THURSDAY, JUNE 30 2016 VOL. 73, NO. 73
SERVING FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES
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PRIDE HITS THE STREETS IN FORT ST. JOHN
BIG CHANGES TO PEACE REGION HUNTING REGULATIONS
SALON CELEBRATES 30 YEARS BY HELPING CADETS GET TO VIMY RIDGE
NEWS A7
SPORTS B5
COMMUNITY B9
No answers yet for gymnastics club rebuild
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First Nations were in the spotlight last week as Tuesday, June 21, marked National Aboriginal Day. On the education front, the province and School District 60 renewed a five-year agreement to support aboriginal student outcomes (see story on A4), while Northern Lights College received $75,000 to support aboriginal enrolment efforts (see story on A5). On the cultural front, Tse’K’wa, also known as Charlie Lake Cave, was a highlight and meeting place for local National Aboriginal Day celebrations (see story on B6). Above: Tiegan Bigfoot, 10, from Taylor Elementary, and Trystan Johnson, 10, from C.M. Finch Elementary, perform in traditional regalia during the Aboriginal Enhancement Agreement signing on June 21 at the Aboriginal Education Centre.
Rare dino tracks found near Hudson’s Hope Site to be publicly unveiled July 8
MIKE CARTER dcreporter@dcdn.ca
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In the fall of 2005, Barry Mierau and T.J. Nelson were accessing a cut block in the Carbon Lake area near the Williston Reservoir when something caught their eye. Slightly off the beaten path, they noticed moss growing on an exposed rock slab in the distinct three-pronged shape of a dinosaur footprint. “We jumped off and wandered over. Sure enough, there were tracks all over the place,� Mierau said. “It was pretty obvious what it was.� It was four years before Mierau returned to the site and realized how significant it was. As it turns out, the site
is one of the only trackways of its kind in the world. On July 8, the Peace Region Palaeontology Research Centre (PRPRC) will reveal the 6,000 square-metre trackway to the public for the first time, along with plans to conserve it with a climate-controlled museum to be built right over top of the bedrock slab. Mierau knew he had a big secret on his hands, but he just didn’t know how big it really was. “I wasn’t really aware of the guys in Tumbler Ridge until a few years after I discovered the spot,� he said. Then one day, he took a
tour through the Tumbler Ridge Dinosaur Discovery Gallery with his daughter, where they were shown one of the largest trackways known to local researchers. “(The guide) was describing these (tracks) as really good quality footprints,� Mierau said. “One trackway we visited had five or six tracks in a row and she said that was one of the largest ones. I thought right there—‘I know there must have been at least a couple hundred at the site I found.’�
JONNY WAKEFIELD A federal court judge will hear an appeal from two First Nations impacted by the Site C dam in Montreal this September. After months of waiting for a trial date, the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations will appear in federal court Sept. 14. The Treaty 8 nations are appealing a federal judge’s decision on the project’s impact on constitutionally-protected rights to hunt, fish and trap. The challenge was dismissed by a judge in Vancouver last year.
According to a notice of civil claim BC Hydro filed against protesters blocking Site C construction earlier this year, the court found the Crown corporation’s consultation of Treaty 8 First Nations “was in good faith and extensive.� West Moberly Chief Roland Willson disagreed, saying his nation was challenging what it saw as “a failure on (the government’s) part� to uphold treaty rights. “When they’re making a decision of this magnitude— it’s the largest project in B.C. history, and there are already two existing dams that have
See REBUILD on A14
Contractor challenges city’s tender policies BRONWYN SCOTT peacereporter@ahnfsj.ca
previously infringed (on) the treaty—they should have had no other choice than to have (a justification for Treaty infringement),� he said. The Montreal court date was the earliest available, he added. So far, the courts have come down on the side of BC Hydro. Peace Valley Landowner Association (PVLA) President Ken Boon said there are four remaining legal challenges against the controversial $8.8-billion project, including the PVLA’s appeal of a lawsuit dismissed by a B.C. Supreme Court judge in July 2015.
A local contractor is challenging the city’s tendering process after he says a recent bid closure entailed “uncharacteristic, unprofessional� actions by city staff. Aaron Henry of Kalmar Construction appeared before city council June 27, frustrated by the city issuing last-minute addendums on project tenders with little reason, and having processes that conflict with standard practices and could result in legal challenges. “I’m hoping that bringing these issues to light will allow the city to review their tendering policies and procedures, and be receptive to communicating with the contractor and development community at large to hear their concerns,� Henry said. Henry cited one tender that recently closed—the city’s spray park project—that came in significantly over its $611,000 budget. Kalmar pegged the work at $787,600, and was competing with Burnaby-based TGK Irrigation, who listed the work at $722,8000.
See APPEAL on A3
See CONTRACTOR on A14
See DINO TRACKS on A15
Montreal court date set for First Nations’ Site C appeal reporter@dcdn.ca
The North Peace Leisure Pool is slated for upgrades this summer, but there are still no answers for the local gymnastics club as to when, or if, they’ll be able to move back into their former home in the recreation complex. At the Peace River Regional District’s June 23 meeting, the board awarded a tender for upper wall improvements to the pool to Tom’s Construction of Fort St. John—the lowest of three valid bids on the project, with a price of $494,670. The North Peace Leisure Pool Commission expects only minimal disruption to pool users during the work. “It’s exterior, but it doesn’t affect the interior. So there shouldn’t be any disruption, or we are hoping for very minimal disruption,� said commission chair Bruce Christensen.
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