Northern Health makes the list of BC's Top employers for 2015

Northern Health, the health care service that serves the largest expanse of the province has been named to the list of best employers for 2015, part of compilation of industry and services that was recently featured in the Vancouver Sun's special review, part of a joint venture with Mediacorp.

The review of British Columbia employers provided for a list of 60 of those organizations that provide benefits and conditions a cut above the norm.

Northern Health which is based out of Prince George, was one of three Health Authorities that made the listings for the review. Joining Fraser Health in surrey and Interior Health in Kelowna in the listings.

Some of the key aspects of working for Northern Health that appealed to the selection committee included:

Help provided to employees to plan for life after work with retirement planning sessions and contributions to a defined benefit pension plan.

Support for new mothers with generous maternity and parental leave top-up payments, varying with position. As well as letting new mothers extend their maternity leave into an unpaid leave of absence for additional time at home.

Extending parental leave top-up benefits to new Dads and adoptive parents

Offering new employee referral bonuses to employees who successfully recruit a new candidate

Consideration of a new candidate's previous work experience when setting vacation entitlements, the majority of new full-time employees start with 3.6 to 4 weeks of paid vacation.

Encourage all employees to keep their skills up-to-date with tuition subsidies for courses at outside institutions along with in-house and online training programs.

Northern Health has over 7,000 employees working at facilities from Haida Gwaii to McBride and points North and South.

Of the sixty companies featured in the 2015 Review, eighteen are publicly funded, whether as part of government services at all levels, educational or health related.

You can learn more about the 2015 Top Employers here.

The Vancouver Sun overview can be read here.

Northern Health celebrated their success in the rankings and provided some background on what they have to offer with this media release from last week.

More items related to Northern Health can be found on our archive page here.

AquaTrain mooring wall construction wraps up

Aquatrain at Prince Rupert, photo
from Prince Rupert Rail Images blog

While the renovation plans for the Alaska Marine Highway Terminal project, steeped as they are in cross border controversy, may have come to sudden halt in recent days, there is some progress on the waterfront.

One marine transportation option for shipping items to Alaska has something to show, as the Port of Prince Rupert celebrates the conclusion of a construction project on the Prince Rupert waterfront.

The Prince Rupert Port Authority took to their twitter feed this morning to outline some of the work that has taken place on the Aquatrain facility in the city, with work now complete on the new mooring wall for the Barge service to Alaska.

The Prince Rupert Port Authority
outlined the progress of work on the
Aquatrain facility in Prince Rupert

The Aqua train provides a vital shipping link between Prince Rupert and Alaska, with CN Rail highlighting the service as part of the transportation options that it delivers to the Port of Prince Rupert.

The Auquatrain which is operated by Foss Maritime, offers 4 day service from Prince Rupert to Whittier, Alaska.

The Foss vessels that serve Prince Rupert recently were in the news in October,  as the Barbara Foss came to the aid of the Russian Vessel Simushir when it was adrift off of Haida Gwaii

For more on items related to CN Rail in Prince Rupert see our archive page here.

More on developments with the Prince Rupert Port Authority can be found here.

CityWest expands again, launching high-tech services to Gitanmaax

The Prince Rupert based communication company CityWest,  has expanded its service offerings to the eastern part of the Northwest, announcing earlier this month that they will be providing high speed Internet and phone service to the community of Gitanmaax, also known as Old Hazelton.

As well as improved options for those two communication services, some residents of that community will also be able to subscribe to the CityWest Fibre based TV services, a project which they hope to launch at the beginning of February.

That option finds CityWest using a Fibre to the home network for Gitanmaax, a process described by CityWest officials as the next phase in the evolution of telecommunications and broadcasting technology.

The nature of the change in technology is one which replaces copper and coaxial connections, shifting from the era of that old technology, by introducing new fibre connections.

As a result of the new services to the area, CityWest has advised of a new phone number range for its customers in the Gitanmaax area.

Bringing the Fibre-to-the-home network to Gitanmaax, brought CityWest into a partnership with the All Nations Trust Company, working as part of their Pathways to Technology initiative. A project designed to bring reliable, high speed Internet connectivity to First Nations communities in the province.

CityWest also plans to take that fibre concept to other Northwest communities,  with a fibre rebuild planned for Kispiox in the next few weeks and a larger fibre build is in the works, set to take place at another Community in the Bulkley Valley in the months to come.

