CN Rail hopeful for less headaches as 2018 Grain shipment season gets underway

The trains are rolling westbound with regular frequency these days as CN Rail ramps up its operations for the winter shipping season, with hopes that they have addressed many of the troubles that plagued the delivery system one year ago.

Weather conditions which the railway can't control accounted for some of last year's delays in getting product to Prince Rupert and Vancouver grain terminals, but other internal issues also played a role in slowing down the shipment process and in the year that has passed CN has made for a number of changes to its operations that they believe will help deliver strong results this year.

As part of the Federal Government's review of last years problems, CN was required to develop a Grain Plan that outlined how it has addressed past issues and forecasts what they anticipate will be the shipment levels for this year.

The document which you can review here, notes that in British Columbia significant infrastructure improvements have been made to make the transit from the prairies to Prince Rupert a more time sensitive one.

Among the key notes:

Construction of four new train passing sidings between Prince Rupert and Jasper, Alberta

As well as the Extension of three existing passing sidings between Prince Rupert and Jasper

Staffing levels also provided for some of the delays from last year, with CN rebuilding its lists of qualified conductors, looking to add 1,250 new conductors to their national network, when the expansion program is complete CN will have approximately 7,800 qualified engineers and conductors in service.

CN has also put in motion the acquisition of 1,000 new high capacity Hooper cars to upgrade the current fleet of 11,500 hopper cars across Canada.

The railway has also put forward purchase plans for 200 new locomotives over the next three years, with 60 to be in service by next month, the join a fleet of locomotives that currently number 1,900.

Grain shipments out of Prince Rupert take place through two terminal locations located on Ridley Island, the Prince Rupert Grain Terminal facility and RayMont's Grain Terminal/Container stuffing facility.

The most recent statistics from the Port of Prince Rupert to the end of October indicate that shipments through Prince Rupert Grain are down eleven percent from this time last year.

For notes on both of those facilities see our archive pages below

Prince Rupert Grain

RayMont Terminal


For more background on CN Rail developments see our archive page here.

Ellis Ross returns to themes of electoral reform for final day of Fall Session

Skeena Liberal MLA Ellis Ross spent his final day of the fall session
raising further concerns over the nature of the Electoral reform referendum

With the clock ticking down towards the end of the fall session at the British Columbia Legislature on Tuesday, Skeena MLA Ellis Ross chose the topic of the current electoral reform referendum process as his parting shot before the holiday season takes MLA's back to the home constituencies.

Speaking in both the morning and afternoon sessions of the final day for Legislators, Ross raised a number of concerns that he still has with the way the NDP government has introduced the electoral reform plans and how the mail in balloting of the vote itself has been conducted.

The concept of proportional representation and the issues that it raises for the MLA framed the early portion of his presentation to the Legislature, with Mr. Ross tying any positive result for the Proponents of proportional representation to current arrangement of governance between the NDP and Green Parties.

Proportional representation is more about compiling a power base in this Legislature to gain a certain amount of seats so you can gain power, so you can form government. It's done not in this Legislature. It's not open and transparent. It's done in a back room, in exchange for single-interest parties to get recognized — all this in the name of power and authority. Now, when we're talking about how proportional representation stalls or falls in other places around the world, the government dismisses this as fearmongering, even though all the major news outlets all around the world report on this and show and expose how unstable these governments are under proportional representation. 

We're fortunate here in B.C. that our current system of first-past-the-post, regardless of what's being said about politics or politicians for that matter…. We're extremely lucky that first-past-the-post, our current system, has provided such a stable government for many, many decades. The rare case of instability mainly comes from a minority government, where you have to negotiate a confidence and supply agreement, much like we see in the House today. It's a tough job to maintain a confidence and supply agreement. We're seeing it already. Our current government is always balancing the needs of British Columbians while trying to keep the Green Party members happy and in line at the same time. 

