I’m on my summer vacation and have been tuning out the news but one thing that has broken through is this amazing, hand-drawn Spiderman poster that was put up at the Famous Players.

I came across it in the Everything Prince George Facebook feed via this post from Adam Woodrow (also below) but as I write this it is everywhere: IGN, The Hollywood Reporter, countless of those slop Facebook/Instagram pages that just post contextless headlines and screengrabs… at this point, it is arguably the most famous piece of art ever to be created in our fair city.

In an age of AI, the human touch feels fresh

I’ll talk a little bit about how this bit of virality has also thrown the ongoing complaints about our out-of-date theatre into a more public eye in a moment but first I’m just going to talk about just how much this seems to have resonated with people — both those who encountered it in person and with the literal thousands who have applauded it online from around the world. As Landon, the artist, told CBC it’s not exactly the most complex piece of work he’s ever done:

Landon says he says he prefers to draw robots, intricate machines, and weapons in his spare time.

“I’m happy that I’m recognized for it, but like it’s a simple drawing based off of a meme that’s already a drawing,” he said. “I’d say credit mostly goes to the idea of Spooderman, whoever drew it originally years ago.”

That said — and I think this is important — as much as it’s a simple repurposing of a long-existing meme it is also undeniably, 100 per cent human — something increasingly rare in a world where AI-generated “art” is just a click away. I’ll come out and say that I am increasingly dismayed to see posters for local events and Facebook groups and businesses and so on and so on increasingly being overtaken by what are clearly AI prompts thrown into a generator. It’s so pervasive that’s it’s not even worth mentioning any by name — you’ve seen it and you’ve noticed it. And yet look at how much Landon’s piece has connected with people, both for its great sense of humour and backstory but also for the fact that it was made by some guy doing something he and his co-workers thought would be fun; not by a focus-grouped, corporate machine. There have been countless offers to buy the piece, or promises to purchase a sticker/t-shirt/print should he choose to make them available. That should tell us something about the value of the human touch and that even a simple line sketch can connect far more than the most complicated piece of derivative art a multi-billion dollar algorithm can spit out.

And speaking of corporations getting involved… it’s worth noting that the poster has had to come down, though the reasons aren’t fully clear. In his own post on Reddit, Landon says he understands and also says he’s been offered spots at future conventions to promote his work (hooray) while in the CBC article Cineplex claims it will “find a new home” for the work. We shall see…

And now to talk about the theatre a little bit

There would be no point to me having a hyperlocal newsletter if I couldn’t also talk about the fact that this whole bit of virality has thrust just how out-of-date our theatre is into the spotlight, as well. Personally, I didn’t see the poster because, where possible, I opt to support the summer drive-in for my movie-going needs. I won’t go deep into the ongoing complaints about how our downtown six-screen cinema seems stuck somewhere in 2003 except to point out that in the posts I’ve seen about the Spooderman poster the second-most-reoccuring-comment aside from “this is awesome” is “wait, Famous Players still exists?” And, yeah, that’s a reasonable reaction because Prince George is one of only two cities in the world still stuck with the old branding, alongside LaSalle, Quebec. Elsewhere, the cinemas have either been upgraded and rebranded or shut down… and I’m 50-50 on which one is more likely to happen to Prince George, in the end. My ongoing theory is that corporate theatre chains will ultimately operate something like major sports teams — clustered in Canada’s largest markets while the rest of the country either goes without or relies on independent startups. Time will tell, I guess.

Don’t call it a comeback

So, yeah, I recognize that this is my first new update since January. I will be honest, I’m both flattered and surprised and how often I am asked when I will start this newsletter up again. I’ll just say that nothing has really changed since my post in October of last year but feel free to stay subscribed and when the moment hits, I’ll send out a post, like this one.

In the meantime, here are a few stray observations for you:

• I went downtown for the World Cup afterparty and was struck by how at 9 pm on a Sunday, the Canada Games Plaza was packed with families and KIDS playing and enjoying their time together. Events like this tell me that people here WILL go downtown to gather, and in fact WANT to, they just need to be given a reason to do so. The Civic Core District Plan will give us a lot to chew on.

• Speaking of the Canada Games Plaza, I don’t understand why or how the city stuck this mermaid carving in the plaza. Nothing against the piece, itself, but the Plaza was intentionally designed to showcase local history and culture through its symbology — references to the two rivers, Dakelh words, important people and events — and then, one day in May, they just stick a mermaid carving by a guy from the United States in there because Chetwynd gave it to us as they get rid of some of their excess artwork. Again, nothing against the piece itself but it feels very out-of-place — mermaids and dolphins don’t excactly scream “local culture.” Meanwhile, we have two pools where it would be very fitting. Putting it out there.

• Sticking with the aquatic theme, I finally went to the Nechako Sturgeon Recovery Centre in Vanderhoof and holy cow did you know that baby sturgeon look exactly like the big ones only goldfish sized????!! I didn’t!! You should go there:

• I also went in spring to see the swans for the first time and, yep, another worthwhile roadtrip.

• There’s a municipal election coming up. So… stay tuned.

Alright, talk to you sometime. Thanks for reading!

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He ran for city council in 2022, finishing ninth in a field that sees eight members elected. During that campaign he spoke openly of his own experience with homelessness and addiction and urged a compassionate approach to the interlocking crises that also included mental health and perceptions of public safety.

Perhaps less well known was some of his other work behind the scenes. As an example, he helped provide waste management for the Moccasin Flats encampment, serving both those who lived in the space and the surrounding neighbourhood. He was a staunch supporter of people experiencing trauma. As I mentioned, he was often a conduit between different parts of the community — I was often struck at the wide range of political persuasions with which he had a genuinely joyful relationship, focused on a shared sense of humanity and urging to take care of one another.

Over the Christmas break, I’ve visited the hospital nearly every day to be with a loved one recovering from a major medical event. There are no two ways about it, being in a hospital environment for an extended time is not a joyful event. Without debating their merits based on the tools and knowledge in place at the time, there is no doubt that being in that space during the height of public health restrictions, would have been magnitudes more isolating. But Wesley and the drummers he rallied showed up week after week to provide a sense of community, of connection, of hope — the same thing that he brought to countless other spaces. I was at the hospital last night when more than 500 of the people he had helped touch came together in the parking lot once again to drum and sing and cry and hug and laugh together for more than an hour, interspersed with chants of his nickname — Wes Wes Y’all.

I don’t know if you’ve been following the news, but it’s been a start to 2026. It’s a time where it can feel like divisions are stronger than connections, when the ability to see the human side of those we disagree with is falling apart. And let me be clear — Wesley took a stance on things. He showed up at rallies and spoke to issues that do not have universal support. But his approach was always one of community, or showing the humanity, of bringing people together. And in these dark days of winter, the sight of hundreds of people out in the cold, celebrating the life of a man whose mission was to bring them together, it goes a long ways.

The below is just a small selection of the many, many tributes from a huge cross-section of the community in Prince George and beyond.

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

A 20-year employee in the downtown retail sector, said there’s been a steady decline in numbers of people coming downtown to shop for 20 years.
“Women especially don’t feel safe,” said Rendek who has witnessed women who, while their husbands are involved in conferences, plan to shop.
“Many of them quickly return to their hotels after witnessing the happenings downtown. Last week when the Via train came in, a group of visitors, walking to their hotel had to get by people sleeping and shooting up on George Street. A police car was sitting right there, but did nothing to assist those people.

Other complaints include repeat offenders, open drug use and a lack of charges sticking even in the case of arrests.

The date? September 2008 — 17 years ago.

(Here’s the report I quoted. Here’s another. And here’s a series of videos from it, in which you can hear people talking about complacency, a lack of safety, and a need for city hall to do something).

I bring this up to provide what I think is useful context on this past week’s similarly-toned downtown Prince George rally. Another piece of useful context, I think, is the reaction to this post from digital creator/artist/photographer Christina Watts posted to Facebook of the streets of downtown Prince George in the year 2013:

Among them:

“It looks so fresh and clean”

“So much cleaner back then and of course safer”

“A once beautiful downtown. Now it is a sad disgrace”

“Those were the days when troublemakers were sent to jail”

“The good old days”

I, too, had a ping of nostalgia for some of these now-gone businesses that graced our streets in 2013. I remember those places! Another thing I remember about 2013? We were coming off a three-year-run of topping the Maclean’s Magazine “most dangerous city in Canada” ranking. The ranking was halted in 2013 but when it was revived in 2016, we were number three1 and we’ve dropped fairly steadily since. I can tell you, the narrative dominant in Facebook comments in 2013 were not what an idyllic, clean and safe downtown we had. In fact, as this deep dive indicates, if there’s one constant theme about downtown Prince George it’s that it used to be amazing but now is lost. I’m now old enough that I am able to see people pine for the good old days and remember that when we were in them, they decried.

In fact, earlier this year I had plans to bring back this newsletter with a post titled “So, is the downtown revitalized?” My question was going to be if you went back to, say, 2013 and told someone bummed out about the state of the city that the big pit by the library had finally developed into a hotel, the library itself had a new entrance, the empty civic plaza was now full of public art and hosts concerts, public markets and the Tourism Centre (not to mention a year-round skating rink and food trucks through the summer), there’s condos and a daycare right beside city hall, a couple blocks are closed off every Saturday for a pedestrian farmer’s market, and there are not one but two succesful breweries operating, they might just shake their head with amazement with how successfully we had managed to be in making all these moonshots come true. I was, of course, then going to point out the significant challenges still in front of us, the empty and abandoned buildings and the like, and then CrossRoads burned down and it all went back into the drafts folder.

But I think it’s worth remembering this isn’t new. Downtown has, for decades, been characterized as a place no one wants to go. Yet despite this apparent fact, people keep going there. “No one” wanted to go to 3rd Ave in 2008, and then Nancy O’s opened. “No one” wanted to go to the block outside the court house on a Sunday morning then Ritual opened. “No one” was going to sit on a patio on George Street on a Tuesday night and then CrossRoads opened. “No one” was ever going to go to the industrial section of 2nd on a Tuesday and then Trench opened. “No one” wants to go downtown now and yet I saw busy streets with children and families when I went out for brunch on Saturday.

And it’s not lost on me that this past week’s rally was organized, in part, by those very same business owners whose success we rely on saying they need help. I’m well aware CrossRoads has said they have no plans to reopen without some change. I am not trying to be glib or dismissive of the challenges faced by the individuals trying to make their living against this backdrop, and they need to be listened to (as do those working on the front lines to address their concerns — not for nothing but in the past weeks we’ve had announcements on federal bail reform, involuntary care, and a program to divert some offenders from the criminal justice system in favour of wraparound supports, all programs to keep an eye on, as will the ever-more imminent opening of more supportive housing).

