Industry and Trades April 2016

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Industry PG 20

TRADES

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2016

Canada has

green Forests and Forest PraCtiCes

ChieF Martin louie

PG Changes 12 Jobs

cOVeR STORy

Filling the PG Pothole gaP: 28 New MAchiNeRy

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Table of COntents

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Padding the PGSAR toolbox.................................................... PG 4-5 The power to cut climate change........................................... PG 6-8 Eric Depenau’s Poem wins farming award.......................... PG 9-11

Chief Martin Louie changes jobs........................................ PG 12-13 Weighing in on 4-H................................................................PG 14-16

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New water under shipbuilder’s bridge..............................PG 18-19 Canada has green forests and forest practices............... PG 20-21 Joint agreement invests in future.....................................PG 22-25 Dry conditions spark wildfires........................................... PG 26-27 Filling the pothole repair gap: New machinery.............. PG 28-29 Make pavement while the sun shines.................................... PG 30

General Inquiries | 250-562-2441 Publisher | Colleen Sparrow Editor | Neil Godbout Stories | Frank Peebles Circulation | Colleen Sparrow Advertising | Kevin Dergez Creative | Grace Flack

Please Recycle

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PG 04

PG 14

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Photos from www.pgsar.ca

Frank Peebles Citizen Staff They can be used for games and surfing the net, but they can also be used to save lives in the forest. Prince George Search & Rescue (PGSAR) is looking for funding to obtain iPads.

The cost would be an investment in efficiency and on-the-spot communication, said members of the local group of trained volunteers.

The area has an active and highly trained SAR crew due to the high level of backcountry use, both professionally and recreationally. The local mountains and forests are busy with surveyors, geologists, mushroom pick-

ers, tree planters, timber cruisers, placer miners, trappers, environmental engineers and many other people out doing their jobs in rugged terrain and wilderness. Of course it is also a world renowned area for hunting, fishing, photography, botany, hiking, paddling, biking, and a long list of other adventure and spiritual renewal activities.

According to PGSAR representative Heather MacRae, the tech tools are already in use next door in the Bulkley-Nechako Regional District and the local crew watched to see if their neighbours’ experience was a positive one. The results were significantly positive.

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INDUSTRY AND TRADES “Our mapping technology for all of these searches involves pulling a map out of our vault – paper maps printed out from government resources – with Mylar laid over it. We are hoping to come into the new age,” MacRae said.

Having almost unlimited satellite mapping technology and real-time messaging abilities at their fingertips means more than never needing bundles of maps and sheets of Mylar in case it rains. The iPads offer pinpoint accuracy in their search fields, tracking of team members in the

Photos from www.pgsar.ca

field so they are safer as well, a built-in camera to gather photo evidence on the move, carries images of the person they are looking for or their possessions or tire treads, the ability to update all these categories on the fly, and the ability to communicate with much greater detail than over radios. General data can also be more easily stored to inform future searches.

MacRae said there was also an upside to having the same tools to interconnect with the SAR team in the Bulkley-Nechako region with whom they often share and help. Another key agency on the same system is BC Parks, and

interconnectivity would be an invaluable asset, along with other groups who often join in on searches.

For three years, Prince George watched their neighbours to the west. And for one year they tested a few iPads out themselves. They did a fundraising campaign to purchase the machines for their pilot project, and having now seen the potential, worked out the bugs in their use of iPads, and consulted with their partner SAR groups in Mackenzie and the Robson Valley, they are ready to make a bulk purchase for all three SAR groups together. The field crews would have smaller hand-held devices while the command centres and search managers would have the

5 larger devices, if all goes according to plan.

The need they have is $32,208 to be fully outfitted with 34 units. The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George has been approached for this level of support, but any donations to this cause are welcome.

PGSAR has responded to 327 incidents totally more than 15,000 person-hours of searching since 2010. If these searches were conducted by paid professionals instead of volunteer professionals, the price tag would exceed $325,000 for that work, according to PGSAR estimates.

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The Power To Cut Climate Change

BC and Alberta Look At Electricity Links To End Coal-Burning

Frank Peebles Citizen Staff Some electricity already flows back and forth between Alberta and B.C., but it’s not much more than covering off each province’s power deficits in peak hours.

It’s a system that’s worked well, but is it time to go full flow? B.C. premier Christy Clark told Industry & Trades in an exclusive interview that the two provinces aren’t doing much talking on many interprovincial free trade topics right now, but a northern power system is one exception.

“The one area of conversation that is really active between us and Alberta is an upgraded inter-tie between British Columbia and Alberta in the north. And it’s about a billion-dollar project,” said Clark. “So what it would mean is, it would grow our capacity to be able to export clean,

green hydroelectricity. What it would mean for them is, they go from dirty coal down to zero emissions from coal. Or, and, it could help us electrify the oilsands, which would mean that the oilsands product would be the most environmentally sound oil product produced anywhere in the world. Now think about reputationally what that would mean for Alberta.”

