Prince George Citizen June 5, 2019

Union holds rally to protest jail guards’ working conditions

Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff

mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

A B.C. Government and Service

Employee’s Union representative

was in Prince George on Tuesday as part of a province-wide tour to raise awareness about declining working conditions in B.C. jails.

Dean Purdy, chair of the BCGEU’s correctional and sheriff services component met with guards outside Prince George Regional Correctional Centre where a rally was held to protest the situation.

He said attacks on guards have been on the rise over the last five years and, at 124 incidents, reached an all-time high among the B.C.’s 10 provincial jails in 2018. Fourteen of them occurred at PGRCC, according to Purdy.

In part, he pins the trouble on a change in 2002 to allow double-

bunking in jail cells without a requisite increase in the number of guards. Where a guard was typically responsible for 20 inmates in a living unit, each must now keep an eye on 40 at PGRCC, Purdy said.

Double-bunking has also led to overcrowding.

“It’s like too many chickens in the chicken coop. They start pecking at each other instead of the ground,” Purdy said.

“There isn’t enough square footage. They’re bumping into each other, there are only so many phones, there are only so many seats for eating, there are only so many showers.”

He said about 60 per cent of the inmate population has mental health and addictions issues, which has only worsened matters.

“It’s not only for the safety of the correctional officer, it’s about the

safety of the inmates because the inmate-on-inmate violence has also gone up,” Purdy said.

Recruiting and retaining guards has also become an issue according to Purdy, who said many are off work due to post-traumatic stress disorder while others soon move on to better-paying jobs, often as police officers.

“RCMP, municipal police forces, they scoop them up,” Purdy said.

He said raising wages or the length of the work week would help. Jail guards in B.C. work a 35-hour week and Purdy said raising it to 40 hours while leaving the hourly pay untouched would increase income. Jail guards top out at just under $70,000 per year, he said.

Purdy said he has been encouraged by what he has heard from Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth and ministry representative

Canfor to close Vavenby sawmill, sell timber rights for

$60 million

on the issue.

“We like what we’re hearing. They have been very receptive to some of our suggestions around changing up the model of how we house inmates and moving existing staff around to get more corrections officers into the living units, because that’s where everything happens,” Purdy said.

In a statement, BC Corrections spokesperson Alicia Bertrand said guard safety is a top priority.

“Absolutely nothing matters more to us than having staff go home safe at the end of their shifts. That’s why BC Corrections has made an unprecedented effort over the past three years to introduce new and innovative classification and case management approaches, as part of the overall risk assessment process, that we expect to have a significant impact on preventing violence.”

She also said the vast majority of incidents occur in segregation units, often with two or three officers present on a unit at the time of an incident.

“This demonstrates that ratios do not change inmate behaviour or prevent violence,” she said.

“Instead, new approaches, that are rooted in classification and case management such as implementing Right Living Units and Complex Needs Units for individuals who have challenging behaviours and/or a history of violence are helping to creating real change for staff and the individuals in their care.”

WorkSafeBC, meanwhile, has initiated a provincial corrections inspectional initiative for 2019.

“We don’t announce the specific locations of these inspections before they occur,” WorkSafeBC spokesperson Erica Simpson said.

Missing women inquiry report looked to Highway of Tears symposium

Lori CULBERT Vancouver Sun

Derrick PENNER Vancouver Sun Canfor Corp. will close its sawmill in Vavenby, eliminating about 170 jobs, and sell its timber rights to Interfor Corp. for $60 million, the companies announced late Monday.

It’s the second major shutdown announced in the past month from an industry facing shrinking timber supplies due to the mountain pine beetle infestation, forest fires and poor market conditions that are compounding losses.

“Due to the current and longterm log supply constraints we face in the Vavenby region, along with the high cost of fibre, we have made the very difficult decision to permanently close the sawmill and sell the associated forest tenure,”

Canfor CEO Don Kayne said in a news release.

“Today’s decision is not a reflection on our employees, our contractors or the local communities of Vavenby and Clearwater.”

The closure will deliver an economic blow to the entire North Thompson region, according to Clearwater’s mayor. Vavenby is about a 20-minute drive east of Clearwater and Wells Gray Park in the Interior.

— see, SAWMILL, page 3

While some of Monday’s national report into missing and murdered Indigenous women stakes new ground, especially in relation to the federal justice system, many of the recommendations echo ideas from similar inquiries undertaken in B.C. over the past decade.

Nearly 100 recommendations stemmed from the 2012 missing women inquiry led by former Justice Wally Oppal and the

Highway of Tears symposium in Prince George in 2006, all of them aimed at improving safety and raising awareness of the terrible plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

“I think B.C. has set a precedent in what inquiries are about, and how we’ve already had those recommendations on the go,” said Brenda Wilson, a 25year advocate in the Highway of Tears issue.

— see HIGHWAY,page 3

The BCGEU held a rally in support of staff in front of Prince George Regional Correction Centre on Tuesday.

Developing downtown

Insallation of prefabricated wall panels continues on the site of the Parkhouse condominum development, which is underway in downtown Prince George. The project includes a new parkade and is being built beside City Hall at the end of George Street.

Public feedback invited on management of forests and range

Citizen staff

The B.C. government is inviting British Columbians to provide input into improving the Forest and Range Practices Act.

A discussion paper, Forest and Range Practices Act Improvement Initiative: Renewal and Resilience, and feedback form are

available online: http://engage. gov.bc.ca/forestandrangepractices. Feedback can be provided until July 15.

The Forest and Range Practices Act governs on-the-ground forest and range activities on B.C.’s public forests and rangelands. Guiding principles for proposed changes include putting the

resiliency of the land first, public trust, reconciliation with First Nations and scientific knowledge, as well as flexibility and adaptation. Feedback from the engagement process will inform changes to the Forest and Range Practices Act and regulations that are planned over the next two years.

Northern woman is Maxim cover girl finalist

Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

Terri Shields was a model in New York before she returned to her northern B.C. roots.

Now she is coming back to the modelling world without having to leave her Burns Lake town or her three young boys. Shields is one of the finalists in Maxim Canada’s Cover Girl competition.

“I had a friend who saw the competition and thought I should do it. She saw it as a second chance for me,” said Shields. In 2001 and ’02 she was breaking into the fashion industry in New York City as an emerging model but when she was offered a full-time contract with an agency, she turned it down. The pull to move home, start her family, and live the northern life was too strong.

Born and raised in the Lakes District a short jaunt west of Prince George, she moved to P.G. where she went to school and is now an accredited hair stylist. She works at Curly Temple Hair Salon on Third Avenue in Burns Lake.

“Modelling in New York was definitely intense, it is a busy life, faced-paced, it’s fun but you’re always on the go,” she said.

“This is a chance for me to step back into that world but not have to sacrifice my small-town northern dreams, or be apart from my boys who mean the world to me.”

The top prize in the Maxim competition is a cover photo but also $10,000 cash. Shields said that money would help stabilize their single-mom family and also make a contribution to the local food bank to help them stabilize families all over the community.

“I’m definitely passionate about

single parents. It’s often very difficult to raise children, to make ends meet, and I know the food bank is there to help our most vulnerable families,” she said. “In my job, I get to make women feel good about themselves – moms, girls, all backgrounds – so I bring that into my career.”

Shields has already prevailed through the preliminary rounds of online voting, where thousands started and now they are down to the semi-finals. Online voting will determine one winner out of 12 groups to advance to the finals.

“I feel so thankful, so blessed, to have received the support that got me here to the semi-finals, it has been incredible,” she said.

“I want to show women that it doesn’t matter what age you are, or what town you’re in, you can accomplish your goals. If you put your mind to it, and just take those first steps, you can do anything.”

Voting takes place at maximcovergirl.com

The new round runs to June 13. You can vote once per day for free, or buy blocks of votes with the money going to the Canadian Cancer Society.

CITIIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

SHIELDS

Sawmill sale will impact region’s economy

— from page 1

Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell said it’s in his district’s tax base, so his community will take a tax hit in addition to the loss of jobs and spinoff industries.

Tourism has become a bigger part of the region’s livelihood, Blackwell said, but forestry is still 40 per cent of the region’s economy and “the major industry that runs year-round.”

“Forestry is the meat and potatoes and gravy for the economy,” he said.

In a statement, Forests Minister Doug Donaldson said staff from his ministry and the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction will coordinate delivery of provincial support programs and work with the federal government to ensure supports are made available to affected workers.

The decision, which came just after 6 p.m. on Monday, follows from Tolko Industries’ announcement May 10 that it would close a sawmill in Quesnel and cut a shift from its Kelowna sawmill operation, eliminating some 240 jobs.

They’re closures that aren’t unexpected, according to industry analysts that estimate as many as a dozen interior mills will need to close over the next decade to cope with shrinking timber harvests as forests recover from the mountain pine beetle infestation.

Interfor, however, said it will direct the timber from cutting rights it’s buying from Canfor to support its state-of-the-art Adams Lake sawmill, which employs 235 workers and supports an additional 250 jobs in logging.

“This transaction materially enhances Adams Lake’s log supply and sets the stage for its future success in much the same way the investments made (in the mill) 10 years ago set the stage for its success over the last decade,” said Interfor CEO Duncan Davies in a news release.

In 2009, Interfor spent $140 million modernizing the Adams Lake mill, which is close to a two-hour drive northeast of Kamloops, and an additional $40 million since then.

Canfor, in the news release, said the Vavenby mill, which will close in July after “an orderly wind down,” produced 250 million board feet of lumber per year. After the closure, the company will have 12 sawmills in Canada with a capacity to mill 3.55 billion board feet of lumber.

Under recently passed amendments to the the Forest Act, Donaldson must sign off on transfers of timber rights on Crown land.

“With the recent amendments to the Forest Act (Bill 22), we will also ensure that the public interest is protected when companies seek to transfer public forest tenures,” Donaldson said.

– with files from Mark Nielsen, Citizen

Highway of Tears report offers advice on ways to move forward

—from page 1

“But not a lot of them were implemented because of funding – no one took us seriously back then about why this (action) needed to happen. And now it is on a wider scale across the country.”

Wilson’s sister, Ramona, was one of at least 18 women and girls who disappeared along several northern highways between 1969 and 2006, and she hopes the new recommendations will get more attention now that the entire country is listening.

On Monday, commissioners released the national Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report, after hearing from 1,500 relatives and survivors of violence, and made more than 200 recommendations for change.

They include new ideas such as establishing a national Indigenous and human rights ombudsperson and tribunal, prohibiting putting children into foster care on the basis of poverty or cultural bias, and creating a guaranteed annual livable income for all Canadians.

Also included are suggestions to change the justice system, such as revising the Criminal Code to prevent offenders from minimizing their culpability, improving access to rehabilitation and reintegration programs in federal prisons, and increasing Indigenous representation in Canadian courts.

The national report also recommended creating affordable transit to remote communities to reduce dependence on hitchhiking, something that both Oppal and the Highway of Tears report had already established as a priority.

Funding for such transit service was a long time in coming, and Wilson said the bus service now connecting communities along Highway 16 is well-used by residents, but needs to be expanded to improve safety, in part because there is no cellphone service along many sections of

the route.

“The bus service needs a lot of work,” she said.

Other recommendations from the national report that echo what have already been called for in B.C. include:

• National: Developing a response to human-trafficking cases and sexual exploitation and violence, including in the sex industry.

• B.C.: Oppal called on the province to consider better protection for exploited women by seeking input from sex workers, community organizations, Indigenous women’s groups, police and prosecutors.

• National: Provide long-term funding for education programs and awareness campaigns related to violence prevention.

• B.C.: Violence prevention was a main focus of the Highway of Tears report, which called for changes that would reduce risky behaviour such as hitchhiking, address poverty and other root causes, and create community crisis response teams. In his report, Oppal called for extra training for police to make prevention of violence against Aboriginal women a top priority.

• National: Fund policing in Indigenous communities so services are equitable with those in non-Indigenous communities.

• B.C.: Oppal wrote that his provincial inquiry could not make recommendations directed at the RCMP, a national police force, but he urged the province to conduct audits of all police forces in B.C. “with a focus on the police duty to protect marginalized and Aboriginal women from violence.”

The Highway of Tears report also called for more law-enforcement funding, to increase police patrols along Highway 16 during hitchhiking season, and create a First Nations Advocate to bridge the communication gap between officers and the families of Indigenous victims.

• National: Ensure equitable access to employment, housing, education, safety, and

health care.

• B.C.: The Highway of Tears report called for more essential health and social services in remote First Nation communities.

Oppal wrote that “grossly inadequate housing,” health inequities and extreme poverty were major factors in women’s vulnerability to violence, but stopped short of making recommendations around these social issues.

Seven years after the release of his report, Oppal is proud of what it has accomplished, but is also disappointed that women are still at risk.

“It’s somewhat disappointing that some of what we recommended, particularly when it comes to the treatment of Aboriginal victims of violence, are issues that we are still talking about,” he said Monday. While victims’ families have

argued that B.C.’s response to Oppal’s recommendations has been slow and spotty, the province said earlier this year it had made “significant progress” since 2012 and would continue to take action to improve safety.

On Monday, Premier John Horgan said he was committed to ending violence against Indigenous women and promised to review the national report’s recommendations in the context of “the work currently underway in B.C.”

A few of Oppal’s recommendations remain unfulfilled, such as a call for a regional police force across Metro Vancouver, as well as efforts to “clean up” the Downtown Eastside to better safeguard women.

“I don’t know if much has changed down there. That’s still a breeding ground for violent offenders,” Oppal said.

City of Prince George gardener

Tania Masin plants flowers in one of the beds in Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park Tuesday afternoon. City workers will plant 3,500 annuals in the park this year.

IN BRIEF

MMIW report leaves CSTC chief encouraged

Carrier Sekani Tribal Council chief Mina Holmes says the outcome of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls national inquiry has left her encouraged.

In a report issued Monday, the MMIW issued 231 recommendations. Holmes said the next step is to pursue meaningful change through collaboration between all levels of government.

She also made note of the decision to use the term “genocide” rather than “cultural genocide.”

“Most important is the transformative change for Indigenous women in this country,” Holmes said.

“The persecution of Indigenous women must stop and we must now begin a new journey of hope and promise. The National Action Plan must be implemented immediately in order to stop the ongoing genocide.”

Talk on Ancient Forest on Monday

BC Parks will be hosting a presentation on the Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut and Slim Creek provincial parks on Monday.

It will be held at the Weldwood Lecture Theatre at UNBC, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Darwyn Coxson, a professor in UNBC’s Ecosystem Science and Management program, will talk about the most recent overview of the parks’ ecosystems and UNBC’s current research within them.

Anna McIndoe, BC Parks’ planning section head, will then provide the latest information regarding the management planning process.

There will be time for questions following the presentations, as well as having time to provide input into the parks’ draft management plan.

Cigarette butt source of bush fire

Disaster for a 100 block Gordon Crescent home was narrowly averted Sunday morning when a fast-acting neighbour used a garden hose to douse a smouldering bush outside the front door. The source appeared to have been a cigarette butt discarded in a planter beside the bush, Prince George Fire Rescue said. The fire was out by the time firefighters had arrived. Crews adding up to 15 firefighters were called to the scene at 7:30 a.m. No one was home at the time of the incident and there were no injuries. Damage is estimated at about $1,000.

Top comedian takes to Playhouse stage

Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

Rick Mercer, comedic icon, looked right into the camera and said the words.

“Everyone knows Derek is the funniest man in Canada.”

For the first time in its centuriesold history, Prince George can finally see the funniest man in Canada in our own theatre. Derek Edwards has been from coast to coast on his comedy tours, he has been on television, on radio, and he will add Prince George Playhouse to his long list of impressive credits when he walks out on stage Sunday night.

Derek Edwards is the only Canadian winner of the prestigious Vail International Comedy Competition, is a two-time Gemini nominee, he has been nominated numerous times as Best Standup Comic at the Canadian Comedy Awards, and as both a performer and writer his wit has jazzed up TV shows like The New Red Green Show, A&E’s Comedy On The Road, Just For Laughs, and CBC’s Comics.

For a guy who’s never been here, he admits he’s a bit nervous about this engagement.

“Sometimes you show up and the town isn’t hip to or prone to going out to see standup comedy, but this sounds optimistic. And it’s the last show on my tour,” he said, after learning about the boisterous comedy scene in Prince George, with its open mic nights and regular shows at pubs and dedicated comedy nightspot at Sonar and whatnot.

But that’s not the main stress he’s feeling.

No, this is more personal.

“I have an old roommate from school who’s out there with another good friend, so I’m looking forward to Prince George,” Edwards said.

“It’s going to be extra tense, that night, I’ll have to bring my A material. I’ve got to really give ’er. I love working for strangers, but with friends? When things go awry...”

He asked a lot more questions about Prince George than he took on board about his own career. One of the things that makes Edwards so successful on stage is the energized connections he makes about life’s little moments. He zaps the audience with the details rooted out of human observation.

He’s not a one-liner machine, he’s not a shock-jock. He’s a storyteller who never gets more than 30 seconds from a hilarious hard-earned truth.

One of his curiosities about Prince George was the other comedians we’d had recently. He fired some names and he loved some of the others – Ron James, Bruce McCulloch, Brent Butt, and his old colleague Red Green coming soon. “He has die-hard fans,” he said of Green.

“I used to open for his tapings, and he would fill the bleachers and people just loved him. There was this gentle, charming humour, that of a well-thought-out idiot. And there was that voice, you know.”

He said watching the Red Green show develop right before his eyes was a masterclass in writing and comedic tactics.

The mention of Brent Butt made him go all gooey, like a brother proud to hear about his sibling.

“He’s a worker, and just a naturally funny guy. Anything good that happens to him, like in the bigger scope of show business, is just great. He’s like Steve Martin that way. There’s always the occasional wanker who makes it into the big-time and gets the fancy bank account, but when it happens to the good people, ahhh, it’s terrific and makes you feel that maybe there’s justice out there.”

There’s a fair few comedians who would say the same about Edwards, which is why he is a favourite on The Debaters radio comedy show on CBC. He can be depended upon for spontaneous audience connections, even though nobody’s really sure what’s going to come out of his mouth next.

He congratulated P.G. on being a recent host city for that program.

“Good for you. You lobbied and you won,” he said, after the media campaign that earned the appearance.

His most recent appearance was at a taping in Ottawa.

