Bear Lake enters the geopolitical stage

And I want to see river otters 🥺

I was downtown yesterday and there was very little parking as people from the Natural Resources Forum were out and about. It was also a beautiful day!

Bear Lake enters the geopolitical stage

I’m not going to be writing about it in full today, but I have for some time been fascinated by the fact that there is a potential for a rare earth mine to be built near Bear Lake. Yesterday, a partnership between the McLeod Lake Indian Band and the mine’s primary investor was announced. They are called “Defense Minerals” and that name is seemingly on purpose, based on these comments from CEO Craig Taylor:

Right now the industry is dominated by China. They have 80 per cent of production and there’s a real threat to the West that if they were to cut off that production or just absorb all of their production internally, we’d be left without these modern conveniences we’ve come to rely upon.

There are countless articles and papers on the battle for rare earth metals and it’s kind of wild that one of the first major North American entries into the fray could be just north of town.

---

I want to see river otters in the winter

🥺

---

Neil Godbout on who needs to pay for housing

An editorial on the question of whether it’s fair for the city to be ponying up cash for housing projects when it’s a provinial responsibility:

On principle, Coun. Kyle Sampson is 100 percent correct.

The City of Prince George’s contribution to the transitional housing facility slated for the eastern end of Third Avenue should be a big fat zero, not almost half a million dollars. Providing housing for vulnerable residents is the provincial government’s responsibility, not local government.

In reality, however, Sampson is 100 percent wrong.

Read the rest here.

---

---

Quick news:

• Prince George dancers in Brazilian news.

• Northern B.C. mostly shut out of provincial funding supporting resource sector projects, jobs.

• Prince George occupational therapist takes on 1,000 km running challenge for students.

• David Eby was interviewed on CBC Daybreak North, though didn’t say much new.

• The Prince George SPCA is caring for a two-year-old pit bull terrier mix after it was found badly injured on the side of Highway 16 near Fort St. James.

• Prince George Tapestry Singers host seventh annual fundraising dinner gala.

• WM asking for ice and snow to be cleared around bins.

• Prince George man helps his friends in Moccasin Flats.

• A thread about skiing (or not) at the old Tabor Mountain Resort.

• Today’s song:

Vibes.

---

Northern Capital News is a free, daily newsletter about life in Prince George. Please consider subscribing or, if you have, sharing with someone else.

Send feedback by replying to this email. Find me online at akurjata.ca.