Muskeg Press

In the North Coast, more pink salmon swim back to their streams in odd-numbered years. In 2009, for instance, local fishermen enjoyed one of the biggest pink salmon years in a long time, as they returned to their streams in high numbers.

But 2011 will not be a repeat of those good fishing days. Projections had shown that the North Coast wasn’t supposed to have a good pink year, but the catch came in even lower than expected.

According to a Department of Fisheries & Oceans salmon update, dated Aug. 31, the estimates for pink catches this year were much lower than 2009. The estimates for the seine fleet in Area A show that it caught over 1.1 million pieces this year; for the gillnet fleet in Area C, estimates show it caught 130,490 pieces.

Compare this to 2009, when the seine fleet caught 8.1 million pinks, while the gillnetters caught over 205,000 pinks. The previous pink season, 2007, had the seiners catching just over six million pinks, and the gillnetters catching over 460,000. (All stats courtesy of DFO.)

The salmon update states that pink escapements were well below average in the Nass River region. “Pink escapements to the Skeena and coastal streams are being assessed but all available indications suggest well below average abundances,” states the report.

“The North Coast really disappointed,” said Colin McMillan, general manger of McMillan Fisheries Ltd., in an interview with Muskeg News. He said pinks were not expected to have a good year in 2011, but the catch actually came in below expectations.

McMillan also said he hasn’t heard a good theory as to why the run was so poor last year. He also found it ironic that the Cohen Commission, whose mission is to investigate a poor sockeye run in 2009, started its work in 2010 on the tail-end of an great sockeye season in the Fraser River.

“It highlights to me how poorly understood ocean conditions are,” said McMillan.

Joy Thorkelson, head of the local United Fishermen & Allied Workers’ Union, said that pinks usually end their season around the third week of August each year. But this year, it ended a week earlier.

“It was a really poor year,” said Thorkelson.

But it wasn’t poor everywhere: Thorkelson said the Fraser River had a pretty good pink run and, in fact, Rupert’s fish plants processed some of those pinks just last week.

Thorkelson theorizes two possible reasons for the poor pink run: one, that over-spawning from the huge 2009 season caused too many fish to be upriver; or two, that bad weather in the fall of 2009 blew eggs out of the rivers.

~Written by Chris Armstrong

Prince Rupert’s electorate may have to cast a vote for more than just city councillors and school trustees in this November’s municipal elections.

At Monday night’s city council meeting, council passed the third reading on three referendum questions. It also discussed the possibility of including a plebiscite on the November ballot.

The referendums concern borrowing money to build new facilities for the fire department and police station. Council passed three readings for three possible referendum questions: to construct a new fire hall, to construct a new police station, or to construct a facility that would house both the fire hall and police station. This doesn’t necessarily mean there will be three questions on the ballot; it simply means council has left the door open to choose none or all of the questions.

Now, it’s up to the inspector of municipalities to approve or deny the request for a referendum. If it’s approved, it’s up to Rupert’s administration to craft the question(s) and council to approve them.

If the questions do appear on the ballot, and they’re approved, the new facilities would come at a high cost. The table below shows the estimated cost for all three options, and the corresponding potential property tax increase.

The cost of safety

Source: Agenda from council meeting for Sept. 19, 2011

Even if the referendums pass, it doesn’t force council to follow the wishes of the electorate; but it would probably be political suicide if councillors went against the vote.

According to a report by the chief financial officer, an architectural study showed both the fire hall and police station suffer from many deficiencies. Among the problems are:

• structural problems, like leaky roofs and damaged plumbing;
• insufficient interior and exterior space;
• long-overdue seismic upgrades.

The plebiscite, on the other hand, is more of a poll to gauge voters’ opinions on a particular issue. At Monday night’s council meeting, council approved a possible question to ask voters if they agreed with raising property taxes by 4.5 per cent, with the revenue going specifically to road reconstruction. Council, particularly Mayor Jack Mussallem, has repeatedly called for improvements to the city’s infrastructure.

Dan Rodin, the chief financial officer for the City, said administration has already looked at a number of sites around town as potential sites for the new fire hall/police station building. He could not say, however, if the site would be selected before the referendum.

Rodin said council had looked at possibly renovating both the fire hall and police station, but concluded the costs were too high. He also said renovating wouldn’t solve the problem of insufficient space.

Rodin also said the issue will probably arise at the next few council meetings leading up to the election. “This is a significant question for the community,” he said.

The referendum questions, if approved by council, would have to be crafted by the middle of October.

-Written by Chris Armstrong

*And, in answer to any grammar geeks out there: “referendums” and “referenda” are both acceptable as the plural for “referendum.”

