Mr. Veniez may be gone, but he still looms on the horizon, Nathan Cullen continues his investigation

The investigator and the investigated don’t appear to be on the same page. That at least seems to be the impression one might be getting from recent developments in the examination of Dan Veniez’s time at Ridley Terminals.

Prior to his forced departure, Veniez had popped up on the horizon of Nathan Cullen, the NDP MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, who had expressed concern over Mr. Veniez’s plans to lead Ridley Terminals to privatization.

As that particular scenario began to develop, Cullen had started his own MP’s investigation into the plans, only to watch his main target be given his walking papers last month.

On his way out the door, Mr. Veniez suggested that his firing was more of a case of politics, that after Veniez had crossed swords with Conservative MP’s and Ministers over the future of Ridley, he outlined his thoughts that any investigation into Ridley Terminals should include the politicians and resource company agendas as well.

With all of that drama playing out from Ottawa to Prince Rupert and beyond, Mr. Cullen it seems has continued on with his investigation, though to hear Mr. Veniez tell it, there hasn’t been much input sought from him so far.

Currently away in Vietnam on a business trip, Veniez found time to hammer out some thoughts on his blackberry to George T. Baker of the Daily News. As past experiences have shown, this isn’t the first time that ever so calculating Veniez has used the media to massage his message.

In fact, his latest entry is but a continuation of the theme first started on the pages of the Globe and Mail and National Post earlier this year, articles that certainly gained him some attention and eventually it seems provided enough concern to have him removed from his job.


SKEENA-BULKLEY MP KEEPS AN EYE ON RIDLEY
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Monday, July 20, 2009
Page three

According to Nathan Cullen, there is still an NDP investigation probing into the Dan Veniez era at Ridley Terminal Inc.

Cullen said that Veniez and he are playing phone tag right now but that he has had conversations with Minister of State responsible for Transport, Rob Merrifield .

.. [Rob Merrifield] has been quite frank and forward with me and has committed to work with us to make the terminal viable and strong in the future and I am going to hold him to that commitment," said Cullen during his bi-weekly teleconference.

Veniez's employment was terminated after he created months of open speculation about the future of the north coast coal terminal, and his firing has resulted in a number of columns defending him in newspapers across the country.

But Veniez didn't seem to need any help yesterday when asked for comment. The former head of RTI is currently in Vietnam heading a business delegation that is meeting with top officials there, but he put his blackberry to good use.

By email, he wondered how Cullen had time to tell everyone that he was investigating the matter but had not taken the time to get a hold of him.

"There's no so-called investigation. Smoke and mirrors. He's playing politics," wrote Veniez in an email response. "An 'investigation' would require the production of documents, interviewing the parties, and doing all of that under oath. None of that is even close to happening by him or anyone else."

It has been a strange month at RTI. Veniez was fired for ostensibly selling the idea of privatization through the media, but the man who would have saved Skeena Cellulose has said that his termination at the coal terminal was little to do with the idea of privatization at all.

He blames coal-shipping interests in Prince George Conservative Mp, Jay Hill's, riding. Hill was the first Conservative MP to raise the issue that Veniez had overstepped his boundaries as chairman.

Cullen said that the terminal was in good shape under Veniez and was making some money but that there were some decisions made in the last while that had caused concern amongst Conservative ministers.

"Mr Veniez made some allegations that some suppliers, and coal shippers were being subsidized by the Canadian taxpayer and this is something that we are chasing right now. That's the reason I am talking to him at all," said Cullen.

Veniez emailed after the interview to say that Cullen had left a message to speak to him.

Podunk Below the Masthead, Monday, July 20, 2009

The R Family cruises into Prince Rupert, the passport office stops in as well, changing times at the Ministry of Children and Nathan Cullen says he's still investigating the Veniez era at Ridley Terminals, some of the highlights of the Monday edition.

PRINCE RUPERT A HIT WITH THE 'R FAMILY-- Last weeks arrival of the weekly cruise ship Norwegian Star provided the city with one of those seven stages of celebrity seperation, as the 'R Family Cruise made its first ever stop in Prince Rupert.

As we outlined on the blog last week, the gay and lesbian friendly cruise organizers, booked passage on the Norwegian Star on its weekly Alaskan cruise run, making Prince Rupert one of its stops and the subject of a front page, headline story in the Monday edition (see story below)

Elsewhere in the Daily, some details of the upcoming mobile passport office visit to the Northwest, (see Podunk previous) which offers up local residents the opportunity to submit their completed passport applications to Passport Canada officials during their Northwest blitz.

The rather confusing few days for the Ministry of Family and Childrens services was also examined in the Monday edition. As mentioned in the blog last week union and government officials have exchanged interpretations as to the changes coming to the local offices, changes which have the union decrying job cuts and the government suggesting that the union isn't being completely clear in the scope of the changes to come. (see story here)

And Dan Veniez may be out of his office, but he's not yet forgotten. Skeena-Bulkley Vally NDP MP, Nathan Cullen, outlined for the Daily News how he is still investigating the happenings at RTI during Mr. Veniez's term at the controls of the coal terminals operations. (see story here)

The Sports section reviewd the successful basketball year for a former Rupertite Sarah Williams, who is now playing her university sports for Nanaimo's Vancouver Island University

Total pages in the Monday edition (12)
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PRINCE RUPERT A HIT WITH THE ‘R FAMILY’
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Monday, July 20, 2009
Pages one and five

It was the first time the cruise stopped in Prince Rupert.

The Norwegian Star pulled into Prince Rupert Thursday . in partnership with R Family Vacations, a vacation line that is geared toward the gay and lesbian community, but open to anyone.

Founded by Gregg Kaminsky and Kelli O'Donnell, the partner of Rosie O'Donnell, R Family has offered vacations on Norwegian Cruise Lines for seven years.

Port Agent Doug Moore of Prince Rupert said Thursday there were 501 children on board the R Family Cruise.

"Normally there are around 150 kids on the boat," he explained, as he stood on the Atlin Terminal dock.

Each week Moore goes out to the ship before any of the passengers embark, acting as a liaison between the ship and the port.

Once the ship leaves Seattle to head north, Moore receives the manifest listing the guest and crew.

"I only work hands-on with the passengers if there's a medical situation," he explained.

The Segrist family hails from Bend, Oregon. On Thursday evening they were chatting with Moore on the Atlin Terminal dock and said they were really enjoying the cruise.

