Melissa Puchinger from Pressed Wishes hangs ornaments at
at 10. There are 130 different artisans and vendors at the three-day event.
Driver faces reduced charges in CNC student’s death
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff
mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
The severity of the charges against a Prince George woman from the death of a College of New Caledonia student, struck and killed this summer while crossing Highway 97, have been reduced. Counts of impaired driving causing death and causing an accident resulting in death against Michelle Denise Dac were dropped on Oct. 10.
She now faces the lesser counts of dangerous driving, driving while impaired and driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08, all under the Criminal Code. An arraignment hearing on those counts is scheduled for Nov. 21 in Prince George provincial court.
Sandeep Kaur died June 6 from injuries suffered when she was hit while trying to cross Highway 97 between 18th and 22nd Avenues, a spot a few hundred metres north of a designated crosswalk.
A 310-metre fence along the highway is now in place to prevent another incident of its kind.
The head of the College of New Caledonia Students Union, Harman Dandiwal, said the project shows the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure listened to concerns raised by the students and the college.
“It’s going to help build a safer campus,” he said. “We’re pretty happy about the outcome.”
The College of New Caledonia is seen on the opposite side of a fence that has been installed on Highway 97 between 18th and 22nd avenues.
The fence and its installation cost $75,000 in total and it has been in place since Oct. 22.
Dandiwal acknowledged the mixed feelings about the fence expressed in online forums. Many of the posters contend people should take responsibility for themselves and refrain from jaywalking.
“To a point I agree, but it’s been a trouble
area... especially the drivers will get that extra peace of mind,” Dandiwal said.
The work won’t stop there. A ministry spokesperson said improvements to the lights at 22nd Avenue are in store.
“It is not anticipated that an overpass/underpass will be constructed,” the spokesperson said.
porn
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff
A Mackenzie man has been sentenced to a further eight months in jail on child pornography charges brought against him while he was serving time for two other sex-related offences. Christopher Jacob Pronk, 32, was also sentenced to three years probation upon completion of his time in jail and will be prohibited for 20 years from frequenting playgrounds, schools and other facilities where minors tend to congregate. Charges of possessing and accessing child pornography were brought against him while he was serving a 21-month term on counts of sexual interference and sexual touching committed against two girls in the community north of Prince George. While being processed at Prince George Regional Correctional Centre, Pronk told an intake officer he possessed a collection. — see PRONK, page 2
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
Hospice to refund 300 tickets not in draw
Citizen staff
The Prince George Hospice Society says it will be offering refunds after failing to include 300 tickets purchased for its 50/50 draw.
Cheques will be in the mail to those who bought tickets in the following ranges of numbers: 5551-5600, 5701-5750, 7001-7050, 72017250, 8101-8150 and 82518300.
this error from occurring in the future,” it said in a statement.
The B.C. Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch has launched an investigation to determine the cause...
“As we will be contacting the people affected by the error, no action is required from people that purchased 50/50 tickets,” the society said in a statement issued Thursday.
In all, 10,098 tickets were sold.
“The Prince George Hospice Society apologizes for the error, and recognizes the importance of correcting the process to prevent
The B.C. Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch has launched an investigation to determine the cause, the society said. “While the investigation is ongoing and we cannot speculate about the potential outcome, we are committed to taking appropriate action based on the results of the investigation,” the society said.
The Dream Home lottery draw and the early-bird draws were unaffected.
“The tickets for the Dream Home lottery were purchased separately, and after noticing this issue we launched an audit of the Dream Home lottery tickets to ensure all of the tickets would be included in the draw,” the society stated.
November chill
Snow clings to a mountain ash tree in Lheidli T’enneh
most of the day.
Prince George misses out on 2020 Brier
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff
fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
It was the Kingston rock that drew closest to the button in the bidding for the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier. The Ontario town was confirmed as the winner, on Thursday, in the contest to host the massive curling bonspiel – the national men’s championship. Prince George was on the shortlist with Kingston, along with St. Catharines and Moncton.
Those involved in the Prince George bid were disappointed but undeterred. “We are going to reflect on what we’ve learned through this bid journey, and
potentially bring back an even stronger bid for 2021,” said CN Centre manager Glen Mikkelsen. “At this point, the decision on whether or not to bid for the 2021 Brier is with the mayor and the new city council.
City funding is a key component of the bid, and council will need to determine if this is an event still desired for northern B.C.”
Mayor Lyn Hall said he couldn’t speak for his council colleagues, but if he was a believer in the benefits of hosting the Brier yesterday, that wouldn’t change just a day later.
“I think we did an excellent job putting forward the bid,” said Hall. “Whenever you go into a process for really any event, you know you’re up against tough competition. We have been very successful in obtaining
many past events, but this one we did not make the cut for. We know how this process works, and we know how to keep these moments in perspective. Hosting the 2021 Brier is already a thought in my mind. I’ll start to have some conversations with various folks and look at opportunities for resubmitting the bid, how to make it stronger, what the timelines are, what the commitment within council might look like.”
Mikkelsen said getting Prince George’s bid all the way to the final four required the support of Curling Canada. This city wouldn’t have made the shortlist were it lacking in the resources to be a good host city.
Hall said he heard no indication, as yet, about why the local bid did not prevail, but
Pronk considered at high risk to re-offend
— from page 1
RCMP were notified and, in turn, executed a search warrant on his home where police found 45,000 images and 600 videos depicting child pornography, all in a form of animation known as hentai. Evidence of a comparatively smaller collection of live images was also found in the recycle bin of his computer.
Pronk pleaded guilty to the counts at the earliest opportunity, the court heard, but there were delays related to putting together a police report to Crown prosecution. As a result, Pronk has remained in custody since he finished his previous sentence in February. In all, he was sentenced to 21 months in jail on the child porn counts but received credit of 13 months for time served
prior to sentencing, or 1 1/2 days for each day he has been in custody since the previous term ended. According to a pre-sentence report, Pronk has cognitive difficulties and presents as a young teenager. He has also shown a “complete lack of insight” into his crimes, and has twice failed to successfully complete a sexual offender treatment program. He has
also noted that sometimes there are forces at work beyond one bid’s control. He congratulated Kingston’s bid preparation team and wished them great success in 2020.
“When you take a look at this particular bid, and how it is being held out east that year, my thought process turns to how it might come back west the year after,” Hall said. “We had great support from the region, I think Curling Canada officials were very impressed with our facilities and our abilities to put the event on, and I don’t see that changing.”
Mikkelsen added that those who bought deposits on 2020 Brier tickets would receive a refund through the TicketsNorth ticketing service at CN Centre.
been diagnosed as a pedophile with an attraction to young girls and poses a high risk to re-offend, the court was told.
However, Pronk has said he wants to try the program again and in sentencing him on Wednesday, provincial court judge Susan Mengering recommended he be sent to Ford Mountain Correctional Centre where the program is delivered.
Memorial Park Thursday morning. Wet snow fell for
In flight
Staff members from The Exploration Place launch a pumpkin during the Annual Rotten Pumpkin Festival Thursday afternoon. For $2, people were able to watch their Halloween pumpkins meet a thrilling end. This year’s festival saw hundreds of pumpkins flung in the parking lot in front of the museum. The smashed pumpkins were collected and composted after the event.
Zimmer wants meeting with Zuckerberg
Citizen news service
Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies MP Bob Zimmer and his British counterpart are asking Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to appear before an international committee they have formed to examine disinformation and fake news.
Zimmer, who chairs the House of Commons committee on information, privacy and ethics, and Damian Collins, who heads a similar parliamentary committee in the United Kingdom, want Zuckerberg to appear Nov. 27 in London.
They say the hearing at Westminster will allow members of the two parliaments – and possibly representatives from other countries – to ask the socialmedia executive about digital policy, vulnerabilities in cyberspace and potential threats to their democracies. Both committees have previously asked Zuckerberg to appear before their respective members to discuss the breach of personal information involving Cambridge Analytica and Facebook
– as well as subsequent breaches – but he has not done so. There is also troublesome evidence of online Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential vote by means of advertisements on Facebook.
In their joint letter to Zuckerberg,
dated Wednesday, Zimmer and Collins request a reply by Nov. 7.
Over the last year, the Canadian and British parliamentary committees have both sought evidence from a Facebook executive “with sufficient authority” to give an accurate account of recent problems, says the letter.
“You have chosen instead to send less senior representatives, and have not yourself appeared, despite having taken up invitations from the U.S. Congress and Senate, and the European Parliament,” the letter says.
“We understand that it is not possible to make yourself available to all parliaments. However, we believe that your users in other countries need a line of accountability to your organizationdirectly, via yourself.
“We would have thought that this responsibility is something that you would want to take up. We both plan to issue final reports on this issue by the end of this December, 2018. The hearing of your evidence is now overdue, and urgent.”
— see editorial, page 4
Next summer’s fires may be intentional
Citizen news service
People in British Columbia will have to get used to the possibility that next summer’s smoky skies may be the result of fires started by the government, says Forests Minister Doug Donaldson.
The provincial government is endorsing the expanded use of prescribed burns as a firefighting tool and will work to amend laws and regulations that govern them, he said Wednesday.
The Forests Ministry says prescribed burns involve the planned and controlled application of fire to a specific land area to improve public safety and the management of forest land.
“Communities, when they see smoke, they have concerns but if they know that smoke is in a controlled way rather than haphazard throughout the year, that’s a lot better for people,” Donaldson said.
