Seeking Success Seeking Success Second cohort completes Second cohort completes Pathways training Pathways training Designing Business Alora Griffin Architect brings Alora Griffin Architect brings keen eye to development keen eye to development Tahltan Anniversary Tahltan Anniversary Development Corporation Development Corporation reflects on 30 years reflects on 30 years Sitka Lodge Sitka Lodge Civeo secures worker Civeo secures worker housing contract housing contract AUGUST 2015 • VOL. 2, ISSUE 5 Rio Tinto Alcan celebrates modernization milestone modernization milestone
Transcript
Seeking SuccessSeeking SuccessSecond cohort completes Second cohort completes Pathways trainingPathways training
Designing BusinessAlora Griffi n Architect brings Alora Griffi n Architect brings keen eye to developmentkeen eye to development
Tahltan AnniversaryTahltan AnniversaryDevelopment Corporation Development Corporation
Rio Tinto Alcan celebrates modernization milestonemodernization milestone
Preparing young people.
Many LNG careers require science and math education, so we believe it is important to help
young people prepare at an early age. We are supporting programs that excite young people
about science and math so they have more career choices.
Science Venture
SD 52 Numeracy Program
Science Venture provides hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education for youth in grades 1 through 12.
Science Venture in Prince Rupert is delivered by the Northwest Community College and the University of Victoria.
To find out how to bring Science Venture to your community, visit www.scienceventure.ca.
School District 52’s Numeracy Program isfocussed on supporting teachers so they canteach math more effectively.
Carole Fullerton, math consultant, has been contracted to help achieve this. Carole has already made three visits to Prince Rupert in 2015, engaging with teachers, and parents.
To learn more about Carole Fullerton,visit her website at mindfull.wordpress.com.
Summer CampPrince Rupert - July 2015
Parent NightPrince Rupert - April 2015
BG Canada is considering an LNG project on Ridley Island. To learn more about the programs you and your family can get involved in through our social investment, visit www.princerupertlng.ca/socialinvestment. Stay informed by signing up for our email updates using the form on our Contact Us page. Or, come by our Prince Rupert office located at 610 2nd Avenue West.
Irene Mills Rosa Miller Herb Pond
This space is a collaborative promotional venture by LNG Canada and N2K Editor Cameron Orr
The latest achievement for the company is the provincial and federal approval of its Environmental Assessment Certifi cate. These approvals are the culmination of years of studies and engagement with the communities on the northcoast.
The BC Environmental Assessment Offi ce (EAO) and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) identifi ed a number of conditions that must be met by LNG Canada to manage potential effects associated with its proposed liquefi ed natural gas terminal in Kitimat.
The EAO identifi ed 24 conditions, while CEAA identifi ed 11, (with approximately 50 subsections), and LNG Canada has already been working to develop their project in the best way possible, which in many cases, means meeting or exceeding the conditions before they were even identifi ed.
“A number of conditions were ones we anticipated based on the Working Group’s feedback, on our own discussions with First Nations, the regulator, [and] the community. When we reviewed them, it was confi rmation of what we expected for the most part,” said LNG Canada’s Director of External Affairs Susannah
doing is identifying ways we can try to avoid fi sh habitat as much as possible. And where we can’t, build robust habitat compensation plans, which would also require review under the Department of Fisheries and Oceans,” according to Pierce.
To learn more about the EA Certifi cate and the conditions, you can go online to lngcanada.ca.
The company does not have a date by which it expects to make a Final Investment Decision, but with an environmental certifi cate in hand, they’ve certainly taken a big step towards that goal.
Responsibly building an LNG plant has been a priority since the project’s inception.
Pierce. “And we feel pretty good about our ability to meet them.”
Responsibly building an LNG plant has been a priority since the project’s inception.
“One of the things we did from the very beginning was to design the plant with the community’s and First Nations’ concerns about the environment in mind,” said Pierce.
“What we see coming out of the certifi cate is the regulator’s concurrence that there wouldn’t be any signifi cant human health impacts as a result of our facility, and that our individual contributions are very low.”
Marine mammal monitoring has also been a part of the project planning, which is included in the conditions. Pierce says company efforts have been “some of the fi rst of its kind up and down the Douglas Channel,” in studying marine mammal habits.
Closer to shore, the company will be working to mitigate any potential impacts to the area’s fi shery.
“You can’t completely eliminate all fi shery impact, but what we have been
LNG Canada is well on its way to havingthe regulatory certainty it needs to make a Final Investment Decision about the project.
Today’s Northwest B.C. industry isn’t your parents or grandparents’ form of industry. While economics still are a fundamental, environmental concerns are no longer something to which just lip-service is paid.
Decreasing or eliminating potential environmental impact is at the forefront of every new project being introduced in Northwest B.C.
Th is issue of N2K is replete with examples of 21st Century industry taking environmental concerns seriously and making very real headway.
Of course, there will always be the naysayers, but Northwest B.C. industry is backing up their environmental commitment not only with dollars but with deeds.
And the potential for more environmentally-friendly resource development and usage could make Northwest B.C. a global player in helping combat climate change.
N2K’s Cameron Orr reports on the success of the Rio Tinto Alcan Modernization project and its fi rst hot pour. Despite increasing production, the plant will decrease its greenhouse gas emissions by 36 per cent and total particulates will be down a staggering 80 per cent.
Tom Fletcher highlights new mining processes and stringent oversight making the extraction of badly-needed and necessary minerals more effi cient and less environmentally invasive.
Shaun Th omas describes the jubilation surrounding the next step being taken in LNG export that holds promise to drastically cut carbon emissions worldwide. Experts suggest natural gas can be considered the “bridge fuel” to help nations lower CO2 emissions and transition to more carbon-neutral energy production.
