A TOWN CALLED PODUNK

As the Montreal Canadiens prepare to put the wraps to their Centennial year, they can close the year out with the knowledge that after all these years, they still hold a place in the heart of many a Canadien and Canadian hockey fan.

A survey conducted by the Ipsos-Reid polling firm for the Historica-Dominion Institute has found that 33 per cent of Canadians claim allegiance to the Habs, compared to 25 per cent for the Leafs, while Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers all were well back between 2 and 5 per cent each, 28 per cent of Canadians claimed no allegiance.

1,105 Canadians were surveyed in the poll, providing answers to some other cutting hockey questions of the day.

Included in the results is the discovery that over half of all Canadians believe Montreal is the greatest team in hockey history, comparing them to the Yankees as far as reverence, though unlike the Yankees the Habs don't seem to attract as much anger or angst.

4 in 10 believe that Montreal will see a Stanley Cup parade in the next four or five years (one wonders what the odds for Toronto would be?)Whatever those odds, most Canadians 75 per cent believe that Montreal will win the Cup before Brian Burke's boyo's grab the Holy Grail.

Just so the results don't go to their heads however, more than 50 per cent of the respondents said that they believe the Habs best years are behind them.

The results published in the Globe and Mail, make for an interesting primer prior to this Friday's game, televised across Canada on the CBC which celebrates those hundred years of hockey excellence and passion. Friday nights broadcast will feature coverage of the pre game commemoration of the Centennial, followed by the continuation of one of the great rivalries in Canadiens history a game with the Boston Bruins.

The Historica-Dominion Institute website is dedicated to helping Canadians learn more about the nation and each other, they have a number of sports oriented video clips that focus not only on the Montreal Canadiens, but other key moments in Canadian sport as well.
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The item above first appeared on the HockeyNation blog.

Binding arbitration in the future for CN and the engineers , the twelve days of Christmas items are still a bargain, and Germany sees more trouble on the horizon, some of the items of note for Monday.

Globe and Mail-- Ottawa tables CN back-to-work bill
Globe and Mail-- In Dubai, a blunt refusal amid a market selloff
Globe and Mail-- Canada's growth returns as imports surge
National Post-- Loonie the anchor on economy's recovery
National Post-- Ottawa looks for quick fix to CN strike
National Post-- China: Boom or Bubble about to bust?
Vancouver Sun-- Port Metro Vancouver supports CN Rail workers’ back-to-work legislation
New York Times-- The Jobs Imperative
New York Times-- A Takeover Movie for Hollywood to Watch
USA Today-- Shoppers have retailers singing on Cyber Monday
USA Today-- Shopping alert: '12 days of Christmas' items up only 1.8%
Guardian UK online-- Dubai authorities may be forced to put up Emirates airline as debt collateral
Guardian UK online-- The storm in Dubai may not be over
Times Online UK-- Morgan Stanley warns UK risks full-blown debt crisis
Times Online UK-- Chinese to become world's biggest gold consumers
Times Online UK-- China will take a generation to catch up with the West
Telegraph UK online-- Angela Merkel alarmed by worsening credit crisis
Telegraph UK online-- Dubai: don't count on a happy ending
Telegraph UK online-- Can emerging markets stand the test of time?
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Dubai last of big four to confirm it expects no material loss from Dubai shock
Brisbane Times-- Big four banks and regulator braced for defaults on loans
Brisbane Times-- UAE in for more pain over Dubai
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- All eyes on Dubai over debt woes
People's Daily on line-- Chinese Premier: China hopes world's major reserve currency will maintain stable
People's Daily on line-- Time not right for stimulus policy exit: China, EU
China Daily-- Money Chinese banks increase overseas loan activity
The Times of India-- Tata plans Nano hybrid cars
The Times of India-- No Dubai impact on Indian economy: PMEAC

Lineups continue for the H1N1 shot, the tributes pour in for an esteemed First Nations leader and the Museum receives a high profile donations, some of the items of note for the Friday news cycle.

Daily News, Front page, headline story
MUSEUM OF NORTHERN B.C. RECEIVES PRIVATE DONATION -- A wooden bowl from the Dundas Collection has been donated to the Museum of Northern B. C., provided by a private collection donor who wishes to remain anonymous.

The mad crush of people seeking H1N1 shots continued this week with the local clinic at the Northern Health Public Health Unit finding large crowds once again, as local residents tried to get their shot for the virus. The health unit is using a ticketing method which requires residents to pick up their ticket early in the morning in an attempt to get a spot in the day's line up for shots.

The frustration of a fixed publication schedule finds the Daily News outlining the prospects of a strike by CN Engineers, which we first outlined on Wednesday, an event that did actually come to pass later in the day on Friday (an item which we outlined on this portal on Saturday morning)

The intention of BC Ferries to commence with an investigation into the troubled attempted passage of the Northern Adventure last week was outlined in the Friday paper, it was a decision which we provided details of back on Wednesday, as well the BC Ferries investigation has now been joined one commenced by the Transportation Safety Board as we outlined in the blog on Saturday.

(Daily News Archive Articles links for November 27th )

The Northern View
No new items posted to their site for Friday

CFTK TV 7 News
Tributes Pour in for Leeson -- The passing of Nisga'a Lisims President Nelson Leeson has be observed by many across the province, with tributes arriving testifying to his dedication to his people and the work that he did (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Cannery Upgrades "Project 1" complete -- A restoration project at the North Pacific Cannery has come to an end, leaving the historic site with new pilings, roofs and siding. (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Austin Calls Impending Closure of Terrace Drug Treatment Facility Shortsighted -- the pending closure of a youth oriented drug treatment facility in Terrace is being debated in that city, with many of it supporters offering up the opinion that the move is a shortsighted one, a move which will leave Terrace without a key resource (see article here)

CBC Radio British Columbia, Daybreak North
No items for Friday were updated on the CBC Daybreak website

The Daily News, front page headline story
Museum of Northern B.C. receives private donation
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Friday, November 27, 2009

A private collector from Vancouver, wanting to remain anonymous, has donated a wooden food bowl from the ‘Dundas Collection’ to the Museum of Northern B.C.

It brings the number of pieces from the collection now owned by the museum to four.

The same donor, previously donated funds that enabled the museum to purchase two bowls from the collection that have been in the museum since 2007.

Museum board member and Chilkat weaver William White said the gift is a welcomed acquisition.

“For me and museums in Canada it is great to know that there are ordinary Canadians that have a desire to preserve Tsimshian art and that he, the donor, feels that it should come back home to its origin.”

Up until 2006, the Dundas Collection had belonged to the descendents of Reverend Robert J. Dundas in England.

Reverend Dundas visited lay missionary William Duncan at the village of Metlakatla on B.C.’s North Coast in 1863 and acquired the pieces at that time.

In October 2006 the collection went up for auction and resulted in a record sale totaling $7 million U.S. – with the most items being purchased by Canadian buyers.

White described one group of buyers as, “ordinary people, although it must be said they were from families who had the necessary funds. They genuinely care about First Nations art remaining in its country of origin.”

When it came time to exhibit the collection the new owners indicated they wanted to develop a travelling exhibit and it was decided the first place it would be exhibited was at the Museum of Northern B.C.

Curator Susan Marsden worked with Tsimshian elders and heard from them that they wanted the name of the exhibit to reflect what the objects were.

“In other words, “The Dundas Collection” wasn’t going to satisfy them as the title for the exhibit. It became Nluut’iksa Lagigyedm Ts’msyeen”, meaning Treasures of the Tsimshian, and through discussions with other partners who felt it was important, the addendum “From the Dundas Collection” was added,” stated White in an afterword for the book, Tsimshian Treasures: The Remarkable Journey of the Dundas Collection.

White can still remember how the elders looked when they first saw the exhibit in Prince Rupert.

“Everybody was so reverent when they walked into the Monumental Gallery. I watched artists walk up to the cases. You could feel the energy exchanging with the pieces. The pride that came through - people were proud to be Tsimshian,” he recalled.

Picking up the new wooden bowl in one of the rooms in the museum, White said it is nice to have it home.

He explained that the bowl was adzed out of one solid piece of wood and carved. Running his fingers along the edge he drew attention to the “lovely lip” that prevents splashing.

“The carver allowed the wood to be part of the design,” White explained. “The lip is a totally classic Northwest Coast feature. It’s delicate and there is low-relief carving.”

At each end of the bowl there is an eagle face in a style that is distributive, meaning the artist intentionally filled the whole space with the design.

“There is also cross-hatching that speaks of balance. It’s so simple, yet expressive at the same time,” White added.

Clicking his fingernails on the side of the bowl, the sound that emerged indicated how light the wood actually is.

“I find it fascinating that the carver looked at a log and decided to make a bowl out of it,” White said.

The bowl is 11 and a 1/2 inches long, 4 and a 1/2 inches in depth and 10 inches wide.

The Gov't prepares a back to work order, the price of fame is deprecating and going for the gold, the real gold, some of the items of note from the weekend .

Globe and Mail-- Back-to-work law in the works for striking CN Rail engineers
Globe and Mail-- Dubai's 'big pyramid scheme' grounded by debt load
Globe and Mail-- TD Bank's U.S. real estate exposure higher than thought, report says
National Post-- CN rejects offer from striking engineers for partial arbitration
New York Times-- Dubai World Refused Distress - Asset Sale - Report
New York Times-- Bernanke Warns of Risks in Push to Revamp Fed
USA Today-- Unemployed U.S.-born workers seek day-labor jobs
USA Today-- Bears see market correction; bulls expect more rallying
Guardian UK online-- Carbon trading could be worth twice that of oil in next decade
Guardian UK online-- Megastars lose glitter for paparazzi
Times Online UK-- Alistair Darling to nurture ‘fragile’ recovery in pre-budget report
Times Online UK-- Banking’s fragility is exposed
Times Online UK-- Don't expect much blood from Alistair Darling's pre-budget report axe
Telegraph UK online-- Benign neglect may turn the dollar from a safe haven to a dangerous place to be
Telegraph UK online-- Dubai: an emerging market wake-up call
Telegraph UK online-- Gold acquires new investment aura
The Independent UK-- No one should feel sorry for the Dubai speculators
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Pressure mounting for Sheik
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- RBA likely to make history with rates rise
People's Daily on line-- China strives for faster retail growth
People's Daily on line-- China to keep macroeconomic policy stance in 2010 with flexibility
China Daily-- No change in fiscal, monetary policies
The Times of India-- Dubai storm: Realty IPOs to feel the heat
The Times of India-- BHEL not to go ahead with Singur project

The 97th Grey Cup will take place later today in Calgary, the wrap up to a week long party and festival of all things Canadian, one of the more unifying events on the Canadian calendar and a day that turns casual fans into fanatics for the East, the West or just for football.

The two top teams in the league will meet for Lord Grey's cup, as they should, both Saskatchewan and Montreal full value for their divisional championships and both teams that showed very well how they got to the championship game with their divisional wins last week.

The Grey Cup is much more than a celebration of football though, it's a game unique to Canada, played on a larger field than that American brand, with a number of quirky rules that can cause American coaches to stay up late at night trying to figure things out.

Clearly Marc Trestman in Montreal and Saskatchewan's Ken Miller have figured it out and for the most part it comes by using their Canadian players to the best possible outcome, Saskatchewan's receiving corps for the most part is made of players that honed their skills on Canadian university fields and have stepped into the pros without missing a beat. Montreal likewise has made wise choices when it comes to their Canadian roster positions, featuring exciting offensive threats and dominating defensive players, all of whom contributed to their remarkable season this year.

For the most part you can separate the successful CFL teams from the struggling ones (hello there Toronto), simply by the way their coaching staff understands the Canadian game and makes the wisest choices when it comes to playing their Canadian players.

With University and high school football on the rise again across the nation the depth of Canadian talent has never looked better, so it's surprising to learn this past week of the quiet intercession into pending labour negotiations of the CFL management and their wish to reduce the number of Canadians in starting positions, if not on the rosters as a whole. The plan which has been universally panned so far, would see the current number of Canadians as starters at 7 reduced to five or even four.

It's a short sighted thought, one which should be dismissed as quickly as it was thought up.

The CFL is all about marketing the national spirit of the game, of providing the next logical step for University players and high school players before them to continue on with their football career.

One has to wonder just how many Firearms Acquisition Certificates are filed away with the federal government containing the names of CFL executives, as they seem to come regularly prepared to shoot themselves in the foot and there never seems to be a shortage of ammunition to use either it seems.

To try and float this bizarre trial balloon in the weeks before Grey Cup just goes to show that when it comes to making public mis-steps (and they had to know that this was going to leak out), the CFL perhaps has no parallel.

Sunday's Grey Cup should be an entertaining match up Grey Cups usually are, one worthy of Canada's attention and as the television ratings will no doubt testify towards, one that will capture our interest for most of the day.

The CFL is closing in on its 100th anniversary in three short years, it's a great game with a great history, it has to be, that in order to survive some of the unusual leadership decisions over its many decades.

The game celebrates Canadian football, and highlights the exciting brand of ball that we play above the 49th, a game unique to the nation but one which brings in talent from many countries where football is perhaps an unknown, but learned at the high school or university level in Canada. Once hooked, those players become perhaps its most passionate advocates.
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There will always be a large number of Americans on the roster, some of our greatest stars have come up here for what they thought would be a few years, and instead turned into a full career with a life here after football. But rather than reducing or limiting the role of Canadians in the game, the league should be expanding it and enhancing the possibilities for Canadian youth to find a future in the game.

You do that and the game will grow, and with it the revenues and resonance with the public will grow as well, sometimes it seems like the simplest concepts are the hardest ones to get across.

Toronto Star-- Keep Canadians in CFL
Toronto Star-- CFL boss takes hit on numbers game
Victoria Times-Colonist-- Keeping the CFL Canada's league
Edmonton Journal-- Cohon's Canadian content controversy
Toronto Sun-- Boss sure can scramble
Globe and Mail-- As Canadian as can be
National Post-- Getzlaf leads the way for Canadians
Regina Leader Post--It would be crazy to limit the number of Canadian starters in CFL: Fantuz

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The debtors of Dubai have been the main focus of the financial world over the last 72 hours or so, ever since that surprising announcement of Wednesday, that Dubai, perhaps one of the richest of nations in the world is having a case of the shorts.

The nation, which interestingly has little in the way of oil reserves, still is tied in with the oil money of the Middle East, serving as a financial centre and playground for the richest of the rich.

With luxury hotels, exotic man made islands with multi million dollar homes, regular visits by some of the worlds most recognized names and a lifestyle that Robin Leach would have found well worth a profile on his Lifestyles of the rich and famous show.

Dubai is probably the embodiment of excess, the poster for how the other half lives, perhaps the last place on earth one might think that financial problems would be a concern, but then again, considering the spectacular nature of all that wealth and how it is spent maybe it's not surprising that it may be ground zero for the next set of tumbling dominoes on the world financial scene.

By fortuitous timing, the announcement of Dubai's request of a six month holiday from debt repayment, for Dubai World's property unit Nakheel which was seeking a break on a $US3.5 billion bond that Nakheel was due to repay on December 14, came as the American Thanksgiving weekend was about to start. With the stock markets in America working on short schedules, the panic that seemed to grip the rest of the world's indexes on Thursday never made it to New York.

London, Asia and Europe all took hits on Thursday and Friday as nervous investors pulled some of their money out of play, especially any money that had been allocated for banking institutions who may be getting nervous about Dubai's inability to service it's huge debt load.

A lot of Dubai World's investment troubles involved real estate and the quick collapse of that sector in the last year's financial turmoil, the building cranes never seemed to stop in the Middle East city/state, providing a magnificent skyline, but fewer and fewer tenants it seems.
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Money and its movement is the key industry of Dubai, where Dubai World has amassed 59 billion dollars on liabilities, on a total debt of 80 million.

The worry around the world is that Dubai's financial troubles may resonate around the world, setting up a contagion much like that which the world faced only a year ago with the financial implosion.

Many fear that the still on the cusp of recovering financial world, won't be able to withstand the stresses of another collapse, or of the sudden rush to liquidate commercial assets around the world.

By late Friday that early panic had seemed to have levelled off, some commentators advising that it wasn't going to be as large a concern as previously thought, others however fear that the other shoe may be about to drop. For the most part, many feel that some of Dubai's oil rich neighbours in the gulf will put together some form of rescue package, but not before they make officials in Dubai sweat things out a little bit.

Monday, when the New York stock exchange opens for its first full post Thanksgiving weekend session may be the next indicator as to how the world is about to react to the debtors of Dubai, and if that luxurious lifestyle featured at the top of this piece, is going to have much more of a shelf life!

Some of the International media coverage and analysis of the angst over any potential default of Dubai, offering up an opinion and interpretation for every corner of the financial system ...