The government, so far, has done a good job, because they haven't been voted out by the Green Party in a confidence vote, but the assumption is that all bets are off if proportional representation is not successful. That is not governing; that is politicking. If this is truly the case, where is the responsibility to represent the interests of B.C. for all British Columbians if we're just looking out for our party's survival in the Legislature? That's got nothing to do with British Columbians.

The Skeena MLA also reviewed some of his concerns when it comes to what would be a follow up referendum, should the current version deliver a positive outcome for the proportional representation option.  With Mr. Ross, suggesting that the move was one of desperation by the governing NDP and nothing more than a political stunt.

The amendment is mainly about holding another referendum in the future just in case proportional representation passes. That was how it was explained to us, but this motion came at a time when the government felt they were losing the current vote. The polls were showing that it was dead even. Some polls even showed that the first-past-the-post was actually edging them out. So this really had nothing to do with the process itself. It had nothing to do with the flaws. It was just a political statement, to encourage people that if you did vote for proportional representation and it did get passed, there's always a back door to get back to our current system, which is first-past-the-post. 

Now, everyone that I've talked to, especially on this side of the House, knew and still knows today that this was just a stunt. It was just a stunt in an effort to sway voters and to get more voters convinced to vote for proportional representation. 

 Why it's a stunt is because everybody in this place knows — not many people know outside of this place, outside of the House — you can't bind future governments to decisions made today, especially political statements. It's just another empty promise when we're talking about the referendum. Another broken promise like whether or not the ballot would have a simple yes-or-no question. 

We didn't see that. That's the biggest reason why we get so many people coming into our offices in our constituencies asking about how to vote and whether or not they get voided or whether or not they're voting for proportional representation if they vote on question No. 2.

Picking up his themes for the afternoon session, the format of the referendum vote also made for some observations from Mr. Ross who outlined a number of his concerns as part of the discussion.

The ballot is complicated. Many residents in my constituency are coming to me asking me for explanations and just wanting more information in terms of what to expect. There are members on both sides of this House that don't truly understand the full nature of what will happen or, even under the current process, what's happening with a referendum on proportional referendum.

 Now, we know that there was a promise made for a simple yes-or-no question for the ballot, and that didn't come through. We were also expecting, and all British Columbians were promised, an all-party committee to consult with British Columbians. We know this didn't happen. Instead, what happened was an on-line survey that British Columbians didn't participate in, let alone hear about.

So, basically, if you know your way around the Internet and are a political junkie and care about Legislature business, then you are most likely to participate. Unfortunately, nobody in my community participated because none of the people that I represent in my own community actually are political junkies or care what happens in this Legislature and don't know their way around the Internet.

Another theme that has caught the attention of the Skeena MLA is the threshold of the vote and what amount of voter participation will make for a valid endorsement of any change to the electoral system.

The term "threshold" has been thrown around quite a bit. And for those many people watching at home — watching us right now, hello — just to explain to you what "threshold" means in this context…. When the past government held a referendum on proportional representation, they included a term called "thresholds."

 They understood this because they understood what it meant to be changing the fundamentals of our democracy. So it was said in the past that there was a 60 percent threshold needed for the mandate to change our electoral system. So 60 percent…. Not many people understood this. In today's context, if we applied 60 percent threshold, that would mean 52 out of the 87 ridings in B.C. would've had to vote yes for a mandate to change our electoral system. That meant that 52 ridings out of the 87 ridings in B.C. had to understand and, more importantly, had to want a system like proportional representation. But this is not what happened in this current referendum.

There is no threshold in this current referendum. The government said that even if 5 percent of the electorate — not the ridings — voted, then the results would be binding. This is an unbelievable position to take considering the amount of information that has to be absorbed by the average citizen and isn't available to the average citizen. Combine that with a mail-in ballot process instead of in-person voting, where the rules are clear already, whether it be a provincial or municipal election. Substituting an on-line survey for actual meaningful consultation with voters is just another mechanism to ensure a yes vote.

You can review the full presentation from the Skeena MLA through the House Video Archive for both Tuesday morning and afternoon.