What I hope can be seen from this wider, historical view, is that as much as there have been and are recent challenges, there are also recent successes to shoot for. It was in 2012 that the Keg re-opening was cause for celebration even as the lot that would eventually host CrossRoads sat empty. Yes, many businesses are gone, but there are also new ones that weren’t there before. And as upsetting it can be to take a step backwards, it feels less bad if you also remember you already took two steps forward. Hopefully we can figure out not just what went wrong, but also what went right, and keep moving in a positive direction.

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The last edition of this newsletter was May 8, which itself came after a couple weeks off at the end of April. I had intended to keep writing into the summer and then return in the fall but a few things happened. Some are personal — seasonal illness, travel, the loss of beloved pets — but I would have returned sooner if it weren’t for some other things that have been on my mind.

One is that the context and intentions with which I started this newsletter and what it became changed. Originally, it was a way for me to replace the habit of posting to social media — I wanted a way to talk about things like cool animals and new restaurants without relying on corporate algorithms. I thought it would be an occassional thing, with maybe 200 subscribers, tops.

What it became, and its peak, was a near-daily roundup of pretty much all the news fit to print and then some in the city, social media posts, links to articles, my own thoughts and photos thrown in with an apparent daily audience in the realm of 1,500 to 2,000 and growing. I increasingly heard from people who used it as their primary source of news and information about the city which was gratifying and also just about the complete opposite of what I had intended. Then I saw a post on Substack from someone with an audience much bigger than mine pointing to it as an example of how one individual could fill the gaps of traditional media and that’s where my crisis of consience started to take hold.

I have throughout this tried to be as transparent as possible that this is not a job and the roundup of links and articles provided is not possible without a healthy ecosystem of employed local reporters and news outlets. This is a huge problem in the media landscape right now: the nuts and bolts of daily reporting is costly and unprofitable while the people who go on TikTok or Substack and talk about that reporting are able to find big audiences. I worried that even as I provided daily links to the Citizen, My Prince George Now, CKPG and other local sources, I was encouraging people to stop going to those places as news sources and instead come to me. This became even more apparent as the Citizen, which was seemingly on its last legs when I started Northern Capital News, beefed up its reporting staff and started providing more daily news articles than I could reasonably keep up with. What is the point of a daily newsletter that just links to another news website with a couple of screenshots from Facebook thrown in?

On top of this, my professional career has evolved, as well. I won’t go into the details of it here but the broad strokes are it’s about supporting more local journalism across the province, including Prince George, through the mediums that people are using more and more such as video and, yes, newsletters. It’s not as direct as what I do here but it has the room to be much more impactful. It also takes up much more bandwidth and makes me less likely to want to spend a regular part of my evening doing more work in front of a computer.

So what does that mean for Northern Capital News? I'm not sure. It does mean the daily news roundup format is done for the forseeable future as I focus on other things. But I also don’t want to rule out its original, intended use case, which was a place for me to occassionally share some thoughts and ideas about Prince George without having to post on Facebook or X. I’ve got a post out today about the downtown which has been percolating for a while and I’m sure there will be other topics that force their way out of my mind and onto the page somewhere. I don’t take for granted the fact that so many of you have made the time to read it, and I truly value you, and the connections it has helped create - your comments, contributions, and encouragement. So please feel free to stay subscribed, and I’ll talk to you again soon.

Andrew

But enough about me.

Happy birthday, Mr. PG

In the comments earlier thsi week, HeidiPG wrote:

This photo of Mr. PG being involved in the Amazing Race reminds me that we started discussing moving our beloved tin (wood) man to a better location over the last year, but that seems to have dropped off the the radar of late.

Frankly, the photos we saw in the newspaper's article and others online shows that this location is just not aesthetically pleasing with the large apartment blocks immediately behind the statue. He blends into the colour scheme of the buildings' siding, access to visit is still very poor and the original reasons for moving him there seem to have been eroded over time.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the apartments, which have contributed more housing to our city but our mascot deserves a better location that focuses on him rather than a landscape of bland grey/brown/tan buildings that ultimately diminish his importance to our city.

I finally saw the big harp

Last year the Prince George Symphony Orchestra purchased a big ol’ concert harp but I haven’t had the chance to see it until this past weekend. It was very nice!

I also enjoyed Jose Delgado-Guevera original composition based on his childhood in Costa Rica which debuted at the same performance and which you can hear more about here.

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Is the Farmer’s Market back at the courthouse?

I was downtown this past weekend and there were vendours there. What’s happening?!

Council news:

Highlights from Monday’s meeting were a recent visit to Victoria, the library skylight and how to navigate buying stuff on behalf of the city during a trade war with the U.S.

Stories:

• PG councillors want community inclusion as CN Centre celebrates 30 years this September.

• Council decides on a response to U.S. trade war moves.

• Committee looking to push forward on provincial compensation for medical calls.

• Library skylight replacement budget increased by council.

• Councillors return from slate of meetings with provincial government.

• May 5 is now Dutch Liberation Day in the City of Prince George.

• Highway advocacy, ambulance services on the next intergovernmental affairs committee agenda.

The Cadillac Ranch is coming back

idk if it doesn’t have that one old guy in the all-white cowbuy suit and some real sketchy folks in the corner it won’t quite be the same

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Look what Sabrina Carpenter has done to us

News roundup:

• Indigenous community, allies and families of victims come together on Red Dress Day.

• Conservatives and Liberals both improved their vote count in Prince George ridings.

• Quick fire response saves log home business near Williams Lake.

• Somehow Trooper is playing the CN Centre for the first time?????

• More on the Amazing Race in Prince George.

• With friends like these, who needs enemies? asks forestry advocate.

• One thing that never ceases to impress me is there are constantly new lakes near town I’ve never heard of.

• Tragic dog death has Prince George couple calling for more vet support.

• Province funds new Lheidli T'enneh children and youth service centre study.

• National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health celebrates 20 years and announces new leadership.

• Local Dakelh Elder to receive honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

• PG Conservatory of Music Announces 2025 Scholarship Competition Winners.

• CN Centre will celebrate 30 years of laughs with Brent Butt.

• UNBC Research Associate participates in journey to reclaim the Norman Wells Oilfield.

• The City of Prince George encourages families to play outdoors and explore City parks and trails this season by taking part in the Kids in PG Parks Passport program.

• Defence expert brings Canadian foreign policy talk to Prince George.

• New exhibit features work of Iranian-Canadian artists.

• Prince George RCMP investigating string of break-and-enters ‘that total tens of thousands of dollars’.

• “So much light:” Special Olympics volunteers say experience is incredibly rewarding.

• No injuries, $75K damage in Robson Avenue fire.

• Road closure as ministry carries out soil tests for trail connection near Cameron Street traffic circle.

• Prince George Fire Rescue douse garage fire on the Hart.

• Cougars’ Carson Carels wins gold with Canada at U-18 Worlds in Texas.

• PG triathlete bound for Europe.

• Province providing funding for water-monitoring program in rural communities.

• Town hall focused on rural mental health to be held in Prince George May 14.

• Community Moves Festival returning for third year, May 25-30.

• Cops for Cancer Tour de North kicks off another year.

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

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

Jason Morris, a professor of political science at the University of Northern B.C., says supporters of other parties need to be "busier than beavers" organizing themselves if they hope to see someone other than a Conservative elected to represent the region next time around, pointing out that party has a strong presence in the area even in non-election years.

In contrast, he observed that the Liberal Party often doesn't even announce candidates for some ridings in the area until midway through election campaigns and has at times put forward the names of people with no history in the region.

"It's just a terrible way to try to build for the future," he said in an interview that was completed prior to the election results. "Political parties ... aren't just supposed to be functioning when the writ is dropped. They're supposed to be doing their best in the communities they wish to represent."

Based on the results, which saw Todd Doherty with a 60.1 per cent vote share and Bob Zimmer with 70.9 per cent (with some polls yet to report, still?), I think it’s likely that the breakdown of individual voting spots will show those two candidates won all parts of the riding, Prince George included.

Probably the more interesting result is the fact the Liberals came in second in both these ridings, despite the relative slip-shod organization they had in each spot. In Cariboo-Prince George, you’ll recall, we spent a week assuming one person would be running only to find out it was someone else, while in Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies, the Liberal candidate moved to Prince George midway through the election campaign, did an interview or two, and promptly seems to have peaced out, not taking part in either debate held in the region. That didn’t stop him from finishing with three times as many votes as Cory Longley of the NDP, who was very present at both debates as well as in media and has a bit of name recognition having finished second in the 2021 election.

Nevertheless: it seems safe to assume most of the folks here were voting for party over local candidate, given the results for the Liberals. Clinton Emslie, who ran for the Liberals in Cariboo-Prince George, told the Citizen, “Considering we only entered the race three weeks ago, I think we did a lot in those three weeks,” which may be true but one can only imagine how succesful they might be if they tried announcing a candidate more than three weeks before voting day. The NDP candidate was a bit less optimistic, overall, understandably.

Meanwhile, it looks like turnout for Cariboo-Prince George was the highest it’s been since the riding was created in 2004 (but still pretty low), while Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies is on track for a decade-low. And the Conservatives handily won the student vote, as well.

Justice for Luke

Another major story I reported on this week was the decision to remove a family associated with the drug trade and a fatal hit-and-run on Haida Gwaii from the community of Skidegate. You can read about it here and here. The local angle is the group did make it to Prince George, resulting in local protests, as well as a bit of a standoff after they left a pair of boats behind which resulted in RCMP having to come and tell protesters they had been sold.

Council news

• City staff draws up trade war 'battle plans' for council to consider

• Library skylight replacement costs increase by $250k.

• An in-depth look at the Official Community Plan process.

• Ospika cannabis store one step closer to approval.

• Large addition on Hart residential property approved by council.

• City applying for $100K 911 modernization grant.

Mining is the new forestry

Maybe not quite the exact same situation as the forestry boom but as the Canfor Polar sawmill in Bear Lake, which employed 180, shuts down a new silica sand mine, which would employ 150, is being proposed for the same community:

Vitreo Minerals' proposed silica sand mine, about 60 kilometres north of the city, near Bear Lake, would produce sand used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to prop open the fractures that are created during crude oil and natural gas extraction.

Right now, the company says, most of that sand is imported from Wisconsin, but amid a "Buy Canadian" movement, CEO Scott Broughton believes that should apply to the industrial sector, as well.

"We should make that locally. We should capture that market," he said while speaking at the Minerals North conference held in Prince George this week.

If it moves forward, sand from the mine would be sold into the Montney oil and gas basin bordering northeast B.C. and Alberta, where industry is anticipating increased demand as the LNG Canada facility comes online in Kitimat, on B.C.'s North Coast, later this year.

Terrace mayor Sean Bujtas, though, also has a warning about what happens when big industry comes in:

“Quite frankly, the cost of industry is being pushed onto the residents,” Bujtas said. “When you think about projects like LNG Canada — I’m very supportive of that project, very supportive of mining and the Golden Triangle. But since the final investment decision for LNG Canada, the City of Terrace has raised its taxes by 40 per cent.