November 29

Guardian UK-- Furious investors warn troubled Dubai it will 'never raise a penny again'
Guardian UK-- Recession and debt dissolve Dubai's mirage in the desert
Times on line-- Abu Dhabi rides in to rescue Dubai from debt crisis
Times on line-- How Dubai's dream sank in a sea of debt
Times on line-- Dubai owes British builders £250m amid debt crisis
Telegraph UK-- Abu Dhabi will not race to Dubai's rescue
Telegraph UK-- Dubai: an emirate in crisis
Telegraph UK-- Dubai: an emerging market wake-up call
The Independent-- Dubai Babylon: The glitz, the glamour – and now the gloom
New York Times-- Dubai World Refused Distress - Asset Sale - Report

November 28

The Guardian UK-- Dubai: Who says the bubble's burst?
The Independent-- Brown seeks to ease Dubai debt worries

November 27

Globe and Mail-- Dubai's debt a wild card
National Post-- Flaherty sees little impact in Canada over Dubai
USA Today-- Stocks slide on concerns about Dubai debt fallout
New York Times-- Dubai Debt Woes Raise Fear of Wider Problem
Guardian UK-- British banks quizzed by regulators on exposure to Dubai crisis
Guardian UK-- Sober ruler of Dubai whose vision is crumbling in the face of the storm
Times on line UK-- Dubai in deep water as ripples from debt crisis spread
Times on line UK-- West fears fire sale of Dubai assets that will spread across world
Telegraph UK-- Dubai is just a harbinger of things to come for sovereign debt
Telegraph UK-- Why we must consider Dubai's 'careful planning' a work of pure genius
Telegraph UK-- Dubai in crisis: the questions and answers
The Independent-- Dubai crisis will prompt investors to look critically at sovereign debt
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Dubai debt decision 'serious misjudgement'
China Daily-- No holding of Dubai World bonds
Times of India-- Indian banks say Dubai crisis unlikely to affect them
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November 26

Globe and Mail-- Dubai struggles to ease default fears
National Post-- Concern focused on Dubai World
New York Times-- Dubai Debt Delays Revive Fear Of Financial Crisis
Guardian UK-- Fears of double-dip recession grow as Dubai crashes
Times on line UK-- Footballers and film stars caught out as Dubai crash hits new low
The Telegraph UK-- Dubai default fears rock markets
Brisbane Times-- Dubai Government to seek repayment extension

A Dubain debacle, bargains worth a fist fight over, and hiding the news over a holiday doesn't work anymore, some of the items of note for Friday.

Globe and Mail-- A world awash in debt
Globe and Mail-- Dubai's debt a wild card
Globe and Mail-- GM Canada dealers sue to stay open
National Post-- Flaherty sees little impact in Canada over Dubai
National Post-- Rates can stay low through 2015: David Dodge
National Post-- Rail strike would hurt Canada farmers, exporters
New York Times-- Taxing the Speculators
New York Times-- Dubai Crisis Jolts Markets, but Early Fears Ease
USA Today-- Stocks slide on concerns about Dubai debt fallout
USA Today-- Scuffling customers close California Wal-Mart on Black Friday
Guardian UK online-- British banks quizzed by regulators on exposure to Dubai crisis
Guardian UK online-- Sober ruler of Dubai whose vision is crumbling in the face of the storm
Times Online UK-- Dubai in deep water as ripples from debt crisis spread
Times Online UK-- West fears fire sale of Dubai assets that will spread across world
Times Online UK-- Dubai finds Eid not such a good day to bury bad news about Nakheel
Telegraph UK online-- Dubai is just a harbinger of things to come for sovereign debt
Telegraph UK online-- Why we must consider Dubai's 'careful planning' a work of pure genius
Telegraph UK online-- Dubai in crisis: the questions and answers
The Independent UK-- Dubai crisis will prompt investors to look critically at sovereign debt
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Dubai concerns weigh on Australian share market
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Commonwealth Bank won't comment on Dubai exposure
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Chinese growth to continue, says BHP Billiton
Melbourne Heradld Sun-- The who, what and where of Dubai
Brisbane Times-- Dubai debt doubts spook markets
Brisbane Times-- Hungry China to take its Indophil
Brisbane Times-- Roundtable: It’s not over till it’s over
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Dubai debt decision 'serious misjudgement': FT
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Jobs market tough for returning expats
People's Daily on line-- Cheng Siwei: China's monetary policy should not be "too loose" in 2010
People's Daily on line-- Resource tax hike likely
China Daily-- China: No holding of Dubai World bonds
China Daily-- Beijing has 'more room' for cars
The Times of India-- Indian banks say Dubai crisis unlikely to affect them
The Times of India-- No impact of Dubai crisis on Indian realty market: Developers

They don't get as much exposure as they once did, but for those that think the Muppets are a novelty of the past, think again.

Muppets Studios has resurrected the old Queen classic Bohemian Rhapsody and given it that Muppet touch, an ensemble approach to the song that Freddie Mercury and the lads once made famous.

Be sure to stick around long enough for the Miss Piggy solo, it's Divalistic...

A new Deputy Fire Chief takes up his duties, community groups may have to get by with less in 2010 and a Nisga'a leader passes away, some of the items of note for Thursday.

The Daily News, Front page, headline story
NEW DEPUTY FIRECHIEF MAKES THE ROUNDS--We follow the recently promoted Jeff Beckwith around a Pineridge classroom, as the Daily News profiles the new Deputy chief of the Prince Rupert Fire Rescue Department.

Local organizations might have to make do with less next year, that as Prince Rupert City council outlines how the current financial picture for the city could result in grant reductions of up to 25 per cent for those community organizations that receive them.

While Prince Rupert and the Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional district keep busy writing letters to the Prime Minister calling for a comprehensive review of the Enbridge Gateway project, their efforts may not be greeted with universal appreciation in Kitimat and Terrace. The different thoughts on the need for a full and complete inquiry are examined with a page three story.

The Sports section featured coverage of the lighting of the BC Northern Winter Games torch this week as well as the weekly review of action in the Prince Rupert Minor Basketball Association.

(Daily News Archive Articles links for November 26th )

The Northern View
Port Edward votes to study options to keep its school open -- With School District 52 moving on its agenda of school consolidation and potential closures, Port Edward is preparing its case to keep its school a going concern (see article here)

CFTK TV 7
Nisga'a President Passes Away -- The Nisga'a nation is in mourning today, as a long time fixture on the political scene, President Nelson Leeson passed away on Thursday in a Prince George Hospital. (see article here)

CFTK TV 7
Billet Families Needed as 2010 Northern Winter Games Approach -- The push is on to secure billet families for competitors in the Northern Winter Games, with only 12 of the 400 billets required secured so far, the organizing committee is looking impress on the community of the need to register now (see article here)

CBC Radio British Columbia, Daybreak North
Olympic benefits to the north -- John Furlong CEO of the organizing committee for the 2010 Olympic games outlines what he believes will be the benefits for the north in February's event (listen to the interview here)

Daily News, Front page, headline story
New Deputy Firechief makes the rounds
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Thursday, November 26, 2009

On Nov. 10 Jeff Beckwith became Prince Rupert’s new Deputy Fire Chief.

Beckwith has been with the Prince Rupert Fire Rescue department for ten years and said he loves his new job.

“I don’t think you could have a better job,” he said this week. “I started my career with the Prince Rupert Fire Rescue Department in the summer of 1999 as a relief firefighter, where I worked as a casual employee filling in for holiday and sick leave for the permanent staff,” Beckwith said Tuesday.

At that time, he knew there would be a full time position becoming available the following summer because one of the captains was retiring, and the opportunity inspired Beckwith to attend the Alberta Fire Training School, now called Fire Etc.

He completed the NFPA 1001 Standard for Professional Firefighters in the spring of 2000, and was hired as a full time firefighter in August 2000.

Five years ago, Beckwith approached then Fire Chief Ron Miller, and said he was interested in enrolling in the four-year Bachelor of Applied Business: Emergency Services Degree Program offered through Lakeland College, also in Alberta, for firefighters, paramedics, police and military personnel.

“This course was a challenging 4 years long, but I knew that once completed, it would give me an opportunity to apply for the Deputy Chief’s position when it became vacant this past summer,” Beckwith said.

On Tuesday Beckwith, along with fellow firefighters Cpt. Calvin Thompson, Troy Leighton and Remo Pomponio visited Mavis Glencross’s grade three/four class at Pineridge Elementary.

The students had created a character made of paper called ‘Flat Stanley’ that they had dropped off at the Fire Hall on Nov. 19 to accompany the firefighters on their daily routine.

Tuesday’s visit was about returning Flat Stanley, but it was also an opportunity to show the students the fire department’s Thermal Imaging Camera, an instrument used to locate people in a burning building when the smoke is too thick to see.

“In Kindergarten the students start out with us and by the time they are [in] Grades three and four, they have seen everything we do, so we thought we’d bring in the TIC. It’s something the older kids would appreciate,” Beckwith explained.

The debtors of Dubai, ,Turkey Day becomes shopping Day in the US, forget the flu shot in China they're getting flu insurance, some of the items of note for Thursday.

Globe and Mail-- Dubai struggles to ease default fears
Globe and Mail-- Cheap money sparks bubble warnings
Globe and Mail-- Bombardier cuts jobs as orders drop
National Post-- Concern focused on Dubai World
National Post-- Consumers, accountants split on economy
National Post-- New tour company could transform Jazz
New York Times-- Dubai Debt Delays Revive Fear Of Financial Crisis
USA Today-- To get a jump on Black Friday, stores open on Thanksgiving
Guardian UK online-- Fears of double-dip recession grow as Dubai crashes
Guardian UK online-- Campaigners blast Walker report on banks
Times Online UK-- Japanese Prime Minister warns of double-dip slump
Times Online UK-- Anguish over the recession that refuses to let go
Telegraph UK online-- Dubai default fears rock markets
Telegraph UK online-- China, gold, and the civilization shift
Telegraph UK online-- Brown risks US wrath by pushing global financial tax
Melbourne Herald Sun-- How to drag money out of dumb people
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Frugal shoppers a concern for Woolworths
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Saab at point of no return
Brisbane Times-- Dubai Government to seek repayment extension
Brisbane Times-- Banking regulatory body tightens screws
Brisbane Times-- Clouds get blacker for manufacturers
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Business spending down in quarter
People's Daily on line-- Poor irrigation may cost 18 billion yuan by 2030
People's Daily on line-- Senior Chinese official urges for proper use of stimulus funds
China Daily-- China tells enterprises to be prepared for upcoming FTA
China Daily-- Young white-collar Chinese take out insurance against flu
The Times of India-- Food inflation rises to 15.58%
The Times of India-- India, Bangladesh to ink power exchange deal

The Wednesday, November 25 edition of the Daily News featured their regular scorecard on city council issues, this one featuring the deliberations and votes from selected items of the November 23 session.
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This weeks feature appeared on page three of the Wednesday edition, only Councillor Bedard was absent from council chambers.

Question One: That council adopt the 2009 ameded Five Year Financial Plan Bylaw No. 3288.
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How council voted:

Mayor Jack Mussallem-- Yes
Councillor Anna Ashley-- Yes
Councillor Nelson Kinney-- Yes
Councillor Gina Garon-- Yes
Councillor Sheila Gordon-Payne Yes
Councillor Joy Thorkelson-- Yes
Councillor Kathy Bedard-- Absent

Question Two: That Council will send a letter of support for a request that came out of the community to community forum last week, asking that the Enbridge process for public input become a comprehensive review.

How council voted:

Mayor Jack Mussallem-- Yes
Councillor Anna Ashley-- Yes
Councillor Nelson Kinney-- Yes
Councillor Gina Garon-- Yes
Councillor Sheila Gordon-Payne-- Yes
Councillor Joy Thorkelson-- Yes
Councillor Kathy Bedard-- Absent

Question Three: In referne to the Community enhancement Grants: That No new applications will be considered for 2010.

How council voted:

Mayor Jack Mussallem-- Yes
Councillor Anna Ashley-- Yes
Councillor Nelson Kinney-- Yes
Councillor Gina Garon-- Yes
Councillor Sheila Gordon-Payne-- Yes
Councillor Joy Thorkelson-- Yes
Councillor Kathy Bedard-- Absent

Question Four: All Existing grant recipients will be advised by letter that they could receive at least 25 percent less of their existing grant in 2010.

How council voted:

Mayor Jack Mussallem-- Yes
Councillor Anna Ashley-- Yes
Councillor Nelson Kinney-- Yes
Councillor Gina Garon-- Yes
Councillor Sheila Gordon-Payne-- Yes
Councillor Joy Thorkelson-- Yes
Councillor Kathy Bedard-- Absent

Question Five: Council will send a letter to the provincial government protesting the downloading of costs to municipalities caused by cuts, particularly to public libraries and organizations that receive gaming funds.

How council voted:

Mayor Jack Mussallem-- Yes
Councillor Anna Ashley-- Yes
Councillor Nelson Kinney-- Yes
Councillor Gina Garon-- Yes
Councillor Sheila Gordon-Payne-- Yes
Councillor Joy Thorkelson-- Yes
Councillor Kathy Bedard-- Absent

Question Six: Council approve the acting mayor schedule for 2010: Jan. - Kinney, Feb and March - Thorkelson, April and May - Gordon Payne, June and July - Bedard, Aug and Sept - Ashley, Oct and Nov. - Garon and Dec. - Kinney

How council voted:

Mayor Jack Mussallem-- Yes
Councillor Anna Ashley-- Yes
Councillor Nelson Kinney-- Yes
Councillor Gina Garon-- Yes
Councillor Sheila Gordon-Payne-- Yes
Councillor Joy Thorkelson-- Yes
Councillor Kathy Bedard-- Absent

The ongoing cost of maintaining a pulp mill site, set the tone for Monday's meeting as council contemplated their financials in the wake of the estimated monthly cost of 100,000 dollars to keep the moving parts moving at Watson Island. Beyond that, council took care of some housekeeping setting their schedule for 2010, delegating the Acting mayor duties for the year to come and announcing that funding cuts to local organizations could come next year.


Not all of council's business was conducted in open forum, as yet another Closed session of council was required as per section 90 of the Community charter, a section that seems to have received a fair amount of reading by council this year.

November 23, 2009

Regular council meeting Agenda for November 23 , 2009

Committee of the Whole meeting Agenda for November 23, 2009

Notice of Special Council meeting

City council session for November 23, 2009

In attendance:

Mayor Jack Mussallem
Councillor Anna Ashley
Councillor Sheila Gordon-Payne
Councillor Nelson Kinney
Councillor Gina Garon
Councillor Joy Thorkelson

Absent:

Councillor Kathy Bedard

Regular City council minutes for November 23, 2009
(none posted yet)

Daily News voting summary
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 edition

Attendance at City Hall to date archives

Upcoming events-- City council meeting Monday, December 14, 2009

Seeking an inquiry into the Skeena fishery, money for the pulp mill site and more fall out from the aborted sailing of the Northern Adventure, some of the items of note for the news on Wednesday.

Daily News, Front page, headline story
THE 'TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE' PHILOSOPHY ON COMMUNITY ECONOMICS-- The WWF hosted a games day on Monday with local residents taking part in "The Future Game" learning how to develop the skills to lead to a more sustainable economy for the region.

Both Prince Rupert City council and representatives of Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District have asked Fisheries Minister Gail Shea to not forget about the Skeena. With DFO set to launch an inquiry into the crisis on the Fraser River, local representatives are looking for a similar investigation into the situation on the Skeena River.

With a cost of almost $100,000 a month to take care of the Watson Island pulp mill site, City council amends its five year plan to accommodate those unplanned expenses.

Minor hockey in the city was the focus of the sports section for Wednesday.

(Daily News Archive Articles links for November 25th )

The Northern View
No new items posted to their site for Wednesday

CFTK TV 7
Nisga'a Museum construction continues-- An update on the progress of the Nisga'a museum in Greenville (see article here)

CBC Northern British Columbia, Daybreak North
Dire Straits on Hecate Strait Part II-- Further investigation into why the Northern Adventure sailed headlong into a storm on Sunday night/Monday morning (listen to interview here)

CBC Northern British Columbia, Daybreak North
Preventing intervention in the Northwest-- A look at the pending closure of the only youth addiction facility in the Northwest (listen to interview here)

Queen Charlotte Islands Observer
Haida to vote on Naikun project-- The Haida will be given the opportunity to vote on the Naikun Wind project once council elections are completed on December 5th, a general vote not a referendum will be used to determine what participation if any the Haida will take in the project (see article here)

Daily News, Front page, headline story
The ‘triple bottom line’ philosophy on community economics
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Local leaders recognizing the need for working together to develop economy.

Local residents and representatives from Northwest communities took part in the WWF hosted “Futures Game” on Monday, hoping to learn about the skills needed for developing a sustainable economy for the region.

Participants mapped out possible scenarios that would make them choose between prioritizing community, environment and economy. It’s called the “triple bottom-line” and it’s reasoning is this – you can’t have an economy without a healthy community and environment.

But even as those scenarios were worked out, the most interesting lesson that may come from the full day project is that leaders need to have a common focus to actually meet all three targets.

Event facilitator David Beurle, Director of Innovative Leadership Australia, said that this type of planning is especially crucial at a time when the region is in economic flux.

“Now is the time to think about where the community wants to go rather than panicking and taking the first offer that comes in,” said Beurle.

