Premier Christy Clark and Environment Minister Mary Polak plug in an electric car at an announcement of the government's latest climate change plan in Richmond Aug. 19.
A B.C. Liberal operative was out with the online spin hours before Premier Christy Clark confirmed the much-leaked news in a Friday afternoon announcement at an obscure location in Richmond.
The, er, freeze is continuing for B.C.’s ground-breaking, world-saving carbon tax, which hasn’t changed since before Clark was elected in 2013.
The spin was Olympic-themed, with a picture labeled to show B.C. as a swimmer far out in the lead in the pool, to symbolize that it’s the other provinces that need to catch up in the race to save the planet.
Clark has been saying that for years, and there is merit to it. Even without a tax on “process emissions” such as from cement kilns, B.C.’s carbon tax encourages imports of non-taxed cement from the U.S. and China.
Alberta business professor Andrew Leach, who advised the Stephen Harper and then Rachel Notley governments on greenhouse gas policies, summed up the problem this way.
“Until the rest of the world has policies that impose similar cost, you’re not actually reducing emissions to the extent you think,” Leach said. “You’re just displacing the emissions and the economic activity to other jurisdictions.”
Alberta is moving to join B.C. with a modest carbon tax, but the NDP government plans to spend the proceeds rather than return them in income tax as B.C. has done. And Washington state and most of the rest of the world have no carbon tax as such, so their businesses benefit from B.C.’s “climate leadership.”
B.C.’s foreign-funded eco-radical community was, needless to say, appalled. The Pembina Institute’s Matt Horne and career protesters Tzeporah Berman and Merran Smith were named to the premier’s advisory committee last year, along with business, academic and aboriginal representatives.
They concluded that increases to B.C.’s broad-based tax on carbon fuels should resume its upward march in 2018.
Other committee members, including the mayors of Surrey, Comox and Burns Lake, were not heard from. Public discussion on this issue is now reduced to a staged conflict between those who demand a holy war on deadly carbon dioxide “pollution,” and those who don’t care if their grandchildren perish in a hell-fire of fossil fuel use.
We’ve just come off another El Nino year, like the hot year of 1998. Regular readers will recall the last time I discussed this topic was this spring, where I questioned the premier’s dire warnings of another horrendous forest fire season.
What followed has been one of the slowest forest fire seasons in the last decade, although dry conditions have finally emerged this month. Climate predictions, like next week’s weather forecast, are less than consistent.
I am regularly sent messages calling me a “climate change denier,” the nonsense term that continues to be used by federal Environment Minister Catharine McKenna among many others. I know of no one who denies that climate is always changing, at times dramatically.
If you wish to believe that paying an extra seven cents a litre for gasoline in B.C. is helping to slow the very gradual increase in temperatures we’re seeing in the northern hemisphere, you are free to do so.
You may even be persuaded to take a government subsidy and buy an expensive, short-range electric car. Me, I’m off to Prince Rupert and Revelstoke pretty soon, so I’ll stick with my little four-cylinder gas sipper for now.
Hydro-powered B.C. represents a small fraction of the less than two per cent Canada contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions. We’re not the problem, and no, the world is not looking to us for guidance.
Tom Fletcher is B.C. legislature reporter and columnist for Black Press. Email: tfletcher@blackpress.ca Twitter: @tomfletcherbc


Premier Christy Clark isn't going into next year's election with a promise to jack up Canada's only significant carbon tax


The Delta Islanders were beat by the Calgary Mountaineers 13-5 in the first game of 2016 Minto Cup on Aug. 20 at the Langley Events Centre. Delta was eliminated after the round robin portion of the tournament with a record of 1-3.
After four days of action-packed lacrosse on the green carpet at the Langley Events Centre, the Minto Cup best-of-five final series is set to begin on Thursday, but it won’t include the Delta Islanders.
The Islanders were fresh off winning their first ever BC Junior A Lacrosse League (BCJALL) provincial title but struggled to find their form in the first two games of the national championship. They lost 13-5 to the Calgary Mountaineers on Aug. 20 and were barely edged out by Ontario’s Orangeville Northmen 10-9 on Aug. 21.
A 7-4 win over the Coquitlam Adanacs on Monday night meant Delta finished the tournament tied with Orangeville for third place at 1-2, but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker.
“Obviously, we’re pretty deflated,” said Delta head coach Greg Rennie. “We shot ourselves in the foot on Saturday night losing to Calgary.”
An Alberta team had never defeated a B.C. or Ontario team until Calgary surprised many by beating the BCJALL champions. The Islanders found themselves down 3-0 in the opening 12 minutes of the game and despite scoring three unanswered goals of their own, couldn’t stymie a strong Mountaineers attack over the final two periods.
Delta Islander Chase Fraser tries to get one past Calgary Mountaineers goalie Doug Gardner on day one of the 2016 Minto Cup at the Langley Events Centre on Aug. 20. Fraser finished the game with 2 goals on 12 shots, but Delta ultimately lost the game 13-5. Image credit: Gord Goble
Delta looked to bounce back against the Northmen, who lost 8-7 to Coquitlam the previous night, setting up a loser goes home scenario. The Islanders were down four before coming back to take a 7-6 lead halfway through the game, but were outscored 3-2 in the third period, ultimately losing by just one goal.
The Minto Cup has traditionally been a best-of-seven series between the B.C. and Ontario league champions, but reverted to a four-team round-robin format for this year’s tournament.
“You have to learn to take advantage of every opportunity you get and we didn’t take advantage of the opportunity,” Rennie said.
That doesn’t mean they didn’t leave their mark. Orangeville head coach DJ Clevely was impressed by the physicality of Delta’s defence, saying they don’t see that level of intensity as much in Ontario.
“I give them credit, that’s how they play and had some success,” Clevely said. “They’re old school, I personally like that, but we don’t see that a lot.”
With 16 players now graduating from Delta’s junior program, Rennie anticipates that there will be a rebuilding period but was still optimistic that the Minto Cup experience will pay dividends in the future. Rennie says he will be with the Islanders again next year, although he isn’t sure if he will be back on the bench in addition to his general manager duties.
“Our feeder system is really good. Our Midget A1 team won provincials handily and our Intermediate A team graduates about 13 guys,” Rennie said. “So we feel pretty confident about what we have.”
The Coquitlam Adanacs will take on the Orangeville Northmen in the final series as they hope to win their second Minto Cup championship and first since 2010. Scott Wortley, Coquitlam’s general manager, believes that as long as the Adanacs stick to the gameplan and play with composure, a Minto Cup is well within their sights.
“It’s a big deal for a B.C. team to win but we know how difficult it is to win at this time of year,” Wortley said. “To win [a Minto] would just cap it all off.”
The Minto Cup continues at the Langley Events Centre until at least Aug. 27. Games four and five, if necessary, will be played Aug. 28 and 29, respectively.
Delta Islanders celebrate a goal during their 13-5 loss to the Calgary Mountaineers at the 2016 Minto Cup on Aug. 20 at the Langley Events Centre. Image credit: Gord Goble

LACROSSE: Delta Islanders fall at 2016 Minto Cup


After winning the club’s first BC Junior A lacrosse title, Delta was eliminated at the national championship after three days of play.


