No photos, but some significant cash ... as CityWest delivers distribution payment to City of Prince Rupert

It's become somewhat of an annual tradition, one that usually comes in early December and features CityWest and Civic Officials celebrating with a giant novelty cheque. 

This year's announcement arrives in the waning days of 2020 without the photo op, but with CityWest sharing word of the delivery of its annual distribution payment to the City of Prince Rupert.

In an information release from today, the City owned communication company confirmed that it would be transferring $700,000 to the city's financial accounts from its business operations for 2020.

This years amount makes for $100,000 more than what was delivered in 2019.

CityWest CEO
Stefan Woloszyn

 “Our team has worked hard in these extraordinary times to bring an excellent experience to our  customers. It is because of their efforts that CityWest continues to do well financially, which has enabled us to provide this distribution payment to our shareholder. 

Like many companies over the past year, CityWest has altered its operations to ensure the safety of its staff and customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has put a lot of stress on everyone, and I’m personally proud about how well our staff and our customers have adapted to these quickly-changing circumstances,” -- Stefan Woloszyn, CEO of CityWest.

City Manager Robert Long also had a few thoughts today on the success of the company and its transfer of funds back to the community through the City.

“We are grateful for CityWest staff and leadership for navigating the challenges that have been thrown at all of us in 2020. They continue to gather strength as a regional communications company, servicing communities as far as the Bulkley Valley and employing over 80 people throughout our region. As a homegrown Prince Rupert company, we think that’s something we can all be proud of.” 

In Budget preparation work March of this year, CityWest had advised the City of Prince Rupert that it anticipated delivering a return of $700,000 dollars to the City for 2020.

Since it spun out into a corporation in 2005, CityWest has provided the City of Prince Rupert with $8.8 million in dividends and distribution payments, as well as over $2.1 million in local taxes and levies.

The annual distribution payment for the City has varied in recent years, with the last half-decade providing for the following returns:

December 2019 -- $600,000
December 2018 -- $400,000
December 2017 -- $400,000
December 2016 -- $400,000
December 2015 --- $400,000

With the exception of the last two years of increases, the more recent totals have made for a somewhat reduced revenue stream to the city from when the office was a civic operated department, when returns of 1 or 2 million dollars per year were a normal part of the reporting process.

2020 was an active year for the communication company which expanded its footprint in the Bulkley Valley, as well as to move deeper into the Nechako region with its purchase earlier this month of Evolve communication.

Looking forward to 2021, CityWest plans to continue its expansion into the Vanderhoof and Kitwanga markets. As well, the company states that it will be developing some great new products to help customers manage their home Internet networks with ease. 

More on today's announcement can be reviewed here.

For more notes related to the City owned communication firm see our archive page here.

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

Prince Rupert Firefighters build skills in primary search and rescue

Members of the Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue Department take advantage of many opportunities to continue to expand on their skills and practice key elements of firefighting through the year, with some work in December dedicated towards reduced visibility primary search and rescue drills.

In a post to their Facebook page, the local fire fighters showcase some of their work this month in response to home fires and the work required in a limited vision environment, the repetition key towards developing the skills required in urgent situations.

As part of the December update, the local department also offers up some advice, asking residents to ensure that they have working smoke alarms, practice their own home escape drills, and sleep with doors closed.

You can learn more from their Facebook page here.

Heiltsuk Nation prepares for nomination process for 2021 election

The Heiltsuk Big House at Bella Bella
(Photo from Heiltsuk Tribal Council)

As they head towards 2021, members of the Heiltsuk Nation will be looking ahead to a March election period when they will cast ballots for the Chief Councillor's position and Five members of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council.

Towards the start of the election period, the Heiltsuk will be hosting a nomination meeting on January 23rd from 5 to 8 PM at the Big House in Bella Bella.

As part of the information process for the upcoming election period, the Heiltsuk note:

Any elector who cannot be at the Nomination Meeting can nominate an eligible person in writing by completing the required Remote Nominations forms. All electors living off-reserve were mailed a remote nomination package to the last known address of record. They may be returned by email or Canada Post and the forms must be received by the Electoral Officer by 5:00PM, January 23, 2021.