The Northwest took a major hit when West Fraser Ltd. announced they would be closing the Eurocan Pulp Mill. A little more than 500 people will lose their jobs when the pulp mill closes its doors for good in January, but the download will be significant on the community as retailers, contractors and civic leaders lose a major source of revenue.

Which is why some leaders in Prince Rupert believe that the time is right to band together and work towards certain goals – perhaps the most immediate being the Canpotex potash terminal.

Prince Rupert Grain president Jeff Burghardt, who attended the games workshop Monday, believes that the Prince Rupert community could do more to influence Canpotex decision concerning to the proposed project on Ridley Island.

Burghardt emphasized the importance of the potash terminal project to Prince Rupert’s long-term viability at the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce meeting last week.

“It is important to work with the City, the Prince Rupert Port Authority, First Nations groups and Canpotex to facilitate and encourage solutions to the difficulties that we seem to have had through this project coming to fruition,” said Burghardt.

The Canpotex potash terminal project has received a lot of attention since executives hosted a public forum in September to discuss the potential project with locals.

The forum did not result in any guarantees between the community and Canpotex, but it did clearly illustrate Prince Rupert’s desire to house such a project considering the employment and economic activity that would result from the terminal.

Potash is a mineral used by farmers around the globe, but it is mined in only a handful of countries, with Canada, Russia, Belarus, Germany, Israel and Jordan accounting for roughly 90 percent of world supply.

Canpotex is considering 10 million tonnes of new capacity by expanding its terminal in Vancouver, British Columbia, or by building a new terminal either at the northern port of Prince Rupert or at Cherry Point in Washington state.

And there is good reason for the planning, even during an economic recession when a lot of companies are rolling back plans for capital expansion.

“You can’t drag this out for too long,” said Beurle.

In the last year, both B.C. and Saskatchewan have seen trade with China increase by 20 per cent, and with increasing demand for domestic food supplies, there is a real need to corner the Asian market while it is still open.

But when it comes to where Canpotex decides to increase its capacity, it isn’t as obvious. Simultaneously, the company has been looking at expanding existing facilities in Vancouver or building a new terminal on Ridley Island.

The company has built a business plan that’s very similar for both places with capital costs, investments and terminal running costs, working for both communities.

A decision is expected by the end of the year and that decision may rest on the type of support Canpotex receives from the community.

Last month, however, it was revealed that the Coast Tsimshian had begun a litigation process over First Nations consultation regarding the environmental screening the project would go through.

The issue seemed to raise the temperature of the city, creating some division. Mayor Jack Mussallem responded by making a special trip to Vancouver to help resolve the outstanding issue between the Coast Tsimshian and Canpotex.

An agreement between Canpotex and the Coast Tsimshian was signed, but Burghardt said the litigation and public reaction showed that all community leaders need to be much more active in pursuing consensus towards the project.

“When I say that, it is imprecise to know exactly what difference those sorts of things can make. But locally, we all want the very best for all of the residents of our region. And that puts an awful lot of obligation on our part to find the solutions,” said Burghardt. “We ought to let them know that we can be creative and supportive in finding those solutions.

Mussallem agreed with Burghardt’s message and said it was very important locals got the gist of what the PRG’s leader was trying to say.

“We are watching very closely and giving a hand where needed for the proposed Canpotex potash export facility. We are well aware that they are having a board meeting in December and Prince Rupert will be on an even playing field with Vancouver,“ said Mussallem.

The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming, defending a secret 62 billion dollar loan in England , and the land of the knock off gets some knock down furniture, some of the items of note for Wednesday.

Globe and Mail-- Canadian dollar up on Russia move
Globe and Mail-- Housing affordability slides
Globe and Mail-- Why the U.S., China are about to get divorced
National Post-- Retail situation 'like a car wreck'
National Post-- Great Recession will weigh on Canada for years: Safarian
National Post-- Gold hits US$1,190 as more central banks buy
New York Times-- Dubai Fund Asks for Stay on Debt Payments
New York Times-- Retailers Extend Deals Beyond Black Friday
New York Times-- Businesses in U.S. Brace for New Rules on Emissions
USA Today-- In a mixed bag of economic news, jobless claims fall
USA Today-- GM working with the blind to give electric cars a little noise
Guardian UK online-- Banks forced to reveal numbers of millionaire staff
Guardian UK online-- What was really behind last year's market crash?
Times Online UK-- Darling defends secret £62bn emergency loan
Times Online UK-- Treasury rift with Bank deepens over secret loan
Telegraph UK online-- Inequality in Britain is of developing world level
Telegraph UK online-- Dubai recovery hopes hit by debt 'standstill' call
Telegraph UK online-- Bundesbank fears relapse as German banks face €90bn fresh losses
The Independent UK-- This bank error is not in your favour
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Drought continues to hit grain
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Housing crisis the cost of affluence as the resources boom accelerates
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Rate rise will spoil Xmas, says Lew
Brisbane Times-- Fund to maintain tax-haven investments
Brisbane Times-- House prices to rise further but they're worth it, says RBA
Brisbane Times-- How to survive depression, hyperinflation, war, pandemic
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Growth will continue for years - RBA
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Activists attack BHP's 'ugly side'
People's Daily on line-- Gas shortage lingers in cities
People's Daily on line-- China denies to release rural land to curb soaring housing prices
China Daily-- IKEA to launch two shopping centers in China
China Daily-- China calls for promoting global service trade
The Times of India-- High gold prices dampen wedding demand
The Times of India-- Hyundai faces labour unrest in Chennai

The tales of the Northern Adventure, downtown theft and vandalism and Prince Rupert's near million dollar deficit, some of the items of the news cycle for Tuesday.


Daily News, Front page, headline story
NORTHERN ADVENTURE WEATHERS UNEXPECTED STORM-- Monday morning's white knuckle sailing of the Northern Adventure is reviewed by the Daily News, featuring the viewpoint of BC Ferries Head office spokesperson Deborah Marshall, counter balanced by the passengers on the voyage.

Enbridge Corporations plans for pipeline project through the Northwest will have to receive a comprehensive public inquiry, that if the views of Prince Rupert council and Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional District are considered. The two local governing bodies passed motions to that effect with the intention of sending a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to ask for an inquiry.

The high number of break and enters in the downtown area and vandalism concerns have once again given the business community to vent its frustrations with the ongoing situation. Included in the Daily's article is a rundown of a particularly active period of theft and damage in the downtown area.

The Sports section features a look at the volleyball season as it winds down, with zones recently having taken place and more to come over the next weekend.

(Daily News Archive Articles links for November 24th )

The Northern View
City of Prince Rupert looking at deficit in excess of $900,000 in 2010-- The Northern View outlines City council's deliberations as they weigh their options with nearly a 1 million dollar deficit staring them in the face for 2010 (see article here)

The Northern View
Northwest unemployment rate is stabilizing, but still high-- The latest statistics for unemployment are released and the Northern View offers up some interpretation (see article here)

The Northern View
Reece returning as Lax Kw’alaams Chief-- Some more background on the recent elections at Lax Kw'alaams (see article here)

The Northern View
A lot of attention coming to fishery-- Fisheries Minister Gail Shea cancels here planned trip to Prince Rupert, perhaps moving the visit into December. The Northern View also looks at the latest developments into the judicial review of the Fraser River fishery.(see article here)

The Northern View
Ferries meeting on Monday to discuss controversial Tsawwassen - Rupert route -- Some more background on the upcoming public meeting hosted by BC Ferries to look into the prospect of a Vancouver to Prince Rupert sailing for the Ferry Corporation (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
2010 Northern BC Winter Games Torch Lighting Today in Prince Rupert -- Details of the plans for Tuesday afternoon ceremony for the official torch lighting at the Civic Centre, heralding the countdown to February's Northern BC Winter Games. (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Public Review Process of Enbridge Proposal Drawing Nearer -- Details of the latest timeline in the public consultations for the Enbridge pipeline project (see article here)

CBC British Columbia, Daybreak North
Dire Straits-- Accounts of the tumultuous seas faced by the passengers of the Northern Adventure as the ferry attempted and then retreated from a crossing of Hecate Strait (listen to interview here)

Daily News, front page headline story
Northern Adventure weathers unexpected storm
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Passengers on BC Ferries Northern Adventure had a rough ride when the ferry set sail early Monday morning for Skidegate.

BC Ferries Manager of Communications Deborah Marshall confirmed that there were some minor injuries and that some cars were damaged by falling cargo during the aborted voyage.

“Crew members sustained minor injuries – bumps to the knee and head. I am not aware of any passenger injuries reported, but there was a lady who was eight months pregnant and I think she was upset by the weather, but as far as any physical injuries, not to my knowledge,” said Marshall.

Passengers were told at the terminal that the ship was turned back because storms over Hecate Strait were too strong to traverse the water, but some complained that they were not told on the ferry that they were heading back.

At 11 p.m. Sunday evening, when the ship set sail from Prince Rupert toward Skidegate terminal on Haida Gwaii, the Northern Adventure crew knew a storm was coming, but it wasn’t expected to become as bad as it did, according to Marshall.

At 4 a.m. the ship stopped and waited in Hecate Strait for the weather to improve. Instead it got worse, with heavy wind blowing through Prince Rupert Monday morning and gusts peaking at 43 kilometers per hour at 8 a.m.

Marshall said it was then that the captain of the ship turned the ferry around and headed back to Prince Rupert.

“What made us mad was that we were told nothing until we got back to the terminal,” said Lee-Al Nelson, a volunteer volleyball coach with the Queen Charlotte Senior Secondary “The call to turn back was made near Banks Island.”

Team members described the ship as moving in a “whirlpool motion” during the voyage.

Another teammate spoke of frustration while waiting in the terminal for word on whether they would leave soon or not.

Passenger Kelsey Lore told the Daily News that she had felt the situation was not right to sail before the ferry left the dock.

“You could see the waves coming into the inlet, which we thought shouldn’t be happening,” explained Lore.

The Northern Adventure replaced the Queen of Prince Rupert last spring, and has been sailing on the waters since 2007, but the ship has had its share of misadventures since it was put into operation on the North Coast.

Marshall said that the ship has been handling Hecate Strait as well as executives had hoped it would.

“It was just a bad storm. It was predicted, but not [predicted to be] as bad as it turned out,” said Marshall.

As for the cars, it looks like passengers with damaged cars are on the hook for the deductible.

ICBC spokesperson Mark Jan Vrem told the Daily News that he did not believe BC Ferries would be liable for the damage to the cars because the weather was deemed poor.

“If a driver had comprehensive insurance, than yes, falling objects are covered under the comprehensive policy,” said Jan Vrem. “Of course the customer would have to pay the deductible, but we, like any other insurance company that sold a comprehensive package, should be there for the customer.”

The only time BC Ferries would be liable is if the ferry sailing conditions were in calm waters, and it was judged to be human or ship error.

“If the BC Ferries Corporation had done something they weren’t supposed to, then we would take a look at it,” said Jan Vrem.

CN's labour troubles percolate, the FDIC could use a loan, and details of the emergency loan for British banks, some of the items of note for Tuesday.

Globe and Mail-- Troubled loans, shrinking credit endanger U.S. recovery
Globe and Mail-- BMO paints a rosy picture for banking
Globe and Mail-- Numbers on EI swell
National Post-- Toronto office vacancies may top Boston, NY
National Post-- CN work stoppage looms after talks hit impasse
National Post-- Canada a fraud nation?
New York Times-- Facebook Will Form 2 Classes of Stock
New York Times-- As Bank Failures Rise, F.D.I.C. Fund Falls Into Red
New York Times-- U.S. Looks to Australia on Credit Card Fees
USA Today-- FDIC reports biggest drop for business loans on record
USA Today-- Playboy to outsource business functions
Guardian UK online-- Bank of England reveals secret £62bn loans used to prop up RBS and HBOS
Guardian UK online-- Gamekeeper turned vulture
Times Online UK-- New fall in business investment fuels worry
Times Online UK-- Japan flirts with disaster as debt deepens
Telegraph UK online-- We've paid the price to avoid chaos and we must learn from our mistakes Telegraph UK online-- Bank of England tells of secret £62bn loan to save RBS and HBOS
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Rio may move on Iron Ore Holdings
Melbourne Herald Sun-- OECD area shakes off recession with fragile rebound
Brisbane Times-- Australian banks fail new capital test
Brisbane Times-- The man who wanted to be chairman of BHP
Brisbane Times-- Church at loss as GFC delivers judgment
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- All care, no responsibility in Storm blame game
People's Daily on line-- Consumption stimulus to extend into 2010
People's Daily on line-- Comprehensive, high quality FTA in interests of China and Australia: minister
China Daily-- China to wipe out unlicensed video websites: official
China Daily-- Greater efforts urged against commercial bribery
The Times of India-- Hybrid car prices may dip as govt mulls duty cut
The Times of India-- Power items from China face duty

Doe a deer, a female deer, running through Toronto's downtown streets...

"He's a wild animal, fairly big, fairly large," -- Toronto Police Sergeant Winston Bennet, with the vivid description of the suspect.

"With the police there and the SWAT, we thought it was a bomb threat," -- Construction workers in downtown Toronto reacting to the Police response in the downtown core.

Ah those big city folks, a little wildlife wanders into town and everyone is talking.

A deer, may perhaps be common to our Podunkian byways, worth hardly a second look, but drop one into the middle of the largest city in the land and it's as newsworthy as a sighting of Bigfoot.

Toronto's papers, radio stations and television outlets spent a good portion of the day today tracking the wandering path of one of Ontario's less urban of species.

In what seems to have been a full tactical alert by the Metro Toronto Police Service, uniformed patrol, SWAT members and perhaps maybe even the anti terrorism task force all converged on the downtown area, trying to corral the Big City Bambi. (video from CP 24 here)

Thus far the deer has managed to avoid the combined forces of law enforcement in the city, it's suspected that the deer, identified as a female came from the west (perhaps a vacationing Rupert deer?).

Clearly the sighting of deer in Toronto is a rare occasion, at least judging by a report from a Toronto resident who spotted one after coming out of a bar last week "We passed it and I looked in my rear view mirror,So I freaked out, I pulled over in the middle of the street." , as though that's the freakiest thing to be found on late night Toronto streets..

If Torontonian's are freaking out about the deer, put yourself in her hooves for a second, if anything is an alien environment it surely must be the streets of Toronto...

Considering the near panic of today, one wonders what happens when the bears come out of hibernation...

Globe and Mail-- Deer wanders into downtown Toronto
National Post-- Deer dashing through downtown Toronto
Toronto Sun-- Deer wanders into downtown Toronto
Toronto Star-- Frightened deer cornered in downtown core
CP 24-- Police watch deer after it wanders into downtown Toronto
CTV Toronto-- Deer spotted strolling through downtown Toronto
CBC Toronto-- Deer takes stroll through downtown Toronto

Update: 8:45 Bambi in the Big city was sedated lat in the Toronto morning

Toronto Sun-- Wandering deer captured in downtown Toronto

A walking guide to the city, elections in Lax Kw'alaams and a rough ride for the Northern Adventure, some of the items of note from the Monday news cycle.

Daily News, Front page, headline story
A YOUNGER TAKE ON PRINCE RUPERT - PAST AND PRESENT-- The city's architecture is reviewed as part of a project undertaken last year by students at Prince Rupert Secondary School. Prince Rupert: A Self Guided Walking Tour which went on sale today at a price of twenty dollars offers an interesting interpretation of Prince Rupert's mix of old and current buildings and properties as seen through the eyes of Tasha Parker's art classes from Grades 8-12.

The results of this past weekends election at Lax Kw'alaams are revealed, including the details of the return of Gary Reece to the position of Chief Councillor which he last held two years ago. Reece defeated incumbent John Helin in the election, but won't move too far off the path charted by Helin over the last two years.

The proposed creation of a Vancouver to Prince Rupert route for BC Ferries will be the topic of debate at a public meeting on November 30th and while the Ferry Corporation is busy laying the groundwork for it's proposal, NDP MLA Gary Coons is expressing his concerns as to potential job losses in Prince Rupert and what he believes is a less than coherent business plan for the ambitious project.

The Sports section features a review of Saturday night's Rampage game which saw the home side take a 4-2 victory from the Terrace River Kings. Girls volleyball and Bantam hockey also were featured in the Monday edition.

