Mid-morning industrial incident sends employees to hospital; brings Fairview Terminal to a stand-still

Work was suspended at Fairview Container Terminal today
following an industrial incident on the site
(photo from Port of PR Website)

Update(December 22) : Port activities  have resumed at Fairview Terminal, after the substance in question from Thursday's incident had been identified as Butyl Acetate, a chemical used for synthetic food flavouring.  The source of the irritant had been discovered after an on site air quality assessment. DP World has indicated that there was no inhalation hazard to the community associated with the incident.


(Original story)

Details remain limited when it comes to an Industrial incident at the Fairview  Container Terminal in the mid-morning period of Thursday, with work suspended at the container terminal and the site evacuated after what appears to have been some form of employee contact with a chemical agent.

Container operator DP World has not provided a great deal of information on the nature of the incident other than that around 9:45 AM two employees were sent to Prince Rupert Regional hospital with respiratory issues and have subsequently been discharged.

After the incident was reported, work was halted and those working the day shift were evacuated from the terminal site. The situation was handed over to DP World's emergency response team, which is working with emergency services to address the situation.

There is no clear timeline as of yet, as to when the Terminal will reopen for service.

No additional information has to this point been released to the public living in the immediate area of the Terminal on the west side of the city. DP World hosts a website and twitter feed, neither of which offers up anything of note for residents at this time.

As well, the Port of Prince Rupert has not as of yet, provided any information related to today's events through any of their communication options.

Today's incident marks the second time in recent months when work has been suspended and  employees have been sent to the hospital,  the September incident resulted in the closure of the terminal for a number of days before work resumed.

That work stoppage, also resulted in a backlog issue for the Terminal to deal with in the weeks that followed, you can review notes from the Terminal as part of our archive page.

More accolades for Port of Prince Rupert, as Journal of Commerce rates them Top Performing Port

It was another successful trip to a trade event for representatives of the Port of Prince Rupert as Port officials received a salute from the organizers of the Journal of Commerce Port Performance North America conference earlier this month.

The Prince Rupert delegation were in attendance for the two day conference on December 12 and 13 in Newark, New Jersey, with port officials engaged in a number of sessions related to theme for the 2017 gathering of 'Improving Port Performance amid a sea of Disruption"

While taking part in the conference, the Port was recognized as an industry leader and named a Top Performing Port by the influential shipping industry magazine, with the Port celebrating their success with recognition of the partnership between CN Rail and DP world to achieve the standards that put the Port in the spotlight at the event.

The Port also paid tribute to those working the docks at the Fairview Facility, noting that through their efforts Prince Rupert was providing an industry leading service and gaining global recognition.

CN Rail and DP World were also quick to their twitter feed to celebrate the success of the Port and to highlight the supply chain advantage that Prince Rupert has to offer to the global shipping industry.

The success in Newark may herald even better news to come for the year ahead for the Port.

In the JOC rankings for the year ending 2016, the Port of Prince Rupert had cracked the Top 25 in North America, holding down the 16th spot and closing in fast on Montreal, with Vancouver still the top Canadian port on the list.

Those results could change significantly once the 2017 numbers are tabulated, with increased capacity and shipments through the Prince Rupert gateway as this year comes to an end, the prospect of jumping over the Montreal facility would seem close at hand and with it the potential to enter the Top Ten listings of port facilities in North America as we head into 2018.

A recent report from the Port of Prince Rupert highlighted the economic impact that port operations have on the entire Highway 16 corridor from Prince Rupert through to Prince George, with prospects for continue growth in the year ahead, that economic footprint will continue spread and create jobs across the region.

You can learn more about the operations of the Port of Prince Rupert from our archive page here.

AltaGas Terminal project to reach construction milestone this month

The Big Pour is almost complete at the AltaGas site on Ridley Island,
with the Alberta energy giant anticipating that the cement work on the
outside tank shell will be complete by the end of this year
(photo from AltaGas website)

The pace of construction at the Ridley Island site for Alta Gas continues at a good clip, with the projects main tank assembly set for its final pour of concrete as December comes to an end.

That will be the eighth and final pour for the shell of the tank at the Ridley Island Propane Export Facility, with the Fabrication of the inner steel tank roof now underway and the installation of the inner steel tank also in motion as December winds down.

