It's not easy to not buy American when you're a city

Plus, Giscome elementary is almost definitely closing just a decade after it opened. And a Pine Grosbeak's story

I’m sick again! This sucks. This might be the last newsletter this week as a result.

So, Prince George city council has expressed interest in not buying local/not buying American amidst everything. Easier said that done, as anyone who likes to get citrus fruit can attest:

While the city is bound to include proponents from the rest of Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom if the value of goods or services exceed certain thresholds, Dalio said municipalities are not subject to the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.

However, he said some kind of blanket ban on American goods would affect the city’s IT services, which use Microsoft products, and other city departments that need mechanical components that can only be sourced from the U.S.

“There would be large costs and/or efficiency consequences to move away from goods such as those,” Dalio said.

He added that defining what is or is not an American supplier can be tricky. For example, many American manufacturers sell their products through dealerships based in Canada.

“If we restrict those companies, we may be harming a Canadian dealership in the process,” Dalio said.

“If we’re trying to define what is Canadian or American, is it based on ownership percentage of that company or where the manufacturing plant is based? Do we go further down the supply chain to see if a Canadian company manufactures with American raw goods? It’s not so clear cut … we should look for ways to support Canadian companies where we can, of course, but I really want to be careful of unintended consequences.”

Placing restrictions on procurement, Dalio argued, generally leads to higher prices and goods of worse quality.

While there has been a lot of discussion across the country about closing ranks and promoting efforts to buy Canadian goods and services, or at least avoiding American products, Dalio said there hasn’t been guidance from the province yet on how municipalities can be part of a unified effort and one option for the city is to wait until that guidance is issued.

Dalio said it’s likely better to support Canadian businesses with lower-value purchases below the thresholds of various trade agreements “and then direct administration to use their judgement on a case-by-case basis where we could measure those impacts to the cost and efficiency in our purchases.”

All fair points! If I were to stop using products with American components in them, it would be pretty tough for me to do my job or even send you this newsletter. We live in an interconnected world. Here’s My PG Now’s reporting on the same meeting:

“Restrictive bidding practices do lead to higher prices and poorer quality goods being procured. There’s examples of goods that we heavily rely on within the organization such as Microsoft for our technology, the bulk of our mobile equipment is manufactured in the United States, there’s parts that we sometimes need to maintain existing infrastructure that we can only get from the United States, so there would be large cost and or efficiency consequences if we move away from goods such as those.”

Dalio added defining a Canadian supplier versus an American supplier isn’t always straight forward.

“My advice to Council is to be very cautious with blanket resolution approaches,” he said.

“We should look for ways to support Canadian companies where we can of course, but I really want to be careful of unintended consequences.”

There was disussion about whether the city should wait for the province to give guidance to municipalities or even spending time on this, primarily from Coun. Trudy Klassen who said:

“This might make us feel good, but I don’t think it’s the best use of our time,” she said.

“There may be examples all over the city. Maybe there’s an aquatics pump that we can only get from a U.S. supplier. Are we going to shut down a pool in order to not have that part? There are some potentially very large impacts that could come out of making a blanket resolution. In order to find the exceptions, I would need to pull everybody off their work plans for a while to do that.”

Ramsay put forward a final motion calling for administration to host a lunch and learn on procurement and tariffs for council with the economic development department.

The motion passed with only Klassen opposed.

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Gisome Elementary is almost definitely closing

When even the few families who use the school don’t see the point of keeping it, it seems like a pretty foregone conclusion:

“I think it would be a good idea,” said Kylea Carr. “There’s just not a lot of kids in the school and I don’t think they’re getting the same kind of socialization as some of the schools.”

Teacher/vice-principal Christine Anderson oversees a class that includes three Grade 7s, one Grade 6, one Grade 5, two Grade 4s, two Grade 3s and one kindergarten student.

The Carr kids are six, eight and 10 and ever since the older classroom was blended with the younger one two years ago the brothers have been fighting with each other more often.

“There’s no consistency,” said Kyle Carr. “Markus has had four or five different teachers. As soon as we went from two classes to one class the behavioural changes in my boys were noticeable.

“Everybody raised money to have this place built but we’re at a point now where my boys are a third of the population of the school and they’re not getting a proper education, and it’s unfair to the teacher, unfair to the staff and unfair to the kids. They want to be in a classroom.”

It’s kind of sad because just ten years ago they were celebrating opening the building to the tune of $1.5 million. Fortunately, it’s not all school — it’s also a community hall that will still be in use even without classes.

[Superintendent] Aziz says they only own one-third of the building, with the Regional District owning the remaining portion.

He adds the building wont be shuttered in any way, as it’s not their building to shutter.

Conversations were had with the community on working with the Regional District’s CAO on what happens to the building, how it can be utilized by individuals, and more.

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Between Two Provinces: A Pine Grosbeak’s Story

This one comes from Calgary Wildlife:

The grosbeak was spotted in a wooded area near Prince George, BC. It appeared slightly disoriented, possibly due to inclement weather or habitat challenges. After careful observation, it was evident that this bird represented the charm and resilience typical of its species. The encounter also sparked curiosity: how do pine grosbeaks in British Columbia differ from their counterparts in Alberta?

While pine grosbeaks share many characteristics across their range, subtle variations can be observed depending on geography. These differences, though slight, can shed light on how local environments shape species over time.

In British Columbia, pine grosbeaks often reside in wetter, coastal-influenced environments. This can result in slightly brighter plumage, particularly in males, as their diet—rich in berries and certain conifer seeds—can influence feather pigmentation. Conversely, in Alberta’s colder, drier boreal forests, grosbeaks might appear more muted in coloration. This could be an adaptation to blend in better with their snowy surroundings.

Additionally, grosbeaks in Alberta are sometimes marginally larger, likely due to the harsher winters that favor individuals with greater fat reserves and body mass for survival.

Understanding regional variations in species like the pine grosbeak is more than a scientific curiosity; it’s a way to appreciate the intricate relationship between animals and their habitats. These insights can inform conservation efforts, ensuring that unique populations are preserved as climate change and human activity continue to reshape ecosystems.

Full story here.

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News roundup:

• “Does Council ACTUALLY care about affordable housing?” asks Darrin Rigo. Apparently yes, at least in this case.

• Facing CNC language programming cuts, residents assist Ukrainians to improve their English language skills.

• Accessibility committee handled 67 requests in 2024, mostly around roads and sidewalks. As a sidenote, last summer I helped a woman who had fallen out of her wheelchair trying to get onto a downtown curb. I helped her get to her next location a few blocks away and she almost fell out several more times due to the conditions of the roads and sidewalks.

• Heritage Commission chair calls for more city support, resources.

• Discussion on downtown patrols scheduled for next public safety meeting.

• Prince George will be a bit scarier in an upcoming film project.

• Traditional medicines, cultural drumming and dance featured during CNC's Aboriginal History Week

• Caledonia biathletes bringing national medals back to Prince George.

• Prince George athlete brings home hardware from judo competition overseas.

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Send feedback by emailing northerncapitalnews@gmail.com. Find me online at akurjata.ca.