MLA's Week: June 22-26, 2020

It was a very different approach to provincial politics this week as British Columbia's MLA's returned to work, though with COVID precautions in place, more than half of them contributed their work from their home constituencies.

Speaker Darryl Plecas introduced what is known now as the Hybrid House, a mix of in person attendance and online participation that will seek to keep the democratic institution working and engaged in the issues of the province.

Legislature return brings mix of in House and Online participation

For North Coast MLA the long distance prospects probably won't see that daunting, Ms. Rice having participated in online forums in Prince Rupert and Virtual town halls during the extended spring break that COVID provided for.

The Summer session will continue through until August, providing plenty of opportunity for MLA's to refine their online presentation and perhaps providing for a range of regional themes for their Zoom like backgrounds.

As for more on the week, the five days unfolded as follows:

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On the week, Ms Rice was listed twice  in the accounts of the sessions of the Legislature from June  22-26

The MLA's week started with a statement to the House on Monday with MLA Rice making a statement on National Indigenous Day.  She followed that up with comments in the House  on Tuesday related to the COVID pandemic, in particular the impact and concerns found in Indigenous Communities of the region.

From the Jennifer Rice Zoom Room

The North Coast MLA is also a permanent member of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, serving as the convener of that forum.

Transcripts of the work of the committee are available on the Legislature page for the Committee.

Select Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs


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For our readers from the Terrace-Kitimat region, Skeena MLA Ellis Ross  was not mentioned in the record for  Legislature from June 22-26.

Mr. Ross is also a permanent member of the Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives.

He has also been appointed to the Standing Committee on Children and Youth

The Skeena MLA is also a member of the Special Committee for Review of the Police complaint process, you can follow their work here.

There is more background on both the North Coast and Skeena MLA's available from our MLA's Week Archive, as well as our constituency archives below:

North Coast constituency

Skeena and Stikine constituency

The full schedule for the Legislature for 2020  can be viewed here.

A larger overview of provincial issues can be found on our political portal D'Arcy McGee 

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

Friday COVID report notes of but 10 new cases for the day; highlights findings from First Nations Health Authority report

Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix brought this week to a close with a Friday afternoon update on COVID that again relayed a continued low number of reported cases, as well as to highlight the findings of earlier in the day of a report on the COVID response in Indigenous communities across BC.

For the provincial numbers, 10 new cases of COVID-19 were announced on Friday, for a total of 2,878 cases in British Columbia. This total includes a data correction of one case from yesterday’s report.

There are 159 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 2,545 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the total COVID-19 cases, 17 individuals are hospitalized, five of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.

Across British Columbia there have been 969 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,514 in the Fraser Health region, 131 in the Island Health region, 199 in the Interior Health region and 65 in the Northern Health region, that has been a constant number now for over two weeks.

While the case counts continue to remain low, there was one more passing to record today.

 “There has been one new COVID-19 related death in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, for a total of 174 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today's provincial update also called attention to a report from earlier in the day that reviewed the impact of COVID on Indigenous people, saluting the commitment by community and health leaders to address the concerns of the people of First Nations communities across the province.

“This morning, the First Nations Health Authority shared the latest data on COVID-19 among First Nations people in B.C., with 87 First Nations individuals having tested positive for COVID-19 through June 14, 2020. 

The low impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous peoples in B.C. that we have seen so far is a result of ongoing collaboration and an unwavering commitment by community and health leaders to put appropriate measures in place to protect communities. 

The enhanced measures and additional support that are now in place, especially for rural and remote communities, will help to keep everyone safe until an effective treatment or vaccine is available. 

While we are encouraged by this outcome, we recognize that the result has come with hardship. The need to put aside important cultural gatherings to maintain a safe physical distance and to limit visitors has had a great social, mental and economic impact on many. It also reminds us of the resilience that First Nations communities continue to display in the face of hardships. 

Like all of us, communities need to assess the risks and do what is right for them. A slow and cautious approach has allowed us to flatten the curve and will keep us safe in the months ahead. 

