March 11, 2015 edition of the Kitimat Northern Sentinel
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Northern Sentinel K I T I M A T Volume 61 No. 10 www.northernsentinel.com Wednesday, March 11, 2015 $ 1.30 INCLUDES TAX Weir’s rescuers given GG bravery medal. /page 9 Kitimat’s Almeida takes to Winter Games. /page 9 Above, Rob Goffinet speaks to striking Unifor members before opting to not cross the line at Monday’s council meeting. Below, Mayor Phil Germuth speaking to union representatives at the same council meeting. Cameron Orr Union, town still divided The situation be- tween the town and its employees didn’t soft- en any after a picket line rally in front of the council chambers Monday night ahead of a regular meeting. Unifor 2300 mem- bers held the line at the doorways to the facility, which is the Kitimat campus of the Northwest Commu- nity College, shouting “Shame” to passing ex- empt District employ- ees on their way in. Three councillors, Rob Goffinet, Edwin Empinado and Claire Rattée, did not attend the meeting, opting not to conduct business by passing through the line. That left the re- maining councillors, Larry Walker, Mario Feldhoff, Mary Mur- phy and Mayor Phil Germuth to face sever- al dozen workers who later packed the cham- bers, as well as a pre- sentation from Unifor’s Martin McIlwrath and Jeremy Dos Santos. The pair went through their concerns regarding bargaining, from issues not ad- dressed to wrong infor- mation being released in the public. “The bigger issue is the poisonous work environment,” said Mc- Ilwrath. The work envi- ronment is a problem that’s been ongoing for years and he said it didn’t change in any notable way since the new chief administra- tive officer Ron Poole took the job just shy of four years ago. “We put out the olive branch back and said Friday ‘listen, this [offer] doesn’t ad- dress the issues that we’re trying to change in the workplace, but we’re willing to work through the night, all night, all day, what- ever we can to get a deal done,’” said Mc- Ilwrath. “Instead you guys went to the media and started individually e-mailing our members try to promote a deal, your final offer, trying to make it sound like it was the best offer ever made. So you were try- ing to perhaps cause a mutiny or something within our union but all you did was anger our members because these are their issues.” “We feel we made a fair final offer,” shot back Germuth once McIlwrath finished. “We are willing to work through the terms of a collective agree- ment to address all the issues that couldn’t be addressed immediate- ly.” Germuth says he stands behind the ad- ministration and the bargaining committee. “We gave them full direction, we know what we’re putting out there and we trust that we’ve put out facts,” he added. The two did come at odds to what was in the most recent offer, McIlwrath saying the mayor’s comments on a CBC radio broadcast earlier were inaccurate. Germuth had told a CBC interviewer that the lowest person on the pay scale would see a 15 per cent raise, but that came from an older, dropped wage demand from earlier in negotiations, said Mc- Ilwrath. Continued on page 2 Golf club still one in the hole A more reasonable budget will hopefully carry club through Cameron Orr The Hirsch Creek Golf and Winter Club is ex- pecting a few months of profit through the upcom- ing summer but are still seeking financial support from the District of Kitimat. One of the club’s main priorities is to bring themselves back to revenue neutral over the next three years, which will be accomplished through increasing membership fees and more revenues through food sales and room rentals, for instance. Meanwhile though the club thinks they’ll be short over the 2015 season, to the tune of about $160,000 in their operations and maintenance budget, as well as being in an overdraft position on their finances which cause significant charges. Council listened to the club’s presentation at a recent meeting but no decisions have yet been made on what, if anything, the town will offer. Meanwhile the club president Robin Lapointe says the new club board has been taking a more realistic approach to how they develop their bud- get, where past budgets have been established ar- tificially, he said. The arbitrary style of budgeting hasn’t been sustainable and the current board has put forward what they feel is reasonable in the operations and maintenance budget. It will come with about three months — Feb- ruary to April — of being in the red, which is a result partly of the capital investments to bring their kitchen back in to operation, which now of- fers weeknight dinners and after-8 appetizers for the curling crowd. Continued on page 7
Above, Rob Gof� net speaks to striking Unifor members before opting to not cross the line at Monday’s council meeting. Below, Mayor Phil Germuth speaking to union representatives at the same council meeting.
Cameron Orr
Union, town still dividedThe situation be-
tween the town and its employees didn’t soft-en any after a picket line rally in front of the council chambers Monday night ahead of a regular meeting.
Unifor 2300 mem-bers held the line at the doorways to the facility, which is the Kitimat campus of the Northwest Commu-nity College, shouting “Shame” to passing ex-empt District employ-ees on their way in.
Three councillors, Rob Gof� net, Edwin Empinado and Claire Rattée, did not attend the meeting, opting not to conduct business by passing through the line.
That left the re-maining councillors, Larry Walker, Mario Feldhoff, Mary Mur-phy and Mayor Phil Germuth to face sever-al dozen workers who
later packed the cham-bers, as well as a pre-sentation from Unifor’s Martin McIlwrath and Jeremy Dos Santos.
The pair went through their concerns regarding bargaining, from issues not ad-dressed to wrong infor-mation being released in the public.
“The bigger issue is the poisonous work environment,” said Mc-Ilwrath.
The work envi-ronment is a problem that’s been ongoing for years and he said it didn’t change in any notable way since the new chief administra-tive of� cer Ron Poole took the job just shy of four years ago.
“We put out the olive branch back and said Friday ‘listen, this [offer] doesn’t ad-dress the issues that we’re trying to change in the workplace, but
we’re willing to work through the night, all night, all day, what-ever we can to get a deal done,’” said Mc-Ilwrath. “Instead you guys went to the media and started individually e-mailing our members try to promote a deal, your � nal offer, trying to make it sound like it was the best offer ever made. So you were try-ing to perhaps cause a mutiny or something within our union but all you did was anger our members because these are their issues.”
“We feel we made a fair � nal offer,” shot back Germuth once McIlwrath � nished. “We are willing to work through the terms of a collective agree-ment to address all the issues that couldn’t be addressed immediate-ly.”
Germuth says he stands behind the ad-
ministration and the bargaining committee.
“We gave them full direction, we know what we’re putting out there and we trust that we’ve put out facts,” he added.
The two did come at odds to what was in the most recent offer, McIlwrath saying the mayor’s comments on
a CBC radio broadcast earlier were inaccurate.
Germuth had told a CBC interviewer that the lowest person on the pay scale would see a 15 per cent raise, but that came from an older, dropped wage demand from earlier in negotiations, said Mc-Ilwrath.
Continued on page 2
Golf club still one in the hole
A more reasonable budget will hopefully carry club through
Cameron OrrThe Hirsch Creek Golf and Winter Club is ex-
pecting a few months of pro� t through the upcom-ing summer but are still seeking � nancial support from the District of Kitimat.
One of the club’s main priorities is to bring themselves back to revenue neutral over the next three years, which will be accomplished through increasing membership fees and more revenues through food sales and room rentals, for instance.
