Subscribe to Local News
► Listen Live
► Listen Live
type here...
Home Blog Page 3

Kady Dandeneau takes her place on UNBC Timberwolves Wall of Honour

Brendan Pawliw
-
0
Kady Dandeneau takes her place on UNBC Timberwolves Wall of Honour

There may be no one who better exemplifies what a UNBC Timberwolf should be on the court without mentioning the name Kady Dandeneau.

Over the course of a historic career, Dandeneau emerged as the heartbeat of a program, raising the bar and setting the gold standard for commitment, making her a truly deserving inductee into the UNBC Timberwolves Wall of Honour.

Dandeneau made her way onto UNBC coach Loralyn Murdoch’s radar at the BC High School Provincial Championships, impressing with her relentless game representing Stelly’s Secondary.

After a visit to campus, she accepted a spot on Murdoch’s roster for the 2007-2008 season de-committing from Camosun College.

“She was 17-year-old, and she was such an interesting recruit. She wore headphones most of the time, she didn’t speak to anyone, and was clearly shy,” said Murdoch.

“But then we put her on the court and there was absolutely no one who competed harder. I wanted her immediately, and recognized what she could add to our roster. It was a great day for this coach to officially sign Kady Dandeneau.”

It didn’t take long for the first-year to step right into the lineup and make a difference.

Led by veterans Laurel Wallace and Jaclyn Nazareno, the Timberwolves went 11-5, good for second place in the BCCAA standings.

Kady Dandeneau, a former player with the UNBC Timberwolves captured a Gold Medal with Canada in Wheelchair Basketball in Lima, Peru (Photo supplied by UNBC Athletics)

Dandeneau scored 12.3 points per game, which was good for top-ten in the conference while adding just shy of 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists.

“I know that Kady was a rookie, but it’s hard for me to remember her that way. Kady was never really ever a rookie, not in spirit,” said teammates Soili Smith, who was in her third UNBC campaign that season.

“I don’t think I ever met someone so devoted to the game of basketball. She was unafraid to take anyone one-on-one and, like her idol Michael Jordan, took every play by an opponent personally.”

In the playoffs, the first-year continued to assert herself, as the Timberwolves went on a tremendous run, culminating in a 71-54 victory over Camosun and a BCCAA Provincial Championship.

At the conclusion of the season, she was named to the All-Rookie Team, and was crowned UNBC Rookie of the Year.

Year two saw continued growth and a massive impact of the program, as Dandeneau utilized her signature commitment to grow as a player.

The Timberwolves went 14-4, again finishing second in the BCCAA standings.

Kady Dandeneau, a former player with the UNBC Timberwolves captured a Gold Medal with Canada in Wheelchair Basketball in Lima, Peru (Photo supplied by UNBC Athletics)

They would settle for a Provincial silver medal after a loss to rival Camosun, but Dandeneau further established herself as a premier player in the conference.

She scored 223 points (third in BCCAA) for 12.4 points per game (5th), to go along with 7.2 rebounds per game (6th) and 2.2 assists (top-20).

2009-2010 was slated to be Dandeneau’s breakout season. Gone were program stalwarts like Nazareno and Wallace, but she was surrounded by veterans Jennifer Clyne and Christine Kennedy, as well as a rookie class that included Mercedes VanKoughnett, Emily Kaehn, and Jennifer Bruce.

In the first half the year, she was as advertised. Midway through the season, Dandeneau was leading the BCCAA with 18.3 points per game and the TWolves were sitting first in the conference.

On January 23, 2010, disaster struck.

On a two-on-one break, she attempted a layup, was pushed, and landed awkwardly on her leg. Displaying her signature toughness, Dandeneau rehabbed her knee and returned, albeit in a limited capacity, for the final two games of the season.

In a practice preparing for the upcoming BCCAA playoffs, she crumpled to the floor in devastating pain.

Kady Dandeneau, a former player with the UNBC Timberwolves captured a Gold Medal with Canada in Wheelchair Basketball in Lima, Peru (Photo supplied by UNBC Athletics)

The injury was revealed to be a complete ACL tear, MCL tear, meniscus, and a fracture of the medial femoral condyle.

“Kady was so important and so effective for us because of her physical strength, high basketball IQ, and fierce competitiveness. She really could dominate from anywhere,” said longtime teammate Mercedes VanKoughnett.

“If defenders tried to take away the drive, she would make a three. Her versatility was really unmatched. She could score from any position, and she could defend 1 through 5. It set her apart from most every player in the league.”

With their fiery star sidelined, the Timberwolves would lose in the conference playoff tournament. Dandeneau finished the season averaging 16.2 points per game, leading the team and placing third in the conference.

The Timberwolves embarked on the 2010-2011 season without Dandeneau, as she worked diligently to rehabilitate a career-altering injury.

UNBC went 13-5 without her, even earning a BCCAA bronze medal.

Dandeneau made her much-anticipated return to the court for the 2011-2012 season; a year that would mark UNBC’s final run in the collegiate ranks before moving up to the CIS.

The Timberwolves would go 15-1, galvanized by her return, securing first place in the standings heading into the playoffs.

She would score 10.4 points per game, which was second on the team and top-20 in the conference.

In the playoffs, the Timberwolves returned to the top of the mountain, topping the VIU Mariners 62-53 in the provincial final.

At the CCAA National Championships, Dandeneau put a stamp on her incredible comeback, earning All-Star status at the tournament.

In 2012-2013, UNBC made the leap to CIS, to compete with the biggest universities in the country.

The T-Wolves went 8-14 in their inaugural season, as Dandeneau’s limited minutes and availability resulted in 9.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.

Kady Dandeneau and Canada takes on the USA in the gold medal game in women’s wheelchair basketball at the Parapan Am Games in Lima, Peru.
(Photo supplied by: Dave Holland/Canadian Paralympic Committee.)

In the years after Kady moved on from UNBC, she was eligible to compete in wheelchair basketball.

Dandeneau has represented Canada and competed at multiple World Championships, won gold and silver at the ParaPan Am Games, and led Canada to its best.

In the gold medal game at the 2019 ParaPan Ams, she became the first wheelchair basketball athlete in Canadian history to record a triple-double after a thrilling 67-64 victory over the United States.

Dandeneau concluded her career in Green and Gold with 983 points and 407 rebounds, both good for second in program history, as well as 147 assists (7th).

Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Monday, July 21st

Hartley Miller
-
0
Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Monday, July 21st

Sports by Hartley Monday, July 21st, 2025

(As of 12:05 a.m. All times listed are PDT)

BC Football Conference:

The Prince George Kodiaks began their 4th season in the BC Football Conference (BCFC) with a 33-13 loss to the Westshore Rebels.

The Kodiaks, who led 10-5 at the half, play their second of 10 games Saturday in Kamloops against the 0-1 Broncos.

Kamloops lost its opener 50-7 to the Vancouver Island Raiders.

More info on the BCFC can be found here.

 

CFL: (Final game in Week 7)

Hamilton  30  Ottawa  15

The Ti-Cats have won four straight and are 4-2, tied with Montreal for first in the East.

The Redblacks are CFL worst 1-6.

The B.C. Lions are 3-4 after a 33-27 loss Saturday against the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Lions host Hamilton Sunday at 4 PM.

Week 8 of the CFL season begins Thursday night (6:00 PT) with (4-2) Montreal at (5-1) Calgary.

The CFL schedule are here.

The CFL standings are here.

 

MLB:

Toronto Blue Jays  8  San Francisco Giants  6

The box score is here.

The (58-41) Jays swept the 3-game weekend series against the Giants.

Toronto leads the A.L. East by 3 games over the (55-44) New York Yankees.

The Blue Jays host the Yankees in a 3-game series beginning tonight (Monday 4:07 PT).

#

Jared Young of Prince George is with the New York Mets but he did not play in a weekend series against the visiting Cincinnati Reds.

The Mets beat the Reds 3-2 Sunday and they are back in action tonight (Monday 4:10 PT) against the LA Angels.

The 30-year-old Young is batting .171 with 3 homers and 5 RBI’s in 41 at bats this season with the Big League Mets.

The Blue Jays 2025 schedule and results are here.

The MLB schedule and results are here.

The MLB standings are here.

 

Hockey:

 

Soccer:

BC Soccer has announced that Prince George will host the 2027 B-Cup Youth Provincial Championships.

Next year’s B-Cup soccer provincials will be held in Kamloops.

 

Golf:

Scottie Scheffler, the world’s number-one ranked golfer, scored a 4-shot victory (with a 17-under-267 total) at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

It is the second Major title this year and fourth overall for the 29-year-old Scheffler.

Corey Conners, the only Canadian to make the 36-hole cut, tied for 10th at 9-under, eight shots off the pace.

The leaderboard can be found here.

 

Prince George to host 2027 Youth Soccer Provincials

Darin Bain
-
0
Prince George to host 2027 Youth Soccer Provincials

Prince George will be welcoming another provincial event in 2027.

BC Soccer announced the Prince George Youth Soccer Association will be hosting the 2027 Youth Provincial Championships B-Cup.

Richmond United Football Club will host the A-Cup that year.

“We’re excited to work with each of these outstanding host clubs as they prepare to deliver high-quality, memorable experiences for athletes, coaches, officials, and supporters,” said PJ Aucoin Director of Business Operations at BC Soccer.

“These events are more than competitions, they are celebrations of soccer across our provinces, and we look forward to supporting each community as they welcome teams from across B.C.”

More information on scheduling, accommodations, and event details will be shared as planning progresses.

Robbery report deemed unfounded by Fort St. John RCMP

Darin Bain
-
0
Robbery report deemed unfounded by Fort St. John RCMP

The Fort St. John RCMP say a report of a robbery in the community was deemed unfounded after Mounties attended.

Police say they received a report of a potential robbery Friday afternoon at a motel in the area of 99A Avenue and 100th Street in Fort St. John, involving a female victim and three male suspects, all with handguns.

Frontline officers, plainclothes units, Municipal Traffic, and BC Highway Patrol units converged on the location, and attempted callouts to the room the three male suspects were reportedly hiding in.

Officers utilized various use of force weapons in response to the report of handguns.

The three males exited the building in response to callouts and were taken into police custody.

According to police, it was determined through investigation that the alleged robbery did not occur, and the complainant had received third party information which was highly exaggerated, and the file was deemed unfounded.

“The public would have noticed a significant police presence with guns drawn as part of the response to the initial report,” said Cst. Chad Neustaeter.

“Police have to respond according to the report received but once all information is gathered, can also change course, as in this investigation.”

All three males were released on scene, and Mounties cleared the area.

Tour de North riders take part in emotional training ride to honour Shane Kelly

Darin Bain
-
0
Tour de North riders take part in emotional training ride to honour Shane Kelly

It was an emotional morning in the parking lot of the Prince George Aquatic Centre, as the Cops For Cancer Tour de North team took on their first group training ride since the passing of team member Shane Kelly.

Kelly passed away on July 10th due to injuries sustained in a hit-and-run incident.

“Shane, as you can tell by the gathering here today (Sunday), is a pillar of the community,” said Community Rider and Lead Trainer for this year’s Tour de North Ron Gallo.

“We have heard from his line of work, all the way to New Brunswick, and Whitehorse, and into the states. His family is devastated, his teammate family is absolutely devastated. He was the shining light of this team. It did not matter if was raining, it did not matter if it was hot, it did not matter if it was a long ride and another uphill, he had a smile and he had something positive to say, and that’s how he lived his life. It was always smiling, and it was always positive.”

Another rider was injured in the incident, Gallo said they remain recovering from those injuries.

Gallo said it’s taken time for the team to get back on their bikes following the incident.

“We’re scared,” he said.

“We’re not out on the roads doing our rides, we’re nervous. We’ve tried to go out, and we’re a lot more sensitive to the close passes that we’re experiencing, we’re a lot more sensitive to the fear that something could still happen. We’ve tried to say, and we still do, that this was one-in-a-million, but honestly, one is too many. This should never happen, and we need to be able to do something from the perspective of cyclists, and the perspective of motorists to make sure that everybody is safe.”

Gallo said the outpouring of support for the team from the community has been phenomenal.

“We are hearing it when we go to a store, we’re hearing it when we are on our bikes, we are hearing it, and we’re seeing it with people that are being respectful,”

“You look at it today, and the community comes out for something that’s, you know, this is a training ride for the Cops for Cancer, but they want to be here to send us off and wish us well.”

Cops for Cancer Tour de North riders took part in a training ride to honour Shane Kelly, a team member who passed away due to injuries sustained in a hit-and-run (D. Bain, My PG Now staff)
Cops for Cancer Tour de North riders took part in a training ride to honour Shane Kelly, a team member who passed away due to injuries sustained in a hit-and-run (D. Bain, My PG Now staff)

Gallo said there was a lot of emotion in the peloton riding to the Aquatic Centre this morning, and you could hear the emotion when they saw the crowd that had gathered.

He said today’s ride will be tough.

“Just like all the hills we have to ride on, I think that this is going to be a bit of an emotional roller coaster,” he said.

“I want laughs, I want smiles, I want the good humour, but there’s going to be tears that are shed.”

Prior to taking off for the training ride, Gallo revealed to the crowd of supporters that Kelly’s fundraising page reached $125,000 today.

Kodiaks drop season opener to Rebels

Darin Bain
-
0
Kodiaks drop season opener to Rebels

It was a tale of two halves for the Prince George Kodiaks in their season opener as they fell 33-13 to the Westshore Rebels at a near-capacity Masich Place Stadium.

“We didn’t play four quarters of football,” said Kodiaks Head Coach Jamie Boreham.

“We had a good training camp and we saw some unexpected things tonight that we hadn’t been that type of team, that’s disappointing to take some steps back, for sure.”

The Kodiaks took a 10-5 lead heading into the second half, with Brady Harper drilling a 45-yard field goal and Quarterback Sawyer Thiessen taking it himself for a 14-yard touchdown run.

“O-line had a great front, had a nice pin-and-pull, was able to find an alley through the middle, it’s a perfect play call by coach, and just capitalized it with a six,” Thiessen said.

The Kodiaks appeared to put six more points on the board with a pick-six late in the second quarter, but it was called back on a roughing the passer call.

“The first half, it wasn’t even a real good half of football,” Boreham said.

“We did some good things, we pushed, we pulled, we controlled some parts of the game, our special teams were on point, we won field position which set up the offence to move the ball, we played as a team in that first half, even though our tackling wasn’t good, our tackling wasn’t good all night, but we didn’t get punished for it in the first half.”

The Rebels shot out of the locker room like a cannon in the second half, opening with a three-play, 80-yard touchdown drive.

From then on, it was almost all Rebels as they piled on three more touchdowns in the half.

Harper tacked on a 27-yard field goal for the Kodiaks in the second half as well.

“PG came out strong in the first half, we were competing back and forth, which was very exciting to see, but our guys being able to rally at half time, come out and put up the second half we did just shows the kind of mental toughness our guys are able to conquer,” said Rebels Head Coach Connor Bryan.

“We really noticed the inside of our d-line was being pretty dominant in the run game giving our o-line some trouble, so we made the adjustment to start attacking the perimeter, giving our speedy running back out on the outside, giving him space to work with, a lot of misdirection counters, just to kind of keep that defence on their toes, which I think we did a good job of doing.”

“Heck of a team, good athletes, strong,” Boreham said of the Rebels.

“They play with speed, they play aggressive, hats off to them for making some adjustments, and kicking our butts in the second half. We have some things to fix, some things to look at, how we can be better, and do things better.”

The Kodiaks will now turn their attention to the Kamloops Broncos, who are coming off a 50-7 loss to the Vancouver Island Raiders.

The full Kodiaks schedule is here.

Darin’s Sports Shorts; Sunday, July 20th

Darin Bain
-
0
Darin’s Sports Shorts; Sunday, July 20th

Sports by Darin, as of 6:00 am, Sunday, July 20th:

BC Football Conference:

Westshore Rebels  33  Prince George Kodiaks  13

The Kodiaks dropped their opener at home to the Rebels, holding one of last year’s top teams in the BC Football Conference to just five points in the first half.

The Rebels opened the floodgates in the second half, piling on four touchdowns.

The Kodiaks (0-1) will travel to Kamloops to take on the Broncos (0-1) next weekend.

The full Kodiaks schedule is here.

Other Saturday games:

Vancouver Island Raiders  50  Kamloops Broncos  7

Okanagan Sun  39  Langley Rams  0

The BC Football Conference standings are here.

CFL:

Saskatchewan Roughriders  33  BC Lions  27

One Sunday game:

Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ Ottawa Redblacks  (4:00)

MLB:

Cincinnati Reds  5  NY Mets  2

PG’s Jared Young did not play in Saturday’s game.

The Mets host the Reds again today.

Toronto Blue Jays  6  San Francisco Giants  3

The Blue Jays (57-41) are on top of the AL East.

Prince George community packs downtown for Summerfest

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Prince George community packs downtown for Summerfest

Veteran’s Plaza at Prince George City Hall was packed with people during this year’s Downtown Summerfest.

A couple hundred community members took part in various activities that were set up including a mini rail, petting zoo, games, and live music.

Downtown Prince George Executive Director Chrisie Berry said crowds started to form before the event got going.

“People started showing up even before 11am, so probably about quarter to people started showing up. Our bike valet is busy, which is great.”

The event had eight food trucks, over 31 vendors, and 17 community partners who had different activities.

Work to get Downtown Summerfest underway began as early as 7am, with Berry crediting the team helping put it together.

Downtown Summerfest continues until 4pm.

Precipitation helping keep wildfire situation steady in the PG Fire Centre

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Precipitation helping keep wildfire situation steady in the PG Fire Centre

While July has felt like a precipitation heavy month, it’s certainly been helping BC Wildfire crews manage the season.

As of yesterday (Friday), the Prince George Fire Centre had 50 wildfires burning at 694,000 hectares.

Fire Information Officer Pedro Roldan-Delgado said over the last week, they’ve seen roughly between 3 to 64.4 millimetres of rain.

“Saying that, we are still in an underlying drought condition. It’s still persistent particularly in the northeast section of our Fire Centre.”

Roldan-Delgado added they’ve had roughly 9,500 lightning strikes since Monday, but was accompanied by precipitation, which is forecast to be similar through the weekend.

A map of the current wildfire situation in BC can be found on the BC Wildfire Service website here.

More information on the weather forecast can be found on Environment Canada’s website here.

Zach’s Sports Shorts; Saturday, July 19th

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Zach’s Sports Shorts; Saturday, July 19th

BC Football Conference:

The Prince George Kodiaks begin their 4th season in the BC Football Conference (BCFC) tonight at 6.

The Kodiaks take on the Westshore Rebels at Masich Place Stadium.

Last season, the Kodiaks finished with a 3-7 record.

More info on the BCFC can be found here.

CFL:

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are in Vancouver to take on the BC Lions at 4pm.

The Roughriders are looking to tie the Calgary Stampeders for first in the west.

CFL schedule are here.

CFL standings are here.

MLB:

The Toronto Blue Jays will hit the mound this afternoon at 12:07, taking on the San Francisco Giants at home.

The two teams played yesterday, with the Jays picking up a 4-0 victory.

The Blue Jays 2025 schedule and results are here.

Jared Young of Prince George remains with the New York Mets, but was absent from yesterday’s lineup against the Cincinnati Reds.

The two teams play again today at 1:10pm.

The 30-year-old Young is batting .171 with 3 homers and 5 RBI’s in 41 at bats this season.

The MLB schedule and results are here.

The MLB standings are here.

Huble Homestead hosting Kids Carnival Sunday

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Huble Homestead hosting Kids Carnival Sunday

Huble Homestead is inviting families to its Kids Carnival taking place tomorrow (Sunday).

The one day event has been going on since 2007, bringing magic shows, a mini rail, along with the opening of the new Huble Children’s Playhouse.

Executive Director Krystal Leason said this has been part of their strategic plan since 2009.

“There is historical precedent for it. Al Huble wrote in his diary in late June of 1918, that he built a child’s playhouse.”

“He had four daughters at the time, and they would’ve love to play in it, and we hope that our visitors will too.”

Kids Carnival runs from 10:30am to 4pm, with the ribbon cutting for the Huble Children’s Playhouse will be at 11am, and family admission is $10.

More information about the event can be found on Huble Homestead’s website here.