Editor: The Aug. 12 article about a $25.5 million upgrade for Highway 13 border traffic makes me wonder where our elected officials’ priorities lay.
$25.5 million for folks leaving Canada to visit the USA — a great place to spend your hard-earned Canadian dollars.
An easier way to regulate the traffic south is to have our elected officials increase the exchange rate.
The current US dollar rate is 1.31 per cent. How about making it 1.61 per cent, and we won’t have to spend $25.5 million on Highway 13
Of course, if you travel south on a Friday or just before a Canadian holiday at 5 p.m., there will probably be a long line. One lane or two lanes south will probably not reduce the wait. The US border inspectors can only work so fast. They have three or four booths now, perhaps we should send the US border services money to add more booths, “just to speed things up.”
My wife and I travel south for two days every two weeks. Fortunately, there are a few things you can still buy in the USA even with our ridiculous exchange rate.
This money should be spent saving lives by adding another lane to 16 Avenue from White Rock to Abbotsford.
It’s a major thoroughfare for trucks and autos and has become a major highway and at times, it’s dangerous
I would like MPs Mark Warawa and John Aldag to attend the opening of another lane on 16 Avenue, and if they can’t do that maybe they should stay in Ottawa.
Roger Layton,
Langley

Letter: Aldergrove crossing funds would be better spent elsewhere


Guns seized from visitors entering Canada at the Huntington-Abbotsford border crossing, 2014.
Canadian Border Services Agency has seen a 116 per cent increase in the number of firearms seized in the Pacific Region in the first half of 2016.
With a 10 per cent increase also recorded in the Prairie region, the CBSA is working with U.S. officials on a firearms awareness campaign to remind Americans about restrictions on bringing guns into Canada.
"Attempting to smuggle firearms across the border can result in immediate forfeiture, hefty fines and even significant jail time," said Kim Scoville, CBSA's regional director general for the Prairie region.
Visitors entering the border inspection line should declare any firearms at their first opportunity. Border services officers will take possession of the weapon if it is declared, but the visitor has the option of shipping it back under CBSA supervision or surrendering it without prosecution.
The RCMP has procedures for visitors bringing firearms into Canada


Guns intercepted at Pacific region border crossings up 116 per cent compared to this time last year


Almost a year after B.C. farm weddings were banned due to a crackdown on agricultural land use rules, the B.C. government has clarified what commercial activities are allowed on farmland.
Farmers can host up to 10 commercial weddings, concerts or non-agricultural events per year without a permit from the Agricultural Land Commission. Farmers can take payment to host a wedding or other event as long as no more than 150 guests attend and a list of conditions are met, according to regulations that took effect Tuesday.
To qualify, event hosts must provide all parking on the farm rather than along roads, with no permanent parking lots or structures, and the event must end in less than 24 hours. For more than 10 events a year or exceeding 150 guests, properties with farm tax status must apply to the ALC for a permit.
The new regulation also clarifies ALC policies to allow, with no permit, farm tours and demonstrations, hayrides, corn mazes, pumpkin patch tours, harvest and Christmas fairs and special occasion events to promote farm products.
Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick said the regulation requiring farms to generate at least 50 per cent of its revenue from farm products is also scrapped, after consultation in the past year suggested the new rules instead.
The crackdown on farm weddings came last fall, when the ALC issued stop-work orders to B.C. farms including the Fraser Valley, Kelowna and Vancouver Island.
The restriction came after the province expanded farm uses to allow breweries and distilleries to operate on protected farmland with the same rules used to permit wineries. The rules allowed for processing of farm crops into products such as juice or jam for commercial sale.


No permit required for weddings, festivals on farms if fewer than 150 people attend, says Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick


SURREY, B.C. – Fraser Health has launched a poster ad campaign bolstering its ongoing drive to raise awareness of what it says is the overdose crisis in British Columbia.
The posters will be displayed at transit stops, bars and restaurants, and are aimed at recreational and regular drug users, their families and friends.
One message on the stark, black and white posters says: "If you use drugs: Have a plan. Go slowly. Use with a buddy. Carry naloxone."
The posters also offer instructions for anyone finding an overdose victim, directing them to call 911, start emergency breathing and use naloxone, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Fraser Health says in a news release that it is confident about the effectiveness of the campaign because the posters were tested in focus groups of regular and recreational drug users.
In April, B.C.'s provincial health officer declared a public health emergency linked to the soaring number of opioid overdoses, and the declaration remains in effect.
Dr. Victoria Lee, Fraser Health's chief medical health officer, says the poster campaign is an extension of the health authority's ongoing public awareness campaign, but she says much more has been done to fight overdose deaths.
"We've created new substance-use beds to provide safe and supportive environments for people (who) require additional support on their road to recovery," Lee says in the release.
Over the last 12 to 18 months, Fraser Health has opened 50 new substance-use beds, including a three-bed program for youth and a 12-bed facility for women who are pregnant or have newborns.
A further 97 beds are slated to open by 2017 across the region, which stretches from Burnaby, through Surrey to White Rock and east to Hope.
The announcement of the poster campaign and the update on available substance-use beds comes as Fraser Health prepares to mark International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31.
The Canadian Press

New Fraser Health poster campaign raises awareness of opioid overdoses


Stark posters warn of overdose dangers to be displayed at transit stops, bars and restaurants aimed at recreational drug users


During a break, Cloverdale - Langley City MP John Aldag talks with attendees at a weekend forum on electoral reform in Langley.
A Langley forum on changing the way we vote in federal elections heard the local MP argue there are currently too many people like him in parliament, and not enough women, visible minorities and people with disabilities.
"There's frankly, a bunch of old white guys who make up the majority of Members of Parliament," Cloverdale-Langley City Liberal MP John Aldag said.
"And although I think that, you know, as someone falling into that category, I can represent a range of opinions, others argue it’s best to actually have representatives from those communities speaking for those communities."
Aldag said minorities and disabled people are under-represented in the House of Commons and it was a "real shame" that only 30 per cent of MPs are women, when women make up just under half the population.
He was speaking at a Fair Vote Canada town hall-style meeting on electoral reform held Saturday in Langley.
About 50 people attended the three-hour meeting.
The MP was appointed in June to the Special House of Commons committee that is reviewing Canada’s electoral system.
It aims to find an alternative to the current first-past-the-post approach that has been criticized because it allows political parties like the Liberal government to win elections with less than a majority of the overall vote.
"We have, as was said, 100 per cent of the power, and yet we have less than 50 per cent of the support of Canadians in the election," Aldag commented.
"The question is, is that fair?"
Aldag said he hopes the report by the all-party committee in December will list multiple alternatives.
The town hall meeting was organized by Fair Vote volunteer and Fort Langley resident Timothy Jones, who opened the meeting by saying under the existing system, it only takes a "small shift in swing ridings" to change governments.
The Liberals, he noted, won "100 per cent of the legislative power" with 39 per cent of the vote.
"We have a situation where more than 50 per cent of the vote doesn't count," Jones said.
"People are walking away from the system and turnout is declining."
The meeting, which was live-streamed online, also heard about alternative voting methods from Dr. Antony Hodgson of UBC, and Craig Henschel, an alumnus of the BC Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform, a provincial attempt at electoral reform that was rejected in a 2009 referendum.
It appeared a majority of those who attended the Saturday meeting favoured some sort of change to the existing system.
A questionnaire was circulated at the meeting and a report on the responses will be submitted to the Electoral Reform committee.

'Old white guys' dominate parliament and that's not right, MP Aldag says


Cloverdale - Langley City Liberal speaks at Langley town hall meeting on electoral reform


Cameras were the focus as 70 photographers from across B.C., including Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Kelowna and Nelson, competed in the fourth annual Next Generation BC Amateur Photographer of the Year Contest at the recent Abbotsford International Airshow.
Sponsored by London Drugs and Black Press Media, the contest took place Aug. 12-14, as participants captured their best air, crowd, static, and wildcard shots.
Photographers experienced close-up action at the airshow including Friday's twilight show, and earned the "hot-side" tour at the airshow where they shot exclusive aircraft including the F-35, CF-18, FA-18, Breitling Jet Team, the Snowbirds and more for a chance to win the title of B.C.'s next Amateur Photographer title.
Awarding categories also include The Best in-air photograph ($750 grand prize), The Best ground/static scene photograph ($500 prize),The Best crowd scene photograph ($250 prize ), The Best video submission ($500 prize) all courtesy of London Drugs and honorary acknowledgement for Best Wildcard entry.
For the People's Choice Award Winner, the time has arrived for the public to vote on their favourite photo and be entered for a chance to win BC Lions game tickets.
For voting and contest information, click here.