Regular Voting will take place on March 11th from 8 AM to 8 PM at the Big House in Bella Bella as well as an advance vote to be held inVancouver on March 9th at the Hotel Chateau Granville.

Voters will also be able to cast a ballot in person at a polling station, by mail-in ballot or electronically. Remote Ballot packages offering the possibility to vote by mail or electronically will be sent to eligible electors ordinarily residing off reserve, to their last known address of record with the Nation. 

It is your responsibility to ensure your address is up to date; you may contact the Electoral Officer to update your address.

You can learn more about the Heiltsuk election process here.

Further notes from the Heiltsuk can be found from their website and Facebook page.

Our items of interest are available from our archive page here.

Transfer of Inspector to Alberta, opens top spot at Prince Rupert RCMP Detachment

There is a temporary commander in place for the
Prince Rupert RCMP detachment

There's a new, if temporary for now name signing off on some of the recent information advisories from the Prince Rupert RCMP, with Sergeant Todd Wilson taking on the duties of Acting Detachment Commander of the Sixth Avenue West detachment.

The position opened up after a fall transfer for former Inspector in Charge Blake Ward, who now is working in Northwestern Alberta, in the Peace Country area serving around the Grande Prairie area.

The Inspector is already gaining recognition as part of the Alberta policing program in the Northwest corner of that province.

Inspector Ward joined the Prince Rupert detachment as OIC in 2016, that after serving in a similar capacity in 100 Mile House, though he was not a newcomer to the Northwest having previously served as part of the Prince Rupert based North Coast Marine Unit.

In 2017, the Inspector spoke to some of the successes and challenges of policing in Prince Rupert, noting of the reduced numbers from a full complement of 36 members, as well as  the many social issues that at times dominate much of policing in the community.

The Social issues have only increased for members since that 2017 update and as we noted earlier this month in our review of the Crime Severity Statistics for the Prince Rupert detachment; the uptick in criminal matters keeps the local detachment busy shift after shift after shift.

As seems to be the case for many positions in Prince Rupert whether they are with the RCMP, or in civic administration, the Inspectors departure seems to have taken place without an official farewell from civic officials. 

Wth no thank you for your service notes from the Mayor and City Council; nor an indication as to the path forward for policing in the community.

Something that perhaps the City Council members may wish to speak towards when they resume their duties at City Hall in January of 2021.

Key to that discussion will be if Sergeant Wilson will be able to remove the temporary designation; or if the City of Prince Rupert will begin 2021 awaiting a list of potential senior members from the RCMP to take on the local detachment duties as Commander.

For more notes related to Emergency Responders in the Northwest see our archive page here.

New series of BC Ferries under construction at European shipyards

One of the new Salish Class BC Ferries under 
construction at a shipyard in Gdansk, Poland
(photo from BC Ferries)

The ongoing fleet replacement program for BC Ferries is taking another step with the start of 2021, with the Ferry Corporation providing an update on two new ferries currently under construction at a pair of Shipyards in Europe.

An information release from December 22nd highlighted the background for the fourth Salish Class vessel which launched at the Remontowa Shipbuilding facility in Gdansk, Poland.

The LNG Fuelled vessel will see construction continue towards scheduled sea trials sometime late in 2021.

The 107-metre Salish Class vessel will have the capacity to carry at least 138 vehicles and up to 600 passengers and crew, and is built as dual-fuel, capable of running on LNG or ultra-low sulphur diesel. Using primarily LNG to fuel the new ship will result in reduced emissions and reduced costs for BC Ferries. When the ship enters service, it will allow for the retirement of the Mayne Queen, a diesel-fuelled vessel.

Learn more about that vessel here

The video below provides a glimpse into the early stages of the ships construction. It was released on December 22nd.

Earlier this month BC Ferries also updated the progress of their Island Class Ferry project, with the fourth vessel in that program launching at the Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania.

As BC Ferries notes, work will continue on the new ship until scheduled sea trials in April. Following successful sea trials, the vessel will make its way to Point Hope Maritime in Victoria in fall 2021 for final preparations. The yet-to-be named ship is the fourth in a series of six Island Class vessels joining the BC Ferries fleet, and the second assigned to the Campbell River – Quadra Island (Quathiaski Cove) route. Two-ship service is scheduled to begin on the route in 2022, replacing the existing Powell River Queen. 