(Daily News Archive Articles links for November 23rd )

The Northern View
Prince Rupert School District talks school closure and configuration options -- The Northern View had the first reports out of Monday's town hall style meeting held at CHSS to discuss pending changes to the delivery of education in the city, with the possibility of closing PRSS and grade configuration among the talking points for the night (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
City Funding Cuts -- A few details on Prince Rupert City council's Monday night meeting, council outlined its plans to cut 25 percent from funding and grants to Prince Rupert organizations and clubs in 2010. (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Minor Injuries, Damage, In Rough Ferry Sailing -- TV 7 News had some of the first details on the local scene of the troubled sailing of the Northern Adventure on Sunday night/Monday morning (see article here)

Queen Charlotte Islands Observer
Sailing a Northern Misadventure-vessel does not belong on route, says MLA Coons -- The Queen Charlotte Islands weekly had the most comprehensive account of that storm tossed sailing of the Northern Adventure, featuring many background accounts of the night from Island residents (see article here)

CBC News, Daybreak North
A "no" vote in Dawson Creek -- An interview with Dawson Creek Mayor Mike Bernier, who outlined the city's reaction to the rejection of their borrowing plans by the voters of that city (listen to the interview here)

CBC News, Daybreak North
Olympic rings on a northern lodge-- A familiar sight on the Queen Charlotte Islands is going to spend the winter in Vancouver as the West Coast Fishing Club moves it's Langara Island lodge to Vancouver to serve as accommodations during the Olympics (listen to interview here)

Daily News, front page headline story
A younger take on Prince Rupert - past and present
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Monday, November 23, 2009

Students at Prince Rupert Secondary School have produced a book that illustrates a timeline of city architecture.

The book titled Prince Rupert: A Self-Guided Walking Tour, was written, produced and published by art teacher Tasha Parker’s grade 9, 10. 11 and 12 classes last year and goes on sale today.

Their new book, which goes for $20, gives a purposely-distorted view of old and current buildings around the community, with a commentary text on the opposite page to describe the history of their chosen building.

“We thought Prince Rupert looked like it had always looked,” said art student Holly Pfrimmer.

Pfrimmer and classmate Taylor Slack told the Daily News that they were happy with the way book looked and the lessons that the project taught them about the city they grew up in.

The book is an easy read and is meant for a general reading audience. It also could work as a tourists’ guide to the city, reasoned Parker, with the story of so many buildings in town lost to visitors behind the veils of age and change.

It would be fair to say that most cruise ship passengers walking along Second and Third Avenues have little opportunity to understand how Prince Rupert has changed since its founding in 1910. Malls have replaced parks, city hall has shifted locations, older buildings have had facelifts and the businesses that have filled them have unpacked and packed some of those locations.

But are Rupertites any further along in understanding of what frames their cityscape? Perhaps not, according to the students who worked on the project.

Pfrimmer and Slack said, having a look around the city, they and classmates not only found a city they did not recognize but also one they wish they still had.

There was a sense of loss for the park where the Rupert Square Mall now stands, suggesting that the city had lost something in its green vista when the Mall went up in the 1970s.

While the text involved in the book paints a positive remembrance of a historical architecture timeline, the feelings produced by their work had a nostalgic effect on the
students

“Seeing the way the city looked then and the way it looks now, I would have really liked to have lived in the past,” said Pfrimmer, one of the many students who worked on the project last year.

Slack agreed, saying that there was a need to improve the downtown core of the city.

“There are too many buildings with boarded up windows, too many people hanging out on Second Avenue that make you feel uncomfortable walking down there,” explained Slack. “When I walk down Second Avenue it feels like a New York ghetto.”

The research project also raises interesting questions over how much participation on important municipal decisions is sought from the youngest members of this city’s population.

The reaction doesn’t surprise Zeno Krekic. Prince Rupert’s city planner said often children and teenagers are overlooked when it comes seeking their input on how a city should develop.

“Something that always comes into the conversation is how do you bring the young and old to a central place?” said Krekic.

Krekic said that when it comes to teenager safety in the city, there is a case to be made for improving aesthetics rather than increasing street security.

“We need to design something that is appealing enough that the community will take ownership of it,” commented Krekic.

“It’s so that if I see someone littering on the street, I speak up and ask them what are they doing. Perhaps I pick up the litter and receive a snarky comment from litterer, but then he or she might think twice before littering again.”

When it comes to safety, reasoned Krekic, there should be community responsibility to help improve that part of street life.

While the commentary may come from a teenager level, it is a refreshing take on how the city is perceived by some of the youngest voices in town.

The reaction the students had from working on the book surprised Parker, who said she wasn’t sure what to expect from her students after they finished the project.

“That was definitely a surprise to know that the students believed that the city used to be beautiful but that now its not,” said Parker.

Parker was motivated to follow up her project from last year, Where can I Go?, after a conversation she had with some of her French exchange students last year. The students had told her that Prince Rupert was surrounding by unrelenting beauty, but that the downtown left a lot to be desired.

Thinking about Prince Rupert through that focal point, Parker believed that there was something lacking in that conversation – a working knowledge about how Prince Rupert’s downtown got that way.

What was produced is a significant departure from Where can I go?. That book by PRSS art students was also written about their experiences – this time in the Khutzymateen provincial park – and why the current forest area is vital to our future.

Prince Rupert: A Self-Guided Walking Tour, follows the same kind of path but ends with a much different statement – what has happened to the downtown?

That wasn’t the original goal of the project.

“The original goal was just for kids in the classes to see how something they worked on and finished could look professionally,” said Parker. “I [also] wanted students to really learn the history of Prince Rupert – but to actually learn about the history, not just a blurb,” said Parker.

Now the lesson results may seem overly pessimistic, but it should be noted that the book is not a negative read on Prince Rupert itself. In fact the students had plenty of praise for some of the buildings that exist largely in their original form and the lament for a past is tempered by recognition of success in town.

What Parker took away from the project was that Prince Rupert was once a nice little town that can be that way again.

Both Slack and Pfrimmer talked highly of the way the Oceanview building retains its colonial appearance after all these years. They loved City Hall and Pillsbury house. And newer developments also received kind words.

“Cow bay has that personal touch which makes it look so interesting,” said Slack. “The Bamboo Shoot is also a really cool building, I like how they put the banners together and the building looks like it was cut perfectly. There is really an appealing appearance to it.”

"This was not severe weather, this was a poor judgment call,"-- Lee-Al Nelson, passenger on the Northern Adventure, commenting on Sunday nights adventure on the high and rolling seas.

"It's not meant for us, it's meant for the Mediterranean." -- North Coast MLA, Gary Coon, outlining one of his main concerns about the Northern Adventure's introduction to service on the North coast.

What started out as a simple notice of postponement of service on the BC Ferries website is turning into a much larger issue, that as more and more details come out about Sunday nights harrowing attempted crossing of Hecate Strait.

To read of the perspective of BC Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall, Sunday's turn back to Rupert was simply a matter of the Northern Adventure finding the seas a little too raucous for it's Captains thoughts, requiring a change of course back to the shelter of Prince Rupert harbour.
Then again Ms. Marshall wasn't on the ferry...

Anecdotal information about the crossing began to filter into Prince Rupert through Monday afternoon, as details about sea conditions and uncomfortable sailing conditions started to gain some interest by the larger media outlets of Vancouver.

By far the most descriptive story of the event thus far comes from the Queen Charlotte Islands Observer, which paints a rather different version of events than that offered up by the Ferry Corporation thus far.

Numerous passengers have provided their account of events from the overnight period, a review of events that left many shaken by their experience and questioning the sea worthiness of the recent addition to the BC Ferries fleet given the occasionally dramatic conditions that the North coast offers to mariners.


August 2009-- Not so fast for the Northern Adventure
May 2009-- Northern Adventure to be sidelined again for repairs
March 2009-- Safety first, or into service first?
March 2009-- More adventures for the Northern Adventure?
October 2008-- Ferry issues continue to be of concern to Haida Gwaii
May 2008-- More North coast Ferry woes

The auto industry turnaround may be derailed in 2010, the wrong people are taking note of improved border access, and music sales are on the rise in Sweden in wake of anti piracy laws, some of the items of note for Monday.

Globe and Mail-- Gloomy forecast for U.S. auto sales in 2010
Globe and Mail-- Why Niall Ferguson is still bearish
Globe and Mail-- Union accuses CN of halting talks
National Post-- Manulife buys stake in Chinese fund manager
National Post-- "Is it too late to buy gold? It’s no longer cheap," Peter Grandich says
National Post-- Are we ignoring the lessons the crisis taught us?
New York Times-- China Seeks to Slow Down Rapid Growth of Lending
New York Times-- G.M. Seeks Assistance From Europe for Opel
New York Times-- The Phantom Menace
USA Today-- Mexican drug smugglers hitch onto truckers' border access
USA Today-- Emerging markets try to manage flood of foreign capital
Guardian UK online-- Sweden sees music sales soar after crackdown on filesharing
Guardian UK online-- We must seal the deal on world trade
Times Online UK-- Don't choke economic recovery, warns Brown
Times Online UK-- IMF says global economy is 'highly vulnerable'
Telegraph UK online-- Britain has run out of money, the CBI is told
Telegraph UK online-- Bail-outs would imperil democracy, warns IMF
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Strong dollar hits agribusiness
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Hardie's expects to give to asbestos fund depending on profit, exchange rates
Brisbane Times-- Airline to boost spending on planes
Brisbane Times-- Economists line up to blast Queensland privatisation
Brisbane Times-- Baosteel chief: full confidence in China
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- News Corp, Microsoft plan to bar Google
People's Daily on line-- China asks banks to avoid big fluctuations in lending
People's Daily on line-- China's natural gas shortage relieved, top economic planner
China Daily-- Economists warn of possible new flood of speculative capital
China Daily-- China wind power group seeks $2.2b in HK IPO
The Times of India-- Govt to consider lowering import duty on hybrid vehicles
The Times of India-- Credit outlook for Indian banks dim, says Moody's

November's unpredictable weather has once again played a little havoc with the BC Ferries schedule in the Northwest.

The next sailing of the Northern Adventure for the Queen Charlotte Islands may not take place until 11 pm this evening, BC Ferries has posted a Service Notice on its website as of 1:20 pm, advising that due to severe weather, the vessel will not be departing until later tonight.

The Ferry service advises that updates will be posted to their website as warranted or customers can contact BC Ferries toll free 1-877-223-8778.

Update: Nov 23 4:00 PM

Further details on the circumstances surrounding the delayed sailing time of the Norther Adventure have been released, with BC Ferries confirming that the Northern Adventure had to return to Prince Rupert after encountering a strong storm in Hecate Strait.

The original plan to ride out the storm in the Strait was abandoned as the storm intensified and crew members and passengers suffered some minor injuries, not to mention some unnerving moments. Vehicles on the decks below suffered some minor damage as well, as the storm buffeted the vessel in the overnight hours.

In light of the changing weather and concern for safety the vessel's captain chose to return to Prince Rupert heading back to the North coast port at 8:30 am. Departure time for the Northern Adventure's next attempt to cross over to the Charlotte's is still listed as at 11 pm on Monday night.

Strong winds remain in the North Coast forecast to develop for Tuesday afternoon, with winds of 70 to 90 khm expected through to Tuesday evening.

Update Nov 23 5:00 PM: BC Ferries has advised that the 11 pm sailing of the Northern Adventure has been cancelled, the next port of call for BC Ferries will be Port Hardy, with a Tuesday departure of 6:30 pm from Prince Rupert scheduled.

CFTK TV 7 News-- Minor injuries, Damage in Rough ferry sailing
CKNW 980-- Stormy seas for "Northern Adventure"
CBC News-- Storm tosses BC ferry passengers

In the NFL index all is good in America, a new beat cop for Wall street and Aussie workers seek some sun at the boss' expense, some of the items of note for Saturday and Sunday.

Globe and Mail-- Canadian banks to cap 2009 with decent quarter
Globe and Mail-- Porter: the little airline that could
Globe and Mail-- Ciena raises bid for some Nortel assets: sources
National Post-- Goldman gambit won't work
National Post-- Pricey inflation protection
National Post-- The state of consumption
New York Times-- Revisiting a Fed Waltz With A.I.G.
New York Times-- Advice From Grandma
New York Times-- An American Catastrophe
USA Today-- CFTC chief Gary Gensler is out to police financial Wild West
USA Today-- U.S. airline industry once again goes under scrutiny
Guardian UK online-- Growing number of US homeowners are at risk of losing their property
Guardian UK online-- Property market hasn't collapsed because banks can't face the truth
Times Online UK-- Obama’s feeble dollar sparks a new goldrush
Times Online UK-- Ministers and bank divided as Japan faces return to deflation
Telegraph UK online-- Greece tests the limit of sovereign debt as it grinds towards slump
Telegraph UK online-- The high street is surprisingly defying the gloomsters, but for how long?
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Parity still in sight
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Pluto dogged by blowout
Brisbane Times-- Fed officials step up asset bubble-watch
Brisbane Times-- Taxman needs a better handle on how we behave
Sydney Morning Herald-- Sharemarket rally based on recovery that is not yet assured
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- OECD predicts faster recovery for Australia
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Workers 'chuck a sickie' to enjoy a day in the sun
People's Daily on line-- China needs national plan to boost consumption: expert
People's Daily on line-- China is dynamo of world economy: ECLAC
China Daily-- China reaffirms efforts to revive world economy
China Daily-- Trading companies' creativity needed towards recovery
The Times of India-- Life insurance industry to grow 15 per cent this fiscal
The Times of India-- Canada introduces express business visas for Indians

A 24 year old man is in serious but stable condition in hospital in Vancouver, after a police involved shooting incident on the Tatlow Road in Smithers on Saturday afternoon.

An officer from the Smithers Detachment had pulled over a vehicle reported stolen earlier in the day in Houston, as he attempted to remove the driver from the truck, the driver reportedly accelerated the vehicle dragging the officer along the road, it was during that stage of the incident that the officer fired his weapon hitting the driver.

The driver was taken by medical air resources to Vancouver where he remains in serious but stable condition.

The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP has been advised of the incident and its Independent Observer Program will provide civilian monitoring of the police investigation.

As part of the investigation into the shooting, a senior officer from the Saanich Police Department will travel to Smithers join members of the RCMP Major Crimes unit out of Prince George who will examine the circumstances that led up to the shooting.

Vancouver Province-- Man injured in police shooting in Smithers after officer dragged down road
Opinion 250-- Police Shooting Near Smithers
Prince George Citizen-- RCMP shoot suspect in Smithers
.
Update: November 22
Interior News-- Shooting on Highway 16
Opinion 250-- Witnesses Say Four Shots Fired In Smithers Shooting
CFTK TV 7-- Man Shot by Smithers RCMP
.
Update: November 23
Opinion 250-- Man Shot in Smithers Recovering

Prince Rupert Grain brings good news to the Chamber, restoration work continues at North Pacific and Lax Kw'alaams results are announced, some of the items of note for the Friday news cycle.

Daily News, Front page, headline story
PRINCE RUPERT GRAIN DELIVERS ENCOURAGING NEWS TO CHAMBER-- Prince Rupert Grain is looking at higher numbers in 2009 as stronger volumes of wheat pass through the Ridley Island terminal. Chairman Jeff Burghardt outlined the optimistic details for the Chamber of Commerce this week.

Health care issues were examined in Port Edward this week during the latest in Community to Community forums.

Restoration work continues on at North Pacific History Fishing Village as six buildings on the boardwalk there have been refurbished as part of a job creation partnership.

(Daily News Archive Articles for November 20 )

The Northern View
Two groups vie for Shames Mountain future-- Some movement in the efforts to keep the Northwest's ski hill future secure. as two different groups put forward proposals on their vision for the mountain operation. (see article here)

CFTK TV 7
Reece Returned at Lax Kw'alaams -- Details of Friday's election returns from Lax Kw'alaams (see article here) (full results available from the Lax Kw'alaams website)

CFTK TV 7
Naikun wants to hire locally for its proposed wind project -- As Naikun continues its process for development of its wind farm properties on the North coast, they offer up the lure of jobs once again to keep the project on the minds of North Coast residents (see article here)

CBC Northern British Columbia, Daybreak North
An uncommon death-- A report on the the impact on the family of a the Rodney Shane Jackson the man shot and killed by the RCMP two months ago in an incident near Hazelton (listen to interview here)

Daily News, front page, headline story
Prince Rupert Grain delivers encouraging news to Chamber
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Friday, November 20, 2009

A late, great wheat crop in the prairies has driven home some higher than expected export numbers for Prince Rupert’s grain terminal.

And Prince Rupert Grain Inc.’s president Jeff Burghardt could not be more pleased with the results.
.
Burghardt gave a presentation to the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce Wednesday and outlined what he believed were some of the reasons for the increase in exports.

“We are having a pretty good run of trade and commerce,” remarked Burghardt.

Throughput at the grain terminal to September 30 is up 46.8 percent to 3.9 million tonnes, surpassing the 3.8 million tonnes handled for the entire 2008 year.

The high volumes were driven by wheat exports, up 77.1% to 3.6 million tonnes.

Part of the reason for the strong surge in 2009 is strong volumes of wheat, which grew later than expected but avoided a fall frost that could have damaged the crops.

The other reason is growing interest in the Prince Rupert port from Asian importers - more specifically, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia became the biggest addition in years to the global wheat buyside after it decided to gradually phase out wheat cultivation, as of last year and up to 2016, to save water resources.

Burghardt said that there has been increased interest amongst shoppers for Canadian prairie wheat from the Middle East and that Prince Rupert is gaining from that.

“We try to demonstrate that if you choose Canadian wheat that Prince Rupert is your best option,” said Burghardt.

Growing business at the grain terminal has also produced strong employment totals for the community. There are now 111 people employed at PRG.