Voting open for People's Choice Amateur Photography Competition


Photographers from across the province competed in amateur competition


An exquisite cloud formation inspired columnist David Clements in his article on the upcoming Perseid Meteor Shower.
A funny thing happened on the way to writing this article. I was sitting on my back deck, thinking about what to write about observing the heavens, and I looked up!
What I saw was an exquisite cloud formation, unlike any I’d ever seen before. I took a photo to capture the moment, and now as I look up, all I see is blue sky. The moment has passed.
It reminds me of the lyrics from the well-known song from Sesame Street written by Joe Raposo:
“I nearly missed that rainbow
Don’t want to miss that sunset
I wouldn’t miss that shooting star going by …”
We tend to blame missing celestial events on our busy schedules. Or perhaps we don’t want go out and watch an extreme weather event like a thunderstorm because it’s a bit outside of our comfort zones.
Indeed, getting outside for us highly domesticated modern humans is half the battle. But think of your favourite memories of witnessing the power of nature out in raw nature … don’t they call you to go back out there?
July to August is the time every year when the shooting stars from the Sesame Street song are in their glory. And guess what? This year’s Perseid Meteor Shower is expected to be twice as thick as usual. The predicted peak dates are Aug. 11-12.
Every summer, parts of the comet Swift-Tuttle’s tail break up in our Earth’s atmosphere. We witness this as the bright streaks of shooting stars shower down on us.
One of my favourite experiences of the Perseid Meteor Shower was on Salt Spring Island, where there are few lights, and my son Adrian and I laid back and enjoyed the show on a bedrock bluff before turning in for the night. Unforgettable!
With the Perseid Meteor Shower predicted to produce nearly double the number of shooting stars this year, it is a good year to turn your eyes heavenward.
One way to take in this year’s meteor shower is an event hosted by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada at Aldergrove Regional Park on Saturday, Aug. 13. For details, click here.
Of course, many other heavenly events are unfolding all the time. These wispy clouds are back putting quite a show for me here as I write.
As the Psalmist wrote: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19). Look up!
David Clements, Ph.D. is Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at Trinity Western University.

Green Beat: Don’t forget to look up! Meteor showers are on the way


This year’s Perseid Meteor Shower is expected to be twice as thick as usual. The predicted peak dates are Aug. 11-12.


The union representing most workers at Canada Post has issued a 72-hour notice of job action as it tries to bargain a collective agreement with the Crown corporation.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says the notice spells out what actions it is planning, but stops short of a full-blown walkout.
CUPW national president Mike Palecek says Canada Post forced the labour disruption by refusing to accept a request from the federal labour minister to continue negotiations with the help of a special mediator.
But a spokesman for the agency says that's not the case.
The union's strike mandate was set to expire at midnight.
The two sides have been in negotiations for more than nine months but are far apart on key issues including pay equity for rural carriers and proposed changes to the Canada Post pension plan.
The Canadian Press

Postal union issues strike notice after it says Canada Post refused special mediator


Notice means delivery could be cancelled as early as Monday


A crowd listens to a woman describe her story of beating cancer, the heart of last weekend's 250 k.m. ride.
More than $7 million was raised for the fight against cancer by a group of more than 1,600 cyclists which rode from Surrey to Seattle.
Saturday morning at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds, 1,687 cyclists began the two-day, 250km ride in the eighth-annual Ride to Conquer Cancer, presented by Silver Wheaton, in support of breakthrough cancer research and enhancements at the B.C. Cancer Agency.
The largest cycling fundraiser in the province, the ride has raised over $77 million for the B.C Cancer Foundation since 2008 and brings together thousands of volunteers, participants and communities of cancer survivors all with a common goal.
For Brad Peters, who was part of the Riders for Ryder team, the weather for this year’s event was the best he had seen.
And having ridden the course the last two years, the Langley resident was glad to see the warm dry weather.
"First year, it was freezing cold, and it was heavy rain," Peters told Black Press. "And last year was the storm. The course shut down, I think only 20 per cent of the riders finished the day."
Many riders train for months to be able to complete the grueling two-day event, but all recognize the importance of continuing the cause to find a cure for cancer and to help those currently battling the disease.
“I lost my father, a dedicated Ride participant and former captain of Team CRANKEN, at the young age of 59 in 2013 to stage three bladder cancer,” said Kluhane Leoppky.
“I first got involved in the Ride with my father in 2010, the same year he was diagnosed. To this day, I participate on Team CRANKEN with a growing number of people, all of whom were impacted by my father’s life and legacy."
Silver Wheaton became involved as a sponsor of the ride in 2014, but has participated in the ride since 2009 with a team of over 50 riders which has raised nearly $920,000.
“The experts we support at the BC Cancer Agency are recognized internationally for work in advancing research and enhancing care. Together, this passionate group of riders is fueling breakthrough studies that offer new hope to patients,” said Sarah Roth, President and CEO of the BC Cancer Foundation. "The Ride is about bringing people together to make cancer a manageable and eventually curable disease in our lifetime."
Next year's event is set for Aug. 26-27. More information is available by phone at 888-771-BIKE or online at www.conquercancer.ca


Annual 250-k.m. ride raises $7 million for Cancer Research


ICBC wants to increase basic auto insurance rates by 4.9 per cent – the fifth straight annual increase – as it continues to grapple with rising numbers of crashes, claims and dramatically increasing costs.
The typical driver will pay $3.50 a month or $42 a year more for basic insurance if the hike is approved.
But the corporation is also raising optional rates by 2.8 per cent so the average customer who buys both basic and optional insurance with ICBC will see their insurance bill rise $5 a month, or $60 a year.
ICBC CEO Mark Blucher said the basic rate hike would have been much worse – 15.5 per cent translating into a $130 annual premium increase – had the province not approved another major transfer of $472 million from the optional to the basic side of operations.
A compounding factor has been the long decline of interest rates, which result in less investment income revenue to ICBC.
"These external pressures have really created a perfect storm and it's a really significant challenge for the organization," Blucher said in an interview Thursday.
ICBC had raised rates 5.5 per cent a year ago, and the province's rate smoothing policy requires the annual change be within 1.5 per cent of the previous year's increase.
The number of crashes has climbed 15 per cent in two years and damage claims are up 11 per cent.
Vehicles are increasingly reliant on technology and expensive materials that have become more costly in recent years as the loonie sagged against the U.S. dollar.
Despite much safer vehicles, injury claims have soared to $2.4 billion, up 60 per cent from $1.5 billion in 2008.
"We've seen no evidence that these strong trends are abating," Blucher said. "In fact, if anything, they're continuing to escalate going forward."
Blucher also noted there are more cars on the road in B.C. today – 3.1 million up from 2.8 million in 2011 – and people are driving more because of cheaper gas, contributing to more accidents, particularly in densifying urban areas.
And he pointed to personal injury lawyers as an aggravating cause of ICBC's spiralling claims costs.
"B.C. is the only province in Canada where you can sue another motorist for even a minor traffic accident," Blucher said, noting an increase in lawyer-represented claims and advertising by injury law firms.
Internal operating costs have been cut by $186 million a year, and ICBC is counting on more savings ahead, through its modernization program, by more aggressively combatting insurance fraud and from a hoped-for drop in distracted driving as motorists respond to stiffer penalties.
But transfers from the optional side to bolster the basic side will likely be needed for the foreseeable future, Blucher said, because basic premiums can't keep up with rising costs.
In a surprise move, the B.C. government will this year forgo extracting its usual $160-million annual dividend from ICBC's optional side into general revenue.
"Forgoing the dividend this particular year is one strategy amongst a litany of others we're employing to get that basic trate increase down," Transportation Minister Todd Stone said.
Stone said the $514 million the province has transferred out of ICBC in dividends since 2012 is small compared to the $1.4 billion over the same period that has been shifted from the competitive optional side to basic to apply downward pressure on basic rates.
The minister would not say if the government would permanently give up the ICBC dividend.
Adrian DIx, the NDP critic for ICBC, said the dividends to government have exceeded $1.2 billion since 2010 and predicted they'll resume after next year's election because the BC Liberals are "addicted" to using ICBC as a "profit centre."
Dix said the reliance on shifting huge amounts of capital from optional to basic raises troubling questions.
"Next year they've got to find that $472 million," Dix said. "What they've done is create a disaster at ICBC and their only hope is to deceive the voters until after the election."
He said ICBC's new move to hire more claims staff underscores problems with completing the computer modernization that was supposed to make operations more efficient.
"The transformation project has taken longer than World War 2 and is not close to finished."
ICBC's basic rates rose 11.2 per cent in 2012 and at least five per cent every year since.
The new rate hike is subject to B.C. Utilities Commission approval.
ICBC Rate Pressure Charts

ICBC seeks 4.9 per cent basic rate hike as crashes, costs climb


$60 a year increase for most drivers once optional auto insurance increase is included


B.C. Day, on Monday, Aug. 1, is an opportunity to celebrate this spectacular province. See how well you know British Columbia.

B.C. DAY TRIVIA QUIZ: How much do you know about British Columbia?