You can review more background on the high tech direction that CityWest has taken to the eastern communities of it service areas from this item from the CityWest website.

For more background on developments with the City of Prince Rupert's communication company see our archive page here.

School District 52 prepares for 2015-16 Kindergarten registration in February

The opportunity for North Coast residents to register their Kindergarten age children for the upcoming 2015-16 school year is almost here, with School District 52 preparing to accept registration from February 2nd to February 13th.

Children who are eligible for the Kindergarten program will be 5 years of age by December 31st 2015, the Registration process will take place at all of the city's Elementary schools from nine AM until Noon and one until three PM each weekday.

Registration for Port Edward School takes place from 9 until 11:30 AM.

For those interested in enrolment in the French Immersion program, that will take place at Ecole Roosevelt School.

You can check to see which catchment area that your neighbourhood falls under from the map below from the School District.

In addition to the Kindergarten Registration, the School District is also outlining its Cross Border Transfer policy for the year ahead.

Families that are considering a change in schools for their child or children are required to fill out a Cross Boundary Application Form, available at all Schools in the city as well as from the School Board Office.

Completed forms are to be returned to the child's current school or to the School Board Office for consideration.

The timeline of submission for the Cross Boundary Transfer requests is from February 2nd to February 27th.

The School District advises that any requests that are received after that date will not be considered until the first week of School in September.

For more background on both the Kindergarten program and Cross Boundary Request issues, as well as a contact number for parents see this information sheet from School District 52

For other items related to Education on the North Coast see our archive page here.

Popular Sugar Shack Festival set for Saturday

The North Coast celebration of all things Francophone is almost upon us, with Saturday's Sugar Shack Festival of events set to launch, first with a Friday night concert.

Tonight at 8 PM the Pastiche Trio take to the stage at the Lester Centre of the Arts, providing a sample of the folk music of French Canada.

As an added bonus for concert goers,  the opening act for the Pastiche Trio will be Prince Rupert's own Ben Cornwall.

Tickets for the event tonight are available at Cook's Jewellers or at the Lester Centre. Admission is 15 dollars for adults, 10 for students with a reminder the cost increases to twenty for those who purchase at the door.

The fifth edition of the Sugar Shack goes into full swing on Saturday with a number of events planned for the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre from 11 am to 2 PM. 

Organizers have a day of fun planned for the whole family, with toffee on snow, live music and a sampling of some of the cuisine of French Canada.  The Pastiche Trio will also make an appearance during the Sugar Shack, providing more of their traditional sounds.

Tickets for the the Sugar Shack can be purchased through the AFFNO office in the Hecate Strait Building on 1st Avenue East or at Cook's Jewellers.

Admission for Saturday's Sugar Shack is 15 dollars per adult, 10 dollars for children ages 6 to 12, five dollars for those 3 to 5.

There will be a number of prizes awarded through the Sugar Shack festival for those in attendance, including a Grand prize of a return trip for four adults to Jasper, Alberta with VIA Rail.

Those that have purchased their tickets in advance will also be entered in the draw for a return trip to Haida Gwaii for two adults with vehicle courtesy of BC Ferries.

The Sugar Shack launch event social took place on Thursday evening at Cowpuccino's, setting the scene for the celebrations to come through to Saturday evening.

More on the Sugar Shack festivities can be found from the Facebook page created for the celebration. You can also get more information or volunteer your time by calling 250-627-4313

The Festival is organized by AFFNO, the association for Francophones and Francophiles of the Northwest, you can learn more about their work here.

Aurora LNG to host Open House, Open Community Office in Prince Rupert

The first stages of community engagement for the Aurora LNG Terminal development will come in February, when CNOOC/Nexen, the company proposing the Digby Island Terminal hosts an Open House.

The introductory session for Aurora LNG will take place on Wednesday, February 18th at the North Coast Convention Centre from 5 to 8 PM.

Besides learning more about the progress of the project, those in attendance will be asked to complete a feedback form, to share their thoughts on the proposed development.

The information that Aurora LNG receives from the public during the Open House will be considered by the Project team, as part of their considerations  as they move forward with the environmental, technical and socio-economic items related to the development.

In early March, Aurora LNG has plans to open their Community Project office, having selected space in the Coastal Business Resource Centre as their new home in Prince Rupert.

The Coastal Business Centre is located at 344 2nd Avenue West, across from the Bank of Montreal.