“I don’t know how you would feel, but if you live in the City of Terrace — and you can’t put all that cost onto LNG Canada — why should that project cost you money? Why should it cost your neighbour money? Why should it cost that young mother with small children money?”

Mayor Simon Yu was asked about this by the Citizen and he remains optimistic Prince George will be the centre of a mining boom:

“This will be the place,” said Yu. “Eventually, it will become the centre for all the mining activities in BC, and not just our immediate region, but further — to the Yukon and perhaps the Okanagan.

“Logistically speaking, we’re really at the centre of the province — geographically, historically, and with all the roads and railroads putting us at this spot. Looking at all the exploration happening in all directions, I cannot help but envision that this will be the place. All the workers and their families are going to come here. We’re going to play a pivotal supporting role.”

---

Fire season is back

Things kicked off Wednesday and Thursday in the Peace, when a handful of fires cut off communication in Tumbler Ridge and prompted a small evacuation on the north side of Fort St. John. Cooler weather helped calm things over the weekend but as a reminder of the risks locally, a small fire broke out east of Buckhorn, though it was promptly held and an evacuation for a handful of properties was given near Hixon Friday, rescinded Saturday.

The Amazing Race was in town

via Reddit:

They’ve been filming since the 22nd. They started in Edmonton, Lake Louise and then flew to Vancouver over a week ago. Then they went to Inuvit. Then Prince George.

News roundup:

• Today: McLeod Lake First Nation holding first walk for International Red Dress Day.

• Also today: PG Dutch Community to commemorate 80th Anniversary of the Netherlands liberation.

• Northern Health hit with court order after failing to respond to request about care home conditions.

• Premier brings up Prince George delegation during public safety discussion (another one for my file of David Eby bringing up Prince George more often than any other premier I ca think of). It came after local MLA Kiel Giddens brought up the need for a pyschiatric hospital in Prince George in the legislature.

• UNBC president hails new provincial infrastructure legislation which could boost student housing and research.

• CNC budget reflects estimated decrease of $7 million in international tuition revenue.

• Coffee shop coming back to Books & Co. in downtown Prince George (hooray! This used to be my top recommendation for visitors to the city as a place to start your day and now it can be again).

• Homesteader builds online success deep in the woods.

• Argentinian travellers reach Prince George as part of seven-year road trip.

• Former top cop testifies as officer tries to have conviction overturned; Former Independent Inspections Office chief testifies about charges against Prince George RCMP officer.

• Big job ahead: Prince George man has to remove 100-plus vehicles from his property.

• PG RCMP looking into sexual interference complaint near Lac des Bois elementary school.

• PG RCMP raid Nicholson Street home for 2nd time in less than a year.

• Northern BC housing market showing resilience during economic turmoil.

• New crosswalk light going in at Queensway and Patricia Boulevard.

• Nine-foot grand piano to be restored to former glory.

• Prince George Community Foundation launches new pilot program to support seniors in need.

• Trustees hear feedback from families, unions and staff on next SD57 budget.

• Photos: Prince George takes the Zulu Challenge.

• Colour Walk, High Tea makes May busy for Hospice.

• Celebrate Prince George at CityFest May 21.

• “This can’t be real” Prince George resident wins $5 million on Lotto 6/49 draw.

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

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A reminder that Prince George is divided into two separate ridings which are divided roughly along the Nechako River in the north, Highway 97/Central through the main part of the city, and then along the Fraser in the south. On the west/south side, it’s Cariboo-Prince George, on the east-north side, it’s Prince George-Peace River-Northen Rockies. You can type your postal code in here to find out which riding you are in for sure, as well as find out where to vote, etc. Here we go.

Cariboo-Prince George

Created in 2003, this riding was represented by Dick Harris of the Conservative Party until 2015 at which point he stepped down and Todd Doherty took his place, winning in 2015, 2019 and 2021. Doherty received more than half the total votes in both 2019 and 2021 but things were tighter in 2015 when he received 36.6 per cent (19,688) to the Liberal candidate Tracy Calogheros’ 31.5 per cent (16,921). None of the other canddiates in this race have run before.

Debates and forums

• My Prince George Now: Candidate questionnaires.

• CKPG: Candidate questions.

• Candidates outline their positions at UNBC forum for Cariboo-Prince George.

• Williams Lake Tribune: Williams Lake chamber hosts all-candidates meet-and-greet.

Candidate interviews and profiles

In the order listed on the Elections Canada website:

Angie Bonazzo - New Democratic Party

• Website.

• The Citizen: Cariboo-Prince George NDP candidate fighting to preserve health care.

• Black Press: Meet the candidate: New Democratic Party’s Angie Bonazzo.

• Frequency News: Health care worker Angie Bonazzo talks straight as she reps NDP in Cariboo–Prince George.

• CKPG: Candidate Questions: Angie Bonazzo.

• CKPG: Health care worker to run for NDP.

• PG Daily News: Angie Bonazzo running for NDP in Cariboo-Prince George.

• Black Press: NDP candidate Angie Bozzano visits 100 Mile House.

Jodie Capling - Green Party of Canada

• Website

• The Citizen: Cariboo-Prince George Green candidate wants to give voters options.

• Black Press: Meet the candidate: Green Party's Jodie Capling.

• Frequency news: Jodie Capling rises to the occasion of representing the Green Party in Cariboo–Prince George.

• CKPG: Candidate Questions.

• CKPG: Green Party candidate says formative years shaped her political beliefs.

• Black Press: Cariboo-Prince George candidates visit 100 Mile Elementary.

Todd Doherty - Conservative Party of Canada

• Website

• Black Press: Meet the candidate: Conservative Todd Doherty.

• The Citizen: Doherty's door-knocking campaign for re-election off to early start.

• CKPG: Candidate Questions: Todd Doherty.

• PG Daily News: Conservative Todd Doherty seeking re-election in Cariboo-Prince George.

• Black Press: Cariboo-Prince George candidates visit 100 Mile Elementary.

Clinton Emslie - Liberal Party of Canada

• Website

• The Citizen: Cariboo-Prince George Liberal candidate touts Carney's credentials.

• Black Press: Meet the candidate: Liberal Clinton Emslie.

• Black Press: Cariboo-Prince George gets official Liberal candidate.

• Frequency News: Clinton Emslie runs on the Federal Liberal ticket for Cariboo–Prince George.

• CKPG: Candidate Questions: Clinton Emslie.

Rudy Sans - People’s Party of Canada

• Website

• The Citizen: Cariboo-Prince George PPC candidate lists sovereignty as major campaign issue.

• Black Press: Meet the candidate: People's Party of Canada's Rudy Sans.

• Frequency News: PPC candidate Rudy Sans worries about fentanyl and glyphosate in Cariboo–Prince George.

• CKPG: Candidate Questions: Rudy Sans.

• Black Press: PPC candidate hosts meet and greet in 108 Mile Ranch.

Kenneth B. Thomson - Independent

• Website (it’s enough.ca, worth mentioning)

• The Citizen: Political parties are a problem, says candidate running in Cariboo-Prince George.

• Black Press: Meet the candidate: Independent Kenneth Thomson.

• CKPG: Candidate questions: Kenneth Thomson.

• CKPG: Independent candidate says more opportunities needed for youth.

• My PG Now: Quesnel lawyer throws hat into the ring for Cariboo-Prince George riding.

Jake Wiens - Christian Heritage Party of Canada

• Website

• The Citizen: Election a matter of conscience for Christian Heritage Party candidate.

• The Black Press: Meet the candidate: Christian Heritage Party's Jake Wiens.

• Frequency News: Christian Heritage candidate Jake Wiens says he needs a miracle to win, but wants to start a conversation.

• CKPG: Candidate Questions: Jake Wiens.

• CKPG: Moral issues top of mind for Christian Heritage Party candidate.

Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies

Created in 1968 as Prince George-Peace River, this riding has elected a Liberal precisely once, in 1968. Since then it’s been Progressive Conservative, Reform, Canadian Alliance and Conservative, depending on which party was leading on the right, and generally with more than 50 per cent — and sometimes more than 60 per cent — of the total vote. In fact, there have only been four elections where the winning candidate got fewer than 50 per cent of the votes here, in 1988, 1974, 1972 and 1968. Bob Zimmer has represented the riding since 2011. Only Corey “Grizz” Longley of the NDP has run previously, when he came second in 2021. This riding stretches up into the Peace region, so much of the coverage comes from media in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John.

Debates and forums

• CKPG: Candidate questions.

• Candidates discuss taxes, tariffs, energy and more at Fort St. John all-candidates forum.

• Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies candidates square off in election forum.

Candidate interviews and profiles

In the order listed on the Elections Canada website:

Mary Forbes - Green Party of Canada

• Website

• Prince George Citizen: School District 27 vice-chair running for Greens in local riding.

• CKPG: Candidate questions: Mary Forbes.

• Energetic City: Our riding: Green candidate’s policies and platform for the federal election 2025.

• Black Press: Williams Lake resident represents ‘greennecks’ of the nroth in elections.

• Energetic City: Green Party candidate Forbes visits Fort St. John on campaign trail.

Cory “Grizz” Longley - New Democratic Party of Canada

• Website

• Prince George Citizen: NDP's Longley looks to flip the script in his second bid for Parliament.

• CKPG: NDP’s Cory “Grizz” Longley looks to unseat longtime incumbent.

• Energetic City: Our riding: NDP candidate’s policies and platform for the federal election 2025.

• CJDC: ‘A strong NDP government:’ Cory ‘Grizz’ Longley to join race for MP in Prince George–Peace River–Northern Rockies.

Peter Njenga - Liberal Party of Canada

• Website.

• Prince George Citizen: Northern Liberal candidate says a vote for him is a vote for Carney.

• Frequency News: Peter Njenga aims to bump conservatives from Prince George–Peace River–Northern Rockies riding.

• CKPG: Candidate questions: Peter Njenga.

David Watson - People’s Party of Canada

• Website.

• Prince George Citizen: PPC candidate Watson wants to 'burn the ships'.

• CKPG: Candidate questions: David Watson.

• Energetic City: Our riding: PPC candidate’s policies and platforms for the federal election 2025.

Bob Zimmer - Conservative Party of Canada

• Website.

• Prince George Citizen: Zimmer seeks fifth term in Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies.

• Energetic City: Our riding: Conservative candidate’s polices and platform for the federal election 2025.

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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!

• A point-in-time homeless count held last year found an increase in the number of homeless in the city compared to past years.

• Council approves vehicle gates at Moccasin Flats.

• 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.

• Bubble tea business locked out over breach of lease, landlord says, after Facebook post accuses landlord of illegal move.

• Museum, regional district express optimism on Exploration Place finances.

• City's final snow control bill for 2024 totals close to $10.58M.

• Editorial: Discreet police presence was the right call.

• 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.

• Library book sale returns Friday, Saturday.

• Bryan Adams is coming to town Sept. 23.

• Cinematography workshop focuses on storytelling.