Cops for Cancer Tour de North team riding for former member this weekend

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Cops for Cancer Tour de North team riding for former member this weekend

Cops for Cancer Tour de North members are holding a “Let’s Play Bikes” training ride on Sunday for the first time without former rider, Shane Kelly.

Kelly passed away on July 10th, after a hit and run on July 7th at the intersection of North Ospika Boulevard and McRae Avenue.

“For the safety of all road users and in keeping with the training plan, the ride will be reserved for 2025 Cops for Cancer team members only.” said Corporal Jennifer Cooper.

The ride will begin just after 8am from the overflow parking lot of the PG Aquatic Centre on 18th Avenue. The public is encouraged to arrive for the send off 15 minutes earlier (7:45 AM).

On Sunday, the peloton will be travelling:

  • From the 1700-block of George Paul Lane to the 3000-block of Massey Drive via Foothills Boulevard and Highway 97 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
  • South on Highway 97 to Hixon between 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
  • North on Highway 97 returning to Prince George between 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

The ride will be escorted by RCMP, BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), and BC Sheriffs.

Motorists should expect short delays along this route, as escorts manage traffic to allow for safe passing.

The previous story can be found here.

– With files from Brendan Pawliw, My PG Now staff

B.C. Public Service union members preparing to vote on strike action

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
B.C. Public Service union members preparing to vote on strike action

Over 34,000 members of the BC General Employees’ Union working for BC’s public service will be voting if they will strike.

This comes after negotiations with the provincial government’s Public Service Agency fell apart over issues including wages, fair access to telework, and a modernized contract.

The proposal was for a two-year deal to lift wages for members at the lower end of the pay scale, and targeted occupational adjustments and bonuses into base salaries for lasting improvements.

The union said they will be helping to ensure members are equipped with the information needed to make an informed vote on the strike action.

The vote is estimated to begin in mid-August.

More information can be found on BC General Employees’ Union’s website here.

Update: Severe Thunderstorm Watch ended for PG

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Update: Severe Thunderstorm Watch ended for PG

Update (8:15 PM)

Environment Canada has ended the Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Prince George.

Update (5:15pm):

Environment Canada removed the Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Prince George, but the City remains under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch.

Conditions remain favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms capable of producing strong wind gusts, large hail and heavy rain.

Update (4:15pm):

The Severe Thunderstorm Watch in place for Prince George has been upgraded to a Severe Thunderstorm Warning.

Environment Canada said it’s tracking a severe thunderstorm capable of producing strong wind gusts, up to nickel size hail and heavy rain.

Driving conditions will likely be difficult, and damage to roofs, fences, soft shelters or trees is likely.

Heavy rain may cause flash flooding and significant reductions to visibility.

Environment Canada asks that anyone outdoors should take immediate cover if a thunderstorm approaches.

Original (3:17pm):

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for Prince George.

According to Environment Canada, conditions are favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms capable of producing strong wind gusts, large hail and heavy rain.

They remind residents that when thunder roars, to go indoors.

More information can be found on Environment Canada’s website here.

 

North District Emergency Response Team makes arrest in Prince George

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
North District Emergency Response Team makes arrest in Prince George

Mounties are investigating an incident where a man was arrested on Ahbau Street.

Police say they were called to a residence on the 600 block, just after 5:30pm yesterday (Thursday) for a well being call, but on arrival, they found a person had barricaded themselves in a room.

They add it was believed threats were made involving a firearm, and the individual refused to exit the home, prompting officers to set up containment.

The Police Dog Service and the North District Emergency Response Team responded to the scene, where the man exited the home shortly after, and was taken into custody without incident.

“The investigation is still in its earliest stages, but there is currently no indication there is any risk to the general public resulting from this incident.” said Constable Jenna Moore.

“Due to the nature of the incident and the known history of those residing at that location, police officers contained the residence and remain on scene until they obtain a search warrant for the home.”

No further details are available at this time.

Federal bill sees opposition for lack of First Nation consultation

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Federal bill sees opposition for lack of First Nation consultation

First Nation Chiefs from across Canada, including BC Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee, were in Gatineau, to discuss Bill C-5 with the Federal Government.

This comes as the bill, aimed at fast-tracking projects of national interest, has seen opposition raised by First Nations for the absence of protection and provisions of their rights and title.

Teegee said the bill doesn’t provide room for them to make decisions, especially if a project is on First Nation territory.

“The way it’s structured, it seems to be that the project would be pre-determined and pre-approved before there’s even a shovel in the ground.”

“It bypasses not only the provisions of the United Nations Declaration Act, but also section 35 rights.”

After a meeting like this, Teegee said actions speak louder than words, calling a repeal or change in legislation the best scenario, and would consider amendments.

He reiterates that there’s more engagement needed, and encourages Prime Minister Mark Carney to visit British Columbia, and speak with First Nation leadership.

Downtown Summerfest right around the corner in PG

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Downtown Summerfest right around the corner in PG

Not much longer until the Prince George community can take in Downtown Prince George’s Downtown Summerfest.

The event is set for Saturday, with Executive Director Chrisie Berry noting the final stretch of preparations being a busy time for the organization.

Berry said the downtown area will be busy the whole day.

“The Legion is throwing a pancake breakfast Saturday morning. All the markets are open, a lot of little stores and businesses will also be open.”

“We have eight food trucks, I think over 31 vendors, 17 community partners who will be doing different activities throughout the day.”

For those not wanting to deal with parking, Berry encourages people to use the bike vallet which will be open from 10:30am to 11pm.

Summerfest will be at Veterans Plaza at City Hall from 11am until 4pm.

More info about Downtown Summerfest can be found here.

Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Friday, July 18th

Hartley Miller
-
0
Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Friday, July 18th

Sports by Hartley Friday,  July 18th, 2025

(As of 12:05 a.m. All times listed are PDT)

Hockey:

The BCHL Regular Season schedule is out and along with it comes a new divisional alignment playoff format.

Each team will play 54 games running from September 19 to March 29.

The Spruce Kings Home Schedule will feature 10 Friday night games, 12 Saturday night games, and three Sunday afternoon games.

They open on the road September 19th at Chilliwack, before having their next six games at home beginning September 26th against Surrey.

Meanwhile, the new playoff format will see the top four teams from each of the league’s four divisions qualify for the postseason, while one team from each division will miss out.

The first two rounds will be played within the division, then division winners will play in the conference finals before the championship series.

The Spruce Kings are in the Coastal West Division along with Chilliwack, Coquitlam, Langley and Surrey.

#

Prince George Cougars defenceman Carson Carels has been named to Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team Selection Camp, which goes July 29–August 1 in Oakville, Ontario.

The 17-year-old Carels is among 40 players invited to the camp, where he’ll compete for a spot on Team Canada’s roster for the 2025 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, set for August 11–15 in Czechia and Slovakia.

 

BC Football Conference:

The Prince George Kodiaks begin their 4th season in the BC Football Conference (BCFC) this weekend.

The Kodiaks play the first of their 10 games Saturday night at 6:00 when they host the Westshore Rebels at Masich Place Stadium.

Last season the Kodiaks finished with a 3-7 record.

More info on the BCFC can be found here.

 

PG Senior Lacrosse  (3rd game in the best of 5 final)

Devils  17  Assault   6      Colton Poulin (Devils) Playoff MVP

Colton Poulin of the Devils was named Playoff MVP as the Devils swept the series 3-0, outscoring the Assault 46-15 in the series.

 

CFL: (Week 7)

Montreal Alouettes  26  Toronto Argonauts  25

The Als overcame a 25-7 deficit late in the 3rd quarter to improve to 4-2.

The Argos slipped to 1-5.

Friday Night Football in the CFL has (4-1) Calgary at (3-1) Winnipeg (5:30 PT).

The (3-3) B.C. Lions host the (4-1) Saskatchewan Roughriders Saturday at 4 PM.

The CFL schedule are here.

The CFL standings are here.

 

MLB:

The Toronto Blue Jays end 4-day layoff when they entertain the (52-45) San Francisco Giants tonight (Friday 4:07 PT).

The (55-41) Blue Jays, who are starting a 6-game homestand, are in first place in the A.L. East by two games over the (53-43) New York Yankees.

#

Jared Young of Prince George is with the New York Mets who host the Cincinnati Reds this evening.

The 30-year-old Young is batting .171 with 3 homers and 5 RBI’s in 41 at bats this season with the Big League Mets.

The Blue Jays 2025 schedule and results are here.

The MLB schedule and results are here.

The MLB standings are here.

 

Golf:

The Open Championship is being played this week at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

The four Canadians in the field, Taylor Pendrith, Corey Conners, Nick Taylor, and Mackenzie Hughes, are all well back of the leaders.

The leaderboard can be found here.

 

 

 

B.C. bearing brunt of tariff war, says Eby ahead of First Ministers’ meeting

Emily Joveski
-
0
B.C. bearing brunt of tariff war, says Eby ahead of First Ministers’ meeting

Premier David Eby said British Columbia is shouldering a disproportionate economic burden from Canada’s trade war with the U.S., and he’ll be calling for “basic fairness” at next week’s First Minister’s meeting.

Canada’s provincial and territorial leaders are set to meet in Huntsville, Ontario, July 21-23, with tariff threats from the U.S. at the top of the agenda. 

U.S. President Donald Trump recently threatened to bring a 35 per cent tariff on all goods not included in the Canada-US-Mexico trade agreement.

“The tariff responses that have been imposed by the federal government on the U.S. in response to attacks by the president have fallen disproportionately on British Columbians,” said Eby Thursday. 

He pointed to estimates that the federal government’s counter-tariffs apply to roughly 20 per cent of the value of B.C.’s total imported goods from the U.S.

Prime Minister Mark Carney recently announced tariff rate quotas on steel from countries that have a free trade deal with Canada, with exceptions for the U.S. and Mexico. 

The federal government said the move comes in response to both U.S. tariffs on steel and global steel overproduction, and will help prevent the Canadian market from being overwhelmed with cheap steel.

B.C. is a major exporter of metallurgical coal, which is used in the production of steel from iron ore. About 30 per cent is exported to China.

Eby said he wants to ensure that B.C. gets “the same level of attention…on softwood lumber, as Ontario gets on the auto parts sector” and that “we get the same amount of attention on capital projects as Alberta is currently getting in relation to their proposals.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office said in a statement the premiers will also discuss emergency management, energy security, sovereignty and national security, Canada-U.S. relations, international and internal trade, labour mobility, immigration, health, and public safety.

A closing news conference is planned for the afternoon of July 23.

B.C. limiting sales of two more diabetes drugs

Emily Joveski
-
0
B.C. limiting sales of two more diabetes drugs

British Columbia is limiting sales of two more diabetes drugs that are frequently prescribed off-label for weight loss.

The province said Thursday the drugs tirzepatide and dulaglutide, commonly known by the brand names Mounjaro and Trulicity, will no longer be available for non-Canadian residents.

B.C. residents, Canadian citizens and permanent residents can still purchase the drugs in B.C. pharmacies.  

Health Minister Josie Osborne said the move will preserve the supply for people with diabetes who really need it.

“Tirzepatide, dulaglutide and semaglutide are prescription drugs approved for the management of Type 2 diabetes, but their off-label use for weight loss is driving shortages of the drugs in several countries, including the United States,” said Osborne in a statement Thursday. 

B.C. decided in April 2023 to limit sales of semaglutide drugs, like Ozempic, to non-Canadian residents due to a looming supply shortage. 

The move came in reaction to concerns that non-Canadians, particularly Americans, could deplete Canada’s stock of the drugs that have surged in popularity in recent years for their weight-loss effects. 

One month of Ozempic costs around $300 in Canada, but can cost $1,000 or more in the U.S. without insurance.

The drug is set to become even more accessible in Canada after the Novo Nordisk reportedly failed to maintain its Canadian patent on Ozempic, opening the door to generic versions of the drug as early as next year.

Kodiaks opening season at home Saturday

Darin Bain
-
0
Kodiaks opening season at home Saturday

The Prince George Kodiaks will be taking the field at Masich Place Stadium for their home opener Saturday as the Westshore Rebels come to town.

The Kodiaks are looking to take the next step this season, after a 3-7 finish to the 2024 campaign.

Head Coach Jamie Boreham said there’s a lot of returning players, but there will be some new faces in the starting lineup as well.

“We have a lot of returning players, so faces and names you’re going to recognize,” he said.

“We’ve had a couple guys come into camp ready and competed real well, so we’re looking forward to seeing some new faces in the starting lineups too.”

Boreham said with a new season comes some changes on the sidelines.

“It’s a new season, it’s new teams, we’re new, we have some changes as players, we have changes as coaches, some of our systems have changed so that puts us at an advantage,” he explained.

“Other teams, they have some things they’re not sharing with us and that gives them an advantage in some places. Our ability to adjust on the fly and put our guys in the right situations, we’re getting good at doing that.”

Environment Canada is calling for showers and 21 degrees for Saturday’s game.

“If we can run the football, and play our short pass game, that will play to our strengths and advantages,” Boreham said.

“You just roll with the punches and it is what it is, Prince George has a variety of weather that comes through minute by minute, it’s entertaining.”

Boreham said the players are used to a variety of conditions.

“We’ve been practicing in the rain, we’ve been practicing in all the conditions that we’ve had over the past two weeks here,” he said.

“Our guys are ready to go, I don’t expect the weather to be a hinderance to us.”

Boreham said a lot of the returning players are excited to get in front of the fans again.

“There’s energy in the game, and there’s energy on a sideline, and it’s important that we have the right energy. there’s so many ups and downs in a football game,” he said.

“We hear the fans, and the fans help in those down moments, and they create bigger excitement in the bigger moments. Fans bring a lot, and the fans’ excitement helps these guys stay focused and stay in the now.”

The full Kodiaks 2025 schedule can be found here.

“It’s kind of been a logistical nightmare” Local CUPW 812 President on Canada Post vote

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
“It’s kind of been a logistical nightmare” Local CUPW 812 President on Canada Post vote

Canada Post’s final offers for employees represented by CUPW has garnered a negative reaction from the union and its members.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) led vote was announced yesterday (Wednesday), which would have 55,000 members across Canada vote on the final contract offer.

Local CUPW 812 President Nicole Chouinard said it’s been a mess trying to facilitate a vote of this size for the number of members.

“There are still members who are not on the membership list who’s names are being disputed, as to whether or not they have a vote or are even still employed, and that’s over 800 members still that the CIRB hasn’t been able to sort out in order to give them the opportunity to vote.”

“It’s kind of been a logistical nightmare.”

Chouinard said the union will be setting up webinars to break down what the offers are to make an educated vote, but as it stands, members aren’t happy with the position they’re in.

“Part of it is the position that Canada Post is putting us in, but the large part of it is the position the federal government is putting us in.”

“It will be a no vote. The vibe on the floor, even locally here in Prince George, is an overwhelming no.”

If the outcome is a no, there’s a possibility Canada Post could lock them out, but with the postal service claiming they’ve been losing around $10 million a day, Chouinard said they wouldn’t be able to afford to lose all of their business by doing that.

She said they’d like the opportunity to do this the right way, even if it means binding arbitration.

The voting will take place from Monday (July 21st) to August 1st.

Cabinet shuffle “an opportunity for Eby to change the channel”: Bond

Darin Bain
-
0
Cabinet shuffle “an opportunity for Eby to change the channel”: Bond

Longtime MLA and Political Analyst Shirley Bond was a bit surprised by Premier David Eby’s cabinet shuffle today. (Thursday)

The shuffle comes just eight months after Eby’s cabinet was revealed following the NDP’s win in the 2024 provincial election.

“When you look at what happened here, the rationale is related to growing the economy and dealing with issues like public safety in an effective way, those were issues when this government got elected,” Bond said.

“I think this is an opportunity for the Premier to try to change the channel, when he looks at the results that the first cabinet had, and the needs that British Columbians had.”

Bond said Garry Begg being removed from the Public Safety and Solicitor General role and being moved into a Parliamentary Secretary role is a significant statement.

“Dealing with economic growth, the Premier has moved Ravi Kahlon out of housing into jobs and the economy,” Bond said.

“We certainly have seen some pretty big challenges with housing in the province, and now we’re going to see that Minister in charge of economic growth, obviously a critical ministry as we look at the ongoing discussions about tariffs and the relationship with the United States.”

One appointment Prince George residents will have their eye on is Christine Boyle, who will be taking on the Housing and Municipal Affairs portfolio.

“It will be a new relationship building exercise for our City Council, and there are some big challenges,” Bond said.

“Our City Council has had some success when it comes to gaining more housing, particularly for the vulnerable in Prince George, it’s an issue I certainly hear about every single day.”

Bond said she’s hopeful City Council will reach out to Boyle quickly to get to know her and bring her up to speed on the challenges the City has been facing.

Spencer Chandra-Herbert recently made a trip through the region as the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport in an effort to learn more about the region and come up with ways to drive tourism in the Central Interior.

Now, he’s been moved to the Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation portfolio.

“One of the challenges when you make a shuffle is that it takes time to get up to speed all over again,” Bond said.

“This cabinet has basically just begun its work months ago, and here we are, now we have new Ministers in absolutely critical ministries, like Indigenous Relations.”

Bond added that one of the things that concerns her is that we now have Ministers in critical ministries that have to get up to speed.

“There’s no time to be wasting here, we know the economy and ensuring that we have a strong private sector economy that’s creating jobs is critical to every government, not six or eight months in,”

“When you look at the issue of public safety, not a day goes by we don’t hear about things like catch and release, and ongoing business challenges with rampant shoplifting, the stories just continue every day. These Ministers have their work cut out for them.”

Bond said she hopes the new Ministers will be able to get up to speed quickly.

“I’d like to see that they recognize the important issues facing northern British Columbia,”

“I think it’s fair to say that often we feel that we’re not heard. I am hopeful that these Ministers recognize their responsibility to the people of northern British Columbia as well.”

Eby shuffles cabinet, including key jobs, public safety and housing roles

Emily Joveski
-
0
Eby shuffles cabinet, including key jobs, public safety and housing roles

Premier David Eby shuffled his cabinet Thursday in what he called a “strategic” move to respond to a world that has changed since his B.C. NDP were elected last fall.

Lieutenant Governor Wendy Cocchia presided over the ceremony at Government House in Victoria.

Some current cabinet ministers were shuffled to new roles.

Ravi Kahlon returns as jobs minister — a role he held from 2020-2022.

He succeeds Diana Gibson, who is taking over the Citizen’s Services portfolio from George Chow.

Chow is now parliamentary secretary for the Downtown Eastside and Chinatown.

Christine Boyle takes over Kahlon’s previous role as Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs. 

Boyle was minister for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation — a role now held by Spencer Chandra-Herbert.

Anne Kang takes over for Chandra-Herbert as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport.

Surrey-Newton MLA Jessie Sunner, who was previously parliamentary secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives, joins the cabinet as Minister of Post-Secondary and Future Skills.

Victoria-Swan Lake MLA Nina Krieger is also a new addition to cabinet, taking over as Minister for Public Safety and Solicitor General. Krieger was previously parliamentary secretary for arts and film.

Former public safety minister Gary Begg was moved to the role of parliamentary secretary for Surrey infrastructure.

Amna Shah is now parliamentary secretary for mental health and addictions.

Rick Glumac takes on the newly created role of Minister of State for AI and New Technologies — leaving his role as Minister of State for Trade.

Paul Choi is the new parliamentary secretary for trade  a broader role than his previous position focused on Asia-Pacific trade. 

New ministers take on trade tensions, public safety threats

The threat of U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty caused by the Trump administration led Eby to scrap some key campaign promises he made ahead of the October’s election, including an annual $1,000 tax cut for middle-class British Columbians.

The most recent threats from U.S. President Donald Trump include a 35 per cent tariff on all goods outside of the Canada-US-Mexico trade agreement.

“We need to ensure that we have the skills and the ministers in the right place to meet this moment,” said Eby. 

The shuffle also comes amid flagging confidence in the B.C. NDP government among the business community, despite Eby’s repeated line that he aims to make B.C. “Canada’s economic engine.”

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said in its July report that B.C. small business confidence fell five points.

“Summer is peak season for many businesses, so to see business confidence move backwards in this key period is concerning,” said Ryan Mitton, CFIB’s Director of Legislative Affairs for B.C.

The government pushed through legislation just ahead of Parliament’s summer break that would fast-track certain infrastructure and renewable energy projects. Bill 14 and 15 were criticized by First Nations and the Union of B.C. Municipalities, who said it constitutes government overreach and a breach of First Nations rights to consultation on projects.