Meanwhile though the club thinks they’ll be short over the 2015 season, to the tune of about $160,000 in their operations and maintenance budget, as well as being in an overdraft position on their � nances which cause signi� cant charges.
Council listened to the club’s presentation at a recent meeting but no decisions have yet been made on what, if anything, the town will offer.
Meanwhile the club president Robin Lapointe says the new club board has been taking a more realistic approach to how they develop their bud-get, where past budgets have been established ar-ti� cially, he said.
The arbitrary style of budgeting hasn’t been sustainable and the current board has put forward what they feel is reasonable in the operations and maintenance budget.
It will come with about three months — Feb-ruary to April — of being in the red, which is a result partly of the capital investments to bring their kitchen back in to operation, which now of-fers weeknight dinners and after-8 appetizers for the curling crowd.
Continued on page 7
2 Northern Sentinel, Wednesday, March 11, 2015
THIS WEEK
OPEN: SUN. - WED. 11AM to 10PM & THURS. TO SAT. 11AM to MIDNIGHT238 City Centre Mall, Kitimat
Continued from page 1The new offer would bump up em-
ployees about six to eight per cent over two years, he said, not 15 per cent.
McIlwrath also pointed to his belief that the city has $54 million in reserves, but that’s a figure the council immedi-ately denied.
The District of Kitimat later issued
a release clarifying the status of their re-serves.
The $54 million does exist but not as excess cash.
The District says their $54.34 mil-lion in assets include just over $38 mil-lion in capital assets such as sidewalks and equipment which have been pur-chased, but is not a value available as
money to the town.Further $6.9 million in reserve funds
are designated for specific goals, such as building management and roads, they say.
Finally, $9.2 million in operating surplus is for items such as snow re-moval, large equipment and building reserves.
Union
Police Beat
Stolen vehicle found in KitwangaFebruary 23Police were called
to a reported fight at the Chilly and Dancer Pub. A waitress said she had to seperate two men who wanted to fight, and that a chair was thrown in the fracas and damage done to the pool table. Police say they have identified one suspect and are continuing to investigate.
February 24At 4:15 p.m. the
police attended to an intoxicated per-son at a business at City Centre. The per-son was arrested for public intoxication and once sober was released on arrange-ment to stay at the cold
weather shelter.February 25At 8:06 a.m. the
police investigated a theft of a vehicle from a home on Okanagan Street. The victim said someone had entered his home and took his keys. A number of contractors have ac-cess to the home. On March 2 the vehicle was found unoccupied at a gas station in Kit-wanga.
February 26At 2:40 p.m. po-
lice were called to a report of mischief to a vehicle at the Kitimat Modernization Camp when the complain-ant said the back win-dow of his vehicle was smashed.
February 27There was a single
vehicle collision on Highway 37 just north of Onion Lake. A driv-er escaped uninjured when the northbound pick-up truck slid off the road and landed on its roof. Police say the slippery roadway was a contributing factor.
At 10:46 p.m. po-lice spotted a vehicle they had been alerted to by Terrace RCMP. The driver was arrest-ed on charges relat-ing to an assault from Terrace. The Kitimat RCMP are also rec-ommending charges of driving while pro-hibited and for pos-sessing a rifle, con-trary to a prohibition.
February 28At 2:50 a.m. a
taxi driver told po-lice they were wor-ried about someone possibly jumping off Haisla Bridge. Police patrolled and spoke to witnesses and de-termined the person was only pretending to jump.
March 1Police were called
to a barking dog com-plaint on Hallman Street. The homeown-er had since moved the dog indoors.
A vehicle going 147 km/h was caught on the highway in a 100 km/h zone. The driver received a ticket for excessive speeding and had the vehicle impounded for seven days.
Rough morningPolice say the Skeena Connector bus to Terrace was experiencing mechanical issues on March 5 when the driver attempted to turn the bus around. The attempt got the bus stuck on a soft shoulder. The passengers were collected on a different bus and this one was towed away by 8 a.m. Carolyn Ringham
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Northern Sentinel, Wednesday, March 11, 2015 3
Premier Christy Clark has ruled out increasing B.C.’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, but she says there will be a formula announced soon for increases to keep pace with the cost of living.
After meet-ings between cabi-net ministers and B.C. Federation of Labour executives Clark said work is underway to extend the series of increas-es that brought the minimum wage up to its current rate of $10.25 an hour after a decade with no in-crease.
She said the system has to pro-tect small and medi-um-sized businesses from big jumps.
“They know that it’s going to go up, but they want to know that it’s going to go up in a pre-dictable way,” Clark said.
The B.C. govern-ment is tightening its regulations to ban the sale of electronic ciga-rettes to minors and use of the smoking sub-stitute in workplaces, restaurants and other indoor public spaces.
Health Minister Terry Lake said chang-es he introduced in the B.C. legislature Thurs-day will treat the bat-tery-powered devices like tobacco products, meaning they may not be displayed in stores or used in enclosed spaces where others are present. That will include private vehicles with children inside.
Lake said he ex-pects the new regula-tions to be in effect within a year, after consulting with the in-dustry and giving sell-ers time to adjust to the new rules.
“This doesn’t ban e-cigarettes,” Lake said. “This means that chil-dren are protected from the sale and from being exposed to e-cigarettes, and those who don’t want to be subjected to the vapours from e-cig-arettes are protected.”
Min. wage
e-Cigs
B.C. BRIEFS
Getting a playground is hard workCameron Orr
If the Kildala PAC has anything to say about it the fundraising for a new school play-ground should be done by the end of the calen-dar year.
The Kildala Parent Advisory Council President Kim Wasyleski was going to present a re-quest to Kitimat Council at the last public meeting however they opted to push their presentation to a dif-ferent time.
Even so, when the PAC does speak to council they’re hopeful they can get some support, particu-larly in the $20,000 range, which is what they will be asking.
The PAC has already been given support from the Coast Mountains School District in the form of a $7,620 cheque, which amounts to 10 per cent of the quoted cost of the playground.
“We’ve raised over $50,000, so we have about $26,000 to go to reach our goal,” said Wasyleski.
The current playground has a capacity of just around 10 kids and its age is showing,” she said.
“It’s nearing the end,” she said. “The fact is it’s old, it’s wood, and it’s...12 feet by 10, max,” said Way-sleski.
As well the Child Development Centre Executive Director
Margaret Warcup says the preschool program run at Kildala has to apply for a variance to Northern Health to use other nearby parks because the one at Kildala can’t be used for chil-dren under six.
“We’ve had to do that for a number of years until they can get that playground upgraded,” said Warcup.
Still, fundraising is going at a healthy pace, better than they even projected, said Waysleski
She adds that they have applied for numerous grants for support too and are awaiting word on those.
Even bottle drives have earned over $1,500 for the project.