Parents Kurt and Elizabeth Segrist, who is in her 30s, aren't that much older than their two daughters, Erin Coleman-Hicks and Caitlin Coleman, both in their 20s.

"It's nice not to have to explain your family," said Elizabeth. "People on the cruise are very accepting."

Steve Bratton and Skip Ralph from New York were on their second R Family cruise and said seeing Alaska was incredible.

After suiting up in Prince Rupert to go whale watching for the first time, they looked up to hear eagles making noises in the trees nearby.

"We're excited to see eagles too," said Ralph.

Christine Danroth of Prince Rupert had the opportunity to meet Kaminsky and presented him with t -shirts designed by one of the members of Prince Rupert's Queer Youth Alliance.

"People were asking me where they could buy the t-shirts," Danroth said.

A single mom, raising an infant son she adopted recently, Danroth said she saw many families like hers coming off the cruise ship.

She also heard a big group of teenagers talking as they got off the boat.

"They said they were so glad to be where they didn't have to explain their family. Why you might have two moms or two dads. I think this cruise line rocks and I'm going to go on it next year," Danroth said as she suited up to watch the whales.


Rosie O'Donnell wasn't on board, but the Segrists said the celebrity roster did include Ross Mathews of 'Ross the Intern' fame from the Jay Leno show.

Caroline Rhea, who played Helga on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and took over the Rosie O'Donnell Show, was also on board.

A third notable was Sharon Gless, who played Cagney on the television series 'Cagney & Lacey', and who recently starred in the 2009 movie, Hannah Free.

Fourth on the list was Cheyenne Jackson, a Broadway singer originally from Idaho, who now lives in New York.

And, said Moore, 70 members of the Seattle Gay Men's Chorus were on the cruise as well.

Rupertites reported seeing a Captain Jack Sparrow-like character walking around downtown.

"He came in and visited our shop for five or ten minutes," said Dianne Wampler of Frank's Studio Hair Design."

"He said he was from Alaska and was part of the entertainment on the ship. He was pretty cool. He had the hair and the mannerisms down. I told him he was pretty game to be walking around town."

"When one passer-by asked him why he was dresses like that he answered in true Sparrow style, "Because I can."

The Judge would like some summer reading material

Premier Campbell and his top officials have been ordered by the court to turn over all communications by e mail that have been made in regard to the sale of BC Rail of 2003.

The request from Madam Justice Elizabeth Bennett of the British Columbia Supreme Court is the latest twist in the controversial surroundings of the sale of BCR to Canadian National, her request is considered as unprecedented in the sense that it will go far beyond the usually closed doors of cabinet confidentiality.

In addition to emails from the Premier and his officials, Madam Justice also would like to see past correspondences from former Cabinet ministers Christy Clark and Gary Collins, who both left politics in 2004.

There is still some question as to what emails may still be available, it has been a confusing few days of late, as the government outlined details on how many of the emails previously requested had been erased, a position that seems to have been reversed of late with news that some of those files may actually still be intact and accessible.

To that end, the government will provide a list to the Madam Justice by August 17th outlining which emails may still be accessible and available for her reading list.

It will be a list that many will want a look at, especially the attorneys for Dave Basi, Bob Virk and Aneal Basi, the trio have been charged with a number of offences in regards to the BC Rail sale case, including fraud, breach of trust and money laundering.


Their attorneys believe that e-mails will show the three were only following directives from higher ups when they were involved with the file.

If the government can't provide those e mails of interest to those discussions, then there's a good chance that the scene will be set for dismissal of charges for the three prominent players in the current legalities.

Once Madam Justice has her reading material all set up she, like many Canadians, will spend her last few weeks of summer curled up with a bit of reading to catch up on.
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No light reading for her it seems, instead it's non fiction, drama all the way, a potentially voluminous amount of paper that she no doubt hopes will serve fill in some of the many blanks that so far have been left by the Liberal Government.

Globe and Mail-- Judge orders B.C. Premier to turn over e-mails

National Post-- Corruption trial judge orders release of B.C. premier's emails

Vancouver Province-- Premier Campbell and top aides ordered to release e-mails in Basi-Virk case

Vancouver Sun-- Judge in Basi-Virk case rules e-mails of premier and staff must be disclosed

CBC British Columbia-- Premier ordered to hand over BC Rail emails
The Tyee-- Railgate Looks Even More Like Watergate

Chances sees giant leap in revenues in 2008-09

With a full year of operations under their belt, Chances Prince Rupert is finding that "Fun is good" and indeed profitable, especially for the financial department at City Hall.

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With some sizable increases in revenues for the most recent reporting year, what seems to be good for Chances bottom line, seems to be of interest to the City as well!.

The British Columbia Lottery Corporation's Annual Report has been released and in among the details of what the Lottery Corporation does for the province, is the listings of revenues for all of the gaming centres of British Columbia.

Chances Prince Rupert has seen a rather sizable increase in its numbers in this first full year of gaming overlooking the waterfront, the figures collected for the annual report outline the revenues from both slots and bingo, and both it seems are proving popular with Prince Rupert residents and visitors.

The 100 slot machines at Chances took in revenues of $8,606, 670 in 2008-09, while the 209 Bingo seats in the Main Hall at Chances brought revenues of $1,473,616 in the last year. All that action on the gaming floors takes the Prince Rupert totals to over $10,080,206 for 2008-09.

Those numbers compare impressively to the shortened opening year for Chances of 2007-08, when the combined Prince Rupert totals for slots and Bingo was only $3,998,146.

Prince Rupert's community share of that gambling winfall was $520,981 in 2008-09, almost three times as much as the 2007-08 numbers when Rupert only received $190,606 as a byproduct of our gambling ways.

The financial picture was put together from numbers tabulated as of March 31, 2009.

You can view the full report from the BCLC website.

Saturday rafting accident claims life in Terrace

A white water rafting expedition in the Terrace area turned tragic on the weekend as a 34 year old Terrace woman died after the raft she was travelling in overturned in heavy rapids north of Terrace.

The incident which took place around the noon hour on Saturday, saw two of three of the rafts travelling along the Kitsumkalum river tip over in the fast moving water, sending several of the rafters into the water.

Despite efforts to revive the woman, those rendering aid were unable to revive her. She was airlifted out of the river site, but pronounced dead at Mills Memorial Hospital.
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The RCMP continue their investigation into the incident, no name has been released as of yet.