Unprecedented wildfires forced the provincial government to declare states of emergency during the 2017 and 2018 forest fire seasons.
states of emergency during the 2017 and 2018 forest fire seasons. Wildfires burned more than 1.3 million hectares in B.C. this year, the largest amount on record. In 2017, wildfires burned 1.2 million hectares, forced 65,000 people from their homes and were estimated to cost about $650 million.
Bus crash sends close to 40 to hospital
Citizen staff
A highway bus crash north of Prince George on Thursday afternoon sent close to 40 people to University Hospital of Northern B.C.
One person was initially believed to be in critical condition, RCMP said in a statement, but the condition of the individual was later downgraded. The person is expected to fully recover, according to the statement.
At least two other people suffered injuries. The remaining passengers were being examined by medical professionals. Most were brought to hospital via another bus.
The incident – which did not involve any other vehicles – was reported to RCMP at about 3:45 p.m. It occurred on Highway 97 near Mitchell Road. When police arrived, they found the bus off the highway.
Although the cause of the incident has not yet been determined, weather conditions at the time may have been a factor, RCMP said, and will be looked at by investigators. A combination of rain and snow had fallen in the area for most of the day and continued into the evening.
As of 7:30 p.m. Thursday, the highway was open to single-lane, alternating traffic. Work was underway to get the bus back onto the highway.
Canfor to curtail sawmill production
Citizen staff
Canfor Corp. will be reducing production at its B.C. sawmills by about 10 per cent this quarter, the company said Thursday.
“We have made the difficult decision to curtail our B.C. sawmill operations over the fourth quarter due to log supply challenges following another difficult wildfire season, uncompetitive log costs and declining lumber prices,” Canfor CEO Don Kayne said in a statement. “We are working to mitigate impacts on our employees as much as possible.”
The curtailment will come in the form of decreased operating days and extended downtime at Christmas. Last week, Canfor reported third-quarter earnings of $125.3 million, doubled from the year before despite lower lumber prices. However, the figure was down from the second quarter when Canfor took in $169.8 million and West Fraser $346 million. Lumber prices soared as U.S. export duties were initially passed on to consumers, but those have subsequently decreased. As of the week ending Oct. 25, the price of top-quality two-by-fours at the Prince George Inland Container Terminal stood at US$334 per thousand board feet, down from US$456 at the same point last year, according to Madison’s Lumber Reporter.
The move comes as the union representing about 1,600 workers at 13 northern B.C. sawmills – including Canfor’s PG Sawmill and Isle Pierre sawmills – continue a campaign of rotating strikes in a bid to win a new contract. Members of United Steelworkers Local 1-2017 were picketing Tolko’s Soda Creek operation in Williams Lake on Thursday.
As well, members of three USW locals representing about 3,500 sawmill workers in the southern Interior have voted in favour of giving their bargaining committee a strike mandate.
Changes to the Environmental Management Act, he said, are meant “to make sure that people know that smoke will be in their communities more often but at least in a planned way.”
Increasing the number of controlled burns is part of the government’s answer to an independent report last May that made 108 recommendations to overhaul disaster response practices after devastating wildfires and floods in 2017, he said.
Unprecedented wildfires forced the provincial government to declare
The report by former cabinet minister George Abbott and Indigenous leader Maureen Chapman called for greater partnerships with First Nations, local, provincial and federal governments to prepare for emergencies. Abbott said as a former health minister he would have rejected prescribed burns because of the health hazard caused by smoke but now sees them as a way to protect communities from devastating fires.
The Forests Ministry’s response to the report includes incorporating local and traditional Indigenous knowledge into community wildfire protection plans.
Halloween keeps RCMP hopping
Citizen staff
Prince George RCMP had a busy Halloween as they responded to 50 calls between 5 p.m. and midnight.
“The evening was expected to be busier than most evenings, given the amount of persons on the streets participating in Halloween festivities,” RCMP said.
“Despite this, no significant files were reported.”
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
ZIMMER
Gov’t must hold tech giants to account
Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies MP Bob Zimmer is off to London for a meeting on Nov. 27.
He’s invited Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to join him.
Zimmer, the chair of Parliament’s standing committee on access to information, privacy and ethics, has joined forces with Damian Collins, the British MP who chairs a similar committee in the U.K. Parliament, to host an international hearing on disinformation and fake news.
Zuckerberg has already spoken to the European Parliament on this topic but turned down a request from both Zimmer and Collins earlier this year, sending other Facebook representatives to speak for the company.
Clearly, Zimmer and Collins are hoping their collaboration can force Zuckerberg to appear and answer questions.
“We have asked Mr. Zuckerberg to appear at our committees several times and expect him to show respect for both of our great nations by appearing at this hearing to answer for his platform’s practices,” Zimmer said in a press release announcing the Nov. 27 meeting.
And they want to hear from Zuckerberg by Wednesday on whether he’ll attend or not.
Compliments to Zimmer on this important work and his persistence in getting answers, not just promises to be better, from Facebook on how the social media giant has been used (and could still be used) to tamper with elections, spread hate and fuel social unrest. This is on top of allowing companies like Cambridge Analytica to mine the personal data of millions of Facebook users (for a handsome fee, of course) with little oversight. Hopefully Zimmer is also not amused by the address of where he had to send the letter to Zuckerberg. That may have been a cheeky joke to locate Facebook’s world headquarters at 1 Hacker Way in Menlo Park, Calif., but we’re long past laughing about the stereotypical teenaged hacker, staying up 36 hours straight in mom and dad’s basement, fuelled by Red Bull, pizza and mischief, to break into the school database to give himself straight As.
This is cyber warfare but Zuckerberg doesn’t like that kind of language to describe any of Facebook’s two billion users because it then requires him to act, hiring potentially tens of thousands of staff and spending billions of dollars overseeing the utopian online community he hoped to create.
Today, hackers work on an industrial scale to attack countries, businesses and individuals, stealing secrets and dropping viruses into networks.
Zuckerberg is no different from the corporate industrial giants of the late 19th and early 20th century, the John Rockefellers, Andrew Carnegies and J.P. Morgans of the Gilded Age in the United States. As those men did, the tech billionaires of today believe they have enriched all of society, not just their own personal wealth. Because the world is a better place because of their economic success and their philanthropic generosity, they don’t take kindly to government officials holding them responsible for the negative, unintended consequences of their companies and their products. Eventually, the federal and state governments broke up those industrial monopolies, introduced rules to hold banks accountable to their customers, passed workers
YOUR LETTERS
Electoral change doesn’t mean better government
It’s now time to fish or cut bait. We have the ballots to vote on changing our voting system in B.C. and now only need to decide what to vote for.
We have the effectively clean, simple, time-proven Westminster system, often referred to as first past the post, or the untried in B.C., complicated, and in some cases unfair proportional representation system.
A form of PR has been defeated twice in referendums in the notso-distant past in B.C., however here it is again, knocking on our door looking for treats much like children on Halloween. Will this be the three strikes and you’re out referendum? One can only hope. We need to take credit for our present system and look at the benefits we have received from it over the years. As an example, Canada is second in the top 15 countries in the world. We are number one for quality of life, and number five for standard of living. Let’s look at the tax rates for some of the European countries who have proportional representation:
• Belgium – income tax 40.7 per cent, value-added tax 21 per cent.
• Denmark – income tax 36.2 per cent, value-added tax 25 per cent.
• Finland – income tax 30.8 per cent, value-added tax 24 per cent.
• Netherlands – income tax 30.4 per cent, value-added tax 21 per cent.
• Iceland – income tax 29.2 per cent, value-added tax 24 per cent.
• Norway – income tax 27.9 per cent, value-added tax 25 per cent. Canada, on the other hand, has income tax of 23.1 per cent and a value-added tax of 12 per cent (seven per cent provincial sales tax, five per cent GST), making it 23 out of the 25 highest taxed countries. So it doesn’t appear that there are any tax benefits by changing our way of electing governments.
The present system in B.C. is a plurality system and representatives are elected in 87 ridings in B.C. The person who wins the most votes in the riding represents the riding. The party that wins the most seats forms the government. The party who wins the next highest number of seats forms the opposition and others who are elected sit as elected MLAs for their riding. There is nothing wrong with this system, however it does make it difficult for new parties to actually form the government or participate in government. Sometimes it comes down to how things are explained.
As an example, the proponents
of PR say that the Greens received some 300,000 votes in the last B.C. election but only elected three MLAs so from a percentage of the popular vote point of view they are underrepresented. They state under PR they would have elected 15 MLAs. That in fact is a true statement, however they fail to acknowledge that some 1,200,000 voters did not vote for them, and elected other representatives, so in effect they were rejected by a majority of the popular vote. We can argue the pros and cons of the two systems until the cows come home, however if we look at the accomplishments of Canadians, and Canada over the years, it is pretty obvious that we have a great country supported by a good stable governing system and we really have no need to change.
Those who want to change the system are self-interested political parties, as opposed to the everyday average citizen of this country.
To suggest that we would get better representation from our MLA by electing him/her under a PR system rather than the FPTP system is just not so.
Nor would we get better government. What we would get is more MLAs, more government and more taxes.
Eric Allen Prince George
LETTERS WELCOME: The Prince George Citizen welcomes letters to the editor from our readers. Submissions should be sent by email to: letters@pgcitizen.ca. No attachments, please. They can also be faxed to 250-960-2766, or mailed to 201-1777 Third Ave., Prince George, B.C. V2L 3G7. Maximum length is 750 words and writers are limited to one submission every week. We will edit letters only to ensure clarity, good taste, for legal reasons, and occasionally for length. Although we will not include your address and telephone number in the paper, we need both for verification purposes.
