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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015
VOL. 27, NO. 49
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Mayor talks trade during trip to China I BILL MCKAY joins B.C. premier’s mission next week. BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM THE NEWS BULLETIN
CHRIS BUSH/THE NEWS BULLETIN
Morning traffic melee
Southbound traffic stacks up on the Nanaimo Parkway Wednesday morning after four separate accidents occurred within minutes between Northfield Road and Third Street. Police at the scene of one of the crashes said problems started shortly after 8:30 a.m. when three vehicles collided in the left turn lane at Third Street. Other vehicles started colliding as they slowed and switched lanes on the wet road surface. No injuries were reported, but at least 10 vehicles collided over the two-kilometre stretch of road.
Parents worried closure could affect French program BY KARL YU THE NEWS BULLETIN
French immersion parents expressed concern during a consultation meeting Tuesday about a possible program move. A proposal to close Woodlands Secondary School and send students to Nanaimo District could also see the French immersion program moved to John Barsby to make room in NDSS. Parents are concerned about a drop in enrolment due to the longer commute and thus less provincial funding. Jennifer Therriault, mother
of a Grade 9 French immersion student, said it’s likely she would enrol her child at Barsby, but wonders how many would follow. “If there was a large attrition rate, you might potentially lose the ability to have those courses that should be offered in French maybe not offered,” Therriault said. Nanaimo District is easy to access due to its proximity to Vancouver Island University and the aquatic and ice centres, said Therriault. Bernadette Lyons David has children at École Hammond Bay, an elementary French immersion school, and said
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the high school program should be located at either its current spot or Wellington Secondary, as they are transportation hubs. “The French immersion elementary students come from all over Nanaimo,” said David. Steve Rae, school board chairman, said the right thing to do is to look into all of the concerns of the parents, including transportation. “Our staff is going to be, if they haven’t already, discussing with the [Regional District of Nanaimo] possible solutions to the concerns about transportation,” said Rae. reporter@nanaimobulletin.com
Nanaimo Mayor Bill McKay wants to explore liquefied natural gas opportunities for Nanaimo and meet investors as he joins B.C. Premier Christy Clark on a trade mission in China next week. McKay is going on a nine-day trade mission to China Nov. 3-11, with Andre Sullivan, chairman of the Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation, in an attempt to build relationships overseas and attract investment. The trip, which will cover Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai, is estimated to cost the city $15,000 and was announced Monday after an in-camera vote last week. McKay said he was invited by the B.C. Ministry of International Trade and investors and will join Clark, who is in China Oct. 30 to Nov. 7 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of a B.C.-Guangdong sister province agreement and promote exports in sectors like LNG and clean technology. Meetings will be held with the premier and independently, according to McKay, who said they have plans to talk to investors about real estate, hotels like the proposed Hilton, and Nanaimo’s readiness for external investment. Comox Mayor Paul Ives and Mayor of Surrey Linda Hepner
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will also be on the mission. “We want to see what opportunities there are going to be for LNG for Nanaimo. We also want to meet face-to-face with potential investment houses that have already expressed an interest in Nanaimo,” said McKay, who anticipates there will be a “tremendous” amount of LNG opportunities relating to construction, machining, parts and fabrication. Sullivan said he and the mayor will promote Nanaimo and try to open up dialogue about all the investment projects available, but he also cautions they can’t go there with expectations of making a deal. “We have to go there with expectations of furthering relationships to unlock these investment opportunities,” he said. “So we can’t go in there in an attempt to close the Hilton, or close the conference centre hotel or close the passenger ferry.” NEDC has budgeted $15,000 for the trip but Sullivan expects the total will come in around $10,000. This is the second trip by NEDC since 2014 and follows a bid postponed last August by the mayor to go to China. Only Coun. Jerry Hong voted against this mission, believing the discussion should have been held in public. He’s also uncomfortable sending the mayor off in a “last-minute rush” without enough information. “If the public were to ask me, what’s he going for? I don’t know. He’s going on a trade mission. That’s as much information as we were given,” he said. news@nanaimobulletin.com
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