CFTK TV 7-- White water Rafting Accident Claims a Life Near Terrace
Terrace Stanard-- Rafting accident claims a life
Terrace Daily online-- Skenna Valley Expeditions Address Loss
Terrace Daily online-- Tragedy on the Kalum river

Will potential health care cuts be cause for concern on the North coast?

Observers of the local health care situation are getting a bit worried about the recent dedication towards budgetary concerns as outlined by the Minister of Health Kevin Falcon.

The North coast is currently down a number of doctors and a large number of patients currently have no family physician, and the worry now is that the governments plan to reign in spending at the province’s health authorities may have a negative impact on our local situation.

Northern Health anticipates that the Northwest share of the 14 million dollars in cuts will come in at around 2 million dollars for 2008-09, where those cuts come from is the main thrust of the current debate, with the North Coasts MLA Gary Coons expecting the cuts will be made from support positions in the region.

While Northern Health weighs its options, former North Coast health Advisory Board member Tobbi Gjelsvik has weighed in with a few questions for Northern Health, seeking some clarification on the status of past promises and looking for better communication from the Health Provider to the health care recipients.

The Daily news featured some details on the local aspect of the debate as well as a published letter to the editor from Gjelsvik in Friday’s paper.


NORTHERN HEALTH EXPECTING CUTBACKS
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Friday, July 17, 2009
Page two

The provincial health minister told CEOs this week that they will not have enough money to deliver planned services and that cuts, or spending priorities, will have to be made.

Falcon said he expects about 40 per cent of the savings to come through cuts to administration and overhead, and speeding up shared services such as bulk purchasing.

'You will also face some tough choices in the year head to live within your means," Falcon's letter says.

He told reporters in Victoria that health authority managers have committed to balancing their budgets this year.

"That, I think, is a very positive thing," Falcon said. "It's not easy for them, but they recognize that receiving a 20-per-cent budget increase over three years is pretty good given the economic situation that the province and the country finds itself in."

However there are some concerns on the North Coast that any cuts to the Northern Health Authority budget could worsen an already difficult health services situation in the Northwest.

In Prince Rupert, former North Coast Health Advisory Committee member, Tobbi Gjelsvik, is already troubled by the lack of movement to bring much-needed doctors to town.

Gjelsvik (see today's letter to the editor) said that at this point, there are at least 4,000 people in Prince Rupert without a doctor.

"This current situation is putting additional stress and pressure on the residents of the north coast and I would say such a situation wouldn't be tolerated in the larger centres, even like Prince George," wrote Gjelsvik.

NH's Northwest COO, Marina Ellenson, said that administrative staff was looking at upping the level of practitioners working in Prince Rupert.

"We absolutely agree that we need to find more physicians for our general practitioner compliment [in Prince Rupert]," said Ellenson.

The worry is that additional staff might cost the health authority money it no longer has.

As the health authority that governs health services in Prince Rupert, Northern Health has a budget of $600 million. Of that, $83.4 million is spent on services for the Northwest, which includes Terrace, Kitimat Haida Gwaii and here.

The cuts come after the ministry provided NH with a $17 million increase at the beginning of the fiscal year.

"Even after that increase we needed to reduce about $13-to-$14 million," said Ellenson.

According to her, the Northwest region's share of the cut will be $2 million for 2008-09.

"We certainly have a commitment to working with the ministry, who has definitely done a good job working with us but wee need to bring our spending into line with our budgets."

North Coast MLA, Gary Coons, said he believes that job cuts will be coming but it won't be from doctors and nurses.

He believes that it will be support or laboratory staff that meets the chopping block.

"They did the same thing to hospital stores a few years back, a number of Hospital Employee's Union folks lost jobs," said Coons.

Ellenson said that right now NH is looking at where they can streamline and improve what they are already doing.

"We are taking a look at overtime and travel expenses," said Ellenson.

With files from Canadian Press


A letter to Northern Health
Letter to the Editor
The Daily News
Friday, July 17, 2009
Page four

To the Editor,

I sent this email below to Northern Health and haven't received a reply as of yet.

Dear Ms. Ellinson,

People have been asking me if! Had heard anything more about the doctors coming to Rupert. I haven't, so I thought I would check with you.

In April, Kelly Phipps from Northern Health told our Advisory Committee (now disbanded) that as many as 7 doctors were considering the move to Prince Rupert. This was even better news than what we were told earlier, with the original number then being only three.

What is their status? We continue to have 4 to 5 thousand people in our community and outlying villages, with no family doctor and that is unacceptable.

Ms. Phipps also mentioned to our committee that Northern Health was looking at a pilot project at the Greene Clinic. This was to offer short term practioners for a period of 3 months who would assist with unattached patients with advanced access and follow up. This was to hopefully lead to permanent residence of these doctors.

The Greene Clinic sits waiting and still nothing has happened. What is the status of this?

Horror stories continue at the emergency at PRRH with staggering wait times and people overworked. An emergency should be just that, an emergency and not a home for all the displaced residents of Prince Rupert and the outlying areas without a doctor. It is unfair to those professionals that have to work under these conditions.

It just seems that this goes on and on at times and is becoming more and more unfair. It also seems that the small communities continue to be left out when it comes to health care.

I also wonder if Northern Health just isn't to large and that the recruitment of doctors isn't high enough up on it's things to do. That is also unfair.

This current situation is putting additional stress and pressure on the residents of the north coast and I would say such a situation wouldn't be tolerated in the larger centres, even like Prince George.

I would appreciate your response to my concerns and also why not give our communities some regular updates via the newspapers locally, as I am sure people would appreciate it.

Thank you for your time.

Tobbi Gjelsvik

Podunk Below the Masthead Friday, July 17, 2009

The Elders gather in Terrace, Rappin the gospels and rocks through a window, some of the items of note in the Friday edition of the Daily News.

ANNUAL ELDERS GATHERING A GREAT SUCCESS-- The 33rd annual gathering of Elders took place in Terrace this week and the Daily provides some of the highlights of the event which attracted over 3500 participants. The review of events provided for the front page headline story of the Friday edition (see story below)

Elsewhere in the Daily was a preview of a visit by Fresh IE, a Winnipeg based Christian rapper who performed at the Salvation Army Friday night, marking his fourth visit to the city.

Vandalism continues to cause problems in the downtown core, with Galaxy Gardens the latest victim of ill intent. Friday's paper outlines a recent smash and grab at the restaurant, as a front window was broken and a number of items from the restaurant bar taken before Police could respond to the alarm.