Mailing address: 201-1777 Third Ave. Prince George, B.C. V2L 3G7
Office hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday General switchboard: 250-562-2441 info@pgcitizen.ca General news: news@pgcitizen.ca Sports inquiries: 250-960-2764 sports@pgcitizen.ca
Classifieds advertising: 250-562-6666 cls@pgcitizen.ca
rights laws and approved environmental and safety regulations.
So far, most governments have shown little appetite in limiting the size, influence and reach of FAMGA (Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Google and Amazon). All five of those companies hold majority (and arguably monopolistic) control in their respective marketplaces, along with unprecedented access to the personal and private information of their millions of customers.
Zimmer and his Parliamentary colleagues both here in Canada and across the Atlantic need to take a broad, historical look at this issue, beyond just the problems around online security and the spread of harmful lies. The FAMGA companies have disrupted numerous sectors of the economy with significant harm at the local level, while still enjoying favourable tax benefits and minimal regulatory oversight.
The federal government, starting with Zimmer’s committee, has the authority to pass tough new rules, along with costly taxes and licensing fees, on all of these companies if they so choose.
Even if Zuckerberg decides to show up to that London meeting at the end of the month, Zimmer and Collins should sharpen their pencils and look for practical ways to make these companies behave more responsibly.
— Editor-in-chief
Neil Godbout
When customer service isn’t enough
Iam sure that you have suffered through an experience of poor customer service.
One doesn’t have to look far these days to realize that many businesses put low value on treating customers well.
Recently, however, I was working with a company on improving their customer service.
It quickly became apparent that their customer service was great, but their sales sucked. In fact, customers visiting the business would leave and say how nice the people inside were that often they left happy without buying things. This was a challenge for the business owner who was intent on increasing sales to achieve a profitable business.
This is a problem that is too common in many businesses. On one hand we have owners that think that they have hired staff to sell products, on the other hand we have employees who feel that their job is to help customers or do customer service.
There is a lack of clarity in the roles and responsibilities of each person in that organization concerning the contributions they must make if the company is to continue to thrive.
Let’s be clear, this is not the mistake of employees, it is an error of our management. So, where did we go wrong?
Lack of clarity: the first mistake that most companies make is not being totally transparent with their employees about the company’s goals and what role they play within the company.
Each and every person within the organization needs to understand the expectations of their role as employees of the company.
For example, if we hire someone to “serve the customer” what does that exactly mean? Is that person to just walk around the inside of the building and say “can I help you?” Is their job to simply put products on the shelves, because that serves the customer? Perhaps serving the customer means running the till? Or when we say serving the customer do we really mean, ascertaining the customers’ needs and fulfilling them? Each objective determines the focus of the employee’s responsibility within the business. Which one did you mean when you told the employee that their job is to serve the customer?
Lack of training: very few companies these days properly train their employees in selling techniques. It’s a lost skill and it
is costing our businesses tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. We train new staff how to greet a customer and smile when we say hello but we fail to give them the skills that they need as employees to be successful in sales. As a result, our businesses lose customers who are leaving without buying and end up either frustrated or purchasing from a competitor or online. Think about your organization right now and imagine how much healthier it would be if your employees could close sales more regularly. We are not talking about high pressure selling, simply understanding the needs of the customers and the steps of the sales process that lead to a happy customer and a happy staff member.
Lack of measurement, accountability or rewards: so many owners and managers could reduce their stress levels by simply keeping their employees more accountable. Sales is no different. Occasionally I come across businesses that are measuring the sales of each employee, who have targets, and schedule regular meetings to measure, mentor, coach and grow sales. But these companies are few and far between. More likely is the fact that the sales team is frustrated because targets are unachievable, unrealistic and they don’t feel supported in their challenges. Often there is little incentive to do more than the bare minimum of customer service. When we fail to provide guidelines and expectations and rewards for our staff, we should not be surprised when they fail to deliver.
My client is working on growing their business through fantastic customer service, combined with a trained sales force. I will be spending a week onsite with the team training them in sales. I have no doubt that once the team is tuned up, that their sales will grow. Customer service is a great start for improving business, but it doesn’t work if we can’t supply our customers with what they really need.
Dave Fuller, MBA, is an awardwinning business coach and the author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy. Email your business challenge to dave@profityourselfhealthy.com.
Display advertising, digital advertising and website inquiries: 250-562-2441 ads@pgcitizen.ca Reader sales and services: 250-562-3301 rss@pgcitizen.ca Letters to the editor: letters@pgcitizen.ca Website: www.pgcitizen.ca Website feedback: digital@glaciermedia.ca
Member of
A
ZUCKERBERG
DAVE FULLER
Business Coach
Trudeau announces funding for B.C. nuclear medicine centre
Laura KANE Citizen news service
VANCOUVER — Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau announced federal funding Thursday to build a hub for nuclear medicine at Canada’s national particle accelerator in Vancouver.
Trudeau made the announcement after meeting employees and touring the TRIUMF site, which is a joint venture of a consortium of universities.
He said the Institute for Advanced Medical Isotopes will provide a first-of-its-kind facility in Canada where scientists and industry partners will work together to advance research including drug development and cancer therapy. The new 2,500-squaremetre building will house a particle accelerator, research facilities and laboratories.
Trudeau said the facility will help Canada stay a leader in medical isotope research.
“We know that for our country to lead in an ever-evolving economy and create the jobs of tomorrow, we have to invest in our
scientists and in the institutions that support them,” he said.
Medical isotopes are safe radioactive substances used to diagnose and treat conditions of the heart, circulatory system and organs, allowing scientists to see what is happening inside the body in a non-invasive way.
The new facility is valued at more than $50 million and is also supported by contributions from the British Columbia government, BC Cancer Foundation, the University of British Columbia and funding from philanthropists.
Trudeau was also scheduled to meet on Thursday with Vancouver mayor-elect Kennedy Stewart and Doug McCallum, who was recently elected the mayor of Surrey.
McCallum ran on a promise to scrap plans for a light rail transit system in Surrey and instead wants a SkyTrain line from the city centre to neighbouring Langley.
In September, the federal and British Columbia governments reiterated their commitment to funding two major rapid transit projects in Metro Vancouver in-
cluding the LRT line in Surrey. Ottawa and B.C. are spending more than $3 billion on the projects, which will see 5.7 kilometres of track and six stations added to the SkyTrain subway line along Broadway. Eleven new stations will be built along 10.5 kilometres of street-level track in Surrey, which would create the first lightrail system in B.C.
Asked if the federal government would spend any additional money in Surrey to build a SkyTrain line, Trudeau said: “Our approach on infrastructure projects has never been that Ottawa knows best. We always have believed that working with folks on the ground, locally elected representatives who tell us and who know best what the needs of their communities are.”
Trudeau said there are a number of new mayors in the Lower Mainland who will be discussing their plans.
“And I can commit that the federal government will be there as a partner as they determine their priorities,” he added.
Horgan voted ‘yes’ in electoral referendum
Citizen news service
VICTORIA — Premier John
Horgan says he has already voted in B.C.’s Nov. 30 mail-in electoral reform referendum.
He says he voted Yes to change the way residents vote and selected mixed-member proportional as his top choice among the three available for a new provincial elec-
toral system. This is the third time voters in B.C. have cast ballots on electoral reform, but the votes held in 2005 and 2009 failed.
The latest referendum requires a 50-per-cent-plus-one majority to pass and asks B.C. residents if they want to change the electoral system to a form of proportional representation or keep the current first-past-the-post method.
The referendum also asks those who vote Yes to rank their preference of three systems of proportional representation, which includes dual-member proportional, mixed-member proportional or rural-urban proportional.
Horgan and Opposition Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson will participate in a televised referendum debate on the issue on Nov. 8.
B.C. police watchdog opens four investigations
Citizen news service
VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s police watchdog is investigating four separate incidents since Sunday involving police and people who have died or suffered serious harm.
The first incident happened early Sunday in Nanaimo, where the RCMP notified the Independent Investigations Office that a male had died after interacting with officers who located an apparent impaired driver.
The officers determined the male should be transported to hospital, but before Emergency Health Services arrived he went into medical distress and died later in hospital.
On Sunday afternoon in Surrey, the watchdog says the RCMP pulled over a vehicle that had been travelling at high speed and determined that the driver appeared to have consumed alcohol.
The agency says the male refused a roadside screening test and officers detained the driver, who shortly after appeared to lose consciousness and was taken to Surrey Memorial hospital.
The third incident involved a reported domestic disturbance in Surrey on Monday morning.
The watchdog says when RCMP officers arrived they attempted to detain a female but a struggle ensued and she complained of an injured shoulder.
She was taken to hospital where the investigations office says it was determined she had a fractured left shoulder.
On Wednesday, Delta police responded to a call about a male on a bridge.
The agency says officers communicated with the male, who fell from the bridge and did not survive.
The Independent Investigations Office will determine whether there is any connection between the officers’ actions and the deaths or serious harm in each incident.
Scientists call for stop to disappearance of Earth’s remaining intact land, sea
Camille BAINS Citizen news service
VANCOUVER — Researchers who have produced a map of the world’s remaining intact land and ocean areas are urging international delegates at an upcoming meeting on biodiversity to set a target and push governments to conserve what’s left of the wild.
Oscar Venter, associate professor of forestry in the ecosystems science and management department at the University of Northern British Columbia, said the map shows human activity has encroached on 87 per cent of the ocean and more than 77 per cent of Earth’s land, excluding Antarctica.
