A 22-year-old man was sentenced Monday to a further three years in prison for his role in an exchange of gunfire outside a Prince George drug house.
Michael Campbell-Alexander was issued the term in provincial court for the Oct. 22, 2017, incident in the driveway of a 2000-block Tamarack Street home. Crown prosecution had been seeking a further 7 1/2 years in jail less credit of 2 1/2 years for time served prior to sentencing while defence counsel argued five years less time served.
During the sentencing hearing, video from security cameras posted around the home’s perimeter was presented. They showed Cody Aubrey Lorntsen with his dog on a leash and three other people entering the home via a side entrance. About two minutes later, Lorntsen is seen leaving the same way with his dog but no one else while Campbell-Alexander stationed himself at one end of the driveway and opened fire with what was later determined to be a .22-calibre pistol.
A handful of flashes from muzzles are visible on the footage as Lorntsen returned the volleys with blasts from a sawed-off shotgun as he retreated from the scene while Campbell-Alexander used a car as cover. Lorntsen, who needed a cane to make his way around the courtroom when sentenced in November 2018, was hit in the leg while his dog was shot and killed. CampbellAlexander, meanwhile, was hit in the ankle with bird shot.
Exactly what sparked the confrontation remains a mystery. Campbell-Alexander was on a cocktail of drugs at the time and has said he remembers little of what happened. Lorntsen, meanwhile, has denied bringing a shotgun into the home and
claimed he happened to find one as he retreated, fearing for his life after a man he knew but did not name, called him a “rat goof.”
Lorntsen was charged with five offences including discharge of a firearm with intent to wound but was sentenced for possessing a loaded restricted firearm.
Campbell-Alexander, meanwhile, had faced seven counts, including attempted murder, but in December 2018 pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm with intent to wound, killing an animal, aggravated assault and possessing a firearm contrary to an order.
During submissions, defence lawyer Jason LeBlond argued for five years less time served and made note of the sentence of four years less time served issued to Lorntsen, effectively arguing his client deserved an extra year because he fired first but no more.
In reaching her decision, judge Susan Mengering made note of the outcome for Lorntsen as well as a six-year term for a man of about the same age for a similar offence committed in Victoria. She also made note of “significant Gladue factors,” or factors related to the person’s Indigenous background that must be taken into account.
Mengering outlined a “disjointed and chaotic childhood” surrounded by violence, suicide and abuse. By age 17, he was out on the street and had been living in drug houses since then.
Mengering also noted Campbell-Alexander’s relative youth and expression of remorse as well as efforts to complete his schooling and learn a trade while in custody.
In the end, Mengering settled on 5 1/2 years less time served prior to sentencing. Campbell-Alexander was also issued a lifetime firearms prohibition and ordered to provide a DNA sample.
Gold mine gets go-ahead
Citizen staff
The light keeps getting greener for this region’s proposed gold mine.
The Blackwater Gold Project was granted an environmental assessment certificate by the provincial government, said the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) on Monday. The combination of B.C.’s Ministry of Mining and Ministry of Environment made the announcement.
The plan to operate the mine was given the go-ahead based on 43 conditions that must be met.
“The conditions were developed in consideration of the issues raised by communities, the public, Indigenous groups and government agencies, and were collaboratively developed with Lhoosk’uz Dené Nation (LDN), Ulkatcho First Nation (UFN), and the Carrier Sekani First Nations (Nadleh Whut’en First Nation, Saik’uz First Nation and Stellat’en First Nation),” said the two ministries in a joint statement. The Nazko First Nation was also part of the consultation process.
“Having considered the Environmental Assessment Office’s (EAO) assessment report, submissions from Indigenous Nations and the recommendation of the EAO’s executive director to issue a certificate, the ministers are confident that Blackwater will be built, operated and closed in a way that ensures that no significant adverse effects are likely to occur.”
The mine’s area of interest is located about 110 km southwest of Vanderhoof. It has a designed footprint of about 4,400 hectares. Once it is operational, the claim is expected to yield about 60,000 tonnes of ore per day with a net annual production of 22 million tonnes per year during the 17 years the mine is expected to last.
New Gold estimates construction of the new mine would create 2,436 person years of direct employment in B.C. during the two-year construction period, with $1.29 billion in project expenditures in B.C., contributing $312 million to B.C.’s gross domestic product.
During operations, New Gold predicts that Blackwater would directly support 396 full-time equivalent jobs per year, with annual expenditures (excluding labour) of $161 million per year in B.C., directly contributing $258 million to B.C.’s GDP annually.
The 43 conditions that must be met include criteria like dust control, caribou monitoring, tailings dam safety transparency, noise mitigation, and much more. They are itemized on the EAO’s website under the Projects heading.
New Gold must still obtain a number of permits from the federal and provincial government in order to move the Blackwater Gold Project ahead, but the environmental assessment certificate was considered the last remaining critical hurdle for the company.
Feds promise $13M to honour missing women
David REEVELY The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The federal government will fund more than 100 projects to “honour the lives and legacies” of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef announced Monday.
Funding for the commemorations will
come from a $13-million fund Monsef unveiled in Winnipeg.
“Our government is listening to survivors and families who have told us that in order to move forward meaningfully, we must also pause to remember and honour those who are missing and whose lives have been lost,” Monsef said. — see ‘WE WILL NEVER, page 3
A weekend of entertainment
ABOVE: Kelsey Abraham performs a Sneak Up dance on Sunday evening at Canada Games Plaza as part of Heatwave 2019 Celebrate Cultures festivities.
RIGHT: Alex Cuba performs on Sunday evening at Canada Games Plaza as part of Heatwave 2019 Celebrate Cultures festivities.
BOTTOM LEFT: Studio 720 performs on Saturday evening at Pacific Western Brewing as part of day threeday festivities at Rotary Ribfest.
BOTTOM RIGHT: The crew from Misty Mountain BBQ use a little showmanship to sauce ribs on Sunday afternoon at Pacific Western Brewing on the last day of Rotary Ribfest.
LEFT: Students participate in a tug-of-war on Monday morning during Blackburn Elementary School’s Sports Day.
BOTTOM LEFT: Nine-year-old Noah Norquay jumps across two mats while participating in one of the games on Monday.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Eleven-yearold Halle Martin, left, helps her younger brother Wyatt Wettlaufer, 6, on Monday.
Prince George provincial court docket
From Prince George provincial court, June 17-21, 2019:
• Bradley Jay Carmichael (born 1977) was fined $2,000 plus a $300 victim surcharge and ordered to pay $2,661.13 restitution for providing false or misleading information under the Insurance (Vehicle) Act.
• Benjamin Joseph Spencer (born 1971) was fined $400 plus a $60 victim surcharge for failing to produce a driver’s licence or insurance under the Motor Vehicle Act.
• Cheven John Walton Schilitt (born 1994) was sentenced to 107 days in jail and one year probation and ordered to provide a DNA sample for breaking and entering and committing an indictable offence and to no jail time for breaching a probation order.
Schlitt was in custody for 151 days prior to sentencing.
• Alfred Kurt Homann (born 1955) was sentenced to six months in jail and prohibited from driving for three years for driving while disqualified under the Criminal Code.
• Jordan Neil Shaw (born 1994) was sentenced to 60 days in jail for assault, committed in Maple Ridge. Shaw was in custody for 151 days prior to sentencing.
