five holes.
Simpson (68) fell into a tie for second with Shane Lowry (67).
Kuchar (70) and Snedeker (69) tied for fourth at 13 under.
Lowry will move 54 spots up the FedEx Cup standings, putting him in a solid position to retain his PGA Tour card another year.
“I think I more less got my card back,” said Lowry. “I don’t know what golf Rory is playing today,
but it was just incredible.”
There was a silver lining for Graeme McDowell and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., who both qualified for the British Open by virtue of their top-10 finishes.
“Obviously very proud to have got one of the Open Championship spots and get that little monkey off my back and let me go and play some golf the next few weeks,” said McDowell, who now gets to play at his hometown course at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland July 18-21.
Hadwin (70) finished sixth at 12 under to win the Rivermead Cup as lowest Canadian pro player at the tournament.
CP PHOTO
Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet (23) grabs a rebound under pressure from Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) and centre Kevon Looney (5) during Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Toronto on Monday. The Warriors won 106-105.
Springsteen sets new path on Western Stars
The Associated Press
Bruce Springsteen’s new studio release breaks fresh ground for the veteran rocker, who turns his back not only on the blistering sound of the E Street Band but also abandons the haunting acoustic moods pioneered on “Nebraska” and fine-tuned on later solo efforts.
After the soul-searching, confessional tone of his bestselling autobiography and sold-out Broadway show, Springsteen’s Western Stars relies on an unfamiliar orchestral approach that somewhat masks the singer and is devoid of driving beats, sax solos and rock ‘n’ roll tropes.
Instead, he draws on the rich tradition of California-styled, pre-Beatles pop. There are hints of Roy Orbison’s soaring vocals and Brian Wilson’s pocket symphonies, but the lyrics are pure Springsteen. Beneath the glossy sheen are the taut narratives, introspection and ambiguous moments familiar to longtime listeners. His storytelling skills are as strong as ever, just presented in a different way.
He’s paying homage to an era when the single reigned, and radio airtime went a long way to determining an artist’s success or oblivion, but Springsteen is not looking for No.1 hits with easy hooks. Western Stars is understated, without over-the-top orchestration or hyperbole. Each song stands alone as a self-contained story; taken as a whole it’s a panorama of loneliness and heartbreak.
The protagonists are mostly men, and mostly beaten down, but there are occasional whiffs of freedom, usually tied to the joys of the open road, that most enduring of American myths.
It is no accident that the album opens with Hitch Hikin’ and this straightforward image of a loner in perpetual motion: “Thumb stuck out as I go/I’m just travelin’ up the road/Maps don’t do much for me, friend/I follow the weather and the wind.” It’s a recurring image dating back to the days of Woody Guthrie.
There are other fully-formed characters from Springsteen’s imagination: the failed country music songwriter, his lyrics rejected at every turn, the busted up B-movie stuntman held together by rods and pins, even a rundown hotel with an empty swimming pool with dandelions pushing up through the cracked concrete takes on a life of its own as a character in Moonlight Motel.
But it’s not all heartbreak.
There are small celebrations, too, notably in Sleepy Joe’s Cafe, where working men
Bruce Springsteen performs on Nov. 5 at the 12th annual Stand Up For Heroes benefit concert at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
and women can find solace on the dance floor when the weekend comes.
It’s a dreamy place where Monday morning is far, far away, and Springsteen has placed it in the context of the postwar eco-
nomic boom that powered America for decades: “Joe came home in ‘45 and took out
a G.I. loan/On a sleepy little spot an Army cook could call his own/He married May, the highway come in and they woke up to
find they were sitting on top of a pretty little gold mine.”
It’s a nostalgic vision, yes, but those roadhouses still exist. You just have to drive a bit.
Sutherland lashes out at Doug Ford
The Canadian Press
Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland is asking Ontario Premier Doug Ford to stop using his late grandfather Tommy Douglas’s name and image as part of what he calls his “political agenda.”
The Golden Globe-winning 24 and Designated Survivor star made the request on his verified Twitter account in reference to a recent tweet by Ford.