“I had to argue against snowballs. I’d have been embarrassed for my country if I’d have won. It was generous of them to call it a tie,” he said.

Edwards is coming on Sunday for his Alls I’m Saying tour which is being billed as “brazenly tentative, like a sniper with the hiccups.”

Tickets are on sale now at all Central Interior Tickets.

Pub night fundraiser helps Science Alliance camp

Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

Burgers, brew, brainpower. Thursday night is the start of a new tradition for Exploration Place, as they get cooking for kids. Their first annual pub night fundraiser happens 5-7 p.m. at the Canadian Brewhouse, in support of Science Alliance Summer Day Camps. Buy a ticket, help build the brains of the next generation.

Each ticket includes a burger and side (fries or salad), and a drink. This family-friendly fundraiser will also feature a silent auction and a 50/50 draw. Adult tickets are $25 each, children’s tickets are $20 each, available at the Exploration Place front desk.

Only 100 total spaces available.

More than a dozen silent auction items have already been donated, and more adding in before the big

sizzling event.

“The Exploration Place is a nonprofit organization and registered Canadian charity whose mission is to foster lifelong learning in the areas of science, technology, heritage, and culture,” said organizers from the all-local museum and science centres.

“Over the last two decades, Science Alliance camps have gotten kids aged 5-9 excited about science and learning through

‘hands-on, minds-on’ experiments, activities, games, presentations, guest speakers, field trips, our Explorers Urban Garden and more.”

The funds raised by the Science Alliance Camps Burgers & Brew Night will go into their bursary program, allowing children from families of all socio-economic realities to enjoy a week of camp in their unique museum/science centre environment.

Online pollsters say city spending out of hand

Citizen staff

During the last Prince George Citizen poll we asked “Did you sign an Alternate Approval Process form?”

With 62 per cent for a total of

319 votes readers said “Yes, city borrowing and spending is out of hand.”

On the opposite end with 19 per cent and 101 votes is “No, this is necessary infrastructure spending.” Slipping in behind with 14

per cent and 73 votes is “Yes, city council needs to be sent a message.” Trailing with five per cent and 25 votes was “No, city council is doing a great job.”

There was a total of 518 votes cast. Remember this is not a scien-

tific poll.

Next online poll question is “Are you in favour of the city adding radio frequency identification tags to garbage cans?”

To make your vote count visit www.princegeorgecitizen.com.

Search suspended for Calgary man swept away in fast-moving B.C. river

The Canadian Press

HUDSON’S HOPE, B.C. — RCMP in northern B.C. have suspended a search for a man who was swept away in the fast-moving Peace River last week.

Cpl. Madonna Saunderson says

jet boats and aircraft had been assisting searchers who were on the ground.

She says a dive team was called in, but it was not safe for them to be in the water.

Mounties are not releasing the missing man’s name, but an online

fundraising page to help his family identifies him as Aaron Kingma. Campaign organizer Angie Fallis Patterson writes that Kingma was an amazing husband and father to two daughters, 9 and 1.

A Facebook memorial page says he was from Amsterdam and lived

in Calgary.

The GoFundMe page says Kingma had been fishing with some friends by Hudson’s Hope, B.C., along the Peace River last Wednesday when he was swept away by the strong current.

“He tried to swim to safety but

was taken under by the undertow and did not resurface,” it said. “Aaron is still considered missing and despite the amazing efforts and countless hours of search and rescue along with local volunteers they have not been able to locate him.”

EDWARDS

Trudeau accepts inquiry finding of genocide

VANCOUVER

— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday he accepts the finding that Canada’s treatment of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls amounts to genocide.

Debate has erupted over the definition of the term after the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls repeatedly used it in its final report released Monday.

But people are wrapped up in the use of the powerful word, when the focus should be on how to put an end to the issues raised by the inquiry, Trudeau said.

“Our focus is going to be, as it must be, on the families, on the communities that have suffered such loss.”

Trudeau said the tragedy of not treating cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women as a priority has to end.

“Our focus is on bringing together people to solve this challenge and that is what we will remain focused on.”

The impact on these families is indescribable, he said.

“We cannot pretend to be a country that cares about human rights, that has a positive impact on the world, if we do not end this situation once and for all,” Trudeau said.

The prime minister made the remarks after announcing a $1.4-billion annual investment to advance the health and rights of women around the world starting in 2023. He was speaking at the Women Deliver 2019 conference on gender equality.

The national inquiry issued a statement saying Trudeau’s remark Tuesday was “an important moment” in the truth and reconciliation journey.

“The acceptance of our findings of fact by the federal government, especially our finding of genocide, is an acceptance of the truths shared by families and survivors. They no longer need to convince others that genocide is a part of Canadian history,” the statement said.

Lorelei Williams said it was significant to her to hear Trudeau use the word genocide to describe what has happened to Indigenous women in Canada.

Her aunt Belinda Williams has been missing for more than 40 years and the DNA of her cousin Tanya Holyk was found on serial killer Robert Pickton’s farm.

“Our people have been saying this for so long,” she said.

But she said she hopes Canadians recognize it isn’t a thing of the past.

“Women are still going missing and being murdered at a high rate,” Williams said.

Genocide was recognized as a crime under international law in the 1948 United Nations Convention on Genocide, which defined it as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

Marion Buller, the inquiry’s chief commissioner, said Monday the tragedy in Canada is a direct result of a “persistent and deliberate pattern of systemic racial and gendered human- and Indigenous-rights violations and abuses, perpetuated historically and maintained today by the Canadian state, designed to displace Indigenous people from their lands, social structures and governments, and to eradicate their existence as

nations, communities, families and individuals.”

National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Perry Bellegarde said broad adoption of the term will take some time, pointing to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg as an example of an institution that didn’t use the term previously but now does. Language shifts take time, education and awareness, he said, adding that implementation of the recommendations is more important than terminology.

“That’s the big thing. We really want to stop and end violence against women and girls,” he said. “I think if we can get our heads around that you’ll see progress,” he

said.

“With the upcoming election in October, I think all federal parties have an obligation to make this one of their key party platform planks.”

Former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said Monday there is legitimacy in looking at the reality of Indigenous Peoples and Canada’s legacy in different terms.

“I think we should have conversations, not necessarily focus on words, but focus on actions that are in the calls for justice,” she said. “What is common, no matter what you call it, is it is a terrible reality that we have to move beyond and focusing on words isn’t going help us move beyond.”

China wants to fix ‘serious difficulties’ with Canada

Andy BLATCHFORD and Mike BLANCHFIELD

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — China’s ambassador to Canada says his government wants to end the countries’ impasse but won’t give way on two of Canada’s major complaints.

“Indeed, the bilateral relations between China and Canada are facing serious difficulties right now,” Lu Shaye said Tuesday at the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa, in an interview through an interpreter.

“The Chinese side is not responsible for this issue. But the Chinese government is waiting to make a joint effort with the Canadian side and meet each other halfway.”

When asked about the possibility of freeing two Canadians detained in China on espionage charges, however, Lu offered little wiggle room. And on China’s blocking Canadian canola imports, he considers the matter closed.

Canada’s relationship with Beijing has deteriorated rapidly since the December arrest of a Chinese telecom giant’s chief financial officer in Vancouver. The arrest of Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou was carried out after an extradition request by the United States. Meng’s arrest has outraged Beijing and Chinese authorities have demanded her release. Since Meng’s arrest, China has detained two Canadians on allegations of endangering the country’s national security, sentenced two Canadians to death for drug-related convictions and rejected important agricultural shipments.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has sought international support in condemning China’s decision to, in his word, “arbitrarily” arrest Michael Kovrig, a Canadian diplomat on leave, and businessman Michael Spavor.

Last week on a visit to Ottawa, U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence linked the liberation of the two imprisoned Canadians to American trade talks with China.

The offer is significant because the Chinese government has rebuffed requests from Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland to speak with her counterpart.

Pence said U.S. President Donald Trump would push Chinese President Xi Jinping on Kovrig and Spavor at the G20 leaders’ summit later this month. Trudeau is also expected to travel to Japan for that summit.

The ambassador said he did not know if Xi and Trudeau plan to meet at the G20.

When it comes to Kovrig and Spavor, he said “the relevant departments of China will investigate the case, follow the Chinese laws, international practice and the consular agreement between China and Canada, and provide relevant treatment to them.”

Lu spoke at length about China’s trade war with the U.S., which has rattled international markets and poses a threat to the global economy. He listed numerous examples of how he said the American side has backtracked during bilateral negotiations that began over a year ago.

The decline of Canada-China relations has also led to some direct economic consequences for Canadian businesses.

China has been a huge market for Canadian canola seed, which is crushed to make cooking oil. The country imported $2.7 billion worth of Canadian canola seed last year, and any drawn-out blockage will hurt farmers, the industry and the national economy. China has stonewalled requests for Canadian ex-

perts to examine Chinese evidence that two canola-seed shipments contained pests.

Lu said Chinese officials investigated the Canadian canola “based on regulations and science principles.”

“The Chinese side provided concrete documents about the investigation,” he said.

“The relevant Chinese departments maintain no more contact with their Canadian counterparts. The documents have already been provided.”

In an interview last week, International Trade Minister Jim Carr said Canada wants to engage with China on the canola issue. In the meantime, Carr said, Canada had been trying to increase canola sales in other markets such as Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates.

Also on Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said China has stepped up inspections of Canadian pork products on the grounds that it’s concerned about smuggling and African swine fever – an illness that can be devastating among pigs. That’s in addition to previously stated Chinese concerns about the labelling of Canadian pork.

“We are working with producers and industry to underscore the importance of heightened quality assurance efforts to ensure there are no trade disruptions due to administrative errors,” Bibeau said in a statement.

The Trudeau government has come under pressure to follow the American lead and ban Huawei from supplying equipment for Canada’s next-generation 5G wireless networks. Pence raised the matter with Trudeau last week in front of reporters.

He argued letting Huawei participate would be against American security interests. Trudeau replied by reiterating that Canadian government would rely on evidence from its own security agencies before making a decision.

Huawei has denied allegations that its digital communications equipment is a tool of Chinese state espionage. Lu echoed that position Tuesday.

Lu was asked for his thoughts on the possibility of working with a Canadian government led by Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, who recently promised to take a harder line with China if he wins October’s federal election. The envoy said he would not comment on Canada’s domestic matters and said his country is willing to build relations with all political parties.

The case of Meng, the telecom giant’s senior executive, will return to a Vancouver courtroom on Thursday. It has drawn interest from around the world.

A statement from Canada’s Justice Department said Tuesday that the purpose of the proceeding is to address additional applications in Meng’s extradition case and to set future court dates.

The new dates will not be for the actual extradition hearing, which has yet to be scheduled, and Meng is not expected to attend Thursday’s proceeding in person, the statement says.

The U.S. Department of Justice laid 13 criminal charges, including conspiracy, fraud and obstruction, against Huawei and Meng, who is the daughter of the company’s founder.

Amy SMART The Canadian Press

CP PHOTO BY JONATHAN HAYWARD

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with President of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde, during a bilateral meeting at the Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver, on Tuesday.

Classroom rapport relevant, risky

As the 30th anniversary of the movie Dead Poets Society arrives this month and the 200th birthday of the American poet Walt Whitman also passes, fans of the 1989 movie can take a moment to wonder at its inspirational grip.

The film, considered for some as a dramatic highlight of Robin Williams’ career, told the story of students from a conservative elite school and their new teacher, John Keating, who delivered passionate recitations of Whitman.

Keating’s unorthodox methods include teaching while standing on the desks and outside.

Under Mr. Keating’s influence, students start to meet out of class time and share their own poems. The last scene of the film shows Keating’s firing in what has become an iconic scene, with students standing up on their desks saluting him with a Whitman verse: “O Captain! My Captain…”

The movie is about the impact of the teacher-student relationship on the learning process. Mr. Keating is able to develop

something special with his students: rapport.

Rapport is a French word which means a harmonious and sympathetic connection in a relationship, producing a kind of bond that produces gains in people’s connection. It suggests a kind of click or chemistry between people or groups.

In my post-doctoral studies, I am examining post-secondary undergraduate students’ perceptions of rapport, and how it impacts their academic performance.

Rapport is not a personal characteristic but rather a phenomenon that can happen as a result of an interaction of people.

Studies of rapport are not new. Sociologists Robert Park and Ernest Burgess examined rapport in their 1924 book Introduction to the Science of Sociology. Not long after, scholars began exploring how rapport was relevant to student output.

Rapport has been the subject of study beyond education in a variety of fields. Marketing researchers highlight the relationship between companies and customers, while medical researchers consider the importance of physician-patient contact.

Teaching is one of the fields most related to rapport, since a teacher, instructor or

professor’s work consists of interpersonal contact with large groups of people most of the time.

For teachers, the quality of that studentteacher rapport in real life is not always a Hollywood fantasy but research suggests it matters for both student and teacher satisfaction.

Several studies show positive effects of rapport in student performance. Researchers in the field of psychology have found when undergraduate students experience rapport with professors, attendance is greater, students study more, tend to enjoy the subject more and fewer students drop out.

However, the positive effects of rapport are not only realized by students. Communications scholars have argued rapport produces teaching satisfaction and commitment to the institution. The impact of rapport may also contribute to reducing classroom conflicts.

Almost everyone has felt rapport with a teacher – and if so, you probably remember him or her today. Do any of these elements of rapport ring a bell?

Psychologists focused on body language highlight the role of non-verbal behaviour in increasing interpersonal rapport: think

Class size worries northern parents

With the school year about to end, it is a good time to take a look at the education system. For years, British Columbians have been asked about their perceptions of schools, class sizes and negotiations between the provincial government and teachers.

This time, Research Co. chose to review the feelings and perceptions of parents who have a child enrolled in kindergarten, elementary school (Grades 1 to 7) or high school (Grades 8 to 12) in B.C.

The results outline a high level of satisfaction with certain aspects of the education system, as well as some worries that differ from region to region.

Across the province, 83 per cent of parents who have children enrolled in a K-12 program say the experience of their child with the education system has been “very positive” or “moderately positive.”

Only 14 per cent of parents describe the situation as “moderately negative” or “very negative.”

In a noteworthy twist, parents who have a child in public school have a slightly higher level of satisfaction with the current state of affairs (85 per cent) than those whose children attend a private school (79 per cent). Still, this high level of satisfaction does not mean that everything is perfect.

When parents are asked about the biggest problem facing the

BY THE NUMBERS

MARIO CANSECO

education system right now, the answer that heads the list is “large class sizes” at 21 per cent, followed by “shortage of teachers” at 16 per cent.

The third spot is for “lack of safety in schools and bullying” at 15 per cent, followed by “outdated curriculum” at 12 per cent, “inadequate resources and facilities for children” at 11 per cent, “labour disputes between teachers and the government” also at 11 per cent and “bureaucracy and poor management” at nine per cent.

The preoccupation with large class sizes reaches a peak in northern B.C. (30 per cent).

Parents on Vancouver Island are more likely to express dismay at an outdated curriculum (24 per cent) than their counterparts in other regions.

The perception of a system that is bureaucratic and poorly managed is highest in southern B.C. (23 per cent).

Parents in the Fraser Valley are decidedly more critical of the resources and facilities that their children are currently enjoying (17 per cent).

Class sizes have long been mentioned as one of the significant issues that need to be addressed. In the survey, six in 10 parents of K-12 pupils in

British Columbia (60 per cent) described their child’s current class size as “about right.”

Three in 10 (31 per cent) say the class is “too big,” while six per cent claim it is “too small.”

Northern B.C. has the largest proportion of parents of K-12 pupils who believe class sizes are too big (43 per cent) while Metro Vancouver has the lowest (28 per cent).

Only 13 per cent of parents whose kids are enrolled in a private school think the class sizes are too big, compared with 34 per cent for parents of kids in public schools.

When asked about what their children are learning, most parents are content.

More than two-thirds say they are satisfied with the quality of instruction their child is getting in four key subjects: English (73 per cent), science (72 per cent), social studies (also 72 per cent) and math (68 per cent).

In addition, the level of dissatisfaction from the parents whose children are receiving secondlanguage instruction is 29 per cent for French and 28 per cent for other languages.

The survey shows that, when it comes to the opinions of parents, the debate about education in the province is not dominated by labour disputes.

Still, the fact that every region of British Columbia pointed to a different major difficulty with the education system suggests that the provincial government will be compelled to consider local needs when planning for the future.

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body language such as head nodding or mirroring the other person in posture.

In an article “Do your students care whether you care about them?” (the answer is yes), psychology researcher Stephen Meyers suggests professors can focus on both “verbal immediacy” and “physical immediacy” as ways of creating rapport with students: for example, addressing students by their names, using humour, smiling while talking or moving around the room while teaching.

Meyers also notes that some professors at the university level fear “they could be too permissive if they connect with their students.”

In the age of #MeToo it is understandable that attention to ethical and respectful boundaries is a realistic and appropriate concern. After all, let’s not forget Mr. Keating loses his job.

So, dear teachers, as life imitates art, put some effort into how you build rapport with your students – perhaps without walking on students’ desks!

— Lenin Cavalcanti Brito Guerra is a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Saskatchewan. This article was originally published in theconversation.com.

Steep price paid for lasting peace

This week marks the 75th anniversary of Operation Neptune, popularly called D-Day, the largest seaborne invasion in history. Thanks to iconic images and creative reenactments, the Second World War’s “longest day” is etched into millions of minds. Casualties were 10,000, with over 4,000 confirmed killed-in-action. Despite the brutality of the combat, American, British, and Canadian soldiers successfully secured a beachhead and second front against Nazi Germany.

Three score and fifteen years later, we must ask ourselves at the conclusion of the most expensive and tragic endeavor pursued by mankind, what were the “casus belli;” was the war conducted with the right objectives; and how do we prevent the conditions for another conflict?

The Second World War was unnecessary, according to Sir Winston Churchill. British and French appeasement, along with ineffective political-economy in the Weimar Republic, explain Adolf Hitler’s rise to power on a platform of National-Socialism during the Depression.

The Allies were exhausted despite their victory in the Great War, quaking from memories of the trenches; Germans resented the Versailles Treaty, ardently believing they could win in a second contest.

Hitler, in collusion with Joseph Stalin’s Russia, invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, starting the Second World War, a global conflict foreshadowed by Imperial Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931, Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in 1935, and the just concluded Spanish Civil War.

