Expectations fulfilled!

Canadian hockey teams whether professional, junior or a pee wee rep team all have one thing in common it seems, when they enter an international tournament, all the pressure, all the expectations fall on their shoulders.

From the Olympics, to World Championships and all things in between, the pressure to play at your peak increases when you don a jersey with a maple leaf stitched across your chest.

The 2007 World Junior championship was no exception, in fact unlike other tournaments, of late this one has been ours to own. Going into today’s Gold medal showdown with the Russians, Canada was the two time defending champion. They had not lost a game in three tournaments and were the prohibitive favourites to claim the gold once again. The only possible fly in that ointment, a rather poor success record while on European ice.

And with the drop of the puck, this junior team came out as if to prove that they were the rightful heirs to those that had skated before them. Coming off a hard fought and potential near miss against the Americans in the semi final, Canada was back on track in the Gold medal game.

They had a jump in their pace as the lines rolled over the boards, the took possession of the play through the first period and knocked the Russians off their game plan, three quick first period goals set the scene for the Canadians as they closed down the Russian attack time and time again.

The hero of the tournament and especially that semi final match with the USA, Carey Price once again was rock solid in the Canadian nets. With a strong defensive corps that refused second chances and back checking forwards that heard the message of Craig Hartsburg to take care of their end, it seemed for a while that Russians would be left on the sidelines in the showcase game of the tournament.

But, as is always the case a wounded bear is always the most dangerous bear and the Russian team began to climb their way back into the game as the second period progressed, Canada by then had jumped to a four to nothing lead, but as had been the tradition in this tournament for Russia, they would soon chip away at that lead and begin to claim some of the play as their own.

The testimony to Canada’s success however was the fact that the Russians could only score when given a man advantage, on even terms Canada controlled the game. The Russians would find a bit more space with Canada one man down, and would find success on two of those occasions.

The third period was a fast paced affair, the two teams trading zones and launching attacks. The key portion of the game came when the Russians were short handed but still took the play to Canada on a breakaway, Price stonewalled Anton Krysanov and at that point perhaps Canadians felt destiny on their side.

That feeling would be cemented when the Russians pulled their goalie during a power play and still could not score with a two man advantage, with time fast running out Canada played perfect defence, chipping the puck to the boards and then down the ice, never giving the Russians an opportunity to set up, let alone score the two goals needed to send the game to Overtime. The clock wound down, the Na na na song started up and Canada were gold Medal champs with a hard earned 4-2 victory over the previously undefeated Russians.

As the young if slightly off key chorus of Canadians finished singing O Canada and accepted their medals, you could almost see a weight lifting from their shoulders. Their team would not be the one to surrender the title of world’s best, they were perfect at this tournament on the ice for the most part and on the score sheet and official records.

Canada brought the game they needed to find to the rink on a Friday in Sweden. It was a combination of hard hitting and strong defensive play, which finally found some of the missing offensive of past Canadian teams.

Sometimes we tend to put too much pressure on these young people who play with such pride for their country. One day again the tide will turn, someone else will be collecting gold medals and hearing their anthem played in a foreign land.

But today wasn’t that day. Today, once again, Canada’s juniors proved that Canadian hockey played with enthusiasm, desire and heart can trump all obstacles.

This year’s class did well, for their nation, for their coach, for the game and for themselves. They are deserved champions, a collective group with memories that they will take with them through the years. They are a team that is now destined for their place in the lore of a hockey mad nation, joining those that went before them and rose to the occasion and succeeded at the most competitive level.

(Picture discovered at Toronto Star site)

The above post first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out!

Aw, cmon' what did we do to deserve this?

Steven Segal has moved from movies to music, with his tunes now listed at the iTunes store.

Amazon.ca lists his 2005 release, Songs from the Crystal Cave, as having only three copies left in stock.

Surely he can give David Hasselhoff (actually it turns out that the Hoff has quite the collection!) and William Shatner a run for their money no?

Local realtors prepare for a busy stretch

2006 may have been a slow year for real estate in Prince Rupert, but local realtors don’t anticipate 2007 to have the same leisurely pace. With the progress of the Container Port continuing at its on time pace, and a completion of phase one anticipated for the fall of this year it’s expected that a migration of new residents will soon arrive looking for a place to call home.

The Port has been driving most of the real estate speculation in Rupert for the last two years, from the frenzy of speculation in 2005 that saw homes turning over rather rapidly, to the steady rise in established home prices through 2006. And while last year returned the city to a more normal pace of buying and selling, it did provide a serious bump upwards in the price of housing in the city.

Last year the average selling price of a home in the city was $145,890, with a lack of new construction in recent years and a shortening up in the supply of established housing in recent times, its anticipated that housing prices will increase with the arrival of new residents to the city, brought in by the growth of the port.

The Daily News had a comprehensive look at the state of real estate in their Thursday edition.

RUPERT’S REALTORS BRACED FOR BUSY 2007
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Pages one and three

Real estate sales in Prince Rupert slowed in 2006 but 2007 should bring an influx of new residents seeking housing according to Ted Shepard, president of the B. C. Northern Real Estate Board.

“In the Prince Rupert real estate market, we had a spike in 2005, when the funds were announced for the container port. After the initial frenzy … it settled back down to more normal levels given the economy,” said Shepard, and agent with Royal LePage Prince Rupert.

During 21006 in Prince Rupert an area which includes the Queen Charlotte Islands, 222 properties worth $28,526,776 changed hands, down from 269 worth $34,300.986 in 2005 but almost the same as 2004’s 220 sales ($21,742.425).

“With the announcement of the container port we didn’t create any permanent jobs where people would start moving back to Prince Rupert, that’s why the market settled back down to 2004 levels,” he said.

However, the supply of homes on the market did not loosen back up to 2004 levels. At year end there were144 properties of all types available for sale, up from 132 in 2005, but down from 2004’s 161.

“We are short on supply,” he said.

Half of the 150 single-family homes that sold had a selling price of less than $130.000 while the average selling price was $145,890.

With the influx of permanent workers expected with the 2007 opening of phase one of the Fairview Container Terminal, Shepard expects to see the market move again.

“I see improvement in our future starting in 2007,” he said.

In the meantime, sales of vacant land increased almost 100 percent over 2005 levels. Thirty one parcels of land of vacant land have sold in 2006, up from 17 in 2005 and eight in 2004.

“Some of it is bought by speculators, some of it is bought by locals with plans of building. There’s no definitive sector that is buying that stuff. It’s across the board,” he said.

Overall, it was a record year for real estate across Northern B. C. with property sales hitting an all time high. There were 7,055 properties worth $837.1 million.

Shepard noted that breaking the $1 billion mark was also noteworthy.

“All economic indicators point to another good year for the real estate industry,“ said Shepard.

“With such a low inventory in all market areas, prices are likely to continue to rise.”
Sales in Terrace and Kitimat both increased in 2006 over 2005 levels.

In Terrace, 362 properties worth $48.7 million changed hands, up from 322 sales worth $40.3 million in 2005. The 209 single-family homes that sold, had an average selling price of $144,205; half of the homes sold for less than $138,000.

In Kitimat, 190 properties worth $21.3 million sold in 2006, up from 107 properties worth $10.1 million in 2005. There were 70 properties of all types available for sale at year-end, down from 79 at the end of 2005.

Terrace faces Norwalk like illness at Terraceview home

A nasty bout of a Norwalk like illness has struck the Northwest, as the Terraceview long term care facility struggles to contain the outbreak and treat both staff and residents.

The outbreak was first detected before the Christmas break and has resulted in Northern Health and the Terraceview facility having to stop all family visits until things can be brought under control.

The main concern of Northern Health is to create a buffer between the ill and the healthy at the facility in order to stop the spread of the virus and then to return those that are sick back to health.

The story was covered in full by CBC News.


