Prince Rupert educators and authors navigate pandemic with children's book "The Lemon Tart"

Laura Wiebe and Sarah McChesney are ready for the launch
of their book The Lemon Tart which will be available for
purchase later this week

Prince Rupert readers can share in some positive themes from a tough situation, as they explore the wonders of The Lemon Tart, the creation of two Prince Rupert educators Sarah McChesney and Laura Wiebe who wanted to help youngsters cope with times of COVID while giving back to their home community through their project.

The Lemon Tart is a children's story written and illustrated by the two here in Prince Rupert,  with both Sarah and Laura having worked in the school district this past year and like everyone, suddenly finding themselves faced with navigating a pandemic. 

As they observe in some notes on the book,  the world changed before our eyes it was important it was important to them to find ways to connect to children but also to use their book as a way to give back to the community that has given them so much. 

The story was written at a kitchen table during the initial lockdown during the Pandemic of 2020. Like many stories from lockdown this came from 2 friends trying to stay busy, positive, and searching for a way to help. 

Their work provides for frequent mentions of Prince Rupert putting the community into the heart of the path towards the Lemon Tart, but we're not going to spoil any surprises ... as to the title.

The two authors note for the North Coast Review, that they have said it millions of times before; we were lucky to have each other during this time and wanted to ensure the children were not left behind.

Ms. Wiebe is currently a Grade 4/5 teacher at Conrad elementary, while Ms. McChesney has returned to her studies and remains a teacher on call in Prince Rupert.

You can get your first glimpse of the latest book offering from Prince Rupert's growing list of accomplished authors from Muskeg Press, with the book to be available to the public as of December 6th.

Keep an eye out at Eddies New's, Homework and Cooks Jewellers where the Lemon Tart will be making for a special Christmas gift this season.

More notes on Community Events around the Northwest can be explored from our archive page here.

Prince Rupert Teachers continue to press for increased COVID safety in schools; announce plans for public rally December 10

Prince Rupert teachers are stepping
up their engagement on COVID related
 Safety issues at local schools

The Prince Rupert District Teachers’ Union is continuing in its efforts to  raise public awareness on the importance of a mask requirement, better distancing measures, and other safety improvements for students and school staff, with local members asking the public to lend a hand in sending their message to SD52 with a Road Rally on December 10th at 4PM.

The rally is one part of a public awareness campaign to be launched on December 2, 2020, that will include advertising in local media, leafleting outside of schools (before and after school, off school grounds), rallies for safe schools, and other community outreach for school safety.

Teachers are calling on School District 52 (SD52) to implement higher standards for students in the district. 

As for the action plan towards the Road Rally, Teachers and members of the public have been invited to assemble along 7th Ave East, meeting at the corner at 7th Ave East and Green Street.

Participants are asked to remain in their cars to ensure physical distancing. 

The rally will drive through town as a caravan, ending outside out the SD52 office.

The concept of the road rally was one of a number of themes that members of the local union reviewed during a General Meeting on Saturday November 21, 2020, following which they voted on recommendations for specific school safety improvements. 

At that meeting, teachers voted to recommend that masks be mandated in schools whenever physical distancing is not possible (with exceptions provided for medical and other student needs). 

These recommendations were brought to SD52 at a November 30, 2020 meeting between union officers, the Superintendent, and the Board Chair. 

The PRDTU is still awaiting a response from SD52 and noted how they appreciated the opportunity to bring its recommendations directly to SD52.

“Local teachers are united around school safety. We want schools to be safe for everyone – students and staff alike. That’s why we’re calling fora mask mandate in local schools.”--PRDTU President Gabriel Bureau

As we outlined last month, the PRDTU had called for a larger sense of local leadership from SD52 and made note of the unique needs of the North Coast region and how a mask mandate and other measures especially urgent for SD52 are required. 