• Jordy Martin Visser-Hayne (born 1996) was sentenced to no jail time for theft $5,000 or under and breaching probation. Visser-Hayne was in custody for 34 days prior to sentencing.
• Myles Ashley Christian (born 1981) was
sentenced to 637 days in jail for possessing a prohibited or restricted firearm, to four months in jail for possessing stolen property and to 180 days in jail and issued a lifetime firearms prohibition for possessing a weapon contrary to an order.
• Patrick Quinn Hanefeld (born 1968) was issued a one-year $1,000 recognizance after allegation of causing fear of injury or damage.
• Paul Ervin Jantzen (born 1984) was fined $2,000 plus a $300 victim surcharge for driving without due care and attention under the Motor Vehicle Act.
• Aaron Joseph Glover (born 1985) was sentenced to 13 days in jail and one year probation for mischief $5,000 and under
and breaching an undertaking or recognizance and to no jail time for a separate count of breaching an undertaking or recognizance. Glover spent a total of four days in custody prior to sentencing.
• Sheldon William Frederick Nipshank (born 1995) was sentenced to five days in jail for willfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer. Nipshank was in custody for five days prior to sentencing.
• Corina Lynn Beauchamp (born 1970) was sentenced to three days in jail for breaching probation and to time served and one year probation for a separate count of breaching probation. Beauchamp was in custody for two days prior to sentencing.
‘We will never forget our sisters in spirit’
— from page 1
“That is what we are doing by supporting these commemorative projects across Canada – ensuring that we will never forget our sisters in spirit and that we can prevent such tragedies in the future,” Monsef added.
Monsef said the approved projects include events, activities and creative works organized by First Nations, friendship centres and social-service agencies that help Indigenous people. Besides women and girls, they’re supposed to honour the lives of LGBT and two-spirit people who’ve suffered similarly.
Some examples:
• One $493,000 project is to bring families together in 13 Inuit communities in Manitoba, Nunavut and Labrador to hold healing sewing circles and make red parkas to commemorate loved ones who are missing or known to have been murdered.
• A $150,000 grant to the Victoria Native Friendship Centre will support performances in three cities of an opera, “Missing,” by MetisDene playwright Marie Clements.
• A $200,000 project led by the
Ontario Native Women’s Association will see art exhibitions in four cities to honour the lives of the missing and murdered in Ontario.
Last winter, the government asked for proposals for commemorations.
The inquiry’s interim report in 2017 called on the federal government to establish such a fund in co-operation with Indigenous organizations, “family coalitions, Indigenous artists, and grassroots advocates.”
Approvals were underway when the national inquiry issued its final report in early June.
In that report, the inquiry commissioners said they were glad to see the government funding these projects, but weren’t pleased that only “legally constituted organizations” would receive money, leaving out informal and grassroots groups.
“This excludes these very same family coalitions and grassroots organizations we wanted to include, who have been organizing around missing and murdered women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people for decades with very little support,” the report said, using an
acronym for two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and asexual.
“It can be a long and onerous process to legally incorporate as an organization; coupled with the very short time frame organizations were given to apply, this almost certainly excludes the very groups we intended this recommendation to reach.”
Monsef spokeswoman Justine Villeneuve said the call for projects required that applicants work with communities, survivors and fami-
lies in conceiving their proposals so they “could define how to help honour the lives and legacies of their loved ones,” and applications also had to explain how survivors and families will be involved in the final work.
Also, she said, Indigenous external review committees examined the applications.
The government had planned to spend $10 million on the projects but upped the amount to $13 million because of the high demand, she said.
Healthy living can’t prevent cancer
Recent news that random bad luck plays a big role in cancer has been misinterpreted as bad news, when it’s actually very useful in helping humanity understand what cancer is and what can be done to prevent it.
New experiments attempt to quantify findings from 2015 and 2017 that showed random “bad luck” was a major factor in the development of cancer – along with inherited genetic predispositions and environmental carcinogens.
An independent team this month showed that normal tissue is roiling with clusters of mutated cells, some of which have genetic errors common in cancer.
This fits well with the current understanding that cancer starts when cells acquire a combination of genetic mutations that allows them to grow out of control.
The reaction to the “bad luck” claim has been more moralistic than scientific.
StatNews reported that the results might imply “that preventive efforts from smoking
cessation to environmental cleanups were largely pointless.”
A news story in Science Magazine said: “Many scientists took issue with the paper… because they felt it overemphasized the randomness of cancer and downplayed the value of trying to prevent it.”
That defeatist view is a bit like not wearing a seat belt because driving is never 100 per cent safe. There’s a more constructive way of thinking about randomness: not as a reason to give up on minimizing risk, but as a reason for vigilance and research.
Knowing the role of randomness, maybe more of us would have a doctor look at that little lump, or spot between our toes that looks weird even though it’s on skin that never sees the sun.
I don’t smoke, but because I have learned that 15 per cent of lung cancer cases occur in people who never smoked, I am more likely to take seriously a persistent chest pain or cough, which really could be lung cancer.
Recognizing the random factor might
save some lives.
In the latest research, published this month in the journal Science, it’s hard to tell whether the mutations in healthy tissue were caused in part by environmental factors or are primarily random copying errors, but these results do suggest that the mere act of getting older is a major risk factor.
As one of the studies’ authors put it back in 2015: the longer the trip, the greater the odds of an accident, even if you wear your seat belt.
The findings offer both hope and caution for the promise of early detection. Proponents of mass screening were set back in recent years by scandals showing that screening programs for prostate and breast cancer have led many people to get harsh, life-changing treatments for tumors that were unlikely to spread.
The fact that cancer-associated mutations exist in normal tissue could complicate the quest to offer simple blood tests to detect other kinds of cancer. It’s no longer obvious
YOUR LETTERS
City hall’s got priorities wrong
The level of frustration many people in Prince George have regarding the financial situation here is not shared by all and a closer look as to why is very illuminating.
Several of the city’s largest employers, like Northern Health and the City of Prince George, have made out of town recruitment their priority. Despite the city having one of four research universities in the province, there seems to be a need to hire only from outside the city and, in doing so, create a sellers market for these so-called professionals by having them dictate their wages. This policy also seems to be in place for hiring firms in other areas, from construction to consultants. This has to stop.
Mr. Godbout’s Friday editorial on the disgraceful wage increases for city manager Kathleen Soltis on the back of a massive property tax hike for residents and the ridiculous request for a $32 million dollar loan, an aspect of the construction project referendum not disclosed, shows just how cynical this administration seems to be. There seems to be a disconnect between what our elected city council try to do and the end result once it goes through the labyrinth that is city hall. It is of no surprise that some, yes, some of us are angry. Why only some? Despite attracting new shops
and all of the new home construction in place, we have forgotten that our population has decreased, the population of people living under social assistance has increased and the number of high-paid transient workers, cutting their teeth in their respective careers, leave after a few years. Result? Lower tax revenues. Remember all of those out-of-town recruiting policies? People are not staying here long term. Previous city administrations travelled continually to China, our last premier ignored the rules of the Annual Allowable Cut and now we ship almost all of our raw logs to China. We are on the cusp of losing the last of our sawmills and seriously impacting the area’s workforce and their incomes, thus destroying our local economy. Exactly what did these meetings in China accomplish?