The annual Langley Good Times Cruise-In brings crowds of 100,000 people to the City of Langley's downtown core each year.
A last-minute dispute over policing costs at the annual Langley Good Times Cruise-In — which almost led to the Sept. 10 event being cancelled, appears to have been resolved.
The question of whether this year’s event would go ahead in just over two weeks’ time arose following the receipt of an email from the City to the volunteer board of directors on Tuesday night. It stated that owing to the "loss of the RCMP Auxiliary volunteers that have supported the Cruise-In event for the past several years,” paid full-time officers would have to be used for crowd control on Friday and Saturday.
The move came as a result of a change in RCMP policy that limits the use of volunteer officers. The changes were made following the 2015 shootings of a regular duty officer and an auxiliary at an Alberta casino. The full-time officer died as a result of his injuries.
The message from City recreation supervisor Tera Edell arrived Tuesday evening with an invoice for the estimated extra costs of using full-time paid officers of $11,770. It asked that 50 per cent, $5,885, be paid by Aug. 31 and the remaining balance of $5,885, paid by Sept. 23.
"Just this past week I had the opportunity to meet with them (Cruise-In representatives), and at that time it was decided that the Langley Good Times Cruise-In Society will be responsible to pay the additional cost," Edell wrote.
Cruise-In board of directors president Wayne Patterson had a different view.
Patterson sent an email response to the City later the same night in which he wrote that the 2016 show would be cancelled "if the board does not get this outrageous request rebutted …"
"We can't put on a charity car show and have no money left at the end to give to charity," Patterson later told The Times.
After Patterson spoke with City of Langley Mayor Ted Schaffer Wednesday morning, Schaffer said the City would take on the additional bill, as "we want to see this be a positive for the City."
Schaffer said the City is already contributing $43,000 for policing the event, not including the additional $11,770 cost.
"The City fully supports the Good Times Cruise-In, and we as a sponsor value the hard work that the Cruise-In Society does," the mayor added.
As a result, the event will proceed as planned.
"Cruise-In is not cancelled, it's a go-ahead," Patterson said.
Mayor Schaffer told The Times that he wasn't aware of the conversations about paying the extra police costs taking place between City staff and the Cruise-In volunteers.
"Myself, I wasn't aware of any (such) conversations until 11 o'clock last night. So for myself, I was totally blindsided," he said.
The mayor said Cruise-In directors were advised by the City "that there could be some unforeseen costs pertaining to the (RCMP) auxiliary program" in July, and again at an Aug. 3 meeting .
City Coun. Gayle Martin said council was not informed of the invoice being sent to Cruise-In directors because City staff believed an agreement had been reached where Cruise-In would cover the added policing costs, and under those circumstances, councillors didn't require notification.
If staff thought there was an issue, "there is no doubt in my mind that council would have been apprised of the matter," Martin said.
Martin told The Times that an internal memo sent to council from CAO Francis Cheung said the City subsidizes an estimated $65,000 to $70,000 each year for Cruise-In (including the $43,000 for policing).
A separate report also indicated the City incurred an additional $10,000 in flagging costs last year because Cruise-In didn't have enough volunteers, Martin said.
On Wednesday afternoon, the City issued a statement affirming its support of the annual Cruise-In and the volunteers who organize and run it.
“Due to the Langley Good Times Cruise-In’s success, this event cannot be treated like any other day in the community, with thousands of cars placed in our downtown streets and hundreds of thousands of visitors enjoying this unique car show,” the statement reads.
“With the event’s highly anticipated attendance, the City must increase community services such as policing costs to enforce traffic regulations, unsanctioned vehicle performances, disorderly conduct, and open alcohol being consumed on streets in the downtown core.
“As a City, it’s our job to ensure safety for citizens, community members and visitors.
“The City of Langley has and will continue to support the Langley Good Times Cruise-In.”
In the statement, Mayor Schaffer said “many organizations have benefited through the generosity of the funds raised by the Cruise-In and we continue to support their event."
Langley City Council and the Langley Good Times Cruise-In’s Board of Directors will meet following this year’s event "to ensure improved communication and more positive outcomes in future years" the statement concluded.
By Dan Ferguson and Miranda Gathercole, Langley Times

(Update) Battle over Langley Cruise-In policing costs resolved, event to proceed


Langley City agrees to cover additional $11,770 bill for policing Langley Good Times Cruise-In event


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Last Week's Question of the Week Final Results Have you watched coverage of the Summer Olympics? Yes 41 %
No 58 %


Wood products exports from Canada to Asia were down 18 per cent in the first six months of 2016, with the biggest decline being softwood lumber from B.C. to China, according to the Seattle-based Wood Resources International.
Lumber sales to China are on pace to drop by 50 per cent this year compared to 2014, as B.C. lumber producers direct their sales to a healthy U.S. lumber market, according to customs data tracked for the Wood Resources Quarterly (www.woodprices.com).
The latest edition notes that by value, 75 per cent of B.C.'s exports to Asia in 2015 and 2016 are in the form of lumber, while 77 per cent of exports from Washington and Oregon are logs.
Asian demand reached a record high in 2013, with China passing Japan as the largest importer of North American wood products in 2011. The B.C. and federal governments promote wood construction in China and Japan, and B.C.'s forest minister is required to conduct an annual trade mission to China, Japan and other Asian countries.
The shift in demand provides extra urgency for talks to renew the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber agreement that expired last year. B.C. sales are booming without the export cap that both Ottawa and Washington have agreed will be required.

Lumber exports shift to U.S. as China sales slump


Asian demand for B.C. wood products peaked in 2013, analyst says China sales on pace for 50 per cent drop


BC Ferries sailings have been busier this year, thanks in part to strong tourist traffic and no net fare increase.
BC Ferries plans to continue its campaign of price promotions this fall and next spring in an effort to maintain increased passenger and vehicle traffic.
First-quarter results for the Crown corporation show passenger traffic up 2.5 per cent and vehicle loads up 5.1 per cent for the three months ended June 30, compared with the same period in 2015.
Buoyed by a strong tourist year for B.C. and no net fare increase, BC Ferries carried 5.3 million passengers and 2.1 million vehicles in April, May and June. The 1.9 per cent average fare hike was erased by a reduced fuel surcharge due to long-term contracts for cheaper diesel fuel.
Helped by reduced operating costs and higher retail sales from terminals and on-board gift shops, net earnings were $27 million for the quarter, up from $18.8 million in the same period last year. Revenues were up 4.9 per cent to $219 million, while costs for the quarter went up 1.5 per cent to $178.6 million.
BC Ferries CEO Mike Corrigan released the first-quarter results at the corporation's annual meeting in Victoria, where he also announced that unspecified pricing promotions will be offered this fall and next spring. This year BC Ferries has been offering discounts on over-length vehicles pulling boats or travel trailers.
Corrigan also announced he will be stepping down as CEO at the end of the fiscal year next March. He was promoted in 2012 to replace former CEO David Hahn, and presided over a controversial service review that saw sailings reduced on money-losing routes.
Transportation Minister Todd Stone praised Corrigan for reducing operating costs and embracing new technology, including three new medium-sized ferries using liquefied natural gas fuel that have been built in Poland.
LNG retrofits are also scheduled for the Spirit of B.C. and the Spirit of Vancouver Island, the workhorses of the main Tswassen-to-Vancouver Island route.
Corrigan's term also saw the first cable ferry in the BC Ferries fleet, the Baynes Sound Connector to Denman Island. Stone said the cable ferry cut fuel costs by half.

More discounts coming as BC Ferries traffic rises


Vehicle traffic up 5% with no net fare increase and discounts offered for vehicles pulling boats and travel trailers


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Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti believes Italy outcast and former Serie A bad boy Mario Balotelli can fight his way back into the national squad, if he changes his mental approach.
Controversial striker Balotelli has not played for Italy since their first-round exit from the 2014 World Cup and is facing an uncertain future after being told to leave Liverpool by Reds’ boss Jurgen Klopp.
But PSG and Italy star Verratti believes 26-year-old Balotelli, who has recently been linked with a move to Serie A side Palermo as well as Ligue 1 side Nice, still has time to turn his career around.
“He’s one of the greatest strikers I’ve ever played with. He’s physically strong and in front of goal he rarely misses,” Verratti said in comments reported by Mediaset Premium.
“His problem is his head. I hope the chance comes for him to turn things around. He’s a great guy. In football you can’t afford to think on an individual level, you have to think of the collective.
“He’s still young, he has plenty of time to change.”
Verratti is set to play for Italy in a friendly against France next week in what will be his first Azzurri outing since their qualifying campaign for Euro 2016.
Verratti, 23, missed the tournament itself after being forced to undergo a hernia operation in May.