Right now, more than half of Alberta’s power is generated by coal-burning facilities, but those are in the process of being shut down. Alberta’s backup plan is to switch over to burning natural gas instead which is much better for the climate than coal, but if B.C. can ship in zero-emission power from what is almost exclusively hydroelectric- or wind-generated sources, the benefit to the global climate will be immensely better still.

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8 Continued from page 6 “If we are selling that, and they are buying it, we reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions by 3-6 megatonnes in one shot,” Clark said. “We are asking the federal government to help us build this thing. It’s a billion dollars, but it is huge for Canada. Canada is not going to meet its targets as it stands, unless we do more. My pitch to the Prime Minister was, show me another place in the country that is in a position to do more to help Canada meet its climate goals that we set in Paris, that we agreed to. So I think they have every interest in doing it.”

The idea turns the Site C project in the Peace-region into a green gem. The environmental movement has been screaming at the federal government ever since the Kyoto Accord targets failed to be met to do something meaningful on behalf of the planetary climate crisis. Building one dam that has been on the construction plans for more than half a century now seems like a slam-dunk way to accomplish an important amount of that.

“If we started building this tomorrow, it would take four years (of construction to being

operational) and we have the power now,” Clark said. “Then, when Site C comes online, we will have more power to be able to do this.”

Part of the goal behind this proposal is, admittedly, to get good value for regular British Columbians. Our easiest customer for our abundant power supply is Alberta. But Alberta also has the ability to purchase power from Montana. That, and other factors, means B.C.’s power bill can go up due to having no one but ourselves to sell our electricity to. If a steady and abundant flow of B.C. electricity went over our eastern border to ween Alberta off of coal and natural gas, those power bills go down.

“This is good for B.C. rate-payers, because it is revenue for BC Hydro. And I just think it makes every bit of sense. Alberta is really interested so we have begun those discussions,” she said.

Furthermore, once the B.C.-Alberta link is complete, there are already discussions at the provincial government level to carry on across the prairies to hydroelectric sources in Manitoba, making, one day, for a fully integrated Western Canadian green power system.

Clark and Notley are looking at their link first.

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Premier Christy Clark Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

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Eric Depenau’s poem wins farming award Frank Peebles Citizen Staff The men, women, elders and children who work the land to feed our families are quiet in their profession. It often gets mistaken for a lifestyle, when being a farmer is actually a

job that goes around the clock with revenues coming in in fits and spurts, expenditures always threatening to run off the bottom of the balance sheet, weather as much a risk as production costs, and much of it done out of the public’s view.

The work is too hard and the business plan too complex for most people to dive into, but for those who do, it is rewarding beyond words.

A local post-secondary student was willing to publicly applaud local farmers, ranchers

and food growers. Eric Depenau put pen to paper when the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets called for poetry that celebrated the people who coax food from the land. He was the regional winner and this was his submission, entitled Homestead: Poem and story continued on page 10

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Homestead Poem and story from page 9

By Eric Depenau

Generations have called this home This land has built our families’ tome Clearing timber and raising hay Up from dawn until the days grow grey Building stables, cleaning coops Cows grazing in drifting groups Bailing hay tangled in colourful loops Baking bread to dip in grandmas soups Sowing seeds, tilling earth A generous harvest is given birth More than pay this bounty’s worth Our character is shaped by this familial turf Joining our neighbour in work and play Skin hardened under the summer rays As our forefathers would gruffly say No way I’d rather spend the days Raising life with tender care Something so precious, fragile and rare This place and people my only prayer The dream continues and with you we share

Debenau’s story continues on the next page

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INDUSTRY AND TRADES Depenau is recently a resident of Prince George after growing up in more southerly Cariboo communities. He moved here for post-secondary learning and has made a name for himself in the area for winning a seat on College of New Caledonia’s student government and earning respect in his municipal election bid, though unsuccessful, for board of school trustees.

People may not have realized he also has a creative side.

One of the truisms of the literary arts is “write what you know” and he was moved to poetry by his own experiences on the land.

“I spent a lot of time on my grandmother’s farm in Quesnel when I was growing up,” said Depenau. “My grandparents started the farm and homestead in the 1940s. Their son Bill, my uncle, took it over and I am involved as much as I can be when I am home in Quesnel.”

Touching these kinds of nerves and triggering creative reactions is exactly what the Ode to A Farmer Poetry Contest intends to touch.

More than 120 submissions were made across the province, some of them free-form poetry and some more traditional. There were as many variances in the odes as there are in the agricultural landscape.

“This year’s crop of poems, from across British Columbia, revealed a depth of insight into the world of farming, and the people who work the land,” said author Renée Sarojini Saklikar, one of the celebrity judges (along with Tamara Leigh and Ronda Payne).

“Poems ranged in topic from farmers to migrant workers, from the love a wife has for her partner, to food poems about fruits, vegetables, and animals. Kudos to BC Farmers’ Market Association for encouraging us to write about our passion for this place we call home.”

