City issues a hiring call for two positions

Job opportunities available with City of Prince Rupert
(photo of City yard from City or PR Annual Report)

If you can repair vehicles, or work with cement, the City of Prince Rupert wants to hear from you.

Two new job postings have popped up on the City's Hiring board, with the Operations Department on the hunt for a Mechanic and a Stonemason.

The Stonemason position has a quick turnaround time for applications, with the deadline to submit your resume coming up on August 1st, while those with an interest in the Mechanics position have until August 25th to drop off a resume.

Some background on both positions can be found below (click to enlarge):

The new entries to the Help Wanted listings comes after a bit of a summer lull in the city's ongoing hiring call, as they continue add to the civic employment rolls, or replace staffing for positions from retiring workers.

A look at the pace of civic employment over the last year with the City can be found on our archive page here.

For more items related to the City of Prince Rupert, see our list of archive topics here.

Port picks August 29th for Phase Two Celebration

The Port of Prince Rupert is planning a party and all of the North Coast is invited!

A community celebration for the Grand Opening of the DP World Prince Rupert Fairview Terminal's Phase Two North expansion is set for August 29th, with a range of activities, speeches and a chance to explore the container port site to take place from 12:30 to 4:30.

Among some of the events that those in attendance can take in are a community BBQ, musical entertainment, interactive activities for children and a close up look at the new terminal.

The Port does advise that there is very limited parking on-site at the DP World Terminal, which can be accessed by way of Highway 16 and McMillan Road, for those that plan to take a car they suggest carpooling as one option.

With that limited parking for the public a better option might be the shuttle transportation that the Port and DP have arranged.  A shuttle bus service be in place for the day, with transportation between the Jin Ciccone Civic Centre and the Terminal to take place between 12:15 and 4:30.

Updates on the plans for the end of August will be made available through a website page created by the Port for the event as well as through the Prince Rupert Port Authority Facebook page

For more background on the Fairview Container Terminal see our archive page here.

With a bear on the loose, a Rupert resident creates a Bear Tracker

The bear sightings apparently continue to be noted around the city's west side, as a troublesome bear continues to elude capture, seemingly having kept a wide berth of the trap set for him near the Golf course, a trap which was reportedly moved on Wednesday.

Such is the wandering nature of the member of the Ursidae family that Prince Rupert resident Dave McKeever, has created a Bear Tracker,  providing residents of the city an opportunity to place a marker on the map to report any bear sightings, along with the Date and time of the contact.

The first and only marker to this point was recorded earlier this month and McKeever is looking for more input from the community to keep an eye on the wayward Yogi.

Should enough residents lend a hand to the project (and providing the bear cooperates with more appearances we imagine) there could be enough data provided to lend assistance to the BC Conservation service and help to narrow down the search.

You can check out the Bear Tracker map here.

The first reports of the bear in the community came back on July 12th when the Conservation Service arrived in town to set the trap.

More notes on the work of emergency services in the region can be reviewed from our archive page.

Area environmental groups find much to celebrate with PNW LNG cancellation

Word of Tuesday's cancellation of the Pacific NorthWest LNG project spread quickly around the region and for the regions environmental movement members there was much to celebrate about the decision.

Across the Northwest groups which had frequently expressed their opposition to the proposed development at Lelu Island took to their Social media platforms, eager to share their enthusiasm at the end of the PNW LNG story for the region.

Among the groups sharing word of their success were the Prince Rupert Environmental Society and Friends of Wild Salmon which offered congratulations to their supporters for their efforts during the five year process that put the spotlight on their concerns.

The World Wildlife Fund also hailed the news of the cancellation of the project, noting how it was a win for wildlife not only in the Skeena estuary, but  across British Columbia.

Also Included in those that were in celebration mode was the Prince Rupert office of UFAWU-Unifor which posted their thoughts to Facebook on Tuesday.

The local union that represents fish workers in the community had long been in opposition to the proposed development at Lelu Island, with UFAWU's Joy Thorkelson frequently raising the topic in her role as a city councillor with the City of Prince Rupert.

