Well need 156 candles for the Cake as Canada Celebrates it national Day on Saturday with evens set for Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert's celebration of Canada Day 2023, comes with a few breaks through the day, but overall Saturday will feature much to help come together to celebrate the nation's 156th birthday
The Day starts out with a morning session of drumming from Kwinitsa Station at Rotary Waterfront Park, the Six minutes of drumming at 11AM part of Coast to Coast to Coast event
The City of Prince Rupert highlighted some of the elements of the Prince Rupert event earlier today.
Saturday evening brings the main Canada Day event to Pacific Mariner's Memorial Park once again with a schedule of entertainers and events to run from 4:30 PM to 8 PM.
Prince Rupert Special Events then Brings Canada Day on the North Coast to a close with a Fireworks exhibition overlooking the harbour with Mariners Park your best viewing spot of the bursts in the sky.
Skeena Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach issued a statement today towards the state of labour negotiations between the BCMEA and ILWU Canada as the deadline for a potential strike gets closer to the 8 AM Saturday point
The MP who represents Skeena-Bulkley Valley, which includes a large number of port workers at terminal facilities in Prince Rupert, has put his voice to the call for the Federal Government to remain involved in the ongoing collective bargaining process.
NDP MP Taylor Bachrarch, noting of the ticking down of the clock towards a potential strike action tomorrow morning at 8AM issued a statement today, along with the NDP labour critic Alexandre Boulerice to remain proactive in their tole in the negotiations.
The MP's concerns echo the three pivotal areas of dispute for the ILWU with the Employers under the BCMEA umbrella.
With the MP noting of the ILWU position on the erosion of union work resulting from contracting out, potential job losses from automation, and the need for fair compensation in the face of inflation.
"The issues the ILWU has raised are important ones and given the state of Canada's supply chain, the stakes are very high. We need the ministers to show up, protect workers' rights, and ensure an equitable deal is reached as soon as possible." -- Skeena Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach
There have been few details released since the strike notice was issued Wednesday.
Over 7,000 port workers across the province from Prince Rupert to Vancouver and on Vancouver Island are poised to act on their notice.
The Federal government has not issued any further updates of their own since their statement of Friday noting of their continued support for the negotiations.
You can follow the path forward from both sides of the discussion from the links below:
The City's release of their Statement of Financial Information made for some questions from a member of the public on Monday evening
As we outlined at the start of the week, the City of Prince Rupert released the volume of financial review, listings and charts that makes for the annual release of the Statement of Financial information or SOFI as. its known.
The City's complete Documentation was provided last Friday as part of the Agenda for the Monday Council Session, with Council members to received the report from the CFO.
With its placement on the Agenda, the report was available for public comment and towards that opportunity one city resident came forward in the comment period to ask a number of questions towards some of the documentation.
City resident Terry Sawka used the Public Comment period to speak to five areas of note related to the SOFI Report for him.
"The Airport Ferry, there's dollars attached in the financial report on page 47, the question I have is what does it cost to operate the ferry to the airport and what is the cost per passenger on the ferry to the airport. My understanding is the cost is rolled into the ticket price or some how or another.
Also on page 47 there's an item called franchise fees, if I could get an explanation what that means.
Now a little bit more serious, reading farther on, on page 38. The 10 million plus, maybe 11 million dollars that was used to finance the expansion, or Renos of the airport in 2020, were suspended. And the information that's in there is that it was reinstated in March 1st of 2023, my question is why were those payments that are done twice yearly suspended.
The other question I have coming out of the report, it cost 3.7 million dollars to remediate Watson Island. Was there any revenue generated by the people that took Watson Island apart, because there are a lot of items there that worth millions and millions of dollars. I worked there for 35 years and I'm quite familiar with some of the stuff that was worth a lot of money.
What is the revenue generated from Watson Island, we all talk about it's in the paper how Watson Island is generating revenue, but I have yet to find any numbers how much is it generating?"
Council received and approved the report during the Regular Council session, with the report passing through the proceedings with no comment from Council members.
The City's Chief Financial Officer Corinne Bomben, didn't add much to the conversation, her comments towards the report noting of the volume of information available for review.
"It's all in the report, this is a standard publication that needs to be done every single year under the Financial Act' -- City of Prince Rupert CFO, Corrine Bomben
One member of Council did circle back to the comments from Mr. Sawka from the start of the evening.
With Councillor Nick Adey speaking at the end of the Council session, recapping the presentation from Mr. Sawka and asking that a reply be provided to the city resident.
"In response to questions that were ask during the public questions.