There are also some concerns, according to Burghardt.

“As good as the last year has been, we find ourselves concerned about safety and loss,” explained Burghardt.

Two derailments in the last year cost PRG millions and ageing equipment is in need of replacement. There weren’t any significant injuries at the terminal last year, but Burghardt said that the company needed to be vigilant when it comes to safety.

There are also trade issues with China that are popping up over canola. Even as a ship arrives Monday for a canola shipment, China is becoming more difficult to deal with as the emerging superpower looks to continue developing its own canola base.

That desire, said Burghardt, has pushed China into claiming that it does not want to purchase canola with blackleg disease – a common disease found on canola around the world.

The move is expected to cut Canada’s canola exports by an estimated 70 percent.

Canada is the world’s top exporter of canola, a variant of rapeseed, which is crushed for its oil and used in cooking, and for its meal, which is used in livestock feed.

The concern for Prince Rupert is that even though canola makes a small portion of the PRG’s own exports, it is a significant shipment for Vancouver. If taken away, that could mean more competition for the grain crops that are heavily sent from Prince Rupert – wheat and barley. Burghardt said it’s a something that grain ports will take stock of because of trade implications. The thought is that China is placing restrictions on canola as a way to protect their own stocks.

Here's a case that Horatio could find worthy of taking his sunglasses off for.

A crime that comes with more than a few wrinkles...

From the jungles of the rain forest in Peru, to the markets of Lima there's an extra additive being harvested that will make you think twice when you reach for your beauty aids.

Once you've read this account of the latest shocking crime from Peru, you'll have a whole new understanding of that goal of accepting natural beauty over the enhanced and er, supplemental versions...

All in all he'd probably rather be at home watching TV. Will broadcast TV fade to black? and Japan returns to deflationary times, some of the items of note for Friday.

Globe and Mail-- Weak growth delays Flaherty attack on deficit
Globe and Mail-- Japan now struggles with deflation
Globe and Mail-- Konrad von Finckenstein 'sick' and Jim Shaw 'tired'
National Post-- McWorries for Tim Hortons U.S. operations
National Post-- Flaherty puts kibosh on major spending talk
National Post-- Canadian Tire's credit card woes
Vancouver Sun-- Olympic building program nails down jobs for women, inner city youth, aboriginal people
New York Times-- An Unsteady Future for Broadcast
New York Times-- Fears of ‘Lost Decade’ Grow for British Economy
New York Times-- Jobless Rate Up in 29 States, Hitting Records in 4 of Them
USA Today-- General Motors running quickly through stocks of Pontiacs and Saturns
USA Today-- Black Friday 2009 countdown: More deals, sales, news & tips
Guardian UK online-- Time for banks to wean themselves off cheap money, ECB president says
Guardian UK online-- Deflation: could it happen here?
Times Online UK-- Japan's economy slides into deflation
Times Online UK-- Falling tax take quashes Labour hopes of optimistic mini-Budget
Telegraph UK online-- An independent body is needed to restore fiscal credibility
Telegraph UK online-- £8 jeans 'better made' than £120 jeans
Melbourne Herald Sun-- ANZ eyes AXA Asia Pacific's Australian and New Zealand assets
Melbourne Herald Sun-- MP slams financial adviser commissions
Brisbane Times-- Ore prices not so iron-clad
Brisbane Times-- Households set to feel debt squeeze
Sydney Morning Herald-- The old Allco gang band together
Sydney Morning Herald-- Beware the populist approach to reform
Sydney Morning Herald-- Woodside's Pluto in billion dollar blow-out
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Aussie dollar 'will peak at US$1.03'
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Recovery could be breathtaking
People's Daily on line-- China's economy to expand 9.4% in 2010, report forecasts
People's Daily on line-- Guangdong's economy to grow 9% in 2009, governor says
China Daily-- Inflation on the way, but slowly: expert
China Daily-- China dismisses request for WTO panel
The Times of India-- India should aim at $300-bn export target by 2014: Assocham
The Times of India-- India won't tax capital inflows: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

More questions about audiology services in Prince Rupert, BC Ferries makes the news again on the North coast and Naikun Power moves a little further along with its plans, some of the items of note for Thursday.

Daily News, Front page, headline story
LENDING AN EAR TO THE ISSUE OF AUDIOLOGY-- Northern Health continues to try and attract an audiologist for the Prince Rupert audiology clinic, but so far only contract audiologists have been utilized at the Rupert clinic, the Daily News updates the situation in the Thursday edition.

Naikun power makes the latest cut in BC Hydro's Clean Power Call, moving the wind farm projects for the North coast a little further down the progress line. Hydro had eliminated 21 proposals that did not meet their requirements. Naikun recently approached the City of Prince Rupert looking for relief on land use taxes, a holiday which could go as long as 25 years. The wind energy company is currently in the final stages of its certification process, which should see a decision rendered by the provincial government by the end of the year.

Gary Coons, the NDP MLA for the North Coast wants to see BC Ferries to be placed back under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act. The Ferry Corporation was removed from those requirements seven years ago, a move which Mr. Coons suggests has made them less accountable and transparent in their operations in the province.

The Sports section featured its weekly review of last weekend's City Basketball League action, with recaps of games in the PRMBA in all divisions.

(Daily News Archive Articles for November 19 )

The Northern View
(No new items posted for November 19)

CFTK TV 7 News
Concerns raised over proposed BC Ferry route -- The NDP MLA for the North coast has more than a few concerns about the proposed BC Ferry route between Vancouver and Prince Rupert, the main one being a loss of twenty current sailings to Rupert (see article here)

CBC Radio British Columbia, Daybreak North
Privatizing land in the Nass -- Recent plans to privatize land under control of the Nisga'a government are examined (listen to interview here)

Daily News, Front page, Headline story
Lending an ear to the issue of audiology
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Thursday, November 19, 2009

There continues to be confusion around the future of Prince Rupert’s audiology clinic.

Northern Health confirmed it is hoping to hire one audiologist that would work in Prince Rupert and Terrace, but in the meantime have only been able to contract audiologists to take turns working in the Northwest.

“There is a potential candidate for the job interested in the full-time position, but we are only in the process of signing a contract so the job remains posted,” said NH Senior Manager of Preventative Health Sharon Davalovksy Tuesday.

Prince Rupert’s audiology clinic opened at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital in January 2009 to expand Northern Health’s Northwest Public Health Audiology Program with funding from Child Health BC to the tune of $585,000.

But after the resignation in April of Senior Northwest Audiologist Dr. Jess Rainey who was coming to Prince Rupert regularly to see patients, the clinic has only been in use by an audiology technician for basic screening.

An article in the Daily News dated Nov. 5 addressed concerns raised by Northcoast MLA Gary Coons about the clinic being without an audiologist. In response to this, Dr. Rainey said the functions presently being performed by the technician are not dependent on the clinic.

“Further, this staff person has not at all been trained to do any of the audiometric technician functions that are required for a Public Health Audiology Clinic to operate.”

Dr. Rainey explained that those functions include trouble shooting hearing aids, taking ear mould impressions, and sending and receiving hearing aids for repair.

“These are functions the local school district had expected from this clinic. Despite the clinic’s existence, the school district is being forced to send hearing aids back and forth through the mail just as before. Ear mould impressions remain problematic,” Dr. Rainey noted.

According to Davalovsky when the Prince Rupert clinic was proposed by Child Health BC it was not anticipated that there would not be an audiologist in the region.

“The clinic has a technician that can cover some aspects of the clinic and we do have support for our audiology technician, really it’s a recruitment issue for us,” she said, adding that there are only two universities in Canada graduating audiologists and many of those graduates prefer to go to private clinics because it is more lucrative.

In light of the recruitment problems, Davalovsky explained that NH has changed its focus and moved to a regional model where there will be one technician in place and an audiologist providing training, support and audiology intermittently.

Prince Rupert pediatrician Dr. Jeffery Simons said Prince Rupert’s clinic doesn’t need a full time audiologist, but needs “a commitment for an audiologist to spend enough time in the clinic that we can provide services to children in Prince Rupert and from the villages.”

Reacting to comments made by Northcoast MLA Gary Coons that the region’s incidence of ear infections and need of pressurized equalization tubes is highest in the province, Dr. Simons agreed the First Nations population is more vulnerable.

However, he noted, there has been some decrease in numbers because of the pneumococcal vaccine being made available to children.

The Northcoast is not the only area in the province without a permanent audiologist. Presently the Northeastern part of the province is also lacking one, due to retirement, and with the launching of the province-wide Early Screening Hearing Program, the demand for audiology services has increased.

The first part of the early screening program is done by a technician and when a child doesn’t pass that basic hearing test they have to be given more detailed testing within three months by an audiologist.

Northern Health’s lead audiologist Dr. Susan Trowell-Martin of Prince George has committed herself to the early screening program, said Dr. Simons, and has been travelling around to various clinics across the north.

Dr. Trowell-Martin has also been tasked with trying to recruit audiologists to the north, added Davalovsky.

In anticipation of the Early Hearing Screening Program being implemented and the new clinic opening in Prince Rupert, Dr. Rainey began requesting NH to hire a second audiologist for the region back in 2006.

“Funding for a second audiologist eventually became available from Federal Aboriginal monies. Given the high representation of First Nations along the North Coast and in Haida Gwaii, I think this was a very appropriate use of these monies,” Dr. Rainey said.

When asked what happened to the federal funds, NH’s Director of Communications Steve Raper said they were partially reassigned back into Aboriginal health for a different initiative. “There was no point leaving the money sitting there.”

Dr. Rainey still believes a single position is not sufficient to meet target population for public health audiology in the Northwest.

“A detailed work load analysis between myself, management and other stakeholders in the Northwest in December 2008 concluded this,” he said.

When asked if he would be willing to return to his position, Dr. Rainey said:

“I am willing to come back to my former position as Senior Audiologist, Northwest Region based in Terrace, should management commit to supporting services as they existed up to my departure. This would include providing regular service to the Prince Rupert clinic until the position there can be filled. In the meantime, I am available to provide service on an itinerant basis. Management is aware of this, but I have not yet been asked.”

1 in 7 in danger of losing their homes in the USA, what does Manulife know that we should? and the more they borrow the deeper the recession, some of the items of note for Thursday.

Globe and Mail-- U.S. housing crisis hits new level
Globe and Mail-- Saskatchewan potash sales hit 37-year low
Globe and Mail-- B.C. vows bigger HST break for new home buyers
National Post-- BoC cautions China on exchange rate movements
National Post-- Labour market poised for recovery: conference board
National Post-- Manulife and Fairfax bracing for correction
Vancouver Sun-- B.C. to jack up HST threshold on new housing rebate to $525,000
New York Times-- U.S. Mortgage Delinquencies Reach a Record High
New York Times-- Geithner Hopes to End Bailout Fund
New York Times-- O.E.C.D. Sees Bumpy Path to Recovery
USA Today-- Those with, without work to compete for seasonal jobs
USA Today-- More members of middle class file for bankruptcy
Guardian UK online-- OECD tells Darling he cannot afford pre-election giveaway
Guardian UK online-- Green technologies in peril as rich nations dither on climate deal
Times Online UK-- Britain's borrowing hits record £11.4 billion
Times Online UK-- The lending paradox that’s prolonging recession
Telegraph UK online-- OECD warns Britain risks 'debt spiral'
Telegraph UK online-- 'This time it's different' are still the four most dangerous words in investing
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Chinese buy-in to joint venture
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Mirvac hit on director fees
Brisbane Times-- Super inquiry head's comments shock funds group
Brisbane Times-- Brambles revenue stumbles on weak US pallets
Sydney Morning Herald-- A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside a farce
Sydney Morning Herald-- Billionaires share a memory problem
Sydney Morning Herald-- Melbourne's $20m mansion
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Credit card use rose in September
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Media heirs forgetful in witness box
People's Daily on line-- Expert warns of asset bubbles
People's Daily on line-- Agency: Economic growth to top 9% in 2010
China Daily-- China announces price hikes of electricity for non-resident use
The Times of India-- No immediate plans to hike fuel prices: Govt
The Times of India-- Rupee plunges 48 paise against dollar

Providing assistance for abused children, the passing of Doug Kerr and the Nisga'a has new laws covering home ownership, some of the items of note for Wednesday.

Daily News, Front page, headline story
WEBSITE AIMS AT HELPING CHILDREN THROUGH THE COURT PROCESS --Taking the intimidation of the courts out of the process for abused children is the goal of The Canadian Society for the Investigation of Child Abuse. Towards that goal, a new interactive website has been launched and the Daily News outlines some background on what it is all about.

Controversy over the direction that Hereditary Chiefs of the Gitxsan people want to go towards is making for a split in those communities and the Daily News has details over the legal protest that has been launched over their plans by the existing band council.

The passing of Doug Kerr is observed with a page three tribute as Monica Lamb-Yorski traces the life and times of Mr. Kerr and the impact that he has left with his community with his passing.

The Port of Prince Rupert has updated its communication strategy, rebranding their newsletter as "The Current" and seeking out the publics feedback by way of email, where Rupertites can ask questions of the Port over some of the latest developments on the waterfront (the Online version of The Current newsletter can be found here)

In the Sports section Curling, Minor hockey and the curious decision making of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick are all up for examination in the Wednesday edition.

(Daily News Archive Articles for November 18)

The Northern View
(No new items posted for November 18)

CFTK TV 7
First Nations Meet in Prince Rupert to Develop Marine Use Plans -- Details of a conference in Prince Rupert which brought together a number of area First Nations to discuss marine use strategies (see article here)

CFTK TV 7
Thornhill Assault Victim Dies, One Person Arrested -- A violent incident in Thornhill has left one man dead and another under arrest (see article here)

CFTK TV 7
New Home Owner Law for Nisga'a -- The Nisga'a Lisims Government has passed the Landholding Transition Act which will see Nisga'a citizens given the right to own their own properties on Nisga'a land (see article here)

CBC British Columbia, Daybreak North
Snowbirds beware-- The CBC talks with Lorraine Bullock with the British Columbia Automobile Association, discussing what homeowners need to know if they're leaving their homes for warmer climates in the winter (listen to interview here)

Daily News, Front page, Headline story
Website aims at helping children through the court process
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Sometimes it is not easy being a kid, especially one that has been abused.

And one of the hardest things for abused children is going to court. Anxiety, fear of the unknown or being in the presence of a perpetrator are all factors that could influence a child not to testify.

That reality has inspired the creation of a new website being launched on November 19 for abused children who must testify in court.

On that day the website www.childcourtprep.com will be up and running and will enable children from all over the world to access the site, or join in on group sessions while being known only by their first name.

“My biggest fear is that the website will be the best kept secret and if the police, crown and children aren’t using it, then what?” said Lynn Barry, Executive Director and founder of The Canadian Society for the Investigation of Child Abuse.

Speaking from Calgary two days before the launch, Barry noted she has been running face-to-face programs with children who are scheduled to go to court since 1992, but has found over time her organization was receiving more and more requests and it was impossible to meet the demand.

“Then an epiphany happened,” said Barry. “We realized through an interactive website we could make our services available to children at no cost. Kids these days are text-based and internet savvy.”

“We’ve put a positive spin on it to make it more interactive. It’s all game-based and kids have to demonstrate that they have understood the concepts before they can move on,” Barry said.

When children log on to the website they arrive at Super Hero Island and are asked to give their name, sex, hair and eye colour. Next they are asked to indicate where they live.

One of the most important aspects of the game is a prep program aimed at teaching kids how to remember.

“When we were kids we were taught to remember lists of things by creating sentences,” Barry explained. “If your mom gave you a list of five things to buy at the grocery store, she would make a sentence out of the words to help you remember. Kids now don’t have those skills so we’ve developed some memory strategies.”

The website also has links to other websites, such as a courtroom tour video in B.C.

Children will also hear the voices of a defence lawyer and a prosecutor during a cross-examination. Inside the courtroom they will be encouraged to find a focal point on the wall to help them relax if they are feeling anxious.

Even a lion at the circus in the game demonstrates deep breathing as a way for a child to calm him or herself, a tight rope walker acknowledges that a child may have fears, but a man standing with a safety net below assures the child there are safety features, such as a security guard, in place in a courtroom.

A social worker for many years, Barry worked in child protection and has seen that you can have a wonderful first intervention, but if a child does not testify nothing happens.

Children in Canadian law are required to be in court to testify and there are all sorts of scenarios. Imagine a 4-year-old child who walks into court. She stands on an apple box because she cannot see over the podium. She freezes and does not say a thing.

It can be the same for teens, Barry added, because often they are terrified at seeing the offender and will be totally distressed.

“The last thing we want to do is re-traumatize so if they know what to expect they’ll be fine and ready. If their story can get out then justice is served.”

In the game, the children never talk about what happened and any discussions that occur are always in the context of the game.

Any time a child wants to go beyond the realm of the game and interact with a facilitator online, Barry or one of a core group of 25 will be available to them for an hour session.

“We will put kids in groups and could have Jane from Yellowknife, Joey from Prince Rupert and Emily from St. John’s interacting, but not talking about what happened to them.”

