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APRIL 2016 • VOL. 2, ISSUE 12
Northwest says YES
Major rally held in Terrace in favour of LNG proposals on North Coast
Inside N 2 K North Thriving
Wood Transition
Terrace entrepreneurs benefit from program
Kitimat wood-working duo tap into major industry
Green Fire Fort St. James energy plant nears start-up
Swan Dive Vanderhoof companies in it for the birds
Association of inquisitive minds: Kitimat Seniors When you bring together 60 members of the Kitimat Seniors Association for a visit to LNG Canada to learn about liquefied natural gas, the LNG industry and LNG Canada’s proposed project, it’s not surprising you encounter an engaged and curious group of people with an abundance of questions. “How long does it take for a vessel to make a round trip?” was the first question as the group gathered around a scale model of an LNG carrier housed in a plexiglass case near the entrance to the building. “How are the vessels fuelled?” “How old is the average age of the carriers?” followed right behind. Mary-Ellen Proctor, Community Liaison Officer with LNG Canada, worked with the Seniors Association to arrange the tours. Seiichi Tsurumi, Stakeholder Engagement Manager, shared his extensive knowledge about LNG vessels and the proposed LNG Canada facility as Seniors Association members moved from the scale model of the vessel to a scale model of the proposed facility. Steve Hauki, one of the seniors on the tour, said he came to see what was happening. While he would
have liked to get his boots dirty and tour the site up close, Hauki enjoyed looking at the vessel scale model and later, the site model, while listening to Tsurumi’s description of what would be happening on the project and on the site. Hauki says he thinks he speaks for the community when he says: “Just like everyone else, I hope the project is going to get going.” Hilda Prause has lived in Kitimat since 1954, and Hannah Brooker for more than 25 years. Both women have a keen interest in the project, and Prause wants the community she loves to remain friendly. Brooker says she was very impressed with everything she had heard during the tour. “When Methanex and Eurocan were here, the community had a lot
This space is a collaborative promotional venture by LNG Canada and N2K
more vibrancy to it. We need to get back to that,” she said. And Tsurumi’s answers to the questions: it will take about 22 days for a vessel to travel from LNG Canada to Asia and back; the vessels are fuelled with LNG; and the vessels are so well designed and the product so clean, vessels remain in service for a long time, with vessels as old as 42 years still in service.
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Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Todd Hamilton Prince Rupert Ed Evans, Sales Melissa Boutilier, Sales Kevin Campbell, Reporter Shannon Lough, Reporter Terrace Rod Link, Editor Bert Husband, Sales Erin Bowker, Sales Kitimat Louisa Genzale, Sales Smithers Grant Harris, Sales Nick Briere, Sales Alicia Bridges, Reporter Houston Mary-Anne Ruiter, Sales Burns Lake Laura Blackwell, Sales Flavio Nienow, Editor Fort St. James/ Vanderhoof Pam Berger, Sales Vivian Chui, Reporter Barbara Latkowski, Reporter Haida Gwaii Quinn Bender, Sales Andrew Hudson, Reporter N2K CONTACT INFO:
Vanderhoof Fort St. James Burns Lake Houston Smithers Terrace Kitimat Prince Rupert Haida Gwaii
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N2K is a Black Press publication mailed or delivered by carrier to 31,500 homes and businesses throughout Northwest B.C. Our Head Office is located at: 737 Fraser Street, Prince Rupert, B.C., V8J 1R1 250-624-8088 Fax: 250-624-8085
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NORTHWEST B.C.’S INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
es, what a wonderful month was March. More than $11 million in major funding announcements, deals inked, transparent and open consultations, and a demonstrated groundswell of grassroot support for the socio-economic gamechanging possibilities of the Northwest B.C. LNG industry. It was a month to which Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna certainly needs to pay attention. It was a month when Northwest B.C. said: Yes, we want, need and support LNG development. First Nation after First Nation is standing up and saying yes. Cities, towns and municipalities are saying yes. Regular citizens are showing up at rallies and saying loudly and clearly, yes. Labour leaders are saying yes. And believe it or not, an NDP MP did so as well. In this issue an opinion piece by Steve Smyth captured our attention and hopefully yours as well. Smyth so succinctly and successfully pulls at the many loose threads of the anti-LNG tapestry that we needed to share it with our growing list of N2K readers — both here in Northwest B.C. and across the country. One comment from Smyth, however, seems to most aptly describe what Northwest B.C. is currently being endangered by: “But sadly there are groups, particularly well-funded ones, who state no standard is high enough, no study good enough and that no development is the only option,” Smyth writes. They are the Forces of No. Unfortunately, Northwest B.C. has been told “no” too many times. We can ill-afford being told “no” again. But as Smyth, again so succinctly puts it: “Let’s not turn our backs on this opportunity. Let’s work together to build something rather than always tearing something down and waiting for the next handout.” In this world, there is an unfortunate reality, negativity is generally voiced while positivity remains quiet. It’s probably the reason you see complaint departments but no congratulation departments in the world. As N2K enters its third year, we are proud to continue to be a voice for the many who proudly say yes. Todd Hamilton N2K Publisher publisher@thenorthernview.com
Out-of-area subscriptions now available e-mail: circulation@thenorthernview.com View our e-version for free at: www.thenorthernview.com/eeditions
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Volume 2 • Issue 12
April 2016
IN THIS ISSUE
BIG OPPORTUNITY Province announces $9 million in skills training funding for Tsimshian 7
MORE SUPPORT Lax Kw’alaams rescinds opposition, Metlakatla ink benefits deal
SAYING YES Major rally in support of Pacific NorthWest LNG project held in Terrace
WHY YES? Steve Smyth weighs in on LNG 15
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GREEN FIRE Energy plant readies for start-up 10
SWAN DIVE Coming to the aid of swans 11
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THRIVE NORTH Entrepreneurs benefit from project 20
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BIG OPPORTUNITY Province announces $9 million for Tsimshian training
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By Shannon Lough