The overall winner ($150 in Farmers’ Market cash) was Taylor Theodore of Langley, and five others including Depenau picked up regional prizes.

“I have $50 extra bucks to spend on carrots,” said our local winner, but he also hinted at bigger plans for his future earnings, however they may happen.

“I would like to invest in cattle down the road and help keep the tradition and life style going,” Depenau said.

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Eric Depenau Submitted Photo

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Chief Martin Louie

changes jobs

Frank Peebles Citizen Staff

Chief councillor Martin Louie of the Nadleh Whut’en First Nation (Fort St. James area) is now just Martin Louie. For the first time in almost three decades, he is not the elected head of the NWFN. In that time, Louie was revered for his ability to strike balances between hardline environmentalism and ensuring the aboriginal rights of his people were clear and certain, but also ushering in industrial development and economic progress in careful measure.

Two of the last things done in his tenure were

the signing of an agreement with TransCanada Pipelines to allow for their liquefied natural gas proposal to pass through NWFN lands in exchange for a set of financial dividends and employment guarantees, and the construction of a new community complex set to open its doors in August.

Louie chose to step aside as chief and not run in the April 1 election, but he is not stepping aside as a leader of his community. In fact, the term “chief” is going to apply to his name permanently.

“I will be involved in the hereditary chiefs (traditional leadership families in this area’s ages-old

governance structure prior to the imposition – temporary, according to many – of the federal Indian Act), because they need a voice and I can be that voice,” said Louie in an exclusive interview with PG Citizen Industry & Trades.

“What we see often in bands all over the place that there is a big disagreement in between the hereditary chiefs and the elected council, and I see that it isn’t necessary. The real authority over the lands is them, the hereditary leaders, they hold the actual traditional laws over what happens on the land. They just don’t have the pen.

They are not recognized by the governments in Victoria and Ottawa, the elected leaders are.

Democracy is a good thing, the elected leaders have a place in the way a First Nation should be governed, but the hereditary leaders need to be heard at that table. They need a stronger voice in the discussions, and I believe I can help do that.”

He is scheduled to receive an official hereditary chief name on Aboriginal Day this summer.

Being a conciliator and a go-between has been Louie’s primary job throughout his 28 years as chief councillor. Among other strategic partnerships, the NWFN is a member of the Yinka Dene Alliance, the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council,

the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, and intrinsically interwoven into the Fort St. James municipality and other levels of government for the region neighbouring Prince George/Lheidli Territory. His experience in the role of liaison is what he is calling on now, in this next phase of his leadership.

“I know everyone needs to survive, so how do we do that together? I’m here to help,” he said.

“We can show Canada and show the world that we can move ahead with industry and have jobs and have an economy, and still have the values of nature protected. Confrontation is not how you should live your life.”

However, he points to aspects of previous development in the NWFN territory that made – illegally, he said – no attempt to seek aboriginal permission. There have been gross abuses of the territory by a number of industrial interests over the years, especially mining and forestry. Even though times have changed, social and legal evolution has occurred, he casts a derisive eye on the environmental protocols set out by the provincial and federal governments.

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INDUSTRY AND TRADES “Those environmental laws might sound nice to people who don’t have their land at stake, but they are not built to protect natural values,” he said. “It is designed to direct the flow of money from the environment, not to actually preserve it for future generations as an ecosystem. That has to change.”

In August, the doors will open on a new community hall and NWFN government complex.

It was a $19 million project with a 20-year payback plan. Louie said negotiating its design and financing “started back in the 1970s but we finally got it to happen.”

The council chambers are built in the style of the ages-old pit house that was the NWFN tradi-

tional home.

A museum promenade will be stationed at the front entrance so all who come and go must pass through their history.

Inside there are classrooms, a gymnasium, a health centre, offices, and other functions of band life.

Some steel and a significant amount of thick timber comprises the main construction material.

“We wanted geothermal heat but we couldn’t make it happen in phase one, but it is built with the ability to add that later,” said Louie. “It is very energy efficient; it uses natural air flow to help circulation. We paid more for it up front, but now we won’t have to pay as much in energy costs.

Nadleh can be proud of it.”

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INDUSTRY AND TRADES

Weighing In On 4-H

Kids And Animals Get Ready For Fair Story on next page

Blake Crowe struggles with his steer while leader Ed Wiebe stands guard and Morgan Crowe and Louie Grier look on. Photo courtesy Magna Vita Photography

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INDUSTRY AND TRADES Frank Peebles Citizen Staff Getting kids started in industrial activities is difficult for some sectors. It is not easy to give a 10-year-old some hands-on experience on a drill rig or at the controls of heavy equipment, but in the 4-H program kids fit into the agriculture sector like hands in gloves.

An array of animals are available to raise under the guidance of 4-H. Youth learn the spectrum of skills from tender loving care to clinical realities to the business plans needed to make it a profession, if they so choose. Poultry, sheep, goats, swine, horse...there are many critters on the list of possibilities.