The incident, the latest in a string of broken windows through the downtown area in the last year has given the owners cause for thought, that with a 1,000 dollar replacement cost in store for them, if perhaps they should not follow the lead of Subway on Second Avenue. Last year added steel security windows to their aesthetics, that in response to a number of broken windows to their restaurant. Like many other victims in recent times, the owners are seeking the assistance of city hall in finding a way to reduce the number of incidents that seem to be plaguing the downtown area.

The Daily also outlines the latest in cost cutting measures across the province as local health authorities seek ways to meet Minister Kevin Falcon's strict adherence to budgetary constraint. As we outlined on our blog earlier this week, the recent edict from Minister Falcon has seen many Health Authorities take a variety of actions to meet their budgets as per the Minister's orders. While Northern health has not announced how they will approach the Ministers request, it is something of concern to local residents who already are finding that health care struggles continue on the North coast (see blog item here)

The Sports page featured details of an August basketball camp at the Civic Centre as well as some background of the August Quickclimb of Mount Hays.

Total pages in the Friday edition (18)

Front page, headline story:

ANNUAL ELDERS GATHERING A GREAT SUCCESS
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Friday, July 17, 2009
Page one

The former king had nothing but praise for the way the new king ran his show.

"If I could sum it up in one word: excellent," said last year's Elders Gathering King, Leonard Alexcee.

Alexcee felt that this year's King, Melvin Robinson and his wife Rosie got it just right.

In fact, that was the general reaction for those in attendance at the 33rd Annual Elders Gathering, which was held in Terrace earlier this week. The positive showing by the Nisga'a from the Nass Valley made for a wonderful three days that was helped by delicious food from the culinary arts students enrolled at the Northwest Community College, an eclectic mix of singers and dancers from opening day on and the volunteers - all 400 of them. ,

"Put it this way," said Alexcee. "All bases were covered."

And they needed to be. There were 3,500 people ill attendance at this year's gathering, with 2,700 being elders and the rest being support people and chaperones.

The Nisga'a were actually the ones hosting the event but the venues they had in the Nass Valley villages weren't big enough. So they went to Terrace, which is Kitsumkalum territory, and asked for permission to get the show going.

Right from the opening ceremony it was evident to Alexcee that the four communities hosting the event, Nisga' a villages from the Nass Valley - Gingolx, Laxgalts'ap, Gitwinksihlkw and New Aiyansh, with the support the Tsimshian community, Kitsumkalum, knew what they were doing.

The theme was "Sayt K'ilim Goot", which means one heart, one path, and one nation.

While the dancing and feasting were reminiscent of last year, the amount of volunteering was the biggest difference from 2008 in Prince Rupert. The Friendship House hosted the annual gathering then and while it was considered a successful event, many of the organizers felt exhausted by the amount of work needed to properly put it on.

"It's pretty hard to do it, but that being said all the outlying villages really helped out last year with food and financial support," said Alexcee.

Friendship House program director, Rudy Kelly, was also on hand to check out this year's offerings and was suitably impressed by the work of the organizers.

"The volunteering was really well organized, with volunteers wearing the same t -shirts so that an elder could easily find them if they needed help," said Kelly.

Kelly echoed Alexcee's sentiments by saying the major difference this year from last year was the level of organization.

"I spoke to this year's King and Queen and they said they have learned some things from here. Everything just seemed to happen much quicker there and kept tighter. Hats off, definitely to the Nisga' a," said Kelly.

This year's event was held earlier this week in Terrace and because it was no more than a two hour drive down Highway 16, a decent-sized delegation from Prince Rupert was off to see the annual spectacle that honours the senior members of the province's First Nations.

The Okanagan Ablaze again

The parallels to 2003 are growing more and more similar with each passing hour, as what started out as one blaze to the west of Kelowna on Saturday afternoon, had grown to three separate fires blazing through the tinder dry forests west of the city by night fall.

Water bombers, helicopters and fire department ground forces both forestry and municipal began to work the fire scene through the day, as flames whipped by Northwesterly winds quickly consumed large tracts of land.

By evening, nine homes had been reported to have been consumed by flames, tens of thousands of residents had been moved to evacuation centres and evacuation alerts had been issued to other residents surrounding the Glenrosa area of suburban Kelowna, the fire had jumped the closed Highway 97 and had begun to proceed to the east and towards Okanagan Lake. At midnight, the fire had been estimated to have grown to 300 hectares.

Some of Kelowna's radio stations have increased their on air coverage through the night, broadcasting live updates on the growing situation and taking calls from those who have been affected by the quickly changing situation. Listen here to Astral Media's 1150 AM,

For many residents today's events were a stark reminder of the days of August of 2003 when a similar fire around the Kelowna area, forced many residents from their homes and consumed a number of homes in the suburban areas.

With more hot weather on the horizon for Sunday, little chance of any precipitation and the winds expected to pick up again, officials will be working to stem the progress of the fires before they encroach further into residential, commercial and industrial areas. As night fell on the Okanagan, none of the three fires burning were listed as contained as ground crerws continued to work the fire scenes overnight, while residents watch and wait to see what develops in the morning.

You can keep track of the developments and view many of the photos being posted of the fires, from the following sites.

The Kelowna Courier

Kelowna.com

CBC British Columbia

CTV BC

Global BC

1150 AM/Sun FM/Silk FM

Vancouver Sun

Vancouver Province

Globe and Mail
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Photos above from Vancouver Sun and Kelowna.com

Walter Cronkite: 1916-2009

He brought us the sad news of a President cut down in the streets of Dallas, featured a nightly review of a war going terribly wrong in Vietnam, one that would force another President from his post and lead to the shocking developments of a convention in Chicago. He outlined the story of disgrace of a President forced from office under scandal and of one the most momentous occasions for the world, of man landing on the moon.

Walter Cronkite was our eyewitness to modern history and after 92 years he has passed on to his reward, where we imagine an ace reporter is about to join the ranks of St. Peter’s chroniclers, ready to get the scoop on what happens behind the gates.

Mention the name Cronkite and there is no need to seek out a definition of the term news anchor, if Webster’s wanted to shorten the reading list, simply posting a picture of Mr. Cronkite beside the entry for the term should be more than sufficient to get the message across. Such was his presence, that foreign languages adopted variations of his name when describing the position of reading the news in their lands.