It is that concept of not being alone, Barry said.

The website was made possible with generous funding from the Alberta Solicitor General and Public Security, Victim Programs, Bank of Montreal Employees Charitable Foundation, Calgary Foundation and Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire.

There were no eyes for smiling in Ireland on Wednesday, as controversy once again reigned in World Cup soccer. Another unusual chapter for a game that has had so many.

Wednesday evening, the Republic of Ireland found itself on the outside of the final line ups for next years World Cup in South Africa, a cruel twist of fate that will resonate across that country for months, if not years.

Irish hopes were riding high during the Wednesday match, as the visiting Irish nursed a one goal lead heading into the waning parts of their final match with France, an Irish win would have moved Ireland on to the World Cup and sent the thousands of Irish fans who travelled to Paris for the match into football bliss.

Alas, fate would intervene once again for those Irish dreams, this time in the form of not one but two handballs of France striker Thierry Henry, his handling of the ball as it were resulted in a crossing pass to French defender William Gallas, who headed the ball into the back of the Irish net, effectively putting to an end Ireland's quest for 2010. To make matters worse, it appeared that France was also offside on the play, a daily double of incompetence for the officials.

The controversial goal will once again bring the clouds of suspicion over a sport that never seems to run short of these kinds of incidents, where officials manage to "miss" the key moments of a game with history altering consequences. In this instance, none appeared to have caught the infractions, both of them, and the officials were quick to wash their hands of any arguments from the Irish side.

The goal which has similarities to the Maradona "hand of God" goal of years gone by, is the only talking point in Ireland today, as millions lament what should have been and what was so blatantly snatched away from them. Henry's goal will now join the ranks of the infamous moments of sport, already the marker has been dubbed "The Hand of Gaul"

By rights, when summer comes in 2010 it should be the Green, Orange and White of Ireland that flies on those World Cup stadium flag poles, not the Rouge, Blanc et Bleu. The fact that there place was taken in the way it was, will be something that won't soon be forgotten in the pubs of Dublin, Derry and all points between.
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Suffice to say, we would imagine that when the Irish sit down in front of their televisions next summer, they won't be cheering for Les Bleus..

Irish Times-- Henry's hand ends Irish Word Cup hopes
Irish Times-- 'He came over to us and said he cheated'
Irish Times-- Heartbreak of Henry's hand of God, part II
Irish Times-- Mood darkens as recriminations begin
Irish Times-- Treacherous Henry, your cheating art will tell on you
Globe and Mail-- World Cup lineup complete
Globe and Mail-- Henry admits handball
Globe and Mail-- Henry just did what he had to
Sky Sports-- Fury After Henry's World Cup 'Hand Of Gaul'
Sky Sports-- Trap saddened by exit
Press Association-- Dunne: We were cheated
Times Online-- Hand of Thierry Henry shatters Ireland
Belfast Telegraph-- Ireland played like lions, South Africa will miss a hell of a guest
Mirror UK-- No luck for the Irish against France
The Australian-- Thierry Henry handballs football a black eye

MSNBC-- Irish file protest after cheating costs them Cup

Cabin fever on the agenda for the G7, Eggo a go go and the banana wars near an end, some of the items of note for Wednesday.

Globe and Mail-- World leaders turn attention to next crisis: national debts
Globe and Mail-- Canadians are socking cash away in TFSAs
Globe and Mail-- Bombardier in talks for huge deal
National Post-- Flaherty says economy has not recovered
National Post-- Manulife bolsters its cash 'fortress'
National Post-- Welcome to Iqaluit, G7 -- in February
Vancouver Sun-- Vancouver’s Washington Marine Group cuts 20 per cent of its staff
Vancouver Sun-- Treaties with first nations would boost B.C. economy: report
New York Times-- Post-Mortems Reveal Obvious Risk at Failed Banks
New York Times-- Luxury Stores Trim Inventory and Discounts
New York Times-- Jobless Benefits Will Expire Unless Congress Acts
USA Today-- Loss of jobless benefits for more than 1 million looms
USA Today-- Leggo my Eggo! Kellogg fights waffle shortage
Guardian UK online-- Queen's speech focuses on pensioners, parents and economic recovery
Guardian UK online-- Fears for fair trade farmers if 'banana war' ends
Times Online UK-- Bank split three ways over quantitative easing
Times Online UK-- Whatever Mervyn King may say, inflation is making markets twitchy
Telegraph UK online-- Business leaders condemn the Government's legislation as 'frightening'
Telegraph UK online-- Spooks' take on Britain's energy crisis sparks run on candles
Telegraph UK online-- Bank's chief economist fears a new asset price bubble
Melbourne Herald Sun-- RBA urges financial transparency
Melbourne Herald Sun-- AWB says we can do better after suffering big loss
Brisbane Times-- Rents rise across the country
Brisbane Times-- Australia ranked eighth least corrupt country in world
Sydney Morning Herald-- Green light to fast-track $1b Palmer project
Sydney Morning Herald-- Wages growth slowing on cue
Sydney Morning Herald-- Rio less keen on BHP-Pilbara deal: analyst
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Public service wages rising at fastest pace in five years
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Australia's economy in sharp turnaround
People's Daily on line-- Wen: China disagrees to so-called G2, calling for effort to fight protectionism
People's Daily on line-- BOC, ICBC considering branches in Taiwan
China Daily-- IMF chief praises China's efforts to shift growth model
The Times of India-- Don't be swayed by global recovery: SEBI to investors
The Times of India-- India may have to import rice this year: Pranab

While the economic fortunes for many Canadians may be sputtering in this current recession, such is not the case at the top of the cash pile of British Columbia's Crown Corporations. With the average British Clolumbian pulling in around 45 thousand or so a year, and a good many of us get by on much less, over in the corner offices of the Crown Corporations, things are looking pretty good.

The Office of the Auditor General has just released his latest report (which some suggest should always have an October 31st time stamp) detailing how much reward comes at the end of the day for British Columbia's senior managers of the many Crown Corporations in the province.

Leading this years parade to the Pay Window is the head of the BC Pavilion Company, the provinces crown corporation in charge of BC Place, where the top job pulls in a top salary of 597,438 dollars, all of that to oversee a staff of 151 and to look over the plans for the new retractable roof.

Next in line at the bank is the head pooh bah at something called Partnerships BC, a rather new creation of the Campbell government which we suspect is designed to push forward one of the BC Liberals favourite programs, that of the pubic-private partnership project. For the requirement of reading over proposal after proposal provided by a staff of 38, the pay rate is pretty good, the CEO job pulls in 509,453 dollars per year.

Watching over other people's money is something that can bring in a fair chunk of same for yourself. Over at the BC Securities Commission 189 employees keep an eye on the pursuit of profit (well the investors are hopeful we imagine) in securities trading. Though we wonder if any stock option could provide the return of the Chairman's pay cheque of 549,092 dollars.

There's money in electricity, punching the time clock at BC Hydro's top job has its rewards with a pay envelope of 549,923 dollars, which probably makes for fascinating discussion amongst the 4483 employees of the Hydro corporation.

Taking that electricity down a transmission line surely energizes the head of the BC Transmission Corporation, where 463,359 dollars is the top compensation for overseeing a staff of 367 as they keep the flow of that current moving around the province.

There were a few bargains to be had in the report, The head of the BC Innovation Council is pretty innovative, managing to get by with a staff of 14 and a top salary of but 101,599 dollars, though that is only a partial cash count as the new boss had only been on the job partway through 2008.

And much as we like to complain about our insurance rates, we may find a little comfort with the knowledge that for this year at least, our premiums aren't all destined to high office rewards. While there seem to be a fair amount of employees on staff, the CEO of ICBC could seem like a bargain this year, listed with a pay packet of 103,710 dollars, though once again that is only a partial result owing to the timing of the hiring.

But by far, we suspect that the best gig of the bunch is over at BC Rail, where 30 employees help out apparently as they track the progress of the BC Ports Strategy and Pacific Gateway Strategy. And while there's little in the way of rail cars, engines or track for that matter, it's a place where keeping an eye on the day to day of a railway with nowhere to go brings in 494,182 dollars for the top executive. Which sure makes for a great way to spend the live, long day.


.

The full report has been posted online for your leisure hour reading, you can add up the payroll numbers by checking out Appendix A at the very end of the report.

The Earthquake, the earthquake, the earthquake, Tuesday morning's temblors caught the attention of most media outlets as each gave prominence to reports on the seismic shifting on the Charlottes for the Tuesday news cycle.

Daily News, Front page, headline story
LOCAL HAIDA HOSTED MEETING WITH COUNCIL OF THE HAIDA NATION -- A review of some of the details coming out of the Council of the Haida Nation gathering which took place at the Nisga'a Hall last week.

The Prince Rupert and Port Edward Economic Development Office has put the finishing touches on its 48 page Community profile, a document that Economic Development Officer Nellie Cheng hopes will bring more attention to the opportunities for investors that could be found on the north coast.

It would take you until page five of Tuesday's Daily News, but once there you would find some info on Tuesday's 6.6 magnitude earthquake on the Queen Charlottes/Haida Gwaii, with what amounts to a thumbnail sketch of Tuesday's big story.

Volleyball took over the sports section on Tuesday with a number of items about the high school volleyball scene.

(Daily News Archive Articles for November 17 )

The Northern View
Queen Charlotte mayor discusses this morning's earthquake-- Some background on the reaction on the Queen Charlottes/Haida Gwaii in the hours following Tuesday's 6.6 quake. (see article here)

The Northern View
Consultation on PRSS closure this Monday -- November 23rd will be the next date of note in the consultation process of School district 52 as it looks for feedback from the community over its grade configuration plans which would include the possible closure of Prince Rupert Secondary School (see article here)

The Northern View
Cow Bay parking rules changed as businesses see declines-- The Northern View provides its coverage of the great Atlin Terminal parking debate, which saw city council change its rules at the Cow Bay lot in the wake of concern from local merchants in the area (see article here)

CFTK TV 7
No Damage Reported as Quake Strikes Near Haida Gwaii -- With reports from as far away as Vanderhoof, TV 7 provides its review of the Tuesday earthquakes off the Queen Charlottes/Haida Gwaii, focusing more on the interior reaches as opposed to the Islands (see article here)

CBC British Columbia, Daybreak North
Northwest rumbles -- The CBC discusses Tuesday's earthquake with Stephane Mazzotti from the Geological Survey of Canada (listen to the interview here)

CBC British Columbia, Daybreak North
Olympics: boon or boondoggle -- Where are all those jobs? The Olympics were once said to be ready to generate employment for BC, but as the CBC discovers most of that jobs rush didn't make it much further out than Whistler (listen to the interview here)

Daily News, Front page, headline story
Local Haida hosted meeting with Council of the Haida Nation
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Prince Rupert’s Haida had the opportunity to attend a public meeting with representatives of
the Council of the Haida Nation.

Representatives from the council were available at the Nisga’a Hall in Prince Rupert last week. President Guujaaw, vice-president Arnie Bellis and Prince Rupert representative Frank Parnell were on hand to talk about the nation’s economic future.

Parnell, who has been one of the two Prince Rupert representatives on the council for the last two years, was recently acclaimed to the position for another term. Elections for other positions will take place on December 5.

“One of the areas that has really concerned me is that overall, no matter where members of the Haida nation live, when discussions take place between government and our people we need to be included,” Parnell said. “We need to make it clear to our leaders that they have to let us know what’s going on.”

He also said he would like to see CHN have an office in Prince Rupert to offer support to people living in the
community.

“I envision this and will work on this over the next three years,” Parnell said.

Bellis reported on the land use plan on Haida Gwaii and said at present the Haida have 50 percent control of the land base and are in a position of joint decision making with the provincial government.

He has been meeting with Haida in Vancouver and in the region.

Guujaaw talked about forestry, tourism and the proposed Naikun Wind Project, describing the latter as the biggest project CHN is looking at presently.

“We’re calling it an Independence Project,” he said. “What we can do to create an economy for our people so eventually we’re not dependent on Indian Affairs is important.”

If the Haida were to become a successful partner in the project, Guujaaw assured they would only proceed if they were certain the project wouldn’t spoil the land and water and if it would bring economic benefit to them.

“The environmental assessments have come in and we haven’t seen anything that would concern us,” he said, adding that they would build in a process for ongoing monitoring if it were to proceed.

According to Guujaaw, the Haida have never surrendered lands to compromise their position.

That fact, he added, supports the nation’s position of title. Recently the CHN has taken a lot of steps that are improving its control, including working out a management system with the federal government and acquiring a large forest tenure.

“In the south we’ve got 40 people working year-round and 20 additional people in the summer. And on the rest of the island there’s more than that.”

The forest tenure, Guujaaw explained, was traditionally owned by large companies such as McMillan and Bloedel and still has a lot of value.

“We’ll have control of all of it and we’ll determine how the logging will be done. There was a clear message from our people that they want us to look after the land and the culture first. And most [important] is having our people out and about and enjoying our land as they should be.”

Guujaaw said that control will include cutting down a third of what was cut previously, ensuring the protection of streams and protecting cedar for culture.

“It will be a contrast to what it was when the council started up. Now we’re determining how the rules will be.”

And while logging’s going to be an important enterprise, the president said it doesn’t create a lot of money.

“We have to make sure to get the best value and we’re hoping to hire someone who helps us make sure that we get the best we can get.”

Canada's debt load features 500 and a lot and we mean a lot of zeroes, China looks to increase its use of solar power and an Australian parent's jury isn't lovin' McDonalds, some of the items of note for Tuesday.

Globe and Mail-- Calls rise for new global currency
Globe and Mail-- New home buyers take risks with low mortgage rate
Globe and Mail-- Rural U.S. towns struggle as big employers shut down
National Post-- Canada's debt set to pass the half-trillion mark
National Post-- Gold still a buy, but selling opportunities ahead
National Post-- We need a new 'Quebec.com': Péladeau
Vancouver Sun-- BC Hydro narrows down bidders list for Clean Call
Vancouver Sun-- Catalyst Paper appeals B.C. court decision on property taxes
Vancouver Sun-- October real estate sales highest for month in six years
New York Times-- 14,700 Disclosed Offshore Accounts
New York Times-- A Goldman Plan for Small Businesses and Its Image
New York Times-- Retailer Earnings Show Stabilization
USA Today-- China pushes solar, wind power development
USA Today-- U.S. lags in paid sick days, work benefits, study says
Guardian UK online-- UK inflation jumps to 1.5% from five-year low
Guardian UK online-- General Motors promises 'fewer job cuts' at Vauxhall
Times Online UK-- Inflation rebounds to 1.5% on rising oil prices
Times Online UK-- Stamp duty change to compound low prices in worst hit areas
Telegraph UK online-- The card payments you cannot stop
Telegraph UK online-- Devaluation: plenty of pain, not much gain
Telegraph UK online-- China's über-bull turns even more bullish
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Business worried at RBA intent
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Commodity demand roaring back
Brisbane Times-- Our climate deeds will influence other nations
Brisbane Times-- RBA exudes calm and confidence
Sydney Morning Herald-- RBA leaves pace of rate rises open
Sydney Morning Herald-- TPG: policy, practice on a crash course?
Sydney Morning Herald-- Doubts emerge on China's domestic growth
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- McDonald's dominates Fame, Shame Awards
People's Daily on line-- China, U.S. agree on economic rebalance, pursuit of forward-looking monetary polices
People's Daily on line-- IMF leader: China to lead the world out of recession
China Daily-- China's housing prices expect slight dip in Q4
China Daily-- Taiwan, mainland ink financial MOU
The Times of India-- Five Indian cos among top 15 Asian energy companies
The Times of India-- Rupee ends lower, sheds 9 paise against dollar

The earthquake sensors have been shaking at monitoring stations across North America this morning as the Queen Charlotte Islands reports two temblors off the coast of the islands in the last half hour.

The first earthquake rumbled through at 7:30 this morning recorded at 6.6 on the Richter scale, while a second quake was recorded seven minutes later listed at 5.7 on the scale.

The depth of the earthquake was listed as 10 km.

There have been no details of damage or injury reported from the Charlottes so far.

The USGS website features a listing of earthquake activity around the world, the Charlotte's temblors can be found here .

The Canadian earthquake centre also has details posted on their website as well.
.
Update - 9:30 am: The Pacific Tsunami Centre has advised that no Tsunami warning will be issued from this event. CTV News has a video report posted on the Globe and Mail website about the quake (view it here).
.
CBC News-- Earthquakes hit B.C.'s coast
CTV news-- 6.5 magnitude quake strikes off B.C. coast
Vancouver Sun-- Quake strikes Queen Charlottes
The Northern View-- Earthquake felt this morning
Globe and Mail-- Earthquake strikes off B.C. coast
Vancouver Province-- Little damage reported after 6.6 magnitude earthquake hits B.C

Port Edward continues the fight to keep its school open, more details on BC Ferries proposed Vancouver-Rupert route and Northern Health updates the H1N1 story, some of the items for the Monday news cycle.

