The process to bring wind power on line on the North coast has moved on to the consultation phase now, as the proponents of a Queen Charlotte Islands project prepare to submit their application.
The Daily News provided some background into the process as its front page story in Wednesday’s paper.
‘Exciting’ wind farm plans are breaking new ground
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Pages one and three
An offshore wind farm development in the Hecate Strait is diving into new waters and looking for direction.
The NaiKun Wind Energy Group, the company proposing a wind farm in the shallow waters northeast of the Queen Charlotte Islands, is the first company in Canada to have officially entered into the environmental assessment process for an offshore wind farm.
Archie Riddell, project assessment director of the provincial environmental assessment office, said NaiKun has submitted its draft terms of reference and now it is the public’s turn to comment.
“At this stage, the proponent (NaiKun) works with government agencies to identify the material that will go into the application — what issues are out there and how do they propose to deal with them,” said Riddell.
“The terms of reference are a really important part of the process because it does guide the content of the final application.”
The project is unique as this is the first time an offshore wind farm has gone through an environmental assessment in Canada. As such, there are no other examples for government or the public to draw upon.
“This is Canada’s first offshore wind proposal and there is a lot of interest as you can imagine in green energy and innovation and this projects excites people,” he said.
The public comment period on the draft terms of reference ends April 28. After that, NaiKun will review government and public comment, and address those issues.
“Then they’ll want to finalize their terms of reference so they can get out in the field and do the work that will support their application,” he said.
After the company submits its application, the public will get another opportunity to comment.
NaiKun is proposing to build a five phase 1,750 megawatt wind farm, however the environmental assessment is only for the first phase. This includes between 67 and 110 turbines that generate 350 megawatts and cover an area approximately 36 square kilometres on Dogfish Banks.
The electricity from the turbines will be gathered via sea cables at an offshore substation and transmitted to the mainland, interconnecting with BC Hydro’s 287-kV power line at a point near Prince Rupert.
The planned transmission route may cross Porcher and Smith Islands with overhead transmission lines.
The 30-day public comment period began March 30 and ends April 28. The draft terms of reference and information on submissions are available at www.eao.gov.bc.ca.
Filing the draft terms of reference is just one highlight for the company in 2006.
At is Annual General Meeting in Vancouver on March 30, Michael C. Burns, chairman, noted the company also secured funding of more than $9 million through two separate offerings to the investment community.
It also secured a contribution from the ENMAX strategic partnership as well as the exercise of warrants and stock options.
More importantly, strong investor interest in the company and the green energy sector has led to a significant increase in the valuation of the company during the past 12 months.
“The last year has been an exceptional one for NaiKun,” said Burns.
“The positive public policy environment, strong investor interest and support, together with the funding and validation by ENMAX have put NaiKun in a very strong position to realize the potential of the Haida Energy Field.”
Friday, April 20, 2007
Fraser Institute Report card receives local coverage
The Daily News reviewed the findings of the Fraser Institutes annual report card on secondary schools, with an examination of the fate of the schools of the Northwest.
They presented their coverage on the always controversial report, as part of Tuesday’s paper.
FRASER INSTITUE GRADES SCHOOLS’ EFFORTS
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Page one
Three schools in the northwester part of the province were lauded by the Fraser Institute’s annual report card on secondary schools.
Bulkley Valley Christian School, Smithers Secondary and Burns Lake ranked among the 24 most significantly improved schools.
Meanwhile, Charles Hays Secondary and Prince Rupert Secondary both ranked below their five year average in the listing, coming in at 262 out of 291 and 254 out of 291 respectively.
The report card, which examines 291 private and public schools across B. C., used nine indicators to determine the rankings, including the average Grade 10 and Grade 12 provincial examination marks, percentage of Grade 10 and Grade 12 exams failed, difference between the school mark and examination mark in Grade 12 provincially examinable courses, difference between male and female students in Grade 12 English and Math, number of provincially examinable courses taken by Grade 12 students, graduation rate and delayed advancement rate.
“Unlike a simple snapshot, the report card shows parents and educators how each school has done in academics over a number of years, allowing them to judge the school’s ongoing performance,” said Peter Cowley, the Institute’s director of School Performance, Studies and co-author of the report card.
“Seeing how other schools have improved and what they have accomplished can make a useful contribution to each school’s efforts at on going improvement.”
At Charles Hays, the school received a ranking of 4.1 out of 10 this year, up from 3.8 last year but down from its historical five-year high of 6 in 2001.
The average exam mark for Grade 12 students on provincial exams was 64.3 per cent, a number that has been dropping consistently from 67.9 per cent in 2000.
The percentage of provincial exams failed increased from 13.4 per cent in 2005 to 17.8 per cent in 2006, while the graduation rate was 94.3 per cent with delayed advancement at 51.3 per cent.
At Prince Rupert Secondary, the school received a ranking of 4.4 out of 10 this year, down from 4.6 last year and its historical five-year high of 6.7 in 2002 and 2000.
The average exam mark for Grade 12 students on provincial exams was 69.9 the highest ranking for the school in the past five years.
The percentage of provincial exams failed increased from 13.5 per cent in 2005 to 19.7 per cent in 2006, while the graduation rate was 83.7 per cent with delayed advancement at 49.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Nisga’a Secondary School increased its ranking from 0 to one this year, with an average Grade 12 exam mark of 56.3 per cent. The percentage of provincial exams failed was up from 28.1 in 2005 to 44.9 in 2006, with the number of provincial exams taken per student at 0.8.
The graduation rate was 100 per cent in 2006, up from 96.5 per cent in 2005 and the delayed advancement rate was 55.3 per cent.
They presented their coverage on the always controversial report, as part of Tuesday’s paper.
FRASER INSTITUE GRADES SCHOOLS’ EFFORTS
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Page one
Three schools in the northwester part of the province were lauded by the Fraser Institute’s annual report card on secondary schools.
Bulkley Valley Christian School, Smithers Secondary and Burns Lake ranked among the 24 most significantly improved schools.
Meanwhile, Charles Hays Secondary and Prince Rupert Secondary both ranked below their five year average in the listing, coming in at 262 out of 291 and 254 out of 291 respectively.
The report card, which examines 291 private and public schools across B. C., used nine indicators to determine the rankings, including the average Grade 10 and Grade 12 provincial examination marks, percentage of Grade 10 and Grade 12 exams failed, difference between the school mark and examination mark in Grade 12 provincially examinable courses, difference between male and female students in Grade 12 English and Math, number of provincially examinable courses taken by Grade 12 students, graduation rate and delayed advancement rate.
“Unlike a simple snapshot, the report card shows parents and educators how each school has done in academics over a number of years, allowing them to judge the school’s ongoing performance,” said Peter Cowley, the Institute’s director of School Performance, Studies and co-author of the report card.
“Seeing how other schools have improved and what they have accomplished can make a useful contribution to each school’s efforts at on going improvement.”
At Charles Hays, the school received a ranking of 4.1 out of 10 this year, up from 3.8 last year but down from its historical five-year high of 6 in 2001.
The average exam mark for Grade 12 students on provincial exams was 64.3 per cent, a number that has been dropping consistently from 67.9 per cent in 2000.
The percentage of provincial exams failed increased from 13.4 per cent in 2005 to 17.8 per cent in 2006, while the graduation rate was 94.3 per cent with delayed advancement at 51.3 per cent.
At Prince Rupert Secondary, the school received a ranking of 4.4 out of 10 this year, down from 4.6 last year and its historical five-year high of 6.7 in 2002 and 2000.
The average exam mark for Grade 12 students on provincial exams was 69.9 the highest ranking for the school in the past five years.
The percentage of provincial exams failed increased from 13.5 per cent in 2005 to 19.7 per cent in 2006, while the graduation rate was 83.7 per cent with delayed advancement at 49.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Nisga’a Secondary School increased its ranking from 0 to one this year, with an average Grade 12 exam mark of 56.3 per cent. The percentage of provincial exams failed was up from 28.1 in 2005 to 44.9 in 2006, with the number of provincial exams taken per student at 0.8.
The graduation rate was 100 per cent in 2006, up from 96.5 per cent in 2005 and the delayed advancement rate was 55.3 per cent.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Lumber Wars set to begin anew?
Attention all lumber mills, the seven month old softwood lumber deal between Canada and the USA is apparently back on the front burner. As American officials claim that Canada is breaking its side of the deal and threaten to take the dispute to arbitration in the United Kingdom. The two nations set up meetings in Ottawa on Thursday to try and sort out their differences. There has been no announcement as to how those talks progressed today.
The latest cross border trouble arose after a six page letter of complaint issued March 3oth by US Trade Representative Susan Shwab, the letter outlines a number of complaints against Canada that the Trade Representative says contravenes the deal.
The long battles over softwood wreaked havoc for Canadian Forest Companies for a number of years, while the American side disregarded a number of "victories" by Canadian mills, playing out the clock as they say until they rattled off their own set of "victories." It became one of the bitterest of issues between the two nations and was quick to raise the passions on both sides of the border. It continues to be a hot button issue in BC to this day.
At the time of it's completion the Softwood Lumber Agreement was supposed to bring peace to the raging war of words, but it would seem that for the lumber industry, peace may be a very short lived concept.
The latest cross border trouble arose after a six page letter of complaint issued March 3oth by US Trade Representative Susan Shwab, the letter outlines a number of complaints against Canada that the Trade Representative says contravenes the deal.
The long battles over softwood wreaked havoc for Canadian Forest Companies for a number of years, while the American side disregarded a number of "victories" by Canadian mills, playing out the clock as they say until they rattled off their own set of "victories." It became one of the bitterest of issues between the two nations and was quick to raise the passions on both sides of the border. It continues to be a hot button issue in BC to this day.
At the time of it's completion the Softwood Lumber Agreement was supposed to bring peace to the raging war of words, but it would seem that for the lumber industry, peace may be a very short lived concept.
Pictures of Podunk: Gaming Centre progress
Slowly but surely the gaming centre is starting to take shape. While many may think that this could be the first open air covered gaming centre in the province, one suspects that now the roof is finally up, the walls should surely follow. Located on the old Legion site, the Chances Gaming centre will have a rather amazing view of Prince Rupert harbour, which most likely won't get much of a look see once the slot machines and other modes of gambling are encased within the centres walls. Originally scheduled to be open by February, it's safe to say the project is a tad behind scehdule.
Abalone poachers net house arrest and other punishment
Three Prince Rupert area residents have been sentenced for their part in the largest seizure of illegal caught abalone in BC history.
In a case that first came to light last year, the three were caught in a DFO investigation in Port Edward
Stanley McNeil received a 12-month conditional sentence and a $40,000 fine. His brother, Daniel McNeil was slapped with four months house arrest, 80 hours community service and a $10,000 fine. A third man, Randal Graf received that same sentence and fine.
In addition to the fines and sentencing conditions, their fishing boat, truck and scuba gear were forfeited and the three were banned from scuba diving.
The three no doubt are feeling quite fortunate with their fate, as the possible punishment could have included a 750,000 dollar fine and up to seven years in jail.
House arrest, fines for B.C. abalone poachers
Canadian Press
April 19, 2007
PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. (CP) - Three abalone poachers have been slapped with house arrest and heavy fines in a Prince Rupert courtroom.
They plead guilty earlier to poaching 11,000 abalone, shellfish that have been protected since 1990 as an endangered species. Stanley McNeil received a 12-month conditional sentence and a $40,000 fine.
His brother, Daniel McNeil was slapped with four months house arrest, 80 hours community service and a $10,000 fine.
A third man, Randal Graf received that same sentence and fine.
The judge Wednesday also ordered the forfeiture of their fishing boat, truck and scuba gear. They have also been banned from scuba diving.
The seizure last February in Port Edward was the largest in B.C. history.
In a case that first came to light last year, the three were caught in a DFO investigation in Port Edward
Stanley McNeil received a 12-month conditional sentence and a $40,000 fine. His brother, Daniel McNeil was slapped with four months house arrest, 80 hours community service and a $10,000 fine. A third man, Randal Graf received that same sentence and fine.
In addition to the fines and sentencing conditions, their fishing boat, truck and scuba gear were forfeited and the three were banned from scuba diving.
The three no doubt are feeling quite fortunate with their fate, as the possible punishment could have included a 750,000 dollar fine and up to seven years in jail.
House arrest, fines for B.C. abalone poachers
Canadian Press
April 19, 2007
PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. (CP) - Three abalone poachers have been slapped with house arrest and heavy fines in a Prince Rupert courtroom.
They plead guilty earlier to poaching 11,000 abalone, shellfish that have been protected since 1990 as an endangered species. Stanley McNeil received a 12-month conditional sentence and a $40,000 fine.