I moved to Prince George in 1974. I love P.G., my house, the people, however, the decline here and the Soltis wage increase makes me nauseous. When I’m done my degree, I will take it elsewhere. P.G. obviously doesn’t want me. By the way, affordable? My fellow students can’t afford $1,400/ month. When did this happen?
Mike Maslen, Prince George
Questionable real estate value
A recent guest editorial in the Citizen bemoaned the loss of “val-
ue” for Canadians due to a small decline in home resale prices.
The author dismissed the essential fact that homes serve the primary purpose of sheltering and protecting occupants and their possessions. As a supposed store of wealth, a home is incidental and unsure. Inflated home prices exclude many from ownership, while giving owners an illusion of wealth which may never be realized. Ask someone in a community that has just seen a closure of an industry employing hundreds.
When one buys a new car, one does not expect it to increase in resale value. Should a home be any different?
James Loughery
Prince George
Delightfully entertained
The residents of the Prince George Chateau were treated to a performance presented by the Grade 5 and 6 students of Spruceland Elementary School.
We did appreciate the effort that this group made to present a most enjoyable program. Not only was the musical they presented very well done but every one of the students seemed to enjoy performing.
Congratulations to their teacher, Mark Ferguson, and volunteer Wendy Schmidt, who assisted with the production.
Prince George is lucky to have teachers of this calibre.
Dorothy Hillhouse, P.G.
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).
what to consider normal. Perhaps it really is normal to gradually progress toward cancer. If so, there isn’t much you can do about it. But there’s a lot more that medical technology might do.
Early intervention might help. Think of the success of colonoscopies, in which doctors can remove potentially dangerous polyps and nobody misses them. Same for the removal of pre-cancerous skin lesions. In animals with unusually low cancer incidence, random mutations happen, but evolution has found ways to fix them. Elephants carry extra copies of a gene called p53, for example, which codes for a system of DNA repair, so elephants have to get very unlucky to get cancer.
Someday scientists may harness this superpower for us. The random misfortune of cancer will be vulnerable to medical advances like that, which means humans can make their own luck.
— Faye Flam, Bloomberg
No real substance to climate change doc
IIn Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Lord declares he has a plan for recovering the infinity stone. When asked how much of a plan he has, he says 12 per cent. Rocket scoffs at the notion while Drax says it is not much of a plan. Only Groot comes to his defense pointing out it is more than 11 per cent.
While listening to Andrew Scheer unfurl the Conservatives’ “Real Plan to Protect Our Environment,” I couldn’t help but think 12 per cent of a plan. The Conservatives have three guiding principles – 1. Green technology. Not taxes; 2. A cleaner and greener natural environment; and 3. Taking the climate change fight global. Good sound bites but what do they mean?
The plan is a 60-page document with 11,000 words – which is supposed to impress people and make voters think it is a very serious document. (For reference, these columns are 800 words and don’t fill up a quarter of a page.)
It’s taken Andrew Scheer and the Conservatives two years to come up with their document which contains many pictures and not a lot of text.
It also doesn’t contain a great deal of substance.
It starts strong stating “Canada’s Conservatives recognize that climate change is real and evidence from around the world clearly shows that there is a global warming trend,” but it immediately follows this statement by saying “While natural events can account for some temperature change, research and data show that human activities are a major contributing factor. It is now considered extremely likely that more than half of the increase in global surface temperature between 1951 and 2010 has been caused by manmade greenhouse gas contributions.”
Climate change is real but it might be only partially our fault? Really? This is the message of the party? I realize the plan is intended for the Conservative base but I would hope by now our political parties would stop with the weasel words even if they are drawn from an IPCC report. We need to remove the politics which soft-sells the conclusions found by the working group.
The Conservatives plan continues: “when it comes to emissions, Canada is a small contributor to the global problem. By most measures, we account for about 1.6 per cent of the total global emissions.”
This is accompanied by a graph showing China way up at around 10,000 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, the United States at around 5,500 Mt, and Canada holding steady at about 600 Mt.
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Interestingly enough, the graph shows both the United States and European Union have had major decreases in carbon dioxide released over the past 10 years while Canada’s emissions have essentially remained constant. What the graph and commentary don’t mention is comparing us to China, the United States, the European Union or India is a mug’s game. We have a population dwarfed by any of these other entities. At 37 million, we have about one-fortieth the population of China. If we were emitting at their per capita rate, our total output would be only 250 Mt. Put another way, as a nation, when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, we are punching well above our weight.
The argument we shouldn’t do anything because shutting down “Canada’s whole economy for one year – it would take China only 21 days to replace our emissions” is just morally wrong. We don’t need to shut down our economy. We just need to get to the same per capita levels as the rest of the world.
We lose the moral high ground if we eat cake while telling the rest of the world they need to make do with their gruel.
Much of the Conservative document is spent railing against inaction and ineptitude on the part of the Liberals. Of course, the Liberals have only had this file for a little under four years. The previous government, under Stephen Harper, baulked at doing anything serious about climate change. Yes, they were part of the Paris Accord but, at best, their efforts were a token nod at the issue.
There is little substantive information in the plan and this is not really the fault of the Conservatives. This past weekend, CBC’s Cross-Country Checkup devoted its time to discussing both the government’s declaration of climate change as an emergency and committing to the construction of the TMX pipeline.
One of the guests was David Suzuki and when he was asked what we could really do, he couldn’t provide an answer. His only suggestion was to point out that in the 1960s the United States committed to sending humans to the Moon and back, which they did. Look at all the benefits which came from that, he said. Going to the moon was a lot easier than trying to solve a global crisis no one really has a plan to tackle, Conservative or otherwise.
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Member of the
A
B.C seeks input on daylight saving time
VICTORIA (CP) — Any British Columbia resident who has ever complained about losing a precious hour of sleep thanks to daylight saving time now has a chance to gripe to the provincial government.
The province is asking people to share their views on how time should be observed in B.C. through an online survey and written submissions. Premier John Horgan says as Washington, Oregon and California move toward permanent daylight saving time, it’s a good time to think about what will work best for B.C.
Most areas of B.C. “spring forward” into daylight time during summer months and “fall back” to standard time in the winter. Saskatchewan does not observe daylight saving time and remains on standard time year-round. The online survey will be available until July 19 and the website has information on the history of time observance in B.C. and the impact of various options, such as changes to the timings of sunrise and sunset.
“I know many people will have strong preferences on this complex question, and this is an opportunity to express them and help government decide our next steps,” Horgan said. “As we monitor what’s happening in other jurisdictions, I look forward to input from British Columbians...”
Around town
TOP: A Kalitta Air B747-400 cargo plane made a refueling stop in Prince George on Saturday morning on its way to Norway.
ABOVE LEFT: Walkers make their way around Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park on Sunday during the 16th annual Prince George Walk to End ALS.
ABOVE RIGHT: Riders take part in the annual Ride Don’t Hide bicycle ride leaving CN Centre parking lot on Sunday morning. The ride was to raise funds and bring awareness to mental health issues.
LEFT: Citizen graphic designer Grace Flack was one of the riders tackling the 50-kilometre distance during the Ride Don’t Hide event on Sunday.