There were questions related to the Airport Ferry Operating costs and the cost per passenger, there was a question around franchise fees and what that represents.
There was a question around the Airport Renovation suspension of those and the reinstitution in 2023 and why they were suspended in the first place.
And finally the Watson Island remediation, I assume there is a distinction in this question between the revenues that are being generated on Watson Island under the Legacy and the revenues that might have resulted from the disposal of materials coming off of the island.
I'm focusing on those questions, not necessarily to get an answer tonight to them, but as a request that at the very least some answers to those questions are provided for the person who was asking them" -- City Councillor Nick Adey.
The City's Corporate Administrator Ross Miller outlined that both she and the CFO had taken note of the questions and how the response would come for them.
"I myself have noted the questions, as I'm quite certain our CFO has as well. And we will, someone will get back, likely Ms. Bomben, will get back to Mr. Sawka with those answers"
You can review the full suite of conversation on the topic from the City's Video Archive from the Monday Council Session.
Mr. Sawka's questions lead it all off at the one hour mark on the night, Council's approval of the SOFI information and Ms. Bomben's statement can be found at the 2 hour 2 minute mark, while Councillor Adey notes on the topic and the Corporate Administrators comments towards a civic reply come along at the 2 hour 23 minute mark
While it's reassuring that there was advocacy for the residents questions, and that answers will be provided. It seems that in the spirit of full information for the public that a question raised in a public forum should be answered in a public forum.
With Council now on their more relaxed Summer Schedule and not scheduled to hold another public session until the last week of July, it's likely Mr. Sawka will be getting his reply well before an opportunity of a Council update.
So, perhaps city staff could used the range of information sharing options that they have available to them, to provide for a transcript of the answers for review of all residents who may have an interest in the questions that were raised on Monday evening.
Prince Rupert's Harbour Theatre is in the thick of their planning for the 2023 edition of Udderfest the summer theatre festival that has been a highlight of the music and theatre scene for years.
Through June Festival organizers have been seeking out those with a concept to take to the stage come this August 16-20.
Today marks the deadline for those submissions, which will set the stage for the quick pace of preparation towards the summer festival in August.
Tonight, the Tom Rooney Playhouse will be turned over to music, with a number of local musicians set to share their talents in aid of Prince Rupert's North Coast Transition Society.
Tonight's show sees the doors open at 7, showtime is 7:30
The Tom Rooney Playhouse is located on Third Avenue West, one block west of Save On Foods and the Nisga'a Hall.
The Federal and Provincial governments will be investing close to 780,000 dollars into School infrastructure in Prince Rupert with funding for SD52 to be directed to a pair of ventilation improvement projects.
The funding which was announced on Thursday will see $414,560 put towards ventilation improvements for École Roosevelt Park Elementary School, while $362,740 has been put towards similar improvements to the ventilation system at Charles Hays Secondary School.
The Roosevelt School work will increase fresh air intake by installing unit ventilators to improve ventilation in classrooms and shared spaces.
The project at Charles Hays Secondary will increase fresh air intake in classrooms by installing new air handling units to regulate and circulate air.
The funding comes from three shared Federal/Provincial streams: COVID-19 Resilience stream, the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure stream, and the Green Infrastructure stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP).
The Prince Rupert schools were two of seven projects in the province to share in the funding from yesterday's announcement, which you can read here.
Of the list of topics that can make for some extensive conversation at a City Council session, Housing and Parking top the list of those that make for the most challenges and the most in talking points.
Monday night Council members tackled a Zoning Amendment for a bylaw that began its journey in 2022 as they moved forward on the relaxation of required Parking spaces in specified areas of the city.
The main thrust of the amendment will see those who are looking to develop mixed use properties in the community no longer have to provide for parking spaces or payments in lieu of towards it.
Councillor Cunningham put much of his focus for the discussion on what would be the state of Parking on Third Avenue; though as Mayor Pond observed that larger issue is part of a broader approach that Council will be taking on later in the summer.
The Mayor cited a report from Planning Director Myfannwy Pope, that Council received earlier in the session and accepted as part of the consent agenda observing on some of the elements, including the possibility of parking meters, that may address those kind of parking issues.
"Interestingly in a report they touched ... you know when you gather a group of business people and building owners to talk about parking. They not only talk about the Bylaw that you're considering they talk about broader Parkin issues.
So in the report, you'll see that there seems to be a favourable view towards some sort of parking management system, that's code for meters.
Something that takes away from having to have two hours, five hours or three, and just says pay for it, you want to stay for three, pay for three.