“There’s normally this idea that wilderness is kind of remote and it’s far from people and it’s safe but through our work we’ve shown this is really not the case,” he said.
He said the 14th gathering of a biodiversity convention, hosted by Egypt and involving 190 nations later this month, should include a mandated global target beyond 2020 to save all remaining intact ecosystems.
Venter and scientists from Australia and the United States have outlined their concerns in a paper published in the journal Nature.
They say a century ago, only 15 per cent of Earth’s land was used to grow crops and raise livestock and between 1993 and 2009, an area larger than India – 3.3 million square kilometres – was lost to human settlement, farming, mining and other industries.
As for the ocean, the only areas that are free of industrial fishing, pollution and shipping are almost completely confined to the polar regions, say the authors.
Their mapping methods for terrestrial wilderness included data such as population density, night-time lights and major roadways and indicators such as fishing, fertilizer run-off and industrial shipping to determine ocean ecosystems. The authors say more than 70 per cent of the world’s remain-
ing land mass is in five countries: Russia, Canada, Australia, the United States and Brazil. Venter said those countries have a role to play in preserving wilderness, including the boreal forest of Canada, which could be impacted by climate change according to the Prairie Climate Centre at the University of Winnipeg.
However, recent gutting of environmental regulations in the United States and possible exploitation of the Amazon under Brazil’s new president are adding to the urgency for nations to take action.
The authors say the steps that countries take, or do not, to limit the expansion of roads and shipping lanes and to reduce largescale developments in mining, forestry, agriculture, aquaculture and industrial fishing will be critical.
“This is a very important time to raise awareness about the value of these systems, about how imperilled they are and to help decision-making that balances human needs and environmental needs and think strategically about where we develop and how we develop,” Venter said. “I don’t think the conservation community is calling for no development, we’re calling for strategic development, and development that’s both sustainable ecologically and socially.” Wilderness areas with pure water, uncontaminated fish stocks and a high abundance of game species are also important for the livelihood of the world’s Indigenous people, who must be consulted, Venter said, adding governments in Brazil and Australia have high levels of involvement by Indigenous communities in their decision-making.
“I think that’s the model we really need to look to in Canada,” he said.
First Nations who fought a fiveyear legal battle to protect the Peel watershed in Yukon won a Supreme Court of Canada victory in 2017, forcing the government to consider an independent commission’s plan to save 80 per cent of the swath of pristine sub-Arctic wilderness from development.
Artist in residence Blaine Campbell is seen through the lens of his 8X10 camera as he poses for a portrait at the TRIUMF facility at UBC in Vancouver Thursday.
LAINE
PLAYS LARGE IN FINLAND Page 9
Physical force
Hard-hitting Perepeluk finding his stride in WHL
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
Reid Perepeluk is the Prince George Cougars’ energizer. Hockey played at the major junior level is a fast and physical game and Perepeluk is blessed with the speed and courage that makes him an effective intimidator.
How good is he in that department? Just ask his opponents. They know it’s in their own best interests to keep looking over their shoulders to avoid getting crunched into the boards by the six-foot-three, 215-pound right winger.
Since joining the Cougars last season after two years of major midget hockey with the Cariboo Cougars, Perepeluk has had to learn how to channel his aggression to keep himself out of the penalty box. He knows he carries a reputation for being overly aggressive, which makes him a marked man in the eyes of the officials. But he also knows if he can keep progressing as a fearsome forward there might be a job in pro hockey waiting for him when he graduates the junior ranks.
“He’s that typical north-south, high-energy player that you want to use for momentum changers,” said Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk. “He’s a guy who gives 110 per cent every shift and those are great guys to have. He’s wellliked in the dressing room and as you see when he’s on the ice,
everybody notices him.
“He’s still young so he’s still growing into the system play, the stops and starts, and once we get everything dialed in he’s going to be a very effective player for us.”
Perepeluk patterns himself after Washington Capitals winger Tom Wilson. He likes how Wilson plays the game, notwithstanding his 20-game suspension earlier this season for his illegal head shot hit on St. Louis Blues centre Oskar Sundqvist.
Perepeluk was forced to serve a one-game suspension last month for an exuberant charge when he hit Vancouver Giants defenceman Ty Ettinger into the end boards just as Ettinger was falling to the ice.
“Skating is hard to teach and Reid has the ability to absolutely fly,” said Matvichuk. “When he uses his legs to finish checks it’s almost, at times, like he’s getting penalties for hitting guys too hard. His job is to be physical and Number 1 on the forecheck and you have to find a way to play within the rules.
“But when he’s on his game he’s a real effective player. He’s young and he hasn’t played a bunch of games at this level but once he gets more comfortable, the better he’s going to get.”
After four games in two months for the Cougars last year Perepeluk was moved across town to the BCHL Spruce Kings and soon after was sent to the Kamloops Storm of the Kootenay International Junior (B) Hockey League, where he thrived as one of the team’s top players. In 24 games he put up eight goals and 26 points and in March he returned to the Cougars for the last month of the season. He drew an assist in his first game back, scored his first WHL goal in the second game and ended the season with another goal.
“I played a little bit of junior B last year with older guys and it obviously helped – when there’s guys in junior B flying around with their heads cut off and they don’t know how to think the game, it helps,” said Perepeluk. “The game speed is not much different but just thinking and processing the game
there’s a big difference between junior B and the Western League. But when you have a defenceman pinching on you on the wall, it’s the same thing in junior B and it helped me develop my game a lot more. It was a confidencebooster.”
In training camp, Perepeluk picked up where he left off and won a permanent spot on the team. This season in limited duty on the fourth line, including a three-game stint at centre, he’s been held to one assist in 13 games with 22 penalty minutes and a respectable minus-2 rating.
Perepeluk will be back to his usual position on right wing on a line with Tyson Upper and Brendan Boyle tonight at CN Centre when the Cougars host the Seattle Thunderbirds to start a two-game set.
“Personally, it was a really good start the first 10 games but the last three or four there are some things I can improve on, like being a bit more physical,” Perepeluk said.
“I’m trying to pick my choices better and eliminate penalties.
“My role in the team is to make room for other players but I can’t be running in there and not having a third guy high because they’ll come back on a 3-on-2 and score.
I have to be smart and pick my choices when I’m going to hit and when not to, so I don’t take penalties. I know I’m a target in the Western Hockey League.” see COUGARS, page 8
Bartolillo gets Canada West honour
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
Throughout his five-year career with the UNBC Timberwolves, Francesco Bartolillo was a star on the soccer field. His six goals and 10 points this season were team highs and in those five years his ability to put the ball in the net made him the all-time leading goal scorer in team history with 16. He collected 25 career points – second on the T-wolves’ list. As creative as he was on the field making the T-wolves a better team, the 23-year-old business major went beyond the call of duty to make lives of Prince George people better. For his work on those initiatives, Bartolillo has been chosen for the Canada West Conference student-athlete community service award.
The Calgary native, a fourtime Academic All-Canadian, is the founder of the Timberwolves Student Athlete Society and has raised close to $20,000 for various causes. To collect money for KidSport BC, which enables underprivileged youth to play sports, he started a soccer-style two-on-two tournament which makes use of a tennis net as an obstacle while players use their feet and heads to keep the ball from touching the ground. Last year he developed the MVP of the Month, a program which annually benefits a young cancer patient. Bartolillo organized fundraising events such as the Fill the Bus Bottle Drive and the TSAS Flag Football Tournament to create public awareness and generate funds for the program, which has raised more than $10,000 in its two-year existence. He also donates his time as a youth soccer coach.
“Fran’s contribution to the Timberwolves, the university, and the city of Prince George is admirable and deserves recognition,” said T-wolves head coach Steve Simonson. “His on-field actions speak for themselves, but his selfless actions off the field for his fellow athletes, and members of the community is why he is truly a successful student-athlete at UNBC.
“The MVP of the Month and other community initiatives that Fran has led, and what they mean to the families involved, far outweighs anything that happens on the soccer field.” He is now a candidate for the U Sports national award for community service, which will be announced during the men’s nationals next weekend in Vancouver.
Prince George Cougars forward Reid Perepeluk keeps his eyes on a bouncing puck while being checked by Matthew Culling of the Swift
Current Broncos on Oct. 21 at CN Centre.
PEREPELUK
BARTOLILLO
MacLean knows T-birds well
Ted
CLARKE Citizen staff
The Prince George Cougars wanted to get a read on the Seattle Thunderbirds, their opponents the next two nights at CN Centre, and former T-bird winger Mike MacLean has the book on them.
“They’re a hardworking team so we have to match their intensity, I know they go all out in their practices and games so we just have to come ready to play,” said MacLean. “They have a culture there that they build in their dressing room and they always come out hard and through that they’ve been winning games.
“Their 20-year-olds (forwards Nolan Volcan, Noah Philp and Zack Andrusiak) are high-end players and good goalscorers and we have to shut down those three guys offensively and just play good defence here.”
MacLean had a chance to renew acquaintances with his former teammates, who practiced right after the Cougars Thursday morning.
“I was pretty good buddies with Liam Hughes down in Seattle, he’s a good goaltender for sure and we have to work hard to get a lot of shots on him or we won’t have a lot of success scoring,” said MacLean. “I’m assuming I’m going to get some questions asked about him soon here.”
