Regional notes
Know it now
*PRINCE GEORGE*—A new study overseen by six government agencies calculates a $29-million annual savings in health costs for every one per cent improvement in air quality. Although conducted in the Fraser Valley, the research is of particular interest to Prince George, which was identified by the BC Lung Association in August as having the highest concentration of fine particulate pollution of any B.C. city.
*PRINCE GEORGE*—Max Blouw, UNBC’s vice president of research, was named the 2005 BC Science and Technology Champion of the Year by the Innovation Council of BC. Under Blouw’s lead, UNBC was rated second in research intensity among Canada’s undergraduate universities by Maclean’s Magazine, and saw its research budget more than triple to $10.2 million.
*VANDERHOOF*—In October, a Supreme Court of Canada decision affirmed the right of a Vanderhoof man, convicted of murdering three people with an axe in May 2000, to a second trial. Although Thomas Alexander Turcotte brought the murders to the attention of Vanderhoof police, he never admitted guilt. Evidence that convicted him was deemed circumstantial in a later appeal. After five years in custody, Turcotte has also been allowed to apply for bail.
*SMITHERS*—Scientists associated with the Bulkley Valley Centre for Research have uncovered evidence which links climate change with Dothistroma needle blight, a lethal forest blight in northwestern B.C. Research by Alex Woods and Dave Coates of Smithers was published in the prestigious journal Bioscience, which called their work a “compelling illustration of an unanticipated consequence of climate change … [which] could reinforce an intriguing political shift” towards acceptance of the urgency of tackling global warming.
*KEMESS MINES*—The environmental assessment of Northgate Minerals Corp.’s plans to expand its Kemess North copper-gold mine project will not be thorough without First Nations input, says the panel commissioned to review the plans. The Gitxsan House of Nii Kyap, Takla Lake, the Tsay Keh Dene and Kwadacha have repeatedly called for a role in the review process, and consider funds offered by the B.C. government as inadequate to enable their meaningful participation it. Public, written comment is invited until Jan. 6, 2006, on the environmental impact assessment, which is available through libraries or at www.eao.gov.bc.ca. The panel’s final report is not expected before spring 2006.
*TERRACE*—A new Northern Collaborative Baccalaureate Nursing program will be offered through collaboration between the University of Northern British Columbia, Northwest Community College, the College of New Caledonia and Northern Health. Participating students will take their first two years at NWCC’s Terrace campus, and the remaining two at UNBC’s Terrace campus, for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from UNBC.
*PRINCE RUPERT*—New legislation will boost the $135 million Northern Development Initiative Trust fund by $50 million, of which $30 million will be earmarked for a pine beetle mitigation fund and $20 million to be distributed among four northern regions. While other Northwest communities immediately moved to spend their portions of the $20 million, Prince Rupert opted to set aside its funds to generate interest and long-term seed money.
KITIMAT—About 120 jobs were lost in Kitimat when Vancouver-based Methanex shut down its Kitimat methanol and ammonia plant Nov. 1. Methanex is the world’s largest producer of methanol, an industrial chemical used in gasoline additives to paint, sealants, and windshield washer fluids, and employs almost 900 people in total.
KITIMAT—Calgary-based pipeline company Enbridge has chosen Kitimat over Prince Rupert as the port for its planned $4-billion, 1,200-km pipeline. The pipeline will deliver Canadian oilsands crude onto ships bound for the U.S. and Asia. If approved, the project is expected to create thousands of construction jobs by 2008 and up to 75 permanent jobs related to the pipeline, marine terminal and related facilities by 2010.
QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS—Repeated searches at airports have caused a 64-year-old Catholic priest to wonder if he has landed on a no-fly/suspected terrorist list. John Smith, an landed immigrant from Ireland who lives in Miller Creek, was pulled aside and searched at the Sandspit airport before boarding an Air Canada flight to Edmonton. Smith, who has no criminal record, was similarly searched a month earlier in Seattle and Great Falls, Montana. He has speculated publicly that Canada has an unpublished no-fly list, or is using one supplied by the U.S.
© Larissa Ardis 2005
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