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Regional Notes
High honour
Canada’s Governor General Adrienne Clarkson visited New Aiyansh Oct. 10 to welcome Reverend Roderick Robinson into the prestigious Order of Canada. Robinson is a spiritual, community and political leader for the Nisga’a nation and a key architect of the Nisga’a Tribal Council and the Nisga’a Treaty.
Walmart unionization derailed
The B.C. Labour Relations Board dismissed an application by the United Food and Commercial Workers to unionize workers at Walmart’s Terrace store. The board decided the drive lacked sufficient support because department managers weren’t included in the bargaining unit. The Oct. 7 decision means ballots cast by workers in a June 21 vote won’t be counted.
Cancer care comes home
In a program that’s unique in Canada, the B.C. Cancer Agency is training a handful of doctors from small B.C. towns to become Canada’s first general practitioners in oncology. Smithers GP Biz Bastien is one of them, and she hopes to bring home some of the services that big-city residents take for granted, to a part-time cancer clinic to be set up in Smithers.
Ouch! in Kitimat
Two violations of the Fisheries Act by the District of Kitimat have resulted in $76,000 in fines and remediation costs. In October 2002, work intended to improve drainage destroyed approximately 350 metres of riparian zone (riverbank) and streambed in a tributary of the Kitimat River. In February 2001, 576,000 litres of raw sewage were discharged into the Kitimat River and Sumgas Creek. Most of the money collected will fund projects to conserve and protect fish and their habitat in the Kitimat watershed.
Beetle battle boost
In September, the B.C. government approved the biggest logging increase in B.C. in 30 years: 30 per cent in allowable annual cut in the Quesnel, Prince George and Lakes Timber Supply Areas. Chief Forester Larry Pederson said the increase was needed to capture economic value from mountain pine beetle-infested trees. In Prince George, a newly appointed task force is devising a strategy to cope with beetle infestation within city limits.
Those were the days
The Bowser Basin assumed the media spotlight in late September, after geologists conducting oil exploration surveys discovered dinosaur prints. The half-dozen three-toed prints are up to 25 cm long. Experts say they were made more than 125 million years ago, when the area was a tropical or subtropical marine basin. The find shows dinosaurs did make it west of the Rockies.
Our money’s on Bill
The artwork of world-renowned Haida sculptor Bill Reid graces Canada’s new $20 bill, which features “The Spirit of Haida Gwaii,” “The Raven and the First Men,” “The Grizzly Bear,” and “Mythic Messengers.” In addition to sculpture, Reid was actively involved in aboriginal rights issues and in promoting the preservation of South Moresby’s history.
Funds for Kemess Connector?
The B.C. government has used proceeds from the BC Rail sale to create a northern development fund to boost job creation. The $135-million fund will be administered by a Prince George-based board comprised of two directors from each of four regional subcommittees, and five government appointees. Liberal MLA Roger Harris, who sits on the northwest subcommittee, said the fund could pay for initiatives such as the proposed Stewart-Omineca resource road to the Kemess mine.
Kitsault: the fine print
Potential buyers of Kitsault, the former mining town which attracted international media attention when it was put up for sale in September for $7 million, will have to consider Nisga’a interests. The ghost town and all access to it is on traditional territory of the Nisga’a, who also hold fishing and hunting rights in the area. Nisga’a leaders say they would consider offers from prospective buyers to partner on the town’s development.
China-bound containers
Prince Rupert’s new container port figured in CN Rail’s decision to locate new offices in Shanghai and Beijing. “We have a significant presence in Vancouver, and we believe the Port of Prince Rupert has great potential to become an important gateway for shipments coming from, and destined for, China because of its sailing time advantage between Asia and North America,” said Paul Tonsager, CN’s new managing director for Asia.
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