Another Prince Rupert pedestrian has been struck in a crosswalk, with members of the RCMP and BC Ambulance service responding to a call around 8:30 AM this morning.
The incident taking place in the cross walk at Sixth Avenue and McBride, immediately adjacent to the RCMP detachment.
The indications from reports on the incident note that a van travelling north along McBride towards the downtown area stuck the woman while in the crosswalk, she was taken to hospital with non-threatening injuries and for further treatment.
The motorist is reported to have been issued a ticket as part of the incident.
Sixth and McBride was the location for the latest incident between a motorist and a pedestrian with a woman struck while crossing the road adjacent to the RCMP detachment
Members of the RCMP redirected traffic around the scene at the tail end of the morning rush hour, requiring motorists to use side streets to reach their destination.
The issue of traffic incidents between motorists and pedestrians is an ongoing concern in Prince Rupert, a topic that is raised often at City Council sessions.
Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen seen here earlier this week, speaking on the theme of the SNC-Lavalin scandal in Ottawa. Today the long serving Member of Parliament announced that he will not run in the next federal election
Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen has become the latest NDP Member of Parliament to decide to move out of the political spotlight in Ottawa, announcing this afternoon that he will not be contesting the next Federal election set for this fall.
In a letter posted to his Facebook page today, the fifteen year veteran of Parliament Hill observed how it was "now time for someone to have the honour and responsibility of representing our great region and its people on the national stage."
MP Nathan Cullens letter advising constituents that he will not contest the next Federal election
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The theme of his correspondence to constituents held a number of memories of past battles to protect the North Coast from oil tankers and fish farms; as well as the work done to protect the Great Bear Rainforest.
He also has words for new NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, reassuring him that Skeena-Bulkley Valley will find a progressive voice to carry on the work that has already been done in the region.
His letter to constituents has generated significant feedback already, with the overwhelming sentiment of contributors so far expressing their thanks for his long service to the people of Skeena-Bulkley Valley. Some even go to suggest that he change his mind so as to continue his work in the nations capitol.
The NDP have not indicated as of yet when they will start the process of selection for the candidate for the fall election, but whomever is successful in the race to come will have some pretty large shoes to fill in the Northwest political spectrum.
The irresponsible behaviour of those who use the golf course as a recreation zone has led to the executive of the Prince Rupert Golf Club to close the course to all but golfers with the ban on any other use in effect immediately.
In a letter to the golf club membership the executive outlined how those that have used the course for walking, running, dog walking biking and other activities have delivered a number of issues for the golf course superintendent to have to take care of.
They note that not all those in the general public who have used the course are responsible, but that the number of people who do not use the course responsibly outweigh the people who do.
Among the issues that Superintendent Peter Drake has had to deal with is an accumulation of garbage being left on the course, irresponsible dog owners who do not pick up after their animals have done their business, as well as dog tracks and tire tracks marring the green areas of the eighteen hole course.
With the Superintendent and his crew trying to do their best to bring the course into a much better shape than in the past, the executive also wants to give them as much of a chance to achieve results as possible.
As well with the golf season just around the corner, they executive notes that the course will be closed to all activities except for golf to minimize the clubs exposure to any possible liability.
There are a few more games left in the skates yet for the Prince Rupert Rampage with an invite to the Coy Cup in Fort St. John
The CIHL playoffs may be over with the Prince Rupert Rampage having bowed out in the semi-finals, but as the Hockey Gods often do, fortune has smiled on the Rhinos and they now still have a chance to take a shot at the Senior AA Men's Championship and the Coy Cup.
The chance to dig into some fresh ice comes as two of the CIHL representatives Terrace and Quesnel indicated that they would not be making the journey to Fort St. John to contest the championship, putting the Prince Rupert Rampage and Williams Lake Stampeders next up on the call list.
An invitation that both teams were quick to accept, though with both now having a little less than a month to make their arrangements for the the trip to the Northeast.
The tournament will also feature the hostFort St. John Flyers and the nearby Dawson Creek Canucks, with the first of the five days of hockey set to take place on Tuesday, March 26th.
