Following the lead of the Public Health Officer, Coast Mountain College expands on its COVID protocols

With Dr. Bonnie Henry introducing a new range of measures on Thursday towards the province's COVID response, Coast Mountain College has also revised its protocols and made some changes to their own response plan at all campus locations across the Northwest.

Among some of the key elements that they have expanded on are:

New Mask Wearing at all CMTN campuses

In accordance with the orders from Nov. 19, it is now mandatory to wear masks for indoor, public and retail spaces in British Columbia. That means that staff, faculty, students and anyone with essential business on CMTN campuses must wear a mask or face covering any time they are indoors, when physical distancing of at least two meters cannot be maintained. If you need support accessing a mask for use, or if you are unable to wear a mask, please connect with your instructor or supervisor for support.

As has been declared in the province, the College has noted on the restrictions on social gatherings for residences and placed restrictions on social gatherings for those in the workplace at Coast Mountain College.

The Friday update also reinforces the COVID awareness themes that have been prominent in their response through the year, with information on self assessments, reminders to wash hands and keep physical distancing.

The College also reminds residents of the Northwest that all of their campus locations remain closed to the public and are open only to staff and faculty approved work on campus, along with prospective and registered students.

You can review today's information release here.

For more notes of interest on Coast Mountain College across the region see our archive page here.
 

COVID's impact on BC Ferries one of reduced revenues, reviews on capital spending

Lower traffic levels has brought lower revenues for
BC Ferries which released its second quarter financial review today

 BC Ferries has released their second quarter fiscal results for the period of July and September and the data continues to highlight the impact that COVID has had on travel in the province and on the  BC Ferry system in particular.

The financial date provided today noted that BC Ferries’ net earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2021 were $37.8 million, $57.2 million lower than the same quarter of the previous year. Year-to-date, since April 1, 2020, net losses were $24.2 million, compared to net earnings of $107.2 million in the same period in the prior year, a decline of $131.4 million. 

Things continued to show concerning results when it comes to revenue, with totals for the quarter listed at $247.6 million as of September 30th, down $81.7 million year-over-year. 

Revenue for the six months ended September 30, 2020 was $385.0 million, down $190.7 million over the same period in the prior year. 

The financial review gave BC Ferries' President and CEO Mark Collins to make note of the 'new normal' while praising the work of the employees during the course of the pandemic period.

“COVID-19 continues to have a significant impact on the ferry system as we navigate through what is now the new normal with our employees, our customers and all British Columbians. Throughout the pandemic, our employees continue to provide lifeline service to coastal communities and I want to recognize their dedication and perseverance, which has been nothing short of inspiring.”

In the first two quarters of the fiscal year, BC Ferries has seen a decrease of 43 percent for April - June and 28.7 percent from July through September. 

Today's information release does not include  a breakdown between the northern routes and those of the south.

The travel opportunities were reduced significantly earlier this year as the Ferry Corporation adopted a reduced schedule and reduced capacity levels, much of those measures were reversed over the course of the summer months, though with travel restrictions in place for much of the summer, normal or anticipated travel loads had not been recorded in the North.

BC Ferries President and CEO Mark Collins

The reduced revenues will have some impact on capital spending plans, with the Ferry Corporation set to launch a review of all capital plans.

“Prior to COVID-19, our 12-year capital plan totalled $3.9 billion and included new vessels, upgrades and modifications for existing vessels, significant improvements at our fleet maintenance unit, major investments at terminals and renewal of information technology systems. Given the impact of the pandemic to our operations and financial position, we are reviewing all capital plans to identify opportunities to defer any expenditures that are not regulatory, security or safety related or operationally necessary. It’s imperative that we scrutinize everything we do to preserve the long-term sustainability of the ferry system in the public interest.”

There is some relief on the way for the Ferry Corporation, with BC Ferries to receive 308 million from the Safe Restart Funding program with the cash injection to come from the Federal and provincial governments.

For more notes on the financial themes of the day see the BC Ferries information release here.

Further background on BC Ferries service to the North Coast and Haida Gwaii can be explored through our archive page.

Launch Day Scuttled ... new COVID restrictions mean no In Store launch for Influenced: Stories from the Lockdown

In just another fascinating twist for 2020, plans by Muskeg Press to launch their pandemic spawned compilation of Influenced: Stories from the Lockdown have been put aside, that after new measures from the Provincial Health Officer ruled out any social gatherings until December 7th at least.

As we outlined on Tuesday, three of the Prince Rupert authors who made up the showcase of ten short stories from the compilation were set to take part in the launch event on Saturday at Eddie's News.

Those looking forward to the chance to meet with their readers and exchange ideas on writing themes were Rudy Kelly, Shannon Lough and Conar Rae Harris.

Muskeg Press publisher Chris Armstrong was disappointed that the event could not go forward, but understood the need for the new measures and noted that the move to cancel the local event was the right call.

