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Archive for the ‘Polls’ Category

City council election

Monday, September 26th, 2011

In just over a week, the nomination phase of the municipal elections will begin, as candidates can start submitting their papers on October 4.

This poll may be a bit early, but since Muskeg News is shutting down at the end of this week, we thought it fitting that a poll on city council’s performance over the last three years would be our last.

Please let us know what you think of the current council by answering the question below.

Which member of council is most deserving of re-election?

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School board elections

Monday, September 19th, 2011

Municipal elections are coming up in November, so it’s time for voters to start thinking about who they’d like to send to office.

Alongside votes for mayor & council, the electorate will also be voting for school board trustees to guide educational policy for School District 52.

We’d like to know who you think has done the best job at the school board over the last three years.

Which school board trustee do you think is most deserving of re-election?

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The economy

Monday, September 5th, 2011

The dog days of summer will soon be replaced by the rush of September, as workers & students alike rush back to their classes and/or jobs for the fall.

Taking stock over what’s happened over the summer months in Rupert, there has been both good news and bad news on the economic front. Ridley Terminals Inc. started construction at the beginning of August for an expansion of its facilities and, only a few days ago, announced that a long-term contract was signed with Teck. The container port is now seeing around four ships per week, meaning more hours for longshoremen; that’s also caused more trucks to whiz between Fairview Terminal and Watson Island, laden with containers that need to be stuffed and unstuffed. A few small businesses have also cropped up in Cow Bay.

That good news is balanced by the bad: McMillan Fisheries announced it would be closing its Rupert plant at the end of October. Empty storefronts plague 3rd Avenue West, the result of rough times in local retail and long-time business owners retiring without being replaced. There will also be tough times next summer for those involved in the tourism industry, as only five cruise ship visits are scheduled for next year.

We’d like to know your impressions of the local economy in the poll below.

What is the state of Prince Rupert's economy now as compared to a year ago?

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Teacher negotiations

Sunday, August 28th, 2011

 

According to various media reports, negotiations between the provincial teachers’ union and management have been sporadic at best, and the two sides are far apart on many issues.

Teachers have voted 90 per cent to launch job action if a deal isn’t reached by September 6, the day after Labour Day. If that deadline passes without a deal, there may not be a strike right away: teachers have said they will stop performing administrative duties, such as bus duty and recess.

Teachers want a wage hike, smaller class sizes, and better class composition. The province says there is no money for any of this stuff, and had already mandated a “zero-wage-increase” on the public sector in 2009.

We’d like to know where you stand on the issue.

Would you support teachers if they went on strike?

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HST referendum

Monday, August 8th, 2011

Ballots for the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) mail-in referendum were due back to B.C.’s chief electoral officer on August 5, so now the counting can begin. According to media reports, we should know the results of the referendum by the end of this month. If more than 50 per cent vote “No” to extinguish the tax, we’ll stay with the HST system; if more than 50 per cent vote “Yes,” we’ll go back to the PST-GST system.

But that’s not soon enough for Muskeg News. We’d like to know how you voted in the referendum.

How did you vote in the HST referendum?

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Enbridge intervenors

Monday, July 25th, 2011

At last month’s city council meeting, councillors voted to apply for intervenor status for the Joint Review Panel process involving the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline project. This effectively means the City of Prince Rupert will have a chance to submit something orally or in writing to voice its concerns over the proposed project.

The deadline to submit oral evidence to the Joint Review Panel is October 6, 2011. The deadline to submit something in writing is December 22. The panel will be in Prince Rupert early next year.

Given all this, we’d like to know how you think the City should intervene in the process.

How do you think the City should intervene in the Joint Review Panel process?

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Paint Prince Rupert

Monday, July 11th, 2011

If you were downtown over the weekend, you would have seen many people painting various buildings around Prince Rupert. It was part of the “Paint Prince Rupert” campaign, initiated by Glen Saunders, with help from Hecate Strait Employment Development Society (who supplied some of the workers) and Rona & Sico (who supplied the paint).

In total, 19 buildings have been painted so far, and while organizers say they might paint a few more buildings in the coming weeks, they’re happy with what they’ve done so far.

We’d like to know what newly-painted building is your favourite, and which one you think needs a coat (or two) of paint.

What's your favourite building that's been painted by the "Paint Prince Rupert" crew?

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What building do you think needs a good coat of paint?

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Some of the Paint Prince Rupert crew stands in front of Leanne’s Pet Shop.
Organizer Glen Saunders (second from left) would like to give a big thank you to everyone who helped brighten make Rupert a bit more colourful.

Photo submitted

 


 

City salaries

Monday, July 4th, 2011

At the June 27 council meeting, the City released its statement of financial information for 2010. In that report, the total remuneration for city employees was shown, and the top moneymakers were named.

The financial report showed the total employee remuneration for the City of Prince Rupert was $12,099,475 in 2010 (expenses are not included in this or any other subsequent figure). The report also named 31 employees who made at least $75,000; altogether, their remuneration was over $2.91 million, or about 24 per cent of the total payroll. All other City employees accounted for over $9.07 million, or about 75 per cent of the total payroll. The seven people who make up city council took home $110,911 — less than one per cent of the total remuneration.

Given this information, we’d like to know what you think of the salaries of City workers in the poll below.

What do you think of the size of the City's payroll?

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Canada Day

Monday, June 27th, 2011

This Friday, Canada turns the ripe old age of 144. She’s seen a lot over the years: Confederation, railway scandals, Amor De Cosmos, conscription, William Lyon Mackenzie King, the Great Depression, William Lyon Mackenzie King, the Avro Arrow (briefly), a new flag, Trudeaumania, NAFTA, the GST, the PST, the HST, plebiscites on Quebec separation, a few Olympics, the migration of the Stanley Cup south of the border, the return of the Winnipeg Jets, and, of course, Biebermania. And that’s just scratching the surface.

In this week’s poll, we’d like you to sum up what Canada Day means to you by clicking on one of the options below. Trust us, you’ll feel a swell of patriotism once you do it.

What does Canada Day mean to you?

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Postal lockout intervention

Monday, June 20th, 2011

Last Wednesday, Canada Post decided to lock out its employees after two weeks of rotating strikes across the country. Management said this was a necessary step because it was losing hundreds of millions of dollars due to the dispute.

In response, the Conservative government has promised to introduce legislation to end the lockout/rotating strikes. Unless the union & management make a deal soon, postal workers will probably be back on the job by the end of the week.

How should the federal government handle the labour dispute at Canada Post?

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