His brother, Daniel McNeil was slapped with four months house arrest, 80 hours community service and a $10,000 fine.
A third man, Randal Graf received that same sentence and fine.
The judge Wednesday also ordered the forfeiture of their fishing boat, truck and scuba gear. They have also been banned from scuba diving.
The seizure last February in Port Edward was the largest in B.C. history.
Local Liberals make their plans for possible spring election
The tea leaves suggest that Canadians may be going to the polls this spring, the minority government of Stephen Harper apparently waiting to see if the opposition has the desire to take the nation back to a vote.
If events locally are any indication, the opposition parties may have spread the word to the faithful that they are ready to force a confidence vote and take us all back to the voting booth.
Local Liberals selected a Prince Rupert resident as their flag carrier for any possible election call, Corinna Morhart was acclaimed as the nominee for Skeena Bulkley Valley, after Maarke Piket withdrew from the race last month, thinking that a possible election may conflict with a family wedding.
That was a definite step forward for family values, but certainly a sign that the Liberal chances may not be as solid as head office might like to think. The lack of other candidates for the nomination might be construed as a worrisome thing for Liberals.
Normally a Liberal nomination would attract a diverse group of possible candidates, each hoping to cash in on a national wave of Liberal votes. In fact, in many ridings across Canada, a Liberal nomination meeting attracts many looking for that guaranteed trip to Ottawa.
To only have one stand, is possibly a sign of a party that is not resonating with local residents at the moment. Regardless of the optics though, Ms. Morhart will now prepare to take the Liberal message to the riding and attempt to wrest the seat from NDP incumbent Nathan Cullen.
The Daily News profiled the candidate and her background as the campaign trail begins to show some early signs of life. It's a tad ironic that the Daily News provides more information about the Liberal candidate than the party's own website does at the moment.
The least the party could do for their candidate, would be to put Ms. Morhart's name on their list of candidates, it would be a good first step on the way to the anticipated election.
BATTLE LINES NOW DRAWN FOR ANTICIPATED ELECTION
Parties are picking their candidates in local riding as an election looms
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Pages one and three
As Members of Parliament return to the House of Commons this week, local political constituencies continue to sort themselves out in preparation for an election call.
Skeena-Bulkley Valley Liberals have selected Prince Rupert resident Corinna Morhart as their candidate by acclamation. The only other candidate, Maarke Picket, withdrew from the Liberal race last month.
“I am interested in hearing from people all over, from Bella Bella to the Yukon border, from the Queen Charlotte Islands to Fraser Lake,” said Morhart.
“We need to be heard in Ottawa and I am committed to serving this riding with honesty, hard work and integrity. I want to represent you in Ottawa, to bring a strong voice for our issues and concerns in this riding to the table.”
The nomination meeting was held in Terrace on April 11 in order to have a candidate in place in tie for a federal election that is widely expected for late May or early June. The Liberal Party of Canada is moving quickly to have candidates ready.
Piket and the riding executive will provide support and assistance to Morhart’s campaign team as they work together on an election readiness strategy that they hope will build the Liberal presence in the riding.
Local Liberals believe that Stephane Dion’s message of a richer, fairer, and greener Canada will resonate with local voters who are concerned about the direction that Stephen Harper’s Conservatives would lead the country.
Morhart has deep roots in the region having been born and raised in Terrace. She currently lives in Prince Rupert as she completes her Bachelor in Social Work at UNBC.
Morhart has three grown children and almost one year old grand daughter.
Her mother, Gerry Rhyason (nee Edgar) I Tsimshian from Lax Kw’alaams and her father, James Morhart currently resides in Terrace.
“It is with my family’s link to this are for 5,000 years, that I am committed and dedicated to go to Ottawa for positive changes in our region,” she said.
Piket withdrew her name when it became apparent that an election may clash with a family wedding on June 2.
Meanwhile, the Christian Heritage Party of Skeena-Bulkley Valley elected Rod Taylor to represent their party.
In his candidate’s speech, Taylor spoke on the topic of “Using Both Hands” a reference to the importance of a complete commitment to the building of families, communities and nations. Taylor emphasized the importance of defending moral principles while working to restore truth and justice in society. Taylor thanked party members for their support for his campaign to restore family values and social justice and he encouraged supporters to press on.
Two-time incumbent Skeena-Bulkley Valley NDP MP Nathan Cullen has said he will also run again in the upcoming election.
We'll be right back after this short commercial message, April 18
With the NHL playoffs off and running, we turn back the time machine to a Canadian Tire classic.
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You are cordially invited to return to your jobs!
CN Rail lifted its lockout and “invited” workers back to their jobs Wednesday night, one day before Parliamentary legislation to end the bitter labour dispute between the railroad and its union workforce represented by the United Transportation Union.
The labour dispute took another wild turn this week, when the membership of the UTU voted to reject their tentative deal with the railroad and returned to rotating picket lines. That decision to resume strike action, threatened to return the railway to the kind of occasional chaos that threatened wide sectors of the Canadian economy from Ontario auto plants, to prairie farmers and west coast ports.
With that threat in mind, the federal government then stepped in and brought in its prepared back to work legislation, which received Royal Assent on Wednesday and takes effect on Thursday night. The union has advised its workers to return to the job, while they continue to work on their behalf to address their concerns with Canada’s largest railroad.
Both CN and the UTU provided their take on the situation on their respective websites.
The labour dispute took another wild turn this week, when the membership of the UTU voted to reject their tentative deal with the railroad and returned to rotating picket lines. That decision to resume strike action, threatened to return the railway to the kind of occasional chaos that threatened wide sectors of the Canadian economy from Ontario auto plants, to prairie farmers and west coast ports.
With that threat in mind, the federal government then stepped in and brought in its prepared back to work legislation, which received Royal Assent on Wednesday and takes effect on Thursday night. The union has advised its workers to return to the job, while they continue to work on their behalf to address their concerns with Canada’s largest railroad.
Both CN and the UTU provided their take on the situation on their respective websites.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
It’s just a game!
Perhaps the idea of banning parents from the stands has some merit after all.
Here’s another case of a parent who is missing the point about youth sports and the true meaning of participation.
Perhaps the Hockey Canada commercial (above) about parental pressure could be forwarded to Nebraska it seems like it might be worth a viewing or two!
Soccer mom who left her teen alongside interstate ticketed for neglect: police
Published: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 | 1:03 PM ET
Canadian Press
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - An angry soccer mom who left her teenage daughter alongside an interstate was ticketed for neglect, Lincoln police said Tuesday.
Police spokeswoman Katherine Finnell confirmed this account from police reports:
The 42-year-old Lincoln mom was miffed about her daughter's poor play on Saturday.
On their drive home the girl flubbed the lines her mom had drilled into her on how to improve her game, so the mother slapped her daughter.
The girl told her mom to pull over. The mom did, near the downtown Lincoln exit off Interstate 80.
The mom yelled at the girl to get out. When she did, her mom drove off.
A teammate's parent spotted the girl alongside the interstate, stopped to pick her up, then took her to their home and called police.
Svend, bids adieu to Canada!
Former NDP MP Svend Robinson is heeding the call of Paris in the springtime!
Robinson, who left federal politics in 2004 after a tearful admission of guilt in a stolen
Ring incident will join something called Public Service International, a trade union organization which represents public sector unions in over 140 countries.
Robinson and his partner Max will move to France shortly and are said to be quite excited about the new adventure ahead. And well who wouldn’t be, the weather in France in Spring is magnifique, the baguettes et vin tres bien and the shopping is formidable!
The move however, will require not only change of address cards but an update to Svend's website.
Of course, as with anything to do with the mercurial Robinson’s career, the feedback is fast, furious and for staid old Candians even funny at times. The Globe and Mail had but a wee little story, no more than a couple of paragraphs about his planned move, while the comments section is overflowing with contributions from Globe readers.
It’s a wide ranging collection of thoughts on Mr. Robinson’s past career in Canada and best wishes (both honest and sarcastic) for a long and enjoyable life in France.
Robinson, who left federal politics in 2004 after a tearful admission of guilt in a stolen
Ring incident will join something called Public Service International, a trade union organization which represents public sector unions in over 140 countries.
Robinson and his partner Max will move to France shortly and are said to be quite excited about the new adventure ahead. And well who wouldn’t be, the weather in France in Spring is magnifique, the baguettes et vin tres bien and the shopping is formidable!
The move however, will require not only change of address cards but an update to Svend's website.
Of course, as with anything to do with the mercurial Robinson’s career, the feedback is fast, furious and for staid old Candians even funny at times. The Globe and Mail had but a wee little story, no more than a couple of paragraphs about his planned move, while the comments section is overflowing with contributions from Globe readers.
It’s a wide ranging collection of thoughts on Mr. Robinson’s past career in Canada and best wishes (both honest and sarcastic) for a long and enjoyable life in France.
Old time fraud scheme pops up again in BC
It’s one of the older fraud scams out there, but it still must be working. The RCMP out of Chilliwack have warned their community of the old Bank Examiner Fraud which has apparently found new life in their community.
In the recent case an elderly citizen of the Chilliwack area, met with the “inspector” and turned over an undisclosed amount of cash, which of course has now vanished along with the ever so helpful “bank inspector”.
While it has not been reported in our neck of the woods yet, these things work in cycles so best to be aware of it should the scam arrive here.
As in any situation, no one should be asking for your money, your credit information or things of that nature, if in any doubt contact your bank branch manager and ask questions.
The phone busters website has a number of items of current frauds out there, something worth looking at from time to time to keep up to speed on what the crooks are up to in their quest to steal our money.
Community Warning.
Fraud Alert
The Chilliwack RCMP would like to remind the public of a few basic Fraud Prevention tips. Just last week, an elderly Chilliwack resident was the victim of a fraud , having lost an undisclosed amount of money in the process.
In this particular case, the male suspect used the following scheme to lure the victim into providing him with money.
An individual claiming to be a bank examiner contacts you by phone, and requests your assistance and cooperation in helping them uncover a suspected dishonest bank employee. You are asked to withdraw a specified amount of cash from your account. The "Bank Examiner" takes your money on the premise of verifying the serial numbers. You never see the Fraud Artist / Bank Examiner OR your money again.
More and more desperate thieves and fraud artists will pretend to be from the Security Department of a Financial Institution or Credit Card Company, therefore adding credibility to their fraudulent requests. You are never obliged to provide any personal information whatsoever and in doubt, always ask for the caller's supervisor, phone number and other pertinent information.
The RCMP is involved in a National Task Force known as “ Project Phonebusters” that was established to combat telemarketing fraud.
The public can visit the Website at www.phonebusters.com or call the toll-free line at 1-888-495-8501, in order to learn more ways to protect yourself, your family and friends.
In the recent case an elderly citizen of the Chilliwack area, met with the “inspector” and turned over an undisclosed amount of cash, which of course has now vanished along with the ever so helpful “bank inspector”.
While it has not been reported in our neck of the woods yet, these things work in cycles so best to be aware of it should the scam arrive here.
As in any situation, no one should be asking for your money, your credit information or things of that nature, if in any doubt contact your bank branch manager and ask questions.
The phone busters website has a number of items of current frauds out there, something worth looking at from time to time to keep up to speed on what the crooks are up to in their quest to steal our money.
Community Warning.
Fraud Alert
The Chilliwack RCMP would like to remind the public of a few basic Fraud Prevention tips. Just last week, an elderly Chilliwack resident was the victim of a fraud , having lost an undisclosed amount of money in the process.
In this particular case, the male suspect used the following scheme to lure the victim into providing him with money.
An individual claiming to be a bank examiner contacts you by phone, and requests your assistance and cooperation in helping them uncover a suspected dishonest bank employee. You are asked to withdraw a specified amount of cash from your account. The "Bank Examiner" takes your money on the premise of verifying the serial numbers. You never see the Fraud Artist / Bank Examiner OR your money again.
More and more desperate thieves and fraud artists will pretend to be from the Security Department of a Financial Institution or Credit Card Company, therefore adding credibility to their fraudulent requests. You are never obliged to provide any personal information whatsoever and in doubt, always ask for the caller's supervisor, phone number and other pertinent information.
The RCMP is involved in a National Task Force known as “ Project Phonebusters” that was established to combat telemarketing fraud.
The public can visit the Website at www.phonebusters.com or call the toll-free line at 1-888-495-8501, in order to learn more ways to protect yourself, your family and friends.
A little pre season tutorial
Our little burg gets the look over in the national media as Steve Mertl examines the last year of tourism in the city and the hopes for a better year to come.