Th ere is also an article on David Black, owner of Black Press and N2K, who continues to spearhead the Kitimat Clean Refi nery project to prevent oil from being tankered through Northwest B.C. waters and to refi ne Canadian bitumen into high-octane, cleaner burning fuel with state-of-the-art green technologies.
Prince Rupert’s Alora Griffi n is also featured in this issue of N2K. Th e Northwest B.C. architect is on the leading edge of building economically feasible and sustainable structures that run the gambut from an off -the-grid ranger station in the pristine Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary to the Fort St. James library and the environmentally-friendly restoration of heritage buildings.
These are but a few of the examples of the new Northwest B.C. 21st Century industry and the advancements and potential they bring to protect our environment while providing the services and materials the world needs.Todd HamiltonN2K [email protected]
PublisherTodd Hamilton
Editor-in-ChiefShaun Thomas
Prince RupertEd Evans, Sales
Melissa Bouti l ier, SalesKevin Campbell, Reporter
TerraceRod Link, Editor
Brian Lindenbach, Sales Bert Husband, SalesErin Bowker, Sales
KitimatLouisa Genzale, Sales Cameron Orr, Editor
SmithersGrant Harris, SalesNick Briere, Sales
Chris Gareau, EditorAlicia Bridges, Reporter
HoustonMary-Anne Ruiter, Sales
Burns LakeLaura Blackwell, Sales Flavio Nienow, EditorFort St. James/
VanderhoofPam Berger, SalesHaida Gwaii
Quinn Bender, Sales
N2K CONTACT INFO:Vanderhoof • 250-567-9258Fort St. James • 250-567-9258Burns Lake • 250-692-7526Houston • 250-845-2890Smithers • 250-847-3266Terrace • 250-638-7283Kitimat • 250-632-6144Prince Rupert • 250-624-8088Haida Gwaii • 250-559-4680
N2K is a Black Press publication mailed or delivered by carrier to 31,500 homes and businesses
throughout Northwest B.C.Our Head Office is located at:
MODERN METALRTA marks fi rst pour from modern plant 6
SEEKING SUCCESSPathways to Success honours graduates 10
THREE DECADES Tahltan Development marks 30 years 12
GLOBAL GRADSInternational reunion includes Rupert 18
KITIMAT CLEANDavid Black gives refi nery update 26
BOATS BACKThe restoration of two sunken tugs 24
BRIGHT FUTURERed Chris startup sends message 16
SMALL SCALE Douglas Channel LNG fi nds new support 20
TRAFFIC SOARINGYXT ready to enhance fi re response 14
BUSINESS DESIGNAlora Griffi n Architectdesigns for all 22
HOUSING WORKERSCiveo reaches deal with LNG Canada 28
FAMILIES FIRSTMayors outline LNG importance 8
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By Cameron Orr
Rio Tinto Alcan completes fi rst pour from new smelter
Rio Tinto Alcan (RTA) has gleefully boasted that it has produced its first hot metal in the modernized Kitimat smelter.
The company held a special celebration inside the site’s new cafeteria, dubbed Henning Hall in honour of company executive Paul Henning, on July 10. The company is hailing the milestone while also noting that they still have work to do to reach the ‘inauguration’, which will be the formal conclusion of all construction work, expected in 2016.
“We’re near the end,” said RTA project director Michel Charron.
“We’re completing the journey for constructing the plant.”
Even so, the company said the final two per cent of the project will be a long one still.
“The last couple per cent on anything are always the longest ones,” he said.
The smelter will conclude with a final price tag of
$4.8 billion.The workforce, as of July 7, sat at just over 1,000
people, but Charron said the workforce will dwindle rapidly by the end of this month and through to September.
On the training side, general manager of B.C. operations Gaby Poirier says they are “far from the end” on concluding work site training for the new smelter.
See Page 7
“We’re near the end. We’re completing the journey for
constructing the plant.”
- Michel Charron
Kitimat smelterKitimat smelter
7
“We’ve got about 55 per cent of the training done,” he said, saying the ‘theory’ side of it is well established but it will take the arrival of operational equipment to get the training through the practical phase.
“Practical training will go on over the rest of the year to the ramp up because we’re still running line three and four from the old smelter, so the employees from lines three and four will start to join more next fall while we’re doing the ramp up.”
The modernized smelter will have a production rate of 420,000 tonnes per year and is powered by the newer AP40 technology, replacing the older söderberg process.
Rio Tinto Alcan says that $684 million was spent through the northern B.C. region and $487 million in the Vancouver area.
Deputy Haisla Chief Councillor Taylor Cross, representing his council, congratulated the company on their milestone and pointed to the need for further collaboration with RTA.
Through construction, he said, the Haisla unemployment rate went from around 65 per cent down to approximately five.
“Every Haisla Nation member who wanted to work was working,” he said.
The Haisla and the company have a legacy agreement and Cross said the need continues to have their members working.
“This project is coming to an end so our
unemployment rate is going up again,” he said, in calling for the continuation of their ongoing relationship.
Kitimat Mayor Phil Germuth said the modernization will provide economic certainty for a number of decades and that the project has provided the community with valuable knowledge.
“As a result ... Kitimat has current experience on the construction of a large industrial project within its boundaries,” he said through a media release.
In another statement, the Kitimat Economic Development Authority said the start up of RTA’s modernized smelter is a “strong signal to other potential investors that Kitimat and the region is now ready for another mega project”.
As the project works towards completion, the on-site construction crew will quickly dwindle. At the moment it sits at just over 1,000 persons, but it will quickly drop from the end of July towards September.