The six-foot-six-and-a-half, 234-pound MacLean joined the Cougars Oct. 9 in a trade from the T-birds for 17-year-old forward Keegan Craik and a fifth-round choice in the 2019 bantam draft. The 20-year-old Penticton native played 38 regular-season games and five playoff games for Seattle last season after getting
called up from Lloydminster of the AJHL. He played the previous two years in the KIJHL for the Summerland Steam.
MacLean will be playing tonight on a line with Tyson Upper and Brendan Boyle.
The Cougars (5-7-1-2, fourth in B.C. Division) will be trying to end a four-game winless streak and get back into a playoff position. They’re tied in points with thirdplace Kamloops (6-6-0-1) and are just one point ahead of fifth-place Kelowna.
Seattle (7-4-2-0) holds the top wild-card position in the Western Conference, two points behind Tri-City for third in the U.S. Division. The T-birds are coming off a 5-1 loss Tuesday in Spokane.
“They play very hard and are very structured and their ’98s are very good and we have to find a way to play within our system and play the right way,” said Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk, whose team lost 5-4 to Brandon on Tuesday.
“It’s starting to sound like a broken record but the more we play the right way, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we end up on the offensive side of it and end up dominating hockey periods. We haven’t been able to put it together for 60 minutes but it’s coming. The second period hasn’t been very friendly to us.”
With Ilijah Colina still out with an upperbody injury, the Cougars have added Kjell Kjemhus to the roster. Kjemhus played 25 games for the Cougars last season since arriving in a trade from the Regina Pats and had two goals and two assists. He’s been playing this season in the BCHL with the Vernon Vipers and had one assist in 10 games.
Cougars defenceman Cameron MacPhee is still out with an upper-body injury.
Timberwolves welcoming Wesmen
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
Two wins to start a season has never happened before for the UNBC Timberwolves in their seven-year Canada West conference history and it was worth celebrating when they swept the Mount Royal Cougars in a two-game set last weekend in Calgary.
T-wolves head coach Todd Jordan knows it’s too early to be thinking about any parade route. Not with Mike Raimbault and the Winnipeg Wesmen coming in to try to spoil the T-wolves’ home-opening weekend at the Northern Sport Centre.
“2-0 is a great start but we’re still only five per cent of the way in,” said Jordan. “They’re going to be a good measuring stick for us going into this weekend and we’re looking forward to going at those guys.”
In their season-opening 95-80 win over Mount Royal Jordan didn’t like the way his team guarded on transition defence and he wants his players to focus on maintaining better communication on the court, which they did to greater effect in their second game against Mount Royal, a 75-67 win.
“The biggest thing for me right now is we haven’t shot the ball particularly well
yet and to come out of the weekend with two wins is something I’m pretty happy with,” said Jordan.
“Our Saturday game was a grittier win and it was a good sign that we were able to win that.”
Raimbault is in his eighth season at the helm of the Wesmen since leaving the Twolves after coaching them to the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national title in 2010. Jordan was an assistant coach with Raimbault in the college league and has been head coach of the T-wolves since they joined Canada West in 2012.
“Him and I are pretty good friends and we talk once or twice a month through the season and as the year goes on and we play against common opponents and we talk about things,” said Jordan.
Last year the T-wolves won their firstever Canada West playoff game, beating Winnipeg 71-68 before they got swept by Alberta in a two-game quarterfinal series. The coaching tie between Jordan and Raimbault and that bit of history between the T-wolves and Wesmen adds to the intrigue of their two-game weekend matchup tonight ( 8 p.m. start) and Saturday (7 p.m.).
— see TARVER, page 9
George Spruce Kings gets a shot away against Alberni Valley Bulldogs goaltender John Hawthorne last December at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena. The Kings host the Bulldogs tonight.
Spruce Kings back on home ice tonight
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
The Prince George Spruce Kings haven’t had to kill many penalties this season and that’s helped them maintain their status as one of the top teams in the B.C. Hockey League.
Heading into the third month of the season, the Spruce Kings (12-6-0-1, third in Mainland Division) are only five points behind the pace of the league-leading Chilliwack Chiefs (15-6-0-0).
Through 19 games the Spruce Kings have played shorthanded just 70 times, tied with Penticton for thirdlowest in the BCHL, and they’ve killed off 81.4 per cent of those penalties (11th best).
the neutral zone and we’ll have to be smart, especially on our (shorter) rink size,” said Maglio. “For us, our success will be how we manage the puck against them. They’re opportunistic, they’re not overly aggressive and they kind of want to pounce on your mistakes.”
Coming off a weekend on the road in which they won two of three games for the second-straight time, head coach Adam Maglio was pleased with his troops but knows they had to dodge a few bullets while on the penalty kill. They scored convincing wins over Trail, 5-2, and Wenatchee, 4-1, but lost their Sunday afternoon game 2-1 in Salmon Arm.
“We ran into a bit of penalty trouble in all three games and I think it caught up to us in Salmon Arm,” said Maglio. “We did a great job gutting through some penalty-kills, a 5-on-3 in Trail for close to 1:40 and a fiveminute major in Wenatchee. In Salmon Arm we killed a four-minute double-minor but they did get one on the PP and that was a bit of a difference-maker.
“But Friday and Saturday we did a lot of little things that added up to big things –shot-blocks and creating a lot of turnovers and how we checked, I thought we had good detail.”
The Spruce Kings are back on home ice tonight (7 p.m.) at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena to face the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (7-10-1-0, third in Island Division), followed by a Saturday night date with the Penticton Vees.
“We haven’t seen (Alberni Valley) yet but we have watched a bit of video on them and they try to do a good job clogging up
The Silverbacks held Kings’ sniper Ben Brar off the scoresheet, something most teams haven’t been able to do lately. The 20-year-old winger was the BCHL player of the week two weeks ago and continued his torrid scoring pace with three goals in Trail and a goal and an assist in Wenatchee.
“He’s got it going on right now, he’s been good in all areas, PK, PP, 5-on-5,” said Maglio. “He doesn’t dwell on past success, he’s continuing his pursuit to get better each day and it’s paying off for him bigtime.”
The Kings will be without winger Sean Donaldson, who was suspended for a hit on Wenatchee defenceman Chad Sasaki late in the second period on Saturday. Donaldson was handed a major penalty for checking from behind and a game misconduct. The league later determined he made contact with Sasaki’s head, which carries an automatic four-game suspension.
Donaldson missed the game in Salmon Arm and won’t be available to the Kings until their game next Saturday at home against Langley.
Donaldson, a University of Connecticut recruit, scored in Trail and Wenatchee, his first two goals in four games as a Spruce King since being traded from the Trail Smoke Eaters two weeks ago.
“He has a real knack for the net, he’s an elite offensive guy and he’s young, he’s 17,” said Maglio. “I’ve watched Sean quite a bit over the last few years and he was highlyrecruited and he has a great shot and can make plays with the puck and he plays with a bit of grit too. He’s going to be a real good player here.”
The Kings beat the Vees 3-2 Sept. 21 at the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack in their only other meeting this season. The Vees (96-0-2, fourth in Interior) begin the weekend tonight in Merritt.
Cougars aiming to end losing streak
— from page 7
Perepeluk was born in Burnaby, where he spent the first five years of his life. He started out playing hockey with Calgary Hitmen forward James Malm, then moved with his family to Yorkton, Sask. He blossomed as a defenceman in minor hockey in Yorkton and the Cougars drafted him in the sixth round of the 2015 bantam draft. His mother moved to Prince George that year so he could play for the Telus Cup hosts and spent two seasons with Cariboo Cougars, helping them win the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League title in 2017.
Tonight the Cougars will be trying to end a four-game winless streak against the Thunderbirds. In their most recent game Tuesday against Brandon they blew a 3-1 lead in the second period and lost 5-4.
“It’s about energy, because we are young, we have to play the full 60 minutes,” said Perepeluk. “We can’t be dogging it between the first and second (periods) like we did last game.”
Blake Hayward of the 2017-18 Prince
Laine nets home hat trick
Karel JANICEK Citizen news service
HELSINKI — Patrik Laine could hardly find a better place than home to show off his high-scoring instincts.
Laine, from Finland, had a hat trick as the Winnipeg Jets took a 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers in a regular-season game in the Finnish capital on Thursday. He scored in the second period and twice in the third, including an empty-netter, in the opener of a back-to-back series between the teams in front of a roaring sellout crowd of 13,500 at Hartwall Arena.
“I don’t think you can imagine how good that feels,” Laine said. “It’s good to be home and score all those goals back here. It’s pretty awesome.”
He wristed a shot past goalie James Reimer on a power play to claim a 2-1 lead for the Jets with 4:46 left in the second, then slapped a one-timer for the winner on a two-man advantage from the top of the left circle 3:28 into the final period before scoring on an empty net for his fifth career hat trick.
Mathieu Perreault scored the opening goal for the Jets (8-4-1) and captain Blake Wheeler and defenceman Dustin Byfuglien and had three assists each. The Panthers (2-5-3), who outshot Winnipeg 38-36, tied the score twice on goals by Keith Yandle and Evgenii Dadonov.
Florida captain Aleksander Barkov, also a native of Finland, assisted on Yandle’s goal.
“Overall, as a team, we played good in their zone,” Barkov said. “We have another game (Friday) and we have to concentrate on that.”
Laine, whose 44 goals were second to Alex Ovechkin’s 49 last sea-
son, had just three goals and two assists in 12 games, but he made a clear statement on Thursday.
“Tonight was a good example of what we see from (Laine) so often,” Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said. “He scored three but I think he could have had seven. I’m just so happy for him and his family that he can have a night like this. It’s just outstanding.”