In a piece that has appeared in major newspaper across the country and on their respective websites, Mertl takes a look at our town and how the upcoming tourist season looks.
There’s a bit of history, a mini tour of the city and a guide to some of the things to see and do around town for those that wander our way.
It’s an interesting little thumbnail sketch for those that are looking to hit the road this spring and summer and make the Northern Pacific coast their destination.
No dimming Prince Rupert's tourism potential
By STEVE MERTL
Canadian Press
April 18, 2007
Just over a year since B.C. Ferries' Queen of the North ran aground and sank, the ripples that the accident sent through the province's northern tourist industry may finally be starting to subside.
The loss of the ship upset the planned itineraries of many "rubber-tire" tourists who had hoped to catch the ferry either in Prince Rupert and head south or take it north from Port Hardy, on the northern tip Vancouver Island, as part of a circle tour.
"We were hearing about hotel cancellations as far east as Saskatchewan," says Bruce Wishart, Tourism Prince Rupert's executive director.
"So it really tells you how critical a link that Inside Passage is for all the tourism moving not only in British Columbia but beyond."
Ninty-nine passengers and crew were rescued after the Queen of the North struck an island near Prince Rupert on March 22, 2006. Two people are missing and are presumed to have gone down with the ferry.
The incident was a blow to the century-old port city of about 14,500 struggling to recover from the decline of its fishing and forest industries.
But the ship's replacement, named Northern Adventure, has now entered service - the first of three new vessels dedicated to routes along the central and northern B.C. coast.
Sailing every second day, the two-year-old ship, purchased in Greece, is more luxurious and comfortable than the four-decade-old Queen of the North and its aging sister ship, Queen of Prince Rupert. It features more cabins and four luxury staterooms with panoramic views forward.
"We have a lot of work left to do to get back to where we were prior to the sinking, of course - but man, this is a great vessel," Wishart said of the refitted Northern Adventure, which had its first Port Hardy-to-Prince Rupert run on March 31.
Wishart and B.C. Ferries hope the new ships will revive the 15-hour Inside Passage run as a mini-cruise.
"That's of course the market that we lost last season," says Wishart. "That's an extremely popular trip."
Peak summer fares for the daytime trip range up to $116 for adults, not including taxes, fuel surcharges or vehicle costs. A cabin will cost $70-$200 extra.
The Northern Adventure will itself be replaced on the Inside Passage run in two years by a larger, brand-new vessel, the Northern Expedition, being built in Germany. The Northern Adventure then will handle the run between Prince Rupert and the nearby Queen Charlotte Islands.
"The luxury that we have with the Northern Expedition is that we're able to build it from scratch and design it for that specific route," says Dan Wong, B.C. Ferries' communications vice-president.
Prince Rupert, about 750 kilometres north of Vancouver, has always been a city with high hopes.
Outside its art deco city hall - formerly the federal building - there's a statue of city father Charles Melville Hays.
As president of the Grand Trunk Railway, Hays envisioned Prince Rupert as a northern port rivalling Vancouver once his Grand Trunk Pacific line was completed.
Hays went to Europe in 1912 to drum up investment capital and returned home on the maiden voyage of a new liner, the Titanic.
The railway tycoon was among the more than 1,500 people who went down with the ship, taking his dreams with him.
The line - now CN Rail's northern main line and western terminus of Via Rail's Skeena passenger train - was completed but the city never lived up to his vision.
New container port and commodity-handling facilities under construction have revived the promise, and Prince Rupert is once again attracting newcomers.
Its small-town ambience is flavoured with cosmopolitan touches such as a Vancouver-style tapas restaurant named Rain, appropriate on this wettest part of the "Wet Coast."
Visitors are likely to check out Cow Bay, a waterfront stroll of homey cafes and shops adjacent to the cruise ship dock, so named because a dairy herd brought here in 1906 had to swim ashore.
The city attracts about 500,000 visitors a year, including upwards of 90,000 from the four cruise lines that make stops here as part of their Inside Passage Alaskan cruises between May and September.
"We really stand with one foot in British Columbia and one foot in Alaska as the southern terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway," Wishart points out, referring to the Alaska ferry terminal in Prince Rupert.
While it's burnishing its hospitality services, Prince Rupert is trying to avoid becoming a jaded tourist town. Authenticity is the buzzword.
"It reminds people of Alaska 15 or 20 years ago," says Wishart.
The city's beautiful wilderness setting is the real magnet for visitors who show up here.
Prince Rupert sits on Kaien Island, near the mouth of the Skeena River, and its airport is a short ferry ride away on Digby Island.
Some days, bald eagles seem as common as pigeons in southern cities.
Tourists who come in on Air Canada Jazz or Hawk Air scheduled flights get an eagle's view of the North Coast's eye-popping vistas, when it isn't raining.
But arriving B.C. Ferries and cruise-ship passengers see its splendour up close.
Cruise-ship stopovers average about six hours, says Shaun Stevenson, marketing director for the Prince Rupert Port Authority, and have spawned a variety of new services geared to them.
"For us it's been extremely important because our rubber-tire traffic, like off-the-street-stuff, seemed to decline over the last few years," says Ryan Leighton, manager of Seashore Tours.
Prince Rupert has become a hub for wilderness and adventure-oriented fun, from fishing and whale-watching to exploration of the area's rich aboriginal history, showcased at the Museum of Northern British Columbia.
Seashore, operated by the Tsimshian First Nation, offers archeological tours of nearby Pike Island - Laxspa'aws (meaning island of sand) in the Tsimshian language - with petroglyphs attesting to 10,000 years of habitation.
Leighton says its bear-watching tour of the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary is also popular. It runs between May and early August, when grizzlies can be seen from boats as they prowl the shoreline for fish.
Tours average about four hours, manageable for time-pressed cruise-ship visitors.
For some, it's a taste that brings them back for longer visits and even to stay.
"We've seen a few people return off the cruise ships now because they really like the area and the experience," says Leighton. "There's been a few people return and buy property."
-
If you go . . .
Prince Rupert is served by twice-daily Air Canada Jazz and Hawk Air flights from Vancouver; B.C. Ferries' Northern Adventure, running between the city and Port Hardy, Vancouver Island, every two days; Via Rail's Skeena from Jasper, Alta., connecting to Edmonton; cruise lines Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Regent.
Dining: Rain tapas restaurant, Smiles Seafood Cafe, Cow Bay Cafe, La Cucina brick oven pizzeria.
To do: Museum of Northern British Columbia, including First Nations carving shed; whale-and grizzly bear-watching excursions, fishing, wilderness hiking. Raid the North extreme adventure race, June 23-30.
On the web:
www.bcferries.bc.ca
www.tourismprincerupert.com
www.museumofnorthernbc.com
www.cruisetoprincerupert.com
In a piece that has appeared in major newspaper across the country and on their respective websites, Mertl takes a look at our town and how the upcoming tourist season looks.
There’s a bit of history, a mini tour of the city and a guide to some of the things to see and do around town for those that wander our way.
It’s an interesting little thumbnail sketch for those that are looking to hit the road this spring and summer and make the Northern Pacific coast their destination.
No dimming Prince Rupert's tourism potential
By STEVE MERTL
Canadian Press
April 18, 2007
Just over a year since B.C. Ferries' Queen of the North ran aground and sank, the ripples that the accident sent through the province's northern tourist industry may finally be starting to subside.
The loss of the ship upset the planned itineraries of many "rubber-tire" tourists who had hoped to catch the ferry either in Prince Rupert and head south or take it north from Port Hardy, on the northern tip Vancouver Island, as part of a circle tour.
"We were hearing about hotel cancellations as far east as Saskatchewan," says Bruce Wishart, Tourism Prince Rupert's executive director.
"So it really tells you how critical a link that Inside Passage is for all the tourism moving not only in British Columbia but beyond."
Ninty-nine passengers and crew were rescued after the Queen of the North struck an island near Prince Rupert on March 22, 2006. Two people are missing and are presumed to have gone down with the ferry.
The incident was a blow to the century-old port city of about 14,500 struggling to recover from the decline of its fishing and forest industries.
But the ship's replacement, named Northern Adventure, has now entered service - the first of three new vessels dedicated to routes along the central and northern B.C. coast.
Sailing every second day, the two-year-old ship, purchased in Greece, is more luxurious and comfortable than the four-decade-old Queen of the North and its aging sister ship, Queen of Prince Rupert. It features more cabins and four luxury staterooms with panoramic views forward.
"We have a lot of work left to do to get back to where we were prior to the sinking, of course - but man, this is a great vessel," Wishart said of the refitted Northern Adventure, which had its first Port Hardy-to-Prince Rupert run on March 31.
Wishart and B.C. Ferries hope the new ships will revive the 15-hour Inside Passage run as a mini-cruise.
"That's of course the market that we lost last season," says Wishart. "That's an extremely popular trip."
Peak summer fares for the daytime trip range up to $116 for adults, not including taxes, fuel surcharges or vehicle costs. A cabin will cost $70-$200 extra.
The Northern Adventure will itself be replaced on the Inside Passage run in two years by a larger, brand-new vessel, the Northern Expedition, being built in Germany. The Northern Adventure then will handle the run between Prince Rupert and the nearby Queen Charlotte Islands.
"The luxury that we have with the Northern Expedition is that we're able to build it from scratch and design it for that specific route," says Dan Wong, B.C. Ferries' communications vice-president.
Prince Rupert, about 750 kilometres north of Vancouver, has always been a city with high hopes.
Outside its art deco city hall - formerly the federal building - there's a statue of city father Charles Melville Hays.
As president of the Grand Trunk Railway, Hays envisioned Prince Rupert as a northern port rivalling Vancouver once his Grand Trunk Pacific line was completed.
Hays went to Europe in 1912 to drum up investment capital and returned home on the maiden voyage of a new liner, the Titanic.
The railway tycoon was among the more than 1,500 people who went down with the ship, taking his dreams with him.
The line - now CN Rail's northern main line and western terminus of Via Rail's Skeena passenger train - was completed but the city never lived up to his vision.
New container port and commodity-handling facilities under construction have revived the promise, and Prince Rupert is once again attracting newcomers.
Its small-town ambience is flavoured with cosmopolitan touches such as a Vancouver-style tapas restaurant named Rain, appropriate on this wettest part of the "Wet Coast."
Visitors are likely to check out Cow Bay, a waterfront stroll of homey cafes and shops adjacent to the cruise ship dock, so named because a dairy herd brought here in 1906 had to swim ashore.
The city attracts about 500,000 visitors a year, including upwards of 90,000 from the four cruise lines that make stops here as part of their Inside Passage Alaskan cruises between May and September.
"We really stand with one foot in British Columbia and one foot in Alaska as the southern terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway," Wishart points out, referring to the Alaska ferry terminal in Prince Rupert.
While it's burnishing its hospitality services, Prince Rupert is trying to avoid becoming a jaded tourist town. Authenticity is the buzzword.
"It reminds people of Alaska 15 or 20 years ago," says Wishart.
The city's beautiful wilderness setting is the real magnet for visitors who show up here.
Prince Rupert sits on Kaien Island, near the mouth of the Skeena River, and its airport is a short ferry ride away on Digby Island.
Some days, bald eagles seem as common as pigeons in southern cities.
Tourists who come in on Air Canada Jazz or Hawk Air scheduled flights get an eagle's view of the North Coast's eye-popping vistas, when it isn't raining.
But arriving B.C. Ferries and cruise-ship passengers see its splendour up close.
Cruise-ship stopovers average about six hours, says Shaun Stevenson, marketing director for the Prince Rupert Port Authority, and have spawned a variety of new services geared to them.
"For us it's been extremely important because our rubber-tire traffic, like off-the-street-stuff, seemed to decline over the last few years," says Ryan Leighton, manager of Seashore Tours.
Prince Rupert has become a hub for wilderness and adventure-oriented fun, from fishing and whale-watching to exploration of the area's rich aboriginal history, showcased at the Museum of Northern British Columbia.
Seashore, operated by the Tsimshian First Nation, offers archeological tours of nearby Pike Island - Laxspa'aws (meaning island of sand) in the Tsimshian language - with petroglyphs attesting to 10,000 years of habitation.
Leighton says its bear-watching tour of the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary is also popular. It runs between May and early August, when grizzlies can be seen from boats as they prowl the shoreline for fish.
Tours average about four hours, manageable for time-pressed cruise-ship visitors.
For some, it's a taste that brings them back for longer visits and even to stay.
"We've seen a few people return off the cruise ships now because they really like the area and the experience," says Leighton. "There's been a few people return and buy property."
-
If you go . . .