In the PAC’s letter to the Dis-trict, they note that they were next in line for a Ministry of Education playground grant when the program was discontinued.
What: A public hearing will be held on Monday, March 23, 2015 at 7:30pm at Council Chambers, 606 Mountainview Square to consider ‘Forest Hills Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 1864, 2015.’
What changes? Wakita Construction Ltd. has submitted an application for Council to relocate the local park component of Phase 6 of the subdivision, in conjuncture with a revised site layout. Total number of units in this phase remains unchanged. Proposed location of park will tie in to current informal trail connecting Wakita Ave. with Hirsch Creek Trail. As a part of this rezoning, Wakita Construction is proposing sponsoring upgrades to the trail connection. Council is considering ‘Forest Hills Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 1864, 2015’, and is seeking your input.
Where is it?
PUBLIC HEARING MARCH 23, 2015Forest Hills Zoning Amendment
Bylaw No. 1864, 2015
When can I speak? Anyone wishing to comment on this issue may provide written comment to Mayor & Council c/o 270 City Centre, V8C 2H7; fax 250-632-4995; or email to [email protected].
Comments regarding the proposed rezoning must be received before 8:30am on March 18 to be included in the report to Mayor & Council. Submissions received by email after this deadline but before 4:30pm on Monday,
March 23 will be read before Council at the Public Hearing. You may also speak in person, or deliver written comment, at the Public Hearing held Monday, March 23, 2015 at
7:30pm at Council Chambers, 606 Mountainview Square.
Need more info? The bylaw, Council resolution, staff report, submitted application, and other background material are available for review at www.kitimat.ca/pn and at the District of Kitimat reception desk, 270 City Centre, 8:30am-noon and
1:00-4:30pm, Monday to Friday, excluding holidays. Further inquiries should be directed to Community Planning & Development at 250-632-8910.
Subject Site
Wakita AveNalabila Blvd
Forest AveHwy 3
7
Wozney
St
The playground at Kildala Elementary School is getting old and the PAC is doing the work to get a new one.
Kitimat’s Chief Administrative Officer Ron Poole’s entire re-muneration was almost $214,000, inclusive of expenses, in 2013.
That’s according to District of Kitimat figures. Municipalities must disclose the sala-ries for people earning more than $75,000 on the town payroll.
Poole’s actual base salary though is $185,657. The District released that informa-tion on March 4, saying the difference between the base salary and his pay from the financial disclosure is that the base salary is before things such as over-time, vacation buy-out, banked-time buy-outs, allowances and reim-bursed expenses.
Kitimat compared its CAO’s salary with that of other communi-ties “similarly impact-ed by potential natural gas developments.”
In Dawson Creek, population 12,000,
their CAO’s salary is $180,374. The North-ern Rockies Munici-pality’s CAO gets $191,095 in base salary and Fort St. John takes $192,384.
When totalling the entire remuneration — all the extras such as noted for Poole — Dawson Creek’s CAO took $195,081,41, and the Northern Rockies’ took $212,126.
Meanwhile Kiti-mat’s entire payroll is high but doesn’t beat Prince Rupert’s.
Kitimat’s total payroll is $10,036,604, with an approximate split of $5 million each for those making more than $75,000 and those making under. The Dis-trict’s disclosures show there are 47 employees listed earning more than $75,000, many of them firefighters.
Over in Prince Rupert the City Man-ager Robert Long earns $98,770 (and claimed $27,592 in ex-
penses in 2013), while the city does have a higher overall pay-roll at $12,305,600. Staff earning more than $75,000 total $4,213,104 of that to-tal.
Terrace’s total pay-roll is $7,201,207.29, inclusive of ex-penses as well. Ter-race’s own CAO earns $136,094.81, and claimed $139,705.68 inclusive of expenses.
They have 25 em-ployees earning more than $75,000, although their list does not in-clude as many firefight-er positions.
Meanwhile to compare Kitimat to itself for a moment, in 2010, the last full year Municipal Man-ager Trafford Hall was in the position before Poole’s arrival, Hall’s total remuneration was $147,265.12, plus $15,759.69 in expens-es.
Added up that is $163,024.81.
Kitimat’s payroll as compared to other northern communities
“[Playground fundraising
is] progressing faster than any of us thought.”
Strike is affecting local shoppingMerchants at City Centre Mall
are issuing a call for shoppers who may be feeling uncomfortable en-tering due to striking District em-ployees. Striking workers are at the mall entrances but that is due to the municipal offices located on the mall’s third floor.
The mall as a whole, and the business owners within, are en-couraging shoppers to come back
and say spending money inside doesn’t mean ‘crossing’ a picket line.
“People need to know that we are open for business,” said mall manager Laurie Middleton. “They’re [picketers] not telling people they can’t cross or anything but it’s just the impression people are getting as they get up to the mall.”
Harry Kitchen is a tenured profes-sor of economics at Trent University in Peterborough, Ont. He is the author of a highly controversial new study re-leased by the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP), Canada’s oldest, so-called non-partisan public policy think tank. Look it up if you think it’s non-partisan.
The Institute is a registered char-ity in Canada and stated in its latest annual information return to the Can-ada Revenue Agency having assets of roughly $35.6 million.
The latest brilliant missive from what I consider this “waste of money” Institute is Harry Kitchen’s “study” that suggests municipal governments scrap seniors’ discounts. The study, called Seniors’ Specials: Financing Municipal Service in Aging Com-munities, was commissioned by the well-funded think tank. It focusses on Ontario.
Kitchen’s study advises cities to get rid of seniors’ discounts that many municipalities give discounts to se-niors based solely on their age. Those discounts for citizens aged 55 or older include lower bus fares, cheaper � t-ness classes and sometimes reduced property taxes. (This is the case in Kitimat, and no doubt many use and
appreciate these various health and taxation discounts.)
Kitchen says many of the seniors’ discounts offered are unfair because most seniors don’t need them.
“A lot of these discounts and spe-cial programs were introduced back in the 60s and 70s when a vast percent-age of the seniors were poor,” said the professor emeritus in the department of economics at Ontario’s Trent Uni-versity.
“Forward that through to 2008 [to] 2010, the percentage of poor in the se-niors groups is smaller than any other age group in the country.”
So, he says, municipalities giving breaks to seniors are creating a situa-tion where poorer, younger people are subsidizing wealthier seniors. There may be some truth to that on a per cap-ita basis, but I doubt it.
The story on CBC’s website gen-erated a host of responses, over 1,000
before comments were cut off. I sug-gest over 95 per cent were opposed to to Kitchen’s conclusions which were described variously as naive, biased, uninformed and just simply “ignoring the reality of seniors’ lives” in the 21st century.
I could not agree more.This is a horrendously one-sided
report that suggests two-income pen-sioners with valuable (Toronto) homes just don’t need a discounted bus pass or lower taxes based on age and likely that is quite true, but fails to take into account the many thousands on dis-ability, critically ill and lower income seniors/pensioners who are not living in these idyllic conditions.
