Does His Worship Have Everyone's Attention Now?

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Mayor Jack Mussallem offered up a TV clip for  CFTK TV7 this week that certainly provided for a bit of dramatic overview on the never ending state of the Watson Island situation, recounting some of the City's talking points on the file over the last few years.

His Worship concluded the interview with a bit of a thermo nuclear explosion, offering up the thought that if unresolved, the spiralling cost of the seemingly never ending Watson Island situation could lead the city down the road to bankruptcy.

Holy Bankruptcy, Batman!

That's bankuptcy with a capital B...

We're not sure if the Mayor's message of potential distress was designed for the local population, or for the larger collective that gathers at the Victoria Legislature.

Perhaps it was his version of the Bat Signal, telling the local candidates for provincial office that the situation is very serious and we could use a little help here, when it comes to the Watson Island file.

His review in the TV 7 clip of the ongoing issues associated to Watson Island, would suggest that he's seeking perhaps a bit of relief from the provincial government, and with an election campaign now underway, there perhaps is no better time to remind the local candidates of the Big, Big Elephant in Prince Rupert's room.

Of course, the Watson Island file  surely deserves a more thorough public review for Prince Rupert residents, than the short two minutes and a bit clip for TV 7's evening news.

The archives we've gathered on the Watson island stories make for a helpful primer on the topic, but it too is quite incomplete, just snippets really of the story that has dominated the community's pysche for a good number of years now.

It is one of those key topics, especially if the word Bankruptcy is going to be mentioned in the same breath,  that might in other communities play out in public forum at the council chambers.

With councillors (and maybe the public too) asking pointed questions of the Mayor and administrators, as to how the situation evolved and why it continues to cast a shadow over the city's future.

Unlike other towns and cities however, our elected members of the local chamber of debate puts forward a more united and collegial presence in their public sessions, the real conversations perhaps taking place in the plethora of those closed conclave's that dot the City Council schedule.

The net result it seems, that one day you wake up as a taxpayer and learn that your city is apparently on the cusp of going broke, go figure!

Maybe, should the city actually find the load too heavy to bear, we'll hear the full story. An inquiry of sorts might be useful to the residents as to determining how the troubles of a failed company, and the impact it seemingly had on the city, one day led to the path of potential penury.

For optimists and those awaiting Batman, the Mayor in his TV 7 account suggests we still have thirteen flips of the calendar page before that day may come to pass.

Regardless of the timeline, his use of the B word, certainly will catch the attention of the local populace, though many may not realize that Prince Rupert has gone down Bankruptcy Road before.

The City's website offers up an instructive review of the 1930's and our handing over of the powers of local government to the Province, a duty that the province did not relinquish for close to nine years.

The city has been governed by a mayor, and council, since its incorporation in 1910 but that ended when the city was declared bankrupt in1933. The Provincial Government appointed W.J. Alder, a former resident, to act as Commissioner for the Corporation of the City of Prince Rupert. 

 Mr. Alder arrived on May 15, 1933 to assume his duties of restoring the city to a sound financial basis. The Provincial Government announced in October 1942 that the municipal government was to be restored and an election was called for December 17, 1942.

Before it ever gets to that, perhaps a little proactive action could take place. Requests could be made of Victoria, if indeed the situation is as dire as would appear, to intervene. Lending not only assistance to the Watson Island situation, but to the larger issue of the City's financials.

Though we imagine if indeed the province would ever to become involved in the City's financial plight, it might wish to gain the full picture of our distress and offer up some financial planning guidance, before we have to just toss them the keys (again) and wish them luck.

Maybe the Province could provide to have an independent observer come in, review the entire picture of the city's finances and offer up suggestions to avoid the dreaded day down the road.

Beyond the Watson Island situation, there's clearly a need for the city to make some hard decisions as to what they should, or should not provide to the residents and taxpayers. Putting up for public review and consideration as to where residents may wish to have them cut costs and remove financial burdens.