Douglas was the premier of Saskatchewan and leader of the New Democratic Party. He was also known as the founder of medicare and the father of Sutherland’s mother, Canadian actress Shirley Douglas, who was once married to Donald Sutherland.
Earlier this month cabinet minister Lisa MacLeod penned an op-ed that compared the fiscal policies of the Conservative government to that of Douglas, who served as Saskatchewan premier from 1944 to 1961.
Ford tweeted a link to the article and wrote: “It’s time to make government work for the people again – not the other way around. I think Tommy Douglas would approve.” Sutherland, who grew up in Toronto, tweeted that he found Ford’s comparison of their policies “offensive.”
“Mr. Ford, your tweet has recently come to my attention and I can only tell you that you are correct, my grandfather Tommy Douglas was fiscally responsible,” said Sutherland’s tweet Monday.
“In addition to balancing the budget of Saskatchewan, he also provided the province with paved roads, health care and electricity. He did it all within four years.
“Contrary to your argument, it was never at the expense of social and human services to those in need. I personally find your comparison of your policies to his offensive. So I can only ask, as the grandson of this man, for you to stop posting his picture and using his name as part of your political agenda.”
Sutherland’s tweet concluded: “After all, I knew Tommy Douglas and you Sir, are no Tommy Doug-
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Jo-Anne Hilton Feb 17th 1956June 6th 2019
Passed away suddenly and peacefully in the company of close family. Devoted wife, mother, grandmother and close friend to many. Jo-Anne was a courageous advocate for numerous foster children in her last twenty-five years. Forever remembered by and held close to the hearts of husband Craig, daughters Dawn and Priscilla, sons Michael, Lon, and Demitri, and grandchildren Jai and Cecilia. A Celebration of Life will be held later in the summer of 2019 for close friends and family.
Irvin Contois was called home on June 6, 2019. He is predeceased by his loving wife Yvonne Rosalie Gagnon-Contois, father and mother William and Alice, sister Christina, brothers: Paul, Earl, Clarence and Floyd. Survived by children: Marcel (Cheryl), Brenda (Dwayne), Irvin Jr. (Deryl), Carl (Bernie). Grandchildren: Jordan, Monica, Sunset, Ashley (Tim), Rachel (Brandon), Samantha, Nathan and great grandchildren: Mila, Azalyn, Carter, Lily, Ryden and numerous nieces and nephews. His beloved Honeybear (pet). A Celebration of Life will be held on Tuesday, June 11, 2019 from 2:00pm until 5:00pm at Uda Dune Baiyoh (House of Ancestors), 355 Vancouver Street, Prince George, BC.
Dale Bart June 28, 1950 - June 5, 2019
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dale Bart 68, taken before his time, he died suddenly of a heart attack on June 5, 2019.
Survived by his loving wife Debbie, daughters Christa, Vanessa (Nick) and Raegan (Kevin) granddaughter Kelsi, grandson Fynn and three sisters.
Dale lived in Prince George for 43 years, working for Canfor for most of his adult life. He then moved to Kelowna and worked for Tolko until he retired in 2006.
Dale was a man of strong convictions and he did his very best to make the world around him a better place. He will be deeply missed by his wife and children. Rest in peace, you have earned it. Now you can focus now making heaven a better place.
Dale’s wishes were that there be no service. His family will honour this special husband, father, grandfather and brother in private gatherings over the next while.
“If you keep too busy to look at time you will not know that it is passing.” Lewis F Koran’s Guess we got too busy...regret there wasn’t more time. Rest easy.
Condolences and tributes may be directed to the family by visiting www.nunes-pottinger.com
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HBC stock soars on privatization plan
Currencies
These are indicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Monday. Quotations in Canadian funds.