Mr. Ross's early talking points can be found starting at the 11:30 AM mark, the Skeena MLA picks up the conversation in the afternoon at 1:35 PM.

You can view his response from House Video archive or review the comments from transcripts of the days proceedings from the Legislature.

Tuesday afternoon  (Transcript)  (House Chamber Video)
Tuesday morning    (Transcript)  (House Chamber Video)


You can review some of our past items of interest related to the referendum campaign here.

A wider overview of the work of the Skeena MLA at the Legislature can be explored here.

Counter Attack program to launch across British Columbia this weekend

(Video from ICBC of Vancouver area Counter Attack roadblock)

Tis the season to make sure you have a ride home if you've been celebrating the season, with ICBC announcing that the RCMP and municipal forces across the province will be launching the annual Counter Attack program this weekend.

The road safety initiative will see patrol officers setting up traffic stops around the province, including the Northwest, to make sure that those on the roads have not over indulged, and this year, with the arrival of the legalization of cannabis that will mean police officers will be watching for impairment from legalized pot.

The pro-active enforcement program returns with statistics that show how that there have been an average of 68 lives lost every year owing to impaired driving. 19 of those lost lives were recorded in the North-Central portion of the province.

ICBC stats on the impact of impaired driving in the province

ICBC has sponsored the annual Counter Attack program for over forty years, with Mike Farnworth, the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General offering up a few thoughts on the success of the program.

"Generations of B.C. drivers and passengers have grown up with CounterAttack's deterrent messages and stepped-up seasonal enforcement. With cannabis now legal in Canada, we're determined to preserve CounterAttack's life-saving benefits in detecting alcohol- and drug-affected drivers and removing them from B.C.'s roads."

The annual holiday season campaign may also be the template for a wider introduction of Counter Attack programs throughout the year.

This week ICBC announced that it was shifting a large segment of their advertising campaign funding towards expanding the Counter Attack program beyond the Christmas/New Year period. A move that the insurance company says will help to get more police officers on the roads to provide for expanded enforcement.

You can review some of the highlights of the Counter Attack program here.

The RCMP's E Division, which oversees policing across British Columbia also made note of the start of the Counter Attack program, issuing their own information update on the launch of the annual enforcement plan.

For more items of note on the work of Emergency Responders in the Northwest see our archive page.

Referendum campaign not resonating with North Coast Voters, with but a 19 per cent return rate with one week to go before voting closes

Unless there is a surge in votes coming in over the next week towards the new December 7th deadline, the final numbers from the North Coast will deliver a less than resounding response to the mail in electoral reform referendum currently underway.

As of yesterday, Elections BC had reported a return rate of only 19.3 percent from the North Coast, with only 2,857 of the potential 14,903 registered voters having bothered to send in their response cards to be counted.

The only area where participation in the vote is worse, is found in a number of Surrey area constituencies where four riding's report returns of 18.6% 16.8%, 16% and 15.6%.

The pace of the returns is somewhat more positive when it comes to returns from Skeena where 22.3 percent of eligible voters have delivered their ballots to Elections BC,  while the residents of Stikine do them one percent better, with a 23.9 percent return rate as of yesterday.

By comparison, the voters of Parksville-Qualicum are the most engaged in the referendum process, with a return rate of 42.6%, with 19,879 of the eligible 46,673 voters having returned their ballots to Elections BC.

The results can be reviewed from the latest update from the interim ballot package return review from Elections BC, which notes that of the 3,297,395 voters in British Columbia, less than 1 million (932,129) have had their ballots screened by Elections BC officials.

Beyond what appears to be a rather alarming lack of interest in the future of the province's electoral system, the slow nature of the return rates could come from the recent labour dispute between Canada Post and it's union CUPW.

With Canada Post recently noting that there is a significant backlog of mail in its processing plants across the nation, including one of its largest facilities in Vancouver.

