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PRINCE GEORGE
High today: -12 Low tonight: -21 Details page 22
Serving the Central Interior since 1916
Countdown to curling: 4 days to go
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Amanda’s mom may get answers
Hospital in Vancouver
‘They (the ministry) are not even telling us the basis upon which they are saying the children should be in care,” Cluff said Monday. “We’re heading towards a hearing about a matter we have absolutely no information about.”
A formal hearing to determine custody has not been scheduled, three months after the children were taken into custody. The ministry says it can’t release any details because an RCMP homicide investigation is still under way.
The mother of Amanda Jean Simpson will learn today whether she gets any information on why she can’t have custody of her three other children.
Jerry Walton’s lawyer, James Cluff, has filed an application to test the validity of the Ministry of Children and Families’ custody of the children.
While the ministry can take children into custody, the courts ultimately determine where the children will stay.
Amanda was injured at home Oct. 30 and died Nov. 2 in B.C. Children’s
Environment group broke, office closes
PAGE 13
The 2000 Iceman
LOCAL
■ City public works has received the material it needs for its road anti-icing project and will conduct a demonstration for the media today, says operations manager Frank Blues. /P3
Cornered
by Baldwin
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Citizen photo by Brent Braaten
LADY IN RED — Elly Higman, from the main branch of Barton Insurance, won the firm’s dress red contest Monday. The St. Valentine’s Day event raised $180 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Local airport authority closer to landing
A business plan is complete, Dezell said, and as soon as city council and the Fraser-Fort George Regional District endorse the bylaw, the transport minister will add his signature. This will enable the wheels to be put in motion to establish a board of directors to run the local authority.
There’s a great deal of intererest on the part of government to get the matter wrapped up, Dezell said. Prince George airport is the last of 26 national airports to get to this stage, he said, adding the delay enabled the commit-
tee to see the pros and cons of the Transport Canada have been doing
transfer from those who went ahead. quite well financially, and there’s no
The government became easier to reason Prince George would be any
approach financially as time Went on, different. ‘‘All-in-all, the committee
Dezell pointed out. The airport, which feels it’s viable,” Dezell said,
was running at a deficit up to two years The bylaw provides for creating a ago, has now turned a corner due to list of nominators: the transport min-
changes in the way it does its business. ister, Mayor Colin Kinsley, Regional
This prompted Councillor Don District chairman Bob Headrick, the
Zurowski to ask if the takeover could chair of the P.G. Region Development
be profitable. Or it is just another case Corporation and the chair of the
of federal downloading? Airport Authority, would nominate
Dezell said airports where a local an 11-member board of directors to
authority .has^taken Qver-ft,Qin.^rAin the new airport authority, __________
by BOB MILLER Citizen staff
A two-year process to take over operation of the local airport from Transport Canada cleared a hurdle Monday when city council endorsed a bylaw that will create a Prince George Airport Authority.
The takeover could come this summer, said Councillor Cliff Dezell, a member of the airport transfer planning committee, who introduced the bylaw and spoke about it in the absence of committee chairman Dale McMann.
canada.com
Pilot projects could axe forestry red tape
show how a results-based code could work. We have challenged them to show us,” Forest Minister David Zirnhelt said Monday in announcing the projects.
They include industry projects in the Cariboo, Peace, and Okanagan and a woodlot program in the Cariboo. The projects are still in the planning stages and the public Will have a chance to review the company proposals during a 60-day review period, likely in a few months.
The forest firms will also get help from the Ministry of Forests and Ministry of Environment in setting the objectives.
Cabinet will make the final decision on the plans.
Canfor, which is working on the pilot with Slocan and Louisiana Pacific, is also getting input from a public group that includes members of the Fort St. John-area Resource Management Planning team, said Canfor official Jim Stephenson.
“I would say there are going to be more safeguards, but they will be imposed by the people who will meet the objectives, rather than government,” he said. “Government will still have a role, but that’s up to them to define their role specifically.”
Stephenson said third-party environmental certification from organizations like ISO 14001 and the Canadian Standards Association will provide protection of the code. “We would end up where the code would have taken us, but we think we can do it more efficiently.”
If the projects are successful, B.C. might end up with a universal results-based code, said Zirnhelt. “But it’s hard to look ahead, because when pressed as to what a results-based code looks like, we don’t have many of the answers yet,” he said.
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff
A handful of pilot projects — including a Canfor-led initiative — have been launched to test methods to reduce forest practices red tape and still ensure B.C.’s forests are protected.
The forest industry has been saying the province should move to a results-based forest code that relies less on paperwork and government officials to check their plans. Industry has estimated the code costs it $1 billion a year.
“Industry asked for an opportunity to
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