The Business Council of B.C. had expressed cautious support for the bills, saying elements of the legislation align in their previous recommendations. 

“However, these changes fall short of providing the long-term solutions needed to truly fix delays in B.C.’s permitting regime,” said the council in a May 5th statement.

Eby has also seen political backlash from B.C. Ferries’ decision to award a major contract to a Chinese state-owned shipyard. The B.C. Ferries deal was roundly criticized by the Opposition Conservatives, unions, and even federal transport minister Chrystia Freeland. 

Eby expressed disappointment that no Canadian shipyards bid on the contract, but said the four new vessels are “urgently needed” and his government wouldn’t try to intervene in the deal.

The change-up in the public safety portfolio comes as the province contends with calls from municipalities, including the provincial capital, for more help addressing street disorder and mental health.

Krieger said Thursday she has heard the concerns of community members and businesses around street disorder.

“I’m looking forward to working with all my colleagues in Cabinet to tackle these complex issues,” she said.

A surge in organized crime and extortion targeting South Asian communities as also been a high-profile issue in recent months, and Eby has called on the federal government to designate the India-based Lawrence-Bishnoi gang as a terrorist organization.

Spruce Kings to play 25 home games on weekends; BCHL has new playoff format

Hartley Miller
-
0
Spruce Kings to play 25 home games on weekends; BCHL has new playoff format

The BCHL has released its the 2025-2026 Regular Season schedule, along with a new divisional alignment playoff format.

Each team will play 54 games from September 19th to March 29th.

The Spruce Kings Home Schedule will feature 10 Friday night games, 12 Saturday night games, and three Sunday afternoon games.

They open on the road September 19th at Chilliwack before having their next six games at home beginning September 26th against Surrey.

The Spruce Kings full schedule can be viewed HERE or view the full schedule graphic HERE.

Alignment

With 20 teams in the league (Penticton dropped out to join the WHL), the BCHL’s divisional alignment will be as follows.

Coastal West 

Alberni Valley Bulldogs, Cowichan Valley Capitals, Nanaimo Clippers, Powell River Kings,
Victoria Grizzlies

Coastal West 

Chilliwack Chiefs, Coquitlam Express, Langley Rivermen, Prince George Spruce Kings, Surrey Eagles

Interior West Cranbrook Bucks, Salmon Arm Silverbacks, Trail Smoke Eaters, Vernon Vipers, West Kelowna Warriors

Interior East  Blackfalds Bulldogs, Brooks Bandits, Okotoks Oilers, Sherwood Park Crusaders, Spruce Grove Saints

New Playoff Format

The top four teams from each of the league’s four divisions will qualify for the postseason, while one team from each division will miss out.

The first two rounds will be played within the division, then division winners will play in the conference finals before the championship series.

City seeking volunteers to sit on two committees

Darin Bain
-
0
City seeking volunteers to sit on two committees

The City of Prince George is putting out the call for volunteers to sit on a pair of committees.

The City is accepting applicants to sit on the Prince George Heritage Commission, with one position available for a term ending February 28th, 2027.

The commission meets quarterly in March, June, September and December on the 2nd Thursday of those months from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm.

According to the City, the commission is responsible for undertaking heritage education and awareness activities, and for reviewing and providing recommendations to City Council and Staff on matters of heritage significance in the City.

At this week’s meeting, City Council voted to expand the number of members on the Commission.

More information on applying to sit on the Heritage Commission can be found here.

Council is also seeking five people to sit on the Advisory Committee for Council Remuneration.

This committee is responsible for reviewing Council remuneration, benefits, and expense reimbursement in comparison with peer municipalities and reporting any proposed amendments before council.

This committee will meet as needed during regular business hours at City Hall.

Also at this week’s meeting, City Council voted to establish the committee.

The review of Council remuneration must be completed by June 30th, 2026.

More information on applying to sit on the Advisory Committee on Council Remuneration can be found here.

City hosting social services connector event to promote collaboration between non-profits

Darin Bain
-
0
City hosting social services connector event to promote collaboration between non-profits

The City of Prince George will be hosting an event to help social service providers in the community get together and better coordinate their efforts.

Prince George City Council discussed the event at this week’s meeting.

Councillor Kyle Sampson put forward the motion, after attending a meeting with several service providers.

“It was clear, there was a number of well-intentioned, committed, service providers, but they’re in silos still, some of these groups in this meeting had never met each other, even though they’re providing similar work,” Sampson said.

“The motion proposes that the City hosts a low-cost, one-time connector event, either later this summer or early fall that is likely an informal barbeque type event to bring together these NGOs, non-profits, government agencies, and our own city staff.”

Sampson said the goal is to build stronger relationships across these agencies, improve service coordination, reduce duplication, and to give City staff better insight to what these services are doing.

“This is about helping create conditions for better collaboration in our community, and particularly in the downtown,” he explained.

Sampson suggested a budget of up to $2,500, to come from the Council Contingency fund for the event.

Councillor Susan Scott said as someone who’s been a volunteer with many of these organizations, there’s more at play than most would understand.

“There is less and less staff available to do the jobs that they’re all doing,” she said.

“Not everybody has the resources within their local organization to be able to reach out and connect, and not every organization with an office here in Prince George supports their local office in reaching out and connecting. I think the City sponsoring an event of a social nature is brilliant.”

Council unanimously voted to host the event.

Comox search and rescue aircraft perform night rescue near Fort Nelson

My PG Now Staff
-
0
Comox search and rescue aircraft perform night rescue near Fort Nelson

An injured horseback rider was rescued in a remote area of Northeastern BC by search and rescue aircraft from Comox on Vancouver Island.

The incident took place late Tuesday evening in the wilderness 185 km east of Fort Nelson.

Public Affairs at 19 Wing Comox says the RCMP was unable to reach the area due to the rugged terrain and darkness, and requested assistance from the Royal Canadian Air Force.

A CC-295 Kingfisher plane and a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter were dispatched from 19 Wing Comox.

Search and Rescue Technicians parachuted from the Kingfisher, and then hiked to the injured rider to provide medical support and coordinate an extraction by the helicopter crew.

After being hoisted up to the Cormorant, the rider was taken to Fort Nelson, transferred to the Kingfisher and flown to hospital in Prince George for treatment.

19 Wing Public Affairs Officer, Lieutenant Keil Kodama, says the rescue mission took 16 hours to complete.

Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Thursday, July 17th

Hartley Miller
-
0
Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Thursday, July 17th

Sports by Hartley Thursday, July 17th, 2025

(As of 12:05 a.m. All times listed are PDT)

Judo:

15-year-old Olivia Wisniowski of the Northern Capital Judo Club won a bronze medal at an International Judo Tournament in Brazil.

She moved up an age group and still won the only medal for Team BC.

There were three other residents of PG that competed.

 

PG Senior Lacrosse (2nd game in the best of 5 final)

Devils  15  Assault  6   (Wednesday)

The Devils lead 2-0 and go for a 3-game sweep tonight (Thursday).

The Devils have outscored the Assault 29-9 in the series.

 

NHL:

The full NHL schedule for the 2025-26 season has been released.

The Vancouver Canucks will open their season against Alberta teams; hosting the Calgary Flames on Thursday, October 9th followed by a game in Edmonton against the Oilers on October 11th.

 

Golf:

Round 1 of the Open Championship is underway at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

The four Canadians in the field, Taylor Pendrith, Corey Conners, Nick Taylor, and Mackenzie Hughes, are all well back of the first round leaders.

The leaderboard can be found here.

 

CFL:

Week 7 of the CFL season begins tonight (Thursday 4:30 PT) with (1-4) Toronto at (3-2) Montreal.

The (3-3) B.C. Lions host the (4-1) Saskatchewan Roughriders Saturday at 4 PM.

The CFL schedule are here.

The CFL standings are here.

 

BC Football Conference:

The Prince George Kodiaks are gearing up for their BC Football Conference (BCFC) season.

The Kodiaks play the first of their 10 games on Saturday when they host the Westshore Rebels at 6:00 at Masich Place Stadium.

More info on the BCFC can be found here.

 

MLB:

The Toronto Blue Jays return to action following the All-Star break Friday (4:07 PM PT) when they entertain the (52-45) San Francisco Giants.

The (55-41) Blue Jays are in first place in the American League East Division by two games over the (53-43) New York Yankees.

#

Jared Young of Prince George was recalled by the New York Mets from their Triple-A Syracuse farm club last week, one day after his 30th birthday.

The Mets host the Cincinnati Reds Friday.

Young is batting .171 with 3 homers and 5 RBI’s in 41 at bats this season with New York.

The Blue Jays 2025 schedule and results are here.

The MLB schedule and results are here.

The MLB standings are here.

 

World University Games:

UNBC’s Director of Athletics and Recreation, Loralyn Murdoch is among four Operations Officers for Team Canada at the FISU World University Summer Games that are underway in Germany.

125 varsity athletes from across Canada are competing in nine sports: archery, artistic gymnastics, athletics, badminton, rhythmic gymnastics, rowing, swimming, table tennis and taekwondo.

 

 

Fifth generating unit comes online at Site C

Darin Bain
-
0
Fifth generating unit comes online at Site C

The Site C Project has reached another major milestone with the dam’s fifth generating unit coming online today.

“Commissioning the fifth generating unit at Site C is a significant step towards securing more clean and affordable electricity for communities, homes and businesses,” said Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions Adrian Dix.

According to BC Hydro, testing and commissioning of the sixth and final generating unit is now underway, and is expected to come into operation by this fall.

The first unit came online in October 2024, with the second following in December, the third in February, and the fourth in late March.

Once the dam is fully operational, Site C will generate enough electricity to power about 500,000 homes, boosting BC Hydro’s electricity supply by approximately eight per cent.

Canada Post employees represented by CUPW to give vote on final offers

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Canada Post employees represented by CUPW to give vote on final offers

CUPW employees with Canada Post will vote on the final contract offer.

The voting will take place from Monday (July 21st) to August 1st.

The notice of vote was issued by the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

Employees will be voting on:

  • Wage increases of 6% in year one; 3% in year two; 2% in year three; and 2% in year four (13.59% compounded).
  • A signing bonus ($1,000 for full-time employees; $500 for all others).
  • Maintaining their defined benefit pension and industry-leading job security.
  • Creation of new part-time positions, with predictable hours and benefits, that would help the company provide weekend parcel delivery and optimize delivery during the week.
  • Phased changes to the delivery model to better reflect volumes, avoid overburdening and provide better service.

The union represents 55,000 workers across the country, as well as 200 in the Prince George area.

Employees have been in a legal strike position since May 23rd, but have so far only placed a ban on overtime.

According to Canada Post, in June, the service saw losses from operations increase to around $10 million a day, over double the daily average losses the year prior.

More information can be found on Canada Post’s website here.

New protection measures in place for Great Bear Sea  

Emily Joveski
-
0
New protection measures in place for Great Bear Sea  

B.C. is introducing new protection measures for 14.5 square kilometres of the Great Bear Sea. 

The area of the sea spanning from the northern part of Vancouver Island to the southern border of Alaska is B.C.’s newest Wildlife Management Area (WMA). 

The province says the protections were developed in collaboration with the Gitga’at First Nation and Gitxaała Nation, who will be helping develop a management plan for the area. 

“The Great Bear Sea is home to some of the richest ecosystems in the world,” said Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Minister Randene Neill in a statement Wednesday. 

“Together with First Nations, we’re conserving these important areas that support biodiversity, community well-being and economic prosperity for coastal communities,” she said. 

The new WMA covers the northern coasts of the Kishkosh and Kitkiata inlets, south of Prince Rupert.  The area is home to wild salmon, humpback whales, migratory birds, kelp beds, and eelgrass meadows. 

The province noted the move will also provide additional food security to first nations and coastal communities. 

The move is part of a broader effort to create a network of protected areas throughout the Great Bear Sea region. The province and various First Nations endorsed the action plan in 2023.

“The Marine Protected Area Network is designed for and by the people of the coast to protect and conserve these important resources to grow our local economies, enhance culture and biodiversity, and develop the tools to become more self-reliant,” said Christine Smith Martin, CEO of Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative. 

The province says it will manage the area collaboratively with the First Nations and work to balance commercial and public use.  

It says there will be further public and stakeholder engagement during the management planning phase. 

-With files from Sage Daniels

Save our Streets pitches bail reform, prolific offender changes to BC Federal Liberal caucus

Brendan Pawliw
-
0
Save our Streets pitches bail reform, prolific offender changes to BC Federal Liberal caucus

One of the co-founders of the Save our Streets Coalition (SOS) believes the federal government can do more to crack down on repeat offenders as well as provide a full continuum of care for those suffering from addiction and mental illness.

The group sat down with the federal Liberals BC caucus on Monday in Kelowna to discuss these issues as well as bail reform.

Jess Ketchum of Quesnel told Vista Radio the current legislation surrounding repeat offenders needs to be re-worked with more severe consequences attached.

“If they offend, over and over and over again, then that revolving door has to stop. I mean this system today is very accommodating to them and it should be more for the protection of the innocent.”

“The law seems to be focused on repeat violent offenders and that is important but we are saying it should apply to all repeat offenders regardless of whether its a violent path or if it’s someone who is a prolific shop lifter.”

Ketchum believes residents are at a tipping point regarding crime, violence and public disorder and it’s about time Ottawa did more to intervene.

SOS is calling for an end to inter-jurisdictional finger pointing and for senior governments to show leadership in bringing about real change to the judicial system. It is advocating for:
  • effective bail reform targeting repeat theft and street disorder offenders;
  • federal dollars to provincial governments, with performance strings attached, for building out a full continuum of care for individuals suffering from addictions and mental illnesses;
  • a national bail repository so prosecutors can easily and quickly determine if an arrestee is out on bail with existing warrants in different jurisdictions across Canada;
  • proper resourcing for the judiciary.
The caucus was informed of the impact organized crime is having on the retail and service industries and provided with suggested law changes that would improve law enforcement’s ability to lay charges and the Crown’s ability to prosecute organized crime.

B.C. streamlines process for U.S. and international doctors to work in the province

Emily Joveski
-
0
B.C. streamlines process for U.S. and international doctors to work in the province

U.S.-trained doctors can now become fully licensed in British Columbia without the need for further assessment if they hold certain U.S. certifications.

The B.C. government announced Wednesday the licensing body for doctors is making bylaw changes to encourage more U.S.-based physicians to come work in the province.

It said the changes implemented by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. (CPSBC) streamlines the process for U.S.-based doctors, often allowing them to be registered in a matter of weeks.

Health Minister Josie Osborne said B.C. is attractive for a lot of health care workers are feeling uncertain about the future.

“They are looking at the increasingly draconian health care policies that are emerging out of their president’s administration with growing concern, and we saw an opportunity that we just couldn’t miss,” said Osborne.

She said on Wednesday B.C. has received almost 780 job applications from U.S.-based health professionals over the past two months.

She added 2,250 health professionals have expressed an interest in working in B.C. or have taken a webinar.

The province has a website that helps connect U.S.-trained health professionals with jobs in B.C.

For doctors trained outside of Canada and U.S., the CPSBC is also removing the requirement for them to hold the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada, saving them a $1,500 examination fee and shaving weeks off the licensing process.

The CPSBC says it will hold public consultations on bylaw changes that would streamline the licensure process for internationally-trained physicians who have completed at least two years of accredited postgraduate training in family medicine in the U.S., Australia, United Kingdom or Ireland.

Doctors would also be eligible if they have completed postgraduate training and received a completion of training certificate and certification in certain specialties from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, United Kingdom or Ireland.

Dr. Avi Kopstick, a Canadian-born doctor currently based in Austin, Texas, participated in Wednesday’s announcement. He’s set to join the pediatric team at Kelowna General Hospital next month.

“I chose British Columbia because the health care system over there aligns with my views,” said Kopstick.

He added that some of his friends who are nurses in Texas are “very jealous” of his upcoming move, and he hopes to convince them to move to B.C. in the near future.

The B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives made changes in April to streamline the process for U.S.-trained nurses who are registering to work in the province. Nurses can now apply directly to the B.C. College without going through a third-party organization for assessment.

Officials said the changes mean nurses could be approved to work in the province within days, rather than having to wait months under the previous process.

Osborne said Wednesday the college has received close to 700 applications from U.S. nurses who want to be registered in the province, and they’ve approved nearly 320 of those applications. She said registrations from 46 nurse practitioners have also been approved.

In June, the province said it was launching a $5 million marketing campaign in select states to encourage U.S. health professionals to seek jobs in B.C.

The marketing campaign launched in Washington state, Oregon and select cities in California includes video, audio digital and print ads, ranging from social media and podcasts to billboards and bus shelters.

Osborne said the campaign was expected to reach about 250,000 U.S. health professionals.

The latest data from B.C. Ministry of Health show that in 2020/2021, less than 77 per cent of British Columbians who are eligible for the provincial health plan were attached to a primary care practitioner.

Anyone who lives in B.C. and needs a family doctor or nurse practitioner can get on the provincial waitlist online at healthlinkbc.ca/health-connect-registry or by calling 811.

Last September, then-health minister Adrian Dix said as many as 400,000 people were still on the registry waitlist. He said about 4000 people were being connected with a doctor each week.

Prince George area recycles over 2,000 tonnes in 2024

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Prince George area recycles over 2,000 tonnes in 2024

Recycle BC released its annual report for residential packaging and paper product recycling for 2024.

According to the organization, 208,484 net tonnes were collected in 2024, up from 201,033 the year prior across the province.

Fraser-Fort George also saw an increase going to 2,583 tonnes last year, compared to 2,309 in 2023.

The region placed 12th on Recycle BC’s collection by Regional Districts list.

Last year, the region had a serviced population of 103,045, which is a jump from 2023’s 88,810.

Within Fraser-Fort George, there are seven service area facilities with one curbside, five depots and one multi-family.

Overall, Recycle BC services over two million households.

More detailed information can be found on Recycle BC’s website here.

City providing funding support for Nordic Olympic Qualifiers

Darin Bain
-
0
City providing funding support for Nordic Olympic Qualifiers

Prince George City Council has approved funding to support the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club in hosting the 2026 Olympic Winter Games Trials in December.

At this week’s meeting, City Council approved $40,000 from the Major Events Reserve to support the event, which is set to take place December 10th to 16th.

“It’s a no-brainer,” said Mayor Simon Yu.

“We’re looking forward to the success, like usual. Anything happening up in Otway is a good thing for the City.”

According to a staff report, approximately 250 athletes and coaches will be coming to Prince George to compete for a shot at representing Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

The report states the event will be broadcast through the Nordiq Canada’s YouTube channel, as well as on CBC Gem, and it would enable the promotion of Prince George across the country.

PG Performing Arts Series gets new season with internationally acclaimed performers

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
PG Performing Arts Series gets new season with internationally acclaimed performers

The Community Arts Council of Prince George and District and Trinity United PG announced the third season of the Performing Arts Series.

Eight different acts were unveiled for the Knox Presents Season, the Playhouse Sessions, and the Performing Arts Series.

Community Arts Council Executive Director Eli Klasner said the acts bring a wide range of performances for the community to see.

“We want there to be something for every taste in Prince George, and Prince George has many different tastes. There’s a country music following, there’s a classical music following.”

Klasner added the big piece to putting these events together is the collaboration between the PG Playhouse and Knox Performance Centre, which would normally be competing against each other.

Some of the performances will also have internationally acclaimed performers including pianist Jon Kimura Parker, and Soprano Jonelle Sills.

Klasner said they’re also making efforts to improve performing arts centres both through donations and collaborations with other events.

“So many of our community performing arts groups, they actually don’t have homes where they can rehearse out of regularly, etc.”

“That’s one of the commitments we’ve been making, is to keep these venues accessible and affordable, so our more grassroot community groups are able to be part of these buildings.”

He noted that it takes flexibility and versatility to accommodate those community groups, which brings the need for financial support.

More information can be found at either the PG Playhouse website, or the Knox Performace Centre website.

Advisory Committee to help determine City Council pay

Darin Bain
-
0
Advisory Committee to help determine City Council pay

Prince George City Council voted to establish a committee to help determine Council pay.

At this week’s meeting, Council voted to establish the committee, which will conduct an independent review of Council remuneration with any adjustments that Council may approve, to be effective January 1st, 2027.

