BC Ferry issues of concern to Interior tourism officials

As the North Coast moves into the heart of the tourism season for 2014, concerns over the impact of the recent BC Ferry service cutbacks continue to remain high.

With tourism operators from Bella Coola to the North Coast and on to Haida Gwaii keeping an eye on the level of visitors to their regions.

The potential impact however has spread far beyond the Northern and coastal regions, in Williams Lake tourism advocates have offered up their voices in support of a revisit by the Government to their cuts, with the Discovery Coast service in particular of high concern to the interior communities.

Former Prince Rupert journalist Monica Lamb-Yorski, who now writes for the Williams Lake Tribune offers up some background on the impact of the cuts to the Discovery Coast service and how the efforts of those in Williams Lake to address the changes to that service have received little in the way of attention  from officials.

Those in the Tourism industry in the Chilcoltin region have outlined some of their concerns over the nature of the vessels in use on that service and the schedule that is currently in place, which they fear is driving away potential visitors to their region.

The Williams Lake and District chamber of Commerce recently joined the chorus of those across Northern British Columbia and Haida Gwaii, seeking to have BC Ferries reverse their decisions on Service Cuts until an adequate study on the economic impact on them can be done.

That was a theme of the Prince Rupert study from earlier this year, a report that was delivered to provincial officials.

Though much like the situation facing tourism advocates in the Chilcotin, there has been little in the way of movement from the province to be seen on the North Coast since that time.

You can review the full article from Ms. Lamb-Yorski here.

For more items on the theme of BC Ferries see our archive page.

Prince Rupert Crimestoppers debuts Facebook page

Accessing information and news about the Prince Rupert Crimestoppers organization is going to be an easy to discover and enjoyable experience now, with the debut of a new Facebook page dedicated to the work of local group.

Launched this week, it is still a bit of a work in progress, but already features a number of photos and some background information on what the volunteer based group is all about.

One item of note just posted to the page is the just announced partnership between Prince Rupert Crimestoppers and the Police/Fire Museum, which will see the two groups working together on the restoration  of the 1947 Mercury Police car that the Museum is in possession of.  Originally in use during the days of the BC Provincial Police, the police version is the  last of its kind in the Province.

The restoration process on the car will continue through the summer and into the fall, with hopes to have the work completed by that time.

Once it has been restored, the vehicle will be put back into service with the current Prince Rupert Detachment.

You can learn more about that project as well as further information on the local Crimestoppers organization from this link to their page.

Those that wish to join the organization can pick up an application form at the local detachment of the RCMP on Sixth Avenue West.

Hecate Strait organization highlights services to Immigrant community

Monday night's Council session provided for a primer on what kind of services are currently available to newcomers to Canada that have settled in the Prince Rupert region.

Mr. Glenn Groulx, who leads a team on Immigrant Settlement Services at Hecate Strait Business Development, spoke to Council providing some background on the program which started in the community in April.

Through his presentation he outlined some of the programs and services that are offered at the 1st Avenue East offices.

Among the programs of note outlined to council were, Computer and Internet access, an English club

in partnership with the public library, field trips into the community and a number of social activities for newcomers to the city.

He further expanded on the Skills Connect for Immigrants Program, the Resource Library for Immigrants and how the organization connects with the immigrant community in the city.

Following the presentation, Council members were offered the opportunity to seek out further information on the services provided.

Councillor Kinney, started the question period by asking as to the number of immigrants that the Centre has provided service for in the last six months, Mr. Groulx outlined that so far in the year they have provided assistance to some 30 to 40 newcomers to the city.  He

Councillor Thorkelson offered up a few observations and questions on the theme of temporary foreign workers and immigrants to the community, asking what kind of guidance that the service provides to workers in the community regarding terms of employment rights and safety concerns.

Mr. Groulx outlined the scope of the mandate for the Organization and what it can provide to any newcomers to the community.

The full presentation can be found on the City's Video Archive starting at the 6 minute thirty second mark.

More background information on the program run through Hecate Strait can be found from their website.

For other items related to City Council see our Council Discussion Archive page.

Council to seek better access to Information on Dangerous Goods movements through the City

With a growing number of trucks travelling to and from the container port and transiting through the city these days, Council heard concerns on the prospect of dangerous goods travelling through the city.

The topic was raised by way of discussion from Councillor Joy Thorkelson, who introduced the issue at Monday's council session.

As she introduced the theme, she outlined how she was seeking some knowledge on whether there is any legislation in place to require disclosure of dangerous goods on city roads.

She also called attention to some concerns regarding both rail traffic coming into the city and the prospect of dangerous goods travelling through the city to and from the container port.

Highlighting a concern that she was made aware of in relation to a recent transit of trucks that were observed carrying some form of wax substance.

She observed that should there have been an accident emergency officials would not have had much information on the nature of that
cargo.