At its peak the project was employing approximately 3,500 people.
“Every Haisla Nation member who wanted to work was
working.”
- Taylor Cross
8
FOR THE FAMILIESFOR THE FAMILIESBy Shaun Th omas
North Coast mayors outline importance of LNG industry
On the same day as Pacific NorthWest LNG cleared one of the conditions for a positive final investment decision, provincial approval of the
Project Development Agreement that outlines the tax regime for the Lelu Island terminal, both mayors from the North Coast were in Victoria to talk about what the development of the liquefied natural gas industry could mean for their communities.
But rather than focus on the financial benefits LNG could bring, both Port Edward Mayor Dave MacDonald and Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain said the industry is a key for families on the North Coast.
“The opportunity we have from day one three years ago, when Pacific NorthWest LNG came and asked if we had any land available, to today has been a whirlwind and it keeps getting busier and busier. There are many opportunities available for us and I am looking forward to them all ... I am looking forward to the day we are all up there opening the terminal,” he said, acknowledging not everyone in Port Edward was supportive of the project.
“We always have those for and against, but what is important to me is that families can stay together. With the downturn following the closure of the mill 15 years ago, we lost a lot of families and income and families have had to go all over the country to find work. Now we have a chance to bring them home and for our children to stay home.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Mayor Brain.See Page 9
“Families have had to go all over the country to fi nd work. Now we have a chance to
bring them home and for our children to stay home.”
- Mayor Dave MacDonald
PRETIVM IS ADVANCING ITS HIGH-GRADE GOLD BRUCEJACK PROJECT IN NORTHERN BC.
Brain, drawing on his knowledge as a fourth generation Rupertite, said the development of LNG is an opportunity to turn around the economic challenges the city has faced for more than a decade following the closure of the Watson Island Pulp Mill and the declines experienced by the commercial fishing fleet.
“We lost a lot of friends and a lot of population and it has been a struggle for our community to get back on track and for our community come into a renewal era. With these opportunities at our door, Prince Rupert is really seizing the day,” he said, pointing to preparation work that includes the LNG Go Plan, the Airport Master Plan and an upcoming program called Rebuild Rupert to address infrastructure needs.
“We’re all working together ... this is not going to just be good for our communities and our neighbours, but
for B.C. as a whole.”With the Project Development Agreement passed,
Pacifi c Northwest still needs an environmental permit from the federal government before making a fi nal investment decision.
“We lost a lot of friends and a lot of population and it
has been a struggle for our community to come into a
renewal era.”
- Mayor Lee Brain
10
There were a couple tears, some ‘congratulations’ and ‘thank yous’ and even cake at the Pathways to Success graduation ceremony in Prince Rupert last
month.Approximately 15 Aboriginal students, who signed
up for the 12-week skills access and training program, received various certifi cations ranging across categories such as construction, fi rst aid, traffi c control, dangerous goods transportation and fi re safety at the Crest Hotel’s B.C. room on July 15.
Th e students, who come from the Hartley Bay, Metlakatla, Lax Kw’alaams and Kitkatla Bands, wrapped up their program as the second Prince Rupert cohort, surrounded by the Pathways to Success sponsors BG Canada, LNG Canada, Pacifi c NorthWest LNG, the provincial government and program partners Cedar Education.
“It’s far more than a training program, it’s about getting people into jobs,” said BG Canada’s community relations manager Herb Pond.
“It addresses a bunch of skills that they’ll need to fi nd jobs, but it also helps them fi nd a job placement.”
Th rough Cedar Education’s northwest regional manager Tom Harwood and job placement specialist William Gye, the two helped fi nd jobs so far for eight participants and interviews for the remaining students in the Prince Rupert area. To date, 50 students have found employment through Pathways to Success – all of whom have been either out of the work force for a long period of time or under-employed.
See Page 11
“It’s far more than a training program, it’s about getting
people into jobs.”
- Herb Pond
Second cohort complete industry certifi cation programBy Kevin Campbell
The Pathways to The Pathways to
SUCCESSSUCCESS
“I think a lot of it was just learning how to be organized and showing up every day and being committed – getting your work done, which they did,” said Lindsay Reeve, the English and Personal Development instructor in the program, operating out of the Coastal Training Centre.
“One of them was interested in environmental monitoring and she actually got a job in that [industry], so that was really great. I think a lot of them were not sure what they wanted, or they don’t know, so having people like [trades teacher] Steve [Welsh] or Tom to help them fi gure that out – the kinds of jobs that are there – I think is really helpful,” she said.
Pathways to Success, run by Brenda Leighton and organized by Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, just added a trades and industrial component aft er focusing more heavily on academia in years past.
Not only did the students gain skills needed to enter the workforce, they also repaired their own self-confi dence, a recurring theme in each of their year-end statements to the class and teachers.
“Th is group of students did lots of laughing. It was so good to hear laughing during math class,” said Leighton.
“I know how scary it is to go back to school when you’ve been out for awhile and maybe things haven’t been going so great ... I want to thank you all for hanging in there and sticking it out and being courageous about that,” she told the graduating cohort.
Pathways to Success is one of several programs in Northwest B.C. designed to help Aboriginal residents become a part of the workforce, with the goal of adding
15,000 such workers in the next 10 years. It’s made possible through an initiative by the Aboriginal Skills Training and Development Program and B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint, designed by Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation John Rustad.
12
By Rod Link
Diversity the key to lengthy success for corporation’s success
Celebrating its 30th year this year, the Tahltan Nation Development Corporation began with a clear objective.
If there were economic benefi ts to be had by resource development within the Tahltan traditional territory in northwestern B.C., then the Tahltan wanted in.
