53rd All Native Tournament comes to an end

Edition number 53 of the All Native Tournament wrapped up over the weekend, the final results providing for some entertaining basketball, with Intermediate final going up to the final shot of the game to decide a winner.

Results and local media coverage of the tournament can be found below.


Masters Division Final

Prince Rupert Coast Trojans  82 -- Greenville 71

Seniors Division Final


Skidegate 107 -- Ahousat 81


Women's Division Final

Nanaimo 69 -- Kitamaat 47

Intermediate Division Final

Ahousat   66 --- Lax Kwa'laams 65

CFNR-- All Native Results All Categories
CFTK-- All Native Winners (February 13)
CFTK-- All Native Competition (February10)
CFTK-- All Native Competition (February 9)
CFTK-- All Native Competition (February 7)
CFTK-- All Native Competition (February 6)
Northern View-- 53rd All-Native Basketball Tournament wraps up in Prince Rupert
Northern View-- Prince Rupert Masters and Nanaimo Women win at All Native Tournament
Northern View-- Nanaimo wins Women's Division
Northern View-- All Native Tournament starts Sunday in Prince Rupert

And you get an LNG plant, and you get an LNG plant...

With Premier Christy Clark playing the role of Oprah, (and you get an LNG plant, and you get an LNG plant)  Prince Rupert is seemingly ready to join the pool of ready and able port cities looking to ship Liquefied Natural Gas to world markets.

So far around the Northwest, Kitimat has been in the lead in this competition, the Premier looking to place at least three or maybe more LNG distribution sites into the Northern end of Douglas Channel, one project is already well into the planning phase, setting up a base of operations on Haisla land in the Kitimat region.

Prince Rupert, seemingly not wishing to be left out on this potential gold rush of shipments to Asian markets and beyond is now on the shipment map.




This is not the first time that the prospect of an LNG export terminal for the Prince Rupert region has been suggested, going back to the mid 1980's there was talk of Dome Petroleum building such a shipment point on the north coast, more recently in 2006, West Pac Terminals floated the idea of a Natural Gas export terminal for Ridley Island.

Before Prince Rupert residents get too far ahead of themselves however, they might be best served to keep in mind the following quote from the folks of BG Group, the proponents of the latest Prince Rupert option.

"But though the company said its interest is real, it has no imminent construction plans."

Reviews of the Premier's plans and the potential  hurdles still ahead were found a plenty over the last few days, some of the highlights can be found below.


Northern View-- Prince Rupert Port Authority working with international LNG group
CFTK TV7 -- Prince Rupert considered for LNG Terminal
CBC-- Prince Rupert wants to be natural gas hub
CBC-- B. C. premier plans liquefied natural gas exports
Globe and Mail-- U. K. firm joins race to export gas from B. C.
Globe and Mail-- Clark stakes B. C's energy future on liquefied natural gas
Globe and Mail-- Energy regulator approves export licence for BC LNG
National Post-- The race to China
National Post-- Haisla Nation backed company secures LNG export licence
Vancouver Province-- B. C. government unveils new energy strategy to boost jobs, revenue
Vancouver Province-- Liberals shift energy focust to LNG
Vancouver Sun-- New policy favours natural gas industry
Vancouver Sun-- B. C. still faces hurdles in its plan to be a world player in the LNG market
The Tyee-- Who Pays Huge Power Bills for Clark's Gas Plants

Census Data shows Prince Rupert population decline continues

While local real estate agents and politicians may wish otherwise, no matter how you look up the numbers, the 2011 Census shows that the population of Prince Rupert continued to go down instead of up.

The data released on Wednesday shows that overall Prince Rupert's population dropped 2.4 percent in the five years between the 2006 and 2011 census reports.

It continues the downward trend of Prince Rupert's population which has seen the numbers trend downwards over the last decade.

In 2001, the Census reported that there 15,302 residents in the greater Prince Rupert region, so the number of the departed is rather significant and indicative of the economic malaise that has enveloped the region since that head count.

Prince Rupert's declining numbers as well as those of Williams lake were among those with the highest population declines, a trend running counter to the rest of the province for the most part.

While much has been made of the boom times to come for the region, at the moment, if the numbers are to be held as true (and there's no reason to doubt the accounting) it would seem that the boom times are still a ways off.

The Census numbers in three categories all trend downward in the last five years, the tracking of the five year trend goes as follows.