• Stage is set for Theatre NorthWest’s next play.

• 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.

• Photos: 420 block party.

• TWO Popeyes?

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On the CBC website this morning, I have a story about the reasons and consequences for Prince George being divided down the middle, politically, into two separate ridings. It was inspired in part by the comments section of this newsletter where a few commenters expressed their belief that the city would be better off as its own riding. You’ll have to read the story for more but it did give me the opportunity to finally visualize the 2015 election results in which the city split with the surrounding ridings:

For full transparency, though, the city went back to voting Conservative in 2019 and 2021, it was not an ongoing thing.

News roundup:

• The Exploration Place is on shaky financial footing.

• A petition started in November of last year calling for safety improvements to a hazardous section of Highway 16 known as "Jail Hill" has seen success.

• Public Safety Committee discusses promotion of citizen patrol programs.

• How Will the Parties Help BC Forest Workers?

• Shirley Bond to receive honourary degree from UNBC.

• What Happened in Vanderhoof After the Sawmill Closed.

• Afro-Caribbean Society of Northern BC President feels positive coming out of racism project’s first phase.

• Northern Health says resources, reduced stigma needed to combat toxic drug crisis.

• B.C. ministers urge residents to have go-bags, insurance before floods and wildfires.

• SD57 students compete in Battle of the Books.

• PG painter wins Canadian Duck Stamp competition..

• The epic journey of J.S. Bach comes to Prince George: CBC Music's Tom Allen coming to the Knox Performance Centre.

• New dinosaur just dropped.

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Picking up where we left last Friday, yes, city staff asked RCMP to attend the most recent official community plan hearings and no they did not tell councillors. Views are mixed. Some people are *shrug emoji* it’s a public meeting, who cares who was there? On the other end of the spectrum are people who view this as a complete breakdown in public trust. I imagine a certain amount of this is coloured by your level of comfort around police, generally, and police who are monitoring you without your knowledge, specifically, regardless of whether they are doing so in a public setting or not. From what I can gather, the question is still being pursued through city hall but it’s unclear if the results will be public or not.

Meanwhile, hearings into the official community plan continue tonight, idk if the cops will be there.

Also not sure coun. Trudy Klassen will be there as she is taking part in a conference on small and medium sized cities dealing with the toxic drug crisis that is happening in Lethbridge, Alberta.

Here’s Prince George-North Cariboo MLA Sheldon Clare singing in the B.C. legislature for two minutes:

Speaking of the legislature, remember when there was a mini-controversy because a YouTube from Prince George who’d spoken unfavourably about Doug Ford’s retaliation toward Trump was introduced there last month? He’s moving to Alberta:

But not before endorsing the local Conservatives.

News roundup:

• A mainstay of my youth, gone for over a decade now, is coming back: the Children’s Festival! Though significantly scaled back from what it used to be, nice to see.

• Lheidli T'enneh chief reflects on election, priorities for new term. I didn’t notice their council size has grown due to population growth. Lots of policy in here, as well as news that the new daycare in Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park, operated by the First Nation, is opening next month. Here’s some interviews with the councillors, as well.

• The city’s public safety committee heard about shoplifters.

• Cougars goalie Ravensbergen tops NHL's final draft ranking list, while a PG player with the ancouver Giants is also up there.

• Head coach Mark Lamb wants to keep the current Cougars organizational structure together.

• CKPG paid tribute to outgoing player Riley Heidt.

• It’s over for the Spruce Kings.

• Prince George area Snowpack sees improvement in April bulletin.

• Artists invited by Tourism PG to design mural for new market.

• PG Ice Oval Society awaiting report on refrigeration costs.

• Bill Bond Memorial Fund donates life-saving equipment to local community spaces.

• Northern flickers provide some spring entertainment (and some hammering on my chimney).

• Efforts to bring direct flight between Prince George and Kamloops still ongoing.

• Believe it or not, housing is becoming more unaffordable.

• Prince George prepares for wildfire evacuees.

• Former in-laws lock horns over stuffed deer head.

• PG RCMP arrest youth following weapons call near UHNBC.

• The Agriplex is reopening after it was closed due to one of the horses was found to have equine herpesvirus.

• Prince George business maintains good relations with U.S. company despite trade war.

• Local Prince George gymnast to represent BC at Western Canadian Championships.

• Annual spring cleanup set for April 27.

• Prince George Potters’ Guild presents Table Talk.

• A day in the life of a Prince George 9-1-1 police dispatcher: ‘Help is a call away’.

• Nove Voce to present Birdsong April 27.

• New 5K event a fundraiser for COPD awareness in Prince George.

• Prince George bocce team looking forward to hosting Special Olympics.

• Northern voices lead energy conversations.

• Research and community come together through Sahtú Dene and UNBC collaboration.

• Learn about the importance of railway flags.

• Lol.

• What’s this?

  

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Over the course of multiple meetings and many hours, the real sticking point in this document has been the fate of the area surrounding Ginter’s Park. The Citizen’s city hall reporter Colin Slark wrote about the most recent meeting which lasted more than four hours on Wednesday, which ended with a number of amendments that will be continued at the next special meeting on April 16. I won’t get into all the details but the broad strokes are there’s a sense among a passionate group of participants that there are not enough protections in place for the green space around the city generally, and Ginter’s in particular. Anyways, here’s city councillor Trudy Klassen on X yesterday:

That was followed by this post from Brian Skakun in the Ginters Green Forever Facebook group:

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That time the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Thought about flooding Prince George

I needed a second story for my newsletter today, so I started searching different forums and sites to see if anyone had made any posts bout the city recently. And boy did this one catch my eye:

Unfamiliar with NAWAPA, I looked it up on Wikipedia like any good investigator. It stands for the North American Water and Power Alliance, and was

a proposed continental water management scheme conceived in the 1950s by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The planners envisioned diverting water from some rivers in Alaska south through Canada via the Rocky Mountain Trench and other routes to the US and would involve 369 separate construction projects. The water would enter the US in northern Montana. There it would be diverted to the headwaters of rivers such as the Colorado River and the Yellowstone River. Implementation of NAWAPA has not been seriously considered since the 1970s, due to the array of environmental, economic and diplomatic issues raised by the proposal.

Which is… a bit of an understatement.:

The Parsons plan would divert water from the Yukon, Liard and Peace River systems into the southern half of the Rocky Mountain Trench which would be dammed into a massive, 500 mi (805 km)-long reservoir. Some of the water would be sent east across central Canada to form a navigable waterway connecting Alberta to the Great Lakes with the additional benefit of stabilizing the Great Lakes' water level. The rest of the water would enter the United States in northern Montana, providing additional flow to the Columbia and Missouri–Mississippi river systems, and would be pumped over the Rocky Mountains via the Sawtooth Lifts in Idaho. From there, it would run south via aqueducts to the Colorado River and Rio Grande systems. Some of this water would be sent around the southern end of the Rockies in New Mexico and pumped north to the High Plains, stabilizing the Ogallala Aquifer. The increased flow of the Colorado River, meanwhile, would enter Mexico, allowing for greater development of agriculture in Baja California and Sonora.

At a costs of $100 billion US in 1970s dollars, the benefit of this, apparently, would have been to provide a whole bunch of water to areas that needed it across North America, plus a bunch of electricity. The downside was it needed nuclear explosions to build the trenchs and reservoirs at scale and, unfortunately, would have yes, flooded Prince George, as relayed in the book Cadillac Desert, a book by Marc Reisner on American policies towards the west publishe din the 1980s and which, it seems, was quite well received. Here’s the relevant passage:

It is Canada, however, that would have to suffer the worst of the environmental consequences, and they would be phenomenal. Luna Leopold, a professor of hydrology at the University of California at Berkeley, says of NAWAPA, “The environmental damage that would be caused by that damned thing can’t even be described. It could cause as much harm as all of the dam-building we have done in a hundred years.”

Every significant river between Anchorage and Vancouver would be dammed for power or water, or both—the Tanana, the Yukon, the Copper, the Taku, the Skeena, the Stikine, the Liard, the Bella Coola, the Dean, the Chilcotin, and the Fraser. All of these have prolific salmon fisheries, which would be largely, if not wholly, destroyed. (Since the extirpation of around 90 percent of the Columbia’s salmon run, the Fraser, the Stikine, and the Skeena have become the most important salmon rivers on earth.)

…

In Canada and the U.S. alike, not just rivers but an astounding amount of wilderness and wildlife habitat would be put under water, tens of millions of acres of it. Surface aqueducts and siphons—not to say hundred-mile reservoirs—would cut off migratory routes. Hundreds of thousands of people would have to be relocated; Prince George, B.C., population 150,000, would vanish from the face of the earth. In general, though, the project’s proponents display a peculiar blindness to the horrifying dislocation and natural destruction it would cause. They are far more comfortable talking about how NAWAPA is our only hope of averting worldwide famine.

My searches for mentions of this topic took me to a few other places, such as this blog post which makes mention of the plan, prompting this anonymous comment from a reader:

This is like a bad dream coming back to haunt me. I grew up in Prince George, BC which is located in the Rocky Mountain Trench (at the convergence of the Northern and Southern sections of the trench) and I remember this issue when I was a teenager in the 80’s. I remember my family receiving a letter or pamphlet in the mail from a local politician talking about the flooding of the Rocky Mountain Trench to provide water for thirsty folks down in California. I was horrified by the idea and the time and it haunts me to this day to think that this project could become a reality. During my search of websites concerning this project, I have not seen one that mentions the displacement of cities and towns of people living in the trench. From what I understand about the project (correct me if I’m wrong), my hometown and others would end up underwater and the residents would be forced to move. Not exactly the same scale as the Three Gorges Dam in China, but you get the idea. Why should some people have to lose their homes so that other folks can carry on life as usual on the edge of an arid desert? Not only would this project have a huge environmental impact, but a lot folks would lose out on the deal as well. When I was a teenager, our local politicians were looking out for our best interests, but I’m not sure if they are now.

I also found writer Nina Muntenau, whose book A Diary in the Age of Water, provides a fictional alternate history in which this plan came to pass. Here’s the excerpt she provides on her website, you can visit it to read more about her inspiration for it which involves a visit to the Ancient Cedar Rainforest:

Una stopped the car and we stared out across the longest reservoir in North America. What had once been a breathtaking view of the valley floor of the Rocky Mountain Trench was now a spectacular inland sea. It ran north-south over eight hundred kilometres and stretched several kilometres across to the foothills of the Cariboo Mountain Range. Una pointed to Mount Mica, Mount Pierre Elliot Trudeau and several other snow-covered peaks. They stood above the inland sea like sentinels of another time. Una then pointed down to what used to be Jackman Flats—mostly inundated along with McLellan River and the town of Valemont to the south. Hugging the shore of what was left of Jackman Flats was a tiny village. “That’s the new Tête Jaune Cache,” my mother told me.

