Enbridge Lugs Four Billion Dollars of Loops into Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh

Enbridge announced a four billion dollar pipeline expansion project to take place along Highway 97 with the partial investment of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and the consent of the City of Prince George. Provincial and Federal Ministers took notice. Photo Credit - Ian Gregg

On Monday July 20th a crowd that included local politicians, labour reps, and employers gathered in Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh’s BCR site to hear Enbridge’s executive vice-president of gas transmission, Matthew Akman, and CEO of Enbridge, Greg Ebel, announce the initiation of their $4 Billion dollar Sunrise Expansion Program. The project will install pipeline expansion loops in our region approximately between McLeod Lake and Hixon. The executives were flanked on-stage by Lheidli T’enneh Chief, Dolleen Logan, Federal Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson, and BC Minister of Jobs and Economic Development, Ravi Kahlon who welcomed the news.

That much investment in the pre-existing Westcoast Transmission System brought a lot of attention, with Ministers of this stature rarely making joint visits to our region. It also promises to bring a lot of opportunities and tax revenue to the area, including a $3 Billion estimated GDP growth for the country at large. Obstacles were navigated to bring the project to this point, and not just in terms of regulations and logistics, which were overcome with relative haste. To that effect, Minister Hodgson stated, “The Sunrise Expansion project has gone from approval to groundbreaking in just three months, showing how in 2026 Canada has gone from delay to delivery,”

Enbridge has had difficulty gaining traction in the area since its Northern Gateway Pipeline Proposal was cancelled in 2016, and a gas pipeline the company operates  ruptured in 2018, 15km from Prince George’s city centre, in Shelley, that resulted in a fireball visible from several kilometres away. These trials have been handled with fortuitous results, but some questions remain.

Looking past local ecological impacts, or climate change factors that go along with fossil fuels, and the Woodfibre LNG facility incorporated into the greater pipeline network’s net-zero feature, the risks that “man camps” associated with industrial projects of this nature bring into communities are now on the company’s radar. Enbridge developed a Community Gender Safety (CAGS) Plan for the project in an attempt to address and mitigate the impacts that a temporary influx of working men can bring into a community. The plan fosters increased cultural awareness, incorporates human trafficking prevention, and outlines codes of conduct, among other aspects that intend to create respect for community policies.

Human resources are another challenge the project and community face, with an estimated 1,300 local jobs to fill. The timing of Enbridge’s announcement follows Canfor’s announcement of the Northwood Pulpmill closure by mere days. That closure represents about 300 layoffs, and hope has been expressed by Ministers in attendance at the BCR stockyard that a labour transition can occur between the two entities. When it comes to upskilling that cohort, or training a new workforce locally, the College of New Caledonia is the obvious choice for education. That institution made over 100 cuts to its workforce over the last two years though. To that end BC Minister Ravi Kahlon expressed, “Quite frankly the thing that stresses me out most from all the economic development, is how are we going to train enough people up for those opportunities.” The College had already taken advantage of the province’s doubling of trades funding amidst its cuts, but Federal Team Canada Strong funding Minister Kahlon referenced sounds promising.

While signatures now adorn a section of the 42” diameter pipe, and tires currently turn towards Minister Hodgson’s vision of Canada becoming an energy superpower, little Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh lays in the middle of a path where big interests shape a big picture.

20260720 - Enbridge Pipeline Announcement - Loops for the Sunrise Gas Expansion

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2025 collective agreement ratified between University of Northern British Columbia and UNBC Faculty Association

In a situation that doesn’t often make headlines in labour politics, a collective agreement was ratified between the University of Northern British Colmbia's Faculty Association and its employer, UNBC, over a number of months of professional and respectful dialogue. Image Credit - UNBC & UNBCFA

20260708 - UNBC Collective Bargaining Agreement Reached

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The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) and its Faculty Association (UNBCFA) have officially ratified their collective agreement under the University’s Mission Statement, representing stable relations between the institute and the lion’s share of the instructional staff for another three years. This may come as a relief to students, and all parties, who may recall instructional interruptions experienced during past negotiations. Both Administration and Faculty report a relatively smooth bargaining process. Chief Negotiator for the Faculty Association, Dr. Jaqueline Holler noted that compromise is an expected, and possibly necessary feature of the process, she appreciates that common ground was found. Holler also expressed the importance of making room for newer members of the collective “Let’s make sure that we’re doing things for our most precarious and vulnerable members, not just for the folks like me who have been here for 23 years in a professorial position.”

UNBC’s Provost Dr. Michel S. Beaulieu weighed in as well with the hope that communication and resolution won’t stop at the bargaining table, and that conversations will carry on between now and the next collective agreement negotiation in 2029. Commenting on the nature of these negotiations more broadly, he offered, “It’s not,’you’re going in to build bridges’. You already have bridges that exist, and you’re teasing out different aspects about how you walk along those bridges together.”

With that labour process satisfied, the University continues to negotiate with UNBC Food Services UNITE HERE Local 40 union and CUPE 3799, with both of those outcomes to be determined.

Northern BC writers prepare for inaugural, month-long, festival - July 1st, 2026

The inaugural Northern BC Writers Festival launches Thursday July 2nd and runs until the end of the month at various Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh venues. CFURadio spoke with the association’s President Amber Ingham about the excitement of drawing authors together into a stronger community of creatives. Photo Credit - Amber Ingham

July 1, 2026

Kicking off July 2nd, writers of Northern BC will emerge from their ink wells and gather through the month of July in Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh for the Northern BC Writers Festival across many venues & events. Northern BC Writers Association (NBCWA) President, Amber Ingham is excited to bring together local creatives to network, promote northern literature, and strengthen community. Among a number of goals, Ingham stated the event aims to, “connect with writers across genres and across disciplines, but also give you a chance to connect with writers that are within the same ones.”

The festival offers four streams of affordable events for participants to explore: presentations, mixers, workshops, and writing salons. Challenging the idea that a writer must toil in solitude with a tiny lamp, Ingham declares, “Writing is community.” Emphasizing the importance of people further, the festival’s presenters have signed an AI Policy to ensure that content shared at the festival is human generated.

With published works coming out of the community for decades, and Ingham having hosted a writing club locally for about 10 years, events like this have been few and far between. To get this one off the ground, it took a couple years of networking between Ingham, local author Devon Flynn, then Raegan Cote to express their common desire for a festival, acknowledge they couldn’t do it on their own, then finally, “now we had enough people, to convince other people, to join the writing conference.” Seven total founding members now have their pencil tips sharpened as they invite creatives across the region to get writing and bring more Northern BC perspectives to readers everywhere with the motto, “Write the North.”

- Ian Gregg, CFURadio 88.7FM, Due North News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

20260630 - NBC Writers Fest - Amber Ingham - LJI 2

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