The Northern View, February 04, 2015

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PRINCE RUPERT VOL. 10 NO. 05

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

FREE

Wolf sightings prompt RCMP warning

FRANCOPHONE FUN

News

Fourteen wolves seen in past month

Family seeks closure after 25 years Page A3

BY MARTINA PERRY PRINCE RUPERT / The Northern View

“Residents who choose to leave small pets outside ... may attract wolves.”

Feature Heart of our City: Gary Weick Page A5

Martina Perry / The Northern View

Volunteers from Queen Charlotte Secondary, Kevin Winther and Isabelle Romas, top off some sugar pies with whip cream at the Fifth Annual Sugar Shack Brunch on Jan. 31. For more from the event, see Page 18.

Community Rock beats paper for charity Page A9

Sports Seawolves finish in second place Page A11

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Prince Rupert RCMP issued a warning regarding wolves within city boundaries last week. Over the past month Prince Rupert RCMP have received 14 calls for service regarding wolf sightings within the urban areas of Prince Rupert. “During this time of the year, typically - Gareth Scrivner we do get similar call volumes when it comes to wolf sightings,” said Const. Matt Ericson, spokesperson of the Prince Rupert RCMP, adding the numerous sightings have been scattered throughout the community. See WOLVES on Page A2

City seeks new means of public engagement BY MARTINA PERRY PRINCE RUPERT / The Northern View

Members of Prince Rupert city council would like to start looking at alternative ways to gather public input. The Committee of the Whole meeting for January was cancelled last week, with Mayor Lee Brain stating the cancellation was due to a lack of interest. The intention of Committee of the Whole meetings is to allow members of the public to comment on city business, however past councils have used it to engage the public during the second meeting of the month. “A lot of the feedback I’m getting is that people don’t particularly feel comfortable coming to chamber, on camera, to discuss things that are of concern to them,” Brain said.

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“I really want the public to come to us.” - Barry Cunningham “We’ve been loosely chatting about reengaging the town on a monthly basis outside of council chambers.” Brain said he would like to see a monthly event initiated that has an informal and engaging environment. Through using different facilitation tools, the public could express concerns on an array of subjects. While some of Brain’s comments early in the meeting caused some confusion among councillors, he later clarified the city isn’t

planning to cancel all future Committee of the Whole meetings, but said the city should look at the effectiveness of the monthly meetings. “I’d like to keep these council sessions to business, more concise and have another way that we can get more feedback in another way outside of meetings and have those two become a happy marriage,” Brain said. Coun. Barry Cunningham liked the idea of the city using both options to gather input. “From a transparency point of view, the more input we get from people and the more that they know we’re willing to listen to them, the better off we all are,” said Cunningham. “I really want the public to come to us, the citizens of this town, and tell us what they want because that’s so important. We can’t make these decisions without their input.” Brain said he hopes a “new, innovative” process is in place by the spring.

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