hether the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry develops on the North Coast or not, the B.C. government has committed to spending $9 million dollars on Tsimshian people for skills training. The provincial funding is over three years and will be handed over to the Tsimshian Roundtable, a partnership between six First Nations communities in the Tsimshian Alliance, and LNG proponents. The organization came together two years ago to make sure Tsimshian people benefit from proposed LNG projects in the area by making sure a workforce is prepared for when the industry does decide to develop in the province. “It’s a coordinated approach by the Tsimshian communities, first of all, seeing how training can be provided through each of the communities without major duplication,” White said adding a hypothetical example where each community might train 12 millwrights, totalling 72 trained but there are only positions for 30 millwrights,” Gitxaala Chief Clifford White, who co-chairs the roundtable with Simon Nish, BG Group vice president, said. “We want to make sure that we’re not all training for the same trade, and making sure that our people have
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“We want to make sure that we’re not all training for the same trade.” - Chief Clifford White those opportunities,” he said. The Tsimshian Alliance is made up of the Metlakatla, Lax Kw’alaams, Gitga’at, Gitxaala, Kitselas and Kitsumkalum Nations. The group has been working with unions, the province and six LNG proponents to make sure 25 per cent of the work force is apprentice related and of that number 50 per cent of the apprenticeships or trades will be available for First Nations. Simon Nish, the vice-president of sustainability at BG Canada has been involved in the alliance since the beginning.
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“The background was that Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla said in 2014, ‘we’re having repeat conversations with multiple proponents about employment and training, is there a way we can all come together and talk about regional employment training?’” Nish said. The funding isn’t just for skilled trades. The workforce that the Tsimshian Roundtable plans to build includes short-term occupations with little training, such as cleaners, to long-term positions that require more training, such as doctors, lawyers, financiers and supervisors. The provincial government invested $1.2 million in May 2015 for a similar purposes — to fund the Aboriginal skills trade program, Pathways to Success, in Prince Rupert and Terrace. Since that time, the provincial government announced in a press release that the program has resulted in setting up more than 180 Tsimshian women and men with jobs in customer service, construction and environmental monitoring with an average wage of $18.75 an hour. B.C. Premier Christy Clark announced the $9 million in
new funding on Tuesday, March 8. “We have three things we’ve got to do. We’ve got to connect with the private sector, figure out what those jobs are, then we’ve got to work with First Nations and figure out what their aspirations as individuals are, and then we have to connect them through the appropriate training,” Clark said. Each First Nations community is evaluating its own members and how they should be trained and educated to meet the immediate needs within the community themselves, Clifford said. Some communities will continue on Pathways to Success program. Despite the waiting game for a final investment decision from at least one of the LNG proponents, Clark said the million dollar investment is needed to train First Nations on the North Coast. She cited that $20 billion had already been spent in the province pre-final investment decision in preparing the land for potential development. “It’s been slow, slower than anyone predicted because no one predicted $30 a barrel oil. In the meantime though, we’re training people for jobs that exist,” Clark said.
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MORE SUPPORT
Lax Kw’alaams withdraws opposition, Metlakatla ink deal
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By Shannon Lough and Kevin Campbell
wo more North Coast First Nations have agreed to support LNG in Northwest B.C. The Lax Kw’alaams Band, once a vocal opponent, has retracted their opposition. In a letter to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, elected Mayor John Helin wrote, “I have had further discussions within our community about the project and as a result of these discussions I would like to retract the initial letter in favour of the terms and conditions set out in this letter.” “Lax Kw’alaams must ensure that sufficient environmental conditions and safeguards will be in place,” he said in the letter. The letter was written on March 15, four days after the initial public comment process for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency’s (CEAA) draft report on Pacific NorthWest’s LNG project ended. Helin said that support will be given if two conditions attached to the letter are legally binding and become part of the environmental assessment decision statement. The two conditions are the proponent must report its environmental monitoring work and follow up programs to an Environmental Performance Committee, which includes the Lax Kw’alaams Band, the CEAA and other federal representatives. The second condition is that the proponent must respond to any enforcement actions that have been recommended by the Environmental Performance Committee.
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“We would be pleased to negotiate such terms of reference immediately,” and have the goal to wrap up discussions on May 13. Earlier in March, the Metlakatla First Nation signed two pipeline benefits agreements with the provincial government that will provide direct benefits to the community as a result of B.C.’s developing liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry. “It is important that we have a voice in developing industries in our territory. This kind of benefits agreements gives us that voice and offers us the opportunity to move forward in partnership with government and with business in a way that benefits everyone,” Harold Leighton, Chief Councillor, Metlakatla First Nation, said. The agreements relate to TransCanada’s proposed Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline and Spectra’s proposed Westcoast Connector Gas Transmission pipeline. Metlakatla First Nation has received an initial payment of $430,000 related to the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line, and would receive two separate payments of just over $1 million as construction starts and when the natural gas line goes into service. As part of the agreement related to the Westcoast Connector Gas Transmission project, the First Nation has received an initial payment of $390,000, and would receive $975,000 as construction starts and an equal amount as the line goes into service. First Nations along each natural gas pipeline route will also share $10 million a year in ongoing benefits.
