Prince George Citizen May 24, 2019

Watering the peas

Urban Garden on Thursday afternoon.

B.C. sawmills face closure

Derrick PENNER Vancouver Sun

Tolko Industries’ decision to close its Quest sawmill in Quesnel was greeted less with shock than resignation in certain circles with one report predicting the equivalent of 12 more will be shuttered in the next decade to cope with B.C.’s shrinking timber supply.

“They were the next mill on our list,” said Russ Taylor, president of the consulting firm Wood Markets Group, that commissioned the analyst’s report that concluded with that grim assessment.

Tolko CEO Brad Thorlakson cited a lack of “economic fibre to keep all our (B.C.) mills running efficiently” in making the decision, announced May 10, to close the Quesnel mill affecting 150 jobs and cut one of two shifts from its Kelowna mill eliminating another 90.

Forestry remains a cornerstone of B.C.’s economy, accounting for 60,000 direct jobs, including one in every four people employed in manufacturing, with 140 mostly rural communities dependent on the industry, according to a recent assessment.

Over the next decade, however, catching up with necessary reductions in B.C.’s timber harvests could put a 2,000 to 2,500-position dent in those employment figures, Taylor said.

However, the massive mountain pine-beetle epidemic, a subsequent smaller spruce-beetle infestation and successive record years of forest fires have cumulatively compromised the province’s Interior forests, said industry analyst Jim Girvan, who wrote the report. Add to that requirements to set aside forest habitat for the protection of endangered mountain

caribou, and Girvan said B.C.’s central regions will be left without enough timber for all sawmills operating in the region, where the province counted 51 as of 2017.

“In the worst-case scenario, 13 mills will close,” said Girvan, who is a professional forester as well as a longtime industry consultant. “In the best-case scenario, 26 mills will reduce (one shift each). Either way, the impact on lumber production, residual chip production, the impact on employment is the same.”

He expects the bite out of timber harvests will start taking hold between now and about 2025 into what the industry is referring to as the midterm timber supply, and estimates it will take 30-40 years before new growth in forests recover to levels that will allow an increase in harvests.

— see ‘THE BEST, page 3

Planned outage to cost thousands, business owner says

Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

A local business owner says a BC Hydro decision to carry out equipment upgrades during a time when his doors are usually open will cost him thousands of dollars in lost business.

The utility has scheduled a planned outage for Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to noon from 1795 to 1915 Victoria St. to carry out equipment upgrades.

Mike Godfrey of Budget Brake and Muffler estimated it will leave him $2,000 to $4,000 out of pocket in foregone revenue and contends it is work Hydro could be doing during the evening when most small businesses are closed.

He said the only reason crews are not out at that time is so the utility can save a few hundred dollars on overtime. Instead, Godfrey said he was told he will need to bring in a backup generator if he wants power over the time a Hydro crew is doing the work.

“I can’t plug a generator into my shop,” Godfrey said.

“I’d be back-feeding the whole system and risking your guys’ safety.

“I’m an automotive shop, how big a generator do you want me to get?” he added. “Do you want me to rent one for $1,000, $2,000 and have an electrician wire it in?”

While doing the work during the daytime in a residential area is understandable, Godfrey said Hydro should take extra steps to avoid inconveniencing business districts. At least one other business will

I can’t plug a generator into my shop. I’d be back-feeding the whole system and risking your guys’ safety.

— Mike Godfrey, Budget Brake and Muffler

be affected.

“There won’t be any kind of transaction happening in my store, unfortunately,” said Total Pet manager Derian Sawatsky.

Hydro spokesperson Ted Olynyk stressed notices of the outage were sent out ahead of time and that businesses should have a generator in place regardless.

“Hospitals have a backup, emergency services will have a backup... if power is critical to you in your daily operation, then you need to consider a backup,” Olynyk said.

Olynyk also said peak hours can vary from business to business, noting that restaurants are busiest in the evening.

As to the matter of the cost of paying overtime, Olynyk said it would add up if Hydro agreed to Godfrey’s suggestion and it would translate into higher electricity rates.

“You’d not just be dealing with one block of Prince George, the principle would carry throughout the province,” Olynyk said.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

Kai Gale, 3, right, takes his turn with the watering can while Aria Goodrich, 4, looks on at The Exploration Place. The class from the Fort George Early Explorers Preschool planted Laxton’s Progress peas in the Explorers

Logs are piled up at West Fraser Timber in Quesnel in 2009.

Trashion show highlights recycled materials

Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

Some people throw out their trash. Some people throw on their trash.

The Two Rivers Gallery will parade a junket of junk out on their catwalk this Saturday, showing off how the arts community is wearing their environmental concerns on their sleeve.

“It’s basically a fashion show, but all the clothes are made from recycled materials,” said Briana Sadler, the gallery’s MakerLab coordinator and lead fashionista for the city’s first Trashion Show on Saturday night.

The idea was a combination of an event in Grande Prairie where wearable art was in the spotlight, and an annual event in Revelstoke where recycled and rescued materials were used to manufacture unique clothing items. Both those communities provided advice and resources for the creation of this Prince George hybrid.

“We had quite an overwhelming response,” when the call for submissions was made, said Sadler. “We ended up with 20 people who wanted to take part in this, and for a first time event, that is remarkable.”

Each creator will have a model walk

their trashion apparel out onto the runway while a narrator describes the details of the clothing to the audience.

Some of the contributing artists will do the catwalk themselves.

A panel of judges will observe and assess the creations, and there will be a chance for each artist to be questioned by the judges for more clarity and information.

A set of prizes is up for grabs for the participating artists.

The trashion designers are a varied and diverse group, said Sadler. Some are established artists, some are teenagers. Many are local, some are coming from other communities. A duo specializing in making shoes from recycled materials, John Bondoc & Derek Ellis, are coming from Vancouver.

“The amazing response shows us there is a want for this, that people want to get their hands into creative projects, that there is a big appetite for this discussion that we get to have through this form of making and entertaining,” Sadler said.

“Combining technology with art is one of the main mandates for MakerLab, so this event is a really strong fit. We know it will show another level of what art really is, and it will bring some people into the Two Rivers Gallery that have never

been through our doors before, so that is also exciting for us.”

The live demonstration of ecologically haute couture happens Saturday at 7:30 p.m., but the pieces will be salvaged after the Trashion Show for more public viewing. The Two Rivers Gallery was joined in this effort by the Omineca Arts Centre where a static display of these outfits will be exhibited from June 2-14 at their storefront gallery at Third Avenue and Victoria Street.

“The fact we have such a throwaway mentality in our culture, and disregard for plastics and junk, is the point of the event,” said Sadler.

“We wanted to address that by showing sustainability and longevity and giving things an extra use even within the context of the Trashion Show itself, so there is this followup event, really talking about the legitimacy of this as art and the voice art speaks with about the functional issues of our society.”

Tickets to see the live Trashion Show runway event, and all the extra auctions and displays that go with it, are $25 available at the Two Rivers Gallery website.

Find the purchase button by going to the Events tab, then clicking on the Trashion Show tab.

Canada North Resources Expo starts today

Frank PEEBLES

Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

The machines are huge, and the economic impacts even bigger.

Whether you’re amazed by the enormous wheels, massive engines, or innovative capabilities of heavy equipment, or if you find forestry and mining and construction interesting, there will be plenty of stimulation today and Saturday at the Canada North Resources Expo in Prince George.

This year’s theme is Safety Responsibilities –Everyone’s Role and the conference will include topics which include managing fatigue, marijuana in the workplace, human factors and workplace injury prevention using physiotherapy.

— Event organizers

“Northern Canada’s major sectors will be on display, including forestry, heavy construction, infrastructure development and more,” said expo organizers.

“Don’t miss your chance to join thousands of fellow industry professionals and see what lies ahead in your sector.” The gates are open to the public today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. then the same hours again on Saturday. It is an indoor and outdoor extravaganza of local industry at CN Centre and the Exhibition Grounds.

Meet the people, see the live demonstrations, get an up-close view of the resource processing sectors and the ways our local people are working for families and economies.

“Featuring all of the equipment, services, and technology to get big jobs done, 2019 will be another monumental year,” organizers said.

“Tons of big iron will cover four acres of indoor and outdoor space, showcasing the resources sectors’ leading companies and products.”

Built into the event is the 2019 Interior Safety Conference on today.

“This year’s theme is Safety Responsibilities –Everyone’s Role and the conference will include topics which include managing fatigue, marijuana in the workplace, human factors and workplace injury prevention using physiotherapy. The conference will provide practical information and tools for workers, supervisors, and managers,” said organizers in a written statement.

You can pre-register online for the price of $10 at the event’s website, while limited supplies last.

The walkup price at the gate is $20 for adults.

One adult’s ticket will also allow a family to attend on Saturday for no additional charge.

HANDOUT PHOTO BY CHRISTOS SAGIORGIS

Two Rivers Gallery MakerLab coordinator Briana Sadler speaks at a trashion show event, while models showcase some clothing made of recycled materials. Prince George’s first Trashion Show will be happening on Saturday.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Finance committee to visit city

The B.C. Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services will be in Prince George to gather public comment on what should be in the next provincial budget.

The seven-MLA committee will host a public hearing at the Civic Centre, Room 208, on June 18, 4-7 p.m.

Registration to reserve a time with the committee opens on Monday, at 9 a.m. via the committee’s website: bcleg.ca/ FGSbudget

Teleconference opportunities can be requested by calling 250-356-2933 or 1-877-4288337 (toll-free in B.C.)

Also starting Monday, the written submissions and audio or video submissions will be accepted via the same web address. A survey can also be filled out through the same portal.

The consultation closes on June 28 at 5 p.m.

The committee intends to release its report on the consultation in late July or early August. — Citizen staff

Charges laid in holdup of business

A 23-year-old Prince George man faces four charges from Wednesday morning’s holdup of a local business.

Charges of robbery, attempted fraud under $5,000, breaching probation and breaching an undertaking have been approved for Shayne Alexander Davis. He was arrested shortly after RCMP were called to 20th Avenue near Vine Street and remained in custody as of Wednesday. Davis has a criminal record.

In October 2018, he was sentenced to one year probation and assessed $500 in victim surcharges for theft of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property and two counts possession of stolen property under $5,000. He had been in custody for 32 days prior to sentencing.

And in May, he was sentenced one day in jail for theft $5,000 or under and to one year probation on the count plus a count of breaching an undertaking.