The update for the first LPG terminal project that was announced for the North Coast can be found from the AltaGas website, providing further background on the current status of the project which at the moment has 220 workers involved in its process, with the site averaging 120 workers per day depending on what is on the to do list for the day.

The construction timeline will increase significantly in 2018 with the first shipments of Liquid Propane Gas out of the Ridley facility anticipated to take place in the first quarter of 2019.

The update also looks ahead to beyond the construction phase with AltaGas proceeding to put together their Operator Training program on the North Coast, which will be putting a focus on training for First Nations and other local community members.

AltaGas  will be offering the opportunity fore North Coast residents to access the skills required for entry level operator positions at the Ridley Island Propane Export facility.

The recruitment plans and training program details will be released early in 2018. 

The first shipment of LPG out of the
AltaGas terminal site is expected to
take place in early 2019
(photo from AltaGas website)

When the site is operational it's expected that the Terminal will employ up to 50 permanent workers for its day to day operations.

AltaGas also provides some notes on the Environmental aspects of their project, noting that all current work programs on the site that are underway and planned for 2018 are completed and have been accepted by the regulatory agencies.

As well as working on the industrial site at Ridley, AltaGas has also jumped into providing some assistance to the community, with the Alberta based energy company having recently made a donation of $10,000 towards supporting the North Coast Transition Society extreme weather shelter located on Third Avenue West.

You can review some of the key facts for the Ridley Island project here.

The AltaGas project is one of two LPG terminals that could be in operation on the North Coast within the next few years, as announced earlier the Pembina Pipeline corporation has also committed to a terminal project to be located at Watson Island, though their plans are still very much in the early development phase, as the company continues to conduct their evaluations of the Watson site.

You can find the latest items of note on both LPG terminal projects from our archive page here.

City of Prince Rupert joins regional partners as part of workforce attraction project

Prince Rupert, Terrace, Kitimat and the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine
are working together on a workforce attraction plan for the New Year

The search is on for a consultant to work on a research based marketing plan to attract residents and workforce participants to the communities of the Northwest,

As part of the project, The City of Prince Rupert has joined Terrace, Kitimat and the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine in funding of the workforce attraction plan, with the quartet of communities seeking out the consultant through the BC Bid process.

The estimated cost of the project is stated as 10,000 dollars and the four communities are looking at six key elements to be included as part of the finished document, they include:

An overview of current economic and demographic status in Northwest BC communities and rationale for action

Strategic Analysis of Northwest BC communities

Identified Target Markets and marketing Goals and Objectives

Specific, Actionable Marketing Strategies to Attract Target Markets

Costing for the Strategies, Tools and Tactics, with a range of options to be provided

And Suggested Next Steps for the communities to consider 


The Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine is the contact office for those with an interest in submitting to the request for quotation.

Documentation should be directed to Deklan Corstanje, Regional District of Kitimat Stikine, 300-4545 Lazelle Avenue, Terrace BC V8G 4E1

The Deadline for submissions is January 2nd at 4:30 PM.

Should they find a proposal that they like, indications are that they will make for a quick launch to the project with an anticipated Start date of January 9, 2018 with the plan to be delivered by February 28th.

You can review the full background to the proposal from the BC Bid Site, it's RFQ 2017-ED listed under the Regional District of Kitimat Stikine.

Prince Rupert Council first explored the concept of a regional plan for the workforce attraction initiative during their May 8th Council session, you can review some of their themes on the proposed project as part of our Council Timeline for that period listed at the 1 hour mark.

For the most part, Council members were supportive of the concept, but some had concerns about what the plan was designed to do and expressed the belief that the City should also be exploring and approaching other agencies to bring more training opportunities to the area for people who already live in the community.

We explored some of their opinions on the topic with our blog item of May 15th.

To listen in to the range of opinions from May, you can view the City Council Video Archive for that session below, with Corinne Bomben, the City's Financial Officer providing a report to open the discussion for the Council members at the one hour point.




For more items related to City Council discussion topics see our Council archive page here.

It's beginning to look a lot like ... Chad Estrada time!

In what has become a Prince Rupert Holiday tradition, the members of Harbour Theatre will once again be luring Chad Estrada out of his semi-retirement, with the annual Chad Estrada Christmas Special Spectacular set for Friday night at the Third Avenue theatre.

The Legendary Mr. Estrada takes to the stage with his Christmas Spectacular at 7:30 PM, with the doors to the Tom Rooney Playhouse opening up at 7 that night.

