Operations Department job op continues September hiring push at City Hall

The Job board at Prince Rupert City Hall
continues to feature a  range of opportunities

September has already been a busy period of time for the City Hall Human Resources office and as we work our way towards the end of the month, yet one more job opportunity has been posted to the City's website, this time putting the focus on the city's operations department.

Just listed is the position of Building Inspector I or II, a CUPE represented job that offers up a range of tasks for the successful applicant.

According to the City's Job Sheet, the primary duties for the position include plan checking, issuing permits, inspecting and approving or rejecting work, answering technical bylaw questions and enquires, preparing correspondence and inspection reports, issuing Trade Licences, responding to complaints and other duties as assigned.

The Education, Qualification and Required Skills and Ability notes highlight the need for certification at Board level standards, as well as experience in building construction in among the wide range of requirements.

(The full posting can be reviewed below)

The Deadline for applications for the position is October 30th

The list of current job opportunities with the City of Prince Rupert is available from the City website.

For a look at some of the past job employment listings with the City, as well as labour notes with the civic workforce see our archive page here.


To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.

School District 52 adds input on Assessment Literacy program in British Columbia

SD52's Nancy Griffith-Zhaner is one of
a number of educators taking part
in a provincial video on new elements
in motion for education in BC

A newly released video from the province puts the focus on the strides that are being made when it comes to literacy and the education of students across British Columbia.

In the near twelve minute review of the ongoing programs to assess literacy levels in the province, the video features a cross section look at how some School Districts are approaching the issue as they introduce the new revised curriculum province-wide.

Among those offering some thoughts on the themes of literacy and assessment practices in the classroom, is Nancy Griffith Zahner from Charles Hays Secondary in Prince Rupert.

Ms. Griffith-Zahner takes note of the cooperative team approach towards learning that is underway and the need to build on the current assessment process that is in place.

"But, in order for them to take ownership of their learning, there has to be quite a relationship of trust and good feeling between the teacher and the student and I can't imagine now a classroom where it's not a cooperative team effort between the teacher and the student" -- Charles Hays educator Nancy Griffith Zahner on assessment principles and supports in education  in BC

Along with her commentary in the area of the elements of education in the province's curriculum, video snapshots of students in the Charles Hays classroom environment are included through the presentation.

As part of the overview we get a glimpse into some of the principles and practices that are necessary to provide for support, encourage and empower students in their learning.

Much of the focus is on shift in focus when it comes to the delivery of literacy, with the video providing a look at some of the elements that School Districts across BC, including SD52 are engaged with towards those goals.




A look at the background to the new curriculum program in the province can be found here.

More notes from the provincial government on education in BC can be found through the newsfeed of the Ministry of Education.

A look at some background on education on the North Coast can be examined from the School District 52 website.

For further notes on education on the North Coast see our archive page here, while a look at the remainder of the Northwest can be reviewed here.


To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.

CityWest to provide for Northwest Civic Debate coverage

As the residents of the Northwest head towards October 20th and the opportunity to shape the future of their communities for the next four years, cities across the region are preparing to host their local Civic election forums.

Those public events make for one of the few times that residents can take the measure of those seeking office and to hear about how they plan to approach their time in office and what direction they believe their communities should be heading towards.

For those that may not be able to attend the forums in person, or miss the event owing to other commitments, CityWest the Northwest communication company will be covering the Civic forums in three communities next month.

Starting tonight, CityWest will be broadcasting the events through its Community Events Channels (10  SD and 310 HD) from the following locations.

Kitimat -- Wednesday, September 26 -- 7PM
(Sponsored by Kitimat Chamber of Commerce)

Prince Rupert -- Monday, October 1 -- 7PM
(Sponsored by Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce and Prince Rupert Toastmasters)

Terrace  -- Wednesday, October 10 -- 7PM
(Sponsored by the Terrace Standard)

As well, the stream cast of the forums will be available to watch on the CityWest Facebook page on the night of each event.

Devon Wall, the CityWest Community Channel Manager observes on how the broadcast of the debates have become a tradition in the region and one that has been well received by its subscribers.

"We’ve broadcast election debates for a number of years because we feel they’re important to the democratic process of the communities we serve,” ...  “They have also been very popular with our customers, and we’ve noticed very strong viewership numbers in past debates."

More notes related to the CityWest broadcast schedule and any replays that may be provided in the lead up to election day can be found on the CityWest Facebook page.