According to a staff report to Council, this review must be completed by June 30th, 2026.

The City will be advertising opportunities to be on the Committee, with the application deadline being August 12th.

Appointments will be made to the Committee at the Council meeting to be held on August 18th.

Committee recommendations to Council are expected to come in December 2025 or January 2026.

Council’s last raises were voted on in June 2022. At that time, an Advisory Committee on Council Remuneration had recommended 3.5 per cent raises which took effect on January 1st, 2023, and on January 1st, 2024.

PG Mounties looking for man wanted for theft

Darin Bain
-
0
PG Mounties looking for man wanted for theft

The Prince George RCMP are on the lookout for 41-year-old Christopher Ronald Erickson.

According to police, he is wanted on two unendorsed warrants for theft under $5,000, and failing to comply with order.

He is described as:

  • Caucasian male
  • 5′ 6″ or 168 cm
  • 157 lb or 71 kg
  • Brown hair
  • Green eyes

Police say Christopher Ronald Erickson is considered dangerous and should not be approached.

Anyone with information on Christopher Ronald Erickson’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Prince George RCMP.

Federal grant funding gives several PG sports facilities a face lift

Brendan Pawliw
-
0
Federal grant funding gives several PG sports facilities a face lift

Local fastball players who suit up at Freeman Park and Spruce City Stadium will benefit from upgraded field lighting.

It’s from annual funding via the Canada Community-Building Fund where an additional $760,000 is being made available for this work with a total project budget of $950,000.

In 2024, the parks and solid waste division funded $760,000 through the CCBF to upgrade facilities and encourage continued outdoor recreation. The total project budget was $950,000 and included:

  • Two new dugouts at Gyro Park.
  • Two new dugouts and two bleacher pads at Harry Loder Park.
  • Two new dugouts and two bleacher pads at Freeman Park.
  • Installing two bleacher pads and a connection path at Ron Wiley Field.

The program is based on the City’s 2018 ball diamond and sport field strategy and refurbishes a handful of sports facilities every year.

In total, the City spent $4.25 million of federal grant funding on infrastructure projects last year including:

  • Developing a concept plan and detailed designs for Carrie Jane Gray Park improvements.
  • Upgrades to the sports courts at Clearwood Park, Harper Park, Harry Loder Park, Sinclair Park, and Starlane Park.
  • Fixing trails and installing new gates at Freeman Park, Heritage River Trail, Tyner Boulevard, and Carrie Jane Gray Park.
  • Replacing the chiller system at Kopar Memorial Arena to improve safety, reduce the volume of ammonia levels, and extend the life of the facility.
  • Installing 844 metres of new concrete sidewalk and renewing the parking lots at Elksentre and Royal Lot.
  • Upgrading aging stormwater system infrastructure.

“Recreation spaces like Freeman Park and Spruce City Stadium are where communities come together, where kids learn teamwork and memories are made,” said the Honourable Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada.

“Through the Canada Community-Building Fund, Prince George is investing in infrastructure that will have lasting positive impacts on the community.”

Nomination period opens for Business Excellence Awards

Brendan Pawliw
-
0
Nomination period opens for Business Excellence Awards

The Prince George Chamber of Commerce is calling all local businesses to put their names forward for it’s 40th annual Business Excellence Awards.

The award categories are as follows:

– Business Person of the Year, sponsored by Fortis BC
– Excellence in Technological Innovation, sponsored by MNP
– BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) Business of the Year, sponsored by KPMG
– Excellence in Entertainment and Attractions, sponsored by Tourism Prince George
– Excellence in Not For Profit and Community Service, sponsored by Vitreo Minerals
– Excellence in Customer Service, sponsored by Canadian Tire
– Excellence in Environmental Impact, sponsored by UNBC
– Excellence in Promotions and Marketing, sponsored by Kopar Administration
– Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Canfor
– Business of the Year
– Excellence in Food and Beverage
– Excellence in Business Philanthropy

Nominations can be made online by visiting the Prince George Chamber’s website and are open until August 3rd.

The five finalists in each Business Excellence Awards category and the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award will be revealed at a lunchtime announcement at Knox Performance Centre
on September 11th.

“I love all of these awards and the local businesses, business people, and not-for-profits shining in these categories but I do have two favourites,” Neil Godbout, executive director of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce, said in a news release.

The awards will be handed out at a gala event, featuring keynote speaker Jody Wilson-Raybould, on Saturday, November 1st, at the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre.

PG’s Wisniowski reaches the podium at Judo event in Brazil

Brendan Pawliw
-
0
PG’s Wisniowski reaches the podium at Judo event in Brazil

Fighting above her weight class turned into a bronze medal for a Prince George Judo athlete.

Judo 2
Photo supplied by Northern Capital Judo Club.

15-year-old Olivia Wisniowski of the Northern Judo Club reached the podium at the 2025 Copa Minas de Judo in Brazil after competing in the senior women’s 78-kg category.

Olivia is in Brazil with Team BC along with three other Prince George products including Preston Holt and Alandra Steiger of the PG Judo Club and Yannick Schimann (Hart Judo Academy).

In addition, Jason Zazelenchuk (Northern Judo Club) is competing at the Summer Judo Nationals in Honolulu, Hawaii this weekend (July 19 and 20).

Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Wednesday, July 16th

Hartley Miller
-
0
Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Wednesday, July 16th

Sports by Hartley Wednesday, July 16th, 2025

(As of 12:05 a.m. All times listed are PDT)

95th Major League Baseball All-Star Game—-(in Atlanta)

National League  6  American League  6

For the first time in MLB All-Star Game history, the outcome was decided by a home run swing-off which was won by the National League 4-3.

The Toronto Blue Jays return to action Friday (4:07 PM PT) when they entertain the (52-45) San Francisco Giants.

The (55-41) Blue Jays are in first place in the American League East Division by two games over the (53-43) New York Yankees.

#

Jared Young of Prince George was recalled by the New York Mets from their Triple-A Syracuse farm club on Friday, which was a day after his 30th birthday.

Young is batting .171 with 3 homers and 5 RBI’s in 41 at bats this season with New York.

The Blue Jays 2025 schedule and results are here.

The MLB schedule and results are here.

The MLB standings are here.

 

Hockey:

 

World University Games:

125 varsity athletes from across Canada are dawning the Maple Leaf for almost two weeks as they participate in the FISU World University Summer Games that begin today (Wednesday) in Germany.

The athletes will compete in nine sports: archery, artistic gymnastics, athletics, badminton, rhythmic gymnastics, rowing, swimming, table tennis and taekwondo.

UNBC’s Director of Athletics and Recreation, Loralyn Murdoch is among four Operations Officers for Canada’s Mission Staff at this event.

 

Special Olympics BC Summer Games:

Host Prince George athletes earned no less than 49 medals at the Special Olympics BC Summer Games.

This includes 14 in ten pin bowling, 11 in track and field, 11 in rhythmic gymnastics, 8 in swimming, 2 in golf, 2 in power lifting and 1 in basketball.

A grand total of 1,347 medals were handed out to the 870 athletes that participated in ages ranging  from 13 to 73.

The P.G. results included:

10-pin bowling : The 14 PG medals was headlined by 2 gold medals apiece won by Carol West and KC Westerman.

Track and field:  The 11 PG medals included Tyler Lefebvre winning 5 in the wheelchair divisions. He was joined by Marinka VanHage’s 3-medal performance, 2 earned by Randella Willier, and a silver by Spencer Rourke.

Rhythmic gymnastics: The 11 PG medals included Michaela Samsonoff with 4 gold and 1 silver in Level 3; Darcie Muzychka 4 gold and 1 silver in Level 4 and Angela Hills with 1 bronze in Level 3.

Swimming: The 8 PG medals was led by David Dunn with 5 (3 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze). Carla Caputo, Dallas Poole, and Brooklyn Sherba each earned 1 medal.

Golf: The 2 PG medals included Joshua Pudney with gold and Daniel Lafreniere with silver, joined on the team by Rita Cavenaile.

Powerlifting: The 2 PG medals came from Leif Skuggedal with gold and Diana Bramble  with silver.

Basketball: The 1 PG medal was a bronze and included athletes from Prince George and Quesnel.

Bocce: It was a 4th place finish by Ruth Caldwell, Tara Chiasson, Isaac Goudal, and Adrian Rosen of Prince George.

More results can be found here.

The 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games in figures:

• 870 athletes with intellectual disabilities ranging in age from 13 to 73 competed with determination

• 332 volunteer coaches and mission staff supported the athletes from their home Regions

• From 46 communities across the province

• 1,347 medals awarded to proud athletes

• 845 Games volunteers made the events possible

 

PG Senior Lacrosse 

Game two in the best of 5 final will be played tonight (Wednesday) with Game three Thursday.

The Devils won the opener handily, 14-3 over the Assault on Monday.

 

 

June home sales were hot across the BC Northern Real Estate Board

Brendan Pawliw
-
0
June home sales were hot across the BC Northern Real Estate Board

Northern BC home sales were ahead of their 10-year average in June after 476 unit sales were made according to the BC Real Estate Association.

That’s a year-over-year spike of 11.7% when compared to the same time last year.

Economist, Amit Sidhu told Vista Radio our region has weathered the economic chaos just fine.

“Ever since all of this uncertainty got introduced in the United States, the north has remained by and large the the most resilient region when it comes to sales activity. June was more of the same story as we had an 11.7% increased when compared to June of 2024 with 476 unit sales.”

“More affordable areas such as the northern region have continued to remain really resistant and we don’t expect that to change very much because the rate environments are really steady and prospective buyers who have entered the market continue to do so.”

He added while the local economy is going through some challenges, the housing market remains in good shape.

“We don’t really see any signs or caution for this to slow down. There are some worries about how the northern economy is performing as we have seen some job losses and downward trends in economic growth relative to the headline provincial numbers.”

The average price for a home in the north is $475,268 – a 5% jump from 12 months earlier.

In Prince George, the average selling price of detached homes was $531,595.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association reports 7,162 residential unit sales were recorded last month, up 1.3 per cent from June 2024.

The average residential price in BC last month was down 4.2 per cent at $954,065 compared to $995,614 in June 2024.

Kids Carnival returning to Huble Homestead this weekend

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Kids Carnival returning to Huble Homestead this weekend

Huble Homestead is inviting families to its Kids Carnival taking place on Sunday.

The one day event has been going on since 2007, bringing magic shows, a a mini rail, along with the opening of the new Huble Children’s Playhouse.

Executive Director Krystal Leason said this has been part of their strategic plan since 2009.

“There is historical precedent for it. Al Huble wrote in his diary in late June of 1918, that he built a child’s playhouse.”

“He had four daughters at the time, and they would’ve love to play in it, and we hope that our visitors will too.”

Kids Carnival runs from 10:30am to 4pm, with the ribbon cutting for the Huble Children’s Playhouse will be at 11am, and family admission is $10.

More information about the event can be found on Huble Homestead’s website here.

More members, but not more meetings for Heritage Commission, City Council decides

Darin Bain
-
0
More members, but not more meetings for Heritage Commission, City Council decides

Prince George City Council voted on a number of recommendations from the City’s Heritage Commission at last night’s (Monday) meeting.

During a regular council meeting in March, Prince George Heritage Commission Chair Dr. George Davison outlined many of the issues the Commission has been facing, such as a reduced number of meetings, and a reduction in City staff support.

During the March meeting, City Council had voted on a referral motion to have a staff report come back on five recommendations Davison made to Council.

The item came back to the Council table at the regular council meeting on June 23rd, where Council voted to postpone the vote to last night’s meeting.

The first recommendation included was to increase the number of Commission meetings from four to seven annually.

Manager of Legislative Services Ethan Anderson stated increasing the number of meetings would have an impact on his division’s staff.

“With the introduction of the Public Safety Committee, the Citizen Recognition Committee, and the Remuneration Committee that you’re going to discuss later tonight, my staff are pretty stretched thin already,” he said.

“It’s just three meetings, but there’s all these other committees that are also adding meetings, so I would request that perhaps this be put on hold until 2027 when the election work and those committees have expired.”

Councillor Trudy Klassen moved to increase the number of meetings.

“We have a really eager group of people, highly skilled, highly talented, highly interested, and I think to honour their time that they’ve already spent in attending a number of meetings and due to the various issues that they outlined in their letter to us, they haven’t gotten much done,” she said.

“I think when we’re asking for members of the public to join our committees, we need to properly support them and enable them to have some success.”

The motion was defeated.

The next recommendation that came up was increasing the number of commission members from nine to 12.

Anderson stated staff would have to bring back a bylaw amendment to increase the number of members.

“We’d advertise, I believe there’s an appointment aspect of this, so we’d reach out to those organization,” he explained.

“We’d bring the applications to Council, and they would appoint the successful members.”

This motion passed.

A resolution to endorse reconciliation with the Lheidli T’enneh through future Commission projects was referred to staff.

“I would feel more confident having staff have a conversation with Lheidli to make sure that they are wanting to engage with us on this before we direct the Heritage commission to do that,” said Councillor Cori Ramsay.

A final motion to have a staff report returned to Council on increasing staff support for the commission was also passed.

B.C’s youth watchdog says more work needs to be done, one year after report on systemic failures

Emily Joveski
-
0
B.C’s youth watchdog says more work needs to be done, one year after report on systemic failures

One year after a report by British Columbia’s Child and Youth Representative on the horrific death of an Indigenous boy in care, the province is still working on an action plan for systemic changes to children and youth social services.

Dr. Jennifer Charlesworth released her report “Don’t Look Away” last July, outlining the failures of B.C.’s system that led to the torture and death of a 11-year-old boy in the care of extended family members.

The boy, who is given the pseudonym “Colby”, had complex medical needs. The report said that leading up to his death, Colby was isolated from medical professionals, his school attendance plummeted, and he wasn’t seen by his social worker for a period of seven months. 

An Agreed Statement of Facts used during sentencing said the couple entrusted to care for Colby and his two siblings abused the boy and his middle sister repeatedly, and for prolonged periods of time, between Dec. 1, 2020, and Feb. 26, 2021.

Colby died four days after a Feb. 21st, 2021 assault that left him unresponsive.

The couple were each sentenced in 2022 to 10-years in prison for manslaughter, in addition to six-years each for aggravated assault.

Charlesworth said Colby’s story is not an outlier. She noted his death – and other cases of violence against youth in care – are the result of an “outdated, siloed, discriminatory” system.

The independent oversight office for children and youth said it received 6,437 reports of young people being harmed in 2023 and 2024. 

One year after the “Don’t Look Away” report, Charlesworth said more needs to be done to protect youth in care. 

“I want to acknowledge the incomprehensible grief and loss that this child’s family, those who loved him, and the communities he was connected to continue to experience,” said Charlesworth in a statement on Tuesday.

“I want to be able to tell them that we have learned and that things are better for children and families in B.C., but I need to see more change on the ground before I am able to do that.”

The report makes eight sweeping recommendations to overhaul the province’s approach to child and youth care in the short-term, while stressing that deeper changes will still be needed. 

“Even if these recommendations were fully implemented, we would still be left with systems that are not designed to meet contemporary challenges; systems that are grounded in harmful colonial practices, power and inequality; and, systems that don’t work together to achieve good outcomes,” the report said.

The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) said in an update Tuesday the government is collaborating with Indigenous people and all partners to develop a child and youth well-being action plan and outcomes framework.

Minister Jodie Wickens told Vista Radio a draft of the plan is well underway, but she declined to offer any timeline for when the plan will be ready.

“This work is generational and it will take time,” said Wickens. “I understand people want it to move faster, but we really have to get it right, and we really have to get it right for Colby, and for the essence of the ‘Don’t Look Away’ report.”

The ministry said the government has made some improvements while developing the action plan. Those include added tools for oversight and tracking that make sure child or youth visits occur at least once every 90 days.

It said the ministry has increased its workforce by almost 20 per cent in the last two years. 

The province has also signed a dozen agreements to allow First Nations to exercise more jurisdiction over child and family services. 

Charlesworth acknowledged the progress the province has made on some of her recommendations, but said a number of areas need more attention – including staffing shortages.

She said demand continues to outstrip the current workforce capacity in many child-serving roles.

Wickens stated the province is focusing on recruitment and retention, noting a global workforce shortage has affected the social sector. She said the province is working to reduce the administrative burdens on service staff, but acknowledged that more work needs to be done.

The MCFD’s budget increased by $321.6 million to more than $2.4 billion for 2025-26, and the ministry says more than 81 per cent that goes directly to programs and services.

City Council approves budget to replace damaged garbage truck

Darin Bain
-
0
City Council approves budget to replace damaged garbage truck

Prince George City Council has voted to replace a garbage truck in the city.

At last night’s (Monday) meeting, City Council approved a budget of $750,000 for the purchase.

According to Director of Civic Operations Blake McIntosh, this will replace a garbage truck damaged in a motor vehicle incident in May last year.

A staff report to Council stated the unit was deemed non-repairable and written off by ICBC.

“The balance of the reserve fund is partially offset by $375,000 in insurance recovery,” McIntosh said.

“Approval of the funding would support the purchase of the replacement unit as quick as possible.”

When asked if there would be a strain on other units while waiting for the new one, McIntosh said they’re already in that situation.

“Luckily we had a unit that was set to go to auction when this incident occurred, and we were able to invest some money to still achieve the service levels for solid waste collection,” McIntosh said.

“It is what it is right now, these units are specialized, you can’t rent them, you just have to keep investing in the existing one until the new one arrives.”

He also noted it would take roughly 16-18 months for the new unit to be delivered.

PG RCMP investigating two assaults resulting in one dead in downtown area

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
PG RCMP investigating two assaults resulting in one dead in downtown area

The Prince George RCMP is looking for witnesses for a pair of assaults on July 4th.

Police say the investigation began just after 4:00 a.m. when a witness reported seeing a man get hit over the head with a baseball bat near the 100-block of George Street.

When officers attended, the victim and assailant weren’t able to be located.

“Surveillance from this initial investigation shows a man wearing a black jacket, white t-shirt and black pants get assaulted by another man wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt and jeans.” said Corporal Jennifer Cooper.

Two hours later, police attended the same area for a man that collapsed on the ground, but passed away after being transported to the hospital.

Investigators believe that the deceased may have been the victim of a second assault related to the initial investigation.

Anyone with information on either assault is asked to contact the Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300.

Cops for Cancer Tour de North hosting training ride in honour of former member

Brendan Pawliw
-
0
Cops for Cancer Tour de North hosting training ride in honour of former member

The Cops for Cancer Tour de North team will be holding a scheduled group ride on Sunday morning, their first without Shane Kelly after passing during a hit and run in PG last week.

The ride will begin just after 8am from the overflow parking lot of the PG Aquatic Centre on 18th Avenue. The public is encouraged to arrive for the send off 15 minutes earlier (7:45 AM).

Cpl. Jennifer Cooper with the Prince George RCMP spoke with MyPGNow.com.

“We have seen such an overwhelming amount of support in the community and this is just one more way for us to keep Shane’s memory alive as well as continue to raise money for something he was truly passionate about.”

On Sunday, the peloton will be travelling:

  • From the 1700-block of George Paul Lane to the 3000-block of Massey Drive via Foothills Boulevard and Highway 97 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
  • South on Highway 97 to Hixon between 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
  • North on Highway 97 returning to Prince George between 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

The ride will be escorted by RCMP, BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), and BC Sheriffs.

Motorists should expect short delays along this route, as escorts manage traffic to allow for safe passing.

B.C. expands heat pump rebates to some renters, condo owners

Emily Joveski
-
0
B.C. expands heat pump rebates to some renters, condo owners

British Columbia is expanding its heat pump rebate program to eligible apartment renters and condo owners. 

The province announced Tuesday it’s offering rebates of up to $5,000 for the purchase and installation of high-performance electric heat pumps in individual suites in multi-unit residential buildings.

The first phase of the program is now available to suites in buildings that are six storeys and under, and are currently heated by electricity, such as electric baseboards. 

To qualify, pre-tax household income must be no higher than $61,697 for a single-person household, or a combined income of $76,810 for two people. 

A family of four would need an income no greater than $114,647 to qualify.

The province said condos and apartments heated by fossil fuel will be eligible starting this fall.

“Nearly a third of homes in B.C. are in multi-unit residential buildings,” said Energy Minister Adrian Dix in a statement.