— Citizen staff

Charges laid in drug investigation

SURREY (CP) — More than 50 charges have been laid in what RCMP in Surrey say is the successful conclusion of a drug investigation linked to the Lower Mainland gang conflict. Between April and August of last year, Mounties say their officers worked with the Vancouver Police Department looking into a drug trafficking network in Surrey and Langley. Police say they worked with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and that resulted in 51 charges against eight people.

The charges include trafficking in fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.

Two of those charged were youth at the time of the alleged offences, while the six others are adults ranging in age from 27 to 53.

B.C. premier hints at twin-tunnel plan

SURREY (CP) — Premier John Horgan says a twin-tunnel proposal for a major Metro Vancouver traffic bottleneck will get serious consideration from his government.

Horgan says Metro Vancouver mayors now appear united in their support for a plan to reduce traffic congestion at the current George Massey Tunnel on Highway 99 under the Fraser River.

Horgan says the mayor’s proposal is less costly, faster to build and would not require tolls.

The B.C. government cancelled plans for a 10-lane bridge to replace the 60-year-old tunnel shortly after it took office, saying it was the wrong project and communities didn’t want the bridge.

First Nations caught in ‘fiasco’ over caribou recovery, mayor says

Glacier Media

Councillors in Taylor are condemning the division and outrage misdirected at local First Nations over caribou recovery plans for the South Peace, but say the province continues to bungle public consultations.

The district is expected to release a statement this week denouncing racism after pressure from the chiefs of West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations. At the same time, the district will send a questionnaire about two draft caribou recovery agreements back to the province, calling it long on rhetoric but short on detail.

“The problem with this is that they’re telling us what they’re doing and asking us whether we support it,” Mayor Rob Fraser said at a council meeting Tuesday.

“They’ve decided on something that likely will work and then they’ve dictated it to us, and they’ve put a questionnaire in front of us.

“I disagree, not with the premise of the questions, but the fact we weren’t involved in the development of that which will potentially impact us.”

West Moberly and Saulteau have been negotiating agreements with the provincial and federal governments that will

curb industrial and backcountry access in areas around Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge to save half a dozen endangered herds from extirpation. The agreements also call for financing for maternal penning, habitat restoration, predator control programs, as well as a new indigenous-led environmental stewardship program.

Negotiations have continued despite repeated calls by local governments, MLAs, and industry for more than a year to be included, as well as a study on how the agreements will impact the region’s economy. More than 30,000 people signed a petition calling for a stop to the negotiations.

The province has said it has a constitutional obligation to work with the two First Nations under Treaty 8 to draft the deals, prompted last year after the federal government declared the herds in the South Peace to be facing an imminent threat to their survival and recovery. Numbers in the central group of the southern mountain caribou herds around Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge have dropped from between 800 to 1,000 in the 1990s, to around 230 today.

Though the province was honing in on the success of an established maternal penning and wolf cull program in the region, it also

put the bands under a gag order that prevented them from talking to other political leaders in the region, Fraser noted. At the same time, the province was paying lip service to local leaders who had been pressing for more information over months of conference calls, he said.

“They were going to dictate this to us and they got caught,” Fraser said.

A wolf cull and maternity penning program has already seen higher birth rates, falling death rates, and rising herd populations in the region over the last five years, according to government scientists.

Still, the federal government has been pressured by environmental groups to issue an emergency order under the Species At Risk Act that would effectively shut down all industrial activity in the region. The province says its partnership agreement with the two bands, as well as a separate agreement with Canada under the Species At Risk Act will avoid that.

But the questionnaire sent to Taylor is short on details and filled with misleading questions that have drawn harmful and hateful comments from the public, officials said. The questions also point toward a feared foregone conclusion that the drafts will be rubber

stamped without incorporating public feedback, they said.

“At the 11th hour and 59th minute, the province rolls this out and says, ‘The feds, they’re just going to shut down the whole country if you guys don’t agree.’ Holy, talk about putting your back against the wall,” Fraser said.

“What happens when people get cornered? They lash out, and unfortunately they’re lashing out at the wrong group of people.” Fraser said he hasn’t personally seen or heard hateful comments directed toward First Nations regarding the plans, but noted he’s heard from indigenous leaders about them. First Nations are part of the solution to caribou recovery, but they’ve been caught up in a “communication nightmare” created by the province, Fraser said.

“This whole fiasco has not been the fault of the First Nation communities and the residents there. It’s a communication nightmare driven by the bureaucrats at the province,” Fraser said.

“This penning program and to the guardian program, predator management, this should be a success story. But in turn, this whole communication nightmare, has turned it into a hate exercise by some people in the province. This questionnaire is not helping with that in any way shape or form.”

‘The best mills in the B.C. Interior are in the red’

— from page 1

As for where closures might happen, Girvan wouldn’t say, because that topic is “just too sensitive,” but, after the shakeout, “remaining mills should be able to run at close to their operating capacity.”

Girvan’s 2019 report is a followup to a forecast he released in 2010, which estimated that by 2018, 16 mills would have to close in response to the mountain pinebeetle epidemic.

And by last year, the equivalent of 15 did (12 mills were shuttered, another six reduced shifts).

He delivered the 2019 report at a Wood Markets Group-sponsored industry conference last week, pronouncing that at least one closure was imminent, the day before Tolko made its announcement.

Taylor said difficult market conditions, with slow orders from rain-soaked U.S. states, are contributing to a crash in lumber prices that he estimates aren’t profitable for any Interior mills.

“The best mills in the B.C. Interior are in the red,” Taylor said. “And the average or higher-cost mills are just so offside.”

Companies, communities and governments have known for some time about the conditions that will reduce Interior timber

supplies, but this latest report highlights the imperative for them to co-operate on efforts to mitigate the potential damage.

“Some of these (issues) have been kicked down the road by previous governments for too long,” said Doug Donaldson, minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, “(but) we know mills will be curtailing shifts, some will be closing.

“Part of our challenge there is to focus on maximizing value rather than maximizing volume” from timber production, Donaldson said, repeating his government’s slogan for the sector.

And the coming timber-supply crunch is the reason government has been putting an emphasis on promoting the use of valueadded engineered, mass timber components such as cross-laminated timber panels and glue-laminated beams that turn dimension lumber into products that can be used in large commercial construction projects.

Donaldson said government will be looking for fresh ideas from companies, communities and First Nations on how to handle the transition to reduced harvests from round-table groups that it’s establishing at the grassroots level in specific timbersupply regions.

B.C. Premier John Horgan announced the

initiative at the Council of Forest Industries convention in April and Donaldson said he is expecting two-to-three proposals coming forward on that front.

In the coming weeks Donaldson said the B.C. government will also be putting out a discussion paper to communities and First Nations looking for input on what policy changes they think would be helpful for the industry’s transition.

Susan Yurkovich, CEO of the Council of Forest Industries, said whatever government does, the key thing industry needs is certainty around the eventual timber supply.

“The industry wants to reinvest, so does government,” Yurkovich said.

“We’re on the same page there, (but) what we need is to have secure access to fibre, we need a robust regulatory environment, but it has to be stable, certain and transparent.”

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

City staff member Kelly Hoff mows a meridian on Ospika Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon.

Low snowpack raises drought concern

The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — Drought forecasts from Agriculture Canada show most of British Columbia is abnormally dry or enduring some level of drought, similar to dry conditions that are being experienced across a swath of Western Canada.

Snowpack levels in B.C. recorded on May 15 were similar to those in 2015 and 2016 and the B.C. River Forecast Centre says they are among the lowest in the last 40 years. It also says diminished snowpacks and early snow melt due to a warm spring increase the likelihood of low flows in rivers and streams across the province this summer.

As much as 60 per cent of the snowpack has already melted at most sites, compared to no more than 25 per cent during a usual season, and in areas where the snow is gone, such as northeast B.C., data shows river flows are already ebbing to “below normal.”

A drought map published by Agriculture Canada on April 30 showed abnormally dry conditions in parts of southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, as well as in southern and northwest Alberta including where the Chuckegg Creek fire was burning out of control near High Level. Rain in May and June will help in B.C., but the river centre says seasonal forecasts from Environment Canada predict above-normal temperatures in late spring and early summer across western B.C., and there is

no sign of cooler, wetter weather in other regions.

Agriculture Canada’s drought map showed patches of severe drought surrounding Terrace and along the Alaska Panhandle. There were moderate drought conditions in effect across Haida Gwaii, large sections of Vancouver Island and most of northeastern and southern B.C.

Low snowpacks and existing dry conditions similar to 2015 and 2016 raise concerns about drought or wildfires but Dave Campbell of the river forecast centre says everything depends on conditions over the next several weeks.

“The rain can make up the difference and we’ve seen that in 2015 when we saw these really low snowpacks but a fairly wet summer, and that was able to make up the difference,” he says.

Scant spring rain in 2016 put much more pressure on water availability, says Campbell, although the B.C. Wildfire Service website shows 2016 was considered a “below average” season for fire starts and land burned, while 2015 was recorded as a major season.

Dry conditions have already prompted the first campfire ban of the 2019 wildfire season.

The wildfire service has announced burning prohibitions throughout the northwest fire centre, starting at noon on Friday. Bans on open burning are also posted for the Prince George and Cariboo fire centres.

All the restrictions are in effect until further notice.

Canada seeing spike in temporary visas

OTTAWA (CP) — A federal report says applications for temporary resident visas issued to international visitors, students and temporary workers have more than tripled since 2015, stretching the Immigration department’s ability to process them.

Crews work to pave Foothills Boulevard on Thursday. The work was the largest scheduled paving project for the city starting at Highland Drive and extending down Foothills about 1.6 kilometres to the south. In total, nearly five lane kilometres of road will be rehabilitated.

O Sole Trio return on Sunday

Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

The second time is also the last time.

O Sole Trio is the toast of New York’s classical choral singing community, a true starring act in the heart of musical theatre and modern classical culture. They will make their triumphant return to our city on Sunday, back by popular demand to once again raise funds for the Prince George Symphony Orchestra, but on the advance notice that the three are embarking on their last year together.

“I’m going to be retiring from O Sole Trio in spring,” said Giuseppe Spoletini, the father of a five-yearold son.

“My father was in the same line (as the Prince George Spoletinis). He worked for Rolling Mix Concrete in Calgary,” Giuseppe said, explaining the linkages.

“My brother ended up playing professional football and so did my cousin. My sister is a trader with the stock market. And I ended up being an opera singer, so we were all very blessed. Our parents were really encouraging to all of us, and that was sort of the dream. They did everything and worked 24/7 so we kids could all do what we wanted.”

rators, then formed O Sole Trio when it became clear they had a knack together for this arts and culture work.