Top B.C. court upholds ruling on solitary confinement
Laura KANE The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s top court has upheld a lower court ruling that struck down Canada’s solitary confinement law as unconstitutional.
The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled unanimously Monday that prolonged, indefinite segregation deprives inmates of life, liberty and security of the person in a way that is “grossly disproportionate” to the objectives of the law.
“The draconian impact of the law on segregated inmates, as reflected in Canada’s historical experience with administrative segregation and in the judge’s detailed factual findings, is so grossly disproportionate to the objectives of the provision that it offends the fundamental norms of a free and democratic society,” Justice Gregory Fitch wrote on behalf of the three-judge panel.
The panel rejected the federal government’s attempt to overturn the B.C. Supreme Court’s ruling from January 2018 in a challenge brought by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and the John Howard Society of Canada.
Parliament passed a new law on Friday that the government said eliminates segregation, increases mental-health services and Indigenous supports and bolsters independent oversight.
The law means prisoners who pose risks to themselves or others will instead be moved to new “structured intervention units” and offered to spend four hours a day outside their cells, with a minimum of two hours to interact with others. It requires regular review of the necessity of each inmate’s continuing confinement.
However, B.C. Civil Liberties Association executive director Josh
Paterson said the new law does not eliminate the possibility of prolonged solitary confinement.
“The bill that they passed continues under certain circumstances to allow guards and prison wardens to place prisoners in the very same conditions that gave rise to our win in this case – 22 hours or more a day in a cell the size of a parking spot at a grocery store,” he said.
The association’s litigation director Grace Pastine said they believe the new law is unconstitutional and they’re exploring all legal avenues to fight it.
The federal government has 30 days to decide whether to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Scott Bardsley, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, said in a statement that the new law is backed by $448 million in new investments.
Inmates in structured intervention units will be entitled to at least two hours daily of meaningful human contact with staff, visitors, elders, chaplains, or other compatible inmates and have access to rehabilitative programming and mental health care, he said.
He added that while there are a few limited exceptions in the legislation, such as during a riot or natural disaster, those are exceptional situations, and independent external decision-makers can intervene if a placement is not being managed as the law intends.
The challenge in B.C. has been unfolding at the same time as a similar case in Ontario brought by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Ontario’s Court of Appeal placed a hard cap on solitary confinement in prisons, saying inmates can no longer be isolated for more than 15 days. The decision
was stayed while Canada worked on passing its replacement law.
B.C.’s Appeal Court allowed the government’s appeal in part, saying that while the law should be struck down under the section of the charter that relates to the right to life, liberty and security of the person, it should not be struck down under the section that protects equality rights, in this case of mentally ill and Indigenous inmates, although discrimination had occurred under that section.
The court declared that Correctional Services Canada had breached its obligations.
The groups brought the original lawsuit to prevent tragic deaths such as the suicide of 19-year-old Ashley Smith after more than a year of continuous solitary confinement in Ontario, Pastine said.
“This decision calls out Canada’s long-standing practice of isolating
prisoners for weeks, months and even years at a time with no end in sight, a practice that has been condemned around the world as a form of torture,” she said.
Former prisoners in this case bravely stepped forward to testify about spending 22 hours or more alone in their cells, she said, adding sometimes their only human contact was when a meal arrived through a slot in the door.
“They described feeling depression, panic, difficulties with memory, anxiety, hopelessness, suicidal thought and overall a feeling of being broken,” she said.
“They explained to the court how hard it was to adjust to life after prison and after those conditions. They couldn’t leave their room or join their family for a meal. For some, it destroyed their ability to function normally in a free society.”
The Prince George Regional Correction Centre is seen in a February 2014 file photo.
Three P.G. players picked in NHL draft
Spruce Kings’ Ahac and Neaton, Cougars’ Moberg will attend development camps
Ted
CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
Layton Ahac is not a gambling man but he likes his odds of winning in Las Vegas.
Apparently, so do the Golden Knights.
They valued the hockey abilities of the 18-year-old Prince George Spruce Kings defenceman high enough to pick him in the third round, 86th overall in the NHL draft Saturday in Vancouver.
“That was just so much fun, I’m going to remember that for the rest of my life and I’m excited to get going in Vegas,” said Ahac, from his home in North Vancouver, where he was packing his bags for a week-long trip to Nevada for the Golden Knights’ development camp.
“You never know where you’re going to go until you get picked so you’re just trying to stay with it and not worry about it too much and just soak it in. But it’s pretty hard to do that. It’s just complete relief, so much joy and excitement and your mind is rushing, it’s just a great feeling.”
Ahac was the first of three players from Prince George junior teams to hit the jackpot at the draft. The Winnipeg Jets picked Spruce Kings goalie Logan Neaton in the fifth round (144th overall), while the Chicago Blackhawks used their final pick in the seventh round (194th overall) to select Prince George Cougars defenceman Cole Moberg.
Ahac knew he had the Golden Knights interested after attending the NHL combine in Buffalo a couple weeks ago.
“I worked unbelievably hard to be here,” said Ahac.
“I want to make this a career, I want to make a living from this game. Every single day I came to the gym or to the rink with that attitude. It’s paid off so far but the work doesn’t stop. There’s still so much work that has to be put in, it’s a step in the right direction but I’m not at the finish line yet, this is just the start of a new chapter.” Ahac, after a four-goal, 32-point season with the Kings, has a scholarship at Ohio State University lined up and he will head to Columbus Aug. 12 to begin his studies as an economics major.
Drafted 66th overall by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2017 WHL bantam draft, he turned down a chance to sign with T-birds and instead joined the Spruce Kings two seasons ago. The Kings then put together the two finest seasons of their 23-year B.C. Hockey League history. They were league finalists in 2018 and BCHL champions/national finalists this past season.
“(Coming to Prince George) shaped me into who I am today, I gained so much experience and wisdom and it helped my game and my confidence, it was just a great two years,” Ahac said.
After meeting the Golden Knights staff and going through media interviews, Ahac was just returning to the suite at Rogers Arena where his parents, Karen and Al, and sister Danika were waiting for him when he glanced
up at the draft board and saw his teammate Neaton’s name lit up beside the Jets logo.
“I was so pumped for him, I sent him a message right way, it was so exciting,” said Ahac.
“Good for him, he deserves it, for sure.”
Neaton, who lives in Brighton, Mich., near Detroit, did not attend the draft and was on a family vacation in northern Kentucky when he got the phone call from Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff.
“It’s pretty surreal right now, it’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was a little kid,” said Neaton, who is now at the Jets’ development camp.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to accomplish but at the end of the day it’s just the start. I’ve got to develop a lot more, accomplish a lot more.”
Neaton knows Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who like Neaton, rose through the Michigan high school ranks to the NHL. They share the same goalie coach in Michigan and both are UMassLowell college hockey recruits.
“I did an interview with (the Jets) and I can’t say enough good things about their organization,” said Neaton, who will study business in college this fall.
“I’ve known Hellebuyck a little
bit and he’s said phenomenal things about them and how they develop kids and how they develop goalies specifically. I knew if I was going to go it would most likely be to Winnipeg. I was pretty happy to get that phone call.”
