Negotiations between Government and BCTF postponed

It will take a bit longer than planned for the two sides to return to bargaining, as negotiations between the Government and the BCTF will take a short break.

The cause of the most recent delay in discussion is that  both sides are awaiting a facilitator to move their talks forward.  Though while they wait, they now have a new theme introduced to their agenda, that being the prospect of a new appeal to the recent court decision from the BC Supreme Court.

Monday, the Provincial Government announced that it was planning to go back to courts and appeal that recent decision of Madam Justice Griffin, which provided a court room victory to the Teachers' union in the long running legal sessions between the two sides.

Education Minister Peter Fassbender made his announcement of the planned appeal on Tuesday, outlining why the Province was not willing to accept the decision of the courts.

He expanded on the topic Wednesday morning with Bill Good on CKNW (8:30 to 9:00 AM February 5 audio vault)

As might be expected that decision by the provincial government  has not been received well by the BCTF.

Wednesday, the lines between the two sides perhaps hardened even further if possible, providing for just another challenge to negotiations, as the two sides await their facilitator.

B. C. Teachers' bargaining dates postponed until facilitator available

The need of a facilitator is something that will clearly be required with the two sides far apart on pretty well every issue and with the lines of communication between the two sides seemingly rather limited.

Among the more controversial of topics that may be under discussion when the two sides return to the table will be the idea of a ten year contract as desired by the BC Liberals.

Something which at this point would seem to be a non-starter and perhaps now to be rendered to the land of fanciful thinking, a place perhaps where it was destined to begin with.

As though to highlight the current course of discussion (or lack there of) a small scale twitter war appears to have broken out this week as the BC Liberals highlight some of their talking points, quickly answered by the BCTF)

As the tweet and re-tweets continued through the day, the North Coast was well represented on the twitter feeds, with Prince Rupert's Joanna Larson offering some thoughts on the ongoing theme.

Considering all of the current back and forth of the last few days, it all might suggest that it's going to be a fair amount of time before all the rhetoric dies down and any sense of constructive dialogue is taking place.

With another lengthy appeal process now underway and positions on both sides becoming even more polarized than before.

It would seem that education will remain the hot button issue in the province for the foreseeable future.

Some reviews of the recent developments can be found below:

Vancouver Sun-- Government documents hidden from public view
Vancouver Sun-- Government's appeal of court ruling makes fiscal sense
Vancouver Sun-- Approaching bargaining table with dirty hands
Vancouver Province-- 'I'm not declaring war'
Vancouver Province-- Back to the barricades - Where will B. C. Teachers' court victory take us?
Victoria Times Colonist-- BCTF ruling interpretations complicated
Victoria Times Colonist-- Teachers have advantage in negotiations
Globe and Mail-- B. C., teachers going back to war
Surrey Now-- BC Liberals' war on union smay create a new tax
The Tyee-- Minister says appeal of BCTF court win will protest students, taxpayers
The Tyee-- Enough, BC Libs! Quite Making Up the School Rules
BCCPAC blog-- Government's appeal sparks more education conflict

Teamsters Rail Conference issues strike notice to CN, potential strike action by Saturday

The prospect of a rail shutdown along the CN network is already rattling the doors of Parliament Hill and beyond, with word of ongoing labour troubles between the railway and one of its unions.

That threat grew a little bit stronger on Wednesday, as the Teamsters Rail Conference of Canada issued a strike notice to CN, a notice that could see rail traffic come to halt to the Port of Prince Rupert by Saturday.

CN acknowledged receipt of the strike notice with this media release from Wednesday.

As we first outlined on the blog Monday, percolating labour troubles between CN and one of its unions, is threatening to provide a disruption to rail traffic across the CN system. 

As mentioned in our blog item of earlier this week, the main sticking point between the rail union and CN is a concern over safety. A situation that resulted in a 60 percent vote against ratification of the tentative agreement previously reached in October of 2013.