“We had an awesome experience last time we were in Prince George. We were treated so well, and the added bonus for me is seeing family I don’t normally get to see being so far away,” Spoletini said.

The Immigration department’s annual plan shows that in the fiscal year that ended March 2018, officials issued more than 5.7 million temporary visas and electronic travel authorizations, an increase from the 1.3 million two years earlier.

“I love this life we’ve had as a group, it is wonderful, but I had to make a difficult decision. We’ve had a good run for the past nine years, I got to really live the dream, but now I need to settle down a little bit. But before we move on to other things in life, we wanted to get in some of these cities like Calgary and Prince George that have meant so much to us personally.”

Federal officials say the surge is due in part to an increase in international tourists to Canada.

These are no empty platitudes.

O Sole Trio is blood related to both these towns so far north and west of New York City. The Spoletini family as well as the interconnect Paolucci family are well known here, and directly related to the singer.

It’s the classic Italian immigrant story. It’s such a backbone story of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in North America that the Lincoln Centre commissioned piano/violin virtuoso (he even sometimes plays them together on stage) David Shenton to write a stage performance that told the story through music of Italy’s influence on modern culture.

Shenton, a British American, is the other male in O Sole Trio, alongside his wife, soprano Erin Shields who grew up in a small Illinois town where her family owned a ravioli sauce business. It doesn’t get much more Italiano than that.

The three found each other when Shenton and Shields were on the hunt for a vocal teacher for their children. Their neighbour, Spoletini, was a vocal instructor who jumped into the challenge enthusiastically. They became friends, then occasional collabo-

Since that time, almost two years ago, O Sole Trio has aggressively toured, shifting their travel repertoire to suit the audience. They have a Christmas showcase, the one they performed for Prince George last time was an Italian homage since it was also a fundraiser for the cosponsoring Prince George Italian Club, and this time they are doing their tribute “to the greatest tunes of Broadway – all of them more of the classical shows, such flattering music for our voices. David is such a great arranger that he tailors it just for us. It’s nice to make shows your own, and then tour them to audiences.”

The concert is once again an important fundraiser for the local sponsors – the Italian Club and the PGSO – so every ticket is important.

The Calgary show the night before has already sold out, so organizers are hoping for the same result at the Prince George Playhouse on Sunday evening. Tickets are $50 available online at the Central Interior Tickets website or at the door while supplies last. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.

City looking at $5.2M bill for parkade upgrade

Citizen staff

City council will consider Monday whether to devote nearly $5.2 million towards upgrading the Second Avenue parkade – a $2.4-million jump over the original estimated cost for the project.

Rising costs for material and labour to the tune of 15-20 per cent combined with the “scope, quantity of concrete repair and contingency,” are the reasons for the revised request, staff said in a report to council.

Pending council approval, the

extra money would come out of the off-street parking reserve, which is funded through a separate tax on downtown properties.

The $2.725 million originally budgeted for the project in 2016 would be funded through debt.

Constructed in the mid-1970s, the parkade is in need of work, according to the report, prepared by City engineering director Adam Homes.

A structural evaluation found concrete delaminating throughout the parkade and wearing traffic surface, posing a risk of water

reaching into the structure’s reinforced steel. Levels 3 and 4 are a particular worry, according to Homes, saying “structural capacity may be affected.” The parkade, which spans across Brunswick Street, consists of five parking levels with capacity for about 500 vehicles. Currently, 278 stalls are rented out on a monthby-month basis.

The project would be undertaken in two phases starting in 2019 and completing in 2020.

The full report is posted with this story at www.pgcitizen.ca.

Workshop on coping with wildfire smoke to be held at Civic Centre

preparing for wildfire season and smoke.

To be held at the Civic Centre, it will start at 10 a.m. and feature four presentations beginning with one from Sarah Henderson, a senior scientist with environmental health at BCCDC and a wildfire smoke expert. She will talk about the effects of wildfire smoke on air quality and human health and how to prepare for the wildfire season.

Next will be Kevin Delahunt of The Filter Shop and Paulo Branco of Pine Centre Mall.

Delahunt will talk about indoor air filtration, existing forced air systems, portable air cleaners, vehicles and where to turn for help.

Branco will talk about the steps taken to create a cleaner air space at Pine Centre.

Their presentation is scheduled to run from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Starting at 1 p.m., Gail Roth of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy will give a presentation on the tools for assessing air quality during wildfires and how to use the ministry website for information on air quality and particulate levels.

At 1:45 p.m., Peter Fairman of WorkSafe BC will talk about N95 respirators, their capabilities and how to fit them properly.

The event is open to the public and admission is free.

A series of fact sheets from the BCCDC on the health effects of wildfire smoke, how to prepare for the wildfire smoke season and portable air cleaners for wildfire smoke are posted with this story at www. pgecitizen.ca.

Senate to demand the Canadian government to speed up its removal of several containers of garbage that were shipped to the country six years ago.

Philippines dismisses Canada’s plan to bring garbage back

Mia RABSON The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — The Philippines has rejected Canada’s late-June timeline for repatriating its garbage and is moving forward with plans to ship it back to Canada itself.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told a media briefing in Manila Thursday that Canada’s timeline isn’t good enough and that the Philippines government will have 69 containers of mislabelled Canadian trash headed back across the Pacific no later than next week.

Earlier this week Panelo said President Rodrigo Duterte had ordered the containers dumped in Canadian waters after Canada missed Duterte’s May 15 deadline to deal with the nearly six-year-old dispute.

“The trash will be sent back the soonest,” Panelo said in Tagalog. “This week or a week after. Definitely not the end of June.”

“We will not allow ourselves to be a dumping ground of trash.”

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said Wednesday Ottawa has contracted the Canadian office of the French shipping giant Bollore Logistics to treat the waste and then bring it back to Canada before the end of June. Environment officials say the containers must be fumigated in the Philippines before being loaded onto a ship.

McKenna’s press secretary, Sabrina Kim, said Canada is “fully engaged” with the Philippines to “promptly remove the waste to Vancouver for disposal.”

The contract with Bollore is worth $1.14 million but the Philippines says it will pay to ship the trash back just to get it out of the country.

The containers are the remainder of 103 shipping containers sent to the Philippines by a Canadian company in 2013 and 2014, falsely labelled as plastics for recycling. Philippine authorities were alarmed that the amount of material was more than the Philippine importer could process, and ordered an inspection, finding the containers to be filled mostly with regular garbage rather than any material that could be recycled.

Canada and the Philippines have battled

since 2014 about what to do with the contents. The Philippines has recently recalled its ambassador and consuls general until Canada deals with the waste.

Several environment groups in both Canada and the Philippines argue Canada violated the Basel Convention, an international treaty designed to prevent wealthier nations from using developing countries as trash heaps.

The Canadian company that shipped the waste, Chronic Inc., has since gone out of business; while officials say they would like to try to go after it to get some of the costs back, that is proving difficult. Chronic Inc. is not believed to have violated any Canadians laws when it shipped the waste.

Before 2016, Canada’s regulations under the Basel Convention only stipulated that the convention applied to shipments Canada considered hazardous. Canada did not then, and still does not, consider the waste to be hazardous. The Philippines does.

As a result of this case, Canada changed its regulations to prevent this kind of situation from recurring. Now exporters must obtain permits from Environment and Climate Change Canada to ship waste if either Canada or the importing nation deems it to be hazardous.

Garbage-filled containers are not all that rare, with the Philippines dealing with another such shipment this week from Australia. Reports from Manila say seven containers of garbage are now being rejected by the Philippines. That garbage was to be burned for energy in the Philippines but the country says that violates its clean-air laws.

Last year South Korea took back containers of trash that had ended up in the Philippines in just a matter of months, drawing negative comparisons for Canada, which sat on its hands for almost six years.

Duterte has also hinted at following China’s move to bar plastic recycling imports entirely.

China used to be the biggest importer of recyclable plastics but in 2018 barred most shipments because too many of them were contaminated with materials that could not be recycled.

Clean energy one of Canada’s fastest-growing industries

Mia RABSON The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Canada’s clean-energy sector is growing faster than the economy as a whole and is rivalling some of the betterknown industries for jobs, a new report shows.

Clean Energy Canada, a think-tank at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, released a study Thursday it commissioned to try to paint the first real picture of an industry it feels nobody knows much about but that is critically important to the future both in terms of climate change and the economy.

“Other countries actually keep this data and Canada doesn’t,” said executive director Merran Smith.

Clean energy isn’t actually classified as a sector in Canada, so the report pulled together the data by compiling information about the various components that make up clean energy.

People talk about the clean-technology sector often but clean energy encompasses more than high-tech firms making hydrogen fuel cells and electric cars, said Smith. She said clean energy includes everything from the production and transmission of renewable electricity to transit workers and construction workers making buildings more energy-efficient. So a hydroelectricdam operator, a bus driver, and the person who installs a high efficiency furnace would all be included in Clean Energy Canada’s job count.

All told, the study concluded, nearly 300,000 Canadians were directly employed in clean energy in 2017, nearly 100,000 more than Statistics Canada data said worked in mining, quarrying, and oiland-gas extraction. There are 7.5 times as many people working in clean energy as in forestry and logging.

Smith said the goal of the report is to show Canadians just how big a piece of the

The number of jobs in clean energy grew 2.2 per cent a year between 2010 and 2017, compared to 1.4 per cent for the total number of jobs in Canada. Investment in the industry went from $21 billion in 2010 to $35.3 billion in 2017.

economic pie clean energy represents.

“We were surprised to find how big the sector is,” she said.

“What we found is that we’re missing more than half the picture when we talk about energy in Canada. We think of oil and gas, we think of pipelines, we think of Alberta, and we are missing this clean-energy sector which is in every province across the country.”

The study concluded clean energy accounted for about three per cent of Canada’s GDP in 2017, or around $57 billion. It grew almost five per cent annually between 2010 and 2017, outpacing the 3.6-per-cent growth of the economy as a whole.

By comparison, oil and natural gas contribute about six per cent of Canada’s GDP; agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting account together for about 2.1 per cent and the hotel and restaurant industry 2.3 per cent.

The number of jobs in clean energy grew 2.2 per cent a year between 2010 and 2017, compared to 1.4 per cent for the total number of jobs in Canada. Investment in the industry went from $21 billion in 2010 to $35.3 billion in 2017. “This is a good-news story for Canada,” Smith said.

