Alaska State Representative suggests all proceeding well for AMHS return to Prince Rupert in Spring of 2022

Signs are increasingly more positive for a return of
Alaska Marine Highway service to Prince Rupert in the Spring of 2022

Alaska Representative Dan Ortiz is feeling fairly positive these days about the prospect of Prince Rupert and Ketchikan once again being connected by marine transportation, with the American politician making note of the progress on plans for a return to ferry service for the two communities.

The resumption of service would make for the first transit between Ketchikan and Prince Rupert in over two years.

In a report from Alaskan radio KRBD, Ortiz's comments for a Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce session from November 17th are highlighted. 

With the Independent Representative for Ketchikan observing that while some challenges remain, he's confident they will soon see progress,  similar as to how the requirement of an armed security presence in Prince Rupert was addressed.

As we outlined in September, one of the key issues of concern for the Americans was apparently resolved with plans to have Armed Customs and Border Officers from Alaska at the Prince Rupert terminal once the service resumes.

In his notes through Alaska radio, the Representative also notes that with that new armed presence will also come the need for a detention centre at the Prince Rupert terminal location.

One option for the future being considered is to have
AMHS share use of the BC Ferries dock for
sailings to and from Prince Rupert

Mr. Ortiz also explores plans to finally address the need for renovation of the AMHS Dock in Prince Rupert, with one suggestion towards resolving that issue being to make use of the BC Ferries dock which was only recently refurbished.

Representative Ortiz is also hopeful that the AMHS may make use of American federal funding towards providing for a new vessel that would be dedicated to the Prince Rupert-Ketchikan run.

You can review his overview of the positive trends for travellers through Prince Rupert from the KRBD website.

So far, the Alaska Marine Highway System hasn't made anything official yet, with the May Sailing schedule still showing no transits available between Ketchikan and Prince Rupert.  

And locally, we haven't heard anything on the percolating plans from Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain who had been engaged in the process of keeping the marine connection active in years past.

But, from the comments from the Alaska Representative, things are clearly moving in the right direction for the resumption of a long standing service and link between the two communities.

More notes on Marine Transportation on the North Coast can be explored here.

** Note item has been corrected to reflect Mr. Ortiz's position as a State Representative not a Federal one.

PRFD members gain in-class and field training on LPG themes

Prince Rupert Fire Fighters taking on a wall of flame
as part of their ongoing LPG firefighting training
(from the PRFD FB page)

The members of the Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue Department have been busy expanding on their skills in the area of fighting Industrial fires, with the Prince Rupert Department taking on some additional training on Liquid Propane Gas fire fighting tactics.

Through their Social Media feed this week, the PRFD is showcasing some of the in class and field experience that their members have received with a look at two days of training towards expanding on their knowledge and skills. 

In class and hands on training marked some of the 
instruction program for PRFD members
(From the PRFD FB page)

The program provided by Emergency Response Assistance Canada, AltaGas and Canadian National Railway has explored a range of themes and areas of note related to any potential LPG incidents.

You can follow the Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue Facebook page for more notes and photos on the training program.

Further items of note from Emergency Responders across the Northwest can be explored here.

Application period open for one time Gift program for 2021 for Metlakatla members

The success of the Metlakatla Development Corporation through 2021 is being shared with members of the Metlakatla community, with members now able to apply for a one time gift of $1,000 per member.

The gifting program is for those who were registered as member of the Metlakatla First Nation as of November 16th.

The program was announced for 2021 following the Metlakatala Development Corporation's Annual General meeting of November 17.

Members from Metlakatla can apply for the gift program here.

Some early issues related to the download of the form appear to have been resolved, with a large volume of members having accessed the program to date.

You can get updates on the process as it moves forward in December from the Metlakatla Facebook page.

More items of note from Metlakatla can be explored here.

"Time is of the essence, and Canadians deserve a better approach", Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP, NDP call on Federal government to take decisive climate action

With British Columbia somewhat of an epicentre for all things climate change over the last year, the Federal NDP is calling on the Liberal Government to take heed of the climate warnings and take some decision action on climate issues.

Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP, Taylor Bachrach is one of the NDP MP's taking the lead on the issue, issuing a statement today on the situation in this province and the need for more action from the Federal government.

“From fires to floods, British Columbians have felt the brunt of the climate crisis again and again. But as the environment commissioner reported last week, decades of talk by the federal government has utterly failed to tackle the problem effectively. Time is of the essence, and Canadians deserve a better approach. The NDP has been calling for investments in climate resilient infrastructure so our communities can withstand the weather emergencies to come. And at the same time, we need to accelerate the development of renewable energy, which will create thousands of jobs."