“All British Columbians who need a heat pump should have access to one, to feel comfortable in their homes year-round, experience better energy efficiency, and save money.”

Renters and condo owners must include signed permission forms from their landlords or strata corporations in their applications for a heat pump rebate. Applicants then receive an eligibility code that is used by a registered contractor to secure the rebates.

B.C. Hydro also offers a non-income qualified rebate of up to $2,500 on high-performance heat pumps and $1,000 for heat pump water heaters in electrically heated buildings.

The province announced in April it would invest $50 million over the next two years to deliver as many as 8,300 new heat pump rebates to B.C. residents. 

The province noted that it has already provided rebates for more than 27,800 heat pumps through its Better Homes Energy Savings Program.

Heat pumps run on hydroelectricity and can provide both heating and cooling.

According to B.C. Hydro, heat pumps are up to 300 per cent more efficient than electric baseboard heaters, and up to 50 per cent more efficient for cooling compared to a typical window A/C unit.

UNBC’s Athletic Director representing PG at World University Summer Games

Brendan Pawliw
-
0
UNBC’s Athletic Director representing PG at World University Summer Games

125 varsity athletes from across Canada are dawning the Maple Leaf for almost two weeks as they participate in the FISU World University Summer Games in Germany starting tomorrow (Wednesday).

The athletes will compete in nine sports: archery, artistic gymnastics, athletics, badminton, rhythmic gymnastics, rowing, swimming, table tennis and taekwondo.

This will be the first appearance for Canada at a Summer World University Games since Naples 2019.

UNBC’s Director of Athletics and Recreation, Loralyn Murdoch is among four Operations Officers for Canada’s Mission Staff at this event.

The games run from July 16-27.

Ronald McDonald House to open new family room at UHNBC

Brendan Pawliw
-
0
Ronald McDonald House to open new family room at UHNBC

Families navigating through challenging medical journeys will have a place to stay in Prince George.

This fall, the Ronald McDonald House British Columbia and Yukon will be unveiling a new family support space inside UHNBC.

It will feature a stocked kitchen, dining area as well as a living room, bathroom with shower and sleeping area.

Located in the hospital, this free-of-charge space will be open to any family with a child receiving care or expecting mother.

Ronald McDonald House is a charitable organization providing a home away from home for families whose children need medical treatment and operates support housing and family rooms throughout B.C.

In addition, Enbridge is contributing $25,000 to build family rooms in PG and Kamloops.

“The Family Room is meant to allow families to remove themselves from the hospital setting. There are no beeping machines. The walls are painted differently. It’s designed to feel like a separate space so families can rest or step away for a moment from what they’re going through.”

“It’s been a goal of ours to expand across the province for a number of years. With local hospitals renovating to expand their pediatric and neonatal programs, it just makes sense to bring our services closer to where the families live,” said Stephanie Mosher, Vice President of Philanthropy, Ronald McDonald House British Columbia & Yukon.

City Council votes on proposed OCP amendments

Darin Bain
-
0
City Council votes on proposed OCP amendments

Prince George City Council went through 33 resolutions relating to the Official Community Plan (OCP) at tonight’s (Monday) meeting.

These came back to the Council table with staff reports on resolutions presented during meetings held on April 9th and 16th.

The full list of resolutions and staff reports can be found here.

Two of the more high-profile resolutions surrounded Ginter’s, however they are separate from the OCP review process as they are a rezoning issue.

Resolution two asked for a report on removing the right-of-way and redesignating the portion of land between 18th Avenue and 22nd Avenue and between Massey Drive and Ferry Avenue to Park and Open Space.

Council unanimously approved submitting a road closure application for the right of way.

The next resolution asked for a report on rezoning the area as P1: Parks and Recreation.

Council also unanimously voted to proceed with the rezoning process following the approval of a road closure bylaw as outlined in the previous resolution.

According to Manager of Legislative Services Ethan Anderson, the next steps will be to compile the votes into a redline version of an updated OCP.

“We’re going to bring it back to a future meeting to get an amendment motion from Council on the bylaw,” Anderson explained.

“From there, we’ll ask you for establishing a special meeting to hold that new public hearing, we’ll do notification, do the public hearing, and then we’ll see where we’re at from there.”

Director of Planning and Development Deanna Wasnik said the plan is to have the redline version come back to Council in August, with the hope of having the public hearing in September.

“I have to remind Council, we do have a legislated deadline to have the OCP amended, either the new one adopted or the current one amended to address some housing legislation required by the province,” she said.

“The way this is all timed out with the August return to Council with the final version for review by Council of the OCP, public hearing in September, we should be able to make that deadline, but if there’s any further changes, that’s where we might have to relook at that to say we’re not going to make it with the 2025 OCP, so we might have to amend our 2011 that we’re using right now.”

Other items discussed tonight included responses to resolutions from the Prince George Heritage Commission’s Annual Report, and replacing a garbage truck damaged in an accident last year.

Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Tuesday, July 15th

Hartley Miller
-
0
Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Tuesday, July 15th

Sports by Hartley Tuesday, July 15th, 2025

(As of 12:05 a.m. All times listed are PDT)

Hockey:

The Prince George Spruce Kings have added one of their former players to their coaching staff.

The BCHL team has announced that Sam Muchalla will be its Skills & Development Coach for the upcoming 2025-2026 season.

Muchalla, a former Spruce Kings captain, racked up 181 points (including 64 goals) in 161 games over three seasons from 2007 to 2010.

Former Prince George Cougars captain Hudson Thornton will be joining the University of Saskatchewan Huskies for the upcoming hockey season.

The 21-year-old Thornton spent the 2024-25 season with the Orlando Solar Bears and South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL, as well as the Hershey Bears of the AHL.

Thornton. played for the Cougars from 2020 to 2024 and ranks first in goals (56), assists (140), points (196), and power-play goals (24).

He will be studying business at the University of Saskatchewan.

 

Special Olympics BC Summer Games:

Host Prince George athletes earned no less than 49 medals, including 14 in ten pin bowling, 11 in track and field, 11 in rhythmic gymnastics, 8 in swimming, 2 in golf, 2 in power lifting and 1 in basketball at the Special Olympics BC Summer Games.

A grand total of 1,347 medals were handed out to the 870 athletes that participated in ages ranging  from 13 to 73.

The P.G. results included:

Swimming: David Dunn, Carla Caputo, Dallas Poole, and Brooklyn Sherba achieved 8 medals between them, led by David’s 5-medal performance (three gold, one silver, one bronze), and each swimmer earned at least 1 medal.

Track and field: Tyler Lefebvre led the way for Prince George winning 5 medals in the wheelchair divisions. Joined by Marinka VanHage’s 3-medal performance, 2 earned by Randella Willier, and a silver by Spencer Rourke, PG track and field athletes together achieved 11 medals.

Rhythmic gymnastics: Prince George rhythmic gymnasts earned 11 medals – Angela Hills 1 bronze in Level 3; Michaela Samsonoff 4 gold and 1 silver in Level 3; Darcie Muzychka 4 gold and 1 silver in Level 4.

Golf: Joshua Pudney struck gold and Daniel Lafreniere won silver, joined on the team by Rita Cavenaile – 2 medals total.

Powerlifting: Leif Skuggedal pulled himself to the top of the podium and Diana Bramble struck silver, joined on the team by Sam Russell (unfortunately was unable to compete due to illness but still cheered on his team with passion) – 2 medals total.

Bocce: a fourth-place finish by Ruth Caldwell, Tara Chiasson, Isaac Goudal, and Adrian Rosen of Prince George.

Basketball: Athletes from Prince George and Quesnel teamed up and captured bronze in their division to mark the first-ever SOBC Games basketball podium result for a Region 8 team! This team’s result means that SOBC Games Athlete Ambassador Chase Caron earned one of the medal ribbons she designed!

10-pin bowling: Prince George’s bowlers earned 14 medals, headlined by 2 gold medals apiece won by Carol West and KC Westerman.

All names of the Region 8 (northeast BC) delegation athletes can be found on the roster: https://specialolympics.bc.ca/what-we-do/games-and-competitions/2025-special-olympics-bc-summer-games/2025-sobc-games-team-rosters/

The 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games in figures:

• 870 athletes with intellectual disabilities ranging in age from 13 to 73 competed with determination

• 332 volunteer coaches and mission staff supported the athletes from their home Regions

• From 46 communities across the province

• 1,347 medals awarded to proud athletes

• 845 Games volunteers made the events possible

• Close to 10,000 meals served by dedicated volunteers

• 400 people with intellectual disabilities received valuable health advice and resources in Special Olympics Healthy Athletes screenings

Results can be found here.

 

MLB:

The 95th Major League Baseball All-Star game will be played tonight (Tuesday 5:00 PT) in Atlanta.

On Monday, MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners became the first catcher to win the All-Star Home Run Derby.

The (55-41) Toronto Blue Jays are in first place in the American League East Division by two games over the (53-43) New York Yankees.

The Jays begin a 6-game homestand when they entertain the (52-45) San Francisco Giants Friday (4:07 PM PT).

#

Jared Young of Prince George is back in the Major Leagues after being recalled by the New York Mets from their Triple-A Syracuse farm club on Friday.

Young, as a pinch hitter, hit a sacrifice fly in the 9th inning for the Mets in their 3-2 Sunday loss to the Kansas City Royals.

Young, who turned 30 on July 9th is batting .171 with 3 homers and 5 RBI’s in 41 at bats this season with New York.

The Blue Jays 2025 schedule and results are here.

The MLB schedule and results are here.

The MLB standings are here.

 

PG Senior Lacrosse (First game in the championship series)

Devils  14  Assault  3  (Monday game)

Games 2 and 3 of the best-of-5 final will be played on Wednesday and Thursday.

 

CFL:

The (3-3) B.C. Lions are back in action when they host the (4-1) Saskatchewan Roughriders Saturday at 4 PM.

Week 7 of the CFL season begins Thursday (4:30 PM PT) with (1-4) Toronto at (3-2) Montreal.

The CFL schedule are here.

The CFL standings are here.

 

BC Football Conference:

The Prince George Kodiaks are gearing up for their BC Football Conference (BCFC) season.

The Kodiaks play the first of their 10 games on Saturday when they host the Westshore Rebels at 6:00 at Masich Place Stadium.

More info on the BCFC can be found here.

 

Exploration Place frustrated by costly summer crime spree

Brendan Pawliw
-
0
Exploration Place frustrated by costly summer crime spree

The Exploration Place is up in arms over a rash in vandalism, theft as well a series of break and enters so far this summer.

Executive Director, Alyssa Leier told MyPGNow.com it’s been a myriad of incidents that has left the not-for-profit charity frustrated.

“Just over the summer we have had the garden cut open three or four times. We have had the train shed broken into multiple times, the school house broken into multiple times and we’ve had our loading bay security gate broken into twice.”

“All of this comes at a a cost.”

She adds any sort of these crimes come at a cost to the community when there are objects and artifacts that are damaged and cannot be replaced.

“When there is objects and artifacts that are destroyed in the process, those are not replaceable because they have history and importance to the community. They are ensured at a dollar because they are irreplaceable.”

“We work really hard to provide the public with great programs and exhibits. When this sort of thing takes place, it takes away what we can offer because it comes at a real cost.”

Leier mentioned while the targeted crime spree is frustrating, they are far from the only ones suffering the same fate.

“This is not isolated to the Exploration Place. This is something all of Prince George is dealing with as well as the province and our nation. I am very appreciative that the RCMP are taking our calls very seriously and they are consistently coming in here to talk to us.”

“Unfortunately, some people are really good at hiding in the dark.”

Downtown Summerfest set for Saturday

Darin Bain
-
0
Downtown Summerfest set for Saturday

Downtown Prince George is bringing back a summer favourite event this weekend.

On Saturday, Downtown Prince George is hosting the annual Downtown Summerfest, bringing food, entertainment, shopping, and other activities to Veterans Plaza at City Hall.

“I think I’m most excited just to see the community come together and be downtown, and really just have a great time at this event,” said Downtown Prince George Executive Director Chrisie Berry.

An outdoor food court will feature eight food trucks with a variety of dishes.

There will also be an outdoor market with 31 local and regional artisans and entrepreneurs showcasing their goods.

17 community partners are also putting on a kids and family zone, which includes rides on the Cottonwood Express, a petting zoo, and football challenges with the Prince George Kodiaks.

That day the Royal Canadian Legion is also putting on a pancake breakfast from 8:00 am to 11:00 am.

Downtown Prince George’s Event Bike Valet program will also be available during Downtown Summerfest.

“If people would like to ride their bikes, they can check them in and store them securely for free, and then pick them up when they’re all finished,” Berry said.

A full list of vendors, food options, and entertainment can be found here.

B.C. urges water conservation as drought deepens in some regions

Emily Joveski
-
0
B.C. urges water conservation as drought deepens in some regions

British Columbia’s water, land and resource stewardship minister is encouraging residents to conserve water, saying drought is worsening in parts of the province. 

Randene Neill said Monday that drought conditions in the northeast have improved thanks to recent rainfall, particularly in the Fort Nelson basin.

But, she says some areas are seeing increased drought and declining streamflows this year, including a swathe of the Southern Interior.

Neill said all British Columbians should take steps to conserve water – no matter how small.  She said the province prefers to encourage voluntary water conservation and education, and wants to avoid mandatory water restrictions unless necessary.

“We know that when we ask people…because they know it’s the right thing to do to help prevent water scarcity in the summer, that they will continue to do it. If they’re forced to do it, they don’t want to do it,” Neill said.

Dave Campbell, head of B.C.’s River Forecast Centre, said drought conditions are overall looking worse this year compared to last year, when the province saw cooler spring temperatures and a more gradual snowpack melt.

Campbell said B.C. started this year with a relatively low snowpack and it melted quickly, ending the snowy season a few weeks earlier than normal.

“What that means is that water that was available in the snowpack has moved through the systems early, and that can contribute to pressure as we move through the year,” he said. 

Campbell also said most of the province has seen below normal levels of precipitation.

Meanwhile, B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) Director of Operations, Cliff Chapman, appeared optimistic about the wildfire situation Monday. He said firefighters have had a lot of success suppressing fires, and that’s a good sign for mid-July.

The BCWS online dashboard said Monday there have been nearly 550 fires across B.C. since April, and 477 of those have been extinguished.

More than 7000 square-kilometres have been burned so far this year, which is higher than mid-July last year.

Data provided by the BCWS on July 11th show there had been 433 fires and a little over 6,000 square-kilometres burned at the same time in 2024.  

B.C. changes rating system for drought levels

The province also announced Monday that it’s changing how it defines and reports drought levels.

The province classifies drought conditions on a scale from Levels 0 to 5.

That scale will now only refer to how dry the province is, compared to the historical record. That includes precipitation and streamflow.  

Previously, the drought level included measurements of water scarcity and forecasts.

Water scarcity refers to the amount of water available for human and ecological needs.

The province said the previous method of determining drought levels was oversimplified, because it reduced a range of complex factors into a single measure of drought.

It noted how the new system will help provide a broader view of the drought situation across the province and better reflect the impacts of climate change. 

The changes bring B.C. in line with how the North American Drought Monitor (NADM) measures drought across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. 

The ministry said the changes mean British Columbians will see fewer Level 4 and 5 drought conditions being reported than under the previous monitoring scale.

The province has an online portal with an interactive map showing the current drought level for each region, based on the updated monitoring system. 

Currently, 62 per cent of the province is at a Level 2 or 3 for drought. No areas are above a Level 3.

Rollover near Valemount results in two fatalities

Brendan Pawliw
-
0
Rollover near Valemount results in two fatalities

Two people passed away while two others received medical attention following a fatal weekend rollover near the Tete Jaune Cache junction.

According to the RCMP, it happened at 4:37 pm on Friday (July 11) when police observed a Volkswagen Golf that rolled onto its roof.

Police say the vehicle was travelling east when it collided with a concrete barrier and flipped on to its roof, rolling a few times.

The investigation remains ongoing and Mounties are working to find a cause.

$250,000 damage following fire on Pacific Street

Hartley Miller
-
0
$250,000 damage following fire on Pacific Street

Prince George Fire Rescue crews responded to a commercial structure fire in the 1000 block of Pacific Street yesterday morning (Sunday) at approximately 5:40.

According to a city news release, upon arrival, firefighters found a large commercial facility with dark smoke showing from the roof.

Rooftop HVAC machinery was surrounded by fire.

A coordinated fire attack using powered ventilation tactics, elevated master streams, as well as ground crews with handlines quickly knocked down the fire.

There were no reported injuries with damage estimated at $250,000.

Smoke and fire detection systems in the building worked to warn occupants of the fire danger and allow a timely evacuation.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

Williams Lake RCMP investigating fatal crash

Brendan Pawliw
-
0
Williams Lake RCMP investigating fatal crash

A two vehicle collision over the weekend claimed a life.

Just after 5pm on Saturday (July 12th), North District Corporal Madonna Saunderson said the Williams Lake RCMP received a report of the incident on Highway 97 at Mountain House Road.

Saunderson added a Chev pickup and a Toyota Camry had collided and initial investigation indicates that the Toyota pulled out onto the highway in front of the pickup.

Sadly the driver of the Toyota was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Saunderson stated there were three passengers in the Camry while the driver of the Chev pickup was the lone occupant.

The investigation is ongoing.

– story done by Pat Matthews, My Cariboo Now staff

Spruce Kings add Muchalla as skills coach

Brendan Pawliw
-
0
Spruce Kings add Muchalla as skills coach

The Prince George Spruce Kings are dipping into their alumni once again to round out their coaching staff for the upcoming season.

The BCHL club announced today (Monday), Sam Muchalla will be the Skills & Development Coach.

Muchalla, a former Spruce Kings captain played 161 games for his hometown club tallying 64 goals and adding 117 assists over three seasons from 2007 to 2010.

“Sam is a proud Spruce Kings alumni who is a former team captain and was a player who played the game hard and played it the right way. Sam brings an immense amount of expertise that he will pass along to our players. I’m thrilled to add him to our coaching staff” said Mike Hawes, General Manager.

Highway 16 crash between PG and Vanderhoof becomes fatal; two others injured

Brendan Pawliw
-
0
Highway 16 crash between PG and Vanderhoof becomes fatal; two others injured

The RCMP have confirmed Friday’s (July 11th) two-vehicle collision on Highway 16 near Clucuz Lake has claimed a life.

According to police, a head on crash occurred between a Nissan Truck and Chevrolet Sierra.

When officers arrived on scene, the driver of the Nissan was pronounced deceased at the scene while the driver and passenger of the other vehicle were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Highway 16 was closed for several hours before re-opening to traffic.

The investigation is ongoing and more information will be released when it comes available.

Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Monday, July 14th

Hartley Miller
-
0
Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Monday, July 14th

Sports by Hartley Monday, July 14th, 2025

(As of 12:05 a.m. All times listed are PDT)

Special Olympics BC Summer Games:

The 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games in Prince George are officially over.

Local P.G. athletes earned many medals including a bronze in basketball.

Nearly 900 athletes from 46 communities competed in 10 sports.

The sports were 10-pin bowling, basketball, bocce, golf, rhythmic gymnastics, powerlifting, soccer, softball, swimming, and track and field.

Results can be found here.

 

MLB:

Jared Young of Prince George is back in the Major Leagues after being recalled by the New York Mets from their Triple-A Syracuse farm club on Friday.

Young, as a pinch hitter, hit a sacrifice fly in the 9th inning for the Mets on Sunday which tied their game 2-2 with Kansas City, however the Royals scored in the bottom of the 9th for a 3-2 win.

Young, who turned 30 on July 9th, did not play in the Mets 3-1 Saturday win over Kansas City.

He is batting .171 with 3 homers and 5 RBI’s in 41 at bats this season with New York.

 

A’s  6  Toronto Blue Jays  3   (in Sacramento)

The Blue Jays are 55-41 as of the All-Star break, in first place in the American League East Division by two games over the (53-43) New York Yankees.

The Jays begin a 6-game homestand when they entertain the San Francisco Giants Friday (4:07 PM PT).

The 95th MLB All Star game takes place Tuesday night in Atlanta while the homerun derby goes tonight (Monday).

The Blue Jays 2025 schedule and results are here.

The MLB schedule and results are here.

The MLB standings are here.

 

CFL:

B.C. Lions  32  Edmonton Elks  14

Nathan Rourke passed for 345 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Lions who have won 10 of their last 11 meetings against the Elks.