Prince Rupert is served by twice-daily Air Canada Jazz and Hawk Air flights from Vancouver; B.C. Ferries' Northern Adventure, running between the city and Port Hardy, Vancouver Island, every two days; Via Rail's Skeena from Jasper, Alta., connecting to Edmonton; cruise lines Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Regent.
Dining: Rain tapas restaurant, Smiles Seafood Cafe, Cow Bay Cafe, La Cucina brick oven pizzeria.
To do: Museum of Northern British Columbia, including First Nations carving shed; whale-and grizzly bear-watching excursions, fishing, wilderness hiking. Raid the North extreme adventure race, June 23-30.
On the web:
www.bcferries.bc.ca
www.tourismprincerupert.com
www.museumofnorthernbc.com
www.cruisetoprincerupert.com
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Abalone poachers face sentencing
It was the first conviction under the four year old Species at Risk act and yesterday the sentencing phase for three north coast men who were arrested back in March of 2006.
The three, Randall Graff, Daniel McNeill, and Michael McNeill all pleaded guilty in March to poaching some 11,000 abalone in February of 2006, their sentencing hearing will end today, when the presiding judge will provide for their punishment.
Potential fines could range as high as $750,000 with potential jail time for Mr. Graff could be five years, with the McNeil brothers possibly looking at seven years in prison. In addition to the financial concerns and jail time, they could stand to forfeit their boat, truck and all other items used in the pursuit of their crime.
Poaching is a concern of many along the west coast, who fear that due to cutbacks and changes in policy at DFO that the poachers are getting the upper hand.
The Globe and Mail provided an interesting background into not only the case at hand, but the issue of abalone poaching on the Pacific coast, which threatens to render the species extinct by 2051.
Poachers threaten future of abalone, scientists say
CARRIE WEST
Special to The Globe and Mail
VICTORIA -- A sentencing hearing begins today in Prince Rupert for three men convicted of the largest known poaching of abalone in B.C. history.
Randall Graff, Daniel McNeill, and Michael McNeill pleaded guilty in March to poaching 11,000 abalone found in the back of a Ford F-150 pickup truck in February, 2006. They were the first abalone poachers convicted under Canada's four-year-old Species at Risk Act.
Each man faces a maximum $750,000 fine. Mr. Graff could also be sent to jail for up to five years, while the McNeill brothers face up to seven years because of previous fisheries convictions.
Their sentencing comes as new figures from federal scientists show that northern abalone -- once a $1-million-a-year industry in B.C. -- will be extinct in B.C. waters by 2051. The as-yet unpublished numbers use 2001 data and project ahead 50 years.
"We can see extinction," said Laurie Convey, a federal resource-management biologist and chair of the recovery efforts. "It is very upsetting."
Northern abalone is considered a threatened species in Canada. Their numbers crashed in the 1970s and '80s because of unsustainable legal and illegal harvesting. A federal ban halted commercial harvesting in 1990, but poaching persists. These hand-sized delicacies may fetch between $10 and $15 in the shell on the black market.
Penalizing poachers might help reverse the trend in B.C.'s northern waters, Ms. Convey said. Some sites selected in the 1970s for monitoring have seen an 80-per-cent dip in abalone stocks; three-quarters of them have no abalone at all.
In southern B.C., the numbers are even worse. "There may not be hope for areas like Victoria," Ms. Convey said.
On the southern tip of Vancouver Island, just two of the 19 sites surveyed in 2005 had abalone. Divers found three old abalone in total. Just one large old abalone was spotted near the William Head penitentiary, considered one of the safer locations in the province due to the 24-hour surveillance cameras. Ten years ago, divers found 211 abalone at this site.
Ms. Convey believes the collapse of the species in southern waters is tied to poaching, that depleted the stocks to unrecoverable numbers.
Eight watch groupshave organized up and down the coast, all in First Nations communities. In 2001, an abalone hatchery also opened in Bamfield on the west coast of Vancouver Island. But despite 30 poaching-related convictions over the past decade and recovery efforts, the population trend has shown a continuous decline.
Northern abalone, called pinto abalone in the United States, are the only abalone predominant in B.C. waters. They live on rocks less than 10 metres deep on exposed and semi-exposed coastlines. They remain the only ocean invertebrate with a complete harvesting ban in B.C.
Ms. Convey estimates that about a third of abalone deaths in northern B.C. come at the hands of poachers. While the trend is bleak, Ms. Convey points out that juveniles are still present in these northern waters. If poaching can be curbed, these populations could recover, she said.
The three poachers awaiting punishment in Prince Rupert stole nearly double the next-largest seizure of abalone in the province's history. Ten years ago, fisheries officers found 6,200 newly shucked abalone shells and charged two poachers.
The Prince Rupert poachers were caught with their truckload in nearby Port Edward in an early morning takedown before they could drive to Vancouver to sell their loot. Their sentencing hearing is scheduled to last two days.
Aside from possible fines and jail time, they could forfeit the boat, Ford truck and other items used during the crime. The poachers pleaded guilty under both the Fisheries Act and the Species at Risk Act. The Species at Risk Act conviction adds $250,000 to the maximum penalty and another five years in possible jail time.
The three, Randall Graff, Daniel McNeill, and Michael McNeill all pleaded guilty in March to poaching some 11,000 abalone in February of 2006, their sentencing hearing will end today, when the presiding judge will provide for their punishment.
Potential fines could range as high as $750,000 with potential jail time for Mr. Graff could be five years, with the McNeil brothers possibly looking at seven years in prison. In addition to the financial concerns and jail time, they could stand to forfeit their boat, truck and all other items used in the pursuit of their crime.
Poaching is a concern of many along the west coast, who fear that due to cutbacks and changes in policy at DFO that the poachers are getting the upper hand.
The Globe and Mail provided an interesting background into not only the case at hand, but the issue of abalone poaching on the Pacific coast, which threatens to render the species extinct by 2051.
Poachers threaten future of abalone, scientists say
CARRIE WEST
Special to The Globe and Mail
VICTORIA -- A sentencing hearing begins today in Prince Rupert for three men convicted of the largest known poaching of abalone in B.C. history.
Randall Graff, Daniel McNeill, and Michael McNeill pleaded guilty in March to poaching 11,000 abalone found in the back of a Ford F-150 pickup truck in February, 2006. They were the first abalone poachers convicted under Canada's four-year-old Species at Risk Act.
Each man faces a maximum $750,000 fine. Mr. Graff could also be sent to jail for up to five years, while the McNeill brothers face up to seven years because of previous fisheries convictions.
Their sentencing comes as new figures from federal scientists show that northern abalone -- once a $1-million-a-year industry in B.C. -- will be extinct in B.C. waters by 2051. The as-yet unpublished numbers use 2001 data and project ahead 50 years.
"We can see extinction," said Laurie Convey, a federal resource-management biologist and chair of the recovery efforts. "It is very upsetting."
Northern abalone is considered a threatened species in Canada. Their numbers crashed in the 1970s and '80s because of unsustainable legal and illegal harvesting. A federal ban halted commercial harvesting in 1990, but poaching persists. These hand-sized delicacies may fetch between $10 and $15 in the shell on the black market.
Penalizing poachers might help reverse the trend in B.C.'s northern waters, Ms. Convey said. Some sites selected in the 1970s for monitoring have seen an 80-per-cent dip in abalone stocks; three-quarters of them have no abalone at all.
In southern B.C., the numbers are even worse. "There may not be hope for areas like Victoria," Ms. Convey said.
On the southern tip of Vancouver Island, just two of the 19 sites surveyed in 2005 had abalone. Divers found three old abalone in total. Just one large old abalone was spotted near the William Head penitentiary, considered one of the safer locations in the province due to the 24-hour surveillance cameras. Ten years ago, divers found 211 abalone at this site.
Ms. Convey believes the collapse of the species in southern waters is tied to poaching, that depleted the stocks to unrecoverable numbers.
Eight watch groupshave organized up and down the coast, all in First Nations communities. In 2001, an abalone hatchery also opened in Bamfield on the west coast of Vancouver Island. But despite 30 poaching-related convictions over the past decade and recovery efforts, the population trend has shown a continuous decline.
Northern abalone, called pinto abalone in the United States, are the only abalone predominant in B.C. waters. They live on rocks less than 10 metres deep on exposed and semi-exposed coastlines. They remain the only ocean invertebrate with a complete harvesting ban in B.C.
Ms. Convey estimates that about a third of abalone deaths in northern B.C. come at the hands of poachers. While the trend is bleak, Ms. Convey points out that juveniles are still present in these northern waters. If poaching can be curbed, these populations could recover, she said.
The three poachers awaiting punishment in Prince Rupert stole nearly double the next-largest seizure of abalone in the province's history. Ten years ago, fisheries officers found 6,200 newly shucked abalone shells and charged two poachers.
The Prince Rupert poachers were caught with their truckload in nearby Port Edward in an early morning takedown before they could drive to Vancouver to sell their loot. Their sentencing hearing is scheduled to last two days.
Aside from possible fines and jail time, they could forfeit the boat, Ford truck and other items used during the crime. The poachers pleaded guilty under both the Fisheries Act and the Species at Risk Act. The Species at Risk Act conviction adds $250,000 to the maximum penalty and another five years in possible jail time.
Virginia Tech tragedy touches Northern BC
The Opinion 250 website has an interesting story on a connection between UNBC and the University of Virginia Tech.
UNBC President Don Cozetto, is a former student at the Virginia Tech campus, having attended the University from 1987-1990, graduating from the university's PhD from its Public Policy and Public Administration program.
Like many others world wide, he is having troubles reconciling himself with the events of yesterday. A horrible tragedy that goes against the grain of the quiet rural campus that he remembers from 17 years ago.
In support and respect for the families of those killed and injured in Virginia yesterday, UNBC like many other colleges and universities across the continent lowered their flags to half staff today. A sign of just how far reaching this tragedy has become.
UNBC President Don Cozetto, is a former student at the Virginia Tech campus, having attended the University from 1987-1990, graduating from the university's PhD from its Public Policy and Public Administration program.
Like many others world wide, he is having troubles reconciling himself with the events of yesterday. A horrible tragedy that goes against the grain of the quiet rural campus that he remembers from 17 years ago.
In support and respect for the families of those killed and injured in Virginia yesterday, UNBC like many other colleges and universities across the continent lowered their flags to half staff today. A sign of just how far reaching this tragedy has become.
We'll be right back after this short commercial message, April 16
We'll not seek out a funny spot of the day today, instead a reminder of what truly counts.
Take time, make time.
Take time, make time.
Another Senseless tragedy
L’ecole Polytechnique, Columbine, Concordia, Dawson College, a high school in Taber, an Amish schoolhouse and now Virginia Tech, schools separated by vast swaths of Geography, but forever linked together by horror and a sense of the inexplicable.
The News cycle went full steam ahead Monday, the first reports but a sidebar story of a possible murder in a college dorm, disturbing but a reminder of the human ability to do harm. Less than two hours later, the report of that shooting at the dorm would explode into the world’s consciousness, as it morphed into the worst mass murder at university or college in the United States history. For a nation numbed by gun violence it would still resonate far beyond the gates of Virginia Tech and indeed beyond the borders of the United States.
There seem to be no answers, as there never is when a senseless tragedy such as this takes place. Normally a place for learning, sharing and dreams of the future, instead it becomes a spot where lives are cut short far too soon, hopes and dreams snuffed out forever, seemingly in the space of mere seconds.
The television coverage is haunting, the cel phone video provided to CNN and the other news networks is stark and disturbing, a shaky visual image which features the muffled sound of gunfire. Each one sounding like tinny pops, and suddenly, with the benefit of hindsight it registers with you, each pop possibly is another young life that has ended. Somewhere inside that building on that shaky video display lays a son or daughter, father or mother, husband or wife, who has been killed in a cold blooded rage that we can surely never comprehend.
Watching the coverage makes you feel helpless and sick, there can be no answer for such a horrible thing, nothing it seems makes any sense. As we have in the past, we shake our heads, say a prayer for those that have been killed and wonder where this world is going and how such a thing can happen again.
There are many questions that come to mind after viewing the events of Monday, the strange timeline between the two horrible events, the confusing response of the officials on the campus, the surreal press conferences that left us with more questions than provided answers and of course the sense of wonderment at the handling of the incident by the different media outlets.
They are all points which will no doubt receive a fair amount of attention over the next days, weeks and months. But for now, it should only be about the victims of a horrible day in a place that is supposed to be a safe refuge for the youth of a nation.
Canadians can be rather smug at times when it comes to violence in the States compared to this country, but in this tragedy there is no such feeling prevalent, for we have been in their shoes and we know the hurt, the mystery and the fears. The tragedies at Canadian high schools, colleges and Universities over the years have shown that insanity knows no borders, provides for no comfort and gives us pause to think of those in Virginia today.