Many will bring up some of the past topics whenever these discussions come up, CityWest and it's eastward expansion, the cost of the Airport Ferry, Golf Course expenses, how we approach road maintenance and infrastructure issues,  grants to local groups, what to do about the current budget surplus (a topic that no doubt confuses local residents when there's talk of potential bankruptcy) and on and on the list could go.

All valid topics and ones that never seem to get a thorough public airing.  Items  of discussion that should be on a table one would think, especially framed in the concept  of the city even discussing potential bankruptcy.

At their last council meeting, the now soon to be departing Acting City Manager offered up his thoughts on the budget process currently underway, offering up some of the items from the various city departments as they handed in their wish lists (1:05:00- 1:42:00 on the City Video archive), which in the scope of any talk of potential bankruptcy seems rather bizarre.

Likewise, with the City heading into negotiations with its workforce this year, one wonders exactly what kind of negotiations can take place there, with the fiscal cupboards in a possible state of flux.

Add on the need to replace not only a City Manager, but now a CFO, (first line of the job description for either position could be Do You Really, Really, Like A Challenge) and you begin to understand the nature of the rising number of potentially overwhelming topics on the City Council agenda these days.

Council will be seeking public input into the budget process on April 15th, with the Mayor's conversation on financials to TV 7 and the recent comments in the weekly paper about potential cuts, there's surely much for the public to discuss should they be inclined.

Hopefully, considering the fiscal concerns at hand, any hard questions will receive clear answers at that time and a way out of financial Judgment Day can be found.

The litany of financially troubled cities in North America has normally been limited to the likes of Stockton, California and Detroit, Michigan, the latter so dire that they have even been turned into a Taiwanese animation feature.
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A cautionary tale of woe, that may portend for Prince Rupert's destiny (and a video fate we surely don't desire) if things aren't addressed in the next thirteen months.

On LNG, Gitxaala Nation says, whoa, wait a second there...

The prospect of multiple LNG export terminals, pipelines, tankers and all of that involved in the push for development of LNG infrastructure on the North Coast has given the Gitxaala Nation cause for pause and to set in motion a legal  challenge of the recently granted LNG export licence.

Applying to Federal Court the Gitxaala nation has applied to have set aside, the 25 year export licence recently granted to LNG Canada Development in Kitimat.

Setting in motion a challenge to amendments that the Federal Government made to Bill C-38 last year, which eliminated the requirement of assessment reviews.

According to Robert Janes, the lawyer representing the Gitxaala Nation, the challenge will mark the first time that a court has been asked to consider the amendments from the Bill C-38 changes.

The First Nation located to the south of Prince Rupert reportedly first outlined their thoughts on the topic back in September of 2012, raising concerns with the Federal Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. Officials of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Transport Canada and the Environment Ministry were also advised of concerns of the Gitxaala Nation at that time as well.

Among their points of concern, the passing of LNG tanker traffic in their traditional waters, affects that the traffic may have on their aboriginal harvesting rights to fish, shellfish and herring, as well as the impact that the tanker traffic may have on the marine plant and sea life in the region.

A full review of their legal movements can be found through the metronews portal, which was first to offer up word of the Gitxaala court plans today.

The Gitxaala concerns with the NEB licence process  were outlined last month in a feature item in the Tyee, which provided a review of the controversy and offered up the rumblings of potential court action.

Word of the Gitxaala Nation's court plans come out at the same time that Shell begins its process of Assessment for the LNG plant in question, a process that the Gitxaala Nation seemingly doesn't have much faith in.

It's not the first time that opposition to the proposed LNG developments has been raised, you can review some of the background on past concerns from the LNG file from our archive page.