Neaton joined the Kings last summer from Anchorage of the North American Hockey League and set a Kings’ record with 32 wins and a 1.92 goals against average, and his stock rose in the playoffs when he backed the Kings to a 16-1 record and their first Fred Page Cup championship. Neaton played all six games of the Doyle Cup Pacific championships series win over Brooks and played every minute of the Canadian Junior A Championship in Brooks, which ended in a 4-3 loss to the host Bandits in the final.
As a 20-year-old, this was Neaton’s third year of draft eligibility.
“Going into my original draft year I wasn’t even close to being on the radar and even last year it wasn’t close to a possibility but coming into this year I knew we had enough of a run to maybe get attention,” he said.
“It wasn’t something I set out do coming into the year. I just wanted to be successful and bring as many wins as I could to Prince George. I definitely think I had the best team in junior hockey in front of me,
they made my job pretty easy.”
Neaton was taken just after the Jets selected Chilliwack Chiefs centre Harrison Blaisdell in the fourth round with their 134th overall pick. Spruce Kings coach Adam Maglio makes his offseason home in Vancouver and was at the draft to see Ahac and Neaton picked.
“It’s pretty incredible – two really good players but also two really good kids,” said Maglio.
“They’re two of the hardest workers we’ve seen come through our program and it’s well deserved. The sky’s the limit for both players.”
Ahac was identified early as a potential draft pick. That brought NHL scouts out to watch the Kings play, which Maglio says helped Neaton get noticed.
“At the end of the day, Layton helped Logan,” said Maglio.
“Once teams come and watch a team they see other guys who catch their eye and start tracking them and it funnels through the lineup. All the press and good attention on the program is going to pay off for future players.”
Moberg lives in North Vancouver and was not far from the draft proceedings Saturday but chose to stay home and watch it on TV. Chicago picked him as the eighth player in the seventh round and
that prolonged the suspense with just 23 players left to select before it all wrapped up.
“It’s close, but I didn’t want to be sitting there the whole time if I didn’t get drafted, so I stayed home and watched it here,” Moberg said.
“I just tried not to worry about it. I wasn’t drafted in the bantam draft so I kind of know what it’s like to not get drafted. Once my name was called it was a pretty happy house.”
It wasn’t a total surprise Moberg ended up on the ‘Hawks’ list. They flew him and 29 other players to Chicago for testing a couple weeks ago at their training facility. He also had interviews with Edmonton, Vancouver and Florida prior to the draft.
The Cougars didn’t make the playoffs but Moberg distinguished himself in his second WHL season as their top-scoring defenceman with 13 goals and 40 points.
“Honestly, I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet, I’m so happy to be able to go to such an exceptional organization,” said Moberg.
“To be going to an Original Six team, I can’t even put it into words right now.”
Cougars goalie Taylor Gauthier, the seventh-ranked North American goalie, left his home in Calgary to attend the draft but did not get picked. Moberg vowed he would return to Prince George as one of the leaders of a Cougar young defence and will do whatever it takes to set Gauthier up for a successful season that will make him an obvious choice for the draft in 2020.
“I was shocked when I didn’t see his name called, it’s a hard feeling,” said Moberg.
“With me and him being the talk of being drafted I wanted us both to go. I’m happy I got drafted but it’s kind of bitter he’s not going.” Said Neaton: “He’s a phenomenal goalie. I’ve gotten to know him a little bit and he’s going to be fine. He’s still got a couple years of eligibility and he’s going to end up getting drafted, it’s just a matter of when. He’s got a bright future.”
• Eight BCHL players were drafted and the Victoria Grizzlies had three of them – C Alex Newhook (first round, 16th overall, Colorado), LW Alexander Campbell (third round, 65th overall, Nashville) and D Carter Berger (fourth round, 106th overall, Florida). Chiefs RW Kevin Wall went in the sixth round, 181st overall, to Carolina and the Hurricanes also picked Penticton Vees C Massimo Rizzo in the seventh round, 216th overall. • The WHL had 28 players selected. That list included seven first-rounders – Kirby Dach, Saskatoon Blades (third overall, Chicago), D Bowen Byram, Vancouver Giants (fourth, Colorado), F Dylan Cozens, Lethbridge Hurricanes (seventh, Buffalo), F Peyton Krebs, Kootenay Ice (17th, Vegas), D Lassi Thomson, Kelowna Rockets (19th, Ottawa), F Nolan Foote, Kelowna (27th, Tampa Bay) and Brayden Tracey, Moose Jaw Warriors (29th, Anaheim Ducks). Sixteen WHL forwards, eight defencemen and four goalies were picked.
HANDOUT PHOTO
Prince George Spruce Kings defenceman Layton Ahac, flanked by his father Al, sister Danika and mother Karen, sports his Vegas Golden Knights Jersey at the NHL draft Saturday after the Knights picked him in the third round, 86th overall.
Doig’s lacrosse legacy
Fred Doig, who brought lacrosse to Prince George in 1967, was laid to rest Saturday following his death June 11 at age 91. A
attracted a group of lacrosse players who played with or against Doig during his career, which spanned eight decades. From
Rowland, Ray Masson, Mickey Brumpton (of Summerland), Dave
Ari
Canucks an ‘awesome’ opportunity for J.T. Miller
The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER — J.T. Miller
wasn’t planning to move across the continent this summer, but he knew a new home was a possibility.
Though the 26-year-old forward had a solid outing with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, he was well aware that the franchise had changes to make after the Stanley Cup-favourites were unexpectedly bounced from the first round of the playoffs.
So when Miller received a call on Saturday saying he’d been dealt to the Vancouver Canucks, the news wasn’t entirely unexpected.
“I understand that the (Lightning’s) season didn’t end up the way anyone wanted it to and with just how tight the cap was, I knew that if the right deal game along that made sense for both teams, I could have been the guy. And obviously that’s what happened,” he said Monday on a conference call. Not only will he be moving more than 5,000 kilometres, Miller and his wife, Natalie, will be doing so with two young kids. Their daughter Scottlynn is just over a year old, while Scarlett was born just six weeks ago.
Still, Miller’s looking forward to playing in Vancouver, saying it’s always been one of his favourite stops on the road because of the beautiful scenery and excellent food.
It’s also an “awesome” opportunity to play with a crew of talented young stars, he said.
“There’s tons of potential on this team and obviously I’m going to do whatever I can to help push for the playoffs and hopefully get in there,” Miller said.
Canucks general manager Jim Benning has long been on the hunt for a top-six forward to bolster the team’s young stars. As a proven veteran who can play all three
positions, Miller – a six-foot-one, 218-pound native of East Palestine, Ohio – fit the bill.
“He’s a good skater, he can get in on the forecheck. He’s got enough size and strength that he can come up with pucks. He’s got good hands, smart,” Benning said after round two of the NHL draft on Saturday.
The trade saw the Canucks send goalie Marek Mazanec to Tampa with a 2019 third-round draft pick and a conditional first-round selection in 2020. If Vancouver doesn’t make the playoffs next season, the pick will become a first-rounder for 2021.
Originally selected 15th overall by the Rangers in 2011, Miller spent six seasons in New York before he was traded to Tampa Bay in 2018.
Last season he posted 13 goals and 34 assists for the Lightning. He put up 50-plus point seasons the previous two years in a row.
Despite having a down-year points-wise, Miller felt like he played a more complete game in Tampa Bay. He believes he can bring both points and intangibles to Vancouver.