By 1942, America, Britain and the Commonwealth, as well as the Soviet Union had been put on a war footing against Germany, Italy, and Japan. Unlike the First World War, the Allies chose to obtain an unconditional surrender from their enemies. This would require attacking the Axis’ homeland, prolonging the conflict at great expense in men and materials until the fascist powers sued for peace.

Finally, a long occupation was required to reconstitute the defeated nations politically. It is cold comfort to say the enemy sowed the wind and reaped the whirlwind, or point to their

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atrocities: we imitated their total war tactics to ensure our victory. Of course the only thing worse than unethical behavior is failing to learn from it.

To that end, we are fortunate to have kept the world relatively peaceful for three generations, much of it thanks to a real-politik equation based on soft power, nuclear weapons, and foreign intervention during the Cold-War Era.

But as the post-war consensus begins to fracture amongst traditional allies, all while new enemies coalesce around regionally weaker nations, the possibility of a third global war grows more likely. The catalysts of world wide conflict have also changed, as attacks on state actors most often come from non-state actors.

Deterence against rogue states was lost once, resulting in many millions killed and murdered; but how can we best meet the faceless threats of today?

At a basic level, there is a need for a big stick with which to caution enemies; without the ability to provide for its own security, a nation can become easy prey to predators.

It also follows that acquiescing to the demands of bullies invites only more contempt – such actors must be quarantined and sanctioned.

Finally, the culture of peaceful nations must not be marked by self-contempt and historical revisionism, for that is an aide only to one’s unapologetic enemy.

To be clear, self-correction is a vital part of Western democracy. But those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms cannot be categorized as oppressors by new categories we invented only yesterday. Our ancestors had their faults but do we even match their courage?

Hopefully another Juno Beach will not be necessary to keep the peace. But on this 75th anniversary, it is right and just to carefully consider the delicate balance of power in the world today. The glorious dead paid dearly for our current peace.

Will we make the choice to keep it?

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RIGHT OF CENTRE NATHAN GIEDE

911 call played at meningitis death trial

The Canadian Press/Citizen staff

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — The father of a toddler who died of bacterial meningitis called 911 because his son wasn’t breathing but initially declined an offer of an ambulance, a trial heard Tuesday.

David and Collet Stephan are accused of failing to provide the necessaries of life to 19-month-old Ezekiel in 2012.

The couple initially treated the child with herbal and natural remedies instead of taking him to a doctor.

This is the second trial for the Stephans. A jury found them guilty in 2016, but the Supreme Court overturned the convictions last year and ordered a new trial.

Stephan came to Prince George in January 2017 for an in-store seminar at a Prince George health food store.

On Tuesday, two frantic 911 calls from Stephan were played in court as part of the Crown’s case.

“My son’s not breathing,” Stephan said on the first call, as he struggled to give the operator an address to their home near Glenwood, Alta., that her computer would recognize.

The operator, Carroll Moore, asked Stephan if he was performing CPR. He replied that his wife was.

“He’s breathing a little bit better right now,” Stephan said.

“He’s doing it on his own.”

Stephan added that his son had had croup for a week but overcame it.

The father said he would call 911 again if there was a problem.

“If you need us you call us back, OK?” said the operator.

Moore testified that there was an ambulance available in Glenwood but, since the Stephans declined one, a request never went to a dispatcher.

David Stephan, who is acting as his own lawyer, asked Moore if it isn’t protocol that an ambulance be automatically dispatched when a child has stopped breathing to make sure everything is all right.

“Is that fair to say that is the case?” asked

Stephan.

“That would be the case if the caller didn’t decline the ambulance,” Moore replied.

“In a situation like this you didn’t see it necessary to provide guidance to myself on the phone?” said Stephan.

“We didn’t get to that stage. You struggled so much with the address (that) by the time we found the location for the house you said the baby was breathing,” Moore answered.

Court heard Stephan made a second 911 call about a half hour later as he was driving, with his son and wife in the back of the vehicle. He wanted to know if an ambulance could meet them on the road.

“He stopped breathing. He’s pretty lethargic,” Stephan said on the call.

The dispatcher asked to be put on speaker

and instructed Collet Stephan on performing CPR.

“When I breathe into his mouth, there’s a lot of liquid and it gargles,” the mother said.

When the family met up with an ambulance, paramedic Ken Cherniawsky took over. He testified the child was in bad shape and in cardiac arrest.

“He was not breathing. He did not have a pulse. His skin was pale,” said Cherniawsky.

Cherniawsky also testified the ambulance wasn’t equipped with the right size of bag valve mask so an endotracheal tube was used. He said air was moving into the child, making his chest rise and fall.

Court heard Ezekiel later died in hospital.

A naturopath from Lethbridge, Alta., also testified Tuesday.

Tracey Tannis told court that Collet

Stephan had called her clinic and told an assistant she was concerned her son had viral meningitis. Viral meningitis can be less severe than bacterial meningitis, but it is still considered a serious illness.

Tannis said she told the assistant to advise the mother to take the child to a hospital.

“I told her to get him to emergency right away because viral meningitis is deadly,” Tannis said. A few days later, the clinic sold an echinacea tincture to the mother. Tannis said she doesn’t remember actually talking to Collet Stephan when she came into the clinic, but she does remember advising the child go to an emergency room.

Defence lawyer Shawn Buckley suggested the naturopath only recommended the child see a doctor and that Tannis “reconstructed” her story after the boy died.

Scheer vows internal free-trade deal for stronger federation

OTTAWA — Andrew Scheer is promising that a Conservative government would negotiate a deal to eliminate trade barriers among Canada’s provinces.

The Conservative leader made the commitment Tuesday as he outlined his vision for “a stronger and freer federation” – one that is more decentralized and respectful of provincial jurisdiction in contrast to what he labelled as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s divisive, arrogant, top-down, “my-way-or-thehighway federalism.”

If the Conservatives win the Oct. 21 federal election, Scheer said he’ll appoint an interprovincial-trade minister whose sole mandate would be negotiating a comprehensive, formal free-trade deal with the provinces. And he said he’d convene a first-ministers’ meeting within 100 days devoted to that subject.

“I am not talking about a simple memorandum of understanding,” Scheer said during a speech in Edmonton.

“The interprovincial free trade agreement will be a real free trade deal, like NAFTA, like CETA, like the TPP... It will be a huge step forward, well beyond the current agreement.”

The previous Conservative government began negotiations with the provinces on what eventually became the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, which went into force in 2017. But Scheer said there’s nothing free about it since it includes 130 pages of exemptions and Trudeau “hasn’t lifted a finger to fix it.”

Trudeau last July appointed Dominic LeBlanc to the post of intergovernmental affairs and internal trade minister, mandated specifically to fully exercise federal jurisdiction over trade and commerce to

RCMP officer hurt in crash

The Canadian Press

KELOWNA, B.C. — A B.C. RCMP officer has been seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash.

The officer was responding to a call in the Kelowna area at about 6 p.m. Monday when his unmarked, SUV collided with a transport truck travelling in the same direction.

Firefighters needed the Jaws of Life to pry the constable and his police dog from the wreckage.

Both the officer and the driver of the transport truck were taken to hospital for further treatment.

The dog was assessed by a veterinarian and is expected to be fine.

An investigation into the cause of the crash is underway and traffic was moving again on Highway 33 just east of Kelowna after a closure lasting several hours.

eliminate barriers, working in collaboration with the provinces.

Trudeau hosted a first ministers’ meeting last December that was supposed to focus primarily on internal trade, but he was forced by hostile premiers – notably Ontario’s Doug Ford, who is one of Scheer’s most ardent allies – to expand the agenda to include a host of other provincial priorities.

In the end, first ministers agreed to only a few modest steps towards freer interprovincial trade: harmonizing standards in the trucking sector, including tire size and size and weight restrictions, and eliminating duplication in federal and provincial food safety regimes.

But Scheer argued that with conservative-minded, “free enterprise, pro-trade” premiers now ensconced in seven provinces, Canada has a “once-in-a-generation opportunity... to fix this economic injustice once and for all.”

Scheer was introduced by his newest provincial ally, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, for the fourth of five major policy speeches the federal leader is giving to set the stage for this fall’s election campaign. He devoted much of his speech to lambasting Trudeau for imposing a carbon tax on provinces that refuse to put their own price on carbon emissions. Along with his policies on environmental assessments for pipeline projects and other measures, Scheer accused Trudeau of wanting to phase out the West’s natural resources industry and put thousands out of work.

“Trudeau’s carbon tax is a betrayal of Confederation’s early promise. The discord he has sown has prompted an unprecedented number of legal actions against his government from provinces frustrated at his over-reaching” into provincial jurisdiction over natural

resources, Scheer said.

He contended that Trudeau has “stoked regional alienation” and pitted region against region, threatening the country’s national unity.

“It’s clear that every time there’s a Trudeau in the Prime Minister’s office, our union begins to crack,” Scheer said.

“I’m here to say unequivocally that Canada has not turned its back on the West. Justin Trudeau has.”

By contrast, Scheer said he’d foster a decentralized federation, in which decision-making would be done by the smallest government closest to the people affected and in which the federal government would respect provincial jurisdiction.

He promised that a Scheer government would provide stable, predictable funding for health care and other social services while allowing the provinces to decide how best to manage and deliver those programs.

Still, Scheer promised a Conservative government would provide strong leadership on matters within exclusive federal jurisdiction, where the national interest is at stake and where provinces disagree - such as on pipelines and the elimination of internal trade barriers.

He reiterated his plan to create a coastto-coast, national energy corridor to move Quebec hydro electricity west and the West’s oil and gas east.

He acknowledged it would entail “a great deal of dialogue with provincial governments and Indigenous populations” and take “a lot of work.” And in French, Scheer said it would not be done against the wishes of one or more provinces, which could well make it impossible to achieve.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault has categorically ruled out supporting a new

pipeline through his province.

In a statement, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Scheer’s latest speech “is yet another example of the Conservatives misrepresenting what our government has already done, while over-promising on things that they know they can’t deliver for Canadians.”

Morneau also questioned why Scheer made no promise to meet annual with premiers, as Trudeau has done, or to meet regularly with Indigenous leaders.

Take a tour through local history with Raiding the Archives, every Thursday in the Citizen’s 97/16

David and Collet Stephan leave for a break during their appeals trial in Calgary, Alta., on March 9, 2017.

Joan BRYDEN The Canadian Press

Trump facing opposition to Mexico tariffs

Lisa MASCARO, Luis Alonso LUGO and Darlene SUPERVILLE

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump declared on Tuesday that fellow Republicans would be “foolish” to block the tariffs he’s threatening on Mexican imports, but GOP senators fearing a new trade war were considering action and grilling his administration lawyers behind closed doors.

Republicans are deeply concerned that Trump’s proposed five per cent tariffs on all imports from Mexico would spike U.S. consumers’ costs , harm the economy and imperil a major pending US-Mexico-Canada trade deal. Mexico is concerned as well, and top officials are in Washington working to stave off the threatened trade taxes.

If Congress should vote against the tariffs it would be a stiff rebuke to Trump, much like its earlier effort to reject money to build a long, impregnable border wall. But many on Capitol Hill remain hopeful talks this week between U.S. and Mexican officials will ease Trump away from the tariffs he’s said will start next Monday.

“We’re going to see if we can do something,” Trump said during a press conference in London on the second day of his state visit to Britain.

“But I think it’s more likely that the tariffs go on,” he said. He also doubted Republicans in Congress would muster the votes against him. “If they do, it’s foolish.”

Mexico seemed much more optimistic about a resolution.

“By what we have seen so far, we will be able to reach an agreement,” Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said at the Mexico’s Embassy in Washington.

“That is why I think the imposition of tariffs can be avoided.”

Ebrard arrived in Washington over the weekend as Mexico launched a diplomatic counteroffensive and fresh negotiations. On Tuesday, Mexico’s trade negotiator Jesus Seade was meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and Ebrard will meet Wednesday with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Republican senators are hopeful those talks will prevent the tariffs. But if negotiations should fail, the lawmakers warn they may have no choice but to take action in Congress to stop Trump.

GOP Sen. Rob Portman said Tuesday on CNBC that if the tariffs do go into effect next Monday as planned, “I do think Congress is likely to have a vote.”

Portman was among those on Capitol Hill who worry the tariffs will derail the long-promised United-States-Mexico-Canada trade deal – a rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement that Trump campaigned against.

The senator warned that Trump was “endangering” passage of his favoured USMCA.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Finance Committee, told reporters Tuesday the tariffs make passage of USMCA “more difficult.”

Questions remain, though, and senators invited Pat Philbin from the White House counsel’s office and Steve Engel from the Department of Justice to their weekly lunch Tuesday to hear more about the administration’s legal rationale for the tariffs.

Trump has indicated he will rely on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to slap the tariffs on Mexican goods, a national emergency executive action he can take without congressional

approval.

But lawmakers say if the president invokes a national emergency, they can vote on a resolution to disapprove. That’s what happened earlier this year when lawmakers, stunned by Trump’s claim of executive power, tried to block him from taking funds for the border wall with Mexico. Congress voted to disapprove of Trump’s actions, but the president vetoed the resolution.

Yet it’s unclear if Trump will, in fact, use the national emergency declaration or if opponents of the tariffs might resort to other legislative tools to block him.

“There’s some disagreement even among Republicans,” Grassley said.

“We’d better get a legal answer.”

While many Republicans who voted against Trump earlier this year actually supported his ultimate goal of building the border wall – but were uneasy with his executive reach to do it – the president doesn’t have anywhere near the same backing for the tariffs.

In this case, Trump is using the tariffs as leverage against Mexico in his long-running battle to reduce illegal immigration.

Democrats – and some Republicans – doubt the tariffs will ever take effect. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that “Trump has a habit of talking tough and then retreating.”

Trump claimed “millions of people” are entering the U.S. through Mexico and criticized congressional Democrats for not passing new laws. It is unclear what more Mexico can do – and what would be enough – to satisfy Trump because the United States has not presented concrete benchmarks to assess whether the U.S. ally is sufficiently stemming the migrant flow from Central America.

Mexico calls the potential tariffs hurtful to the economies of both countries and useless to slow the northbound flow of Central American migrants.

“We need to put our heads together and try to come up with a solution,” Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said Monday.

The tariff threat comes just as the administration has been pushing for passage of the USMCA trade accord. Mexico and Canada already have started the process of ratifying through their own legislatures.

index was up 150.35 points Tuesday at 16,166.24 for the second largest gain of the year after one in early January. All 11 major sectors were higher, led by a 5.4 per cent increase by health care as Aurora Cannabis Inc. was up 9.5 per cent and Canopy Growth Corp. rose 5.8 per cent. The August gold contract was up 80 cents US at US$1,328.70 an ounce and the July copper contract was up 1.9 cents at US$2.67 a pound. The July crude contract was up 23 cents at US$53.48 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was up 1.3 cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU. The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 74.55 cents US compared with an average of 74.24 cents US on Monday. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 512.40 points at 25,332.18. The S&P 500 index was up 58.82 points at 2,803.27, while the Nasdaq composite was up 194.10 points at 7,527.12.

AP PHOTO BY ANDREW HARNIK

Mexican Ambassador Martha Barcena Coqui, left, and Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, right, speak before a news conference at the Mexican Embassy in Washington on Tuesday as part of a Mexican delegation in Washington for talks following trade tariff threats from the Trump administration.

Charging ahead

took

In like a lion, out like a Lamb?

Cougars GM could be destined for Edmonton as Oilers assistant coach

Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca

The rumours are rampant. Now that the Dave Tippett has been hired as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers, the word is Prince George Cougars general manager Mark Lamb will soon be joining his longtime friend as an assistant coach.

Now entering the second year of a four-year contract with the Cougars, Lamb would neither confirm nor deny whether he’s about to be hired by the NHL team, but the stars appear to be aligned in that direction.

Lamb was an assistant coach for six seasons with the Dallas Stars from 2002-09 while Tippett served as head coach.

Their relationship dates back to the ’90s when Lamb was still playing as a defenceman and they were were Philadelphia Flyers teammates in 1993-94.

Late in his playing career, Lamb played and coached with Tippett in the International Hockey League for three seasons and they won the Turner Cup title in 1999. When Tippett was head coach of the Arizona Coyotes in 2016-17, he brought Lamb in as head coach of the team’s AHL affiliate in Tucson, Ariz.

They’ve been friends away from the rink for years and Saskatchewan-born Tippett is the godfather of Lamb’s 19-year-old son Hunter.

“I’ve known Dave a long time,” said Lamb, from his family home in Swift Current, Sask.

McDavid

“I’ve been there before (coaching in the NHL) and I’m still working for Prince George. There’s not a story on this right now. I’ve had a lot of people contact me about it, because everyone is putting two and two together, and that’s where it’s at. It’s business as usual for me.”

The Oilers announced May 28 they’ve hired Tippett to replace interim head coach Ken Hitchcock. Tippett had been working with the NHL expansion franchise in Seattle and was being groomed to coach the team when it joins the league in 2020.

Fort St. James native Jim Playfair could also be heading to the Oilers as an assistant coach. Lamb and Playfair, who coached most recently in 2016-17 as an associate with the Arizona Coyotes, are former Oiler players.

Trent Yawney and Manny Viveiros, a former head coach of the Swift Current Broncos during Lamb’s seven-year tenure as Broncos general manager from 2009-16, won’t be back as Oiler assistant coaches.

Assistant Glen Gulutzen will remain with the team.

For now, Lamb will continue to work on filling the Cougars’ vacant head coaching position. He has made it clear to team ownership he doesn’t want the job he took over on an interim basis Feb. 6 when the Cougars fired head coach Richard Matvichuk.

The Cougars were at that time in the midst of a franchise-record 17-game losing streak and went

on to finish last in the WHL’s Western Conference with a 19-41-5-3 record, missing the playoffs for the second-straight season.

“I’ve interviewed quite a few guys, it’s a long list and it’s down now,” said Lamb.

“There’s a lot of stuff that happens in hockey right up until the NHL draft. People know the situation and there really isn’t much to say about it.”

Don Nachbaur has been unemployed since Nov. 4, 2018 when he and head coach John Stevens and the rest of the coaching staff were

mum on recovery from knee injury

Joshua CLIPPERTON The Associated Press

TORONTO — Connor McDavid didn’t want to answer any questions about his knee. The brace hugging the superstar’s left leg and an accompanying limp said enough. Speaking at a promotional event Tuesday morning, the Edmonton Oilers captain declined to discuss his recovery from the injury suffered April 6 after he crashed into a goal post during the team’s regular-season finale against the Calgary Flames. X-rays came back negative, but the results of a subsequent MRI found a small tear in the centre’s posterior cruciate ligament.