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GREEN FIRE
Fort St. James power plant ready to light it up in June 2016
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By Barbara Latkowski
he Fort St. James Veolia Fort Green Energy Plant is right on schedule to light its first fire in June. Rick Peterson, plant manager, said the Fort St. James facility will operate around the clock using an estimated 200,000 metric tonnes of biomass each year to produce 40 megawatts of electricity, enough to power nearly 40,000 households. The biomass used to produce the electricity comes from sawmill and logging waste from the B.C. forestry industry and trees killed by the mountain pine beetle. Peterson said the high-efficiency boiler ensures that the biomass is burned as completely and as efficiently as possible and all dust is controlled in the plant. In fact,
even what ash that is left over can be used as fertilizer. As for job opportunities, Veolia will be hiring various positions including power engineers and electrical and instrumentation technicians. “”Our intent is to hire locally as much as possible. We don’t want this being a fly-in and fly-out operation,” Peterson said. Contract and support staff positions will also be available in: maintenance including mechanical and electrical labourers, suppliers, (parts and materials) general services (such as cleaning and work clothing) and biomass supply including fuel and ash hauling. “We’re here for the long haul,” Peterson said.
SWAN COOPERATION Vanderhoof companies dive in to help swans
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By Vivian Chui
his year’s early spring may have brought some of Vanderhoof ’s iconic trumpeter swans to the Nechako River sooner than before, and for others, the area continues to provide a winter home courtesy of local businesses and farmers. To feed up to 175 swans a day from November to March by their home 60 kilometres south of Vanderhoof, Denis and June Wood receive each fall 12,000 lbs. of grain donated by Vanderhoof and Districts Co-op and delivered by Yellowhead Road and Bridge (YRB) of Vanderhoof, Denis explained. Each spring and fall, the swans are known to stop by the Vanderhoof region during their migration, although more and more stayed by the Upper Nechako River, she said. The swans in the area were first fed in the early 1970s by June’s father Bert Irvine near his home 20 kilometres upstream from the Woods. “At first, there was always a broken bag or two of grain at the Co-op feed store that they were happy to donate, but once several tons per year were required, it became a big commitment,” June said. Although the grain only supplements the swans’ natural diet of water plants and roots, feeding the large number of swans became “quite a chore” for Irvine by the early 2000s and that’s when YRB got involved. “[Dave Geernaert, who was working for YRB asked]
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when he was going to start feeding the swans and my dad replied that he was thinking about not doing it anymore because lining up the grain, hauling it and unloading it was getting too much for him,” June said. “Dave was really taken back and immediately committed YRB to arranging for and hauling out all the grain, in a single load on a big flatbed truck.” For Vanderhoof Co-op, it’s been a worthwhile contribution for many years to support wildlife and nature that started from the time of its previous general manager Cliff Irving, said Allan Bieganski. “Not only do we help support the local farmer by buying grain, we also help support Denis and June in their mission to feed the swans and the geese,” Bieganski said. “If Denis and June are willing to take the time all winter long to make sure they’re fed, we were honoured to help them do that. “We take enough away from nature, so it helps us make sure we put back in,” For YRB’s operations and quality manager Mike Svensen, it’s a community effort. “It’s not just one fellow who donates, but many of them,” Svensen said. “It’s something that needs to be done. “They would like to continue to feed the swans and they need the feed, so we continue to deliver it, donating the equipment and the time.”
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Northwest
YES
Groundswell of support culminates in large rallies saying yes to Northwest LNG projects
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errace was one of three locations in which rallies in support of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry took place in March. Sponsored by the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) of B.C., the other rallies took place in Fort St. John and Fort Nelson. “These events represent a groundswell of grassroots support from the silent majority of B.C. residents who support the Pacific NorthWest LNG project and the jobs that come with it,” ICBA senior vice president Gord Stewart said. The rallies coincided with the federal government now considering whether to approve of the Pacific NorthWest
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By Josh Massey
LNG proposal set for Lelu Island. Terrace resident Lucy Praught, a consultant who has worked for energy companies and First Nations, said it’s time for people who support LNG projects to make their voices heard. “It’s important for people to understand we are ready to work. It’s been tough in northwestern B.C. for a while. We are ready to dust each other off and make it happen,” said Praught in a release. Kitselas First Nation chief councillor Joe Bevan was also quoted at the rally. “Our position on LNG is based on due diligence — not just our own but the work done by other First Nations
in the Northwest, the large majority of whom share our position,” Bevan said in a read statement. “As long as proponents maintain strong environmental standards, we support LNG because it brings jobs and growth to our nation.” The Kitselas First Nation several years ago signed a benefits deal with Pacific NorthWest LNG reflecting its traditional interests in the waters around Lelu Island and is an active participant in the Tsimshian Environmental Stewardship Authority which has been conducting its own review of the project. That authority has so far expressed its satisfaction with the environmental and other work that has gone into the
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“It’s important for people to understand we are ready to work.” - Lucy Praught project. The Lelu Island location for Pacific NorthWest LNG has been strongly opposed by the Lax Kw’alaams until recently when the band reversed its position and decided to support the project under two conditions.