April 5--CFTK--  Gitxaala Fights Feds to Voice their Opinions on Export LNG
April 5-- CFTK-- Gitxaala LNG Court (video)
April 4-- Northern View-- Gitxaala taking feds to court over export LNG licence

$300,000 dock repair project complete at Lax Kw'alaams

A major project in Lax Kw'alaams has come to an end, with small craft harbour infrastructure repairs complete, providing for replacement of the floats at the community harbour. It provides for space and capacity that will allow for the arrival of larger vessels landing fish for the processing plant in the community.

As we outlined on the blog last October the recently opened Coast Tsimshian Fish Plant has been heralded both in Lax Kw'alaams and other North Coast communities as a key part of the economy for the region and one that offers up the opportunity to provide for employment for those in the Lax Kw'alaams community.

The refurbishment of the local docks there, will offer up the potential of more fish landings and larger volumes heading into the summer salmon season.

The completion of the project gave the Federal Fisheries Department cause to outline the details of their infrastructure investment project across Canada, of which Lax Kw'alaams was but one of 95 fishing harbours to benefit from.

April 5-- CFTK-- Lax Kwalaams Dock (video)
April 5-- CFTK-- Lax Kwalaams Finishes $300,000 Dollar Dock Repair

And another office opens up at City Hall.

Yesterday on the blog, we outlined the appearance of a job opportunity at Prince Rupert City Hall, the just posted advertisement for a new Chief Financial Officer for the city.

A job once the realm of Dan Rodin, who had been  tackling the twin duties of CFO and Acting City Manager, since the departure of Gord Howie earlier this year.

At the end of our article we offered up an opportunity for the reader to write the ending of the story to this point:

Even more curious, is the fact that resumes for the CFO's position are directed to Mr. Rodin, the still?/former? CFO, current Acting City Manager and possibly future... (insert your observation here)

Hands up to those that selected soon to be retiring CFO.

In a surprise revelation to the Northern View, Mr. Rodin confirmed that he is stepping aside from the work of City Hall, effective May 15th.

A situation that depending on how fast the City is working on the City Manager file, could leave the city without senior leadership in two positions by the middle of May.

The normal thought in the community perhaps, was one that would have seen Mr. Rodin shift into the City Manager position full time and then hire on a new CFO, all in the name of continuity and all of that.

That topic of civic employment (though not related to any current positions) was one that council touched on in their most recent council session.

Mindful to the challenge of municipal staffing and hoping to find a way to provide current and potentially future staff members, the opportunity to grow in their positions and remain with the City for years to come.

See City Council timeline 2 hour 1 minute to 2 hour 14 minutes.

But with the announcement of his pending departure, the process of internal succession seems to not be one to be followed at this time.

Instead, the city is back to the classifieds, seeking another new member of the team for Third Avenue West.

It is rather unusual for a city to have two high profile positions needing to be filled at the same time and could make for a challenging transition for the new arrivals, whenever they may make landfall on our shores.

Especially when one considers the many financial and civic concerns raised most recently in the budget process.

Mr. Rodin's departure will coincide with the timeline of adoption of this years fiscal plan by Council, one which he offered input towards, but now won't be around to Shepherd through the process.

So far, the bulk of the explanation on what has come to pass has come from Mr. Rodin in the Northern View article, hopefully the Mayor and Council might share some thoughts on the latest development and offer up a timeline of when City Hall may feature a fully staffed collection of senior officials.

You can follow the remainder of the media reviews of today's announcement below, as they become available.

The Green Party picks up on Councillor Thorkelson's theme

For those dedicated blog readers who review our City Council timeline to the very end, last weeks meeting of Council offered up an interesting request from Councillor Joy Thorkelson.

As part of the wrap up to the lengthy session of last week, Councillor Thorkelson urged her fellow councillors and Mayor Mussallem to lend their support towards a city letter to the provincial parties on the subject of the fishery.

The main thrust of her request, that Council urge the political forces of Victoria to lay claim to the fishery on the West coast, a process that most likely would require a fair amount of negotiation and constitutional change before it were ever to pass.