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PHOTOS: Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg in Nigeria


Arsene Wenger has confirmed Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi and Deportivo La Coruna striker Lucas Perez are on the verge of signing for Arsenal.
Wenger has lined up deals for the pair as he seeks to bolster his squad after a quiet transfer window and the Gunners boss is confident both players will arrive at the Emirates Stadium before Wednesday’s deadline.
The Frenchman revealed Mustafi and Perez passed medicals on Friday and it is just a case of completing the paperwork to officially seal the deals.
Germany defender Mustafi, 24, is set to sign a five-year contract for a fee in excess of £35 million ($46m), while Spanish striker Perez, 27, is expected to cost £17 million after scoring 17 goals last season.
“I think they should go through, both of them,” Wenger told reporters after Saturday’s 3-1 win at Watford.
“They had medicals. We have to finish the paperwork and I don’t know exactly when we will announce it but look, I think it could be announced at the beginning of the week.”

Mustafi, Perez to join Arsenal, Wenger confirms


PHOTOS: Six rescued as building collapses in Abuja


Floods wreak havoc in Lagos, Ogun, Sokoto


Simon Utebor, Yenagoa
The father of Innocent Kokorifa, who was allegedly killed by a police team in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, has demanded justice for his son.
Mr. Daniel Kokorifa, an official of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Rivers State Sector Command, said his son was murdered by a team led by his friend.
He spoke on Monday when some human rights activists, led by a former Secretary, Civil Liberties Organisation, Mr. Alagoa Morris, paid a condolence visit to his home in the Okaka area of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
Innocent, who was first of five children, was allegedly shot dead by the police anti-kidnapping team on Air Force Road in Yenagoa on August 18, 2016.
The victim was said to be running an errand for his mother, Pere, when he was killed.
But the state police command had in a statement claimed that the victim died during a gun battle between a three-man robbery gang and the police.
The victim’s father, Daniel, however, said upon investigation, he discovered that Innocent was killed by a police team led by his own friend.
He explained that his son died on the day his West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination results were released wherein he passed all his papers.
He said, “On August 18, 2016, my wife called me that our son was shot dead by the police. We went to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, but they denied knowledge of the incident.
“We went to the anti-vice unit and they also denied. When we went to the scene of the incident, we discovered that it was the anti-vice team that came for the operation.
“The following morning, I went to the anti-vice team again, but they denied knowledge of it. I saw a friend, who worked there. When I asked him, he also denied any knowledge of it. But I later discovered that it was my friend, who led the team, that killed my son.
“From there, I went to the Emergency Ward at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, in search of my son. There, I was told that the police brought the boy in the night around 11pm, the doctors said the boy was brought dead.
“That was how I knew my son was dead. I went inside the mortuary with my son’s picture and my ID card before they allowed me in. I saw his lifeless body in the morgue.”
Daniel, while thanking various rights groups that had been standing by the family, said his son’s dream of studying law at the university had been cut short.
“From birth, he never had any criminal record. The day he died was the day his principal called me that he made all his papers. Now, he is dead. All I demand is justice,” he added.
The victim’s mother, Pere, said she asked him to give N2,000 to her elder sister’s daughter around 10pm on the day of the incident.
“We started searching for him when he didn’t return on time. We went to hospitals and police stations, but they all denied knowing the whereabouts of my son. The following day, when my husband returned from Port Harcourt where he works, we went to the SCIID and they asked me to write a statement that it was bad boys that killed my son, so that they could investigate the matter, but I refused.”
Human rights activist, Morris, said, “Even a criminal is innocent until proven guilty by a competent court of law. And until a judge pronounces the death penalty, no one has the right to take a life.”
Another activist, Ebiserikumo Gbassa, who described the development as an extra-judicial killing, said the police had ended the life of a promising youth.
“I am appealing to all relevant authorities to ensure that the killers of the innocent boy are brought to book,” he added.
When contacted, the spokesman for the police command in the state, Mr. Asinim Butswat, said the police were investigating the matter.
However, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Amiengheme Andy, last Friday, sympathised with the family of the deceased.
Andy had said, “We do not encourage such things. We all have children and nobody will send anyone out to shoot anybody and anyone who does that will pay dearly for it.
“We want to assure the family that nobody will cover up the matter.
“At the end of the day, justice must be done. The commissioner wants to see the father of the boy because it is very painful.” Copyright PUNCH.
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My policeman friend led team that killed my son - Father


Chelsea and Nigeria winger Victor Moses ended a four-year English Premier League goal drought by completing the scoring in a 3-0 rout of Burnley at the weekend.
The Lagos-born 25-year-old attacker is back with the west London club after one-season loans to Liverpool, Stoke City and West Ham United.
African Footballer of the Year and Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang bagged a brace for Borussia Dortmund in a season-opening 2-1 Bundesliga victory over Mainz.
ENGLAND
VICTOR MOSES (Chelsea)
The Nigeria international scored his first Premier League goal for four years when, having been played in by fellow substitute Pedro, he slid the ball in from close range in the 89th minute to set the seal on unbeaten Chelsea’s 3-0 win at home to Burnley.
RIYAD MAHREZ (Leicester City)
One of the stars of the Foxes’ shock march to the title last season, the Algeria winger had a penalty saved at 2-0 in what turned out to be a 2-1 win over Swansea as Leicester recorded their first league victory of the season. He also saw a shot creep past Lukasz Fabianski’s left-hand post before the goalkeeper saved his spot-kick. It was Mahrez’s third failure from his last four Premier League penalties.
LAMINE KONE (Sunderland)
Had a generally sound game in defence for the Black Cats at Southampton and the Ivory Coast centre-back might have opened the scoring in an eventual 1-1 draw but shot wide after being teed up by Patrick van Aanholt.
NORDIN AMRABAT (Watford)
The Morocco midfielder made his presence felt as Watford went down 3-1 to Arsenal, bundling Alexis Sanchez to the turf as he inadvertently clattered his opponent in the head — leaving him dazed. There appeared to be no lasting damage, with Sanchez among Arsenal’s scorers.
SPAIN
KEVIN-PRINCE BOATENG, NABIL EL ZHAR (Las Palmas)
Boateng’s brilliant start to life in the Canary Islands continued as Las Palmas went top of La Liga with a 5-1 thrashing of Granada. The Ghanaian headed home his second goal in as many games to put the hosts 2-1 up early in the second half. Moroccan winger El Zhar scored twice and set up the fourth goal.
ITALY
KWADWO ASAMOAH (Juventus)
Just how long Asamoah will keep his starting place in the Juventus midfield remains to be seen, but the Ghanaian dynamo won the plaudits of coach Massimiliano Allegri after a “solid” performance in a 1-0 win at Lazio that maintained the champions’ 100% start to the campaign. Asamoah may even have had his name in lights if Lazio ‘keeper Federico Marchetti had not somehow flapped his speculative effort away from the top corner of his goal.
FRANK KESSIE (Atalanta)
Teenage Ivorian defender Kessie hit his third goal in two Serie A games for Atalanta when he pounced on a loose ball in front of the Sampdoria goal to beat Marco Sportiello in the 27th minute in Genoa, but the home side recovered to win 2-1.
SAPHIR TAIDER (Bologna)
Taider and the rest of his Bologna team probably thought it was ‘game on’ when the Algerian levelled for the visitors after hosts Torino had opened the scoring. But Bologna were awful for much of the rest of the game, and ‘Toro’ capitalised to triumph 5-1.
FRANCE
NICOLAS NKOULOU (Lyon)
Cameroon defender Nkoulou, signed to replace Cameroon-born France international Samuel Umtiti, who was sold to Barcelona in mid-year, conceded a penalty for a foul on Cape Verde striker Julio Tavares as Lyon lost 4-2 at Dijon.
MOUSTAPHA DIALLO (Guingamp)
Senegalese midfielder Diallo scored his second goal this season to help Guingamp to a 2-0 win at Nancy that leaves them surprisingly top of the Ligue 1 table.
SERGE AURIER (Paris Saint-Germain)
Ivory Coast defender Aurier had an eventful evening as champions PSG lost 3-1 at Monaco. He set up Edinson Cavani’s goal that gave Paris hope after they had fallen two goals behind at the Stade Louis II, but then put through his own net 10 minutes from time to confirm the defeat.
GERMANY
PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG (Borussia Dortmund)
After Robert Lewandowski, last season’s top scorer in Germany with 30 goals, scored a hat-trick for Bayern Munich on Friday, ‘Auba’ went and netted twice at home for Borussia Dortmund on Saturday with a first-half header and a late penalty in the 2-1 win over Mainz.
LAMINE SANE, FALLOU DIAGNE (Werder Bremen)
Along with the rest of the Bremen team, the Senegalese centre-backs had a night to forget as Bayern ran riot in a 6-0 thrashing of Werder in the opening 2016/17 Bundesliga fixture. The pair were at fault for allowing Lewandowski to get in behind the Bremen defence for his first goal. Fallou failed to close down Munich captain Philipp Lahm for the third.