As part of the discussion, she asked that Council ensure that the Port is providing proper notification of any dangerous goods that may be travelling along city roads.  As part of the discussion, she asked for staff to explore if there was any to have the same kind of notification on truck shipments that is currently in place regarding rail shipments.

The Mayor tasked the City Manager to seek out further information on the issue from the Emergency Services coordinator in the community.

You can review councils discussion on the topic from the Council Video Archive page, the topic starts up at the1 hour thirty minute mark.

We have notes on other developments at City Council available on our archive page.

Council to consider forming a Housing Committee to address housing issues in the community

The topic of social and supportive housing has become a frequent theme of Prince Rupert City Council meetings in recent months, with Councillor Joy Thorkelson spearheading the move to address concerns around the community.

Monday night, she took those concerns to Council once again, with the councillor recounting some of the items of note that she has relayed to Council in past sessions, including the lack of supportive housing for those with addictions and other life challenges.

Towards relieving some of those stresses on supportive housing, Councillor Thorkelson outlined some background on how Vancouver is approaching those issues, working with Vancouver Coastal Health to address the same issues in the lower mainland.

That is a framework that the Councillor believes could work for Prince Rupert, with Northern Health perhaps to be involved in seeking solutions to similar issues in the Prince Rupert area.


She also called attention to the need for improved low cost and social housing for those that are caught in the upward spiral of rental accommodations in the city.

As well, she suggested that City Council seek out a report from staff and give some thought to creating a local Housing Committee, which would be tasked to explore the needs for improved access to housing further and come up some form of guidance for the community as to how to address the issues.

On the theme of land use in the community, the Mayor advised that Council may wish to wait until the City Planner delivers his report on the scope of land allocation in the community, a report that is due to be presented in July.

Councillor Garon echoed the Mayors thoughts on the issue,  while Councillor Ashley suggested that as they wait for that report, that council begin to give some thought as to  who they would like to see involved in those discussions at a committee level and to consider what approach to take to the issue.

Councillor Cunningham brought up the prospect of inviting BC Housing representatives back to Council to explore the situation further, he also inquired as to whether the City could hand over land zoned as P1 and P2 to non profit housing groups.

That suggestion was something that the Mayor said that staff could investigate further and could be a theme that Council could consider in future sessions.

Councillor Thorkelson stayed with her preference for more immediate action, suggesting that the report while helpful for background on housing stock, would not take on the issues of access to the various levels of housing under discussion.

She outlined more thoughts on the need for supportive housing and improved social housing in the community, highlighting her observations on a growing homeless situation in the city.

In the short term, Council will forward a letter of concern on the issue from the Community to Community Forum, directing that it be sent to the appropriate government agencies as well as to Northern Health.

Council also voted to add Social and supportive housing issues to their list of proposed discussion points for the fall session of the UBCM in Whistler.

You can review the full scope of the Housing discussion from the Council Video Archive page, it starts at the 1 hour 33 minute mark and continues on for twelve minutes or so.

For more items on Housing in the community see our archive page.

We have more Council Coverage available from our Council Discussion archive page.

Friday Port Call for Two cruise ships to Prince Rupert

"All ashore, that's going ashore" will be the call Friday morning on the Prince Rupert waterfront, as two cruise vessels make a port call on the city, marking the busiest day of the 2014 cruise season for Prince Rupert.

And while the vessels making the stopover in the city aren't the largest that we have seen over the years, the arrival of the Silver Shadow and the Caledonian Sky  will offer up a suggestion of what an increased presence in the cruise industry could bring the city once again.

The twin hit of cruise ships should see close to 500 visitors exploring the city and region's attractions, the Caledonian Sky accommodates 114 passengers who will be transported to Prince Rupert from the vessels anchorage in Prince Rupert Harbour, the Caledonian Sky pulls into the harbour at 7:30 AM.

The Silver Shadow receives the Northland Cruise Terminal berth, arriving at 8 AM with a potential 382 guests ready to examine what the North Coast has to offer.

Some may already have some idea as to what they wish to take in, Cruise Prince Rupert has developed a web portal that outlines a fair amount of background on the region and some of the activities and attractions that are available from it.

Prince Rupert will see ten cruise ships in total call on the port this year, with seven vessels still to come following tomorrows port call.  Three of those calls arrive in July, with none scheduled for August and  the remainder in September.

The final cruise call of the year takes place on September 19th when the Silver Shadow makes another visit to the city.

For more items of interest on Cruise related developments see our Archive page.

Port Authority tops off International Seafarers Day with a top up of funding for local Centre

The Prince Rupert Seafarers Centre celebrated the 4th Annual Day of the Seafarer on Wednesday, with a short presentation at the Third Avenue location, highlighted by the announcement of a five thousand dollar donation from the Prince Rupert Port Authority, destined to assist in the delivery of services to mariners from around the world.