The lethargic return of votes has been on of the key concerns for the opposition Liberal party, which has been asking the government to declare some kind of thresh hold level for the vote before any form of electoral change would be considered valid.

Something that the NDP government had not addressed prior to the break of the Legislature on Tuesday evening.

The tepid response rate from the North Coast comes despite what has been an ongoing push from MLA Jennifer Rice, who for the most part over the course of the last few weeks has featured her support for the NDP's  Proportional Representation options as one the more frequent messages delivered their her social media streams.

The original deadline of November 30th for the receipt of ballots was extended by one week last Friday, with the new deadline for British Columbians to get their ballots in now set for December 7th.

If you have not voted yet, you can drop off your completed ballot in the mail or take it to the Service BC office on Third Avenue West (across from the Credit Union).

You can review the latest news items related to the electoral reform vote from our archive page here.

A wider overview of provincial issues can be found from our political blog D'Arcy McGee.

Wednesday afternoon alerts, put Province's Emergency Alert System to the test

A cel phone message from
Wednesday putting the
BC Emergency Alert system
to the test

Shortly before 2 PM this afternoon, cel phones received alerts and television shows and radio broadcasts were interrupted as the Province of British Columbia put its information delivery system to the test.

The messages flashed to mobile devices at 1:55 PM, the word TEST allowing for residents of British Columbia to relax just a little, as they participated in the latest review of how the nation's emergency alert system works.

The Federal Government issued the heads up on the test last week, noting that the Cross Canada test program provided residents an opportunity to make sure that their mobile devices were capable of receiving the alerts, which in the case of a real emergency would have outlined important information related to incidents of immediate danger to British Columbians.

Last Friday, Mike Farnworth the British Columbia Minister of Public Safety, Solicitor General and Minister Responsible for Emergency Preparedness made note of the steps the province has taken to improve the emergency notification system.

“Last spring, we launched wireless alerting in B.C. to broaden our reach and ensure more people have access to critical and possibly life-saving information in the event of an emergency or disaster ... Regular testing of emergency systems is an important part of ensuring this province is ready in the event of an emergency by identifying any gaps and making certain processes are working correctly. Next week’s test will do just that, allowing people to ensure their devices are compatible and also raising awareness about the importance of emergency preparedness."

The Minister's statement on this week's test also included some background on how British Columbians can test their devices to make sure they are compatible with the test system, as well as to outline the various other ways that the province will be sharing important information in the event of any form of emergency.

You can review those notes here.

Some background on local emergency preparation steps can be reviewed here.

For items of interest related to Emergency Responders in the Northwest see our archive page here.

Further background on provincial initiatives can be reviewed from our Legislature page.

Port of Prince Rupert set to line up the boats for Saturday night's Winterfest sailpast

It's one of the most popular of pre-Christmas events in Prince Rupert and this Saturday night, the boats of Prince Rupert will once again take to the harbour parading in formation along the shoreline showcasing the decorative and seasonal touches of their owners.

The 37th edition of the annual Sailpast is set for 6:30 to 8:30 along the waterfront, with the prime viewing areas of Mariner's Park and the Cow Bay area, the Sailpast sets the stage for the night's Fireworks display at 8PM 

On Saturday night, the vessels will be forming up at the Cow Bay Marina for the transit along the shoreline towards the Rotary Park

The Port of Prince Rupert is watching over the preparations for this years event for the Special Events Society and those who may wish to participate can contact the Port to learn more about registering for the event.

Learn more a out the Sailpast and how to get an entry form from the Port's Facebook page.

A look at some of the other events for the weekend can be found here.

Concerns over state of city's urban forest raised at City Council Session

Christine Malaka raised concerns over the dwindling numbers for
the city's heritage, or legacy trees inside the city limits

We can see the forest, but can we see the trees, that in nutshell was a theme for Monday night's City Council session, as Council members received a presentation from Christine Malaka who provided a fifteen minute tutorial on the dwindling supply of heritage trees in the community.