The kids involved in the beef projects got their annual “busy season” off to an official start by weighing their animals. Part of the way they

monitor the progress of the animal under their care is to track its weight.

Even a diminutive steer does not fit on a household bathroom scale. They have to be transported by truck or trailer to the BC Northern Exhibition (BCNE) grounds where a livestock scale is located. It’s an annual event.

One by one, the little calves born sometime in late winter and early spring are pulled onto the platform. This, too, is part of the development process for both the youth and the animal.

“It’s the first time off the farm, for these animals, so there’s always some fun stuff happen. Little rodeos. They put a lot of work into them, but they do not come tame.

They are animals and they are unpredictable,” said Angela Crowe, a past member of 4-H who is now mom to a pair of 4-Hers with beef projects. “It is the beginning of

They put a lot of work into them, but they do not come tame. They are animals and they are unpredictable.

15 those lessons they learn. 4-H teaches them to do these things by actually doing them, so that was the first try at bringing the animal out in public, being off the familiar farm, leading the animal with a halter, having the other kids and animals around.”

The culmination of these efforts is the BCNE in August, where the animals will be led by their young 4-H owners into the show ring.

Sometimes the judges are looking at the animal, to analyze how market-ready each one is. Sometimes the judges are looking at the showmanship skills of the youth. Trophies and ribbons are awarded, but the abiding reward for everyone involved is the personal development of the young people involved in looking after these animals with such dedication and purpose.

4-H is a nationwide not-for-profit agency that began in the United States and took hold in Canada in 1913. There are 25,000 youth mem-

bers in Canada today, and 7,700 volunteers help to lead them.

There are four 4-H clubs in the Prince George area: Beaverly, Pineview, Twin Rivers and Northwest.

Each of them specializes in different programs, each with a curriculum that must be followed like attending mandatory events like the spring weighin, and keeping record books that account for the weekly and monthly money spent on all the things required to accomplish the task, all the training and special events that happen, and so forth.

In modern times, not all of the projects are specifically based on agriculture (small-engine mechanics, photography, gardening, crafts, even First Aid have been implemented as options, depending on the interests of the day).

4-H is a nationwide notfor-profit agency that began in the United States and took hold in Canada in 1913.

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16 Continued from page 15 Regardless of which project the young participant selects, all in 4-H are offered some core opportunities to develop their interpersonal skills.

There are public speaking competitions, leadership conferences, marketing workshops, travel opportunities, scholarship possibilities and many other perks.

“With all beef kids in all the clubs in Prince George combined, we have 20 beef kids signed up this year, and many of them have more than one project,” said Crowe. “Some kids have three: a steer, a heifer and a cow-calf unit. We are moving into another barn this year at the BCNE, it has expanded that much. We have six cow-calf projects coming this year as well as our steers and heifers, so people are going to love seeing the little babies.”

Crowe’s son Blake has a steer and a pig while her daughter Morgan has a steer, pig and cow-calf duo.

There are 17 kids who have swine projects coming to the BCNE, and many of those participants also have a beef project because they are so easily raised alongside each other. It helps the kids develop a sense of agricultural multi-tasking, said Crowe, where they get hands-on experience with the needs of different kinds of animals.

“Right now we are planning a mini-clinic for May for the beef kids,” said Crowe. “They will do a small show to rehearse for the BCNE. They’ll have to groom them a bit and if you make a mistake there is still time for the hair to grow back by fair time. The animals are walked a lot, this time of year - an hour a day is a good idea so they are properly marbled and muscled for market and they are comfortable being led by the kids when they go into the ring.

“They will all soon be switching the feeds from grower to finisher formulations,” Crowe said, describing another factor the kids all keep in mind as they raise their livestock. “Nutrition is a big part of what they learn, and they will get a proper grading certificate at the end of their project as part of that.

And every year they get a tour of Kawano Farms (the local abattoir that handles the processing of the meat once the steers are sold at auction).”

With regional food security concerns coming to the front of the public’s mind, said Crowe, 4-H is being regarded all the more highly for the lessons it teaches.

“It’s a big part of ‘farm to fork’ and ‘eat local’ and ‘100-mile diet’ and all those initiatives that are so important to a healthy society,” she said.

The BCNE takes place Aug. 18-21 and the 4-H component is always a traditional part of the activities. The auction happens Aug. 20.

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Martin Hasenauer, 11, leads his steer Tiny into a scale on Saturday. 4H members were doing the first weigh-ins of their animals to document their growth. Citizen Photo

by James Doyle

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Story photos from waterbridgesteel.com

New Water Under Shipbuilder’s Bridge Frank Peebles Citizen Staff

A company with corporate links to the Kootenays and Prince George has won the bid to built four new inland cable ferries.

