A bit more about riding size
And Giscome is closing
Hi there. Between the long weekend and an upcoming trip, I’m tight on time this week. So today will be a news roundup, tomorrow will be an election roundup and that will be it until at least Tuesday, maybe later.
One thing I do want to mention is that after my story on the division line cutting the city into two separate ridings, I got emails from people across B.C. who also expressed frustration about voting in a riding which they feel is dominated by communities they don’t feel much connection with — particularly in the Kelowna/Vernon/Kootenay area where you have pretty big, disconnected ridings, and on Vancouver Island. I also took a gander at the boundaries in Ontario where there haven’t been as many split ridings and there was signifcant public backlash about the idea when it was presented this time around. In the end, the commission there opted to maintain multiple ridings in the region, based on geography, whose population is quite a bit below the target while Sudbury gets to be completely included in its own riding and Thunder Bay is split. There are a lot of circumstances around this, including the fact that most of these ridings are still bigger than a “Peace River-Fort Nelson” riding would be (by my estimate, that would be something like 70,000 or less), but such a riding still wouldn’t be anywhere near the smallest in Canada, and it would allow for a Prince George solo riding. The question, I guess, then becomes what happens to the Cariboo and so on and so on, which is what makes this so complicated — any new riding created in the north would mean one less somewhere else, under the current circumstances. But it’s fun (for me, at least) to play with.
Anyways, today’s
News roundup:
The father of one of Cody Legebokoff’s victims has died. Ted Clarke has a good writeup on him, which melds the personal and professional. I talked to Doug Leslie a handful of times, and this rings true — he used his platform to advocate not just for his daughter, but for other victims of injustice.
Construction of Ancient Forest interpretive centre to begin this summer. Looks nice!
Council considering pilot project to reduce snow control on holidays.
13 per cent of eligible voters in Cariboo-Prince George took part in advance voting (Peace River numbers are to be released today).
School board passes unanimous vote to close Giscome Elementary School.
PG Public Library seeks input on revitalizing outdoor deck at Bob Harkins Branch.
The Prince George District Teachers’ Association (PGDTA) and CUPE Local 3742 feel their feedback has been ignored in the budget process. Superintendent responds.
Almost $10,000 worth of search and rescue gear stolen stolen from hotel parking lot.
Museum, regional district express optimism on Exploration Place finances.
City's final snow control bill for 2024 totals close to $10.58M.
Mass to celebrate life of Pope Francis set for May 2 at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Prince George. Locals, including First Nations, reflect on his legacy which includes apologizing for the harms of residential schools and the doctrine of discovery.
Transit will be free on election day (so will U-Ride, for trips that are $5 or less).
Northern Community Shuttle Program services for rural communities green lit.
Sentencing hearing set for man involved in Tsay Keh Dene fatal incident.
Tethered obstacle course challenge a first for Prince George (I wish I were here for this).
UNBC named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for 13th time.
Sharp increase in new residential building permits in March.
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Send feedback by emailing northerncapitalnews@gmail.com. Find me online at akurjata.ca.