The Prince Rupert Centre offers up storefront assistance to visiting crew members from the wide range of vessels that call on Port
Facilities in the city.

You can learn more about Wednesday's announcement and some of the impact that the local service has on visiting seafarers from this item from the Port Authority website.

Those in the community that wish to donate of their time, or services can learn more about the local centre by dropping into their Third Avenue storefront location at 245 3rd Avenue West. They can be reached at 250-624-6724.

More on what International Seafarer's Day is all about can be found from the YouTube video below:



As part of the commemoration of International Seafarer's Day supporters of the program world wide were asked to submit a photo featuring the sentence "Seafarer's brought me ..."

Courtesy of the Prince Rupert Port Authority, the Prince Rupert contribution to the theme can be found above, for a look at the world wide project check out the facebook page and twitter feed that was dedicated to International Seafarer's Day.

Watson Island "Burn Rate" estimated at 50 to 60 thousand per month

The public comment portion regarding the City's 2013 Annual Report of Monday's Council meeting provided for a brief glimpse into some of the financial obligation of the city when it comes to maintenance issues at Watson Island.

The review of recent developments at the industrial site and disclosure of the cost of ongoing maintenance costs came as part of Council's Open Forum section of Monday nights session, which saw  Mr. Larry Golden once again take to the microphone.

This time he asked Council members how much money was currently being spent on maintenance issues at the Watson island industrial site and how the city planned to cover those costs.

As part of the answer to Mr. Golden's question, Mayor Mussallem provided some background on the nature of those costs, highlighting how they had been reduced from their previous totals of 80 to 100 thousand dollars per month.

Those costs apparently reduced after Council had tasked City Manager Robert Long to reduce some of the ongoing burden from the industrial site, mainly through the removal of some of the monitoring concerns from the site.

As for the current "burn rate" on Watson Island maintenance, the Mayor turned the proceedings over to the City's Financial Officer Corinne Bomben.

She explained that the current rate of maintenance costs were in the 50 to 60 thousand dollar range and that it was hoped by the City that those costs would be addressed by way of rental income from the site.

While it's quite helpful of Mr. Golden to seek out such information from the city, questions of this nature should actually be the domain of the Council members, who collectively should be more proactive on behalf of the city's residents.

Not only should the city's council members be raising those kinds of questions of staff in public forum as part of their duties on Council, but they should also be seeking out ways to have such details made more accessible to the city's residents, perhaps making better use of the city's website.

Through the trials and tribulations that have been the Watson Island file through the years, few if any details have ever really been delivered in public forum by council members. For many residents developments both past and current remain very much a mystery.

Instead it seems that we have to wait for someone to take advantage of a public question period, in this case, a comment on the Annual report to seek a little clarity on events.

Clearly the flow of information on Watson Island could use a little improvement from Council.

You can review this short review of the Watson island file of Monday night from the City's Video Archive, the discussion starts at the 43 minute mark and continues on for five minutes or so.

For more background on developments at Watson Island see our archive page for the industrial site.

More background on items of note from City council can be found on  our archive page.

Council approve draft resolutions for UBCM travels of the fall

As we outlined on the blog on Monday, Prince Rupert Council has put together a list of seven potential discussion points for their travels to Whistler at this years UBCM conference. Among those issues of concern to Council were items on port taxation, tax caps and other items related to industrial development on the North Coast.

Council provided for some tweaking of the wording on a few of their suggestions, but for the most part approved the list of draft resolutions as part of their Monday evening session.

After a short review from the City's Corporate Administrator, Council voted on each individual resolution and added them to their wish list of topics to be forwarded to the UBCM convention planners.

Later in the Council session, they also added on other item, one not  previously highlighted in the Council agenda for Monday.

With Council deciding to add concerns over Social Housing to the list of items that could be considered by UBCM members

From the City Council Video Archive you can review the full discussion on those resolutions they will submit to UBCM, the discussion starts at the 1 hour 16 minute portion and continues on until the 1 hour thirty eight minute mark.

Draft resolutions are only suggestions for discussion however and whether any of the eight prospective Prince Rupert resolutions make it to the final Agenda for the fall gathering will be determined later this summer by UBCM conference organizers.

For more items on Prince Rupert City Council discussion points see our archive page.

Woodside LNG looking at two options for Grassy Point LNG development

Monday night was presentation night for the Australian based energy company Woodside, as John Litchfield, the Manager of Indigenous Affairs for the company outlined at what stage their proposed LNG development for Grassy Point is at and what kind of timeline the company was looking to follow in their early stages of review.

He opened his review of the company by providing some background on the work of Woodside in Australia where the company has been operating for over 60 years and operating LNG facilities across the country for over 25 years.

During the course of his twenty minute presentation, Mr. Litchfield provided a glimpse of the two options that the Australian company is considering for their parcel of land at Grassy Point that they are examining on land north of Prince Rupert near Lax Kw'alaams.