The Oilers announced at the time McDavid wouldn’t require surgery, but the brace on the two-time Art Ross Trophy winner’s knee was clearly visible under his black

pants Tuesday, appearing to stretch from halfway up his calf to the mid-point of his thigh. The 22-year-old, who was on hand as an ambassador for Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities to surprise a group of kids at a park in Toronto’s north end, wouldn’t say how rehabilitation has been going or if he’s been on the ice.

“We’re here just to celebrate Jumpstart and the opening of the new playground,” said McDavid, who initially thought he’d broken his leg in the moments following the collision.

“That’s all I’m focused on (today).”

The injury wrapped up a miserable 201819 for the Oilers, one that saw them fire head coach Todd McLellan in November before handing general manager Peter Chi-

fired by the Los Angeles Kings. Nachbaur, one of the winningest coaches in WHL history with Seattle, Tri-City and Spokane, played most of his minor hockey in Prince George and has applied for the Cougars’ coaching job.

“He’s one of the guys that has put his name in,” said Lamb.

“There’s a lot of good guys that I’ve talked to and guys who haven’t put their names in that I’ve talked to. It’s basically everybody who doesn’t have a job that would be in line.” Lamb will attend the NHL draft

arelli his walking papers in January.

Edmonton finished 11 points back of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference as the franchise missed the playoffs for the third time in McDavid’s four campaigns in Edmonton.

The Newmarket, Ont., product did his part for a top-heavy roster, winding up second in league scoring with 116 points (41 goals, 75 assists), but it wasn’t nearly enough for a club that has failed to reach the post-season 12 of the last 13 springs.

“There was a lot of moving parts, a lot of things going on,” said McDavid, who’s signed through 2025-26 with an annual salary cap hit of US$12.5 million.

“Fire a coach, fire a GM –that’s a lot of change for one season.

“It was an emotional ride, and I’m looking

in Vancouver, June 21-22, where he’ll have better access to coaches who would be suitable candidates to take over the Cougars’ job. Whether that means a dual role as general manager/head coach remains to be seen.

As evidenced by the Medicine Hat Tigers, who released Shaun Clouston and replaced him last week with Willie Desjardins after Desjardins was cut loose by the Dallas Stars, situations can change rapidly depending on who becomes available.

“There’s still so much juggling around and because we didn’t make the playoffs, there’s been a lot of time in between,” said Lamb.

“But there was never a time when we were going to make a decision really quick. We have the (NHL) draft to get over with and we just have to be patient and do things the right way for the organization.”

The CHL import draft will follow the NHL draft on June 27.

The Cougars already have their quota of two imports with forwards Vladilslav Mikhalchuk, 20, and Matej Toman, 18, but Lamb said they might still pick another European in the draft.

The rule which used to forbid major junior teams from trading their import picks within a year of drafting them no longer applies and that leaves the Cougars free to go after a third player. That rule was changed last year when import goaltenders were reinstated as CHL-draft eligible, after a four-year ban.

forward to a little stability.”

McDavid and the Oilers hope that stability will come in the form of two new hires – GM Ken Holland and head coach Dave Tippett.

Holland and McDavid, who won the Hart Trophy in 2016-17 as league MVP, have exchanged texts and plan to meet in person soon, while Tippett spoke briefly over the phone with his new meal ticket.

Holland joined Edmonton after a long career in Detroit, where he helped guide the Red Wings to Stanley Cup victories in 1998, 2002 and 2008 as GM.

“He comes with lots of experience (and) is a guy that’s been wildly successful,” McDavid said.

“I’m really happy with that and really looking forward to working with him.”

The Prince George Gnats (blue)

on Prince Rupert in rugby action Saturday at Duchess Park.

LAMB

Toss to the target

Raptors took some big risks to become Canada’s team

Steven

FRANK, Natalie WONG Bloomberg

The NBA finals have arrived in Canada with considerable excitement – and tension – as the upstart Toronto Raptors go punch for punch with the dynastic Golden State Warriors.

After a rapturous first-game victory for Toronto, the Warriors came back to tie up the series Sunday night. The close finals is just fine with Canadian fans, who have been waiting for this decisive We the North moment for the franchise’s entire 24-year history. Call it love, fanaticism or pride, but Toronto – and most of Canada – is dripping with it right now. The enthusiasm is being plastered on walls, screamed out by long-suffering fans, even baked into pies. Perhaps no one deserves as much credit for the team’s newfound status as Masai Ujiri, the Raptors’ Nigerian-born president, who made a couple controversial decisions last year.

After losing in the playoffs to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third year in a row – a brutal beat-down at the hands of LeBron James & Co. that led to the city of Toronto being unkindly labeled “LeBronto” in one meme – Ujiri fired Dwane Casey, the Raptors head coach who would be named NBA Coach of the Year a few weeks later. Ujiri also traded away four-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan, one of the team’s core and most loyal players, as part of a deal that acquired star Kawhi Leonard, who only had one more year on his contract.

For the Raptors, who finished this regular season with the NBA’s second-best record, those risks are paying off in big ways. In the playoffs, Leonard has provided a few moments likely to become Canadiana sports classics, such as his Game 7 buzzer-beating shot against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second playoff round and his one-handed jam over Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the next series. Playing in the franchise’s first cham-

pionship, the team then beat the Warriors 118-109 in the first Finals game played outside the U.S. in NBA history. Golden State, which has won three out of the last four NBA championships, had never lost Game 1 in any of those series.

Raptors fan Cindy McGee drove 18 hours, from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Toronto, to watch Thursday’s game. Why?

“Canadian pride, baby,” she says. On the city’s streets, supporters of countless ethnicities celebrated the victory, waving black flags stamped white with We the North, speaking to the sports’ appeal to immigrants, who make up an increasing proportion of the city and the region’s population.

Speaking before Thursday’s game, Amar Patel, 19, said his immigrant parents have been watching the Raptors “since Day One, they got us into it.”

Fans adore the vibe of a team that seems carved out of the country’s multicultural core, as well as the courtside antics of

Drake, the Raptors’ Toronto-born “ambassador.”

Jurassic Park, the fan fiefdom that rises outside Scotiabank Arena during Raptors games, has inspired satellite versions across Canada, even in parts of the country that generally hate “center-of-the-universe” Toronto.

Enthusiasm for the team is reflected in record audience numbers, surging bar tabs and soaring ticket prices. Combined average viewership of Thursday’s opening game was 3.5 million, according to Digital Media Communications. That’s about 10 per cent of Canada’s population. Game nights are a boon for bar owners; payment processor Moneris reports bar tabs in the Toronto area jumped 28 per cent on the night of the Raptors’ Game 6 against Milwaukee compared with the same day a year ago. Tickets to the first two games at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena are sold out, with the cheapest seat for Sunday at about $600 on StubHub and

Johanna Konta (26), Britain, def. Sloane Stephens (7), United States, 6-1, 6-4. Marketa Vondrousova, Czech Republic, def. Petra Martic (31), Croatia, 7-6 (1), 7-5. Men’s Doubles Quarterfinal Fabrice Martin, France and Jeremy Chardy, France, def. Rajeev Ram, United States and Joe Salisbury (11), Britain, 6-4, 7-6 (6). Kevin Krawietz, Germany and Andreas Mies, Germany, def. Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia and Dusan Lajovic, Serbia, 6-1, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3). Women’s Doubles

Quarterfinal Kirsten Flipkens, Belgium and Johanna Larsson (15), Sweden, def. Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic and Nicole Melichar (7), United States, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1. Saisai Zheng, China and Ying-Ying Duan, China, def. Yifan Xu, China and Gabriela Dabrowski (4), Canada, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5. Kristina Mladenovic, France and Timea Babos (2),

courtside seats to be had for up to $50,000. For Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Raptors, the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team and the Toronto FC soccer club, the season’s success has been a redemption following decades of futility, most notably by the Leafs.

Without a hockey title since 1967, MLSE had enviously watched the Toronto Blue Jays gain national acclaim as the only Canadian baseball team. In a sign of how far the Raptors have come, the basketball franchise is now worth more than its hockey cousin, at $1.7 billion versus $1.5 billion, according to Forbes.

It wasn’t always like this, of course. The Raptors history since their founding in 1995 as part of the NBA expansion into Canada has been marked by starts and stalls, with players such as Damon Stoudamire, Vince Carter, and Chris Bosh becoming stars only to depart to make their mark elsewhere. The latest period of rebuilding began in 2011 and took off in earnest under Ujiri, who was hired from Denver in 2013. Built around the backcourt of DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, the team under Casey’s deft influence started to exhibit the former’s pizzazz and the latter’s grit more consistently, leading to a succession of playoff runs.

That period also bolstered the team’s identity. Drake, the Toronto-born rapper, became the team’s global ambassador, followed the next year by a rebranding campaign that took pride in an inner-city vibe, expressed in a successful YouTube campaign centered on the team’s We the North slogan.

After witnessing two decades of struggles, Toronto now has a backbone and star power thanks to Ujiri. They will need both after the Warriors responded to another strong Raptors first half by coming on strong in the third quarter of Game 2 and holding on to knot the series at 1-1.

“The ball was not bouncing our way at all,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said after the Sunday night game in Toronto.

CP PHOTO Toronto Raptors fans watch Game 2 of the NBA finals between the Raptors and the Golden State Warriors the in the fan area known as Jurassic Park outside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Sunday.

Phil Erickson of Quesnel pitches a horseshoe Saturday morning while competing in the Prince George Open horseshoe tournament at the Prince George Horseshoe Club.

Pavarotti focus of Ron Howard doc

The Associated Press

NEW YORK

— Ron Howard recalls seeing his first opera when he was four years old. Just don’t ask him to tell you much about it.

The budding child star and future director was in Austria with his parents to shoot a movie, and they took him to a performance at the Vienna State Opera House.

“I remember this soprano hitting this note in this unbelievable gown,” Howard said, gesturing with his arms to conjure up the scene.

“There’s the set, she’s over here on the left in profile, and she’s singing, and she turns back to the actors and everybody’s going crazy, there’s a big ovation. I don’t know what opera it was.”

Not exactly the start of a lifelong love affair with opera. But in a way that makes Howard the perfect director for the new documentary Pavarotti, which is being released in the United States on Friday. Part biography and part greatesthits concert, it aims to introduce Luciano Pavarotti to a new generation as well as to engage those who are already fans.

The Italian lyric tenor, who was born in Modena in 1935 and died of pancreatic cancer in 2007, was considered by many to have the most beautiful voice of his type since Enrico Caruso.

He sang at leading opera houses for 40 years, sold millions of records as the “king of the high Cs,” and, with his endearing personality and love of publicity, became a household name in a way no opera star has since.

“I’d never seen him live, but I was well aware of his stature,” Howard said in a recent interview.

“My hope is the film goes a step toward that agenda of his which was to democratize the art form and broaden the audience reach.”

Howard, known for his eclectic range from comedies like Cocoon and Splash to serious dramas like Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind (which won him a directing Oscar), said he got involved in the project through producer Nigel Sinclair, with whom he had worked on a documentary called The Beatles: Eight Days a Week.

Researching the project, Howard studied the plots of Pavarotti’s signature operas like Puccini’s La Boheme and Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and the lyrics to his arias. That gave him an idea about how to structure his film.

“I thought, well, we might be able to use these arias to almost do an opera about Pavarotti that might give us an interesting framework,” he said.

“To use the music to share with people his life’s journey.”

And quite a journey it was – from childhood poverty in wartime Italy to a rise to fame and riches; from marriage and three children to years of philandering and finally divorce and remarriage.

Artistically, Pavarotti moved from performing mainly on opera stages to singing in large arenas before hundreds of thousands of people – including as part of the Three Tenors with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras – and finally to collaborating with pop artists like Bono. And he was literally an outsize figure: with his love of food and Italian cooking, he constantly struggled with ballooning weight.

“It’s a bittersweet story,” Howard said.

“He lived the dream, he became Caruso, his era’s great example of a global superstar as an opera singer. And then he clearly lost his way emotionally.

“I think he set the bar so high for himself I’m not sure he could ever live up to what his ambitions were,

for all fronts – life, his art, his personal relationships,” he said.

But Howard sees his film as “ultimately far more celebration than anything else, despite the turbulence that his life knew and his loved ones knew.”

He thinks the singer was able to “reinvent himself” when he took up philanthropic causes, starting with his friendship with Prince Diana and involvement in her work for the Red Cross.

His ex-wife, Adua, and their three grown daughters reconciled with Pavarotti before his death, and they are interviewed here. So too is his second wife, Nicoletta, who recorded never-before-seen home movies in which Pavarotti voices regrets for his failings as a husband and father.

In all, the filmmakers used more than 50 interviews, both archival and new, and excerpts from more than 20 arias.

The film touches only lightly on the vocal decline of Pavarotti’s later years, which some critics blamed on his loss of interest in the disciplined life of an opera singer.

“He wasn’t quite what he used to be,” Howard said. “Some people who watched him on his farewell tour felt he was relying more on his reputation.” Howard said working on the film has “definitely” made him more interested in opera, though his tastes in music remain as varied as his choice of movie subjects. He said he grew up listening to James Taylor, Cat Stevens and

Simon and Garfunkel, and that bluegrass was “ingrained in me” from his days as Opie on The Andy Griffith Show.

“Andy liked to play, and our makeup guy played the banjo,” he said.

“But there’s nothing I get locked into. I’m always popping around. Sometimes I’ll get into a jag of listening to obscure pop music from different countries.”

Luciano Pavarotti bows to the audience during the Pavarotti & Friends charity concert for Iraqi children at the Novi Sad Park in Modena, Italy, in 2003.

WEAREHIRINGFORPRODUCTION

hr@sinclar.com

STATISTICSCANADAFIELDINTERVIEWER

STATISTICSCANADAISHIRING

RecruitingPart-timeFieldInterviewerinthePrince Georgearea.

RateofPay:$17.83

www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/employment/otheropp/interview/ prov-terr/position/19ssovan701778

STATISTIQUECANADAEMBAUCHE

Nousrecrutonspourcomblerunposted’intervieweur surleterrainatempspartieldanslaregiondePrince George. Tauxderemuneration:17,83$

www.statcan.gc.ca/fra/emploi/autresopp/interview/provterr/poste/19stcssovan701778

Garraway,JamesS. August30,1962-June2,2019

Jimpassedawayafteracourageousbattlewith cancer,surroundedbyhislovingfamily.Predeceased byhismother,Margaret;andbrother,Rick.Dearly missedandalwaysrememberedbyhisdevotedwife, Deb;andchildren,Hayden,Jamie,andTaylor. Survivedbyhisfather,David;brother,Wayne (Wendy);sister,Sharon(Don);sister-in-law,Karen; brothers-in-law,Wendell(Karen)andIan(Tammy); andmanylovingniecesandnephews.

AcelebrationoflifewilltakeplaceonSunday,June 9th,atSignatureSandmanEventRoom,2990 RecplaceDrive,PrinceGeorge,BC. Inlieuofflowers,pleasemakeadonationtoHospice HouseinPrinceGeorge,BC.

Sharon Anne Doak

Sharon was born on March 1st, 1938 in Nipawin, Saskatchewan and passed away peacefully with her family by her side on May 28th, 2019 in Vernon, B.C. at the age of 81 years. We are proud of the way she fought her disease with so much grace and dignity. Sharon will be lovingly remembered by her sons; Vernon Doak and Ian (Colleen) Doak, her daughters; Shelley (Lorne Doerkson) Wiese and Shannon (Peter) Love, her grandchildren; Brooklyn, Ethan and Addison Doak, Chantel and Brice Wiese, Dustin, Brendan (Kayla) and Hannah Love, her great-grandson; Malachi Wiese, her sister; Marjorie (Mel) Sims along with numerous extended family members and friends. Sharon was preceded in death by her husband; Aubrey Doak, her granddaughter; Elyse Doak, her brothers; Gerry, Bob and Elmer Udahl and by her parents; Edwin and Elda Udahl. Sharon was a very kind and gentle person, who always had a beautiful smile that shone through when she was surrounded by her family and friends. She loved her pets, especially dogs and enjoyed knitting, quilting, country music, curling and spending time with her family. The family would like to thank Dr. Jennifer Roger and the health care support team at Coldstream Meadows and the IHA care team who treated mom with tender love and care. A special thank you to the Polson Care Home staff who looked after mom so well in her final days. Cremation preceded a Celebration of Sharon’s Life which will be held on September 14th, 2019 at Lakeview Memorial Gardens Cemetery followed by a family gathering in Vernon. As an expression of sympathy, those who wish to do so may send donations in memory of Sharon to the Alzheimer’s Society of BC. Cremation arrangements have been made with BETHEL FUNERAL CHAPEL LTD., 5605 27th Street, Vernon, B.C. V1T 8Z5 (250) 542-1187

Rest in Peace Nana We will miss the best potato salad ever!

PROGRAMMING COORDINATOR (FT)

Provides program support in Prince George Alzheimer Resource Centre. Schedules: First Link® support calls, education workshops, healthcare provider meetings. Manages materials and info resources in the region. Key duties: Reporting to Manager, maintains programming related to: incoming referrals and allocate intake calls, follow up calls Dementia Helpline support calls to Support & Education team. Schedules/books education prog based on regional plan. Manages attendance tool client lists and waitlists. Books meetings, distributes info resources. Maintains/orders materials inventory. Prepares dementia education packages. Coordinates local First Link bulletin info, prints/distributes posters and promo channels like: news releases, website, print ads. Oversees office volunteers & provides info to general public as needed. Qualifications: Superior admin & organization skills, meticulous attention to detail. Excellent computer skills, experience with Word, Excel & Outlook essential; familiarity with PowerPoint, Publisher, databases and mail merge an asset. Interpersonal/customer service skills. Able to recruit & supervise volunteers. Basic accounting bookkeeping exp. Knowledge of local area & dementia.

Resume w/ cover letter to: humanresources@alzheimerbc.org

300-828 West 8th Ave Vancouver, BC V5Z 1E2 Closes: June 7, 2019 For full job description and information about the Society: www.alzheimerbc.org

Adult & Youth Newspaper Carriers Needed in the Following areas: • Hart Area • Driftwood Rd, Dawson Rd, Seton Cres, • Austin Rd.