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The Terrace rally formed an imposing procession heading into Terrace from Thornhill with tractor-trailers, work trucks and construction vehicles including a frontend loader decked out with pro-LNG and jobs signs. The Northwest B.C. rally was one of three rallies timed for that same day with others in Fort St. John and Fort Nelson. In Terrace, more than 120 people gathered at the west side of the Skeena Mall parking lot to present a voice of enthusiasm, or “yes”, to the proposed LNG industry promised for the north. Praught, Bevin, along with Terrace mayor Carol Leclerc, accompanied by three members of her council, and Haisla chief councillor Ellis Ross were on hand at the rally. “Haisla has been reviewing LNG projects ever since the ‘80s, when it was talked about an import facility,” said Ross. “In 2004, we started reviewing again for an export facility ... while everyone else was playing catch up, the Haisla were trying to wait out the rest of B.C. saying yes to LNG.” Those who attended the rally found a voice in Amy Rutter who is a fourth-year apprentice electrician at Northwest Community College and her husband Adam, a sales and branch manager for Premium Truck & Trailer, who spoke at the rally as well. Rutter said she wants to stay here with her whole family. “We can’t stay if there is nowhere for them to work,” she said of her kids. “They will leave home and I will never see them again.”
“We can’t stay if there is nowhere for them to work.” - Amy Rutter Leclerc spoke of the city’s stance in recent history to promote the idea of big projects in the area such as the Rio Tinto Alcan smelter modernization project at Kitimat and B.C. Hydro’s Northwest Transmission Line. “I think the message today to Ottawa is that they recognize that if you are going to make really important decisions on economic drivers to British Columbia and to Northwest British Columbia, that you understand where people are at and where people are coming from and where they want to be,” said Praught in comments made after the rally. With the countdown on for the federal environment minister Catherine McKenna and the rest of the cabinet to make a final decision whether or not to grant a environmental certificate to the Petronas-backed Pacific NorthWest LNG project proposed for Lelu Island, she said that the truck rally will show an unacknowledged groundswell of hope in the region that LNG comes to pass.
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WHY SAY YES TO LNG? I
By Steve Smyth
am delighted to see that Skeena - Bulkley Valley NDP MP Nathan Cullen supports industrial and commercial development in his riding. Through his letter to the editor published [in a number of Northwest B.C. newspapers], Mr. Cullen also recognizes that most, if not all, of his riding has been an economic basket case for the past 12 years and that industrial development is welcome. No matter what side of the political spectrum or where you stand on LNG investment, development or the environment, no one has ever accused Mr. Cullen of being foolish or ill-informed. He is a gentleman and an intelligent politician and his reputation for not quite choosing sides carefully is almost legendary. Therefore, it’s quite refreshing to see him clarify his position on LNG development so clearly, no matter how late in the game that clarification comes. As he pointed out, on March 22 a very large and vocal gathering took place in Terrace at the same time that two other larger gatherings took place in Fort St. John and Fort Nelson. Municipal and elected First Nations leaders, business owners and working people from his riding stood up to speak and show their support for an environmentally sound, sustainable liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry. It is somewhat disappointing that it took this outcry and groundswell of support for him to respond and then to clarify his position on LNG development. Anyone who has seen or investigated the facts, surveyed the sheer magnitude of the data and listened to the presentations by the proponents cannot say that they have not listened and done the required studies. In fact, they have completed far more than was required. Using the example of the Pacific NorthWest LNG project, some 28-plus volumes totalling well over 9,000 pages have been compiled, costing hundreds of millions of dollars (by the way, most of which was spent locally) in data collection, consultation, changes and engineering costs. Three weeks ago, the spokesman for the “group of 130 scientists” opposed the location of Pacific NorthWest LNG on Lelu Island was quoted on CBC Radio as saying that this development “may” be harmful to salmon “wherever that is.”
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How is this science any better than anyone else’s science simply on the basis of who paid for it? - Steve Smyth
It was quite clear he had no idea of the facts or even the details of the proposed location. How can that qualify as “peer reviewed” science? How is this science any better than anyone else’s science simply on the basis of who paid for it? If industrial development and salmon runs are mutually exclusive, how to explain the fact that the delta of the Fraser River, which hosts one of the largest salmon runs on Earth, is nearly 100 per cent developed by industry, most of which was developed long before modern environmental legislation was in place. How then to explain that some of the largest eelgrass beds supporting that run are in immediate proximity to Roberts Bank, one of the largest and busiest coal ports in western North America? How to explain then that Pacific NorthWest’s studies of 50 and 100 year wind storms and tides show most likely less impact on Flora Bank than the current fishing and pleasure boat traffic that currently already shortcut across it? Pacific NorthWest LNG’s studies are called biased and distorted because they are paid for by the proponent, yet studies paid for by opposing parties are to be taken as canon because they paid for by parties opposing development. Neither myself or anyone I have discussed this with, and certainly nobody at the rally in Terrace, are advocating rape and pillage development at all costs. Everyone I have talked to is concerned about irreparable damage to the Skeena and to the salmon run that is so important to all of us who live here. But there must be a balance. This is not the 1900s where industry was free to destroy everything in the quest for a quick profit. We have standards that are set high to protect us and our environment. But sadly there are groups, particularly well-funded ones, who state no standard is high enough, no study good enough and that no development is the only option.
