MLA's week April 13-16

After a two week break from their duties, the province's MLA's returned to their desks in the Legislature this week, marking the first work in Legislative session following the Easter break.

However, for the North Coast's MLA, the public aspect of the work week would be rather low key. With no contributions noted, other than for votes, over the four days of Legislative work this week.

Ms. Rice, the North Coast's representative was not listed once in the archive of participants for the twelve sessions of the Legislature in the House, or those related to House Committee work listed for the week of April 13-16.


As for her committee work, MLA Rice is a member of the Standing Committee on Children and Youth.  

That committee met on April 13 , though Ms. Rice is not mentioned during the course of the minutes for that session.

The Legislature returns to work on Monday morning.

There is more background on the North Coast MLA available from our MLA's Week archive as well as our General Archive on the Legislature.

Terrace Business Expo underway today

Traffic heading towards Terrace may be on the increase today and tomorrow as the Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce opens the doors to their 22nd Annual Business Expo, a two day event  that will feature 83 exhibitors setting up shop at the Terrace Sportsplex.

Day one opens up later today with the 3 PM opening, with the Sportsplex welcoming visitors until 8 PM.

Saturday makes for a full day for exhibitors as the doors open at 10 AM, with visitors able to wander the exhibits until closing time at 6 PM.

The size of the event, makes the Terrace event the largest of the Trade show type of events in the region this year, with both the Main Arena and Hidber Arena to be in use over the weekend.

The Terrace Sportsplex is located at 3320 Kalum Avenue.

The Terrace chamber provided a helpful map and listing of exhibitors for those visiting the event for the Northern Connector of last week.

The Terrace Business Expo takes place Friday and Saturday 
at the Terrace Sportsplex (click to expand)

Business expos of similar scale were once a mainstay in Prince Rupert, however in recent years the size and scope of these types of events has been reduced on the North Coast.

Some background on this years event in Terrace can be found from this e-edition item from the Terrace Standard, it can be found on page A8.

For more items related to the Commercial sector in the Northwest see our archive page here.

Prince Rupert Council may have some fences to mend with the School District

SD52 officials are not happy with
the way their concerns were
received by Prince Rupert Council

The reception that the School District received as part of its presentation to the Public Hearing into the Canadian Freightways yard on Monday night seems to have provided for some disappointment for the Board of Education officials.

As we outlined on the blog yesterday, the School District provided its objections to the planned rezoning of the land along Highway 16 near Frederick Street, concerned over the potential impact that the planned increase in industrial activity may have on land that they are attempting to sell at the old Kanata School site.

During that Hearing process, Council members did not appear to accept those concerns as valid, with Councillors Thorkelson and Cunningham in particular taking up the talking points on behalf of the city and any impact that rezoning might have on the Board of Educations land sale ambitions.

In fact, at Monday's council session City Council moved the zoning issue forward and addressed it again in a special session of Council held on Thursday.

On Wednesday evening, CFTK TV outlined that the reaction from Council has not been greeted well by School Board officials, with Chair Tina Last outlining the concerns that the Board of Education had with the reception.

The Canadian Freightways issue, marks the second time in recent months that the School District and City of Prince Rupert have been at odds over a proposed development plan.

Last year, the Board of Education raised its objections to the City's plan to develop the old dump on Wantage road into work camp like housing for proposed LNG and other major projects should they arrive on the North coast.

Similar to how events unfolded on Monday evening, during that December hearing, Council members seemed to suggest that the School District concerns did not carry enough weight to sidetrack their plans, though it should be noted that the proposed work camp site hasn't had much forward momentum since that time.

Still, that's two for two when it comes to contentious issues between the School District and City Council.  Making for a bit of an uncomfortable gap when it comes to Mayor Lee Brain's recent commitments towards better engagement between the City and other regional stakeholders.

It's ironic in a way, that while the City expresses concerns over how the Province is treating the city and seeks to build alliances with city residents and with other communities, that one relationship quite close to home seems in a bit of disarray at the moment.

In the past, City Council members have suggested the need for more frequent exchanges of ideas with School Board officials, noting that the two groups haven't of late had opportunity to get together and discuss issues of mutual concern.

After the last few months, it would seem that it might be timely for the Mayor and Council to reach out to School Board officials, looking to seek out some common ground on the growing irritations between to the two groups.

For more items related to School District developments see our archive page here, further background on City issues can be found on our  City Council Discussion archive page here.

Port announces closure of Container Viewing area during construction phase

The Viewing area over the
Fairview Terminal will be closed
during Phase 2 construction 

As construction work begins to ramp up on Phase Two of the Fairview Container port expansion, a popular viewing spot is about to be closed to the public.

Sunday will be your last opportunity to get a birds eye view of the activities at the Fairview Container Port, as Maher Terminals and the Port of Prince Rupert prepare restrict access to the site during the construction phase of the expansion of the facility.

The closure of the Scott Road Viewing area will come into effect at 6 AM on Monday, April 20th.