“I do think playing consistent hockey goes a long way and it’s not always on the score sheet,”
Miller said, adding that he’ll still be pushing to produce offensively.
“I never really want to be satisfied with where I’m at.”
Where, exactly, Miller will slot into the Canucks lineup remains to be seen, but Benning said he could compliment the NHL’s reigning rookie of the year Elias Pettersson and star right-winger Brock Boeser.
“I think (the trade is) going to help with the development of our kids and help them get to where they need to be and it’s going to improve our team for next season,” Benning said.
Though he has yet to hit 30,
Miller also thinks he could share some wisdom with the franchise’s up-an-coming crop of stars.
“Something that I still want to work at and be better at is being a leader and being that guy that young guys can look up to,” he said.
“A lot of these young guys have all the tools for being awesome hockey players and I think that there probably great leaders there already, but (I just want to help) them be able to get the most out of what they bring to the table. There are so many little things that you can pick up here and there that I think I can definitely help with.”
celebration of Doig’s life at Hart Community Centre
left are Brett Doig, Glen Scott, Gord Meakin, Jeff
Jenkins, Neil McIntosh, Al Mottishaw (of Dawson Creek), Drew Doig (holding a Columbus Macs jersey), Ralph Wright, Phil Gobbi, Brian Campbell, Darryl Brizan,
Astorino, Kerry Orchard (of Salmon Arm), Gerry March, Ken McIntosh, Vern Norbraten and Ken Goss.
Gemma KARSTENS-SMITH
Tampa Bay Lightning center J.T. Miller (10) flips a pass by St. Louis Blues center Ryan O’Reilly (90) during an NHL hockey game Feb. 7 in Tampa, Fla.
Quinn Hughes knows brother Jack is ready for NHL
Gemma KARSTENS-SMITH
The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER — Quinn Hughes wasn’t about to give his younger brother much advice heading into the NHL draft.
Sure, Hughes had been there before, having been taken seventh overall by the Vancouver Canucks last year. But he knew his brother’s experience was going to be markedly different.
Speculation had been rife for months that Jack Hughes would be this year’s No. 1 pick.
“It’s not a big difference but it is a big difference, the hype and everything like that,” Quinn said last week before the big event.
“But I don’t think he’s needed much help or anything like that.”
He didn’t.
Jack Hughes was first off the board on Friday night, selected by the New Jersey Devils. The brothers had, however, talked about the possibility of ending up on the same NHL team.
“Maybe down the road,” Jack said.
“Right now we’re going to be looking forward to beating each other next year.”
Canucks general manager Jim Benning said Quinn Hughes did lobby to have Vancouver switch picks and make a run at his brother.
“Yeah, I had conversations, but they didn’t last long,” Benning said.
Jack Hughes has drawn awe for his speed and style, but Quinn thinks there’s something else that sets him apart.
“Obviously he’s very skilled on the skating, hockey sense, hands, everything like that. But how competitive he is, I’ve always thought
CP FILE PHOTO
Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes skates during an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings in Vancouver on March 28. Hughes knew brother Jack was ready for draft to NHL.
that’s the big difference in him. He doesn’t care who he’s playing, he’s going to go at you,” Quinn said.
“He’s so dialled in. I don’t know what normal teenagers do, but he’s dialled in, he’s working out in the morning, getting the right sleep and rest and food and everything like that.”
Jack said that drive and work ethic comes from his dad, Jim Hughes, who’s long worked in coaching and player development, including for the Boston Bruins
and Toronto Maple Leafs.
“You’ve got to give things, sacrifice things to be the best. That’s what we’ve always done and will continue to do,” Jack said.
The Hughes brothers honed their work ethic in the U.S. National Team Development Program, where Jack tallied 34 goals and 78 assists last season. He was one of eight players from the program taken in the first round of this year’s draft.
The program provides an inten-
sive environment for players who truly want to excel, Quinn said.
But it’s nothing like the life of a normal teen.
“When I was there at 15, we were getting up at 7, getting ready for school, going to the rink at 12, having study hall for an hour, working out, skating, then we had this military guy that would put us through some push ups. We wouldn’t be home until like 7:30 (p.m.),” he said.
“You’re like 15 years old and
no one else is doing that. And you do that for two years and all of the sudden your game takes off.”
The youngest Hughes brother, Luke, is set to join the development program this year. His brothers have no doubt that he’ll soon be following in their footsteps at the NHL draft.
“He’s going to be a hell of a player. He’s big, can skate, can think,” Jack said.
“He’s pretty much a clone of Quinn, two or three inches bigger. It’s pretty exciting.”
For now, though, there are two Hughes brothers linked to NHL franchises.
Quinn Hughes played five games with the Canucks last season after finishing an impressive collegiate career at the University of Michigan.
Jack Hughes is expected to join the Devils this fall.
Already, the brothers are thinking about playing each other next season.
“It’s going to be higher stakes. It’s going to be really special,” Jack said.
“My mom is going to be really nervous. But all my family will watch. My friends will watch. It will be a really special game. It will be something to look back on.”
Though Jack Hughes was only drafted on Friday, talk has already swirled about the pair competing for next year’s Calder Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL’s top rookie.
There’s one person, however, who isn’t ready to entertain such thoughts.
“Man, we’re a long way from that,” Jack said.
“I haven’t played a game in the national league. I’m not too worked up about that.”
Sweden through to quarterfinals with 1-0 win over Canada
The Associated Press
PARIS — Stina Blackstenius scored early in the second half and Sweden advanced to the quarterfinals at the Women’s World Cup with a 1-0 victory over Canada on Monday. Blacktenius scored in the 55th minute. Canada had a chance to pull even in the 69th but goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl stopped Janine Beckie’s penalty kick after a handball was called on Kosovare Asllani.
Ninth-ranked Sweden will face No. 2 Germany in a quarterfinal on Saturday in Rennes. Germany advanced to the quarterfinals for the eighth straight time, beating African champion Nigeria 3-0 on Saturday. Sweden was eliminated with a 4-1 round of 16 loss to Germany four years ago at the World Cup in Canada. Beckie took the penalty rather than
captain Christine Sinclair, whose 182 goals remain two shy of matching the record set by retired American Abby Wambach.
Sinclair, who had a goal in Canada’s final group stage match against the Netherlands, is the second player to score in five straight World Cups, joining Brazil’s Marta. Eight of Sinclair’s goals have come against Sweden. Sweden finished second in its group behind the defending champion U.S. The Swedes
wrapped up the group with a 2-0 loss to the Americans, who they famously knocked out of the quarterfinals at the 2016 Olympics. Sweden has been to all eight World Cups since the women’s tournament started in 1991. Its best finish was runner up in 2003. Fifth-ranked Canada, which finished second in its group after a 2-1 loss to the Dutch, has bronze medals in the last two Olympics.
Devils, Bandits to meet in senior lacrosse playoffs
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
So much for the perfect season. The Westwood Pub Devils were one win away from capping off a perfect 16-0 regular season heading into the Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association playoffs, until a group of Bandits robbed them of that pleasure. Backed by an impressive 55-save effort from goalie Dalan Etter, the RPR Mechanical/JR Construction
Bandits downed the Devils 8-7 in overtime in the final regular season game Thursday night at Kin 1.