Her letter would ask Council to send a letter to the political parties:

"Seeking their development of a BC commercial fisheries program and accompanying policies. The program would promote the growth and development of the commercial fisheries and processing sectors in coastal communities, including serious consideration of the State of Alaska style of regional salmon aquaculture"

The councillor would seemingly like to see an Alaska style of fishery in place, with British Columbia setting policy, catchment allotments and all the things that the Federal government currently has domain over.

An interesting turn of events considering the late 1990's and a blockade of an Alaskan ferry, something that took place over anger about the way that the State of Alaska handled its fishery (and the impact that it had on the Canadian version).

Still, the councillor offered up the thought that the Pacific Coast fishery (and we imagine the interests of local residents involved with it) would best be served out of Victoria rather than Ottawa, though one wonders if the provincial government would provide any more money, or attention than that of the Feds.

You can review her presentation from the City's video archive, check in at the 2 hour 27 minute mark for the full proposal for Council's review.

And even before they possibly could even get the letter into the mail, it looks like someone has beaten the councillor to the punch, offering up policy for the upcoming provincial election campaign.

Provincial control of the fishery is a thought that seems to have become part of the Green Party's political focus, with a segment of their just released policy platform dedicated to a BC first fishery.

One which would redraw the current system in place with a major makeover.

Among some of the Green party's suggestions:

Negotiate a transfer of fishery jurisdiction to the provincial level. Proving for a fishery with ecosystem based principles based on maintain all stocks at stable levels in intact habitat.ing

A focus on wild salmon, working towards removing salmon feedlots from British Columbia's wild salmon migration routes.

A shift away from a Commercial fishery controlled by large companies, reforming the fish licencing system by breaking up corporate concentration to restore traditional First Nations fishing practices and promote opportunities for coastal residents and small scale fishers rather than large commercial fisheries.

We're not sure if all of the Green party recommendations fit into the vision of a provincial fishery that Councillor Thorkelson might have, but at the moment, they seem the closest to the changes that she and with their letter, City Council would seem to support.

While it's doubtful at the moment that the Greens might be on the verge of forming a government, they at least have formulated a policy and one that some on the North Coast might have some interest in.

Now if they might want to put forward a candidate to carry the message to the voters, as of today, the Greens have yet to nominate a candidate on the North Coast and for the most part seem inclined to let the NDP carry an environmental and sustainability message into the election campaign.

Whether the other parties and local candidates have an opinion on the fishery repatriation topic remains to be seen.

Emergency Services Files -- April 2013

Our Archive of items from the files of law enforcement and other emergency responders in Northwestern British Columbia.

From the North Coast Review

April 19-- RCMP seeking public's assistance with investigation of toddlers death

Media Items from across the Northwest

Prince Rupert/Port Edward/Haida Gwaii


April 30-- SAR Training off the North Coast This Week
April 30-- Prince Rupert Search and Rescue Training (video)
April 30-- CanAm Search and Rescue Exercise in Prince Rupert
April 29-- Canadian, U. S. Forces gather for search and rescue exercise in Prince Rupert

April 24-- Prince Rupert family continues to seek justice for Justin
April 17-- Toddler Death (video)
April 17-- Prince Rupert RCMP investigate Toddlers Death
April 17-- RCMP refusing comment on reported suspicious death
April 14-- Prince Rupert to host international search and rescue exercise
April 12-- Brooks Death Truth (video)
April 12-- Brooks Family Opens Bank Account to Raise Funds for Private Investigator
April 10-- Prince Rupert family seeking the truth
April 9-- Why are aboriginal youth dying on Prince Rupert's waterfront? (audio)
April 8-- Rupert Drowning rumours (video)
April 8-- RCMP Say Rumours Complicating Investigation of Prince Rupert Man's Death
April 8-- Masset RCMP seek info after accident
April 6-- Mystery lingers in how Prince Rupert man died
April 6-- RCMP Investigation Continues into Prince Rupert Death
April 5-- Drowning determined to be cause of death in Justin Brooks case
April 5-- RCMP continue to probe death of Prince Rupert man
April 2-- Container barge catches fire outside of Prince Rupert Harbour


