The forestry industry has changed remarkably over the past sixty years, and informs the current state of transition it is in. Offering a lived and researched perspective of those changes as they have affected our Northern region is local entrepreneur John A. Brink in a two part interview series. Change is in the air.
Photo Credit - Ian Gregg
Looking at the next seven days in Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh, for most of them, the weather forecast contains a 40% chance of precipitation. In the newsroom, here is what we’ve picked up on:
Prices at the pump are between highs of ¢179.9/L and lows of ¢155.9/L for gasoline reported.
There are eleven active fires in the Prince George fire district.
Nomination packages are available at city hall, and can be submitted until 4pm on September 11th.
Announced August 25th, Lheidli T’enneh First Nation is moving ahead, alongside the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), to construct a salmon hatchery on the north bank of the Nechako river near the confluence of the Fraser river,
Lheidli T’enneh First Nation also announced the soft opening of an interpretive centre at Chun T’oh Whudujut or the Ancient Forest park 120km east of Prince George city centre on August 27th.
Prince George–Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird has stepped away from the BC Conservative Party to represent her constituents as an independent MLA.
UNBC Professor Dr. Joe Shea launched The Climate Conversations podcast, airing on CFURadio 88,7FM Tuesdays & Wednesdays, offering local expert perspectives and practical options to approach the issue.
The 10th anniversary of the Red Dress Campaign runs September 5th & 6th. Guest speakers and the public are invited to join a healing ceremony on the 5th at the Red Dress Monument on the junction of Ferry Ave & Hwy 16E, while another opportunity to participate in the march happens on Sept 6th.
September 11th, 7:30pm @ Omineca Arts Centre, Spier & The Dead Wrongs rip some chords. $15 presales $20 at the door.
September 12th, 8pm @ Prince George Legion 43, Diode, Tarantula Hawk, and Brainium assemble a sonic assault. $15 presales $20 at the door.
Beading workshops occur Wednesday September 2nd at Omineca Arts Centre, 6:30-9:00pm, hosted by Lynn Biles. Swing on by with a couple bucks for beading supplies.
- Ian Gregg, CFURadio 88.7FM, Due North News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Saik’uz First nation and the District of Vanderhoof are collaborating to attempt to do forestry differently than how large corporations have done them in their locality in the past. Their intent is to support the local economy, improve and sustain the remaining forest in their purview, and implement a long term land use plan putting the health of the land ahead of monetary interests. Commenters appreciate the innovation but do not describe an easy path ahead for the region's forestry industry.
Photo Credit - Saik'uz First Nation
Local resident Michelle Connolly shifts her conservation efforts from the forest to the river by participating in The Fraser River Challenge relay swim from the headwaters to the mouth of the Fraser.
Photo: Kinney Lake BC
Credit: Naomi Devine - Fraser Riverkeeper
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
Mayo Simon Yu’s signature is seen on a symbolic section of pipe to be placed over the course of installation.
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,”
The entrance to the event site was flanked with rows of 42” diameter pipe destined for the Sunrise Expansion Program, fabricated in Regina, SK by Inter Pipeline.
Image Credit - Ian Gregg
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 kilometers 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.
A view of the expanse within one section of 42” diameter pipe to be used in the Sunrise Expansion Project.
Photo Credit - Ian Gregg
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.
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
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.
Cases of reported domestic violence rose in Prince George-Lheidli T’enneh by 15% from 2024 through 2025. While this startling rise may not correlate with a rise successful prosecution in related crimes, resources that could see more legal accountability in relation to family violence are on their way to the community this summer with Legal Aid BC opening a Family Law Centre.
Photo Credit - Legal Aid BC