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If we had applied these same standards in the past, we would have never built Kitimat, the CPR or the St. Lawrence Seaway. These are projects that have defined our country, taking courage and vision, both of which appear to be in short supply these days. Mr. Cullen offers to help avoid potential conflict and court battles by relocating the Pacific NorthWest facility to Ridley Island, with conditions. This seems akin to waiting until the neighbour’s house has half burnt down before rushing over with the garden hose to bravely offer assistance. If we force Pacific NorthWest LNG to relocate, there is absolutely no guarantee that it will build on Ridley Island, in Prince Rupert, on the North Coast or indeed, even in Canada. To ask investors to start all over again from the beginning, after spending millions and three years of studies and consultations is a sure way of chasing away or alienating what would be the largest private investment in Canadian history. Pacific NorthWest LNG would create thousands of well-paid, mostly unionized, skilled trades jobs – jobs that our children and grandchildren need and deserve to have. It will be a life-changing opportunity for local residents, especially local First Nations who will have an incredible opportunity to benefit the most from trades training and contracting opportunities. What a way to break the cycle of dependency and improve the standard of living for all northerners,
“If we had applied these same standards in the past, we would have never built Kitimat, the CPR or the St. Lawrence Seaway.” - Steve Smyth including and especially First Nations people. While the project will increase Canada’s GHG emissions, these emissions cannot be considered in isolation. Using our liquefied natural gas to replace the use of coal in Asia would have a significant effect on lowering global greenhouse gases. According to most reports and studies, nearly 75 per cent of the world’s current GHG and pollution are produced in China and Asia. Selling them our responsibly-produced LNG enables them to move away from coal and other high carbon and pollution emitters while allowing us time to develop green technology and move ourselves away from petroleum products in a safe and financially responsible way. We simply cannot just stop using petroleum products tomorrow. Continued on Page 17
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Meanwhile our competitors in the United States and Russia would love to continue to hamstring our efforts to export our gas to any market other than the ones that they dictate. Anyone who runs a business will tell you who stands to benefit the most if you only have one customer for your product. Many have criticized large projects, saying the majority of the jobs provided are temporary during construction. But that is and always has been the nature of the industry. If we were to utilize this logic, none of the employment generated by the building of the Alcan smelter, the Eurocan pulp mill or the Skeena pulp mill would have ever happened. We would have sent those investors packing because all they offered were “temporary” construction jobs. Is it right then to ignore the well paid and highly sought after legacy jobs after completion of Pacific NorthWest LNG and other projects? The skills learned during the construction of one LNG facility are easily transferred to another one here, anywhere else in Canada or even the world. Strong union people such as Jim Sinclair have been brought on board as part of an labour/industry coalition to ensure that First Nations, northerners, B.C. and Canadian workers are first to the table when it comes to jobs. Mr. Cullen states he welcomes a “modest LNG economy” here. Why would we limit ourselves to a modest economy? Why wouldn’t we welcome all comers, providing that it is done in an environmentally and culturally sensitive manner? Why wouldn’t we announce that northwestern B.C. is open for investment and business rather than chasing any and all developers away based on an unreasonable standard of development? Why not become renowned for skilled trades workers who would be universally sought? Pacific NorthWest LNG has consulted and accommodated the largest majority of affected First Nations locally by far. It has the approval and blessing of the Metlakatla, Kitselas, Gitxaala, Kitsumkalum and Gitga’at and now most recently, the elected leadership of Lax Kw’alaams. The majority of mayors and councils of most of the towns, cities and villages along the pipeline route are all onboard. Consultations and accommodations have resulted in significant and expensive design changes in both the facility and the pipeline route. The facts are in. People want to work, to contribute and to raise their families without hardship, poverty, and handouts. Sadly, we have all seen an entire generation of children forced to leave this beautiful place. Why
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STEVE SMYTH
“Let’s work together to build something rather than always tearing something down and waiting for the next handout.” - Steve Smyth shouldn’t they have the same opportunities to grow, raise children and to prosper and live in the same place that we did? Safe, clean, sustainable industry is what this country and specifically this region needs badly. Let’s not turn our backs on this opportunity. Let’s work together to build something rather than always tearing something down and waiting for the next handout. Steve Smyth has lived all across northern BC since 1962 and is a past director of the Terrace-Kitimat Airport Society and a current director of the Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce.
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WOOD TRANSITION Kitimat’s Dal Monte’s taps into Northwest B.C. industry market
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By Kevin Campbell
rom creating finely-crafted cabinets and furniture to processing dunnage for skids of aluminum, and pallets, crates and wedges, Kitimat’s Dal Monte’s Woodcraft Ltd. has always had the customer’s needs at the very top of mind since its incorporation in 1972. Whether it be beautiful cabinets, crafted by John Dal Monte, the company’s founder, or the dunnage used for Rio Tinto Alcan’s aluminum skids from their smelter in Kitimat, the company knows that quality and efficiency is what works in a modern, specialized industrial world.
But switching from cabinets to pallets takes a bit of transitioning in the business model. “I don’t think there was a learning curve to speak of because a lot of the industrial stuff was quite simple [compared] to building cabinets and furniture. A big part of it was the transition from basic cabinet-making equipment to more of an industrial operation – because the operation here is pretty much like a small sawmill,” said current owner Daniel Chimko.
