S TANDARD TERRACE
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VOL. 27 NO. 46
www.terracestandard.com
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Scientists urge LNG site rejection By JOSH MASSEY THE PACIFIC NorthWest LNG project planned for Lelu Island faces another challenge now that a group of 108 scientists and academics have signed a collective letter urging the federal government to reject the $11.4 billion dollar export terminal planned for the Skeena River estuary close to
Port Edward. The letter, released today, outlines a number of reasons why the signers believe that the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) draft report released last month is flawed in its conclusion that the project would not have a severe impact on fish and that the methods it used to draw this conclusion were not
based on sound science. Addressed to federal environment and climate change minister Catherine McKenna, the letter was written by six scientists and co-signed by 103 others, and concludes that “while we are not decision-makers, we can assess when decisions would be made based on false premises. This is one of those instances. We urge you to reject
this draft report.” The CEAA draft report was completed after a prolonged environmental review, and concluded that the project design would not adversely affect Flora Bank adjacent to Lelu Island, which is a tidal area full of eelgrass where young fish congregate. “A worse location is unlikely to be found for PNW LNG with
regard to potential risk to fish and fisheries,” reads the letter countering the ministry’s draft report. The report is now nearing the end of a 30-day public comment stage after which it will be finalized and then sent to McKenna and other federal cabinet ministers for review.
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Shelter closes, then re-opens
KELSEY WIEBE PHOTO
■■ Smooth sailing IT’S GOING to be a lot easier for people with mobility challenges to gain access from the main gate at Heritage Park to the dance hall thanks to the construction of a brick pathway. In the past, people in wheelchairs have had to be pushed over the park’s uneven lawn. Museum curator Kelsey Wiebe notes that the dance hall is well-used by residents of nearby Terraceview Lodge and McConnell Estates who often attend teas and other functions. In the photo is Lloyd Johnson carrying a load of bricks while Chris Chayba arranges others in a set pattern. Cypress Contracting was hired to do the work.
THE CITY’S cold weather shelter has re-opened barely a week after it was closed. Run by the Ksan House Society the 20-bed shelter closed Feb. 26, a month earlier than planned because of warmer temperatures and less moisture than anticipated. But when the weather turned rainy and colder the middle of last week, the decision was made to re-open it on March 3, says society executive director Amanda Bains. “We have a contract that says it needs to be certain temperatures to be open and so if the weather doesn’t fall within that we close,” said Bains of the original closure decision, which is tied to the contract that the society has with the provincial B.C. Housing agency. “It’s not me saying that I think people can stay outside, sleep in the bush, it’s that we have to follow the rules of our contract,” she said. But instead of renting space at the All Nations Centre on Sparks St. close to downtown, the society is instead using a room at its southside Hall St. complex which also contains the society’s year-round shelter. That decision was based on the society not having a Northern Health Authority permit to use the kitchen at the All Nations Centre. Bains said the permitting issue came as a surprise because the the emergency shelter had been using the kitchen without a permit at the All Nations Centre for several winters. For about a week before the Feb. 26 closure, staff had been handing out coupons for McDonald’s breakfasts instead of providing one themselves. Due to the time it would have taken to get the permit and the fact the contract with BC Housing expires March 31 anyway, Bains said the decision was made to use a meeting room at the Hall St. complex. In the long term, Bains says Ksan Society hopes to purchase a building in the downtown core that will be a more suitable location for the cold weather shelter. She said the All Nations Centre facility was not ideal for an overnight shelter and she looks forward to finding a permanent home with the possibility of staying open year round and even expanding to include a detox centre. The extreme weather shelter is popularly called a “damp shelter” because it provides beds for people who have been drinking, something not permitted for people using the Ksan society’s regular shelter.
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Re-energize
Stay safe
Shots up
Relay for Life shortens event to foster more community \COMMUNITY A10
RCMP offers advice as study highlights youth online safety concerns \NEWS A5
Wolverines from drop-in basketball competing in Jr. All Native Tournament \SPORTS A26