The Province of British Columbia needed these new vessels to serve the communities of Glade and Harrop-Procter on the Kootenay River, Arrow Park on the Arrow Lakes, and the Adams

Lake Indian Band and other residents on Adams Lake. The existing cable ferries serving these communities have now reached the end of their working life. Some have been in service since the 1940s.

When the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure put out the call for tenders, two companies emerged for the final shortlist.

Harbour Cruises Ltd. of Vancouver was one, and

the other was WaterBridge Steel Inc. of Nakusp but also strongly linked to Prince George and the northern interior.

It was WaterBridge that was the successful bidder, eventually winning the $27.9-million contract.

“Everyone at WaterBridge Steel and its sister companies, WaterBridge Ferries and WaterBridge Equipment, are very excited by this new project,”

said WaterBridge Group president and CEO John Harding. “These new cable ferries are important for everyone who relies on our inland ferry service. It’s also particularly good news for employees in our operations division, who will soon have new ferries to operate on Adams and Arrow Lake.”

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INDUSTRY AND TRADES The project will generate employment for approximately 30 people over four years, with the majority of work taking place in Nakusp.

It is expected that the first of the new vessels will be delivered in early 2017, with all new vessels scheduled to be in service by the end of 2019.

These ferries will be built with a modern advancement. While the ferries are docked during off-peak hours, power will be supplied by on-board batteries.

This will reduce noise at the terminal, and lower the vessels’ greenhouse gas emissions.

“Our inland ferries provide important connections between communities throughout B.C.’s interior,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone. “These four new cable ferries will ensure this service can continue uninterrupted for residents, visitors, and commercial and industrial users.”

All of these new versions of old vessels will have the capacity to transport at least as many vehicles as in the past, or more.

WaterBridge is the company (also known in its early days as Finlay Navigation) that constructed the Babine Charger, the vessel put into service in 1993 for industrial traffic on Babine Lake.

A year later, they got the contract issued by

Canfor-Mackenzie to build the Williston Transporter icebreaker vessel for Williston Lake.

In 2004, WaterBridge took the next step in its evolution, becoming a builder-operator company.

“The Francois Forester was fabricated in modules in Prince George, trucked to Francois Lake and assembled on the drydock belonging to the Ministry of Transportation,” said Harding. “It is operated by a well trained, Transport Canadacertified crew of five.

The ferry operates 18 hours per day, 365 days per year.”

WaterBridge has a small base office at the northside Francois Lake ferry terminal.

“The fact that two B.C. firms (were) invited to move onto the next stage of procurement demonstrates the improved strength and capacity of B.C.’s ship-building industry,” said Stone.

Last year, B.C.’s inland ferries carried approximately 1.5 million vehicles and 2.2 million passengers, according to provincial government information. There are 14 inland ferry routes. Five of those routes are serviced by current-propelled reaction ferries, four are free-run ferries like the Francois Forester, and five are served by cable ferries. The four involved in the WaterBridge renewal project carried an estimated 480,000 vehicles and 662,000 passengers last year.

All of these new versions of old vessels will have the capacity to transport at least as many vehicles as in the past, or more.

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Canada Has

Green Forests - and

Forest Practices Story on next page

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INDUSTRY AND TRADES Frank Peebles Citizen Staff Canada’s forest products are not just literally green, they are also score green points on the figurative environmental scale.

According to new research done in the United States, Asia and Europe to poll customers of paper, pulp, lumber and other wood products, our national reputation is high for environmental practices within those industries. In fact, no other country’s is higher.

“Canada comes out as number one in the world in terms of environmental practices and reputation among international customers,” said Derek Nighbor, CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC).

A study undertaken late in 2015 by Leger-The Research Intelligence Group asked international buyers of wood, pulp and paper in the United States, Europe and Asia about their perceptions of forest products and environmental issues.

Nighbor said the results are comparable to a similar survey done by Leger two years ago.

“Once again the Canadian forest products industry is

21 getting top marks when it comes to our environmental credentials,” he said. “Our sector has worked hard to reduce our environmental footprint and we are committed to continual improvement. This survey shows international customers feel confident when they source forest products from Canada.”

The customers surveyed said they appreciate Canadian forest products because of their quality and sustainability, with the most positively perceived attributes related to assurance of legality and forest management practices.

“The majority of purchasers also said that forest certifications are important when it comes to choosing forest products,” Nighbor said. “Canada is a world leader in forest certification – an independent assessment that forest companies follow progressive environmental and social forest management practices.”

According to FPAC information, in 2015, Canada had 166 million hectares of certified forests, about 40 per cent of the world total or almost four times more than any other country.

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McLeod Lake Indian Band chief Derek Orr discusses the benefits of working together with industry and together with other First Nations and service providers in the local area.

Frank Peebles Photo

Joint Agreement Invests In Future Frank Peebles Citizen Staff PGNAETA was the place, but the effect unfurled like a flag over the entire central interior region. The provincial government, the McLeod Lake First Nation and the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation (LTFN) all put pen to the same paper and became partners on a deal to train aboriginal people like never before, getting them job-ready for all sorts of trades professions but covering off some of the important labour needs for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector set to begin work in this region.