Aurora released their most recent information bulletin in December on their website, reviewing some of the latest developments with their project.

Included in that review were some of the steps that the company is taking in the areas of impact, health and safety and engagement with communities on the North Coast.

You can learn more about the Open House and further details about the proposed Digby Island project from the Aurora LNG website.

For more background on the project see our archive page here.

Roosevelt School the latest to benefit from Prince Rupert Port Authority Community Investment Fund

New Playground equipment at
Roosevelt Community School
Photo from PR Port Authority

Play time is on at Roosevelt Park Community School and the kids probably can't wait to get outside to check out the new playground equipment.

 It's taken a couple of years from the planning stage to development, but with the help of the Prince Rupert Port Authority's Community Investment Fund, the long desired upgrade to playground equipment is now complete.

Through its Community Investment Fund, the Port Authority contributed 35,344 dollars towards the playground renovations, which was combined with a grant that the Roosevelt PAC and Playground Committee had received from the BC Community Gaming Grant program.

The result of the two year process is a playground that not only features new equipment, but a project that involved a large segment of the Roosevelt Park School community.

Once everyone had offered up their input into the proposed changes to the playground, the Committee offered up two options for consideration, with the successful blue print selected by way of a vote that involved the staff, parents and students at the school.

“It was such a fun and inclusive process for everyone at Roosevelt, particularly the students who had their input included, and obviously the outcome was a resounding success,” “Our staff recognizes the supportive role that parents play in our school, and their efforts are greatly appreciated.” -- Sheila Wells, Principal of Roosevelt Park Community School/ École Communautaire Roosevelt Parc. 

In a media release from Thursday, the Port Authority outlined how the new playground will not only benefit those that attend the school, but will offer those in the immediate area with an opportunity to take advantage of the new equipment as well.

The Roosevelt School playground is one of the few areas on the west side of the city for parents and children to gather and during Spring and into summer, it is popular location owing to the use of the sports field by the Prince Rupert Youth Soccer Association.

The new playground equipment adds to the community nature of that part of town and provides for an outlet for all that youthful energy that needs to be burned off in a healthy manner.

You can review more about the playground project and the Community Investment Fund here.

For  more background on the Port's Community Investment Fund see our archive of items here.

With that in mind, a quick reminder for those in the community that the current opening for submissions of interest to the Community Investment Fund is quickly coming to an end, the final day for applications to the Fund is February 14th.

To get an overview of other Port related developments see our Port Archive page here.

For items related to School District 52, see our archive here.

National Energy Board approves Woodside Energy LNG export licence

Woodside Energy LNG, the Australian energy company that has been exploring its options for LNG development at Grassy Point received a 25 year natural gas export licence on Thursday, providing for another step along in the process of LNG for the North Coast.

That announcement, one of a number that the National Energy Board has made in recent months is part of the review by the Federal regulator of the many proposed LNG developments in British Columbia.

It's a positive move for those looking for progress when it comes to LNG development for the region, but whether a decision from the National Energy Board of yesterday is ever followed up by the company remains to be seen.

Woodside Energy proposal for
an off shore LNG facility for
Grassy Point

Woodside which has been reviewing its options for Grassy Point over the last year or so, has also become a major partner with Chevron for a proposed LNG terminal development in Kitimat.

That Kitimat LNG project is considered by those in the LNG industry as much further along in planning than the proposed Grassy Point project.

Whether Woodside Energy is inclined to take on two major investments in the Northwest at this time, is something that will be watched with interest by LNG observers in the months ahead.

Grassy Point already has had one of the two proposals for the area taken off the drawing board, earlier this month Aurora LNG confirmed that it was shifting its focus for an LNG terminal towards Digby Island, a site that Aurora believes offers the best opportunity for the company to move its plans forward.

The distribution note regarding the Woodside Energy approval  allows for a maximum term quantity of 807 billion cubic metres for export, you can review the NEB announcement for Woodside Energy here.

More background on their two potential developments can be found on our archive pages, the Woodside Energy Grassy Point proposal can be reviewed here, while details on their Kitimat LNG partnership with Chevron can be examined here.

Prince Rupert Council gives final approval to Transit Fare Increases

Considering in recent weeks the usual running time for a Prince Rupert City Council session has been close to two hours, Wednesday's Special Council session may perhaps one day be listed in the record books as the shortest session of municipal governance for the year.