“It was clear to us – looking at how we could take our way of life and our skills and use them. If there was industry on our territory, we wanted those people working with us. Aft er all, it is our land,” said corporation president Garry Merkel.
Th e corporation fi rst ventured into house construction for Tahltan people, followed by public sector construction.
With that experience, it moved into larger scale construction and services on any number of mining and other projects.
“Th e change now is that people want to work with us. Th ey hunt us down and ask,” noted Merkel.
With a core employee group of approximately 50 people, the corporation can draw on a further pool of skilled labour depending upon what’s needed.
Employee numbers in the past several years soared into the hundreds thanks to contracts to work on B.C. Hydro’s now-fi nished Northwest Transmission Line, the three run-of-river projects along the Iskut River amounting to
$1 billion in spending by Calgary-based energy company AltaGas, an extension of the Northwest Transmission Line to service the Red Chris copper and gold mine owned by Imperial Metals and at the Red Chris mine site itself.
“What we try to do is balance stewardship and development,” said Merkel of the corporation, which is owned by the Tahltan people.
“Our communities have to make a choice as to how to proceed. What we’re doing here is building the economics side, building the nation.”
Merkel said the combination of stewardship, community wishes and development is now being developed into a package he believes other First Nations will tap into as they consider their own economic development projects.
See Page 13
“What we try to do is balance stewardship and
development.”
- Garry Merkel
Tahltan Development marksTahltan Development marks
THREE DECADESTHREE DECADES
“We see this as an opportunity for other First Nations to use what we have learned, to fi rst have communities consider projects and then move into actual development, an A to Z,” said Merkel.
“It would be a very pragmatic approach and if risks are unacceptable, then that would be fi ne. Only communities can make their own decisions.”
While the development corporation has worked directly on projects, it’s also developed approximately 30 business ventures with a wide variety of companies working within Tahltan territory off ering specifi c services.
Th e partnership list takes in everything from camp services to environmental monitoring and research to helicopter services.
Th at in itself has created additional employment opportunities for Tahltan people, said Merkel.
And it also helps meet another corporation objective – steady and long-term employment not solely dependent on the ups and downs of resource projects.
It means, for instance, putting things in motion to bid on the Highway 37 North area provincial road and bridge contract when it next comes up.
“It’s a very diffi cult and complex contract and not just the kind of thing you can throw together,” Merkel notes.
“We’re actually in discussion now as to how we would do that,” he said in adding that the corporation did some preliminary work the last time the contract came up only to realize it was a massive undertaking.
Th e corporation offi cially celebrated its 30th anniversary
with a community celebration in Dease Lake on June 27.Evident during the day, said Merkel, was how the
corporation has cemented itself with the area.“We have lots of second generation people working with us
and now those people are having children and there’s a third generation coming,” he said.
On the business development side, the corporation has long outgrown its headquarters and operations building, built a quarter of a century ago.
An expansion project will add much needed space to its maintenance bays, various shops and administration offi ces.
“I remember when I fi rst saw the building years ago I thought it was the largest building I’ve ever seen on a reserve,” Merkel remembers.
“And now it’s just too small.”
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THE PEAK OF POSSIBILITIES
By Rod Link
YXT preparing to meet new emergency response standards
It’s not even 10 a.m. on a weekday morning and another passenger aircraft pulls up outside the offi ce of Northwest Regional Airport manager Carman
Hendry.A quick glance of a schedule shows it’s the fi ft h
passenger aircraft that morning to either arrive or leave.And that kind of activity is behind what’s occupying
Hendry’s time nowadays – the airport’s passenger numbers are now such that it is obligated by federal regulations to provide an aircraft rescue and fi refi ghting (ARF is the regulatory acronym) service.
Monthly totals have dipped this year compared to last year when preparatory fi eld and other work for liquefi ed natural gas plants and natural gas pipelines was at its height throughout the region, but the airport continues to record very healthy numbers and be the busiest airport in the region.
Th e in-service date is September based on passenger counts for recent six-month intervals, explains Hendry.
“Once we reach those levels of 180,000 [passengers] for those six month periods, we then have one year to bring in the service,” he said of the September date.
Th e standard to meet is exact – federal regulations state a rescue/fi refi ghting vehicle has to be at the mid-point of the farthest runway within three minutes of
being called out.While the airport has existing aid agreements with
both the City of Terrace and the Th ornhill Volunteer Fire departments, there’s no way, other than stationing a vehicle at the airport, they could ever meet that standard.
But Hendry said those agreements will be kept as the airport’s employees will have a very specifi c role to play, if needed.
Th eir prime function will be to lay down a path of foam so those on board the aircraft have a safe passage out and to cool down the fuselage of an aircraft .
“Th ey won’t actually be going into the interior of the aircraft ,” said Hendry.
Th e airport has already started training its employees to add fi refi ghting to their job skills.
See Page 15
“It’s a natural evolution of our business and it’s exciting.”
- Carman Hendry
Traffi c SoaringSoaring
14
“With the exception of myself, and the people in the offi ce, everyone’s undergoing training,” said Hendry.
Th e fi rst phase of training was theory and took place in a classroom in preparation for the hands-on component.
Hendry’s prime challenge leading toward the expected September start date for fi refi ghting service is having the kind of sophisticated one-operator fi re truck it needs here on time.
Although one arm of Transport Canada requires the service, another arm, the one that would provide the airport with the approximately $1 million needed to buy a truck, has yet to sign off on the money.
“We can’t just go out and order one. Th at’s not allowed. We have to wait for approval,” said Hendry.
Even with approval, the task of soliciting bids and then choosing a winning bid and then waiting for delivery could take up to a year.
