Community mourns loss of Lheidli T’enneh elder
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
A memorial service is being held today for one of the region’s most active cultural figures and one of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation’s most beloved elders.
Robert Frederick was born April 6, 1950, and died on May 4. A memorial service will be held today at 2 p.m. at Sacred Heart Cathedral. Following the service, he 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.
As a child, Frederick was subjected to five years of residential school at Lejac where the attempt was made to forcibly remove Aboriginal connection from all the students. In Frederick’s case, he would spend his elder years building that back up, not only for Indigenous people but the broader community as well.
Frederick, along with his equally active wife Edie, was instrumental in developing and instructing a UNBC course in the making of traditional cottonwood dugout canoes. In this experiential course, the students were also exposed to stories, songs, language, fishing, and other traditional elements of Lheidli life while also producing the first cottonwood dugouts in, Frederick estimated, the previous 60 years.
Frederick was a member of the Lusilyoo Frog Clan and descendant of Letrick-Cho, according to one of the course’s participants Jennifer Pighin, a celebrated local artist tighly connected to both Robert and Edie. She and Dean Marsters, with consultation help from Brent Goertz, built Frederick’s casket.
“He was solid to the core, funny and caring and so many other things,” Pighin said. “It will be hard to digest this loss as we lay his body to rest but I know his spirit is strong. The strongest souls seem to be needed elsewhere. I know they’re all doing great things in their own ways and holding us all so close as we hold them.”
Frederick’s cultural influence was applied in a number of ways and locations around the territory.
Master carver Robert Sebastian noted that Frederick was part of the carving project on the doors of the Tourist Information Centre, for example.
In 2005, Frederick was key to the Indigenous programming at the Historic Huble Homestead. He was a leader in the construction of the Lheidli T’enneh Fish Camp exhibit there, close to where one had been in centuries previous.
“Robert was at the heart of that project, not only as one of the elders with whom we consulted, but as the carver of the dugout canoe that is still on display in the exhibit today,” said Krystal Leason, executive director of the Huble Homestead/Giscome
Portage Heritage Society. “From what I understand the canoe at Huble Homestead was the first one he led the carving of. He has, of course, done many since then and we are proud to have one of his pieces displayed at the historic site.”
Leason said he and Edie were also closely consulted in 2011 on updating the fish camp display.
“I remember him patiently answering our questions and despite seeming quiet he had a great sense of humour,” she said.
“Robert was a wonderful advocate for the Lheidli T’enneh’s history and culture. He leaves an incredible legacy for his nation and we were fortunate to have learned from him.”
2011 was also the year Frederick was commissioned to create a permanent art installation for the Spirit Gate Project alongside Veterans’ Plaza at City Hall. He carved
a dugout with the story of Astace And The Salmon that was replicated in fiberglass and mounted in front of City Hall with a bronze plaque for passersby to always see.
Tracy Caolgheros, CEO of Exploration Place Museum + Science Centre, said their institution, too, was indebted to Frederick.
“In a very practical way, Robert was instrumental in the development of the Hodul’eh-a : A Place of Learning Gallery at the Museum, but his impact on the deepening of the relationship between his people and the broader community goes so much further,” Calogheros said.
“In a culture where history and knowledge is primarily oral, Robert was a compelling storyteller. He held the wisdom of his ancestors and shared it willingly with those who cared to listen. We are losing our region’s elders but not before we have had the chance to know them, to hear them, to
Committee blasts Zuckerberg, Sandberg for snub
A panel of international politicians vented anger at Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on Tuesday after the Facebook executives snubbed their summons to appear at the international grand committee on big data, privacy and democracy in Ottawa.
The committee’s chair, Prince GeorgePeace River-Northern Rockies Conservative MP Bob Zimmer, called it “abhorrent” the two did not appear, and he closed a marathon session of testimony by telling the two Facebook employees who were sent in their place that it was “shameful” their bosses didn’t show up.
The committee, comprising politicians from Canada, Britain, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, France, Ireland, Latvia, St. Lucia, Ecuador and Singapore, is examining the role of internet giants in safeguarding privacy and democratic rights. Zuckerberg and Sandberg were called to testify but did not appear. Representatives of Twitter and Google also testified, but it was Facebook’s two corporate pinch-hitters who drew the wrath of committee members.
Their collective frustration grew as Kevin Chan and Neil Potts, Facebook global policy directors, separated by two empty chairs bearing Zuckerberg and Sandberg’s names, were grilled about past company conduct, including its decision this week to permit
postings of a doctored video meant to portray U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as slurring her words, addled or possibly drunk.
The video was labelled false, and users were made aware of that classification, Potts said.
“This sets a very dangerous precedent,” said British MP Damian Collins, the committee’s co-chair. Edwin Tong, a Singapore MP, clashed with Potts over how Facebook responded to postings from last fall that heralded the violence that came to pass in the Easter Sunday
suicide-bomb attacks on three churches in Sri Lanka that left 250 dead.
“Let me suggest to you that you don’t remove it because such content, being sensational, inciting fear, violence, hatred, conspiracy theories... is what drives eyeballs to your platform – this is what drives users to your platforms, and that is the engine room of your profit mechanism,” said Tong.
Potts shot back: “Mr. Tong, I reject the premise.”
Some MPs questioned why Zuckerberg meets world leaders behind closed doors, but chooses to send other officials from his company to field the public questions of lawmakers at the committee. His and Sandberg’s absence on Tuesday has only fuelled skepticism about Facebook’s promises to operate in a transparent manner.
New Democrat Charlie Angus said the pair’s absence showed disrespect to legislators around the world.
“Facebook has serious responsibilities in terms of the misuse of the platform that has led to mass killings in Myanmar, the undermining of electoral systems around the world, the attack on private rights and citizen rights,” Angus said. “Mr. Zuckerberg has stated his willingness to work with legislators but he seems to blow us off whenever it seems we want to ask him questions.”
The MPs, led by Angus, voted to serve a summons on the pair, compelling them to appear before the group the next time either sets foot on Canadian soil.
— see ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’S, page 3
learn from their lives and experience. I am going to miss Robert Frederick. I had the privilege of laughing with him and listening to him. We have captured some of his love of life at The Exploration Place but never enough to replace his twinkling eyes. We mourn with his family, his friends and his nation. Snachailya.”
His dugout canoes can be seen around the community, including one at UNBC in the First Nations Studies Department and another at Nusdeh Yoh Aboriginal Choice School.
There is a resurgence in learning Lheidli T’enneh culture by a younger generation numerous and motivated. Many of those traditions were nearly lost and some still in danger, thanks to colonial pressures to eradicate it. Frederick was one of the strongest bridges over that impasse to connect the new community with the old ways.
Child left alone in vehicle
Citizen staff
A close call has prompted Prince George RCMP to remind people to refrain from leaving children and dogs in their vehicles, exposing them to potentially-fatal summer heat.
Over the weekend, RCMP were called to a report of a child left unattended in a vehicle while a parent went into a business.
Although the engine and the air conditioning were still running, RCMP believed the youngster was in distress. Officers took lawful action and removed the child, notified the Ministry of Children and Family Development and cautioned the parent.
“Fortunately, the toddler was found to be in good health,” RCMP said.
RCMP have also been busy dealing with reports of dogs being left in vehicles – responding to 23 such calls so far in May.
“Some of these incidents have resulted in officers finding dogs in good health while others have resulted in finding dogs in distress,” the RCMP said in a statement.
“Either way, leaving a dog in a hot vehicle for even a few minutes is not acceptable and appropriate charges could follow.”
Mike BlANCHFIELD
The Canadian Press
ZIMMER
Edie and Robert Frederick hold a ceremonial sendoff for a traditional dugout canoe they made in 2013. A memorial service for Robert Frederick, a Lheidli T’enneh elder, is being held today at Sacred Heart Cathedral at 2 p.m.
annual MS Walk. Kelly is walking in support of herself while Steve is walking in support of his wife, father-in-law, his wife’s aunt and cousin, and his niece.
Council approves $5.2M for parkade renovation
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
By a 7-2 count, a $5.2-million renovation of the Second Avenue parkade won city council’s approval Monday night.
The total represents a $2.4-million jump over the original estimate for the work when it was included in the 2016 capital plan.
Rising construction costs in the range of 15-20 per cent and the fact that the structure had not gone through any significant maintenance work in the 40 years since it was first built were the reasons, council was told.
The original estimate was based on a “very high level” inspection conducted in 2013 and more issues were found while going through the details, engineering director Adam Homes told council.
A request for proposals in April yielded two bids for base prices – one for $3.5 million and one for just under $4 million. Under the revised budget, $4.2 million has been earmarked for construction and a further $335,000 goes to other costs, for $4.5 million in total. On top of that is a 15-per-cent contingency, working out to just under $675,000.
The bill will be paid for over 20 years through the property tax levy downtown property owners pay for off-street parking. The offstreet parking reserve currently
People think it’s crazy to snowblow their lawn, poll shows
Citizen staff
It’s been a while, Prince George Citizen readers, since we changed up our poll question and we asked “did you snowblow your front lawn this spring?”
With 709 votes, taking 53 per cent was “of course not – that’s crazy!”
With 279 votes and 21 per cent was “Of course not – just means I have to mow it sooner.”
Then on the flip side with 10 per cent and 129 votes was “Of course – doesn’t everyone?”
With seven per cent and 92 votes was “Of course not – I live in College Heights,” while with six per cent and 84 votes was “Of course – I live in the Hart.”
And finally rounding out the voting with four per cent and 56 votes was “Of course – summer’s too short as it is.”
There was a total of 1,349 votes. Remember, this is not a scientific poll. Next question is “did you sign an Alternative Approval Process form?”