The Panthers had the momentum in early stages, outshooting the Jets 9-0 in the opening minutes. They controlled the play and the puck most of the opening period but goaltender Connor Hellebuyck kept them at bay, turning back 18 shots in the opening frame.
In the process, Hellebuyck frus-
trated Dadonov on a breakaway and helped the Jets kill a twominute penalty before Perreault struck on the other side, scoring the go-ahead goal on a rebound with 1:26 remaining.
“We generated a ton of chances,” Florida coach Bob Boughner said. “This is what it’s been like since the season started. We’re still trying to break through and get the offensive production going.”
Yandle tied the score for Florida with 15:42 left in the second period, firing a slap shot on a fouron-three power play.
With an assist on Yandle’s goal, forward Mike Hoffman extended his point streak to eight games, and centre Nick Bjugstad had the
Predators win battle of NHL powers
Citizen news service
TAMPA, Fla. — Pekka Rinne didn’t miss a beat after being sidelined for two weeks. He made 42 saves after sitting out five games with an injury, and the Nashville Predators beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 on Thursday night. “Anytime you miss time, you’re a little nervous,” Rinne said. “I was happy that we played one of the top teams. You have to have a mindset that you might be busy. I felt good, and obviously very happy with the win.” Rinne was hurt in the third period of a 5-3 victory at Calgary on Oct. 19. He was stretching to try and stop the puck when teammate Kevin Fiala landed on top of the goalie in an
awkward-looking collision.
Kyle Turris, Roman Josi, Calle Jarnkrok and Miikka Salomaki scored, and Ryan Johansen had two nifty assists for the Predators. Right wing Viktor Arvidsson, who has eight goals and 12 points, was a late scratch due to a lowerbody injury and is day to day.
The Predators reached 10 wins in 13 games, the fastest in franchise history. The previous mark was 15 games, done three times.
Nashville (6-0-0) became the fifth team in NHL history to start a season with six or more consecutive road wins.
Tampa Bay got a goal from Slater Koekkoek, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 shots. Nashville is the only opponent Vasilevskiy (0-3-1)
Tarver a man to watch for Winnipeg
— from page 8
“We were able to get our first playoff win, in their gym, and now they’re coming to our gym,” said fourth-year UNBC guard Sage Gosal. “They’re definitely going to be very fired up and we have the added bonus of having our home crowd behind us for it.
“Winnipeg tries to take you out of what you’re trying to do. They make you uncomfortable. They deny passing lanes, so it is going to be tough for us to get into our offence. We need to be calm and composed to deal with that.”
The Wesmen were ranked 11th of 17 in the preseason Canada West coaches’ poll, one spot
100th assist of his career.
The game was the 24th played in Europe during the regular season and the sixth in Finland.
In October, the New Jersey Devils defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 in their regular-season opener in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The Jets and the Panthers complete their two-game series in Helsinki today.
NOTES: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the NHL is plann ing to play a season-opening game in Prague and another two games in Stockholm next season. Speaking before the game in Helsinki on Thursday, Bettman said the league is planning to keep a presence in Europe in the future.
has never beaten.
“We had our chances,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.
“They made us pay for the looks that we gave them,” Lightning defenceman Ryan McDonagh added.
Rinne made an outstanding save four minutes into the game when he lifted his right pad while lunging to the right and stopped Brayden Point’s rebound shot.
“He looked really sharp to me,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. “He was brilliant. He needed to be – they’re a dangerous team.”
Rinne has 315 NHL wins and is four short of tying Miikka Kiprusoff for the most by a Finnish-born player.
below UNBC. Third-year junior college transfer Sean Tarver set the pace offensively for the Wesmen in their two games at home last weekend, contributing 24 points and 11 rebounds in a 93-84 win over the Vikes Friday and 20 points in a 75-72 defeat Saturday decided by a buzzer-beater from Victoria’s Scott Kellum.
SPORTS IN BRIEF
Willis apologizes to CFL commissioner
TORONTO (CP) — Odell Willis has apologized to CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie after a controversial tweet voicing his displeasure at being given a fine.
The B.C. Lions defensive lineman was fined the maximum amount by the CFL on Wednesday for a high hit on Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Zach Collaros. The exact amount wasn’t divulged by a maximum fine is half a game cheque. Willis took to Twitter on Thursday to voice his displeasure. In a tweet including the handle of the commissioner’s Twitter account, Wills wrote: “Y’all fined me the maximum amount for leading with my shoulder, that’s kool!!! Next time ima just lead with my head since y’all gon fine me the max anyway” followed by three “man shrugging” emojis. After some Twitter users criticized Willis for the tweet, particularly the reference to leading with his helmet, Willis sent out an apology.
“@RandyAmbrosie with all due respect I’m sorry and I apologize for the tweet if it came off negative or threatening,” he wrote. “It wasn’t meant for that. I just don’t understand and I open to any feedback u might have. Again I apologize 4 the earlier tweet. It wasn’t meant 2 be negative” Willis delivered the hit on Collaros in the first quarter of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ 3516 win over the B.C. Lions.
Pettersson among October stars
NEW YORK (CP) — Colorado Avalanche right-wing Mikko Rantanen, Pittsburgh Penguins centre Evgeni Malkin and Chicago Blackhawks right-wing Patrick Kane have been named the NHL three stars of October, while Vancouver Canucks centre Elias Pettersson is the rookie of the month. Rantanen paced the NHL with 16 assists and 21 points in 12 games to propel the Avalanche to a 7-3-2 opening month. Malkin had six goals and 13 assists in 10 outings to guide the Penguins to a 6-2-2 October record. Kane shared the league lead with 11 goals and placed fourth overall with 18 points in 12 games. Pettersson led all rookies with seven goals and 10 points in eight games, putting up big numbers despite missing six games with a concussion. Pettersson had five points over his first two games, becoming only the second Canucks player to perform that feat and first since Thomas Gradin in the 1978-78 season.
AP PHOTO
Patrik Laine of Winnipeg Jets, centre, celebrates with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler after scoring his team’s second goal during the NHL Global Series Challenge game against the Florida Panthers in Helsinki, Finland, on Thursday.
Young, Hannah married
Citizen news service
TORONTO — Neil Young has confirmed he’s most definitely married to Daryl Hannah.
The Toronto-born musician addressed the rumours Wednesday in a message on his website, the Neil Young Archives.
Young refers to Hannah as “my wife Daryl” in an introduction to a live clip of him playing Ohio. It’s the first time Young has addressed months of speculation that he and Hannah tied the knot over the summer.
Rumours began circulating in August when Hannah’s Instagram page filled with comments congratulating her on the ceremony.
Young was previously married to singer-songwriter Pegi Young but the two divorced in 2014.
Once he began dating Hannah the two spent ample time working on projects together.
Young played the Man in the Black Hat in the film Paradox, which was directed by Hannah and released earlier this year on Netflix.
She also worked on his short films and oversaw stage design for Young’s intimate concert last December in Omemee, Ont.
Young’s website post also reflected on how Ohio, which he wrote as part of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, was inspired
by the Kent State shootings in which Ohio National Guardsmen shot and killed four students in 1970.
“It was a pivotal moment for me,” he wrote.
The message urged his U.S. fans to vote in the midterm elections, particularly in support of gun reform.
He praised students who are “brave, demanding change in violent times.”
“Support our children. They want protection. Not more guns,” he said.
“Give us common sense gun laws that protect our people, in schools, in places of worship, in the workplace and on the streets.”
White men the biggest terrorism threat in America, CNN’s Lemon says
them got tuckered out before they even made it to the border.”
During a recent segment about a supermarket shooting in Kentucky, CNN host Don Lemon said that “the biggest terror threat in this country is white men.”
Lemon was speaking on live television Monday about an incident in which a white man allegedly shot and killed two black people outside a Kroger grocery store in Jeffersontown, Ky., not far from Louisville.
The incident, which is being investigated as a hate crime, occurred during the same week that 13 potential explosive devices were sent to prominent Democratic and media figures across the country and 11 people were killed in a mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. White men were also charged in both of those cases.
“I keep trying to point out to people not to demonize any one group or any one ethnicity. But we keep thinking that the biggest terror threat is something else – some people who are marching towards the border like it’s imminent,” Lemon told CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, referring to the Central American migrant caravan walking toward the United States.
He added that “the last time they did this, a couple hundred people came and they – most of them didn’t get into the country. Most of
Gregory KATZ Citizen news service
It’s no surprise that fervent Hillary Clinton supporter and longtime Democratic Party fundraiser Barbra Streisand doesn’t think much of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The surprise is that the legendary singer chose to devote much of her new album, Walls, to a series of laments about the U.S. president’s policies.
Streisand never mentions the president by name, but she doesn’t have to. Opening track, What’s on My Mind, speaks of her dashed hopes in the current era and asks, “How did we come to this divide?”
The next one, Don’t Lie to Me, is even more direct, beginning with,
“So,” he said, “we have to stop demonizing people and realize the biggest terror threat in this country is white men, most of them radicalized to the right, and we have to start doing something about them. There is no travel ban on them. There is no ban – you know, they had the Muslim ban. There is no white-guy ban. So what do we do about that?”
On Wednesday, following the backlash, Lemon doubled down.
“Earlier this week, I made some comments about that in a conversation with Chris,” he said during a broadcast Wednesday night.
“I said that the biggest terror threat in this country comes from radicals on the far right, primarily white men. That angered some people. But let’s put emotion aside and look at the cold hard facts. The evidence is overwhelming.”