The book will still be available for purchase of course whether at Eddie's or other retail outlets or through the Muskeg Press website.

You can learn more about the project from our Tuesday article here.

City of Prince Rupert reinforces new provincial orders with public information push

A portion of the city's
info update on new COVID
measures  delivered by
the city's mobile app

Doctor Bonnie Henry had barely finished rattling off the range of new COVID related measures to be put in place as of midnight on Thursday, before the City of Prince Rupert was spreading the word of what residents needed to be aware of.

With the City launching a full information response on Thursday evening, using all of their communication portals to make sure as many residents as possible were in the loop when it came to the new orders towards wearing masks in all public locations and need to curtail all social gatherings until at least December 7th.

The information roll out began on the city's website, and made use of a number of the Facebook pages that they host, including the City's official Facebook page. 

The details were also shared through the Mayor's own political Facebook page.

Mobile users were also included in the sharing of information, with an alert issued through the mobile platform at 4:28 PM

Curiously, the only social media format not used was the city's Twitter feed, which rarely sees much attention these days.

These are important steps for all of us to take in order to reduce the potential for transmission in Prince Rupert and beyond. We know that these are difficult sacrifices to make, but they are in the broader interest of our friends, family and neighbours. Thank you for your continued commitment to keeping each other safe. -- Part of the City of Prince Rupert info update on the new provincial measures

The Provincial Health Officer and Health Minister Adrian Dix outlined the range of new measures as part of a Thursday afternoon presentation, which you can view here.

The full list of Public Health orders and other measures now in place can be reviewed here.

For a look back at all of the COVID related statements since January see our archive page here.

PRDTU calls for 'local leadership' from School District on COVID-19 response

So far there has been only one COVID related incident relayed
by Northern Health and SD52, still the risk of the virus has
the PRDTU calling for more expansive local measures

Thursday night featured an online forum hosted by School District 52 and Northern Health to review some of the elements of the School's COVID approach and from their review of the evening's dialogue, the Prince Rupert and District Teachers Union came away with a few takeaways and increased their calls for some additional measures at the local level.

Among the items at the top of their list as relayed by PRDTU President Gabriel Bureau remains their call that the use of Masks be required in Prince Rupert's Schools and Classrooms.

Noting that the current measures have shortcomings Mr. Bureau outlined the unions key point on the topic.

“Students, staff, and the public should be required to wear masks in all public indoor spaces, including in classrooms and schools. With masks now required in public indoor spaces throughout BC, the same rules should apply for students and school staff.”

Also on the theme of masks, Mr. Bureau reacted to the confirmation by Northern Health that schools, according to public health officials, are not considered “public spaces” where mask requirements apply.

The Union president observing how “This simply makes no sense. Masks in schools and classrooms limit the spread from exposure and protect people from COVID-19 and should be part of school safety plans.”

The PRDTU President also outlined that more efforts are required towards contact tracing and notification.

"More is needed for schools to be safe for students and staff. Precautionary measures like mask mandates, lower density, remote learning supports, and adequate ventilation are needed. Parents expect schools to be safe. So do teachers. Northern Health shared information on the level of infections due to exposures at schools."

The low level of infections that have been shared is welcome news for the PRDTU, however Mr. Bureau has observed that there is still much more to do towards keeping the schools safe.

 “Parents and staff members do not care about averages. Families care about their child’s safety. Staff members have a right to safety at work,. That’s why safety in every school and classroom should be the school district’s first and foremost priority. All measures to keep kids and schools safe should be put in place.” 

The need for more leadership from the School District is also a key for the PRDTU, with Mr. Bureau noting how there is a need for the District officials to increase their overview of the pandemic response.

“Teachers want more leadership from the School District, The buck stops with school leaders here in Prince Rupert, not from officials based in Victoria and elsewhere. Teachers want improved safety, including mandated masks in classrooms and schools, to protect our students and staff members.” 

While the School District has stated that it is governed by the School's Act, the union believes that they can still put forward initiatives to provide protection for students and teachers.

“There is not a prohibition for the School District to enact higher standards for school safety. It must do what is in its power to protect its employees and the students in our schools. We have local School Boards in place to ensure that communities have input in the education of their own children. Now we need local leadership more than ever.”

The Union membership is also concerned that there is no plan in place by the School District to work with teachers when it comes to educating  the public on the health benefits of vaccines

“It’s time to start listening to the professionals who understand schools: Teachers."

"The PRDTU President also observed that "Teachers are already trusted in the community and we have the tools and relationships needed to help inform the public in the role of science and public health in keeping people and communities safe during this pandemic.” 

The local union members are not the only ones disappointed with the lack of action on some of their concerns. As has been noted previous, even though Doctor Bonnie Henry has issued a wide ranging masks on order for many elements of our day to day travels now, the one area where the masks rule was not expanded was in the schools.