To make your vote count, visit www.pgcitizen.ca
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Call 250562-3301
‘Social media’s toxicity is not a bug – it’s a feature’
— from page 1
“As soon as they step foot – either Mr. Zuckerberg or Ms. Sandberg – into our country they will be served and expected to appear before our committee,” said Zimmer.
If they refuse, he added, they will be held in contempt. It was not clear exactly what consequences that might have.
Jim Balsillie, the former chief executive of Research In Motion, which invented the BlackBerry smartphone, testified earlier Tuesday that a “toxic” social media business model is a threat to democracy.
Balsillie also offered a thinly veiled criticism of Zuckerberg and Sandberg for not responding to the committee’s summons to testify.
“By displacing the print and broadcast media in influencing public opinion, technology is becoming the new fourth estate. In our system of checks and balances, this makes technology co-equal with the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary,” he said.
“When this new fourth estate declines to appear before this committee – as Silicon Valley executives are currently doing – it is symbolically asserting this aspirational co-equal status... The work of this international grand committee is a vital first step towards redress of this untenable current situation.”
Balsillie, now the chair of the Ontariobased Centre for International Governance Innovation, said technology, if left unchecked, will displace print and broadcast media, and he urged a panel of politicians to impose restrictions on big internet companies.
He is going to court to force Facebook to comply with privacy laws.
Cambridge Analytica allegedly gained improper access to some 87 million Facebook users’ personal information and used it to try to influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the Brexit referendum in the U.K. Therrien said the scandal “reminded citizens that privacy is a fundamental right and a necessary precondition for the exercise of other fundamental rights, including democracy.”
It’s not going to get younger, it’s not going to fix itself and it’s going to be needed in a short period of time more than ever before.
— Coun.Terri McConnachie
stands at about $1.2 million, council was told.
Council members were generally resigned to approving the new budget, agreeing that if they hold off, the cost will only rise while parking will only get more scarce as more people come to live downtown.
“It’s not going to get younger, it’s not going to fix itself and it’s going to be needed in a short period of time more than ever before,” Coun.Terri McConnachie said.
Coun. Brian Skakun and Frank Everitt voted against approving the new budget.
Citing other projects where scopes have been widened, Skakun questioned the role of council if such changes are being made after the fact while Everitt said it would be better to see what the contractor can do for the bid that has been submitted.
Homes suggested a better strategy going forward is to carry out smaller upgrades over shorter periods of time.
“Social media’s toxicity is not a bug – it’s a feature,” he told the committee, kicking off the second of three days of meetings in Ottawa aimed at figuring out how best to protect citizens’ privacy and democratic fairness in the age of social media.
Federal privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien told the committee that “freedom and democracy cannot exist without privacy and the protection of our personal information.”
Therrien last month concluded that Facebook violated Canadian privacy laws by failing to ensure political consultancy Cambridge Analytica got clear consent to use individuals’ personal information.
Ellen Weintraub, chair of the U.S. Federal Election Commission, recounted the “chilling” evidence of sweeping and systemic Russian interference in the 2016 American election, hacking into computer systems and using fake news and phoney social media accounts to bolster Donald Trump’s campaign, exacerbate societal divisions and undermine Americans’ faith in democracy.
“Facebook’s originating philosophy of ‘move fast and break things,’ cooked up 16 years ago in a college dorm room, has breathtaking consequences when the thing they’re breaking is our democracies themselves,” she said.
This week’s meeting of the grand committee – the second since last year’s inaugural gathering in Britain – is being hosted by the House of Commons committee on access to information, privacy and ethics.
BALSILLIE
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
MS Walk
Kerry and Steve Etter make their way around Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park on Sunday during the
UNBC researcher seeking volunteers for cat study
Researchers at the University of Northern British Columbia are seeking a few good felines who hunt and like bringing their prized prey back to their humans. The house cats must be free roaming and willing to wear or try a specialty collar.
As for their humans, they must be voluntarily willing to log the time their beloved and stealthy cat spends outside and willing to try high visibility and GPS collars on their cats.
UNBC Ecosystem Science and Management program professor and biologist Ken Otter would like to know more about the number of wildlife kills per house cat in certain neighbourhoods in Prince George. It’s part of a growing focus in
conservation research to understand the predatory impact of domestic cats and whether high-visibility collars help reduce hunting efficiency.
“Recent estimates suggest that domestic and feral cats may be taking more than 100 million birds per year in Canada, making them one of the highest humanrelated sources of bird mortality,” Otter said.
One means of reducing those numbers would be finding ways to alert birds of cat presence before they can make kills.
“The colourful predation-deterrent collars we are testing aim to do that – they utilize colours that birds are very sensitive to so that birds should detect cats earlier and have more time to escape. These have been tested in Australia and the southern United
States with promising results, but we want to test them in a northern environment.” In addition to the deterrent collars, they will be using GPS collars to see where cats are roaming and how much they are using city greenspaces.
Otter is looking for Prince George residents specifically in the Hart, Foothills/Ginters and College Heights neighbourhoods to participate in the study from now until the end of August. The data will not only be collected and published, but it will also be shared with the City of Prince George, the Canadian Wildlife Service and the SPCA.
Those who believe their cats suit the study can contact Otter at either catstudy@unbc.ca ken. otter@unbc.ca or by phoning 250960-6050 or 250-960-5019.
Driver killed in Pine Pass
Citizen staff
A man died at the scene Sunday evening when he was caught in a head-on collision on Highway 97. RCMP, who were called to the scene at Azouzetta Lake in the Pine Pass shortly before 7
p.m., said he was heading north and following a semi-truck when a southbound driver sideswiped the truck then collided with the victim’s vehicle. The victim was in his 20s and from the Central Interior. “Impairment is being consid-
ered as a contributing factor in this crash,” RCMP added. Anyone with information regarding this crash are asked to contact Peace Region RCMP Traffic Services in Fort St. John at 250-787-8100 and quote file 2019-4750.
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
It’s all about the MERV. Homeowners hoping to insulate their houses against the worst of the smoke from wildfires should look for a filter with a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value of 11, those who attended a workshop were told on Tuesday.
The MERV is a rating system designed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers and if a filter doesn’t have a MERV, don’t buy it, Kevin Delahunt said.
He said those with a rating of 11 provide a good balance between dealing with particulate matter of 2.5 micrograms or smaller – the type that can travel deep into lungs – while still allowing adequate air flow. For commercial buildings, the rating should rise to 13.
Just as important, he said the fit needs to be airtight. Without a proper fit, he said a filter with a MERV 13 that costs $170 is effectively reduced to a $10 MERV 8.
“We need a filter that’s locked into place, sealed and 100 per cent of the air goes through the filter,” Delahunt said.
Fortunately, he said the fixes can simply be a matter of strategically placing some duct tape or calking. However, where most furnaces provide a one-inch slot for the filter, Delahunt strongly recommends a six to eight-inch slot to allow a combination of filters to be installed.
From there, he said it’s a matter of keeping the windows and doors closed and maintaining positive air pressure with the help of a fan.
“Air should be flowing out the doors, not coming in,” Delahunt said. Whatever you do, don’t vacuum – that will only send settled particulate back into the air. The same goes for frying food and smoking.
There is no need for carbon filters. In an interview, Delahunt
said they help deal with gases from wildfires but regular MERVrated filters do just as good a job dealing with particulate.
“That’s the killer,” he said. “Particulate’s bad.”
As for air purifiers, Delahunt advised against buying the inexpensive ones advertised on television. He said they need to contain a HEPA or High Efficiency Particulate Absorber filter – capable of cleaning ridding almost 100 per cent of particles as small as 0.3 micrograms – and that’s just part of the array.
“The box that it sits in is going to be two or three times the cost of the filter,” he said. “Those filters are going to be $70, $80, $90 or $100. The housing that it sits in may be $200 or $300 and still needs a fan and a motor so you’re talking a few dollars for one that’s really going to work.”
The purifier should show a stamp saying it’s holding a HEPA filter.
As for when to replace a filter, Delahunt said it’s just a matter of looking for discolouration. If it’s starting to look particularly dark, it’s time to get a new one, he said. Delahunt is the sales administrator for The Filter Shop at BGE Supply Services Ltd., which has a store in Prince George. The workshop was put on by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
Caribou recovery deal could cut millions from economy, study finds
Alaska Highway News
Implementing caribou recovery measures in the South Peace could cut tens of millions of dollars from the local economy as well as government and worker pocketbooks, a new study has concluded.
The Peace River Regional District hired Stantec Consulting last year to study the socio-economic impacts of two agreements drafted to protect endangered herds around Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge. It’s separate from a similar study started by the federal and provincial governments in April.
The Stantec study, which the regional district board will discuss Thursday, is mainly focused on the impacts to logging and wood manufacturing around the areas where new land protections and resource development moratoriums are proposed.
The study predicts a dramatic drop in economic activity under the moratoriums, with estimates the annual allowable cut in the Dawson Creek Timber Supply Area and Tree Farm Licence 48 could be reduced from 2.7 million cubic metres to 1.9 million – or a 29 per cebt drop.
That could mean a combined loss of $94 million in GDP in both logging and wood manufacturing, and eliminate $10 million in provincial revenues and $5 million in federal revenues. It could also mean the loss of 425 person-years of employment, directly or indirectly, and $25 million in incomes, according to the study.
“Due to the location of existing mills... reductions in available timber, AACs, and harvesting and manufacturing output would have an adverse effect within Chetwynd,” the study concluded.
“Conversations with forestry companies in the region have suggested that proposed caribou management measures could result in the closure of at least one mill in the region.”