With the clock now ticking towards a Friday night deadline, the two sides have returned to the bargaining table with the assistance of a Federal mediator. 

However, the Teamsters Rail Conference advised by way of their media release this morning, that workers would go out on strike, if no agreement were reached by February 8. 

That prospect of a rail disruption has not escaped the notice of Federal officials, with Labour Minister Kellie Leitch expressing the Government's concern over any possible strike and its impact on the Canadian economy.

In the past the Conservative Government has been quick to bring back to work legislation to Parliament to address labour issues when it comes to the Transportation network. So for many will not surprising to learn that it may take that option once again should the railway come to a stop on Saturday.

Some background on the simmering dispute can be found below.

Globe and Mail-- Strike looms as contract talks crumble at CN Rail

National Post-- CN Rail gets strike notice from conductors and yard workers...

Toronto Star-- CN railway workers could Strike on Saturday

CTV News-- CN gets strike notice, feds preparing legislation to stop walkout

Toronto Sun-- Conductors' union puts CN Rail on strike notice

Saskatoon Star Phoenix-- CN strike 'would be unacceptable." says Wall: feds prepare legislation...

CBC-- Ottawa moves to stop possible strike at CN Rail

CBC-- CN Rail strike notice worries labour minister

Update: Numerous media groups reported Wednesday evening that a tentative deal had been reached to avoid any job action between the union and CN Rail. Details to come as available.

CN-- CN conductors' strike averted after company and Teamsters union reach new tentative labour agreement
Teamsters Canada Rail Conference-- Tentative agreement reached

National Post-- CN Rail reaches tentative agreement to avert strike
Globe and Mail-- Union, CN reach tentative deal to avert strike

NWCC Trades program receives $100,000 donation from Seabridge Gold

A Northwest mining company has once again provided monetary support towards a trades program run through Northwest Community College.

Seabridge Gold Incorporated provided a donation of 100,000 dollars on January 30th, money destined for use in the NWCC Intro to Trades 10 programs at Secondary school's in Smithers, Terrace and Hazelton, one of the pathway training programs that NWCC has put in place across the Northwest.

 “Seabridge Gold’s generous donation demonstrates its continued support for students, who will be the future skilled workforce of Northwest BC”  --- Denise Henning, President and CEO of NWCC.

It was the second significant donation from Seabridge Gold in recent years, the company previously provided financial support towards a mobile training unit that provides education and training in rural and remote communities.

You can learn more about the recent donation from this media release from NWCC. or from this announcement on the Seabridge website

There is more on the trades programs offered by NWCC available on their website

Is a North Coast revolt brewing among CBC's Daybreak North listeners?

You might call it the people's review, of the people's network.

A short note on one of Prince Rupert's social media chat boards has issued a call to action for the listeners of the CBC's Daybreak North radio program.

The message looks to bring listeners together to discuss their thoughts on the level of Northwest programming that the CBC Daybreak North Team provides to the region every weekday morning from 5:30 to 8:40.

Organizers of the Sunday, February 9th afternoon session at the Prince Rupert Library are asking some interesting questions about the relevance of the CBC programming to the Northwest.

Among their discussion points for Sunday.

Have you stopped listening?

Does CBC reflect your life?

What about CBC and public emergencies?

Other topics that are to be reviewed what the CRTC might have to say about programming requirements and whether the CBC is providing a cultural narrative of the northwest.

At the moment, Daybreak North covers a wide swath of Northern British Columbia, with the CBC's main production studio based in Prince George. On most occasions during the broadcast period, local producer George Baker provides input for the show from the Third Avenue East studios in Prince Rupert.

For many that fondly remember the full service days of the CBC on Stiles Place, things have never been the same since Mark Forsythe, Neil Gillan, et al moved on to greater CBC glory.

The topic of CBC programming was once a main discussion topic at City Council sessions, a particular favourite topic of former City Councillor Eveyln Basso. So perhaps if the backlash grows, that torch will be picked up by one of the current six members of Prince Rupert's elected forum.

