Inside
u Leading ladies P. 4 u Stent honoured P. 3
u RCMP report P. 5 u Layin’ down a bass line P. 2
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WEDNESDAY, June 5, 2013
NEWS BRIEFS Province rejects Northern Gateway The B.C. government has recommended rejection of the Enbridge Northern Gateway oil pipeline project in its final written submission to the federal environmental panel. Environment Minister Terry Lake announced the decision Friday, two weeks after an election where pipeline politics played a key role. He said the B.C. government isn’t satisfied with the company’s plans for spill control on the twin pipeline proposed to run from northern Alberta to a tanker port at Kitimat. “Northern Gateway has said that they would provide effective spill response in all cases,” Lake said. “However, they have presented little evidence as to how they will respond.” Ministry staff evaluated the 192 conditions proposed by the Joint Review Panel, the federal agency that will make a recommendation for permits to Ottawa next fall. The B.C. government and Northern Gateway officials will give their final oral arguments to the panel when hearings resume in Terrace on June 17. Enbridge has argued that its submissions to the federal panel included 7,000 pages of technical reports and nine separate witness panels have answered every environmental question put to it. The panel has conducted 69 days of cross-examination of company officials by B.C. and other representatives. Lake said the B.C. government is not opposed to heavy oil pipeline projects in general,.
VOL. 36 NO. 14 $1.30 inc. GST
Mini tournament
A Fort St. James player runs to get the ball ahead of a Vanderhoof Golden Eagle during tournament play on May 25. More on Page 5 & 8. Ruth Lloyd/Caledonia Courier
New medical society may act as a model Ruth Lloyd Caledonia Courier In what has been an ongoing process for about a year, the Fort St. James Primary Care Society has officially formed. The society will be working in partnership with Northern Health to take over the Fort St. James Medical Clinic. The non profit society, has a mandate to provide administrative oversight and governance to the previously private Fort St. James Medical Clinic. Previously the clinic was owned and operated by Dr. Paul Stent, who is looking towards retirement. The formation of the society was precipitated last year with the loss of the majority of the physicians in Fort St. James, leaving only Dr. Stent to become the lone physician for the area, and the goal was to create a new model for the physician clinic to continue to operate. The medical clinic’s day-to-day operations will still be managed internally as before. Chairperson of the society, Laura Chernowski, said everything to do with the society and their partnership from Northern Health has been developed from the ground up, so it has
been a complex process, but the group is excited to be working with Northern Health to set up this “unique model.” Northern Health has supported the formation of the group by funding a lawyer who specializes in not-for-profits to consult with the group. The community of Burns Lake also has a not-for-profit society working with Northern Health on local health care, but it is not as far along in the process and is not structured the same way. “This is the only one that I’m aware of,” said April Hughes of Northern Health. “It’s truly a partnership between the community and the health authority.” “People will be looking at this particular formation to either replicate it or to do something similar based on the learnings that have come out of this particular organizational structure.” The board currently consists of nine members: Chernowski as chair, Ann McCormick as co-chair, Kris Nielson as secretary, Monica Grill as the treasurer, and directors Chester Hiebert, Ross Ramos, Aileen Prince, Riley Willick and Joan Burdeniuk. The board is meeting with Northern Health this week to continue to work on the plan for the society and the clinic.
Fort drivers urged to mind their manners
RCMP in Fort St. James have been responding to an increasing number of reports of driving offences. Spinning tires, speeding through the community and other reported potentially dangerous driving is being reported with increasing frequency. RCMP are reminding motorists to drive with care and attention and obey the laws or they could face significant fines and potential charges under the Motor Vehicle Act. Doing donuts or other “stunting” is an automatic vehicle seizure and seven days impoundment of a person’s vehicle and a large fine.