Inside
u SD 91 P. 3 u Editorial P. 4
u Portrait of a Veteran P. 5 u Minor Hockey P. 6 u Recipes P. 8-10
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WEDNESDAY, November 12, 2014
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VOL. 37 NO. 37 $1.30 inc. GST
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Students in foster care eligible for full tuition waiver at UNBC Jesse Cole Caledonia Courier
Students who are currently or used to be in the care of a government agency will be eligible to attend university for free after the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) announced its plans to offer a full tuition waiver. The waiver, aptly titled, Youth in Care Tuition Waiver, will pay the entire cost of tuition for an undergraduate degree or certificate for a student who has spent time in care under British Columbia’s Child, Family and Community Services Act. The tuition waiver would only apply to those seeking their first degree or certificate. The waiver comes in the aftermath of a challenge posed in 2013 by British Columbia Representative for Children and Youth Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond. Turpel-Lafond challenged all British Columbia’s post-secondary institutions to waive tuition for youth in care. The proposal to waive tuition for youth in care was propagated by Social Work Professor Glen Schmidt of UNBC who said in a press release, Continued on P. 2
All the candidates for both municipal council and School District 91 attended the all candidates forum at Music Makers Hall last Thursday, Nov. 6 Left to right: Alexandra Luggi, Lucille Duncan, Kris Nielsen, Brenda Gouglas, Russel Gingrich, Brad Miler, Dave Birdi.
Photo by Jesse Cole.
All candidates forum meeting packs Music Makers Hall Jesse Cole Caledonia Courier
All the seats were filled for the all candidates forum last Thursday, Nov. 6 in Fort St. James. The forum was held at Music Makers Hall in downtown Fort St. James from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. and was co-sponsored by the local members of the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board and the Fort St. James Chamber of Commerce. Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce moderated the forum. All the candidates running for municipal council attended the forum as did candidates for the electoral area 6 position of School Board Trustee. Candidates began the forum with an opportunity to present their platform and qualifications via a two-minute speech before moving into a question and answer period. Candidate Russel Gingrich was the first to speak followed by Dave Birdi, Brenda Gouglas, Kris Nielsen and Brad Miller. Each candidate spoke on their prior experience within municipal council and other volunteer organizations with the exception of Miller who has no prior experience on council. Miller did outline his plans to take on road reforms and his dedication to “give back to the community” in
his speech. During the question and answer period candidates were asked things running the gamut from drug and alcohol abuse to municipal road repairs and even questions about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The first question asked of candidates revolved around drug abuse, particularly among the youth population of the region, and how candidates would address these issues. Candidate Gingrich offered “peer pressure and guidance to those individuals with problems” as well as rehabilitation programs put in place in the area could help to solve those problems. Candidate Birdi said that keeping people active and engaged was a better method to keep them away from substance abuse and conceded that it was not an easy topic to address but that providing services for addicts was important. Candidate Gouglas echoed Birdi’s sentiments saying services for addicts need to be provided within the Fort St. James community rather than Prince George. Candidates Nielsen and Miller both agreed with the idea of bringing services to address addiction directly into Fort St. James with Nielsen adding that focusing on the transition back into the community from care should be paramount
and Miller saying that an increased level of sports and youth programs would be beneficial. Despite all agreeing on some form of substance abuse facility in Fort St. James, no candidate gave any specifics on just how they would pay for, implement or organize such a facility within the town. Moving towards local industry, the question was asked of candidates how they would bring money back into the community citing the fact that numerous outside businesses are profiting from resource development in Fort St. James while the local businesses are not. Candidate Miller suggested that local businesses and major companies work together to give back to the community in ways such as a jointmaintenance strategy of the North Road which Miller said is primarily used by industry vehicles and should be a responsibility of theirs. Candidate Gingrich addressed the question with a level of realism stating that while it’s an important issue, there are no easy answers. Gingrich said that his past terms have involved trying to figure out a solution to the problem but that industry remains resistant to commitment. He said if elected he would try to work on “fair share” agreements with the province. Continued on P. 2