Continued on Page 19
“It has a lot of hydraulic transfer chains and some really heavy-duty specialized equipment,” Chimko and his wife Natalie are now the sole two employees of Dal Monte’s Woodcraft after purchasing the company from Dal Monte six years ago. Dal Monte himself came to Canada from Italy and started the company himself, beginning with smaller-scale projects that can be found in residential homes It’s a modestly-sized operation, but they deal with bigtime clients, specifically Rio Tinto Alcan, who make up approximately 95 per cent of the company’s revenue thanks to its bi-weekly order of dunnage from Dal Monte’s for Rio’s aluminum smelter. Besides dunnage, Dal Monte’s also processes pallets, crates and wedges and worked with the old Kitimat pulp mill to service its needs as well. Right up until February of this year, the former owner John Dal Monte even came to work for the first five years that Chimko owned the business, performing smaller, less labourintensive tasks. Dal Monte is 80 years old. “Basically until this year, he was still coming down where he could and work a couple hours a day [on] anything that was smaller, so things like cutting wedges and cutting down small sheets of plywood, or cutting circles. Basically anything that didn’t have a lot of lifting involved ... He’s quite something,” said Chimko. Working almost like clockwork, Dal Monte’s will respond to two orders from Rio Tinto per week and have the order ready for the very next morning. A typical day might involve Daniel and Natalie planing the raw hardwood that comes
“They can order something one day and have it show up the next morning.” - Daniel Chimko
from Quebec by rail (“because the slabs are so heavy, the wood gets planed on four sides and the groove gets put in to facilitate a strap and then the wood gets stamped, certifying our wood packaging material for export ... and verifying it’s been heat-treated”) and then the wood is cut to length and engraved. “It’s fairly labour intensive just because the hardwood that we’re processing is four inches by five inches and so each piece is anywhere between 40 and 60 pounds [and similar to] regular dimensional lumber mills, the graters go through the wood and you have to flip each board and look for defects or bark or bug markings. I have to do the same thing with this wood and then sack it,” said Chimko. Overall, it’s the close relationship with Rio Tinto Alcan that makes Dal Monte’s service unbeatable. “The service can’t really be beat because our prices are still competitive enough and we’re just down the street and able to deliver them their orders the morning after they make them. I think [the proximity] is very important just because with Rio Tinto’s business model, they don’t like to keep a lot of inventory, they want to be able to not spend the money until they need to, so they really enjoy that they can order something one day and have it show up the next morning.”
PRETIVM IS ADVANCING ITS HIGH-GRADE GOLD BRUCEJACK PROJECT IN NORTHERN BC.
THRIVING IN THE NORTH Young entrepreneurs reaping benefit of $5 million project
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By Rod Link
f you think it’s easy taking a photograph of a beer bottle, think again. “They’re round and every surface reflects the light. And that’s the challenge – to make it look good is very difficult,” says Aaron Whitfield, the sole proprietor and employee of Terrace-based Red Bike Media. This shoot of a beer bottle was for the local Sherwood Brewer micro-brewery and part of a marketing program under development. It’s the bread and butter of the professional photography business for Whitfield who moved here from the Calgary area in 2012, attracted first by the offer of being the staff photographer for Northern Heli-Escapes, a local company offering skiing clients high-end lodging and helicopter rides to mountain tops. He’d go out skiing with the company’s clients and take their photos so they’d have visual momentos of their skiing adventures. Whitfield had done much the same in the southeastern Kootenays before moving to Terrace. In Dec. 2014, Whitfield decided to branch out into his own business, keeping Northern Heli-Escapes as a client but seeking to establish himself in other photography fields. His accumulated practical experience building off his academic training first at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Calgary followed by a communications degree from the University of Calgary combined to give Whitfield a solid footing. Then he discovered ThriveNorth, a five-year $5 million program financed by northwestern B.C. LNG developer hopeful BG Group and Futurepreneur, a national agency aimed at developing young entrepreneurs. In addition to sponsoring an annual contest in which young entrepreneurs have a chance to win cash to further develop either business ideas or further budding enterprises, ThriveNorth offers a series of workshops in which young entrepreneurs can exchange ideas and also be paired with more established businesspeople. Continued on Page 21
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“Working for yourself is very different than for someone else,” noted Whitfield. “I’ve always wanted to be the best I can be.” By participating in workshops and roundtables at various ThriveNorth events in the northwest and elsewhere, Whitfield’s had the opportunity to listen and learn from others. “The focus is how to help young entrepreneurs. What does it take and what do you need,” said Whitfield. The ability to connect with other young entrepreneurs from a wide variety of business fields throughout the northwest via ThriveNorth is something that might not be available in larger centres, he added. One of Whitfield’s mentors is also his neighbour, Sarah Zimmerman, and that combination proved to be particularly valuable, he said. “Having previously owned a communications company with a photography component, we were a good fit for the mentoring program, so I signed up,” said Zimmerman of her connection with Whitfield. “While we found each other more organically, the Futurepreneur program helped us focus our discussions and have us tools to help keep the process focused and our meetings super productive.” For Zimmerman, ThriveNorth was also an opportunity to pass along what she herself had
learned from others. “I am very grateful to the mentors I have had over the years, they made me a better business person and professional. That’s why I support opportunities like this. I also think that it’s my turn to give back to other folks the way I received support when I was an entrepreneur,” she said. Another Terrace resident, Howard Tsang, attended one of the ThriveNorth workshop sesssions earlier this year. When not at his full-time job as the Totem Auto Group’s marketing director, Tsang has his own communications enterprise, Crossover Communications. “I need my computer and my telephone and I’m in business,” said Tsang in highlighting an example of how nimble a modern communications business can be. Tsang’s developing a not-yet-ready-for-release social enterprise idea and so seized on the ThriveNorth session as a chance to gather in useful information. “What I found is that I was able to refine my thoughts about the sales part of getting into business,” said Tsang. He was also intrigued by the annual ThriveNorth Business Challenge in that it encourages entries from young entrepreneurs with new business ideas or enterprises just underway.