He outlined the nature of the agreement between Woodside and the Provincial Government, providing for a three year window to investigate the feasibility of developing any terminal project in the region.

The main focus of their initial review is to determine if it makes financial sense for the company to move forward with the project and that any decision to move on that prospect is a few years in the future.

As for the actual proposals for Terminal development, Mr. Litchfield highlighted the two concepts that Woodside is reviewing for the site, should the project prove feasible.

One a on onshore facility and the other one which would be a floating terminal located offshore of Grassy Point. He offered up a bit of background on the differences between the two options.

The floating proposal would be constructed offshore and floated to the North Coast, requiring less of a construction work force to put it in place. Litchfield estimated that number of workers required on that proposal would only be in the range of 1,000 workers.

The onshore proposal would have a much larger impact on the region, requiring a much larger construction work force, numbering near 6,000 workers.

Both proposals would provide full time operational jobs numbering around 300 over the minimum 25 years of operation for the terminal. He also outlined some of the indirect employment opportunities associated to the operations of the terminal.

The theme of engagement in social investment was also reviewed, with Woodside using their work in Australia with aboriginal people as a template as to a potential path they would follow in British Columbia.

The timeline of the process moving forward was outlined, with the first of the Environmental Assessment engagement to be put in motion as early as July of this year, with a final Project Description to be delivered in the second half of 2014.

In closing he stressed their desire to engage in extensive consultation with First Nations, Governments and the public in the region.

Following the presentation, three Council members offered up some thoughts on the project with questions and suggestions for the Woodside representative.

Councillor Ashley led off the queries, outlining the nature of these developments tend to be those of development outside of the municipal boundaries, but impacting communities that act as service centres, wihtout tax benefits to the communities that host those services.

Mr. Litchfield outlined that it was an issue that Woodside would have to consider further, but that he was aware of the nature of the question of service agreements and that they are familiar with the idea of general land use agreements and how benefits need to be spread more broadly.

Councillor Thorkelson followed up on the theme of development of the project and where Woodside would see workers living during both the construction and permanent operational periods.

Mr. Litchfield returned to the two options they are considering and how they may factor into those numbers. He also highlighted the engagement that Woodside intends to develop with Aboriginal communities in the region.

Councillor Garon offered up some observations on the near shore version of the LNG terminal, calling attention to the nature of our occasional severe weather of the North Coast and the impact that may have on such a structure located off shore.

The Mayor closed the presentation with an inquiry as to whether Woodside would be setting up an office in the community to provide further review of their proposals as they move forward.

It all made for an interesting review,  Woodside however, would appear to be more of a long game proponent.

As Mr. Litchfield outlined for Council, that Woodside anticipates a three year window to examine the feasibility of their proposal, while any announcement of moving forward would appear to be a few years down the line just yet.

You can review more on their proposal from the City Council Video Archive, Mr. Litchfield starts his presentation at the twenty six minute mark, it continues through until the 

For more background on the Woodside proposal, see our Industrial Development archive page for the project.

Those looking for more items of note from City Council can find them posted to our City Council Discussion Points page here.

Lot 444 becomes a talking point at Council

Monday's public comment opportunity as part of the City Council session, provided for an interesting review of how Prince Rupert Council believes they are handling the issue of potential development of a parcel of land along Tuck inlet.

As we outlined on the blog last month, Part of Lot 444, features a section of land that is adjacent to the City's Watershed and was recently proposed as a potential site for an LNG terminal development.

That prospect became the theme of of discussion as part of the Public Comments portion of the Committee of the Whole session of Monday evening. With Larry Golden, a frequent observer of much of Council's work approaching the microphone to make a few inquiries of council over their plans for
the land in question.

The first being a note that so far in the process, there has been no outline of public meetings and other features of public overview of the proposal.

During the course of his questions of council it seemed that at times, some Council and staff members were approaching Mr. Golden's efforts with something a little less than with enthusiasm.

Though through the course of the discussion, he finally seemed to break through to gain some insight into the process ahead for the proposed development of the parcel of land around Tuck Inlet.

One of the more interesting observations on the theme came from City Manager Robert Long, who provided Mr. Golden with a bit of a backgrounder on the nature of the wholly owned Legacy company that the city will operate regarding the land in question.

Suggesting that the nature of the company's operations could be considered similar to the way that CityWest has been created, something that may or many not provide much in the way of reassurance for some in the community.

Particularly when you consider some of the more recent discussion points from Council when it comes to the City owned tele-communication company and the financial return to the city that it has provided for in recent years.

Councillor Thorkelson observed that she wasn't quite sure what Mr. Golden was trying to get at through his line of questioning.

She then however did offer up some comments on the topic of the proposed project and stated that Council is dealing with that, explaining that there would be a zoning meeting put in place to rezone the land to LNG only.