Victor Moses ends four-year EPL goal drought


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I'm sitting in a Starbucks right in the middle of the University Library at a booth for one next to a booth for two. Two women, both poets, are talking about poetry, poets, publishing poetry and whom they like. Elizabeth Bishop has earned a 'two thumbs up.' The American is a tenured professor in the English Department. The Brit is cruising a job and has just announced she is not a fan of most women poets. Politely, with only a hint of outrage, the American notes that the subject matter of male poets is a bit too clever to sustain their ancient complaint about overgrown suburban gardens. "Cleverness is good for cocktail parties," she warns, "In poetry it comes off as cunning, cagey, calculated and appear ingenious, but is actually ingenuous". The Brit listens patiently. Unfortunately, her anti-feminist stance is an ill-conceived strategy to sidestep the fact her own poetry has not yet been published in prestigious literary journals. She is failing to establish a political common ground. Successful candidates in academe gain the support and confidence of senior faculty by demonstrating an understanding of two well-worn locutions: 'one good turn deserves another' and 'never bite the hand that feeds you'. Both women are now dropping names of twentieth century literary giants, one or the other has known personally-Pinsky, Merwin, Strand, Hass, and the notorious Ted Hughes, all males, of course. The Brit seems to have topped the American in this category. Cambridge literary life compared to Long Beach, California, end of subject. The American poet momentarily defeated, physically deflated pushes her paper coffee cup away and uncrosses her legs. I cannot help noticing that her shoes are utilitarian black leather, flat, and worn. She is thin, almost frail, her pale skin, pasty. A few daily laps in an outdoor pool or a bike ride on the path parallel to the Pacific Ocean would do wonders. The Brit is wearing a colorful silky dress, a little too short, a little too tight. Once our British allies lose the slimness of youth, they rarely break a sweat trying to fight their genetic heritage. At least twice a day before, during or after dinner a swig of something stronger than reality seems to handle the anxiety fomented by full-length mirror. A possible teaching job in America may produce a strain, especially if located in California where body image is believed to be the only subject taken seriously. The Brit is a good ten years younger than the American poet. The skin, like the circles concealed in a tree trunk reveals age. Her outer layer is smooth, taught, pink, actually rosy, and a little brighter than the flowers on her dress. Shiny auburn hair, muscular forearms and calves almost justify the length of her dress. In addition, she has never married; I suspect that my colleague considers this to be the candidate's most valuable asset. I've heard rumors that my colleague is growing tired of supporting her second husband, a younger man, the house husband type who stays at home watching their seven year old while finishing his dissertation. Twenty years ago the American poet was a real dish, arrogant, and confident, arriving fresh out of an east coast graduate school believing that working in southern California for a short time would be an experience--something to write about. She met 'the dude' at a party in the Hollywood Hills where a valet parked her 1972 Chevy and movie stars thought being a college professor was a sexy role. His gentle curls fell, just like hers, on to strong, square shoulders. He played a soulful guitar and actually had a record album with his picture on the cover for sale at the vintage record store on the corner of Highland and Santa Monica Boulevard. 'The dude' became husband number one, disappearing soon after they tied the knot into the Los Angeles forest and the high desert in order to continue his old habits-drugs and women. Thanks to the push for equality, the California courts forced the poet, a newly hired professor, and young mother to support, 'the dude'. She sold her house and cashed in a few mutual funds in order to remove the illusion of bliss from her life forever. The son produced from their union is attending Ivy League U. partially paid for with an inheritance from her parents, who tried to protect their talented daughter from having to work past the age of sixty-five. At least once a month her progeny calls home for another hit from his mother's dwindling bank account. "It's a worthy cause," she whispers as streak of lightening flashes across her car's windshield, while changing lanes on the freeway. "Especially worthy cause", she ruminates, leaning over the rail of her condominium's terrace, eight stories above street traffic, "if it relieves my god dam guilt ¾ trying to write and raise babies". The Brit, since the age of five, I'd wager, she has been on a roiling journey through Dickens' merciless winters of the soul, the wild cliffs of Beowulf, Milton's British blank verse (the essential argument between the poet and god) the religious impropriety of Donne, the insanity, sexual proclivities of Byron and Shelly, the power of chaos in Coleridge's post-lapsarian garden, and Blake's iconoclastic mythology ¾ the poet's final break with Christian self-righteousness. The British candidate's superior education, contentious sense of entitlement, and a recommendation letter from the Nobel Prize winning poet, Seamus Heaney, leaves us with the impression she's a force one cannot easily ignore. Of course, students in today's market place are also a force not easily ignored, and may be intimidated by a woman whose confidence comes from what is stored in her head, rather than hangs from her body. If one is vying for tenure low scores on student anonymous satisfaction surveys can send a qualified candidate back to the academic want ads searching for another position, but this time, with an indelible stain on their record. "I have to pick up my daughter from ballet class," the American poet announces suddenly. "She's only seven." "I used to take ballet," the Brit exclaims enthusiastically--a last ditch effort. The American smiles and exits the booth quickly. The British candidate follows slightly behind. I leave the scene with only ten minutes to prepare for my 7:00 o'clock class--Directing Theater. I sigh, close to dementia myself, yet feel a dumb smugness knowing I will never again have to measure my words and manners in order to please an academic hiring committee. I walk past the students trading bits and pieces of their generation's indecipherable code at tables in the quad. The California sunset is startling, a blue sky rapidly changing to blood red. Later, walking to my car in the dark, empty parking lot I am not able to locate feelings evoked earlier by my job or job security. In the late afternoon, like a juror, I had the opportunity to argue for a British poet cruising a position eminently qualified to fill in the English Department; instead I let the opportunity pass anxious to return to my life of silence. I couldn't sleep that night and went to my desk looking for the notebook where I scribbled a few lines about the Brit's interview. My words a last ditch effort to take stock of the present quality of my character and position at the roundtable of life. I wouldn't hesitate betting fifty bucks that the Brit was no longer being considered. Never again would she have the opportunity to flaunt her credentials, youth, and muscular jaw in the face of an overwrought colleague while enjoying a soy latte in Starbucks . Okay, I admit, a cosmic joke in the middle of a university library one more sign there is nothing left that's sacrosanct. If the fever of endless competition descended before me like ' wind shadows of the indignant desert birds [1] would I forget or be forgotten by the tiger, ah the tyger ¾ TYGER, tyger, burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? When the stars threw down their spears, And water'd heaven with their tears, Did He smile His work to see? Did He who made the lamb make thee? [2] *** [1] William Butler Yeats, "The Second Coming". (Excerpt) [2] William Blake, "Tyger Tyger". (Excerpt) *** © S. Blumenthal All Rights Reserved, 2012


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Back to school: Where to drink on a budget


Finding a bar that charges $10 or less for a Negroni or Dark ’n’ Stormy feels like stumbling upon unmined treasure. But just because you’re a broke-ass student doesn’t mean you’re stuck with boxed wine and Pilsner for the rest of your degree(s).