You know people often confuse parking meters as some sort of cash grab, but honestly they are the best way to manage parking in any tight situation. Because it allows individuals to determine how long they want to stay and how much they are prepared to pay for that' -- Mayor Herb Pond
Towards when the larger parking strategy will be brought forward, Ms. Pope offered up a review of the path taken so far by Council, noting that when the Transportation plan comes forward it will have more a more extensive section on parking, something anticipated to be brought forward for consideration of Council this summer.
Councillor Niesh also spoke to the topic noting of the challenges of the amount of land available to allocate towards parking and how it impacts on redevelopment of the downtown area.
Councillor Adey also observed of the past actions related to consultation with property owners in the community and spoke towards some themes related to the Fraser street area and other elements up for review as part of the parking management review.
The full discussions on Monday released to Parking can be reviewed from the City's Video archive starting at the 2 hour eight minute mark.
The report from Monday and the Transportation plan will serve as Council's blue print for further discussion in the months ahead on the issue of parking in the community and you can review the details to it below:
It's the last day in the showroom for Owner Brian Musgrave as he takes to his retirement at the close of the day
After more than two decades in car sales in Prince Rupert, Brian Musgrave will be turning the keys to Rainbow Chrysler over to new ownership at the end of business today, with a social media post from the car dealer confirming the Prince Rumour notes of recent weeks.
When he took on the dealership over twenty years ago, Musgrave was facing some pretty good competition in the car selling business, with Prince Rupert hosting the Big Three in automotive giants and at times other smaller car sales options.
Over the years, that competition bowed out of the community, leaving Rainbow Chrysler as the last car lot in the city with a selection of new and used cars.
During that period time, Rainbow Chrysler continued to be a strong support of local organizations and events, lending their name and brand towards fundraising and other activities.
Friends, former customers and suppliers can drop into the Rainbow Chrysler Showroom on Chamberlain today until closing to wish Mr. Musgrave well on his retirement.
A busy and varied schedule has been released for the 2023-24 season at the Lester Centre of the Arts
Like many entertainment venues across the country, the Lester Centre has eased itself back into the business of bringing artists and audiences together over the last twelve months.
A period which brought some impressive out of town shows to mesh nicely with the local productions that continue to showcase the talents of the North Coast.
But with a year of working their way out of COVID, the year ahead on the entertainment calendar will pick up the pace as the Lester Centre re-boots and brings new paths sounds and visuals ahead for audiences to share in on the journey.
The theme of the reboot makes for a piece on the Lester Centre blog, as Lester Centre General Manager Chris Armstrong introduces the 2023-24 Calendar of events for the year ahead.
The GM providing for some snapshots of the shows on the schedule that should build interest through the summer and into the fall when the season launches on September 23rd.
Familiar and popular Northwest entertainers such as Saltwater Hank and Alex Cuba, make for part of a energized list which also sees Nationally acclaimed 54-40 come to town.
Shakespeare mixes with Scottish Drag Queens and Glow in the Dark Dinosaurs along with the Ballet of Kelowna.
Country music will share stages with Classical Quebecois and Jazz
Dance claims the spotlight in May and the annual presentation of the BC Annual Dance Competition
And as it should be for the Northwest's top entertainment venue, the local productions will gain some prime mentions, with the CHSS Production of Something Rotten, Rock Stock and the Dance Academy of Prince Rupert year end showcase.
The 2023 budget has just reached the finish line, with your property tax bill due July 4th and as of Monday, the City has made a shift for future Budget planning which will see an earlier start for 2024.
The details were released in a Report from Corinne Bomben, the City's Chief Financial Officer that was part of the Council Consent Agenda on Monday night.
The document noting how the new timelines for Budget creation will enable Council to pass the Five Year Financial plan bylaw as close to the start of the fiscal year as possible.
The shift in the timelines on Budget prepaation is something a number of other communities across the province have done, including as the report notes, the City of Terrace.
In past years the City Budget was usually approved by mid May.
The new process which will start immediately will see Council receive a draft Budget in September, with the public consultation period to take place in October, Council would then adopt the Five year plan in December.
The main focus for the change is outlined in the Report from Ms. Bombem below:
Changing the timing of the budget process will enable the City and the community to gain certainty of operational service costs for the calendar year earlier than has occurred historically as well as provides for greater opportunities for success in achieving Council’s strategic goals.
Towards the change, the call for Community Grant applications was recently moved up, with the application period as we noted earlier this week, now set to close in August.
Council members had no comments to make towards the report, which was accepted as part of their Consent Agenda approval process.
