february 2019
Play to benefit community foundation Frank PEEBLES Gateway staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
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new miracle will appear on the Artspace stage this winter. For the Prince George Community Foundation, it will be a bright spotlight unlike any the local charity has ever had before. The foundation was named this year’s charity of choice by Miracle Theatre, the local professional theatre organization that does an annual production with proceeds directed to a worthy local cause. The performance this year will be a comedy called Halfway There penned by seminal Canadian playwright Norm Foster. “It’s the first time it’ll be seen outside of Ontario,” said Anne Laughlin, Miracle Theatre’s producer. The plot centres on a small diner in a small town in Nova Scotia on a global spot that happens to be exactly halfway between the North Pole and the equator. It’s also caught in between its rural realities and the big urban influences that sometimes pass through. It’s always a
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Alain LeFebvre of the Prince George Community Foundation and Anne Laughlin and Ted Price from Miracle Theatre announced their latest production in support of the foundation on Sept. 25. The production of Halfway There, by Norm Foster, runs from Feb. 28 to March 20 at Artspace in Prince George. source of chatter between the diner’s two staff, who lock up at 4 p.m. and sometimes that’s when the fun really begins, depending on who else happens to be in the room
at the time. There was a nationwide casting call to find performers for the show. Dolores Drake has been to Prince George
in the past for performances with Theatre Northwest, including the onerous role of Shirley Valentine. — see ‘WE DIDN’T, page 2
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‘We didn’t go searching for this... but it is so helpful’
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Linda Carson, right, plays Blanche in a Theatre Northwest production of Brighton Beach Memoirs in 2012. Carson is part of the cast of Miracle Theatre’s production of Halfway There.
— from page 1 Drake was also seen in past productions of Leading Ladies, Ivor Johnson’s Neighbours, Lend Me A Tenor and The Invisibility Of Eileen. Linda Carson, meanwhile, isn’t just familiar to local audiences because of past performances at TNW and other venues. She was born and raised in Prince George before going on to a professional career as a writer, actor and other vocations in the performing arts. The combination of play, actors and Miracle Theatre production is already selling tickets. When the community foundation was established as this year’s recipient, and that well-connected charity made that disclosure internally among its supporters, the sponsorship commitments came rolling in. Some were anonymous, but for example, ScotiaBank has already pledged to buy out one night during the run of performances. “The project has reached 12 per cent
of its goal before it has even gone public,” said Price in September when the grand announcement was made. The foundation’s president, Alain LeFebvre, said a new account was being created that would get its first infusion of cash from this play. It is called the Children of Prince George and will be dedicated to the case by case needs of local kids, be that a lunch program or bikes or disability aids or whatever might come up as a worthy cause centred on the city’s youngest in need of help. “We had identified some areas of need within our community, and addressing children was one of those areas of need,” said LeFebvre. “We told Ted and Anne about those areas of need and it was their choice to put their focus on children with this very unique fundraising effort.” “We are raising money in a way that’s a little different than selling raffle tickets or straight sponsorships,” said Price.
“We are asking people to go out and have a good time, treat themselves, take in a performance, and that is their donation.” “This really helps all our fundraising efforts, to be really honest, we have 137 different envelopes,” said LeFebvre. “Our strategic plan did identify that the Prince George Community Foundation needed to raise its profile in the community,” LeFebvre added. “This play really does that for us. We didn’t go searching for this, Ted and Anne approached us, but it is so helpful.” Halfway There will be performed each evening from Feb. 28 to March 20 at Artspace (the upstairs performance area at Books & Company). There will be no performances on Monday nights, but there will be Sunday matinees. Tickets are $33 each, available in advance at the Books & Company front counter or call 250-563-6637 to charge by phone.