All Council members with the exception of Councillor Joy Thorkelson participated in Wednesday's 5 PM meeting, using sixty seconds of the two minutes and fifteen seconds of the session, to give final approval to some Fare increases for Prince Rupert Transit.

The short meeting was required owing to requirements from BC Transit when it comes to route planning and information material to be delivered in time for the May 1st date that the fare increases will go into effect.

For the record, the video presentation of Wednesday's public session can be found below.




Council then adjourned from their public gathering and went into a Closed session, which excluded the public.

Those discussions marked the third such meeting behind closed doors of the year so far.

For more items related to developments at Prince Rupert City Hall see our Discussion page here.

Northwest Community College receives 100,000 dollar donation from Seabridge Gold

Trades training in Northwest British Columbia received a significant boost this week as Seabridge gold made its third consecutive donation of 100,000 dollars towards programs at Northwest Community College.

The donation  will be put towards the NWCC Trades 10 program, which introduces five trades to Grade 10 students. The Intro to Trades program is currently available with School Districts in Smithers, Terrace and Hazelton, areas where Seabridge Gold is active in mining in the Northwest.

NWCC Took to twitter
to announce donation

NWCC recently outlined details of a new program designed in support of the Mining industry, with background on the Mineral Processing Operator program, which just delivered its first graduates  through their Houston campus.

You can learn more about the 100,000 dollar commitment to NWCC from Seabridge Gold from this media release.

Other trades program opportunities are available at the Prince Rupert campus, the popular Electrical Foundation Training program begins in February, the ACE IT program is also offered through the local campus, with Welding and Industrial Millwright foundation programs currently under way.

For more background on other Trades programs offered through NWCC see their website here.

For more items related to post secondary education in the Northwest see our archive page here.

Port of Prince Rupert may see increased throughput owing to US congestion

Things continue to get heated along the ports of the western United States as negotiations between employers and longshore workers continue on at a fairly slow pace, with slowdowns on the waterfront giving shippers cause to reconsider their transportation plans.

Through the last year, both the Port of Prince Rupert and Port Metro Vancouver have seen increased numbers of transit and some industry observers suggest that those numbers will continue to climb, owing to some of the turmoil of recent months in the US.

While the two sides have reached a tentative deal on some aspects of a proposed agreement, there are still a number of hurdles to be cleared before the US situation settles down and until that final agreement is in place, shipping companies will be looking for alternatives.

With that increased interest however, would appear to bring some challenges, with an increase in delay times a potential problem.

According to Business in Vancouver, container cargo customers have faced delays of two to five days through Prince Rupert, though compared to some of the other ports along the west coast, the Prince Rupert option would appear to remain the fastest transit available to gain entry to North America.

BIV -- U. S. container traffic jams could boost B. C. port business

The long term prospect of more re-directed traffic would appear to work in favour of the planned Phase Two expansion of the Fairview Container Terminal,  with current gateway already working at a high capacity.

With word continuing to spread to shipping lines about the advantages that the North Coast gateway offers,  the prospect of even higher levels of Shipments through Prince Rupert would seem easy to forecast, once the added space has been made available on the Prince Rupert waterfront.

The Port is attending a major Conference on shipping and Logistics this week in Vancouver, with the Prince Rupert Port Authority also listed as one of the Gold Sponsors for this weeks event which wraps up today.

Prince Rupert Port Authority booth
at Cargo Logistics Conference

That event provides an opportunity to share more details on the current capabilities of the Port of Prince Rupert, as well as to highlight the plans for the future, once the highly anticipated expansion project moves forward.

For more on the current levels of U. S. congestion and the impact on Canadians ports see the items below.

Vancouver Province-- B. C. could pick up business from backed-up ports on U. S. West Coast
Seattle Times -- West Coast ports are in rough seas due to slowdown
Wall Street Journal -- West Coast Port Snarls Will Take months to unwind
Labor Notes -- Union Faces Fresh Questions in West Coast Longshore standoff


For more items related to developments with the Prince Rupert Port Authority see our archive page here.

Council waives Arena Rental fee for Guns and Hoses Charity Game

Prince Rupert's Everybody Gets to Play program was the winner on Monday evening, as Prince Rupert city Council considered a request from organizers of the annual Guns and Hoses Charity Hockey Game that takes place in the City.

Council reviewed a letter from Inspector Wayne Maughn of the Prince Rupert detachment of the RCMP, who outlined the nature of the Charity Game and the local program designated for support this year, all part of the request to have the City waive the regular rental fee for ice time at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre.