The Rampage will see three games in the opening round of the competition with a Tuesday match up with Fort St. John, followed by a Wednesday game with their CIHL rival Williams Lake. The opening round of the tournament wraps up on March 28th when Prince Rupert will play Dawson Creek.
The Semi Final is set for Friday with the Championship game to take place on Saturday night
Coy Cup schedule courtesy of Prince Rupert Rampage
As for a roster, with the CIHL season having come to an end some of the Rampage players may have other commitments, so GM Ron German and Coach Roger Atchison have reached out to the River Kings for some additional skaters.
While the Rhino's continue to make the plans for the trip, the Rampage Roster for tournament time is looking as follows at the moment.
Rampage Line up for Coy Cup courtesy of Prince Rupert Rampage
Still to be confirmed for the trip to Fort St. John are Jared Meers, Hayden Long and Michael Lynch
The Fort St. John Flyers have been making preparations for the tournament for much of the last few months, holding social events to raise funds for hosting and making a call for volunteers to help out during the five days of the Coy Cup event.
You can keep track of the Fort St. John preparations through the Flyers Facebook page
The North Coast Review will also be following the preparations for the Coy Cup and update our notes as the Rampage heads towards the end of the month and the tournament play.
Some notes from the Peace Area on the tournament can be found below:
"It is rare for a museum with a collection, exhibits and programs of this quality to be found in a community of this size, the museum receives appreciation and praise from visitors to our city and from the majority of Prince Rupert citizens. It is the anchor attraction for the tourism economy and as such helps to generate business revenue and jobs." -- From Museum of Northern BC Director Susan Marsden's presentation to Council Monday evening.
It's one of the centrepieces of the city's tourism sector and the home for much of the cultural heartbeat of the city and Monday evening, City Council members had an opportunity to hear much more about what is happening with the Museum of Northern British Columbia. Museum Director and curator Susan Marsden provided the update for Council going over a wide range of material that covered a look back at some high profile exhibits to a review of the list of nations from where museum visitors had travelled from over the most recent summer.
Among the highlights was a look back at the Clovis the Caribou hunter exhibit, as well as the museum's involvement with the Children's Festival.
Ms. Marsden also made note of the success of the cruise ship season and school programs that make for hectic months at the Museum through the spring, summer and fall months.
As anyone who has been downtown on a cruise ship day has noted, the museum makes for one of the top destinations for visitors to the city and on that theme the Museum head also explained the nature of the programs that the museum offers as part of the Cruise industry's engagement with the community. Ms. Marsden observed that when it comes to visitors to the museum it's very much a global cross section with visitors coming from across Canada and the United States, as well as from over thirty eight countries around the world. The largest amount came from Australia, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Her presentation to Council wrapped up with a look at some of the community oriented events that the museum hosts through the year, with a the museum putting a focus on the youth of the community.
Susan Marsden the Director/Curator of the Museum of Northern British Columbia delivered an update for City Council on Monday evening
Ms. Marsden also outlined some of the plans for the year ahead and what exhibits are planned as well as a review of the funding that the museum receives from the city and how it has been put to use. She also explored some of the fund raising efforts that they have in place, along with some of the challenges that the museum still faces when it comes to funding requirements. "The museum is a community asset that merits appropriate support, without which it will not survive" Towards the funding issue, the Museum director praised the new three year funding arrangement and requested that Council consider increasing the amount that the city provides to the museum, which currently is at a funding level of $126,000.
To highlight the new arrangement, Ms. Mardsen read some notes from a previous Annual General Meeting and then put forward the museum's request for and another three year term along with an increase towards their grant. "By the end of the year, we were celebrating a new relationship with City Hall to whom we are very grateful for initiating a three year contract for stable, reliable city funding. We can't say enough about what time saver that arrangement has been on many fronts. Tonight the museum requests that the existing contract be renewed for another three years and that the city consider an increase in funding for the museums grant" Councillor Blair Mirau picked up on that theme and spoke to the new funding arrangement and noted how it was heartening to him that the new arrangement and three year contract provision has been well received. "That was something that I was very passionate about in reforming the Community Grant Process to try and give you guys as community groups more stable predictable funding so that you can plan years ahead and I'm glad that we can agree that has worked very well for both sides." Adding how it provides for more stable funding and allows for the ability to plan the financial program out over a wider period of time. "Why it's such a win-win from our perspective it allows us then, in our five year financial forecast to really plan out exactly what is going to happen rather than to ask you guys to come back year after year with your hat in your hand" Mr. Mirau also noted that the three year contract is set to expire and that it will soon be time for discussions on what the Museum may need for its next three years. The presentation from the museum was well received by council members, with a number of councillors sharing their support for the museums work in the community.
