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WEDNESDAY, January 29, 2014
Alleged death threats lead to charges
Ruth Lloyd Caledonia Courier
Jackson Playfair was at the centre of a dramatic story, after his girlfriend was taken into U.S. custody for allegedly making death threats against him. A 19-year-old hockey player, Playfair is currently living in Washington State where he plays for WHL team the Tri-City Americans. Playfair is originally from Fort St. James, and the son of NHL assistant coach Jim Playfair. Playfair had been dating Canadian reporter Tieja McLaughlin since last July. McLaughlin, 25, was taken into U.S. investigative custody after Playfair reported McLaughlin told him “you will be dead by the end of the night” according to court documents. The documents also say Playfair initially received threats from McLaughlin after a phone argument between the couple in which Playfair admitted to cheating on McLaughlin, the argument ensued and she began to threaten Playfair. Playfair then decided to report the matter to police when he said he realized McLaughlin was
Piano duet
driving down to see him from where she lived in Kelowna, B.C., after he told her to stay in B.C.. Police then visited McLaughlin at her hotel, warning her against further contact with Playfair. On the Saturday, Playfair reported she texted him again multiple times, after which she was taken into custody. McLaughlin denied making the threats and told police Playfair threatened to ruin her career and her life. McLaughlin appeared in Benton County district court in Washington State on Thursday, Jan. 23 and has now been charged with felony harassment with a domestic violence allegation. Bail was set at $50,000 and the maximum penalty for the charge is five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. McLaughlin’s arraignment was on Jan. 24, after the paper went to press. Any further updates will be posted on www. caledoniacourier.com. Playfair was recently traded to the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Washington State from the Spokane Chiefs.
Cullen calls lobby for pipeline a conflict Ruth Lloyd Caledonia Courier Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen is calling for regulation changes to close lobbying loopholes. Cullen was calling for the changes after reports former Conservative MP and cabinet minister Chuck Strahl, who is currently overseeing Canada’s national intelligence agency, is also lobbying on behalf of
Enbridge Northern Gateway. Cullen said “It should be common sense that someone on the federal payroll, like Mr. Strahl, shouldn’t lobby for a pipeline seeking federal approval.” Strahl, while no longer an MP, has since been appointed as the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Services Review Committee (SIRC), which oversees Canada’s
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national intelligence agency CSIS. “People don’t believe me at first,” said Cullen of the reaction to his criticism. “They don’t believe that someone who’s been appointed by the Prime Minister to be a watchdog of our spy agency thought it was also a good idea to lobby for company’s like Enbridge and company’s owned by the Chinese government who our own
spy agency has been implicated with. “It such an obvious conflict of interest.” “The problem with a spy agency watchdog is that all their ‘watchdogging’ is done in secret,” said Cullen. Ivan Giesbrecht, spokesman for Enbridge Northern Gateway, said the company is fully compliant with all the applicable regulations. It is against regulations for a former min-
Pianists Phil Chiu and Janelle Fung performed a piano duet as the Fung Chiu Duo on Jan. 20. The pair played as part of the Community Arts Council of Fort St. James concert series in the Fort St. James Secondary School gym. Story on Page 2. Ruth Lloyd/Caledonia Courier
ister to lobby federally, but legal for Strahl to lobby a provincial government, including on federal pipelines. “I don’t see it as a conflict of interest,” said Giesbrecht. “Chuck Strahl has a very solid reputation.” Giesbrecht said Strahl was working for Enbridge Northern Gateway before his appointment to SIRC and before taking the role at SIRC, he did check with the Conflict
of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to ensure there were no concerns regarding his work with Enbridge. The Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner confirmed Strahl had contacted the office and the office had no grounds to believe there was a contravention of the Conflict of Interest Act. Stephen Lecce, spokesman for the Prime Minister ’s
Office, responded to questions regarding Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s knowledge of Strahl’s lobbying work and possible image or conflict issues resulting from it with an emailed statement. “We expect that all members of the Security Intelligence Review Committee to conduct their activities in accordance with Canadian laws,” he said.
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