B.C. has drafted a partnership agreement with the Saulteau and West Moberly First Nations that proposes the resource moratoriums, and boosts support for their successful maternal penning program as well as an ongoing wolf cull.
The study compared today’s base case scenario of no cuts to tree harvesting and processing, to a moratorium scenario based on proposed restrictions.
While any reductions to the annual allowable cuts in the region hasn’t been finalized, the government has ball parked the figure around 300,000 cubic metres.
Both Canfor and West Fraser have said the cuts will likely be much larger than that.
Saulteau and West Moberly have shrugged off concerns about the economics of the deal, saying any reductions in the allowable cut would be limited and manageable between the companies, and that caribou recovery actions will create new jobs in the region.
“We can’t control what Canfor or West Fraser do with their mills. But if they drop a shift or close the doors, it won’t be because of the caribou,” West Moberly Chief Roland Willson said.
The Stantec study concludes the forestry sector operating in the Fort St. John and Dawson Creek supply areas will, based on no cuts to activity, generate an estimated $1.1 billion to the provincial economy, create 4,160 personyears of employment, and generate $50 million in federal and $76 million in provincial government revenues. Southern mountain caribou in the region have been listed as a threatened wildlife species under the federal Species At Risk Act since 2003.
Last year, the federal government declared the species to be under imminent threat of recovery, starting a year-long timeline to put a strategy in place.
Citizen staff
Dr. Ken Otter holds a cat wearing a predation-deterrent collar – a colourful collar intended to reduce the cat’s ability to sneak up on small prey.
DELAHUNT
Liz Moleski, a gardener with the City of Prince George, plants some begonias in the big bed in Connaught Hill Park on Tuesday.
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff
Shaw seeking local TV ideas Community Gaming Grant Workshop coming Saturday
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
Prince George is a city awash in charities, grassroots organizations and other volunteerism.
The leaders of B.C.’s Community Gaming Grants Branch want to meet those organizations, face to face.
Funding for not-for-profit ventures often comes from gaming revenues collected by the province. The provincial government regulates games of chance, including the raffles and 50/50s many local organizations use for fundraising, and also writes cheques to these organizations when they apply for money from the proceeds of provincial gaming.
Matt Dell is the manager of policy and community outreach for the office in charge of gaming grants (it is under the auspices of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing). He and some colleagues will be in Prince George on Saturday to talk about how local not-for-profits can get an even better handle on getting those provincial grants.
“It’s a massive not-for-profit funding program, probably the largest of its kind in Canada. It’s $140-million every single year, and with that we fund 5,000 not-for-profit organizations around B.C., and quite a lot are in Prince George,” Dell said.
This government department evolves like any other.
To learn about new changes, new documents, new procedures and new rules, Dell recommends any organization that gets grants or might want to get a grant one day to come and share in the dialogue.
The money is given to those who qualify, he said, not to a winning entry. Gaming grants are noncompetitive. That makes it important to get the application correct, he said, and most organizations don’t have dedicated staff to do this.
“The content of this meeting is all about how to get funding from the program,” Dell said.
“It’s going to be very beneficial to new organizations and existing organizations. I’m also going to be talking about a separate program that helps not-for-profits to fund capital projects, which is a different but related thing.”
There will even be some opportunities at this one-day workshop for some one-on-one time with Dell and the others from the gaming sector.
“The applications are somewhat complex, and we recognize that these are almost always volunteers doing most of them,” he said.
“It’s an opportunity to meet and work with staff from the program. We think that’s a big benefit. We want every organization to have the best possible chance to get the
It’s an opportunity to meet and work with staff from the program. We think that’s a big benefit.
— Matt Dell
funding they require.”
Staff from the gaming grant department often hold meetings like this around the province, and there are also locally-based people to help not-for-profit organizations write the best possible applications. In Prince George that is the responsibility of the Northern Interior Communities Association and its coordinator Marvene Layte.
Layte said it has been years since Dell or his counterpart has been in Prince George for a meeting like this.
It’s a big province, so she urged local associations and societies to jump at this chance for face time with Dell.
“It’s an outstanding opportunity to get the latest and best information straight from the horse’s mouth,” Layte said, who does numerous road trips across the northern region herself to spread this information. It’s exciting, she said, to have the highest level of backup for this particular workshop.
“If you look around at all the not-for-profits in Prince George, imagine if that money wasn’t coming into our community,” Layte said.
“These organizations are vital to Prince George, and this is money that impacts lives in unbelievable ways. Matt is there for the service of B.C. and I very much appreciate him, because the NCIA has a mandate to get as much financial return to the north as we possibly can. Your organization has to meet the qualifications, you have to have your organization’s financial documents, in order and be transparent about who you are and what you do, and we can help you lay all that out.
“Their obligation is to be stewards of gaming money and the whole gaming process, to match up public money with public groups doing our good community work. So I’d love to see that relationship get much stronger, and this is the workshop to do that.”
The Community Gaming Grant Workshop happens Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hart Pioneer Centre (6986 Hart Highway).
It is free to attend, but Layte asks that organizations please pre-register so enough materials are on hand for those participating.
RSVP by calling her at 250-562-2553 or 250-612-2031 or email coordinator@ northernica.org
The community’s homemade TV channel, Shaw Spotlight, is looking for more local input.
Anyone with an idea for an all-local show, or anyone wanting to get behind the scenes of the television industry can get involved in the production. A free information session will give the public a casual introduction to where it’s done and how it’s done.
Shaw Spotlight Showcase will happen on June 6 from 5-7 p.m. at the Shaw TV headquarters (2519 Queensway). People can meet some of the production staff, ask questions, hear a presentation on how Shaw Spotlight works, and even handle some of the equipment they use for making local television.
“Shaw Spotlight is made strong by the community and the participation of those within it,” said Jonathan Valoroso, a producer in Prince George for Shaw Communications. “This event, Spotlight Showcase, gives people of all ages the opportunity to discover how they can contribute to the local Shaw Spotlight channel and give back to the community they love.”
There are even some Shaw Spotlight contests, with prizes on offer.
“Share your ideas for a short documen-
tary and be entered in a draw to win some sweet swag,” said Valoroso.
There is also a special scavenger hunt to participate in – a photo-video scavenger hunt for those who come to the info session. To get through the challenges, do as many of these as you wish:
• Take a selfie or video with a Shaw Spotlight producer.
• Take a selfie with a photo booth prop.
• Take a behind the scenes photo/video of the Speakers Corner in action.
• Take a photo of you mowing down on some Shaw Spotlight Popcorn!
• Take a selfie that includes the Shaw Spotlight logo.
Post all or any of the following photos or videos on your social media with the hashtag #SpotlightShowcase to be entered into our online draw for a cozy Spotlight blanket and snuggly Bingee.
“Have some fun getting your hands on the production equipment as you learn about the tools and resources available to you, as well as volunteer opportunities,” said Valoroso.
To get in on the information and networking, get an online ticket at the EventBrite website or the Spotlight ShowcasePrince George event page on Facebook. The short presentation happens at 5 p.m. followed by an informal lookaround at the production facility to follow.
CITIZEN
Seeing the forest for the trees
Regarding city councilor Garth Frizzell’s guest editorial - “Blanket generalizations won’t cut it,” May 24 Citizen
He states, in capital letters “THERE ARE MASSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE CRISES IN CANADIAN MUNICIPALITIES.”
He also mentions that our beloved city is in the midst of “a storm,” in reference to our infrastructure needs.
Has Coun. Frizzell or any of his associates on council stopped to consider what is actually going on and are they seeing the forest for the trees?
So the mantra from our city council is “old infrastructure” and now we have “a storm.”
The question that begs to be asked is what is city council doing to “weather the storm?”
Is tearing down city assets and filling the garbage dump with these assets the answer?
For example; the latest Foothills Boulevard Regional Landfill acquisition of city assets was the old police station built in 1972 and torn down last fall.
At the age of 46 and made from solid concrete and steel (good for another 60 years plus), the building was relegated as garbage and, to the tune of a million dollars, was torn down and hauled away.
Instead of tossing the two-storey building into the dump, why wasn’t it renovated and
used to accommodate the administrative needs of the fire department (emergency callout and training facility)?
But in some blinded decision, the building had to come down and a new fire hall to the tune of $15 million must be built in a location of a previous swamp and landfill.
So by the time the fire hall is built, there will most certainly be cost overruns and it wouldn’t surprise me that the fire hall will come in at probably $20 million.
Add interest charges on the borrowed money and we are close to the $30 million mark.
Now consider what’s next.
The old Days’ Inn, the old fire hall No. 1 and the old Four Seasons pool are all heading for the dump to the tune of millions for deconstruction and disposal to the local landfill. How is this even environmentally responsible towards our landfill sites?
The Day’s Inn was purchased for $4.5 million, only to be torn down costing the taxpayer into the million dollar plus figure. The reason?
To make room for a new $35 million pool, which would replace Four Seasons pool a block away, built in 1970, which could be renovated for $15 million.
On that note, the City of Terrace recently renovated their 45 year old pool for $8.8 million and the City of Vanderhoof recently built a new pool for $12 million. So it would
be easy to conclude that a $15 million reno-
vation of the Four Season Pool would have had amazing results.
Fire Hall No. 1 (built in 1957) is 62 years old. But does that mean it’s at the end of life?
Station 312 located at 34 Yorkville Avenue in Toronto was built in 1878 and responds to more than 5,000 calls each year. So Fire Hall No. 1 is only middle-aged by the City of Toronto standards.
Take a drive by Fire Hall No. 1, located next to city hall. That’s still a good looking building. Should that go to the dump at the cost of millions?
