Just in time for Halloween the ghosts of Watson Island return

It's baaaack ... in the news!
A surprising name from the past for
Watson Island  appeared this week

"We certainly did what we could, I don't think we ever backed away from anything. And now we have a new group that is going to realize when local government legislation forces something upon you, what a hell hole it can be, and I'm talking about Watson Island, the thing never ends ... " -- Former Mayor Jack Mussallem speaking at his final Council session in November 2014, offering the incoming Council a cautionary word on the nature of the City's Watson Island file.  

That long running tale of  the place that the past Mayor described as a hell hole for Prince Rupert returns to the forefront of our civic discussion this week, surely to make the rounds of the coffee shops and bars as something from the tales of Believe it or Not Prince Rupert style.

The discussion to be launched, coming from a notice published yesterday in the weekly newspaper that outlines the latest points of discussion from a former official of the Sun Wave group Mr. Ni Ritao, a key participant from the  days of the Sun Wave company, and apparently someone who has some comments to make on how the past legal negotiations between the city and his former company evolved.

Noting in his published four point notification through the weekly paper, that he declares that the agreement entered on behalf of Sun Wave Forest Products in August of 2013 was made without his legal authorization and he considers it to be null and void with no legal effect.  

Adding that the arbitration order made two years later was based on an invalid settlement agreement and that he considers that to be null and void as well.

All of which makes for a swirl of events which we can now add to the always expanding list of issues related to the never ending saga of the industrial site.

For those who may be getting confused, and who could blame you, what with all the various players that have passed through those Watson Island gates in over the years, Mr. Ni Ritao has a fairly colourful history from his time in the BC spotlight.

When we had last heard of his story, it included some names from the BC Liberal's past and a bit of involvement for Ni Ritao with the Chinese legal system.

Lobbyist fine upheld for former BC Liberal MLA
Beijing investigates high official tied to B.C. pulp mill fraud
Push to invest with man suing B.C. town irks NDP
B.C. Liberals tied to controversy in China
Watson Island becomes the backdrop for a Chinese legal thriller
An email chain that leads right to the gates of the Old Skeena Cel mill

Apparently free now from whatever limitations he faced over the previous two years, it seems that Mr. Ni Ritao from his Shanghai base is back, more than a little annoyed and perhaps it appears ready to rumble.

Where these latest developments may take us is the thing of fortune tellers, or in the spirit of Halloween, spell casting witches.  Though the sudden reappearance of Ni Ritao and his declaration that the previous agreement and arbitrations are "null and void" certainly takes us further into the way back machine when it comes to the long running story of Watson Island.

Following the publication of the notice, and a follow up story in the Northern View, an item which basically recreated the "declaration" quote for quote, the Mayor logged onto the paper's comments section and directed residents to the City's media release, which offered up the city's side of the renewed debate over their interaction with the Sun Wave group.

The information statement addressed some of the points from Ni Ritao's Wednesday's notification and outlined the string of events that have taken place related to the Sun Wave issue over the last two years.

The latest in developments would seem to be adding on to the city's woes when it comes to Watson Island. Earlier in the summer we made note of another legal issue, that involved the Watson Island Development Company and its efforts in the courts with the City of Prince Rupert over the site.

As we outlined on the blog in August,  WATCO found some success in the courts from the most recent proceedings of July and August, setting the calendar for further legal work heading on into February of 2017.

Should Ni Ritao follow up the prospect of further legal action himself, Prince Rupert residents could see the fascinating situation of duelling lawsuits over the same industrial lands that continue to haunt the community.

With all of this renewed focus on a topic that few at City Hall it seems ever really want to discuss in public, it surely is now time for the Mayor and Council to provide the residents of the city with a more comprehensive update than just a media release.

Delivering as much information as their legal representatives might allow for, as to where the City is with these two participants in their legal travels. As well, any update for the public should offer up information as to the current cost to the city of maintaining the industrial site, background on any outstanding issues related to the site and  details as to just how much the legal requirements of the Watson Island file are costing the community.

In previous years, while the topic was a challenge, the city did deliver occasional updates on such things as "burn rates" and the occasional hopeful indication that the long nightmare may soon end.