Lower College Heights O’Grady Rd and Park, Brock, Selkirk,

Oxford, Simon Fraser Trent, Fairmont, Guelph, Gladstone,Hartford, Harvard, Imperial, Kingsley, Jean De Brebeuf Cres, Loyola,

Obituaries

Union holds rally to protest jail guards’ working conditions

Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff

mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

A B.C. Government and Service

Employee’s Union representative

was in Prince George on Tuesday as part of a province-wide tour to raise awareness about declining working conditions in B.C. jails.

Dean Purdy, chair of the BCGEU’s correctional and sheriff services component met with guards outside Prince George Regional Correctional Centre where a rally was held to protest the situation.

He said attacks on guards have been on the rise over the last five years and, at 124 incidents, reached an all-time high among the B.C.’s 10 provincial jails in 2018. Fourteen of them occurred at PGRCC, according to Purdy.

In part, he pins the trouble on a change in 2002 to allow double-

bunking in jail cells without a requisite increase in the number of guards. Where a guard was typically responsible for 20 inmates in a living unit, each must now keep an eye on 40 at PGRCC, Purdy said.

Double-bunking has also led to overcrowding.

“It’s like too many chickens in the chicken coop. They start pecking at each other instead of the ground,” Purdy said.

“There isn’t enough square footage. They’re bumping into each other, there are only so many phones, there are only so many seats for eating, there are only so many showers.”

He said about 60 per cent of the inmate population has mental health and addictions issues, which has only worsened matters.

“It’s not only for the safety of the correctional officer, it’s about the

safety of the inmates because the inmate-on-inmate violence has also gone up,” Purdy said.

Recruiting and retaining guards has also become an issue according to Purdy, who said many are off work due to post-traumatic stress disorder while others soon move on to better-paying jobs, often as police officers.

“RCMP, municipal police forces, they scoop them up,” Purdy said.

He said raising wages or the length of the work week would help. Jail guards in B.C. work a 35-hour week and Purdy said raising it to 40 hours while leaving the hourly pay untouched would increase income. Jail guards top out at just under $70,000 per year, he said.

Purdy said he has been encouraged by what he has heard from Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth and ministry representative

Canfor to close Vavenby sawmill, sell timber rights for

$60 million

on the issue.

“We like what we’re hearing. They have been very receptive to some of our suggestions around changing up the model of how we house inmates and moving existing staff around to get more corrections officers into the living units, because that’s where everything happens,” Purdy said.

In a statement, BC Corrections spokesperson Alicia Bertrand said guard safety is a top priority.

“Absolutely nothing matters more to us than having staff go home safe at the end of their shifts. That’s why BC Corrections has made an unprecedented effort over the past three years to introduce new and innovative classification and case management approaches, as part of the overall risk assessment process, that we expect to have a significant impact on preventing violence.”

She also said the vast majority of incidents occur in segregation units, often with two or three officers present on a unit at the time of an incident.

“This demonstrates that ratios do not change inmate behaviour or prevent violence,” she said.

“Instead, new approaches, that are rooted in classification and case management such as implementing Right Living Units and Complex Needs Units for individuals who have challenging behaviours and/or a history of violence are helping to creating real change for staff and the individuals in their care.”

WorkSafeBC, meanwhile, has initiated a provincial corrections inspectional initiative for 2019.

“We don’t announce the specific locations of these inspections before they occur,” WorkSafeBC spokesperson Erica Simpson said.

Missing women inquiry report looked to Highway of Tears symposium

Lori CULBERT Vancouver Sun

Derrick PENNER Vancouver Sun Canfor Corp. will close its sawmill in Vavenby, eliminating about 170 jobs, and sell its timber rights to Interfor Corp. for $60 million, the companies announced late Monday.

It’s the second major shutdown announced in the past month from an industry facing shrinking timber supplies due to the mountain pine beetle infestation, forest fires and poor market conditions that are compounding losses.

“Due to the current and longterm log supply constraints we face in the Vavenby region, along with the high cost of fibre, we have made the very difficult decision to permanently close the sawmill and sell the associated forest tenure,”

Canfor CEO Don Kayne said in a news release.

“Today’s decision is not a reflection on our employees, our contractors or the local communities of Vavenby and Clearwater.”

The closure will deliver an economic blow to the entire North Thompson region, according to Clearwater’s mayor. Vavenby is about a 20-minute drive east of Clearwater and Wells Gray Park in the Interior.

— see, SAWMILL, page 3

While some of Monday’s national report into missing and murdered Indigenous women stakes new ground, especially in relation to the federal justice system, many of the recommendations echo ideas from similar inquiries undertaken in B.C. over the past decade.

Nearly 100 recommendations stemmed from the 2012 missing women inquiry led by former Justice Wally Oppal and the

Highway of Tears symposium in Prince George in 2006, all of them aimed at improving safety and raising awareness of the terrible plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

“I think B.C. has set a precedent in what inquiries are about, and how we’ve already had those recommendations on the go,” said Brenda Wilson, a 25year advocate in the Highway of Tears issue.

— see HIGHWAY,page 3

The BCGEU held a rally in support of staff in front of Prince George Regional Correction Centre on Tuesday.

Developing downtown

Insallation of prefabricated wall panels continues on the site of the Parkhouse condominum development, which is underway in downtown Prince George. The project includes a new parkade and is being built beside City Hall at the end of George Street.

Public feedback invited on management of forests and range

Citizen staff

The B.C. government is inviting British Columbians to provide input into improving the Forest and Range Practices Act.

A discussion paper, Forest and Range Practices Act Improvement Initiative: Renewal and Resilience, and feedback form are

available online: http://engage. gov.bc.ca/forestandrangepractices. Feedback can be provided until July 15.

The Forest and Range Practices Act governs on-the-ground forest and range activities on B.C.’s public forests and rangelands. Guiding principles for proposed changes include putting the

resiliency of the land first, public trust, reconciliation with First Nations and scientific knowledge, as well as flexibility and adaptation. Feedback from the engagement process will inform changes to the Forest and Range Practices Act and regulations that are planned over the next two years.

Northern woman is Maxim cover girl finalist

Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

Terri Shields was a model in New York before she returned to her northern B.C. roots.

Now she is coming back to the modelling world without having to leave her Burns Lake town or her three young boys. Shields is one of the finalists in Maxim Canada’s Cover Girl competition.

“I had a friend who saw the competition and thought I should do it. She saw it as a second chance for me,” said Shields. In 2001 and ’02 she was breaking into the fashion industry in New York City as an emerging model but when she was offered a full-time contract with an agency, she turned it down. The pull to move home, start her family, and live the northern life was too strong.

Born and raised in the Lakes District a short jaunt west of Prince George, she moved to P.G. where she went to school and is now an accredited hair stylist. She works at Curly Temple Hair Salon on Third Avenue in Burns Lake.

“Modelling in New York was definitely intense, it is a busy life, faced-paced, it’s fun but you’re always on the go,” she said.

“This is a chance for me to step back into that world but not have to sacrifice my small-town northern dreams, or be apart from my boys who mean the world to me.”

The top prize in the Maxim competition is a cover photo but also $10,000 cash. Shields said that money would help stabilize their single-mom family and also make a contribution to the local food bank to help them stabilize families all over the community.

“I’m definitely passionate about

single parents. It’s often very difficult to raise children, to make ends meet, and I know the food bank is there to help our most vulnerable families,” she said. “In my job, I get to make women feel good about themselves – moms, girls, all backgrounds – so I bring that into my career.”

Shields has already prevailed through the preliminary rounds of online voting, where thousands started and now they are down to the semi-finals. Online voting will determine one winner out of 12 groups to advance to the finals.

“I feel so thankful, so blessed, to have received the support that got me here to the semi-finals, it has been incredible,” she said.

“I want to show women that it doesn’t matter what age you are, or what town you’re in, you can accomplish your goals. If you put your mind to it, and just take those first steps, you can do anything.”

Voting takes place at maximcovergirl.com

The new round runs to June 13. You can vote once per day for free, or buy blocks of votes with the money going to the Canadian Cancer Society.

CITIIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

SHIELDS

Sawmill sale will impact region’s economy

— from page 1

Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell said it’s in his district’s tax base, so his community will take a tax hit in addition to the loss of jobs and spinoff industries.

Tourism has become a bigger part of the region’s livelihood, Blackwell said, but forestry is still 40 per cent of the region’s economy and “the major industry that runs year-round.”

“Forestry is the meat and potatoes and gravy for the economy,” he said.

In a statement, Forests Minister Doug Donaldson said staff from his ministry and the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction will coordinate delivery of provincial support programs and work with the federal government to ensure supports are made available to affected workers.

The decision, which came just after 6 p.m. on Monday, follows from Tolko Industries’ announcement May 10 that it would close a sawmill in Quesnel and cut a shift from its Kelowna sawmill operation, eliminating some 240 jobs.

They’re closures that aren’t unexpected, according to industry analysts that estimate as many as a dozen interior mills will need to close over the next decade to cope with shrinking timber harvests as forests recover from the mountain pine beetle infestation.

Interfor, however, said it will direct the timber from cutting rights it’s buying from Canfor to support its state-of-the-art Adams Lake sawmill, which employs 235 workers and supports an additional 250 jobs in logging.

“This transaction materially enhances Adams Lake’s log supply and sets the stage for its future success in much the same way the investments made (in the mill) 10 years ago set the stage for its success over the last decade,” said Interfor CEO Duncan Davies in a news release.

In 2009, Interfor spent $140 million modernizing the Adams Lake mill, which is close to a two-hour drive northeast of Kamloops, and an additional $40 million since then.

Canfor, in the news release, said the Vavenby mill, which will close in July after “an orderly wind down,” produced 250 million board feet of lumber per year. After the closure, the company will have 12 sawmills in Canada with a capacity to mill 3.55 billion board feet of lumber.

Under recently passed amendments to the the Forest Act, Donaldson must sign off on transfers of timber rights on Crown land.

“With the recent amendments to the Forest Act (Bill 22), we will also ensure that the public interest is protected when companies seek to transfer public forest tenures,” Donaldson said.

– with files from Mark Nielsen, Citizen

Highway of Tears report offers advice on ways to move forward

—from page 1

“But not a lot of them were implemented because of funding – no one took us seriously back then about why this (action) needed to happen. And now it is on a wider scale across the country.”

Wilson’s sister, Ramona, was one of at least 18 women and girls who disappeared along several northern highways between 1969 and 2006, and she hopes the new recommendations will get more attention now that the entire country is listening.

On Monday, commissioners released the national Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report, after hearing from 1,500 relatives and survivors of violence, and made more than 200 recommendations for change.

They include new ideas such as establishing a national Indigenous and human rights ombudsperson and tribunal, prohibiting putting children into foster care on the basis of poverty or cultural bias, and creating a guaranteed annual livable income for all Canadians.

Also included are suggestions to change the justice system, such as revising the Criminal Code to prevent offenders from minimizing their culpability, improving access to rehabilitation and reintegration programs in federal prisons, and increasing Indigenous representation in Canadian courts.

The national report also recommended creating affordable transit to remote communities to reduce dependence on hitchhiking, something that both Oppal and the Highway of Tears report had already established as a priority.

Funding for such transit service was a long time in coming, and Wilson said the bus service now connecting communities along Highway 16 is well-used by residents, but needs to be expanded to improve safety, in part because there is no cellphone service along many sections of

the route.

“The bus service needs a lot of work,” she said.

Other recommendations from the national report that echo what have already been called for in B.C. include:

• National: Developing a response to human-trafficking cases and sexual exploitation and violence, including in the sex industry.

• B.C.: Oppal called on the province to consider better protection for exploited women by seeking input from sex workers, community organizations, Indigenous women’s groups, police and prosecutors.

• National: Provide long-term funding for education programs and awareness campaigns related to violence prevention.

• B.C.: Violence prevention was a main focus of the Highway of Tears report, which called for changes that would reduce risky behaviour such as hitchhiking, address poverty and other root causes, and create community crisis response teams. In his report, Oppal called for extra training for police to make prevention of violence against Aboriginal women a top priority.

• National: Fund policing in Indigenous communities so services are equitable with those in non-Indigenous communities.

• B.C.: Oppal wrote that his provincial inquiry could not make recommendations directed at the RCMP, a national police force, but he urged the province to conduct audits of all police forces in B.C. “with a focus on the police duty to protect marginalized and Aboriginal women from violence.”

The Highway of Tears report also called for more law-enforcement funding, to increase police patrols along Highway 16 during hitchhiking season, and create a First Nations Advocate to bridge the communication gap between officers and the families of Indigenous victims.

• National: Ensure equitable access to employment, housing, education, safety, and

health care.

• B.C.: The Highway of Tears report called for more essential health and social services in remote First Nation communities.

Oppal wrote that “grossly inadequate housing,” health inequities and extreme poverty were major factors in women’s vulnerability to violence, but stopped short of making recommendations around these social issues.

Seven years after the release of his report, Oppal is proud of what it has accomplished, but is also disappointed that women are still at risk.

“It’s somewhat disappointing that some of what we recommended, particularly when it comes to the treatment of Aboriginal victims of violence, are issues that we are still talking about,” he said Monday. While victims’ families have

argued that B.C.’s response to Oppal’s recommendations has been slow and spotty, the province said earlier this year it had made “significant progress” since 2012 and would continue to take action to improve safety.

On Monday, Premier John Horgan said he was committed to ending violence against Indigenous women and promised to review the national report’s recommendations in the context of “the work currently underway in B.C.”

A few of Oppal’s recommendations remain unfulfilled, such as a call for a regional police force across Metro Vancouver, as well as efforts to “clean up” the Downtown Eastside to better safeguard women.

“I don’t know if much has changed down there. That’s still a breeding ground for violent offenders,” Oppal said.

City of Prince George gardener

Tania Masin plants flowers in one of the beds in Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park Tuesday afternoon. City workers will plant 3,500 annuals in the park this year.

IN BRIEF

MMIW report leaves CSTC chief encouraged

Carrier Sekani Tribal Council chief Mina Holmes says the outcome of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls national inquiry has left her encouraged.

In a report issued Monday, the MMIW issued 231 recommendations. Holmes said the next step is to pursue meaningful change through collaboration between all levels of government.

She also made note of the decision to use the term “genocide” rather than “cultural genocide.”

“Most important is the transformative change for Indigenous women in this country,” Holmes said.

“The persecution of Indigenous women must stop and we must now begin a new journey of hope and promise. The National Action Plan must be implemented immediately in order to stop the ongoing genocide.”

Talk on Ancient Forest on Monday

BC Parks will be hosting a presentation on the Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut and Slim Creek provincial parks on Monday.

It will be held at the Weldwood Lecture Theatre at UNBC, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Darwyn Coxson, a professor in UNBC’s Ecosystem Science and Management program, will talk about the most recent overview of the parks’ ecosystems and UNBC’s current research within them.

Anna McIndoe, BC Parks’ planning section head, will then provide the latest information regarding the management planning process.

There will be time for questions following the presentations, as well as having time to provide input into the parks’ draft management plan.

Cigarette butt source of bush fire

Disaster for a 100 block Gordon Crescent home was narrowly averted Sunday morning when a fast-acting neighbour used a garden hose to douse a smouldering bush outside the front door. The source appeared to have been a cigarette butt discarded in a planter beside the bush, Prince George Fire Rescue said. The fire was out by the time firefighters had arrived. Crews adding up to 15 firefighters were called to the scene at 7:30 a.m. No one was home at the time of the incident and there were no injuries. Damage is estimated at about $1,000.

Top comedian takes to Playhouse stage

Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

Rick Mercer, comedic icon, looked right into the camera and said the words.

“Everyone knows Derek is the funniest man in Canada.”

For the first time in its centuriesold history, Prince George can finally see the funniest man in Canada in our own theatre. Derek Edwards has been from coast to coast on his comedy tours, he has been on television, on radio, and he will add Prince George Playhouse to his long list of impressive credits when he walks out on stage Sunday night.

Derek Edwards is the only Canadian winner of the prestigious Vail International Comedy Competition, is a two-time Gemini nominee, he has been nominated numerous times as Best Standup Comic at the Canadian Comedy Awards, and as both a performer and writer his wit has jazzed up TV shows like The New Red Green Show, A&E’s Comedy On The Road, Just For Laughs, and CBC’s Comics.

For a guy who’s never been here, he admits he’s a bit nervous about this engagement.

“Sometimes you show up and the town isn’t hip to or prone to going out to see standup comedy, but this sounds optimistic. And it’s the last show on my tour,” he said, after learning about the boisterous comedy scene in Prince George, with its open mic nights and regular shows at pubs and dedicated comedy nightspot at Sonar and whatnot.

But that’s not the main stress he’s feeling.

No, this is more personal.

“I have an old roommate from school who’s out there with another good friend, so I’m looking forward to Prince George,” Edwards said.

“It’s going to be extra tense, that night, I’ll have to bring my A material. I’ve got to really give ’er. I love working for strangers, but with friends? When things go awry...”

He asked a lot more questions about Prince George than he took on board about his own career. One of the things that makes Edwards so successful on stage is the energized connections he makes about life’s little moments. He zaps the audience with the details rooted out of human observation.

He’s not a one-liner machine, he’s not a shock-jock. He’s a storyteller who never gets more than 30 seconds from a hilarious hard-earned truth.

One of his curiosities about Prince George was the other comedians we’d had recently. He fired some names and he loved some of the others – Ron James, Bruce McCulloch, Brent Butt, and his old colleague Red Green coming soon. “He has die-hard fans,” he said of Green.

“I used to open for his tapings, and he would fill the bleachers and people just loved him. There was this gentle, charming humour, that of a well-thought-out idiot. And there was that voice, you know.”

He said watching the Red Green show develop right before his eyes was a masterclass in writing and comedic tactics.

The mention of Brent Butt made him go all gooey, like a brother proud to hear about his sibling.

“He’s a worker, and just a naturally funny guy. Anything good that happens to him, like in the bigger scope of show business, is just great. He’s like Steve Martin that way. There’s always the occasional wanker who makes it into the big-time and gets the fancy bank account, but when it happens to the good people, ahhh, it’s terrific and makes you feel that maybe there’s justice out there.”