She also outlined up her thoughts on the nature of the wholly owned company and its role in the process ahead, with money gained from any land sale to be allocated towards public use such community infrastructure such as streets, fixing the dam and such.

She reinforced that the whole process would be thorough and public.

The Mayor also highlighted the city's plan to hold public meetings, and introduction of the rezoning process and the public comment that goes with it.

He also reviewed the intention of the city to hire a third party, who will be tasked with a  review of the proposed project and to do an analysis as to how the development may impact the surrounding water, surrounding land and the air shed

Councillor Ashley outlined her talking points on the theme, advising that while dates have not been set up as of yet, all the stages of the process ahead would be made public and council would be seeking as much public engagement as possible.

Councillor Cunningham provided his take on Mr. Golden's points of concern, a outlining that Council wants this to be totally transparent to the community.

Highlighting how the city owns the land and that the community will have a big say with what the City does with it, adding that it will not be like any other land on the waterfront.

Councillors Garon, Kinney and Carlick-Pearson offered up no thoughts or comments on the nature of Mr. Golden's questions, or on the process ahead for the question of Lot 444 development.

As a whole Council seems to be reacting with a bit of consternation as to why some residents may be more concerned about the process than Council members appear to be.

For the most part there is some basis for such concern, beginning with how the land became available for development.

As we remember, Lot 444 came to be placed within the municipal boundary after Council sought  approval to expand the boundary, outlined at the time as a way to bring the watershed to be within the civic boundary.

At that time and during the process in place to seek comment from the public, no mention of developing the land into an LNG terminal location was declared.

Then there's the nature of that process Council used to secure that approval, using the Alternate Approval Process to seek the comment from the public.

That consultation process is one that both Councillors Ashley and Thorkelson had expressed concerns over in the past. So to use that method to expand the municipal boundary and then to also turn around and announce that the land will be offered out for development certainly raised a few eyes in the community.

Perhaps much of the concern over the city's plans for the Tuck Inlet land parcel stems from the lack of information that the City and Council delivers on issues of this type.

They have been slow to provide any public notices on their plan ahead when it comes to Lot 444 and have not made much of an effort to provide background information on the proposal on the city website. A portal that should be used to much more effect by Council, so as to avoid some of these controversies.

Beyond that, the frequent use of special closed sessions by this Council, (12 so far in 2014) doesn't provide the community with the impression that much information is to be expected from Council in their twice a month public sessions.

And if one goes through the archives of past Council sessions, there's really little in the way of discussion between councillors and staff on issues such as this one that take place in those public sessions.

The fact that a resident had to raise questions in one of the few public opportunities available to discuss issues with Council, should be an indication that the City and Council needs to be more engaged with the community on such issues.

Through their talking points at Monday's public session, Council members seem to be floating the always popular theme of transparency, a very much over used word by politicians.

Mr. Golden's comments weren't particularly critical, more to the point he was simply seeking some basic information on a topic of which little information has been provided.

Considering the tone and content of their commentary and follow up remarks to Mr. Golden's very basic questions, the community no doubt will be looking for Council and the City to provide prompt notification, frequent updates and much more in the way of information on any proposed developments that involve Lot 444.

You can review the full discussion from the Committee of the Whole session through the City's Video Archive page, the conversation starts at 14:30 and continues on until 23:30 .

For further items of note from Prince Rupert City Council see our archive page.

Port Highlights both physical and financial growth in Annual Report

Last week, the Prince Rupert Port Authority outlined the year that was for Port related developments, hosting a Public Meeting and releasing details of their 2013 Annual report.

Key among the review from Port of Prince Rupert President and CEO Don Krusel was the connection that Prince Rupert is providing not only in British Columbia, but across the continent and towards Asia.

The focus of the last weeks Annual meeting as a look at the progress of the Port in the last twelve months. From its financial momentum through the volume of existing products such as coal, lumber and containers that pass through the Port, to the introduction of the Westview Terminal production to the Port's exports listings.

From those efforts the total port volume of Cargo for 2013 was recorded at 23 million tonnes, with the Prince Rupert Port Authority reporting an annual profit of over 16 million dollars.

As well as those ongoing ventures for the Port, the future is still very much on their mind.

As they outlined the progress of such projects as the Rail and Utility corridor and planned expansion of the Fairview Terminal, providing some background into the impact such developments continue to have on the community.

The Annual report provides for projections of increased capacity should future projects such as an off dock Container Yard and Logistics Park and the proposed LNG Terminal developments reach the completion phase of their planning.

All of those items are tied into the Port's Gateway 2020 vision plan.

Previously mentioned in the media last week, were plans of the Port Authority to create a bulk break port facility near Prince Rupert Grain on Ridley Island, break bulk is what the Fairview port was originally designed for, prior to its conversion for the import and export of container shipments.