Lemon pointed to a recent Government Accountability Office report that shows that since the 9/11 attacks in 2001, far-right violent extremists have killed 106 people in 62 attacks in the United States, while radical Islamist violent extremists have killed 119 people in 23 attacks.
He also referenced several studies, including a 2017 report from the Nation Institute’s Investigative Fund and the Center for Investigative Reporting’s Reveal, which found that from 2008 to 2016, there were almost twice as many
“Why can’t you just tell me the truth? Hard to believe the things you say.”
The title track complains about the divisive nature of building walls – a familiar Trump campaign promise – and even picks up Clinton’s campaign theme that it is better to build bridges instead.
As a counterpoint to this gloom, she combines John Lennon’s wistful Imagine with the Louis Armstrong classic What a Wonderful World and also covers What the World Needs Now in a paean to the redemptive power of love.
But those more hopeful tunes don’t really save this offering from its lugubrious tone.
Streisand’s vocal range and control are still extraordinary, but the lyrics often fall flat, as in Lady
terrorist incidents carried out on U.S. soil by right-wing extremistsmany of whom are white – than by Islamist extremists.
It showed there were 115 incidents involving right-wing extremists and that those that ended in death were more deadly than incidents carried out by other groups.
“So people who were angered about what I said are missing the entire point,” Lemon said about his earlier statements.
“We don’t need to worry about people who are thousands of miles away.
“The biggest threats are homegrown. The facts prove that.”
Still, Lemon’s remarks about terrorist threats ignited an uproar among many conservatives.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., who survived a shooting targeting Republican lawmakers who were practicing for a Congressional Baseball Game in 2017, posted a link to a story about Lemon on Twitter – commenting simply with an emoji showing wide eyes.
And Donald Trump Jr. said in a tweet Wednesday that he thought it “was some sort of joke quote taken out of context but no... it’s just Don Lemon being a moron.”
“Unfortunately this is how so many leftists actually think,” he continued.
“Disgusting! Imagine the outrage if you changed ‘white men’ with any other demographic?”
Liberty, which calls for the Statue of Liberty to “show us how to stand and feel a little prouder.”
Her magnificent voice, at times quivering with deeply felt emotion, may not be the perfect instrument for expressing pointed political anger, and the soft string accompaniment becomes a bit predictable.
The Trump era will surely produce a strong, outspoken musical response, perhaps from newer artists who have yet to be heard on the national stage, but Streisand here fails to break new ground. Walls will likely please her legions of fans – she is one of the most popular recording artists of the last six decades – but may not bring many new listeners to her side.
Lindsey BEVER Citizen news service
CNN host Don Lemon attends the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Lemon defended his comment that “the biggest terror threat” in the United States is white men.
Streisand’s Walls tears down Trump
HANNAH
DAWES,HaroldW. February15,1949-October24,2018 HaroldWallaceDawesmadeittohistransferstation andwenthometoHeavenonOctober24,2018atthe ageof69.Heisdearlymissedbyhisbelovedwife MarthaGail,theirchildrenAmanda(Dan),Michael (Sharon),Emily(John-Michael),andMatthew(Kyla) andtheirthirteengrandchildren,Scott,Henry, Katelyn,Sophia,Jordan,Lauren,Emka,Wade,Eric, Xavier,Isaac,AsherandSean.HaroldwaspredeceasedbyhissisterBarbaraandissurvivedbyhis brothersDavid,DonaldandRobert.Haroldservedhis Lordfaithfulllyandwithincredibleenergyinhis church,inthecommunityandasateacherforover 30years.Hewasresilient,despiteon-goinghealth challengesandalife-longlearner,compassionate, andgenerous.Wearegratefulfortheincrediblecare offeredbythemedicalcommunityhereinPrince GeorgeandinVancouver.Wewillcelebratehislife togetheratSt.Giles’PresbyterianChurchon Saturday,November3,2018at2pm.Ifyouwould liketo,giftscouldbemadetotheSt.Giles’ PresbyterianBenevolentFund,RegentCollege,BC CancerAgencyortheBCArthritisSociety.
Reaugh, Ivor October 21, 2018
It is with great sadness that the family of Ivor Reaugh announces his passing. Ivor passed peacefully October 21st, 2018 at Ashcroft Hospital in Ashcroft, B.C., at 88 years of age, after a long battle with health issues. Ivor was one of six children. He is predeceased by his Father Archibald Reaugh, his Mother Laverne Reaugh, his brothers William Howard Reaugh & Bernard Reaugh & his sisters Doris Hooker & Marjorie Dunlop. Ivor is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years, Barbara Reaugh of Ashcroft, B.C., his youngest sister Lola Chappelle of Prince George, B.C., his daughters Colleen (Ted) Rothon of Christina Lake, B.C, Karen (Bill) Pavich of Prince George, B.C. & Diane Reaugh of Couer d’Alene, Idaho and his only son, Daryl (Kristin) Reaugh of Dallas, Texas. He leaves behind his eight dearly loved grandchildren; Jonathan, Alyssa, Daniel, Evan, Kyle, Falyn, Kendyl & Kaley, along with many special nephews & nieces & friends. From a young age Ivor was a talented artist and garnered a Fine Arts Award from his High School in Prince George. He enjoyed painting, cartooning & charcoal portraitures. Ivor was also interested in photography. He owned many fine cameras and shared his knowledge while working in a camera shop. He was an avid dancer & met his wife, Barbara, at a dance in Prince George. They were married in his wife’s hometown of Williams Lake, B.C. on a lovely, hot August day in 1959. Ivor appreciated all kinds of music, and being of Irish descent he had a special affinity for Irish music. With Cherokee in his bloodline he also enjoyed hunting, fishing and nature. He worked for the B.C. Forest Service, various logging companies and was a Forestry Instructor at the College of New Caledonia in Prince George for nearly 10 years. It was there that he and Barbara raised their four children. Life moved south to Ashcroft, B.C. where Ivor and Barbara owned & operated One Easy Stop for 16 years before retiring there in 2009. Ivor’s biggest love was always his family and he faithfully encouraged his children’s & grandchildren’s various pursuits. He was a dreamer, a learner, a teacher and a builder. A virtuous man who laughed easy and loved life. Many thanks to the staff of Jackson House at Ashcroft Hospital as well as Royal Inland Hospital & Pine Grove Care Centre in Kamloops, B.C. for their compassionate care of Ivor, beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather, Brother, Uncle & Friend. He was deeply loved, is dearly missed, and will forever be cherished. A Celebration of Life for Ivor will be held at a later date. Donations can be made to your choice of the Alzheimers Society of B.C. @alzheimers.ca, the Kidney Foundation of Canada @ www.kidney.ca or Parkinson Canada @ www.parkinson.ca and condolences can be left at www.tfvh.ca Online condolences may be made at www.tvfh.ca
Joan: It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Marlene Joan Wenschlag (85) on October 21, 2018. She passed away peacefully with her daughter Lorri by her side. She has gone to join her husband Mel, her daughters Joanne Lamble & Donna Penner and her son-in-law Stephen Lamble. Marlene lived in Prince George for over 50 years and spent many of those working at the Four Seasons pool. She is fondly remembered by many who were taught by her, and others who were lucky enough to work with her and become lifelong friends. After retiring from the pool, Marlene did some traveling and eventually took up acting (her true calling). She led a group of enthusiastic and talented actors in the ECRA Drama Club, and together they brought joy and laughter to many audiences throughout the years. Marlene will be remembered for her warmth, compassion, integrity and her sense of humour. She will be missed by her daughter; Lorri DeLong (Terry); her loving brother Tom McVie (Susan); her son-in-law Mike; her grandchildren: Kristine, Nicole and Caitlin Lamble; Alisha, Chantelle and Shelby Penner; Jason and Aimee DeLong and her niece April (Tom) Ireland and Lisa. A Celebration of Life will be held at 12 noon on November 10, 2018, Elder Citizens Recreation Association, 1692 10th Ave., Prince George, BC. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Elder Citizens Recreation Association in Marlene’s name. A Go Fund Me page has also been set up by Marlene’s family to receive donations for ECRA. Search under Marlene Wenschlag Memorial Fund.
Ronald Wayne Boehler
April 7, 1947 - October 27, 2018
Life without Ron Boehler among us, began on October 27, 2018. His sudden passing at the age of 71 has left heavy hearts in those that loved and respected him.
Ron was born in Prince George, BC on April 7, 1947 to Ervin and Jennie Boehler and lived his entire life here. He is survived by his wife May, their 4 gathered sons, Tom (Carla), Aron (Julie-Ann), Shane (Shelly), Michael and 8 grandchildren.
He also leaves his brother Boyd (Arlene) and family, his sister Gail Low and family, brother-in-law Patrick Duff and family, brother-in-law Bob Hackett (Lea) and family, his chosen `sis’ Holly and special nephew and nieces.
Ron was deeply respected, loved and will be dearly missed by his chosen family of whom there are many and include his long time friends Vic and Shirley, hunting partners, work mates and neighbours. An avid sportsman who had the greatest respect for the wilderness, he enjoyed challenging the rivers of the north in his jet boat. Ron looked forward to his time each year in hunt-camp. The hunt was a bonus to the time he spent with his hunting partners and young hunters. Deepest thanks and gratitude to `Jim’ for being the hunting partner `above and beyond’ that he was. Ron did not just enjoy the wilderness for himself but was involved in associations that promoted responsible use of the wild. He was a Past-President of Spruce City Wildlife and a Life Member of the BC Wildlife Federation. Time was spent as a ‘Recreation Education Instructor’ of BC Conservation & Outdoors and he participated in the formation of the Prince George Riverboat Club.