Kitchen also argues that the prac-tice of discounting property tax rates for seniors is not equitable and should be abandoned.
This practice was established at a time when a high percentage of seniors were living in poverty, and it persists, even though seniors’ poverty rates have decreased considerably com-pared with those in the rest of the pop-ulation. Programs and grants should support all low-income individuals in need, regardless of age, concedes the author.
Continued on page 6
Talking about age-old problems
Crossing overSome of our town councillors have come under
criticism for their willingness to walk through the striking Unifor workers last Monday to get to a coun-cil meeting.
The union, who at this point still remains very much at odds with the town over contract negotia-tions, set themselves up at the entrance to the North-west Community College campus March 2, where Kitimat also has their council chambers.
Some councillors did decide to not cross the line.Yet it wasn’t a universal decision. In the end
council had quorum to continue with their business, with Mayor Phil Germuth, and Councillors Larry Walker, Mario Feldhoff and Mary Murphy on the roll that night.
It’s truly a tricky position for some of the coun-cillors and while I support those who chose not too, I think the frustration and anger towards those who did is unfounded.
Here’s how I see it: the council, as per Germuth’s recent open letter, have been providing direction for administration for the contract negotiations and the mayor reiterated he felt it was a fair � nal offer to the union, which the town offered before the strike went in to effect.
The point I’m getting at is the council, regardless of their personal union af� liations, is still the guiding body for the offer the union has turned down.
How then is council supposed to stand by their administration and their offered contract if coun-cillors choose not cross the line? Doesn’t that send mixed messages?
People giving Mary Murphy in particular a hard time should also think about her side. She asked, in response, how work is supposed to get done if coun-cil doesn’t come to the table. It’s a fair question.
The union certainly bene� ted from the quorum as well. They presented their position to the council-lors present, to great applause from the membership in the gallery.
At the time there had been no scheduled bargain-ing talks between the two sides. The March 2 council meeting provided not a bargaining opportunity but a potentially rare chance for the council and union to hear from each other directly.
It may not have been what you’d call cordial but it was talking and that’s better than nothing.
It just makes sense for councillors to make it to their meetings even in the presence of a union line. Basically, our government needs to continue even during a labour dispute.
This isn’t a slam to any councillor who chose not to cross.
It is ultimately an individual’s decision.Yet let’s not raise up our arms over the fact that
some councillors did decide to keep business going as usual.
It is, after all, what we pay them for.Cameron Orr
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Clues Across 1. Minute amount (Scott) 5. Insolent talk 9. Unable to 11. Scoundrels 13. Wizard of __ 14. Murres 16. Malmsey wine 17. Sunday prior to Easter 20. Passage with only one access 21. Large woody perennial 22. Paddles 23. A small demon 24. Dakar airport (abbr.) 25. Small game cubes 26. Small amounts 28. Ribbon belts 31. Free from danger 32. Natives of Thailand 33. Incomplete combustion residue
34. Segregating operation 35. Lowest violin family members 37. Part of a deck 38. British Air Aces 39. Confederate soldier 41. Young woman coming out 42. Belgian River 43. Society to foster technological
innovation 45. Linen liturgical vestment 46. Failed presidential candidate 49. “Long Shot” author Mike 52. Mind & body exercise discipline 53. Santa __, NM 54. Cotton fabric with a satiny finish 55. Packed groceries 57. N’Djamena is the capital 58. Fermented honey and water
1. Golf course obstacle 2. Article 3. One who counts 4. High rock piles (Old English) 5. Grassy layer of ground 6. Length of time in existence 7. Killing yourself 8. Liquid body substances 9. Egyptian Christian 10. Egyptian pharaoh 11. Beams 12. Keglike body tunicate 15. Positive electrodes 16. Adult female horse 18. Albanian monetary units 19. Raised speakers platform 26. NM art colony 27. Aftersensation phytogeny
29. Deep orange-red calcedony 30. Not a miss 31. Distress signal 33. Freedom from danger 34. Day of rest and worship 35. Phloem 36. Was viewed 37. Gluten intolerance disease 38. NYC triangle park for Jacob 40. Groused 41. Bounces over water 42. Arabian sultanate 44. Having vision organs 47. Steal 48. Old Irish alphabet (var.) 50. Corn genus 51. British letter Z 56. Peachtree state
How dramaticThe play performed by Mount Elizabeth Middle Secondary School students, Through the Mirror, which earned them a second place victory and subsequently the chance to perform in the Lower Mainland, shown here in a photo by Brenda Feldhoff.
A rundown on the fast-paced world of LNG plansThere’s lots been happening
on the LNG front since my last column so this time around we’ll quickly cover as much ground as we can.
Feds come throughIt took forever, but the federal
government finally came up with the “tax break” that proponents of BC LNG projects have been call-ing for.
As I explained in my No-vember column, under the then existing rules LNG plants would be treated as a “distribution busi-ness” which means it would take around 25 years for the com-panies to recover their up-front costs.
The potential LNG export-ers wanted to be treated the same as manufacturers - what’s known as a class 43 designation - which would allow them to re-cover those costs in as little as
eight years.And they pretty much got
what they wanted with the feds increasing the capital cost allow-ance from eight per cent to 30 per cent on “equipment and struc-tures” for natural gas liquefaction capital expenditures from Febru-ary 19, the date of the announce-ment, to 2024.
While proponents made all the right noises in welcoming the announcement, none were suggesting that this would mean green lighting their projects the next day.
Not surprising given they have to figure out what the plunge in oil/LNG prices does to the eco-nomics of their proposed projects and if/how prices might bounce back in the long term.
And as Michael Cuthbert, president of Pacific Northwest LNG pointed out, the industry will still in the long term pay the same amount of taxes.
But every little helps in the near term.
Kitimat LNGNo Final Investment
Decision (FID) here for a couple of years yet.
Partners Chevron and Woodside of Australia have said they are focusing their capital expenditures this year and next on drilling in the Liard Basin in north-east BC to prove up theestimated natural gas re-
serves that will supply their pro-posed LNG plant.
There is also the not so tiny problem that the project still doesn’t have any customers.
If everything came togeth-er and it got the green light in 2017, the first LNG would not be shipped out until 2021.
Shell (LNG Canada)Awarded the FEED contract
(essentially a design and feasibil-
ity study) last fall.Oliver Munar of WorleyPar-
sons, one of the outfits involved in the FEED, said in an October 23 article in the Journal of Com-merce that it would be “a couple of years” before Shell could make an FID.
Assuming a positive FID comes down next year, the first LNG will likely flow by 2021.Continued on page 11
Unifor weighs in on strikeAn open letter:Dear Sir,
My name is Rick Belmont and I hold the position of Presi-dent of Unifor Local 2301 for the Rio Tinto smelter workers. My background consists of well over 30 years of union work, fifteen of which I have served our membership as president. During that time I sat on seven suc-cessful sets of nego-tiations; the last five as chair/spokesperson for our local union. I have been closely follow-ing the negotiations between Unifor Local 2300 and the District of Kitimat and from day one have had some serious concerns as to how the District of Kitimat’s bargaining team has conducted themselves throughout the process.