Much like Santa himself, Mr. Estrada normally makes but one appearance per year and arrives from points unknown (some say the Cayman Islands, others a castle fortress in Switzerland), though he travels to his annual gig in a slightly more modern conveyance than a sleigh and nine reindeer.

And as is the case with the Jolly Old elf, an Estrada appearance brings happiness and Joy to all that gather in the fabled Tom Rooney Playhouse on Third.

Friday's showcase event features the genial Mr. Estrada recounting many of his experiences from his lengthy career on the North Coast, joining the showman's showman for the night will be the Chad Estrada players with a collection of Comedy Skits that will capture the pulse of the city and the season.

Live Music featuring Chad and Phil Land, Ted Keehn and Peter Witherly and friends.

As well, the Charles Hays Drama Club drops in with a special performance for the Estrada Spectacular.

A few other surprises are planned along the way to help you usher in your holiday season as only Prince Rupert's premier showman can deliver on.

Tickets are available for 12 dollars at Homework in Cow Bay, or at the door.

You can get any late updates on Friday Night's Spectacular from the Harbour Theatre Facebook page.

For a look at other Community events on the North Coast see our archive page here

NWCC's Eagle Cam Goes Live

A project that is combining the Applied Coastal Ecology Program at the Prince Rupert Campus of NWCC and the Prince Rupert Wildlife Shelter has taken their work live, with the set up of a live camera feed from the Eagles roost a the Wildlife shelter.

The project is designed to give the public an opportunity to watch the rehabilitation of injured eagles on their road to recovery, focusing on the work of the Prince Rupert Wildlife Shelter on the city's east side.

It's there that Nancy and Gunther Golina and their volunteers care for eagles and a number of other animals that are brought to the shelter.

The Eagles of the Prince Rupert Wildlife shelter are ready 
for their close up, the NWCC eagle cam has gone live 
and streams the activities from the eagle enclosure
(Image From the NWCC eagle cam)

The recently installed and now activated Eagle Cam will provide viewers with a view of the eagles as they play, exercise and prepare to be reintroduced to the wild.

You can view the Eagles below or from this link to the Eagle Cam broadcast




More information about the ACE program at NWCC is available here and to learn more about Prince Rupert Wildlife shelter and how you can help out see their website here.

Further items of interest related to post-secondary education in the Northwest can be found on our archive page here.

A White Christmas (though perhaps temporary) could be on the horizon

Things may look nasty to the North and Southwest, but for now it's going
to Clear and cool for the North Coast for Christmas period, with the chance
of some light snow for Christmas eve
(Environment Canada sat image for Thursday Dec 21)

With the temperatures taking a bit of a dip over the last few days, there is the potential that the North Coast may see a White Christmas, though a temperature shift of one or two degrees to the plus side could change all of that by Monday morning.

As it looks at the moment, snow flurries are a possibility for Christmas Eve, though the level of accumulation does not appear to be anything of significant volume to delay any trips to the relatives or friends over the Christmas period.

Temperatures won't be too bad considering it's December and Sunshine for the most part will be the feature of the next seven days, making for perfect conditions to send the youngsters outside to play, or get some fresh North Coast air for yourself.

The temperatures will range from near the Zero mark or slightly above in the daytime, with lows down to -7 overnight as we get closer to Christmas Day.

If the days ahead find you on the road to Terrace, Kitimat or Smithers, best to pack a few extra sweaters and grab a toque, gloves and some warm winter boots, as there currently is an Arctic outflow warning in effect for communities on the other side of Rainbow pass.

Travel by air however may be a bit of an adventure over the holiday period, Today is considered the busiest day for air travel across Canada and combined with some stormy weather in southern locations, delays and cancellations have already made for some of the Christmas season scenario for those making long distance plans.

Should you be flying over the next few days, or waiting for someone to arrive at the Digby Island airport you can access local flight information from the YPR website here, while travellers that make use of the Terrace-Kitimat airport can get updates on flights here.

As well, the YVR website in Vancouver provides an extensive list of the status of flights in and out of Western Canada's main gateway to the world.

For those that will be taking to the highways, the Drive BC website is always your first check of the day to see what the conditions are wherever you are travelling across the Northwest. For those that use social media, they also deliver updates through their twitter feed.

As well, you can access the range of Highway cameras across the region from our links page here.