Know it now
HAIDA GWAII / NORTH COAST – Haida Gwaii and North Coast communities will see significant portions of coastline submerged within a century if climate change continues at current rates, says the Sierra Club of BC. In December, the environmental group published a map showing projected consequences for BC of flooding, the magnitude of which has not been experienced on earth for 130,000 years. The group’s conclusions are based on a series of articles published in March 2006 in the journal Science. “From mountain pine beetles to rainforest droughts, BC is already experiencing the impacts of climate change—but we still have time to prevent the worst damage,” said Sierra Club BC Science Advisor Dr. Colin Campbell. “In the next 20 years BC has what it takes to be a world leader in slashing provincial carbon emissions, conserving energy and prioritizing investment in renewable energy.”
HAIDA GWAII – The “digital divide” between information-rich and information-poor just got a little narrower, with the introduction of high-speed internet service to about 5,000 residents in seven Haida Gwaii communities. The $1.3 million infrastructure upgrade will be completed by Telus and delivered through local internet service providers. Once completed, it will be the longest over-water transmission of internet service in the world. It will be owned by the communities and operated by the non-profit GwaiiTel Society.
PRINCE GEORGE – A Prince George man’s memoir has made the Vancouver Sun’s Editor’s Choice list for small press and self-published books. Robert Ziegler’s book, The Draft Dodger Dues: A Banquet of Crow, describes his beginnings in Pennsylvania, emigration to Canada to resist the Viet Nam war, off-the-beaten-track travels as a street performer, and career as a college professor. Ziegler currently lives with his family in Prince George and works as a therapist.
NORTH – Three northern BC residents made it to the Canadian Folk Music Awards in mid-December. Moberly Lake resident Art Napoleon was nominated for best aboriginal album, while the Tubeless Girls (Lisa Conway of Quick and Katie Savage of Telkwa) were nominated for the young performer of the year award. The winners in each category were Wayne Lavallee of Vancouver and Ottawa’s Sarah Burnell, respectively.
NORTH – Northern BC communities are progressing toward their pledged contributions to the Northern Medical Program Trust fund. As of late December, more than $3.5 million had been raised towards the goal of $6 million by 2008. The fund aims to help northern medical students meet costs of travelling to clinical placements throughout BC’s north, in hopes that more doctors will choose to practice in northern BC communities.
KISPIOX – Kispiox Valley artist Roy Henry Vickers was one of 38 Canadians to be made a member of the Order of Canada. Vickers’ works, distinguished by their fusion of traditional and contemporary aboriginal influences, have been presented as official gifts by the BC government to Queen Elizabeth, Boris Yeltsin and Bill Clinton. The renowned artist received the prestigious honour in a December ceremony on Ottawa.
NORTH – In the war on mountain pine beetles, you can’t have too many allies. The Omineca Beetle Action Coalition, which so far consists of Smithers and Prince George, has invited three other communities to join its ranks: Mackenzie, McBride and Valemont. With $800,000 in funding from the provincial government, the coalition plans to develop an economic diversification plan to help communities cope with the economic fallout of the beetle epidemic.
HARTLEY BAY – In December, BC Ferries announced that a long awaited replacement for the ferry which sunk last March will be named Northern Adventure. The decision ended speculation and hopes that it might be called “The Spirit of Hartley Bay” to pay tribute to the north coast community whose brave residents rushed to the aid of passengers in distress. The decision prompted Tom Hawthorn to write in the Globe and Mail: “BC Ferries can go ahead and name its ships Northern This and Northern That. That’s a marketing decision. Honour comes without a price tag. Long after those ships are retired, people will still be telling the story of the selfless heroes of Hartley Bay.”
NORTH COAST – Petroleum News reported Dec. 3 that Premier Gordon Campbell told a Hong Kong audience that he hopes to use natural gas extracted from offshore drilling to ignite the flame at the 2010 Olympics—suggesting the current federal moratorium on offshore oil and gas development will end within two or three years. The industry publication also reported the response of Federal Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn, who indicated that he had no idea where Campbell developed the idea that the 34-year-long ban would end that soon.
KITIMAT – In late December, the BC Utilities Commission quashed a controversial deal made by the BC government to purchase $2 billion worth of power from Alcan Inc. at rates comparable to those offered to new power developments. The agreement, whose details initially were not made public, was reviewed because the city of Kitimat convinced the Commission that it was in the public interest to do so. The Commission suggested that the rates, which were settled without a public bidding process, should have been lower to account for the fact that Alcan’s power production costs are lower than those of new power developments. The decision has been welcomed by Kitimat Mayor Rick Wozney, who was reported by the Vancouver Sun to have said it “would have killed the aluminum industry in BC and pulled the rug out from under the economy of the northwest.”
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