Dozens fall ill at B.C. long-term home
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 3, 2007 1:06 PM PT
CBC News

A persistent Norwalk-like outbreak has forced health officials to curtail all visits at the Terraceview long-term care facility in northwestern B.C.

Twenty-eight patients and 26 staff had been infected by the outbreak that began before Christmas at the facility in Terrace.

Northern Health Authority spokeswoman Lorna Medd said hospital staff were forced to take stronger measures to stop the infection from spreading any further. "We have actually have asked people to stop visiting. We had voluntary restrictions over Christmas. We've actually asked that visiting be stopped."

Medd said that they're also trying to put up a barrier between the ill and the well, with the residents being divided into two groups, Those that are sick being treated by one group of staff and residents who are healthy are being dealt with by a separate group of staff.

Northern Health said a similar Nowalk outbreak at G.R. Baker hospital in Quesnel has now been contained.

Norwalk is a very contagious virus that causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and cramps.

1,000 kilometres from nowhere and waiting to die?

The National Post wades into the great Alcan debate with a rather dire article about the future of Kitimat should Mayor Rick Wozney stay his course of late. In the article, titled Death Wish at Kitimat, Terence Corcoran one of the senior Financial writers at the paper takes issue with approach that Wozney and his followers have taken regarding the Alcan/BC Hydro deal recently overturned by the BCUC.

It’s an article that will prove to be ammunition for those on the Alcan side of the debate, with Corcoran’s observations that Alcan very well may just shut down the existing smelter, relocate its business plan to an offshore location and leave Kitimat to its own plans.

One thing is certain it will add some heat to the currently rising temperatures in Kitimat, a situation that has nothing to do with the weather and more to do with the emotions.

Death wish at Kitimat
Terence Corcoran
The Financial Post
Thursday, January 04, 2007

It's hard to figure out exactly what the good political operators of Kitimat, B.C., are trying to accomplish. One hopes that they are not in the grip of what they seem to be in the grip of, namely some kind of industrial death wish. This would be nothing new. The politics of Kitimat over most of the last 20 years looks like a great provincial crusade to wipe Kitimat off the industrial map.

Located on the north coast of British Columbia, about 1,000 kilometres from nowhere, the town has been home to a big Alcan aluminum smelter for about 50 years. The company, after false starts in the past, seems finally set to upgrade the ageing operation with a $1.8-billion expansion that could set Kitimat up for another 50 years of relative prosperity.

But the mayor of Kitimat, something of an industrial planner and grand economic theorist, doesn't like the expansion plan. Not enough jobs will be created, he says. The new plant, if built, would increase annual aluminum output by about 30% to 400,000 tonnes, but new technology will mean a 30% decline in jobs to about 1,000. "This new deal means another 550 jobs will be lost," the mayor, Richard Wozney, said last August. "Alcan knows it can make much more money from exploiting this resource for power sales than using it to smelt aluminum."

It is the mayor's view, adopted by a surprising range of people, that Alcan doesn't really want to expand aluminum smelting in Kitimat. Alcan's real objective, he says, is to cash in on the electricity produced by the company-owned Kemano generating station, a private property right enjoyed by Alcan since the 1950s. Kemano produces enough electricity to operate the smelter plus surplus capacity of about 210 megawatt hours, enough to service 200,000 homes. Kitimat's population is about 11,000.

One of Mr. Wozney's fellow-travellers in this campaign against Alcan is James Quail, counsel for the B.C. Public Interest Advocacy Centre. He paints Alcan as a company that is "turning water into gold" at the expense of British Columbians and residents of Kitimat.

Now, if it were literally true that Alcan stands to make more money from electricity production at Kitimat than from aluminum smelting, it follows that Alcan would be better off shutting the smelter down completely and selling the entire power production from Kemano--all 890 megawatts --and use the money to build a smelter in China.

Mr. Wozney seems particularly blind to this possibility, even if it does follow logically from his own official view of Alcan's motivation. Instead, Mr. Wozney, joined by Mr. Quail, a Vancouver-based professional activist, have taken their anti-Alcan campaigns to the highest court in the province, the B.C. Supreme Court, and to the biggest regulator in the province, the British Columbia Utilities Commission. Their objective is to stop Alcan from selling 200 megawatts of surplus power to B.C. Hydro, the government- owned electricity monopoly.

In a deal filed last November, described as a "sweetheart deal" by opponents, B.C. Hydro agreed to buy power from Alcan at a rate of 7.1? per kilowatt hour. The value of sales over 20 years would exceed $2-billion. To stop the deal, the opponents have asked the B.C. Supreme Court to rule that Alcan has no right to sell electricity. Based in their reading of 50-year-old agreements, Alcan must use power from Kemano to build and fund industrial development in Kitimat.

Alcan, the B.C. government, and B.C. Hydro all claim that Alcan owns all the electric power produced by the giant Kemano station. In the words of the B.C. government filing, "Electricity is property. It is a fundamental attribute of property that its owner [Alcan] can sell or dispose of property in any way he/she wishes. Hence, Alcan needs no authorization from the province in order to be able to sell electricity it produces."

The idea that Alcan owns the power rights from waters flowing through Kemano is alien to people who have come to think that water is a public resource that must at all times be subject to major political involvement. If Alcan does indeed own the rights, then the case should not go far. A court decision is expected soon. A ruling against Alcan could kill Kitimat expansion.

In the meantime, the B.C. Utilities Commission was asked to rule on a different matter. Mr. Quail, the advocacy activist, was one of the intervenors before the commission, ostensibly on behalf of the BCOAPO (B.C. Old Age Pensioners Organization). He said the deal struck between Alcan and B.C. Hydro is a sweetheart deal orchestrated by the government "in furtherance of the government's socio-economic policy."

B.C. Hydro presented evidence showing that the government did not influence the contract deal with Alcan. The price for power, averaging 7.1? per kilowatt hour, appears to be within reason for the type of power Alcan can deliver: steady, on-demand, no-risk power for decades to come. No other suppliers could provide the same guarantees. New power in Ontario is coming in at 8? a kilowatt hour, much of it backed by government funding.

But the B.C. Utilities commission ruled last week that the Alcan-B.C. Hydro deal was not in the public interest. Reasons for the decision will be published shortly. But the decision puts Kitimat development at risk.

Alcan, it must be said, is no stranger to government subsidies. As a world class consumer of energy, it scours the world in search of government-backed energy deals and industrial aid. In Kitimat, however, the company appears to have received more than its fair share of political wrangling. In 1995, Premier Mike Harcourt arbitrarily killed an earlier attempt by the company to expand in the area, after the company had spent $500-million.

In the new Kitimat case, Alcan appears as a private-sector company with property rights mired in a province-wide system of government-owned utilities, regulators, politicians and others who have no great interest in rights and an overwhelming wish to play politics with economic development.

It's probably not quite a death wish. If Alcan leaves Kitimat, shuts down the smelter and sells the power, the Kitimat area appears to be a great tourist destination. If that's what they want, that is what they might get.

© National Post 2007

A few facts not likely to make it into the mayor’s next newsletter

Those informative little bits of paper we receive from time to time from Mayor Herb Pond most likely will not be trumpeting the latest findings from the BC Progress Board.

In a study that will surely raise the ire of northerners and perhaps raise a few questions for our politicians, it would seem that living here isn’t particularly good for our health.

The BC Progress Report study; Building on our Progress: Striving for Excellence highlights a number of factors in Northern living that may give us pause to consider living the rural lifestyle.

Northerners face the prospect of a getting by on less money, having a shorter lifespan and face a greater possibility of dying of cancer or heart disease. We have also seen a thirty per cent increase in crime in Prince Rupert, the third highest jump in the province.

Needless to say with this report, ours is not a case of Location, Location, Location.

The Daily gave the story front page exposure in its Thursday edition.

