Newsroom

NUGSS Election Underway - Vote Now

The spring annually brings elections to student governments in Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh with CNC’s Student Union, UNBC’s Graduate Student Society, and Northern Undergraduate Student Society (NUGSS) all casting ballots this week. Outgoing President of NUGSS, Armaan Jamwal spoke with CFURadio about his year in review and what is in focus for the incoming student council.

No File

In review, Jamwal is satisfied with his efforts to incorporate the Society into the BC Federation of Students (BCFS) to then contribute a louder voice towards reducing tuition fees for undergraduate students across the province. A referendum to finalize joining the federation will be coming through in the Fall 2026 semester.

Recently, the Society under direction of the Board of Directors & President put forward a referendum to create the option to increase the annual Health & Dental Plan fee up to 20% each year. Jamwal explained that the reason for this increase was to avoid using other operational funds to cover claim expenses incurred over the year, which over time could interfere with the Society’s ability to deliver other services. Despite a 55% vote in favor, the results did not quite reach the threshold required for implementation, so the next Board of Directors will have to address the issue in their upcoming term.

A change to the NUGSS governance structure has been implemented over the past year which determines that once elected, the Board of Directors will internally select a President from the pool of elected Directors. This update has so far resulted in an increased number of nominations for this 2026 election, compared to past years where the Society has seen a number of seats won by acclamation, with little competition for other positions.

As for increased participation of voters, the telling results will be available Friday March 27th after 10am. Until then UNBC undergraduate students are encouraged to vote, which is done directly through their @UNBC.ca domain email accounts. The successful candidates will be in attendance on the 27th for the Society's Hot Diggity Dog Day, where hot dogs will be served from 11am to 1:30pm in the student centre’s NUSC Event Space.

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

Northern BC Graduate Student Society (NBCGSS) embraces year ahead as it elects Directors

As the snow melts, UNBC’s Graduate Student Society (NBCGSS) membership is electing its Board of Directors. Offering CFURadio their perspective on this is Behrouz (Bruce) Danesh. The 2024 UNBC Valedictorian was a past undergraduate student society Director, and a current NBCGSS Grant Administration Assistant. He brings his perspective as a former Director in the NBCGSS to the conversation, reflecting on a busy year which included the resolution of a pending BC Human Rights Tribunal complaint lodged against the society in 2021.

No File

Looking ahead, the society’s candidates hope to strengthen policy, increase transparency, host inclusive events, and strengthen connections with UNBC to leverage resources that the institution provides, particularly when it comes to employee training. EDI orientations offered by UNBC have become integral to new part-time staff employed at the society, the number of which has increased over the past year.

In retrospect, after becoming one of the society’s part-time staff, Danesh mentions the benefits of having more than a sole Executive Director (ED) hired, citing burnout prevention, on-campus employment opportunities, and protecting institutional knowledge as an asset.

What he can specifically speak to, in terms of what awaits future Directors, is some of the grants coming to the society. A NBCGSS Food bank is one of those things with assistance from Food Banks BC, PHABC, and the United Way. This, along with the streamlining of numerous society operations with AI through a MITACS grant, and perhaps a MITACS assisted modernization of accounting procedures.

While there is a lot for NBCGSS members to look forward to, their electoral candidates have platforms available in every members @UNBC.ca domain email account, with included voting instructions. Elections occur March 25th to 27th, with results announced by email and whatsapp, on Monday March 30th.

For any inquiries regarding the election process, please contact gssadmin@unbc.ca.

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

Check out our stories on FrequencyNews.ca

Podcast RSS url:

https://anchor.fm/s/10166ba64/podcast/rss

Support CFUR

Want to drop a dollar into local news, info, & entertainment?

Click the button———>

Due North Info Bulletin - 23 March 2026

No File

An audio bulletin for the week of March 23rd 2026

This week in Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh we can expect the forecast to bring us colder temperatures & snow, though starting off with great air quality.

Some municipal events of note:

Stay tuned to CFURadio 88.7FM & www.cfur.ca/listen-live for local news, updates, events, & information. Due North airs weekdays at 7am & 5pm.