You can learn more about the First Nations COVID report here.




The full Provincial COVID report for Thursday can be reviewed here. 

The BC Centre for Disease control has some valuable Coronavirus notes related to COVID-19 you can explore that information here.

You can learn more about the outbreak from both the Province and the Federal government from the links below:

Federal Government site

British Columbia Government site

The World Health Organization website also offers up the latest advisories on the global situation.

More from  Northern Health can be reviewed here 

You can review our archive of past statements and local information here.

Local governments and organizations have also provided for increased awareness of COVID-19 issues, the string of statements that came quickly at the end of the week can be reviewed here.

For notes from across Canada and British Columbia we have been archiving the latest items through our political portal Darcy McGee

Ottawa Observations

Victoria Viewpoints

Prince Rupert's Virtual Seafest set for 11AM broadcast tomorrow

It certainly won't make up for the traditional festivities found most years, but Prince Rupert will look to keep the Seafest tradition alive to a fashion on Saturday as the Seafest Virtual Parade is broadcast on CityWest Channel 10SD/310HD and streamed live on the CityWest Community Television Facebook page.

The virtual event came together following the cancellation in April of the usual events that take place in early June In Prince Rupert.

The measures in place related to the COVID-19 response making large scale gatherings not possible at this time, and in Prince Rupert there is no larger scale gathering than Seafest Weekend.

However, while the downtown and waterfront plans may have been suspended for a year, the Special Events Society and CityWest came together with the plan to keep the event in the public eye in June.

Since the first call for video submissions of May, many of those who take part in the parade each year have submitted their virtual presentation, with CityWest to roll the video tomorrow morning at 11AM.

You can view it on CityWest Community TV or through Facebook

We outlined some of the background to the Virtual plans with this blog piece in late May.

You can find out more about the event from the CityWest Facebook page as well as the Special Events Facebook Page.

More notes on Community Events in the Northwest can be found here.

Prince Rupert is off the map in recent round of Trail/Transportation funding

Terrace and the Gitga'at First Nation found success this week in recent applications for funding for some community projects with two projects approved for the Northwest from Active Transportation Infrastructure Grant program.

For the Gitga'at First Nation at Hartley Bay 433,100 dollars in funding was approved for the Txalgiu Destination Trail, a project which will include amenities and water access for paddling transportation.

To the east of Prince Rupert, the City of Terrace has received 217,635 dollars for the Munroe Street Active Transportation Enhancement project, an initiative that will better connect the community and provide for easier access to local schools.

The funding announced on Wednesday was part of close to 9 million dollars in funding from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, with the money destined for 23 infrastructure and 21 active transportation network plans province wide.

It's not known if Prince Rupert, Port Edward, Regional District or area First Nations had submitted applications for this period of funding for 2020-21.

The full list of grant recipients and their projects across BC can be reviewed here.

A complete overview of what the program is all about is available here.

For further items of interest from the British Columbia government see our archive page here.

Painting a pathway of inclusion in celebration of the month of Pride

A break in our weather provided a chance for volunteers
to put a new coat of paint on the Pathway at Cow Bay

With June the month of celebration for Pride, this year seems to have delivered a range of obstacles towards the usual activities for the North Coast's LGTBQ community.

Whether it's been the restrictions to gatherings in times of COVID, or what has been a horrible weather month of June, locally the opportunity for public celebration have been few.

This week however, the Weather Gods provided some relief, with a few days of sunshine allowing for some attention to Prince Rupert's Pride Pathway at Cow Bay.

A large group of volunteers took to the Cow Bay District on Wednesday to repaint the walk way along George Hills Way, providing for a fresh coat of paint and a pair of new stripes to bring attention and focus towards Indigenous and Black lives.

Some of their work is up for review on the Prince Rupert Pride Facebook page.

SD52 also made note of the month of June and hosted a range of activities to celebrate inclusion, you can review some of the celebrations from the SD52 Social media accounts of twitter and Instagram.