He refined the role he took on for CBS, re-creating it in his level headed and even handed way of delivering the news on a nightly basis for over 19 years. He was the most trustworthy source of information America had of its time.

If Walter Cronkite said the war was lost, it was gone; a President knew enough that he could no longer continue on with his ambitions, once he had lost the Middle America that relied on Cronkite to give them the straight goods.



He was there for the most pivotal of events of the sixties and seventies, the assassinations that rocked the nation and the world, the wars, peace treaties and political changes that rolled across the planet, the struggling and surging economies, the scandals, the march for civil rights, the unrest in the large American cities and the quest for exploration in space. He examined the promising discoveries in health and the setbacks that came as well and most of all he provided the accounts of the people in the small towns and cities that provided the backbone of the nation.

No journalist today seems to come close to the importance of Cronkite in his time, none resonates in the industry as he did, and in fact journalism has faded to a degree from those heights it reached in the Cronkite era.

It's of note to recount that Mr. Cronkite's last broadcast was in March of 1981 and yet he still remains the focal point of professionalism and dedication to the craft these many years later.

Today there are too many options available, too many agendas, the news is spun by the so called anchors, and right after it has been spun by the news makers. The filter it seems dumbs it down at far too many times, taking what should be the issue and making it but an afterthought to the cause of journalism. Far too often it seems we are fed our pablum, told to watch the fluff and not to worry or seek out the information about the important things that we should need to know.

It in a way is fitting that he passes on a weekend when America celebrates that mission to the moon, it was one of his defining moments in broadcast journalism. The space program was his thing, he personified it for television. In an era well before fancy graphics and computer generated features, he would use those scale models and charts, interview the NASA experts and ask the questions we all wanted to know answers to. He watched and marvelled with us as the grainy images bounced back to earth and showcased what man could accomplish in the quest of adventure and science.



On those exciting July days of 1969, Neil Armstrong took that one step for man and giant leap for mankind, and like Armstrong on the moon, Cronkite left his footprints as well.

Giant leaps for journalists that few can match. Much has been made of his career in the short period since CBS announced his passing, much more will be recounted in the days to come, a fitting tribute to one of the pioneers of an industry and an iconic American who was without a doubt the most trusted man in the nation over the course of his career.

The Dean of American Journalism leaves behind his path a trail of journalists that found their vocation while watching his nightly news cast, discovering their thirst for information and seeking the trust that he earned from the public, passing a torch for those that followed, but far too few can hold on to.

While his epitaph could be a lengthy one and well deserved his simple trademark sign off each night is perhaps the most fitting tribute to his career.



Walter Cronkite, Giant of journalism, chronicler for a generation and the most trusted man in the nation, and "that’s the way it was, 1916-2009".

CBS Television-- CBS Legend Walter Cronkite Dies
New York Times-- Walter Cronkite, Voice of TV News, Dies
CNN-- Former CBS anchor 'Uncle Walter' Cronkite dead at 92
MSNBC-- Former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite dies
FOX News-- Famed CBS News Anchorman Walter Cronkite Dies at 92
Globe and Mail-- Iconic anchor Walter Cronkite dead at 92
National Post-- Broadcaster Walter Cronkite dead at 92
CBC-- Former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite dies
BBC-- US TV news legend Cronkite dies

BC Rail issue raises flags for NDP MLA

"Gordon Campbell, after the RCMP raid on his offices, needs to answer some tough questions about the sale, and come clean with British Columbians by giving us the down and dirty of his sell-off," -- NDP MLA Gary Coons offering up his thoughts to the Daily News on the state of the BC Rail investigation.

The growing fog of delay over the release of information on the BC Rail sale is raising a few more eyebrows and voices in Victoria, as the NDP Opposition strives to focus the debate on the Premier's office and the latest drama playing out in the provincial capital.

For the last few months, North Coast NDP MLAGary Coons has been outlining his concerns over the path that the BC Rail investigation has been taking. With the latest developments of missing e mail correspondences adding to the growing file of suspicion on the events that led to the take over of BC rail lines in the province by CN.

Thursday, Coons added his voice to those of his fellow members of the NDP caucus, who perhaps smelling a little blood in the political water are pushing hard for answers over the missing emails and other controversial and confusing issues surrounding the sale.

SALE OF BC RAIL IN 2003 IS STIRRING UP QUESTIONS
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Page two

Delays in releasing information on rail deal are frustrating opposition.

According to the opposition's Attorney General Critic, Leonard Krog, the sale of the former provincial crown corporation rail line has not been fully disclosed to the public and he said he blames Premier Gordon Campbell for the delay.

''Today, certain clauses in the B.C. Rail Transaction agreement that are in place to protect British Columbians, will expire. The public has the right to know what the Campbell government plans to do with valuable track land from North Vancouver to Squamish to Dease Lake,' said Krog to media members in Vancouver Tuesday.

The BC liberals have said that a full disclosure of the contract could not be made because of a trial that has implicated two former high-level aides in political corruption charges.

The men on trial are Dave Basi and Bob Virk, who have been charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting benefits for allegedly leaking confidential information to one of the bidders about the bidding process for BC Rail in 2003.

At the time, Basi was an assistant to Gary Collins, who was finance minister, and Virk was an assistant to Judith Reid, who was transportation minister.

A highly severed version of the B. C. Rail deal, released in August 2004 in response to a FOI request from the BC NDP, includes clauses that allow Canadian National to stop service to portions of the rail line. The premier has also said the contract allows the government to sell off rail lands for one dollar. Despite public pressure, the Campbell government has never released a complete version of the contract.

The deal has drawn the ire of the BC NDP for some time now but the party has been unsuccessful in gaining full access to the documents through Freedom of Information requests.

Krog is now trying another tactic by claiming that a full disclosure would help enlighten British Columbians on what the plans are for track that extends as far north as Dease Lake and south to North Vancouver.

It's a question his North Coast colleague, Gary Coons, agrees needs to be asked. Coons brought up the controversial sale many times during the past provincial election.

"Gordon Campbell, after the RCMP raid on his offices, needs to answer some tough questions about the sale, and come clean with British Columbians by giving us the down and dirty of his sell-off," said Coons.

He added that British Columbians deserved to know if the deal signed away the rights of communities by giving CN the right to abandon parts of the rail line, and whether the deal will allow the private company to buy valuable land for as little as one dollar.

