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Homelessness measured in survey results By Alicia Bridges Smithers/Interior News
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On Nov. 28, one of the coldest days of 2014, a group of volunteers pounded the pavement in an effort to find out how many people are homeless in Smithers. Braving the sub-zero conditions that are a reality of life for people who live on the street, the volunteers conducted the first ever survey of the size of the local homeless population. The results of the survey, which was conducted by the Smithers Action Group Association (SAGA), were released in a presentation at the Old Church last Thursday. The 2014 Smithers Homeless Count Report found a total 22 people were homeless on that day in Smithers. For the purposes of the survey, a homeless person was defined as someone who does not have a place of their own where they could expect to stay for more than 30 days and who does not pay rent. The method used to complete the survey, known as a “homeless count,” has been used in other communities including Metro Vancouver to measure the extent of homelessness in a particular area. In Smithers, the survey consisted of separate day and night components. During the day the volunteers asked a series of questions on pre-determined street routes and at night they surveyed people accessing the Broadway Place Emergency Shelter. Of the 22 people identified as being homeless on that day, eight are considered “unsheltered” or street homeless, 13 were “sheltered” homeless living in emergency shelter or transition houses, and one had no fixed address. During Thursday’s presentation, project coordinator Nicole Oud said the number could be higher because it was difficult to survey couch surfers, people with no fixed address, who were known as the hidden homeless. “You don’t necessarily see them on the street or in the communities much but they still don’t have access to permanent housing so this is something that’s faced by all counts and I think we faced this as well,” she said. See COLD on A2
TRADITION BURNS BRIGHT Gitxsan elder Sadie Mowatt prepares the dish known as “burnt fish” by letting the flames heat a piece of pre-smoked salmon at a cultural celebration in the Hazeltons last week. Organizers say the event was about promoting Gitxsan wellness. Story, page A27. Alicia Bridges photo
Brucejack Mine receives environmental approval By Chris Gareau Smithers/Interior News
A provincial environmental assessment certificate issued last week moves the US$747 million Brucejack gold mine 65 kilometres north of Stewart closer to fruition. Pretivm president and CEO Robert Quartermain hopes to obtain the necessary federal environmental approval and permits and start construction this summer. He said his Vancouver-based company would need 800-900 employees for construction. The mine itself would have 500 employees working over its 18year operating life. Construction
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is expected to be completed in 2017. Pretivm also has a Smithers office. “We’ll continue to work out of Smithers in support of the project as we get up into operation, and we’ll certainly be hiring more people for that office as we go forward,” said Quartermain. The CEO said the company’s policy is to hire as many people from northwest B.C. as possible to work at extracting the 2,700 tonnes of ore per day. He pointed to his past experience running mining company Silver Standard Resources in South America as an example of local hiring practices he aims to achieve. “We built one mine in
Argentina and over 90 per cent of the employees were individuals who lived within a couple hundred kilometre catchment radius. “So here I expect we will be employing people from Smithers, Terrace, New Hazelton, up through Gitanyow, Stuart and Dease Lake,” said Quartermain. The project will not have a tailings pond, but instead deposit tailings paste from a plant on the surface into Brucejack Lake. “Because it’s underground, about half the material we actually mine will go back into the underground facilities themselves as paste backfill,” said Quartermain. See B.C. KNOWN on A4
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