For more notes on Community Events in Prince Rupert see our archive page here.

Prince Rupert's Annual Report is a Snapshot with missing features

"When folks ask us, you know, about the details of the City's business, the finances, what's going on with what department.  The annual report is actually the catch all, of all of the things that the city does. And a lot of times when people ask questions I refer them to the Annual Report and certain sections, so that they can get the answers that they are looking for. So the Annual Report really does have many of the answers that people in the community are looking for and we encourage residents to read it because it gives the highlights, the progress and also the future budgeting and what we anticipate coming over the next five years as well"-- Mayor Lee Brain speaking Monday to the value of the City's Annual Report

Mayor Lee Brain has a good book (of sorts) he would like residents to read, and if your summer time reading list includes notes on the scope of the work of Prince Rupert City Council and staff, then the 2019 Annual Report is worth an online look.

Much of the document highlights the many themes that City Council wants to have delivered, particularly on their initiatives of the last year.

A stream of infographics and short overviews of achievements from the year making for their talking points and the main thrust of the Annual Report.

The Financial statements provided form the final stages of the review, delivering a snapshot to the revenues and expenses.

There are however some areas where a bit more detail could help to provide a wider overview of some of the more mysterious of city investments and initiatives.

The 2019 Annual Report makes little mention of the work of the Legacy Corporation, a civic initiative created in the fall of 2015, flush with cash from the heady days of anticipated hyper-economic activity and the largesse of Exxon.

The Global oil giant having paid a fairly impressive amount just to put down some stakes on Lot 444, all towards an LNG terminal project that they eventually took a pass on.

Since then however, while often praised by the city's councillors as a pivotal part of the financial picture for the city, we really don't know much more about the workings of Legacy than we did five years ago.

Likewise, the Watson Intermodal Trade and Logistics Park, which recently marked its third anniversary, is another financial vehicle that city staff and council makes note of often.

Though regular updates on the how that mechanism is being used are few and far between, details such as how much and on what the City is putting out in expenses mostly a number on a financial report with little background provided.

As for revenues, so far the only tenant that has been announced has been Pembina, which continues to move forward with its work on the second LPG terminal for Prince Rupert, though if any other companies have come along to kick the Watson tires, the city hasn't said so publicly.

With no further announcements on the progress towards leasing space at Watson Island delivered since the Alberta energy company came to town in 2017.

The City's ownership of CityWest likewise doesn't merit much of an overview, and for the most part any mention of all three of the key investment instruments, have been basically left to one or two line items in the Financial statements that make up the back pages of the Annual Report.

Another area where the Annual Report might help provide for a look at where the City spends our money is through the Request for Proposals that fuel many of the major projects that the City takes on.

A score card of sorts that lists the various RFP's that have been entertained through the year and the success that the city has found; as well as a listing of the successful bidders and the final cost would help give residents a much larger overview of the importance of an Open Bidding process for Civic work.

The Same could go for the many grant opportunities that are available for municipal government in British Columbia. While this years report does touch on the topic to a fashion, a listing of the grants applied for and whether the city found success or not, would be a helpful guide.

Such an overview would provide some back ground as to where the city is focused on getting the most value for their budgetary desires, as well as to highlight just how much work that city staff puts into seeking those vital funds for future civic needs.

And then there's the ongoing missed opportunity of providing for a comprehensive look at how our elected officials are making use of their expense accounts.

A topic that is barely addressed in the annual SOFI report, the amounts usually listed as a lump sum, and this year delayed until August, because of COVID.

The Annual report might actually be a better placement of such information, where we could receive a full account of the travels of the Mayor, Councillors and Senior staff.

We do  have a thumbnail sketch of Mayor Brain's travels, mainly through occasional entries to his Social Media account.

So from that less than comprehensive archive we know that some of the Mayor's travels in 2019 took him to Vancouver, Victoria, Prince George, Calgary, Ketchikan and Juneau.

