Cats skinned again at Multiplex/8
Con man impersonates dead mom/16

B.C. attorney general steps aside /5
Carter's freedom shines through /25

CITIZEN
Serving the Central Interior since 1916
and I will ask the Northern Health Authority to remove my name from the report," said Wankling, who has not been given a copy of the report, which will be unveiled at the NHA board meeting Monday, but is familiar with the recommendations made in it. Wankling said all you have to do is look at how busy surgical and medical oncology is in Prince George to realize "if a radiation centre was built, you would see that it would be very busy. Outside of radiation therapy, most cancer is treated in the region through surgical and medical oncology. The only missing link is the radiation centre." After learning, from a copy of the report obtained by The Citizen, feedback from northern physicians indicates patients in the NHA's northeast and northwest service delivery areas are better served by current arrangements, Wankling said, "That is flawed." "We talk to a lot of patients from Fort St. John, to Prince Rupert, to 100 Mile House, and they would sooner come to Prince George than go to Vancouver," Wankling said. "Across the board the surgeons up here believe we need a clinic." Dr. Winston Bishop, a medical oncologist whose name also appears in the report, said he "echoes" Wankling's feelings and added "it seems rather strange that population requirements seem to change with location of cancer clinics." He was referring to Abbotsford with a catchment area of about 260,000, which will see a clinic open in 2008, and Thunder Bay, which has a successful clinic serving about 250,000, "so why not one here when our population area is more than 300,000?" said Bishop, who's also named in the report as a reference group physician. Northern Health CEO Malcolm Maxwell agreed that details were not explored and no specific conclusion was reached about radiotherapy at the January meeting, "but in terms of other cancer care, physicians across the North identified concerns and made good suggestions for improvement of cancer care. "The report doesn't say there should not be radiotherapy service, but relative to current guidelines there's a very low number of cases. It also says there's a need to look for models of care that respond well to smaller communities," Maxwell said. "Nor does the report make specific recommendations as to time, model or best approach for radiation services for different parts of the North." The report recommends ways to improve cancer care for the North by bringing existing cancer services together; enhancing services we do not h a v e ; s t r e n g t h e n i n g s u r g e r y, chemotherapy and radiation oncology; assisting patients to get better access to care; improving end-of-life care, and paying greater attention to prevention of diseases as requested by the public during a consultation process last year.

PRINCE GEORGE

SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2005

80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 57 CENTS A DAY)

Northern surgeons say P.G. needs cancer clinic
by BERNICE TRICK Citizen staff A Prince George surgeon will be asking the Northern Health Authority to remove his name from the report that recommends the North's population is not large enough to support a cancer radiation centre. Dr. Gilbert Wankling, who performs cancer surgery at PGRH, expressed disappointment Friday that physicians were not more involved in the discussions. He says he was never present during any strategy discussions on the question of a radiation centre, but his name appears in the Northern Cancer Control Strategy report as a reference group physician. "I was invited to one large strategy meeting in the Civic Centre, but there was no discussion on a radiation centre for the North," said Wankling, adding there was not a strong contingent of Prince George physicians at that meeting on Jan. 29. "At no time, that I'm aware of, were Prince George physicians involved in any discussions of a radiation centre." He said he disagrees with the recommendation that the catchment area could not support a clinic in Prince George. "I was surprised to hear that. It doesn't make any sense to me," Wankling said. "Certainly, that's not my recommendation. It is my opinion that we should have a clinic up here. "If that's a recommendation in the report, I want nothing to do with it,

Citizen photo by Dave Milne

SWEET TOOTH KIDS -- Hansel and Gretel and the witch sing for captivated students during a performance of the Vancouver Opera Touring Ensemble at Sacred Heart School on Friday afternoon.