If city council are in need of some insight or inspiration, then look at what the private sector has done in recent years.
The Royal Bank building located at 550 Victoria Street was built in the mid-60s, (as a young boy I watched the building go up).
They recently did a complete redo of the exterior of the building; updating its look and energy efficiency.
At 50-plus years of age, it looks great and good for another 50 plus years.
Consider the Integris Credit Union at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Street.
It is a beautiful building, built on the sight of an old mall which included a convenience store.
It was very interesting and frugal on the
Hitting the reset button for China-Canada relations
An open letter to Mr. Lu Shaye, China’s Ambassador to Canada: Greetings, Mr. Ambassador.
I understand that you were invited to address a gathering in Toronto on the issue of Sino-Canadian relations last week. Given the strain between our two governments, one might assume you would call for “cooler heads to prevail” or even a “reset in relations.”
Instead, your speech was little more than a jingoist diatribe worthy of a political rally. This is not solely the fault of you or your political master’s myopia. The neoliberal mantra long proclaimed China’s preordained ascension as the hegemonic world power, even assisting it by handing our musculature labour over, hoping that such magnanimity would foster democracy.
In case the slow boat to Shanghai is carrying your news, the Politburo and President Xi ought to be told that the West has gotten wise to the PRC’s act. It is well understood that rising wealth does not necessarily mean a more tolerant or democratic society, particularly thanks to the increased powers of state surveillance, which have been achieved by stealing technology or infringing patents.
Be warned, Mr. Ambassador: China’s impudent ways are catching up with it.
I was puzzled by several parts of your badly proofread speech. Insisting that China had nothing to learn from the West, or had
RIGHT OF CENTRE
never been expansionist at any point of its history, were nonsequiturs, given your praise of Marxism (a Western ideology) and the brutal treatment of Tibet by the current regime. If this rhetoric had a point, it might be the demand that all “Western countries must respect and treat China as an equal politically” – a sentence I had to correct.
But the People’s Republic of China isn’t really equal, is it?
Despite having three times the population, the PRC’s GDP is still six to seven trillion dollars less than the United States. While sabre rattling about the Spratly Islands might earn time on CNN, a simple Google search reveals your navy has fewer aircraft carriers than Italy. Even imprisoning Canadians in retaliation for Meng Wanzhou’s looming extradition smacks of an amateur government acting out of desperation. Furthermore, while we might greatly enjoy the cheap trinkets you export to us, we can live without them, unlike the finished goods the West ships to you. Even a short embargo on raw resources would be catastrophic, as China needs food and energy for over 1.3 billion people.
To put it bluntly, Mr. Shaye, your premise, “Western countries’ psychological imbalance towards
China’s economic and technological development comes down to the West-egotism,” is a mirror image of the truth: President Xi and the party have lost touch with reality thanks to their over inflated sense of self-importance. This has lead the PRC into political and economic positions that are indefensible. How all your leaders forgot Sun-Tzu’s Art of War is a mystery. There is of course a way out of this mess and it is not so lofty as democratic elections or more transparency: release the Canadians and continue legal proceedings for Wanzhou’s return to your own country.
In the meanwhile, ask for the World Trade Organization to arbitrate your economic dispute with the United States. There are those who would support your cause against the unpopular U.S. President Donald Trump, but they cannot support a regime that takes hostages.
In the long term, China might get more respect if its denial of intellectual theft was accompanied by genuinely innovative products. This might require a less regulated society and a culture of imagination – things that can be achieved in an autocracy (see Frederick the Great).
But most importantly, the braggadocio embodied by the PRC on the world stage and echoed in your remarks will only earn contempt, particularly given the geo-strategic vulnerability of China.
Mr. Shaye, you praised our long diplomatic history: will you and your country honour it?
Office
part of Integris to save part of the previous building because they saw a cost-saving value in it.
The “storm” Coun. Frizzell speaks of in his letter to The Citizen is self-inflicted by city council and it’s no wonder they are pressing to borrow millions more and that citizens are pushing back as they feel the pinch in their ever-increasing property taxes and utility bills.
As homeowners look for efficiencies to meet the demand to keep their homes, what is city council doing to control cost?
Fire Hall No. 1 does not need replacing. Save $15 million.
Four Seasons can be renovated for $15 million instead of replaced for $35 million.
Save $20 million.
Days’ Inn should never have been purchased, saving $4.5 million. Old police station should never have been torn down, saving $1 million.
That’s $40.5 million saved (before interest charges of about $20 million).
The old police station is gone and room for a fire training centre and emergency call out are still needed.
This could be easily solved at the saving of millions. It’s just that our council needs to see the forest for the trees.
– Edward J. Denicola,
Conflicted about pipeline issue
Justice Mary Newbury in the B.C. Court of Appeal’s written decision said, “The TMX (Trans Mountain Pipeline) project is not only a ‘British Columbia project.’ The project affects the country as a whole, and falls to be regulated taking into account the interests of the country as a whole.”
With those words, and 66 pages of reasoning, the court struck down the B.C. government’s case against the TMX by a unanimous vote. In their opinion, the regulatory framework put in place by the federal government through the National Energy Board (NEB) is sufficient to manage the pipeline.
Considering the NEB imposed 157 conditions prior to construction of the pipeline, which included further studies of the potential impact on aquatic life, there are many people rejoicing at the decision. Enough is enough, they are saying. The pipeline will meet the environmental standards set by the province.
Further, the federal government has been ordered to engage in further and more extensive consultations with the First Nations impacted by the pipeline prior to final approval. Consultations is always a tricky word because it can and does mean different things to different people. Is it simply enough to tell people what you plan to do and why? Or do you need to respond to every inquiry until all parties are satisfied? Is it possible to satisfy all parties?
All of that said, it would appear the Trans Mountain pipeline projects is a go. As Premier Jason Kenney of Alberta gloated “this is a huge victory for Alberta, for the rule of law, and a significant defeat for the forces of obstruction that are trying to land lock our energy.”
Of course, no one was trying land lock our energy. I am not even sure what that means. Energy is an intangible commodity.
No. The B.C. provincial government would argue they are trying to protect the B.C. coast. Indeed, this is the point made by Attorney General David Eby. “Our government said from the outset that we would stand up for British Columbia’s environment, our economy and our coast.”
As an interesting aside, it would appear no one is concerned about the potential for an inland spill and the release of diluted bitumen along the route. I suspect there are a number of reasons for this approach, not the least of which is the existing pipeline has been
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moving product for close to 60 years. But inland pipeline spills can be just as damaging and can leave a pipeline out of commission for a significant length of time. Eby went on to point to thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity at risk in the event of a marine oil spill. True. But jobs would be created and billions of dollars would flow into the local economy to clean up a spill. Addressing disasters is one of the ironic twists of GDP. The bigger the disaster, the more positive the impact on GDP!
At the core of the province’s argument is the idea B.C. has direct ownership of the environment including the lands, waters, plants, and wildlife within its eminent domain. And as such, we have the legislative jurisdiction over the environment along with the responsibility to ensure it is not damaged by a spill of heavy oil. Tripling the capacity of the pipeline represents a significant increase in risk.
But at the same time, we already export heavy oil out of the Port of Vancouver. We already have tankers transiting the Strait of Juan de Fuca and sailing the Salish Sea. The movement of oil from the coast is a fact of life. Increasing the pipeline capacity is an incremental risk and not a new one.
The federal government’s case hinges on the simple fact that this is an inter-provincial pipeline. It extends from Edmonton to Vancouver. And inter-provincial transport of goods falls squarely into the jurisdiction of the federal government. Indeed, it is one of the reasons we have a federal government in the first place.
Canada’s position is it is a core responsibility of the federal government to ensure our natural resources can get to market. Imagine what would happen to the Canadian economy if one province could block the actions of all the others.
If it seems like I am conflicted on this issue, it is because I am. I suspect this is the position of a great many people in British Columbia. Pipelines are necessary but at what costs? Protecting the environment is necessary but what are the trade-offs?
The decision of the B.C. Court of Appeal eliminates one option in the premier’s toolbox but I am fairly certain the battle is not over yet.
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Prince George
NATHAN GIEDE
NEWS IN BRIEF
Senate passes Liberal gun bill
OTTAWA (CP) — The Senate has passed a Liberal government bill expanding the scope of background checks on those who want to acquire guns.
Question about an applicant’s history will cover their entire lifetime, instead of just the five years immediately preceding the licence application.
The bill also forces gun retailers to keep records of firearms inventory and sales and requires the purchaser of a non-restricted rifle or shotgun to present a firearms licence, while the seller will have to ensure its validity.
The legislation has been criticized by gun-control advocates as too weak, while some firearms owners have called the bill an attempt to revive the long-gun registry the Conservatives ended in 2012.
The group PolySeSouvient, which pushes for stricter gun control, welcomed passage of the bill, even though the final package was far from what it had hoped to see.
PolySeSouvient thanked the majority of senators for rejecting Conservative amendments the group says would have weakened the legislation.
Conservative Sen. Don Plett said in a news release Tuesday the legislation will do nothing but hit law-abiding gun owners with more paperwork, more hoops to jump and more threats of criminal charges.
“The bill is full of aspirational notions that are designed to leave the impression of taking action, while accomplishing absolutely nothing of value,” Plett said.
B.C. post-secondary schools at risk of money laundering
VICTORIA (CP) — Post-secondary institutions in British Columbia have been asked to no longer accept large cash payments from students registering for classes and programs in the province’s ongoing fight against money laundering.
Advanced Education Minister Melanie Mark says public postsecondary institutions and private career training institutions must ensure they are not targets for money laundering. She has sent letters to almost 370 public and private education institutions telling them large cash payments from students are not accepted.