LIFE IN B. C.’s NORTH MAY HARM YOUR HEALTH, REPORT
Progress Report claims people in North lag behind much of B. C.
By James Vassallo
The Daily News
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Pages one and three

Living in rural B. C. – and the North in particular – generally means having less money, living a shorter life and an increased likelihood of dying from cancer of heart disease, according to a report by the B. C. Progress Board.

The Study, Building on Our Progress: Striving for Excellence, benchmarks British Columbia’s performance regionally – urban versus rural – and inter- regionally.

“Regional B. C. has generally lagged behind the province’s urban areas since we began our benchmarking in 2001,” said David Black, B.C. Progress Board Chair. “Though absolute levels lag, employment growth, housing starts and net new business formation continue to improve at a faster rate in Regional B. C. than the Vancouver (area).

The Vancouver area out performed Regional B. C. in eight out of 10 indicators measuring, economy, innovation and education. These include; employment rate, tax filers’ employment income, housing starts, non- residential building permits, secondary school graduates, university completion, scientists and engineers employed, and net new business formation. Regional B. C. performed better than Vancouver on manufacturing shipments – the North Coast ranked third - and retail sales.

In terms of local numbers, seven of eight regions saw an increase in their real per capita income between 1995 and 2004, the exception being the North Coast which declined 8.9 per cent. Increases ranged from 2.4 per cent and 16.2 per cent in other parts of the province. During the last fifteen years the North Coast was also the only part of the province not to grow in population. Although the first half of that time period saw an increase of more than 5.5 per cent, between 1997 and 2005- when the pulp mill closed- the area lost nearly 5,000 people. The area is forecasted to grow 14 per cent during the next 25 years.

On measures of environment, health and society, Vancouver outperforms Regional B. C. on five of eight measures, including air quality, cancer mortality, life expectancy at birth, employment insurance recipients, and income assistance. Regional B. C. performs better on two indicators – low birth weight newborns and the incidence of low income.

On a health positive, Northern health had the lowest percentage of low birth weight babies in the province, while the highest was in the Fraser Valley.

However, those who live in the area served by Northern Health were more likely to die from cancer than people in the rest of the province and while the highest cancer mortality rate was in the Fraser Health region last year, during the last decade people were still more likely to die from heart disease in the North than anywhere else in B. C.

Prince George’s air quality remains by far the worst in B. C.

While it is often thought that cities are more dangerous the report found no significant difference in personal and property crime rates between Vancouver and Regional B. C.

In addition, Smithers has seen a 63.1 per cent increase in crime in the last ten years, the biggest increase in the province, and Prince Rupert nearly a 30 percent increase, the third most in B. C.

The B. C. Progress Board is an independent Panel of 18 business and academic leaders which benchmark B. C’s economic, innovation, education, environment, health and social conditions. The board also advises on ways to improve provincial performance.

The full report can be found at www.bcprogressboard.com.

Who's afraid of the Alcan wolf?

The mayor of Kitimat expresses satisfaction with the BCUC's decision rejecting Alcan and BC Hydro's agreement on power sales. Suggesting that now is the time for Alcan to return to being a good corporate citizen of Kitimat and return to the business of producing Aluminum and not power.

The Daily News had details on the latest twist in the Wednesday paper.

Wozney welcomes Alcan ruling
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, January 03, 2007

The B.C. Utilities Commission rejection of a power sales agreement between Alcan and B.C. Hydro could affect the company’s future in Kitimat, said Alcan Tuesday.

Last week, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) rejected a proposed long-term energy agreement that would see the company sell electricity from its Kitimat-area power plant to provincially owned utility B.C. Hydro.

“We are disappointed with the BCUC decision and will be studying it closely to better understand the commission’s rationale and to determine the potential impact on the feasibility and timing of the Kitimat modernization project,” Michel Jacques, president and chief executive of Alcan Primary Metal Group, said in a statement. Approval of the power contract was one of three conditions Alcan set for the modernization of the Kitimat plant.

The plans would expand the smelter’s annual production capacity by more than 60 percent, pushing it up to about 400,000 tonnes from 245,000 tonnes.

The other two conditions to be met were environmental permits and a labor agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers union, which represents Kitimat workers.

In the meantime, Mayor of the company town, Richard Wozney, said he was pleased to see the commission reject the agreement.

“This was a bad deal for British Columbians. We are very pleased that the BCUC agrees,” said Wozney. “It would have killed the aluminum industry in B.C. and pulled the rug out from under the economy of the Northwest.”

Wozney said the agreement was harshly criticized as a sweetheart deal between Alcan and the B.C. Liberals by a wide range of interveners during the B.C. Utilities Commission public hearings. They included aluminum expert Richard McLaren, MLA for Skeena riding Robin Austin, the Mayor and Council of Kitimat, the BC Citizens for Public Power and the BC Old Age Pensioners Association.

They said the price that was going to be paid to Alcan was unnecessarily high for BC Hydro customers. They pointed out that Alcan is leased a precious public water resource to produce electricity for aluminum smelting, not to sell back to British Columbians at more than a 1,000 per cent profit.

“We hope that Alcan will now return to being the good corporate citizen it once was and get back to the business of smelting aluminum and honouring the agreements it has with the people of British Columbia,” says Mayor Wozney.

“Aluminum is a very profitable business and we will support Alcan one hundred percent if they use this power to build the full-sized smelter they have promised numerous times.”

The Alcan Kitimat smelter modernization program was the largest construction project under consideration for the Northwest region after Enbridge pushed back its Gateway oil pipeline project to 2014.

The modernization of the Kitimat smelter would increase its production by more than 60 percent, ensuring the continuation of approximately 1,000 stable, technically-enriched jobs in B.C.’s Northwest for the long-term, and the modernization would roughly double the 1,000 jobs during the construction phase.

Are Poachers getting the run of the coast?

The Daily News tells the story of how DFO staffing levels and reductions in funding, are reducing enforcement on the waters of the North Coast.

Using the BC Wildlife Foundation as their source material, the paper explains how this summer may have seen numerous incidents of poaching in local waters due to the inability of Fisheries to staff the local DFO offices to workable levels.

Poachers get run of the coast claims BCWF
By James Vassallo
The Daily News
Wednesday, January 03, 2007


Cutbacks to Fisheries enforcement staff and funding have created a ‘poachers paradise’ on the North Coast and throughout British Columbia, according to the B.C. Wildlife Federation (BCWF).
Local resident Ken Franzen, BCWF Tidal Water Fisheries Committee co-chair, reports that at least three cases of abalone poaching were uncovered by understaffed DFO enforcement officers in and around Prince Rupert in the spring of 2006 but that was nothing compared to the amount of illegal fishing activity actually taking place.

“These offences represent only the tip of the iceberg and are particularly objectionable as northern Abalone are listed under the Species at Risk Act,” he said. “(But) the problem doesn’t end with abalone. Increasing numbers of (Food-Social-Ceremonial) fish being dumped into the legal commercial fishery, increasing non-compliance in the selective fishery component of the commercial fishery, and increasing non-compliance in the Chinook sport fishery all demonstrate the need for increased enforcement year-round on the North Coast.”

Franzen fears poaching for abalone and many other species might have become rampant later in the summer when North Coast enforcement officers were re-deployed to the Fraser River in order to boost enforcement capability there, leaving the northern coast of B.C. with virtually no enforcement presence.

He notes that, at the peak of the North Coast fisheries this past summer there was only one enforcement officer available.

“Enforcement problems and poaching may be as bad, if not worse, on the Skeena as they are on the Fraser,” he said. “The only difference is that DFO regional headquarters is in Vancouver and both senior Pacific Region staff and the Ottawa bureaucrats are focused on the Fraser.”

There are also reports that enforcement problems are not isolated to the North Coast. At a recent public meeting of the Sport fishing Advisory Board, information presented showed that more than 55 officer-weeks were re-deployed from other South Coast areas to the Fraser River, shutting down the enforcement branches in a number of small communities.