The markets today
TORONTO (CP) — Canada’s main stock index started the week lower on a drop in commodity prices while U.S. markets closed higher following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision not to impose tariffs on Mexico. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 14.70 points Monday to 16,216.26. A slower pace of housing starts in May along with the price of gold falling by the most in a month and oil retreating had an effect on the Canadian market, says Anish Chopra, managing director with Portfolio Management Corp. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts slipped to 202,337 units in May, down 13.3 per cent from 233,410 units in April. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained for a sixth straight day, rising 78.74 points at 26,062.68. The S&P 500 index was up 13.39 points at 2,886.73, while the Nasdaq composite was up 81.07 points at 7,823.17.
Markets rose after Trump said his government reached a deal with Mexico over immigration that lead him to abandon his threat to impose tariffs on imports from Mexico. In addition, two large mergers and acquisitions were announced Monday. Raytheon and United Technologies will join to create a massive aerospace and defence company with annual revenues of US$74 billion and software maker Salesforce is buying Tableau Software in an all-stock deal valued at US$15.7 billion. The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 75.37 cents US compared with an average of 75.28 cents US on Friday. Eight of the 11 major sectors on the TSX were lower, led by industrials, materials and energy. Industrials dropped 0.73 per cent as shares of Air Canada, SNC-Lavalin and Canada’s two largest railways fell, partially offset by gains for BRP Inc. and Bombardier Inc. Materials was off by half a percentage point as Yamana Gold Inc. and Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. were down more than four per cent.
The August gold contract was down US$16.80 at US$1,329.30 an ounce and the July copper contract was up 3.4 cents at US$2.66 a pound.
The July crude contract was down 73 cents at US$53.26 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was up two cents at US$2.36 per mmBTU.
The Canadian Press Hudson’s Bay Co. shares rose 42 per cent Monday after a group of shareholders, including executive chairman Richard Baker, proposed taking the retailer private once it completes the sale of its remaining German holdings for $1.5 billion.
The group, which holds a 57 per cent stake in HBC, is offering $9.45 per share in cash to other investors – the same price paid by one of Baker’s business entities to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in January.
“While we continue to believe in HBC’s long-term potential, it has become clear that the significant challenges, risks and uncertainties facing HBC in the rapidly evolving retail environment are best addressed in a private market setting,” Baker said in a statement.
“Our all-cash proposal would provide HBC’s public shareholders the ability to realize immediate and certain value for their shares at a substantial premium while transferring the risks and uncertainties facing HBC to the continuing shareholders.”
HBC shares, which ended last week at a record-low close of $6.37, have been falling in recent years as the company has struggled to keep up with a changing retail environment.
The shares closed at $9.07, up $2.70, after hitting a 2019 intraday high of $9.40 earlier in the day.
The privatization proposal is conditional on HBC selling its remaining stake in a German real estate joint venture and divesting its related German retail joint venture under a $1.5 billion deal with JV partner SIGNA, announced Monday.
The announcements come just days before the release of HBC’s next financial report on Thursday, followed by a conference call hosted by HBC chief executive Helena Foulkes, and ahead of HBC’s annual meeting on June 19.
In a statement on Monday, Foulkes said the plan to sell HBC’s portion of its German joint ventures “is an exciting milestone” that capitalizes on HBC’s German real estate and improves its financial strength.
“Strategically, we will be able to fully focus our resources on
HBC’s North American operations, including our best growth opportunities – Saks Fifth Avenue and Hudson’s Bay.”
She admitted publicly in April, during the company’s fourthquarter conference call, that a shift to lower-priced merchandise across the Hudson’s Bay chain of department stores had resulted in disappointing revenue.
The strategy was successful in attracting former Sears Canada customers shortly after the rival chain closed last year, Foulkes said, but “I think we took it too far.”
“The good news about all this is that it’s fixable,” Foulkes said.
Since Foulkes became CEO in February 2018, HBC has been streamlining its operations.
She announced in February that the Home Outfitters business in Canada will be closed and the Saks Off Fifth chain would close a number of U.S. and Canadian locations.
She announced on May 6 that it’s announcing strategic alternatives for its Lord and Taylor oper-
ating business, which is primarily in the eastern United States.