The three arms of government don’t often make tripartite pacts, but since PGNAETA (Prince George Nechako Aboriginal Employment & Training Association) is a universal facility where indigenous peoples of all description can access careerfocused education, it was a natural fit.

“We are embarking on an exciting new partnership between McLeod Lake Indian Band,

PGNAETA and Lheidli T’enneh,” said LTFN chief Dominic Frederick, who called this new funding “timely” and expected to see it “elevate the employment and skills status of our peoples.”

McLeod Lake chief Derek Orr said local First Nations had to be at the forefront of ensuring environmental values were maintained when various industrial projects are proposed for this area, but also at the forefront of responsible development that provided jobs and taxation income for First Nations when those projects came to pass.

“As we move toward educating our people more, we have to take even bigger roles in these opportunities,” he said.

One of his band members, Wes Chingee, was present to show how effective these sorts of programs can be. He was enrolled in prior PGNAETA courses aimed at boosting First Nations participation in the resource economy.

As we move toward educating our people more, we have to take even bigger roles in these opportunities.

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24 Lydia Thomas, left, MLA John Rustad, Roweena Thomas at a funding annoucment for aborginal skills training.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

Continued from page 22 “I’m proud to say I was a success story from programs like this,” said Chingee, who participated in archeological digs on Mount Milligan that helped form the plan for the now operational mine there. He was later taken on as an environmental technician for Thompson Creek Metals, the company operating the Mount Milligan Mine.

“I hope more youth follow my footsteps, my community’s footsteps, and look after the environment and also work with companies asking to do work on our land base, in our territories,” Chingee said.

LTFN elder Edie Frederick was on hand at the announcement of the new funding, and delivered an opening prayer in her native Dakelh language. She then added that one of the constant lessons passed down from local elders through time was “whatever you do, whatever you say, whatever you plan, you do it very carefully before you act on it. The future is for our children. So I am very excited about this announcement today because it is for them.”

The funding was earmarked for two education streams.

One, with a price tag of $387,000, was called the North Central LNG Strategies Program and will help a total of 112 people, all of them members of either McLeod Lake or Lheidli T’enneh bands. Over 11 weeks they will learn skills and receive job placement support.

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INDUSTRY AND TRADES need culturally appropriate, The community-based programs to make sure that other, with a happens.” price tag of about $321,000, was called Skills John Rustad is another Central Interior Connect: Training For First Nations Workforce MLA and is Minister of Aboriginal Relations & Development Practitioners. This program will Reconciliation. He concurred with this funding take a cohort of 15 carefully vetted aboriginal direction. “For too long, First Nations have been workforce leaders and train them in the wide- shut out of the job market and kept out of the ranging skills required to be mentors and economic activities on their land base. We are employment coaches in the north. They would changing that. If we don’t seize this opportunity become bridges into education and employment to change lives, then we have failed even if we for those looking to boost their skills but don’t get LNG benefits as a province.” know to whom they He added that in should turn for meanhis capacity as a liaiThese programs come ingful guidance. son between First These programs Nations governas the baby-boom age come as the babyments and the probubble is about to burst, boom age bubble is vincial government, leaving key positions about to burst, leaving he is seeing a high key positions open, a level of collaboration open, a big gaping hole big gaping hole in the between neighbourin the workforce across all workforce across all ing bands as they companies and agencompanies and agencies. cluster together on cies. Companies could certain projects and cease to operate, coninitiatives, to levertracts may be reneged age more benefits just as McLeod Lake and LTFN on or never even offered, economic momen- did on this one. tum in small towns especially could painfully “If you want to take a step back, look at things falter. Someone has to step in, job-ready, to fill before colonial contact, there were independent those empty holes. There aren’t enough people nations all over the map doing their own thing in B.C.’s upcoming generations to do that. but working together when it was advantageous “My job is to look across ministries and look at to do so,” said Rustad. “There was co-operation, how to have the workforce we need in this prov- there was collaboration, there were business ince,” said Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism transactions and trade happening all the time. and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Then, through the imposition of the Indian Act Labour and a Prince George MLA. “There are and the residential school system and other, underrepresented communities in the workforce. what I would call, historic wrongs, we saw big First Nations is one of those. Here’s a statistic: divisions put up. And it is great to now see First the fastest growing demographic in B.C. is First Nations and other forms of government working Nations young people. So when you’re looking together on common goals and common solufor the workforce of the future, it’s here. So we tions.”

Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dominic Frederick. Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

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Dry

conditions

spark

wildfires

A Prince George Fire/Rescue Service firefighter works at putting out hot spots on a interface fire in the Valley View Area.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

Frank Peebles Citizen Staff Wildfires are sparking up across the region earlier than usual. It is worrying forest fire officials, government staff concerned about interface destruction between bush and urbanity, and it is worrying homeowners most of all.