Mayor Brain even took on that same sunny outlook earlier this year, speaking to the CBC's Carolyn de Ryk in May,  at that time he observed that the residents of Prince Rupert would see the City move forward with Watson Island, expressing that belief that the situation was going to end this year, or as he put it in May "very soon".

As the events noted above with WATCO have illustrated, that perhaps was at best a bit of an optimistic overview.

Since that time, with the exception of an announcement that some decommissioning work was taking place at Watson Island, the Mayor or Council members have not discussed Watson Island in a public forum since, with the topic rarely  brought up during public Council sessions.

Nor since the new team at City hall took office one year ago, has the City provided residents with any kind of status report on when there may be closure on the situation.

Considering the events of yesterday and the ongoing issues with the WATCO file, closure for Watson Island may be something that for Rupertites remains as elusive as ever and still apparently somewhere far down a road, one that seemingly has no end of twists and turns.

Leaving us to think back to just over a year ago and those final comments on his way out the door and the now prescient forecast of what may come from a former Mayor.

To refresh your memory on the Fables of Watson Island, see our archive page on the topic here.

The City provides its response to Watson Island case

The much anticipated City of Prince Rupert reply to the legal proceedings initiated by the Watson Island Development Corporation, has finally been delivered to the British Columbia court system.

A thirty four page response from the City's lawyers, that offers up a fair amount of background on the longest running story of the North Coast, with a good portion of the response featuring the City proclaiming the phrase "the city denies"...

In fact, over those 34 pages, that phrase is highlighted over thirty times. Covering off pretty well every item from the Watco Claim.

As the 48 points that make up the City's response to the legal issues come to its end, the key declaration has the City stating that "The City denies that Watco is entitled to the remedies claimed in the Notice of Civil Claim"

As well the filing concludes with the City seeking a discharge of the certificates of pending litigation registered by Watco on the lands, and costs incurred by the City as a result of the registration of the certificates of pending litigation.

As its final point, the City advises that it is seeking special costs or alternatively costs.

The Court document of Tuesday is the foundation of a recent story in the city's weekly newspaper, which uses much of the background from it for their review of the latest developments regarding Watson Island.

However, for some reason that story appears to be focused on one comment from 2009, reportedly from the Lax Kw'alaams Band.

Which as the city outlines in the court filing, states that the Lax Kw'alaams Band "threatened conflict".

That aspect of the review of the court document appears in the headline of the Northern View story, as well as a good portion of the opening paragraphs of the story.

It makes for an interesting focus for that review, considering that five years have almost passed since that original talking point. And for the most part, its relevance to the current situation that the city finds itself engaged in is never really made clear.

And while the remainder of the article touches on a few points to be found in the court filings, it's that theme of "threatened conflict" that most will probably make for the major take away from the article.

Neither the court document, nor the article however, provides any background as to what shape that potential for conflict may have taken. Making for a topic that Lax Kw'alaams representatives might wish to clarify for their neighbours at some point.

While those items make for an interesting side story to the topic, when it comes to the current setback on the Watson Island files, careful reading of the court filing might suggest that the clock perhaps starts a few years after that correspondence.

With late 2013 as the trigger point for the latest events that have us all heading back to the courtroom.

It's in December of 2013 where the two parties appear to find themselves on different pages when it comes to the future of the Watson Island, particularly when it came to interpretation of the status of the proposed sale of the industrial site.

Those disagreements on events moved through January and into March, with legal counsel representatives exchanging correspondences regarding a range of issues related to the Agreement under discussion.

All of which led up to the March 27th announcement that Watco had advanced litigation to the British Columbia Supreme Court, you can review some background on that development here.

Tuesday's filing of its response by the City (two months to the day from when the issue first became known) provides its opening rebuttal to those claims and lays the foundation for what could be another lengthy stretch of time in the courts for Prince Rupert's most infamous conversation topic.

Local residents with an interest in the theme can access the document for themselves through the Court Services Office website.

The cost of learning some of the intrigue behind the Watson Island story is a six dollar charge, with similar charges for further items if desired.

Those inclined can start the process here, type in watson island where it says organization and you will reach the CSO paywall to make your payment and then settle in for a little legal reading.

The full thirty four pages do provide a fairly useful recap of the travails of Watson Island, though this particular document is presented through the prism of the City's talking points.

