TUESDAY, DECEMBER
80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 54 CENTS A DAY)
31, 2002
PRINCE GEORGE
High today: -3 Low tonight: -5 Details page 2
Serving the Central Interior since 1916
YEAR IN REVIEW
Expansion kept UNBC busy in 2002
In the past week, The Citizen has taken a look back at some of the court, police, school and news stories that happened in 2002. On Saturday, The Citizen will take one final look back at 2002, as well as a look ahead at what we can expect in 2003. This year in review story looks at one of the brightest spots in Prince George, the University of Northern B.C.
JANUARY
■ A survey among more than 500 UNBC students shows the most popular reason to attend the university is its size. More than 90 per cent of those surveyed also said they would recommend UNBC to friends.
Of those surveyed, 70 per cent moved to Prince George specifically to attend UNBC, says Rob van Adrichem, UNBC communications manager. They like the location, the reputation and the quality of programs at UNBC, he says.
FEBRUARY
■ Seven UNBC students are among the first 32 from four countries to take a course from the new University of the Arctic. The first-year course is an introduction to the northern world. The students will study
Citizen file photo
The new lab building at UNBC was finished for the start of the fall semester In 2002.
the people, places and issues of the north.
MARCH
■ The B.C. government announces that satellite
medical schools will be established in Victoria and Prince George under a $134-million program to double the number of doctors trained in the province by the end of the decade.
Of that, $12.5 million has been earmarked to build a state-of-the-art medical teaching facility at UNBC. Construction is expected to get underway by late summer or early fall. The first two dozen northern doctors will begin their studies there within 21/2 years.
APRIL
■ The UNBC board of governors announced that as of May 1, tuition fees for most UNBC bachelor’s degree programs will rise 22 per cent, which means an average increase of about $500 per year, following approval of the 2002-03 budget. The typical tuition for a fulltime undergraduate student was previously $2,257, which will become $2,754 in May. The increase is among the highlights of a $40 million “sharing the cost budget" budget which, according to the UNBC board of governors, reveals both budget cuts and tuition increases are necessary to sustain the university operations.
—See more on UNBC’s year on page 3
Federal taxes likely to fall next year
No paper on New Year’s
The Citizen office closes early today, at 4 p.m.
The office will also be closed all day on Jan. 1.
There will not be a paper on New Year’s Day.
Have a safe and happy holiday.
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OTTAWA (CP) — Canadians should expect to pay less federal tax in 2003, but it’s unclear what they’ll pay in provincial tax as some provinces wait until budget time to make any changes official.
Canadian business and personal taxes are expected to decrease in the new year as part of the federal government’s five-year tax reduction plan announced in die 2000 federal budget.
On average, personal income taxes are to be reduced by 21 per cent over five years. For families with children, savings
under the five-year plan will amount to 27 percent.
Canadians will see an increase in their Canadian Pension Plan benefits of 1.6 per cent and Old Age Security benefits will rise 0.9 per cent starting in January. Employment Insurance premiums will drop by 10 cents for every $100 earned.
But people’s wallets may feel lighter because CPP employee premiums will rise to 4.95 per cent from 4.7 per cent in January, with a maximum payout of $1,802 compared to last year’s $1,673.
The general corporate income tax rate
is expected to fall to 23 per cent from 25 per cent on Jan. 1, dropping the average federal-provincial rate, including capital taxes, below the average U.S. rate.
The rate is slated to fall to 21 per cent by 2004 as part of the federal government’s five-year tax reduction plan announced in the 2000 budget. The rate was 28 per cent before the plan was introduced.
By 2006, together with announced provincial tax cuts, Canada’s average corporate tax rate is expected to be five percentage points below the U.S. rate.
Other tax measures include faster corporate income tax rate reductions for small business, tax-free rollovers for small-business investments and a reduced inclusion rate for capital gains.
The cut will give single persons earning $60,000 with no dependents $147 more in ffieir pockets this year. A single person earning $40,000 with no dependents will take home $47 more in 2003.
A two-income family with two children in day care, earning a combined total of $80,000, will save $67 over the year.
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PGRH has baby coverage over New Year's holiday
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff
Prince George Regional Hospital will have full obstetric and pediatric coverage over the New Year’s break according to Northern Health Authority spokesperson Mark Karjaluoto.
As a result, he said Prince George’s New Year’s baby will most likely be born locally.
“The expectation is that the New Year’s baby will be born at Prince George Regional Hospital,” Karjaluoto said.
“We have scheduled pediatric and obstetrical coverage for New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and into January.”
Karjaluoto cautioned that if complications occur that are beyond the hospital’s ability to handle even with a full staff, the mother and child would still have to be transferred to Vancouver.
“That is always the case. Sometimes you have
to go to those facilities for a higher level of care,” he said.
The hospital is looking at full pediatric coverage for the month of January, while the search is on for locums (temporary doctors) to cover obstetrics for a couple of days later in the month.
“That still gives us some time to find locums and fill them in,” Karjaluoto said. “So generally it is looking good.”
Heading into December, officials were looking at 19 days without obstetricians, including New Year’s Eve, but that was eventually reduced to just one, while six days without pediatricians was cut to three.
However, on Christmas Eve, a newborn who had intermittently stopped breathing was flown to Smithers because of a lack of coverage at PGRH.
Citizen photo by Brent Braaten
STICK-HANDLING — Daniel Noel, 6, kept the puck away from his dad, Norm, during some hockey on Tabor Lake. The lake was in great shape, thanks to the cool temperatures and little snow. See page 3 for story on the area's record-low snowfall.
Lumber fight top issue for city in 2003: mayor
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff
Although largely out of the city’s hands, settling the softwood lumber dispute is the most important issue affecting Prince George heading into a new year, says Mayor Colin Kinsley.
“Our mills are going flat out to try and offset the 27 per cent countervail,” he said Monday.
“In my view, driving down the per-unit cost to stay competitive is good, but it’s not sustainable so we have to resolve that.”
Among the issues that are within the purview of city council, Kinsley said that working with senior governments and the business sector to grow the local economy tops his list.
“For us to continue to provide the services that are required, we have to grow our tax base,” he said. “And to grow our tax base, of course, we have to grow the economy.”
On that note, B.C. Assessment released figures last week that show that as of summer 2001 the total assessed value of property within Prince George increased slightly to $3.69 billion
from $3.64 billion the year before, indicating that a long-running decline has come to an end.
“It’s a positive sign,” Kinsley said, but he added that each of the city departments has been asked to find ways to cut their budgets by five per cent as council enters budget discussions in February.
He said that new structures, like the Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Canadian Tire are also signs that the city’s tax base is once again on the upswing, as is the opening of the LiveBridge call centre.
Kinsley added that bringing LiveBridge to Prince George shows the city can attract businesses oriented towards information technology despite heated competition.
In the coming months, Kinsley sees some benefits coming out of the federal government’s $ 110-million national softwood community adjustment fund.
“That’s quite a flexible program that could allow for some infrastructure in our region that would help us in the long term,” he said.
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