Ms. Marsden's review is available for viewing through the city's video archive starting at the 2 minute mark of the evening's proceedings.
More background on Monday's City Council session can be found from our Council Timeline Feature, while a wider overview of Council Discussion themes can be found on our Discussion archive page.
To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.
Rory Gowler and Bob Thompson, two of the five members of a committee that was tasked to review City Council compensation issues
If the undercurrent to the discussion on Council salaries of Monday night is any indication, the main takeaway from a report on proposed salary increases for the mayor and council, is that somehow those recommended pay bumps are going to be an instrument in preserving democracy.
The quotes of Monday from some around the Council chamber leading us to believe that the salvation of our democratic ways may best be served by the delivery of currency and seemingly some pretty impressive amounts of it.
"It's not for us, it's being fiscally responsible for the future and the future of our democracy for our town as well, and attracting the right candidates that are not exclusively to those with strong economic standing that would be able to afford to maintain this position with all of the hours that are involved with this outside of council meetings"-- Councillor Reid Skelton-Morven
"That is exactly how I have been trying to approach this, my rationale in voting for the public interest its how can we encourage the greatest cross section of people to run for this office, we don't want income, or their job status or their occupation to determine whether they can represent their community or speak up for their community"-- Councillor Blair Mirau
"We have to think about the position and what the conditions of that position are and what that means for our local democracy and encouraging the best candidates that we can get, so that people are not excluded because of financial circumstances" -- Committee member Bob Thompson
That is a sample of the viewpoints that were delivered following the delivery of a report that included recommendations on changes to the status of the Mayor's position and a significant boost to compensation levels for both Council members and the Mayor.
The Mayor's use of Facebook for his update on the salary committee findings was a somewhat familiar thing when it comes to the compensation issue, as that is where the genesis of the Committee concept came from back on October 29th of last year.
Along the way the name had changed and been shortened by November to just the Select Standing Committee, with the hoped for report to be delivered by the end of 2018.
That deadline slipped by and now as the Mayor noted on Monday in his Facebook update, the review came by way of an Independent Committee of Residents with that rebranding coming sometime after the membership had been selected and the work was underway.
Normally when a committee is put together, there is a public announcement of welcome, a listing of the members and an explanation as to their work ahead, in this case it would seem that everyone just jumped into their work without the need for all those formalities.
Among the members selected for the Independent Committee of Residents to work with Senior City staff on the salary review were: Rory Gowler, Rosa Miller, Bonnie Rudderham, Scott Farwell and Bob Thompson.
Some of the members like Ms. Miller and Mr. Farwell have served on other civic bodies such as the small business committee, or that of Tourism Prince Rupert.
Or as is the case of Mr. Thompson as an appointed member of the Board for the City of Prince Rupert owned communication company, CityWest.
Most of the five also have current, or past experience with the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce.
As Ms. Gowler delivered the final report on Monday evening, Council heard of the five recommendations that the committee members had decided on following their work.
Retain the Mayor's position as full time, though no full review was conducted related to the position, as it was beyond the scope of the committees terms of reference. Update the Mayor and Council salary structure to include annual salary adjustments as per the bylaw of 1994. As well, with Council not having taken a wage increase since 2014, they recommended that no wage freezes be taken by council going forward. Address the lost tax exemption change from the Canada Revenue Agency, by increasing the adjusted salaries to result in the same after tax net income as would have been found under the previous taxation rules. Set a Gross salary level of $75,000 for the Mayors position and set a Gross Salary level for Council at 25 percent of the Mayor's salary listed as $18,750. The effect to the budget for those changes will be $55,600. Create a two tier Per Diem schedule dependent on travel destinations Tier One -- Vancouver, Lower Mainland, Whistler and Victoria with a $100 Per Diem for full day of travel, $50 for half day Tier Two -- All other areas in British Columbia with an $80 dollar Per Diem for full day of travel and $40 dollars per day for half days
The committee conducted a review of compensation in other communities to help with their findings, a data search which consisted of nine other municipalities including Terrace and Kitimat, two communities which held down the lower end of the salary compensation table.
