K
I
T
I
M
A
Years est. 1954
Volume 60 No. 25
Sentinel
T
Northern
www.northernsentinel.com
Cullen wags finger at the Conservatives
Shaun Thomas As of our press deadline there was still no decision on the Northern Gateway project from the government. Meanwhile though Skeena — Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen accused the Conservative government of using B.C. as a pawn in an international game of chess when it comes to finally rendering a decision on the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. “They sent the Natural Resource Minister to New York where he suggested delaying the decision and right away the Prime Minister stood in the House of Commons to say a decision was imminent. They’re using British Columbia as some chess piece in a game with the U.S., saying if they don’t approve the Keystone pipeline they will just run the Enbridge pipeline through. As though a pipeline through B.C. is a foregone conclusion,” said Cullen, noting any delay would leave Stephen Harper with egg on his face. “A delay doesn’t make a bad decision a good one and it opens up the Prime Minister to the same criticism he has lobbed at President Obama in delaying a decision on Keystone.” Noting that he feels the government may try to end the Parliamentary session before handing down a decision in order to minimize press and MP attention, Cullen left no doubt the decision has significant impacts both for the people of the Northwest and those in Ottawa. “My concern is this will impact other industrial development people may want to see because it will have completely soured the relationship with First Nations,” said Cullen. “The Conservatives are in real trouble in British Columbia with some Conservative members discussing changing their votes based on this one issue because they also fish and hunt ... they’ve painted themselves into a corner by being such strong backers of such a controversial project.” And while there are now three oil refinery projects proposed between Kitimat and Prince Rupert, Cullen said any alternative to diluted bitumen shipments is still a long ways away. “In talking with the different proponents, they are just starting the conversation. I think the conversation of value added refining ... is a good one, but there is a long way to go and the companies acknowledge that. They don’t have any buyers for the product yet,” he said, noting most face opposition from the oil industry itself. “A lot of the industry, which is multinational companies, seem to oppose the idea of refining oil in Canada, which is shameful because they are only marginally based in the country.”
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
1.30 INCLUDES TAX
$
Students at St. Anthony’s demonstrate their tendon-cy to learn while attending the Healthcare Traveling Road Show at the school gym. Medical and health professional students from UNBC, UBC, and the College of New Caledonia shared their stories of why they chose health care for their careers. It was also a chance for the students themselves to learn about what it might be like to work in the Northwest.
Council presses hard against MaPP reps Cameron Orr Councillors invited representatives of the Marine Planning Partnership (MaPP) to speak to their document and process, but were not-too-subtly challenged by councillors upset over the plan’s short time frame for comment and their seeming reluctance to offer an extension. “Some type of extension I believe is warranted because for whatever reason a significant amount of people felt rushed,” said Mario Feldhoff following a presentation on the plan. Speaking to the plan was Steve Kachanoski from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Craig Outhet for the North Coast Skeena First Nations Stewardship Society, and Andrew Webber with the Kitimat-Stikine Regional District. The plan is a joint First Nations and provincial government initiative to craft a use plan for B.C. coasts and marine areas. The plan won’t cover issues such as marine transport — that falls under Transport Canada, a federal jurisdiction
— but the plan will point to areas of interest for things such as fish harvesting and renewable energy. “It’s a partnership between 18 different First Nations including members of North Coast Skeena First Nation Stewardship Society [NCSFNSS],” said Craig Outhet, a marine planning coordinator for the NCSFNSS, in the May 21 Northern Sentinel. An open house on the project to show the public the draft plan ahead of the conclusion of public comments on June 3 was held but it sparked a response from many, including council, who felt there was not a lot of local input. “It seems locally, I know people who are part of every one of those groups and they had no idea this was going on,” said Phil Germuth. He also questioned how the drafters of the plan assembled the advisory committee given a number of local groups were unaware of the process. Kachanoski said they send communications out to known active recreation, commercial and tourism groups. For example the local Sport Fish Advisory
Board was contacted to participate. “We fanned out to known associations and users within the communities and just calling for representation,” he said. But it’s not too late for Kitimat council to comment. “If there’s information that comes specifically as a result of this meeting... we will do our best to incorporate those comments for our plan.” Mayor Joanne Monaghan said she wanted Kitimat Council included in reviewing the final draft of the plan as well, pointing to feelings of exclusion given First Nations groups’ involvement in the process. “Do we ever get to see it? Are you going to present it to us, the final endorsement?” she asked. “You’re saying the Aboriginal people are getting to see it, I wonder if we do too.” Kachanoski said they’d take requests for extensions to the public comment to the advisory board. The board for the Haida Gwaii plan did receive a two week extension under different circumstances, he added.
PM477761
Town adopts strata plan ... page 5