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Fur trappers facing falling prices, fewer catches Randy SHORE Vancouver Sun
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.C.’s trapping industry is facing multiple threats, including falling prices for fur and the general decline of their target species. An increase in devastating forest fires, over-harvesting of timber and aerial spraying of herbicides over newly planted forests are combining to shrink viable forest habitat for fur-bearing creatures, trappers say. Once Canada’s economic engine, the market for fur in Europe and North America has largely succumbed to the grisly messaging of animal rights groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Fur remains popular with increasingly affluent buyers from Russia and in China – the fur industry there is worth $22 billion – but the vagaries of fashion and waning economic growth in those nations have depressed prices for pelts for the past several years. The recent diplomatic tiff caused by the arrest of Chinese businesswoman Meng Wanzhou by Canadian authorities has hammered the sales – and the share price – of Canada Goose, whose fur-trimmed parkas had been wildly popular in China. A market report by Jeremiah
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A vintage fox-fur trimmed leather dress is displayed in the basement of a store in San Francisco on March 15, 2018. B.C.’s fur trapping industry is facing multiple threats, including the waning market for fur in North America and Europe. Wood of Trapping Today predicts that the price for beaver pelts ($10 to $13 each) and wild mink ($5 to $10 each) will remain depressed in the years to come as both can be replaced by cheap farmed mink. Bobcat fetches $350, but fewer than 250 are trapped each year in
B.C. The 14,000 martens trapped here each year sell for $70 each. The price for lynx pelts – about $70 – is “disappointing” considering the amount of work required to catch and process the animal, said Wood. Uncertainty in the fur market has prompted several major auc-
tion houses to postpone the first pelt auctions of 2019, he said. But trappers say the larger and potentially more devastating threat to the industry is the collapse of B.C.’s forest ecosystems. Over-harvesting of timber is making a serious dent in the viable habitat for fur-bearing
animals and their prey, said Brian Dack, president of the B.C. Trapper Association. “Our wildlife populations are in serious decline everywhere,” he said. “The only thing anyone seems to care about is our ability to grow trees.” A 2012 study by then-UNBC master’s candidate Michael Bridger – now a wildlife biologist for the Ministry of Lands, Forests and Natural Resource Operations – used interviews with biologists and experienced trappers along with catch data to quantify the effects of logging on three furbearing species. Where human effects on the environment increased over the study period, optimal habitat for lynx, fisher and marten declined by about 80 per cent. The ministry says those concerns will be addressed by a new wildlife management and habitat strategy now being developed with First Nations that will include input from various concerned groups, including trappers. Dack worries that the roads that service the resource sector and areas of deforestation by wildfire are not accounted for when the Forests Ministry calculates the annual allowable cut for timber harvesting. — see SPRAYING, page 4
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Spraying for aspen hurts other species, Dack says — from page 3 About 620,000 kilometres of gravel roads provide access to the back country for the forestry and resource extraction industries. Five of the worst fire seasons since 1950 have come in the past decade and more than 10,000 square kilometres burned in 2017 alone, according to the Forests Ministry. “If you don’t reduce the cut, the amount of timber left to harvest is smaller and smaller, but the amount of timber they take is the same,” he said. In January 2018 – after the 2017 wildfires – the Chief Forester issued new guidance for foresters that wildlife and their habitat needs must be considered when planning forestry activities,” according to the ministry. Dack is also concerned about
the effects of aerial herbicide spraying over B.C. forests. Roughly 10,000 hectares of newly planted forest was treated with glyphosate in 2017. The spray kills aspen – a favourite food for beaver – and wipes out many other broadleaf plants in the process. The result is a single-crop pine forest without structure or food for wildlife, said James Steidle of Stop the Spray B.C. The high-profile struggles of B.C’s vanishing caribou herds and the southern resident killer whales are being felt just as keenly by fur-bearing creatures, said Dack. “When they spray that area is totally devoid of wildlife. You’ve killed the deciduous plants, there’s no berries, there’s no aquatic life, there’s nothing to
Some jurisdictions that have outlawed trapping are now struggling to manage furbearer populations, especially where population issues emerge within communities. — Ministry statement support life,” he said. The industry supports up to 1,300 part- and full-time licensed trappers, plus First Nations trappers, who do not require a licence. There are an estimated 3,500
active trappers in B.C. and around 2,600 trap lines, about half of which are held by First Nations. Many of those jobs are in the most remote reaches of the province. About 25,000 fur-bearing animals – mainly marten, lynx, beaver, coyote, weasel and squirrel – are harvested for their pelts by licensed trappers with an average annual value of about $1.6 million over the past five years. That’s down about 11 per cent from the average annual catch between 2010 and 2013, according to provincial government figures. Nonetheless, the trapper’s association trains about 300 new entrants in the tricks of the trade each year and the ministry considers trappers a conservation resource. “Regulated trapping plays an
important role in the ecology and conservation of fur-bearers,” the ministry said in a statement. “Some jurisdictions that have outlawed trapping are now struggling to manage fur-bearer populations, especially where population issues emerge within communities.” Dack maintains trappers do good service to the province. Licensed trappers harvest 1,500 coyotes and more than 200 wolves each year at no cost to the taxpayer. Wolves prey on rapidly dwindling moose, caribou and elk herds – especially their young – across northern B.C. Coyotes are a threat to fawns of bighorn sheep, deer and pronghorns, along with domestic sheep and lambs, according to B.C.’s fur-bearer management guidelines.