The Universities and colleges of the world are normally the place for dreams and ambitions, the building of a sense of a great future just beyond those gates.
Instead today, they became a place of history and horror, a terrible new entry into a book that already has far too many entries.
Their sadness at Virginia Tech is our sadness today. May the victims rest in peace and find a better life than what our world provided for them on Monday morning.
The News cycle went full steam ahead Monday, the first reports but a sidebar story of a possible murder in a college dorm, disturbing but a reminder of the human ability to do harm. Less than two hours later, the report of that shooting at the dorm would explode into the world’s consciousness, as it morphed into the worst mass murder at university or college in the United States history. For a nation numbed by gun violence it would still resonate far beyond the gates of Virginia Tech and indeed beyond the borders of the United States.
There seem to be no answers, as there never is when a senseless tragedy such as this takes place. Normally a place for learning, sharing and dreams of the future, instead it becomes a spot where lives are cut short far too soon, hopes and dreams snuffed out forever, seemingly in the space of mere seconds.
The television coverage is haunting, the cel phone video provided to CNN and the other news networks is stark and disturbing, a shaky visual image which features the muffled sound of gunfire. Each one sounding like tinny pops, and suddenly, with the benefit of hindsight it registers with you, each pop possibly is another young life that has ended. Somewhere inside that building on that shaky video display lays a son or daughter, father or mother, husband or wife, who has been killed in a cold blooded rage that we can surely never comprehend.
Watching the coverage makes you feel helpless and sick, there can be no answer for such a horrible thing, nothing it seems makes any sense. As we have in the past, we shake our heads, say a prayer for those that have been killed and wonder where this world is going and how such a thing can happen again.
There are many questions that come to mind after viewing the events of Monday, the strange timeline between the two horrible events, the confusing response of the officials on the campus, the surreal press conferences that left us with more questions than provided answers and of course the sense of wonderment at the handling of the incident by the different media outlets.
They are all points which will no doubt receive a fair amount of attention over the next days, weeks and months. But for now, it should only be about the victims of a horrible day in a place that is supposed to be a safe refuge for the youth of a nation.
Canadians can be rather smug at times when it comes to violence in the States compared to this country, but in this tragedy there is no such feeling prevalent, for we have been in their shoes and we know the hurt, the mystery and the fears. The tragedies at Canadian high schools, colleges and Universities over the years have shown that insanity knows no borders, provides for no comfort and gives us pause to think of those in Virginia today.
The Universities and colleges of the world are normally the place for dreams and ambitions, the building of a sense of a great future just beyond those gates.
Instead today, they became a place of history and horror, a terrible new entry into a book that already has far too many entries.
Their sadness at Virginia Tech is our sadness today. May the victims rest in peace and find a better life than what our world provided for them on Monday morning.
Our city’s future could rest on having a decent place to have snacks and a nap!
What is described as a critical shortage of child care spaces in Prince Rupert is being touted as a possible stumbling block to the city’s growth.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that Rupert bound migrants find frustration in their quest for daycare spaces in the city, many of whom are described as stunned at the lack of spaces available. That at least is the situation that has been presented by the operators of local Child Care centers, who recounted telephone conversations with parents from far off destinations, seeking out information about the current state of day care in Prince Rupert.
The local operators have called on the federal government to not cut funding for child care and are looking for assistance from the school board and the community in their bid to get their message across.
Suggesting that the city’s future growth may suffer is certainly an interesting approach, which if nothing else, will certainly get them the higher profile that they are looking for.
The Daily News featured their concerns and interpretations on the front page of Monday’s Daily News.
LACK OF CHILD CARE SPACES HURTS WOULD-BE MIGRANTS
People looking to move to city are stunned by lack of child care spaces
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, April 16, 2007
Pages one and three
Prince Rupert’s critical shortage of child care spaces could hamper the city’s ability to attract and retain qualified employees in the future, said advocates of Prince Rupert’s child care community.
“Having high-quality child care is of economic value to the community,” said Emily Mlieczko of the Westview Child Care Centre.
“Even at my own centre, we are getting weekly calls from families that want to move here, come to our schools but they are looking for after school care.
“We have to tell them ‘no in our community there are not enough spaces available.”
Mlieczko, Judy Riddell, of the Berry Patch Child Care Resource and Referral, and Anna Falvo, Early Childhood Education Special Needs, spoke at a school board meeting last week about the huge lack of child care spaces in the community.
Mlieczko noted Westview is getting calls from families in New York, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and the Lower Mainland wanting to know if spaces are available.
“They asked us if there is any place we can put our children and we had to say no we can’t accommodate you,” she said.
Judy Riddell said it is imperative that the school board helps lobby the federal government not to cut funding for child care, especially given that quality child care helps prepare children to enter the school system.
“Nobody really knows how many children there are after they are born until they get into the school district,” said Riddell. “And we don’t really know where they are located.”
However, in order to get a handle on the shortage, Riddell took kindergarten enrollment and the first grand and extrapolated to see where the children are living.
She then looked at the number of spaces available for different age groups in licenced child care.
Based on 2005 numbers and using a very low estimate that 40 per cent of children have working parents who need child care, in the infant toddler category, there are less than half the spaces available for the community needs.
“Based on data from across Canada, people are saying 60 to 70 per cent of women with children are working,” said Riddell.
“Even making this conservative estimate, there is a huge lack of spaces.”
The city could use at least 32 more infant toddler child care spaces in Prince Rupert today, said Riddell, noting there are only 20 spaces available.
In the one-to two-year old category, Prince Rupert has 24 spaces and needs 77 more.
For ages three to five, there are 83 spaces and 117 more are needed, for six- to 10-year olds, there are 50 spaces and 233 more are needed.
There is also a serious lack of pre-school facilities.
There are 185 spaces and 404 more are needed.
“And there is absolutely no after-hours care available here,” she said.
The board members unanimously agreed to send a letter of support for child care funding to the federal government.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that Rupert bound migrants find frustration in their quest for daycare spaces in the city, many of whom are described as stunned at the lack of spaces available. That at least is the situation that has been presented by the operators of local Child Care centers, who recounted telephone conversations with parents from far off destinations, seeking out information about the current state of day care in Prince Rupert.
The local operators have called on the federal government to not cut funding for child care and are looking for assistance from the school board and the community in their bid to get their message across.
Suggesting that the city’s future growth may suffer is certainly an interesting approach, which if nothing else, will certainly get them the higher profile that they are looking for.
The Daily News featured their concerns and interpretations on the front page of Monday’s Daily News.
LACK OF CHILD CARE SPACES HURTS WOULD-BE MIGRANTS
People looking to move to city are stunned by lack of child care spaces
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, April 16, 2007
Pages one and three
Prince Rupert’s critical shortage of child care spaces could hamper the city’s ability to attract and retain qualified employees in the future, said advocates of Prince Rupert’s child care community.
“Having high-quality child care is of economic value to the community,” said Emily Mlieczko of the Westview Child Care Centre.
“Even at my own centre, we are getting weekly calls from families that want to move here, come to our schools but they are looking for after school care.
“We have to tell them ‘no in our community there are not enough spaces available.”
Mlieczko, Judy Riddell, of the Berry Patch Child Care Resource and Referral, and Anna Falvo, Early Childhood Education Special Needs, spoke at a school board meeting last week about the huge lack of child care spaces in the community.
Mlieczko noted Westview is getting calls from families in New York, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and the Lower Mainland wanting to know if spaces are available.
“They asked us if there is any place we can put our children and we had to say no we can’t accommodate you,” she said.
Judy Riddell said it is imperative that the school board helps lobby the federal government not to cut funding for child care, especially given that quality child care helps prepare children to enter the school system.
“Nobody really knows how many children there are after they are born until they get into the school district,” said Riddell. “And we don’t really know where they are located.”
However, in order to get a handle on the shortage, Riddell took kindergarten enrollment and the first grand and extrapolated to see where the children are living.
She then looked at the number of spaces available for different age groups in licenced child care.
Based on 2005 numbers and using a very low estimate that 40 per cent of children have working parents who need child care, in the infant toddler category, there are less than half the spaces available for the community needs.
“Based on data from across Canada, people are saying 60 to 70 per cent of women with children are working,” said Riddell.
“Even making this conservative estimate, there is a huge lack of spaces.”
The city could use at least 32 more infant toddler child care spaces in Prince Rupert today, said Riddell, noting there are only 20 spaces available.
In the one-to two-year old category, Prince Rupert has 24 spaces and needs 77 more.
For ages three to five, there are 83 spaces and 117 more are needed, for six- to 10-year olds, there are 50 spaces and 233 more are needed.
There is also a serious lack of pre-school facilities.
There are 185 spaces and 404 more are needed.
“And there is absolutely no after-hours care available here,” she said.
The board members unanimously agreed to send a letter of support for child care funding to the federal government.
5 million missing and counting
So if you’re looking for a job, perhaps a career in the wonderful world of e mail retrieval could be for you.
There certainly seems to be a crying need for someone who can properly sort and store official correspondences these days.
The White House, it appears has misplaced some 5 million e mails, an amazing number of correspondences apparently sent to some nether sector of the wired world.
And while we’re sure that in that block of five million messages there is more than one offer of the chance to help a former king recover his fortune from Africa; or a hot stock tip that is just about to explode, there are probably a few important notes that the administration might have wanted to hang on to as well.
One or two brief blasts of wisdom and insight, that might be of use to those looking into some of the more interesting events of the day surrounding the Executive Branch of the American government.
Karl Rove and the folks running the Presidents office, are at a loss to explain how those five million correspondences somehow have been erased from the internets ether.
It seems that the most powerful office in the world is incapable of tracking, archiving and providing if required, important government correspondences.
This in a world where a twelve year old boy or girl can set up separate yahoo accounts, one for spam and one for letters to friends.
The scope of the situation and the less than forthcoming explanations make the jobs of the pundits, satirists and comedians oh so much easier.
It’s said that the White House is working hard on the project in their search of the missing mail, which should be reassuring, that is if we don't remember that we’ve been told that they were looking for things in the past.
And that's been a search that hasn’t always worked out as planned.
Monday, April 16, 2007
A Kiss is just a kiss, but...
It's good riddance to bad kissing in India as the locals are looking to be rid of Richard Gere, after his over the top embrace of Indian actress Shilpa Shetty.
The hottest attraction in Bollywood Shetty and Hollywood's ancient warrior Gere, were appearing at an Aids awareness function when Gere embraced the Bollyood Queen and reprised a scene from a recent movie of his.
Or so he says anyways.
Regardless, the overt display of affection has apparently caused a fair amount of rage in India where effigies of Gere and Shetty have been burned in the less progressive villages and the scandal has been replayed time and time again on television there.
All this excitement over a little kiss? Sheesh, imagine if they had to sit through a showing of Intersection, perhaps his most panned movie.
Now that one would get your bonfire burning!
We'll be right back after this short commercial message, April 15
Answering the question what the Soviet Union did with all those marching bands..
The Comrades love their Lada
The Comrades love their Lada
Fraser Institute Education report released with few surprises
In the end and not particularly surprisingly, the rich upscale schools of Vancouver and Victoria fared well in the annual Fraser Institute rankings of secondary schools in the province. While some of the more rural, distant and economically struggling locations, didn’t exactly fit the round peg into the square hole of statistical analysis.
For Prince Rupert residents the results won’t make for enjoyable reading, the latest data compiled from the Institute (found on page five of the coast schools breakdown) shows both PRSS and CHSS continuing to struggle under the marking schemes of the Institute.
For Prince Rupert residents the results won’t make for enjoyable reading, the latest data compiled from the Institute (found on page five of the coast schools breakdown) shows both PRSS and CHSS continuing to struggle under the marking schemes of the Institute.
Charles Hays gained a score of 4.1 which is up from 3.8 of last year while Prince Rupert Senior Secondary dropped from 4.6 a year ago to 4.4 in this year’s survey. Prince Rupert Senior was ranked as 254th in the Province, while Charles Hays was assessed as 262nd.
The top rated school in the province was Crofton House of Vancouver which received a perfect ten score, tied with five others at the top of the list. While at the other end of the province and the scale, rests the staff and students of Masset’s George Dawson, which didn’t even receive enough points to score above 0.0 and was ranked as 289th in the province.
The controversial rankings have been the flash point of debate in the province ever since 1998 when the Fraser Institute began to rank the province’s schools according to its collected data. Critics suggest that the number crunching approach to the study does not take into account some of the many socio-economic factors that can challenge educators and students alike in the less affluent portions of the province. Saturday's Vancouver Sun looked back at what circumstances brought the Fraser Institute to the conclusion that a ratings system was needed in B. C. education.