If villages had karma this one was fated to drown over and over until it got it right. Once a bustling trading town on the Grand Trunk Pacific railway, Tête Jaune Cache drowned in the early 1900s when the Fraser naturally flooded. The village relocated to the junction of the original Yellowhead 16 and 5 Highways. Villagers settled close to where the Fraser, Tête Creek, and the McLellan River joined, all fed by the meltwater from the glaciers and icefields of the Premiere Range of the Cariboo Mountains. The village drowned again in 2025. I imagined the pool halls, restaurants, saloons and trading posts crushed by the flood.

“This area used to be a prime Chinook spawning ground,” Una said. “They swam over 1,200 km from the Pacific Ocean to lay their eggs right there.” She pointed to the cobalt blue water below us.

The reservoir sparkled in the sun like an ocean. Steep shores rose into majestic snow-capped mountains. The village lay in a kind of cruel paradise, I thought. It was surrounded by a multi-hued forest of Lodgepole pine, Western red cedar, Douglas fir, paper birch and trembling Aspen. Directly behind the village was Mount Terry Fox and across the Robson valley mouth, to the northeast, rose Mount Goslin. Behind it, Mount Robson cut a jagged pyramid against a stunning blue sky. Wispy clouds veiled its crown. I couldn’t help thinking it was the most beautiful place I’d seen. And yet, for all its beauty, the villagers had lost their principle livelihood and food. The reservoir had destroyed the wildlife habitats and the fishery. And its people with it.

Una pointed to where the giant reservoir snaked northwest and where towns like Dunster, McBride and Prince George lay submerged beneath a silent wall of water. Her eyes suddenly misted as she told me about Slim Creek Provincial Park, between what used to be Slim and Driscoll Creeks just northwest of what used to be the community of Urling. She told me about the Oroboreal rainforest, called an “Antique Rainforest”—ancient cedar-hemlock stands over a 1000 years old. She described how massive trunks the width of a small house once rose straight up toward a kinder sun. The Primordial Grove was once home to bears, the gray wolf, cougar, lynx, wolverine and ungulates. It was the last valley in North America where the grizzly bear once fished ocean-going salmon. Now even the salmon were no longer there, she said. Then she bent low beside me and pulled me close to her in a hug. She quietly said to me, “This is what killed Trudeau.”

I stared at her and firmly corrected, “but that was an accident.”

“Yes,” she agreed. Then added, “a planned one.”

Not for nothing, both Reisner in 1986 and Muntenau in 2000 take note of the fact that even if it’s not on such a grand scale, we have and are, in fact, flooding vast tracts of land for power and stripping others for forest resources. Anyways. Today I learned.

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News roundup:

• Dolleen Logan re-elected chief of Lheidli T’enneh First Nation.

• At the Build the North conference, tough talk on tariffs and a bright future ahead.

• Increased purchasing power giving PG home buyers a leg up.

• PG Western Heritage Society makes pitch for rodeo grounds upgrades.

• Prince George Agriplex to reopen Tuesday.

• Miracle Theatre extends run of two comedies amid incredible audience turnout.

• Public skating survey.

• They All Call It Canada:

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For reference, here is the current one:

And here’s a guest post from Glen Thielmann I published way back in 2022 about the history of this thing, as well as some fun alternate takes:

Election news

So based on the fact all his online presence was in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island area, I had wondered whether Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies Liberal candidate Peter Njenga was a ‘we have to put someone’s name on here’, we’re-not-actually-gonna-hear-from-him candidate. But then yesterday, 4streegrrl commented:

when I was driving to the vet on Monday morning to pick up on of my cats who spent the weekend there (she's doing much better and well worth the mint she cost me), as I was going through the 15th and Victoria/Patricia intersection I noticed someone holding up a Liberal sign and waving and smiling at vehicles on the corner by D'Lanos. It was Peter Njenga. I recognized him from the local election articles and photo.

I guess he came up for the day to have a presence?

And, the Citizen tells us, yes he came up, but for more than a day:

Visiting The Citizen’s offices on Tuesday, April 8, Njenga said he and his wife started to plan a move from a farm in Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island about six months ago and arrived in Prince George about two weeks ago.

Back on the island, Njenga said, he worked as a real estate agent.

However, he also said he has a doctorate in finance, a master’s degree in business administration, a bachelor’s degree in commerce, is a chartered professional accountant and runs a philanthropic group called the Dr. Njenga Foundation Charity that helps people experiencing homelessness in Canada and orphans in Kenya.

“This is a good area, prime for development and especially I’m attracted by the wood industry,” Njenga said of Northern BC.

…

Regardless of whether he wins, Njenga said he planned on staying in Prince George after the election.

Elsewhere, with the Cougars out of the playoffs the Spruce Kings are providing the backdrop for campaign posts:

They won, by the way., making it a 2-2 series.

News roundup:

• I was going to post the results of the Lheidli T’enneh election but as of 11 p.m., they were still counting the votes on a livestream over Facebook, something I’ve not seen before. I imagine if you visit them now, the results will be posted by morning.

• B.C.’s forests minister was on BC Today, where callers could weigh in on the future of the industry. He said softwood levies need to be treated as seriously, nationally, as tariffs on the auto industry.

• Build the North Conference kicks off at the Civic Centre.

• Miracle Theatre performances selling out fast.

• Prince George social worker celebrated for decades of work.

• Ravensbergen earns nomination for WHL’s Goaltender of the Year award.

• Tourism PG helping support prominent communtiy member in time of need.

• Water main break leads to traffic detour in the Hart.

• Photos: BTO, April Wine and Headpins rock CN Centre.

• Guess which of these apple varieties is grown in Canada:

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• More federal support needed for BC forestry, (provincial minister) Parmar says.

• BC Timber Sales now assigned to help lower wildfire risks.

• Conservation North flags the potential for logging more old growth.

• And a longform feature in the Tyee about the impacts of “tree plantations”, the large stands of replanted mono-species replacing clearcut areas:

The Tyee has confirmed through searches of a provincial government database that in 2024 logs from as far as an hour’s drive north of Fort Nelson were being hauled by truck all the way to Prince George, a distance of more than 900 kilometres. Logs have travelled even farther into Prince George from B.C.’s remote northwest corner, distances that have pushed driver safety into the danger zone.

Meanwhile, what little natural forests remain closer to home are getting logged too, and Wilkins says he’s had enough.

At the end of January, he joined guide outfitter and trapline owner Scott Pichette to urge Kevin Hoekstra, the provincial Ministry of Forests’ district manager in Prince George, to take action.

“Nearly 10,000 hectares of wildlife habitat have been clear cut in recent decades and hundreds of kilometres of roads now fragment this trapline. The subsequent plantations lack the habitat features required by small and middle-sized carnivores, not to mention the big timber for moose and deer during winter,” Wilkins and Pichette wrote in a letter to Hoekstra.

So extensive has that logging been that the forests no longer intercept rain and snow and moderate water flows as they once did. The result is often catastrophically intense water flows in the spring and almost no water flow in the fall.

“The fluctuation has just about decimated the salmon runs,” the pair continued.

Their request? That “no further logging activities be approved for this trapline... until cumulative effects are properly acknowledged.”

Preventing a crisis point for bears:

At Monday’s meeting, council was presented with a list of recommendations from the commmittee on bear awareness that was struck in response to the record killing of black bears in the city in 2023.

The recommendations were:

1. That Council: a. ESTABLISH a City staff position with a focus on sustainable waste management that includes achieving Provincial Bear Smart Status and reducing human-wildlife conflict; and b. COMMITS to sustained financial support of this position for each year of the 2025 to 2030 5-Year Operational Financial Plan.

2. That Council DIRECT Administration to establish a Bear Aware Technical Committee that meets regularly with membership.

3. That Council: a

   1. DIRECTS Administration to incorporate multiple automated bear-resistant solid waste garbage bins based on industry standards as a two-year pilot project to select a brand compatible with City operations and to be established in areas known to have high-bear encounters; and

   2. DIRECTS Administration to return a report to Council within two months following the end of the pilot project advising on the results and budget implications for implementing bearresistant bins city-wide, with a priority roll out on high bear conflict areas.

4. That Council DIRECTS Administration to continue to phase in bear-resistant solid waste receptacles in public spaces, including parks and bus stops.

5. That Council DIRECTS Administration to consider the following tools when addressing bear-related issues:

   1. Actively participating in and supporting programs aimed at reducing bear attractants through initiatives such as bear-resistant garbage bins, fruit gleaning and harvest sharing, and public education; and

   2. Combining support for these programs with the enforcement of section 11 in the City of Prince George Property Maintenance Bylaw No. 8425, 2014, would effectively mitigate human-bear conflicts. Additionally, this approach offers an opportunity to foster community engagement and enhance local food security.

6. That Council ADOPTS a new bylaw specific to wildlife attractants and solid waste.

7. That Council DIRECTS Administration to amend the City of Prince George Zoning Bylaw No. 7850, 2007, and other applicable bylaws, to permit electric fencing to secure wildlife attractants specifying requirements for voltage, installation, and maintenance.

8. That Council:

   1. DIRECTS Administration to include educational materials on human-bear interactions with the City’s utility bills for the spring and fall billing cycles; and

   2. DIRECTS Administration to continue incorporating bear awareness information on the garbage collection schedule, social media platforms, and website.

Althought 2024 saw bear deaths drop significantly, council was warned another crisis point will be reached unless preventative measures are taken.

As reported in the Citizen, though, there were also concerns about the cost of doing all of this.

In the end, here’s what was passed, as summarized by the city:

Council voted to move ahead with the recommendations that had no immediate budget impacts, including to continue to phase in bear-resistant solid waste receptacles in public places, adopting a new bylaw specific to wildlife attractants and solid waste, and consideration of amending the City’s Zoning Bylaw to permit electric fencing to secure wildlife attractants. Council also supported the recommendation to direct administration to include educational materials on human-bear interactions on utility bills, as well as directing administration to continue incorporating bear awareness information on the garbage collection schedule, social media platforms and City’s website.

Meanwhile, Kamloops is rolling out bear-resistant garbage cans for everyone who wants one on an opt-in basis at a cost of an extra $20 a year.

Election news

For candidate profiles, the Citizen has now profile Cory Longley of the NDP in the Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies riding, the only person aside from the incumbents who is running a second time around.

The former Dawson Creek radio host-turned-plumber and union activist is challenging Conservative incumbent Bob Zimmer once again.

During a phone interview from Haida Gwaii, where he was picking up what he referred to as his “mobile command centre,” Longley said he wasn’t satisfied with the result in the 2021 election.

“I was disappointed, but I’m also realistic,” Longley said.

“The Conservative machine has been in place for a long, long time and it’s tough for a person that’s progressive and actually care about people to break through that sometimes, so I thought I would give it another try because I deserve it and so does every member of my riding.”

..

Longley said that when you look at where the riding is since the last election, including what Zimmer has accomplished, not much has changed.