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B.C. Transit bus service usage growing Gateway staff
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.C. Transit’s service along Highway 16 West has grown in popularity. It drew about 13,000 passengers over the course of 2018, according to a statement from the provincial government released this week, up from 5,000 during its first year of operation, thanks in large measure to the addition of four new routes. “These safe travel options are particularly critical for women, teenagers and elders, who have been asking for these services to be brought in,” said B.C. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claire Trevena. “These buses are providing an important and affordable service to people in B.C.’s northern communities, and I look forward to seeing ridership growth continue.” The routes connect people between Smithers and Moricetown, Burns Lake and Prince George, Burns Lake and Smithers, and Terrace and the Hazeltons. The one-way fare for the Smithers/Mori-
These safe travel options are particularly critical for women, teenagers and elders, who have been asking for these services to be brought in. — Minister Claire Trevena cetown route is $2.75 and $5 per segment for the other routes. Routes 161 and 162 originating in Burns Lake now have 30-seat capacity buses and overhead package racks, offering better service to people. The breakdown of ridership per route is as follows: Smithers to Moricetown – 115 people per month; Burns Lake to Smithers – 160 people per month; Burns Lake to Prince George – 390 people per month; Hazelton to Terrace – 170 people per month; Hazelton to Smithers – 285 people per month.
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Horgan announces mining incentives Nelson BENNETT Gateway news service
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ritish Columbians living in Vancouver may not think of mining and mineral exploration as something that impacts them, but Vancouver is a global mine hub, with 1,200 mining and exploration companies headquartered here. Copper and metallurgical coal exports have, at times, rivaled lumber as B.C.’s largest export commodities. So whether Vancouverites realize it or not, mining is an important part of Vancouver’s economy, Premier John Horgan said. “People often think of mining – certainly in my community on the Island – they think of mining as a rural undertaking,” Horgan said.
“Mining is as important to urban British Columbia as it is to rural British Columbia.” But B.C.’s exploration sector has struggled in recent years to attract the investment needed to makes the discoveries that can lead to new mines being built. As part of the NDP government’s efforts to support exploration efforts, Horgan announced that two tax credits that have in the past been renewed on an annual basis will now become permanent. Both the mining flow-through share and the B.C. mining exploration tax credits are intended to provide investors with incentives to invest in exploration and mining. But the industry could never count on those incentives, because they have, for years, been renewed on an annual basis. The B.C. government is now
Horgan making them permanent, and the federal government has also announced that federal mining and exploration tax credits will also be extended for five years. Making the tax credits permanent was one of the recommenda-
tions of the NDP government’s Mining Jobs Task Force. Horgan said his government will also hire more staff for the mines ministry to help speed up permitting. “We’re going to dedicate new resources so we can make our processes faster and more efficient,” Horgan said. The government will also earmark $1 million for the Regional Mining Alliance, which promotes mining and indigenous partnerships, especially in the Gold Triangle in northwest B.C. Horgan said $330 million was invested in exploration in B.C. in 2018, which is up from the $250 million spent in 2017. That is still low compared to what was being spent on mineral exploration in B.C. prior to a commodity price crash that started around 2011. While B.C. is blessed with an
abundance of minerals, it is also seen as a problematic jurisdiction to do business in, in part due to unsettled land claims and lengthy and costly environmental review processes. Horgan also acknowledged the perception that left-leaning governments are hostile to resource development. But he pointed to the $40 billion LNG Canada project as evidence that his government supports resource development. “It’s the largest private sector investment in Canadian history, and I’m a social democrat, and I apparently wasn’t able to do any of that, according to my enemies, Horgan said. “I wasn’t able to balance budgets. I wasn’t able to come and talk to industry about anything.” — see ‘Certainty on, page 7