For further background on the 2018 election developments from across the Northwest can be found from our two archives below:

Prince Rupert, Port Edward and Haida Gwaii

North Coast Inland areas

Past items of interest related to CityWest across the Northwest can be reviewed on our archive page.

To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.

Malaspina heads north on revised schedule after mechanical issues

Mechanical issues with the AMHS vessel Malaspina have the ferry
operating behind schedule following its Prince Rupert departure on Tuesday

If the ferry vessels that travel the North Coast can come down with a case of mechanical flu, it would appear that this summer and fall has been a pretty nasty season.

The AMHS vessel Malaspina is the latest to suffer some mechanical troubles with the Alaska service posting an advisory to its website yesterday noting that the vessel was going to operating seven hours behind schedule of out of Prince Rupert, making for a domino effect that will impact on travellers north along the Alaska Panhandle.

The Service Notice of September 25th did not specify what the engine issues are.

You can review the revised schedule for the remainder of the week here.

The Malaspina will return to its normal schedule when it makes its next southbound transit to Prince Rupert on September 28th.

The AMHS vessel had sailing delays over the summer, requiring repair work in Ketchikan most recently in July.

Over the summer, the BC Ferries vessel Northern Expedition suffered a number of engine relates issues, a situation that left it running off its schedule and on occasion out of service.

To review more items of note on Ferry transportation on the North Coast see our archive page here.


To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.

Nine months on, two sides still talking as part of BC Port negotiations

There's no deal on the table yet, however the talks remain ongoing, as the British Columbia Marine Employers Association and ILWU locals in the province continue their negotiations for a new contract for British Columbia's port workers.

The current talks involve four ILWU bargaining units, as well as Local 514 which represents the ship and dock foremen.

The two sides headed to the bargaining table in January, prior to the  expiration of the current eight year deal in March of this year, though it's not expected that the current negotiations will deliver a similar term should there be an agreement.

The ILWU represents dock workers in Vancouver and Prince Rupert.

With the talks seemingly destined to head into October, both sides have remained silent on what they are seeking out of the current negotiations, as well as to whether there is any significant progress to report on to this point.

For those looking for some optimistic signs, the employers and representatives of ILWU local 502 in Vancouver recently concluded a tentative five year agreement between GCT Canada and the marine workers, a process which required the use of Federal mediators and had seen a strike notice served on the employers earlier this month.

Business in Vancouver has an in-depth review of the negotiations to this point and the concerns that shippers would have if the two sides fail to reach an agreement and any form of job action were to take place.

Also of interest from the BIV article is the background offered up on some of the other labour discussions across North America and what the bargaining has delivered in those locations to this point. A good portion of those discussions have centred around issues of the changing nature of cargo handling at ports up and down the pacific coast.

For more items of note related to the current negotiations as well as other labour issues on the North Coast see our archive page here.


To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.

Canucks Autism Network Workshop and events set for Wednesday in Prince Rupert

The Canuck's Autism Network will be back in town tomorrow, working in collaboration with Face My Strength Consulting and Friendship House Association of Prince Rupert, with the three participants holding workshops with a number of groups through the day on Wednesday.

Later in the evening tomorrow, Stephanie Jull of the Canucks Autism Network will be at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre hosting an information booth from 5:30 to 6:45 for families with autistic children in the community, offering information on the supports available to families.

The Canucks Autism Network was last in Prince Rupert earlier this year with a range of workshops and information session to explore programs and services that are available in the province.

You can learn more about the Canucks Autism Network and its programs here.

More notes related to local supports can also be found from the Prince Rupert Family Connections facebook page.

Further items of interest on Community events on the North Coast can be reviewed here.

To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.

Friends of the Library seek new members; host AGM tonight

The Multi-purpose room will be the host for tonight's Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the Prince Rupert Library, with the organization set to review the past year and look ahead to 2019 starting at 7PM.

The Friends of the Prince Rupert Library serve as advocates for the public resource in the community and look to raise the profile and fund raise for projects at the Sixth Avenue West community resource.

The local group has had some impressive success in past years in watching over how the City funds the local library and raising concerns when budget issues posed a threat to the library's footprint in the community.

Members take part in a number of activities through the year to help keep the library in the public eye and to ensure that its requirements remain part of the discussion in Prince Rupert.

For more on what the organization does can be found here.

More items of note on community events in Prince Rupert is available here.

To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.