“We need local leadership on school safety, especially given the remote and rural location of many communities served by our schools, the number of vulnerable students and families in the district, and the importance of protecting Elders and other community member. Teachers in Prince Rupert and the region served by School District 52 want the community to know that we value school safety first and foremost for all our students. That’s why the teachers are calling for improvements to school safety.” -- PRDTU President Gabriel Bureau

More notes on education in Prince Rupert can be explored from our archive page.

Ellis Ross tapped as BC Liberal critic for Environment and Climate Change

Environment and Climate Change Minister George Heyman is going to be hearing a lot more from Skeena MLA Ellis Ross and the topic won't be about TransLink! 

That as interim BC Liberal leader Shirley Bond announced the roster of her party's Legislature critics on Monday, with the Skeena MLA gaining a key role as the BC Liberals watchdog on the province's environmental files.

Ms. Bond took on her new duties last week after former BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson stepped down, the Prince George MLA to hold down the position until the party chooses a new leader sometime in the year ahead.

In her remarks as she rolled out the list of critics for the NDP government's plans for the next four years, she hailed the responsibility the party has to keeping the NDP on focus to the needs of all British Columbians.

“As the Official Opposition, we have a responsibility to make sure this government deals with the critical issues facing British Columbians. Our caucus represents people from all across the province and we will ensure that their voices are heard in Victoria. It is essential that the government’s approach to COVID-19, from a health and economic perspective, is transparent and effective so that all British Columbians can have confidence in the future of our province.”

The full BC Liberal announcement can be viewed here.

On the topic of her new environmental critic, Ms. Bond was enthusiastic about the work ethic he will bring to the post.

“Ellis has proven himself to be a strong advocate for his community and all British Columbians advocating for sustainable resource development and environmental policy. His dedication to creating economic opportunities for communities is another asset he will bring to our team and our province.”

For his part, the Skeena MLA was looking forward to the challenges ahead, taking to his Facebook page to share word of his new duties for the year ahead.

His new post will most likely prove to be a controversial one for the environmental movement in the province, who will surely note his strong advocacy in the past for pipelines and resource extraction.

In a statement released on Monday, Mr. Ross observed as to how he entered politics to see that environmental policy became part of the developmental process.

“One of my big motivations for joining politics in the first place was my desire to see environmental policy become an integral part of our economic development discussions. British Columbians expect this government to find the balance between economic progress and environmental sustainability, and I intend to use my time in this role to hold this government to account and ensure it upholds the standards that British Columbians expect.”

More notes on the work of the BC Legislature can be explored from our archive page here.

Racism is systemic in BC health Care: Turpel-Lafond report

What started out as a review of complaints of a game at provincial health facilities that targeted Indigenous residents and patients, in the end expanded into a extensive review of the prevalence of wide ranging systemic racism in the provinces health care system.

And while author Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond found no verification of the 'drinking game' that had been cited as the spark for the review, what she did explore during the course of the five month review was that Indigenous people in British Columbia are exposed to widespread racism when seeking care. 

With the result that they often find negative experiences at the point of care, inequitable medical treatment, physical harm and even death.

“Indigenous people and health-care workers have spoken clearly – racism is an ugly and undeniable problem in B.C. health care that must be urgently addressed. This report provides a blueprint for fundamental changes to beliefs, behaviours and systems that are necessary in order for us to root out racism and discrimination and ensure that the basic human rights of Indigenous people to respect, dignity and equitable health care are upheld.” -- Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, independent reviewer.

The Report, which is titled In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in BC Health Care was spawned as part of the Addressing Racism Review which was created by Health Minister Adrian Dix in June of this year.

The Full review was put in motion after allegations were made about an organized “Price is Right” game involving guessing Indigenous patients’ blood alcohol levels in B.C. hospital emergency rooms. A detailed examination of those allegations found no evidence of an organized game occurring as originally depicted. 

The review found anecdotal and episodic evidence of multiple activities that resemble these allegations in some fashion, but none of them could be described as organized, widespread or targeting only Indigenous patients. 

While that original theme proved elusive to prove, other disturbing concerns have framed the scope of the 224 page report.