“This report from DFO indicated that enforcement offices at Powell River, Pender Harbour and Gold River were closed for some three weeks last summer,” said Ed George, co-chair to the Federations Tidal Water Fisheries Committee. Enforcement staff from the Interior were also reassigned to the Lower Fraser River.

“This protection was taken from the critical spawning areas of the Fraser during the main migration period,” said Jon Pew, chair of the BCWF Inland Fisheries committee. “Moreover, problems created by these reassignments were exacerbated by vacancies that have remained unfilled for years.”

The organization is demanding the proposed judicial inquiry into missing salmon in the Fraser be expanded to look at issues throughout the region.

“DFO also has an obligation to provide sufficient funding so that these dedicated men and women can do their job effectively,” said Wilf Pfleiderer, BCWF president.

“The recent decimation of the Habitat Protection Branch and Stock Assessment Branch added to the lack of enforcement capability is why our federation is calling for expansion of the proposed Fraser River Judicial Inquiry to cover the entire Pacific Region and also the burgeoning bureaucracy in Ottawa,” said Pfleiderer.

The B.C. Wildlife Federation has more than 30,000 members and is this province’s oldest and largest conservation organization representing resident anglers and hunters.

Your house is valued at a little bit more today.

The Daily News featured the BC Assessment announcements today on the front page of the paper, with details of the assessed value of property along the north coast.

Value of a Rupert home surges to seven-year high
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Page One

Most homeowners in Prince Rupert will see the value of their homes rise between 20 and 30 percent on this year’s assessment notices, with the overall value of the local assessment roll bouncing back to 1999 levels.

“Most homes in Prince Rupert are worth more on this year’s assessment roll than they were on the 2006 assessment roll,” said Scott Sitter, Northwest Deputy Assessor. “The residential portion of Prince Rupert’s assessment roll has increased over 20 per cent. Most home owners will see increases in their assessments ranging from 20 to 30 per cent.”

Overall Prince Rupert’s assessment roll increased from approximately $928 million last year to just under $1.1 billion this year. The residential portion increased from just under $513 million to just over $627 million.

The property assessment roll for Prince Rupert has not hit the one Billion dollar mark since 1999 when it began a series of large drops.

The drops in property values continued until 2005 when it leveled out at $829,684,554 and began climbing back upwards..

The real estate market creates property value which is reported annually by the B.C. Assessment authority. Changes in property value are reflective of the local real estate market and can vary greatly from property to property. When estimating a property’s market value, a professional appraiser analyzes current sales in the area, as well as considering other characteristics such as size, age, quality, condition, view and location.

Meanwhile, most homes in Port Edward are also worth more this year than they were last year, with assessments increasing by an average of 10 per cent.

Port Edward’s assessment role grew from $57.5 million to $66.5 million and the residential portion increased from just under $26 million to just over $27.5 million.
The average increase in residential assessment values in Prince Rupert was the largest average rise among communities in the region.

Podunk Below the Masthead: January 2007

A daily look at the BIG TYPE headline of the Podunkian Daily News. We'll list that day's BIG STORY, the one the Daily puts out in the big type just below it's masthead, for all Podunkians to ponder. There will be a link to this feature on the right hand side of the blog.

On Wednesdays and Friday's you can access all the stories of the Daily News free on their website, on the remaining days you end up at a dead end, asking you to go purchase your paper, for (as Paul Harvey would say) the rest of the story.

JANUARY 31--RUPERT STUDENTS EXCEL AT TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL--School District 52 has a few statistics of their own to celebrate (see story here)

JANUARY 30--COPS, TEENS ON BAORD FOR MAJOR SKATEPARK UPGRADE--A few ideas are bounced around to have local youth usethe under used Skateboard park more often and move away from the downtown core (see story here)

JANUARY 29--HOSPITAL SENDS OUT LETTERS FOLLOWING SURGERY CONCERNS--A possible infection concern leads to advisory letters from Northern Health (see story here)

JANUARY 26--CITY PROMISING ALL WILL BE HEARD AS IT PLANS FUTURE--With a 90,000 dollar study underway, a few residents are worried that they won't be heard (see story here)

JANUARY 25--CN RAIL IS BUOYANT AFTER PORT PLAYS PART IN SUCCESS--Canadian National Railways finds that the prospects for the Rupert Port are proving to be helpful to their bottom line (see story here)

JANUARY 24--ASSESSMENTS MEAN TAX HIKES IN WORKS FOR SOME--Assessments mean tax hikes in works for some--The value of your house has gone up and so will your tax bill (see story here)

JANUARY 23--REVIEW OF FERRY SAFETY LEADS TO LIST OF 41 NEEDED CHANGE--More concerns expressed over the atmosphere at BC Ferries (see story here)

JANUARY 22--CRABBING INDUSTRY FEARS IT WILL BE BLOWN OFF COURSE--The local crab industry finds itself concerned over wind farm plans (see story here)

JANUARY 19--CLOUD OVER THE BERRY PATCH AS CUTS THREATEN ITS FUTURE--More social services in the city find themselves on the cutting block (see story here)

JANUARY 18--FERRIES’ BOSS EXPECTS MORE THAN EVER TO HEAD NORTH--David Hahn comes north to share the company vision (see story here)

JANUARY 17--ALASKAN FERRY SUBJECT OF TALKS--The city looks to increase the rent at the Alaska Marine Terminal (see story here)

JANUARY 16--TEAMWORK AVERTS DISASTER AS VESSELS BLASTED BY WIND--High winds wreak near havoc in Prince Rupert harbour (see story here)

JANUARY 15--MANY SKEPTICAL ABOUT CITY’S EXPENSIVE POPULATION RISE--The province's head counting may cost the city of Prince Rupert some money (see story here)

JANUARY 12--CITY URGED TO GET INVOLVED AS PORT'S COURT DATE LOOMS--Skeena MP, Nathan Cullen stirs up a controversy over his thoughts on what role the city of Prince Rupert should have in the ongoing court action between local First Nations and the Government over the Fairview Container Terminal. (see story here)

JANUARY 11--CITY PRODS SUN WAVE TO HURRY UP WITH MILL PLANS--City Council expresses concern over the rather slow progress in getting the regions pulp mill back into operation. (see story here)

JANUARY 10--POND PUSHING FOR SPEEDY START TO THE NEW ACROPOLIS--City council gives its approval to rezoning to get the new Acropolis Manor seniors home underway (see story here)

JANUARY 9--HAWKAIR HOPES IT CAN FLY OUT OF CREDITOR PROTECTION--The locally owned airline in the Northwest finds a white knight out of Alberta and moves towards leaving creditor protection(see story here)

JANUARY 8--PRICE STIRS UP FIRST NATIONS PRIDE ON THE WAY TO GOLD--The Daily News hails the success of the Canadian Junior Hockey team and Carey Price role model for the province's First Nations. (see story here)

JANUARY 5--HOME SUPPORT STOPWATCH HAS SENIORS, STAFF FUMING--The state of home support in Prince Rupert provided by Northern Health leaves one with many questions about the direction of care in the region. (see story here)

JANUARY 4--LIFE IN B. C.’s NORTH MAY HARM YOUR HEALTH, REPORT--Living here can make us sick and risk our lives, at least in the eyes of the Progress Board of BC, as far as the latest report is published painting our part of the province shows. (see story here)

JANUARY 3--VALUE OF A RUPERT HOME SURGES TO SEVEN YEAR HIGH--The details of the annual BC Assessment on properties across BC. (see story here)

JANUARY 2--WIND POWER FIRM HOPING FOR WINDFALL FROM OTTAWA--The Mount Hays windfarm sits in a bit of holding pattern as the proponents wait for word on the Conservatives plans for a subsidy program. (see story here)

Development on the gusts of a subsidized wind

The folks behind the Katabatic Power project, a wind farm development on Mount Hays are hoping that sometime between now and before the eventual upcoming election, that a subsidy for wind power is re-instated by the Conservative government.