There has never been any credible proof provided that these studies actually change the one dynamic that seems to stand out with the yearly report. The private schools with their high tuition and more selective enrollment, tend to track higher than those areas which explore the wide mosaic and numerous challenges of public education.
It’s not clear by simply looking at dry numbers on a website, how these interpretations relate from school to school. Many publicly funded schools have challenges that the upper tier of the Fraser Institute’s report probably would never have to imagine, let alone work with.
In the end, it’s what the youngsters take home each day from their studies that tells the real tale. Over examination of numbers based on a questionable process won’t do much to help them, which is probably why in the end most School Boards and school administrators don’t worry too much about where they rank, instead they hopefully concentrate on doing the best job they can with the resources provided.
If anyone wants to wring their hands over the numbers delivered by the Fraser Institute, maybe it should be the province of British Columbia. Education seems to be a black hole in this province, at times the entrenched attitudes from all participants seem to work at cross purposes to the goal of educating our youth.
If the Fraser Institute wants to provide a real service, perhaps they can help their anxious readers in Victoria to rise to the need to better fund education and make sure that the field is more level before we start keeping score.
Saturday’s Vancouver Sun examined the results just released from the Fraser Institute and what impact that they may have on the education of the province’s secondary students.
Fraser marks it zero to 10
EDUCATION I Fraser Institute's controversial report card of B.C. schools puts rich private schools at the top
Janet Steffenhagen
Vancouver Sun
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Elite independent schools took top honours again this year in the Fraser Institute's report card on B.C. secondary schools, but two public schools from Vancouver's west side and one from West Vancouver were not far behind.
The top rated school in the province was Crofton House of Vancouver which received a perfect ten score, tied with five others at the top of the list. While at the other end of the province and the scale, rests the staff and students of Masset’s George Dawson, which didn’t even receive enough points to score above 0.0 and was ranked as 289th in the province.
The controversial rankings have been the flash point of debate in the province ever since 1998 when the Fraser Institute began to rank the province’s schools according to its collected data. Critics suggest that the number crunching approach to the study does not take into account some of the many socio-economic factors that can challenge educators and students alike in the less affluent portions of the province. Saturday's Vancouver Sun looked back at what circumstances brought the Fraser Institute to the conclusion that a ratings system was needed in B. C. education.
There has never been any credible proof provided that these studies actually change the one dynamic that seems to stand out with the yearly report. The private schools with their high tuition and more selective enrollment, tend to track higher than those areas which explore the wide mosaic and numerous challenges of public education.
It’s not clear by simply looking at dry numbers on a website, how these interpretations relate from school to school. Many publicly funded schools have challenges that the upper tier of the Fraser Institute’s report probably would never have to imagine, let alone work with.
In the end, it’s what the youngsters take home each day from their studies that tells the real tale. Over examination of numbers based on a questionable process won’t do much to help them, which is probably why in the end most School Boards and school administrators don’t worry too much about where they rank, instead they hopefully concentrate on doing the best job they can with the resources provided.
If anyone wants to wring their hands over the numbers delivered by the Fraser Institute, maybe it should be the province of British Columbia. Education seems to be a black hole in this province, at times the entrenched attitudes from all participants seem to work at cross purposes to the goal of educating our youth.
If the Fraser Institute wants to provide a real service, perhaps they can help their anxious readers in Victoria to rise to the need to better fund education and make sure that the field is more level before we start keeping score.
Saturday’s Vancouver Sun examined the results just released from the Fraser Institute and what impact that they may have on the education of the province’s secondary students.
Fraser marks it zero to 10
EDUCATION I Fraser Institute's controversial report card of B.C. schools puts rich private schools at the top
Janet Steffenhagen
Vancouver Sun
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Elite independent schools took top honours again this year in the Fraser Institute's report card on B.C. secondary schools, but two public schools from Vancouver's west side and one from West Vancouver were not far behind.
University Hill and Lord Byng secondary were the highest ranking public schools with a score of 9.2 out of 10, followed closely by Sentinel secondary in West Vancouver with 9.1.
The schools that scored a perfect 10 were Crofton House, Little Flower Academy, St. George's, York House, Southridge and West Point Grey Academy. All are in Vancouver except for Southridge, which is in Surrey.
The first four have had perfect marks every year for the past five years.
Their high standings are not surprising, given that the schools accept only students who pass entrance exams and meet strict criteria, and also pay $10,000 to $15,000 a year in tuition. They are among 15 university-preparatory schools in B.C. and they expect to score well in the report card.
The top 25 schools also include five independent religious schools: Richmond Christian, Pacific Academy in Surrey, St. Thomas Aquinas in North Vancouver, St. Thomas More in Burnaby and Kelowna Christian.
While University Hill ranked high, it was also identified as one of the three fastest declining schools in the Lower Mainland, having slipped to 13th from a ninth-place average during the past five years. The other two schools that dropped are Maple Ridge secondary and Thomas Haney secondary, both in Maple Ridge.
University Hill principal Jill Philipchuk said while she applauds the hard work of her students and teachers, the report card is only one narrow measure of a school's success and does not prove her school is better than others.
In fact, she said John Oliver secondary on Vancouver's east side -- which ranked the lowest of Greater Vancouver schools with a score of 3.8 -- is better than University Hill in many ways because it offers more electives, clubs and after-school opportunities.
"A student who does well at my school would do equally well at John Oliver," she said in an interview. "The teachers are just as good at John Oliver as they are here."
University Hill is a small school that draws students from the University of B.C. campus and the endowment lands. Their parents are mainly UBC faculty, staff and graduate students -- some of whom have poverty-level incomes but are not caught in a cycle of poverty, she said.
The common feature is that they all value education, Philipchuk added.
The school has 525 students, with 20 per cent ESL families from Korea, Hong Kong or China who often have high regard for the rankings, she said. "They think the Fraser Institute is the be-all and the end-all" and they don't want their children in a school that ranks poorly even when that school is a better match for their students.
"The Fraser Institute has a huge impact," she added. "It damns schools it shouldn't damn and it applauds schools but in a very narrow way."
Kevan Moore, principal at John Oliver, said his school suffers from the negative publicity that routinely accompanies the report. Like many schools on Vancouver's east side, its population has dropped, down to 1,130 students in a building that can hold 1,700.
Although he says the report card, with its focus on academics, doesn't give a true picture of his school, "parents look at it and they make judgments based on it. That can hurt a school -- any school that is low in the rankings."
John Oliver doesn't score well on the report card for several reasons. "It's a different demographic," said Moore, who was previously a University Hill vice-principal. While some John Oliver students are focused on academics, many more are headed to community colleges, trade schools and jobs.
"Provincial exams for many of our students are not a major focus," he said. "I'm not saying those [exams] aren't important and as a school, we are working to raise our achievement levels ... but it's a different population."
George M. Dawson secondary in Masset scored even worse than John Oliver. The Haida Gwaii school on the Queen Charlotte Islands is one of three at the bottom of the report card, scoring zero out of 10. The other two are in Gold Lake and Watson Lake.
Dawson principal Lorrie Joron said she doesn't care what the Fraser Institute thinks of her school.
"We deal with individuals -- we don't deal with numbers. We take it case by case every day, trying to give peace in some of these kids' really hellish lives. It's not all of them, but we have a higher percentage than anywhere else.
"Kids at the north end of this island are rated socio-economically at risk more than anywhere else in the province ... [and the report] reflects that," she said, noting that success could be just two girls getting pregnant during the year instead of five or six from previous years.
"Those are the kinds of successes you can't measure."
There are also gifted children "but that one per cent doesn't make a big impact when the numbers come out provincially," said Joron, who is a first-year principal but has taught at the school since 1989.
The B.C. Teacher's Federation has been a vociferous opponent of the report card, saying the complexities of teaching can't be reduced to a single number derived from standardized tests.
BCTF Vice-president Irene Lanzinger said several jurisdictions -- such as Wales, Scotland and Finland -- have recognized that standardized tests are a limited measure of student performance, and she urged parents to do more research before forming an opinion about a school.
Peter Cowley, the report card's author, said his detractors argue that testing takes time away from learning. But he says that begs the question: Without testing, how could one be confident there is more learning?
He urged schools to compare their performance to those with similar characteristics. If they find the others have better results, they should ask why. A feature on the Fraser Institute website allows for targeted comparisons that aren't possible in the hard copy edition.
The report card also identifies the schools that have shown the fastest improvement over the past five years. Lakes District public school in Burns Lake tops the list followed by the independent Bulkley Valley Christian school. In third place is Richmond secondary.
Richmond principal Jim McLeod said one reason for his school's strong academic performance is its international baccalaureate program, which draws students from across the district because it's the only IB offering in Richmond.
Although the program has been around for some time, a legislative change a few years ago made it easier for students to cross boundaries to attend schools of their choice. That brought even more motivated students into Richmond high and gave the school an advantage, McLeod said.
About half the 300 students in Grade 12 are involved in the IB program, either full- or part-time. Efforts in IB classes to challenge students and encourage them to dig deeper for answers have spread throughout the school, McLeod said.
As well, he said most students arrive at the school wanting to learn. "I don't hear a lot of kids saying, 'Well, I'm passing, what's the problem?' They come with an attitude that they want to do well.
"When I walk the halls and they're on their study block, I generally don't see them playing cards. I see them studying."
jsteffenhagen@png.canwest.com
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Pictures of Podunk: Watson Island, plenty of available parking!
The Chinese land barons of Watson Island don't seem to be in a particular hurry to reopen the long dormant mill on Watson Island. In fact recent times have seen them looking to "discuss this issue further" with City Hall. A statement which sounds rather ominous as far as job creation goes. So for now, it's an empty parking lot and a clear sky, but on the positive side it's probably a pretty good place for a road hockey game!"Change brings opportunities" brings awards
Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest has been recognized for its delivery of the economic forum of November of last year called "Change Brings Opportunity".
The two day conference which attracted delegates from across North America, explored the potential impact of the container port to the community and how it could change the dynamics of trade both locally and in Western Canada.
For their efforts in organizing the conference, Community Futures won the 2007 Minister’s Award for Excellence, which is awarded annually to one of the 34 Community Futures offices in British Columbia by the Minister of Western Economic Diversification Canada.
The Daily News reviewed the impact of the conference and the glad tidings brought to Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest by Rona Ambrose, the Conservative Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada.
Conference organizers honoured
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, April 13, 2007
The Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest has won the 2007 Minister’s Award for Excellence and Innovation for the successful delivery of its “Change Brings Opportunities” conference.
The Minister’s Award for Excellence and Innovation is given annually to one of the 34 Community Futures offices in British Columbia by the Minister of Western Economic Diversification Canada. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in creating an innovative local solution to a local challenge, and showcases that solution to British Columbians. Community Futures offices are part of Western Economic Diversification Canada’s Western Canada Business Service Network.
“Canada’s government is committed to helping communities across British Columbia and of the rest of Canada to compete and prosper in the global marketplace,” said Rona Ambrose, president of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Western Economic Diversification. “I congratulate the Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest for demonstrating leadership and bringing industry, business and government together to develop a strong and viable community.”
‘Change Brings Opportunities’ brought more than 350 delegates from Alaska, Washington State, California, Ontario, Alberta and Inuvik to Prince Rupert to explore the economic opportunities of converting the Prince Rupert Port into a container terminal.
Representatives from industry, First Nations, federal, provincial and municipal governments attended.
They collaborated with local stakeholders and citizens to discuss implications, including increased access to the Asia-Pacific market, an increased need to attract and retain skilled workers, and an expanding local population.
“Results from the ‘Change Brings Opportunities’ conference will lead to greater economic opportunity for those operating businesses in Prince Rupert, along the Northern corridor and across Canada,” said Bob Wright, Chair of the Community Futures Development Association of B.C. “This event reflects Community Futures’ dedication to addressing needs, developing capacity and fostering economic development in rural B.C. communities.”
Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest offers a variety of services to the North Coast region. Its mission statement is to “actively contribute to building a diversified and sustainable economy for the Pacific Northwest through entrepreneurial development and participation in regional economic planning”. Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest also offers loans to small and medium-sized businesses, and has a business resource centre available to members of the general public at no cost.
Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) is a department of the Government of Canada that works in partnership with the provinces, industry associations and communities to stimulate and encourage diversification of the Western economy, as well as to represent the interests of the West in national decision-making.
The two day conference which attracted delegates from across North America, explored the potential impact of the container port to the community and how it could change the dynamics of trade both locally and in Western Canada.