“Hardly anything (has changed) other than the temperature down south has been turned up and we’re looking for our leaders to help us out with what’s going to be happening in the future and whether or not we’re going to have jobs, whether or not Americans are going to try to turn us into a 51st state, tariff our health care, that kind of stuff,” Longley said.

Also up, the Liberal candidate for Cariboo-Prince George, Clinton Emslie:

Originally from South Africa, Emslie said, he and his partner came to Quesnel in late 2023 from Ontario so they could be closer to their goddaughter who lives in Prince George.

He runs both an immigration practice and business consultancy out of the Gold Pan City.

Though this is his first time running for public office, Emslie said he’s been politically active for a long time, working with former Mississauga mayor and current Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie on what he called grassroots initiatives and receiving a community leadership award in 2018 from former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

As someone in a same-sex relationship, Emslie said a large part of why he was drawn to run to the Liberals he feels it is the party most welcoming to marginalized people.

“For me, working with marginalized communities like the LGBTQ side of the world and all the First Nations is where my passions lie because they are the communities that need a loud voice to fight for them and to stand up for them when decisions are made,” he said.

Meanwhile, Quesnel lawyer Kenneth B. Thompson has decided to run as an indpendent in Cariboo-Prince George.

And the Citizen has its full list of candidates.

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News roundup:

• “As a pastor, I preach forgiveness. As a concerned dad, I see the need for bail reform.” (interview here)

• New chief and council for Lheidli T’enneh to be elected today.

• Official Community Plan public hearing reconvenes today, too.

• And part of Fourth Avenue closed today.

• Work on School District 57’s new logo is underway and could be ready by the end of the year.

• City Council voices support to bring blood donation clinic back to PG.

• Prince George city council took the first step in renewing its contract with Lakeland Mills Ltd. to supply fibre for the Downtown Renewable Energy System through 2026 with options to extend it through 2027 and 2028 at its Monday, April 7 meeting, hearing that it saves on costs and carbon emissions.

• Prince George has been named the 28th most resilient city in B.C. by B.C. Business Magazine, climbing from its previous ranking of 35.

• Prince George Muay Thai fighter selected for Team Canada competition in Italy.

• Council shows support for intimate partner violence committee.

• SD57 to get funding for HVAC upgrades at College Heights, Beaverly.

• First Responders Come To The Aid Of ATV Riders On Bridge Lake.

• BC Northern Real Estate Board names new chair.

• Prince George hive inspector helping bees flourish.

• Prince George outfitters Reel North Adventures win award for accessible fishing craft.

• Hawkins Sound Ranch just outside of Prince George restoring recording console previously owned by Frank Zappa.

• Checking out Star City Cheer and Tumbling.

• Alternative approval process kicks off for more than $11M in loans.

• PG Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star hosting 100-year anniversary celebration.

• A UK fan is looking for a vintage Cougars cap.

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On Saturday night, I went to a show at the Legion (PG’s Scribbens and No Big D of Quesnel, couple of fun local punk-adjacent groups). The show started at 9 and ended around midnight and my group was parked a few blocks away. On the way in and out, we passed multiple groups of people milling about outside — the Black Clover, Heartbreakers, and even Black Diamond bowling/billiards. A show at the Omineca Arts Centre, slightly further afield, was sold out. Overall, it had the feel of when I was a university student and you could actually go to multiple locations in the downtown late into the night, and I know at least a couple other bars/clubs were going that I didn’t pass that particular evening. I know it’s not the best metric but the vibe was that there was stuff going on and last call was later than 10 p.m., which I’m not sure was the case a few years ago. Anyways, just an observation. Thoughts?

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The first game seven in 23 years

Also this weekend I went to game six of the Cougars-Portland series. I hadn’t made it out to a game since Trump became president and I knew this intellectually but O Canada is certainly a thing, now, isn’t it?

The Cougars forced a game seven — the first the team has had since 2002, apparently! and though it was tight, last night ended with a loss and the end of the season for the team. The crowd was great though - I wasn’t there live but the feed could clearly hear them cheering COU-GARS as the clock ran out and it was clear they weren’t coming back.

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Conquest

That’s it for today! Will be a longer one tomorrow.

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There has been ~news~ and I don’t feel like waiting til Monday morning to send it out.

Let’s start with politics:

As you may remember, one week ago, former Burns Lake mayor/current College of New Caledonia instructor Chris Beach launched his campaign for the federal Liberals, as the Cariboo-Prince George riding, to a crowd at Betulla Burning, citing his “confidence in new Liberal leader Mark Carney’s economic vision.”

But wait! Shortly after that, the Liberal Party itself got in touch with local media to say Beach had not been confirmed. He didn’t seem worried, though:

When asked about the situation Friday, Beach looked into it and later said he had been in contact with the BC arm of the campaign who told him he hadn't been 100 per cent greenlit as a candidate yet as they are trying to clear a backlog of 43 pending nominations. He said he has not been told that he is not the candidate in the riding.

After this story was first published, the federal Liberals' BC campaign manager confirmed Beach's status.

"Chris Beach submitted a nomination package for Cariboo-Prince George," Haley Hodgson wrote in a message via LinkedIn. "He is currently in the greenlight process and has not been confirmed as a candidate."

Beach said that as far as he knows, there's no one else running for the Cariboo-Prince George nomination, though he has not been in contact with the Ottawa campaign office.

“I think it’s a miscommunication,” Beach said. “I’ve done all my papers. They’re just dotting the I’s. I think it’s just a bureaucratic kind of mix-up.”

WELP. This morning, he posted this:

And indeed, he had not been a Trudeau fan. In fact, at his campaign launch he said exactly that:

Beach took an opportunity to distance himself from the Trudeau government, at one point saying, “if Justin Trudeau was still the leader I probably would not have come back to the party. I’ll just be very frank about that.”

And yeah, he has a bit of a history. Here’s a column from November 2024:

Apparently, there’s still only one person in Canada who thinks Justin Trudeau can get re-elected as Prime Minister next year… and of course that person is Justin Trudeau himself.

Although his party has been in power for a decade and incumbent governments are falling like dominos across the globe, Trudeau seems to believe he can convince Canadians far and wide in the next few months that he can be something entirely different than he has been time and time again.

…

Once again, his personal political ambition is taking precedence over good public policy. Unlike our former BC Premier John Horgan who was a team player and governed more by consensus, this is the ‘Trudeau Show’ and if there’s a spotlight calling, he will be the one standing under it telling Canadians that this latest u-turn will fix everything.

Here’s a column from January when Trudeau announced his resignation, which is a mix:

… beyond the looming crisis at hand, what will Trudeau be remembered for? Legalizing marijuana as he promised to do, handing out emergency cheques without equivocation amidst Covid to keep food on our tables and the economy afloat, and increasing immigration to the point that our population swelled to over 40 million for the first time in our history, could likely be what he is remembered for the most.

As for the negatives, well if you’ve been watching this program you’ve probably heard me list those off in spades, from spiraling record debt, to abysmal national productivity, to myriad ill-thought out public policies.

One thing I can say in Justin Trudeau’s favour is that he did step up and serve in the most demanding job in the nation for almost a decade.

Whether or nto this is why Beach didn’t get the nod, the party didn’t say.

But who did?

Clinton Emslie, an immigration consultant from Quesnel:

In a campaign statement, Emslie outlined his vision for the region, emphasizing leadership driven by experience, compassion, and practical solutions.

"In these defining moments for our nation, Canada needs leadership grounded in experience, guided by compassion, and driven by solutions,” Emslie said. “Under the strong, steady hand of Mark Carney, the Liberal Party is ready to lead Canada into a future that is not only economically resilient but also fair, inclusive, and united.”

No Betualla Burning party this time.

A Liberal candidate was also announced for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies, someone named Peter Njenga. He ran for the party in Abbotsford in 2015 when, according to a write-up in the Fraser Valley Current last year, he “id no local campaigning, attended no all-candidates meetings, and was basically unheard of in the community”. He also ran as an independent in Surrey South in the 2017 provincial campaign.

Nomination deadline is Monday. Here’s the list of confirmed candidates from Elections Canada.

Cariboo:

Peace:

We know of course that others have been announced, we’ll see the full list on Wednesday.

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The College Heights Pub is coming back (sort of) under Nancy O’s ownership:

I noted earlier this week rumours the old College Heights Pub location is reopening. It’s true, and it’s being done by poeple with a track record:

Nancy O’s Restaurant Group, which owns Nancy O's and Betulla Burning in downtown Prince George, is opening a neighbourhood pub at the old College Heights Pub location this summer.

Group president Eoin Foley said they are giving the interior of the old favourite a major refresh right now in anticipation of the grand opening in June.

..

Tucked away at 5787 Albert Place, the location has been on Foley’s radar for the last couple of years, he added.

“We kind of knew it was an underserved market up there and back in our younger years, certainly back before Garrett and I opened Nancy O’s, it was a regular spot for us to whet our whistle,” Foley said talking about his longtime friend and business partner Garrett Fedorkiw.

“The old CHP was a great staple in town and one of the best neighbourhood pubs we’ve seen in Prince George and it’s a place that was near and dear to many people’s hearts.”

The pair were university students in town at roughly the same time I was and it’s true, the CHP was definitely a major gathering spot for students (as was Sgt. O’Flaherty’s, RIP). They say it’s going to have a decidedly different feel than their other restaurants, more of a sports pub with TVs, domestic beer on tap and “the English vibe that the old CHP used to have.”

However, I will make one plea: Foley says

“We don’t want people to walk in for the first time and feel the last few businesses still lurking in there,.. We want people to know that this is a totally new thing.”

A refresh is great but when I went to the location last year, when it was an Asian hybrid spot, I was surprised/bemused/pleased to see many of the old College Heights decor on the walls, including photos of old regulars. It survived, by my count, at least four different rebrands/styles/ownership groups and while it really didn’t make sense for some of the iterations, it would be awesome for some of it to be incorporated in a new restaurant that pays tribute to the building’s roots.

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Alright, that’s it! Have a great weekend!

City of Prince George Mayor Simon Yu also welcomed the crowd to Prince Geroge. Yu discussed the importance of the forestry sector to the region, and the need to create fibre certainty so companies operating in the region can invest further into keeping sawmills and other forest products plants running, and possibly, expand and open new mills.

“We need to be innovative and rethink wildfire management, harvesting, and most importantly, thinning,” he said.

Yu added that all the stakeholders in the room – industry, labour, government, First Nations – need to establish trust with each other, and focus on working with each other to find solutions to everyone’s challenges so the sector can grow a healthier value-added industry.

MLA of Prince George-Mackenzie Kiel Giddens also welcomed the crowd to the convention. Giddens stated that he wanted to see a forest sector that focused on sustainability and the environment but also had a strong focus on economic and socioeconomic sustainability.

“We need your help. We need your ideas, and I look forward to discussing these ideas with all of you over the next couple of days. Now, more than ever, we need resource champions who are willing to take on the partnerships and innovation needed for our prosperity and good family-supporting jobs right here in British Columbia,” he said.