A recent report on money laundering in B.C.’s real estate sector includes allegations that some students pay large sums of cash to enrol in programs only to withdraw shortly afterwards, requesting refunds by cheque. The report by former RCMP deputy commissioner Peter German says the cash payments and subsequent refund payments could be one of many tactics used by organized crime to launder illegal cash.
Feds funding clean energy projects in Haida Gwaii
VANCOUVER (CP) — The federal government has announced over $15 million in funding for clean energy projects, with most of the money going to the remote island of Haida Gwaii on B.C.’s west coast.
Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi told a news conference in Vancouver that an investment of $10.4 million will allow the Skidegate Band Council and the Old Massett Village Council to transition Haida Gwaii to 100 per cent renewable energy. The project would involve expanding an existing hydroelectricity installation and reducing use of diesel fuel.
Sohi says the Esk’etemc First Nation will get a total of $3 million for renewable energy projects including the expansion of its wood-based biomass district heating system in Alkali Lake, B.C., about 40 kilometres south of Williams Lake.
Another $2.1 million has been earmarked for an economic development agency to retrofit the Nunavut Arctic College’s residence building to make it more energy efficient.
Canada files claim to North Pole
Bob WEBER The Canadian Press
Canada has finally made its case that the top of the world flies the Maple Leaf.
After years of delay and political debate, Canada has submitted its scientific argument for control of a vast portion of the Arctic seabed, including the North Pole, to the UN body that will evaluate it.
Denmark and Russia have already released their own evidence that the Pole and good bits of the sea floor around it – including any resources they hold – should belong to them.
“All of the countries involved recognize that there will have to be boundary negotiations at some future point,” said Michael Byers, professor of international law at the University of British Columbia.
Last Thursday, Canada submitted 2,100 pages of scientific evidence to prove that the continental shelf from the High Arctic islands extends past 200 nautical miles from shore. It includes a contested section of sea floor that stretches from the top of Ellesmere Island along an undersea ridge to the Pole and more than 200 kilometres past it.
Russia says that same undersea ridge originates from its continental shelf. Consequently, it argues all of the sea floor alongside the ridge from Russia’s coast to just past the Pole belongs to the bear.
The Danes say the ridge is associated with Greenland, so it is theirs right up to Russian territorial waters.
“Continental shelf overlaps are a normal part of the process,”
Stefano Maron of Global Affairs Canada wrote in an email.
“All five Arctic Ocean coastal states have been working collaboratively through the Arctic Ocean continental shelf workshop for the past 10 years.”
Canada was expected to file a submission five years ago that would have stopped just shy of the Pole. That submission, the result of years of research costing more than $100 million, was pulled at the last minute.
Reports suggested that was due to a direct order from then-prime minister Stephen Harper, who felt the submission should be for a much larger area.
Documents obtained by The Canadian Press suggest the move surprised both bureaucrats work-
Scheer promises border crackdown
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says if he’s elected prime minister he would put an end to “illegal” border crossings in Canada.
Scheer is outlining his vision for immigration in Canada today as part of a series of policy announcements ahead of the fall federal election.
The Conservative leader says he would close a loophole in the Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the United States that has allowed asylumseekers who slip into Canada by
avoiding border checkpoints to make refugee claims that wouldn’t be taken at official crossings.
Scheer says Canadians have lost confidence in the fairness of the immigration system due in part to the influx of these irregular migrants – a situation he blames on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
He believes he can restore Canadians’ trust with his own approach to immigration policy – changes that would include: improved language training for new arrivals, better recognition of work credentials and refocusing the government-sponsored refugee program on victims of atrocities.
ing on the file and Canada’s Arctic neighbours.
Additional research expeditions were mounted every summer from 2014 to 2016, say government officials. No cost figure was provided.
Thursday’s submission shows there is evidence to back Harper’s decision, said Rob Huebert, an Arctic expert from the University of Calgary.
“It totally validates it. If you actually have a look at what has been submitted, it is a substantial chunk.”
Byers and Huebert said the negotiations to come will be based more on the principle of equidistance than undersea geography.
That principle holds that a maritime boundary is drawn along a line equidistant from the shores of neighbouring nations.
It’s still worth having done the research, said Huebert, if only to prove there’s a need to negotiate.
“You had to determine you had a continental shelf. That was the first and necessary step. If we’d only gone up to the North Pole, to a very large degree we would be ceding everything the Russians and Danes were putting within
their claim.
“It doesn’t mean you’re going to get everything you want, but now it becomes much more possible.”
Byers has his doubts.
He points out that the equidistance principle will probably give the Pole to the Danes.
Canada’s submission tacitly acknowledges that, he said, because it stops partway along the ridge.
“Why bother spending hundreds of millions of dollars mapping the seabed in an area you know will fall to the other country at the conclusion of negotiations?” Byers asked. “Our scientific claim might be valid. The North Pole is on the Danish side of an equidistance line.”
The people who actually live in the Arctic welcome the federal submission.
“I’m pleased Canada has done this work,” said Monica EllKanayuk of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference. She noted the submission was made in consultation with Inuit.
The UN Commission on Limits of the Continental Shelf will review the validity of the science done by all three countries. It’s expected to be years before negotiations begin.
A Canadian military Griffon helicopter flies along the shoreline of Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic on Aug. 26, 2014. Canada has presented its territorial claims in the Arctic to the UN, opposing competing claims by Russia and Denmark.
Canada wants China to stop ‘inaccurate’ talk
Mike BLANCHFIELD
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA
TORONTO (CP) — Canada’s main stock index slid on a mixed day Tuesday with key sectors offsetting gains in a couple of defensive areas.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 49.20 points to 16,297.46, resuming its descent after two positive days. Morgan Stanley warned there is an increasing risk the economy could slide into a recession amid increased market volatility because of weak economic data and a trade war with China.
Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management said he isn’t convinced that a recession is currently on the horizon.
The U.S. trade dispute with China remains a big concern for investors with U.S. President Donald Trump saying that he’s not ready to reach a deal with China but expects one in the future.
But Cieszynski said it’s not uncommon for there to be a correction at this time of year. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 237.92 points at 25,347.77. The S&P 500 index was down 23.67 points at 2,802.39, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.66 points at 7,607.35. Seven of the 11 major sectors on the TSX decreased, led by real estate. Health care fell as Bausch Health Companies Inc. lost 5.7 per cent.
Energy was down despite an increase in crude oil prices.
The July crude contract was up 51 cents at US$59.14 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was down 2.7 cents at US$2.58 per mmBTU.
The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 74.20 cents US compared with an average of 74.39 cents US on Monday.
The June gold contract was down US$6.50 at US$1,277.10 an ounce and the July copper contract was up 0.35 of a cent at US$2.70 a pound.
The technology sector rose on gains by Celestica Inc., Shopify Inc. and Descartes Systems Group Inc.
OTTAWA — Global Affairs officials wanted Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland to tell a senior Chinese Communist Party official in December that China should stop spreading “inaccurate” information about the Canadian justice system following the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, The Canadian Press has learned.
The call never happened, but Freeland was to talk to State Councillor Yang Jiechi, the director of the party’s political bureau, on Dec. 20, 10 days after Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were arrested on unspecified national-security charges.
The two men remain imprisoned, without access to lawyers or their families, and are receiving consular visits by Canadian diplomats roughly once a month.
Meng was arrested in Vancouver on an extradition warrant from the United States and is now under house arrest in a mansion after being released on bail.
Meng’s arrest incensed China, plunging relations with Canada to an all-time low and sparking numerous allegations that Canada’s actions were unlawful or part of a politically motivated play at the behest of the Trump administration in the U.S. Freeland and her fellow cabinet ministers have steadfastly said Meng’s arrest is lawful and her rights are being protected. They say she is part of a judicial proceeding that is divorced from political manoeuvring.
One week before the scheduled call, Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to Canada, called Meng’s arrest a “miscarriage of justice” in an opinion column published by the Globe and Mail newspaper.
A briefing note prepared for Freeland’s call to Yang suggests that privately the government was bristling at China’s depiction that Meng’s legal rights were somehow in peril in Canada.
“Urge China to desist from inac-
curate portrayals of Canada’s judicial process and treatment of Ms. Meng,” the memorandum states as a main objective after advocating for Kovrig’s and Spavor’s “immediate release.”
“As the international community looks on, urge China not to damage bilateral relationship, over a single consular case however high profile.”
The note, released under the Access to Information Act, urges Freeland to deliver a key message: Canada is treating Meng better than Kovrig and Spavor.
“Ms. Meng received consular access, due process, legal counsel and health care since day of arrest,” the memo says, and she “continues to be treated fairly by Canadian judicial system; we urge China to grant the same standards for Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor.
“It is important to understand
that under the Canadian legal system and Constitution there can be no political interference in the judicial process.”
In January, Lu doubled down in another op-ed, this time in the Hill Times newspaper, writing that China was the victim of a double standard from the U.S. and Britain.
“The reason why some people are used to arrogantly adopting double standards is due to Western egotism and white supremacy,” Lu wrote.
“What they have been doing is not showing respect for the rule of law, but mocking and trampling the rule of law.”
The December memo to Freeland is also prefaced with another problem that Canada continues to face: her inability to get her Chinese counterpart to talk to her.
“In the absence of Foreign Minister Wang Yi, you have requested
a call with State Counsellor Yang Jiechi,” the memo says.
On Tuesday, Freeland told the House of Commons foreign-affairs committee that she’s still waiting to speak to Wang.
“When it comes to my contacts with my Chinese counterparts, I have spoken on a few occasions directly with the Chinese ambassador to Canada,” Freeland said.