To successfully get through a set of nego-tiations both parties must engage in good faith discussions.
Both parties must take each other’s pro-posals seriously and when valid issues/problems are brought forward they must take the time and ef-fort to address those demands. What I have observed is District management sitting
back and putting very little effort into resolv-ing issues and basically just saying “no” to ev-erything. On the other hand I saw the Union Bargaining Commit-tee day after day re-organizing, re-writing, re-packaging, and do-ing everything possible to promote discussion and ultimately trying to avoid a strike.
M a n a g e m e n t ’s conduct in the process can be chalked up to a number of reasons. They either don’t care about the problems can’t be bothered to take the time and effort to address the issues, or lack the experience and confidence to en-gage in discussions with the union to find common solutions.
It’s quick and easy to say ‘’No” in trying to dismiss a union de-mand but it’s also the quickest way to get to a strike. The proof is in the pudding because that’s exactly where they are right now.
The bargaining process has failed sim-ply because District management refuses to engage in good faith bargaining, so the only step is appeal to their bosses (i.e. Mayor & Council) to intervene in the dilemma. I know
for a fact this was done well before it got to a full blown strike and that the Mayor & Council refused to get involved at the table.
I attended and was part of the assembly at the March 2 scheduled council meeting.
To begin with, I would like to say ku-dos to the three coun-cilors who had the fortitude, character and good sense to not only take the time to discuss some of the issues with the union-ized workers but main-ly for their decision to respect the workers and their families by not crossing over the line to the meeting.
As for the new mayor and the other councilors who dis-respected the line, I’d like them to recognize that they were voted in to solve problems and to be proactive in solv-ing those issues, not ignore them.
In regards to the councilors who have a union background and fully understand the significance of le-gal assembly, protests and picket lines, their actions in crossing that line are inexcusable under any circum-stances.
There are a num-
ber of serious ques-tions to be answered:
1. Why wou-ldn’t the town Coun-cil want to be in-volved to ensure there was language in the collective labour agreement to protect against exploitation of women, precarious work, safety hazards, and harassment? Continued on page 11
6 Northern Sentinel, Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Town plans for land swap with HaislaCameron Orr
A piece of District of Kitimat parkland sits on the other side of a property line that’s now owned by the Haisla at the proposed Haisla Town Centre.
The project to build apartments, office space and a restaurant on the site of the former hospital will require a parkland exchange to make room for the preferred road access to the site.
A 100.1 square metre area will be exchanged to build the road accessway, in exchange for a comparable portion of park to be dedicated on ad-jacent property.
The assent of electors is required before park land can be ‘disposed’ of. In this case if no more than 10 per cent of electors have signed a petition objecting to a park exchange the process can go through.
Meanwhile it is expected that work to con-struct the first apartment unit in the Haisla Town Centre will begin this month.
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Green dreamsThe Kitimat area enjoyed a bit of the Aurora Borealis with flickering green lights in the sky. This photo was snapped on Highway 37S just north of Nalabeelah Creek on March 1. Cameron Orr
Continued from page 4As seniors’ impor-
tance as a constituency grows, it will become more difficult for local government to intro-duce the changes nec-essary and to provide and finance the ser-vices their aging com-munities need. Failing to set the right course may have severe con-sequences in the near future, he concludes.
Now, I’ve always worked at reasonably well paid jobs with benefits and mostly in municipalities where there were “consider-ations” for seniors who throughout their work-ing lives paid taxes, supported the commu-nity, volunteered and took an interest in the less fortunate where I lived.
I know my use of health services, al-though not a municipal service as such, was limited in my earlier days, and that the sick and disabled, includ-ing many seniors, were more frequent users than I. I also knew I’d be older some day, and my turn would come to perhaps benefit more than others supporting the services as part of their tax-paying duties. I do not make much use of Kitimat’s se-niors’ discounts.
But, I was still somewhat resentful of the implications of Kitchen’s ideas even though I wasn’t much affected directly, I was not surprised by the vehemence of com-
menters much more offended than I was, because their circum-stances placed them poles apart from the double-dipping retirees targeted by the author.
Good part is your turn is coming. How seniors, disabled, vets on fixed incomes get screwed today will be worse for you later. Disabled and some se-niors have lost homes for taxes going up sev-en per cent and incomes going up 0.1. Also means they have less to spend on (support) other peoples jobs. My mother was 99 but never left the house in her last 10 years except to a nursing home. Let me tell you there is no discounts in a nursing home. Next thing this Research for Public Policy group will be saying that we should also get rid of the OAS as seniors don’t really need that. The fight between generations is promoted to draw attention away from those who really steal all our money: Big Corporations.
With elections looming, even the Ste-phen Harper govern-ment seems unlikely to pay much attention to this report. Tax cuts precede elections but there are always wealthy, greedy poli-ticians who will keep these ideas in the backs of their minds, as they promote high wages and pensions for them-selves. So we must re-main diligent.
Age
Northern Sentinel, Wednesday, March 11, 2015 7
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anticipates capital spending of approxi-mately $215,000.
Of that, $40,000 is set for golf course improvement while a large amount of the rest will go to building improvements, includ-ing their lounge and kitchen.
The club hopes to extend and upgrade their cart paths, bring-ing some up to a pa-veable standard for an eventual plan to pave.
Extending the cart paths will also provide the benefit of bring-ing more golfers out in poor weather, said Lapointe.
Bringing cart paths to a paveable standard is expected to be done within five years.
The kitchen im-provements will con-tinue through 2016 and 2017 for a total two year spend of $30,000.
The club is also looking into offering social memberships rather than simply golf and curling member-ships.
Previous financial support from council gave the golf course the ability to hire a man-ager, chef and kitchen staff.
Golf course
No easy answer on who has the next moveCameron Orr
The business agent representing the striking Unifor 2300 workers says it’s been dead air coming from the District of Kitimat as the union tries to get back to the bargaining table.
Martin McIlwrath says there’s been a few attempts to connect with the
District to get movement happening again but it hasn’t resulted in any in-roads, he said.
“We have, on numerous occasions now, extended the invitation for the Dis-trict to come back to bargaining and most recently...[to] the mayor directly to be in-volved in bargaining. To date they haven’t
responded,” said McIlwrath.“It’s all we can do, is to request to re-
sume bargaining. They are refusing,” he said. “Pretty much silence.”
Kitimat CAO Ron Poole says the town needs a formal response to their final offer to get negotiations happening.
“We’re still waiting for them to give
us something as to what they don’t like or what they do like in the offer,” said Poole. “So we are willing to negotiate but we feel the ball is in their court since we’ve placed the final offer on the table.”