For their efforts in organizing the conference, Community Futures won the 2007 Minister’s Award for Excellence, which is awarded annually to one of the 34 Community Futures offices in British Columbia by the Minister of Western Economic Diversification Canada.
The Daily News reviewed the impact of the conference and the glad tidings brought to Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest by Rona Ambrose, the Conservative Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada.
Conference organizers honoured
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, April 13, 2007
The Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest has won the 2007 Minister’s Award for Excellence and Innovation for the successful delivery of its “Change Brings Opportunities” conference.
The Minister’s Award for Excellence and Innovation is given annually to one of the 34 Community Futures offices in British Columbia by the Minister of Western Economic Diversification Canada. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in creating an innovative local solution to a local challenge, and showcases that solution to British Columbians. Community Futures offices are part of Western Economic Diversification Canada’s Western Canada Business Service Network.
“Canada’s government is committed to helping communities across British Columbia and of the rest of Canada to compete and prosper in the global marketplace,” said Rona Ambrose, president of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Western Economic Diversification. “I congratulate the Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest for demonstrating leadership and bringing industry, business and government together to develop a strong and viable community.”
‘Change Brings Opportunities’ brought more than 350 delegates from Alaska, Washington State, California, Ontario, Alberta and Inuvik to Prince Rupert to explore the economic opportunities of converting the Prince Rupert Port into a container terminal.
Representatives from industry, First Nations, federal, provincial and municipal governments attended.
They collaborated with local stakeholders and citizens to discuss implications, including increased access to the Asia-Pacific market, an increased need to attract and retain skilled workers, and an expanding local population.
“Results from the ‘Change Brings Opportunities’ conference will lead to greater economic opportunity for those operating businesses in Prince Rupert, along the Northern corridor and across Canada,” said Bob Wright, Chair of the Community Futures Development Association of B.C. “This event reflects Community Futures’ dedication to addressing needs, developing capacity and fostering economic development in rural B.C. communities.”
Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest offers a variety of services to the North Coast region. Its mission statement is to “actively contribute to building a diversified and sustainable economy for the Pacific Northwest through entrepreneurial development and participation in regional economic planning”. Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest also offers loans to small and medium-sized businesses, and has a business resource centre available to members of the general public at no cost.
Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) is a department of the Government of Canada that works in partnership with the provinces, industry associations and communities to stimulate and encourage diversification of the Western economy, as well as to represent the interests of the West in national decision-making.
Powerline repairs facing possible delays
The location of the damaged transmission tower between Prince Rupert and Terrace is providing some problems for BC Hydro when it comes to restoring Prince Rupert to the provincial grid.The tower which was knocked down by an avalanche on April 2 is located in an area that at the moment is considered to be a high avalanche risk. This means that the crews that are tasked to repair the tower can only work in the area when conditions permit.
BC Hydro had originally expected the repairs to take three weeks, but with the risk factor in the area dependent on the weather, it's thought that it may take a bit longer to bring Rupert back on line. Until then, we continue to operate under power from two generators in the Prince Rupert area, with local residents asked to conserve their energy as much as possible.
The Daily News had details on the ongoing repairs and the causes of a Thursday afternoon power outage that blacked out the East side and Westview areas of the city.
Hydro outage
The Daily News
Friday, April 13, 2007
Wind knocked a tree down across some power lines around 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon, resulting in a power outage to some 3,000 homes and businesses.
B.C. Hydro spokesperson Bob Gammer said power was out in parts of Prince Rupert as well as Port Simpson, Metlakatla and Dodge Cove.
“It was caused by that windy weather knocking a tree down on power lines,” said Gammer.
Power was restored in two phases, with the latest customers being brought back on line around 6 p.m.
In addition, the unstable snowpack could push repairs to the highway transmission line back a ways.
On April 2, a mid-to-large sized avalanche knocked out a sizable transmission tower (designed to withstand such occurrences) in a remote area.
The North Coast is currently being powered by two natural gas generators.
B.C. Hydro had originally estimated a minimum of three weeks would be needed to repair the tower and they are sticking to that estimate.
“It depends on the weather,” said Gammer, “whether it is safe for crews to get in and stay in.”
Warmer temperatures can make the snow pack in the region unstable.
“The line is in an avalanche zone. We have to make sure everybody is safe,” he said.
An avalanche near Stewart caused a tragedy two weeks ago when it killed two heliskiers and injured three others. That avalanche took place the same day as the one that took out the hydro tower.
City launches new website
Prince Rupert's portal to the world has been launched! And it presents a great introduction to the city's opportunities and potential.
The new re-designed city website offers up a much more informative and appealing destination for those looking for information about the city.
It is far superior to the old one in a variety of ways, it features an entertaining opening intro, has numerous helpful links, a history section, an upcoming events link, lots of photos, maps and a number of categories for locals and visitors alike to browse.
It looks quite professional and certainly presents the city in a dynamic manner.
It seems to have lofty goals as well, included on the site are future plans for information in Japanese, French, German and Chinese.
In addition to the reach out to the wider world, local communication seems to be a goal for the city, as the site announces that it one day hopes to broadcast council proceedings on line. The anchors are also in place as well for a comprehensive on line section, where citizens will be able to pay bills and seek out information from the comfort of their own computer.
For those civic minded citizens, the Mayor and Council section features a number of options for your investigation. City council history, agendas and minutes for current council meetings and a variety of things that local municipal affairs buffs will find quite interesting.
Overall, it's a well done design and makes a very good first appearance for our city on the computers of the world. Locals will find it a useful tool as they navigate the services provided by the city and information about our city. Well worth bookmarkig on your computre for future reference.
Check it out from the opening presentation to that last bit of future planning, by clicking on the city of Prince Rupert site and begin your virtual tour.
CityWest examines the communications landscape ahead
With the government making changes to the regulations regarding deregulation of the telephone industry, CityWest is examining the impact that it may have on its expansion plans.
One project that CityWest is looking at is entering the Terrace market as a telephone service provider. With last years purchase of Monarch Cable, CityWest now has an entry into that market that they wish to expand upon.
CityWest's potential Terrace moves, come as the possibility of competition in the cellular world in Prince Rupert sits in the exploratory stage. Last year Rogers Communications announced that they were interested in providing service to the Prince Rupert area, though to this date little progress seems to have been made on that project.
The CityWest expansion plans however, could prove to be a controversial move in its home base, as local's express frustration with some aspects of local service in Prince Rupert such as Internet and cellular services. Two particular hot spots which can get a Rupertite rather agitated at times.
The Daily News examined the company's reaction to the deregulation and where it may lead the Prince Rupert based communications company in the future.
Alarm bells ring for phone companies
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, April 13, 2007
In the David and Goliath-like competition between small companies such as CityWest and billion-dollar telecoms firms like Telus and Rogers, the federal government has just handed Goliath a shield.
But the decision is not nearly as bone crushing to small telecoms as they thought it was going to be, said Rob Brown, CityWest general manager.
Last week, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier announced he is forging ahead with his controversial plan to deregulate pricing for local telephone services.
“The decision was softened a bit from where it was originally going,” said Brown, whose company is looking at expanding into the Terrace market.
“What it originally meant was for a small guy, if they wanted to go to Terrace to compete against Telus, instantly Telus could do whatever they wanted ... to win that customer back — deregulation or forebance they call it.”
However, government decided to provide an 18-month window before telecoms can deregulate their land-line prices.
“The 18-month transition period given to smaller competitors to enable them to build sustainable market share in their communities will help ensure that consumers in Canada’s non-urban areas will be able to share the benefits real competition will bring,” said Alyson Townsend, president and CEO of the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA), an organization representing Canada’s regional telecom companies including CityWest.
With its purchase of Monarch Cable Systems last year, Brown said it makes sense for the Rupert-based company to expand into Terrace because it already owns cable infrastructure in the area.
“Without this change of regulation, I could go there and offer very nice service at a very competitive rate and Telus could instantly come in and try to win that customer back,” said Brown. “Telus could offer and lose money in Terrace and that in our mind wouldn’t be fair to us or the customer because what that would do is eliminate the competitor again. This at least gives us 18 months to put everything together.”
CityWest was founded back in 1910 as a Rupert-based telephone company offering local phone service.
However, last year, the city turned the company into a corporation in order to try and meet the competition anticipated from Telus and Rogers in the northwestern market.
Since then, both Rogers and Telus have begun preparations to offer additional services in the region and this most recent decision by the federal government makes it harder for CityWest to fight back.
Although the decision forces large telecoms to keep their prices stable for 18 months, it frees large telecoms to immediately begin direct-marketing to win its customers back to moment a smaller competitor enters the ring.
“The win back rules are at the heart of the matter,” said Townsend. “Without these rules, customers will not have the opportunity to experience our members’ new competitive services before the big telcos try to win them back through bundled offers that cross-subsidize local service. That means that not all customers will see the benefits of competition, only those who switch to a competitor. You can be sure that Canada’s small cable companies will work hard to ensure that as many customers as possible switch, so as to create sustainable competitive markets in all of the areas they serve.”
The federal decision to deregulate has also been roundly criticized by the Liberal opposition as flying in the face of an earlier ruling by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and has been criticized as an effort by the Conservatives to pander to phone giants Bell Canada and Telus.
One project that CityWest is looking at is entering the Terrace market as a telephone service provider. With last years purchase of Monarch Cable, CityWest now has an entry into that market that they wish to expand upon.
CityWest's potential Terrace moves, come as the possibility of competition in the cellular world in Prince Rupert sits in the exploratory stage. Last year Rogers Communications announced that they were interested in providing service to the Prince Rupert area, though to this date little progress seems to have been made on that project.
The CityWest expansion plans however, could prove to be a controversial move in its home base, as local's express frustration with some aspects of local service in Prince Rupert such as Internet and cellular services. Two particular hot spots which can get a Rupertite rather agitated at times.
The Daily News examined the company's reaction to the deregulation and where it may lead the Prince Rupert based communications company in the future.
Alarm bells ring for phone companies
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, April 13, 2007
In the David and Goliath-like competition between small companies such as CityWest and billion-dollar telecoms firms like Telus and Rogers, the federal government has just handed Goliath a shield.
But the decision is not nearly as bone crushing to small telecoms as they thought it was going to be, said Rob Brown, CityWest general manager.
Last week, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier announced he is forging ahead with his controversial plan to deregulate pricing for local telephone services.
“The decision was softened a bit from where it was originally going,” said Brown, whose company is looking at expanding into the Terrace market.
“What it originally meant was for a small guy, if they wanted to go to Terrace to compete against Telus, instantly Telus could do whatever they wanted ... to win that customer back — deregulation or forebance they call it.”
However, government decided to provide an 18-month window before telecoms can deregulate their land-line prices.
“The 18-month transition period given to smaller competitors to enable them to build sustainable market share in their communities will help ensure that consumers in Canada’s non-urban areas will be able to share the benefits real competition will bring,” said Alyson Townsend, president and CEO of the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA), an organization representing Canada’s regional telecom companies including CityWest.
With its purchase of Monarch Cable Systems last year, Brown said it makes sense for the Rupert-based company to expand into Terrace because it already owns cable infrastructure in the area.
“Without this change of regulation, I could go there and offer very nice service at a very competitive rate and Telus could instantly come in and try to win that customer back,” said Brown. “Telus could offer and lose money in Terrace and that in our mind wouldn’t be fair to us or the customer because what that would do is eliminate the competitor again. This at least gives us 18 months to put everything together.”
CityWest was founded back in 1910 as a Rupert-based telephone company offering local phone service.
However, last year, the city turned the company into a corporation in order to try and meet the competition anticipated from Telus and Rogers in the northwestern market.
Since then, both Rogers and Telus have begun preparations to offer additional services in the region and this most recent decision by the federal government makes it harder for CityWest to fight back.
Although the decision forces large telecoms to keep their prices stable for 18 months, it frees large telecoms to immediately begin direct-marketing to win its customers back to moment a smaller competitor enters the ring.
“The win back rules are at the heart of the matter,” said Townsend. “Without these rules, customers will not have the opportunity to experience our members’ new competitive services before the big telcos try to win them back through bundled offers that cross-subsidize local service. That means that not all customers will see the benefits of competition, only those who switch to a competitor. You can be sure that Canada’s small cable companies will work hard to ensure that as many customers as possible switch, so as to create sustainable competitive markets in all of the areas they serve.”
The federal decision to deregulate has also been roundly criticized by the Liberal opposition as flying in the face of an earlier ruling by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and has been criticized as an effort by the Conservatives to pander to phone giants Bell Canada and Telus.
Human trafficking issues to be discussed in Prince Rupert
A two day conference takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 17 and 18 as law enforcement officials and social service providers in the city combine to provide parents and teens information on criminal enterprise with horrible toll.