Prince Rupert Census Subdivision

2006  12,815
2011  12,509

Decline of  306

The full report can be found here

Census Metropolitan (Census agglomeration)

2006 13,392
2011  13,052

Decline of 340

The full report can be found here

Prince Rupert Population Centre

2006  12,128
2011  11,838

Decline of 290

The full report can be found here

Other population shifts in the region included a slight increase for Terrace and Smithers and the prospect of Kitimat's population decline continuing on, so much so that the community is almost at the point where they become statistically irrelevant for future census counts.

Terrace 

2006 11,320 
2011 11,486

An increase of 1.5 %

Smithers

2006 5,217
2011 5,404

An increase of 3.6 %


Kitimat

2006  8,987
2011  8,335

A decline of 7.3%

Full reviews of other communities of the Northwest can be found by entering the community name in the dialogue box provide on the Statistics Canada website here.

National Post-- Census Canada 2011
Globe and Mail-- Census 2011
Vancouver Province-- 2011 Census
Vancouver Sun-- 2011 Census
CBC British Columbia-- B. C. Population outpaces national growth rate

Fraser Institute Rankings place most Prince Rupert schools towards the bottom

With the exception of the city's only Independent School, Annunciation, the reviews from the recent Fraser Institute School rankings make some interesting if not worrisome reading and offer up any number of questions for those digesting the numbers.

The controversial report, which raises the ire of both teachers and administrators alike at School District 52,  listed the elementary schools of Prince Rupert and where they placed amongst the provincial listing and for the most part, Prince Rupert's success rate in the survey was poor.

Annunciation, the city's only Independent school fared the best among all schools in the city, cracking the top 100 of the 860 schools surveyed, Annunciation's results placed it in a tie for 81st place, a rise of 14 places over the course of the last five years.

Its placement will of course renew the debate over the report findings, which many dismiss as not relevant to the socio economic situation that the public schools face, but on the theme of achievement, the numbers speak for themselves, the success rate of the Independent School highlights the standard of learning that has been achieved there, for that there shouldn't be any apologies required.

The public schools in the city were found further down the listings, the most successful of the schools was the now closed Westview which had a ranking of 655/860, followed by Pineridge 787/860,  Lax Keen 830/860 and Conrad 853/860. Results for Roosevelt Park were not provided, it is a school that has struggled in past Fraser Institute reviews.

While there clearly are some serious issues that face all public schools in the city, the fact that the local schools fare so poorly year after year indicates that perhaps there is a need to review the state of education in the city.

If past history is any indication, the School District won't have much to say about the report, pointing to the unfairness of ranking rich and poor neighbourhoods, Independent, private and public schools.

With results of a similar nature across the city, the foundation of education in the city seems to be in need of an overhaul, not something that parents will want to hear, considering the numerous times in the past where the School District has changed its direction and models.

But, considering the results, the system here clearly needs some kind of review, perhaps one a bit detached from the local scene.

Surely these results should be considered a red flag for the Provincial Government that things are not going well in education on the North Coast.  With School District 52 once again found in the lower reaches of the survey, it may be time for the Ministry of Education to take a more proactive look at what's happening in Prince Rupert's school system.

Funding issues, class size, teacher morale, administration overview, support staff concerns, lack of parental interest and yes socio-economic factors all no doubt contributed to the result scores, but just dismissing those results because you don't like them doesn't seem to be an approach that is working to the benefit of the students.

They may not want to talk about it at the School District level, but, the students would seem to be the ones that are being left behind amidst all the troubles of the area and if nothing else on the local and provincial agenda, that's something that all should be working to change as soon as possible.

The full review of the Fraser Institute report can be found here.

Somewhere between 100 and over 1000

Depending on which media source you obtained your information from, Saturday's Anti-Enbridge march either shut down the city or provided for a temporary traffic disruption, such was the varying degree of hyperbole that came post march.

The numbers involved in the protest that marched down one of the city's main streets ranged anywhere from the CBC's estimate of hundreds, to the excited declaration of a Public Relations  site that over 2,000 people took to the streets in protest.

Somewhere we imagine rests the true number, however regardless of the number we eventually settle on the organizational skills of the folks from Hartley Bay surely got their message across.

Protesters many of them dressed in maroon coloured hoodies proclaiming the message of no tankers for the north coast made the walk from the city's Mariner's Park to the Civic Centre, normally about a ten to fifteen minute walk at a brisk pace, no doubt slowed down as the protest proceeded down McBride Street.