In addition to the social media shout outs, a group in Prince Rupert celebrated the decision to bring the project to an end, gathering in Mariner's Park on Tuesday following the announcement.

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice also touched on the theme of Flora Banks in her Wednesday statement on the demise of the project, noting how some in the community were celebrating the protection of salmon habitat off of Lelu Island.

In a Tuesday evening statement, NDP MP Nathan Cullen also noted that much of the opposition to the project came from the site selection and a lack of Social Licence for the proposed development

A look at some of the fall out and opinion sharing on the Petronas decision can be found on our archive page here.

Lax Kw'alaams introduces new bus for transport to and from community

A new ride is taking to the streets of Prince Rupert and Lax Kw'alaams this week as the community to the North of the city introduces its new community bus to the region.

The Lax Kw'alaams Facebook page provided the first glimpse of the new vehicle picked up at Prince Rupert's McCarthy GM lot in the Yellowhead centre.

The bus will be put to use to transport elders and for other purposes as required in the community, providing for another vital link between Lax Kw'alaams and the rest of the North Coast.

The vehicle made its first stop in Lax Kw'allams on Wednesday evening.

For more items of note from the community see our archive page here.

MLA Jennifer Rice says future still bright for North Coast despite Pacific NorthWest LNG cancellation

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice offered up her first comments on the cancellation of the Pacific NorthWest LNG project, issuing a mid Wednesday afternoon statement that pointed more to the future for Prince Rupert and the North Coast, than dwelling much on the project that was just cancelled.

The only actual mention of the decision by Petronas to bring to an end it's plans for development of the LNG terminal proposed for Lelu Island, made a nod towards global market conditions and how some look at the news as an opportunity lost, while others are focused on the protection for the salmon habitat of the island., her comments then wrapped up in a clarion call to help build a better BC

Reaction to Pacific Northwest LNG pulling out in Prince Rupert has been as diverse as the people who reside here – many are not surprised considering global market conditions, some are celebrating the protection of salmon habitat off Lelu island and there are those who feel the wind has been knocked from the sails and all economic opportunity lost. 

I can appreciate the range of reactions felt by all. We all care deeply about our community. We all want to see Prince Rupert and neighbouring communities thrive with people working and services we count on in place. 

We all want to build a better B.C.

The rest of Ms. Rice's address for the community rattled off a list of some of the bright spots ahead for the North Coast, ranging from port development, to increased tourism and even a shout out for the City of Prince Rupert's plans to prepare Watson Island for future development.

She also noted that there are other LNG projects in various stages of review, though she did not specifically identify those proposals, remaining rather vague however as to which ones she may be in support of.

On the list of the remaining proposed LNG terminals for the regions is the Aurora LNG project proposed for Digby Island, currently now the only one that is seemingly in an active phase for the Prince Rupert region and a proposal that the MLA has had a few things to say about in recent months.

The latter half of her statement from today offered up much of the same themes as the recent election campaign, though this time the presentation was delivered in the terminology of a sitting government member, as opposed to that of an opposition member.

Developing a diverse range of small, medium and large industries is what creates stability in small communities like ours. Diverse industries protect us from the volatile fluctuations of boom/bust economies. 

Rest assured your government is working hard to diversify and strengthen our economy, and create more jobs. Regardless of your reaction to Pacific Northwest LNG’s decision, there is much to embrace and already celebrate in Prince Rupert and the Northwest. 

Our collective future is bright.

You can review the full statement from the MLA's facebook page here.

Further background on her work as MLA for the North Coast can be reviewed from our Legislature archive page.

For more items related to the Pacific NorthWest LNG decision see our archive page here.

With Silence so far locally, the Petronas decision on PNW LNG echoes far beyond Prince Rupert

Yesterday's announcement by the Malaysian energy giant Petronas that outlined how it has abandoned its plans for an LNG terminal near Port Edwards has offered up much for the business and political opinion pages to discuss over the last 24 hours or so.

As we noted on the blog yesterday, the announcement which came from Petronas  (see notice here) in the mid morning hours pointed towards changing market conditions for the decision to walk away from the North Coast project.