B.C. Premier Christy Clark kicked off her much-hyped jobs tour in Prince Rupert this morning, announcing a $15 million contribution by the Province for the development of the Ridley Island road, rail and utility corridor project.

“Canada does indeed start here as our western-most port city,” said Clark in prepared comments, referring to the slogan for her jobs plan: “Canada starts here.”

The announcement also included funding commitments by the Prince Rupert Port Authority and CN Rail, which will both be contributing $30 million to the project. Port CEO Don Krusel and CN president & CEO Claude Mongeau also made comments at the announcement affirming their contributions to the project.

The road, rail and utility corridor project has been highly promoted by the Port. It would consist of a 7,818 metre rail loop corridor around Ridley Island, with 14 inbound and 11 outbound tracks, and a total area of 125 hectares (about 309 acres) of land.

In June of this year, the Port and Canpotex jointly published a project description, which detailed proposed plans for construction of the rail corridor and a potash terminal. Canpotex has not yet made an official decision whether or not to build a potash terminal, but the federal government has invited public comment for its comprehensive environmental assessment for the dual project.

The estimated cost for phase one of the road, rail and utility corridor project is $90 million – so, with all the announced contributions today, the dollar figure is $15 million short. That money is expected to come from the federal government, but no commitment has yet been made.

“The federal government continues to work through its process to determine its participation with respect to the remaining $15 million,” states a press release by the Province that was distributed at the announcement.

The over-arching theme behind this announcement was to take advantage of growing markets in the East. Clark’s first “pillar” of her jobs plan is to expand markets for B.C. products, especially to Asia. Pat Bell, provincial minister of jobs, tourism & innovation, said B.C.’s exports have continued to rise to countries like China, Japan, India, and Korea; meanwhile, trade with the U.S. is dropping. Port CEO Don Krusel said the rail facility at Ridley will help the Port expand its capacity as it brings in raw materials such as coal, grain, and goods “as far away as the potash mines of Saskatchewan.” Rupert’s close proximity to Asia was also mentioned quite frequently in today’s announcement, which took place in the maintenance building at Fairview Terminal.

In her remarks, Clark said this contribution would help tie together the “web of infrastructure” all across the country.

In a media scrum after the announcement, Clark said the Province would continue to focus on Prince Rupert like a laser beam. “This is not the last time you’re going to see investment in Prince Rupert,” she said.

Clark was also asked if her jobs plan would include finding work for local unemployed people. She answered that more details would be coming out by the end of this week as she continues her “Canada starts here” tour, but did hint the government would be making investments in education, which might include helping people find training in their communities.

“If you live in Prince Rupert, you shouldn’t have to move to get a job,” said Clark.

After the officialdom ended and the premier left for a helicopter ride over Ridley Island, MLA Gary Coons gave his opinion on the announcement. He said he’s supportive of port expansion in Rupert, but added the contents of the announcement were not new – he said it was a commitment from 2006.

Coons also said any jobs plan must include investment in post-secondary education and training. “We know that good jobs and a meaningful jobs plan need to support increased accessibility and affordability of post-secondary education,” he said. “We must have jobs for those in our community, our region and throughout the province.”

-Written by Chris Armstrong

The Prince Rupert City & Regional Archives have once again found a new home in town, its seventh in 30 years.

Now located in the basement of City Hall on the east side of the building (where community policing used to be), the archives officially opened for business once again on September 6 after a short hiatus during the move from its former home, the Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional District building.

“People are surprised that we moved,” said archivist Jean Eiers-Page (pictured above). She said the archives moved because the regional district building was recently sold by the City, and the new landlords were going to increase the rent by an amount they couldn’t afford. The archives has an annual budget of $76,000, she said.

The archives’ new home has 400 more square feet than the regional district home, and Eiers-Page expects more tourists to come through the door because of its central location.

There’s also a larger storage area, which is a benefit because there are more materials coming in every year, as more donations are sent to the archives, said Eiers-Page.

“Right now, it’s working out really well,” she said, adding that she’s trying to reduce the temperature and humidity to ensure the records are preserved properly.

While it’s too soon to say how much longer the archives will be at its new location, the length of its new lease with the City is five years.

~Written by Chris Armstrong

According to Statistics Canada, the unemployment rate in Northwest B.C. dropped to 8.7 per cent in August 2011, down from 11 per cent in August 2010.

The information was released as part of the monthly Labour Force Survey, which collects employment data from 56,000 households across Canada.

The 2.3-per cent drop in unemployment was caused, in part, by a lower overall population and a growing labour force. According to Statistics Canada’s estimates, the population dropped by 400 people in the region, down to 66,600; but the actual labour force rose by 2,800 people to 49,200.