Yet the duration and purpose of those trips and whether the Mayor is staying at say the Fairmont Vancouver Airport, an economical hotel in Prince George, or has taken up residence in an AirBNB for a conference, do not make for any official public documentation related to expense and cost to the taxpayer. 

The same goes for the scope of the air travel required, or any other expenses incurred while on official business.

We have even less information when it comes to how many times the members of Council or senior staff may have hit the road; all of which leaves a rather significant gap in the goal of transparency that is often a key buzzword for our elected officials.

That kind of data is probably available by way of a Freedom of Information request, but residents of any city who are paying the way, really shouldn't have to go through such bureaucratic hoops to get what should be easily accessible public information.

It would seem that an Annual Report might be a good place to provide for those additional details to get a wider overview of the work of Council and the staff who keep the city moving.

Better yet providing for such data as Expense Reports, Requests for Bids and the list of successful bidders and other areas in need of transparency, might be better placed prominently on the City website. 

Offering up a collection of documentation that can be updated regularly  providing the public with a better understanding of civic activity and an archive that is available to review as they wish.

For more notes on Monday's City Council Session see our Council Timeline feature here.

Further items of note on Council Discussion themes can be explored from our archive here.

Council cautioned not to allow COVID response to become block for community engagement

Monday's City Council session featured much in the way of discussion on proposed developments and the City's grand ambitions for an overhaul of the Prince Rupert Official Community Plan.

From the comments of west side resident Richard Casey seeking details on the path forward for the BC Housing proposal of May, to the revelation that City Manager Robert Long has now taken on the duties of Planner for the city following the retirement of Zeno Krekic;  the over riding theme of the night was the need to keep the public more informed on issues and find the way forward towards community engagement.

That topic loomed large on the mind of Councillor Barry Cunningham, who offered up some cautionary words that as the City continues to find its way forward in these times of the COVID pandemic response, that there is a need to ensure that public engagement is something to look at carefully.

Monday night,  Councillor Cunningham provided the guidance that using COVID-19 as something that will block a lot of communication is an approach that they need to watch out for, highlighting how it is important to get the process out to the public.

"This is a very important piece of our planning that is going to come in the future and I really think public engagement is something that we've got to really look at carefully. By using COVID-19 as you know, sort of something that is going to block a lot of communication and that. I think we need to definitely find a way around it. Whether its a survey we put out in the paper or online or something like that ... I really think the overall picture, we've got to take a careful look at it, because so many times I've heard people say well I didn't know anything about that. And I know we've advertised it and everything, but how we're going to get it out to the public this time to get it right, I think is very important"-- Councillor Barry Cunningham

Mr. Cunningham's comments came as part of the discussion on the process ahead for the Official Community Plan Review, which as we noted earlier this month is currently being steered by consultants from Victoria.

It was the review of the path ahead on Monday from City Manager Robert Long which spurred on the cautionary theme from the Councillor, with Mr. Long making note of the challenges that COVID has provided for the city and how the ways of engaging with the public in the past may not be possible now.

"There was a report, and Council adopted it I think at the last meeting about what we'll do in terms of the  public engagement part, but because of COVID we're going to have to play that by ear. There will be a workshop for Council soon ... we'll schedule it for July the 20th, probably earlier than before the Council meeting. There will be a workshop to go over where we are at, and then to make sure that everyone is comfortable with what the engagement plan is. 

I know a lot of us are having trouble with the changes and we're just not going to be able to have meetings like we used to be able to have. So we're just going to have to work our way through that, you know there isn't going to be big public meetings with rooms full of people. It's just probably not going to be on anytime soon this year, so we're just going to have to work with that" -- City Manager Robert Long.

Mr. Long also made note of some of his past experiences with consultations and offered up a thought towards how the city may wish to approach the path ahead and the engagement required.

"My experience with doing this over many years is that sometimes those big meetings are dominated by special interest circumstances and the individual conversations never kind of really happen, I think that we may want to go after those individual conversations. For example the two issues that you've raised are now issues that we would try to think through in terms of the 1907 plan. 

