A change in the rules at the House of Commons is going to take the Federal Parliament into the age of the Internet when it comes to hearing the concerns of the people.
The House of Commons has streamlined the process for citizens to create and deliver petitions to their representatives in Ottawa, allowing for the receipt of electronic petitions, something that wasn't allowed only a few months ago.
Through the work of MP Kennedy Stewart, the NDP MP for Burnaby South, who helped steer the proposal in the House, Canadians can if they prefer, now share their concerns or raise issues without the need of packaging up the signatures and mailing them off to their MPs.
However, the drama of holding up and then dropping a giant package of signatures to their desk for MPs will still be available, as the paper based petition process will also still be accepted.
In his Winter report to constituents, NDP MP Nathan Cullen has provided a short tutorial for residents of Skeena-Bulkley Valley to take note of, should they have an issue of concern for the Federal Government.
The guidelines on how to create online petitions and other background on the process can be found here.
Melanie Mark made history last night as she became the first ever full First Nations woman to become a member of the British Columbia Legislature.
While she was born and raised in the Mount Pleasant area of Vancouver, through the campaign, she made frequent mention of her Nisga'a and Gitxsan roots, highlighting the pride she had in her ancestry and receiving assistance from those from the Northwest that have moved to that part of the province.
Her familiarity in the urban area of Vancouver and the issues of First Nations residents living there became a key element to her campaign for the provincial By-election in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant, a riding with a strong First Nation population and a long time strong hold for the NDP in the Legislature.
Among her impressive credentials to take into the Legislature will be her time working with Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond at the Office of the Representative for Children and Youth, working to watch over the most vulnerable children and youth in the province.
Her election on Tuesday evening, will provide the NDP with a knowledgeable and passionate asset to bring into the debate in the legislature, particularly one imagines when it comes to issues related to the troubled Ministry of Children and Family Development.
Her video introductions to the voters highlighted some of the issues that she campaigned on during the by-election campaign, themes that clearly resonated with voters last evening.
The Vancouver-Mount Pleasant riding was last represented by MLA Jenny Kwan who shifted to the Federal scene during last fall's Federal election.
Ms Mark claimed victory with over 60 percent of the vote and 5,353 in total.
The full results from last night can be found below.
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Ms. Mark was one of two successful NDP candidates last night, with Jodie Wickens a long time advocate for children with autism also claiming victory, she had 3,562 ballots cast in her favour or 46.2 percent of the vote in Coquitlam-Burke Mountain constituency.
The twin wins bring the NDP to 35 seats in the 85 seat provincial legislature.
Some notes on Ms. Mark's by-election campaign can be found below:
A glimpse into the work of the Canadian Coast Guard and Armed Forces rescue services has popped up on the Maritime Forces Pacific YouTube portal, highlighting a late January medevac operation 370 kilometres west of Haida Gwaii.
The call for assistance came in the late afternoon of January 29th, with a CH 149 Cormorant and a CC 115 Buffalo launched from CFB Comox to respond to the situation aboard a fishing vessels on the western waters off of Haida Gwaii.
Upon arrival the Cormorant hovered above the vessel and lowered a SAR Tech to the boat deck to secure the patient and life him to the helicopter.
The patient was the transported to the hospital on Haida Gwaii for further medical attention.
The approach to the vessel and work of the SAR technician was captured by a team member board the Cormorant. You can view the operation below:
More items related to the work of Emergency service responses in the Northwest can be found here.
Starting in May there will be one more flight in and out of Prince Rupert's Digby Island Airport, as Air Canada introduces a third flight between the city and Vancouver for the Summer season.
The additional flight was announced last week, with airline adding a late afternoon option to the morning and evening flight schedule.
The afternoon flight will depart from Vancouver International at 2:30 PM with arrival in Prince Rupert at 4:31PM. The trip south will leave YPR at 4:55 PM, arriving in Vancouver at 6:50 PM.
According to a short note on the Chamber of Commerce Facebook page, the new flight option is set to take effect as of May 2nd.
The move to increase the air movements out of the Digby Island airport comes after Terrace based Hawkair suspended its air service to the community in December, noting at the time that they would re-assess their situation in the spring.
The Prince Rupert Rampage made the shots and the Prince Rupert Port Authority delivered the cash, with the Salvation Army the Big Winner from another season of a very successful combination.
Saturday night, the Port Authority helped celebrate the start of the 2016 CIHL Playoff season by delivering a cheque for $4,300 to Captain Gary Sheils of the Salvation Army.
The first period intermission ceremony providing the final numbers on the Rampage home goal scoring exploits this year, with the Port honouring its commitment of 100 dollars for every goal scored at a Rampage home game this year.
Ken Veldman, the Director of Public Affairs for the Port of Prince Rupert made note of the popular initiative in a media release on Monday, saluting the work of the Rampage both on the ice and in the community.
"Through their dedication to the team and the many extracurricular events they participate in, these young men are incredible supporters of our community. Whether they’re killing power plays or throwing their weight behind causes like child literacy, we’re proud of their performance both on and off the ice.”
The money that is raised each year through the joint efforts of the Rampage and the Port helps provide funding for the city's only food bank and the long running Christmas Hamper program in the community.
On Saturday, the Port also announced that as the Rampage continue on in the CIHL playoffs they will add another 200 dollars per Rampage goal through this month.
With game one in the books from the weekend, that brings that total to 400 dollars so far following Saturday night's match up with the Terrace River Kings.
As we outlined on the blog last week a new financial player is about to enter the Northwest market, with the North Peace Savings and Credit Union making its plans to open up services out of Terrace.
With the financial institution looking to put a focus on services for the small business and small industry sector of the region.
Towards that goal, the Northeast British Columbia financial services company has outlined a bit more information on their project, as well as beginning the process of seeking someone to be their Business Account Manger out of Terrace.
The move into the region will start as a home based office concept, with the Business Accounts Manager tasked to attract and develop new portfolios from around the Northwest.
As North Peace explains it, they intend to provide comprehensive financial services, making use of creative ideas and solutions to deal with their member's business requirements.
North Peace outlined the reasoning behind their move into the Northwest in a media release last week. Looking to bring its business approach and understanding of the needs of the business community into an area where they anticipate significant growth to be found in the years to come.
In his Winter report to constituents, NDP MP Nathan Cullen has provided a short tutorial for residents of Skeena-Bulkley Valley to take note of, should they have an issue of concern for the Federal Government.