WestJet, Air Canada bail out stranded Jetsgo passengers
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff Just a month before Jetsgo was about to double its flights servicing the city, the airline suddenly ceased operations leaving travellers scrambling Friday morning to find flights with other carriers out of Prince George. Jetsgo cancelled all air service at midnight Thursday and all that was left of the operation at Prince George Airport was customer assistant Sarah Elliott, who spent the morning at the service booth breaking the bad news, handing out a statement from Jetsgo and offering any advice she could. Of the 54 people booked for Jetsgo's morning flight to Vancouver, Elliott said 37 showed up. Neighbouring WestJet helped out by finding as many spaces as possible for stranded fliers. "Luckily, WestJet had 30 seats open and they were able to get on there, and if not, onto the later flight," Elliott said. Full price was charged on the earlymorning departure, but WestJet offered sale prices on the later flights, she added. Gary Peebles already knew Jetsgo was history from watching the news the night before, but the Francois Lake resident had to move quickly because he had surgery scheduled on the Lower Mainland to reconstruct his jaw following a bullriding wreck. "We showed up very early in the morning and happened to be able to book a flight onto WestJet," he said. Between the $600 he paid Jetsgo and the $900 he paid WestJet, Peebles is out about $1,500. The Jetsgo flight is on his fiancee's credit card so there is a chance for a full refund, but until he knows for sure Peebles remains worried. By mid morning, it was mostly WestJet passengers at the airport, but Jetsgo was still the topic of conversation. The family of Peter and Leslie Hempsall was travelling to Victoria for a speedskating meet, but said one of their friends was currently driving like a madman because he had booked with Jetsgo. Tom Mikes, meanwhile, showed up to pick up the information from Elliott and to book a new flight out with another airline for his father in a few days time. "He was one of the last people to fly in on Jetsgo," he said. Because the airline's customer service was contracted out to Central Mountain Airlines, Elliott and one other employee were given one last day to deal with the fallout before their jobs came to an end. Elliott found out the news only that morning. "The last plane to arrive was last night and it flew off this morning just with the flight attendants and the pilots," she said. "So unfortunately, we had to deny everybody today." Customers were "cool, calm and collected" about the situation. "They were really apologetic for us because we're losing a job as well," she said. "They were wonderful, I must say." A dozen people were working for Jetsgo in Prince George and the company was in the process of hiring one more. It was supposed to be Elliott's last day anyway because she's moving, so it wasn't a big blow to her, but others will be out on the street. Jetsgo had planned to increase the number of f lights through Prince George to four per day starting April 14. It had been flying in and out of the city since Jan. 17. More stories on page 3, 6

High : 7 Low : -8 page 2

Flight refunds are possible, under some circumstances
Citizen staff If you bought a flight on Jetsgo with a major credit card, you're in luck. Both Visa Canada and MasterCard Canada said Friday that all customers who booked Jetsgo trips using those credit cards would be reimbursed. If you didn't, your next best step is your travel insurance, but read the fine print. "Some policies exclude financial failure of the airline," said Bruce Bishins, president of the Canadian Standard Travel Agent Registry. "Others deal specifically with delays of departures or cancelled flights." If you paid with cash or cheque, or didn't buy travel insurance, or it doesn't cover that type of loss, there is one last resort, the B.C. Travel Assurance Fund, maintained through contributions from licenced travel agencies. However, this is a fund of last resort, it will take a long time to get the money, and it's only for those who bought tickets through registered travel agents, which include the Expedia website. If you're uninsured, paid in cash and bought the ticket directly from Jetsgo, your best bet is to contact the trustee in bankruptcy -- RSM Richter Inc. is acting as monitor in the bankruptcy process. ------ Sources: Canadian Press, Uniglobe Travel, British Columbia Business Practices and Consumer Protection Agency.

INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . .31 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Business . . . . . . . . . . . .36-38 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . . .3,5,13 Comics . . . . . . . . . . .26,39,40 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Entertainment . . . . . . .25-27 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-12 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15,16

Citizen photo by Dave Milne

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Jetsgo agent Sarah Elliot explains the procedure for alternate flights, and claiming a refund, to Tom Mikes at the Prince George Airport.
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