After a few minutes of discussion and a reminder from Councillor Barry Cunningham on the focus of the program that is run through the Civic Centre, the rent for the night of hockey was waived.

You can learn more about the Everybody Gets to Play program from this link to the City's Recreation Department

As we outlined on the blog on Tuesday, planning is now in motion for the game, which is set to take place on Saturday, February 7th starting at 7:30.

The short conversation regarding the Arena request can be found from the City's Video Archie, it runs from the 47 to 49 minute mark




For more items from Prince Rupert City Council see our Discussions Page archive here.

Northern Health provides City Council with an outline of its Healthy Communities Program

Monday night's Council session featured a presentation from Northern Health, as Sheila Gordon-Payne and Jane Boutette offered up some background on the focus of the Healthy Communities Program.

They highlighted the consultation and innovation that the project is bringing to Health Care in the community, taking a more a pro-active approach on the health of those living on the North Coast.

Through their Healthy Communities Committee, Northern Health is looking to engage the community in developing a strategic approach to target areas of concern to help residents avoid the need for acute care further down the road.

The main focus for this year for the Committee will be to examine issues related to youth at risk and items of interest regarding Seniors.

Representing the City of Prince Rupert on the Healthy Communities Committee will be Councillor Barry Cunningham, with Councillor Thorkelson standing as an alternate to the Committee.

More on the Healthy Communities approach can be found from the Northern Health website.

In addition to the overview of the Healthy Communities program, Ms. Gordon-Payne outlined the need for local residents to take advantage of the many grant opportunities that are offered by Northern Health, noting that they did not have a large number of applicants from the North Coast in the most recent grant period.

That lack of participation, left a fair amount of grant money behind that could have been used for programs and services in the community.

You can review the presentation from Monday from the City's Video Archive, it starts at the eleven minute mark and continues through until the 34 minute point.



For more items related to discussions at City Council see our Archive page here.

Council gets preview of Northern Growth Conference planned for March

Representatives of the Northwest
Growth Conference at Council Jan 26

Prince Rupert City Council members received a bit of a sneak preview of a Conference planned for the city in March, an economic gathering which will offer up the opportunity for local residents to explore opportunities that could come from any industrial growth that may be planned for the city.

John Farrell from Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest and Paul Venditelli of the Prince Rupert and Port Edward Economic Development Corporation provided the outline of the two day event known as the Northwest Growth Conference.

Scheduled for March 6th and 7th at the North Coast Convention Centre and other venues around town, the conference will feature presentations, speakers and boot camp like experiences. All designed to offer more information for those in the community that may be interested in learning how to gain access to industrial supply chains and other items related to development.

As well as the two days of information, the Northwest Growth Conference will play host to a local Trade show element, offering the opportunity for local businesses or organizations to secure a booth to showcase what they may have to offer as development nears.

Former Prince Rupert CBC Radio reporter Kevin Brown has been tapped as the Master of Ceremonies for the two day conference. With economist/author Michael H. Shuman providing the keynote address to the gathering.

The City of Prince Rupert has signed on as a Platinum Sponsor of the event, lending its support to the the first of what organizers hope will be an annual event for the City.

You can learn more about the Conference from its Facebook page here, or from the Hecate Straight Employment Development Conference page, where information on how to register for the two days of information exchange on the North Coast.

A review of the presentation to Council can be found below, it starts at the 3 minute mark and continues on until about 11 minutes.



For more items related to City Council see our Discussions from Council Archive page here.

Alaska Governor maintains Prince Rupert Terminal renovation will go ahead ... at some time.

While the January bid process for repairs to the infrastructure of the Alaska Marine Highway Terminal in Prince Rupert is now dead, the project itself should come back to life at some point.

That at least according to some news reports out of Juneau, which suggest that Alaska Governor Dave Walker is hopeful that that the different levels of government will eventually come to an agreement on the Buy America controversy that brought the renovation plans to halt last week.

The Juneau Empire featured an item that outlined how the State of Alaska believes that the current state of the terminal would allow for up to five years of operation, though they are looking into the details of the lease agreement to see if there are any obligations or timeline required to have those renovations in place.

The article goes on to explain that the State plans to re-engage with Canadian officials at some point in the next year, allowing for the current break to serve as a cooling off period it would seem.

