THURSDAY, september 28, 2017 Vol. 74, No. 39
Serving Fort St. John, B.C. and Surrounding Communities
$1.50 inc. gst.
alaskahighwaynews.ca
“The Only Newspaper in the World That Gives a Tinker’s Dam About the North Peace.”
weed and the workplace
huskies snarl out of the gate
americans arrive for hwy build
BUSINESS B9
SPORTS B1
ARTS B5
a river in celebration
When You Are Out in the Field, Time IS Money. QUALITY PARTS, EXPERT SERVICE!
“The Peace River, too, remains, older even than the dinosaur tracks along its shores. It remains, and so do its associates the cottonwoods and the beavers, whose fur started the influx of white men. They and the moon, which still shines over the loveliest fifty miles of the grandest river of Canada, while the beaver swims silently at the river’s edge, clambering ashore here and there at the foot of the gnarled cottonwoods. For while men come and go these things abide. Nightly, as they have done for thousands of years, the moon, the river, the cottonwoods and the beaver, keep their tryst.” Chris Paull reads an excerpt from The Land of Twelve-Foot Davis as part of BC Rivers Day celebrations in the Peace River valley Sept. 24. matt preprost Photo
HoursMon-Fri: 8am - 5pm Sat: 8am - Noon
9224 100 Street, Fort St. John, BC (250) 785-0463
After Hours - Leave Message
Airport expansion looms
Site C on time, budget, but risks remain
Aleisha Hendry
ahendry@ahnfsj.ca
CONTACT US
phone 250-785-5631 fax 250-785-3522 email circulation@ahnfsj.ca online alaskahighwaynews.ca facebook AlaskaHighwayNews twitter @AHNnewspaper
The North Peace Regional Airport is well over its passenger capacity, which means expansion of the terminal is looming on the horizon. Mike Whalley, managing director of North Peace Airport services, gave a presentation to members of the Fort St. John Chamber of Commerce last week, highlighting the airport’s growth in recent years and what needs to be done to accommodate more passengers. “When I started at this airport in 1998, we were doing 80,000 annual passengers,” he said. “We’re averaging a quarter million passengers annually now.” This is due to Westjet coming onboard in 2013 and creating a competitive market—in 2012, the airport was seeing up to 138,000 passengers annually and in 2013 saw that jump to 240,000. That number has steadily increased every year since. The question now becomes how it deals with 250,000 annual passengers in a building only designed for 130,000? “Most of you have probably experienced those days when you’re in the lineup to the hold room and you’re all the way down to the check-in counter and you’re wondering, ‘Am I going to make it?’” Whalley said. The airport has worked with the airlines to spread out their departure times to avoid a mad rush of people trying to get through security at the same time. “It’s amazing what 15 minutes will do,” he said. See AIRPORT on A16
Bernier bids for Liberal leadership ROB BROWN editor@dcdn.ca
Peace River South MLA Mike Bernier wants to be the next premier of British Columbia. The South Peace MLA announced his bid for the BC Liberal leadership Monday in Vancouver, but gave locals the scoop two days earlier at a riding association AGM in Dawson Creek Sept. 23. “I will be running,” Bernier said. “The support across the province seems strong. I’ve been excited and enthused by it.” Born and raised in Vancouver, Bernier said living and working in rural B.C. for most of his career has him looking at the complete picture of the province, and being able to talk both sides of rural and urban realities. “This rural and urban divide is an important discussion, but we don’t have to compare regions, rather we should celebrate differences,” he said. Bernier’s bid will be about closing the loop as a Liberal party between goals, outcomes, and objectives, and he’s been touring the province over the last month testing the waters of support. Since the May election, the party has been ousted from government, lost its former leader and premier Christy Clark, and saw former Liberal Darryl Plecas defect and sit as
speaker in the NDP-minority government. “We talk about balancing the budget but we don’t talk about why—to support the economy and provincial programs. It is time to talk empathy and outcomes,” he said. “Now is the time to heal as a party. The result of the election was humbling. I take it as a learning lesson. We had a strong team when working together.” Peacer River North MLA Dan Davies introduced Bernier at Monday’s announcement and offered his endorsement. Bernier was re-elected MLA for Peace River South in May and was the former education minister for two years. Prior to being appointed to the portfolio in 2015, Bernier was parliamentary secretary for energy literacy, and served on the cabinet committee on strong economy. Before being elected to the legislature in 2013, Bernier was a two-term mayor of Dawson Creek, elected in 2008 and 2011. He also served as a city councillor from 2005 to 2008. Bernier finds himself in a competitive race, with others including former Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan, former attorney general Andrew Wilkinson, Conservative MP Dianne Watts, VancouverLangara MLA Michael Lee, MLAs Mike de Jong and Todd Stone, and Terrace businesswoman Lucy Sager.
PAVING 100 Canadian
Residential • Commercial • Industrial Roads • Driveways • Parking Lots
The B.C. Utilities Commission has more questions than answers on Site C and needs more information before making its full assessment on the future of the $8.8-billion project. The commission’s preliminary report was released last Wednesday with 73 questions for BC Hydro that need answers by Oct. 4. Those questions include providing a more detailed analysis of the potential for cost overruns on the project, the province’s future energy needs, and the industry demand forecasts. While the dam was on time and on budget for its targeted November 2024 completion date as of June 30, the panel said it’s unable to say whether that will remain the case if construction continues. The commission said it’s concerned about spending levels, outstanding contracts and the likelihood that the project will meet the crucial milestone of a river diversion by 2019. “While the panel has already found that the project is currently on schedule to deliver by November 2024, the panel is not yet in a position to express a view on the probability that the project will remain on schedule,” the report said. “The panel is concerned that the amount spent on the project as of June 30, 2017, $1.8 billion, might not accurately represent the spending that should have happened based on the project activities to date,” it said. The panel is also “concerned” that B.C. Hydro has already spent $356 million of its planned $794-million contingency, only two years into an eight-year project. See SITE C on A12
FREE ESTIMATES
250.719.0686
% COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL GRAVEL SALES AND DELIVERY
Owned
Serving Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, Fort St. John & Surrounding Areas
33490