Podunk Below the Masthead Thursday, July 16, 2009

The provincial Chamber of Commerce lends its support to the local Chamber in a bid to enhance ferry services along the coast, Port Ed gives a go ahead for development of its water line replacement project, Gary Coons has a few questions over the BC Rail situation and the Daily hits the lounge at the Gaming centre, some of the items of note in the Thursday edition of the paper.

PROVINCIAL CHAMBER SHOULDERS LOCAL FERRY ISSUES-- The local Chamber of Commerce is already harvesting the fruit of its recent hosting session for the provincial chamber, as the province wide organzation comes in with support for a Prince Rupert initiative to improve Ferry service along the coast. Seeking to have the province recognize the ferry service as an extension of the highways system, the local chamber is hopeful that with the support of the provincial body those initiatives will move forward. (see story below)


Port Edward moves forward with its waterline project, after concerns raised by Councillor Bjorndahl were reviewed. At issue was the potential cost of the project under the provisions of the TIMLA agreement, which allows out of province bids from Alberta on projects such as the waterline replacement program. Bjorndahl was concerned that the paramaters of the costing of the project were never discussed or voted upon at council, but as things turn out there had been a report presented to council on the issue back on March 10th. The project which is not to exceed 270,000 dollars will soon be underway, providing a much needed upgrage to the District of Port Edwards water system.



NDP MLA Gary Coons offers a few thoughts on the current percolating issues surrounding the BC Rail investigation, Mr. Coons outlines for the Daily News how he would like the Premier to come clean with British Columbians over the governments role in the sell off of the railroad to CN. (see story here)


And the Daily makes a call in at Chances, eager to meet the new restaurant and lounge manager at the gaming centre. A page two article provides us with some background on Andrea Pollock and provides a glimpse into what her plans may be for the restaurant and lounge area.


The Sports page examines the success of former Prince Rupert resident Adrian Liu who is set to compete at the World Badminton championships in India in August.


Total pages of the Thursday edition (14)


Front page, headline story:

PROVINCIAL CHAMBER SHOULDERS LOCAL FERRY ISSUES
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Page one

The Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce is looking for enhanced travel services to Prince Rupert from BC Ferries.

And it hopes the provincial government will do something about it.

In a policy paper that was presented at last month's BC Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting, which was held this year in Prince Rupert, the local chamber would like to see the provincial government enhance the functions of ferry service to and from the North Coast.

"Northern coastal communities have a tremendous reliance on BC Ferries for moving goods, people and commerce in and out of our communities, so the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce took the lead on developing a policy for the BC Chamber on this issue," said Bart Carrigan the policy chair for the Prince Rupert Chamber.

The policy reads that the provincial chamber recommends to the provincial government to recognize BC Ferries as an extension of the BC public highway system and thus enhance the Corporation's mandate as a key driver of coastal economic development. Having the provincial chamber pick up the local chamber policies is a bit of a boon for local chamberites who already felt that hosting this year's AGM added great value to the community.

"We were pleased to have the support of the majority of delegates allowing this policy to be adopted at the provincial level," added Carrigan.

Deb Stava, President of the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce agreed with her chamber cohort, adding that because the policy was now part of the BC Chamber Policy and Positions Manual, it would provide provincial advocacy power and bring forward those marine transport issues critical to rural economic stability and growth.

"Their ability to engage government and non-government entities at the provincial level will help ensure ongoing analysis of BC Ferries and Ministry of Transportation ferry services in terms of service, schedules, rates and costs for the benefit of all northern coastal communities in the province," Stava said.

Child protection to bear the brunt of budget cutting from Liberals

In a move that surely should provide for a bit of a backlash, the Provincial government appears to be making those that have the least and may be in the most need, bear the cost of their suddenly required budget reductions and re-allocations.

Staff at a number of Northwest Child Protection offices were informed of the pending staff cuts as the Ministry tries to come to terms with the balance required for the staffing of front line social workers with the funding provided by the government to cover salaries.

Workers in Prince Rupert, Terrace and Kitimat were informed on Thursday that six positions were going to be eliminated in the Ministry of Children and Families, possibly through the process of leaving vacancies empty and with attrition, but the prospect of potential layoffs could be also be involved.

The timing of the cuts to services is particularly bad, considering the current economic climate of the Northwest, the need for that front line assistance for children and families is perhaps at its greatest than it has been in a number of years.

As anyone who has wandered down the streets of Rupert this year might have noticed, there is a rather large presence of youth in the city, many of whom most likely could be helped by the services offered by the Ministry, however, if budget cuts continue to chip away at the staffing levels and add to the burden of the files for those left behind, it's most likely a safe bet that some will be falling through the cracks.

With all the money the government has spent on Spirit Squares and the endless stream of advertising telling us how we're the best place on earth, perhaps a bit of financial reallocation might be in order to better serve the taxpayers and those in the most need.

The government of course must account for the declining economic situation and find ways to balance their books and such, but so far with the recent announcements in the Health Ministry and now the latest development in the Children's and Families Ministry, it seems that the Campbell Liberals are putting the burden on those that should be protected the most.

It's not a plan of approach that they announced during the recent election campaign, at no time did the need for such measures make it into the debate during the spring election which eventually returned Mr. Campbell to office.

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As for the current developments, the Minister Mary Polak however, counters the view that these are layoffs, instead she suggests that the Ministry is just transferring some of the files over to Aboriginal agencies. They will apparently take over the cases of First Nations residents. She suggests that the current uproar is more of a case of union fear mongering and delivering false information.

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Regardless off the approach, the devolution of cases to other offices is still changing the current dynamic and in the end one would suspect that positions will be reduced in the main Ministry offices.

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It will be interesting to see how each side interprets those numbers and the information that is starting to flow from these decisions, but lost amongst all the rhetoric is the fact that families and children in particular may find their lives disrupted by all of the ongoing drama.

It seems disingenuous to believe that this was not on the drawing board before May, and now that the Liberals have been safely returned to office, we may just begin to wonder how far they plan to go with their new sudden dedication to service reductions and ongoing change.

Some may cautiously suggest, that sadly, we haven't seen anything yet!

The Northern View-- Northwest child protection workers told of staff reductions
The Prince George Citizen-- Child protection workers laid off due to budget cuts

The Vancouver Province-- Job cuts on the way

The fish head inland, the swimmers, they head for the sea

My parents may think I'm a little bit nuts, but they're excited and supportive of the endeavour-- 33 year old Ali Howard announcing her plans to swim the Skeena from its headwaters to the ocean at Prince Rupert.

