While awareness surrounding Red Dress Day grows throughout Canada, here in BC’s northern interior a raw reality remains as family members remain missing. Very few of the 215 Calls for Justice, and 33 Recommendations put forward by the Highway of Tears Symposium, have been fully addressed by levels of government and communities at large.
After gaining experience in the wider world, Darnell Toth and Jessica Speziale of Toth Entertainment have returned to the Spruce Capital and plan to stir things up by bringing star level talent to Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh, starting with Steve Aoki on July 5th at the CN Centre.
UNBC’s Manager of Business Development, Claudia Barreira, spoke with CFURadio about the University’s proposed UNBC District mixed use housing development.
Image Credit - maps.princegeorge.ca
The Mourning After, a dystopian tale from a familiar parallel universe is touring across northern BC now, a theatrical production complete with dark humour, songs, and dancing! Collaborating across distances, this play is a joint effort between Valemount BC’s Wishbone Theatre Productions, Gold Pan City Dance of Quesnel BC, and Dunster BC’s prog-metal ensemble Dream Heavy. Wishbone’s Artistic Producer, Sharon Stearns wove together this performance with the original music and script written by Seth Macdonald of Dream Heavy, and dance choreography by Jessie Herman, known for her Foxxie Follies dance troupe.
Tying together the talents across the geographic distances is the theme of the production that Stearns notes, “this is a show about our human need for power & conquest, colliding with our human need for love, and justice, and community.” The show is on the road this April 2026 from the 10th to 24th, then headed further through the province in September.
- Ian Gregg, CFURadio 88.7FM, Due North News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
For a full length version of our interview with Sharon & Seth, visit our Podcast page here.
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On February 10th, 2006 14 year old Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh resident Aielah Saric-Augera was found deceased on a Highway 16 embankment, and this discovery set off a chain reaction of activism across northern BC leading to the first Highway of Tears Symposium. Now 20 years later, the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit peoples (MMIWG2S+) has far more visibility, but indigenous people continue to disappear or be murdered at a much higher rate than their settler counterparts. At the 20th anniversary of this event, occurring at the Civic Centre April 7th-10th in Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh, the past origins, the current reality, and hopes for the future of the MMIWG2S+ issue were all on the table during public demonstrations, discussion through panels, and more.
Speaking to CFURadio at the gathering was Mary Teegee, Executive Director, Child and Family Services at Carrier Sekani Family Services, and BC Assembly of First Nations (BCAFN) Regional Chief, Terry Teegee. Ongoing concerns such as the creation of man camps in remote areas where industrial development is occurring, unaddressed calls to action, recommendations, and systemic societal issues were a few of the obstacles cited in the conversation.
In terms of the community advocating for government support, Mary Teegee welcomed citizens to demand better from their government representatives because, “this is not an Indigenous problem, it's a Canadian problem.”
To watch panels & discussions from the Highway of Tears 20th Anniversary Symposium, visit the Carrier Sekani Family Services facebook page here.
- Ian Gregg, CFURadio 88.7FM, Due North News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Across Canada, March is Fraud Prevention Month, and here in Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh, our community is far from immune to this scourge. Cpl. Jennifer Cooper of the local RCMP detachment ran us through some scams trending in our area as well as a few prevention tips. In this case, prevention seems to be the most effective solution, as recourse can be difficult to attain, especially when so much fraudulent activity originates from a digital source where it is hard to trace.
While fraud is in the criminal code, it can be difficult to hold perpetrators to account if they don’t leave much of their own identifying information behind. Cpl. Cooper highlights a frustrating complication when investigating such crimes, often originating overseas, “by the time we track back to where that fraud originated, those people have moved.” In the time it takes to identify the source of the crime, the scammer has ample opportunity to leave and cover their tracks.
Complicating our perception of trustworthy information or communication is the use of AI in fraud attempts. The availability of our images and voices derived from online posts can be used to create digital likenesses of ourselves that people close to us can be deceived by. For example, your parent could receive a message that looks and sounds like you, pleading for money to resolve an emergency. In these situations, Cpl. Cooper suggests having a secret word that only you and your loved ones know, and request that word in such situations. Also helpful, is a familiarity with Canadian judiciary procedures. For example, Canadians are not granted a phone call when they are arrested to request bail from someone. An urgent call requesting such is an immediate red flag. Furthermore, lawyers do not accept iTunes gift cards as payment, government agencies do not accept e-transfers or crypto currencies. While familiarising yourself with our country’s proceedings may prevent you from being taken advantage of in some instances, fraudsters take advantage of uncertainty, exploit assumptions, and create urgency. While it helps to think critically, and assume nothing, when it comes to fraud prevention, anyone can succumb to a scam. The following feelings of embarrassment and shame are normal, and tend to benefit the fraudster. If a person does not report falling victim to a scam, the information they have shared may be further used to exploit the individual, and the scammer is more likely to successfully continue the same scam. It remains important to work past the shock, and report the crime.
Pushing the necessity of prevention, herself being deceived by someone impersonating her bank, Cpl. Cooper emphasizes, “It really really falls to us as individuals to prevent ourselves from becoming victims rather than hope that it’ll all turn out right on the other side.”
- Ian Gregg, CFURadio 88.7FM, Due North News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
For a full length version of our interview with Cpl. Cooper of the Prince George RCMP detachment including more examples of local fraud, prevention details, and more, visit our Podcast page here.
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Amidst a changing educational & economic landscape, the College of New Caledonia (CNC) in Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh has redesigned their Business Management Diploma and is launching the Business Administration Program (BAP) for Fall 2026. The institution revamped the program amidst cuts to the college’s budget, a changing economic environment, and evolving technology in the business world.
Following CNC’s Institutional Research data, the program was identified as worthy of restructuring and avoided cuts in a changing education scenario. Shifting the program’s focus onto domestic students, Muhammad Rahman, Associate Dean of the Business Administration program is optimistic it will meet the demand expressed by local business & students. International students hoping to meet federal eligibility standards to work in Canada after graduating will have to wait for a future assessment to see if the new program qualifies them to do that. For currently working students though, the two year Diploma offers added flexibility of part time, hybrid, and evening study options.
- Ian Gregg, CFURadio 88.7FM, Due North News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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