There’s a fair few comedians who would say the same about Edwards, which is why he is a favourite on The Debaters radio comedy show on CBC. He can be depended upon for spontaneous audience connections, even though nobody’s really sure what’s going to come out of his mouth next.

He congratulated P.G. on being a recent host city for that program.

“Good for you. You lobbied and you won,” he said, after the media campaign that earned the appearance.

His most recent appearance was at a taping in Ottawa.

“I had to argue against snowballs. I’d have been embarrassed for my country if I’d have won. It was generous of them to call it a tie,” he said.

Edwards is coming on Sunday for his Alls I’m Saying tour which is being billed as “brazenly tentative, like a sniper with the hiccups.”

Tickets are on sale now at all Central Interior Tickets.

Pub night fundraiser helps Science Alliance camp

Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

Burgers, brew, brainpower. Thursday night is the start of a new tradition for Exploration Place, as they get cooking for kids. Their first annual pub night fundraiser happens 5-7 p.m. at the Canadian Brewhouse, in support of Science Alliance Summer Day Camps. Buy a ticket, help build the brains of the next generation.

Each ticket includes a burger and side (fries or salad), and a drink. This family-friendly fundraiser will also feature a silent auction and a 50/50 draw. Adult tickets are $25 each, children’s tickets are $20 each, available at the Exploration Place front desk.

Only 100 total spaces available.

More than a dozen silent auction items have already been donated, and more adding in before the big

sizzling event.

“The Exploration Place is a nonprofit organization and registered Canadian charity whose mission is to foster lifelong learning in the areas of science, technology, heritage, and culture,” said organizers from the all-local museum and science centres.

“Over the last two decades, Science Alliance camps have gotten kids aged 5-9 excited about science and learning through

‘hands-on, minds-on’ experiments, activities, games, presentations, guest speakers, field trips, our Explorers Urban Garden and more.”

The funds raised by the Science Alliance Camps Burgers & Brew Night will go into their bursary program, allowing children from families of all socio-economic realities to enjoy a week of camp in their unique museum/science centre environment.

Online pollsters say city spending out of hand

Citizen staff

During the last Prince George Citizen poll we asked “Did you sign an Alternate Approval Process form?”

With 62 per cent for a total of

319 votes readers said “Yes, city borrowing and spending is out of hand.”

On the opposite end with 19 per cent and 101 votes is “No, this is necessary infrastructure spending.” Slipping in behind with 14

per cent and 73 votes is “Yes, city council needs to be sent a message.” Trailing with five per cent and 25 votes was “No, city council is doing a great job.”

There was a total of 518 votes cast. Remember this is not a scien-

tific poll.

Next online poll question is “Are you in favour of the city adding radio frequency identification tags to garbage cans?”

To make your vote count visit www.princegeorgecitizen.com.

Search suspended for Calgary man swept away in fast-moving B.C. river

The Canadian Press

HUDSON’S HOPE, B.C. — RCMP in northern B.C. have suspended a search for a man who was swept away in the fast-moving Peace River last week.

Cpl. Madonna Saunderson says

jet boats and aircraft had been assisting searchers who were on the ground.

She says a dive team was called in, but it was not safe for them to be in the water.

Mounties are not releasing the missing man’s name, but an online

fundraising page to help his family identifies him as Aaron Kingma. Campaign organizer Angie Fallis Patterson writes that Kingma was an amazing husband and father to two daughters, 9 and 1.

A Facebook memorial page says he was from Amsterdam and lived

in Calgary.

The GoFundMe page says Kingma had been fishing with some friends by Hudson’s Hope, B.C., along the Peace River last Wednesday when he was swept away by the strong current.

“He tried to swim to safety but

was taken under by the undertow and did not resurface,” it said. “Aaron is still considered missing and despite the amazing efforts and countless hours of search and rescue along with local volunteers they have not been able to locate him.”

EDWARDS

Trudeau accepts inquiry finding of genocide

VANCOUVER

— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday he accepts the finding that Canada’s treatment of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls amounts to genocide.

Debate has erupted over the definition of the term after the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls repeatedly used it in its final report released Monday.

But people are wrapped up in the use of the powerful word, when the focus should be on how to put an end to the issues raised by the inquiry, Trudeau said.

“Our focus is going to be, as it must be, on the families, on the communities that have suffered such loss.”

Trudeau said the tragedy of not treating cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women as a priority has to end.

“Our focus is on bringing together people to solve this challenge and that is what we will remain focused on.”

The impact on these families is indescribable, he said.

“We cannot pretend to be a country that cares about human rights, that has a positive impact on the world, if we do not end this situation once and for all,” Trudeau said.

The prime minister made the remarks after announcing a $1.4-billion annual investment to advance the health and rights of women around the world starting in 2023. He was speaking at the Women Deliver 2019 conference on gender equality.

The national inquiry issued a statement saying Trudeau’s remark Tuesday was “an important moment” in the truth and reconciliation journey.

“The acceptance of our findings of fact by the federal government, especially our finding of genocide, is an acceptance of the truths shared by families and survivors. They no longer need to convince others that genocide is a part of Canadian history,” the statement said.

Lorelei Williams said it was significant to her to hear Trudeau use the word genocide to describe what has happened to Indigenous women in Canada.

Her aunt Belinda Williams has been missing for more than 40 years and the DNA of her cousin Tanya Holyk was found on serial killer Robert Pickton’s farm.

“Our people have been saying this for so long,” she said.

But she said she hopes Canadians recognize it isn’t a thing of the past.

“Women are still going missing and being murdered at a high rate,” Williams said.

Genocide was recognized as a crime under international law in the 1948 United Nations Convention on Genocide, which defined it as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

Marion Buller, the inquiry’s chief commissioner, said Monday the tragedy in Canada is a direct result of a “persistent and deliberate pattern of systemic racial and gendered human- and Indigenous-rights violations and abuses, perpetuated historically and maintained today by the Canadian state, designed to displace Indigenous people from their lands, social structures and governments, and to eradicate their existence as

nations, communities, families and individuals.”

National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Perry Bellegarde said broad adoption of the term will take some time, pointing to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg as an example of an institution that didn’t use the term previously but now does. Language shifts take time, education and awareness, he said, adding that implementation of the recommendations is more important than terminology.

“That’s the big thing. We really want to stop and end violence against women and girls,” he said. “I think if we can get our heads around that you’ll see progress,” he

said.

“With the upcoming election in October, I think all federal parties have an obligation to make this one of their key party platform planks.”

Former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said Monday there is legitimacy in looking at the reality of Indigenous Peoples and Canada’s legacy in different terms.

“I think we should have conversations, not necessarily focus on words, but focus on actions that are in the calls for justice,” she said. “What is common, no matter what you call it, is it is a terrible reality that we have to move beyond and focusing on words isn’t going help us move beyond.”

China wants to fix ‘serious difficulties’ with Canada

Andy BLATCHFORD and Mike BLANCHFIELD

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — China’s ambassador to Canada says his government wants to end the countries’ impasse but won’t give way on two of Canada’s major complaints.

“Indeed, the bilateral relations between China and Canada are facing serious difficulties right now,” Lu Shaye said Tuesday at the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa, in an interview through an interpreter.

“The Chinese side is not responsible for this issue. But the Chinese government is waiting to make a joint effort with the Canadian side and meet each other halfway.”

When asked about the possibility of freeing two Canadians detained in China on espionage charges, however, Lu offered little wiggle room. And on China’s blocking Canadian canola imports, he considers the matter closed.

Canada’s relationship with Beijing has deteriorated rapidly since the December arrest of a Chinese telecom giant’s chief financial officer in Vancouver. The arrest of Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou was carried out after an extradition request by the United States. Meng’s arrest has outraged Beijing and Chinese authorities have demanded her release. Since Meng’s arrest, China has detained two Canadians on allegations of endangering the country’s national security, sentenced two Canadians to death for drug-related convictions and rejected important agricultural shipments.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has sought international support in condemning China’s decision to, in his word, “arbitrarily” arrest Michael Kovrig, a Canadian diplomat on leave, and businessman Michael Spavor.

Last week on a visit to Ottawa, U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence linked the liberation of the two imprisoned Canadians to American trade talks with China.

The offer is significant because the Chinese government has rebuffed requests from Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland to speak with her counterpart.

Pence said U.S. President Donald Trump would push Chinese President Xi Jinping on Kovrig and Spavor at the G20 leaders’ summit later this month. Trudeau is also expected to travel to Japan for that summit.

The ambassador said he did not know if Xi and Trudeau plan to meet at the G20.

When it comes to Kovrig and Spavor, he said “the relevant departments of China will investigate the case, follow the Chinese laws, international practice and the consular agreement between China and Canada, and provide relevant treatment to them.”

Lu spoke at length about China’s trade war with the U.S., which has rattled international markets and poses a threat to the global economy. He listed numerous examples of how he said the American side has backtracked during bilateral negotiations that began over a year ago.

The decline of Canada-China relations has also led to some direct economic consequences for Canadian businesses.

China has been a huge market for Canadian canola seed, which is crushed to make cooking oil. The country imported $2.7 billion worth of Canadian canola seed last year, and any drawn-out blockage will hurt farmers, the industry and the national economy. China has stonewalled requests for Canadian ex-

perts to examine Chinese evidence that two canola-seed shipments contained pests.

Lu said Chinese officials investigated the Canadian canola “based on regulations and science principles.”

“The Chinese side provided concrete documents about the investigation,” he said.

“The relevant Chinese departments maintain no more contact with their Canadian counterparts. The documents have already been provided.”

In an interview last week, International Trade Minister Jim Carr said Canada wants to engage with China on the canola issue. In the meantime, Carr said, Canada had been trying to increase canola sales in other markets such as Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates.

Also on Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said China has stepped up inspections of Canadian pork products on the grounds that it’s concerned about smuggling and African swine fever – an illness that can be devastating among pigs. That’s in addition to previously stated Chinese concerns about the labelling of Canadian pork.

“We are working with producers and industry to underscore the importance of heightened quality assurance efforts to ensure there are no trade disruptions due to administrative errors,” Bibeau said in a statement.

The Trudeau government has come under pressure to follow the American lead and ban Huawei from supplying equipment for Canada’s next-generation 5G wireless networks. Pence raised the matter with Trudeau last week in front of reporters.

He argued letting Huawei participate would be against American security interests. Trudeau replied by reiterating that Canadian government would rely on evidence from its own security agencies before making a decision.

Huawei has denied allegations that its digital communications equipment is a tool of Chinese state espionage. Lu echoed that position Tuesday.

Lu was asked for his thoughts on the possibility of working with a Canadian government led by Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, who recently promised to take a harder line with China if he wins October’s federal election. The envoy said he would not comment on Canada’s domestic matters and said his country is willing to build relations with all political parties.

The case of Meng, the telecom giant’s senior executive, will return to a Vancouver courtroom on Thursday. It has drawn interest from around the world.

A statement from Canada’s Justice Department said Tuesday that the purpose of the proceeding is to address additional applications in Meng’s extradition case and to set future court dates.

The new dates will not be for the actual extradition hearing, which has yet to be scheduled, and Meng is not expected to attend Thursday’s proceeding in person, the statement says.

The U.S. Department of Justice laid 13 criminal charges, including conspiracy, fraud and obstruction, against Huawei and Meng, who is the daughter of the company’s founder.

Amy SMART The Canadian Press

CP PHOTO BY JONATHAN HAYWARD

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with President of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde, during a bilateral meeting at the Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver, on Tuesday.

Classroom rapport relevant, risky

As the 30th anniversary of the movie Dead Poets Society arrives this month and the 200th birthday of the American poet Walt Whitman also passes, fans of the 1989 movie can take a moment to wonder at its inspirational grip.

The film, considered for some as a dramatic highlight of Robin Williams’ career, told the story of students from a conservative elite school and their new teacher, John Keating, who delivered passionate recitations of Whitman.

Keating’s unorthodox methods include teaching while standing on the desks and outside.

Under Mr. Keating’s influence, students start to meet out of class time and share their own poems. The last scene of the film shows Keating’s firing in what has become an iconic scene, with students standing up on their desks saluting him with a Whitman verse: “O Captain! My Captain…”

The movie is about the impact of the teacher-student relationship on the learning process. Mr. Keating is able to develop

something special with his students: rapport.

Rapport is a French word which means a harmonious and sympathetic connection in a relationship, producing a kind of bond that produces gains in people’s connection. It suggests a kind of click or chemistry between people or groups.

In my post-doctoral studies, I am examining post-secondary undergraduate students’ perceptions of rapport, and how it impacts their academic performance.

Rapport is not a personal characteristic but rather a phenomenon that can happen as a result of an interaction of people.

Studies of rapport are not new. Sociologists Robert Park and Ernest Burgess examined rapport in their 1924 book Introduction to the Science of Sociology. Not long after, scholars began exploring how rapport was relevant to student output.

Rapport has been the subject of study beyond education in a variety of fields. Marketing researchers highlight the relationship between companies and customers, while medical researchers consider the importance of physician-patient contact.

Teaching is one of the fields most related to rapport, since a teacher, instructor or

professor’s work consists of interpersonal contact with large groups of people most of the time.

For teachers, the quality of that studentteacher rapport in real life is not always a Hollywood fantasy but research suggests it matters for both student and teacher satisfaction.

Several studies show positive effects of rapport in student performance. Researchers in the field of psychology have found when undergraduate students experience rapport with professors, attendance is greater, students study more, tend to enjoy the subject more and fewer students drop out.

However, the positive effects of rapport are not only realized by students. Communications scholars have argued rapport produces teaching satisfaction and commitment to the institution. The impact of rapport may also contribute to reducing classroom conflicts.

Almost everyone has felt rapport with a teacher – and if so, you probably remember him or her today. Do any of these elements of rapport ring a bell?

Psychologists focused on body language highlight the role of non-verbal behaviour in increasing interpersonal rapport: think

Class size worries northern parents

With the school year about to end, it is a good time to take a look at the education system. For years, British Columbians have been asked about their perceptions of schools, class sizes and negotiations between the provincial government and teachers.

This time, Research Co. chose to review the feelings and perceptions of parents who have a child enrolled in kindergarten, elementary school (Grades 1 to 7) or high school (Grades 8 to 12) in B.C.

The results outline a high level of satisfaction with certain aspects of the education system, as well as some worries that differ from region to region.

Across the province, 83 per cent of parents who have children enrolled in a K-12 program say the experience of their child with the education system has been “very positive” or “moderately positive.”

Only 14 per cent of parents describe the situation as “moderately negative” or “very negative.”

In a noteworthy twist, parents who have a child in public school have a slightly higher level of satisfaction with the current state of affairs (85 per cent) than those whose children attend a private school (79 per cent). Still, this high level of satisfaction does not mean that everything is perfect.

When parents are asked about the biggest problem facing the

BY THE NUMBERS

MARIO CANSECO

education system right now, the answer that heads the list is “large class sizes” at 21 per cent, followed by “shortage of teachers” at 16 per cent.

The third spot is for “lack of safety in schools and bullying” at 15 per cent, followed by “outdated curriculum” at 12 per cent, “inadequate resources and facilities for children” at 11 per cent, “labour disputes between teachers and the government” also at 11 per cent and “bureaucracy and poor management” at nine per cent.

The preoccupation with large class sizes reaches a peak in northern B.C. (30 per cent).

Parents on Vancouver Island are more likely to express dismay at an outdated curriculum (24 per cent) than their counterparts in other regions.

The perception of a system that is bureaucratic and poorly managed is highest in southern B.C. (23 per cent).

Parents in the Fraser Valley are decidedly more critical of the resources and facilities that their children are currently enjoying (17 per cent).

Class sizes have long been mentioned as one of the significant issues that need to be addressed. In the survey, six in 10 parents of K-12 pupils in

British Columbia (60 per cent) described their child’s current class size as “about right.”

Three in 10 (31 per cent) say the class is “too big,” while six per cent claim it is “too small.”

Northern B.C. has the largest proportion of parents of K-12 pupils who believe class sizes are too big (43 per cent) while Metro Vancouver has the lowest (28 per cent).

Only 13 per cent of parents whose kids are enrolled in a private school think the class sizes are too big, compared with 34 per cent for parents of kids in public schools.

When asked about what their children are learning, most parents are content.

More than two-thirds say they are satisfied with the quality of instruction their child is getting in four key subjects: English (73 per cent), science (72 per cent), social studies (also 72 per cent) and math (68 per cent).

In addition, the level of dissatisfaction from the parents whose children are receiving secondlanguage instruction is 29 per cent for French and 28 per cent for other languages.

The survey shows that, when it comes to the opinions of parents, the debate about education in the province is not dominated by labour disputes.

Still, the fact that every region of British Columbia pointed to a different major difficulty with the education system suggests that the provincial government will be compelled to consider local needs when planning for the future.

SHAWN CORNELL DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING

body language such as head nodding or mirroring the other person in posture.

In an article “Do your students care whether you care about them?” (the answer is yes), psychology researcher Stephen Meyers suggests professors can focus on both “verbal immediacy” and “physical immediacy” as ways of creating rapport with students: for example, addressing students by their names, using humour, smiling while talking or moving around the room while teaching.

Meyers also notes that some professors at the university level fear “they could be too permissive if they connect with their students.”

In the age of #MeToo it is understandable that attention to ethical and respectful boundaries is a realistic and appropriate concern. After all, let’s not forget Mr. Keating loses his job.

So, dear teachers, as life imitates art, put some effort into how you build rapport with your students – perhaps without walking on students’ desks!

— Lenin Cavalcanti Brito Guerra is a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Saskatchewan. This article was originally published in theconversation.com.

Steep price paid for lasting peace

This week marks the 75th anniversary of Operation Neptune, popularly called D-Day, the largest seaborne invasion in history. Thanks to iconic images and creative reenactments, the Second World War’s “longest day” is etched into millions of minds. Casualties were 10,000, with over 4,000 confirmed killed-in-action. Despite the brutality of the combat, American, British, and Canadian soldiers successfully secured a beachhead and second front against Nazi Germany.

Three score and fifteen years later, we must ask ourselves at the conclusion of the most expensive and tragic endeavor pursued by mankind, what were the “casus belli;” was the war conducted with the right objectives; and how do we prevent the conditions for another conflict?

The Second World War was unnecessary, according to Sir Winston Churchill. British and French appeasement, along with ineffective political-economy in the Weimar Republic, explain Adolf Hitler’s rise to power on a platform of National-Socialism during the Depression.