“I would be happy at any time to have a direct conversation with Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister. We have been clear with the Chinese authorities that we are prepared for that conversation at any time.”
Canada isn’t the only country that has dealt with the Chinese government’s practice of holding off on meetings “at the highest levels,” she added.
Freeland also praised Kovrig and Spavor for their courage and resourcefulness while in custody.
Judge OKs class action against BlackBerry
David PADDON The Canadian Press
TORONTO — An Ontario judge has cleared the way for a class action on behalf of about 300 former employees of BlackBerry Ltd. who are seeking severance or termination pay from the technology company.
The suit alleges, among other things, that BlackBerry had attempted to avoid paying the employees what they were owed by arranging to transfer the work they did to another employer, Ford Motor Company of Canada.
Most of the former employees were based in Waterloo, Ont., which is BlackBerry’s global head office, and Ottawa, where its QNX automotive software research facility is based.
The remaining employees were elsewhere in Ontario and in Nova Scotia.
BlackBerry’s spokeswoman said Tuesday that the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
The company had argued during a three-day hearing in Ottawa that the case didn’t qualify as a class action.
However, Justice Michel Charbonneau says in a six-page ruling dated May 27 that the suit had satisfied the criteria outlined by the Class Proceedings Act.
Class action laws are designed to give people with a common grievance the ability to pursue one lawsuit rather than several individual actions that would be prohibitively expensive for the plaintiffs.
In this case, David Parker is named as the representative plaintiff on behalf of most former BlackBerry employees who accepted work at Ford after Jan. 1, 2017, following town hall meetings on Dec. 8 and 9, 2016.
“The class members were told by BlackBerry
that if they refused Ford’s offer, BlackBerry would make serious efforts to redeployment in other tasks at BlackBerry but there was no guarantee that they would be employed,” the judge writes.
“Ford told the class employees that if they accepted Ford’s offer they would not be entitled to retain their seniority, or any benefits and entitlements they had acquired during their years of service with BlackBerry.”
Charbonneau writes that it will be up to a trial judge to determine whether the process was designed to terminate the plaintiffs’ employment without having to pay them severance. “Although difficult to prove, the theory of the plaintiff is not without merit,” the judgment says.
“It must be remembered that the merits of the action are not an issue as long as there is a viable cause of action.”
Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, right, who is out on bail and remains under partial house arrest after she was detained Dec. 1 at the behest of American authorities, waves as she returns home after attending a court appearance in Vancouver earlier this month.
An Ontario judge has approved a class action suit that has about 300 former Blackberry employees seeking severance pay.
Sports
Goalie saves the Blues’ season
Isabelle KHURSHUDYAN
The Washington Post
BOSTON
— Before goaltender
Jordan Binnington became the force that would propel his team to its first Stanley Cup finals appearance since 1970, he had to fight for himself. The St. Louis Blues didn’t have their own American Hockey League affiliate for the 2017-18 season, forced to share with the Colorado Avalanche, so after the Blues settled on prospect Ville Husso to get the one AHL spot in net available, they planned to have Binnington in the ECHL, a lower league.
Binnington refused, believing he was better than that, even if St. Louis had tabbed Husso ahead of him on the depth chart. Blues general manager Doug Armstrong sent out a memo to the league’s 30 other teams asking if anyone needed an experienced goaltender for their farm team. The Boston Bruins did, and so Binnington was loaned to their AHL team in Providence.
Less than two years later, on the eve of his first NHL start, Binnington was just as sure of himself and his future.
“There was a sense of calm that he was completely ready,” said Andy Chiodo, the goalie coach Binnington works with in the offseason through Biosteel Sports in Toronto.
“He had every reason to believe in his game, and I thought he had every reason not to wait for that game to be played out to realize that he’s an NHL No. 1 goaltender.”
That 25-save shutout in Philadelphia on Jan. 7 launched Binnington’s season, from a passed-over prospect to St. Louis’s no-doubt top goaltender. It also sparked the Blues’ turnaround this season. They were the NHL’s lastplace team just four days before Binnington’s shutout, and his 24 wins in 30 starts down the stretch propelled them into the playoffs with the 25-year-old Binnington is the face of this improbable run.
“I realized a couple years ago, I was in a situation where my back was against the wall and I’ve got to
handle it right,” Binnington said.
“And I kind of just had this belief and hunger in myself to be the best I can be and make the most of my talent, and I’m very fortunate to be coming to a team like this. It’s been a pretty special season so far.”
By late Feburary, Binnington was cruising, racking up five shutouts in 18 starts during a stretch that included a nine-game winning streak. He saved all 19 shots he faced against Nashville on Feb. 26, prompting a reporter to ask if any part of this experience ever felt nerve-wracking.
“Do I look nervous?” Binnington deadpanned. It became Binnington’s brand, sparking T-shirts in honour of the unflappable rookie. A dry
monotone is a hallmark of Binnington’s meetings with the press.
When told that many in St. Louis compare his sudden emergence to that of former Rams quarterback Kurt Warner, Binnington acknowledged that he wasn’t familiar with Warner’s odyssey, but “it sounds like he’s a pretty awesome story.”
The story of the Blues’ season started with Jake Allen and Chad Johnson as the tandem in net.
St. Louis was expected to be a contender going into the season after the acquisitions of forwards Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Bozak and Pat Maroon, but the goaltending was shaky, the root of the team’s early struggles. Through 33 appearances to start the season, Allen had an .898 save percentage and a 3.07
goals-against average. Johnson’s numbers through 10 appearances were worse. Both veterans were eventually asked to cede the net to Binnington.
“He’s been the best goalie in the league since he took over,” Allen said.
“It would be disingenuous to say that this was all part of the master plan, bring him in in January and be here today,” Armstrong said.
“But what he did do is he never quit on himself... This road was made extremely difficult for him to get to that point, meaning you have to go to different organization, we tabbed another player ahead of you, and he just said, ‘OK, well, we’ll see.’ At the end of the day, he got up here and he’s made the best of it, and so I would
Capitals’ Kuznetsov denies drug-use allegations
Isabelle KHURSHUDYAN
The Washington Post
BOSTON — A video showing Washington Capitals centre Evgeny Kuznetsov sitting next to two lines of a white powdery substance made the rounds on Twitter on Monday, a day after Kuznetsov won the bronze medal with Russia at the world championships. Kuznetsov is not shown interacting with the powder.
In a statement to Russian outlet SportExpress, Kuznetsov said the video is from a year ago in Las Vegas, where the Capitals won their first Stanley Cup.
He said he visited a friend’s hotel room and, upon seeing women he didn’t know and “an unclear substance on the table,” he left.
In the since-deleted video, Kuznetsov is shown FaceTiming someone while in the room. Kuznetsov also said he has “never” done drugs, and if “anyone has a question
Toronto Raptors
RALPH The Canadian Press
Dan
TORONTO — Guard Fred VanVleet and the Toronto Raptors aren’t happy with just being in the NBA Finals.
Toronto squares off against the Golden State Warriors in the league final, which opens Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena.
The Raptors are making their first NBA championship appearance versus a Warriors squad in its fifth straight final and chasing a fourth title over that span.
“We’re happy to be taking that next step but you want to win a championship and you want to win the whole thing,” VanVleet told reporters Monday.
“It’s not about just making it to the final. We’re not satisfied, we’re not happy to be here. We’re really hungry and we want to go out here and have a chance to win it. We’ve earned it, we deserve it and now it’s just a matter of going out
for me, I’m happy to undergo a medical exam at any time.”
“We are aware of the video that surfaced on social media of Evgeny Kuznetsov,” a Capitals spokesman said in a statement Monday. “We are currently in the process of gathering facts and will have no further comment at this time.”
The NHL has a relatively lax policy regarding recreational drugs compared with other American major professional sports leagues.
Major League Baseball, the NFL and the NBA prohibit cocaine use and punish players who test positive – regardless of the quantity found in their system. NHL players who test positive with high levels of cocaine and marijuana may be contacted by the league’s Substance Abuse and Behavioural Health Program and recommended to a treatment program, but it’s not required. Players are tested at least twice, once in training camp and once in the regular season, and they can be subject to random test-
not happy
there and having to perform at a high level on the biggest stage.”
The Warriors, led by smoothshooting guard Stephen Curry, have been the toast of the NBA since winning their first title in 40 years 2015. The only blemish on their previous four championship appearances was losing in seven games to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 despite holding a 3-1 series lead.
Golden State finished atop the Western Conference standings with a 57-25 record while Toronto (58-24) was second in the Eastern Conference behind Milwaukee (60-22).
ing during the regular season and playoffs.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Monday that the league needs “more factgathering” before deciding on its next steps, such as potential disciplinary action.
“I hesitate to use the term ‘investigation,’ just because I think it’s a fairly ambiguous word,” Daly said.
“Obviously, we have to understand the facts and circumstances and what happened, and that involves appropriate follow-up with the appropriate people. I wouldn’t call it a formal investigation; we want to know what’s going on... He seems to have acknowledged that he was in that room with whatever it is, but I don’t know what whatever it is, and he claims not to have used whatever it is, so on that basis, I’m not going to convict him of anything.”
Kuznetsov was the Capitals’ leading scorer in their run to the Stanley Cup a year ago, registering 12 goals and 20 assists in 24 games. He had 21 goals and 51 assists in 76 games this season.
just say what’s most impressive for me is his belief in himself and how that’s transferred to obviously where we are today.”
After the Blues took a 2-0 lead in Monday’s Game 1, Binnington allowed three unanswered goals in what was ultimately a 4-2 Bruins win. It wasn’t a bad performance, but the game-winning goal was the result of Binnington fumbling a rebound before Boston’s Sean Kuraly punched it in. He acknowledged he needed to be better, and he’s the first to believe he will be.