The Wind Power Production Incentive was a federal subsidy for wind power, which is similar to one in place for Hydro development, has been in a kind of parliamentary holding pattern ever since the Conservatives took office. All eyes are on Ottawa and its budget preparation maneuvering (a Federal budget is expected in February) to see if the wind subsidies will once again be put back into play, a prospect that many of the developers of wind power in Canada would very much like to see.

That includes the proponents for that fourteen turbine Mount Hays development currently in the developmental phase. A Katabatic spokesman said in the Daily News on Tuesday that while Katabatic could go ahead with the development without the incentive, it would be very difficult.

Part of the delay could be the Conservative government’s suspicions over the greener energy sources, positions and articles like this one from the International Herald Tribune, tend more often than not to shade the Conservatives agenda when it comes to energy.

The good news for Katabatic and by extension Prince Rupert, could be the more environmentally friendly turn that it’s expected the Conservatives will take with the Liberals Stephane Dion now the opposition leader. In the end, good old fashioned politics may end up being the trump card for those looking for wind power to take hold on the north coast.

Thursday’s cabinet shuffle may be the incentive needed to get the Incentive program back into the active file, a process that may finally lead to some forward progress on the much ballyhooed wind farm project. The Daily news had full details in their Tuesday edition.


WIND POWER FIRM HOPING FOR WINDFALL FROM OTTAWA
Katabatic Power wants subsidies to be reinstated
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Page one

The proponents of the Mount Hays wind farm are hoping the New Year includes a regeneration of the federal government’s wind power subsidy program.

The Wind Power Production Incentive, better known as WPPI, has been on hold since the Conservatives took over the federal government last year.

“The program is currently in limbo. It’s a federal subsidy for wind power, similar to the federal subsidy for hydro power,” said Jonathon Raymond, chief operating officer of Katabatic.

“We’ve been waiting for a couple of months on the status of that program.

“We don’t know what they are going to provide or if they are going to provide anything in the new budget. The old system was one penny per kilowatt hour for the first 10 years of the project’s operation.”
Raymond, whose company wants to build a 14 turbine wind farm on the back side of Mount Hays, says they are optimistic the program will be brought back.

“There are no projects in North America that get built, no matter what resource, without some sort of help from the federal government, whether the Canadian or U. S. federal government,’ said Raymond.

“The U. S. government has had what is called a production tax credit for the last several years and every year they have extended it. Basically, that is what we have seen with WPPI but for some reason we’ve gotten into a little bit of a holding pattern with the situation in Ottawa. We expect that we will get a good result, we are just waiting to hear.”

While Katabatic could go ahead without the incentive, it would be very difficult, said Raymond.

“It will make it much more challenging for us (without the program) to get the project going. We can still do it but it certainly adds some complexity… we would have to move some things around to solidify the project without any assistance from the government. “

Katabatic is hoping to file its environmental impact statement with Natural Resources Canada at the end of January, which is the agency that administers WPPI. They are just waiting for confirmation WPPI will exist. But all signs are the program will be brought back.

With Stephane Dion’s Liberal leadership victory, it is likely that the government will take a greener turn and current Conservative Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, who put the program on hold, is believed to be set for a move to a new portfolio.

The Conservatives have taken a lot of criticism about their handling of the country’s environmental issues and Dion has been keen on hammering home that point.

In reaction, the Conservative government is expected to announce in the new year it will revive in some form several Liberal programs it cancelled: EnerGuide, the $920 million, 15 Wind Power Production Incentive and the Renewable Power Production Incentive.

Katabatic was one of three companies that won contracts with B. C. Hydro as independent power producers earlier this year. They hope to have the operation up and running by 2007 and have already ordered their turbines from Montreal based AAER Inc.

Once completed, the Mount hays facility will generate enough electricity for approximately 12,000 homes.

Rona to lead the Renovations?

If all comes to pass as the pundits suggest, by this time tomorrow at least a quarter of Stephen Harper's cabinet will have new jobs, or in some cases perhaps no jobs. It's expected that Harper will shuffle some of the chairs on the good Ship Conservative Thursday, with roughly seven or eight of his 27 cabinet ministers finding new tasks in cabinet or further down the parliamentary food chain.

Leading the pack however is expected to be the embattled Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, who has been the flash point of many of the controversial moments in the Harper government thus far.

With a newly minted Liberal leader who at least talks the environmental walk quite nicely, it's expected that the portfolio will see some serious action in the parliamentary session to come. Hence, Harper will be looking for someone up to the challenge of taking on Stephane Dion and his newly charged Liberals in all questions of Kyoto, climate and items of green.

Mind you it's not particularly fair to tie the entire can to Ms. Ambrose, the story in Ottawa is that the Prime Minister is very much of a control centred individual, who tends to leave his ministers with little in the way of individuality. So, if the Environment Ministry is in as much repair as has been suggested of late, isn't perhaps the trail leading back to the PMO.

With indications being floated daily of an election to come sometime this year, this could be Harper's only chance to rebalance some of his base, moving key players from potentially vote rich areas into high profile ministries. Look for Ontario and British Columbia to be provided with a few more players at the cabinet table.

While not a wholesale renovation of his cabinet it's still expected to be more than just a tidying up of the garage. He's taking care of the leaking faucets, the squeaky floor boards and for good measure looking at maybe a new coat of paint.

All in a bid to get his house in order for the day that it has to go to market.

Coming soon to a mailbox near you

BC Assessments have glad tidings as you start a new year, property values in Prince Rupert are up over 20% while Port Ed residents now have property worth a bit over 10% more.

The increase in the Northwest is part of a general trend of increased value in the province, with pretty well every corner of the province showing upward momentum.

For the North coast, increases range from 20 to 30 % in Prince Rupert, with the overall assessment roll in the city topping the 1.1 billion mark, with the residential portion of that increasing from $513 million last year to $627 million this year.

Port Ed’s residential jump moved from $26 million to $27.5 million as of July 1, 2006.

The assessments are done on a year to year basis and provide a snapshot of assessed value as of July of each year. They reflect movement in the local real estate market and can vary from property to property.

Appraisers take into account a number of factors besides local sales, the size of the property, its age, quality, view and location all get thrown into the mix when they determine that magic number.

Perhaps there is even a dart board involved no one really knows for sure.

The upward change in value was common to other Northwest communities; The Charlottes were a mixed bag with increases ranging from 5 to 50% depending on location. Terrace was up 10-20 percent, Smithers increased 15 to 25 percent and Kitimat increased 10 to 15 percent.

Values for the entire province can be found at the BC Assessment website , which has listings for every district.

"Whether it will still be on the priority list after a long period of [re]negotiation, we're not sure"

And now a little hardball in Kitimat.

The not so subtle hints are being dropped now as the blow back builds from the BCUC decision over Alcan and BC Hydro's electricity sales plans. Alcan looking for a little love or at least a new deal on hydro is turning up the heat on the province and on Kitimat as they look for some ground to hold in the ongoing debate.

The major Canadian newspapers are full of stories of a thoughtful reconsideration of modernization plans, perhaps yet another arrangement on hydro power and a tale of a once close relationship apparently on the rocks. It all makes for some anxious times in the Aluminum City.

Alcan Sends warning on Smelter
National Post, January 3, 2006

Alcan smelter upgrade now in doubt
The Vancover Province, January 3, 2006

Relationship between aluminum producer Alcan and Kitimat, B.C., long and storied
The Vancouver Sun, January 3, 2006

Alcan warns project at risk
The Globe and Mail, January 3, 2006

Motown sings a song of Stevie Y

One thing is for certain, they know how to throw a party in Detroit. They retired Steve Yzerman’s number 19 on Tuesday night, with a ninety minute spectacular that doubled as a walk down Red Wing Memory lane.