The Allies were exhausted despite their victory in the Great War, quaking from memories of the trenches; Germans resented the Versailles Treaty, ardently believing they could win in a second contest.

Hitler, in collusion with Joseph Stalin’s Russia, invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, starting the Second World War, a global conflict foreshadowed by Imperial Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931, Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in 1935, and the just concluded Spanish Civil War.

By 1942, America, Britain and the Commonwealth, as well as the Soviet Union had been put on a war footing against Germany, Italy, and Japan. Unlike the First World War, the Allies chose to obtain an unconditional surrender from their enemies. This would require attacking the Axis’ homeland, prolonging the conflict at great expense in men and materials until the fascist powers sued for peace.

Finally, a long occupation was required to reconstitute the defeated nations politically. It is cold comfort to say the enemy sowed the wind and reaped the whirlwind, or point to their

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atrocities: we imitated their total war tactics to ensure our victory. Of course the only thing worse than unethical behavior is failing to learn from it.

To that end, we are fortunate to have kept the world relatively peaceful for three generations, much of it thanks to a real-politik equation based on soft power, nuclear weapons, and foreign intervention during the Cold-War Era.

But as the post-war consensus begins to fracture amongst traditional allies, all while new enemies coalesce around regionally weaker nations, the possibility of a third global war grows more likely. The catalysts of world wide conflict have also changed, as attacks on state actors most often come from non-state actors.

Deterence against rogue states was lost once, resulting in many millions killed and murdered; but how can we best meet the faceless threats of today?

At a basic level, there is a need for a big stick with which to caution enemies; without the ability to provide for its own security, a nation can become easy prey to predators.

It also follows that acquiescing to the demands of bullies invites only more contempt – such actors must be quarantined and sanctioned.

Finally, the culture of peaceful nations must not be marked by self-contempt and historical revisionism, for that is an aide only to one’s unapologetic enemy.

To be clear, self-correction is a vital part of Western democracy. But those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms cannot be categorized as oppressors by new categories we invented only yesterday. Our ancestors had their faults but do we even match their courage?

Hopefully another Juno Beach will not be necessary to keep the peace. But on this 75th anniversary, it is right and just to carefully consider the delicate balance of power in the world today. The glorious dead paid dearly for our current peace.

Will we make the choice to keep it?

Shawn Cornell, director of advertising: 250-960-2757 scornell@pgcitizen.ca Reader sales and services: 250-562-3301 rss@pgcitizen.ca Letters to the editor: letters@pgcitizen.ca

Website: www.pgcitizen.ca

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Member of the National

RIGHT OF CENTRE NATHAN GIEDE

911 call played at meningitis death trial

The Canadian Press/Citizen staff

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — The father of a toddler who died of bacterial meningitis called 911 because his son wasn’t breathing but initially declined an offer of an ambulance, a trial heard Tuesday.

David and Collet Stephan are accused of failing to provide the necessaries of life to 19-month-old Ezekiel in 2012.

The couple initially treated the child with herbal and natural remedies instead of taking him to a doctor.

This is the second trial for the Stephans. A jury found them guilty in 2016, but the Supreme Court overturned the convictions last year and ordered a new trial.

Stephan came to Prince George in January 2017 for an in-store seminar at a Prince George health food store.

On Tuesday, two frantic 911 calls from Stephan were played in court as part of the Crown’s case.

“My son’s not breathing,” Stephan said on the first call, as he struggled to give the operator an address to their home near Glenwood, Alta., that her computer would recognize.

The operator, Carroll Moore, asked Stephan if he was performing CPR. He replied that his wife was.

“He’s breathing a little bit better right now,” Stephan said.

“He’s doing it on his own.”

Stephan added that his son had had croup for a week but overcame it.

The father said he would call 911 again if there was a problem.

“If you need us you call us back, OK?” said the operator.

Moore testified that there was an ambulance available in Glenwood but, since the Stephans declined one, a request never went to a dispatcher.

David Stephan, who is acting as his own lawyer, asked Moore if it isn’t protocol that an ambulance be automatically dispatched when a child has stopped breathing to make sure everything is all right.

“Is that fair to say that is the case?” asked

Stephan.

“That would be the case if the caller didn’t decline the ambulance,” Moore replied.

“In a situation like this you didn’t see it necessary to provide guidance to myself on the phone?” said Stephan.

“We didn’t get to that stage. You struggled so much with the address (that) by the time we found the location for the house you said the baby was breathing,” Moore answered.

Court heard Stephan made a second 911 call about a half hour later as he was driving, with his son and wife in the back of the vehicle. He wanted to know if an ambulance could meet them on the road.

“He stopped breathing. He’s pretty lethargic,” Stephan said on the call.

The dispatcher asked to be put on speaker

and instructed Collet Stephan on performing CPR.

“When I breathe into his mouth, there’s a lot of liquid and it gargles,” the mother said.

When the family met up with an ambulance, paramedic Ken Cherniawsky took over. He testified the child was in bad shape and in cardiac arrest.

“He was not breathing. He did not have a pulse. His skin was pale,” said Cherniawsky.

Cherniawsky also testified the ambulance wasn’t equipped with the right size of bag valve mask so an endotracheal tube was used. He said air was moving into the child, making his chest rise and fall.

Court heard Ezekiel later died in hospital.

A naturopath from Lethbridge, Alta., also testified Tuesday.

Tracey Tannis told court that Collet

Stephan had called her clinic and told an assistant she was concerned her son had viral meningitis. Viral meningitis can be less severe than bacterial meningitis, but it is still considered a serious illness.

Tannis said she told the assistant to advise the mother to take the child to a hospital.

“I told her to get him to emergency right away because viral meningitis is deadly,” Tannis said. A few days later, the clinic sold an echinacea tincture to the mother. Tannis said she doesn’t remember actually talking to Collet Stephan when she came into the clinic, but she does remember advising the child go to an emergency room.

Defence lawyer Shawn Buckley suggested the naturopath only recommended the child see a doctor and that Tannis “reconstructed” her story after the boy died.

Scheer vows internal free-trade deal for stronger federation

OTTAWA — Andrew Scheer is promising that a Conservative government would negotiate a deal to eliminate trade barriers among Canada’s provinces.

The Conservative leader made the commitment Tuesday as he outlined his vision for “a stronger and freer federation” – one that is more decentralized and respectful of provincial jurisdiction in contrast to what he labelled as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s divisive, arrogant, top-down, “my-way-or-thehighway federalism.”

If the Conservatives win the Oct. 21 federal election, Scheer said he’ll appoint an interprovincial-trade minister whose sole mandate would be negotiating a comprehensive, formal free-trade deal with the provinces. And he said he’d convene a first-ministers’ meeting within 100 days devoted to that subject.

“I am not talking about a simple memorandum of understanding,” Scheer said during a speech in Edmonton.

“The interprovincial free trade agreement will be a real free trade deal, like NAFTA, like CETA, like the TPP... It will be a huge step forward, well beyond the current agreement.”

The previous Conservative government began negotiations with the provinces on what eventually became the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, which went into force in 2017. But Scheer said there’s nothing free about it since it includes 130 pages of exemptions and Trudeau “hasn’t lifted a finger to fix it.”

Trudeau last July appointed Dominic LeBlanc to the post of intergovernmental affairs and internal trade minister, mandated specifically to fully exercise federal jurisdiction over trade and commerce to

RCMP officer hurt in crash

The Canadian Press

KELOWNA, B.C. — A B.C. RCMP officer has been seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash.

The officer was responding to a call in the Kelowna area at about 6 p.m. Monday when his unmarked, SUV collided with a transport truck travelling in the same direction.

Firefighters needed the Jaws of Life to pry the constable and his police dog from the wreckage.

Both the officer and the driver of the transport truck were taken to hospital for further treatment.

The dog was assessed by a veterinarian and is expected to be fine.

An investigation into the cause of the crash is underway and traffic was moving again on Highway 33 just east of Kelowna after a closure lasting several hours.

eliminate barriers, working in collaboration with the provinces.

Trudeau hosted a first ministers’ meeting last December that was supposed to focus primarily on internal trade, but he was forced by hostile premiers – notably Ontario’s Doug Ford, who is one of Scheer’s most ardent allies – to expand the agenda to include a host of other provincial priorities.

In the end, first ministers agreed to only a few modest steps towards freer interprovincial trade: harmonizing standards in the trucking sector, including tire size and size and weight restrictions, and eliminating duplication in federal and provincial food safety regimes.

But Scheer argued that with conservative-minded, “free enterprise, pro-trade” premiers now ensconced in seven provinces, Canada has a “once-in-a-generation opportunity... to fix this economic injustice once and for all.”

Scheer was introduced by his newest provincial ally, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, for the fourth of five major policy speeches the federal leader is giving to set the stage for this fall’s election campaign. He devoted much of his speech to lambasting Trudeau for imposing a carbon tax on provinces that refuse to put their own price on carbon emissions. Along with his policies on environmental assessments for pipeline projects and other measures, Scheer accused Trudeau of wanting to phase out the West’s natural resources industry and put thousands out of work.

“Trudeau’s carbon tax is a betrayal of Confederation’s early promise. The discord he has sown has prompted an unprecedented number of legal actions against his government from provinces frustrated at his over-reaching” into provincial jurisdiction over natural

resources, Scheer said.

He contended that Trudeau has “stoked regional alienation” and pitted region against region, threatening the country’s national unity.

“It’s clear that every time there’s a Trudeau in the Prime Minister’s office, our union begins to crack,” Scheer said.

“I’m here to say unequivocally that Canada has not turned its back on the West. Justin Trudeau has.”

By contrast, Scheer said he’d foster a decentralized federation, in which decision-making would be done by the smallest government closest to the people affected and in which the federal government would respect provincial jurisdiction.

He promised that a Scheer government would provide stable, predictable funding for health care and other social services while allowing the provinces to decide how best to manage and deliver those programs.

Still, Scheer promised a Conservative government would provide strong leadership on matters within exclusive federal jurisdiction, where the national interest is at stake and where provinces disagree - such as on pipelines and the elimination of internal trade barriers.

He reiterated his plan to create a coastto-coast, national energy corridor to move Quebec hydro electricity west and the West’s oil and gas east.

He acknowledged it would entail “a great deal of dialogue with provincial governments and Indigenous populations” and take “a lot of work.” And in French, Scheer said it would not be done against the wishes of one or more provinces, which could well make it impossible to achieve.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault has categorically ruled out supporting a new

pipeline through his province.

In a statement, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Scheer’s latest speech “is yet another example of the Conservatives misrepresenting what our government has already done, while over-promising on things that they know they can’t deliver for Canadians.”

Morneau also questioned why Scheer made no promise to meet annual with premiers, as Trudeau has done, or to meet regularly with Indigenous leaders.

Take a tour through local history with Raiding the Archives, every Thursday in the Citizen’s 97/16

David and Collet Stephan leave for a break during their appeals trial in Calgary, Alta., on March 9, 2017.

Joan BRYDEN The Canadian Press

Trump facing opposition to Mexico tariffs

Lisa MASCARO, Luis Alonso LUGO and Darlene SUPERVILLE

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump declared on Tuesday that fellow Republicans would be “foolish” to block the tariffs he’s threatening on Mexican imports, but GOP senators fearing a new trade war were considering action and grilling his administration lawyers behind closed doors.

Republicans are deeply concerned that Trump’s proposed five per cent tariffs on all imports from Mexico would spike U.S. consumers’ costs , harm the economy and imperil a major pending US-Mexico-Canada trade deal. Mexico is concerned as well, and top officials are in Washington working to stave off the threatened trade taxes.

If Congress should vote against the tariffs it would be a stiff rebuke to Trump, much like its earlier effort to reject money to build a long, impregnable border wall. But many on Capitol Hill remain hopeful talks this week between U.S. and Mexican officials will ease Trump away from the tariffs he’s said will start next Monday.

“We’re going to see if we can do something,” Trump said during a press conference in London on the second day of his state visit to Britain.

“But I think it’s more likely that the tariffs go on,” he said. He also doubted Republicans in Congress would muster the votes against him. “If they do, it’s foolish.”

Mexico seemed much more optimistic about a resolution.

“By what we have seen so far, we will be able to reach an agreement,” Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said at the Mexico’s Embassy in Washington.

“That is why I think the imposition of tariffs can be avoided.”

Ebrard arrived in Washington over the weekend as Mexico launched a diplomatic counteroffensive and fresh negotiations. On Tuesday, Mexico’s trade negotiator Jesus Seade was meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and Ebrard will meet Wednesday with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Republican senators are hopeful those talks will prevent the tariffs. But if negotiations should fail, the lawmakers warn they may have no choice but to take action in Congress to stop Trump.

GOP Sen. Rob Portman said Tuesday on CNBC that if the tariffs do go into effect next Monday as planned, “I do think Congress is likely to have a vote.”

Portman was among those on Capitol Hill who worry the tariffs will derail the long-promised United-States-Mexico-Canada trade deal – a rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement that Trump campaigned against.

The senator warned that Trump was “endangering” passage of his favoured USMCA.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Finance Committee, told reporters Tuesday the tariffs make passage of USMCA “more difficult.”

Questions remain, though, and senators invited Pat Philbin from the White House counsel’s office and Steve Engel from the Department of Justice to their weekly lunch Tuesday to hear more about the administration’s legal rationale for the tariffs.

Trump has indicated he will rely on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to slap the tariffs on Mexican goods, a national emergency executive action he can take without congressional

approval.

But lawmakers say if the president invokes a national emergency, they can vote on a resolution to disapprove. That’s what happened earlier this year when lawmakers, stunned by Trump’s claim of executive power, tried to block him from taking funds for the border wall with Mexico. Congress voted to disapprove of Trump’s actions, but the president vetoed the resolution.

Yet it’s unclear if Trump will, in fact, use the national emergency declaration or if opponents of the tariffs might resort to other legislative tools to block him.

“There’s some disagreement even among Republicans,” Grassley said.

“We’d better get a legal answer.”

While many Republicans who voted against Trump earlier this year actually supported his ultimate goal of building the border wall – but were uneasy with his executive reach to do it – the president doesn’t have anywhere near the same backing for the tariffs.

In this case, Trump is using the tariffs as leverage against Mexico in his long-running battle to reduce illegal immigration.

Democrats – and some Republicans – doubt the tariffs will ever take effect. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that “Trump has a habit of talking tough and then retreating.”

Trump claimed “millions of people” are entering the U.S. through Mexico and criticized congressional Democrats for not passing new laws. It is unclear what more Mexico can do – and what would be enough – to satisfy Trump because the United States has not presented concrete benchmarks to assess whether the U.S. ally is sufficiently stemming the migrant flow from Central America.

Mexico calls the potential tariffs hurtful to the economies of both countries and useless to slow the northbound flow of Central American migrants.

“We need to put our heads together and try to come up with a solution,” Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said Monday.

The tariff threat comes just as the administration has been pushing for passage of the USMCA trade accord. Mexico and Canada already have started the process of ratifying through their own legislatures.

index was up 150.35 points Tuesday at 16,166.24 for the second largest gain of the year after one in early January. All 11 major sectors were higher, led by a 5.4 per cent increase by health care as Aurora Cannabis Inc. was up 9.5 per cent and Canopy Growth Corp. rose 5.8 per cent. The August gold contract was up 80 cents US at US$1,328.70 an ounce and the July copper contract was up 1.9 cents at US$2.67 a pound. The July crude contract was up 23 cents at US$53.48 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was up 1.3 cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU. The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 74.55 cents US compared with an average of 74.24 cents US on Monday. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 512.40 points at 25,332.18. The S&P 500 index was up 58.82 points at 2,803.27, while the Nasdaq composite was up 194.10 points at 7,527.12.

AP PHOTO BY ANDREW HARNIK

Mexican Ambassador Martha Barcena Coqui, left, and Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, right, speak before a news conference at the Mexican Embassy in Washington on Tuesday as part of a Mexican delegation in Washington for talks following trade tariff threats from the Trump administration.

Charging ahead

took

In like a lion, out like a Lamb?

Cougars GM could be destined for Edmonton as Oilers assistant coach

Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca

The rumours are rampant. Now that the Dave Tippett has been hired as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers, the word is Prince George Cougars general manager Mark Lamb will soon be joining his longtime friend as an assistant coach.

Now entering the second year of a four-year contract with the Cougars, Lamb would neither confirm nor deny whether he’s about to be hired by the NHL team, but the stars appear to be aligned in that direction.

Lamb was an assistant coach for six seasons with the Dallas Stars from 2002-09 while Tippett served as head coach.

Their relationship dates back to the ’90s when Lamb was still playing as a defenceman and they were were Philadelphia Flyers teammates in 1993-94.

Late in his playing career, Lamb played and coached with Tippett in the International Hockey League for three seasons and they won the Turner Cup title in 1999. When Tippett was head coach of the Arizona Coyotes in 2016-17, he brought Lamb in as head coach of the team’s AHL affiliate in Tucson, Ariz.

They’ve been friends away from the rink for years and Saskatchewan-born Tippett is the godfather of Lamb’s 19-year-old son Hunter.

“I’ve known Dave a long time,” said Lamb, from his family home in Swift Current, Sask.

McDavid

“I’ve been there before (coaching in the NHL) and I’m still working for Prince George. There’s not a story on this right now. I’ve had a lot of people contact me about it, because everyone is putting two and two together, and that’s where it’s at. It’s business as usual for me.”

The Oilers announced May 28 they’ve hired Tippett to replace interim head coach Ken Hitchcock. Tippett had been working with the NHL expansion franchise in Seattle and was being groomed to coach the team when it joins the league in 2020.

Fort St. James native Jim Playfair could also be heading to the Oilers as an assistant coach. Lamb and Playfair, who coached most recently in 2016-17 as an associate with the Arizona Coyotes, are former Oiler players.

Trent Yawney and Manny Viveiros, a former head coach of the Swift Current Broncos during Lamb’s seven-year tenure as Broncos general manager from 2009-16, won’t be back as Oiler assistant coaches.

Assistant Glen Gulutzen will remain with the team.

For now, Lamb will continue to work on filling the Cougars’ vacant head coaching position. He has made it clear to team ownership he doesn’t want the job he took over on an interim basis Feb. 6 when the Cougars fired head coach Richard Matvichuk.