It’s a quandary Hendry said might be solved by either applying for an extension of the fi refi ghting in-service date or by renting a vehicle.
Along with a vehicle, a shelter will be needed and it’s a matter of again waiting for Transport Canada to supply the money for construction.
Th e current plan is to attach a bay equipped with high speed overhead doors for the new truck to the airport’s existing services building, where its other equipment is stored.
“It means we’ll only need three walls, not four,” Hendry said of the construction details.
While the airport works its way through the paperwork of acquiring a fi retruck, shelter and training, it now faces a second challenge.
Th e addition of direct fl ights to and from Calgary this spring have put the airport into a higher regulatory category of landings and takeoff s so that a second fi retruck will now be needed.
Th at’s because a single fi retruck can’t carry the
amount of foam and water required to meet the higher standard based on the number of aircraft movements.
It means a renewed round of applications to Transport Canada for money, more bids for a fi re truck and the construction of a second bay addition to its services building.
“We’ll be following the same path we are now,” said Hendry.
Despite the complexity, the result will be a fi refi ghting service aimed at the safety of the airport’s passenger, he said.
“It’s a natural evolution of our business and it’s exciting,” Hendry added.
Th ere are also other advantages to be had by being the only northwest airport to have on-site fi refi ghting capability.
“We oft en get requests from companies to provide the service,” said Hendry.
“So in that respect, it opens up a whole new world for marketing.”
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16 17
Red Chris Mine startup the beginning of a Northwest boomRed Chris Mine startup the beginning of a Northwest boomT
he Red Chris copper and gold mine in northwestern B.C. is ramping up production after overcoming protests, declining metal prices and
three reviews of its tailings facility.Imperial Metals received its Mines Act permit for Red
Chris on June 19, after additional scrutiny of the open-pit mine’s construction in the wake of the August 2014 tailings dam breach at the company’s Mount Polley mine near Williams Lake.
That breach triggered independent reviews of nearly
100 mine tailings ponds with permits across the province, looking for design or operational weaknesses that indicate risk.
The Tahltan Nation commissioned its own assessment of Red Chris, located 18 km southeast of the Tahltan village of Iskut, before community members voted 87 per cent in favour of a benefits sharing agreement for the mine.
Powered by BC Hydro’s new northwest transmission line, the project will truck ore concentrate to the bulk
shipping terminal at Stewart near the Alaska border.Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett said mines like
Red Chris can operate profitably even in the current low-price market for copper, if their processes are efficient. Imperial Metals conducted drill tests showing higher-grade copper and gold deposits deep below the surface ore body.
Another mine expected to begin operation this summer is Brucejack, an underground gold mine 275 km northwest of Smithers. Underground mines produce
less waste rock than open-pit operations, and Brucejack’s owner Pretivm plan to return some of the rock underground as cemented paste.
Another underground mine preparing for operation is Silvertip, an ore deposit near the Yukon border that was first identified in 1957. The province and the Kaska Dena First Nations signed an engagement agreement in 2012, determining a structure for resource permits for Silvertip and other projects covering millions of hectares on northern B.C.
By Tom Fletcher
Mining’s bright futureMining’s bright future
Shanghai, Calgary, New York, San Jose, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Prince Rupert.
One of these cities doesn’t seem like the others, both in terms of population size and sheer economic world infl uence, but all were all on an even playing fi eld in June.
As the University of Victoria’s (UVIC) Peter B. Gustavson School of Business celebrated its 25th birthday (they avoid the “anniversary” moniker for fear of seeming old), the organizers included the small in scale, but growing in infl uence, city of Prince Rupert in their conference webcast.
At 4:30 p.m. Pacifi c time on June 11, 53 World Gustavson Day workshop participants – alumni from both the Gustavson School of Business and the Northwest Aboriginal Canadian Entrepreneurs program (NW-ACE) sat down and enjoyed a keynote address in the North Coast Meeting and Convention Centre in Prince Rupert, via webcast from New York by the charismatic and enlightening Kevin Roberts.
Roberts, executive chairman of Saatchi and Saatchi, a global communications and advertising agency and an honorary UVIC professor in leadership and innovation, spoke to the delegations around the world (“Good morning, good aft ernoon, good evening, good whatever it is where you are”, the executive started his speech) about creative thinking, innovation and how the best ideas and the brightest minds are more oft en than not, found at the edge of the world – places like Victoria and Prince Rupert - as opposed to the “muddy middle where the muppets and abominable ‘no-men’ can be found” in such places like Toronto.
While it was a great day for UVIC and an empowering speech to all those taking it in, for seven Prince Rupert
residents in particular, the day served as a reunion of sorts.As graduates of the Gustavson School of Business and
either new or longtime Rupert residents, these fi ve alumni, with two absent, returned to each other for a day and once again remembered what it felt like to walk the hallowed halls of UVIC’s academic environment.
Cory Stephens, founder and director of Footprint Consulting and programs manager of NW-ACE, Corinne Bomben, chief fi nancial offi cer of the City of Prince Rupert, Craig Outhet, co-owner of Wheelhouse Brewing Company, Philip Clement, director of lands on the Metlakatla Governing Council, Dale Richardson, director of regional economic operations at the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, Brian Friesen, manager of marketing at the Port of Prince Rupert and Richard Liu, a Prince Rupert resident originally from China who gained his MBA, all occupied the Rupert class of the UVIC Gustavson School of Busines graduates.
In addition to the seven Gustavson alumni, dozens of graduates and current students from NW-ACE, based in Prince Rupert, also took in the festivities, capped off with a banquet.