From the greats like Howe, Lindsay and Delvecchio, to the players that delivered three Stanley Cups to Detroit last decade all were there to show their appreciation for the many years that Yzerman spent with the winged wheel on his chest.

With Yzerman’s best friend Darren Pang serving as the Master of Ceremonies, the owner, the manager and the coach delivered their accolades.

Mike Illitch, reminisced about the young Yzerman joining a then struggling team and helping to take them to the top.

Jimmy Devellano as well, went back into the time machine saluting the fourth pick of the 1983 draft and his contribution to the great years of the Detroit dynasty. Devellano stressed the importance that Yzerman played in those Motor City Glory years.

But it was the coach, Scotty Bowman, who provided some of the keenest insight into what Yzerman brought to Detroit, a willingness to change, to adapt and to lead. He described a young man who knew that the team was more important than any personal stats, and by example he helped to create the change in attitude in Detroit that was needed to claim Lord Stanley’s Cup not once, not twice but three times.

A nice touch by the Wings, was the salute to Yzerman’s formative years in the Ontario Hockey League, and his triumphs on behalf of his nation. Red Wing players donned Peterborough Petes Uniforms, Team Canada uniforms, All Star uniforms and Red Wing uniforms to salute Yzermans numerous achievements in the game.

And while ninety minutes did seem a little long and perhaps a little unfair to the visiting Anaheim Ducks, few probably would begrudge number 19 his long deserved time in the spotlight. In fact the Ducks played the perfect guests, as Detroit ended up with a 2-1 win on Yzerman's big night.

His was a remarkable run, one player with one team for his entire career. Somehow in the new NHL you just don’t think that kind of commitment will ever be in place again, either by player or team.

To the end, Yzerman was unassuming as always, he credited his family, his team mates, his coaches, the managers and the owners as the key to the Red Wings success and his career achievements, always the one not wanting to hog the spotlight, even on the one night where he should have just basked in the adulation. As a closing gesture, he thanked the fans of Detroit, bringing them into the circle of those that propelled him on to greatness.

Hockeytown raised his jersey to the rafters Tuesday, it joins the other stars in the Red Wing galaxy, Howe, Abel, Lindsay, Dellvecchio and Sawchuk. He won’t be out of place there at all, he indeed is the equal of the greats that ever pulled on that winged wheel jersey.

The above post first appeared on my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out!

Rupert's container port finds some interest in Seattle

The Seattle Post Intelligencer has focused it's reporting on the current state of affairs at the Seattle Container port, an apparent parking lot of a shipping point. As well as the on the ground problems there, the PI was busy exposing some rather inflationary spending by the Port Commission and an attitude that it can do whatever it pleases because it's the only game in town.

Well, the Seattle paper pointed out that the idea of a monopoly on the business is no longer true, and it even used the Prince Rupert container port as a hammer to show how much change is coming to the world of transportation on the Pacific Ocean.

The PI, suggested that while fancy parties, dinners and such may stroke the egos of the shipping companies, it's delivery times and bottleneck free shipping zones that really turn their cranks.

From the article, the snippet below gives you an idea as to where the features were going the last few weeks.

Shipping company executives may like eating and drinking on the Port's tab, but they probably would have a greater appreciation of not having their cargo idling in traffic or rail yards and their ships idling at terminals.

Too much idling, and the shipping companies will decide to explore options. How about Tacoma? Maybe Everett would like to expand in the container-handling business. Or how about making the longer voyage south to Los Angeles/ Long Beach, which has the added advantage of a huge consumer market at hand. Or perhaps the options lie north, at Vancouver, or even that terminal under construction at Prince Rupert, B.C.

It's that kind of reminder that will probably do quite a bit to get the idea of shipping through the Rupert port out there. One or two lines about the misfortune of one place, countered by the possibilities of another.

You can't actually go out and buy that kind of publicity, it must be a bonus for the local Port when it just seems to fall into your lap.

Here's the full story from the Seattle paper, it makes for an interesting look at an organization that got a little fat and a little arrogant and may soon suffer from competition that wasn't even on the radar three years ago...

The port must quit acting like it has a monopoly
By BILL VIRGIN
Seattle P-I COLUMNIST
Tuesday, January 2, 2006

At times, the Port of Seattle's attitude toward its taxpaying constituents, and its less-than-rigorous devotion to the fine points of skinflint budgeting and spending, recall the famous comedy routine with Lily Tomlin as a telephone operator, a bit that ends with the line, "We don't care. We don't have to. We're the phone company."

But the analogy breaks down quickly because the phone company was a monopoly, at least until the feds allowed competitors into Ma Bell's long distance business and eventually forced a breakup of the entire AT&T conglomerate.

The Port of Seattle, however, is not a monopoly -- at least not to the people who count.
Which are not, many of you will be disappointed to learn, the taxpayers.

The port has been in the news a bit of late, with an illuminating three-day series in the Seattle P-I on the port's financial arrangements and management that highlighted and revived long-standing concerns about the organization's lavish spending, the compensation package for its chief executive, its dabbling in real estate ventures, the incessant wining and dining and international junkets -- er, customer relations and research trips -- and cozy relationships with those contracting to do business with the port.

The stories certainly did nothing to dissuade those who believe that port commissioners and management should be devoting more of their time and attention to a relentless pursuit of increased revenue, decreased costs, higher market share, greater financial return to the taxpayers and the region -- or else find a way to unwind the whole operation.

Port defenders might argue that the lack of a true "a-HA!" moment in those stories indicates that things are just peachy down on Pier 66 (although such are the low standards in these parts that "good government" means "they're not stealing from us"), and that the media should stop fixating on all that inconsequential stuff of a buck here or there.

They might also contend that the port is in fact doing just those things its critics wish them to do. In November, the port issued a forecast for record revenue in 2007, reflecting, according to the announcement, "higher passenger fees and volumes at the port's cruise terminals, increased grain exports, higher occupancy rates at various Seaport properties and more passengers at Sea-Tac Airport."

It also announced a small decrease in the tax levy per $1,000 in assessed value, although the port actually plans to collect more money because of increased property values.

But another recent story raises the question of just how well the port is paying attention to the big-picture issues.

Seattle P-I ports reporter Kristen Millares Bolt recently wrote that port management was considering making a $5 million donation to the University of Washington's business school. Fortunately, the idea struck a majority of commissioners as being too odd even for them, and the proposal has been tabled.

The immediate temptation is to suggest that if the port doesn't have any better idea of what to do with an idle $5 million, it might actually consider the radical notion of returning it to beleaguered taxpayers. But the larger question is why the port couldn't have found something better to do with the money within its core business.

Maybe $5 million doesn't buy a lot in the way of concrete and rebar these days, but surely it might buy something in the way of tweaks to get cargo in and out of the port quickly, or even to study how to relieve the Northwest's increasingly congested rail lines. Those are the sorts of ideas the general public wouldn't know of, but that's why we pay good money for port commissioners and staff, isn't it?

And the port ought to be scrambling about now for ideas on how to accomplish "freight mobility," especially if certain interests get their wish to tear down the viaduct and dump all that traffic onto surface streets.

Shipping company executives may like eating and drinking on the Port's tab, but they probably would have a greater appreciation of not having their cargo idling in traffic or rail yards and their ships idling at terminals.

Too much idling, and the shipping companies will decide to explore options. How about Tacoma? Maybe Everett would like to expand in the container-handling business. Or how about making the longer voyage south to Los Angeles/ Long Beach, which has the added advantage of a huge consumer market at hand. Or perhaps the options lie north, at Vancouver, or even that terminal under construction at Prince Rupert, B.C.

Even in the air business, the Port of Seattle does not hold a monopoly. It has quashed, for the moment, the threat of Boeing Field emerging as a competitor, and residents' objections may keep Paine Field from ever developing as a passenger terminal. But that's not to say flights and passenger traffic couldn't be diverted to Bellingham, or Olympia, or even McChord, should the Air Force ever decide it no longer needs the base.