A Telkwa woman seeking to raise awarenss of environmental awareness for the Skeena watershed, will take to the Skeena on Tuesday ready to tackle the challenges offered by the Northwest's powerful river currents.

After a month and a half of practice on the Bulkley and Suskwa rivers, Howard with a team of eight working with her is ready to make the swim to Rupert.

Her trek is expected take her some 28 days to complete and offers up some dangerous moments to come, from fast currents to whirlpools, through the eddys and making much needed portages at times, not to mention having to contend with the cold temperatures of the Skeena for extended periods of time.

When she's not preparing to swim the mountain cooled rivers of the Northwest, she's preparing food as a professional cook at the Bearclaw Lodge in the Kispiox, where she became an advocate for the preservation of the Skeena Watershed.

If all goes according to plan she'll complete her journey in the mid to late portion of August, claiming a bit of the Skeena as her own.

Her journey is being previewed at the Skeena watershed site, and she has set up a site on Facebook to track her travels.

Vancouver Sun-- Water polo player hopes to become first person to swim entire Skeena River

CKNW profiled the planned swim on the Bill Good show on Friday morning in the 11:00 am hour, you can access the interviews and background on it from the CKNW audio vault or from the Bill Good podcast.

Podunk Below the Masthead, Wednesday, July 15, 2009

The City looks to its waterfront for business growth, Greyhound moves around the block and the Daily notices the Google car, some of the highlights of the Wednesday edition of the Daily News.

CITY LOOKS TO THE FUTURE OF WATERFRONT BUSINESS-- The waterfront's lure is apparently calling the city, part of the city's rezoning project is a plan to make the waterfront more attractive for business opportunities, one of which may soon be the long promised redevelopment of the old CN/VIA rail station. The Daily outlines the details on the new focus on the waterfront as its front page headline story (see story below)

Greyhound is changing hotels and loading zones next month, as renovations and expansion plans at the Coast Prince Rupert Hotel, have made for eviction papers for the bus terminal. Greyhound will move to the Highliner Inn, taking up the space previously known as the Winners Circle Lounge for it's Terminal and office operations. Buses will load in the area in front of the Highliner, much like the Airport buses do on a daily basis. The new depot opens up on August 10th.

Like many others around town, the Daily News spotted the Google car mapping the city last week, as we mentioned in the blog on Saturday, Google's ever expanding visual options include street scene visuals of cities across the world, Rupert's chance to smile and show off it's streets took place last week.

The Sports page offered up a review of the Prince Rupert Seamen's efforts at a Rugby tournament in Prince George last weekend.

Front page headline story:

CITY LOOKS TO THE FUTURE OF WATERFRONT BUSINESS
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Pages one and five

Ted Sylvester looks over the waterfront and reflects on his decision to establish his business next to the harbour.

Sylvester is the owner of Breakers Pub in Cow Bay, which opened back in 1985, and the choice was a good one.

Prince Rupert was a thriving community of 18,000 people then. Although much may have changed since those heady days, the one thing that has remained constant for Sylvester is the immense value of the waterfront.

"It's one of the main reasons we are still busy," said Sylvester.

Sylvester's pub is one of several commercial enterprises that enjoy the strategic advantage of location on the harbour front. Customers, whose origins can vary during the summer tourist season, can be seen regularly filling his pub's deck on rare sunny Rupert afternoons.

Sylvester can understand why any business would want to be down by the water. He isn't surprised to see that potential buyers are interested in the old CN waterfront station or that the city is looking toward the harbour for potential growth.

"That's our business. That's why we got started here," said Sylvester.

The City of Prince Rupert sees potential opportunity for waterfront growth from the same perspective. It's a matter of getting the rest of Prince Rupert to understand why they are pushing this way.

City planner Zeno Krekic said that he realizes that residents in Prince Rupert are probably not as involved in the city's rezoning project as are the business owners in town. But he hasn't given up trying to involve people around town.

And he understands there is a segment of Prince Rupert's population who wonder why the city should even bother. But the city anticipates a growing population based on port facility growth. The question that will be harder to answer then is where and how the city will grow with it.

"Probably one of the biggest things is that everyone wants to have access to the waterfront and the public realm is probably as is important as the commercial realm," said

Krekic. It's a crucial development question lat that the city could face down the road. Access to waterfront property is popular with merchants and homeowners alike. The 'see-the sea' mentality appears ingrained into the human psyche.

The city hall faces several challenges in the development of its rezoning plan and the new Downtown Urban Guidelines that will accompany it. One one the greatest will in keeping the city's look and feel 'inclusive' rather than 'exclusive' to residents and visitors. Waterfront zoning could be a contentious issue due to high usage by the public.

The space around the old Kiwinitsa station evokes depth and meaning to the public. Residents regularly use the old dusty road that runs parallel with the CN rail tracks from the old CN station to Graham Avenue on the city's west end.

"I imagine that any community wishes to have unimpeded access to the waterfront,' said Krekic. "The whole walkway from the station is wonderful. And it really shows the unique charm of Prince Rupert."

The city has previously rezoned the CN station property located on the waterfront to allow for commercial activity. Krekic said that the purchasers of the property have yet to finalize the deal but that a sale should be expected soon.

Development of the old CN station would be something to keep an eye on. As part of the guidelines, it would also be ideal for the view from Fourth Street to remain unimpeded.

For the $90,000 combined rezoning and downtown guidelines planning project to be successful, Krekic would like to see full public involvement on July 27.

As for Third Avenue, Krekic believes that it is a huge part of the community's future.

"The community respects it and wants it to be respected.-So we have an historical section that everyone is quite attached to," said Krekic.

Standing on the corner, waiting for the stars to go by!

Thursday will be bring your camera to work day, as Podunk will be buzzing with speculation when the Norwegian Cruise Lines Norwegian Star pulls alongside for it’s weekly visit.

R Family Tours has booked space on this weeks sailing, providing no shortage of rumours in Rupert about potential stars that may be tagging along for the Inside Passage ride.

Already today the local on line social network hackingthemainframe has been wondering aloud as to whom may be coming ashore for a visit tomorrow.