The Full Report for Council that outlines further details towards the change to the Budget Process timelines can be reviewed below:
Visitors to Lakelse Lake Provincial Park will find some upgrades for their hiking adventures this summer
If your summer plans include some time at the popular Northwest recreation area of Lakelse Lake, the province has something new to check out, with an upgrade to the well used Twin Spruce Trail.
That through some extensive work done on the trail, included in the work:
Two kilometres of trail surface has been upgraded to be more accessible and resilient to extreme weather. The most popular 800 metres of the trail from the campground to the sandy beach is fully accessible and a further 1.2 kilometres is barrier-free. Three bridges along the trail have also been upgraded and one bridge has been replaced.
George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, who has some fond memories of the Terrace/Kitimat region noted of the affection Northwest residents have for the area.
“We know the millions of people who visit BC Parks each year to connect with family, friends and nature care deeply about provincial parks and want them stewarded effectively. Investing in park infrastructure, like trails and day-use facilities, makes the BC Parks experience even better. From my years living in Terrace, I know this park and its beauty well, and I know what a special place it is for residents and visitors alike.”
The Twin Spruce Trail upgrades cost approximately $185,000 and are part of a $21.5-million investment to expand and enhance opportunities for outdoor recreation throughout B.C.
The latest Career opportunity takes us to the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre, where the City of Prince Rupert is currently searching for the next Ice Maker for the recreation facility.
The position is one that makes the applicant a valuable member of the Civic workforce and the person that could be the difference for a Coy Cup winning season for the Prince Rupert Rampage, by making sure that the Civic Centre ice remains the finest sheet of ice in the CIHL.
The Details to the job posting which is a full time CUPE position, can be reviewed below:
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Applications close for the Post on July 20th.
The job opportunity and some additional notes on Prince Rupert for out of town applicants can be reviewed here.
BC Hydro has planned for some work along Fulton Street this July with traffic restrictions to be in place at times
The City of Prince Rupert has provided a heads up on some upcoming work by BC Hydro that will have an impact on those travelling along Fulton street in and out of the downtown core in July.
The work which will be underground will be taking place in the daytime period and will require detours and limits of flow to traffic along one of the city's main corridor streets.
The work is part of a number of projects that BC Hydro has set for this summer period for Prince Rupert, we noted of some of the work back in March, when the Hydro company put some of their work out for bid.
More notes on civic themes towards roads can be reviewed through our Operations Archive.
Some city owned property along First Avenue West overlooking the existing Cow Bay Parking area has been put up for sale by the City of Prince Rupert.
The market price of the property in question is listed as $154,000.
The Notice of Disposition of Municipal lands posted yesterday to the City of Prince Rupert website, the City's Social Media stream, as well as appearing in print in the local paper.
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The city had foreshadowed the Disposition notice earlier this week, as part of an announcement towards the creation of a new gravel parking lot on George Hills Way. As part of that announcement it was noted that some of the current Cow Bay lot may be impacted by the Property Disposition.
Yesterday, the Province of British Columbia shared some of the details towards its new online program that will help residents in need of a consultation on minor ailments, prescriptions and contraceptives book an appoint with local pharmacists.
As the government explains it, the program which goes live today, is similar to the Get Vaccinated system where people booked appointments to get their COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations.
Through the new online booking system, people can search for available appointment times at nearby pharmacies based on their minor ailment or contraceptive needs.
Appointments can continue to be made by calling or visiting a pharmacy. Walk-in service without an appointment is also available at some pharmacies.
The scope of duties for pharmacists in BC was expanded at the start of June which allow them to prescribe for 21 minor ailments and contraceptives
As of June 27, 2023, more than 25,000 people have seen a pharmacist for an assessment.
Health Minister Adrian Dix noted of the success of the program so far.
“Since June 1, 2023, when pharmacists became able to assess minor ailments, they have provided care to thousands of people in B.C. who are in need of this serviceThe high uptake not only demonstrates the value of the service of pharmacists to the public but also the continued dedication of pharmacists to their patients’ care. The online booking system will make it even easier for people to book an appointment with a pharmacy and is an important step toward improving access to health care, while continuing to build a stronger public health-care system for all of us.”
Details on how to access the online booking program can be found here.
Plans for housing on Hays Cove Avenue at Frederick made for much discussions by Council on Monday evening
A pair of apartment proposals to address some of the city's dire need for accommodation moved forward on Monday evening, with both the Hays Cove Apartment planning and that for an apartment building on Ninth Avenue West at Lisa Walters Drive both finding success for the motions in front of council on the night.