The (3-3) Lions host the (4-1) Saskatchewan Roughriders Saturday at 4 PM.

Week 7 of the CFL season begins Thursday (4:30 PM PT) with (1-4) Toronto at (3-2) Montreal.

The CFL schedule are here.

The CFL standings are here.

 

BC Football Conference:

The Prince George Kodiaks are less than a week before starting their BC Football Conference (BCFC) season.

The Kodiaks play the first of their 10 games on Saturday, July 19th when they host the Westshore Rebels at 6:00 at Masich Place Stadium.

More info on the BCFC can be found here.

 

Tennis:

Jannik Sinner beat two-time defending champ Carlos Alcaraz in 4 sets to win his first Wimbledon title. It comes just five weeks after losing to Alcaraz in the French Open final.

 

Hockey:

Former Prince George Cougars defenceman Dan Hamhuis of Smithers was inducted into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame Saturday in Penticton.

Hamhuis, now a part owner of the Cougars, played a whopping 1,148 NHL games over an 18-year pro career.

 

PG Senior Lacrosse

The PG Senior Lacrosse finals begin tonight (Monday) with the first place Devils against the Assault.

Just prior to the game, the league awards being handed out prior to the game.

Organizers “extremely pleased” with Special Olympics BC Games

Darin Bain
-
0
Organizers “extremely pleased” with Special Olympics BC Games

After two days of competition, the 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games have come to a close.

The games brought around 900 athletes to the Prince George area to compete in ten different sports on Friday and Saturday.

“With any large, large tournament like this, you’re always running with your hair straight back just to get everything ready, and we certainly managed to put everything together,” said Co-Chair of the Organizing Committee Lyn Hall.

“You always have a few things where ‘could’ve done it this way, could’ve done it better,’ but overall we are extremely pleased.”

Special Olympics BC Summer Games Organizing Committee Co-chairs Renee McCloskey (left) and Lyn Hall (D. Bain, My PG Now staff)

Some rain did slow a few of the outdoor events down on Friday, but Hall said they managed to get everything done that they needed to.

“We knew that we had a timeline to meet and a schedule of sporting events and we met that,” he explained.

“If anything, we wish we would’ve had more sunshine, even when it wasn’t raining it was still reasonably warm out but overcast. It would’ve nice to have clear sky, the usual blue sky and some warmer weather, but all in all it worked out well.”

Hall said the moment from this weekend that will stand out for him was having the opportunity to meet the athletes first hand.

“That’s what I did when they came for their breakfast and lunches at CNC, I wanted to be there, and so I hung out there,” he explained.

“That was the great thing about transportation, I knew they were going to be in one location for a period of time, and I just wanted to connect with the athletes, so that was extremely rewarding for me, and seeing all the volunteers there.”

Hall added he heard from the athletes that they loved the weekend.

“Right from the time they got to the City, into their accommodations, and then transportation would go by and pick them up for meals or take them off to their sporting venues for competitions, they were so excited, they were excited to be here, they were excited to compete,” he said.

“It’s so interesting, they were so excited to see friends that they had met, some of them six or seven years ago, eight years ago, when the last games were held, because there were no games during Covid.”

Full results from the games can be found here.

Currently, the City is in the bid process for the 2030 Special Olympics National Summer Games.

Around a month ago, it was announced Prince George was put on the shortlist to host the games.

“My Co-Chair, Renee [McCloskey] and I, we’ve talked about it a lot, we sit on the bid committee,” Hall said.

“We think that we really showed how we can handle, logistically, the sport venues, all of those things, without any real hiccups. We’re pretty excited, we think we sent a really strong message to the group that’s looking at our bid.”

While speaking to reporters prior to the Opening Ceremony on Friday, Premier David Eby said he would support the bid as well.

Premier David Eby speaks at the 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games Opening Ceremony (D. Bain, My PG Now staff)

“To have the 2030 National Special Olympics here would be a great honour for British Columbia, it’d be wonderful for the local economy here in Prince George, and it’d be great for the economy provincially,” Eby said.

“But most importantly, it’s a celebration that makes everybody feel good, lifts everybody’s spirit, and inspires so many people, so for all those reasons, I’m a very enthusiastic backer of the proposal, and look forward to seeing how the province can help out.”

A site visit for the National Games bid is scheduled to take place later this year.

American Doctor finding warm reception on bike ride from Prince George to Alaska

Darin Bain
-
0
American Doctor finding warm reception on bike ride from Prince George to Alaska

An American doctor making a journey between two countries is finding friends along the way.

Dr. Craig Davis set out from Prince George in June, riding his bike to Juneau, Alaska on his Riding for Peace campaign.

His goal is to spread a message of peace, and to ask “how can we do better.”

“It went very well, I wasn’t really apprehensive about it, but you never know what to expect,” he said.

“I had heard that some Canadians have treated Americans coldly, been a little bit rude to them, but I didn’t find any of that, I found quite the opposite.”

He noted the people he’s come across so far have been friendly and warm.

“I spent the night with a lady and her son, they treated me to a dinner,” Davis said.

“I had a First Nations man put his top down on his convertible, and put Lucy, my bike in the back, and hauled us about 35 or 40 miles because I couldn’t ride a full 85 miles or so on one trip. One man stopped and gave me a bottle of water. Sometimes when I get too tired, I lay down and rest, a woman and her husband turned around on the road, came back and checked on me, they just wanted to make sure I was okay. It has been a wonderful experience.”

The goal for the ride was to listen, and Davis said people are willing to talk.

“Some people, when they found out I was American, they wanted to vent, quite understandable,” he said.

“They wanted to talk about politics, I’m much less interested in politics than I am understanding what we can do better.”

Davis said what resonated most with him was the need to do self-reflection.

In terms of the ride itself, Davis said there’s been some challenges there as well.

“There are always challenges,” he said.

“On the final day to Prince Rupert, I got rained on for about six hours, and that’s never pleasant. The last two hours are very hilly, and the rain was pretty heavy, and I just got soaked. I had these rubber shoe covers that I had tried for the first time, and they had worked until the rain got hard, there was nothing I could do to keep my feet dry.”

He said it’s also not always easy to find accommodations, but other than that, it’s been good so far.

Davis added he had to change his route a bit, after taking a flight from Prince Rupert to Whitehorse. He plans to leave there Monday morning, before eventually making it to Juneau.

You can follow his journey on the PeaceBridge Solutions Website.

Garbage truck replacement coming before City Council

Darin Bain
-
0
Garbage truck replacement coming before City Council

Prince George City Council will consider replacing a garbage truck at tomorrow’s (Monday) meeting.

According to a staff report, one of the City’s garbage trucks was in a serious motor vehicle accident on Foothills Boulevard on May 13, 2024, resulting in the unit being written off by ICBC.

It also states the City received $375,000 from the insurance recovery, and those proceeds have been deposited into the City’s Solid Waste Reserve Fund.

Staff is seeking a budget approval of $750,000 from the Solid Waste Reserve to replace the unit.

According to the staff report, the waiting period for delivery of a new collection vehicle is approximately 12-18 months once the purchase process is completed.

Other items to be discussed at tomorrow’s meeting includes reports on proposed amendments to the Official Community Plan, and funding support for the 2026 Olympic Trials set to take place at the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club.

The full agenda for tomorrow’s meeting can be found here.

Darin’s Sports Shorts; Sunday July 13th

Darin Bain
-
0
Darin’s Sports Shorts; Sunday July 13th

Sports by Darin, as of 6:00 am, Sunday, July 13

MLB: 

Athletics  4  Toronto Blue Jays  3

The Blue Jays (55-40) are on top of the AL East.

NY Mets  3  KC Royals  1

Jared Young did not play in Saturday’s game. The Mets and Royals play again today.

CFL:

Calgary Stampeders  24  Saskatchewan Roughriders  10

Hamilton Tiger-Cats  23  Ottawa RedBlacks  20

One Sunday game:

BC Lions @ Edmonton Elks (4:00 pm)

 

Community rallies behind athletes during Special Olympics BC Summer Games

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Community rallies behind athletes during Special Olympics BC Summer Games

Medal ceremonies were held at Masich Place during day two of the Special Olympics BC Summer Games.

A number of athletes lined up to be awarded their medals for track and field earlier this afternoon (Saturday).

Region 8 Prince George Coach, Wilma VanHage highlights the community support during the event.

“It’s wonderful to see all the fans in the stands and cheering on all the athletes, but especially when they see a Prince George athlete. It’s just been phenomenal.”

Track and field will have it’s second round of medal ceremonies from 3pm to 4:30pm.

Other sports being played today are 10-pin bowling, basketball, bocce, golf, rhythmic gymnastics, powerlifting, soccer, softball, and swimming.

Results and schedule for the Special Olympics BC Summer Games can be found here.

Prince George celebrates Pride Week with downtown parade

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Prince George celebrates Pride Week with downtown parade

Residents lined up in the streets of downtown Prince George this morning (Saturday), taking in the 28th annual PG Pride Parade.

The parade began at 10am at 9th Avenue and Brunswick, going down 4th Avenue to George Street, ending at City Hall with the Pride Festival and Market.

28th annual PG Pride Parade
Photo (28th annual PG Pride Parade) – Zach Barrowcliff, My PG Now staff

33 organizations took part in the parade.

The Pride Festival and Market is one of the last events today, going on until 2pm at Veteran’s Plaza.

Pride Week began July 4, and runs until tomorrow (Sunday).

More information can be found on the PG Pride Society Facebook page here.

PG’s Jared Young gets second call-up to the Mets

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
PG’s Jared Young gets second call-up to the Mets

Jared Young of Prince George is joining the New York Mets roster once again.

This will be his second stint with the Mets this season, and fourth in the MLB., previously with the Chicago Cubs.

Young, who’s listed as an infielder, currently has a batting average of .171 with three home runs this season.

He did not play in yesterday’s 8-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

The Mets are currently second in the National League East, behind the Philadelphia Phillies by half a game.

They play the Royals again this afternoon at 1:10.

The MLB schedule and results are here.

The MLB standings are here.

Zach’s Sports Shorts; Saturday, July 12th

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Zach’s Sports Shorts; Saturday, July 12th

Special Olympics BC Summer Games:

Day 1 of the Special Olympics BC Summer Games has wrapped up yesterday (Friday), with today being the final day.

Nearly 900 athletes from 46 communities are participating in the games in 10 sports.

The sports are 10-pin bowling, basketball, bocce, golf, rhythmic gymnastics, powerlifting, soccer, softball, swimming, and track and field.

The event schedule can be found here.

Results can be found here.

CFL:

The game between the Calgary Stampeders and the Saskatchewan Roughriders was delayed yesterday, being pushed to 1pm today.

Then tonight at 4:00, the Ottawa REDBLACKS visit Hamilton to take on the Tiger-Cats.

The CFL schedule are here.

The CFL standings are here.

MLB:

Jared Young of Prince George has been called up by New York Mets.

This will be his second stint with the Mets this season, and fourth in the MLB.

Young, who’s listed as an infielder, currently has a batting average of .171 with three home runs this season.

The Toronto Blue Jays are coming off of a 7-6 victory over the A’s in Sacramento yesterday.

Both teams play again tonight at 7:00.

The Blue Jays 2025 schedule and results are here.

The MLB schedule and results are here.

The MLB standings are here.

PHOTOS: Day one of the Special Olympics BC Summer Games

Darin Bain
-
0
PHOTOS: Day one of the Special Olympics BC Summer Games

Day one of the Special Olympics BC Summer Games is in the books.

Nearly 900 athletes braved a rainy day in Prince George as they took part in ten sports today (Friday), with the action continuing tomorrow.

A full schedule of events for the Special Olympics BC Games can be found here.

Results can be found here.

Special Olympics Athlete Ambassador continuing to compete in new sports

Darin Bain
-
0
Special Olympics Athlete Ambassador continuing to compete in new sports

Special Olympics means trying new things for local athlete Chase Caron.

Caron is competing in basketball this weekend, the first time she’s competed in the sport for Special Olympics.

“For the last 12 years I’ve competed in many other sports, such as snowshoeing, track, soccer, just to name a few,” she said.

“Basketball would be a new one for me.”

Caron said she’s trying basketball this year to test her limitations.

Caron is also serving as an Athlete Ambassador during the games this weekend, which means a lot to her.

“Being a spokesperson and being a promoter and helping represent Special O and the town that it resides in,” she said.

She added for Prince George to host the games, it’s an honour for Special Olympics Prince George.

Chase Caron (blue) makes a layup during the Special Olympics BC Games (D. Bain, My PG Now staff)

“It’s a very honouring, very humbling type of position, nonetheless, one should be proud of,” she said.

She added it gives a platform for many of the athletes.

“For example, I’m proud to help represent women as well, transgender as well, especially during Pride Month,” she said.

She hopes people will continue to participate in both these games going on this weekend, and any future Special Olympics events in Prince George.

Carrier Sekani Family Services announce new low-barrier housing complex

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Carrier Sekani Family Services announce new low-barrier housing complex

Carrier Sekani Family Services (CSFS) held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new low-barrier housing complex.

This was in partnership with the BC Housing, Indigenous Services Canada and Yellowridge Construction, to provide safe, culturally supportive homes for young Indigenous families and individuals in downtown Prince George.

CSFS CAO, Mary Teegee talks about what the project means.

“We think about what Martin Luther King says ‘hate can’t drive out hate. Only love can do that.’.”

“This project here is built on love. It is built by all of us, sharing our hearts, our minds and our spirits today, to make the world a better place.”

The upcoming complex, located at 611 Brunswick Street, will feature 45 units designed to meet unique needs of Indigenous community members, especially those facing systemic barriers to stable housing.

Units for Elders will also be offered and live-in support for the younger residents will be available.

Construction is scheduled for completion in Winter 2026, with the project cost approximately $26,154,414.

Special Olympics Prince George athletes enjoying new sport bocce

Darin Bain
-
0
Special Olympics Prince George athletes enjoying new sport bocce

Nearly a year after making their debut in the sport, Prince George’s Special Olympic athletes are competing in bocce in this year’s Special Olympics BC Summer Games.

“We started up last year, because we knew we were going to be hosting provincial games here, and we wanted to make sure we had representation from our City,” said Special Olympics Prince George Local Coordinator Peter Goudal.

Goudal said the sport is growing within Special Olympics Prince George.

“The first one, we only had eight athletes, and we’ve more than doubled that now,” he said.

“I’m expecting it to even grow bigger through word of mouth, because it is a nice fun sport for athletes to play,

Goudal said the athletes are enjoying the comradery that comes with the sport.

“They like the comradery and friendship number one,” he said.

“Number two is just getting out and competing, and getting really happy when they get their ball close to the pallino.”

Goudal added the sport is similar to curling.

“You’re watching curling, see who makes those strategic shots and the way the rock bends and the way these balls bend towards it,” he explained.

“Some of the shots are absolutely amazing that the athletes are making.”

In terms of other sports for Special Olympics Prince George, Goudal said he’s hoping to “reignite” the softball program, and there’s a little more work to do with soccer.

“We have a soccer team that plays, but we don’t have enough athletes to form a team when it comes down to it,” he said.

“An athlete gets to choose the sport that they play in, and so if a soccer team, if those athletes pick other sports, then your team kind of collapses, so hopefully we’ll get some more athletes.”

Update: Highway 16 re-open following collision between PG and Vanderhoof

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Update: Highway 16 re-open following collision between PG and Vanderhoof

Update 10 Pm Friday, July 11

Drive BC is reporting that Hwy 16 near Vanderhoof has reopened.

 

Original story at 6pm Friday

Highway 16 roughly 19 kilometres east of Vanderhoof is closed.

According to DriveBC, this is due to a collision between Mapes Road and Sob Lake Road for around 7 kilometres.

The say an assessment is in progress, and for drivers to watch for traffic control.

More information can be found on DriveBC’s map here.

B.C. adds 5k jobs in June, led by gains in part-time work

Emily Joveski
-
0
B.C. adds 5k jobs in June, led by gains in part-time work

British Columbia added 5,000 jobs in June but saw a dip in full-time employment, according to the latest jobs report from Statistics Canada. 

The latest Labour Force Survey released by Statistics Canada Friday shows most of B.C,’s gains came from the addition of 21,300 part-time jobs, while the province lost 16,300 full-time jobs.  

Much of those gains were in the accommodation and food services sector, which added 8,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, the goods-producing sector shed nearly 10,000 jobs, including 4,800 in manufacturing and 2,500 in construction. 

B.C.’s unemployment rate fell by less than a point to 5.6 per cent. That compares to a national unemployment rate of 6.9 per cent in June.

Among youth aged 15 to 24, unemployment fell to 13 per cent in June, compared to 16.6 per cent the previous month. However it remained 2.2 per cent higher than June last year.

 

Map of Canada showing unemployment rates by province and territory.
Unemployment rates by province and territory. | Statistics Canada

 

“Today’s Labour Force Survey data demonstrates the work B.C. is doing to push forward on job creation, investment and economic development, despite the uncertain and challenging geopolitical climate we are facing from south of the border,” said Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, in a statement. 

“We know that the uncertainty of U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s tariff threats is proving extremely challenging for businesses. We’re doing everything we can to defend B.C. businesses and help open new markets and new opportunities so they can continue to grow,” said Gibson. 

But B.C. Conservatives jobs critic Gavin Dew points to the loss of goods-producing jobs and a rising youth unemployment rate. 

“This isn’t a strong economy. It’s a stalled economy – where young people can’t find work, businesses are too weighed down to hire, and the government keeps pretending everything’s fine.” said Dew in a statement. “It’s an anemic economy being asked to carry the weight of a bloated government, because public sector employment has massively outstripped private sector jobs for years under the NDP.”

Canada added 83,000 jobs overall in June. It marked the first increase in jobs since January, but StatCan notes most of that growth was in part-time work. 

While unemployment saw little change from the previous month, it was up nine per cent from June 2024.

More Canadians are also experiencing longer-term unemployment. StatCan said over one in five unemployed people had been searching for work for 27 weeks or more in June — up more than four percentage points from June 2024.

Website refresh surfaces more of your important local stories

John White
-
0
Website refresh surfaces more of your important local stories

Regular visitors to this website will have noticed some changes to the home page and other templates in recent days.

This is a feature not a bug, to coin a popular IT phrase.

The new home page features custom designs to better showcase our breaking news, municipal coverage, community stories, and our news team’s hand-picked highlights, all while giving prominent placement to your favourite on-air shows and listen-now tools.

There is the new Top Story box, placed by a news person to represent the big story of the day.

The new Latest stories block is a curated list of the categories most likely to see timely updates, including closures, weather warnings, RCMP updates and more. The Municipal News block is our collection of stories encompassing all council news in our coverage area. Both of these blocks feature arrows so you can easily access the next batch of stories by date.

We have placed a renewed emphasis on showing you story categories on the home page, so you can find the content you are most interested in at a glance. Each category is a live link to all stories published with that category.

New feeds from other sites

We have also added three aggregated feeds to the homepage:

  • Regional: This dynamically surfaces the stories of regional interest published in our other markets within the same cluster (in this case, the B.C. North region).
  • Provincial: Stories of interest to the wider provincial audience from all B.C. newsrooms.
  • National: Stories of national interest from all of Vista Radio’s newsrooms across Alberta, B.C. and Ontario, as well as NWT.

Speaking of finding topics of interest, we have also added a “Topic tags” list at the bottom of every post so you can go deeper on that subject.

Our new single post template allows us to surface three related stories in the sidebar for further category investigations.

There are new templates in place for search results, category and author archives, and more, all with easier-to-read fonts and spacings.

Let us know what you think.

B.C. maintains decision to end drug coverage for girl with rare, fatal disease

Emily Joveski
-
0
B.C. maintains decision to end drug coverage for girl with rare, fatal disease

B.C. is standing by the decision not to continue drug coverage for a Vancouver Island girl with a rare, fatal disease. 

Health Minister Josie Osborne confirmed the decision Friday, following a July 4th meeting with Charleigh Pollock’s parents. 

The 9-year-old Langford girl has CLN2 Batten disease, a rare neurodegenerative disorder that causes seizures, blindness and a decline in motor function. Her mother, Jori Fales, has said Charleigh is the only child in British Columbia known to have this form of the disease. 

The drug Brineura, which costs more than $800,000 per year, is designed to slow the progression of the disease. However, there is no cure, and most patients with her form of the disease don’t live past age 12.