“You learn that confidence comes from preparation, and you’ve got to be prepared for anything that’s thrown at you,” Binnington said Sunday.
“It’s kind of the way I look at my life now and hockey specifically.”
with just being in NBA championship series
land Trail Blazers in the Western Conference final. Golden State will be minus forward Kevin Durant (calf) for Thursday’s contest.
And that’s a big loss for Golden State as Durant is averaging a playoff-leading 34.2 points per game through 11 post-season contests.
Curry has appeared in all 16 of Golden State’s playoff games, averaging 27.3 points per game. What makes Curry tough to defend is his range – he’s a threat to score from well beyond the threepoint arc.
Toronto dispatched the Bucks dispatched in six games in the East final, clinching the series with a 100-94 home victory Saturday night.
Toronto also swept the regularseason series with Golden State 2-0, but the Warriors reached the final with a 4-0 sweep of the Port-
VanVleet said there’s no player in the NBA who puts more pressure on opposing defences from the perimeter than Curry.
“I don’t even know if there’s a close second,” he said.
“Obviously from a guard being able to shoot that far out just opens the floor up so much. He’s just a different kind of player, he changes the entire dynamic of a team... of
whatever defence you hope to put out there. As a guy who’s going to have to chase him around and make it hard on him, obviously there’s not going to be any time to relax or take plays off. At the end of the day just go out there and try to make it tough on him and challenge him as best I can.”
And one way to do that, VanVleet said, is trying to get into Curry’s grill.
“Any player in the NBA likes space, freedom, movement,” VanVleet said.
“Nobody really wants to banged on, touched, held and grabbed.
“You just got to try to be as physical as you can, slow him down and keep the contest. A guy like that, who is a really good shooter against contest, you can’t really give him free looks and let him feel free and easy.
“But it’s a five-man job, we’ve got to understand that... it’s a five-on-five game and our team
defence is going to have to be really good. We’re going to make mistakes, we’ve got to be able to clean each other’s mistakes up. We just have to be able to keep playing through runs and mistakes and be able to help each other.” Toronto hasn’t been exactly chopped liver in the playoffs, going 8-2 at Scotiabank Arena. And forward Kawhi Leonard leads the NBA post-season in total minutes played (696), points scored (561), free throws made (133), and steals (28). But Leonard, is also a defensive presence, averaging 6.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.
“An offensive scorer who’s been scoring at that clip but can still be a dominant defensive player is pretty special,” VanVleet said.
“We understand what Kawhi brings to the table and obviously we appreciate him and are glad he’s on our side. We’re going to need him at a high level this series.”
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington skates to his position before the start of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins, on Monday in Boston.
Meadows, Garcia homer in Rays win over Blue Jays
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays keep winning – and drawing sparse crowds at home.
Austin Meadows homered for the third straight game and five Tampa Bay relievers combined to throw a six-hitter and beat struggling AL East rival Toronto 3-1 on Tuesday night.
The second-place Rays have won fourth straight, improving to a season-best 14 games over .500 before an announced crowd of just 5,786 – smallest ever for a Rays home game at Tropicana Field.
“I noticed it during the anthem, and I was like: ‘Oh it’s still early, maybe people will still file in,”’ opener Ryne Stanek said after Tampa Bay’s sixth win in seven games moved them within one game of the division-leading New York Yankees.
“It’s tough, especially when we’re playing well and we’re playing a fun brand of baseball that’s fun to watch,” Stanek added.
“We don’t play boring baseball. We don’t play sloppy.”
The Rays, who routinely rank at or near the bottom of the major leagues in attendance, began the night averaging an AL-worst 14,578 per game.
There have been only two smaller crowds for big league games played in the domed stadium – both in 2017, when Hurricane Harvey forced relocation of a Rangers-Astros series from Houston and attracted 3,485 on Aug. 29, 6,123 on Aug. 30 and 3,385 on Aug. 31.
Meadows hit his 12th homer of the season, a solo shot to right field off reliever Thomas Pannone in the seventh inning. He also homered Sunday at Cleveland,
as well as Monday during an 8-3 victory over Toronto and has nine hits and seven RBIs in the past three games.
Avisail Garcia had an inside-thepark homer off Clayton Richard (0-1) in the third and also scored on a first-inning sacrifice fly.
Meanwhile, the Rays bullpen – beginning with opener Ryne Stanek – limited the Blue Jays to four singles and a pair of doubles.
Ryan Yarbrough (4-1) pitched 3 2/3 innings for the win, working out of a jam after Justin Smoak singled and Rowdy Tellez doubled to begin the Toronto fourth. Chaz Roe, Emilio Pagan and Diego
Castillo, who yielded two hits and Brandon Drury’s sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, finished up.
The Blue Jays have dropped six of seven and fell to 0-8-1 in their series against Tampa Bay, dating to August 2017.
The Rays used an opener for the 17th time this season. Stanek has made 15 of those starts, holding opponents scoreless in 13 of those outings.
Yarbrough, meanwhile, continued to prosper in what’s become his customary role of following an opener. The 27-year-old lefthander led major league rookies with 16 victories last season, 14 of them as a reliever.
Richard, acquired from San Diego in an off-season trade, made his second start for Toronto after beginning the season on the injured list (right knee). He allowed two runs, three hits and four walks over four innings – the biggest blow Garcia’s routine fly that dropped behind right fielder Randal Grichuk and rolled to the wall.
Garcia, who singled in the first and scored on Travis d’Arnaud’s sacrifice fly, circled the bases for the first inside-the-park homer of his career.
“He said that he got disorientated,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said of Grichuk, who
broke in on the ball before realizing it was going to land well behind him.
“He was looking up, looking up and then he was like, it was weird,” the manager added.
“He felt bad about it, too.”
Trainer’s room
Blue Jays: RHP Aaron Sanchez, who left Monday’s series opener with a finger injury, will throw a side session Thursday or Friday before a decision is made on whether he’ll go on the injured list or remain in the rotation... A flu bug has affected several Blue Jays the past week, including INF Cavan Biggio, who was not in the lineup Tuesday.
Rays: C Mike Zunino (left quadriceps strain) started a rehab assignment with Class A Charlotte and will have his status evaluated this weekend... INF Matt Duffy, out all season with a strained left hamstring, will see a specialist Wednesday... INF Yandy Diaz still felt some discomfort in his bruised left hand during his first batting practice session. He plans to hit again Wednesday.
McKay’s Day
Rays two-way prospect Brendan McKay allowed three hits and struck out four over five scoreless innings in his first start with Triple-A Durham against Louisville. The lefty went 3-0 in eight games, striking out 62 and walking nine over 41 2/3 innings with Double-A Montgomery. He struggled offensively at Double-A, hitting .167 (13 for 78).
Up next Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell (3-4, 3.07 ERA), who’s received a combined two runs of support over his last three outings, starts the finale of the three-game series Wednesday night. The Blue Jays counter with right-hander Trent Thornton (1-4, 4.42).
One but not done: Osaka avoids French Open upset; Halep wins, too
Howard FENDRICH
The Associated Press
PARIS — Naomi Osaka’s body language made her plight plain.
For all she’s already accomplished, the internal pressure stemming from aiming to do even more was ruining her debut as the No. 1 seed at a Grand Slam tournament.
Fed up with her poor play in a first-round match at the French Open – errors off Osaka’s racket gave her opponent her first 30 points Tuesday – she missed yet another shot.
She was within a game of losing. Osaka wheeled around to look at her box and display what seemed to be a sarcastic thumbs-up.
“Definitely sarcastic. I was kind of thinking: ‘Do you guys see this amazing tennis I’m playing right here? Thumbs-up.’ I don’t even know what I wanted them to do. I felt kind of bad after I did it. It was more like I had to put my emotions somewhere,” Osaka said.
“It’s one of those matches where you’re not playing well, but you have to find a way to win. For
me, I’ve just begun learning how to do that.”
Five times just two points from defeat in a swirling wind, Osaka held it together enough to overcome all of those miscues and stretch her winning streak at majors to 15 matches by eventually beating 90th-ranked Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia 0-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1.
As she got going, Osaka delivered a pinpoint cross-court forehand that was too hard to handle, then looked at her box again, this time with a pumping clenched left fist.
Afterward, she acknowledged having jitters as she pursues a third consecutive major title while topping the seedings.
“I feel like I’m thinking too much about the number next to my name right now, instead of feeling free and having fun like I normally do in Grand Slams,”
Osaka said.
“The reason that I wasn’t moving my feet is because I was super nervous, super stressed.”
Defending champion Simona Halep could relate.
Starting her first defence of a Slam title, she also turned in an uneven performance and needed three sets to get by, topping 47thranked Ajla Tomljanovic 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.
“I need to be calm. Just focused on my game. Not thinking about my opponents and not thinking about the result,” said Halep, who was a runner-up twice in Paris before earning the trophy in 2018.
Clay has never been Osaka’s best surface; her power-based style is more suited to hard courts, such as those at the U.S. Open, which she won last September, or the Australian Open, which she won in January to become the first tennis player from Japan to be ranked No. 1.
Her only first-round exit in 13 appearances at majors came at the French Open two years ago. The only 6-0 Grand Slam set she has lost came Tuesday.
Yet after having a career record of 9-11 on clay entering this season, she is 8-1 on the slow stuff in 2019. She talked about feeling more and more comfortable on
the surface and assured everyone that the abdominal and thumb injuries she’d dealt with in recent weeks were no longer any issue.
But nothing seemed right at the outset against Schmiedlova, who has never been past the third round at a major and is 6-15 in openers.