The NDP are calling attention to that report from the Environment and Sustainable Development Commissioner, released last week, that highlighted the key areas of concern, noting of Canada's placement as the highest per capita emitter of greenhouse gases and the only G7 country which has seen emissions rise since 2015.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh noted of the frequent calls of his party for more investment in a renewable future to help communities prepare for a transition in response to a changing climate.

“While Canadians have endured forest fires and extreme flooding in the past four months alone, Justin Trudeau keeps pretending to be a climate leader. He continues to give big oil and gas billions in fossil fuel subsidies. What’s worse is that they have no plan to help workers transition to renewable energy jobs that will allow them to keep providing for their families while ensuring we are doing our part to address climate change. New Democrats have the courage to act. We can address the climate crisis while ensuring workers and communities have the support they need.”

You can review the full report from the Commissioner here.

More notes on the work of the NDP MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley in the House of Commons can be reviewed here.

CityWest kicks off the 12 Days of Christmas for 2021

CityWest gets ahead of the seasonal gift giving this year with the return of the Twelve Days of Christmas, the popular reward for customers marks its eighth season of treats for subscribers.

The Prince Rupert based communication company sets the tone for the 2021 gift giving through their website and social media feeds.

Day one today, features a CityWest Swag Bag as the gift of the day, with the CityWest customer to receive it to be announced later in the day through the CityWest Social media streams.

Over the course of the Gift Giving period from December 2 to the 17th, CityWest will make a draw and award a gift over the course of each business day, with something special soon to be on the way to a lucky CityWest subscriber somewhere in the Northwest.

There's no form to fill out for the Twelve Days of Christmas, as all CityWest customers are automatically entered in the daily draws.

Learn more about the Twelve Days of Christmas here

For updates on the Christmas celebration, who is taking home the swag and other notes on CityWest see their Facebook page and Instagram feed.

A look at the CityWest storefront locations can be explored here, along with contact information for those living in the vicinity of those offices.

For more notes of interest on Communications in the Northwest see our archive page here. 

Terrace reduces week to week count of COVID-19 by close to fifty percent, while Prince Rupert and Smithers see numbers increase

Local Health Authority COVID review by region 
for November 21-27

The weekly data release of COVID-19 data from the BC CDC, has seen a significant drop in coronavirus cases for the Terrace region, which reduced their reports from 91 seven days ago to 49 with today's information notes.

However with that reduction, has come some slight increases for a number of communities with Prince Rupert leaving behind last week's sole case count to find a rise of ten for the of November 21st to 27th.

Smithers and Kitimat both had noticeable increases, while the Bella Coola Valley, like Terrace saw a impressive decline in the case reports from one week ago

The full review across the region for the week of November 21-27 from the BC CDC looks as follows:

Terrace -- 49 cases

Smithers -- 27 cases

Kitimat --  15 cases
Upper Skeena --  11 cases
Prince Rupert -- 10 case
Nechako -- 9 cases

Burns Lake -- 5 cases
Bella Coola Valley -- 3 cases
Snow Country-Stikine- Telegraph Creek -- 1 case

Haida Gwaii -- 1 case

Nisga'a Region --  N/A

Central Coast -- N/A

Wednesday's provincial report lists  63 new cases of COVID for Northern Health,  with 361 Active cases.

Charts for British Columbia as a whole and for 
the Northern Health Region from the BC CDC for December 1
(click to enlarge) 

The full report from the Province for Wednesday can be accessed here.

The larger BC CDC Data release is available here.

Past information statements on COVID and other notes on the Northwest response can be reviewed from our archive page.

 

Stikine MLA facing hate symbolism amid tense times in the Bulkley Valley

Stikine NDP MLA Nathan Cullen is calling attention to some simmering hate in the Bulkley Valley of late; posting a Social media message today that takes note of some vandalism with ugly overtones of Anti-Semitism to one of his constituency signs.

The MLA and former MP for the region noting of the painful themes explored from the vandalism and providing a link for those who stand against hate crime or have been the victim of it to use to report such incidents.

Mr. Cullen has found himself immersed in a range of contentious issues in his constituency in recent months, with Smithers seemingly a central location for the anti-vaccination/No Public Health measures side of our current COVID debate in the province.

More recently he has been in the spotlight over the ongoing dispute over the Coastal GasLink pipeline project, with some of the members of the Wet'suwet'en Territory issuing an eviction notice to him last week seeking his leave of his office in the Hazeltons.

That issue one which he is looking to address with Gitxsan leadership.

As we noted last month, the Stikine MLA had recently expanded on some of the temperature on social issues not only of his constituency but across the province, delivering a passionate overview of the situation as part of the debate of the Legislature.

More notes on themes from the Stikine constituency can be reviewed here.