S TANDARD TERRACE
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VOL. 26 NO. 49
www.terracestandard.com
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Work camp plan sparks outcry By JOSH MASSEY THE POTENTIAL for a huge worker accommodation development beside a residential subdivision in Thornhill just off Hwy37 has caused nearby residents to sign a petition against the rezoning of land for that purpose. PTI Group, a company based out of Edmonton that specializes in worker lodging, has purchased a 93-acre parcel located north of
the Churchill Dr. subdivision a few minutes south of Terrace and some clearing is already being done. Sean Crockett, VP of Business Development for PTI said his company was attracted to Thornhill because of the proximity to the commercial centre of Terrace and also to key transportation infrastructure. “We were attracted to the location near the airport and the proximity to the highway,” he said, add-
ing that the plans for any worker housing development are not finalized, and that PTI has engaged in some informal public consultation. “We have reached out to a few of the local residents that we have been put in contact with just to introduce ourselves, but we have no defined plan at this stage,” he said. What any camp will look like and even a final decision on whether it will be built Crockett said won’t happen until later this year.
The petition against the plan for a work camp was signed by 50 Churchill residents and states that “while not formally advertised, PTI’s reported intention is to seek approval for a temporary or permanent re-zoning” from the current residential designation of the property. The statement goes on to say that the “supposed re-zoning would be for the development of an industrial camp and/or indus-
trial laundry or to develop other industrial activity.” Any details such as industrial laundry and rezoning are not part of any official plan, Crockett said. “They are speculations I think,” Crockett said. “Obviously they know PTI as a company and are making assumptions.” The community petition contains a list of nine concerns.
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Anglers say no to Enbridge By ANNA KILLEN ENBRIDGE SHOULDN’T be allowed to continue studying the possibility of building two run-of-river power projects on local water courses, says the northern branch of the Steelhead Society of BC. The Clore River, 12 kilometres southeast of Terrace, and Williams Creek, a major tributary of Lakelse Lake, are important fishbearing water courses and are ideal kayaking locations, says the branch in a letter to energy minister Bill Bennett. Enbridge, through numbered companies, received licences late last year to examine the idea of run-of-river projects on the river and creek. Two more proposals to examine locations in the Kitimat area, at McKay Creek and Bolton Creek, also received approval. “We’re an energy company not just a pipeline company, so we’re always looking for opportunities that might prove to be good ones for our renewable portfolio,” said Enbridge public relations official Ivan Giesbrecht, of the company which wishes to build the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline that would see Alberta crude transported by pipeline across B.C. and exported through the port of Kitimat on tankers. The 25 megawatt Williams Creek run-ofriver project, as outlined in Enbridge’s project scope report submitted to the ministry, would connect to the BC Hydro grid by way of a new one-kilometre 69 kilovolt transmission line running west of the project.
JOSH MASSEY PHOTO
■ Oolichan season underway LOCAL FISHERS net large quantities of the small fish on March.10 along the Skeena river. Hundreds of seagulls watched over the river, as well as eagles.
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Next stage Cal drama students prepare for provincials after big win at zone fest \COMMUNITY B1
SEE THIS WEEK’S B SECTION FOR COMMUNITY AND SPORTS
Bronze boy Paralympian Caleb Brousseau returns from Sochi with bronze \SPORTS B10