Terrace/Kitimat/Nass and elsewhere

April 23-- Terrace Council sets out to solve the mystery of rising crimes
April 23-- Three vehicles strike moose on Hwy 37 South
April 20-- Terrace RCMP will only observer pot smoke-in
April 19-- Terrace RCMP arrest drunk man with baby in stroller
April 17-- Drunk 12-year old turned over to family
April 17-- Mother appeals for help after woman dies on northern B. C. reserve
April 17-- Fraser Lake Mother to call out for Clues in Daughter's death
April 17-- Family in Fraser Lake Pleads with Public for Information (video)
April 16-- Suspected shoplifter kicks store employee in the head
April 12-- Terrace RCMP Execute Drug Bust
April 12-- Burns Lake RCMP Seize Marijuana Grow Op
April 11-- Terrace drug arrests
April 11-- Terrace RCMP seize cash, drugs and weapons
April 11-- Police seize pot from prohibited driver
April 11-- Spray painters strike in downtown Terrace
April 10-- Graffiti has got to go, say downtown businesses
April 9-- Intoxicated woman falls out of pickup truck
April 9-- Man loses thousands to fraud via eBay
April 8-- UNBC campus broken into twice last week
April 8-- Burns Lake Band Office protest ends without incident
April 8 -- Burns Lake Protestors Evicted (video)
April 8-- Riot Police Evict Burns Lake Band Protestors
April 8-- Burns Lake Band office protestors removed from blockade
April 7-- RCMP lock down Burns Lake Band offices
April 7-- Burns Lake Band members evicted from their blockade...
April 6-- Man to spend summer in jail
April 5-- Terrace woman loses money to computer scammer
April 5-- Terrace RCMP probe cable theft
April 5-- Extension cables stolen in Terrace BC
April 4-- Kitimat fire arson: RCMP
April 4-- Kitimat Fire was Act of Arsonist
April 4-- Nass Valley RCMP make progress against bootleggers
April 4-- Nass Valley RCMP nab bootlegger
April 3-- Missing Terrace man found deceased
April 2-- Condo Fire in Terrace extinguished
April 1-- Cain case cost $20,000

Hey, don't we have one of those already?

An interesting development from the Big Yellow Building on Third Avenue West, as a new job posting to the City's website offers up a question or two for those that watch civic affairs in Prince Rupert.

From the City's External Job Postings Page an opportunity posted March 28th for someone to pursue the position of Chief Financial Officer, something we thought we had on hand as of last Monday's City Council Meeting.

Does this mean that Dan Rodin will soon be removing the title of Acting City Manager from his business cards?

Has the City thus abandoned any further formal search process for that top executive position, promoting from within and now opening up the CFO position for applicants?

To further the mystery, for  a City that once was supposed to be conducting a job search for a new City Manager, they no longer seem actively engaged in that hunt.

 As no application process for a City Manager position exists on the City's website at the moment.

In the mysterious ways of Prince Rupert's Civic Governance, the announcement of a New City Manager, if one has been named, has still not been  made public, even if the job search may be at an end.

Those thinking of a career change can review the new CFO requirements here. Your Deadline to polish up the CV and secure your references is April 30th.

Even more curious, is the fact that resumes for the CFO's position are directed to Mr. Rodin, the still?/ former? CFO, current Acting City Manager and possibly future... (insert your observation here)

While we await some clarification on what's happening at City Hall and maybe an announcement or two, we're left to wonder if perhaps what the City really needs is a Communications Department.

Update: Make that two openings on senior staff at City Hall, The Northern View received the word from the City on Tuesday, Dan Rodin, the city's CFO is retiring...

April 2-- Prince Rupert's chief financial officer retiring in May