In recent years, the concerns over the change of direction of CBC programming in the northwest appeared to go into hibernation, with listeners apparently either adjusting or moving on to other options.

On Sunday, it appears that some of that discussion may begin to stir once again, at least for those that still believe that the CBC resonates on the North Coast

For those looking to provide their thoughts on the nature of CBC programming in the Northwest, the Sunday session runs from 2 until 4 PM in the multi purpose room of the Library.

Not a fond farewell for the Rampage from a Terrace fan

While the scoreboard results of the weekend were disappointing for the Prince Rupert Rampage and their fans, an event that occurred post game on Saturday night in Terrace is a little bit disturbing.

According to the RCMP review of calls of service for the weekend, a 22 year old River Kings fan made the unwise decision to take the action off the ice.  

The 22 year old, began the string of events by heckling the Prince Rupert hockey players as they left the Terrace Arena  on Saturday. 

However, in addition to the verbal insults, the fan, (though we imagine that the River Kings would prefer that we not use that term), escalated the abuse he was heaping on the Rampage players by also reportedly assaulting a member of the hockey club.

The police review follows:

 Assault. A 22 yr old River Kings fan began to heckle the Prince Rupert Rampage hockey players as they were leaving the arena on Saturday night. An argument was brewing when a Rampage hockey player attempted to de-escalate the situation. The 22 yr old man punched him causing minor injuries. Under investigation.

As stated, the incident resulted in minor injuries and is currently under investigation by the Terrace RCMP.

The River Kings advanced in the CIHL playoffs with a victory on Sunday. 

And while the majority of their fans contained their enthusiasm to matters on the ice, one hopes that the River Kings will do the proper thing and secure banishment from the rink for the individual in question from Saturday night, ensuring that he's not in attendance for future CIHL action.

You can review the synopsis of the incident from the Terrace RCMP information release.

Councillor Thorkelson looks to block some of the new Provincial liquor rules in Prince Rupert

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Like a scene out of Boardwalk Empire, City Councillor Joy Thorkelson is vowing to keep alcohol out!

All be it in this case, banned from the shelves of local grocery stores, suggesting that there are more than enough places in the city to purchase beer, wine and spirits.

Speaking to CFTK Television on Monday, the Councillor outlined her concerns over the recently released report from the Provincial Government.  (CFTK video here) A report which provided for acceptance all of the recommendations culled from five months of consultations and review.

Beyond the issue of alcohol in the grocery stores, Councillor Thorkelson also had concerns with the proposals to allow kids in pubs and with the planned introduction of happy hours in the bars of the province.

Last Friday, the Province's Attorney General and Minister of Justice Suzanne Anton announced that the province intends to move ahead with all 73 of the recommendations that formed part of the B. C. Liquor Policy Review. (see the full review here)

The process of review began in September when John Yap, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Attorney General debuted a website and conducted stakeholder sessions in many locations in the province.

All designed to learn more about the wishes of British Columbians when it comes to the liquor laws of the province, part of an 87 day process, with more than 76,000 visits recorded to the website dedicated to the review process.

The result of that consultation was delivered by the Attorney General on Friday.
(see full announcement here)
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The portion of that review that appears to concern the Prince Rupert councillor the most is the move to allow for sales of beer and wine in Grocery stores, with the councillor suggesting that there are more than enough locations in the city to purchase alcohol. As well, the Councillor has concerns that depending on how one interprets a grocery store, alcohol products could also soon be available in corner stores.

Not mentioned in the CFTK report,  but perhaps of concern to some in the community is the impact that opening the sale of alcohol to grocery stores may have on the Government owned BCLC outlet in the city, the staff at that outlet is represented by members of BCGEU.

The provincial union has launched an extensive campaign to expand services offered by the BCLC outlets in the province they also had previously expressed concerns over the social responsibility of the proposed changes.