Environmentalists display placards on May 24 as they picket the Philippine

Blanket generalizations won’t cut it

Nathan Giede is a talented writer. I enjoy his style, his turns of phrase, and the extent of knowledge that he packs into regular columns in The Citizen. When I’m reading a connoisseur of the English language like Mr. Giede, it’s like savouring a delicious mint chocolate wafer at the end of a good meal. But just like the poor diner in a Monty Python movie, Mr. Giede’s wafers of opinion, when ingested carelessly will bring on disastrous results in gut and body.

In Wednesday’s paper, for example, he talked about how valuable the alternate approval process is, couching his argument as a lesson to city hall to be more prudent with taxpayers’ money. It’s an alluring approach because, if his opinions held true, it would imply that council was at best cavalier in its spending of public money, or at worst, had conspired to cover up a serious problem during the last election.

THERE ARE MASSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE CRISES IN CANADIAN MUNICIPALITIES.

Mr. Giede is likely aware that local government has been shouting this in all caps for the last decade. He may not know that it was addressed by every single candidate, successful or unsuccessful, during the last election. I don’t remember seeing him at any all-candidates meetings, so he just may not know how much this serious issue was

City councillor Garth Frizell speaks at The Citizen forum last October before the municipal election.

discussed. I’m unsure why he claimed it wasn’t addressed in the election.

That all caps sentence above has been repeated so many times that many, Mr. Giede included, may not even think about it. Even mile-high graffiti gets noticed less and less when you walk past it for the 100th time.

There’s no surprise about it.

The job of city staff is not to magically conjure $400 million to immediately end

the crisis; their jobs is to recommend priorities out of our now-permanent infrastructure needs so that the council of the day can find ways to pay for what we can, borrow for what we need and delay the rest.

While the last council was able to find a path through the infrastructure maelstrom that didn’t hurt too badly last term, no one pretends that the storm has dissipated.

Back to the main argument. Mr. Giede

YOUR LETTERS

Bases are loaded for city’s ninth inning

“It ain’t over til it’s over” is a famous quote by New York Yankee back catcher Yogi Berra who played with the Yankee’s from 1946 until 1963. There was no quit in Yogi.

I thought I would liken our present situation with the AAP that the city started to allow it to borrow $32 million over 20 years, with a baseball game.

We in effect are now in the bottom of the ninth inning with bases loaded, and we need people to step up to the plate and hit a home run. It’s time to clean our cleats, tighten our belts, adjust our hats, and make our move.

To ensure that we are doing everything possible to get the number of signatures to force this situation to a referendum and give us a vote on the borrowing of this money we need to stay the course, and if necessary go to extra innings. We have a game plan in place as we head for the finish line. We will be available at the Farmers’ Market located at 1310 Third Ave. on Saturday and have petitions available to sign, and to receive petitions people may have at home. We will ensure that these petitions get to city hall by

the deadline of May 30.

In addition we will have people available to hand out AAP forms, and assist with signing, etc., at the CN Centre parking lot from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday and then we will be available to receive petitions, and help with signing petitions behind city hall on May 28 and May 29 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Having these sites available will make it easier for those people who cannot reasonably access city hall during regular office hours to sign the petition.

So with the May 30 at 5 p.m. deadline looming it’s time to ensure that if you have forms at home that you have not completed, or have not returned to city hall it’s time to do so. For those people who have the best of intentions, but have not yet been able to get the forms, these alternate locations to city hall will help.

After the May 30 deadline the city clerk has a set number of days to count the petitions and then make a report to council. It is at that council meeting that we will get the results of this alternate approval process. Keep your eyes and ears on the news, as you may want to be in attendance at the council meeting to hear the results. I would like to take this moment to thank all the people who signed the petitions, and who

volunteered to get this job done, this will be, I believe, a watershed moment in how money is borrowed and taxes assessed in the City of Prince George.

Eric Allen, Prince George

Speeders need to be controlled on Hart

Has anyone been to Edmonton lately? In the past, as anyone knows, driving on busy streets in Edmonton was chaotic at best –speeders, tailgaters and the other stuff that goes with it.

On a recent trip there, much to our surprise, the traffic was 95 per cent driving the speed limit because there is cameras and signs everywhere. What a pleasure to drive with most people driving the speed limit (and take away speeders, you take away tailgaters.) It occurred to me P.G. could adopt this program on the Hart Highway 500 racetrack, the Vanderhoof Highway and Foothills Boulevard. There is police presence on the Hart, but it only makes people slow down in that area which they often set up.

Let’s get on it, Prince George.

B. Rosin, Prince George

LETTERS WELCOME: The Prince George Citizen welcomes letters to the editor from our readers. Submissions should be sent by email to: letters@pgcitizen.ca. No attachments, please. They can also be faxed to 250-960-2766, or mailed to 201-1777 Third Ave., Prince George, B.C. V2L 3G7. Maximum length is 750 words and writers are limited to one submission every week. We will edit letters only to ensure clarity, good taste, for legal reasons, and occasionally for length. Although we will not include your address and telephone number in the paper, we need both for verification purposes. Unsigned or handwritten letters will not be published. The Prince George Citizen is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour.

SHAWN CORNELL DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING

tries to influence his readers to vote wholesale against lending for 11 different items, but I suspect he hasn’t done his homework. Take the Mausoleum Expansion Phase II proposal as just one example. That loan bylaw is like co-signing a loan for families of the deceased. Prince George doesn’t have enough niches left for the ashes of loved ones, so this expansion needs to be built. The cost is going to be covered by the people who pay for a niche for their loved one. We need to build it now, and the cost is covered by those who need it. If readers follow his advice and vote down that loan, how does Mr. Giede propose we pay for the mausoleum? He’s conveniently silent on that.

I’ll tell you this: we’re not going to tell families to hold the ashes of their loved one at home until enough of their money gets saved up for the next two decades to finance a new mausoleum.

Either Mr. Giede was negligent and simply did not read what he’s advocating people to vote against, or he did read it, and wants to simply cancel that mausoleum expansion and offer no other solution for the families of the deceased.

That’s irresponsible advice. I still enjoy the way he writes, but what he conveyed Wednesday was wrong, and demonstrated either a negligence or malice that shouldn’t be allowed to stand unchallenged. Great style doesn’t make up for bad substance.

— Coun. Garth Frizzell

Gas probe aims at villains, more than reasons

Premier John Horgan’s gas price inquiry is a move pulled from the playbook of former NDP premier Glen Clark in the 1990s. It didn’t work then – no fault of that inquiry – and it’s an open question whether it will accomplish much now.

There will be an opportunity for people to vent their frustrations. There could be a show trial of sorts for any oil executives who can be compelled to show up.

But don’t expect a big price rollback arising from the report, due Aug. 30. The one thing it will accomplish is to reduce the pressure Horgan put on himself to do something when he started complaining about gas prices a few months ago.

Clark was in a similar situation 23 years ago. Gas prices had jumped 10 cents a litre to about 66 cents in Vancouver.

“Outrageous!” said Clark. He ordered an inquiry by the B.C. Utilities Commission, the same body Horgan has tasked. It was then headed by Mark Jaccard, who spent a few months delving into the eternal mysteries of pump prices on the coast.

Clark wanted a popular confirmation of everyone’s suspicions that the oil companies are all in cahoots. Then he could shame them into lowering the price and emerge as a saviour.

“On your side,” was the slogan he’d just won the election on.

But Jaccard, a Simon Fraser University professor who has built a career as an energy and climatechange thinker, didn’t deliver the political goods.

He traced the 10-cent increase back to logical factors.

“In general, the inquiry finds that the market sectors (crude oil supply, refining and distribution, retailing) which determine gasoline prices in B.C. are subject to competitive pressures.”

Crude prices were set by the international market, where there was competition, he said.

“The retail sector of the market also appears to be relatively competitive,” he said.

His inquiry concluded there was some “price discrimination,” or unexplained mark-up, but not much.

It

“does not appear to result, on average, in abnormally high profit margins for the major oil companies,” he said.

He recommended that government rely on market forces and help independent retailers to thrive, rather than try to regulate lower prices.

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Reached Wednesday, Jaccard recalled: “I think it kind of irritated the NDP. But I’m evidence-based, and I couldn’t find evidence to back up what they wanted.”

He paraphrased the Clark government’s reaction: “We appointed this guy so we could beat up the oil companies and he comes up with a finding like that.”

Flashing forward to the present, 2019 is not 1996, and $1.62 at Victoria pumps isn’t 66 cents.

Jaccard said things are different and he was shocked at in-depth research by one of his former students that showed the mark-up is much higher now.

“That does smell of lack of competition.”

But it’s not just Metro Vancouver.

The entire West Coast of North America pays more for gas than elsewhere, he said, because of a permanent problem about access to refined product.

A California colleague of his calls it the “magical surcharge” on the pump price that can’t be fully explained, but relates to lack of competition related to lack of refined product.

One of the fundamental problems driving gas prices is that B.C. needs more refinery capacity.

Jaccard said B.C. needs a whole new strategy, not only on gas and diesel but on biofuels as well, to meet the new low-carbon fuel standards.

The inquiry’s terms of reference don’t specifically mention that. What’s highlighted is the political angle.

The government said the inquiry will investigate “the extent of possible competition concerns, such as price fixing and gouging.”

But those words don’t appear anywhere in the terms of reference.

The government is hyping expectations of finding some villains. It’s also downplaying a severe restriction imposed on the inquiry: “The commission may not inquire into the effects of provincial enactments or policy on gasoline and diesel prices.”

In other words, don’t blame the carbon tax, or any other taxes that make up a big share of the pump price.

And don’t look too closely at the NDP’s argument over the pipeline, which is related to refineries, which goes to the price of gas.

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

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IN THE FAST LEYNE LES LEYNE

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

Court to rule if B.C. can limit bitumen shipments

Laura KANE The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — A British Columbia court is set to rule today whether the province can restrict shipments of diluted bitumen through its borders, in what will be a crucial decision for the future of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

The province filed a reference question to the B.C. Court of Appeal that asked whether it had the constitutional authority to create a permitting regime for companies that want to increase their flow of oilsands crude.

B.C. argued the law is aimed at protecting its lands, rivers and lakes from hazardous substances, but Alberta and the federal government have said the goal is to delay or block the pipeline expansion.