Ketchikan's Public Radio station KRBD also had some background on the current state of the ferry renovation project, with the Governor highlighting the Prince Rupert Terminal as important to what the state does as part of its Alaska Marine Highway System.

The tone of commentary regarding the Ferry terminal renovation is a little more subdued from that of last week.

Last Thursday we outlined on the blog, how the Juneau Empire in an editorial piece had called for the Ferry service to end its port call in Prince Rupert.

The comments coming out of the Governor's office of last week would seem to suggest that patience and discussion will be the path chosen and not the approach as recommended by the newspaper's editorial page writers.

You can review the full timeline of events regarding the controversy through our archive pages from 2105 and 2014 found here.

Planning underway for annual Guns and Hoses Game

Photo of past Guns and Hoses participants
courtesy of Prince Rupert Firefighters Facebook page

The Prince Rupert Rampage season may have come to an end, but there is still one more high profile hockey game to come on the Prince Rupert Sports calendar.

Planning for the annual on ice battle between the Fire Department and the local detachment of the RCMP is underway, with the schedule calling for the teams to take to the ice of the Jin Ciccone Civic  Centre at 7:30 PM  on Saturday, February 7th this year.

As in years past, the Charity Hockey Game identifies a local group or organization to reap the benefit of the night of hockey.

This year the local program "Everybody Gets to Play" which is run through the Civic Centre has been selected by the participating teams.

That project provides a way for children from economically disadvantaged families to have access to local recreation experiences.

More details on the Guns and Hoses match up will be outlined as we get closer to the February 7th puck drop.

One location to follow to learn more about the upcoming match will be through the Prince Rupert Firefighters Facebook page

Pacific Future Energy keeps proposed oil refinery plans in the news

The dramatic drop in oil prices in recent months hasn't apparently reduced the enthusiasm for Pacific Future Energy and their plans for an oil terminal development for the North Coast.

In recent days, the company has been featured in the media on two occasions, the first an editorial piece for the Vancouver Sun composed by Ovide Mercredi, an advisor with Pacific Future Energy and former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

Mr. Mecredi addressed the theme of the need for First Nations to become more involved in industrial projects that are proposed across the nation. Towards that process, Mr. Mercredi offered up some of the current approaches of Pacific Future Energy as they seek to engage First Nations in their proposed oil terminal project.

Among some of his key points from the editorial, the terminal project would supply Northern Coastal First Nations with cleaner diesel from a nearby refinery, reducing the dangers of the current process of barging the fuel from Vancouver.

He also stressed the technical aspects of the Pacific Future Energy proposal, which calls for near zero carbon emissions to be found from the refinery itself.

Mr. Mercredi also hailed the approach that Pacific Future Energy is taking with its project, outlining how he believes it could become a model for all resource projects in the future.

Mr. Mercredi's op-ed piece in the Sun was delivered at around the same time that an appearance from CEO Samer Salameh  provided more background on the company plans.

The Pacific Future Energy CEO outlined for Business News Network the progress of the proposed terminal development and some of the key factors related to its potential development.

He outlines that the current drop in oil prices is not of a major concern to his company proposal. Stating that refineries such as the Pacific Future Energy proposal make their margins on the difference between crude oil and refined oil, which he believes would provide a desired profit margin for his company.

He observed that consultation with First Nations is a key point of their planning, however he did not expand very much on the nature of any negotiations that may currently underway.

He wraps up his review on the topic of transportation, reviewing how the bitumen would be delivered to the terminal for processing. Suggesting that if a pipeline project that feeds into his proposed terminal does not prove workable, then the oil by train process of transportation would be used to bring bitumen to the coast.

You can review the full interview here.

Yesterday, Mr. Salameh provided a background piece for the Financial Post, a sit down session which followed his appearance at the Empire Club in Toronto.

Pacific Future Energy CEO
Samer Salameh at Empire Club
in Toronto on Monday

He tells the Post, that Pacific Future Energy has narrowed their Terminal development choices to two locations on the BC coast, though he did not identify those locations in his review. He also outlined that the timeline for the company has it finking for an environmental assessment by the end of this year.

In the past, the Prince Rupert area has been mentioned frequently as possible destination for the company and its oil terminal project.

In a bid to cut the cost of construction of the refinery project, Pacific Future would seek out modules from Asia and ship them to the province.