The Port released a notice to the public today, apologizing for the inconvenience. You can review the background on it from the Port from this media release.

No timeline as outlined as to when access will once again be available to the public.

You can review more about the Fairview expansion plan here, further background on Port activities is available here.

CN Rail looks to expand infrastructure in BC and Alberta

A CN freight train travels along
the Skeena (from CN website)

Those remarkable turn around times for shipments in and out of the Port of Prince Rupert may soon be even more impressive, as CN Rail announces plans to improve and add to its infrastructure across Western Canada.

On Thursday, the national railway outlined the nature of a $500 million capital program to upgrade Western Canadian feeder lines, with a key focus on railway lines in the Peace area of BC and Alberta.

Those improvements should provide dividends for the Port of Prince Rupert, a large volume of grain and minerals travel the rails from that area to port facilities.

As well, CN will be upgrading the main line between  Edmonton and Winnipeg with double tracking and extended sidings.

That important stretch is a key portion of CN's gateway to the US, which provides container services from the Port of Prince Rupert to such American cities as Chicago and Memphis.

You can read the background on the upgrade plan here.

It's likely that more improvements will come to CN"s presence on the North Coast as well, with expansion plans now underway for Fairview Terminal.

The container Port at Prince Rupert has become one of the major selling points for CN's transportation strategy, recently hailed by the railway in a video presentation.

The announcement of Thursday is considered by many as an answer to recent derailments across Western Canada and as a way to improve shipment times.

April 16 -- CN Rail spending $500-million to upgrade network in Western Canada after string of derailments
April 16-- CN Rail to spend $500M to improve feeder lines in Western Canada
April 16 -- CN, beset by derailments, to upgrade Western Canada network

For more items related to CN's impact across Northern BC see our archive page here.

Coroners Public inquest announced for Prince Rupert tragedy of April 2014

It has been just over one year since Prince Rupert residents learned of the deaths of Angela and Robert Robinson, a tragic incident which left much of the community in shock, with many vowing to become advocates for families dealing with autism and other special needs.

Ms. Robinson and her son were discovered in their family home on April 3rd of last year, their story of struggles in recent years, one which raised concerns over services available to local families and the need to address the issues that led to the events of that day.

One year later, the BC Coroners service will start that process of review, announcing on Thursday that a Public Inquest will be held into the deaths.

Presiding coroner Michael Egilson and a jury will hear evidence from witnesses under oath, looking to determine the facts surrounding the deaths.

The inquest will provide for a formal process to allow for public presentation related to the case, with the jury empowered to have the opportunity to make recommendations aimed a preventing deaths under similar circumstances.

No date and place for the inquest has been announced as of yet, with the BC Coroners service
advising that they will outline the process ahead as soon as they have confirmed the timeline and location for the inquest.

You can learn more on the Inquest announcement from this notice from the Coroners Service.

The Prince Rupert incident was one that was not only raised in the Legislature, but was also addressed by Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, the province's Representative for Children and Youth.

In the days following the tragedy Ms. Turpel-Lafond vowed to review the case carefully, indicating that it was an incident of great concern for her office.

The Coroner's Inquest will be one additional element towards making the provincial government aware of the need to improve its services to families faced with issues that can quickly move far beyond their control.

The Prince Rupert tragedy received much attention in the days and weeks following, some background on those events of April 2014 can be found below:

May 2014 -- MLA Rice takes local concerns on support for families to Committee room
May 2014 -- MLA Rice speaks to mental health issues for rural and coastal communities
April 2014 -- When autistic children are murdered, are they treated as victims or triggers?
April 2014 -- B. C.'s advocate of children blasts government following mother-son suicide
April 2014 -- Prince Rupert tragedy a call to action on youth care, advocate says
April 2014 -- Murder-suicide of Prince Rupert, BC mother, autistic son under review
April 2014 -- Distraught mother kills herself, and son with severe autism
April 2014 -- Angie and Robert's Family seeks support from Inclusion BC to push province to help families dealing with autism

RCMP seek more information, or an owner, for recovered canoe

The Coastal Policing Section of the Prince Rupert RCMP is looking to reunite a canoe with its owner, this after members of the Prince Rupert detachment recovered an empty canoe floating in the Skeena on April 8th.

The canoe was discovered approximately half way between Terrace and Prince Rupert.

The RCMP responded to a complaint from the public, with concerns for the safety and well being of anyone that may have been in the canoe. After a search of the Skeena involving both the Air Service plane and the West Coast Marine Service the canoe was recovered, with no one discovered requiring any assistance in the area.

In the days that followed No missing person reports were received by either the Prince Rupert or Terrace detachments.

The RCMP are now looking to locate the owner of the canoe, in the event that there may be a missing person situation involved in the discovery.

The canoe which is in a well used condition  can be viewed below.

Photo of a canoe recovered by the RCMP on April 8th

Should the canoe belong to you, or you have information related as to who may be the owner of it, you are asked to contact the Prince Rupert detachment of the RCMP at 250-624-2136

For more items related to Emergency Services files in the Northwest see our archive page here.