The Committee's Council compensation comparison list
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Their work and data makes for a good start towards the discussion for any salary change, but the committee may have been instructed to reach a bit too far by providing for hard recommendations, as opposed to offering a range of options as part of their report.
And when it comes to instituting any changes, Council itself may want to put a bit of distance in place when it comes to making a final decision on the the themes that were reviewed.
If anyone is to have a say in what the final salary should be, or whether the Mayor's job is to be a full, or part time occupation, it probably should be the people who are paying the salaries.
Much of the work of the Independent Committee of Residents was done in the background with no updates from Council to advise the public that it was underway.
It also moved forward without any direction for the committee to ask residents what they may have wanted to contribute to the review, some context that seems missing from the exercise.
For the most part, Monday's final report is probably the first that many in the community had even heard of the committees work.
The largest of the issues is of course the status of the Mayor's position, which previous to 2014 was considered part time and only raised to a full time position by Council in 2015, that shift taking place without consultation from the public, or endorsement from them for that matter.
The job was moved to full time status by way of a little bit of behind the scenes financial manoeuvring by city council through planning for Major Projects, that money delivered through the ever mysterious Legacy Fund.
At no time during that period did anyone on the council of the day put the idea to the public, basically establishing the concept of full time status and full time pay for the Mayors job in place on their own.
With that money now having been removed owing to a sunset clause as of December 31st, the new plan it would seem is to once again secure the Mayor's position and salary compensation as that of full time.
The compensation to be provided through the budgetary process as the Council members themselves are paid, and again, no one has explained why it must be so, nor have they asked the public if the top job in the City should be in fact be a full time one.
The scale of the compensation that has been proposed may also give cause for some residents to gulp down some water. Bottled perhaps, if you are someone who may not yet be convinced of the status of the city's water supply after the lifting of the Boil Water Advisory in January.
Proposed Council increases while less dramatic, may also make for some discussion during the two consultation sessions of March, particularly with the recommendation that the lost tax free portion of the salaries be covered off by the taxpayer, a tax free provision which was something that most of the city's taxpayers have never had the luxury of claiming on their tax returns.
The path to consultation on the pay issues is now to be considered through the two City Council sessions in March on the 11th and 25th, where the public can offer up their thoughts on the recommendations.
Though how much resource material residents will have to use is not really known.
So far, only a short update on the City website and the Mayor's Facebook post have alerted the public that the salary discussion is on.
Those that are truly dedicated to exploring the issue, can review the report from the Committee through the Council Agenda of Monday (see here)
But what the City really should do is provide for a full overview for the website (much like they have done with Hays 2.0 and other programs) posting it as soon as possible before that first meeting of March 11th.
Included as part of the documentation should be some expanded background on the findings of the committee work and how the Council has handled the salary issues over the last four years.
What should have probably happened to best address the issue was for Council to have tackled all of this review program before last October's election and well before the current council members had settled in for the start of another four year term.
Had that been the course of action they could have made the recommended changespart of a referendum question for the electors; asking residents if they wanted to increase the Mayoralty position to Full time status. As well as to offer up a range of potential salary options (from low to high) for the public to vote on, with the voter's decision to be adopted by Council to take effect as of January 1st of this year.
Thinking back to all of the flowery language on the theme of democracy of Monday night, perhaps that referendum option may yet bet their best course of action to pursue true transparency.
By allowing the people to have the final say on compensation levels and job status; the City Council members may actually offer up the strongest nod that they can towards the pursuit of the Democracy that they believe needs to be nurtured.
You can review the discussion from Monday through the City's Video Archive, starting at the forty minute mark.
Some past notes on the committee approach can be reviewed below:
For more items of note from Monday's City Council session can be found through our Council Timeline feature, a wider overview of Council discussion themes is available here.
To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.