Officially, the data reflect employment in the North Coast & Nechako region, which is made up of the following regional districts: Skeena-Queen Charlotte, Kitimat-Stikine, and Bulkley-Nechako. In other words, from Haida Gwaii to Vanderhoof.

Paddy Jones, the manager of the Career Resource Centre in Prince Rupert, said the drop in unemployment numbers corresponds to data she keeps track of.

Although the Career Resource Centre doesn’t see all unemployed people in Rupert, it keeps track of all the people who come in looking for help, said Jones. She said the rate of people who found employment after visiting the Centre was higher in August than it had been for over a year.

In other words, she said, it appears that people are working in Rupert.

On top of that, Jones also said the Centre’s job board is full and has a good mix of jobs. Since job boards don’t typically show every single job available in a community, she said this indicates that jobs are out there and people are working.

As for the cause of the increase in employment, Jones didn’t know the exact reason, but did mention that more people are going to Kitimat for camp jobs.

The reason for the increase in work at Kitimat is mostly due to the modernization of Rio Tinto Alcan’s aluminum smelter – a $2.5 billion project that was announced last year. Kitimat also recently scored a Tim Hortons franchise, which should be opening in 2012.

Still, even with the drop in unemployment, Jones said there are still a number of people unemployed in Rupert. Many have been unemployed for a long period of time, she said, adding that the longer one is without work, the hard it is to find a job.

The national unemployment rate was at 7.3 per cent. B.C.’s unemployment rate for August was measured at 7.5 per cent, up 0.2 per cent from the previous year.

Western Canada continued to maintain low unemployment rates: in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, unemployment rates dropped to 4.5 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively. Alberta saw a slight rise, from 5.5 per cent to 5.6 per cent.

~Written by Chris Armstrong

Oscar Wilde said, “conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” But really, Oscar, what else is there to talk about in Rupert these days?

Other than a few stretches of sunny weather for three days at a time, it seems that it’s rained in Rupert incessantly since the beginning of July. Against all odds, there’s been more of it over the last few days. While we haven’t had a highway closure or a landslide like Stewart or Kincolith, we have seen a tremendous amount of rain.

How much? According to David Jones, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, 200 millimetres has fallen since Monday, September 5. He added there’s probably another 50 millimetres on its way before it ends.

Jones said the cause of the downpour has been the “usual culprit”: a front draped over the North Coast that won’t budge.

That front isn’t moving, said Jones, because a deep low-pressure system over Alaska has come up against a ridge over North America. That ridge is the same one causing near-record high temperatures in the Lower Mainland, he said.

“Sometimes, these systems lock in and don’t budge,” said Jones.

The wind is coming from the southwest, tapping into tropical weather patterns; Jones said the train of moisture actually stretches all the way to Hawaii. “I don’t know whether we’d call it a Pineapple Express, but it’s pretty close,” he said, referring to the meteorological phenomenon that sometimes flows from Hawaii, bringing moisture and rain to the west coast of North America.

The wind is also bringing the system perpendicular to the Coast Mountains, which Jones said is the perfect way to “ring it out.”

As for the landslides that heavy rainfall can sometimes bring, there hasn’t been any along Highway 16 – yet.

Jeff Knight, a communications agent with the provincial ministry of transportation, said while landslides can’t be predicted, road workers are nonetheless staying vigilant.

“During heavy rains, our highway maintenance contractors are patrolling highways and bridges and monitoring drainage channels to ensure they are kept free of debris,” wrote Knight in an email to Muskeg News.

Environment Canada, meanwhile, is forecasting another few days of rain until Saturday. By then, we may actually be able to enjoy the sun and stop boring each other with our unimaginative comments about the weather.

~Written by Chris Armstrong

This coming Tuesday, students will no doubt strain to contain their enthusiasm for returning to school. But their teachers may not be so enthusiastic, given the state of negotiations with their employers.

According to a press release sent out by School District 52, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation served 72 hours’ strike notice on behalf of all employees in the bargaining unit.

Unless otherwise ordered by the Labour Relations Board, states the press release, teachers will begin job action on September 6 – the first day of school.

The first phase of the strike will involve withdrawal of “teacher administrative services,” such as supervision of recess and bus duties. “During the strike, other employee groups will continue to perform their regular duties,” states the press release. “Volunteers may also continue to do the activities they have routinely performed in schools.”

The teachers’ contract with the province expired at the end of June; soon after, they voted 90 per cent in favour of a strike if a deal wasn’t reached with the province by September 6. As usual, teachers are looking for smaller class sizes, as well as wage increases on par with other provinces.

But this apparently unstoppable force has met the immovable object of a province that declared a “zero wage increase” for the public sector in 2009.

Negotiations between the two sides have been ongoing over the summer, but by all reports, not much progress has been made. And on August 30, Education Minister George Abbott said the government would step in if the job action escalates into a strike.