The document is broken down into two key segments, the background to the dispute (25 and a half pages) and the legal response to the current course of litigation (8 and a half pages).

All of it makes the six dollar fee about the best investment an interested Rupertite might make, when it comes to a historical review of the recent issues of the one time pulp mill site.

Perhaps as a course of transparency for its residents, the City of Prince Rupert might wish to secure a universal licence for the court documents and post them to its newly refurbished website.

Such a move would be a very helpful step for interested members of the community, who no doubt are concerned about how a deal that seemed to be closing in on the homestretch but seven months ago, so suddenly went off the rails.

With the City filing their paperwork with the courts, the prospect of any kind of negotiated settlement between the two sides would appear to be slipping far beyond the horizon. Leaving us all to wait for the court dates to be set and then to stand by, as the drama of Watson Island once again plays out in a court room.

Perhaps while we wait, Council might offer up some background information for the community when it comes to this latest development.

As we've seen in the past, this Council is never shy to weigh in on topics of community interest (of late topics have included, the Port, Pinnacle Pellet and Environmental issues on LNG to name a few).

We would hope they might be equally engaged when it comes to the status of the current impasse over Watson Island, as well as to the ongoing costs of maintenance and legal fees regarding the current situation.

You can  re-familiarize yourself with the talking points of the past with our items of interest on the Watson Island files from our Archive page.

Industrial Development -- Watson Island

Our quick reference and archive of items pertaining to the Watson Island property, the Industrial site that has been a controversial bit of land for years now.

2013

October 2-- Prince Rupert begins Removal of Equipment on Watson Island

September 6-- Colonial Coal update on Watson Island Project
September 3-- Courtroom war over former pulpmill site settled
September 3-- Prince Rupert, Sun Wave Settle Out of Court

August 30-- City of Prince Rupert and Sun Wave Forest Products reach out-of-court settlement
August 14-- City of Prince Rupert may yet pay for Watson Island spill
August 7-- Here is something Rice can read aloud
August 7-- Time to clean up Watson Island
August 7-- Watson Island spilling oil into harbour (N View e edition pages 1 and 2)
August 2-- Watson Oil Update (video)
August 1-- A Watson Island what is it...   NCR

July 30-- Watson Island pipe leaking fuel oil into ocean
July 26-- Mayor to push province for resolution to Sun Wave saga NCR
July 15-- Decision delivered on Watson Island court case  NCR

May 15-- Someone to watch over Watson...
May 13-- Chinese investigation continues into official with ties to SunWave

April 10-- Mayor Mussallem provides an update at Council on the Watson Island Situation NCR
April 4-- Does His Worship Have Everyone's Attention Now  NCR
April 3-- Prince Rupert's Mayor Says Pulp Mill Headaches Could Lead City to Bankruptcy
April 2-- Watson Redevelopment and City Financial woes (video)
March 27-- China Syndrome of Dreams and Nightmares (N View e edition pages 13-16)
February 20-- BC Budget Concerns (video)
January 31-- Watson Island becomes the backdrop for a Chinese legal thriller NCR
January 30-- Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists looking at Bill Belsey timeline  NCR
January 24-- More Woes of Watson shared with Vancouver media NCR
January 22-- Watson Island saga once again featured in the national press NCR

2012

December 19-- A light on the Watson Island horizon? NCR
December 5-- Sun Wave claims partial control over sale of Watson Island by City of Prince Rupert
November 16-- Let's call the whole thing off... NCR
November 15-- City of Prince Rupert asks court to throw out Watson Island litigation in new filing
November 14-- Bell shares Sun Wave e-mail with Belsey (Northern View e edition pages 1 and 2)
November 9-- Perhaps, he said "I'm here in the lobby?" NCR
November 7-- An email chain that leads righ to the gates of the Old Skeena Cel mill NCR
November 7-- Minister shared e-mails about Skeena Mill allegations with insider
October 25-- Watson Island Redevelopment (video)
October 25-- Watson Island Developers outline plans, challenges with former Prince rupert pulp mill site
October 11-- Watson Island Development Corporation set to host public forum
August 1-- Watson Island sale on the table

2011

January 16-- The list of litigants grows for the City of Prince Rupert