Daily News, Front page, headline story
PORT EDWARD DETERMINED NOT TO LOSE ITS SCHOOL-- Showing more of the resolve that has been evident for the last few years in Port Edward, the District Council has approved spending of up to 40,000 dollars as part of a school study for the community.

The Daily News outlined some of the details on BC Ferries plans for a Rupert to Vancouver route during the summer, a once every two weeks sailing that would link the Lower Mainland with the North Coast, the Charlottes/Haida Gwaii and beyond. The story was first outlined by the Queen Charlotte Observer last week and was detailed on our humble little portal at that time as well.

Monday's paper featured an H1N1 update from Northern health, but Monday's article was missing a key change in the guidelines for those now eligible for the flu vaccine. As we outlined on the blog over the weekend, Northern Health has now made the vaccine available to children from ages 5 to 18, those over 65 with chronic health conditions and First Responders. The first clinic of this week takes place on Thursday at the Northern Health Unit in the Ocean Centre Mall from 10 am to 6 pm.

Sports featured a review of the weekends qualifying action for the all native basketball tournament as well as a recap of the Prince Rupert Rampage 2 game weekender with Burns Lake.

(Daily News Archive Articles for November 16 )

The Northern View
(No new updated material posted on Monday)

CFTK TV 7
(No new updated material posted on Monday)

CBC British Columbia, Daybreak North
(No new updated material posted on Monday)

Daily News Front page headline story
Port Edward determined not to lose its school
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Monday, November 16, 2009

Port Edward District Council has approved spending up to $40,000 for L&M Engineering Ltd to conduct a school study.

The study will review the existing buildings owned by the District and the School to see if it is feasible to amalgamate or renovate or build a new building to house both the school and the district office.

Chief Administrative Officer Ron Bedard told council last week that an application to the Building Canada Fund to pay for an engineering study was turned down. Therefore, he proposed council use some of its Northern Development Initiative Trust funds to pay for the study. These funds were originally set aside for updating the community’s existing Zoning Bylaw.

“I checked with Northern Development Initiative Trust and they said we could use some of our economic funds for the study,” Bedard told council. “I believe doing this study is more of an urgent priority than updating our Zoning Bylaw.”

Bedard talked with the School District and was told they will have to make a decision in 2010 about Port Edward.

“This isn’t an easy decision, spending $40,000 for this project. I asked the secretary treasurer of the School District if they could put some money in and they can’t. I think we have to proceed, this is moving faster than we anticipated,” Bedard urged.

School Board Chair Tina Last said Friday she was glad to hear Port Edward was proceeding with a study.

“They want a school and no one can deny that, but we cannot afford to keep that structure. We get special rural funding only to operate schools. There is no capital to fund or maintain the buildings.”

According to Last it’s not only the school in Port Edward that comes into the conversation, it’s also Prince Rupert Secondary School and the cost of maintaining or rebuilding. With the numbers being down in every school in the District it means there is no access to funding from the Ministry of Education for any new buildings.

“You have to be at 85 percent capacity in the entire district before you can be considered for any new capital projects, money, renovations or additions,” she explained.

“The discussion around school closures and capacity issues are looming and Port Edward’s desire to have a school has to be balanced with realizing the District can’t continue to maintain the capital for the present school building. The optimum is to find a place in that community that isn’t in that current building.”

In earlier talks between the District and the School Board it had been suggested that the School District could lease a space from the District of Port Edward for a school.

“District 52 would try to sell the current school. That’s where the conversation on reconfiguring is at. If we went to a middle school scenario, that would work well for Port Edward,” Last said.

In reference to the school study Port Edward councillor Knut Bjorndal suggested the council develop a terms of reference for the study. He also wants council to contact other communities such as Port Clements and Pouce Coupe to see if either community has successfully received funding for studies.

After agreeing that the terms of reference be outlined before any monies were spent, mayor and council passed a motion to have the study done.

“The school is a high priority for sure,“ said councillor Murray Kristoff. “It will be money well spent.”

In Canada's Television war, the only losers will be the customers, The Britney barometer, and the Obama visit is good for business in China, some of the items of note for Monday.

Globe and Mail-- CRTC blasts both sides in TV dispute
Globe and Mail-- Canada's housing rebound sparks fear of bubble
Globe and Mail-- Rich, and bored with bonds? Buy into a bridge
National Post-- Rapid rebound fuels fears of housing bubble
National Post-- Bernanke issues rare greenback warning
National Post-- Rogers says customers will ‘bear brunt’ of any television fee
Vancouver Sun-- B.C. leads the nation in record residential home sales
New York Times-- G.M. Shows Signs of Recovery Despite New Loss
New York Times-- Continuing Unemployment Is Predicted by Fed Chief
New York Times-- What the Future May Hold
USA Today-- Could the pop-culture mood mirror stock market swings?
USA Today-- China slams U.S. Federal Reserve's low interest rates
Guardian UK online-- Royal Navy aircraft carrier may be sold to India
Guardian UK online-- FSA ready to show teeth on pay
Times Online UK-- Dairy farmers should milk their prospects
Times Online UK-- Labour taxes must be reduced to help to create jobs
Telegraph UK online-- GM to start repaying $52bn state loans five years early
Telegraph UK online-- China turns to Adam Smith
Brisbane Times-- Too early for Victory over Recession Day
Brisbane Times-- Tax Office pursues hobo investors who take the cream but never pay their dues
Sydney Morning Herald-- Ombudsman recovers $32m for underpaid workers
People's Daily on line-- China's contribution to world's economic growth to exceed 20%
People's Daily on line-- Nation to build its buying power: Hu
China Daily-- APEC leaders reject 'growth as usual'
China Daily-- Obama brings fortune to some in city
The Times of India-- Banks should cut lending rates by 2%: Assocham
The Times of India-- 'Naxals threat to India's eco power'

In a bid to engage the public more into the debate over Standardized testing, the BCTF has begun a media campaign to outline their position against the testing process in place in the province.

It is perhaps one of their most determined issues, as they continue to express concerns over how the test results are used and whether they provide the best feedback of a student's progress or understanding of the subject matter.

In the video released on YouTube, the issue of comparing schools at different ends of financial and social economic conditions is highlighted, that comparison is most used when it comes to the results of the FSA tests, the controversial Foundation Skill Assessments, which are used by the Fraser Institute to rank the elementary and secondary schools of the province.

The video goes on to express the wish for a more consultative process between the province's teachers and education officials, one which takes into account all of the factors that can affect a student's learning conditions and provides for a more authentic representation of their educational situation.

It is the hope of the BCTF that parents will become more involved in the process and help to gain a moratorium on the testing until a full review of its merits can be undertaken. The goal of the BCTF is to have a task force established to bring all education partner groups to develop a better system, one which the BCTF says should put learners first.

The next session for the controversial Foundation Skills Assessment program takes place from mid January to the end of February.

A full review of the BCTF campaign was featured by Janet Steffenhagen in the Vancouver Sun's Education blog, Report Card, you can catch up on that lesson plan by reading the item here.

Is China a risk rather than a solution to the world recession? In Australia, as elsewhere it's location, location, location and Chinese exporters see better times in 2010, some of the items of note for Sunday.

Globe and Mail-- Currency rift with China casts shadow on Obama's trade hopes
Globe and Mail-- Spirit of giving takes a bashing in Canada
Globe and Mail-- In India this week, Harper moves to reverse decades of distance
National Post-- GM may use bailout money to fix Opel
New York Times-- World Out of Balance
New York Times-- Money Trickles North as Mexicans Help Relatives
New York Times-- Stimulus and Exports Help Ease Japan’s Recession
USA Today-- More U.S. job hunters look for work in other nations
USA Today-- GM to begin repaying aid by year-end, AP source says
Guardian UK online-- Energy security body calls for 'urgent' review of impact of oil shortages
Times Online UK-- Savers denied the best rates
Telegraph UK online-- China has now become the biggest risk to the world economy
Telegraph UK online-- Inflationary Armageddon? Not yet, but come 2011 it's another story
Telegraph UK online-- UK faces major obstacles in bid to be a low-carbon leader
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Unassuming building the most expensive 100sqm property in Australia
Brisbane Times-- Policy doom as takeover boom looms
Brisbane Times-- Lots of wear and tear down at the waterfront
Brisbane Times-- Good talk saves the future
People's Daily on line-- China's industrial output expects to grow 10.5% for entire 2009: minister
People's Daily on line-- 70% Chinese entrepreneurs expect better export prospect next year
The Times of India-- Mahindra target to sell one lakh used cars by 2014
The Times of India-- Air India CMD trying to provoke pilots' strike: ICPA

BC Hydro is advising Prince Rupert residents of planned a power outage to take place in the early hours of Monday morning.

In a press release detailed in the Northern View and an advertisement in the Daily News, Hydro outlined the specifics of the power outages, which are planned electical system improvement repairs on their equipment in the city and which will take place from 5 am t0 7 am and cover a portion of the eastern side of Prince Rupert.

The area in question on Monday morning consists of the 400 Block East 8th to Hays Cove Circle East and from 7th Avenue From McBride Through Hays Cove Circle to east 6th Avenue.
.
Monday's outage on the east side will make for good practice in your working in the dark skills, as BC Hydro plans on doing it all again in that same area, for the same time period on the 23rd of November as well.

The power disruptions will also continue across town through the week, Wednesday will see power to the west side of the city turned off for a period of time, with planned outages taking place from 8 - 9 a.m. and 3 -4 pm covering all of Pillsbury Avenue, Cassiar Avenue, Parry Place and Kootenay Place, and from Kootenay Avenue to Smithers Street and Sloan to Smithers Street.

Further interruptions are set for Sunday November 22 when power will be out from 8 - 11 am on Prince Rupert Boulevard from Heron to Gull Crescent and the part of Gull Crescent closest to Prince Rupert Boulevard on Sunday, November 22.

The final planned outage will take place on November 23, with power out in parts of the downtown core area from Midnight to 6am, affected areas will be from 841 3rd Avenue West to 725 3rd Avenue West and all of Fraser Street.

The planned outage for Monday be found listed on the BC Hydro website, updated information and future outages will be posted to that site as well as the week move forward.

NWCC gets an interpretive garden, CityWest readies its throttling plans and BC Hydro prepares to power down in the city next week, some of the items of note in the Friday news cycle.

Daily News, Front page, headline story
THE 'LEARNING GARDEN OF EVERYTHING'-- Northwest Community College in Prince Rupert is the new home of a First Nations interpretive Garden and last Saturday (November 7) saw the first of the planting for the garden get underway.

City West's plans to throttle Prince Rupert's Internet users was reviewed in the Friday edition of the Daily paper, the controversial plans are set to take place on January 6th and will see the city owned telecommunications company begin to manage bandwidth allocations, limiting the amount provided to users during the heavy congestion periods. While CityWest is portraying this move as a way to ensure service is fair to all, there are some in the community who fear that it is moving towards a greater form of monitoring the types of applications that users are utilizing. CityWest observers also suggest that the company may be falling behind the communication curve by not increasing bandwidth capacity for its customers, rather than throttling what they currently have to offer.

The ongoing debate over First Nation instruction continues on at School District 52. The school board recently received three letters from local First Nations leaders offering opinions on whether to add the Haida and Nisga'a languages into the local curriculum. Part of the most recent concern has been the introduction of non-territorial languages into Tsimshian territory, as well as concerns over allocation of funding in place if new languages were to be introduced into the curriculum.

All Native Basketball Qualifying sessions were featured in the Friday sports section, as well as a review of the Prince Rupert Midget A hockey teams most recent games in Terrace last weekend.
.
(Daily News Archive Articles for November 13 )

The Northern View
B.C. Hydro outlines planned power outages in Prince Rupert starting Monday -- BC Hydro makes plans to make your Monday morning a hectic affair as they begin a string of planned power outages across the city. (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Cullen Puzzled Over Attack Ads-- A recent home mailer program to the Northwest launched by Alberta Conservative MP Blaine Calkins, has left the local MP for the region baffled as to where the Alberta MP collected his facts. The mailer paints Nathan Cullen the MP for Skeena Bulkley Valley as being in favour of a long gun registry, even though Cullen most recently voted to abolish the registry during a recent commons vote (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Potential Buyer fo Eurocan -- The rather confusing tale of just how much interest Chinese investors may have in Kitimat's Eurocan pulp mill received another twist with a report from CFTK TV (see article here)

CBC News Northern British Columbia, Daybreak North
Re-drawing the marine highway -- The CBC interviews BC Ferries Deborah Marshall discussing the prospect of an expanded service from the North coast which could see regular trips to Vancouver in the future. The item was first outlined in a Queen Charlotte Islands Observer story of last week and we featured details on the project on this portal earlier in the week as well. (listen to the CBC interview here)

Daily News, front page, headline story
The ‘Learning Garden of Everything’
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Friday, November 13, 2009

Four years of planning an interpretative First Nations Garden at Northwest Community College’s Prince Rupert campus culminated last Saturday with a morning of planting.

A sign for the new garden, yet to be installed, will read: SUWILAA’YMSGM SNDOOYN, A TXA’NII GOO, meaning “The Learning Garden of Everything.”

The concept for the garden was developed by NWCC college instructor Judy Thompson and on Saturday morning, as she milled around children and adults planting, she was smiling.

“I proposed the project to college president Stephanie Forsyth before the new campus opened,” Thompson said.

Horticulturalist Nancy Ross, a college prep instructor from the Terrace campus, and Nancy Macklin, a landscape ecologist architect and ethnobotanist from Vancouver , were both helping direct the planting.

“I’ve been working with Judy on the project,” said Ross. “We did a garden at the Terrace campus in the summer of 2008. It’s a pretty good size and we’ve divided it into a cultural and a food garden.”

Macklin is in the Northwest because she’s designed the new longhouse that is going up at NWCC in Terrace. “The structure is up and the art work that is going to go in there is absolutely amazing,” Macklin said.

In 2008, Macklin helped with the garden in Terrace and was asked to help out with the one in Prince Rupert. Her task has been to order all the plants.

“They have come from Fraser Farms on Saltspring Island because it’s the only place that has native plants in B.C.,” Macklin explained. “They source from all over the province. Some of the plants are from this area and are brought there to be propagated and then brought back. In a sense they are coming home.”

Campus Principal Deb Stava thinks it has been a great project.

“It’s nice to be able to involve the campus, students and elders in the community,” Stava said.

Martha Cahoose, an adult student originally from west of Williams Lake who moved to Prince Rupert in June to live with her daughter, said it was her first time planting indigenous plants. She was tasked with planning Fritillaria camschatcensis, Northern Rice Root or Chocolate Lily, miyuubmgyet in Sm’algyax.

“I have done traditional use surveys of plants and worked as an archaeology assistant around Anaheim Lake, that’s how I knew about some of the plants we planted today,” Cahoose said.

Now that the garden is in place, Thompson is hoping it will become a community resource. She envisions tours with students, tourists and the general public.

On Friday she hosted a luncheon at the college with elders from the Friendship House, to let them know about the garden and invite them to the planting day.

“The development of such a garden that focused on First Nations people and their relationship with the land will lend itself to being a wonderful educational tool as well as a community building tool,” Thompson said.

China gains more clout on economic matters, another Bubble for England, and just what does Appple have planned for its new advertising technology? Some of the items of note for Saturday.

Globe and Mail-- Rising clout gives China new muscle at ‘G2' talks with U.S.
Globe and Mail-- Of APEC summits and the elephant not in the room
National Post-- Harper, other world leaders press U.S. at APEC summit
National Post-- Young Canadian trade advocates meet with PM
Vancouver Sun-- 'Ponzipalooza' has hit North America, financial regulators say
New York Times-- 10 Years Later, a Much Less Expensive Dow 10,000
New York Times-- High Costs Weigh on Troop Debate for Afghan War
New York Times-- Apple Wouldn’t Risk Its Cool Over a Gimmick, Would It?
Guardian UK online-- Bubble trouble: have prices already risen too much, too soon?
Guardian UK online-- Rail upgrades facing £750m cuts in bid to slash public spending
Times Online UK-- France and Germany lead way as eurozone returns to growth
Telegraph UK online-- Financial crisis is a chance for banks to make a fresh start
Telegraph UK online-- China quashes talk of letting yuan strengthen
Telegraph UK online-- UK commercial property market makes comeback
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Sydney dentist Daina Silins leaves $3 million to stray cats
Brisbane Times-- Strong economy prompts globals to sell up and run
Brisbane Times-- Too late for a soft sell?
Sydney Morning Herald-- Westpac chief's earnings top $10m
Sydney Telegraph-- PM arrives in Singapore for APEC summit
People's Daily on line-- China allocates $73 bln central investment for economic stimulus plan
People's Daily on line-- China starts pilot project to finance enterprises with IPR as collateral
The Times of India-- Sharp recovery in gold prices on higher global cues
The Times of India-- India economy to grow 6-7% in FY10: Pranab

The Thursday, November 12 edition of the Daily News featured their regular scorecard on city council issues, this one featuring the deliberations and votes from selected items of the November 9 session.
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This weeks feature appeared on page three of the Thursday edition, only Councillor Bedard was absent from council chambers, but participated by way of telephone at the proceedings.