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‘Certainty on the land base is absolutely critical for investment’ — from page 6 But even that project — which secured benefits agreements with every First Nation along a natural gas pipeline corridor – has run into problems with First Nations. The New Year began with images of the RCMP enforcing an injunction and arresting some members of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation that had been blocking a road near Houston, B.C. and preventing Coastal GasLink pipeline workers from accessing the area. The elected members of the Wet’suwet’en support the LNG Canada project and associated pipeline, as do a number of hereditary chiefs. But some hereditary chiefs oppose the project. “Those were images that are not good for British Columbia, not good for investment, certainly not good for the Wet’suwet’en, but images that we will have to work hard to
erase from the public mind,” Horgan said. “And that does not just happen with the waving of a wand – it happens with hard work.” Horgan’s government has made reconciliation with First Nations within all of its ministries. Horgan pointed to First Nations like the Tahltan, which has been a strong supporter of mining in its territory, as evidence that some First Nations welcome resource development, because it provides their people with jobs and other community benefits. “Every indigenous community that you work in wants to see benefits for their community,” Horgan said. “Certainty on the land base is absolutely critical for investment. Social justice and economic justice is absolutely critical for indigenous communities. Those two things are not separate – they are the same.”
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Province ignoring wildfires in carbon calculation, Sierra Club BC says Mark NIELSEN Gateway staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
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he wildfires that ripped through B.C. forests during the last two summers have done the province no favours when it comes to carbon emissions, according to an environmental advocacy group. In a report released Monday, Sierra Club B.C. says that both the 2017 and 2018 wildfires took out more than 1.2 million hectares, eight times more than the 10-year average. In the process, the 2017 fires emitted an estimated 190 million tonnes of carbon dioxide and produced a similar amount in 2018. According to the latest data, released by the B.C. government in December, B.C.’s total emissions in 2016 were about 62 million tonnes. And Sierra Club B.C. says that’s on the low side, claiming the government failed
In the process, the 2017 fires emitted an estimated 190 million tonnes of carbon dioxide and produced a similar amount in 2018. to take into account emissions from “destructive logging and slash burning” that amounted to nearly 50 million tonnes in the last three years. The practices have turned B.C. forest from a carbon sink to a carbon emitter, the Sierra Club B.C. says and adds that if the provincial government continues to use its current method, it will have undercounted emissions from B.C.’s forest by more than 200 million tonnes, once data becomes available for 2017 and 2018. — see PROVINCE page 11
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Province ‘turning a blind eye’ to emissions — from page 10 “Turning a blind eye to these massive amounts of carbon pollution allows governments to act as if new pipelines and fracked LNG terminals can be accommodated within climate action plans,” Sierra Club B.C. senior forest and climate campaigner Jens Wieting said in a statement. The organization is calling on the province to provide more thorough estimates and to collect regional data and data on
management practices, distinguish between carbon-rich forests and less carbonrich forests, and distinguish between emissions from “destructive practices” and selective logging. It is also calling on the province to set out targets for protecting carbon rich oldgrowth, to phase out slash burning, and ensure all communities at risk of wildfires are fully participating in Fire Smart programs. — see ‘WE KNOW, page 12
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‘We know the last two years have been the two worst fire seasons on record’
“Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” — Mark Twain
Call 250-562-2441 to go large
— from page 11 In an emailed reply to Gateway, Environment and Climate Change Strategy Minister George Heyman said the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change dictates that non-human related activities are not reported in greenhouse gas emission inventories. However, he said forest fire emissions are included in the Provincial Greenhouse Gas Inventory for transparency but they are not counted towards the reported totals by either B.C. or Canada, in
line with international practice. “We know the last two years have been the two worst fire seasons on record. Most fires are natural events, outside of our direct control, though climate change is clearly intensifying the impact,” he said. Emissions from the wildfires and their consquences are “impossible to ignore,” Heyman added. “That’s why I’ll be taking a closer look at how British Columbia reports emissions from forest fires.”
The Citizen archives online: https://bit.ly/2RsjvA0
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