“It’s an honour for the Northwest ACE program to be invited to participate in the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business’ celebration of their 25th birthday because it’s a real demonstration that the University of Victoria is taking the work that we’re doing outside the focus of the Lower Mainland and Victoria and [recognizing] we’re off ering university professor-taught programs here in the north,” said Stephens.
See Page 19
18
By Kevin Campbell
Prince Rupert part of international business graduate reunion
NW-ACE is a program partnered with TRICORP, UVIC, Service Canada, the First Nations Technology Council, Northwest Community College, Spectra Energy and BG Canada designed to deliver a six-month intensive entrepreneurship schooling program off ered to all Aboriginal people in the area.
“What we’ve done is we’ve brought together all fi ve cohorts of students who have participated and graduated in our program and this is an opportunity for us to fi nd a way of identifying where they’re at in the business plan development process ... we’re looking at ways of trying to fi nd them assistance and guidance to take the fi nal steps,” said Stephens.
With the potential of an infl ux of industrial activity headed Prince Rupert’s way, the program aims to have as much Aboriginal involvement in the projects as possible.
“Our program includes students as far north as Atlin and we’ve got a couple participants as far south as Clinton. We’ve got quite a few students from the Hazelton areas and upwards towards Smithers and we’ve got a very large population of Nisga’a and Haida students in our program as well,” said Stephens.
For the fi rst three months of the six-month program, students are housed and set up in Prince Rupert by NW-ACE for nine weeks of interactive and practical entrepreneurial learning components and then they return to their home communities for 12 weeks of start-up and business mentorship and coaching.
“Th e program is really the vision and dream of Frank Parnell, the CEO of TRICORP and is off ered as a key service
of TRICORP ... We don’t like to turn anybody away, so you don’t need to be on EI to qualify for our program, but in the application process, we’re looking at people who have demonstrated a real stick-with-it-ness in their resumes. We’re also looking for people who have worn their teeth a little bit in building skills and experiences. So, if you’ve got a concept, you describe [it] and you’re also highlighting what your actual skills and experiences are. If there’s a really good alignment between your skills and experiences with the concept you’re proposing, that’s a really strong factor for you getting into the program,” said the program manager.
Some of the entrepreneurial goals of the NW-ACE attendees included building a video-gaming centre, producing an Aboriginal magazine for the North Coast, starting a food truck or restaurant and operating a boat tour along Gwaii Haanas.
“It’s nice to meet some of the folks going through the program and hear some of the business ideas and optimism,” said Friesen.
“Th ere’s a lot going on in Prince Rupert and the region and it’s a great event to be a part of.”
“There’s a lot going on in Prince Rupert and the region and it’s great to be a part of.”
- Brian Friesen
20
Mid-size Calgary energy company AltaGas is moving steadily to exploit two separate northwest business deals in the expectation of being the fi rst to ship
liquefi ed natural gas (LNG) to Asian customers.Th e fi rst by AltaGas is the purchase, completed in late
2011, of Pacifi c Northern Gas, the region’s natural gas provider.
Th at gave the company control of the region’s only, so far, natural gas pipeline in existence that can connect northeastern gas deposits with an oceanside export facility.
And the second, wound up just this year, is the rescuing from insolvency of a consortium’s failed attempt, aft er nearly eight years of trying, to get into the LNG business.
Th at provided AltaGas — along with partner Indemitsu, a Japanese energy company, and two other companies with specialized services — the basics for a $600 million LNG project to be located on the Douglas Channel near Kitimat.
At an estimated 550,000 tonnes of production per year, Douglas Channel LNG, based on a barge-like fl oating facility, would likely be the smallest such export facility to be built in B.C.
But when fed, thanks to an eight kilometre extension of the
PNG line which now terminates at the former Methanex site at Kitimat, it could very well be the fi rst LNG project to go into production, says AltaGas vice president Dan Woznow.
But that’s contingent on a fi nal investment decision being made by the end of the year, he adds.
Aside from the AltaGas/Indemitsu partnership, Douglas Channel LNG consists of a subsidiary of a French energy trading company called Electricite de France S.A. to market the product and EXMAR NV, a Belgian company that would build the fl oating barge LNG facility.
AltaGas’s own stake in the project is $100 million, a relatively small amount when considering the tens of billions the larger projects would cost.
See Page 21
“By no means are we on the scale of the other projects.”
- Dan Woznow
AltaGas buys-in to Douglas Channel LNGBy Rod Link
Looking small-scaleLooking small-scale
Each company in the consortium brings its own specialty to the project which carries the slogan of ‘small, simple, competitive’, said Woznow.
“We’re talking eight LNG tankers per year,” he said. “By no means are we on the scale of the other projects.”Th e fl oating LNG producing facility would be secured
just off shore of a piece of land which once belonged to Alcan but which has now been turned over to the Haisla.
Th at’s where the pipeline extension will fi nish and other facilities will be built to connect with the fl oating facility.
Th e Haisla, in turn, have entered a long term lease with Douglas Channel LNG and have negotiated an economic benefi ts agreement.
Aside from the fl oating LNG-producing facility would be another moored vessel to hold the super-cooled product being produced.
“It’s just like a giant refrigerator – except at -163 degrees Celsius,” noted Woznow.
From there the liquefi ed product would be pumped into waiting LNG tankers.
Woznow estimates each tanker will be docked at the location for 10 to 15 days.
What makes this project attractive, he continued, is that the technology and equipment has been in service elsewhere, meaning there won’t be any new or site-specifi c technological components needed.
But because of the small size of the project it won’t need to go through the kind of environmental assessment required by the larger LNG projects.
Instead it will fall under the regulatory umbrella of the provincial Oil and Gas Commission, which oversees energy developments in northeastern B.C.
