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WEDNESDAY, May 23, 2012
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VOL. 35 NO. 12 $1.34 inc. GST
Cottonwood cowboy
Thompson Creek offers shares Thompson Creek Metals has put out a share offering to potentially raise a further $430 million to help to complete the construction of the copper-gold project Mount Milligan Mine. The announcement of the offering caused share prices to drop 11 per cent on Monday. Approximately $200 million will potentially be raised through a debtoffering and $230 million through an equityshare offering. Debt-offering does not include a future stake in the mine profits while equity shares would. The equity shares would convert to Thompson Creek common stock on May 15, 2015.
Open water Boats are appearing back on Stuart Lake. With boating season, there are some very real risks, and Boating Safety Week is just in time to remind everyone going out on the water to do what they can to stay safe. May 19-25 is the week designated Boating Safety Week for Canadians. In the past 20 years, boating fatalities have gone down, however, in over 80 per cent of drownings, not wearing a life jacket remains a factor. Alcohol and boating is also a very dangerous mix. Visit www.smartboater. ca and www.csbc.ca for further information.
A cowboy hat cut a nice silhouette in front of a Cottonwood Park sunset over Stuart Lake last week. Catching up on phone calls while enjoying the view was on this cowboy’s agenda for evening. Not a bad spot for the job. Ruth Lloyd Photo
Timber supply Allan Wishart Free Press A special legislative committee has been appointed to look at timber supply in the province. Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad is the convenor for the sevenmember committee, and says they have a short timeline to work with. “We held our first meeting Thursday to look at what kind of a schedule we could set up to meet our report date of Aug. 15. We’ll be holding our next meetings at the end of the month.” The committee, which also includes Liberal MLAs Donna Barnett (Cariboo-Chilcotin), Eric Foster (Vernon-Monashee) and Ben Stewart (Westside-Kelowna) and NDP MLAs Harry Bains (Surrey-Newton), Norm Macdonald (Columbia River-Revelstoke) and Bill Routley (Cowichan Valley), is looking at starting public meetings the week of June 18 and wrapping those up by July 20. “We plan to hold meetings everywhere from Smithers down to the Kamloops-Merritt area, as well as out in Mackenzie and McBride. The areas impacted the most by the pine beetle are where we will be focused.” The committee’s terms of reference are to consider recommendations which would increase timber supply, including direction on the potential scope of changes to land-use objectives, rate of harvest and conversion of volume-based tenures to area-based tenures. Rustad says the committee composition was determined by the house leaders, who checked with their party MLAs to see if they would be willing to sit on the committee. “I would have liked to have Bob Simpson (Independent, Cariboo North) on the committee,” Rustad said, “but the NDP didn’t want him on the committee.” Simpson was an NDP MLA before becoming an Independent in December 2010.
Sustainability group applies pressure Ruth Lloyd Caledonia Courier The Fort St. James Sustainability Group is calling for both the provincial and municipal governments to take a stand on Northern Gateway. The group will be presenting to the Fort St. James mayor and council at their May 23 council meeting. “We won’t be asking Council to support or oppose the project,” said Kandace Kerr, a member of the Sustainability Group. “We are going to present our concerns and feelings, and ask them to consider them in making their decision.” The group is asking other community members to speak up and let council know how they feel about the proposed pipeline. “Here’s your opportunity to let District Council know how you feel about the project, your concerns about impacts on our community,
and why it is important for them to take a public position on the project,” said Kerr. The group also signed on to a letter to Premier Christy Clark earlier this month, hoping to add their voices to the call for the premier to take a stand. The letter asked the premier to terminate the agreement to allow the federal environmental review of the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline to represent both provincial and federal government processes. The group hoped signing on to the letter would help increase pressure on the premier to pull out of an agreement regarding the project review. The National Energy Board and the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office in June of 2010 signed an agreement which essentially means the the federal review would stand for both parties.