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

Boomhauer has hot info for you

If you like locally grown veggies & produce, consider locally produced journalism from your friendly community-campus radio station


Check out our stories on FrequencyNews.ca

Podcast RSS url:

https://anchor.fm/s/10166ba64/podcast/rss

Prince George’s Safe Streets Bylaw scrutinized by expert

No File

A presentation and panel discussion was held March 12th 2026 at the House of Ancestors in downtown Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh, critiquing the city’s Safe Streets Bylaw. University of Toronto Scarborough’s Sociology Dept. Chair Dr. Joe Hermer took an interest in the subject in the bylaw after he was contacted by the BCAFN in 2021. At the event, he summarized his publicly available report, The Complaint is the Crime for the assembled crowd. He primarily spoke to five aspects of the research which included recommending an immediate moratorium on the enforcement of the bylaw’s open drug use section, identifying dubious criteria for enforcing various aspects of the bylaw, and encouraging better communication between bylaw enforcement and assorted outreach services or agencies during encounters.

Notably, a number of outreach, social-service, frontline, and municipal workers were in attendance alongside some elected municipal officials. CFURadio separately caught up with Dr. Hermer, Mayor Simon Yu, and Councillor Trudy Klassen for comment after the presentation, whereupon Dr. Hermer issued plainly:

The city has to start being honest or more frank. This is enforcement. It has impacts. It is a real law. It has to be followed lawfully. Let’s not get into vague sort of discussions around being education. Let’s take it for what it is. That’s law enforcement, and it has impacts. Let’s start the conversation there, instead of pretending it’s something else to obscure, potentially, a real critical discussion.

UNBC's 'Count Us In' Survey

20260318 - UNBC Count Us In Survey - Mindy Gobbi
Due North

You may have seen the email in your @UNBC inbox, or maybe a handbill or two on a table around campus advertising UNBC’s Count Us In Survey, open until April 1st (no joke). The data collected is intended to inform the further development of an equitable and inclusive environment for UNBC students, staff, and faculty.

This anonymous survey is the first of a series to be launched year over year. In this instance, various demographics are sought. The data is intended to help meet UNBC’s regulatory needs, and among other things, measure progress towards its institutional priorities.

Mindy Gobbi - Manager of UNBC’s office of Equity and Inclusion

UNBC’s office of Equity and Inclusion manager Mindy Gobbi spoke to CFUR about the survey so you can know more before taking the five minute plunge.

Will Happily Ever After, or Happy For Now, do for this International Women’s Day?

On International Women’s Day 2026, an SFU Limited Term Lecturer Dr. Reema Faris visited Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh and hosted a discussion on the relationship between women, reading, and power at Books & Co. The discussion centred around her research, which in part, examines Happily-Ever-After and Happy-For-Now (HEA-HFN) narratives. She argues that an overwhelming presence of these narratives in media tends to influence our understanding of what a typical relationship is, creating expectations for ourselves and others.

No File

In our March 8th conversation, Dr. Faris validated the choice to have a heterosexual marriage and a number of children, but highlighted that there are more just as valid options. While reading can offer different global perspectives, Dr. Faris noted that localized selections offer alternative perspectives too:

Have you read memoirs of folks who have immigrated to Northern BC? Have you read what it’s like for them? Because if you read what it’s like for them, it might open your eyes to things that you might have to address in your own community. It’s not just about looking elsewhere. It’s even understanding where we are in a particular moment. Let alone, as we talked about, the history that shaped the place that we occupy or that we live in.

Reading provides entertainment, but it also offers a window into local histories that could otherwise be unconsidered as we make choices that affect our communities and families. We asked Dr. Faris about what she feels we have access to in Northern BC that expands our understanding beyond current norms, as opposed to narrowing them. Dr. Faris extolled the opportunity post-secondary education provides saying, “Online learning is not the same as in-person learning. It works for some people. It doesn’t work for everybody.” She continued, “I think that if we believe in ‘better’ for Northern BC, or anywhere else in the world, it is tied to education.” She illustrated some concerns and noted, “I hope people will do what they can to ensure the health of the education sector here in Northern BC.”

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


Check out our stories on FrequencyNews.ca

Podcast RSS url:

https://anchor.fm/s/10166ba64/podcast/rss

Due North Info Bulletin - 16 March 2026

No File

An audio bulletin for the week of March 16th 2026

This week in Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh the weather outlook holds clouds & precipitation, though starting off with great air quality.