“It’s a little bit strange to argue that diluted bitumen is such a dangerous product that it needs to be regulated, but it’s only (an) entity that wants to increase its flow that falls under this particular scheme,” said Eric Adams, a University of Alberta law professor.

“Guess what that entity is? It’s the Trans Mountain pipeline.”

The Trudeau government has purchased the pipeline and expansion project for $4.5 billion. Alberta sees it as an essential development to get more oilsands product to overseas markets, but B.C. opposes a threefold increase of diluted bitumen through its territories.

If B.C. is given the green light to enact amendments to its Environmental Management Act, it would be able to require Trans Mountain Corp. to obtain a so-called “hazardous substance permit” for its expansion.

An application for a permit would have to detail the health and environmental risks of a spill, the measures in place to minimize those risks and financial measures, including insurance, to ensure capacity to respond.

The corporation would also have to establish a fund for local governments and First Nations, giving them capacity to respond to a spill and agree to compensate anyone involved in responding.

A provincial public servant would also be empowered to add conditions to the hazardous substance permit, as long as they were necessary to protect the environment and human health.

If Trans Mountain fails to comply, the public servant could, with notice, suspend

of diluted bitumen through its borders today.

or cancel the permit.

Adams, an expert in constitutional law, said federal and provincial governments have overlapping powers over environmental issues. However, he said everyone concedes that the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over interprovincial pipelines.

The question before the Appeal Court is how that power relates to B.C.’s authority to regulate what it says is a toxic substance within its borders, he said.

“They’re not actually regulating the pipeline at all, (B.C.) would say. They’re regulating a dangerous product,” he said.

“Even if it happens to be in B.C. by virtue of a pipeline, that doesn’t take away B.C.’s jurisdiction.”

But Adams noted that Premier John Horgan said on the campaign trail that he would use “every tool in the toolbox” to stop Trans Mountain. Once in power, Horgan

softened his language to say he would use every tool to protect B.C.

“It’s not very difficult to connect the dots between this proposed legislation and a political attempt to stop a pipeline that falls within federal jurisdiction,” Adams said. Canadian courts look at the full context when they’re evaluating the dominant purpose of a law, he added. So even though those who drafted the B.C. legislation worked carefully to try to write it constitutionally, the public comments of government officials still matter.

B.C. announced it would enact the legislative amendments in January 2018, sparking a trade war with then-Alberta premier Rachel Notley, who retaliated by banning B.C. wine from her province.

Horgan eased the tension by promising to file a reference case that examined the constitutionality of the law, prompting Notley to end the wine ban in February 2018.

The Appeal Court heard the case in March. Saskatchewan, Trans Mountain Corp. and Enbridge Inc. were among those who argued against B.C.’s proposed permitting regime, while First Nations, cities and environmental groups supported it. It might appear contradictory that B.C. recently filed a court challenge of Alberta’s “turn off the taps” law that would give Premier Jason Kenney’s government the ability to restrict gas shipments to B.C., said Adams.

However, he said the B.C. government is on solid legal footing there because of a section in the constitution that prevents provinces from discriminating on supply or pricing to other areas of Canada. The story might not end with the ruling on Friday, Adams said. Either side could take the reference case to the Supreme Court of Canada, which must automatically agree to hear it.

Feds crackdown on sugary, purified high-alcohol drinks

Catherine LEVESQUE

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — New restrictions on sugary, purified alcoholic beverages took effect Thursday, following several months of federal consultations and at least two deaths over an 18-month span.

The alcohol content in what Health Canada described as “single-serve flavoured purified alcoholic beverages” can no longer exceed 25.6 ml for each container of one litre or less.

The amount is the equivalent of about one and a half drinks; a single serving could previously contain up to four standard alcohol drinks.

The changes come after the 2018 death of Quebec teenager Athena Gervais, who drowned in a creek after quickly consuming

several sugary alcoholic drinks.

A coroner reported this year that Gervais, 14, consumed most of three 568 ml cans of a beverage called FCKD UP – the equivalent of 12 glasses of wine – in the span of half an hour on Feb. 26, 2018.

Her body was found a few days later and the teen’s death raised questions about the drinks and their marketing to youth. Health Canada consulted extensively before introducing the new rules Thursday.

Given the “seriousness of the situation,” Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said in a statement Thursday that the rules are effective immediately and there will be no transition period.

The industry was well aware of the changes that were coming – in the weeks following Gervais’

The changes come after the 2018 death of Quebec teenager Athena Gervais, who drowned in a creek after quickly consuming several sugary alcoholic drinks.

death, Montreal-area Groupe Geloso stopped producing FCKD UP and destroyed its inventories while allowing stores to liquidate their stock.

Not long after, U.S. competitor Phusion Projects followed the

example and stopped distribution of Four Loko.

Educ’alcool, a Quebec nonprofit that promotes responsible drinking, said it is disappointed with the new rules, which it called too permissive.

The organization believes the federal government missed an opportunity to crack down on the relatively new industry and will fail to protect young people who need it the most.

Hubert Sacy said the federal government consulted but didn’t listen to prevention and public health organizations, and didn’t address marketing and packaging concerns.

“No one can understand how they can limit it to one-and-a-half servings of alcohol in one standard can,” Sacy said.

“Nobody counts their drinks by

a glass-and-a-half and moreover, there’s absolutely nothing about labelling, packaging and the design of these drinks.”

Sacy added the federal government didn’t even listen to the Quebec coroner, Martin Larocque, who also recommended containers under one litre be limited to one serving, rather than the 1.5 servings proposed by Health Canada.

The coroner had also suggested restrictions on the appearance and marketing of products, including a ban on names or slogans that “trivialize excessive alcohol consumption, inebriety or alcohol dependence.”

Under the rules creating a new class of “flavoured purified alcohol beverage,” a 568-ml drink would be capped at 4.5 per cent alcohol.

A security guard stands nearby as construction workers at the Kinder Morgan Burnaby Terminal tank farm, the terminus point of the Trans Mountain pipeline, in Burnaby on April 30. A B.C. court is set to rule whether the province can restrict shipments

MONEY IN BRIEF

Currencies

OTTAWA (CP) — These

on Thursday. Quotations in

Trump pledges $16B to farmers; markets slump

Paul WISEMAN and Christopher RUGABER

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump rolled out another $16 billion in aid for farmers hurt by his trade policies, and financial markets shook Thursday on the growing realization that the U.S. and China are far from settling a bitter, year-long trade dispute.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said that the first of three payments is likely to be made in July or August and suggested that the U.S. and China were unlikely to have settled their differences by then.

“The package we’re announcing today ensures that farmers do not bear the brunt of unfair retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and other trading partners,” Perdue said.

The latest bailout comes atop $11 billion in aid Trump provided farmers last year.

“We will ensure our farmers get the relief they need and very, very quickly,” Trump said.

The markets today

TORONTO (CP) — Canada’s main stock index suffered its worst day of the year on Thursday as trade uncertainty and a big drop in oil prices weighed heavily on the energy sector.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 162.74 points to 16,164.61, its lowest level in nearly two months.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 286.14 points at 25,490.47. The S&P 500 index was down 34.03 points at 2,822.24, while the Nasdaq composite was down 122.56 points at 7,628.28.

North American markets sustained large declines for a second consecutive day amid angst that the U.S.-China trade spat could be lengthy or accelerate into a trade war. The July crude contract was down US$3.51 at US$57.91 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was up 3.3 cents at US$2.59 per mmBTU. Seven of the 11 major sectors suffered losses on the day. Health care was down about three per cent, while industrials, technology and financials were each down about one per cent. Financials decreased as the Royal Bank of Canada and TD Bank Group reported second-quarter results.

Defensive sectors such as telecommunications, utilities and consumer staples led on the upside. The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 74.19 cents US compared with an average of 74.57 cents US on Wednesday. The June gold contract was up US$11.20 at US$1,285.40 an ounce and the July copper contract was up 0.25 of a cent at US$2.68 a pound.

U.S. manufacturing growth fell to a more than nine-year low in May while the IHS Markit survey of service-oriented companies slipped to a 39-month low.

However, U.S. jobless claims fell to a near 50-year low of 211,000 suggesting it’s not all doom and gloom for retailers that are an important contributor to the U.S. economy.

Seeking to reduce America’s trade deficit with the rest of the world and with China in particular, Trump has imposed import taxes on foreign steel, aluminum, solar panels and dishwashers and on thousands of Chinese products.

U.S trading partners have lashed back with retaliatory tariffs of their own, focusing on U.S. agricultural products in a direct shot at the American heartland, where support for Trump runs high.

William Reinsch, a trade analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former U.S. trade official, called the administration’s aid package for farmers “a fairly overt political ploy.”

“It’s not economics,” Reinsch said. Trump wants to win the farm states again in the 2020 election, “and he’s got members of Congress beating up on him” to resolve the trade conflicts.

Financial markets slumped Thursday on heightened tensions between the U.S. and China. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 286 points, or one per cent, to 25,490. It had been down 448 points earlier in the day.

U.S. crude plunged six per cent on fears that the trade standoff could knock the global economy out of kilter and kill demand for energy.

Talks between the world’s two

A farmer plants soybeans in a field in Springfield, Neb., on Thursday.

biggest economies broke off earlier this month with no resolution to a dispute over Beijing’s aggressive efforts to challenge American technological dominance. The U.S. charges that China is stealing technology, unfairly subsidizing its own companies and forcing U.S. companies to hand over trade secrets if they want access to the Chinese market.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to discuss the standoff at a meeting of the Group of 20 major economies in Osaka, Japan, next month. There are no current plans for talks to occur before then.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Trump suggested that he might be willing to make the embattled Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei part of the trade talks with China. His administration last week put Huawei, which it has called a threat to national security, on a blacklist that effectively barred U.S. firms from selling the Chinese company computer chips and other components without government approval. The move could cripple Huawei, the world’s largest manufacturer of networking gear and second-biggest smartphone maker.

“I can imagine Huawei being included in some form of a trade deal,” Trump said. He offered no details but said any arrangement “would look very good for us, I can tell you that.”

Briefing reporters on the farm aid package, Perdue said he doubted that “a trade deal could be consummated before” the first payments to farmers in July

or August.

The second payment will be made around November and the third likely in early 2020, USDA officials said, unless a trade deal has been reached by then.

The direct payments will make up $14.5 billion of the $16 billion package and will be handed out on a county-by-county basis. The amounts will be determined by how much each county has suffered from the retaliatory duties imposed by China, as well as previous tariffs put in place by the European Union and Turkey.