Monopolies are never secure even when they're complete -- and the Port of Seattle isn't, which is why taxpayers would like to see a more competitive attitude from it. For taxpayers, the Port of Seattle may be the only port we've got. But the Port of Seattle isn't the only port shippers have.

Are we but mere hewers of wood and drawers of water?

Two separate news accounts this weekend seem to be conspiring to send Northwestern BC back to the early days of exploration, far from the modern manufacturing world that we seemed to have had in place a mere five or six years ago.

The first story came out just before New Year’s as the BCUC turned down Aclan’s bid to siphon off a good portion of the water produced from Kemano to be resold to BC Hydro and sent into the provincial electricity grid. The plan that Alcan and BC Hydro cooked up over the summer found quite a bit of opposition, as critics contended that the power generated should be returned into the Kitimat plant for the manufacturing of aluminum, rather than as a profit centre for the Aluminum giant.

With the announcement on the weekend, Alcan has now taken to reconsidering their 1.8 billion dollar modernization at Kitimat. Where that would leave all that power that is currently generated remains to be seen, but a pull out of Kitimat would certainly have an impact on the entire northwest corner of the province.

As if that thought isn’t a worrisome enough trend, comes word that Harmac mill in Nanaimo is in a temporary shutdown due to a lack of fibre supply. A situation that they hope to solve by doubling the amount of imports of fibre from the Northwest, they hope to sign contracts to guarantee a steady supply of fibre from our local woods to feed their Nanaimo operations.

Where that would leave any future start up of the former Skeena mill on Watson Island is another good question. One would assume that if the fibre supply here is guaranteed for mills on Vancouver Island, then the prospect of starting up the local pulp mill gets further and further from the operational mode, after all as the folks in Nanaimo are pointing out, you need fibre to operate a pulp mill.

So our water may or may not result in lost jobs in Kitimat, while our lumber gets sent away to keep jobs alive in Nanaimo.

You just have to wonder if anyone’s thinking about the folks living here in the always popular “heartland” (remember when that term was all the rage?) , funny how the resources are on our doorstep, but all the profits and more than a few of the jobs are being delivered somewhere else..

What do CSIS and Pat Robertson have in common?

Well, if the Globe and Mail is to be believed, the near arrival of some horrible terrorist attack is a shared destiny of the two.

Two stories in the Globe today suggest that something wicked this way comes and perhaps soon.


CSIS released a study that should set Canadians to wonder about the future. The study which was undertaken in October expresses surprise that “that terrorists have not detonated a crude radioactive bomb, given the availability of materials and ease with which they could be made into a weapon.”

And while they aren’t raising alarm bells just yet, “CSIS contends detonation of a crude bomb is “undoubtedly the most likely” terrorist scenario involving radioactive sources.”

On the other end of the anxiety measuring stick comes word from Pat Robertson that God has once again dropped by to share some troubling news. During his news-and-talk television show The 700 Club on the Christian Broadcasting Network, Robertson said that sometime late this year, terrorists will inflict mass killings in America.

Robertson has been rather busy of late in the predictions department but not particularly successful, having called for a tsunami to devastate the American coast in 2006, he eventually suggested that heavy rains in New England fulfilled that destiny, certainly a scaled down version of Apocalypse Now.

He trucks on undaunted though, suggesting that he has a pretty good track record, even if he misses from time to time to time.

Now I’m not sure about you, but me I’m hoping that CSIS has a better record than Pat! We have a lot more riding on their thoroughness, than we do on the prognosticating television host…

You say Obama, I say Osama, let's call the whole thing off.

It's almost something that could be turned into a musical. In what is becoming a rather common occurrence at CNN these days, the network once again has had to apologize for a "mis-speak or was that a mis-type" of one of it's news personnel.

This time a heavy hitter had to offer up the mea culpas, as the normally solid, reliable and polished Wolf Blitzer of the Situation Room mistakenly promoted an upcoming feature on the search for Osama bin Laden, as the search for Obama.

Blaming a typographical error, which apparently sees the b and s keys at CNN closer together than on most keyboards, CNN quickly fell over themselves to offer up apologies to the Democrat from Illinois , a man who apparently didn't know he was missing and who many feel is a serious contender for the Democratic nomination for President in 2008.

Besides Blitzer himself who planned on phoning Barack Obama with his I'm sorrows, CNN had their news hawkers busy this morning offering up their apologies for the gaffe.

The rather unfortunate glitch comes on the heels of some Republicans making much of Obama's middle name of Hussein, hoping against hope that some of the negativity of the recently deceased despot of Baghdad might stick to the mantle of Mr. Obama.

Somewhere, you sense that Karl Rove was having a good belly laugh at the expense of the supposedly liberal leaning CNN..

Perhaps CNN might wish to add an apologies and retraction section to their website, especially if they insist on running up the errors on the error board.

Either that or maybe change their Network ID to Fox. Where they claim to be fair, balanced and perhaps even able to type.

Nature wreaks her wrath on a new year!

We're not alone in celebrating a new year from the inside, while the elements outside rage about.

Canoe news did a little survey of coast to coast weather conditions and 2006 left like a Lion and turned things over to the other Lion for the start of 2007. In particular, Prince Rupert gets a high profile mention with this quote:

On B.C.'s north coast, gale-force winds have hampered ferry services since last week and residents were preparing for more of the same.

Clayton Morrison, the manager of a Tim Horton's in Prince Rupert, said he's never seen the weather this severe. "It's blowing out windows on cars," he said, noting two windows of his neighbour's van broke a few days ago after being pelted with grit and high winds.

All the wild weather coast to coast will have Canadians running to the video store to watch Al Gore's epic tribute to Global warming, An Inconvenient truth.

That is if they feel like going out of the house, the full coast to coast review is provided below.



New Year weather 'horrible'
Tue, January 2, 2007
Canadians greet 2007 under a wide and bizarre range of weather conditions.
By LISA ARROWSMITH, CP

EDMONTON -- While New Year's Day was downright toasty for scuba divers taking a fundraising dip in Toronto's harbour, residents of B.C.'s western coast battened down the hatches again after warnings they could get up to 180 millimetres of rain and gale-force winds.
Environment Canada issued rainfall warnings for southern B.C. and heavy snowfall warnings for the province's Interior yesterday.

Southern Ontario's record-breaking 9 C temperatures brought out groups of motorcyclists, tennis players and street hockey enthusiasts. But the unusually warm temperatures also brought out concerns that Canadians are reaping the effects of climate change.

"It shouldn't really be this warm," said a coatless Jennifer Case as she enjoyed a bowl of noodles at a picnic bench in Toronto. "It probably has to do with all the cars going around (the city)."
"I think it's horrible, it's global warming actualized and we've been talking about it for years and now it's happening," said Kim Menzies as she had a cigarette outside Toronto's Eaton Centre.
"It's frightening."

On B.C.'s north coast, gale-force winds have hampered ferry services since last week and residents were preparing for more of the same.

Clayton Morrison, the manager of a Tim Hortons in Prince Rupert, said he's never seen the weather this severe.

"It's blowing out windows on cars," he said, noting two windows of his neighbour's van broke a few days ago after being pelted with grit and high winds.

After weeks of unusually mild temperatures with little snow, freezing rain and heavy rainfall warnings came as a bit of a shock to many Atlantic Canadians.

Polar Bear dippers plunged from a wharf in Herring Cove, N.S. to celebrate the New Year, but Stephen Cheung, 38, who researches hypothermia at Dalhousie University, wasn't interested.
"I do this all the time in my lab, so I don't feel a huge need to do it," he laughed.

All these weather extremes aren't that unusual this time of year, say experts.

"Keep in mind that Canada is a rather wide country," said Environment Canada meteorologist Lisa Coldwells from Vancouver. "That's why we end up with these areas where we can have really cold and wet weather in one area, and contrast that with the really warm weather in the East."