The Cougars were at that time in the midst of a franchise-record 17-game losing streak and went

on to finish last in the WHL’s Western Conference with a 19-41-5-3 record, missing the playoffs for the second-straight season.

“I’ve interviewed quite a few guys, it’s a long list and it’s down now,” said Lamb.

“There’s a lot of stuff that happens in hockey right up until the NHL draft. People know the situation and there really isn’t much to say about it.”

Don Nachbaur has been unemployed since Nov. 4, 2018 when he and head coach John Stevens and the rest of the coaching staff were

mum on recovery from knee injury

Joshua CLIPPERTON The Associated Press

TORONTO — Connor McDavid didn’t want to answer any questions about his knee. The brace hugging the superstar’s left leg and an accompanying limp said enough. Speaking at a promotional event Tuesday morning, the Edmonton Oilers captain declined to discuss his recovery from the injury suffered April 6 after he crashed into a goal post during the team’s regular-season finale against the Calgary Flames. X-rays came back negative, but the results of a subsequent MRI found a small tear in the centre’s posterior cruciate ligament.

The Oilers announced at the time McDavid wouldn’t require surgery, but the brace on the two-time Art Ross Trophy winner’s knee was clearly visible under his black

pants Tuesday, appearing to stretch from halfway up his calf to the mid-point of his thigh. The 22-year-old, who was on hand as an ambassador for Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities to surprise a group of kids at a park in Toronto’s north end, wouldn’t say how rehabilitation has been going or if he’s been on the ice.

“We’re here just to celebrate Jumpstart and the opening of the new playground,” said McDavid, who initially thought he’d broken his leg in the moments following the collision.

“That’s all I’m focused on (today).”

The injury wrapped up a miserable 201819 for the Oilers, one that saw them fire head coach Todd McLellan in November before handing general manager Peter Chi-

fired by the Los Angeles Kings. Nachbaur, one of the winningest coaches in WHL history with Seattle, Tri-City and Spokane, played most of his minor hockey in Prince George and has applied for the Cougars’ coaching job.

“He’s one of the guys that has put his name in,” said Lamb.

“There’s a lot of good guys that I’ve talked to and guys who haven’t put their names in that I’ve talked to. It’s basically everybody who doesn’t have a job that would be in line.” Lamb will attend the NHL draft

arelli his walking papers in January.

Edmonton finished 11 points back of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference as the franchise missed the playoffs for the third time in McDavid’s four campaigns in Edmonton.

The Newmarket, Ont., product did his part for a top-heavy roster, winding up second in league scoring with 116 points (41 goals, 75 assists), but it wasn’t nearly enough for a club that has failed to reach the post-season 12 of the last 13 springs.

“There was a lot of moving parts, a lot of things going on,” said McDavid, who’s signed through 2025-26 with an annual salary cap hit of US$12.5 million.

“Fire a coach, fire a GM –that’s a lot of change for one season.

“It was an emotional ride, and I’m looking

in Vancouver, June 21-22, where he’ll have better access to coaches who would be suitable candidates to take over the Cougars’ job. Whether that means a dual role as general manager/head coach remains to be seen.

As evidenced by the Medicine Hat Tigers, who released Shaun Clouston and replaced him last week with Willie Desjardins after Desjardins was cut loose by the Dallas Stars, situations can change rapidly depending on who becomes available.

“There’s still so much juggling around and because we didn’t make the playoffs, there’s been a lot of time in between,” said Lamb.

“But there was never a time when we were going to make a decision really quick. We have the (NHL) draft to get over with and we just have to be patient and do things the right way for the organization.”

The CHL import draft will follow the NHL draft on June 27.

The Cougars already have their quota of two imports with forwards Vladilslav Mikhalchuk, 20, and Matej Toman, 18, but Lamb said they might still pick another European in the draft.

The rule which used to forbid major junior teams from trading their import picks within a year of drafting them no longer applies and that leaves the Cougars free to go after a third player. That rule was changed last year when import goaltenders were reinstated as CHL-draft eligible, after a four-year ban.

forward to a little stability.”

McDavid and the Oilers hope that stability will come in the form of two new hires – GM Ken Holland and head coach Dave Tippett.

Holland and McDavid, who won the Hart Trophy in 2016-17 as league MVP, have exchanged texts and plan to meet in person soon, while Tippett spoke briefly over the phone with his new meal ticket.

Holland joined Edmonton after a long career in Detroit, where he helped guide the Red Wings to Stanley Cup victories in 1998, 2002 and 2008 as GM.

“He comes with lots of experience (and) is a guy that’s been wildly successful,” McDavid said.

“I’m really happy with that and really looking forward to working with him.”

The Prince George Gnats (blue)

on Prince Rupert in rugby action Saturday at Duchess Park.

LAMB

Toss to the target

Raptors took some big risks to become Canada’s team

Steven

FRANK, Natalie WONG Bloomberg

The NBA finals have arrived in Canada with considerable excitement – and tension – as the upstart Toronto Raptors go punch for punch with the dynastic Golden State Warriors.

After a rapturous first-game victory for Toronto, the Warriors came back to tie up the series Sunday night. The close finals is just fine with Canadian fans, who have been waiting for this decisive We the North moment for the franchise’s entire 24-year history. Call it love, fanaticism or pride, but Toronto – and most of Canada – is dripping with it right now. The enthusiasm is being plastered on walls, screamed out by long-suffering fans, even baked into pies. Perhaps no one deserves as much credit for the team’s newfound status as Masai Ujiri, the Raptors’ Nigerian-born president, who made a couple controversial decisions last year.

After losing in the playoffs to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third year in a row – a brutal beat-down at the hands of LeBron James & Co. that led to the city of Toronto being unkindly labeled “LeBronto” in one meme – Ujiri fired Dwane Casey, the Raptors head coach who would be named NBA Coach of the Year a few weeks later. Ujiri also traded away four-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan, one of the team’s core and most loyal players, as part of a deal that acquired star Kawhi Leonard, who only had one more year on his contract.

For the Raptors, who finished this regular season with the NBA’s second-best record, those risks are paying off in big ways. In the playoffs, Leonard has provided a few moments likely to become Canadiana sports classics, such as his Game 7 buzzer-beating shot against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second playoff round and his one-handed jam over Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the next series. Playing in the franchise’s first cham-

pionship, the team then beat the Warriors 118-109 in the first Finals game played outside the U.S. in NBA history. Golden State, which has won three out of the last four NBA championships, had never lost Game 1 in any of those series.

Raptors fan Cindy McGee drove 18 hours, from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Toronto, to watch Thursday’s game. Why?

“Canadian pride, baby,” she says. On the city’s streets, supporters of countless ethnicities celebrated the victory, waving black flags stamped white with We the North, speaking to the sports’ appeal to immigrants, who make up an increasing proportion of the city and the region’s population.

Speaking before Thursday’s game, Amar Patel, 19, said his immigrant parents have been watching the Raptors “since Day One, they got us into it.”

Fans adore the vibe of a team that seems carved out of the country’s multicultural core, as well as the courtside antics of

Drake, the Raptors’ Toronto-born “ambassador.”

Jurassic Park, the fan fiefdom that rises outside Scotiabank Arena during Raptors games, has inspired satellite versions across Canada, even in parts of the country that generally hate “center-of-the-universe” Toronto.

Enthusiasm for the team is reflected in record audience numbers, surging bar tabs and soaring ticket prices. Combined average viewership of Thursday’s opening game was 3.5 million, according to Digital Media Communications. That’s about 10 per cent of Canada’s population. Game nights are a boon for bar owners; payment processor Moneris reports bar tabs in the Toronto area jumped 28 per cent on the night of the Raptors’ Game 6 against Milwaukee compared with the same day a year ago. Tickets to the first two games at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena are sold out, with the cheapest seat for Sunday at about $600 on StubHub and

Johanna Konta (26), Britain, def. Sloane Stephens (7), United States, 6-1, 6-4. Marketa Vondrousova, Czech Republic, def. Petra Martic (31), Croatia, 7-6 (1), 7-5. Men’s Doubles Quarterfinal Fabrice Martin, France and Jeremy Chardy, France, def. Rajeev Ram, United States and Joe Salisbury (11), Britain, 6-4, 7-6 (6). Kevin Krawietz, Germany and Andreas Mies, Germany, def. Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia and Dusan Lajovic, Serbia, 6-1, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3). Women’s Doubles

Quarterfinal Kirsten Flipkens, Belgium and Johanna Larsson (15), Sweden, def. Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic and Nicole Melichar (7), United States, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1. Saisai Zheng, China and Ying-Ying Duan, China, def. Yifan Xu, China and Gabriela Dabrowski (4), Canada, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5. Kristina Mladenovic, France and Timea Babos (2),

courtside seats to be had for up to $50,000. For Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Raptors, the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team and the Toronto FC soccer club, the season’s success has been a redemption following decades of futility, most notably by the Leafs.

Without a hockey title since 1967, MLSE had enviously watched the Toronto Blue Jays gain national acclaim as the only Canadian baseball team. In a sign of how far the Raptors have come, the basketball franchise is now worth more than its hockey cousin, at $1.7 billion versus $1.5 billion, according to Forbes.

It wasn’t always like this, of course. The Raptors history since their founding in 1995 as part of the NBA expansion into Canada has been marked by starts and stalls, with players such as Damon Stoudamire, Vince Carter, and Chris Bosh becoming stars only to depart to make their mark elsewhere. The latest period of rebuilding began in 2011 and took off in earnest under Ujiri, who was hired from Denver in 2013. Built around the backcourt of DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, the team under Casey’s deft influence started to exhibit the former’s pizzazz and the latter’s grit more consistently, leading to a succession of playoff runs.

That period also bolstered the team’s identity. Drake, the Toronto-born rapper, became the team’s global ambassador, followed the next year by a rebranding campaign that took pride in an inner-city vibe, expressed in a successful YouTube campaign centered on the team’s We the North slogan.

After witnessing two decades of struggles, Toronto now has a backbone and star power thanks to Ujiri. They will need both after the Warriors responded to another strong Raptors first half by coming on strong in the third quarter of Game 2 and holding on to knot the series at 1-1.

“The ball was not bouncing our way at all,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said after the Sunday night game in Toronto.

CP PHOTO Toronto Raptors fans watch Game 2 of the NBA finals between the Raptors and the Golden State Warriors the in the fan area known as Jurassic Park outside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Sunday.

Phil Erickson of Quesnel pitches a horseshoe Saturday morning while competing in the Prince George Open horseshoe tournament at the Prince George Horseshoe Club.

Pavarotti focus of Ron Howard doc

The Associated Press

NEW YORK

— Ron Howard recalls seeing his first opera when he was four years old. Just don’t ask him to tell you much about it.

The budding child star and future director was in Austria with his parents to shoot a movie, and they took him to a performance at the Vienna State Opera House.

“I remember this soprano hitting this note in this unbelievable gown,” Howard said, gesturing with his arms to conjure up the scene.

“There’s the set, she’s over here on the left in profile, and she’s singing, and she turns back to the actors and everybody’s going crazy, there’s a big ovation. I don’t know what opera it was.”

Not exactly the start of a lifelong love affair with opera. But in a way that makes Howard the perfect director for the new documentary Pavarotti, which is being released in the United States on Friday. Part biography and part greatesthits concert, it aims to introduce Luciano Pavarotti to a new generation as well as to engage those who are already fans.

The Italian lyric tenor, who was born in Modena in 1935 and died of pancreatic cancer in 2007, was considered by many to have the most beautiful voice of his type since Enrico Caruso.

He sang at leading opera houses for 40 years, sold millions of records as the “king of the high Cs,” and, with his endearing personality and love of publicity, became a household name in a way no opera star has since.

“I’d never seen him live, but I was well aware of his stature,” Howard said in a recent interview.

“My hope is the film goes a step toward that agenda of his which was to democratize the art form and broaden the audience reach.”

Howard, known for his eclectic range from comedies like Cocoon and Splash to serious dramas like Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind (which won him a directing Oscar), said he got involved in the project through producer Nigel Sinclair, with whom he had worked on a documentary called The Beatles: Eight Days a Week.

Researching the project, Howard studied the plots of Pavarotti’s signature operas like Puccini’s La Boheme and Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and the lyrics to his arias. That gave him an idea about how to structure his film.

“I thought, well, we might be able to use these arias to almost do an opera about Pavarotti that might give us an interesting framework,” he said.

“To use the music to share with people his life’s journey.”

And quite a journey it was – from childhood poverty in wartime Italy to a rise to fame and riches; from marriage and three children to years of philandering and finally divorce and remarriage.

Artistically, Pavarotti moved from performing mainly on opera stages to singing in large arenas before hundreds of thousands of people – including as part of the Three Tenors with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras – and finally to collaborating with pop artists like Bono. And he was literally an outsize figure: with his love of food and Italian cooking, he constantly struggled with ballooning weight.

“It’s a bittersweet story,” Howard said.

“He lived the dream, he became Caruso, his era’s great example of a global superstar as an opera singer. And then he clearly lost his way emotionally.

“I think he set the bar so high for himself I’m not sure he could ever live up to what his ambitions were,

for all fronts – life, his art, his personal relationships,” he said.

But Howard sees his film as “ultimately far more celebration than anything else, despite the turbulence that his life knew and his loved ones knew.”

He thinks the singer was able to “reinvent himself” when he took up philanthropic causes, starting with his friendship with Prince Diana and involvement in her work for the Red Cross.

His ex-wife, Adua, and their three grown daughters reconciled with Pavarotti before his death, and they are interviewed here. So too is his second wife, Nicoletta, who recorded never-before-seen home movies in which Pavarotti voices regrets for his failings as a husband and father.

In all, the filmmakers used more than 50 interviews, both archival and new, and excerpts from more than 20 arias.

The film touches only lightly on the vocal decline of Pavarotti’s later years, which some critics blamed on his loss of interest in the disciplined life of an opera singer.

“He wasn’t quite what he used to be,” Howard said. “Some people who watched him on his farewell tour felt he was relying more on his reputation.” Howard said working on the film has “definitely” made him more interested in opera, though his tastes in music remain as varied as his choice of movie subjects. He said he grew up listening to James Taylor, Cat Stevens and

Simon and Garfunkel, and that bluegrass was “ingrained in me” from his days as Opie on The Andy Griffith Show.

“Andy liked to play, and our makeup guy played the banjo,” he said.

“But there’s nothing I get locked into. I’m always popping around. Sometimes I’ll get into a jag of listening to obscure pop music from different countries.”

Luciano Pavarotti bows to the audience during the Pavarotti & Friends charity concert for Iraqi children at the Novi Sad Park in Modena, Italy, in 2003.

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Garraway,JamesS. August30,1962-June2,2019

Jimpassedawayafteracourageousbattlewith cancer,surroundedbyhislovingfamily.Predeceased byhismother,Margaret;andbrother,Rick.Dearly missedandalwaysrememberedbyhisdevotedwife, Deb;andchildren,Hayden,Jamie,andTaylor. Survivedbyhisfather,David;brother,Wayne (Wendy);sister,Sharon(Don);sister-in-law,Karen; brothers-in-law,Wendell(Karen)andIan(Tammy); andmanylovingniecesandnephews.

AcelebrationoflifewilltakeplaceonSunday,June 9th,atSignatureSandmanEventRoom,2990 RecplaceDrive,PrinceGeorge,BC. Inlieuofflowers,pleasemakeadonationtoHospice HouseinPrinceGeorge,BC.

Sharon Anne Doak

Sharon was born on March 1st, 1938 in Nipawin, Saskatchewan and passed away peacefully with her family by her side on May 28th, 2019 in Vernon, B.C. at the age of 81 years. We are proud of the way she fought her disease with so much grace and dignity. Sharon will be lovingly remembered by her sons; Vernon Doak and Ian (Colleen) Doak, her daughters; Shelley (Lorne Doerkson) Wiese and Shannon (Peter) Love, her grandchildren; Brooklyn, Ethan and Addison Doak, Chantel and Brice Wiese, Dustin, Brendan (Kayla) and Hannah Love, her great-grandson; Malachi Wiese, her sister; Marjorie (Mel) Sims along with numerous extended family members and friends. Sharon was preceded in death by her husband; Aubrey Doak, her granddaughter; Elyse Doak, her brothers; Gerry, Bob and Elmer Udahl and by her parents; Edwin and Elda Udahl. Sharon was a very kind and gentle person, who always had a beautiful smile that shone through when she was surrounded by her family and friends. She loved her pets, especially dogs and enjoyed knitting, quilting, country music, curling and spending time with her family. The family would like to thank Dr. Jennifer Roger and the health care support team at Coldstream Meadows and the IHA care team who treated mom with tender love and care. A special thank you to the Polson Care Home staff who looked after mom so well in her final days. Cremation preceded a Celebration of Sharon’s Life which will be held on September 14th, 2019 at Lakeview Memorial Gardens Cemetery followed by a family gathering in Vernon. As an expression of sympathy, those who wish to do so may send donations in memory of Sharon to the Alzheimer’s Society of BC. Cremation arrangements have been made with BETHEL FUNERAL CHAPEL LTD., 5605 27th Street, Vernon, B.C. V1T 8Z5 (250) 542-1187

Rest in Peace Nana We will miss the best potato salad ever!

PROGRAMMING COORDINATOR (FT)

Provides program support in Prince George Alzheimer Resource Centre. Schedules: First Link® support calls, education workshops, healthcare provider meetings. Manages materials and info resources in the region. Key duties: Reporting to Manager, maintains programming related to: incoming referrals and allocate intake calls, follow up calls Dementia Helpline support calls to Support & Education team. Schedules/books education prog based on regional plan. Manages attendance tool client lists and waitlists. Books meetings, distributes info resources. Maintains/orders materials inventory. Prepares dementia education packages. Coordinates local First Link bulletin info, prints/distributes posters and promo channels like: news releases, website, print ads. Oversees office volunteers & provides info to general public as needed. Qualifications: Superior admin & organization skills, meticulous attention to detail. Excellent computer skills, experience with Word, Excel & Outlook essential; familiarity with PowerPoint, Publisher, databases and mail merge an asset. Interpersonal/customer service skills. Able to recruit & supervise volunteers. Basic accounting bookkeeping exp. Knowledge of local area & dementia.

Resume w/ cover letter to: humanresources@alzheimerbc.org

300-828 West 8th Ave Vancouver, BC V5Z 1E2 Closes: June 7, 2019 For full job description and information about the Society: www.alzheimerbc.org

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