THE
E T E R C N O C M AN • Ready Mix Concrete • Concrete Foundations • Excavating & Demolition • Concrete Pumping • Concrete Finishing • 100+ concrete blocks in stock • Drain Rock & Road Crush • Sand & Gravel • Snow Removal & Sanding General Manager: Gerald Sensenig
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Sheet Metal & Cladding Machining Metal Working Millwrighting COMMERCIAL - INDUSTRIAL - RESIDENTIAL 245 - 3rd St. Kitimat Tel. 250-632-6859 Toll Free 1•877•632•6859 101first@101industries.com www.101industries.com
Serving the Northwest for Over 47 years
N2K
•
Career Opportunities •
April 2016
KITSELAS KITSELAS KITSELAS FIRST FIRSTKITSELAS NATION NATION FIRST NATION FIRST NATION 225 225 Gitaus Gitaus Road, Road, 225TERRACE TERRACE Gitaus Road, 225 BC BCTERRACE V8G0A9 V8G0A9 Gitaus Road, BC TERRACE V8G0A9 BC V8G0A9 TEL. TEL. (250)635-5084 (250)635-5084 TEL. (250)635-5084 || FAX FAX (250)635-5335 (250)635-5335 TEL. (250)635-5084 | FAX (250)635-5335 | FAX (250)635-5335
COMMUNITY HEALTH Registered Registered NURSE NURSE COMMUNITY COMMUNITY COMMUNITY HEALTH HEALTH COMMUNITY Registered Registered HEALTH HEALTH NURSE NURSE Registered NURSE Kitselas First Nations is Nations looking for aNations highly motivated part timeRegisRegistered Nurse Kitselas Kitselas First First Nations Nations Kitselas isis looking looking First for for Kitselas aa highly highly is looking First motivated motivated for a highly ispart part looking time motivated timefor RegisRegisa highly part time motivated part time Registered tered Nurse Nurse to to join join tered their their Nurse Health Health to join tered Team. Team. their Nurse The The Health objective objective to join Team. their is isThe to to Health deliver objective Team. and andisand The to deliver objective andis to deliver to join their Health Team. The objective is todeliver deliver support Care Aidandin support support Care Care Aid Aidsupport in in provision provision Care of Aid of hands support hands in provision on onCare Community Community of Aidhands in provision Health Health on Community and and of hands Home Home Health on Community and HomeHealth and Home Care Care Nursing Nursingof Services Services Care Nursing to to Kitselas Kitselas Care community community Nursing to Kitselas members. members. Services community to and Kitselas members. community provision hands onServices Community Health Home Caremembers. Nursing Services to Kitselas community members. Qualifications: Qualifications: Qualifications: Qualifications: •Qualifications: • Registration Registration•with with Registration the the College College •with of of Registration Registered Registered the College Nurses Nurses with of Registered the of of BC BC College Nurses of Registered of BC Nurses of BC •• Current Current CPR CPR• Current CPR• Current CPR • Registration with the College Registered Nurses Screening of BC •• Up Up to to date date immunizations/TB •immunizations/TB Up to date immunizations/TB • Screening Screening Up toofdate immunizations/TB Screening •• •Experience Experience • with withExperience supervision supervisionwith •of of health health Experience supervision staff staff an with an ofasset asset health supervision staff an ofasset health staff an asset Current CPR •• Experience Experience in • in First First Experience Nations Nations Community Community in • First Experience Nations Health Health Community inCare Care FirstServices Services Nations Health preferred Community preferred Care Services Health preferred Care Services preferred Up toImmunization date •• •BCCDC BCCDC Immunization • immunizations/TB BCCDC Certification Certification Immunization • BCCDC (or (orScreening Certification willingness willingness Immunization to to (or obtain) obtain) Certification willingness to(or obtain) willingness to obtain) • Experience with supervision of health staff an asset
Specific Specific Skills Skills or or Specific Training: Training: Skills orSpecific Training: Skills or Training: • Experience in First Nations Community Health Care Services preferred •• Knowledge Knowledge of •of Social Social Knowledge Determinants Determinants of • Social Knowledge of ofDeterminants Health Healthofand and Social effects. effects. of Determinants Health and effects. of Health and effects. BCCDC assessment, Immunization Certification (or willingness to obtain) Skills skills. or •• •Excellent Excellent assessment, • Excellent documentation documentation assessment, • Excellent and documentation andassessment, problem problem solving solving and documentation problem skills. skills. solving and Specific problem skills. solving •• Knowledge Knowledge •of working working Knowledge with with of clients •clients working Knowledge facing facing with multiple multiple of clients working barriers facing barriers with multiple to to clients barriers facing multiple to barriers to Training:of health health and and well-being. well-being. health and well-being. health and well-being. Knowledge Social Determinants ofofHealth and effects. •• •Working Working knowledge knowledge • of Working of of scope scope knowledge •of of practice, practice, Working of scope knowledge clinical clinical practice, guidance guidance of scope clinical and and of practice, guidanceclinical and guidance and direction. direction. documentation direction. •direction. Excellent assessment, and problem solving skills. Other: Other: Other: • Knowledge of workingOther: with clients facing multiple barriers to health and 1. 1. Able Ableto torecognize recognize 1. and and Able provide provide to recognize support/resources support/resources 1. and Able provide to recognize ininsupport/resources potential potential andpractice practice provideinconflicts. conflicts. support/resources potential practiceinconflicts. potential practice conflicts. well-being. 2. 2. Excellent Excellent oral oral2.and andExcellent written written communication communication oral2.and Excellent written skills. skills. communication oral and written skills. communication skills. 3. 3. •Willing Willing to to gain gain 3. additional additional Willing to certification, certification, gain 3. additional Willing education education certification, gainand and additional skills skills education as ascertification, required. required. and skills education as required. skills as required. Working knowledge of scope ofto practice, clinical guidance andand direction. 4. 4. Vulnerable Vulnerable Sector Sector 4. Vulnerable Check Check –– Criminal Criminal Sector 4. Records Records Vulnerable Check –Check Check Criminal Sector mandatory. mandatory. Records Check –Check Criminal mandatory. Records Check mandatory. Other: 5. 5. Reliable Reliable transportation transportation 5. Reliable and andtransportation Class Class 5. 55 Driver’s Driver’s Reliable and License. License. transportation Class 5 Driver’sand License. Class 5 Driver’s License.
