CITY: Mapping project helps with long-range planning A4 Friday, October 5, 2012
Gas leak forces evacuations downtown A3
Newsline 250-564-0005
www.pgfreepress.com
Paving a priority ■ UBCM
Toopy
and
Binoo
at
UHNBC
Jacob Hols, 3, gets an up-close look at Toopy and Binoo while Sarah Sheps stands by on Wednesday at the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia. The cat and mouse characters from the show on Treehouse visited healthy and sick children on the paediatrics floor in advance of their show Wednesday evening at CN Centre.
DeLynda Pilon
newsroom@pgfreepress.com
The Union of B.C. Municipalities AGM allows the elected officials of the communities in B.C. to gather, share ideas and issues while looking for creative solutions, and meet with provincial leaders to discuss local issues. Prince George’s mayor and council got just such an opportunity last week, using the UBCM gathering to meet with both the minister of transportation and the minister of finance. Mayor Shari Green said the cost of paving was one matter she wished to discuss with Transportation Minister Mary Polak. “Council met with the minister of transportation to talk about shared paving contracts to help lower the cost, and also about using the Guay Road gravel pit as a source for aggregate available to paving contractors who wish to bid
A lis ta ir M cINNIS/ Fre e Pre s s
turn to PAGE A5
Economist disputes pipeline benefits DeLynda Pilon
newsroom@pgfreepress.com
Consumers could be paying two cents more per litre at the pumps every year for 30 years if the Northern Gateway Alliance pipeline goes through, according to one of the country’s leading economists. “My analysis is based on their models,” Robyn Allan, an economist and the former head of ICBC, said during a stop in Prince George this week. Allan said she began taking a deeper look into the pipeline project about a year ago after her son asked her opinion on it. What she found led her to conclude that, environmental factors aside, it just doesn’t make sense economically for the
residents of B.C. She said the rising costs at the pumps won’t be the only increase consumers will see. Every industry that uses gas and oil to transport goods will have to raise costs to keep up, and that expense will be passed onto the paying public. And in the Prairies, where 40 per cent of the gas and oil consumed is used to produce agricultural products, there will be significant increases. “So what will that do to our export industry?” Allan asked. Allan visited Prince George this week to talk about the economic impact of the Enbridge pipeline on the province, sharing her findings during an open lecture at the university. The week prior to that
Great Canadian & TOUCHLESS CAR WASH
she gave evidence on the economics of the project before the joint review panel in Edmonton. Allan said Enbridge has stated they will not be drawing more oil from the oilsands to sell to Asia. Rather they will be harvesting the same amount of oil and redirecting the product into the Asian marketplace. “When you restrict the supply, you increase the price of oil,” she said. Her analysis was based on the work Enbridge provided, however she called into question the models the company used. She said they are based on the Canadian dollar sitting at 85 cents American, meaning the equations automatically get a 20 per cent increase in benefits. “But when the Canadian dollar is up,
the oil industry suffers,” she said, adding the commodity is sold in American dollars. Other questions should be asked of the industry, she said, like the viability of building a pipeline so the oil in western Canada can benefit eastern Canada. Another question revolves around upgrading the bitumen in Alberta. Bitumen must be mixed with dilutent in order for it to move through the pipeline. Essentially, Allan said, this means shipping through two pipelines, one shipping in the dilutent to be mixed with the bitumen, and the other shipping out the diluted product. Dilutent is expensive and turn to PAGE A2
DRIVE THROUGH OIL CHANGE • New Car Warranty Approved • No Appointment Necessary • Fast, Friendly Service www.greatcanadianoilchange.com
Look for the Shiny Glass Building on the corner of 15th & Central 250-563-0762 AND on the Hart 250-962-9023