Etter made the save of the game in overtime when he stopped Devils sharpshooter Jake McIntosh on a penalty shot, then Drew Doig ended it, scoring the OT winner, his third goal and sixth point of the game.
Patrick Griffiths had a three-goal game for the Bandits while Jackson Parish and Justin Parker also
scored. McIntosh finished with two goals and two assists.
The Bandits were outshot 62-32.
The Bandits (7-9) finished fourth in the standings and will face the Devils (15-1) in the first round of the playoffs.
That best-of-three series starts on July 4 at Kin 1. Game 2 is scheduled for July 9, with a third game, if necessary, to follow on July 11.
The playoffs begin on July 3,
when the second-place Northland Nissan Assault (9-7) takes on the third-place Mackenzie Conifex Power Lumberjacks (8-8) in the other best-of-three semifinal. Game 2 is set for July 8.
A third game, if needed, would be played on July 10.
The best-of-five league championship series starts July 16. The Devils have won the Dale Rolufs Memorial Trophy the past two seasons.
Prince George will host the B.C. Senior C provincial championship, July 26-28 at Kin 1. The PGSLA champions will play the winners of senior C leagues in the Okanagan, Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island for the Fred Doig Memorial Cup. That same weekend at the Kin Centres, the city will host the Treasure Cove Casino Senior Invitational Lacrosse Championship.
Police release hundreds of files from Smollett investigation
Don BABWIN and Sophia TAREEN
The Associated Press
Chicago police on Monday released hundreds of files from the investigation into Jussie Smollett’s claim he was attacked by two men, including releasing video footage for the first time of the Empire actor wearing a thin white rope wrapped around his neck that he told detectives was a noose.
The footage from a body camera worn by a police officer who responded on Jan. 29 to what Smollett said was a racist and homophobic attack by two large men has blurred out Smollett’s face because, police explained, he was considered a victim at that point. But footage shows the officers walking into the apartment, where they encounter the actor wearing the rope, before one asked him, “Do you want to take it off or anything?”
“Yeah,” said Smollett, before unwinding the white rope, loosening it and placing it on the kitchen counter.
In all, police released nearly 1,200 different individual files on Monday, including thousands of pages of documents, arrest reports and handwritten notes from police. Added up, there is more than 90 hours of video, much of it hour after hour of surveillance cameras high above city streets.
As the hunt for the two men Smollett said attacked him
continued for weeks, some in the city started to wonder if the whole thing was a hoax. And those suspicions made it into the documents, with a Feb. 25 email from a sergeant saying that she’d received a tip from a caller whose name is redacted.
“He has a friend close to the inner circle of the subject. The friend shared that the entire event was orchestrated by (redacted).”
The footage itself illustrates the growing skepticism within the police department, starting with the fact that much of it was retrieved from surveillance cameras that police collected as they tried to piece together the route that two brothers took across the city to the spot where police say they acted out a staged attack of the actor. There is also footage of officers
handcuffing the two brothers –who have admitted to their role in the staged attack – on the tarmac at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport when they returned on a flight to Chicago from Nigeria, and putting them in police cars for a trip to a city police station where they were detained.
The release of documents and video was not expected to shed much new light on what hap-
pened – largely because so much information has already been made public. In February, for example, when the charges were announced, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson laid out in minute detail how investigators came to conclude that the incident was not a hate crime as Smollett claimed but a carefully staged hoax directed by the actor himself to promote his career.
Also, in the wake of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office’s stunning announcement that it was dropping all the charges against Smollett, the police department released more than 700 pages of documents and Foxx’s office released another 2,000 pages of documents, including internal office communications.
Police said when Smollett was charged that there was no footage of the actual staged attack because the surveillance camera they said Smollett hoped would capture the incident was, unbeknownst to him, not working.
Among the footage released is that of Smollett’s creative director Frank Gaston meeting officers in the lobby of the Chicago high rise apartment building and giving them a short synopsis of the evening as they take the elevator to Smollett’s apartment.
Gatson tells officers that the alleged attack made him emotional.
“They put a makeshift, what do you call that thing, a noose around his (expletive) neck,” he tells officers.
Avril Lavigne announces first tour in five years since Lyme disease diagnosis
The Canadian Press
TORONTO — Avril Lavigne is pushing ahead with plans for her first tour in five years.
The Napanee, Ont., native announced a 15-date North American tour, which includes a single Canadian stop.
Lavigne, who was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2014, will start the run of dates in Seattle on Sept. 14.
She will reach Toronto’s Sony Centre for the Performing Arts on Oct. 6. Other stops
include Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Boston.
The tour will support of her latest project
Head Above Water, a deeply personal album released earlier this year.
Lavigne says she wrote all of the songs sitting in her bed or on the couch while the effects of Lyme disease made her body feel like it was shutting down.
“I felt like I was drowning. Like I was going under water and I just needed to come up for air,” she said last year in a statement.
“Like I was in a river being pulled in a cur-
rent. Unable to breathe.”
She’s called her new album “a victorious moment.”
Concert promoter Live Nation says a dollar from each ticket will go towards the Avril Lavigne Foundation, which supports treatment and research for people with Lyme disease, serious illnesses or disabilities.
Tickets go on sale on Friday.
Avril Lavigne attends the 26th Annual Race to Erase MS Gala at the Beverly Hilton on May 10 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
HOLZHAUER
Jeopardy! champ playing in World Series of Poker
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — Jeopardy! champion and professional sports gambler James Holzhauer made his World Series of Poker debut on Monday, with plans to donate half his winnings to charity.
Holzhauer was competing in a No-Limit Hold’em event and planned to partner later in the day with Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton in another contest, said tournament spokesman Seth Palansky.
Holzhauer told tournament officials he planned to donate winnings to a Las Vegas non-profit for homeless, displaced and disadvantaged high school students, called Project 150.
Holzhauer played online poker semi-professionally in the early 2000s, but makes a living now with sports betting.
He became a celebrity during a 32-game Jeopardy! win streak, earning more than $2.4 million before losing in early June. He ended his run a little more than $58,000 shy of the overall earnings record set by Ken Jennings, who won 74 games in 2004.
Holzhauer left with the 16 highest one-day scores in the show’s history. He has taken part in several events in Las Vegas in recent weeks, and donated $10,000 in May to Project 150. He and his wife Melissa also contributed $10,000 to a different nonprofit school dropout prevention program called Communities In Schools of Nevada.
Holzhauer made a recent donation of about $1,100 in Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek’s name to a pancreatic cancer walk in Holzhauer’s hometown, Naperville, Ill. Trebek, 78, announced earlier this year that he was being treated for advanced pancreatic cancer and said last month that doctors told him he’s in “near remission.”
Actor and singer Jussie Smollett attends the Empire FYC event in Los Angeles in 2016.