The return of a break bulk option highlights the growing nature of industrial development of Northern British Columbia, making the Port of Prince Rupert a logistical receiving point for many of the major projects proposed for the Northern half of the province.

To gain a good understanding of what break bulk is and what may be ahead for the Port of Prince Rupert, this 2013 item from Canadian Shipping provides some helpful background into the service it could provide.

Of interest is the mention on page 11 of the Canadian Shipping item, which focuses on the potential for growth in break bulk options for Prince Rupert.

The announcement last week of the Ridley project, would seem to address some of that interest in re-establishing the break bulk options for the port for the first time since 2007.

One final note from the Annual report will be of interest to those that continue to wait for an announcement on the theme of the Canpotex terminal.

That much discussed, but yet to be delivered proposal is still on the Port Authority radar, with a mention in the Annual Report as still under consideration, with an estimated completion date still listed as sometime in 2017.

Though, a glance over towards Saskatchewan and the Canpotex website, doesn't suggest that any decision is imminent. Still the fact that it's included in the published Port report should help keep that particular industrial dream for Prince Rupert alive for a while yet.

Beyond the facts and figures of Transportation and Logistics, the Annual report also highlighted the Port's contributions to the community. Offering up a listing of some of the Port's involvement through its Community Investment Fund.

That program has delivered over 1.5 million dollars in capital funds for local projects over the last four years.

You can review the full report from this link from the Port Authority website.

For more items on Port related developments see our Archive page for recent and past items of interest.

Prince Rupert Port Authority commits $200,000 for North Pacific Cannery restoration project

It was a busy weekend in Port Edward for one of the North Coast's top attractions, as hundreds  of visitors gathered to celebrate the125th Anniversary events at the North Pacific Cannery Historical site on Saturday and Sunday.

And to add to the already good vibe of the weekend, a well received announcement of further funding towards renovations to the Cannery's Working Dock project was delivered by the Prince Rupert Port Authority.

Ken Veldman, the Director of Public Affairs with the Prince Rupert Port Authority outlined the scope of the contribution of $200,000 from the Port's Community Investment Fund.

Money that will go towards restoration of the Cannery's Working Dock, a key aspect of the 2.3 million dollar preservation project currently underway at North Pacific.

“This restoration project preserves an important heritage site for future generations, creates local jobs and skills training opportunities, boosts tourism through an improved visitor experience, and increases the capacity for North Pacific Cannery to host large community functions and special events,” ... “For all these reasons, PRPA is proud to partner with the many other businesses and community groups contributing to this legacy.” -- Ken Veldman, Director of Public Affairs with the Prince Rupert Port Authority, outlining the impact of the ongoing work at North Pacific.

When the renovation project is complete, it will return to public use a portion of the site previously out of bounds to visitors, allowing for an expansion of guest capacity for North Pacific functions and adding to the experience for local visitors and tourists alike.

As part of that ongoing project, North Pacific signed a partnership agreement with the Prince Rupert Campus of Northwest Community College. The Agreement will provide for Trades Training opportunities on the North Pacific restoration site.

You can review more on last week's funding announcement from this item from the Prince Rupert Port Authority website.

Photos from the weekend's celebrations can be found from this link to the North Pacific twitter feed.

You can learn more about the North Pacific Cannery Historical Site  from their website.

North Coast organization offers home security review

Summer means warmer weather, open windows and forgotten patio doors. An obvious invitation to those who may not have the best intentions while walking through Prince Rupert neighbourhoods.

But those aren't the only areas of concern for local residents to be aware of, when it comes to protecting their homes from intruders.

Things you many not even have thought of from, poor lighting to over grown shrubs and trees too close to your home could make your home a target, particularly in the summer months.

A little help however is easily accessible, with a Prince Rupert organization looking to provide area residents with an overview about their home security situation by offering a free inspection and home security package to help you make note of how to better protect your home.

North Coast Victim Services is offering the program this summer, designed to help you avoid becoming a victim of crime. One of the many services that the organization has been providing in the community for many years now.

To find out more about the home security program or any other program that they have to offer, you can contact them a 250-627-7779.

Tourism Board position available; details upon request?

Your chance to help shape the future of tourism is near, though you have to really look hard to find the opportunity.

The City of Prince Rupert is currently seeking applicants for those interested in serving on the Board of Directors for Tourism Prince Rupert.

However, knowing what you might be applying for is going to take a bit of work on the applicant's part.

This week the city placed an ad in the back pages of the weekly paper, outlining the requirements for those that may wish to help chart a course for the future of tourism in the city.

According to the ad, Applicants are required to submit a written description of those skills and experiences that are relevant to the Tourism Board position. With a key aspect of the application process being the condition that any person that is appointed to the Board position must be a member of Tourism Prince Rupert.

As is the nature of short advertisements, the city's quest for Board Members, provides no background  information on the duties of the position, or any  explanation of the conditions or applying for it.  