McIlwrath meanwhile told the Sentinel he has been seeking budget information which the town has so far not provided.
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8 Northern Sentinel, Wednesday, March 11, 2015
DISTRICT OF KITIMAT
PUBLIC NOTICE:EXCHANGE OF PARK LAND
Kitimat Council intends to adopt the above bylaw, and adjust a park boundary to facilitate construction of an access to Haisla Town Centre (HTC) at 879 Lahakas Boulevard. The preferred alignment of this intersection requires adjusting the boundary of a park at the intersection of Haisla and Lahakas Boulevard North.Park size will not change. A 100.1 square metres of park area will be “closed and exchanged” for an equal area of abutting land that will be dedicated and as park and added to the existing park. Adoption of HTC Park Closing and Exchange Bylaw 1863, 2015 is subject to elector assent as determined through alternative approval process outlined in S. 86 of the BC Community Charter.Eligible voters who object to adoption of this bylaw are encouraged to sign a petition objecting to the park exchange. This petition is available for signature at 270 City Centre, between 8:30am and Noon and 1-4:30pm weekdays. To request a copy please [email protected] or phone 250-632-8900.
You are eligible to vote if you are:• 18 years of age or older on April 13;• Canadian citizen;• Resident of British Columbia for at least six months before April 13;• Not disquali� ed under the Local Government Act, or any other
enactment from voting in a local election, or otherwise disquali� ed by law;
AND• You lived in Kitimat for at least 30 days before April 13;OR• You owned property in Kitimat for at least 30 days before April 13.
Council may consider bylaw adoption on April 13 if no more than 10% of electors (460 eligible voters) have signed the petition objecting to proposed park exchange. Comment may also be delivered c/o [email protected] or 270 City Centre, Kitimat V8C 2H7 up to 8:30am, April 9;or in-person at the Council meeting, April 13, 2015 at 7:30pm, at606 Mountainview Square.For more information, see www.kitimat.ca/pn; call Community Planning and Development at 250-632-8900; or visit 270 City Centre. Regular of� ce hours are 8:30am-Noon, and 1-4:30pm, Monday to Friday, excluding statutory holidays (April 3 and April 5).
HTC Park Closing and ExchangeBylaw 1863, 2015
Skeena MLA Rob-in Austin didn’t see much in this year’s pro-vincial budget that spe-cifically helps out Kiti-mat but says the budget does show a shift away from the liquefied nat-ural gas industry.
“Considering we have heard nothing but LNG in Throne Speeches and budgets for the last two and a half years, I think this year’s budget speech was in stark contrast to that. It’s by no means the government ac-knowledging LNG is a bust but at the same time they’re not talking about it hardly at all,” said Austin.
The budget does, however, focus on B.C.’s other industries, he says.
“They finally real-ize we have a mining industry and alumi-num industry and a forestry industry,” he said. “They’re now talking about the broad base of diversification
in British Columbia that’s helped us to get through very difficult times.”
As far as natural gas revenues go, B.C.’s natural resource rev-enue is forecast to de-cline 6.9 per cent in the coming year, mostly due to lower prices for natural gas, oil and electricity.
After gas drilling boom years, the prov-ince’s revenue from Crown land tenures is expected to continue to decline slightly for two years. Excluding land tenures, natural resource revenue is expected to increase 7.6 per cent over the next two years due to increased forest stump-age rates and prices for coal and other com-modities.
The province is forecasting no revenue from liquefied natu-ral gas exports over the next three years, as investors continue to consider the multi-
billion-dollar decisions that would get that in-dustry off the ground in B.C.
Revenue from fees will continue to rise, with Medical Services Plan rates increasing again after a 30 per cent jump in the past five years.
Finance Minister Mike De Jong said a scheduled four per cent increase in BC Ferries fares will also go ahead as scheduled April 1.
The government is expecting surpluses for the next three years. However some of the choices by the gov-
ernment has the local MLA questioning the logic. This budget ends a two-year increase of 2.1 per cent in tax on income more than $150,000 a year. The provincial income tax rate for that tax bracket returns to 14.7 per cent, which de Jong said is part of the lowest per-sonal income tax rates in the country.
“The big story I think coming out of the budget is that the gov-ernment decided to ful-fill one promise which was to remove the extra taxes on the wealthiest two per cent of Brit-ish Columbians,” said Austin. “That’s a whole $230 million of money that we were getting for the last two years.”
He added, “I guess you could say if there are people in Kitimat making over $150,000 each then this is a great budget for them. I sus-pect though that they are far and few be-tween. For the major-
ity of people in Kitimat it’s extra fees on MSP, ICBC. Basically, the average family is going to be paying to make sure those few two per cent are able to get their tax break.”
At the low end of the income scale, the exemption from paying any personal income tax goes to the first $19,000 earned, up from $18,000.
An early childhood tax benefit begins April 1, with up to $660 a
year for each child up to the age of six, de-signed to assist with child care costs.
This is also the year the province’s training and education savings grant begins to be paid out for children who reach six years old. It is a one-time payment of $1,200 born since Jan. 1, 2007, to be placed in a registered education savings plan.
De Jong said the current fiscal year is ex-pected to finish with a
surplus of almost $900 million, due mainly to better than expected personal and corporate income tax revenues, strong retail sales and a one-time adjustment of federal tax payments.
After an additional $3 billion to the ever-growing health care budget and $576 mil-lion more for educa-tion over the next three years, the surplus for 2015-16 is projected to be $284 million.- Files from Tom Fletcher
LNG loses special status in B.C. budget
Robin Austin
Finance Minister Mike de Jong says B.C. may be the only province in Canada to balance its budget for the year ahead.
$50K for Kitimat early years centre at CDCThe Kitimat Child
Development Centre has been distinguished as a BC Early Years Centre.
The distinction comes with $52,000 to deliver programs aimed at children ages 0-6.
The Kitimat B.C. Early Years Centre is one of 14 new centres opening throughout the province, bringing the total to 26 since the program first began.
Child Develop-ment Centre Execu-tive Director Margaret Warcup says the fund-ing boost is aimed to go towards program integration, which the centre already does to a degree.
“This gives us the opportunity to really try to do even more,” she said, but noted they’re approaching their plans cautiously given that $52,000 isn’t a bottomless supply of funds.
Ultimately though being an Early Learn-ing Centre gives the
CDC a voice in the dis-cussion of further early learning programs, she said.
“We do have to push that children and youth with special needs still get adequate funding,” she said.
A delegation from the CDC will be at-tending an early learn-ing conference hosted by the province over spring break and they’ll make that topic a prior-ity while they’re there.
“We took the ap-proach that if you’re not at the table you don’t have a voice,” she said.
The proposal to be-come an early learning centre was put together last year and this is the second round of nam-ing early learning cen-tres in B.C.
Among some of the proposals the CDC put forward to get the
grant is to update their parent resources on their website.