“Nevertheless, our review found clear evidence of a much more widespread and insidious problem – a lack of cultural safety and hundreds of examples of prejudice and racism throughout the entire B.C. health-care system. 

That doesn’t mean every Indigenous person who gets health care will experience direct or indirect racism, but it does mean that any Indigenous person could experience it. 

Many of the accounts we heard were deeply disturbing, had clearly caused significant harm, and created lasting mistrust and fear of the health-care system. I thank Indigenous people and health-care workers across B.C. for having the courage to share their stories and to help us to shine a light on this important issue.” -- Report author Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond

The research for the document included the voices of 9,000 Indigenous patients, family members, third-party witnesses and health care workers, as well as un-precedented analysis of health data.

The review examined health utilization and outcome data of approximately 185,000 First Nations and Métis patients; data showing that racism limits access to medical treatment and can negatively affect the health and wellness of Indigenous peoples. 

In particular, the review found that Indigenous women are disproportionately impacted by racism in health care and that racism contributes to Indigenous people being disproportionately affected by the current public health emergencies of COVID-19 and the overdose crisis. 

A separate review data report, which will offer a deep look into the health system’s performance when serving Indigenous people, will be released next month.

A significant portion of the report delves into the past relationship for Indigenous residents and health services in the province noting of the ongoing evolution from colonial times and framed more recently through the adopted principles by the NDP government of the UN Declaration on Indigenous Right to health.

Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond delivered the findings from
her review into racism in the BC Health Care system on Monday

Towards recommendations, the report includes 24 items for consideration and implementation the themes covering a number of categories including Recommended actions in Systems,  Behaviours and Beliefs.

Click on above to enlarge recommendations

You can review a shorter synopsis of the report here.

The Full document is available for review here.

Ms. Turpel-Lafond delivered her report through a livestream on Monday, you can view her comments and those of Health Minister Adrian Dix below:

A review of some of the media themes coming from Monday's report can be reviewed from our political blog D'Arcy McGee.

Further themes from the provincial government are available from our Legislature Archive.

Another blow for the Prince Rupert commercial sector; as MacCarthy GM retrenches operations to Terrace

The showroom at MacCarthy Motors in the Yellowhead Centre
the lights will be turned off at the end of this month as the 
local GM dealership ceases its Prince Rupert operations

A Monday morning announcement from MacCarthy GM delivered some tough economic news for the community heading towards a new year, with the local auto dealership which has operated in the city since 2012 announcing that it will close its Prince Rupert operations as of the end of December.

The move by the General Motors franchisee in the city, which follows a similar consolidation into Terrace for Port City Ford back in 2015, leaves Prince Rupert with just one remaining Big Three North American automaker in town, that being Rainbow Chrysler.

The announcement, posted to the MacCarthy GM Facebook page, does not specifically mention any details for the move to cease operations in the city, but notes of the tough decision made by the ownership.

The closure will bring to an end a long running association between General Motors and Prince Rupert which dates back to the days of before Atom Motors, following a brief lull Sherman GM returned the national brand to the community, with MacCarthy taking on the operation eight years ago, refurbishing their showroom and operations a few years later in 2015.

At one time Prince Rupert's Yellowhead centre area was a thriving auto mall, featuring all of the major North American auto dealers, along with a Volkswagen dealership downtown rounding out a much larger scale of options than we have today. 

In addition to the unfortunate loss of jobs and livelihoods that will come with the closure of the doors on December 31st, the community too will lose a strong advocate for community causes.

Over the years, MacCarthy GM has been quite active with charity, sponsorship of events and other activities of benefit to the community, such is the impact that these closures bring to the region.

The closure also means that many of their customers will now have to take the ninety minute drive to Terrace for service or warranty work, an enjoyable trek in the summer, not so much into the teeth of a North Coast winter.

The departure of another large national presence highlights the ongoing challenges facing the community in retaining local shopping and service providers and comes amid talk of a hopeful rebirth for the city's commercial sector from City Council in recent weeks.