Schmiedlova’s first 30 points came via 18 unforced errors and 12 forced errors by Osaka – and zero winners of her own. By the end, Osaka won despite 38 unforced errors, 24 more than her foe.
She’ll probably want to play better in her next match, against two-time Australian Open champion and former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka.
“It’s going to be exciting for me,” said Azarenka, who eliminated 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 7-6 (4). “I love to challenge myself against the best players.”
Osaka appeared to be finding her groove ahead 3-0 in the second set.
That’s when the day’s off-andon rain returned briefly in the
form of sprinkles. Spectators popped open umbrellas and the players covered themselves with orange tournament towels while waiting on their sideline seats, before heading off court for about five minutes. In all, the delay was less than 10 minutes – play continued elsewhere – so there was no warmup when they returned.
The respite served Schmiedlova well: She suddenly produced her very first winner with a 96 mph (155 kph) serve to get within 3-1, then made it 3-all.
Schmiedlova served for the match twice. At 6-5, 30-15, and again later, she was two points from pulling off what would have been only the second first-round upset of the women’s No. 1 seed in French Open history.
This is what Osaka said was running through her mind: “Can I sleep at night, knowing that I maybe could have done something more?”
Schmiedlova couldn’t close it out. Osaka wouldn’t let her.
“You could see,” Schmiedlova said, “that she’s No. 1, there.”
AP PHOTO BY CHRIS O’MEARA
Tampa Bay Rays’ Travis d’Arnaud hits a run-scoring sacrifice fly off Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Clayton Richard during a baseball game on Tuesday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Fine arts around town
CNC Fine Arts student Lee Ann Delany, left, and CNC Fine Arts instructor Betty Kovacic pose for a photo with Delany’s mixed media piece, titled Fuel, on Thursday afternoon at the CNC library. The library is expanding its Student Art Collection with 14 additonal works created by 11 students in the fine arts, web and graphic design programs. Below, multi-instrumental singer and songwriter Chris Cahill performs at Cafe Voiltaire on Friday night as part of the Friday Night Mics.
Author Leona Prince, above left, and illustrator Carla Joseph pose with a copies of their combined work titled A Dance Through the Seasons on Friday evening at The Gathering Place at UNBC during a launch party for the book.
Erin Shields, below right, sings while David Shenton plays the piano on Sunday night at Prince George Playhouse during O Sole Trio’s Bravissimo Broadway performance. The trio performed a number of classic Broadway hits from such musicals as Cats, and Phantom of the Opera.
Children of the Wave perform at the Prince George Legion on Friday night.
Passed away suddenly on May 23rd, 2019 at his home in Prince George. Born In Prince Rupert on September 25, 1954, John started working at BC Hydro when he was 18 years old, until he found his career at Northwood Pulp Mill where he continued to work for almost four decades. Predeceased by his father Angelo. He is survived by his mother Gemma Tomasini, sister Lora Tomasini, brother Mark Tomasini, nephew Bryce Johnson & niece, Jenna Johnson. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the BC Heart & Stroke Foundation. A service will be held at Assman’s Funeral Home at 10:30 am on June 1, 2019. Reception to follow.
Rita Laird nee Henley April 24, 1928May 26, 2019
It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Rita Laird, a wonderful Mom and Nana to all.
Rita was born in Nanaimo, BC and passed away peacefully at Jubilee Lodge in Prince George, BC with family by her side. She was predeceased by her husband Alex, daughter Roberta Roed and grandson Ryan Laird aka Sean.
Rita is survived by her son Alan (Claudette) Laird, daughter Gale (Dick) Purdue and son Bruce Laird, grandchildren: Chris (Krystal) Roed, Aaron (Lesley) Roed, Grant (Tila) Purdue, Morgan Laird and Leanne (Robb) Isaac.
She is also survived by many great and great great grandchildren, her sister and best friend Bootie (Don) Easton and her beloved pet Scruff. No service by request.
ZORA VUKOVIC (PERKOVIC) May 9, 1939 May 24, 2019
Where flowers bloom, hope grows. Gdje cvijece cvjeta, nada raste.
Mom died at the age of 80 at home with family by her side. Her youthful and loving spirit will be dearly missed by her husband Vlado, and her children Mira (Fraser), Nada (Lorne), Kathy (Peter), and Tommy (Gina), 10 grandchildren Michael, Kevon (Chelsey), Nathan, Megan, Madison, Meredith, Grace, Arianna, Kalina, and 3 great grandchildren Peyton, Alivia, and Emmet.
Mom was born in Antulic Village, Kriûpolje, Croatia to parents Ivan and Julka Perkovic and was predeceased by her parents and her 7 siblings. She was a busy, hard-working young girl and had the nickname Lolé. In 1966, she immigrated to Prince George with her daughter Mira, to join her husband who had been working in Canada for 4 years and had earned enough to buy their first home on McBride Crescent. 3 more children were born (Nada, Kathy, Tommy) and Mom also fostered a child, Wayne, for several years. Her love of children was unlimited, and she watched over her kids with warmth, pride, and a loyal Croatian fierceness. Her care for children continued with several grandchildren whom she adored. When Mom was not caring for children, you would find her in her garden caring for her beautiful flowers. In her senior years, her favourite place to be was in her yard, enjoying the sunshine, the birds, and her greenhouse. She was a good friend and always welcomed company with a kind and generous heart.
Prayer Service on Thursday, May 30, 2019, 6:30 p.m. and Funeral Mass Service on Friday, May 31, 2019, 1:00 p.m., both services at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Prince George. Interment in the Prince George Memorial Park Cemetery. Reception to follow at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, St. Eugene Room.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Established Franchise Photography Business Serving Northern B.C for over 35 years
Gross Revenues of $150.000 plus annually from seasonal work Lots of opportunity to expand the business.
Transition support available to the right buyer
Serious Enquiries Only Office 250-596-9199 Cell 250-981-1472
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Established Franchise Tax Preparation BusinessMackenzieservicing and McLeod Lake area for over 30 years.
Gross Revenues of $85,000 to $90,000 Annually and Potential to expand revenues in a growing economy.
Transition support available for the right buyer.
Serious Inquires Only Office (250)997-9003 Home (250)997-5538 Cell (250)990-0152
PROGRAMMING COORDINATOR (FT)
Provides program support in Prince George Alzheimer Resource Centre. Schedules: First Link® support calls, education workshops, healthcare provider meetings. Manages materials and info resources in the region. Key duties: Reporting to Manager, maintains programming related to: incoming referrals and allocate intake calls, follow up calls Dementia Helpline support calls to Support & Education team. Schedules/books education prog based on regional plan. Manages attendance tool client lists and waitlists. Books meetings, distributes info resources. Maintains/orders materials inventory. Prepares dementia education packages. Coordinates local First Link bulletin info, prints/distributes posters and promo channels like: news releases, website, print ads. Oversees office volunteers & provides info to general public as needed. Qualifications: Superior admin & organization skills, meticulous attention to detail. Excellent computer skills, experience with Word, Excel & Outlook essential; familiarity with PowerPoint, Publisher, databases and mail merge an asset. Interpersonal/customer service skills. Able to recruit & supervise volunteers. Basic accounting bookkeeping exp. Knowledge of local area & dementia.
Resume w/ cover letter to: humanresources@alzheimerbc.org 300-828 West 8th Ave Vancouver, BC V5Z 1E2 Closes: June 7, 2019 For full job description and information about the Society: www.alzheimerbc.org
The Urban Aboriginal Working Group is pleased to introduce the “Summer Student Innovations” program, an opportunity for ideas to be put into action that will support students to build skill, enhance their work experience, introduce small business concepts or engage them in community based projects in the City of Prince George. Each applicant can apply for up to $5,000. You are eligible to apply if you are an Indigenous student, non-profit organizations, industry or union.
For further information please visit www.pgnaeta.bc.ca Deadline to apply is June 3, 2019
STATISTICSCANADAISHIRING
RecruitingPart-timeFieldInterviewerinthePrince Georgearea. RateofPay:$17.83 www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/employment/otheropp/interview/ prov-terr/position/19ssovan701778
STATISTIQUECANADAEMBAUCHE Nousrecrutonspourcomblerunposted’intervieweur surleterrainatempspartieldanslaregiondePrince George. Tauxderemuneration:17,83$ www.statcan.gc.ca/fra/emploi/autresopp/interview/provterr/poste/19stcssovan701778
Giani (Johnny) Tomasini
Adult & Youth Newspaper Carriers
Needed in the Following areas:
• Hart Area • Driftwood Rd, Dawson Rd, Seton Cres, • Austin Rd.
• Lower College Heights O’Grady Rd and Park, Brock, Selkirk,
• Oxford, Simon Fraser Trent, Fairmont, Guelph, Gladstone,Hartford, Harvard, Imperial, Kingsley, Jean De Brebeuf Cres, Loyola, Latrobe, Leicester Pl, Princeton Cres, Prince Edward Cres, Newcastle, Melbourne, Loedel, Marine Pl, Hough Pl, Guerrier Pl, Sarah Pl, Lancaster, Lemoyne,
• • Upper College Heights • St Barbara, St Bernadette, Southridge, St Anne Ave, Bernard, St Clare St, St Gerald Pl, Creekside, Stillwater.
• • Full Time and Temporary Routes Available. Contact for Details 250-562-3301 or rss@pgcitizen.ca
WCGSERVICESWORKBCREGIONALMANAGER
Responsibleforlocalleadershipandcontract accountability,thisroleleadstheachievementof performanceandqualitystandards,providing oversightfortheentirePrinceGeorgecatchment. Learnmoreandapply:wcgservices.com/careers