Another is that they’ll advocate for reforms to Early Child-hood Educator (ECE) licencing.
Warcup says they want to push to get ECE education as a po-tential stepping stone to higher education as well.
Getting quali-fied people in to pre-schools and day cares is challenging and ECEs aren’t especially
highly paid, but allow-ing people to take their credentials and apply them to other programs would go a long way to attracting people to the program.
Stephanie Cadieux, Minister of Children and Family Develop-ment, said the govern-ment “want[s] to give families with young children throughout the province easier access to the services they need to help kids reach their full potential.
BC Early Years Centres bring together a range of health, early learning, child care and family development programs and supports that are tailored to the needs of their local community.”
Funding for each Early Learning Centre comes from an overall commitment of $5.5 million from the prov-ince over three years.
The province has also provided $76 mil-lion to support the first three years of the BC Early Years Strategy
“This gives us the opportunity to really try to do even more.”
Margaret Warcup
Northern Sentinel, Wednesday, March 11, 2015 9
Land Act:Notice of Intention to Apply fora Disposition of Crown Land.
Take notice that Tookus Inn Lodge from Kitimat, BC, has applied to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (FLNR) Smithers, for a Licence of Occupation – Commercial Purposes situated on Provincial Crown land located DISTRICT LOT 104, BLOCK B, RANGE 4 COAST DISTRICT by Clio Bay, BC.The Lands File for this application is 6408567. Written comments concerning this application should be directed to the Coast Mountains Natural Resource District Land Officer, FLNR, at Suite 200 – 5220 Keith Ave. Terrace, BC V8G 1L1. Comments will be received by FLNR up to March 25, 2015. FLNR may not be able to consider comments received after this date. Please visit the website at http://www.arfd.gov.bc.ca/ApplicationPosting/index.jsp for more information.Be advised that any response to this advertisement will be considered part of the public record. For information, contact the Freedom of Information Advisor at Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations’ Office in Smithers.Tel: 250-632-6144 Fax: 250-639-9373
The Northern Sentinel is proud to publish their annualBusiness & Pleasure Tour Guide.
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Sarah ZimmermanFor Kitimat native
Justin Almeida, play-ing for Team BC at the 2015 Prince George Canada Winter Games, is almost like an Olym-pic experience.
“It’s a lot bigger stage and there’s more pressure here,” said Almeida from Prince George.
It’s not just the high level competition that gives these Games that feel, it’s the inter-action with athletes from across the nation that makes it special.
“The whole experi-ence with the athlete’s village, I’ve never had anything like that,” he said. “It’s like a mini Olympics, so it’s really cool.”
And while the team is in Prince George to play their hearts out on the ice, they're also get-ting a chance to cheer on other members of Team BC in various other sports. The entire hockey team donned their Team BC co-
lours, toques and even emblazoned the rec-ognizable yellow and blue Team BC tattoos on their faces as they cheered on their Table Tennis counterparts in tournament play. Loud cheers of "B! C!" echoing throughout the venue.
There are 19 dif-ferent sports on the Canada Winter Games schedule, but hockey is perhaps the most popular sport to watch.
Almeida’s road to Team BC has come as a natural progression in a hockey career that has seen him move up through the ranks in Kitimat Minor Hockey to most recently get-ting drafted to the Cari-boo Cougars, based in Prince George.
Being able to play in the biggest multi-sport event for young athletes in the country, on home ice, makes the Canada Winter Games even more special.
“I’ve watched the tournament before, it
seemed so much fun and representing your province is awesome,” he said. “We are very excited to be in our home province”.
The Canada Win-ter Games experience is unique, because ath-letes from all over BC try-out for a coveted spot on the Team BC roster. That meant a series of try-outs and a phone call in Novem-ber – just a few months before the Games –
telling him he’d made the cut.
The team has had to hustle to come to-gether as a cohesive unit. With just two pre-stage camps to play and train together, teambuilding exercises are key to giving the players from all over the province a sense of cohesiveness.
“It’s always the same at the beginning of the year,” said Al-meida with respect to
new players coming together every season, but for the Canada Winter Games, the time frame in which athletes have to gel is much more compressed.
“We have team-building exercises so, it’s the same experi-ence as that but you just have to do it a little bit quicker.”
Team BC suffered a few hard losses and missed out on the semi-finals in the Games.
Justin Almeida at the Canada Winter Games in Prince George.Sarah Zimmerman
Winter Games quite an experience for Kitimatian
Weir’s rescuers to get GG medal of braveryCameron Orr
The men responsible for saving the life of Kitimat’s Bobby Weir following a major head-on collision on highway 37S are being recognized for their bravery with a Governor General’s Award.
On December 5, 2012 the trio of Dale Hes-sion, Jacob (Jake) Tyler and John (Jack) Tyler pulled Weir from the vehicle. A passenger in the vehicle was able to get out by himself.
The Hamilton Spectator was covering the news of the three earning the medals.
Jack got choked up at recounting what hap-pened, reports the Spectator.
“I think we were meant to be there,” he says.Jack says he feels very privileged to be
awarded the Medal of Bravery.“I’ll be ecstatic to [have] Jake and Dale there
with me, getting the medals. It’s going to be great.”
The award giving ceremony was to be held in Ottawa last Friday. The Govenor General’s award website lists the Tylers as from Ontario and Hession as from Calgary.
- Files from the Hamilton Spectator
A Northern Sentinel file photo of Bobby Weir and mom Patti. Bobby’s rescuers have earned the Governor General’s medal for bravery.
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Suitable applicants must have a valid B.C. driver’s license, HD Mechanic, Forklift or Automotive certification along with excellent customer service skills and the ability to work without supervision at our customer’s locations. Preference will be given to those with Material Handling Equipment or HD experience.
Masonlift offers continuous Health and Safety Training and is committed to ongoing Technical Training.
We offer a challenging and rewarding career with competitive wages, medical and dental benefits, and a
company matched RRSP Program.
Please email your resume and supporting documents to: [email protected]
www.masonlift.com
Sullivan Motor Products is looking for a
If you are an experienced F&I Manager or have lending experience, and are looking for a new opportunity and want to work in an amazing workplace then this is the right job for you!
We’re looking for someone that has several years lending experience that is looking to further their career or an experienced F&I Manager.Team playerHighly self-motivated ADP or PBS experience an asset
Sullivan Motor Products offers a competitive pay plan, exceptional benefits package, great working environment, exceptional
All resumes will remain confidential. We thank all applicants who apply but only those selected will be contacted.
FINANCE & INSURANCE MANAGER
ASSISTANT STORE MANAGER
Fields is a proud recipient of the Rotary “Inclusive Employer” award for exemplifying diversity in the workplace.
Are you organized, motivated and passionate about customer service? Our Kitimat store needs you!
We’re hiring in our Kitimat store!