Fritzingertown Personal Care Therapy Animal Visit


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WILKES-BARRE — The owner of What the Fork eatery, which abruptly vanished recently, is in default of a $100,000 loan, according to court documents.
The action filed against the business and its owner, Mario Bevilacqua of Scranton, says Scranton-based MetroAction Inc. loaned the business $100,000 in April 2015 — a month before he opened What the Fork’s bricks-and-mortar restaurant at 41 S. Main St., Wilkes-Barre — and that Bevilacqua has subsequently failed to repay the loan. A complaint attorney Andrew Hailstone filed says Bevilacqua owed the business $105,288, including interest and attorneys’ fees, as of the end of July.
A judgment for the amount was entered late last month.
Court records indicate the Dunmore-based business — which recently closed its Wilkes-Barre restaurant and pulled its iconic trucks, The Beast and Mooch, from the streets — has been beset by tough financial times. Last week, the Internal Revenue Service filed a federal tax lien saying the business owes $44,831 in taxes assessed over three quarters last year.
The company, founded in 2012, showed great promise, reaching a national audience with an appearance on “Live with Kelly and Michael” for a food truck competition in 2013. Bevilacqua opened the Wilkes-Barre location in May 2015 and in February rented office space in the Scranton Enterprise Center along Lackawanna Avenue.
He has not returned repeated messages seeking comment.

Closed eatery’s ownerdefaulted on $100G loan


Karlene Bullock (left) and her mother Delores Johns have been working together for years. The pair have 30 years in the industry.
The new Bagheera Boutique in Fort Langley aims to fill the fashion gap created when Ella’s Clothes Closet in Brookswood closed by bringing back top European brands to Langley, with names such as Laurel, Luisa Cerano, Marc Cain, Wolford, Brax and Vince, along with local Canadian accessories like Suzi Roher scarves, and Vancouver’s Sheereen De Roussea jewelry.
It also brings back Karlene Bullock and her mother Delores Johns, who have dressed the Fraser Valley for over 30 years, the last 10 of them working as a team at Ella’s.
When Ella Little shut down her namesake shop on 200 Street and 40A Avenue just over a year ago, it left a large hole in the market, Bullock said.
“We used to have women coming from Langley, Maple Ridge, White Rock, Chilliwack and all over Vancouver, to shop, and all of a sudden there were no options.”
When the owners of the Victoria-based Bagheera Boutique, Nataliia Bahirova and Anton Solonnikov decided to open their second store in Langley, they reached out to Bullock and Johns after hearing Ella’s had closed.
“They know the market,” Solonnikov — Bagheera marketing manager — said of the mother-daughter team.
“They have a following from 30 years.”
Bullock said she has been flooded with phone calls and emails from people excited that the new boutique is carrying the same lines.
“We want to be the go-to place for shopping for all women in the Greater Vancouver area,” Bullock said.
“Fort Langley is such a beautiful and quaint place, and the perfect getaway for the weekend.”
Johns said service is the key to keep customers coming back.
“It has to be honest service,” Johns said.
“Honest and continuous.”
Johns has been known to do things like drive to Harrison Hot Springs to ensure a bow on a customer’s bridal dress was properly tied for her wedding ceremony.
“Mom’s good at sales, she is good at talking to the customers,” Bullock said.
“There is no one in the valley who can do displays like she does.”
Johns gives her daughter high marks for bringing in the best of fashion.
“She’s very good at the buying,” Johns said.
The Fort Langley Bagheera Boutique is located in the new Coulter Berry building at Glover Road and Mavis Avenue.
Solonnikov said the store doesn’t only cater to the high-end shoppers, but carries low- to medium-priced brands from Europe as well.
Store phone: 604-371-2879.

Familiar faces at the new Bagheera Boutique in Fort Langley


Mother-and-daughter team bring experience and expertise in high-end fashion


Surveillance footage taken at 68 Schooner Street in Coquitlam on July 26 shows two people appearing to dump a dog's body into the trash.
BC SPCA staff are looking for the public's help to identify two people who tossed a dead dog into a Dumpster about a month ago in Coquitlam.
Officials were alerted to the remains by the city's animal control, said Lorie Chortyk, the SPCA's general manager of community relations. Necropsy results that were just received suggest the young, female Boxer-cross likely died of extreme heat exposure.
Security footage from 68 Schooner Street shows a light-coloured van pulling up behind the building, and two people getting out to discard the animal.
"Someone will know this dog," Chortyk said. "They will recognize the people in the footage."
She added the SPCA is not so focused on how the dog was discarded, but how it died. Charges of animal cruelty could be considered if it turns out the animal died after being left in hot car, for example.
"If there was no wrongdoing in this case, then we just close the file. We just want to know what happened."
Anyone who recognizes the people or the dog's blue and grey collar with red and black leash are asked to call the BC SPCA's animal cruelty hotline at 1-855-622-7722.
The last time a dog's body being left in a Dumpster made headlines was in 2012.
A German shepherd named Captain was found beaten and bleeding in a Dumpster in Kitsilano four years ago.
His owner, Brian Whitlock, was jailed for 60 days for causing unnecessary suffering to the animal.

VIDEO: Dead dog thrown in Dumpster in Coquitlam


The BC SPCA trying to identify two people after a Boxer-cross that had apparently died of heat exposure was found in a Dumpster.


Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have reached tentative agreements, averting the prospect of a labour dispute that has loomed over the talks for months.
In a statement, Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk says the agreements were reached "voluntarily," but provides no other details about the deals themselves.
The issue of differences in paycheques for rural mail carriers — most of whom are women — and urban letter carriers had been at the forefront of protracted contract talks between the two sides.
The negotiations were extended twice since the weekend, when a deadline expired on a 72-hour job action notice issued last Thursday by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
The two sides were in talks nearly around the clock at the request of a special mediator appointed Friday by Mihychuk.
Canada Post described the tentative agreements as short-term. It said they are for two years and that four-year contracts were typically negotiated in the past.
"The agreements will avert a work disruption, bringing much-needed certainty in the postal system for our employees and customers," said Canada Post in a statement. "Canadians can now use the postal system with confidence."
The tentative agreements, however, still must be ratified by the members.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is Canada Post's largest union, representing more than 50,000 postal workers
The Canadian Press

Canada Post, postal union reach tentative deals


Two sides avert job action that has loomed for months


OTTAWA – Contract talks continue between Canada Post and its largest union, but neither side is hinting as to whether any progress has been made.
A federally appointed mediator has been meeting with the two sides since Friday to try to reach a deal.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says if there is no deal by midnight, it would begin job action on Monday by having its members refusing to work overtime on a rotating basis, starting in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
CUPW served 72 hour strike notice Thursday night, accusing Canada Post of forcing a labour disruption by refusing to bargain in good faith.
The two sides have been deadlocked for months on the issues of pay scales for rural letter carriers and proposed changes to pensions for future employees.
A CUPW news release says the initial job action will cause little disruption to Canada Post customers and that its members will still be delivering mail every day.
The Canadian Press

Postal workers union give details of job action if no deal is reached Sunday


Talks continue, with rotating overtime ban set to begin Monday if no agreement by midnight Sunday


Doug Kelly, chair of the B.C. First Nations Health Council
With patients in urban areas having difficulty finding a family doctor, the situation in rural B.C. is going from bad to worse, MLAs on the province's health committee were told Monday.
Ed Staples, a member of the B.C. Health Coalition, described his efforts to improve the situation in Princeton, a community of about 5,000 people that four years ago was down to one doctor providing on-call service.
Princeton now has four full-time doctors and two nurse practitioners, but there are still people who can't find a doctor in the region, including Penticton an hour and a half away. A recent search of the College of Physicians and Surgeons website turned up the nearest doctor accepting patients in Courtney on Vancouver Island, Staples said.
Health Match BC, the province's web portal for recruiting doctors, nurses and other health professionals, currently has more than 400 general practitioner vacancies, with 37 communities seeking 85 doctors. The result is "bidding wars" between communities to offer incentives to relocating doctors, and foreign doctors using a rural community as an entry point before relocating to the Lower Mainland, he said.
The B.C. government has announced its latest videoconferencing service for health care, linking psychiatrists with young people in Cranbrook. The service is available twice a month at the local Children and Family Development office, supplementing visits by specialists in communities such as Cranbrook and Princeton. Health Minister Terry Lake says video conferencing and electronic health records are a key part of the solution for reaching patients across B.C.
Doug Kelly, chair of the B.C. First Nations Health Council, told the committee of an Abbotsford doctor who travels to Carrier Sekani territory around Prince George for part of his practice, in a pilot project with Northern Health.
Kelly said video links and nurse practitioners are part of the solution to delivering rural and remote care, but the main obstacle is the business model for doctors that has them cycling through as many as 20 patients an hour to bill enough to cover their office overhead.
Committee members were also reminded that graduating doctors are increasingly reluctant to take on the demands of family practice, especially in smaller communities where they may find themselves on call around the clock.