“The BC Wildfire Service has responded to 45 new wildfires in the Prince George Fire Centre since the morning of April 18, 2016,” said Kevin Skrepnek, chief fire information officer at the Provincial Wildfire Coordination Centre. “Many of these fires are burning in the Peace region where 14 fires are currently esti-

mated to be over 100 hectares in size.”

The Prince George Fire Centre covers a span roughly covering the northeast quarter of the province. The fire information officer stationed in Prince George is Amanda Reynolds who said, “Effective at noon on April 20, 2016, Category 2 and Category 3 open fires will be prohibited throughout the Prince George Fire Centre to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety. The Prince George Fire Centre is experiencing drier than normal conditions this spring and this prohibition will remain in place until the public is otherwise notified.”

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INDUSTRY AND TRADES Specifically, prohibited activities will include: • the burning of any waste, slash or other materials • stubble or grass fires of any size over any area • the use of burning barrels or burning cages of any size or description • the use of sky lanterns, tiki torches or fireworks • the use of stoves and other portable campfire apparatuses that are not CSA/ULC approved This prohibition does not ban campfires that are a half-metre high by a half-metre wide or smaller, and it does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes.

This prohibition applies to all BC Parks, Crown lands and private lands, but does not apply within the boundaries of a local government that has forest fire prevention bylaws in place and is serviced by a fire department. Please check with local government authorities for any other restrictions before lighting any fire.

The threat is not confined to rural areas. Prince George has a substantial urban forest and is sur-

came under threat of fire in an upscale roundneighbourhood in the Hart neighbourhood. ed by bush, as are almost “On Monday April 19th, 2016 at approxiall communities in the north. The middle of April mately 4:45 p.m., the Prince George RCMP is not when fire crews typically have to address received a request from Prince George Fire / anything more than grass fires, but Prince Rescue to assist with a wildfire near the corner George Fire Rescue Service has already been called upon to deal with two interface fires with of Valleyview Drive and Mesa Drive in Prince George,” said Prince George RCMP spokesman the potential to do substantial damage.

Cpl. Craig Douglass. The neighbourhood was “PGFR responded evacuated, with residents to a reported fire at not allowed to return the Foothills Regional The threat is not home until about 8:30 Landfill,” said assistant confined to rural p.m. that evening, and chief Denis Poulin. “Eleven then only on foot as mopareas. Prince George firefighters from three up crews continued to halls arrived and found has a substantial work on the site. a compost pile approxi“The majority of the urban forest and is mately 4,000 square feet property damage was by 30 feet high burning. surrounded by bush. limited to a shed and parDue to the wind conditially damaged patio at a tions at the time of this residence on View Place,” incident, it was extremely difficult for crews to said Douglass.

“There was also significant damget to the seat of the fire. Crews’ concern was the embers from the pile been blown by the age to vegetation and landscaping around the winds, could ignite the main garbage area of the residences in the area, but no homes were lost.

“Investigation found that two young boys landfill. Heavy equipment was used to remove aged 12 and 9 were attempting to light a ‘camp the four other piles that surrounded the comfire’ when the fire quickly got out of control,” post pile that was still burning.”

Almost at the same time, a number of homes said Douglass. “Charges are not likely.”

Others have not been so lucky. Large bills are

27 often associated with forest fire fighting, and all too often the fires are caused by humans.

“If an open fire escapes, the individual responsible may be held liable for fire suppression costs and damages. People must ensure that they are burning in a safe, responsible manner that is in accordance with regulations and current conditions,” said Reynolds.

Anyone found in contravention of an open burning prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of $10,000 or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail. If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.

To report a wildfire, unattended campfire or open burning violation, call 1 800 663-5555 tollfree or dial *5555 on a cellphone.

“The BC Wildfire Service would like to thank the public for the numerous phone reports they submitted about fires in the Prince George Fire Centre, which allowed crews to respond quickly,” said Skrepnek.

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Filling The Pothole Repair Gap:

New Machinery Samantha WRIGHT ALLEN Citizen Staff

By the end of the year, the city hopes to purchase an ashphalt recycler as a better way of dealing with its potholes.

“Motorists and cyclists will reap the rewards of new road rehabilitation technology to be procured this year by the City of Prince George,” said the City.

It would cost $175,000 at the current purchase price for a Bagela BA10000 Ashpalt Rycler.

Every hour the portable machine can produce up to 10 tonnes of a “hot mix.”

That yields better results, especially in cold and wet conditions than the current approach where the city uses a cold-mix material which doesn’t stay put when used to fill potholes.

City crews try to use the hot mix when they can, the release said, but that type of patching only begins when commercial plants open in mid-May to early June.

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INDUSTRY AND TRADES “This unit will provide multiple benefits for residents. It means we won’t have to wait until the plants are open to begin doing longer lasting patches on the most troublesome potholes on our streets,” said Blake MacIntosh, manager of roads and fleet, in a statement.

The city said it should be calling for quotes in March.