More notes on business themes across the northwest can be found from our archive page here.

Storm Warning for area waters makes for BC Ferries sailing cancellation to and from Haida Gwaii

The ongoing weather challenges for the North Coast and Haida Gwaii have meant another cancellation of service, with Monday night's crossing of the Northern Expedition from Prince Rupert to Haida Gwaii and the return trip back to Rupert from Skidegate cancelled earlier in the day Monday.

As we outlined earlier in the day, Environment Canada issued A Marine Storm Warning for the waters of the North Coast and Haida Gwaii, with winds of 55 knots to continue through Tuesday.

With the weather still somewhat unsettled for the days ahead, BC Ferries notes that they will resume service as soon as it is safe to do so.

For further details see the BC Ferries website.

More notes related to Marine Transportation on the North Coast can be explored from our archive page.

At 46, Startling number of deaths brings home urgency for British Columbians to work to knock down rising curve of COVID-19

Even during a period of time such as the last month or so the where the daily accounts make for stark reading, the numbers related to COVID-19 from this weekend were shocking, the first of the review for the weekend the number of souls lost to the coronavirus 46, residents of this province who have passed away in just 72 hours.

The surge in passings coming from the province's Long Term Care facilities and other centres which have suffered some of the greatest tolls from the now near eleven month odyssey.

Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix had the duty of reporting the escalating numbers of concern as part of a briefing held this afternoon.

“Today, we are reporting on three 24-hour periods. From Nov. 27 to 28, we had 750 new cases. From Nov. 28 to 29, we had 731 new cases and in the last 24 hours, we have had a further 596 new cases. 

We are also reporting 277 historical cases from the Fraser Health region, reconciling a data lag from earlier this month. This represents 2,354 new cases of COVID-19, including 10 epi-linked cases, for a total of 33,238 cases in British Columbia. 

There are 8,855 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. There are 316 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 75 of whom are in intensive care. 

The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. “Currently, 10,139 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 23,111 people who tested positive have recovered. 

There have been 46 new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 441 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Across the province, the 1,365 cases recorder over the weekend from Fraser Health continue to dominate the listings, elsewhere in BC the Health authorities reported the following: 368 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 58 in the Island Health region, 212 in the Interior Health region, 73 in the Northern Health region, bringing the total for the Northern Region to 845 cases since January.

One new case of COVID was reported for a person who resides outside of Canada. 

As the numbers continue to rise in all areas of the province, the two top public health officials reaffirmed the need for residents across BC to hold to the measures in place and continue to work to reverse the rising curve of coronavirus we have seen in recent months.

“For the many occasions and daily life activities that we would normally do together, we must stay apart. And despite how difficult this may be, most people in B.C. are doing the right thing. 

People have followed the orders and used the important layers of protection because it is a responsibility we have to each other and our fellow citizens, and is how we show we care. “If you are thinking that it may be okay for you to bend the rules, remember that COVID-19 is a serious, life-threatening illness. 

By choosing to make the exception for yourself, you are not only going against all that we are doing to slow this virus down and putting yourself at risk, but you are also endangering the lives of others. 

We are facing a significant storm surge, which is why, with the start of vaccine availability only a few short weeks away, it is so important for all of us to work together to keep our wall strong, to push back on COVID-19 united and together. 

Remember that you are not alone in your sacrifice; it is our collective effort that makes the difference and will see us through."

You can review today's full COVID-19 statement here.  

The BC Centre for Disease control has some valuable Coronavirus notes related to COVID-19 you can explore that information here.

You can learn more about the outbreak from both the Province and the Federal government from the links below:

Federal Government site

British Columbia Government site

The World Health Organization website also offers up the latest advisories on the global situation.

More from  Northern Health can be reviewed here 

You can review our archive of past statements and local information here.

Local governments and organizations have also provided for increased awareness of COVID-19 issues, those past advisories  can be reviewed here.

For notes from across Canada and British Columbia we have been archiving the latest items through our political portal Darcy McGee

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