It’s a topic that they may not have given much thought to before but may shock them as to the violence and exploitation involved.
The Daily News featured the upcoming conference as its top story in Friday’s paper. A preview of what parents and teens might expect to discover from the sessions.
Sex trade fears on agenda at gathering next week
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, April 13, 2007
Human trafficking and sexual exploitation are multi-billion dollar criminal industries with horribly human faces.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, April 17 and 18, law enforcement professionals and social service providers in Prince Rupert are giving parents and teens an opportunity to make sure that face is never one they know.
“This is a chance for parents to get good, basic information,” said Chris Carr, of Heilan Counselling.
“It’s an issue we all want to know about as concerned community members.”
The Prince Rupert Youth Safe Committee is hosting a two-day conference. It starts Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. with a presentation for parents and service providers at the Lester Centre and is followed on Wednesday with presentations for teens in Grades 6 through 12.
“People can come for a number of reasons. As parents, we are all in this together, and any kind of safety information we can get just to keep at the back our minds in our parenting is great,” said Carr. “It doesn’t mean we are dealing with these issues in our home life ... it might be someone down the block, you see a child whose off track and you might be worried about them or you might be dealing with information about your daughter’s and son’s classmates. ”
Even though the conference was originally proposed as a proactive measure in anticipation of the growth and developments that could occur with the opening of the new container terminal, it is also an opportunity to discuss existing issues of sexual exploitation and human trafficking in the community, the country and the world.
“The one thing with the sex trade to remember is there is quite often a transportation component, whenever you have some kind of vehicle involved,” said Carr.
“In the bigger centres, it’s the cars on the walks. Here, one of the main forms of transportation is people coming in and out on boats.
“It certainly doesn’t mean it’s every boat out there but it does mean we do have sex trade happening on the boats, sometimes on the bigger ships. That can include adults taking young people out to the boats for what they call parties and leaving them there for a period of time and coming back and getting them at the designated time and there is money involved for the adults taking them out.”
In addition, there have been instances of young people being pulled into prostitution locally in exchange for drugs, alcohol and clothing or being lured to party houses where they are sexually assaulted.
“People looking to pull these kids in to the sex trade, they look for a break in teen’s lives. In any teenager’s life, there is conflict in the home, it can be very normal, we aren’t taking about bad families,” said Carr.
There are also instances where youths have been pulled into human trafficking, the modern day form of slavery.
“Human trafficking has happened here before the port development and it will continue to happen,” Captain Nancy Sheils of Salvation Army. “The conference will help parents and youth know the signs.”
Sheils will be part of a panel that also includes RCMP put together to address the issue of human trafficking. She will speak about a case involving a 14-year-old girl from the area who was lured away from home by drugs and alcohol and promises of an apartment in Vancouver, clothes and a car. They were really trying to snare her into prostitution.
“You know 14 or 15-year-olds, they have problems with their parents, that’s just life,” said Sheils.
“These men just made it sound so perfect. This particular young girl was coming from a middle class family, living in a nice neighbourhood. Sometimes people think this won’t happen to my daughter because we come from a good life, but this young girl bought what they had to say.”
Following the Tuesday evening presentation, parents will have an opportunity to ask questions, talk to counsellors and pick up a resource sheet that lists the kind of services available in the community.
“It’s a great resource to have even if they are not struggling with any of these issues in their own family because often friends talk to friends,” said Carr.
The steering committee includes representatives from Hartley Bay, Metlakatla, Kitkatla, the City of Prince Rupert, RCMP, School District 52, Salvation Army, North Coast Transition Society, North Coast Victim Support Services, Prince Rupert Port Authority, Friendship House and a number of provincial agencies.
“Maybe we can’t eliminate (human trafficking), but we can maybe bring it to its knees,” said Capt. Sheils.
“If we all put an effort into this we can make a difference not just in our community but also in our country and worldwide.”
It’s a topic that they may not have given much thought to before but may shock them as to the violence and exploitation involved.
The Daily News featured the upcoming conference as its top story in Friday’s paper. A preview of what parents and teens might expect to discover from the sessions.
Sex trade fears on agenda at gathering next week
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, April 13, 2007
Human trafficking and sexual exploitation are multi-billion dollar criminal industries with horribly human faces.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, April 17 and 18, law enforcement professionals and social service providers in Prince Rupert are giving parents and teens an opportunity to make sure that face is never one they know.
“This is a chance for parents to get good, basic information,” said Chris Carr, of Heilan Counselling.
“It’s an issue we all want to know about as concerned community members.”
The Prince Rupert Youth Safe Committee is hosting a two-day conference. It starts Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. with a presentation for parents and service providers at the Lester Centre and is followed on Wednesday with presentations for teens in Grades 6 through 12.
“People can come for a number of reasons. As parents, we are all in this together, and any kind of safety information we can get just to keep at the back our minds in our parenting is great,” said Carr. “It doesn’t mean we are dealing with these issues in our home life ... it might be someone down the block, you see a child whose off track and you might be worried about them or you might be dealing with information about your daughter’s and son’s classmates. ”
Even though the conference was originally proposed as a proactive measure in anticipation of the growth and developments that could occur with the opening of the new container terminal, it is also an opportunity to discuss existing issues of sexual exploitation and human trafficking in the community, the country and the world.
“The one thing with the sex trade to remember is there is quite often a transportation component, whenever you have some kind of vehicle involved,” said Carr.
“In the bigger centres, it’s the cars on the walks. Here, one of the main forms of transportation is people coming in and out on boats.
“It certainly doesn’t mean it’s every boat out there but it does mean we do have sex trade happening on the boats, sometimes on the bigger ships. That can include adults taking young people out to the boats for what they call parties and leaving them there for a period of time and coming back and getting them at the designated time and there is money involved for the adults taking them out.”
In addition, there have been instances of young people being pulled into prostitution locally in exchange for drugs, alcohol and clothing or being lured to party houses where they are sexually assaulted.
“People looking to pull these kids in to the sex trade, they look for a break in teen’s lives. In any teenager’s life, there is conflict in the home, it can be very normal, we aren’t taking about bad families,” said Carr.
There are also instances where youths have been pulled into human trafficking, the modern day form of slavery.
“Human trafficking has happened here before the port development and it will continue to happen,” Captain Nancy Sheils of Salvation Army. “The conference will help parents and youth know the signs.”
Sheils will be part of a panel that also includes RCMP put together to address the issue of human trafficking. She will speak about a case involving a 14-year-old girl from the area who was lured away from home by drugs and alcohol and promises of an apartment in Vancouver, clothes and a car. They were really trying to snare her into prostitution.
“You know 14 or 15-year-olds, they have problems with their parents, that’s just life,” said Sheils.
“These men just made it sound so perfect. This particular young girl was coming from a middle class family, living in a nice neighbourhood. Sometimes people think this won’t happen to my daughter because we come from a good life, but this young girl bought what they had to say.”
Following the Tuesday evening presentation, parents will have an opportunity to ask questions, talk to counsellors and pick up a resource sheet that lists the kind of services available in the community.
“It’s a great resource to have even if they are not struggling with any of these issues in their own family because often friends talk to friends,” said Carr.
The steering committee includes representatives from Hartley Bay, Metlakatla, Kitkatla, the City of Prince Rupert, RCMP, School District 52, Salvation Army, North Coast Transition Society, North Coast Victim Support Services, Prince Rupert Port Authority, Friendship House and a number of provincial agencies.
“Maybe we can’t eliminate (human trafficking), but we can maybe bring it to its knees,” said Capt. Sheils.
“If we all put an effort into this we can make a difference not just in our community but also in our country and worldwide.”
Tiny Bubbles....
One of Hawaii's leading personalities is no more, Don Ho the vocal genius behind the Hawaiin party theme Tiny Bubbles passed away on Saturday.
Most likely anyone over the age of forty has probably hummed, or even sang a chorus (most likely quite off key) of the most famous of Hawaiin musical exports.
Long a staple of the elevator music crowd, it is perhaps one of the most recognizable songs that there is out there. And no doubt the first thing one thinks of after sun, beaches and pineapples when it comes to Hawaii.
Podunkian Music Club
Rush- Spirit of Radio
Tonight’s selection for the Club is Toronto’s Power Trio RUSH, a wall of sound that has been flowing across Canada for almost forty years.
A Canadian dynasty that still rolls along on the A list of venues, still puts out the discs and has become one of the nation’s and world's most recognizable bands. One of the best selling bands in music history with multiple gold and platinum album sales and legion of fans to proclaim them the kings of the progressives.
Made up of Geddy Lee, Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson, they provided an offering of the full tilt blast, one that continues to come straight at you and is still blazing as though they still in the garages and rec rooms of Willowdale.
From the debut self titled album of 1974, RUSH became one of the few exports from Toronto that found acceptance from sea to sea to sea and beyond.
The early success of Fly by Night and By Tor the Snow Dog announced their arrival on the music scene, combining artistic achievement with commercial success.
Destined to soon find themselves as a long time staple of the FM airwaves, they all but defined the album rock era of radio, by the time they released Exit Stage left in 1981, they were pretty well the house band for many a Canadian radio station.
The most adventurous of their early music was 2112, an album which like many of the era, was long and orchestral in approach (as orchestral as you can get with wailing guitars and pounding drums), but it was the center piece of the concept album era.
Known best for their high energy live concerts, they became one of the early bands to make the most out of the live album concept, the All the World’s a Stage recording from 1976, took many Canadian kids to the show, even if they weren’t near an arena.
Our selection tonight, Spirit of Radio comes from the Permanent Waves recording first released in 1980. It reflected a new vibrancy to the band, a growing appeal world wide and a song that pretty well guaranteed any radio station that had the jams would play the tune until the grooves wore out (the CD version would offer unlimited play in years to come).
There’s much more in the RUSH library, and future sessions of the club will explore the many shifts in the RUSH dynamic. But the trip down the musical lane will stop with that crossroad in the bands evolution from 1980. For the feel of a live RUSH show, we fast forward our journey and take our clip from the Canada Rocks sessions of 2003. It was a day long party to celebrate Toronto featuring some of the biggest names in rock and a homecoming visit for the band from the burbs.
It was a day where they plugged in with the likes of the Stones and AC/DC to name but a few. On a hot Toronto afternoon the band were equals on the stage, but most likely were number one with the crowd.
Artist-Rush
Recording-Permanent Waves
Tonight’s selection for the Club is Toronto’s Power Trio RUSH, a wall of sound that has been flowing across Canada for almost forty years.
A Canadian dynasty that still rolls along on the A list of venues, still puts out the discs and has become one of the nation’s and world's most recognizable bands. One of the best selling bands in music history with multiple gold and platinum album sales and legion of fans to proclaim them the kings of the progressives.
Made up of Geddy Lee, Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson, they provided an offering of the full tilt blast, one that continues to come straight at you and is still blazing as though they still in the garages and rec rooms of Willowdale.
From the debut self titled album of 1974, RUSH became one of the few exports from Toronto that found acceptance from sea to sea to sea and beyond.
The early success of Fly by Night and By Tor the Snow Dog announced their arrival on the music scene, combining artistic achievement with commercial success.
Destined to soon find themselves as a long time staple of the FM airwaves, they all but defined the album rock era of radio, by the time they released Exit Stage left in 1981, they were pretty well the house band for many a Canadian radio station.
The most adventurous of their early music was 2112, an album which like many of the era, was long and orchestral in approach (as orchestral as you can get with wailing guitars and pounding drums), but it was the center piece of the concept album era.
Known best for their high energy live concerts, they became one of the early bands to make the most out of the live album concept, the All the World’s a Stage recording from 1976, took many Canadian kids to the show, even if they weren’t near an arena.
Our selection tonight, Spirit of Radio comes from the Permanent Waves recording first released in 1980. It reflected a new vibrancy to the band, a growing appeal world wide and a song that pretty well guaranteed any radio station that had the jams would play the tune until the grooves wore out (the CD version would offer unlimited play in years to come).
There’s much more in the RUSH library, and future sessions of the club will explore the many shifts in the RUSH dynamic. But the trip down the musical lane will stop with that crossroad in the bands evolution from 1980. For the feel of a live RUSH show, we fast forward our journey and take our clip from the Canada Rocks sessions of 2003. It was a day long party to celebrate Toronto featuring some of the biggest names in rock and a homecoming visit for the band from the burbs.
It was a day where they plugged in with the likes of the Stones and AC/DC to name but a few. On a hot Toronto afternoon the band were equals on the stage, but most likely were number one with the crowd.
Artist-Rush
Recording-Permanent Waves
Saturday, April 14, 2007
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