Plows in Winnipeg began to get the upper hand yesterday on a vicious winter storm that blew through on the weekend, dumping up to 36 centimetres of snow in some areas.

Quebecers were left dealing with their own share of misery on the first day of the new year. Freezing rain, hail and snow hit throughout the province early yesterday. But higher than normal temperatures meant motorists avoided nightmarish driving conditions.

Will Alcan weigh their options?

The announcement just before New Years that the BC Utilities Commission had turned thumbs down on an arrangement between Alcan and BC Hyrdo is beginning to spark some interest in the long term impact on the Kitimat area.

Back in August, Alcan announced a 1.8 billion dollar investment in the Kitimat works smelter in a bid to boost capacity at the aging aluminum plant. At the time it was suggested that project was on conditional on an agreement being signed with BC Hydro among other issues tied to the project.

With Friday's announcement, many will be waiting to see if the shoe drops here, or if the project will go ahead as announced, a spokesperson for Premier Gordon Campbell's office described their reaction as disappointed at the Utility Commission's decision, but that they will consider their options from here on.

The debate will once again return a certain amount of uncertainty to the Kitimat dialogue for the next little while, a place that they have spent a good portion of the last few years. It proved to be a debate that split the community quite nicely and left some scars, the latest twist will open up some old ones and no doubt create a few new ones for 2007.

The Globe and Mail has an interesting article on the issue on their website, that explains the background of the debate over what the Utilities Commission had to consider.


Ruling puts smelter in limbo
WENDY STUECK
Globe and Mail Update
December 31, 2006

Vancouver — A regulator's decision to reject a power sales agreement between aluminum giant Alcan Inc. and Crown-owned British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority has elated those who fought against the deal, but raises questions about whether Alcan will go ahead with a planned $2-billion smelter upgrade in Kitimat.

“That's obviously one concern,” Mike Morton, press secretary for B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell, said Sunday, adding that the province is “disappointed” with the regulator's decision.
“But we're going to look at the decision and give full consideration to what our options are.”

The British Columbia Utilities Commission said on Friday that it would not approve a long-term power agreement between Alcan and B.C. Hydro, saying the deal was not in the public interest and that B.C. Hydro should not have accepted the pricing provisions of the proposed agreement, which would have seen Alcan sell surplus electricity to the province.

B.C. Hydro and Alcan said Friday they were disappointed with the utility commission's decision but would not be making any decisions until the commission released its reasons, likely early this year.

When they filed the proposed deal with the regulator, B.C. Hydro and Alcan initially tried to keep some terms confidential for competitive reasons, but gave up that request after critics argued the deal should get a full hearing.

The proposed agreement included $111-million in lump sum payments to Alcan, to be paid in two instalments.

The power deal is an integral part of an upgrade that Alcan announced last August, when it said it would spend about $1.8-billion (U.S.) to boost capacity at its Kitimat plant in northwestern B.C.

At the time, Alcan said the project was conditional on several factors, including an agreement with B.C. Hydro.

Over the past few years, Kitimat Mayor Richard Wozney has spearheaded a fight against Alcan over the issue of power sales, maintaining that Alcan is selling surplus electricity at the expense of aluminum production and, in the process, breaking its agreement with the province over water rights.

In an interview Sunday, Mr. Wozney said there is a risk that Alcan could take its investment dollars elsewhere, but argued that the risks of the proposed power sales agreement were far greater.

“The bigger risk would have been if the [B.C. Utilities Commission] had approved the agreement. It would have meant a bigger disaster for our community because it was basically a power sales agreement,” Mr. Wozney said.

The increased volume of electricity sales permitted under the deal, compared with a previous agreement, would have meant “the death knell for the aluminum industry in British Columbia and in particular in Kitimat,” Mr. Wozney said.

Critics of the deal said it was negotiated without a competitive bidding process and gave Alcan an unfair advantage because it used prices based on new power projects, even though Alcan's generating plant in nearby Kemano — operating since the 1950s — churns out electricity at a much lower cost.

The cost of producing power at Kemano is about $5 (Canadian) a megawatt hour. The proposed agreement would have seen B.C. Hydro pay an average rate of $71 a megawatt hour.

B.C. Hydro argued the deal was a good one for ratepayers because it provided reliable power at fixed, competitive prices.

The utility currently has to import some power to meet the province's needs.
But one intervenor in the case maintained the deal was a heavy-handed attempt by the province to use ratepayers' money to encourage industrial development.

“This was an initiative that was driven by the Premier's office and was an industrial development strategy for the Kitimat area,” said James Quail, executive director for the B.C. Public Interest Advocacy Centre, which represented ratepayers at the hearing before the commission.

“And it's simply not appropriate to load electricity rates with the cost of programs of that nature.”

Utilities Commission orders can be appealed, but an appeal has a chance of success only if it can be shown that the commission made some serious error of law or in some way exceeded its jurisdiction, Mr. Quail said.

He added that he thought the prospects of an appeal were “very poor.”

Update: Alcan responds to the BCUC decision
January 2, 2007

The Canadian Press has the following reply from Alcan regarding the events of last week and its potential impact on the future of the Kitimat Works plant.


Alcan evaluating B.C. power decision
Canadian Press
January 2, 2007

MONTREAL — Alcan Inc. is warning of a negative impact on its $2-billion Kitimat aluminum smelter plan after the B.C. Utilities Commission rejected an energy supply agreement between the company and BC Hydro.

“We are disappointed with the BCUC decision and will be studying it closely to better understand the commission's rationale and to determine the potential impact on the feasibility and timing of the Kitimat Modernization Project,” CEO Michel Jacques said Tuesday in a release.

“We understand that this period of uncertainty will be difficult for the region affected by the BCUC decision.”

Alcan produces excess electricity at its massive Kemano power project that it can sell to the province or other buyers. An approval by the commission was one of three conditions set by Alcan for the final go-ahead of the Kitimat modernization project on Aug. 14.

The other two key conditions are the resolution of environmental permitting issues and a long-term labour agreement to ensure stability during the planning, the construction and the startup of the modernization project.

A spokesman for B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said on the weekend the government was disappointed by the regulatory decision blocking a power sales agreement with Alcan.

Mike Morton said officials will review the decision and look at options.

On Friday, the commission rejected a proposed long-term power contract with Alcan was not in the public interest.

A commission panel said BC Hydro shouldn't have agreed to pricing provisions and the commission “does not accept BC Hydro's evidence regarding the value of the benefits to ratepayers” of the agreement, commission secretary Robert Pellatt said in a letter.

Critics say the deal was struck without competitive bidding and would see Alcan reap the same rates for its electricity as new projects, even though costs at its Kemano power plant are much lower.

Hey Bill, where's my laptop?

I'm sure it got lost in the mail, things are rather slow at this time of the year. Microsoft is making an attempt to be nice to bloggers, by providing many new laptops loaded with the new Vista operating system.

It was seen as a way to get some positive buzz on the new system from the normally hard to please computer using community. However, as is normally the case with these kinds of approaches, it wasn't long before the blogging world reacted in horror, at the prospect of being bribed.

90 Acer Ferrari computers, containing the Vista system were sent out to bloggers who write about technology, photography and parenting in hopes of generating some positive vibes about the new system.

Microsoft sent out follow up e mails to the lucky 90 asking them to return the laptops or give them to someone else after they've evaluated the new system. Though they then suggested that what the first wave of recipients did with their gifts was entirely up to them.

Mindful of their place as the omnipresent computing Giant that they are they must be careful about image. They certainly wouldn't want to risk the wrath of another deity that has power, Microsoft didn't want to be tagged with the line, "Microsoft giveth and they can taketh away."

And How was your New Years Eve party?

One suspects that these guys aren't the only ones lazing around the house today!

(photo from BCC website)

New Years Day

Yes it is, let Bono and the boys help you ring in a new year!