In the Citizen, former premier/current BC Hydro chair Glen Clark offered his thoughts on the situation:

All we can do as a province is ask: what can we do? We can’t do anything about wildfires, we can’t do anything about the mountain pine beetle, we can’t do anything about the Americans.

Similar thoughts come in My Prince George Now, reporting on s conversation that included Clark and UNBC undergrad degree holder (also former federal cabinet minister and UNBC chancellor) James Moore:

“Donald Trump has given us a big hand here in the sense that he is going to impoverish Americans. He crashed the stock market, jack up inflation and is going to make everything more expensive and he has made a lot of the world hate the United States, which I don’t think Americans aren’t going to like a lot of those things and they will want this to stop.”

Premier David Eby is giving a keynote today but he earmarked some of his talking points in a press conference held in Victoria yesterday, saying he planned to bring up softwood lumber when he meets with Prime Minister Mark Carney in the coming days:

He said he wants to put the softwood lumber dispute on the national agenda, noting that Trump has launched a national security investigation into Canada's timber practices, with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick repeating that the sector is a key area of "concern" and raising anxiety about the industry's future.

"It's important for the prime minister to understand the unique impacts of the president's actions on British Columbia," Eby said. "The risk always with prime ministers and with federal parties is they get trapped in Ontario ... they are in Ottawa. They're beside Quebec, literally just over a bridge, and they forget about the West.

"So, my message to the prime minister will be that you have to be on top of issues in Western Canada and in British Columbia. Your response, whether they support workers or industries or whatever it is, needs to include British Columbia."

If that’s enough industry talk for you, don’t worry: Minerals North, focused on mining, is coming up later this month.

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I just noticed this ad for Highway 16 cell coverage from Rogers. Anyone know if this is a real spot on the road?

News roundup:

• Cougars lose agonizing gut-wrencher in double overtime and are now facing elimination tonight. Go Cougars!

• City staff to report on bear aware recommendations.

• PG city councillor to attend Municipal Leaders Table addressing substance use impacts on small cities.

• PG RCMP seeking witnesses in an attempted purse and phone theft.

• Delegation to ask council for support in addressing intimate partner violence.

• LifeLabs workers protest in Prince George.

• First LNG carrier arrives in Kitimat, B.C., as $40B liquefied natural gas plant prepares to start.

• Massive Site C dam work camp — complete with gym and movie theatre — could be headed to a B.C. landfill.

• Coastal GasLink protesters' sentencing delayed.

• Judge orders evidence be produced in legal battle over Vanderhoof hay business.

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.

“Their score deserves to be 3/30” an employee wrote me.

Mandi also wrote:

I'd give the CKPG pay parking article a 0/10 for all metrics. When I read it at 8:30ish am, it did not include the April Fools banner, and readers had to scroll past the huge ad break on the page to read that the point person for the project was named Apryl Phools. Almost no one reads to the end of an article or post when they're fired up about something, especially when it comes to governments making financial decisions that impact citizens (and especially since snow removal has been a contentious point of the budget for years now). My first thought was "whelp RIP city staff" and looks like that was an accurate prediction :( They really missed the mark on that one.

😬

In other April Foolery, Jo comments:

I really enjoyed Nest and Sprout’s April Fool’s joke, which included an old school html website: https://nestandsprout.ca/blogs/news-from-the-nest/big-changes-at-nest-sprout-meet-crazy-eric-s-baby-emporium

Big Changes at Nest & Sprout? Meet Crazy Eric’s Baby Emporium!

"From FETUS to FAMILY, we’ve got you covered!"

He’s pulling out all the stops:
✔️ A brand new sign (finally!)
✔️ A website crafted with those classic 1999 web design skills
✔️ An energy only a dad who’s had one too many coffees (and maybe a bit too much free time) can bring

Check out Eric’s full April 1st announcement video below — it’s one for the books:
👉 Find it on Instagram.

Here’s the HTML website:

https://www.crazyeric.ca/

Insta post:

This one does indeed hit the marks. 28/30

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Theatre Northwest going bigger and shorter

From My Prince George Now:

The theatre announced today (Wednesday) they will be moving from four productions to three for the next season.

“One of the things we know about our audiences, they are looking for larger shows with larger casts,” said Artistic Producer Marnie Hamagami.

“It will be unsurprising to any of our audiences to find out that larger shows with larger casts cost more money. They cost more money both in terms of royalties and in terms of actor and artist wages.”

The decision to reduce the number of shows also comes as a response to the current economic climate.

“Many of the larger cast shows that we have done in the recent past and are looking to do in the future come out of the United States, which means that we’re also paying royalties in American dollars,” Hamagami added.

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Election profiles

Today it’s Bob Zimmer, incumbent for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies:

Zimmer, who has represented the area in Parliament since 2011, said many people who had good jobs with good income eight years ago who are now running out of money by the end of the month rather than being able to put away savings.

The Conservatives, he said, have a plan to create a good economy so people can afford groceries and housing, especially the younger generations who have started to feel that the latter is almost unattainable.

“One of the biggest things that we’ve talked about, and (Liberal Leader) Mark Carney’s taking credit for is ‘axe the tax’, getting rid of the carbon tax,” Zimmer said. “It impacts people, especially in the north in such an unfair way.”

He said he spoke with a business owner in Fort Nelson who was spending $2,000 a month on fuel, $700 of which related to the carbon tax.

“That’s been eliminated thanks to Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives that have really pushed the federal government to do that … we’re going to keep that off, but we’re also going to eliminate the carbon tax on industry as well.”

News roundup:

• Federal election boundaries have changed since 2021 election.

• Man injured, dog killed by moose in College Heights.

• Committee to track progress of other city-owned medical clinics.

• Night life plan for PG?

• Integris explores merger with Vancouver Island credit union.

• Berry taking methodical approach to new role at Downtown PG.

• Heidt earns nomination for WHL’s Humanitarian of the Year award.

• Spruce Kings relishing opportunity as playoff underdogs.

• Electric vehicle association call for more supports amid looming election.

• UNBC student advocates for a greener future in nursing.

• COFI releases study on competitiveness and sustainability in the B.C. forest sector.

• Report outlines 2024 in Prince George Supreme Court.

• Cinematography workshops slated for Arts North Digital Media Centre.

• 95th Kelly Cup bonspiel starts Thursday.

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And yet, some locals forged on anyways.

In order for a modern online April Fools’ joke to work I think it needs to be ranked by

1. Is it funny/clever?

2. Is it easy to identify as a joke?

3. If it harmless (just in case it is not identified as a joke)?

Here’s are the ones I caught:

Citizen to host federal leader’s debate

The premise itself is a bit meh, but there are some good lines in here:

The panel will be moderated by Citizen editor Kennedy Gordon.

“I’ve never moderated any kind of debate before, let alone at this level,” said Gordon. “But I did handle the customer service announcements when I worked at Zellers in the ’80s so I should do OK.”

And

To properly showcase our community to the party leaders before the debate, they will be taken on a tour of Connaught Hill and shown the site for our city’s new IMAX theatre. Arriving at the PG Playhouse, The Citizen has arranged for Mr. PG to welcome them, decked out with a Citizen hat and T-shirt. As well, Mr. PG will have a newspaper delivery bag over his shoulder and be holding a rolled-up copy of the paper.

Is it funny/clever?

4/10

Is it easy to identify as a joke?

8/10

Is it harmless?

8/10

Total ranking: 20/30

Paid parking at the CN Centre

I have a harder time judging this one because I didn’t see it in realtime and it’s been deleted from everywhere it was posted (CKPG, plus the websites for 101.3 and 99.3). I’m not certain, therefore, whether the big “APRIL FOOL’S BANNER” was originally posted, or not, and whether the River’s note to “please stop calling city hall, the city of Prince George is not pleased with us…” is part of the joke or an actual thing that happened. If the original story was posted without the April Fools messaging this would have to take a lower ranking because it’s clearly a semi-believable premise with actual implications for people who didn’t realize it wasn’t true. My ranking is based somewhere between…

Is it funny/clever?

1/10

Is it easy to identify as a joke?

5/10 ???

Is it harmless?

6/10???

Total ranking: 12/30

Overhang is removing all of its orange holds as a statement against Trump

To be fully honest, I am still only 98 per cent certain this is a joke because there’s no obvious earmarks stating it except the day it was posted and the relative absurdity of the premise, moreso for the cost than the sentiment. That said, it is clever enough to offset any potential confusion and, arguably, if it isn’t a joke it’s actually stronger given current vibes.

Is it funny/clever?

15/10

Is it easy to identify as a joke?

4/10 ???

Is it harmless?

10/10

Total ranking: 29/30

CKPG Today pivots to full emu coverage

A second offering from the Pattison gropu, this one via CKPG Today and host Caden Fanshaw. While full emu coverage is a believable premise, the joke is given away by the “Happy April Fools” at the end and the spring photo - you won’t trick me, Fanshaw!

Is it funny/clever?

8/10

Is it easy to identify as a joke?

9/10

Is it harmless?

10/10

Total ranking: 27/30

Forestry in a time of tariffs

CBC’s the National visited Prince George and Vanderhoof for a report on forestry:

I worked with the team for a write-up around the story, though most of it is what you’ve heard already if you live here and aimed at a more general audience. Still, I wanted to note John Brink’s emotional response to the tariffs and 51st state talk:

John Brink is a Prince George-based businessman whose companies manufacture finger joints, used to link pieces of wood together, using unused lumber discarded by other mills.

The main market for his products is the United States, but, he says, once 25 per cent tariffs come into effect, he's not sure the business will be viable, making him visibly emotional.

"A lot of people will get hurt, losing their jobs, losing their businesses," he said. "It's not viable."

Brink came to Canada from the Netherlands in his 20s, settling in Prince George amid a boom in the lumber industry that saw it and surrounding communities rapidly grow through the 1950s and 60s.

Canadians, he says, were his heroes, thanks to their role in liberating his hometown from German occupation when he was just five years old.

"I hear the president of the United States talking about Canada like it's just another state," he said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's continued habit of referring to Canada as if it were a territory of the United States. "No respect. That bothers me."

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More candidate profiles, more candidates

This time it’s Angie Bonazzo, NDP candidate for Cariboo-Prince George:

“The NDP is the original party that brought public health care to Canada,” Bonazzo said.

“This is where I make my living, I work with patients directly and I’m very passionate about this. The NDP has brought in the dental-care program, pharmacare, is delivering right now birth control and diabetic medications and I want to preserve that. This is one of my guiding principles to preserve that for this region and all of Canada.”

Bonazzo is a mental health support worker at the adult withdrawal management unit in Prince George, more colloquially known as the detox unit.

She also volunteers at the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia as a newborn cuddler at the neo-natal intensive care unit and as a yoga instructor at the Prince George YMCA.

