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VOL. 26 NO. 45
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Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Treaty talks delayed
JOSH MASSEY PHOTO
■ In solidarity against abuse RANI PARMAR, left, of Terrace joins a group participating in the annual One Billion Rising event at Brolly Square on Feb. 14. One of the largest global days of action ever conceived, organizers say the name is drawn from the statistic that one in three women will be raped or physically abused in her lifetime. The event here, which was put on through the Ksan House Society, was combined with events and marches held across the country in memory of missing and murdered women. Calls for a federal inquiry into missing and murdered women have been growing.
NEGOTIATIONS LEADING to final land claims treaties for Kitselas and Kitsumkalum are being held up by the federal government. Nearly one year after Kitselas First Nation voters agreed to a treaty agreement in principle and 10 months since Kitsumkalum First Nation voters did the same, the federal government has yet to ratify its acceptance of the two agreements, says Gerald Wesley, the chief negotiator for Kitselas and for Kitsumkalum. That's despite negotiators for all three parties signing off on the two agreements in Jan. 2013, an act that lead to the two votes. “We're still engaged but there is disappointment from each of our communities,” said Wesley last week. “Who knows when it might happen. We don't,” he said of the federal failure so far to ratify. “There are no important issues that we know of and none have been brought to the treaty table.” Wesley did note that the provincial government has given its approval to the Kitselas and Kitsumkalum agreements in principle. The approval by Kitselas and Kitsumkalum voters last year of their respective agreements in principle brought on predictions that final treaties, which would also need voter approval, could be ready for ratification within two years. The agreements in principle laid out the quantity of land and the amount of money that would be provided to Kitselas and to Kitsumkalum as well self government and other powers.
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Housing non-profit wants more support BY JOSH MASSEY THE EXECUTIVE director of a local non-profit housing group says a plan to develop 20 new affordable housing units is in limbo because the city turned down its application for a community grant. Carol Sabo wants to expand Ksan Society's affordable housing strategy to include the construction of packaged housing units. According to her plan, eight would
Give him a call Legion member Doug McFarlane is on the line for veterans in need \COMMUNITY B1
be rented at market price and be made available to households that earn below $64,000 and 12 would be rented at a fixed rate based on income assistance levels. “Our community is in a period of extreme growth,” said Sabo in her proposal. “People on fixed incomes are in dire situations.” The two and three-bedroom single-storey rental houses would be of the prefab variety, constructed at an estimated cost of $90,000 each,
said Sabo. To get the construction done cheaply, she said she envisions launching a community initiative relying on a large volunteer base to assemble the packaged housing, possibly in conjunction with construction classes offered at Northwest Community College. Sabo first presented floor plans and a budget to council back on November 14 of last year, along with a request that the city enter into a long-term lease agreement
SEE THIS WEEK’S B SECTION FOR COMMUNITY AND SPORTS
with Ksan for city lands for 35 years and pledge to rezone the land if necessary in order to allow for the multi-family residential units. One site for Ksan's potential development is a section of city land on the north side of Haugland Ave. between Hall and Evergreen streets, just south of the current Ksan headquarters. She also applied for $10,000 in community grant money from the city to pay for the completion of
the planning phase with an eye to begin building as soon as possible. But she says her plans stalled when the grant application was turned down by staff and council in December. Councillor Stacey Tyers argued at the time that giving Ksan $10,000 would set a precedent whereby other developers would come knocking for money to help them with their own plans.
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BC Winter Games Meet the young athletes heading to the provincial competition in Mission \SPORTS B4