Career Opportunities
Career Opportunities
Services
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KITIMATBOXES, BOXES, BOXES
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Career Opportunities
Merchandise for Sale
Misc. for Sale
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APARTMENTSTotally renovated (ask for details) Security Entrance, Dishwasher
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KITIMAT HOUSE5 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, spacious (2,400 SF) and up-dated house with new appli-ances. Open concept kitch-en and living room. Large fi nished basement with fi re-place. Flat and sunny 9,400 SF lot. 1 car garage. Small pets ok. $2,000 per monthcall David (604) 612-4656
Transportation
Trucks & Vans
1998 GMC 1 TON DUMP TRUCK
FLAT DECK,4 WHEEL DRIVEPlease call: 250-632-9935
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We’re on the net at www.bcclassifi ed.com
Continued from page 52. Why shouldn’t the Dis-
trict’s Unionized workers have their seniority rights protected, and ac-cess to proper training along with the historical wage structure that they have enjoyed for over 50 years? A wage structure that dates back to the first days of community’s exis-tence.
3. Why has the District of Kitimat reduced the manpower and equipment levels to the point that they cannot satisfactorily provide the services that we as taxpayers have come to expect? You only have to look at that last big snowfall to see there are huge problems in this area alone. As I have discovered throughout this set of bargaining, these deficiencies are not limited to the Public Works Yard, they are Dis-trict wide!
I ask Mayor Phil Germuth, that when you were running for Mayor, you ran on a platform that things had to change or be done different-ly, so why aren’t you and the rest of Council directly involved to resolve this labour dispute?
If you are true to your word, then this is an excellent oppor-tunity for you to demonstrate it. Something is very, very wrong at the District and your employ-ees have communicated that to
you loud and clear. Mayor Germuth, now that you have assumed respon-sibility for the direction of bargain-ing, I ask that you now listen and hear your employees with an unbi-ased ear.
As a long time Union activist I say my Union Brothers and Sisters in Unifor Local 2300 have rights to a fair and correct wage and a safe, harassment free workplace.
As a taxpayer I demand that, the District of Kitimat/Mayor & Coun-cil, not only enter into a plan to re-invest in and reconstitute the man-power and equipment levels which will properly service the town, but also agree to the language in the CLA which will promote harmoni-ous relations between the Unifor Local 2300 workers and the District of Kitimat.
I strongly urge the District of Kitimat to get back to the bargain-ing table with the Unifor Local 2300 Bargaining Committee and that the Mayor & Council be directly in-volved in this process.
The longer this goes on, the more difficult it is to repair the re-lationship in the future. Let us not forget these workers have families to provide for.
Sincerely, Rick Belmont
President, Unifor Local 2301
Unifor
LNGContinued from page 5
Altagas (Douglas Channel consortium)
I am becoming in-creasingly convinced that this project will get the go-ahead this year, early 2016 at the latest.
The reasons for my rare ray of optimism are four-fold.
First, unlike the mega-projects, it does not have to build hun-dreds of kilometres of pipeline: Altagas owns the existing Pa-cific Northern Gas line which needs only a rel-atively short extension
to be able to feed the proposed LNG barge plant.
Second, one of the partners in the consor-tium is also a customer - Idemitsu Kosan of Ja-pan.
Third, it is a com-paratively dirt cheap project with an esti-mated cost of $600million instead of the multi-billions of dol-lars the majors are fac-ing.
And finally, the elapsed time between the final investment decision and the first
LNG exports is only three years as opposed to the likely five years for the majors.
As for the majors, there are a number of factors that will be tak-en into account before they make their FIDs - LNG supply and de-mand globally, the po-tential impact on that supply and demand of a restart of Japanese nuclear power plants, construction costs and more.
But that will have to wait for another time.
Coming EventsApril 2ART CLUB OF KITIMAT meets at 7 p.m. in Room 103 at MEMSS. Feathers & Fur – Bring materials of your choice and a visual reference of feathers or fur, or both, to work with. No supplies? We have some and we share. For more information contact Katherine Johnsen at 250-632-6888.March 26The Kitimat Food Bank will be holding their Annual General Meet-ing on at 8:00 p.m. in the lounge at the Presbyterian Church (corner of Nalabila and Lahakas Blvds). Inter-ested persons are welcome.March 26CHRIST THE KING PARISH BE-
REAVEMENT Ministry Committee will be sponsoring Connecting Each Other With Hope, a six week grief support group for adults. Sessions are from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Catholic Church Hall. Open to all, regardless of religious affiliation. For more information call Lidia at 250-632-6292 or Susana at the parish office at 250-632-2215.OngoingThe KITIMAT POTTERY GUILD meets in the Riverlodge arts wing every Thursday, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Interested in playing with clay? All experience levels welcome. For more information call Anne at 250-632-3318.
12 Northern Sentinel, Wednesday, March 11, 2015
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Chevron is pleased to announce that construction activities are completed on the Bish Forest Service Road and it will re-open to the public on March 1.
The road has been upgraded, widened and graded. Users of the road are urged to drive with caution and in accordance with posted signage.
Please visit the Kitimat LNG Community offi ce or call 1-844-800-0900 if you have any questions.
CreatingOpportunities
a world of
Sports & Leisure
Midgets give their all in SmithersCameron Orr
Kitimat’s Midget hockey team hand-ily defeated a steady stream of challeng-ers at a tournament in Smithers earlier this month.
Six teams, from Smithers, Hazelton and Terrace, vied for a shot at glory but were shot down at every op-portunity by the reign-ing reps from the Pa-cific Inland Coast.
Over the course of four games Kitimat didn’t let a single loss come their way.
Coach Brent Gur-ski said in order the final scores were 7-2, 8-4, 8-3 and finally 8-4.
“They played fan-tastic hockey,” said
Gurski, who coaches the team with Jim Monk.
He said the tour-nament shut out is “something that Kiti-mat doesn’t do very often.”
Throughout the tournament Kitimat MVPs were Cody Houston, Tye Cabral, Colin Monk and Dal-las Kerbrat.
Intense training and practice is what Gurski credits for their win, which lead to skillful on-ice effort.
“The kids’ disci-pline in hockey. Pass-ing, skating, stick handling. The three disciplines of hockey. If it wasn’t for that they wouldn’t have won,” he said.
He added, “They went there with a clear attitude knowing they wouldn’t be able to come home and have our tournament.”
The Midgets were expecting to have a home-ice tournament last weekend until the labour situation at the District meant the ice and facilities closed down.
Even so, knowing that the Smithers event was going to be their swan song for the sea-son encouraged them more.
“They went out and gave it full guns,” said Gurski of his 14 player team.
All in all he says Kitimat “should be proud” of their team.”
“These kids have spent four months playing limited hock-ey because of the amount of teams available to us in the Northwest and we spent every Sunday in practice pushing these kids.”
Next year he antic-ipates a lot of traveling including to the Lower Mainland.
The Midget team photo sent to us by April Barnard of the kids all with their tournament trophies, having given up no win over the course of four games with Northwest teams.