On average, the city produces 5,000 tonnes of asphalt millings during the yearly paving work and about 1,500 tonnes of asphalt from an average 200 utility road cuts annually.

“With the use of an asphalt recycler, new aggregate does not have to be mined and quarried, new asphaltic oils don’t need to be refined, transport requirements of raw materials are reduced, and GHG emissions are limited,” said MacIntosh. “The only additional resources required are the fuel needs of the asphalt recycler, equipment to fill the hopper and to transport and place the recycled asphalt. It is also possible to recycle the same section of asphalt numerous times.”

The equipment costs as well as the costs of necessary upgrades to the 18th Avenue public works yard were included in the capital budget. This year’s road rehabilitation fund is $7 million, the same as last year.

-with files from Charelle Evelyn

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Potholes by the numbers 3506

potholes repaired between Jan. 1 to Feb. 17, 2015

1267

potholes repaired between Jan. 1 to Feb. 17, 2016

63 per cent

reduction in numbers this year vs. last year

Paving crews working on Massey Drive.

Citizen file photo by David Mah

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Make Pavement While The Sun Shines Frank Peebles Citizen Staff

Crews pave Victoria Street and George Street.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

City hall released its list of roads and sidewalks scheduled for upgrades and repairs during the 2016 paving season.

In all, the work will involve nearly 60 lane kilometers of road. The largest projects include Foothills Blvd. from Fifth Ave. to First Ave., Milwaukee Way from Boundary Rd. to Willow Cale Rd., and Fifth Avenue from Carney St. to Victoria St. Here’s a complete look at what is in store: Road resurfacing: • Fifth Ave, Ruggles St.-Ahbau St.; • Fifth Ave., Winnipeg St.-10th Ave.; • Fifth Ave., Victoria St.-Winnipeg St.; • Fifth Ave., Carney St.-Edmonton St.; • 15th Ave., Johnson St.-Alward St.; • 15th Ave., Ingledew St.-Taylor Dr.; • 17th Ave., Victoria St.-Queensway; • 17th St., Elm St.-Ash Dr.; • Anderson St., Hill Ave.-First Ave.; • Vellencher Dr., Foothills Blvd.-Kelly Rd.; • Carney St., 15th Ave.-Massey Dr.; • Corral Rd., Western Rd.-Hartman Rd.; • Crocus Rd., Edelweiss Rd.-Edelweiss Rd.; • Dawson Rd., Austin Rd.-Thee Crt.; • Eaglenest Cres., Pilot St.-Tabor Blvd.; • Eastern St., Terminal Blvd.-525 metres north; • Edelweiss Rd., Austin Rd.-cul de sac; • Foothills Blvd. (northbound), 15th Ave.Fifth Ave.; • Foothills Blvd., Vellencher Rd.-Austin Rd.; • Ford St., Spruce St.-Norwood St.; • Freeman St., Second Ave.-Hammond Ave.; • Gillet St., 15th Ave.-20th Ave.; • Giscome Rd., 2013 limits-city limits; • Grant Rd., Randle Rd.-Grant Rd.;

• Heather Rd., Austin Rd.-Kelly Rd.; • Hwy. 16 frontage, Westgate Ave.-Eugene and Irene Rd.-Bon Voyage Plaza; • Lilac Cres., Edelweiss Rd.-Snowdrop Rd.; • Malaspina Ave., Domano Rd.-Loedel Cres.; • Milwaukee Way, Boundary Rd.-Willowcale Rd.; • Minnotti Dr., Randle Rd.-end; • Opie Cres., Ospika Blvd.-Nicholson St.; • Fourth Ave., Edmonton St.-Victoria St.; • Pine St., Diefenbaker Ave.-20th Ave.; • Regent Cres., Queensway-Hamilton Ave.; • Richet St., Lilac Cres.-Kelly Rd.; • Snowdrop Rd., Edelweiss Rd.-end; • Sycamore Cres., Ospika Blvd.-Pinewood St.; • Tulip Rd., Edelweiss Rd.-Lilac Cres., Trent Dr., Domano Blvd.-Simon Fraser Ave.; • Westwood Dr., Ferry Ave.-Tweedsmuir Ave.; • Killarney L.A.S. project, Killarney, Sussex Lane, Sussex Place, Wildwood Dr. Sidewalks: • 15th Ave., north side, Liard Dr.-Ingeneka St. (remove and replace); • 15th Ave., north side, Ingeneka St.-Manson Cres. (remove and replace); • Renwick St., north side, Edmonton St.Melville St. (remove and replace); • Westwood Dr., west side, Tweedsmuir Ave.-Fairview Cres. (remove and replace); • Range Rd., south side, Ospika Blvd.Westwood Dr. (new construction).

Crews will begin work when hot mix asphalt is available in May and are expected to wrap up operations in late October.

For the third year in a row, the capital paving budget is $7 million, up from $4.3 million in 2013, and twice that of 2012’s $3.5 million budget.