And who could blame Podunkians for their quest for the famous, on the R Tour website part of the marketing of the tours offers up the potential of rubbing elbows with Cindi Lauper, Mellisa Etheridge or Gloria Estefan, to name a few… not to mention the possible arrival of the genial hosts Kelli and Rosie.

R Family provides family friendly cruises for gay and lesbian patrons, offering up what is described as a week of community, learning, laughter and love is all in store as we celebrate our freedom and pride.

The Tour organization was founded six years ago by Gregg Kaminsky & Kelli O’Donnell , its services offered are frequently touted by O’Donnell’s partner, entertainer Rosie O’Donnell, who frequently describes the tours as providing a welcoming atmosphere for both gay and straight travellers.

The success of the travel offerings has become a bit of a travel industry sensation, with R Family providing a number of options for their customer base. This week in addition to the Prince Rupert port of call, another tour group is exploring the east coast where St. John, New Brunswick is playing host to a cruise visit.

A destination where the passengers were going to "get married and take advantage of some very fabulous, liberal, open-minded Canadian laws."

What Rupertites no doubt want to know however, is if any of the names in Entertainment may be wandering from Cow Bay through to the Cultural and Historic Downtown districts and then on to the Third Avenue Marketplace? Though you have to think that tour organizers are probably bemoaning the timing of last week’s Musical Ride, if only the schedules had worked out we suspect that there would have been some wonderful publicity for Rupert in the future if that had been on their travel agenda.

At any rate, while the tourists are checking out our tourist offerings, we suspect we shall be checking the tourists out, looking for a few names to toss around the coffee shops over the next few weeks.

Cameras at the ready, there will no doubt be reports of potential sightings right up until the ship sets sail for Seattle at 10 pm.

Podunk Below the Masthead, Tuesday, July 14, 2009

A man selling hemp walks into a town, it's almost election day for the Assembly of First Nations and a manslaughter case is moved back two weeks, some of the highlights of the Tuesday edition of the Daily News.

A MAN WITH A MISSION WANTS TO TALK TO THE COUNTRY-- Tuesday's paper outlines the cause of Rodney Graham, a Winnipeg man who is out to get the country to embrace hemp as the future for paper making when it comes to the unsolicited mail that we find piling up at our doors. The front page headline story, delves into his crusade and tries to draw a parallel of sorts to the days of the Great Trek to Ottawa of the Depression. (see story below)

Elsewhere in the paper were the latest developments in the manslaughter case of Melvin Chrisison who was killed in downtown Prince Rupert in June. Annallee Auckland, who has been charged with manslaughter in his death, will be granted another two week extension before the court begins to hear her case. It is the second extension in the case, the first was granted in order for her to find proper representation in court, this second one is to carry the case over until her lawyer has completed his holidays. The case has been conducted by video link out of Prince George, a procedure which will continue on July 27th when it next comes back to the court.

A familiar building on the waterfront may not in store for a change of purpose, as Odin Seafoods has been told to relocate its operations due to the deteroriating condition of the dock and pilings that are part of the operation. The plant which is located beside the Northland Cruise Terminal, will be moved further down the dock, a location which is described as more safe and stable. The current location is possibly to be renovated for lighter use and not in the industrial vein one would imagine.

The Sports page featured the silver winning performance of Pat St. Louis in bowling at a recent competition in Saskatchewan. The weekly look at the golf scene from Moe Hays also held its place in the Tuesday edition.

Total pages in the Tuesday paper (12)

Front page, headline story:

A MAN WITH A MISSION WANTS TO TALK TO THE COUNTRY

By George T. Baker

The Daily News

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Page one

Somewhere around town you may encounter a man with a spirally beard on a hemp crusade.

This Winnipeg native, Rodney Graham, is on what he calls, "the last great adventure."

And this adventure comes with a mission.

Graham, who is a social activist, street journalist and general intriguer, is making his way across the great expanse of Canada to raise awareness, gather signatures and perhaps offer Canadians an opportunity for economic gain: hemp paper.

"There is not a lot of talk about this,' said Graham in a conversation with the Daily News. "I'm very serious about this, though. Hemp grows very well in B.C. and the prairies."

Graham is in Prince Rupert this week to begin his cross-Canada trek to sign up as many Canadians as possible in support of his petition. He claims to have convinced 500 people thus far in this city and hopes to equal that amount again before he departs at the end of the week.

The petition will be forwarded to Environment Minister, Jim Prentice, with hopes that he will present legislation requiring all unsolicited advertisement mail to be produced-using easily recyclable hemp paper by 2012.

Graham stays in each city for about four days, "otherwise it would take me forever." And is looking for volunteers to continue his mission after he has gone, though he admits it is hard to convince people to take up his cause after he is no longer present to provide a driving influence.

Graham insists that pulp mills in Canada would not have to undertake any major infrastructure changes to process hemp in place of wood pulp.

And Graham believes there is no good reason for Canadians to ignore the plant's benefits.

Commercial hemp comes with a stigma attached due to its more commonly known narcotic use - marijuana - but Graham and groups such as the North American Industrial Hemp Inc. (NAIH!), believe that there's a market for hempbased paper, and that it's the right thing to do economically and environmentally.

According to the NAIHI, hemp has been grown for at least 12,000 years for fibre (textiles and paper) and food. It has been effectively prohibited in the United States since the 1950s.

With forestry workers looking at declining employment opportunities, and given how easily the plants grow in B.C.'s rainy climate, it could be a boon for them, argues Graham.

To illustrate his argument, the very Jack Kerouac's Dean Moriarity-like man will travelling across Canada by non-vehicular means as much as possible.

His journey is reminiscent of young Canadian men during another era of economic disparity, the Great Depression, when many British Columbians were on their own political activist train trek, "The Trek to Ottawa".

They were a rabble of unemployed men on their way to Parliament Hill to speak directly to then Tory Prime Minister RB. Bennett about the atrocities in the pacific province's work camps.

Gaining great publicity in the late 1930s, the trek was halted in Regina, being met by hundreds of police officers and ordered to return to B.C. Their refusal sparked the now infamous Regina Riot.

It's a situation Graham isn't likely to face, although he does want some publicity. In fact, the man is writing a book about his adventure called The Wanderers: In Search of the Wanderers.

It's an unconventional way to get a unique message across:, but Graham is very committed to realizing his dream of having every piece of flyer mail in Canadian mailboxes made from recyclable hemp.

So why begin in Prince Rupert?

"Because there are working class people here, and Vancouver and Victoria are not my style," said Graham.