Fales has said in social media posts documenting her daughter’s journey with the disease that the medication reduced Charleigh’s seizures from nearly 100 per day to none and significantly improved her quality of life.

She said without regular infusions of the drug, her daughter will likely experience irreversible neurological decline. 

“This has been an incredibly difficult journey for Charleigh and her family, and my heart goes out to them,” said Osborne. 

She said Batten disease patient advocates who were at the meeting earlier this month raised concerns that some information had not been considered by B.C.’s Expensive Drugs for Rare Diseases (EDRD) expert committees or the Canada Drug Agency (CDA) in the decision to end coverage.

Osborne said she also heard concerns that two key international experts in the disease were not engaged by the CDA.

She said Friday “all relevant evidence” provided by the patient advocates had already been considered by the expert committees, and the CDA had reviewed and evaluated publications by the two international experts. 

“The EDRD expert committees have not revised their recommendation to discontinue coverage given that there is no clinical evidence it would provide further benefits for Charleigh,” said Osborne. 

The ministry decided last year to end coverage for Charleigh’s Brineura treatment as of February 2025. The move was based on a recommendation from the EDRD committee, composed of drug therapy experts and public members. 

It said clinical evidence shows Brineura is no longer effective once the disease has progressed to an advanced stage, and does not slow further decline in motor or verbal functioning.

The committee, which operates under the Canadian Drug Agency, found that Charleigh’s condition had deteriorated beyond the threshold for coverage.

Charleigh’s physician disputed the decision, and an extension to June was ultimately granted while the CDA reviewed the research around discontinuation of Brineura.

The health ministry announced what it said was a final decision to end coverage last month after a receiving the CDA’s research review.

The agency’s report found no evidence to justify changing the existing criteria. It also noted that all other jurisdictions covering Brineura follow the same criteria for stopping treatment.

Charleigh’s last treatment covered by the province was on June 19.

“Even if a child in this country meets the current discontinuation criteria, that doesn’t actually reflect whether the drug is working or not and it doesn’t reflect that it isn’t working in that patient,” said Fales in an Instagram post last week.

“In order for Charleigh to get a fair evaluation, to be fairly assessed whether she should be taken off this life-sustaining drug, new criteria are required that takes into account the entire impact this drug is having. Anything less is a failure in our system that will lead to catastrophic outcomes for Charleigh and other children in need.”

Osborne reiterated Friday that the high cost of the medication was not a factor in making the decision of whether or not to continue coverage. 

“This has been one of the most challenging issues that I have worked on since becoming Health Minister, and I take seriously my role to ensure that BC has drug review processes that are independent, evidence-based and treat people equally,” she said. 

Fales said the family had received enough in donations from the public to cover Charleigh’s next infusion. A GoFundMe set up for Charleigh had surpassed $202,800 as of Friday. 

Osborne confirmed the family will be able to use the money to pay for private treatments, adding that Island Health is engaging with the family to help them make arrangements.

Island Health confirmed in a statement to Vista News it was “collaborating with Charleigh’s family and external agencies to determine a path forward for administering a privately funded medication.”

Fales posted a tearful video to Instagram Friday morning, saying the family had received final confirmation from the health ministry that her coverage for her treatments would not be continued. 

“Our family is heartbroken and disgusted at the complete disregard of our daughter’s life,” said Fales. “We will never forget or heal from this traumatic situation.”

PG RCMP investigating second cyclist-involved incident this week

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
PG RCMP investigating second cyclist-involved incident this week

The Prince George RCMP is investigating a motor vehicle incident involving a cyclist at the intersection of Winnipeg Street and Eleventh Avenue.

Police say the incident occurred at 9:00 this morning (Friday), where they located the 17-year-old cyclist, who was transported to the hospital with serious injuries.

Corporal Jennifer Cooper said “The driver remained at the scene of the incident and is cooperating fully with our investigation.”

RCMP say further details may be released as they become available.

Anyone who witnessed or may have a video of the incident is asked to contact the Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300.

Earlier today, RCMP confirmed a cyclist involved in Monday morning’s hit and run at the intersection of North Ospika Boulevard and McRae Avenue had passed away.

Jobless mark in Prince George drops slightly to 5.7% in June

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Jobless mark in Prince George drops slightly to 5.7% in June

Prince George’s unemployment rate saw a bit of an improvement in June.

According to the Labour Division Survey, the local jobless mark went down to 5.7% that month, a 0.3% drop when compared to 6% in May.

Analyst, Vince Ferrao explains the amount of people working isn’t much of a difference between the two months.

“There were 49,800 people working, so just slightly under 50,000. It’s about the same as last month in May. In May, there were 50,000.”

In BC, the jobless rate was 5.6% in June, dropping from 6.4% the month prior.

The province sits third in unemployment rates, behind Saskatchewan at 4.9% and Manitoba at 5.5.

Nationally, the unemployment rate was 6.9%, which was a slight drop compared to May at 7.0%.

Here is a breakdown of all the provinces:

  • Saskatchewan 4.9%
  • Manitoba 5.5%
  • British Columbia 5.6%
  • Quebec: 6.3%
  • Nova Scotia 6.7%
  • Alberta 6.8%
  • New Brunswick 7.3%
  • Ontario 7.8%
  • Prince Edward Island 8.6%
  • Newfoundland and Labrador 9.9%

Cyclist involved in PG hit and run passes away

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Cyclist involved in PG hit and run passes away

The Prince George RCMP and the Canadian Cancer Society confirmed a cyclist involved in the hit and run on Monday morning at the intersection of North Ospika Boulevard and McRae Avenue has passed away.

Police say community rider Shane Kelly, who was part of the upcoming Cops for Cancer Tour de North ride, succumbed to his injuries yesterday (Thursday).

“We are all heartbroken by this news. Shane was a caring and enthusiastic team builder from the very beginning, offering comradery, encouragement and support to the entire Tour de North team.” said Laura Nelson, Cops for Cancer Manager with the Canadian Cancer Society.

“He was driven by a deep commitment to making a difference for children with cancer. Shane’s teammates are devastated by the loss of one of their own, in such tragic circumstances. We offer our sincere condolences and unwavering support to Shane’s family and friends.”

The RCMP added Shane had previously supported other Canadian Cancer Society fundraising events such as Relay for Life, and participated in fundraisers for other cancer-related charities including Wheeling Warriors and Tour de Cure.

“Many of us are quite saddened by the news. It’s not the way we hoped it would go, especially since it was part of our Tour de North community.” said Corporal Jennifer Cooper.

“Even though Shane was a community rider, we’re part of the extended family as we’ve been calling it. It’s definitely a sad week for us.”

Copper noted that there’s no update on the second cyclist involved.

Mayor Simon Yu issued a statement today regarding the passing of the cyclist.

“It is with profound sadness that we acknowledge the passing of one of the cyclists involved in the hit-and-run incident that happened on July 3 in our community.”

“On behalf of Prince George City Council and all residents of our city, I extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of the individual who lost his life in this tragic event. Our hearts and prayers are with his family.”

“This tragedy has deeply impacted our community, especially given the selfless and courageous purpose behind his participation, as he was training for the Cops for Cancer Tour de North fundraising ride at the time of the collision. His commitment to helping others reflects the best of our community spirit. We also hold in our thoughts the second cyclist who was injured in this incident. As they continue on the path to recovery, we send strength and support to them and their loved ones during this difficult time.”

“Prince George is a city that cares deeply for one another. In moments of sorrow, we must lean on each other and uphold the values of safety, compassion, and inclusivity that define us as a community.”

Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Garry Begg also issued a statement on the incident, which can be found here.

The investigation remains ongoing, and officers are looking to speak to witnesses or to anyone who may have video of the vehicle’s driving behaviour before and after the event.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300.

The previous story can be found here.

Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Friday, July 11th

Hartley Miller
-
0
Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Friday, July 11th

Sports by Hartley Friday, July 11th, 2025

(As of 12:05 a.m. All times listed are PDT)

Special Olympics BC Summer Games:

The 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games in Prince George officially began with the opening ceremonies Thursday night at CN Centre.

Competition runs today (Friday) and Saturday with nearly 900 athletes from 46 communities participating in 10 sports.

The sports are 10-pin bowling, basketball, bocce, golf, rhythmic gymnastics, powerlifting, soccer, softball, swimming, and track and field.

The schedule and venue details can be found at www.SOBCGames.ca.

All events are free.

 

MLB:

The (54-39) Toronto Blue Jays are in Sacramento to play the (39-56) A’s tonight (Friday 7:05), Saturday and Sunday for their last games prior to the All-Star break.

Toronto leads the A.L. East. by 2 games over the (52-41) New York Yankees while the A’s are last in the A.L. West.

The Blue Jays 2025 schedule and results are here.

The MLB schedule and results are here.

The MLB standings are here.

 

CFL:

Week 6 of the CFL season starts tonight (Friday 6:00 PT) with (3-1) Calgary at (4-0) Saskatchewan.

The (2-3) B.C. Lions visit the (1-3) Edmonton Elks Sunday (4 PM PT).

The CFL schedule are here.

The CFL standings are here.

 

BC Football Conference:

The Prince George Kodiaks are gearing up to begin their BC Football Conference (BCFC) season.

The Kodiaks play the first of their 10 games on Saturday, July 19th when they host the Westshore Rebels at 6:00 at Masich Place Stadium.

More info on the BCFC can be found here.

 

Hockey:

A call to the hall.

Former Prince George Cougars defenceman Dan Hamhuis of Smithers will be inducted into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame Saturday night in Penticton.

Hamhuis, now a part owner of the Cougars, played a whopping 1,148 NHL games over an 18-year pro career.

The induction ceremony will include four other people and two teams.

 

PG Senior Lacrosse

The PG Senior Lacrosse finals begin Monday night with the first place Devils against the Assault.

Just prior to the game, the league awards being handed out prior to the game.

PHOTOS: Special Olympics BC Summer Games officially open

Darin Bain
-
0
PHOTOS: Special Olympics BC Summer Games officially open

The Special Olympics BC Summer Games are officially underway in Prince George.

The opening ceremonies were held at the CN Centre tonight (Thursday), as the City welcomes nearly 900 athletes from 46 communities to the City to compete in ten sports.

After the athletes piled into the CN Centre, remarks were made by Lheidli T’enneh Elder Darlene McIntosh, Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dolleen Logan, Premier David Eby, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Spencer Chandra Herbert, and Mayor Simon Yu.

“Prince George is an incredible place for hosting sports, and for hosting sizeable competition like the Special Olympics,” Chandra Herbert said.

“The opportunities for sports tourism in the region just continue to grow, it’s very exciting.”

A full schedule of events for the Special Olympics BC Games can be found here.

Results can be found here.

Measles cases reported in B.C. this year top 100

My PG Now Staff
-
0
Measles cases reported in B.C. this year top 100

B.C.’s health officials have said 102 cases of measles have been reported across B.C. so far this year, with most of those in the Northern Health region.

Health Minister Josie Osborne gave an update Thursday, July 10, on the measles situation in the province, alongside other health officials.  

Officials said there’s currently one active case of measles in the province, in the Fraser Health region, and 10 people are hospitalized. 

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control notes there are likely more cases that have gone unreported. 

The B.C. CDC’s website lists known exposure locations where public health officials are not able to contact everyone who may have been exposed. The latest exposures on the list took place on July 1st and 4th at the Fort St. John Hospital Emergency Department.

Northern Health also said in a social media post last week there had been potential exposures at the Fort St. John Prenatal Clinic on June 27th. 

Dr. Jong Kim, chief medical officer at Northern Health, said he believes the outbreak in that region is peaking, and expects cases will begin to decline.

“We are seeing that in surrounding communities with more immunization, [measles] is moving a lot slower there,” said Kim.

Measles is making a resurgence in Canada as immunization rates decline. The latest data from Health Canada show more than 3,700 measles cases have been reported across the country this year. The majority of those have been in Ontario and Alberta.

Last year, there were 147 confirmed cases in Canada.

Deputy Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Martin Lavoie, said Thursday there are some “pockets” of low vaccination rates in B.C., including in the Northern Health region, however, there is a risk that, with increased summer travel between communities and provinces, there could be more outbreaks in other areas with low immunization. 

Lavoie said there is some persistent misinformation around measles, with no basis to the idea that taking vitamin A or cod liver oil supplements can help prevent or treat measles. He also said a trend of parents having “measles parties” so children who are not immunized can pick up the illness and supposedly develop an immunity are dangerous and puts kids at risk. 

“Vaccination really is the only really safe and effective way to build immunity against the disease,” stressed Lavoie. 

Nearly half of cases reported in B.C. this year are among kids aged five to 17. Lavoie said fewer parents have opted to vaccinate their kids against measles in recent years, leading to a larger population of unvaccinated kids and teens.

However, there have been no measles-related deaths in B.C. this year.

Ontario has reported the death of one baby born with congenital measles, along with other health complications. Congenital measles is when a child contracts the virus while in their parent’s womb and is born with the disease.

Dr. Jennifer Vines with the B.C. CDC said the province has not seen any cases of congenital measles this year. But she said officials are preparing for the possibility by talking to pregnancy experts about how to manage measles and pregnancy. Vines said pregnant people who are at risk and may have been exposed to measles should contact their health care provider as soon as possible.

The B.C. CDC said getting immunized with at least two doses of the vaccine is the best way to prevent measles.

“British Columbians have always come together to support one another, and getting immunized against measles is the best thing we can do to help keep everyone in our communities safe and protected,” said Osborne. 

Children typically get a first dose of the vaccine at 12 months, and a second dose around the time they enter kindergarten. Health officials recommend adults born in 1970 or later should check to make sure they or their children have received two doses of the vaccine. 

Measles is a highly contagious and possibly deadly disease, and almost 1 in 10 people who contract measles are hospitalized. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, and red and inflamed eyes that are often sensitive to light. These symptoms are followed by a rash, which starts first on the face and neck, and spreads to the chest, arms and legs. 

Measles can also cause serious complications like pneumonia and inflammation of the brain, known as encephalitis.

The measles virus spreads through the air and through direct contact, like sharing drinks, with an infected person. The virus can linger in small droplets in the air for several hours. 

Children under the age of five, pregnant people, those who are immunocompromised and people who are severely malnourished are at higher risk of complications and death due to measles.

Measles cases reported in B.C. this year top 100

Emily Joveski
-
0
Measles cases reported in B.C. this year top 100

B.C.’s health officials have said 102 cases of measles have been reported across B.C. so far this year, with most of those in the Northern Health region.

Health Minister Josie Osborne gave an update Thursday, July 10, on the measles situation in the province, alongside other health officials.  

Officials said there’s currently one active case of measles in the province, in the Fraser Health region, and 10 people are hospitalized. 

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control notes there are likely more cases that have gone unreported. 

The B.C. CDC’s website lists known exposure locations where public health officials are not able to contact everyone who may have been exposed. The latest exposures on the list took place on July 1st and 4th at the Fort St. John Hospital Emergency Department.

Northern Health also said in a social media post last week there had been potential exposures at the Fort St. John Prenatal Clinic on June 27th. 

Dr. Jong Kim, chief medical officer at Northern Health, said he believes the outbreak in that region is peaking, and expects cases will begin to decline.

“We are seeing that in surrounding communities with more immunization, [measles] is moving a lot slower there,” said Kim.

Measles is making a resurgence in Canada as immunization rates decline. The latest data from Health Canada show more than 3,700 measles cases have been reported across the country this year. The majority of those have been in Ontario and Alberta.

Last year, there were 147 confirmed cases in Canada.

Deputy Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Martin Lavoie, said Thursday there are some “pockets” of low vaccination rates in B.C., including in the Northern Health region, however, there is a risk that, with increased summer travel between communities and provinces, there could be more outbreaks in other areas with low immunization. 

Lavoie said there is some persistent misinformation around measles, with no basis to the idea that taking vitamin A or cod liver oil supplements can help prevent or treat measles. He also said a trend of parents having “measles parties” so children who are not immunized can pick up the illness and supposedly develop an immunity are dangerous and puts kids at risk. 

“Vaccination really is the only really safe and effective way to build immunity against the disease,” stressed Lavoie. 

Nearly half of cases reported in B.C. this year are among kids aged five to 17. Lavoie said fewer parents have opted to vaccinate their kids against measles in recent years, leading to a larger population of unvaccinated kids and teens.

However, there have been no measles-related deaths in B.C. this year.

Ontario has reported the death of one baby born with congenital measles, along with other health complications. Congenital measles is when a child contracts the virus while in their parent’s womb and is born with the disease.

Dr. Jennifer Vines with the B.C. CDC said the province has not seen any cases of congenital measles this year. But she said officials are preparing for the possibility by talking to pregnancy experts about how to manage measles and pregnancy. Vines said pregnant people who are at risk and may have been exposed to measles should contact their health care provider as soon as possible.

The B.C. CDC said getting immunized with at least two doses of the vaccine is the best way to prevent measles.

“British Columbians have always come together to support one another, and getting immunized against measles is the best thing we can do to help keep everyone in our communities safe and protected,” said Osborne. 

Children typically get a first dose of the vaccine at 12 months, and a second dose around the time they enter kindergarten. Health officials recommend adults born in 1970 or later should check to make sure they or their children have received two doses of the vaccine. 

Measles is a highly contagious and possibly deadly disease, and almost 1 in 10 people who contract measles are hospitalized. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, and red and inflamed eyes that are often sensitive to light. These symptoms are followed by a rash, which starts first on the face and neck, and spreads to the chest, arms and legs. 

Measles can also cause serious complications like pneumonia and inflammation of the brain, known as encephalitis.

The measles virus spreads through the air and through direct contact, like sharing drinks, with an infected person. The virus can linger in small droplets in the air for several hours. 

Children under the age of five, pregnant people, those who are immunocompromised and people who are severely malnourished are at higher risk of complications and death due to measles.

Fraser Lyric Opera hosting concert featuring youth and adults

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Fraser Lyric Opera hosting concert featuring youth and adults

Fraser Lyric Opera is hosting a concert this weekend at Prince George’s Knox Performance Centre.

The concert, part of the daylight musical theatre program, will have performances from youth ages 9 to 18, along with adults from the evening camp.

Singer Melanie Nicol said interest in this form of performing arts has only grown in PG.

“When we first started doing this camp, I think I had 8 or 9 adult participants, and this year we’ve grown that to include the children, and we have 9 kids participating and 16 adults.”

Nicol added there will be a variety of performances including Disney, Wicked, Sound of Music, among others.

The stage is set for Saturday at 7pm, with tickets on Fraser Lyric Opera’s website or at the door for $30.

OCP coming back to the Council with reports on proposed changes

Darin Bain
-
0
OCP coming back to the Council with reports on proposed changes

Prince George City Council will take the next steps on the Official Community Plan (OCP) at Monday’s meeting.

This comes after public hearings that were held on March 19th and April 9th, where the public had opportunity to comment on a draft OCP.

During the April 9th meeting, City Council got started on making amendments, before reconvening a week later and requesting reports on possible amendments.

The report on these amendments is set to come back to the Council table on Monday.

In total, staff responded to 33 resolutions, which can be found here.

The report comes with each resolution passed by Council at the meetings held on April 9th and 16th, as well as Administration’s response.

The report also provides recommendations to Council, as well as actions Administration can take to address the resolutions.

City Council will discuss and vote on each resolution, and Administration will come back to Council with an updated draft OCP at a later date.

Once the 2025 OCP is updated to reflected these changes, another public hearing is likely be held to provide the opportunity for the public to comment on the amended version of the document.

Other items up for discussion on Monday includes the replacement of a garbage truck, and establishing a committee for a Council Remuneration Review.

The full agenda for Monday’s meeting can be found here.

Minister Touts Cariboo Charm on Tour Through Quesnel and Barkerville

Teryn Midzain
-
0
Minister Touts Cariboo Charm on Tour Through Quesnel and Barkerville

It has been “about some 10 years” since Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sports (TACS), Spencer Chandra Herbert’s first visit to Barkerville, but the Minister says it won’t be that long until his next one.

Minister Chandra Herbert embarked on a three-day work trip to the Cariboo this week. On his trip, the Minister visited Barkerville, Quesnel, and Prince George for the opening of the Special Olympics tonight [July 10]. The Minister’s visit was to see what local spots could, or in his words, “should be visited” by British Columbians and Canadians.

“I just love the Cariboo, it’s been such a fabulous trip,” Chandra Herbert said.