The Island Class is a battery-powered ferry with a number of key features that support BC Ferries’ Clean Futures Plan and the company’s goal to be efficient and environmentally responsible throughout its system. When electric charging technology matures to make electricity available in the quantities required, BC Ferries will operate these new ships as all-electric ferries, using clean energy. In the interim, these ships will use an on board low sulphur diesel hybrid system. Island Class ferries have the capacity to carry at least 47 vehicles and up to 400 passengers and crew depending on configuration, and allow for fleet redeployments and retirements of existing diesel fuelled vessels. 

The first two vessels have been put into service on the Powell River Texada Island route and one serving Port McNeil-Alert Bay-Sointula. 

The current work will see vessels in place for the Campbell River-Quadra Island route.

The final two ships are destined for service on the Nanaimo Harbour-Gabriola Island route in 2022.

Further background on the vessel can be reviewed here.

The video below provides a glimpse into the early stages of the ships construction. It was released on December 17th.

There has been some criticism of BC Ferries in using European shipbuilders to construct a vessel destined for Canadian waters, though as they observe in their updates of this month, at the time of putting out the Request of Expressions of Interest, no Canadian companies submitted a bid.

BC Ferries issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEOI) for the construction of the vessel to leading shipyards in Canada and around the world in July 2018. Canadian shipyards were invited to participate in the competitive bidding process. BC Ferries received responses from 16 international shipyards and short-listed three shipyards to proceed to the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage. No Canadian companies submitted a bid.

You can find more notes on BC Ferries from our archive page here.

Tahltan's join Gitxaala in receipt of COVID-19 vaccine

Three Tahltan communities will be receiving the
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine this week

The Tahltan Central Government has announced that three of their communities will be receiving t Moderna vaccine for COVID-19, with distribution to begin tomorrow for the communities of Dease Lake, Iskut and Telegraph Creek.

The details to the roll out for the Indigenous Nation along the Highway 37 North corridor was provided to the Tahltan Central Government's Facebook page over the Holiday period.

As we outlined earlier today, the Gitxaala First Nation is also set to received the Moderna vaccine, which is to arrive in Kitkatla later this week.

The Moderna vaccine is more easily transportable than the Pfizer-BioNTech version, which requires extreme freezer facilities for safekeeping, while the Moderna version can utilize existing facilities in each community..

The vaccines are being delivered through the Federal Government program to the Isolated Indigenous communities which have limited health care facilities.

You can follow the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccines across Northwestern BC and Haida Gwaii from our archive page here.

More on the COVID-19 response in British Columbia can be reviewed from our archive page.

Will the garbage truck be by on Tuesday? City's Garbage schedule shifts owing to Holiday period

The Holiday period makes for shifting collection dates for garbage

You've got bags of leftovers fermenting in a garbage can at the back of your house and you're probably wondering to yourself, when will I next see the Garage truck?

As it does after every long weekend, the City's Garbage collection schedule makes for a bit of a shift, this time around compounded by the Holiday period which can leave anyone a little confounded as to when to haul your tubs to the curb for the weekly pick up.

Today marks the final day of rest for the garbage collectors, who return to work on Tuesday.

For those living on the harbour side of the Northwest sector of the city, along with those in Haysvale and the Taylor and Borden Street areas  (see the area in yellow from the Map above) Tomorrow is the day to bid farewell to your Holiday trash.

Residents of remainder of the city will shift their calendars by two days for their final pick up of 2020 and the introduction to the 2021 schedule.

The New Year brings another shift and you can mark your date from the full calendar provided by the City of Prince Rupert from their website section related to Garbage collection and Recycling.

The Ridley Island Road Landfill site is open for regular hours this week, closing at Noon on New Years' Eve Thursday December 31st. 

The facility  will be CLOSED  on New Years Day and through the weekend, reopening to the public on January 4th. Updates on the City's landfill can be found through the City of PR Facebook page.

The North Coast Recycling Centre on Kaien Road will reopen to the public tomorrow with regular hours, it will be Closed New Years Day and over the weekend ahead, reopening on January 2.

You can review all of the area holiday closures from our archive page here.

More notes on City of Prince Rupert themes can be explored from our Council Discussion archive page.