Ms. Malaka who has appeared at Council before to raise the alarm noted that since her last appearance many more of the the city's legacy trees have fallen under the chain saw, some by way of sickness or safety, others as development encroaches further into the city's heritage tree locations.

To open her presentation she took Council members to their own documents, making note of a number of elements of the City's Quality of Life Community plan as well as the Hays 2.0 plan to point the way towards more awareness on the issue of legacy, or heritage trees.

"Referring to the City's Quality of Life Community plan, line one, right out of the plan says, "Prince Rupert is renowned for it's breathtaking beauty", that's the start of the entire plan. The large trees in our area that don't exist in other parts, we're in a temperate rain forest, trees can grow to amazing size that they don't outside of the coast ... they're fabulous and they don't exist in other places.

She tied the issue of trees to the Community plan and its dedication to protection of natural areas and landmarks, noting how these tress are those landmarks. She also turned to the Quality of Life's vision statement to highlight more of her concerns on how the city is approaching its natural environment.

"Even with growth, Prince Rupert has retained it's natural pristine look and feel with harbour views and mountain views" ...  it has to a larger degree, yes we can look at the mountain and yes we can look at the water. But In the town itself, I don't feel that we're doing a very good job in protecting the specific attributes."

From her observations she relayed concerns over the frequency of the number of trees that have been taken down on property in the city and noted that the Park Avenue Housing project has contributed to a large number of the city's oldest trees to come down. 

As part of her review of that project, Ms. Malaka observed that she wasn't sure that the volume of trees had to be removed, or if that location was the best spot for the supportive housing project to be developed on.

Land on Park Avenue was cleared of a number of the city's legacy trees
in order to make way for the  new supportive housing complex for the city

As for some potential solutions to the issue, she recommended to Council that bylaws could be put in place, as part of a development plan to provide for protection for heritage trees on both city and private property. 

Ms. Malaka also offered up a publication from the UBCM on urban forests as a good guideline to follow to develop policy on the issue. She also suggested that the Heritage trees issue could be made part of the City's Heritage Committee plans.

In response to her comments, a number of council members weighed in on the theme of the legacy trees of the community.

Councillor Adey passed on some of his observations on the topic calling on his time growing up in Victoria and the approach that they take there. He also relayed some of his experiences in his own neighbourhood and how there is a noticeable change when the trees come down.

"I appreciate that it sometimes has to be done because of the health of the trees, but I'm not sure that's always why it's done, so I'd like to express my appreciation for you coming to talk about this, it's good to put it in our minds for what opportunities it might create." -- Councillor Nick Adey

Councillor Skelton-Morven shared many of Councillor Adey's opinions and noted that there is a need to be more observant on the issue, reinforcing her comments on how Prince Rupert is known for its breath taking  beauty and how it's key to preserve it..

Councillor Cunningham agreed that the trees in the city need to be protected, though noted that there are many reasons for trees to be cut down citing health and safety concerns, he did agree that it would be good to resurrect the Heritage committee and that the overview on trees might fit into that mandate.

"The City has been without a Heritage committee for quite a while and it might be nice to resurrect that and it might be another way to get information coming to City Council on heritage trees or legacy trees" -- Councillor Barry Cunningham 

The City's Heritage Committee was dis-continued in 2015 when its members stepped aside after a number of years of service.

The topic of bringing it back gained a bit of momentum earlier this year, after the city's Presbyterian Church, which is now up for sale, was put on a watch list by the provincial organization Heritage BC.

As we noted at the time, ]the Council membership of 2015 at City Hall had indicated some interest in developing plans to form a new Heritage Commission, but so far, the goal of protecting the city's heritage has yet to be formally put into motion.

A review of Ms. Malaka's presentation on the legacy trees can be found from the City's Video archive, her commentary provides for the opening portion of Monday Night's City Council  Session.





For more items of interest related to Monday's City Council session see our Council Timeline here.

Further background on City Council Discussion topics can be reviewed from our Council Discussion Archive.