“It will be a full process,” said Woznow, listing off a series of permits that will be needed.
Th e shipping portion of the project will also be reviewed by a number of federal marine and other agencies to determine best practices, he added.
Th e consortium is at the beginning stages of connecting
with First Nations who have interests along the planned route from the Douglas Channel to the ocean.
Douglas Channel LNG will mirror larger planned projects in that it will use its own natural gas to generate its own electricity.
“We did consider BC Hydro, but we wanted to keep it simple and to make it work,” said Woznow.
Provided a fi nal investment decision is made at the end of this year, production is scheduled to start in 2018.
Woznow said it could take up to 36 months to construct the fl oating facility overseas and then transport it to the Douglas Channel location.
Th e facility will require up to 70 employees to operate it when fi nished and the multiplier eff ect of generating work in the service support sector means anywhere from another 150 to 200 jobs will be created.
22
By Rebecca Watson
Alora Griffi n Architect handles homes and businesses alike
Restoring heritage buildings and creating more sustainable custom homes has become the life work of Prince Rupert-based architect Alora
Griffin. “It does cost more for an architect, but I specialize
in more affordable buildings. I don’t think the service should be exclusive to people who have a lot of money,” she said.
Alora Griffin Architect offers innovative designs for custom homes, condos, float homes, commercial, industrial, cultural and recreational buildings.
She has become known in the north for helping her clients find the best ways to restore or build new while remaining economically feasible.
“Up here [in the north] people are generally more interested in building as economically as possible, but I try to convince them building sustainably will save them money over the long run and help the environment at the same time,” Griffin said.
She designed the Fort St. James library with that in mind and says since it is a forestry-based community, the library makes extensive use of wood, from the ‘tree’ columns supporting the entrance canopy to the ‘log’ columns supporting the mezzanine.
“To conserve energy a geothermal heat pump, energy
efficient lighting and operable clerestory windows were also incorporated into the design,” she said.
The library was nominated for a Wood Works award in 2007.
Another landmark Griffin designed is the floating Khutzeymateen ranger station located near the famous Grizzly bear sanctuary off the west coast. The station accommodates for two rangers and staff from the Ministry of the Environment in a compact two-bedroom suite. This off-the-grid building features a metal roof and siding to protect the building from sideways rain often experienced in the area, as well as environmentally friendly materials such as linoleum flooring and low volatile organic compound (VOC) paints on interior walls.
See Page 23
“I don’t think the service should be exclusive to people
who have a lot of money.”
- Alora Griffi n
Designing
“I oft en recommend people substitute vinyl with linoleum fl ooring because vinyl is a toxic material and emits dioxides, a known carcinogen. It’s cheap, but it does not decompose in landfi lls. Linoleum is made entirely of natural materials, decomposes when sent to landfi ll and is even used in hospitals because of its anti-bacterial quality. Linoleum comes in a huge range of colours and patterns now and is only slightly more expensive,” she said.
Prior to living in Prince Rupert for the past nine years Griffi n lived on Salt Spring Island, which is where she says her education started for sustainable design.
“It’s just a very green community.”One custom design she did for a couple on the island
she calls the Eagle House since the fl oor plan resembles an eagle in fl ight. Its windows are strategically placed so the sun catches each window as the day progresses.
“A generous three-foot-wide overhang allows heat to be collected from the sun in winter months when it’s lower in the sky and in the summer months it will prevent the sun from entering the house, keeping it cool. Th at house also has a metal roof, important when living near trees to be fi re resistant and for collecting rain water,” she said.
But the reason she moved her fi rm to Prince Rupert is because she was so impressed with the quantity of heritage buildings in town and surrounding areas.
She is currently working on a heritage building on Haida Gwaii where she was hired to work on an original one-room school house in the Village of Queen Charlotte. Th e society has been using it as a thrift shop since the 70s, but wanted to build an addition without compromising the
integrity of the original building. “When you do an addition you want to duplicate original
features, similar roof lines and similar windows and materials, so it doesn’t look like two diff erent buildings glued together. But you also want to keep in mind buildings emit one third of the greenhouse gases in Canada. Most of them, mainly the old ones, are very leaky and up until recent years we have not been designing with the climate in mind,” she said, adding that her biggest fear may be coming.
“When the developers move to town, and they’ve been coming to Prince Rupert for years now [with LNG speculation] my fear is because, we don’t have a lot of land, unless the heritage buildings are protected legally investors will tear them down.”
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24
By Flavio Nienow
Industrial Transformers revitalizes two sunken tug boats
In March 2013, Cheslatta Carrier Nation discovered that two of their tug boats – the Davis Straits and the Valerie – had sunk at their winter mooring on
Ootsa Lake.Cheslatta had purchased the tug boats less than a
year prior to their sinking.“We were really excited when we purchased the tug
boats, but we didn’t have a chance to use them,” said Cheslatta land and resource manager James Rakochy.
After initial environmental cleanup, the vessels remained in place as Cheslatta and their insurance company worked out a recovery plan.
A few months later, the tug boats received a great deal of attention when a Discovery Channel film crew participated in the recovery of the sunken vessels. Jamie Davis, made famous in the television series Highway Thru Hell, was in Burns Lake to assist with raising the sunken tugs.
Earlier this year, Cheslatta decided it was time to give Valerie – a tug boat built in the 1950s - a full restoration.
“Cheslatta, being the resilient folks that they are, they are used to having things under water, bouncing back and doing what’s necessary to recover,” said Rakochy.
Rakochy was referring to the fact that Cheslatta
has endured the yearly flooding of their cemeteries for decades due to the Nechako reservoir’s elevation management flows.