Under Baker’s leadership, HBC expanded by acquiring New York-based luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue for about $2.9 billion including debt in late 2013 and German department store chain Galeria Kaufhof for $3.36-billion in 2015.
At the time of the Kaufhof announcement, Baker said it was part of a plan to make Saks Fifth Avenue and its Saks Off Fifth subsidiary into global brands.
In response to analysts who warned of the risks with moving into a culturally different market, Baker said in a June 2015 interview that “people like to throw stones but we think that we’re on a very strong course.”
However, the announcement of the move into Germany coincided with the beginning of a long-term decline of HBC’s stock price from a record high close of $29.42 on June 23, 2015.
Among the loudest critics of HBC’s performance under Baker’s leadership has been Jonathan
Tahltan inks mine deal
The Canadian Press
Seabridge Gold Inc. and the Tahltan Nation have announced a co-operation and benefit-sharing agreement linked to the proposed KSM gold and copper mine in northwestern British Columbia.
The announcement comes in a joint news release after the First Nation received a 77.8 per cent ratification vote from members, approving the benefits agreement.
Seabridge CEO Rudi Fronk says the company believes the agreement provides a long-term, genuine partnership between the project and the Tahltan Nation.
He says Seabridge has listened to the nation’s environmental, cultural and economic concerns, and the mine’s design addresses those issues.
Tahltan president Chad Norman Day says their government has worked in partnership with Seabridge for more than a decade to move the project from the early exploration stage through to permitting.
The mine, located about 65 kilometres northwest of Stewart, has already received environmental approval from both the federal and provincial governments. It is expected to operate for more than 50 years.
Nanaimo pot firm’s shares jump
The Canadian Press
Tilray Inc.’s stock soared after it signed a deal to merge with its largest shareholder while also putting limits on the release of resulting new shares in the Canadian cannabis company for two years.
Under the agreement, U.S. private equity firm Privateer Holdings Inc. will become a subsidiary of the Canadian cannabis company. However, new Tilray shares distributed as a result of the merger would be subject to a lock-up, allowing for their release only under certain circumstances, the pot firm said.
Tilray shares soared as high as US$47.49 on the Nasdaq after the announcement, up roughly 22.4 per cent from its previous close of US$38.80. Shares were trading at US$46.39 by midday. Privateer, backed by venture capitalist Peter Thiel, holds 75 million shares or roughly a 77 per cent stake in the Nanaimo-based company. Under the agreement, Tilray will acquire
Privateer and its stake in the company in exchange for an equal number of new Tilray shares that will be issued to the U.S. private equity firm’s shareholders.
The new shares will be subject to a lockup and may only be sold under certain circumstances over a two-year period.
During the first year, the shares will be released only in marketed offerings and/ or block trades to institutional investors or via sales to strategic investors arranged at the sole discretion of Tilray. The remaining shares will be subject to a staggered release over the second year.
The transaction effectively flips the control of a stock sale from Privateer to Tilray and provides the Canadian cannabis firm with the increased ability to manage its public float, said Vivien Azer, an analyst with Cowen and Company.
“In addition, the extended lock-up and conditions associated with the transactions reduces the risk associated with an excessive increase in TLRY’s public float,” she said in a note to clients.
Litt, founder and chief investment officer of Land & Buildings, who said repeatedly the company had failed to unlock the “substantial real estate value trapped in the company.”
The company’s remuneration practices, including $54.8 million in total compensation in fiscal 2017 for Baker and $29.4 million in total compensation in fiscal 2018 for Foulkes, have also been criticized.
HBC said it has formed a special committee of independent directors to review the going-private proposal and provide a recommendation to other shareholders.
The committee will be chaired by David Leith, a former head of investment, corporate and merchant banking at CIBC World Markets and a member of HBC’s board of directors since November 2012.
In addition to Baker, the shareholder group includes Rhone Capital LLC, WeWork Property Advisors, Hanover Investments (Luxembourg) SA and Abrams Capital Management LP.
A women leaves the Hudson Bay Company store in Toronto on November 1, 2017.
