Canfor makes $$ and explaining the school board drama
Also our old enemy sprawl comes back
Oof, honestly, no, not in this newsletter but Will Peters at My Prince George Now does a pretty good job of it. Mind you, this is only part of the drama — the part where a failed school board candidate said at a district meeting that kids were in trouble in part because of learning about gender identities, and then the school board chair thanked him for speaking, and then the local union head said the board really shouldn’t be thanking people for espousing viewpoints that feed into the narrative that learning about gender identity is bad because there’s a whole North America-wide movement that’s putting teachers in the crosshairs, and then the board didn’t say anything about that except they did prevent that same union head from speaking at their most recent meeting, and also there was a whole sidebar about opening the meeting with a prayer except it was from the McLeod Lake Indian Band. Maybe I’ll get into that sometime. But, there’s also a whole new drama now, and that’s where there are 14 policies that have been on the table since 2019, including policies around anti-racism and anti-discrimination, and their adoption has been deferred again because you gotta consult with the community for a third time, I guess. Meanwhile none of the trustees have been speaking to media about any of this which makes this sign in their meeting space pretty funny:
Anyways they’re only a few months in to a four-year term so there’s still time to turn things around. Best of luck to them.
Canfor is still making money
Canfor Pulp lost $42.9 million in 2022, according to their earnings report, but the company writ large made $880.4 million in profits. That doesn’t really impress the union whose members have been receiving their pink slips this week, nor does it impress Mackenzie mayor Joan Atkinson, who pointed out that the company holds the forestry rights to viable fibre around her community that could be employing people but is instead being unused. And, as promised, here’s the full forestry forum video now that it is available:
And we’re waiting to find out what kind of money the province will give us
The premier has announced four new addictions recovery centres across the province but hasn’t said where they will be. Likewise, the $6.5 billion announced for mental health supports. Also, the city could use some support on hiring more RCMP. Oh, and firefighters. Lets talk about that:
Prince George firefighters responded to 5,553 medical calls in 2022, making up roughly 60 per cent of the record 9,208 call-outs Prince George fire crews responded to that year.
In response, councillor Kyle Sampson is pushing for the city to start invoicing the province for these medical calls, arguing that it’s not a city responsibility to fund medical care. Which is true! However, there is a bit of a history here: It was the fire department itself that pushed to get trained up to respond to medical calls, in part because there was a need but also in part because it makes them a more valuable part of the community and therefore more likely to get their budget even if there are fewer fires which, one would hope, there would be as building codes improve, etc.
Anyways:
City manager Walter Babicz said he doesn’t believe any municipality in B.C. invoices the provincial government for responding to medical calls. A total cost to the city for firefighters responding to medical calls wasn’t available at the meeting.
Prince George Fire Chief Cliff Warner said the Prince George Fire Rescue Service is one of six fire departments in the province with enhanced medical capabilities. BC Emergency Health Services dispatchers decide if firefighters are dispatched to a medical call.
“We support the medical system,” Warner said. “If the call comes in, we will respond and protect our community.”
Oh, but you know what else is causing trouble for our firefighters? That old enemy, urban sprawl:
Quick news:
The feds are spending $233,000 on young entrepreneurs in the north.
The Northern Medical Program is looking for volunteer patients.
Canadian gold for the city in skiing, world gold in speedskating.
Hawksley Workman is coming to town? It’s been a long time since I saw a show advertised for the ArtSpace.
That’s it! No news til Monday. Stay safe!
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Thanks Andrew for the little blurb on Hawksley Workman - He's one of my favourites and I would have never known he's coming to town.