EAGLE VALLEY
NEWS
Transportation concerns drive question period Page 3
Easter Bunny in line to return for annual egg hunt Page 8
Wednesday, March 25, 2015 PM40008236
Vol. 60 No. 12 Sicamous, B.C., • 1.25 (GST included) • www.eaglevalleynews.com
Province nixes George Abbott appointment B.C. government: Former MLA suspects decision may have been personal. By Barb Brouwer
Eagle Valley News
An 11th hour decision by the province to veto George Abbott’s appointment as chief commissioner has clouded the First Nations Treaty Commission with controversy. Six months ago, former Shuswap MLA and cabinet minister George Abbott was invited by John Rustad, minister for aboriginal relations, to take on the role of chief commissioner of the BC Treaty Commission upon the retirement of Sophie Pierre. Abbott had accepted the request and began preparing for the job which was to have begun April 1 by putting his business affairs on hold. He had First Nations and federal support and Now I think it believed BC Cabinet ap- probably was about proval was forthcoming, me; that would be albeit in a much slower my best guess. fashion than anticipated. No one has said But last Wednesday that, but I have to and already in transition assume it. talks with the commisGeorge Abbott sion, Abbott received a call from Rustad informing him he had been unable to secure cabinet approval. A former member of the BC Liberal cabinet, Abbott twice held aboriginal portfolios. He says he was shocked and disappointed by cabinet’s last-minute refusal. “It’s not what I expected to hear,” he said, explaining First Nations ratified his appointment in October and the federal government was ready to add their approval, pending a nod from the province. “I checked with the minister (Rustad) on a number of occasions, obviously concerned when I didn’t hear anything after a couple of months.” But Abbott, who ran against Premier Christy Clark in the 2013 election, says he was continually reassured his appointment was in process and the See First Nations on page 2
In play: Goalie Austin Miller reaches backwards in an attempt to stop an airborne shot from Devyn Myck as Colby Sherlock and Adam Bird look on during a friendly game of road hockey on Wednesday, March 18 at the rec centre parking lot. Photo by Lachlan Labere
Authorities investigating fatal rail collision By Lachlan Labere Eagle Valley News
A 62-year old man is dead after being struck by a train on Saturday night in Malakwa. The incident occurred just before 10 p.m. on March 21 at the Sommerville-Husted Road crossing. Sicamous RCMP report the man, a Malakwa resident, was one of three adults in a Chrysler sedan that got stuck on the tracks. Police say all three of the vehicle’s occupants, including a female relative of the
Crossing: The site of Saturday night’s collision at the SommervilleHusted Road rail crossing was cleared and open to train traffic by Sunday. Photo by Victoria Rowbottom
man and a friend, had exited the sedan be-
fore it was struck by a westbound CP Rail
train. In the process, the 62-year-old was struck
and killed. The other two occupants were taken to hospital, where they were checked and later released. The incident remains under investigation by Sicamous RCMP, the BC Coroners Service and CP Police, who will be reviewing data from the train’s event recorder. More information is expected to be released in the next few days. However, Sicamous RCMP encourage anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact them at 250-836-2878.