The rest of the package includes $1.4 billion to purchase surplus food commodities from farmers and distribute them to U.S. schools and food banks, and $100 million to help develop new export markets overseas.

The payments will go to farmers producing roughly two dozen crops, including soybeans, corn, canola, peanuts, cotton and wheat. Dairy and hog farmers are also eligible.

“Farmers want trade, not aid, but this will be helpful,” said Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

U.S. soybean exports to China have been hit particularly hard, falling from $12.3 billion in 2017 to just $3.2 billion last year.

The aid offsets some of the losses.

But farmers are worried about the future and whether they can win back lost sales in China, a market they’ve spent years breaking into.

“I don’t think any kind of bailout package, even if it was permanent, would substitute for the loss mar-

kets,” said Rufus Yerxa, president of the National Foreign Trade Council and a former U.S. trade official.

Trump has said that China is footing the bill for the farm bailout by paying the tariffs. But tariffs are taxes paid by U.S. importers, and studies have shown that American consumers and businesses usually end up absorbing the higher costs.

Perdue acknowledged that the tariffs, regardless of who pays them, are sent to the Treasury Department and not earmarked for the relief program. But he said that China is “indirectly” paying for the aid.

“The president feels that China is paying for this program through the tariffs,” Perdue said.

Trump has imposed 25 per cent tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports and is planning to hit another $300 billion worth, a move that would extend import taxes to just about everything China ships to the United States.

Among those bracing for higher costs if the new tariffs kick in is Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun!, a Boca Raton, Florida, toy company that imports from China.

“The thought of the government taking my money and giving it to farmers as subsidies to support their loses doesn’t sit well,” Foreman said by email.

“It’s not fair to take money from a Florida company to support an Iowa farmer! Farmers don’t want welfare. I’m sure they, like us, just want open free markets to trade in!” Marcy Gordon, Darlene Superville and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this story.

Four things business owners owe their employees

Recently, I heard of a leader within an organization who was treating his assistant much like a slave. Not only was the leader verbally demeaning to the assistant, but the leader would often bring his dog into work, and expect that his assistant would clean up the mess that his dog left inside the building.

Working in a non unionized environment the employee was under an obligation to comply or risk losing favour with the boss and possibly his position. Thankfully it’s rare that I come across a business owner who believes that they are doing their employees a huge favour by just giving them a job.

It’s true that we need to create jobs for people to ensure a stable society, however, our economy in North America is humming along and unemployment is at an all-time low, which means that most people who want jobs can easily find them. Nevertheless, an attitude implying that we are someone special because we own or run a business and therefore able to unjustly use that power, to the detriment of others, is a serious mistake. In fact, there are several things that we owe our employees and these include:

• A safe environment: the focus on safety in some industries is at an all time high, yet creating a safe space to work includes more than just physical safety. As leaders we should be looking to create environ-

ments where our employees feel safe. This means that we need to work to curtail drama including bullying and psychological manipulation. We must protect employees from harmful external influences and ensure that our people feel that they can speak out when they think that they might be in harm’s way or are treated unjustly.

• Fair Pay: Many regions have set minimum wages that business owners must pay employees. However, owners need to be aware of what a living wage for their area is and strive to pay wages that will enable their employees a decent standard of living without having to take on multiple jobs to make ends meet. Unfortunately, most minimum wage systems built by government officials that don’t take into account that many of the lowest paid workers are teenagers who are supported by their parents. When minimum wages are bumped, it’s the owners who suffer at the benefit of youth. A more equitable system might include minimum wages based on age. Most business owners I know would love to pay their full-time employees more but are only marginally profitable themselves, and many times take home less than their top paid employees.

• Leadership: Last week I had a business owner tell me that when he saw one of his employees working with inadequate shoes and realized that the employee couldn’t afford suitable shoes, he took off his shoes

and gave them to his employee. This is a great example of leadership. In addition to extraordinary examples of leadership, most employees need us as leaders to provide a vision of where the company is going. They need to understand their roles and responsibilities within the company and they must hold everyone within the organization to the same level of accountability.

• Consideration of their future: A good employer must consider his employees’ futures. This means they should be thinking ahead for employees who are going to be working for them for years or decades, and introduce strategies that ensure their financial stability after they retire. It also means that when employees are not happy working for them, they engage the employees in the tough conversations that encourage them to move on. Employees are the backbone of our organizations; we would not be successful in fulfilling our mission and vision without them. Employees need to understand that running an organization is stressful, and there are many challenges of leadership that are never seen or fully comprehended by the average person. While we should be able to expect that fair transactions take place between employee and employers and we have obligations that go beyond the law.

Great leaders understand that respectful treatment of employees makes a huge difference in enabling them to contribute to the advancement of the society around us. Dave Fuller MBA, is an award-winning professional business coach and the author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy. Fuller would love to hear your feedback by email at dave@ profityourselfhealthy.com.

Sports

Bilodeau among Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame inductees

Donna SPENCER

The Canadian Press

CALGARY — Alexandre Bilodeau felt the emotion of the moment.

The freestyle skier’s voice shook as he spoke about his upcoming induction into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Bilodeau’s older brother Frederic, who has cerebral palsy, was on the mind of the two-time Olympic moguls champion Thursday in Calgary.

“There’s a whole story of people, a whole team of people that allowed me to find success in this sport,” Bilodeau said.

“My brother has always been part of that journey and has always been part of the performances. He’s done so much sacrifice, my whole family.

“I feel so honoured to be here and they’re part of that journey. All the emotion comes up.”

The 31-year-old from Rosemere, Que., who won Olympic gold in moguls in both 2010 and 2014, is part of a diverse class of 2019 entering the Hall of Fame.

NHL goaltender Martin Brodeur and hockey player Jayna Hefford, distance swimmer Vicki Keith, water polo player Waneek HornMiller and Paralympian Colette Bourgonje round out the athlete inductees.

Former CFL commissioner Doug Mitchell and rowing official and coach Guylaine Bernier will enter as builders.

They join 664 other athletes and builders who have entered the hall over its 64-year history.

All but Brodeur were present Thursday at the hall located at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park.

Their official induction ceremony will be held in Toronto in October.

Five of the eight are women and two of them – Horn-Miller and Bourgonje – are Indigenous.

“To be included with such incredible people, people from

all walk of life and experiences in sport and to get a chance to talk to them and hear their stories, there are similarities, but there’s that difference as well and that’s what great about sport,” Horn-Miller said.

“It brings so many different people together.”

Horn-Miller of Kahnawake, Que., was the first Mohawk woman to compete in an Olympic Games. She co-captained the first Canadian women’s water polo team to qualify for a Summer Games in 2000.

Montreal’s Brodeur won three Stanley Cups with the New Jersey Devils and earned the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender four times. He also won two Olym-

pic gold medals with the Canadian men’s team.

Hefford, from Kingston, Ont., won four Olympic gold medals and seven world championships with the Canadian women’s hockey team. She ranks second behind Hayley Wickenheiser in all-time scoring for Canada with 157 goals and 134 assists in 267 games.

Hefford was interim commissioner of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League that ceased operations May 1 due to financial problems.

She remains optimistic about the future of a professional women’s hockey league because 200 players are flexing their collective muscle and working to get a

sustainable league.

“I’ve been really proud to see the response of the players, the unity they’re showing, the leadership they’re bringing,” Hefford said.

“I believe through these difficult times we’re creating something better for the future. I think women’s hockey has never had more momentum despite the current climate of the game.”

Bourgonje (pronounced borego-knee-ah) was the first Canadian woman to compete in both Summer and Winter Paralympic Games.

The 57-year-old from Porcupine Plain, Sask., won four wheelchair racing bronze as well as three silver and two bronze in para-nordic skiing.

Raptors beat Bucks 105-99 for 3-2 lead

Andrew SELIGMAN The Associated Press

MILWAUKEE — Kawhi Leonard scored 35 points and the Toronto Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks 105-99 on Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Leonard showed no obvious signs of the leg soreness that bothered him in Toronto’s victories in the previous two games, hitting the 30-point mark for the fourth time in the series. He made five three-pointers and had seven rebounds and nine assists.

Fred VanVleet scored 21 points, hitting seven threes. Kyle Lowry added 17 as the Raptors put themselves in position to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time. A victory at home Saturday would set up a matchup with two-time defending champion Golden State.

The Raptors battled out of an early 14-point hole, then got 15 points from Leonard in the fourth quarter to send the top-seeded Bucks to their first three-game losing streak of the season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points for Milwaukee hours after being announced as a unanimous first-team, All-NBA selection. Eric Bledsoe scored 20 and Malcolm Brogdon added 18 points and 11 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup.

The Raptors were clinging to a twopoint lead in the closing minute after Khris Middleton drove around Leonard on the baseline for a layup.

Toronto was initially called for a shot-

clock violation when Leonard missed a fadeaway jumper with 35 seconds left. That got overturned by a replay review, and Brook Lopez was called for a foul, instead, for bumping Marc Gasol after he retrieved the loose ball. Gasol hit both free throws to make it 100-

97. Another replay review went in Toronto’s favour when officials determined a ball went out of bounds off Brogdon with 26.8 seconds left. Brogdon pulled his hand away, thinking his dribble had gone off Pascal Siakam’s foot.

Siakam then drove for a dunk, making

Bourgonje was the Canadian to win a Paralympic medal on home snow in 2010.

“Canada’s sport community is growing and becoming more inclusive,” Bourgonje said.

“That will make Canada a stronger nation.

“Growing up in Saskatchewan, I didn’t know there were boundaries. I’m so grateful to the coaches that have helped me a long the way and helped pave that path.

“I look forward to contributing to others, to the kids. We’re trying to find kids that can be paraathletes that know they can be the best they can be. There is sport for them. They don’t have to sit on the sidelines.”

Winnipeg’s Keith set 16 distance swim records, including the first double crossing of Lake Ontario and the first crossing of the English Channel using the butterfly stroke.

She follows Marilyn Bell, the first to swim across Lake Ontario, into the Hall of Fame after Bell’s induction in 1958.

“So to be able to follow in her footsteps is a huge honour,” Keith said.

“People often ask me, marathon swimming, is it mental or physical, what percentage? I used to say it’s 100 per cent of both because you have to be there completely and you have to be willing to be uncomfortable and stay in a state of discomfort for a period of time.

“If you can fight through those times and come out the other end, you become a stronger person as well as being a better athlete.”