Some municipal events of note:

Stay tuned to CFURadio 88.7FM & www.cfur.ca/listen-live for local news, updates, events, & information. Due North airs weekdays at 7am & 5pm.

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

Boomhauer has hot info for you

If you like locally grown veggies & produce, consider locally produced journalism from your friendly community-campus radio station


Check out our stories on FrequencyNews.ca

Podcast RSS url:

https://anchor.fm/s/10166ba64/podcast/rss

Queer Clothing Swap Returns to UNBC Campus

No File

The Northern BC Queer Connections Society (NBCQCS) has been hosting Queer Clothing Swap and Sew events for over a year, creating opportunities for up-cycling, economical fashion, and self expression. One of which was held at late February’s Voices & Culture Summit at the Prince George Civic Centre.

One might not think of a clothing swap as a valuable resource for artistic expression, and skill building, but local Drag artist Iris highlighted just that in her presentation “The Magic of Drag” at the conference.

Opportunities to practice sewing have been available at the events, alongside opportunities for costuming, and networking with community. These are all critical aspects to supporting a solid drag routine, and have the added benefit of sustainability.

Confirming this benefit, was UNBC’s Faculty of Environment Dean, Dr. Nicola Koper who happened to be volunteering at the summit’s clothing swap. CFURadio captured her efforts to divert clothing from the landfill, and encourage all to attend the upcoming Queer Clothing Swap and Sew on UNBC campus’s NUSC Space on Sunday March 15th, 1-4pm.

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

If you like locally grown veggies & produce, consider locally produced journalism from your friendly community-campus radio station


Check out our stories on FrequencyNews.ca

Podcast RSS url:

https://anchor.fm/s/10166ba64/podcast/rss

Defense Metals Corp. Wicheeda Project near Bear Lake selected by CMO for permitting support

The audio has been edited form its original presentation to include more accurate, and better detailed information regarding the processing of ore as it pertains to rare earth elements.

No File

Projected to open in 2030, the rare earth element mine’s primary minerals of interest would be neodymium & praseodymium oxide (NDPR). These elements provide materials needed for the manufacture of rare earth magnets, electric vehicles, cell phones, medical equipment and a wide array of other technology. Strengthening the prospect of this development, the BC Government’s Critical Minerals Office (CMO) announced on February 23rd that the Wicheeda Rare Earth Element Project has been selected, with two other mines in the Province, as an advanced project. This identifies projects for early co-ordination support as they prepare for environmental assessment and future permitting processes. President & CEO of Defense Metals, Mark Tory, joined us over the line to chat about what this designation means for the local project from his perspective.

If the project reaches production, it is estimated to generate about 400 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs. This activity brings up the question of Northern BCs potential capacity to process the mined minerals in a downstream industry. Tory confirms that about 90% of the metal conversion, and processing & refining relating to rare earth metals occurs in China, and there is an interest in developing that capacity in Canada. 

Despite his position as a producer, and not a finished product manufacturer, we asked Tory about how that secondary industry could be encouraged. Tory asserted a fundamental aspect, “There needs to be a surety of supply,” he continued, “not only just outside of China but also outside of the US.” For localized refining of the mineral to happen, investment would also have to occur, on that front Tory mentioned EU relations, “The recent strengthening of relationships with the EU and Canada is also a real positive in the potential for us to go to the EU and the EU coming to us and invest in that downstream processing.” In short, the raw material would have to appear in abundance before investments in refining that raw material appear.

Recently returned from a trip to Europe as part of a trade delegation, Tory has a to-do list for moving the Wicheeda project farther down the road. His agenda includes a Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS), getting results from a Pilot Test Plant via the "benefaction" process, and attending the PDAC conference in Toronto where logistics solutions & investment may be discovered. Fitting its piece into the Province’s larger economic puzzle, only time will tell whether elements below the surface change the fortunes of Bear Lake or not.


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


Stay tuned to CFURadio 88.7FM & www.cfur.ca/listen-live for local news, updates, events, & information. Due North airs weekdays at 7am & 5pm.


Check out our stories on FrequencyNews.ca

Podcast RSS url:

https://anchor.fm/s/10166ba64/podcast/rss

BANDCAMP