For teachers and their employers, their positions are staked. For students, they may have to restrain their enthusiasm for the time being, in case a full-blown strike occurs.

~Written by Chris Armstrong

In the last week, two major announcements have been made about development at Ridley Island, one concerning plans to possibly build a potash terminal, the other dealing with a long-term contract signed with the coal terminal.

On August 29, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency officially posted on its website that it is conducting a “comprehensive study” for the proposed Canpotex potash terminal project for Ridley Island. A comprehensive study is a type of environmental assessment – a key part to the process that every major project must go through before construction begins.

This phase of the project also invites public comments to be received by September 30. The Agency has also made available $50,000 under the participant funding program “to assist groups and individuals to take part in upcoming steps in the federal environmental assessment of this project,” according to a press release.

This announcement comes about two months after a new project description of the Canpotex project was posted on the website of the Major Projects Management Office, which stated, among other things, the tentative schedule for the project: site clearing in March 2013, construction starting in spring 2013, and operation beginning in 2016.

While the news may bring a gleam of optimism to Rupertites, that’s probably tempered with a bit of skepticism. After all, two years ago, representatives with Canpotex spoke in front of a full house at the Lester Centre of the Arts, saying they would have a decision by the end of 2009 whether or not they would build a potash terminal on Ridley. Since then, the company has not spoken publicly about the project, and has not given an official green light to it.

Meanwhile, another terminal on Ridley Island has signed a long-term contract. Ridley Terminals Inc., the coal terminal on the island, announced yesterday that it had signed a 10-year contract with Teck Resources for the shipment of coal from Teck’s mines in B.C.

According to a press release sent out yesterday, the new agreement “contemplates” Teck shipping 2.5 million tonnes of coal per year through Ridley, from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2024. Teck’s current contract with Ridley allows for shipment of 1.2 million tonnes in 2011-2012, and up to 4.2 million tonnes in 2013-2014.

Ridley began an extensive expansion to its facilities in early August, to allow for more throughput to go through the terminal after a record-breaking year in 2010.

Bud Smith, the chair of Ridley Terminals, wrote in an email to Muskeg News that the company has known about “various needs for capacity” from its current customers, as well as new customers that want to use the terminal.

“RTI’s decision to grow its capacity has been informed by the need for Teck and several others to have confidence that their own expansion plans would not be impaired in any manner for lack of terminal capacity,” wrote Smith.

Smith also said Ridley has agreements with other companies for long-term contract, which will be announced “in due course.”

~Written by Chris Armstrong.
File photo by Mike Ambach. See more of his photography here.

At Chances today, Steven Fletcher, Minister of State (Transport) and James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, announced the government of Canada is investing $762,000 for safety improvements at the Prince Rupert Airport.

Of that total, $616,000 is going to repair pavement joints on runway 13-31 and $144,500 is going to purchase a wet/dry chemical spreader. Chemical spreaders are used to de-ice or prevent the formation of ice on airside pavement surfaces.

The funding is provided under the Airports Capital Assistance Program (ACAP), which provides federal funds to help eligible airports finance capital projects that will maintain and improve safety. Eligible airports are those not owned or operated by the federal government, those that meet certification requirements and those that offer year-round regularly scheduled commercial passenger service. Larger airports, such as Vancouver International Airport, cannot get funding.

ACAP is part of the government’s Economic Action Plan, which so far has put $60 billion dollars into the economy. Moore said improving infrastructure is an important part of improving the economy because our heritage is based on transportation and infrastructure. He said that the physical benefits of infrastructure have to move forward because trade levels have increased and they expect them to grow, so all of Canada has to be bound together with strong infrastructure.

“Our government is committed to the safety and security of all Canadians, and continues to invest in airport safety by assisting regional and local airports with safety-related capital projects,” said Fletcher. “We recognize that efficient and safe airports are vital to the local economies of smaller communities. Strengthening the Prince Rupert Airport will create jobs directly and indirectly in this community.”

The Prince Rupert Regional Airport is one of the main regional airports the government has funded. “Canada’s regional airports, like Prince Rupert’s, play an important role in our local, national and international economies” added Minister Moore. “This year’s ACAP funding is vital to the safety of all those who use this airport, especially the businesses in Northern British Columbia that have come to rely heavily on it.”

Including the funding announced today, ACAP has to date invested a total of $556 million for 678 projects at 171 airports. This year alone, they are investing more than $20.9 million for 27 projects at 23 airports. Improvements include replacing snowblowers and runway sweepers; purchasing runway de-icing and fire-fighting equipment; and rehabilitating runway pavements.

This is the second time the government has invested money in Prince Rupert Regional Airport.

~Written by Gina Clark. Photo by Mike Ambach