And seeking more details, probably won't take you to the city's website.

For some reason, the city once again has apparently missed an opportunity to engage the community in the discussion,  neglecting to post the opportunity to its information portal. 

That would have perhaps been a fairly helpful process to follow, offering would be applicants some information on the Board, background on what it does and a more expansive explanation as to what the current opportunity provides for.

For those that meet the City's requirements the deadline for application for letters of interest is June 27th at 4:30 PM.

Those that might be inclined to apply for the openings, can find some information on the current Tourism Prince Rupert efforts in tourism from their website.   It offers up some background as to the work of the organization, something that could provide for a starting point we imagine for what any applicant might wish to bring to a Board Position.

A weekend of celebration ahead for the North Pacific Cannery National Historic site

Last weekend they were the focus of Seafest celebrations. Their 125th Anniversary making for the theme of the parade and their booth proving to be a popular stop over point for the 3rd Avenue festivities of Saturday.

This weekend, all events shift to Port Edward, as the North Pacific Cannery National Historic site hosts their own party.

Celebrating its 125 anniversary this weekend, Port Edward's North Pacific offers something for everyone, with a full schedule of events to showcase one of the North Coast's most popular destinations.

The weekend long Community Celebration at North Pacific, features a BBQ, as well as cake to celebrate year 125.

Organizers also have a number of activities for children set up and live entertainment makes for just some of the events planned for Saturday June 21st and Sunday June 22nd.

The North Pacific site is open from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM, there is no admission charge in place for this weekends activities.

For locals and visitors alike, the125th Celebrations of this weekend offers the perfect opportunity to check out the site and its historical perspective of the fishing industry on the North Coast through the last century.

You can find out more about this weekend's celebrations, as well as learn more about other events and exhibits at North Pacific from their website, facebook page and twitter feed .

BC Ferries to expand sailings for summer... for southern routes

It's an announcement that is sure to raise the hackles of  North Coast communities that continue to feel the impact of cutbacks to Ferry Service on the northern routes, as BC Ferries on Wednesday outlined an increase to sailings on many of routes in the south.

The schedule additions announcement highlights an increase in southern sailings that as BC Ferries explains; will ensure for smooth sailing for summer holiday users, offering details on the 80 sailings per week to serve Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island.

In the same media release, BC Ferries also makes mention of the the 100 unique vacation packages that they offer. Though residents of the North Coast and Haida Gwaii, as well as the Central Coast might wonder how anyone is supposed to take advantage of what they have to offer with the fewer opportunities for travel that the Northern Schedule continues to offer.

An article in Business in Vancouver magazine highlights just what some tourism operators of the region are facing this summer, with one operator on the Central Coast reporting a rather dramatic 90 per cent drop in business after the cuts were put in place.

In addition to the vacation plans and schedule updates, BC Ferries offers up a snapshot of their 2013 Customer Satisfaction Survey, which suggests 87 per cent of customers on recent trips have reported satisfaction with their BC Ferries experience.

A number which we imagine is more indicative of the Southern experience, than that of the North.

Among those that surely would offer up a different opinion on the Satisfaction scale, would be the Mayors of Prince Rupert, and  communities on Haida Gwaii as well as those along the central coast.

Through the Spring they and North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice, have made much comment on the impact that the BC Ferries cutbacks are having and will continue to have on their communities.

We imagine, that with Wednesday's announcement of better schedule options for the southern routes, they might have a few more comments to share not only with BC Ferries, but with Transportation Minister Todd Stone.

You can review some of those past issues from our Transportation archive page.

Consultations, surveys take Hawkair to early morning flight for Prince Rupert

Prince Rupert travellers might have to get up a little earlier, but upcoming changes to the Hawkair schedule will most likely meet with the approval of North Coast residents.

After consultations with business users and studying the results of a recent survey of Hawkair passengers, the Northwest based airline is making a change to its Prince Rupert schedule.

As we outlined on the blog a few weeks ago, among other conversations, Hawkair sought the opinion of the community through a survey co-hosted by the Chamber of Commerce.

The survey sought the opinion of Prince Rupert residents on the topic of when local travellers wish to travel in and out of the city. Once the results were in and other input was considered, the Airline decided to shift its current mid-day flight to an early morning departure, with a return to Prince Rupert now to be later in the evening.

The announcement of the new schedule plan was released yesterday, providing more background on Hawkair's plans.

Hawkair has been part of Prince Rupert's travel planning for thirteen years, providing DeHavilland Dash 8 service to and from Vancouver.

The new flight schedule, which is to go into effect on August 5th,  will see Hawkair departing from Prince Rupert at 8 AM, making for a mid-morning arrival in Vancouver.

The daily return flight will leave Vancouver at 5:45 PM, arriving in Prince Rupert in the early evening.