However, for many political observers, those notes seem like a soft and non offending farewell for the Malaysian company, with the recent change in the political landscape in BC also gaining some traction as a theme for some observers of the LNG story in Canada.

Blaming marketplace for LNG retreat convenient for political critics
"A tragedy for Canada': Petronas cancels $26B LNG project at B.C. jacks up demands
Supporters, critics sound off on Pacific NorthWest LNG cancellation
Cancelled liquid natural gas project in B.C. will have ripple effect in Alberta
Not a good result for Canada': What CEO's are saying about Petronas
'We can't stomach another loss': Petronas' cancellation sparks fears about Canada's energy future
Energy minister shrugs off LNG loss
NDP had nothing to do with Petronas collapse? Really?

Other media sources focused on the economics of the LNG industry and how that has cast a shadow over the scope of what was planned for a Canadian industry.

Petronas pulls the plug on Canada's Pacific NorthWest LNG megaproject
Petronas scraps $29Bil western Canada LNG project
Petronas ends Canadian LNG project
Petronas pulls the plug on Pacific NorthWest LNG project
$36 Billion Pacific NorthWest LNG project dead
Company kills $9 billion to $11 billion Pacific NorthWest LNG plant near Prince Rupert
Pacific NorthWest LNG megaproject cancelled
A worldwide gas glut claims latests, $27 Billion victim in Canada
I'm scared for my community': northerners react to cancellation of Pacific NorthWest LNG

'Basic Economics' Kill $11 Billion LNG project on BC's Coast

There are now three B.C. LNG frontrunners after Petronas pulls out

And while the story has generated interest in British Columbia, Canada and globally, on the local front some of the key political figures in the region have yet to offer up any comment related to the end of the the multi billion dollar project.

Leaving residents of the North Coast perhaps to wonder where they stand on the cancellation of the highly touted game changing plan for the North Coast, a development that once offered the prospect of hyper economic growth and large scale employment opportunities.

As we observed last night, Skeena-Bulkley Valley NDP MP Nathan Cullen did provide some thoughts on the cancellation, suggesting to a fashion that a lack of Social Licence was one element that was key to the events of Tuesday.

However, 24 hours after the announcement by Petronas, there are still two regional players missing from the information flow so far.

On the provincial front, North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice, who has long been an opponent of the selection of Lelu Island as the proposed development site, has yet to offer up a comment through her Legislature website or social media streams of Facebook or twitter.

It should surely be a topic that the NDP MLA and new parliamentary secretary might have something to say about, especially when one considers her past themes of discussion in the Legislature (even though she missed the final vote on the issue) and with her signing of the Lelu Island declaration of 2016.

Also not part of the commentary to this point, is Mayor Lee Brain of Prince Rupert, who has yet to outline any form of official response, or share some thoughts on the cancellation of the project on behalf of the City of Prince Rupert, whether through the City website or the Mayor's civic Social media portal.

It makes for a strange absence from the flow of observations found so far, considering the significant interest that City Council took in the issue and the fact that the City had provided for a lengthy correspondence related to the environmental assessment phase of the project.

Port Edward Mayor (seen here from
the earlier days of the LNG ambitions)
offered up some comments on Tuesday
related to the cancellation of
the PNW LNG in his community

One local politician who has offered up a comment however, is Port Edward Mayor Dave MacDonald, he along with the Mayors of Terrace and Kitimat expressed disappointment at the announcement to Global News last night.

“I am disappointed. I’d hoped it would go forward,” said Mayor Dave MacDonald. “We believe in working with our partners in the whole area, Prince Rupert and the native villages, we were hoping the whole area was going to expand.” -- Port Edward Mayor Dave MacDonald, speaking to Global News on the cancellation of the Pacific NorthWest LNG project planned for his community.


We continue to archive more of the fall out from the Petronas decision on our Pacific NorthWest LNG archive page available here.

Update: Ms. Rice offered up her first comments on the cancellation at mid-afternoon on Wednesday, her statement can be reviewed here.