And that has caught the attention of the BCTF which expressed its disappointment  through a range of social media updates.

You can review more notes on how the province and local School District has put together the COVID related measures from our archive page here.

Concerns over out of sight marijuana grows making for community discussion themes

While the most visual element of the legalization of marijuana is the growing number of Cannabis Stores in the city, a deep inhale of the air in the downtown area and other areas of the city, indicates that something else other than retail sales is up in the city, with what appear to be a number of hidden from view grow op locations popping up around town.

The topic of these mysterious and out of sight urban agricultural opportunities even made it to the Mayor's social media platform on Facebook, with a question or two from some of his regular readers on the issue.

To date however, the Mayor has not offered up a response to the quesitons and concerns that were posed to his social media portal.

The downtown area does seem to offer the perfect elements for an industrial like process for a hidden grow op, with a number of buildings that have been vacant for a number of years, some of them previously used for such undertakings in the past.

Some of the long vacant buildings in the city
could make for a hide in plain sight location for
a potential clandestine grow op. The old
RCMP building on 2nd (bottom photo) in fact
did serve as a home for a marijuana grow op in 2008.

And on any given day, you may find a BC Hydro crew working in a back alley installing additional hydro equipment behind some of those long vacated buildings, even if it may appear that the doors to those buildings still aren't open to the public with no indication that a new business is about to open.

Council did receive a heads up on the potential for an increase of such projects three years ago when Councillor Barry Cunningham relayed some concerns that he had received from the public related to what the Council referred to as medicinal grow ops of the time.

We would imagine Mr. Cunningham and maybe a few more of the Council members have heard more complaints in the three years since, considering the growing chance of receiving a contact high simply by going for a walk through the downtown core.

Part of the problem seems to be some permit loopholes with Health Canada that may need to be tightened up, or local measures put in place to try to stem the gold rush mentality towards such ventures.

With a City Council session coming up on Monday, the Council members have a good opportunity to share some background on the current situation, outlining just how many of these locations that they may know about, if any, who may be behind them and what if anything they can do to perhaps reign in the Wild West approach to urban indoor farming.

If the Council really wanted to provide for a full overview, they might want to include some representation from the local detachment of the RCMP and the Prince Rupert Fire Department to offer up any thoughts on the impact of such types of activity and if there is a problem that needs to be addressed and if Council has any guidance for them on the topic.

Council could make use of that combined counsel from their local sources, to determine if there may some approach that the City could take to find a way to slow, if not reverse the prospect of this type of use for commercial buildings in the community.

Prince Rupert however, may not be alone in the sudden increase of clandestine growing operations, a quick scan of some headlines from other parts of Canada seem to indicate that the issue is one of concern for a number of municipal governments.

Medical marijuana grow licences exploited by criminals to sell weed on the illegal market, police say
Counties ask for tighter rules for medical grow ops
Illegal grow-ops sees Norfolk tagged as Cannabis Capital of Canada
OPP target grow ops, have seized $143M in cannabis since July
Multiple illegal marijuana operations shut down in Lower Mainland by RCMP
Health Canada's medical pot permit loophole fuelling illegal grow-ops, say OPP

If indeed Prince Rupert has become some kind of hot spot for such kind of activity, City Council may want to get out ahead of the residents on the topic; lest too many of the operations begin to dominate the commercial core and the air around it.

The danger in not calling attention to an issue, or taking action towards is that it emboldens those that may think that the path is clear to set up their own operation with little fear in having their venture shut down.

More notes on past City Council Discussion themes can be explored here.

British Columbia Centre for Disease Control issues COVID alert over recent Vancouver-Prince Rupert flight

The BC CDC has issued a COVID advisory for travellers on
an Air Canada Jazz flight to Prince Rupert on November 16

Travellers who were onboard a November 16th Air Canada Jazz Flight between Vancouver and Prince Rupert may wish to explore the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control website today, with the provincial agency issuing an alert related to a possible COVID-19 exposure.

The flight in the spotlight for the Northwest was Air Canada Jazz Flight 8280. The latest update to the BC CDC website notes that passengers seated in rows 9-12 should be considered at higher risk of exposure owing to their proximity to the case in question.

On the page, the BC CDC advises that Passengers on a domestic flight with a COVID-19 case should self monitor for symptoms for 14 days.

The BC CDC also offers up some advice on Self-Isolation protocols, as well as Self Assessment support and tools.

It's not the first time that the BC CDC has issued an alert over a flight into the northwest, two previous flights into the Terrace-Kitimat airport were flagged in March and October.

This does however mark the first flight on the Prince Rupert and Vancouver route flagged since the Digby Island airport reopened for operations in June.

More notes related to COVID-19 measures in British Columbia can be explored from our COVID-19 archive page here.