Bernier, from Saint-Leon-leGrand, Que., competed in rowing in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. She continued to work in the sport for the next 45 years as a coach, official and organizer. Calgary’s Mitchell introduced a salary cap that stabilized the CFL when he was commissioner from 1984 to 1988. He also founded the Canadian university sports awards that have been presented since 1993.

it

102-97, and the Raptors hung on from there.

Milwaukee was leading 81-79 with about 8 1/2 minutes left when Leonard nailed back-to-back 3-pointers. He hit two free throws before Siakam threw down a putback dunk to make it 89-81.

The Bucks tied it at 93-all with 2:44 left on a three-pointer by Lopez. VanVleet answered with one of his own before Antetokounmpo threw down an alley-oop dunk to cut it to 96-95 with just over two minutes remaining.

The Bucks set a fast pace early on and led by 10 after the first quarter, delighting the towel-waving fans chanting “Fear The Deer! Fear the Deer!”

They withstood a 16-2 run by Toronto to start the second, with Antetokounmpo nailing a three to stop it.

The Bucks also went on a 14-2 run early in the third, with the Greek Freak throwing down a hard dunk off a feed by Middleton for a 63-51 lead. But the Raptors got right back into it.

Tip-ins

Raptors: Lowry now has 1,126 points in 66 playoff games for Toronto, surpassing DeMar DeRozan (1,117) as the franchise’s post-season scoring leader.

Bucks: Brogdon started all 64 games he played in during the regular season, before missing basically all of the first two rounds because of a heel injury. With Brogdon back in the lineup, Nikola Mirotic came off the bench.

CP PHOTO

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame announced on Thursday the 2019 Hall of Fame inductees including Alexandre Bilodeau in Calgary, Alta.

AP PHOTO BY MORRY GASH

Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam dunks during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference playoff finals against the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday in Milwaukee.

Faces of concussions

NHL’s head-on battle with an epidemic

Stephen WHYNO

The Associated Press

HOMER GLEN, Ill. — Wearing a black shirt with Fight for your happiness on the front and Sick not weak on the back, Daniel Carcillo eats an apple as his wife makes a cappuccino nearby and their oldest daughter scampers around the kitchen.

This is the family he always wanted, just not the life he expected.

Carcillo is hurting inside and out after seven documented concussions in the National Hockey League and what he believes could be literally hundreds of traumatic brain injuries. Once his wife Ela, son Austin, daughters Laila and Scarlett and dog Bubba left the house, Carcillo explained where his head is at. It has been nearly a year since his last round of neurological treatment and right now the bad days outnumber the good. Darkness has returned.

This is a bad day.

“I’m going to choose when I’m going to go,” Carcillo said. “I’ll make that decision of how much pain I’m going to put my loved ones through that are around me.” He is just 34, hung up his skates in 2015 and wants to be known as Daniel Carcillo who used to play hockey, not Daniel Carcillo the hockey player.

He spends his days now trying to manage the damage the sport did to him while also crusading against the concussions crisis that has hit the NHL over the past decade-plus. The league has taken steps to address the topic, but it has not faded from view by any means as the Stanley Cup Final opens Monday.

The league last fall settled a lawsuit for $18.9 million with more than 300 retired players after winning a key victory against class-action status.

It included $22,000 for each player and provisions for testing but no acknowledgement of liability for the players’ claims the NHL failed to protect them from head injuries or warn them of the risks involved with playing.

Commissioner Gary Bettman has consistently denied there is a conclusive link between repeated blows to the head and the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Carcillo calls the concussions issue an epidemic, though the

alumni association and attorneys involved in lawsuits against the league cannot provide a real estimate of just how many former players might be suffering the same problems as Carcillo – the kind of problems loved ones of players like Todd Ewen and Wade Belak noticed before their suicides.

Carcillo doesn’t remember any of his first five concussions but can’t seem to escape the anxiety, depression, lack of impulse control and suicidal thoughts that creep in. He feels better in the immediate aftermath of functional neurology therapy but that only helps Carcillo get back to his “new normal.”

It also costs $10,000 each time.

“My greatest fear moving forward is that I will contract some sort of neurodegenerative disease like early-onset dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, CTE,” Carcillo said.

“And then my wife and my two

daughters and my son will have to watch me deteriorate and die.”

Carcillo spends his days now speaking out about the dangers of brain injuries in hockey and other sports.

He frequently takes to social media, hoping to use the platform for the greater good.

But time is running out for the journeyman forward who played most recently for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Carcillo doesn’t have a full-time job and estimates he has two years until he goes bankrupt. He considers selling his two Stanley Cup rings to pay for treatment and support his family.

Carcillo wants his day in court with the NH, to chart a path for the rest of his life and to save others. It is also a battle just to save himself after those 429 NHL games over nine seasons.

“I keep up with my treatment,” Carcillo said. “I describe it as when you’re losing your quality of life.

Good days and bad days are normal, all good days aren’t normal and all bad days aren’t normal but you just have to weigh it. I’ve been in really, really bad places, like on the edge of killing myself. I just kind of weigh it against that – not waiting until I get to that place.”

Eric Lindros is fine most days.

The jarring Scott Stevens shoulder-to-head hit on Lindros in Game 7 of the 2000 Eastern Conference final that was applauded and legal at the time is cringeworthy now. It came two years after Lindros took another devastating hit from Darius Kasparaitis.

Lindros was concussed at least five times during a dominant but injury-shortened career that landed him a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Now a 46-year-old husband and father, he isn’t sure what the benchmark should be for how he should be feeling. He his own baseline.

“I’d like to think I’m pretty nor-

mal,” Lindros said.

“I think so. We all have our moments.”

Lindros could easily be the poster boy for concussions in the NHL given his experience as a star whose career was cut short. He was aware of the lawsuit but didn’t join. Lindros doesn’t want the threat of concussions to deter kids – even his own – from playing hockey. Still, he ponders an uncertain future.

“You’d be a fool not to,” he said. Carcillo can’t change the punch to the head that gave him his seventh concussion but wants to document every step of his journey so that if he can’t save himself, maybe he can save others.

“It’s been pretty, pretty miserable: a lot of searching, a lot of treatment and a lot of money spent, a lot of friends lost,” he said. “I need to get it figured out, or else I don’t think I’ll be here that long. If I continue to feel this way, it doesn’t bode well for my future.”

Ottawa Senators hire D.J. Smith as head coach

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Former Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach D.J. Smith is the new head coach of the Ottawa Senators.

Smith signed a three-year contract with the club on Thursday. He replaces interim head coach Marc Crawford, who also interviewed for the position.

“D.J. Smith is a winner. We believe he is the best person to drive the development and success of the Ottawa Senators,” Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said in a statement.

“D.J is a great communicator and an exceptional strategist. His passionate approach, coupled with his ability to teach the game, is exactly what we were looking for throughout the process. We’re thrilled to welcome D.J. and his family to Ottawa.”

Guy Boucher was fired as Ottawa’s head coach last season, a year in which the Senators finished last in the NHL standings. Smith, 42, spent the past four seasons as an assistant on Mike Babcock’s staff in Toronto.

Prior to that, the native of Windsor, Ont., guided the Ontario Hockey League’s Oshawa Generals for three years, capping that run with a Memorial Cup title in 2015. He also was named OHL coach of the year in 2013-14. Before his time in Oshawa, Smith spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, capturing backto-back Memorial Cup titles in 2009 and 2010.

Smith played 45 career NHL games as a defenceman with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche.

Chicago Blackhawks left wing Daniel Carcillo celebrates his winning goal during an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, in Chicago on March 6, 2013.

Asian, Asian-American heroes to power Marvel comics series

Terry TANG The Associated Press

Asian superheroes — assemble. Marvel Comics is giving ink to an unprecedented team-up of its mightiest Asian and Asian-American heroes, also known as the new Agents of Atlas.

Established icons like martial arts master Shang-Chi and newbies like Wave, the newest Filipino superhero, will team up in a standalone, five-part comic book series starting this summer, the publishing giant said Thursday.

The roster of 10 super-powered pan-Asian champions made their debut as a team earlier this month in The War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas. That comic book is one piece of an ongoing saga involving several different groups across the Marvel universe, including the Avengers, doing battle with a fire goddess. But the exclusively Asian limited series is set to roll out in August.

The man leading the heroic charge is veteran comic book writer Greg Pak. Pak is credited with ushering in a new era of Asian characters in co-creating Amadeus Cho, a Korean-American genius teen. The character first appeared in 2005. A decade later, he absorbed the Hulk’s powers and started going by Brawn.

“It’s always been my dream to do a team book using a bunch of

Asian and Asian-American heroes,” said Pak, who thinks there’s more appetite for representation with the success of the movie Crazy Rich Asians.

“There’s literally never been a better time in my memory with more opportunities for doing work that specifically includes Asian and Asian-American characters.“

The decades-old character of Agent Jimmy Woo (portrayed by Randall Park in last year’s AntMan and the Wasp movie) leads the pack as head of the revived secret protection society Atlas. Others getting in on the action include Brawn and Cindy Moon, who is the Korean American webshooter Silk.

Other recruits have only previously been seen in Marvel video games or web comics only available in Asian countries. Among them is Korea-born Luna Snow a.k.a. Seol Hee, a K-pop star who can manipulate frozen elements. There’s also Aero and Sword Master, the products of creatives in China. Besides crime-fighting, the group will spend time doing things like eating dim sum or singing karaoke.

“That kind of diversity within diversity is amazing,” said Pak, who is half-Korean and half-white.

“No one character here has to represent all Asian-ness or AsianAmerican-ness. That’s a ridiculous

demand for any character.”

The rest of the Atlas creative team includes writer Jeff Parker and artists Nico Leon and Carlo Pagulayan. In the series, the do-gooders find that someone has flipped a switch and created a “cross-Asian portal city” called Pan. In Pan, Asian neighbourhoods get geographically scrambled and then stitched together into one city. So, the streets of Tokyo could be next to neighbourhoods from Honolulu, Manila and some of Marvel’s fictitious Asian countries.

Filipino-American Loren Javier, 50, discusses Marvel comics on his Castles, Capes & Clones blog and podcast. There were few Asian characters in the lexicon he could look up to as a child, and many were often stereotypical mystics or man-servants.

“I love Marvel but I didn’t necessarily see myself in the comics,” said Javier, who recalls being teased by a classmate who called him “the enemy.”

“Now, finally, I think about kids who are reading this new generation of comics and heroes and getting to see themselves a little bit more,” Javier said.

“It’s very powerful.”