Mr. Salameh  also observed that he believes that the Pacific Future Energy project meets the British Columbia Government's five conditions, a to do list that was originally put in place for the Northern Gateway pipeline.

While Pacific Future Energy continues on with its planning phase, there still appears to be a fair amount of resistance to their proposal to be found along the coast.

Still to be seen is whether the blue print for the project, which includes Mr. Mercredi's observations on First Nations engagement, can swing some of that current opposition in the province over the months ahead.

Background on the Pacific Future Energy Refinery and Terminal can be found from their website here.

For more information on the proposed development can be round on our project archive page here.

Prince Rupert Emergency Responders commemorate Alberta Constable David Wynn

A mid-day procession through the downtown area on Monday allowed members of the Prince Rupert detachment, along with a number of other emergency responders to commemorate the life of slain RCMP Constable David Wynn.

Constable Wynn was murdered in the Alberta community of St. Albert last week, responding to a call in that Alberta city, another constable was injured in that incident.

For the Prince Rupert march, the Mounties were joined by members of the Prince Rupert Fire Service, BC Ambulance and other law enforcement officers in the region, as they marched from the Prince Rupert detachment offices through the streets of the downtown area through the noon hour period.

The City of Prince Rupert posted two photos of the procession to their website on Monday afternoon.

Photo from City of Prince Rupert employee,
posted to City's website on Monday

The CBC's George Baker also posted a photo of the procession, as well as this review of the day's events for Daybreak North.

The weekly newspaper also featured a photo of the procession, posted to their website yesterday.

Constable Wynn's life was remembered in full regimental service in St. Albert, Alberta on Monday afternoon.  Some background on Monday's emotional service can be found below:

Global Edmonton -- Thousands pay respect to St. Albert RCMP Const. David Wynn at regimental funeral (video)
CTV Edmonton -- Fallen Mountie described as joyful and witty brother, husband, father
Edmonton Journal -- Sombre goodbye to RCMP Constable Wynn
Edmonton Sun-- Police, emergency responders, public gather in St. Albert for memorial of RCMP Const. David Wynn
Edmonton Sun-- Thousands gather to say their farewells to St. Albert RCMP Const. Wynn
CBC -- Constable David Wynn honoured by thousands at funeral

Kitselas First Nation receives funding for Environmental Assessment participation

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has allocated $50,000 to the Kitselas First nation to assist in its participation in the environmental assessment of the proposed Prince Rupert LNG Project.

That is the proposed BG Terminal project development for Ridley Island,  last October BG announced that their proposal was being put on pause, with any Final Investment Decision deferred until a later time.

The environmental aspects of the project through the CEAA however continue on.

The funding, made available through the Participant Funding Program will provide financial resources for the First Nation to participate in upcoming stages of the Environmental Assessment process.

Some of the work ahead with that process for the Prince Rupert LNG project, includes the review and comment on the Environmental Impact Statement summary, the draft Environmental Assessment Report and on potential environmental assessment conditions.

The Kitselas Nation was recently in the news after reaching an agreement with the proponents of two Pipeline projects that are planned to deliver natural gas to terminal projects in Prince Rupert.

Last last year, the Kitselas Nation announced an agreement with Pacific NorthWest LNG, one of a string of announcements that the LNG company had reached with local First Nations.


The advisory of the additional funding came by way of a Public Notice issued on Friday by the CEAA.

For more items related to the Prince Rupert LNG project see our project archive page here. 

For a larger overview of LNG issues across the Northwest see our archive here.

NWCC features Applied Coastal Ecology program in You Tube presentation

One of the highly acclaimed educational offerings at Northwest Community College is the Applied Coastal Ecology program, based out of the the Prince Rupert campus, the program attracts students from the across the Northwest, as well as from other parts of Canada.

The program is designed to prepare graduates for careers in a number of occupations such as; coastal natural resources management, ecosystem restoration, environmental monitoring, as well as a number of other employment opportunities.

This month NWCC is launching a media campaign to raise awareness about the options available through the Prince Rupert course.

To help prospective students gain a better understanding of the program, NWCC has put together a video overview of the program for its You Tube page.

As part of the review, NWCC student Melissa Rektor gives a snapshot when it comes to what she hopes to gain from the program.

The two year program provides a certificate after one year of study and a diploma after year two. The Applied Coastal Ecology program features two intakes, one in September and the second in January.

You can review some of the program background here, the thirty second visual presentation of what NWCC has to offer can be found below:




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