Know it now
KITIMAT – Kitimat will wait until December for a BC Supreme Court decision about its long-running dispute with aluminum producer Alcan Inc. The city’s lawyer says Alcan is breaching laws and agreements which oblige it to use its access to public resources to build a smelter and create jobs in the area—not to pursue power sales outside BC and cut back on aluminum production to the detriment of local jobs. But Alcan and the BC government argue that Alcan owns the electricity it generates, and therefore can use it without restriction.
PRINCE RUPERT – On October 13, Leslie Arthur Palmer, a Canadian Coast Guard officer from Prince Rupert, received a high honour for rescuing two fishermen during a winter storm in December 2004. At a ceremony in Ottawa, he received the Cross of Valour, given for acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril.
TERRACE – West Fraser Mills Ltd. was fined $100,000 when it pled guilty Sept. 26 to charges under the Canada’s Fisheries Act and BC’s Waste Management Act, in connection with a spill that occurred at its Eurocan Mill in Kitimat in December 2002. Most of the money will go to UNBC’s Environmental Science Program and the Conservation Trust Fund.
SMITHERS – Smithers teen Lacey Clarke signed copies of a children’s book alongside its best-selling author, Robert Munsch, when he appeared in Smithers October 21. The two met when Clarke was a six-year-old in Stewart BC. Their conversation about her hated t-shirt, worn because she had “no clean clothes,” inspired a humorous book of the same name—in which Lacey is the feisty main character.
HOUSTON– The family of Ian Bush, the 22-year-old man who died of a gunshot wound in the back of his head while in RCMP custody in Houston, BC, continues to wait for answers. Although the provincial crown counsel indicated that Constable Paul Koester will not be charged in Bush’s death, the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP will investigate procedures followed by police during the incident and its aftermath. However, its findings and recommendations won’t necessarily be made public or implemented. A public inquest into the death of will take place in late spring 2007.
PRINCE GEORGE – On October 29, the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation concluded 13 years of negotiations to become the first under the BC treaty process to initial a treaty agreement with the governments of BC and Canada. The agreement, which was signed by members of the three governments at a ceremony in Prince George, will now proceed to all parties involved for formal ratification.
KEMESS MINES – December 14 is the deadline for written public input into Northgate’s plans to expand Kemess Mines by using Duncan Lake as a mining waste disposal site. Northgate officials say 11 years of additional life for the mine, which employs 475 people, hangs in the balance – while the Tse Key Nay First Nation and supporters say destruction of the lake violates aboriginal rights and contravenes Canada’s Fisheries Act.
PRINCE GEORGE – A coalition of seven First Nations filed suit against the Canadian government on October 26. The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council says it was not properly consulted before the government established a panel of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the National Energy Board to consider the Enbridge pipeline project. Carrier Sekani Chief David Luggi says the proposed pipeline poses serious risks to resources such as water and salmon.
NORTHWEST – The Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture will continue holding public hearings through December 13. Tasked with considering the environmental and economic impacts of aquaculture in BC, the bi-partisan committee is expected to deliver its findings to BC’s Legislative Assembly by May 31, 2007.
PRINCE GEORGE – The Prince George Farmers’ Market is no small potatoes. New research from the UNBC School of Environmental Planning determined that the market, which typically features up to 55 vendors selling locally produced goods and produce, pumps almost $800,000 into the local economy. It’s part of a larger research project underway on farmers’ markets in 26 BC communities.
Your Comments on Know it now
No one has commented yet on this article.