Charlie Kirihara, who is half Japanese and half white, was thrilled by New Agents of Atlas and tweeted at Pak and Marvel

Exhibits about Ali, nature, motorcycles open at Graceland

The Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn.

— A massive new exhibition and entertainment hall is set to open at Elvis Presley’s Graceland in Tennessee with three museum-style exhibits, including one focused on the life and career of late boxing great Muhammad Ali.

Graceland officials say the 80,000-square-foot Graceland Exhibition Center opens Saturday to guests visiting the Presley-themed tourist attraction in Memphis. The singer, actor and pop icon lived in Memphis until his death on Aug. 16, 1977.

Presley and Ali were known to be friends. Presley once gave Ali a custom-made robe in Las Vegas in the early 1970s.

A replica of that robe is part of the Ali exhibit, along with photos of the heavyweight boxing and civil rights champion and other

artifacts.

Visitors will be able to hit a punching bag and learn the Ali shuffle from a video tutorial by the boxer, who died in June 2016.

Also scheduled to open Saturday is an exhibit featuring a collection of motorcycles, ranging from basic to flashy, spanning decades of design.

A third exhibit, called National Geographic Presents: Earth Explorers, allows visitors to learn about polar regions, oceans, rain forests, mountains, caves, and the African savanna.

The exhibition hall is part of a years-long expansion at Graceland, which already features Presley’s home-turned museum, a 450-room hotel and an entertainment complex that holds a concert venue, Presley-related exhibits and restaurants.

The new exhibition hall also includes a food hall and a full-service bar designed to resemble the

famous Jungle Room in Presley’s former home.

Bringing the lives of Ali and Presley together at Graceland is fitting because of their impact on their professions, and on American and global culture, said Joel Weinshanker, managing partner of Graceland Holdings.

“They were pop culture revolutionaries. They were both born very poor,” Weinshanker said.

“They weren’t emulating anyone, they weren’t copying anyone. They were just getting out what was inside of them.”

He said he hopes the new $20 million hall will attract more conventions to Graceland while bringing more large travelling exhibits to the city – including those that have nothing to do with Presley.

Space: An Out-Of-Gravity Experience, which features interactive exhibits about living and working in space, is scheduled to open Oct. 11 at the new hall.

pleading for more content. Kirihara, 26, said it was a welcome change to see characters that represented Asian and American cultures in The War of the Realms.

“I read through the book and realized that was the first time I’ve read a comic book that was all these Asian characters and that wasn’t manga written in Japan,”

Kirihara said, referring to a genre of comics or graphic novels.

“I want to see it have legs beyond this storyline.”

That’s Pak’s wish as well. But it depends on how Marvel finds the fan response.

“If people buy the heck out of it, I’m happy to keep writing them,” Pak said.

Adrian SAINZ

AP PHOTO Motorcycles sit in an exhibition hall at the Graceland tourist attraction on Wednesday in Memphis, Tenn. The collection of motorcycles spans decades and is one of three new exhibits set to open at Elvis Presley’s Graceland.

PAK

William Noel Greenley

Nov 15, 1919 - May 12, 2019

Bill passed away peacefully at Gateway Care Home and joined his loving wife Margaret at the age of 99. He will greatly missed by his daughters; Loretta Bukmeier; Paulette ( Ken) Ng; Roberta ( Glen) Caston; Son Garry (Saline) Greenley; 10 grandchildren; 10 greatgrandchildren; sister Marie Smith; Sister in laws Anne (George) Young and Alma Gilby. Bill was predeceased by his son; Dennis; his parents; 2 brothers and 4 sisters; son in law Tim Bukmeier. Celebration of life will be held on Saturday May 25, 2019 at Assmans Funeral Chapel at 11:00am. A special thank you to all the staff at Gateway and Dr. Siegling for all the love and wonderful care that you provided Dad. In lieu of flowers, donations would be gratefully appreciated to the Parkinson’s Society.

FROG CLAN

ROBERT JAMES FREDERICK

April 6, 1950 - May 4, 2019 Whunalhunih - In Remembrance

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Robert. He is survived by his loving wife Edith Frederick, sons: Jason Frederick (Caroline Best), Quinn Frederick, and Konrad Frederick, grandchildren: Bradley Frederick, Marisia Frederick (Andrew St. Jean), Jessica Frederick, Jayson Frederick, Kayleen Frederick (John Calder), and Calvin Frederick, great-grandchildren: Miah, Kaiden, Jacob, and Darion, brothers: Dominic Frederick SR. (Shirley Morin), and Carl Frederick (Bernidine Paul), sister Debbie McKowski, numerous uncles, aunties, nephews, nieces, cousins and friends. Robert is predeceased by his father Dominic Frederick SR., mother Theresa (Joseph), brothers Michael Frederick and Frank Frederick SR., sister Charlotte Frederick, nephew Shane McKowski, and grandchild Selena Frederick.

A Wake will be held at the House of Ancestors, 355 Vancouver Street, from Monday, May 27 at 1:00pm until Wednesday, May 29 at 12:00pm. A Funeral Service will be held on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 at 2:00pm at Sacred Heart Cathedral, 887 Patricia Blvd. Following the service, Robert will be laid to rest in the Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park. Following the interment, everyone is welcome to join the family at the House of Ancestors for a reception.

Thorp,Earl

March25,1928-May11,2019

EarlHowardThorp,91,ofPeaceRiver,Alberta, passedawayonSaturday,May11,2019,atthe PeaceRiverHospital. EarlwasbornonMarch25,1928,atadoctors residenceinStrome,Alberta.EarllivedinStrome withhisparents,TedandElsie,andfivesiblingsuntil 1937whenthefamilymovedtoWoodpecker,BC. EarlwenttoschoolinWoodpeckerandasayoung manandworkedinthearea.Mostofhisemployment wasintheforestryindustry,evenpartneringina smallsawmillforashortperiodoftime.In1948Earl movedtoPrinceGeorgeandworkedinaplanermill. OnJuly22,1950,Earlmarriedhischildhood sweetheart,JoyceLockyer.EarlandJoyceresidedin PrinceGeorgewheretheirsons,MylesandWayne, wereborn.In1958EarlandJoyceboughtJoyce’s parentsshareintheHixonGeneralStorebecoming partnerswithEarlsbrother,Harold.EarlandHarold operatedthestoreanddrovetheschoolbusuntil 1972.Afterthesaleofthestore,Earlboughtatrap lineandtrappedthroughthewinter,hecontinuedto drivethebusandworkatthelocalsawmills,he drovelumbertrucksforseveralyearsandthentried hishandintheoilandgasindustryforafewyears beforeretiring.

In1997EarlandJoyceleftHixonafternearly40 yearsandmovedtoDeerPark,aretirementvillage justoutofOliver,BC.In2005theydecideditwas timetomoveclosertofamilyandfoundacondoat CottonwoodManorinKamloops,BC.Theyenjoyed Kamloopswiththemildwintersandallofthefamily thatlivedcloseby.JoycepassedawayinFebruary 2013.In2017,Earlmovedtoanassistedlivingunit inKamloops.HishealthwasfailingsoinApril2018 hisfamilymovedhimtoPeaceRiver,Alberta,where wecouldlookafterhimandhecouldhavesomeof hisgrandchildrenandgreatgrandchildrenaround.

EarlwaspredeceasedbyhiswifeJoyce;hisparents, TedandElsie;hisbrother,Tommy;hissisters, EleanorandBernice;andgreat-granddaughter, Kennedy.

Earlissurvivedbysons,Myles(Polly)ofWhitehorse andWayne(Elaine)ofPeaceRiver;grandchildren, Jeremy(Sherri),Angela(Nevin),Sarah(Matt),Jesse (David),Nicholas(Cindy)andMyles(Keisha);17 great-grandchildren;brothers,HaroldandAllan (Gladys);andmanynieces,nephews,andfriends. Earlwasawonderfulmanandwillbemissedbyall. ThankyoutothestaffatPointsWestLiving,the paramedics,Dr.NadinePotvin,andthePeaceRiver Hospitalstaffforthecareandsupportyougaveto Earlandhisfamily. AcelebrationoflifewillbeheldonAugust16,2019, startingat3:00pm,attheColumbusCommunity Center,7201DomanoBoulevard,PrinceGeorge,BC.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Gail Maxwell, on May 16th, 2019 at Prince George Hospice House.

Gail was born October 1st, 1946, in Prince George, BC, where she lived and worked happily for her 72 years.

After graduating from Prince George Senior Secondary, Gail attended business college in Vancouver. She was a master at shorthand, a lost art today. Gail worked for various Prince George businesses, completing her career with CNR. Gail had a wonderful smile and sense of humour. She was very social and loved to visit and chat with everyone she encountered, interested in everyone’s story. Gail was predeceased by her parents, Larry Maxwell and Leslie Kinloch, and sister Allyson Westlund (Wayne).

Gail is survived by sisters Carla Skelton (Jim) and Lorene Maxwell; nephews Christopher Westlund (Alison), Jamie Skelton and Matthew Barber; niece Heather Skelton (Mike); great-niece Nora, and great-nephews Max, Oli and Alexander. In keeping with Gail’s wishes, there will be no service. We would like to express our deep gratitude to Dr. Reddy, and all the staff at Prince George Hospice House, who took such good care of Gail.

Donald Robert Leonard May 04, 1955 - May11, 2019

Donny retired 6 months ago from the logging industry hauling logs for over 40 years that was full of shared friendship and many many laughs. He was always there to lend a helping hand no matter what. He finally realized another longtime passion for touring on his motorcycle traveling almost 10,000kms where he had a tragic motorcycle accident in Tonasket, Washington USA. He leaves behind his loving wife, partner, best friend Therese together 45 years, his mother Gertrude Lebrun and her partner Jean-Marie Tremblay, sister Judith-Nicole, brothers Yves (Marie), Bruno (Mona), Remy, and many nieces, nephews and extended family in Ontario. He was predeceased by his father Albert Leonard who left behind his step family Georgette Morin, and children Gerald (Sylvie), Diane (Moreau), Rachel (Norm) McLaughlin. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday May 25th, 2019 at the Blackburn Community Hall at 2 pm.

It’s not the destination; it’s the journey. Love Therese

openingsinthePrince Georgeareafor CarpentersandLabourers withOFA2or3,safety experiencewouldalsobe anasset.Localapplicants willbegivenpreference. Pleasesendresumesto heather.taron@ledcor.com Wethankallapplicantsin advance,onlythoseshort listedwillbecontacted.