Councillor Thorkelson issued her first warning on the prospect of changing liquor laws back in November, just as the consultation period was coming to an and. Admitting that it appeared to be a process that she and council had overlooked, she still urged Council to submit their concerns to the Province.

While council chose not to make a formal submission at that time, the matter was left to individual councillors to submit their thoughts to the website if they wished. No update was provided to council as to how many Councillors took that route in November.

Now however, with the review released and the grocery store sales provision a key part of the entire proposal, the Councillor will be bringing the topic back to City Council.

Stating to CFTK that she will be directing staff to investigate the issue further and to offer guidance as to what the City may be able to  do to stop the  debut of alcohol on grocery store shelves.

At the time of her first intervention into the proposed loosening of alcohol regulations, Council chose not to add concerns over the proposed liquor laws to the growing workload for City Staff.

It will be interesting to see if Councillor Thorkelson, having missed the first opportunity to discuss the issue in November, can now corral the required votes around the Council table to bring the issue back to the table.

A move that would send City Staff off to the research desk to determine what moves the City can put in place to block some aspects of the provincial plan.

Below find some more background on the proposed changes that have come from the liquor review.

Vancouver Sun-- B. C. Liquor laws overhauled...
Vancouver Province-- Booze rules in B. C. to be liberalized
Victoria Times Colonist-- B. C. to allow mixed drinks at sporting events, relax other booze rules
Global BC-- B. C. supports booze sales in grocery stores (video)
CBC-- Changes to Liquor Laws (audio)
CTV BC-- Sweeping changes to BC Liquor Laws announced (video)
Vancouver Observer-- Craft beer lovers rejoice as BC brews liquor reform
The Tyee-- Liquor review report finally released after government's deliberate spills

Rampage season comes to an end, as River Kings comeback to claim playoff series

Home ice proved to be a key factor for the Terrace River Kings, who turned on the offence over the weekend to claim victory in their CIHL West Division playoff series with the Prince Rupert Rampage.

Prince Rupert headed into the weekend holding a 1-0 lead in the series, an advantage gained through a hard fought victory last weekend at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre. Saturday and Sunday however provided a very different story as the River Kings, who were division leaders in the West for the last few months of the season showcased their skills, with a total of 13 goals over less than 24 hours.

Saturday the River Kings evened the series up with a 6-1 victory over the Rampage, with John Hunt picking up a first period goal, the only marker for Prince Rupert on the day, with assists going to Brad Deshane and Josh Kierce.

The Saturday evening scoring summary can be found here.

Sunday afternoon however, Terrace punched their ticket into further playoff action. Once again finding the net frequently, picking up another victory, this one by a score of 7-1 and bringing the Rampage season to a end.

Craig Munro goes into the scoring books for the season, having picking up the final goal of 2013-14 campaign for Prince Rupert, Kendal Stace-Smith and Jordan Weir provided the final helpers of the year.

Sunday's scoring summary can be found here.

The Rampage took to their twitter feed and facebook page over the weekend to salute the raucous collective of Prince Rupert fans that made the trip to Terrace to cheer on their squad.

As their season came to an end, the Rampage also thanked their fan base for all their support through the 2013-14 season. Despite a challenging year for the team on ice, Prince Rupert's CIHL provided the highest support of any time for the CIHL league wide.

With a total regular season attendance of 5,240 and a average of 582 per game, in addition to over 800 at the Jim January 25th for the first playoff game with Terrace, the Rampage fan base has done their part to keep Senior Hockey a going concern on the North Coast.

While the Rampage now put the equipment away for the year and make their plans for the fall, the CIHL playoffs move on to the next phase. With Terrace taking on the Smithers Steelheads in the CIHL West playoff, while Williams Lake and Quesnel will face off in the CIHL East Division showdown.

You can review the 2013-14 Rampage season from our Results page, there is more on the CIHL season and playoffs on our archive page.