AP PHOTO BY RICHARD SHOTWELL
Horbach, Alex
Alex died at home in the early morning hours of June 18, 2019 after a long illness. Without the help of his caregivers, Margery, Karen, Ted and many more, we wouldn’t have been able to give him his wish to die at home. He was 88 years old. He left behind, with beautiful memories, his loving wife of 65 years Vera-Marie (Mea), 3 children: David (Esther), Donn (Carol), Anna-Marie (Gary); 4 grandchildren: Jason (Kim), Kristy (Ranon), Kari (Mike) and Emberlee; four greatgrandchildren: Ben, Lukas, Ethan and AuroraMarie. Also his three sisters: Nat, Vic, Ann and his sister-in-law Betty and many nieces and nephews. Alex was born in Penny, BC on December 24, 1930 to Mary (Holinka) and John Horbach. His greatest pleasures were his family, dancing, which he taught for many years, and skiing. Interment will be in Edon Brook Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta. A Celebration of life will be held August 2, 2019 at 7211 Bow Crescent N.W. Calgary, Alberta. A donation to your favorite charity in his memory would be appreciated.
Orville Andrew McLean
January 19 1943-June 5 2019
We regret to announce the passing of our father and Grandpa Orville A. McLean on June 5th 2019 at 76 years. Orville was born Jan 19th 1943 on the family farm in Saskatchewan. His family moved to Matsqui BC when he was 4 years old. Orville was a hard worker and started out working at the family farm, then a paper route then bell hop, ranch hand, laboring where ever work could be found and when the WAC Bennett dam project started, he went to Hudson Hope and worked as a underground miner, many civil and road construction jobs over the years. For the majority of his career he was an avid truck driver/owner operator pioneering many of the rugged northern roads and he also highway hauled from Alaska to Mexico, his journeys had many stories. Orville was especially proud of his 1965 Kenworth (Old Blue).
Orville loved hunting and fishing with his sons and friends, taking the family on summer vacation to his sisters in Vernon, trucking, his weekly 649 and puttering in his shop. He was a loyal husband of 55 years and was very proud of his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Orville will be missed by all especially his dog Chase. A celebration of life will be will be held at 11:30 am, Saturday at the 29th of June, 2019 in the banquet room at the Bon Voyage Inn, 4222 Hwy 16 West, Prince George, B.C. A lunch reception will follow. In lieu of flowers a donation basket will be available.
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MONEY IN BRIEF
Currencies
OTTAWA (CP) — These are indicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Monday. Quotations in Canadian funds.
of the costs of Via Rail’s proposed, multi-billion
The markets today
TORONTO (CP) — North American stock markets started the week flat amid geopolitical events including an upcoming trade meeting between the presidents of the U.S. and China.
“After a rather strong week last week we’re seeing a breather today,” says Craig Fehr, a Canadian markets strategist with Edward Jones. “This is a reflection of certainly some of the gains that we’ve seen so far in June but I think also some of the caution that exists ahead of what are some building geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran as well as the impending G20 meeting.” Iran is getting more immediate attention with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday imposing stricter sanctions after blaming Iran for shooting down a U.S. surveillance drone and his aborted retaliatory strike against the Middle Eastern country. But Fehr said the more impactful event for the economy and financial markets is going to be what transpires from the G20 meeting this week between Trump and Chinese president Xi Jingping. A deal isn’t expected to come out of the meeting and investors are taking a wait-and-see approach given that the meeting takes place between earnings seasons and the release of economic data. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 1.96 points to 16,523.47. Four of the 11 major sectors were higher, led by materials, which rose about two per cent primarily due to higher gold prices resulting from a weaker U.S. dollar and the precious metal’s attractiveness as a safe haven for investors.
Barrick Gold Corp. was the leading gold name, gaining more than four per cent.
“To the extent that there’s a bit of nervousness around the uncertainty of what might transpire between the U.S. and Iran, gold prices are the beneficiary of that as investors seek to find a little bit of safety in portfolios.”
The August gold contract was up US$18.10 at US$1,418.20 an ounce, the highest level in almost six years after increasing about 10 per cent in the last month. The July copper contract was up 0.1 of a cent at US$2.71 a pound.
The Canadian dollar traded for an average of 75.79 cents US compared with an average of 75.69 cents US on Friday.
Infrastructure agency to pitch in to help move along Via Rail project, sources say
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The federal infrastructure bank is going to put some money behind a few final, financially risky steps in Via Rail’s high-frequency rail project, sources say.
The rail company wants to build a multibillion-dollar new network of dedicated passenger-rail lines in Ontario and Quebec, so its trains will no longer have to yield to freight trains on borrowed tracks.
Announcements are promised Tuesday in Trois-Rivieres, Que., with Transport Minister Marc Garneau and Infrastructure Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, and also in Peterborough, Ont., with Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef, the local MP.
A planning advisory said an announcement would be made “related to the advancement” of Via’s proposed rail corridor between Quebec City and Toronto.
Two sources, speaking on condition of
anonymity because the details are not yet public, say the Canada Infrastructure Bank will cover the financial risk for the last studies, among other requirements, needed before any new rail lines are built.
The sources didn’t say Monday how much money will be provided, or what would specifically be funded, but the agency’s backing could help Via more easily find a private partner to cover the cost of a proposal that has been under review for more than a year.
Transport Canada has been looking over the Via proposal for more than a year.
Garneau’s department planned this year to review revenue and ridership forecasts as well as the overall business case to help officials craft options for government consideration.
The infrastructure bank has long been eyed as a key source of money for the project, given its mandate to “de-risk” projects at an early stage in order to
draw in private backers when real construction work gets underway.
So far, the agency has gotten involved in two projects, first with a $1.28-billion loan to an electric-rail project in Montreal, and last month with up to $2 billion in debt to expand GO Transit’s rail network around Toronto. Via estimates building dedicated passenger-rail tracks connecting Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City and buying new trains for them would cost $4 billion.
The result would be faster, more frequent, more reliable service, the company says. High-frequency rail is different from high-speed rail, which would also need dedicated tracks for much faster trains, and which would likely be much more expensive. Documents tabled in Parliament earlier this month provided a window into the talks the agency, the Finance Department and Via Rail were having about the high-frequency rail proposal.
Passenger left sleeping on parked Air Canada plane
The Canadian Press
Aviation experts are raising security and passenger safety concerns after a woman was left sleeping on a parked Air Canada aircraft with the lights turned off and crew gone.
“It was just a total screw up,” said Ross Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts and a former airline captain, of the woman’s ordeal.
Tiffani Adams fell asleep during a roughly 90-minute Air Canada flight from Quebec City to Toronto, according to a friend’s recounting of the experience in a Facebook post on the airline’s social media page.
When Adams woke up a few hours after the flight landed, she realized she was alone on a dark plane. Her phone died shortly after, so Adams found a flashlight in the cockpit and attempted to send an SOS signal through one of the plane’s windows. She then unbolted three latches on the main door, opened it and flagged down a nearby baggage cart operator, who rescued her.
Aimer, who has roughly four decades of aviation service, said he’s never heard of such a situation and that multiple errors would have to be made to overlook a passenger during disembarking.
It’s likely the flight crew was on the tail
end of a multi-day set of flights and were anxious to get home as soon as possible, he said.
Typically, crew must look up and down the cabin as they leave the plane, checking for people or any items passengers may have left behind, he said.
Sometimes the crew will do a cursory clean, as well, he said, or a cleaning crew will arrive to do a more thorough job before a morning flight.
Neither of those things seem to have happened here, Aimer said, and it’s possible the crew failed to check all the seats in their excitement to leave.
“So, it was kind of multiple screw ups that caused this.”
A Via Rail engine idles at the Oakville, Ont. train station on March 22. The federal infrastructure bank will cover