The schedule change responds to a wish of Prince Rupert residents to have their travel plans start earlier in the day. Allowing for more time in Vancouver for business meetings, medical appointments and such, or for some travellers, providing for a better options of connecting flights to other locations.

You can learn more about Hawkair and their service to the Northwest from their website.

Prince Rupert Port Authority hosts Annual Meeting on Thursday

The Prince Rupert Port Authority is making plans to welcome the public to its Annual Public Meeting this week.

A Thursday June 19th morning event, which will provide an update for the public on the performance and development activities for Port Authority in the last year, as well as a glimpse ahead for some of the proposals in motion for the years to come.

Those who attend will be able to review the progress of many of the Port's recent economic initiatives in the region, with the Port having expanded their transportation footprint in the region over the last few years.

Some topics that may get a review for the public include the progress of the container port expansion plans and further development of Ridley Island as well as other potential projects that the Port is exploring.

Some of those prospects on growing Trade and the Economy are outlined on the Port's Vision for the Future section of their information portal.

In addition to that overview, the Port's financial statements for 2013 will be outlined, with copies available for review at the Port Office or at the meeting.

Those that enjoy digging into financial reports can find past copies of the Port Authorities financials from their website.

Thursday's Annual Meeting takes place at the BC Room of the Crest Hotel, the gathering gets underway at 11 AM.

For more on developments with the Prince Rupert Port Authority see our archive page which is updated on a regular basis.

Education talks break down; Teacher's strike looms for Tuesday!

"There was no 24/7 bargaining, as Peter Fassbender and Christy Clark promised, those comments last week and today are completely disingenuous. It was all talk, the Government was unprepared, unwillingly and ultimately unhelpful. They brought nothing to the table, nothing to bring both sides closer together " -- BCTF President Jim Iker with background on the weekend negotiations with the BCPSEA

“The bargaining teams worked hard through the weekend. When negotiations adjourned late last night it was with the expectation that talks would continue today."-- Education Minister Peter Fassbender on the state of negotiations with the BCTF.

Reading the two statements from both sides following the suspension of talks in the BC teacher's dispute, one has to wonder if they were both in the same room over the weekend that just passed.

Despite discussions on proposals from Friday through to Sunday, neither the BCTF nor the BCPSEA negotiators could hammer out a deal over the 72 hours.

Though according to BCTF President Jim Iker, those  72 hours appear to have been made up of a lot of time spent in separate rooms, with few face to face discussions taking place.

The results of the weekend's efforts left  Mr. Iker to speak Monday morning to squandered opportunities to resolve the current impasse, appearing to set in motion the process of shutting down the province's public schools by tomorrow morning.

At the 10 AM media conference Mr. Iker provided the BCTF view of how the negotiations broke down and outlined which key issues of the weekend for the BCTF were not resolved during the discussions.

He provided background on how the government had actually reduced their wage proposal and did not meet the BCTF hopes for class size issues and composition concerns.

On that theme, Mr. Iker dismissed the proposal from the government of a "fact finding committee" to examine that contentious issue between the two sides.

Also mentioned in the course of the review, were the BCTF concerns over the length of the current appeals in front of the courts and the impact that they have on the state of education today.

Mr. Iker  outlined his disappointment that the government negotiators as he put it were "unprepared, unwilling and ultimately unhelpful" to address the variety of issues that the BCTF brought to the table.

He expanded further for the media. the nature of how the government back tracked on their wage offer, highlighting the ongoing nature of the BCTF's distrust of Premier Christy Clark.

He advised that the executive council will meet later in the day to discuss their next step in the dispute, the mandate for a full scale strike was delivered to the BCTF last week during two days of voting.

Public school teachers are conducting a study session across the province today.

During the Monday media conference, Mr. Iker advised that the strike was imminent and that the BCTF were going to explore all their options.

Picket lines at all public schools in B. C. would go up on Tuesday morning, should the BCTF decide to act on their mandate of last week.

You can watch the full press conference here.

More background on the BCTF statement will be made available from their website following further discussions of the executive.

Education Minister Peter Fassbender offered up a short statement on developments on Monday morning as well, stating that the desire to have an agreement in place by June 30th is still the goal of the Government.

Something that considering the current tone of discussions, seems rather unlikely at the moment.

The point of view of the BCPSEA on recent developments can be found from their website offerings here.

We have a wide range of reading material on the dispute to this point available on our archive page.

Update:

Following Mr. Iker's presentation to the media, members of the PRDTU took to the streets of Prince Rupert, taking part in a march from Fisherman's Hall, through the downtown area of the city to highlight their concerns on the current developments in the dispute.

Their march took them to the lawn of the Court House for a noon hour rally.

You can learn more on the thoughts of some members of the Prince Rupert local, through a number of statements and pictures posted to the social media site twitter.

Their contributions can be found on the #princerupert #bced and #bctf threads to name a few.