Contrary to the Vancouver Province's report, the city's RCMP however did not close off the downtown core, rather east west travel was disrupted at cross streets as the protest wound its way to the Civic Centre.

Likewise, while there were events scheduled at the Civic Centre through the afternoon and into the evening, to suggest that attendance was symbolic of massive support to the cause might be a tad dis-ingenuous.

In addition to the protest on Saturday, Prince Rupert is playing host to the annual All-Native Basketball Tournament, which regularly sees the numbers of those visiting the city increase by large numbers, while a good number of those participants may have sympathy with the cause, we're not sure that all were marching in lock step on Saturday.

They would however, no doubt find that the night's entertainment might be a good way to kick start their visit to the city.

The debate over oil tankers on the north coast is no doubt just beginning and credit will go to the organizers of the march on Saturday for making sure their side of the debate was heard.

At the end of the day, it was an impressive display of how to organize a protest, the message was put out there relayed by the media across the country, however some clearly did more research than others as to what was happening in the city on Saturday.

The reviews, factual and fanciful can be found below.

Vancouver Province-- Police close downtown Prince Rupert for pipeline protest
Vancouver Sun-- Community rally a full-court press against proposed pipeline
CFTK TV7-- Huge Rally in Prince Rupert against Northern Gateway
Marketwire-- More Than Two Thousand Citizens Say "No!" to Oil Tankers and Pipelines...
CKNW-- Prince Rupert rally protests Northern Gateway pipeline
Vancouver Observer-- Two Thousand protest Enbridge oilsands pipeline in Prince Rupert
CTV-- Pipeline opponents question environmental impact
CTVBC-- Canadian rocker and economist protest B. C. pipeline
CBC-- Hundreds rally against Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline
Northern View-- Gitga'at Nation hosts No Tankers Rally in Prince Rupert

Anti Enbridge protest planned for Saturday

The push back against Enbridge's plans to develop a Northern Gateway pipeline and shipment terminal at Kitimat, comes to Prince Rupert on Saturday as a coalition of protesters take to the streets to show their opposition to the project.

The main arterial road in the city will be closed to traffic from 11 am to 12:15 on Saturday to allow an anticipated crowd of 2,000 plus to march from Mariner's Park to the Civic Centre, following the march a rally will take place at the city's Civic Centre, featuring a collection of speakers and musicians to lend their voices to the opposition.

Among those said to be attending the day long event (festivities continue on until midnight) are one time Social Credit cabinet minister, former talk show host and now environmental advocate Rafe Mair and Canadian rock musician Bif Naked, Dr. David Suzuki was scheduled to attend but health problems have reportedly given him cause to cancel his appearance.

The scope of the day's protest was outlined in a press release, which was made available on February 1st, the information package widely used by assorted media sources in the construction of their stories on the planned march.

The timing of the protest has provided for the largest possible pool of those to show their opposition, Saturday's protest march comes one day before the opening of Prince Rupert's annual sports and cultural event the All Native Basketball Tournament.

With a large number of visitors to the city having already arrived for the tournament, planning the protest march for the day before the opening of the games provides the organizers with the prospect of a large group of protesters, a visual that will no doubt be used by those in opposition to Enbridge to provide a strong visual backdrop to their protest.

The Northern View-- McBride closing Saturday afternoon, David Suzuki not coming 
CFTK-- Large crowd expected for Anti-Enbridge Rally in Prince Rupert
Opinion 250-- Organizers anticipating one of largest anti-Enbridge rallies

Big lotto win for the Bulkley Valley

Somewhere in the Bulkley Valley there is a very happy person, couple, family or group of people, winners of Friday's Lotto max jackpot of 16 million dollars plus.

The February 3rd draw of the weekly Lotto Max lottery had a potential jackpot of 50 million dollars.

The Bulkley Valley winners were one of three lucky winners on the night, the remaining two thirds of the three way split were residents of Quebec.

No details on which community in the Bulkley Valley-Stikine region is home to Canada's newest multi millionaires, but we imagine word will eventually make its way up and down the Highway 16 corridor.

Update: February 8 2012-- The winner of Friday's massive Lotto Max jackpot has come forward with Steve Martin claiming his prize at the BCLC headquarters in Richmond, as things turned out he lived a little further north of the Bulkley Valley,  Martin is a resident, maybe a former resident by now of Atlin in B. C.'s far Northwet corner.