In 2008 after 40 plus years of shift-work as a machine tender and paper maker, Ron retired to spend time with family and friends, read books, watch hockey and wait for hunt-camp to start. He designed and built himself a hunt chair, methodically drilled holes in wash-tubs for fire pits and supported employment by drinking coffee from ‘Timmies. Ron was a man of strong convictions and stood behind his beliefs, in his life, his work ethic and in the general decent comportment of people. His word was good, it was true and served ‘straight-up’. He was a good man.
It was Ron’s wish that there be no service at his passing. But if you have a minute, go out one night and look at the stars, go for a walk in the woods, sit at a campfire or go have a ‘Timmies’ and think of him and the time you have shared with him. He will be wherever he is playing `hoser’ with his beloved special girls, ‘Susan’ and ‘Elli’.
It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Brent Masse who was born and raised in Prince George, BC. He is already incredibly missed by his wife Jody, their children Jenny, Andie (Al), Morgan (Mike), Roger (Carla) and Toby, as well as his six grandchildren Cody, Sara, Blake, Taylor, Kennedy and Jackson. Brent, predeceased by his parents Doris and Roger Masse, is survived by his siblings, Wayne, Viv, Deb, and Lexi. He will also be missed by many friends and family members whom he entertained with numerous stories, jokes and his gentle teasing that always made them smile. His generous spirit and willingness to help others will not be forgotten. Brent was well known and highly respected by everyone he worked with, especially in the trucking industry. He loved to work but was happy to retire so he could head south before the first snowfall. Brent managed to combine his love for travel, watching hockey games and spending time swimming and boating by wintering in Lake Havasu, Arizona. He was always excited to plan “The Next Trip”. When home, Brent looked forward to spending time with family. He loved camping, fishing and sharing stories around the campfire. He had such fun watching his grandkids enjoy life and their activities and he was always amazed by what they could do. They in turn, were equally amazed by how Papa Brent always knew when it was just the right time to share a sweet treat or a funny joke. He was eagerly awaiting the chance to hug his new grandchild arriving this December. There will be no service at Brent’s request. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to a charity of your choice in Brent’s
requiredforbothpositions.Ifyouarepositive, compassionateandenjoyworkinginafast-paced environment,wewouldlovetohearfromyou!Please applywithresumeandthreereferencesbymailtoBox 1617,PrinceGeorge,B.C.V2L4V6orbyemailto
WENSCHLAG, Marlene
Feds divide frigate maintenance contract
Citizen news service
OTTAWA — The federal government says it plans to divvy up $7 billion in maintenance and repair contracts for Royal Canadian Navy frigates to three shipyards, a political compromise that was met with mixed reaction.
Public Services and Procurement Canada announced the advance contract award notices on Thursday for Halifax’s Irving Shipbuilding Inc., Seaspan Victoria Shipyards in Victoria and Davie Shipbuilding in Levis, Que.
The contracts are to maintain Canada’s 12 Halifax-class frigates until the end of their operational life, estimated at another 20 years.
Ottawa said in a statement that after consultations, it was decided the three Canadian shipyards were needed to complete the work on the warships.
It was not immediately clear how the money would be divided among the three shipyards. A government spokesman said the value of each contract would be variable as the number of “docking periods” per shipyard may vary.
David Baker-Mosher, president of the Unifor Marine Workers Federation Local 1 union at Halifax’s Irving shipyard, called the government’s plans an “utter disappointment.”
“Workers feel their future is being jeopardized,” he said, noting that the decision could mean layoffs.
“It’s disappointing that our government cannot understand how these ships are worked on and how much skill is needed.”
At issue is a gap between the end of the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships program and the start of the Canadian Surface Combatant program.
Irving has indicated in the past that repair work on the Halifax-class frigates would help mitigate that gap and sustain jobs.
An Irving spokesman declined an interview on Thursday’s announcement, but said the company would provide comment following an announcement by Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan at the Halifax Shipyard Friday morning.
In B.C., Tim Page with Seaspan said the company was pleased with the government’s intent to contract the Victoria shipyard.
“We have been repairing and refitting those vessels now for some time on budget and on time and that elicits great pride in our workforce in Victoria,” said Page, Seaspan’s vicepresident of government relations.
However, he pointed out that “it’s not the end of the road” as there is a 15-day “cure period.” The deal gives other interested suppliers 15 days to come forward if they wish to bid on the contract and submit a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements laid out in the contract notice.
In Quebec, the announcement was greeted with relief by Davie Shipbuilding, which has laid off hundreds of employees over the past year as work dried up.
“There is finally stability,” company spokesman Frederik Boisvert said.
Ottawa has faced strong pressure from the Quebec government to send more work Davie’s way.
The company had 1,500 employees during work to convert a civilian ship into a new interim resupply vessel for the navy, but the workforce has fallen to 250 since that ship was delivered in 2017. Davie has been seeking a contract to produce a second resupply vessel.
Ken Hansen, an independent defence analyst and former navy commander, said dividing the work between three shipyards through untendered contracts is about politics.
“Any work that is awarded to Davie is done for the sake of politics,” he said. “It tells you that the power of the Quebec caucus in the Liberal party is really strong.”
Hansen said international best practice is to do repair and maintenance work in the ships’ home port.
“If the ships have to travel a distance and get their work done elsewhere, it’s both ineffective and uneconomical,” he said.
The Royal Canadian Navy’s Atlantic fleet is based at CFB Halifax while the Pacific fleet is based at CFB Esquimalt near Victoria.
Hansen added that the decision hearkens back to a historic approach to shipbuilding in Canada
“The various regions all had a slice of the shipbuilding pie and what ended up happening... was this boom and bust cycle,” he said, noting that it led to repeated gaps in work and layoffs.
Michael Byers, a University of British Columbia professor and expert on Canadian defence policy, agreed that the decision was likely influenced by politics but called it a “defensible policy choice.”
“It’s likely a decision made for a political reasons, but it’s not a decision that threatens the viability of the shipyards in Halifax or B.C.,” he said.
“It’s a defensible decision even if the motivation was probably political.”
Byers added that Irving can also bid on work on the commercial market and shouldn’t expect government to fill every gap.
“From a political point of view, it is interesting that the government has found a way to potentially satisfy everyone,” he said. “From a vote winning perspective, that’s an optimal outcome for the federal government.”
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, in Quebec City to meet with Premier Francois Legault, accused the federal government of “neglecting the Davie Shipyards.”
He said the resupply vessel was delivered “on time, on budget, and now they’re delaying the second ship unnecessarily, which is costing jobs here.”
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said his government has spoken with Ottawa about maintaining work at the Halifax Shipyard.
“We’ve made the case to the national government that we believe the level of work should be maintained at the shipyard so they can hold on to the high quality talent that they currently have,” he told reporters.
Ottawa says the work on the frigates is necessary while the navy awaits the delivery of replacement Canadian Surface Combatant ships.
Canada Post rotating strike continues, OT ban in effect
OTTAWA — More than 1,800 Canada Post workers have walked off the job in Hamilton, Ont., and La Mauricie, Que., as the union’s overtime ban takes effect across the country.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says the walkout in La Mauricie began Wednesday at 11:30 p.m. and in Hamilton just after midnight on Thursday.
Those workers joined union locals in other communities taking part in the rotating strikes, including Regina, Sask. The Ontario communities of North Bay and Ottawa are also on strike, as well as the British Columbia cities of Campbell River, Courtenay, Nanaimo and Port Alberni.
In Quebec, Canada Post locals are also off the job in Outaouais after strikes in other areas of the province wrapped up Thursday.
On Wednesday, CUPW said the overtime ban means postal workers can refuse to work beyond their normal eight-hour days.
“We have a health and safety crisis at Canada Post. We’ve seen injury rates skyrocket,” Mike Palecek, CUPW national president, said in a statement Thursday. “This has got to be fixed.”
Meanwhile, Canada Post says it is facing a days-long backlog of parcel deliveries.
Dozens of trailers filled with parcels and packages were awaiting processing at the agency’s three biggest hubs – Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.
Combined, the three key locations can process one million parcels a day from across the country, Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton has said.
The union and the postal service have been unable to reach new collective agreements for two bargaining units after 10 months of negotiations.
Canada Post has said it provided “significant” offers to its employees, including wage hikes.
“But they don’t address a single one of our major issues,” Palecek said Wednesday in a statement on the union’s website.
OTTAWA (CP) — These are indicative
rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Thursday. Quotations in Canadian funds.
The markets today
TORONTO (CP) — Canada’s main stock index started November by notching a third straight day of positive growth led by higher metals and materials. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 122.87 points to 15,150.15. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 264.98 points to 25,380.74. The S&P 500 index was up 28.63 points to 2,740.37, while the Nasdaq composite was up 128.16 points at 7,434.02.
The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 76.41 cents US compared with an average of 76.09 cents US on Wednesday. The December crude contract was down $1.62 to US$63.69 per barrel and the December natural gas contract was down 2.4 cents at US$3.24 per mmBTU. The December gold contract was up US$23.60 at US$1,238.60 an ounce and the December copper contract was up 6.25 cents at US$2.72 a pound.
CP FILE PHOTO
HMCS Toronto heads out to sea from in Halifax on Jan. 14, 2013. The federal government announced a $7 billion maintenance contract for Canada’s frigates will be divided between three Canadian shipyards.