There’s also confirmation that Cory Longley is the NDP candidate for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies and a note that the Christian Heritage Party is also running a candidate in Cariboo-Prince George.

Cougars down 2-1

Unfortunately, it was a pretty massive sweep with a 6-3 loss on the road, putting the team down 2 games to 1 in the series.

Related: “We need to be the hunters,”: Playfair says Cougars need to be more assertive against Portland; Ravensbergen and Kmec named to Western Conference second All-Star team.

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News roundup:

• Gas prices drop 17 cents in PG after carbon tax scrapped.

• “Food charter” to push for local food sovereignty in Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh.

• Dr. Shannon Freeman honoured for research contributions to aging and palliative care.

• Lheidli T’enneh chief and council candidates’ leadership discussion happening 5-8 p.m. today.

• Global investment, increased wood supply top priorities for BC Council of Forest Industries at PG conference.

• Prince George to join human trafficking prevention network.

• City looking into nasal naloxone pilot project.

• $12,000 worth of stolen equipment recovered, returned following Thacker Crescent investigation.

• Crews respond to commercial structure fire at Tidewater refinery.

• Pickering's Prince George Percherons steal the spotlight in Arizona.

• 100-Day Countdown to 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games begins.

• Another indoor playground? We went 0-100 on this service.

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Here’s today’s news:

• New recovery program open on former Baldy Hughes site.

• Chrisie Berry named new Executive Director at Downtown PG.

• B.C. Hydro reviewing comms plan after 10-hour planned outage doesn't materialize, prompting confusion.

• Spruce Kings playoff tickets on sale Tuesday.

• Cougars Fever is back in Prince George.

• Northern BC CMHA branch receives grants to conduct community-based mental health research.

• Rosalyn Bird becomes BC Conservatives' military liaison.

• Special Olympics PG hosting 100 days out celebration for BC Games.

• NDP’s Cory “Grizz” Longley looks to unseat longtime incumbent.

• Cash for Kids raffle raises more than $6,700 for Child Development Centre.

• Prince George Rotary clubs hosting second annual Hoop-A-Thon.

• Teen Art Showcase and awards ceremony happens Saturday.

• Shaping an inclusive entrepreneurial future in northern B.C.

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I’m not the best at checking my voicemail. I went through it on Friday and there were no fewer than six automated voicemails from B.C. Hydro reminding me of Sunday night’s power outage. Those were in addition to the three calls from them I had answered, plus multiple emails. In each case, I was warned, the outage would last from 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. and to be sure I was prepared. So I was: cellphones and battery packs charged, flashlights in place, big blocks of ice in the fridge to help keep things cold. The power went out just before 7 p.m. and was back before 7:30 (I’m told it was out much longer in the Hart).

Now, I know it seems silly to complain that instead of losing power for ten hours, I only lost it for twenty minutes but aside from the fact I had actually been looking forward to a starlight walk (and the stars were beautiful last night, it would have been amazing without all the street lights drowning them out), this is why I think it’s worth talking about: unless B.C. Hydro are absolutely flabbergasted that they managed to get a ten hour job done in twenty minutes, they communicated this poorly and it undermines future credibility not just in them, but in the media outlets who diligently passed on their messaging. It’s the boy who cried wolf: if you tell people a ten hour outage is coming and it last fifteen minutes, what do you think happens the next time you put out a warning about a ten hour outage?

(I also feel bad for the multiple businesses, like those pictured above, who closed early to prepare only to discover they could have carried on as just-about-normal. A day or evening off is nice, for sure, but for small businesses you kind of want to be able to control when you do that rather than be forced into it, whenever possible).

And what really gets me is that leading into this, I had the question of whether Hydro expected this to be a full ten hour outage, or if they were giving a ten hour window in which an outage could happen. Through another reporter, that exact question was posed to Hydro. Here’s the transcript:

Question: And during those ten hours, will peope have no power at all? Or would they have intermittent power loss, like a rolling outage? What will the experience be?

Answer: No, this will be a complete outage for the customers that are identified of up to ten hours. We try to expediate these things as best we can to make the outage not last that long… but we’re saying up to ten hours for the impacted customers.

Which, again, they aren’t technically wrong because twenty minutes is up to ten hours but that’s sort of like me telling you I plan to run up to a marathon when my actual expectation is a 15 minute jog.

Again, it’s possible crews just worked at previously-unanticipated speeds to get what is normally a 10 hour job done in a much quicker timeframe. I’ll let you decide if that’s probable, or if it’s more probable B.C. Hydro realized that it would be easier to tell everyone “the power will be out for ten hours for 15,000 customers, prepare for that” rather than deal with saying something like “in most areas we anticipate the outage to be an hour or less but there’s a possibility that it could last much, more longer in selected areas and we’d like you to be prepared for that eventuality.”

The reason I’m maybe more irked by this than I probably should be isn’t because of B.C. Hydro specifically but because of the wider trend it ties into. Somewhere along the way it seems like people whose job it is to communicate with the public decided the public can’t handle even slightly complex answers like “it may be fifteen minutes or it may be ten hours, depending on the neighbourhood, and we can’t tell you which.” It’s an attitude that extends from needing a hot mic to learn the Prime Minister thinks annexation threats are real because business leaders are privy to the information but regular citizens aren’t to chief medical officers in the early days of COVID-19 downplaying the need for masks because they didn’t want to cause a panicked run on them causing a shortage for healthcare workers. It’s seen when RCMP downplay the possible linkage between two missing men and two dead tourists on a northern B.C. highway, or when police on the other side of the country failed to communicate a killer was on the loose. It’s journalists being told they’ll get charged $100 an hour in order to records searches for information that is in the public interest and the reason you can have an entire, months-long project over just how difficult it is to get basic information across Canada that is freely available in other parts of the world.

Again, a ten hour outage warning being reduced to twenty minutes is, on its surface, a good thing. I have no complaints with the crews doing their jobs well, and I appreciate that Hydro wanted to make sure people were prepared for the worst-case scenario. I just wish that if they knew ten hours was a worst-case scenario and the twenty minute one was more likely they would have just said so. But now I’m in a situation where I’ll be second guessing it everytime they put forward new information of this sort, and I doubt I’ll be alone.

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Powder King is for sale

I’ve made note before about the state of our ski hills outside of the Hart being in a bit of disarray, for a variety of reasons (two involving deaths, sadly). But it does look like there’s a way forward for a majority, and possibly all, of them. A bid for people to run Tabor Mountain is, apparently, getting good interest. Purden has been open every weekend of March, including this past one, and conditions are apparently great. And now Powder King — which has been running — is looking for a new owner for one low (relatively) price:

Powder King Mountain Resort, British Columbia, initially hit the market for CAD $8.25 million. Thanks to a price reduction, the ski area located in the central reaches of the province now costs CAD $5.9 million (the most recent asking price for Powder King before this reduction was CAD $6,495,000).

There are large homes in Vancouver, British Columbia, that cost more than CAD 5.9 million.

…

hat doesn't necessarily make the ski area a screaming deal—a few million bucks is still a few million bucks—but as far as winter resorts go, that's quite cheap. The Reno Gazette Journal reports that, in 2002, Vail Resorts paid an estimated $99 million to purchase Heavenly Mountain Resort. Northstar, meanwhile, ran Vail Resorts a cool $63 million.

…

The brochure also noted that, via a Master Plan Agreement with the province, Powder King can be developed further by a new owner, including land acquisitions, real estate development, commercial development, ski runs, lifts, and summer recreation activities.

"Powder King presents a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to step into a world-class winter sports haven that lives up to its name," the brochure reads.

Also included in the sale is Azouzetta Lake Resort, a lodge six kilometers north of Powder King nestled on the banks of a 340-acre lake with A-frame cabins, RV sites, summer camping, a manager's residence, and a convenience store.

If you have a few million burning in your pocket, a pretty decent opportunity.

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Election updates

I should have clued onto this on Friday, but Chris Beach who was announced as a candidate for the Liberal Party for Cariboo-Prince George last week is not actually up on the Liberal website yet. As the Citizen reports:

The federal Liberal campaign reached out to The Citizen after Beach’s launch event to say Beach has not been nominated. The party’s online list of candidates does not list Beach, nor any other nominees for Cariboo-Prince George or Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies as of Friday evening.

When asked about the situation Friday, Beach looked into it and later said he had been in contact with the BC arm of the campaign who told him he hadn't been 100 per cent greenlit as a candidate yet as they are trying to clear a backlog of 43 pending nominations. He said he has not been told that he is not the candidate in the riding.

After this story was first published, the federal Liberals' BC campaign manager confirmed Beach's status.

"Chris Beach submitted a nomination package for Cariboo-Prince George," Haley Hodgson wrote in a message via LinkedIn. "He is currently in the greenlight process and has not been confirmed as a candidate."

The People’s Party candidate for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies is confirmed and is the subject of the latest profile in the Citizen.

David Watson, the postmaster for Bear Lake, told The Citizen in a Thursday, March 27 phone interview that he’s held his party’s nomination since October 2023 in the race against Conservative incumbent Bob Zimmer.

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On [his] website is a link to a video titled Burn The Ships, which references the actions of Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes. After arriving in the New World, Cortes had the ships that transported his expedition destroyed.

“It’s a metaphor for our systems,” Watson said. “There (are) so many things in this country that is broken and they need to be fixed. By fixing them, in many cases, it just makes them worse quite often so sometimes the best way to fix something is to tear it down and start from scratch.”

…

Also linked on Watson’s website is another video titled IF YOU WERE…

This video features what seems to be a computer-generated voice speaking over a combination of AI-generated imagery and stock footage about a Satanic plot to engulf the world in darkness through control of real estate and subversions of church communities.

“I know things like that have been happening,” Watson said when asked if he believes the allegations made by the video. “All you have to do is watch the video and you see.”

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News roundup:

• Sounds like the old College Heights Pub — which has been about a half dozen things since it was the College Heights Pub — is being renovated into an Irish pub, according to the comments here.

• Cougars complete miraculous comeback with OT victory in first game of playoff series against Portland, but fell on night two.

• Meanwhile, attendance is up 16 per cent over last year’s averages.

• The Spruce Kings also clinched a playoff spot — barely — with a pair of victories over the weekend.

• The BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) will hold its annual convention at the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre from Wednesday, April 2 to Friday, April 4.

• Miracle Theatre adds shows after successful opening night.

• PG's Meryeta O'dine finishes fourth at snowboard cross world championships.

• Cariboo Gold is officially “shovel ready”.

• Check out a brand-new exhibit all about mushrooms at The Exploration Place.

• Photos: Students go through RCMP training in Prince George.

• Some City of Prince George parks set to reopen April 1.

• Josh Greenwood of Inner City Boxing PG displays the gold medal, and a champion’s cowboy hat, presented to him at Canada Cup 2025 this past Saturday in Calgary.

• No win, but Kym Gouchie looked great at the Junos. Here’s an interview with her outfit designer, Tracy Peters.

  

  

  

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