The full restoration of the Valerie was done by Industrial Transformers Inc. from Burns Lake. Richard Wainwright, owner of Industrial Transformers, explained that during restoration, all parts of the vessel were removed to bring the tug down to just the hull.
“We repaired the hull and tower; rewired the boat and rebuilt the engine,” he said.
Valerie is now powered by a Detroit diesel 8V71 engine with a twin disk transmission and weighs over 60,000 pounds.
“The vessel also received a new interior wood work; new dash and controls,” said Wainwright.
See Page 25
“[It] will start hauling heavy trucks for a full season
of logging.”
- Mike Robertson
Back from theBack from theBOTTOMBOTTOM
“Th e original door, steering wheels and brass spot light were reused.”
Th e tug’s restoration started on Jan. 16, 2015. By May 25, Valerie was put back into Ootsa Lake.
“Valerie is completely rebuilt and restored,” said Rakochy.
“It looks brand new; Industrial Transformers did a beautiful job.”
Mike Robertson, Senior Policy Advisor for Cheslatta Carrier Nation, said the Valerie is now working full-time tugging Cheslatta’s barge across Ootsa Lake.
“It’s mainly ferrying mushroom pickers, but will start hauling heavy trucks soon for a full season of logging,” he said.
Th e Davis Straits - the second tug boat recovered in 2013 - is currently sitting in dry dock. However, Cheslatta also has plans to give this tug a full restoration.
“We got it out of the lake; so there’s no risk for any damage to it,” said Rakochy.
“We’re going to hold on to it [the Davis Straits] because we’re hoping that some of the projects that we will have in the future will require this tug boat.”
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A proposed oil refi nery for the Kitimat Valley is still on the tracks with the proponent David Black recently sitting down with area First Nations.
Black, who is the chairman of Black Press which owns N2K, said it will be a minimum of two years before there could possibly be any construction on the project, as it still has to clear the usual regulatory hurdles and he’ll have to ink deals with area First Nations, including the Haisla and the Kitselas.
It’s a long process, but he still sees the business case making a lot of sense for a refi nery that he said would result in 3,000 direct jobs for the region.
Despite early skepticism he says even oil sands producers are warming up to the idea, which may be beginning to see a benefi t to a refi nery service on the coast.
Black said he has submitted a project description to the provincial government, a preliminary step to starting the environmental assessment.
He said he’s awaiting provincial feedback on the submission at the moment.
Overall his plans keep moving forward, but he notes it’s a long haul.
“We’re making headway but it isn’t very quick,” he said.At the middle of last month, the price of a barrel of oil
still was under $60 and questions could be raised about the
viability of developing an oil refi nery.Black considers the business case still strong, in fact
stronger with a lower cost of oil.He said he had an analysis done on the process where the
refi nery could use a toll system with oil producers — that is, the producer of the oil would own the oil coming to the refi nery and coming out of it, a common payment structure in the industry, he says.
Th e economics play out favourably for all involved, said Black.
See Page 27
By Cameron Orr
Kitimat Clean terminal at least two years away
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“If we were to charge that [toll] and if these companies would pay the transportation from Edmonton to Kitimat, and then pay the transportation of the diesel and gasoline from Kitimat over to China and pay us our toll ... on average they would have made [over 10 years] an extra $6.40 a barrel,” said Black. “That’s a fortune for these guys ... These days that’s the difference between profit and loss. It’s quite compelling for them.”
There is still doubt though.“They’re waiting for me to put a bow on it, all
wrapped up,” said Black. So the process, he’s certain, really starts with getting
agreements established with affected First Nations.“I hope that in fairly short order we’ll have an
agreement — a qualified agreement,” he said.The quickest he could see any shovels hitting the
ground is at least two years just on the fact of how the regulatory process works. He said if he can get First Nation buy-in, then he’s sure the province will back the project. The federal government, he says, is already
supportive of the project. Black does still hope to get financial partners too.
“It just takes time,” said Black about advancing the project.
“I hope that in fairly short order we will have an agreement —
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By Cameron Orr
Civeo secures contract for LNG Canada accommodations
Civeo — which many in the Northwest may know better from their former name PTI Group — have announced they’ve locked in a deal for 400 beds
with LNG Canada.LNG Canada says they need the 400 beds for a proposed
stage of early work site preparation projects coming in the fall, and this contract is not in anticipation of a full-out construction phase.
Th e company says they are “exploring the potential” to do some advance work, which calls for the need of the 400 beds.
Th e contract with Civeo does not preclude the company from eventually developing what they call the “worker accomodation village,” or essentially the company’s own work camp in the industrial area.
Th is new contract with Civeo covers the next 15 months, says LNG Canada. Th e company noted that the Civeo contract will also cover the fi rst part of construction of LNG Canada while their own camp is being built, if the company makes a positive fi nal investment decision for it.
Civeo says their new building for Kitimat under this contract will be called the Sitka Lodge
Civeo has already had the land zoned and approved in the Strawberry Meadows area for worker accommodations, which at a full build can reach to approximately 2,000 beds.
Th e company and the town have negotiated density bonuses for the facility, which will provide money to an aff ordable housing fund managed by the District of Kitimat.
“Th is contract is an important milestone for Civeo and our clients and we are excited to establish a strong position in the Kitimat region to support work associated with this potential LNG project,” said Civeo President Bradley Dodson.
“We are proud to be part of a project with the potential to transform Canada’s natural resource sector and look forward to working with LNG Canada in the region.”
On the business end, Civeo has increased their 2015 capital expenditure to refl ect the Sitka Lodge, which bumps their expenditure guidance from $80 million to $90 million, while they expect most revenues to to be received in 2016.
“This contract is an important milestone for Civeo
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