That topic was addressed at the outset of the Council session by Mayor Herb Pond who acknowledged of some confusion from the June 12th session towards what residents could or could not speak towards.
That topic carried forward into the public Comment period on Monday evening, as one resident from the area, Dawn Quast asked for some clarification as to why the topic was back up in front of Council.
Mayor Pond speaking to the process, noted that in effect the night was a reset after the public notification concerns of two weeks ago.
"This is coming back to Council for reconsideration, it could be passed tonight, it could not passed tonight, but the decision is in front of Council this evening ... we're looking at the matter afresh tonight.
Given the fact, that the reason for doing that ... it would appear that the notification process failed, without a proper notification process it's hard for Council to make the right fully informed decision.
So pause, back up, notification is complete, now were here again"
The full discussion would come a bit later in the Council session with many of the Council members revisiting many of their commentary and concerns of two weeks ago. Much of it not related to the actual motion of the night that of a request for the height variance and parking variance.
With City Manager Rob Buchan not in attendance on the night, the task of keeping Council aware of the process that has been put in place related to delegation to staff, fell to Planning Manager Myfannwy Pope.
She took Council members through the elements of the process relevant to the night, that of the request for the height variance and parking themes.
Ms. Pope noted that the appeal for the property in question was that the lot was City owned and the Zoning was already in place for a multi family structure.
She also observed that shifting the focus to another city owned lot could have an impact on the timelines towards the federal funding element of the Rapid Housing initiative.
As part of her overview she also reminded Council that they had previously delegated Development Approval to staff. Something which means in this instance the topic would not come back to Council for a decision, but there were two other processes involved, a Development Permit process and a Building Permit process.
Councillor Nick Adey seemed to put the best focus for Council of the concerns of the residents when it comes to the process in place.
"I just want to acknowledge that if I was sitting in the gallery and I was a person that was feeling very uncomfortable with this project.
I have the highest regard for staff and the highest regard for the intention of staff to take all of these things into account.
But if Im a member of the public my point of connection is with Council.
And so I don't know that I would feel very comfortable with knowing that this was the last council deliberation on this. So I just want to acknowledge that that may be how people are feeling.
I think if it does go forward based on the vote, I think that its really incumbent upon staff to honour those points of view in the process that follows and I would like to assume that that's the case."-- Councillor Nick Adey
For her part of the discussion on the night, Councillor Teri Forster noted of Council's previous decision to delegate the process to staff.
"At the last council meeting, I believe I raised, we delegated this to staff and its important that if we delegate things that we can't be going back and forth. We need to sort of pick a path and follow it.
That said, just wondering if there is a possibility of making a motion that specific projects would have to come back for the Building permit or not.
Just wondering cause that is sort of what I'm hearing from some of the discussions, is that sort of a question ... we're going around again on the same thing which makes me think that there might be appetite for a middle ground" -- Councillor Teri Forster
Following some further discussion to the theme, a vote of five councillors in favour and one against, that being councillor Adey, moved the height variance request forward.
Though from the conversation on the night there was a provision put in place: that application for a Development Permit be brought back to Council prior to approval, to understand how community concerns regarding the proposed variance and project will be mitigated.
The second housing proposal that of the apartment plans for city owned property on Ninth West adjacent to Prince Rupert Middle School moved forward without any comment from Council.
For Monday the fourth and final reading for the variance request passed with no discussion.
You can follow work of Council on both from the City's Video Archive.
The Hays Cove conversation starts at the one hour, twenty minute mark, the Ninth West Zoning Amendment Bylaw approval takes place at the 2 hour 20 minute mark
The empty lot between the rear of CityWest and Second Avenue West became a storage centre for crab traps on Wednesday, though its seemingly going to be a temporary storage location according to civic officials
What was apparently a surprise Pop Up collection of crab traps, stored on a lot at the corner of Second Avenue West and Third Street have been ordered removed.
The location which is a lot owned by the Metlakatla First Nation, last year was home to a public garden project hosted by EcoTrust Canada. It quickly started to fill up with the crab traps over the course of Wednesday, making for a lively social media topic for much of the evening.
The new use making for another unique Prince Rupert Tourist attraction, complete with one of the most recognizable smells of the crab fishery adding to the authenticity of it all.
The collection likely made for a interesting conversation topic for those travelling aboard the Seabourn Odyssey which had made a port call in the city on Wednesday.
A quick drive by of the location this morning showed that as of 8AM the lot was still more Crab Trap storage depot than vacant property.