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Salary: Deadline: Deadline: OPEN OPEN Deadline: UNTIL UNTIL OPEN Deadline: FILLED FILLED UNTIL OPEN FILLED UNTIL FILLED A competitive salary and benefits package is offered. Further information can be Please Please submit submit Please Resume Resume submit with with Please Resume Cover Cover submit Letter with Letter Resume Cover and and names names Letter with Cover and names Letter and earliest names obtained at www.kitselas.com Interested applicants should apply at their of of Previous Previous Supervisors Supervisors Previous Supervisors for for Previous reference reference forthe to: to: reference forto: reference to:Clerk. convenience with aof resume andof cover letter Supervisors to attention of the Finance Ginger Ginger Fuller Fuller Ginger Fuller Fuller clearly in your cover Please reference “COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSE - Ginger RN” and indicate 2225 2225and Gitaus Gitaus 2225 Gitaus 2225 Gitaus letter how your experience qualifications meet the requirements of the position. Terrace, Terrace, BC BC Terrace, V8G V8G 0A9 0A9 BCTerrace, V8G 0A9BC V8G 0A9 Deadline: OPENgfuller@kitselas.com UNTIL FILLED gfuller@kitselas.com gfuller@kitselas.com gfuller@kitselas.com Please submit Resume with Cover Tel: Letter250-635-5084 and names Previous Supervisors for reference to: Tel: Tel: 250-635-5084 250-635-5084 Tel:of 250-635-5084 Fuller Fax: Fax: 250-635-5335 250-635-5335 Fax:Ginger 250-635-5335 Fax: 250-635-5335 2225 Gitaus, Terrace, BC V8G 0A9 gfuller@kitselas.com • Tel: 250-635-5084 • Fax: 250-635-5335
Lax Kw’alaams has an Employment Opportunity for a
MENTAL HEALTH CLINICIAN
We are open to a discussion about a flexible schedule The Mental Health Clinician will coordinate the development and implementation of counselling services and programs designed to promote holistic health and community wellness. The Mental Health Clinician will be familiar with other services and resources in B.C. and will support community members with application for those resources. The Mental Health Clinician will develop a care plan and work closely with other professionals as needed. We are seeking a candidate with: • Past and/or current counselling within a First Nations context being an asset • Group facilitation experience • At least five to seven years, recent related experience, providing mental health counselling Qualifications and requirements: • Masters Degree in Social Work or comparable degree with strong clinical skills • Must be registered under BCASW or BCASS and in good standing • Agreeable to mandatory clinical supervision with a senior clinician • Works with Microsoft word and the internet • Has a valid drivers license • Current criminal check Candidate must submit 3 current related professional references We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. This position will remain open until filled. For further information call: Betty Reece, Health Director at 250 625-3393 or email: betty_hdir@laxband.com
HOME CARE NURSE The community of Lax Kw’alaams is seeking a Home Care Nurse. Located 30 miles north of Prince Rupert on the North Coast. Accessible by seaplane, ferry and water taxi. The Home care nurse is responsible for providing in-home nursing services by visiting clients to conduct nursing assessments, determine care needs, develop care plans. Monitor and maintain the health of clients with chronic illnesses and coordinate appropriate home care services. Promote optimal independence for our clients. Will be responsible to hold workshops that will advance the awareness of better health. Open to job sharing. Comfortable, quiet accommodation available. For a detailed posting: Email: betty_hdir@laxband.com or call me at 250 625-3393
A division of
#UsedHelps
Account Representative The Prince Rupert Northern View has an exciting opportunity for the position of Account Representative. The successful candidate will have a high energy level coupled with a sincere dedication to customer service. This position comes with an active account list with sales opportunities in the Prince Rupert Northern View, Northern Connector, N2K, as well as special publications, our online platforms, regional publications and newspapers. This position offers a great work environment with a competitive salary, commissions and a benefit package. The Prince Rupert Northern View is part of Black Press, Canada’s largest independent print media company with more than 170 titles across Canada and The United States. Please sendcalls yourwill resumé and cover letter by June 5, 2015 to: No phone be accepted. Todd Hamilton 737 Fraser Street Prince Rupert, B.C. V8J 1R1 or e-mail to: publisher@thenorthernview.com
PRINCE RUPERT
N2K
NEED TO KNOW
PREPARED Pipeline companies have a goal of zero incidents, however incidents do occur from time to time. Which is why we are prepared 24/7. Pipeline companies have stringent emergency response procedures, conduct regular inspections and work together for efficient incident response to protect Canadians and reduce impacts to the environment.
Delivering Canada’s energy. Every day. Learn more about our preparedness measures at: aboutpipelines.com
Trade is building stronger communities. The Port of Prince Rupert is growing opportunities and prosperity by connecting the communities of northern BC. Last year, port activity was directly responsible for the equivalent of 3,060 permanent full-time jobs. Watch and share our video tribute to the workers and families of BC’s gateway industry: youtube.com/rupertport.