“The locations, the places are outstanding, the history to discover here, there are so many good reasons to be in the Cariboo. To visit Quesnel, to visit Barkerville, to just get out and experience the outdoors here. It’s an exceptional place.”

The Minister of TACS made stops at the Cottonwood House, a place he had never been before, on his way to Barkerville. At the Historic Town, Chandra Herbert got to see the Cornish Waterwheel, partake in the classic baking treats and delicacies. He also got to see some of the new events and programming that were not there on his first visit a decade ago.

Spencer Chandra Herbert, Minister of TACS watching the Cornish Waterwheel work in Barkerville. [Photo Credit to CJ Hawse, Ministry of TACS]

“I really got to see and feel the sense of Indigenous history in the area as well. It wasn’t there when I was last up,” he says.

“It’s really important as Indigenous history stretches back thousands of years, and it really tells a fuller history and story of the region. Obviously with the Chinatown and the settler miner’s history too. I thank the foresight of the people who went ‘we got to hang onto this site.’”

During his time walking about Quesnel, Chandra Herbert said he took time to visit the Visitor’s Centre, the museum, and explore the unique shops and boutiques Quesnel offers. The local artwork and murals painted on buildings, which were new to him since his last visit, stood out and brought charm to the community that adds to the uniqueness of the Cariboo. To the minister, the “walkability” of Quesnel’s downtown and what it has to offer, needs to be explored more, and feel the “living history” of the town and the community.

“It’s an exceptional small downtown, and the trick is that you get people who stop off at the visitor’s centre, how do you get them to stick around a little longer. We got to get them out of their cars. Take in the walking bridge, the riverfront. If anyone walks around the downtown they’ll find funky shops, great small business, very friendly people, and great coffee.”

Part of Chandra Herbert’s visit was to also see ways the region can be better promoted for tourists to visit. He made stops at the Quesnel RV Park, and other projects the province has helped fund for the city. He mentioned that making sure there are enough spaces and easily accessible parking so tourists can stop and visit will be key to growing the industry in Quesnel. He also said with less people travelling to the United States during the economic turmoil, he wanted to see how and where he could promote British Columbians to “go out and visit our backyards” more.

“The other side of funding projects and growth, is reminding British Columbians, and Canadians to journey in the province. We don’t need to go across the country, or into another country, we just need to travel through B.C.,” Chandra Herbert said.

“So, if we put some money into actually direct marketing into BC to remind British Columbians to tour our own backyard, I think that’ll have huge benefit for places like Quesnel. People may have traveled through briefly in the past, but they might be reminded, you know, maybe I should come back. We know and have seen, that people who come to B.C once tend to come back three or more times.”

The last stop on Minster Chandra Herbert’s visit is the to opening ceremony of the Special Olympics tonight.

“I’m just so excited because of the pride that we’re going to have in our athletes,” Chandra Herbert says. “I was talking to a local resident here about one of the local athletes who’s gonna be at the Special Olympics and it’s inspiring. When you see people give it their all to be the best in their field, and overcoming difficulties to get there, that’s what it’s all about. Seeing these athletes do their best, inspire us to do our best. I couldn’t be more excited.”

Chandra Herbert plans to return to Cariboo, perhaps in time to take in the 2026 Billy Barker Days in Quesnel.

– Files from Teryn Midzain, My Cariboo Now staff

Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd honoured to be part of new documentary

Pat Matthews
-
0
Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd honoured to be part of new documentary

Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd. (CCR) is being featured in a new documentary.

“BC is Burning” explores the intensifying wildfire crisis across the province that brings national attention to the urgent environmental, social, and economic risks posed by wildfires.

The trailer includes impactful ground and aerial footage of CCR’s reforestation work, fuel mitigation, and forest rehabilitation in wildfire-affected areas.

“This is an emergency, but also an opportunity to lead with Indigenous values and proven forestry practices,” Percy Guichon, CEO of CCR and Elected Councillor of the Tsi del del First Nations said.

“BC is Burning” captures Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation’s commitment to proactive wildfire risk reduction, showcasing active rehabilitation operations, the recovery and transportation of residual fibre, and forest reforestation efforts across the Chilcotin region.

“We’re not just planting trees,” Guichon said, “we’re healing forests, protecting communities, and building a future our children can depend on.”

The work demonstrated in the film represents a proactive, scalable response to wildfire risk and forest rehabilitation that balances ecological restoration with economic opportunity.

“We are grateful to Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation for their support and for providing powerful on-the-ground footage for BC is Burning”, said Murray Wilson, retired forester and producer of the film, “Their work showcases real solutions in action, efforts that not only reduce wildfire risk but strengthen the long-term resilience of our forests and communities.”

– Files from Pat Matthews, My Cariboo Now staff

Prince George homes see average selling price bump in 2025 second quarter

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Prince George homes see average selling price bump in 2025 second quarter

The BC Northern Real Estate Board (BCNREB) released its 2025 second quarter report, with Prince George seeing an increase in sales.

According to the Board, 694 properties worth $335 million changed hands so far this year, compared to 640 worth $305.6 million in the first 6 months last year.

In the City’s west, the median price of the 114 single-family homes that have sold through Multiple Listing Service (MLS) was $468,000.

East of the bypass, 81 single-family homes sold with median price of $402,000, the north saw 86 single-family homes sold with a median price of $591,500, with 120 single-family homes sold in the southwest section with a $604,000 median price.

The BCNREB said there were 711 properties of all types able to be purchased through the MLS in PG.

Photo (Northern BC Average Selling Price and Residential Detached House graph) – provided by the BC Northern Real Estate Board

The average selling price and reported sales of residential detached homes in PG was $531,595 with 406 units as of June 30th.

That’s the highest average and units when compared to the same time as far back as 2023.

Across northern BC, 2345 properties sold in the first six months, worth $1 billion.

In the same time last year, 2281 sales were reported, worth $938 million.

More information can be found on the BC Northern Real Estate Board’s website here.

Special Olympics BC Summer Games start today

Darin Bain
-
0
Special Olympics BC Summer Games start today

Today is the day that’s been several months in the making, the Special Olympics BC Summer Games get underway in Prince George today. (Thursday)

“This is a very memorable moment for us, we haven’t had a Summer Game here in Prince George before, we’ve had a couple of the Winter ones, so everybody’s excited,” said Local Coordinator of Special Olympics Prince George Peter Goudal.

“It’s a four-year journey to get here for every athlete in the province, and they’re looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to it, my son’s looking forward to it, lots of hype in the community everywhere I go, people are looking forward to these games.”

Goudal said the athletes are dedicated to their sports, and they’ve been training hard.

“They have been doing different techniques, they’ve extended their year-long program, usually we end in March.”

“All of our athletes who qualified for the provincials have worked all the way up until yesterday.”

Goudal added that included an opportunity to make use of some of the venues that will be used for the games, giving them a bit of a home field advantage.

More than 900 athletes will be competing in ten sports in Prince George this weekend, including 30 from the Prince George area.

A full schedule of events and other information on the Special Olympics BC Summer Games can be found here.

The final leg of the Torch Run took place on Wednesday, to lead up to the game’s kick off.

Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Thursday, July 10th

Hartley Miller
-
0
Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Thursday, July 10th

Sports by Hartley Thursday, July 10th, 2025

(As of 12:05 a.m. All times listed are PDT)

Special Olympics BC Summer Games:

Opening ceremonies go tonight (Thursday) at 7:30 at CN Centre for the official start of the 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games in Prince George.

Nearly 900 athletes from 46 communities will participate in 10 sports with competition running Friday and Saturday.

The sports are 10-pin bowling, basketball, bocce, golf, rhythmic gymnastics, powerlifting, soccer, softball, swimming, and track and field.

The schedule and venue details can be found at www.SOBCGames.ca.

All events are free.

 

MLB:

Chicago White Sox  2  Toronto Blue Jays  1

The box score is here.

The loss ended the Blue Jays 10-game winning streak.

Toronto leads the A.L. East by 2.5 games over the (51-41) New York Yankees.

The (54-39) Blue Jays visit the A.L. West last place A’s Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Sacramento for their last games prior to the All-Star break.

The Blue Jays 2025 schedule and results are here.

The MLB schedule and results are here.

The MLB standings are here.

 

CFL:

The (2-3) B.C. Lions visit the (1-3) Edmonton Elks Sunday (4 PM PT).

The 6th week of the CFL season starts Friday night (6:00 PT) with (3-1) Calgary at (4-0) Saskatchewan.

The CFL schedule are here.

The CFL standings are here.

 

BC Football Conference:

The countdown is on to the start of the BC Football Conference (BCFC) season.

The Prince George Kodiaks play the first of their 10 games on Saturday, July 19th when they host the Westshore Rebels at 6:00 at Masich Place Stadium.

More info on the BCFC can be found here.

 

Hockey:

Former Prince George Cougars defenceman Dan Hamhuis of Smithers will be inducted into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame Saturday night in Penticton.

Hamhuis, now a part owner of the Cougars, played a whopping 1,148 NHL games over an 18-year pro career.

The induction ceremony at the South Okanagan Events Centre will include four other people and two teams.

 

PG Senior Lacrosse

The PG Senior Lacrosse finals featuring the Devils and the Assault will start Monday.

Just prior to the first game, the league awards being handed out prior to the game.

Report makes six recommendations on event safety after Lapu Lapu festival tragedy

Emily Joveski
-
0
Report makes six recommendations on event safety after Lapu Lapu festival tragedy

A report commissioned by the B.C. government after a deadly attack at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver makes a number of recommendations to improve security at public events.

Eleven people died and many more were injured when a suspect rammed a vehicle through the crowd gathered for the Filipino-Canadian festival in April.

A commission led by former B.C. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Hinkson looked into how public safety is planned for and managed at community events across the province. It consulted with municipalities, regional districts, Indigenous partners, police and event organizers from communities both urban and rural.

Terry Yung, Minister of State for Community Safety and Integrated Services, noted on Wednesday the report found the vast majority of public events in B.C. are safe and well-organized.

However, the commission found smaller or under-resourced jurisdictions face persistent challenges in ensuring public safety at events. Those included limited staff capacity, rising costs for equipment and security, unclear lines of responsibility, and difficulty navigating overlapping jurisdictions or fragmented guidance.

The report makes six recommendations to address public safety at events.

It said all public events, regardless of size, should conduct a risk assessment to identify any gaps in safety measures, and assign clear responsibilities for emergency planning, access, and crowd management.

The commission also calls on the province to establish clear criteria for consultation that defines the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved in event planning, approval, and emergency response. It claims event planners are often confused about who has authority to make decisions and enforce requirements when there are multiple agencies or levels of government involved.

The commission recommends the province establish a hub to provide event planners across B.C. with standardized advice around safety and volunteer training, with many events supported by volunteers and municipal staff with no formal training in event planning or public safety. It said the hub should set out “clear expectations for event organizers, municipalities, and provincial agencies regarding event planning, approval processes, and on-site safety responsibilities.”

The report found the rising costs around event security are one of the biggest barriers to hosting community events, and can lead to issues ranging from short staffing to a lack of access to safety equipment. It recommends the province should consider expanding targeted grants or financial support to help offset event-related safety and security costs, as well as provide direct funding or staffing support to smaller or under-resourced municipalities.

The commission also recommends event planners conduct regular safety exercises in collaboration with police, fire departments and emergency management services.

Lastly, the province should encourage communities and municipalities to conduct assessments after an event to evaluate safety outcomes and identify any areas for improvement.

“We have received the report and are working through the details,” said Yung. “But we accept the intent of the recommendations and are working on how best to act on them.”

He declined to provide any timeline for when the recommendations might be implemented.

Yung said the report includes some immediate resources for event organizers, including an event safety plan template and a risk assessment framework.

The man charged in the April 26 attack at the Lapu Lapu festival is facing eight counts of second-degree murder. Police said the man had multiple interactions with police and the health care system related to his mental health.

The commission said examining the availability of mental health services was not part of its mandate.

Premier David Eby announced following the Lapu Lapu attack the province would review the Mental Health Act.

City of PG warning residents of traffic and facility disruptions during event-filled weekend

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
City of PG warning residents of traffic and facility disruptions during event-filled weekend

This weekend will see impacts to traffic and multiple facilities due to numerous events in Prince George.

The 2025 BC Special Olympic Summer Games will see facilities and sports fields in use, including the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre, Aquatic Centre, and Masich Place Stadium this week.

The main pool at the Aquatic Centre is closed from Thursday at 9 p.m. until approximately 8 p.m. on Saturday for the competition, with public walking unavailable at Masich Place Stadium from Thursday at 6pm until Sunday at 6am.

Two Rivers Art Gallery Community Art Days are scheduled to take place in Canada Games Plaza, with Tourism Prince George’s Nanguz ‘An container market on Friday from 2pm to 7pm and July 12 from 11am to 4pm.

The PG Pride Festival and Market will take place downtown on Saturday from 10am to 2pm.

The parade route starts at 9th Avenue and Brunswick Street and continues along Brunswick Street to 4th Avenue, from 4th Avenue to George Street, and follows George Street to Veteran’s Plaza at City Hall where the market will take place.

Drivers are asked to avoid the area to ensure the safety of parade participants and spectators.

More information can be found on the City of Prince George’s website here.

Shoreline health survey being conducted at Francois Lake

Logan Flint
-
0
Shoreline health survey being conducted at Francois Lake

Francois Lake’s shoreline is getting a checkup this summer by Living Lakes Canada and various community partners.

This is being funded by the Canada Water Agency, Drax Foundation, and Centerra Gold.

According to the organization, the 110-kilometre lake harbours several freshwater fish species, including the at-risk Nechako White Sturgeon.

“The implementation of Foreshore Integrated Management Planning, or FIMP, has many tangible benefits to the local communities that depend on healthy waters and shorelines,” said Georgia Peck, FIMP Program Manager.

“This approach has been successfully applied to 10 lakes in the B.C. Columbia Basin, and has grown to Okanagan Lakes and now, Fraser and Francois Lakes.”

This is building off the 2023 Fraser Lake FIMP re-survey that found significant habitat loss and shoreline disruptions.

Drones will be used to capture images of the Francois Lake shoreline to assess land use, shoreline condition, vegetation, streams, and human-made structures, and help detect changes caused by development or natural disturbances.

Data from the report will be release in Spring 2026.

B.C. SPCA welcomes proposed ban on exotic cats

Emily Joveski
-
0
B.C. SPCA welcomes proposed ban on exotic cats

The B.C. SPCA is welcoming proposed regulations from the B.C. government to ban all exotic cat species. 

The province announced Tuesday, July 8, it is looking into a ban on owning, breeding and selling servals, caracals, ocelots and all other types of non-domesticated cats.

Hybrid cats like bengals and savannah cats – which are the result of several generations breeding between wild and domesticated cats – would not be included in the ban.

Larger wild cats like tigers and leopards are already regulated in B.C. under the Wildlife Act, but small and medium-sized exotic cats are not currently regulated. 

If the regulations are approved, all exotic cat species would be added to the list of about 1,200 species designated as “controlled alien species” under regulation in the Wildlife Act. The list also includes animals like alligators, monkeys and pythons. 

Breeding, selling or acquiring new animals from these species would no longer be permitted. Current owners could keep their exotic cats for the remainder of the animal’s life if they apply for a free permit. 

Dr. Sara Dubois, senior director of animal welfare science and standards at the B.C. SPCA, said the lack of regulation make it difficult to know how many such cats there may be in the province and who is importing and breeding them. She said breeders can sell exotic kittens for as much as $10,000, and sometimes more. 

“The reality is wild animals never make good pets,” said Dubois.

“Imagine being a serval cat on the plains of Africa, and coming to Canada and being locked up in an apartment.”

She said the cats maintain their wild instincts, even when bred in captivity, and they often don’t get the nutrition and care they need.  

In 2019, the B.C. SPCA conducted an animal cruelty investigation on a serval breeder in Kamloops. It said 13 cats were being kept in “horrific conditions” and needed months of specialized care. Dubois notes there are only a handful of exotic vets in B.C. and the cats are prone to metabolic and other health and behavioural issues in captivity. 

There are also concerns around human safety and environmental damage from exotic cats. Servals and caracals can reach up to up to 18-kilograms in weight, and their strong jumping and climbing abilities mean they are good at escaping homes. Dubois said there have been instances where such cats have escaped and killed neighbours’ pets or farm animals. 

“They don’t want to be captive,” said Dubois. “They have the potential to harm our native wildlife if they escape and go hunting on their own.”

There are no accredited sanctuaries for such cats Canada. Dubois says because the cats have become trendy on social media, the few accredited sanctuaries in the U.S are often overwhelmed with rescues. 

Non-domesticated cats are already prohibited in some other provinces, including Alberta. CBC News reported earlier this year an Alberta woman was fined $15,000 for owning a serval that was bred in B.C. 

The B.C. SPCA has been advocating for the government to regulate these species of cats for years, and is happy to see movement on the issue. 

The B.C. SPCA is encouraging British Columbians to contact the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship to show their support for the proposed regulations.

Special Olympic Summer Games one step closer following Law Enforcement Torch Run

Zachary Barrowcliff
-
0
Special Olympic Summer Games one step closer following Law Enforcement Torch Run

BC Special Olympic Games athletes, volunteers, and RCMP kicked off the Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg.

The starting point was at the RCMP Detachment on Fifth Avenue and Victoria Street, with the portion of the road being closed off.

Special Olympics BC Games Director of Public Relations, Shirley Bond said this run is an important part for the games.

“This is the final leg of the torch for this year, and it proceeds the torch entering the CN Centre at Opening Ceremony for the 2025 BC Special Olympic Summer Games, so a really big day for the athletes, and the law enforcement officers who will run today.”

Bond added that events like these leading up to the games gets everyone excited, especially the athletes.

“One of them said to me just a few minutes ago ‘two sleeps until the games are on, and I get to compete.’.”

“That’s the kind of excitement there is, and I just want to encourage the people of Prince George to please come out and support these athletes.”

The run began at 10:30, making its way to Winnipeg Street, down Winnipeg and Massey Drive before heading north to the CN Centre on Ospika Boulevard by around noon.

The Opening Ceremony is tomorrow (Thursday) night at 7:30 at the CN Centre, and is free to the public, with competitions in 10 different sports on Friday and Saturday.

About 900 athletes will be competing, with roughly 30 from Prince George.

More about the games can be found here.

RCMP seeking two men after explosion outside MLA Bowinn Ma’s North Van office

Emily Joveski
-
0
RCMP seeking two men after explosion outside MLA Bowinn Ma’s North Van office

RCMP have released images of two men they believe were involved in an explosion last month in North Vancouver, which damaged the front door of the building housing the constituency office of B.C. NDP MLA and cabinet minister Bowinn Ma.

North Vancouver RCMP said officers responded to reports of a loud bang shortly after 4 a.m. on June 27. They found damage to the front door of the office building on the 200 block of West Esplanade Avenue.

Police said no one was injured.

Investigators confirmed the damage was caused by an “unsophisticated homemade device initiated by a burning fuse,” RCMP said in an update Tuesday.

“It could potentially be multiple bear bangers or commercially available fireworks taped together to increase the explosive potential of the item,” North Vancouver RCMP said in a release.

Police are asking the public for help identifying two men who may have been involved in the incident. One man is described as white, with short, balding hair and a stocky build. He was wearing a black jacket, dark T-shirt and blue jeans. The other is described as white, with a slender build, captured on video wearing a long blond wig, a black hoodie and blue jeans.

RCMP said the investigation is active and they cannot determine whether the incident was politically motivated.

The building where the explosion occurred also houses other government offices and several private businesses.

“I’m grateful for the outpouring of support from community members and people across B.C.,” Ma said in a statement posted to social media on June 27. “Regardless of intent or motivation, I know that incidents like this can be very frightening for a community.”

Ma, who serves as MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale and B.C.’s infrastructure minister, said her staff would work with the Legislative Assembly’s security team to ensure her office remains safe. RCMP said they would also collaborate with Ma’s team on additional safety and security measures.

1234...404Page 3 of 404
Available on

Navigation

Location

Unit 101, 2977 Ferry ave
Prince George, BC
V2N 1L3

Phone numbers

Studio Phone: 250-563-9944
Country FM Studio: 250-562-9797
Office Phone: 250-564-2524
Office Fax: 250-562-6611

- Advertisement -

© 2025