Question One: Parking at the Atlin Terminal is free between October 1 and April 30. During the summer seasons , May 1 to September 30, from Monday to Friday, the first two hours are free and theren there is an hourly rate of $1 up to$5 for five hours or more between the hours of 9:00 a., and 5:00 p.m. and parking at evening and on the weekends is free.
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How council voted:

Mayor Jack Mussallem-- Yes
Councillor Anna Ashley-- Yes
Councillor Nelson Kinney-- Yes
Councillor Gina Garon-- Yes
Councillor Sheila Gordon-Payne No
Councillor Joy Thorkelson-- No
Councillor Kathy Bedard--No

Question Two: Council to write a letter for support for Mavi Innovations, the company looking at developing turbines to generate electricity from tidal and river currents, to pursue funding that would enable the company to develop a demonstration project at Butze Rapids. The temporary demonstration would deploy a rotor from a floating catamaran-type platform approximately 40 feet long by 20 feet wide for three to 6 months.

How council voted:

Mayor Jack Mussallem-- Yes
Councillor Anna Ashley-- Yes
Councillor Nelson Kinney-- Yes
Councillor Gina Garon-- Yes
Councillor Sheila Gordon-Payne-- Yes
Councillor Joy Thorkelson-- Yes
Councillor Kathy Bedard-- Yes

Question Three: Council to write a letter in support of the Skeena Nass Center for Innovation in Resource Economics to send a unified message to the provincial and federal governmentss demanding adequate financial resources to allow the Northwest to rebuild and develop a new economy that is stable and sustainable.

How council voted:

Mayor Jack Mussallem-- Yes
Councillor Anna Ashley-- Yes
Councillor Nelson Kinney-- Yes
Councillor Gina Garon-- Yes
Councillor Sheila Gordon-Payne-- Yes
Councillor Joy Thorkelson-- Yes
Councillor Kathy Bedard--Yes

Question Four: Council apprvoed three readings to the 2009 Amended Five Year Financial Plan Bylaw No. 328, 2009 and has scheduled a meeting of public consultation at the November 23, 2009 Council Meeting.

How council voted:

Mayor Jack Mussallem-- Yes
Councillor Anna Ashley-- Yes
Councillor Nelson Kinney-- Yes
Councillor Gina Garon-- Yes
Councillor Sheila Gordon-Payne-- Yes
Councillor Joy Thorkelson-- Yes
Councillor Kathy Bedard--Yes

Communication seems a little delayed out of city hall as the agenda and other council items usually posted to the city website had not yet been posted as of Friday, November 13.

From other sources of information we learn that Monday's meeting featured much ado about parking was a key theme of Monday nights City council meeting, as the topic of the Atlin Terminal parking lot was revisited once again, Council prepared to get out their pens to write letters of support for a couple of initiatives and an amended five year plan got the three readings required, with a public consultation session planned for the November 23 council meeting...

Our elected representatives took on the challenges of those items and more on Monday night, with Councillor Bedard participating by way of CityWest's telephone connections with the wider world.

November 9, 2009

Regular council meeting Agenda for November 9 , 2009

City council session for November 9, 2009

In attendance:

Mayor Jack Mussallem
Councillor Anna Ashley
Councillor Kathy Bedard (by telephone)
Councillor Sheila Gordon-Payne
Councillor Nelson Kinney
Councillor Gina Garon
Councillor Joy Thorkelson

Regular City council minutes for November 9, 2009

Daily News voting summary
Thursday, November 12, 2009 edition

Attendance at City Hall to date archives

Upcoming events-- City council meeting Monday, November 23, 2009

The Networks are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore,Forbes includes a drug lord on their list of powerful people and the BBC Has some bad news for Prime Minister Brown, they make more money than he does, some of the items of note for Friday.

Globe and Mail-- Dollar parity imminent, Royal Bank says
Globe and Mail-- Suncor budgets $5.5-billion for spending
Globe and Mail-- The battle over local TV
Globe and Mail-- As dollar tumbles, America is up for grabs
National Post-- Europe comes to Canada's rescue
National Post-- Jazz being encouraged to spread its wings
National Post-- Caisse de depot announces major refinancing plan
New York Times-- Obama Walks a Delicate Tightrope on His 1st Trip as President to China
New York Times-- Job Losses Mount, Enduring and Deep
New York Times-- Free to Lose
USA Today-- Trade deficit widens as oil prices rise
USA Today-- Mexico angered by drug lord's spot on Forbes list
Guardian UK online-- Growing European economies leave Britain lagging
Guardian UK online-- Union greets BA-Iberia merger with tough talk on Christmas strike
Times Online UK-- Kenmore Property collapse leaves Lloyds with a £700m hangover
Times Online UK-- 37 BBC staff earn more than the Prime Minister
Times Online UK-- China attacks protectionism on eve of Obama visit
Telegraph UK online-- Europe's recession officially ends as Britain lags behind
Telegraph UK online-- Currency devaluation is no magic bullet
Telegraph UK online-- Hedge funds stunned by EU clampdown on bonuses
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Profit-takers drag Australian share market down
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Behind TPG's closed doors
Brisbane Times-- Preparing to crank up cranes
Brisbane Times-- Learning from the Great Depression
Sydney Telegraph-- Qantas says industrial action won't ground planes
People's Daily on line-- China not to let yuan gain in short term: experts
People's Daily on line-- China still in favor with foreign investors despite crisis effect
The Times of India-- Gold tumbles from historic highs, silver also slips
The Times of India-- Sugar prices up 19% since October on delay in cane crushing

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The Paramedics are forced back to work, parking dominates the city council agenda again and Rio Tinto Alcan advises that while the refurbishment of the Kitimat smelter may still be on the books, economic conditions will have to improve first before we see much progress on it, some of the items of note in the News mill for Thursday.

Daily News, front page, headline story
PROVINCE'S PARAMEDICS LEGISLATED BACK TO WORK-- With the Legislature sitting on Saturday to pass back to work legislation in an all night session, the province's paramedics will be expected back on the job. The Daily News reviewed that legislation and outlined the reaction to it from local shop steward Tanis Greer.

The always popular Cow Bay parking issues once again took centre stage at Prince Rupert city council, the Atlin Terminal Pay Parking lot of particular interest, especially to those merchants in the area who pushed for some of the changes determined by council on Monday night. From now on, from October 1 to April 30 parking at the lot will be free, for the remainder of the year the first two hours will be free after that it will cost 1 dollar an hour or five dollars for five hours or more.

That issue and others were featured in the regular City council voting log, this week found on page five of the Daily News.


(Daily News Archive Articles for November 12 )

The Northern View
Prince Rupert school board officially names new school-- School District makes it official, after some nine months of thought, the name of the new school which opened earlier this year on Third Avenue will remain as Pacific Coast School (see story here)

CFTK TV 7 News
RTA Boss Says Kitimat Smelter Modernization Still On the Books-- With the Eurocan closure ont he horizon, Kitimat residents are getting a little nervous about the plans that Rio Tinto Alcan may have for the Kitimat Works smelter. Paul Henning , Tio Tinto Alcan's Vice President for BC Operations outlined where that project stands and commented on rumours of a resurrection of the Kemano Completion project (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Flight Services to be Cut Back At Smithers Airport -- Smithers residents and their council offer some reaction to the announcement of staffing cuts and reduced operating hours at the Smithers Airport, with Nav Canada setting an implementation date of the end of April 2010. (see article here)

CBC News British Columbia, Daybreak North
(No items updated on their website due to technical difficulties)

Daily News, front page, headline story
Province's paramedics legislated back to work
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Thursday, November 12, 2009

The province’s paramedics were legislated back to work Saturday morning after an all-night session in the B.C. legislature passed Bill 21.

Reacting to the legislation Tanis Greer, shop steward and member of the negotiating committee for CUPE 873 in Prince Rupert, said the union has been stripped of its democratic rights.

“The government has showed us absolutely no respect and tries to push us around. They used H1N1 as an excuse. They need to have us work at the Olympics,” Greer said at Sunday afternoon at the ambulance station in Prince Rupert.

On Tuesday Minister of Health Kevin Falcon responded to Greer’s comments.

“Ultimately, with the H1N1 pandemic impacting British Columbia and winter fast approaching – the public needs certainty that full service levels are restored within the BC Ambulance Service and this legislation is about protecting patients and ensuring the safety of the citizens of British Columbia. We can’t afford the risk of BC Ambulance Service not operating at 100 percent when the rest of the system is under stress,” he said.

North Coast MLA Gary Coons also believes the government used H1N1 as an excuse and said it was really the Olympics and pressure from VANOC that drove the
legislation.

“This legislation seems to have been influenced by VANOC and the VANOC Medical Services who requested that the Campbell government either settle or legislate the strike so that services would not be interrupted during the Olympic Games. The government chose legislation that will not only set back future negotiations with the paramedics, but will inflame the labour relations climate just months before public sector negotiations,” Coons said.

Speaking about the Olympics, Falcon noted that B.C. paramedics have always played a role in staffing major special events in the province – from the Vancouver Celebration of Lights last summer to the recent Victoria
marathon.

“In fact,” said Falcon. “The Labour Relations Board ruled in August that major special events like the Celebration of Lights are essential services because it is vital that paramedics staff such events to protect public health and safety in the event of an emergency.”

According to Falcon the upcoming Olympics are no different, a point, he said, was reaffirmed by the Labour Relations Board when it made an order designating several pre-game trial events as essential.

“It’s also important to keep in mind that BCAS has been involved in planning for the Olympics since the bid was submitted in 1998. A two-member team has been dedicated to planning for the Olympics since the fall of 2007,” Falcon added.

The plan for the union now will be to go back to bargaining on December 10 and start working on a contract for the end of March 2010, but the trouble with that timeline, said Greer, is B.C.’s 168 public sector unions all come up for contract reunion at that time.

“We’ll be up too, so that will give us absolutely no bargaining power,” Greer explained, adding that in 2001, the union signed its twelfth agreement and in 2005 signed an MOA and an MOU, making a few tweaks that would carry the union to 2009.

On November 6, the same day Bill 21 went to the legislature, the paramedics voted 98.2 percent against the government’s latest offer.

According to Greer “people didn’t care – they basically felt like the government had taken away their rights. Throughout the bargaining process, the government showed up on each occasion with no mandate. They sent six people and none of them had any authority. They basically played games with us.”

Falcon disagreed saying the government always bargained in good faith with CUPE 873.

“In our view, this legislation is justified because the collective bargaining process in this sector has failed and there is no prospect of a negotiated collective agreement. The legislated settlement introduced by government is based on the final offer BCAS tabled during the last round of talks in September. This includes an across the board compensation increase of 3 per cent for a one-year term retroactive to April 1, 2009. The increase is consistent with what other health care professionals are receiving this year,” the minister said.

“As a result of this lengthy strike, the risks to public safety continue to grow. This legislation attempts to eliminate these risks to public safety while the appointment of the Industrial Inquiry Commissioner by the Minister of Labour will address the broader, systemic barriers to effective collective bargaining in the sector,” Falcon added.

At one point last weekend the opposition made a hoist motion that would have allowed for a six-month period to move forward with a contract that wasn’t legislated.

When it was his turn to speak to the hoist motion Coons said, “one of the reasons we need to hoist this bill is to give the members on the other side an opportunity to stand and reflect and realize we are going in the wrong direction with an imposed contract.”

Then quoting from an email he received from Terry Mitchell, Chief Paramedic for Port Clements, Coons read:

“The hoist motion introduced by the opposition is perhaps the only thing, the only thing at this point in time, that could demonstrate good faith on the part of the government.”

Since the union went on strike April 1, after their current contract expired, Greer said the union has continued to maintain duties to the public, but also chose the time to raise public awareness about the strike by wearing t-shirts, buttons and posting signs.

The HST could take a chunk of your Mutual Funds, maybe he should be known as Andy War-bucks, and China and India stake their claim on Africa, some of the items of note for Thursday.

Globe and Mail-- Olympics, infrastructure spending to spur recovery
Globe and Mail-- H1N1 economic hit likely mild: TD
Globe and Mail-- Funds lose fight for tax exemption
Globe and Mail-- Disney posts surprise profit rise
National Post-- IMF tells Canada to keep stimulus policies in place
National Post-- Suncor names business heavyweights to its board
National Post-- Canadian Tire puts spotlight on its automotive business
Vancouver Sun-- North Face shows new face with flagship Vancouver store on Granville
Vancouver Sun-- Stepping out of the bubble in China
New York Times-- Oil Falls and Investors Cautiously Retreat
New York Times-- Irish 'Bad Bank' Plan Faces Public Backlash
New York Times-- New Rules Would Restrict Overdraft Fees on Debit Cards
USA Today-- Buffett, Gates tell students financial panic is behind us
USA Today-- Warhol's painting of $1 bills sells for $43.8 million at auction
Guardian UK online-- BA merger with Iberia agreed
Guardian UK online-- Oil: future world shortages are being drastically underplayed, say experts
Times Online UK-- China and India engaged in 21st century ‘scramble for Africa’
Times Online UK-- High oil prices threaten economic recovery
Times Online UK-- BT profits tumble 45% as cost cutting swells
Telegraph UK online-- Record number trapped in part-time work, unemployment figures show
Telegraph UK online-- China hints at currency appreciation before Barack Obama arrives
Telegraph UK online-- What if the ratings agencies' patience with UK runs out?
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Jobless rise still means rates pressure
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Interest hikes dampen inflation fear
Brisbane Times-- Tough times take the gloss off magazine readership
Brisbane Times-- Publishing report a closed book
Sydney Morning Herald-- Surprise rise in new jobs
Sydney Morning Herald-- Crisis fading, not debt
Sydney Morning Herald-- Property is in a deep sleep, not flatlining
People's Daily on line-- Geithner encouraged by moves in China, Japan
People's Daily on line-- Will China suffer from imported inflation?
The Times of India-- Annual food inflation rises to 13.7%
The Times of India-- Reserve Bank of India asks banks to update list of terror funding entities

Twas an interesting sight on Larry King Live yesterday, as CNN's last remaining old veteran of television talk shows (farewell Lou Dobbs where ever you are) interviewed former Miss America pageanty contestant and California beauty queen Carrie Prejean.

Ms. Prejean, who had her title taken away from her by California beauty pageant officials after a number of side issues detracted from her duties, is suddenly back in the news, this time with a book to flog.

Mr. King, who for the most part hasn't been inclined to ask hard hitting questions for a number of years now, had not asked a particularly nasty one this time around either. Simply requesting for the former beauty queen to explain why she abandoned a lawsuit against California officials, one which had been using the rather hot topic of religious discrimination as its basis.

Apparently not schooled in the ways of these media dog and pony shows (or more likley perhaps wishing to set her own course in the interview), Ms. Prejean decided that she wasn't inclined to answer any of Mr. King's questions and threw a wee bit of tantrum as befits a beauty queen we suspect.



Sadly we'll never learn more about her outlook on the major issues of the day, or of the raunchy sex video that she made for an old boyfriend, the nude photos and other sideline events that may have contributed to her fall from the heights of beauty pageants and perhaps provide a new platform as a poster child for hypocrisy and shallowness, especially in light of a recent appearance at a Focus on the Family engagement.



As the uncomfortable silence came to an end at CNN and Larry went to commercial, so to we suspect will come the end of Ms. Prejean's media appearances (well there's always Fox we guess, which seems to find her thoughts of interest).

What remains to be seen is how her meltdown with King may affect future books sales...

With the seconds on the clock of fame ticking fast, we suspect that book store remainder bins stand ready to accept their shipments.

Time for the next career we think, hmmm, Palin / Prejean 2012 anyone...

Brent Sapergia, can tell everyone he has been on Good Morning America and he's You Tube hit , but part of him may wish to make sure that the evidence is forever out of view (good luck with that by the way).
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Sapergia, the General Manager of the Louisiana Ice Gators, was serving as head coach for a game against rival Pensacola Ice Flyers (we wonder if every team in the SPHL must have ice in the name) this week, when emotions apparently got the better of him.

Sapergia had a rumbustious meltdown behind the bench, the kind of performance that might even leave a Bobby Knight, Lou Piniella or Jim Schoenfeld speechless in awe.

Apparently annoyed at the level of officiating for that night's game, the coach, cleared the benches... of sticks, towels, pucks and any other item not nailed down besides the players, who stood to one side somewhat in shock it seemed at their coach's performance.



It was a display that was so bizarre, that it even made it to the pinnacle of American morning television news, with a featured appearance on Good Morning America this morning, complete with commentary from the morning panel.

We have visions of the Sapergia family fielding phone calls for days to come, ready to answer the questions following the talking point of hey, we saw Brent on TV this morning and did you know he's on YouTube too???

The SPHL has fined and suspended Sapergia from coaching for an undetermined amount of time, leaving the team without the services of their GM and we imagine without a full time coach at the moment.
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There are reports that a new coach is on the way, with the announcement that John Gibson is ready to take the reins of the club, though judging by the leadership being shown by upper management, we wonder if maybe he won't feel the need to get lost on the road to Louisiana.
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This item first appeared on the HockeyNation blog