Those may be more valuable in the long haul than us putting together 200 people and having a big, you know the sort of the standard public meeting and in fact you know we're not going to be able to have those public meetings probably. So we're going to have to figure out another way to do it, and we look forward to having that conversation with Council to see if we can use our creativity to see how we can get a better engagement in the circumstances we find ourselves in" -- City Manager Robert Long

The City Manager was referring  to themes introduced by Councillor Nick Adey earlier in the discussion, speaking to ambitions on long term planning, with Mr. Adey observing as to the need to take into account the concerns of residents and create equity across the city, mindful to the needs for standards for a neighbourhood.

For his contribution Mayor Lee Brain made note of the legal obligation to hit a number of public engagement triggers,  adding that he wants to personally make sure that they have meaningful conversations, reminding council of the three full days of community engagement workshops that they had planned previous to the COVID pandemic situation.

He also reviewed last years planning process with Larry Beasley and how the City had brought in over 80 stakeholders towards participation.  And now they are taking on another year of bringing that plan into the OCP and going well beyond the standard tick tick tick of process approval, as they look to create a meaningful dialogue.

"Part of the OCP process will be and I believe in the summer time we'll probably hear when the public engagement piece is going to come, but the community is going to have an ability to come together in a very meaningful way, it's not just going to be a survey, it's going to be coming together really discussing these topics, lots of advertising, making sure everybody has the ability to have their voice heard, so that there's no stone unturned. 

Because, we're going to be updating pretty much every single bylaw this town has through that process, to really bring us up to the 21st century and make sure that the trajectory over the next ten years is really going where people want it to go, not just from a planning  process but from what the community desires to see" -- Mayor Lee Brain on the city's OCP planning

Not mentioned on Monday was any update on the work of the Vision Steward Council first mentioned by the Mayor in January.

That newly created collective of selective partners in the community, will according to Mayor Brain co-govern the next decade of development in the community and oversee the 2030 vision which will frame much of the discussion on the OCP.

While the Council members continue to look to find ways to engage the residents of the city, that select group seems to have been included in much of the path ahead to implement many of the features revealed at the Mayor's Prince Rupert 2030 vision event.

Mr. Brain also noted how he is looking towards further guidance from the province when it comes public engagements observing that at the moment the City can have no more than six people allowed to gather in a spot, something that he said the city has no control over, observing that perhaps those restrictions may be loosened by the province as part of phase three of their restart plan.

"We may be able to have some different abilities than we have right now, which is a maximum of I believe of six people who are allowed to gather in a spot right? And those are just things that we have no control over" -- Mayor Lee Brain

That number is something which someone at City Hall may want to confirm, earlier this week during the Daily COVID briefing, British Columbia's Public Health Officer, Doctor Bonnie Henry observed how the current regulations for large gatherings is now set at 50, that confirmed as part of an update to her Public health orders in May.

“The provincial health officer's order for no more than 50 people at any gathering stands and will be in place until we can stop COVID-19 in our province with an effective treatment or vaccine. “This applies to everyone, no matter what the circumstances may be."

That latest update on those measure would seem to open the window a bit towards hosting some larger community engagement functions if Council desires.

Though since such sessions would be restricted to that number of 50, more than one session may be required at a larger venue outside of City Hall, and of course dependent on how many Rupert residents would indicate their plans to attend.

Councillor Cunningham is correct to caution towards making COVID a catch-all answer towards any engagement with the public, there are surely some work arounds to be found that could ensure both personal safety and a full and vigorous opportunity for the public to be part of the OCP process.

A process that is destined to bring as much change as the OCP review will offer, should ensure that the city leaves no option on the table to make sure that all voices are heard and all opinions can help shape the document that will guide the city towards its future.

The Full overview of how the City is looking to approach its Official Community Plan review can be viewed from the City's Video archive starting at the twenty minute mark.




For more notes on Monday's Council Session see our Council Timeline feature here.

Our previous notes on Planning themes and Sustainable development can be found here.

A wider overview of City Council Discussion themes can be explored here.