Video links grow as rural health care shrinks


Small communities have more than 400 doctor vacancies, with 'telehealth' and visiting specialists filling gaps


TORONTO – Few Canadian television events qualify as a momentous occasion for the nation, but Saturday's Tragically Hip concert promises to be special.
It seems like much of the country will be tuned into CBC's live broadcast of "The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration" from Kingston, Ont., when factoring in home screenings and community viewing parties.
Yet how many people will watch is anybody's guess at this point.
"This is an unprecedented event for us," said Jennifer Dettman, CBC's executive director of unscripted content.
The sentiment is true on many levels, she adds.
The last stop on the Hip's "Man Machine Poem" tour is widely expected to be their final performance, as lead singer Gord Downie is facing terminal brain cancer. After tickets to the tour sold out within minutes, fans launched a campaign urging the CBC to carry the band's Kingston show as a live TV event.
Dettman wouldn't speak to the contract negotiations that led to the Hip agreeing to the broadcast.
"CBC made both a competitive and financially responsible offer to acquire the broadcast rights, and we're thrilled to be able to offer this national celebration to as many Canadians as possible," she said.
The concert won't just be on the main CBC network, it will also be broadcast through various other platforms such as CBC Radio One, the CBC website and its YouTube and Facebook channels.
With so many viewing options, that will make it tough to capture how many eyes and ears are focused on the Hip this Saturday.
That's where ratings agency Numeris comes in. The Toronto-based company tracks viewership figures by using meters and viewing diaries prepared by a panel of Canadians representative of the population.
Their data shows that most huge audience draws are typically live programming, led by major sporting events.
The Super Bowl is the biggest TV event nearly every year â€” drawing about six million to eight million viewers in recent years â€” while a handful of other annual celebrations like the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and Grammys are perennial favourites too.
The gold medal game of the men's hockey tournament at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics is considered to be the most-watched broadcast ever in Canada. It drew 16.6 million viewers, according to data from Numeris, about double the number of people who tune into most Super Bowls.
Those kinds of numbers will be hard to beat, even for a rock band with as much Canadian clout as the Hip.
Numeris spokesman Tom Jenks wouldn't guess how many viewers will tune into the CBC broadcast, but acknowledges it'll probably be a pretty big number.
The agency said it will be counting every public screening â€” from restaurants to movie theatres to community viewing parties â€” and each person streaming the concert on their phone. Viewers who playback the show on their DVRs within seven days will also be included in the final numbers.
"Our system captures all viewing," Jenks said.
Potentially driving those numbers higher is the decision make the Hip's concert a one-time broadcast, with no encore presentation and no availability on on-demand platforms.
"Our goal was to bring the experience of this live concert to Canadians in that moment," Dettman said.
"I'm sure the band will figure out what they will want to do with the concert afterwards."
She said the goal is to give all Canadians the same "crescendo" feeling that will ripple through the arena in Kingston.
"Our goal is to bring the experience ... to as many Canadians as we can," she said.
"The idea that we're all together experiencing this moment at the same time is really special."
Follow @dfriend on Twitter.
David Friend, The Canadian Press

Televised Tragically Hip show an 'unprecedented event:' CBC


Whether it's home screenings or community viewing parties, much of Canada will be tuning in for iconic rock band's final bow


B.C. Day, on Monday, Aug. 1, is an opportunity to celebrate this spectacular province. See how well you know British Columbia.

B.C. DAY TRIVIA QUIZ: How much do you know about British Columbia?


Solitude in the wilderness is still available in B.C., between holiday weekends when demand peaks at B.C.'s most popular parks.
Foreign visitors and those on package tours are a small fraction of the demand for B.C. Parks campgrounds around the province, but B.C. resident campers are still using a few tricks to get spaces for high-demand parks.
Some have protested the use of online reservations by motorhome tour operators who sell them as part of a package for tourists.
"Our provincial campsites are not products to be sold, they belong to the people of B.C.," Green Party leader Andrew Weaver said this week.
Environment Minister Mary Polak told Black Press numbers are being tracked for the current year, and the proportions haven't changed much. In 2015, fewer than one per cent of reservable B.C. Parks spaces were booked by tour operators, who also use private camping facilities.
Three quarters of reservations are from within B.C. The second highest share is from Alberta at 14 per cent, the U.S. accounts for 3.6 per cent, the rest of Canada 2.8 per cent, and all European countries combined are 6.6 per cent of the total.
The BC Parks system has 10,700 camping spaces in total, and 5,600 are reservable, to manage demand for the most popular spots.
First-come, first-served sites are kept out of the reservation system in some popular locations to accommodate travellers who drop in along the road. For high-demand periods like the recent Canada Day weekend, savvy campers work the reservation system.
At Golden Ears Provincial Park, one group booked for two weeks as soon as the 90-day eligibility window opened, then dropped the first week, giving them the coveted Canada Day weekend dates before they were generally available.
"Every year we look to change things to keep people from cheating, and every year they find new ways," Polak said. "Really the only answer is going to be finding a way to expand the number of sites that we have available."
It's shaping up as a record year for the Discover Camping reservation service, with 92,000 bookings so far this year.
B.C. Parks has added four new sites for this summer. Reservations can be made for Garibaldi Provincial Park in the Whistler area, Ruckle Provincial Park on Saltspring Island, Okanagan Falls Provincial Park, Inland Lake Provincial Park near Powell River and Dry Gulch Provincial Park near Radium Hot Springs.

Provincial campsite rush mostly B.C. residents


Few BC Parks bookings going to commercial operators, solution is more campsite spaces, Environment Minister Mary Polak says


Two men and a mining company in receivership have been charged with 18 pollution infractions related to their shut-down gold mine on an island near Prince Rupert.
Benjamin Mossman and Dirk Meckert are scheduled to appear in Prince Rupert provincial court Sept. 7. Also charged is Banks Island Gold Ltd., which went into receivership after being shut down last year for provincial permit violations.
The Yellow Giant mine was ordered shut down by the Ministry of Environment in July 2015 after a tailings spill was reported on a tip. There is one charge of failing to report a spill of a polluting substance, and the other 17 charges are for failing to comply with permits.
North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice raised the issue in the legislature this spring, after receiving a letter from the Gitxaala First Nation referring to two separate tailings spills. Rice said the ministry did not inspect the operation for 15 months, until receiving a complaint.
NDP mining critic Norm Macdonald told the legislature a worker at the mine "became fed up, put his job on the line, sent the ministry and me a tip and pictures that documented what was going on there."
Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett said the mine was shut down when the situation was brought to its attention. The mine's 90 employees lost their jobs.
The province has a $420,000 security bond from the mining company, to provide ongoing monitoring. In March the mines ministry and Banks Island Gold removed explosives from the mine site and in May ministry technical staff assessed the hazardous materials on site.
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service, which recommended the charges, would not comment on the current condition of the Banks Island site, because it is evidence for the prosecution.

Banks Island miners face 18 pollution charges


Gold mine near Prince Rupert shut down last summer for permit violations, owners charged for failing to report spill


B.C. has 300 seniors' care facilities, and residents and their loved ones are to be surveyed on conditions.
More than 250 volunteers have signed up to compile a survey of seniors in residential care, and B.C.'s Seniors Advocate is looking for more.
The 27,000 seniors living in 300 residential care facilities around the province are being asked about their experience with care home staff, the quality of food, privacy, medications and other conditions.
It's the first comprehensive survey done in B.C., to measure resident satisfaction and provide a "roadmap" for improvements, said Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie.
Interviews will be conducted in person by trained volunteers, and a matching mail-out survey will be sent to each resident's most frequent visitor.
The project is seeking volunteers with a range of professional backgrounds, ages and ethnicities. To apply as a volunteer, visit www.surveybcseniors.org or call the Office of the Seniors Advocate at 1-877-952-3181.


Volunteers to ask seniors about staff, food, privacy, medications and other conditions in residential care


By JIM REITH, President Abbotsford Airshow
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2016 Abbotsford International Airshow – Heroes of the Skies! Gadgets, special suits, technology and the coolest flying machines… Learn what it takes to be a HERO at the 2016 Abbotsford International Airshow!
From August 12-14, Heroes of the Skies take flight over the Fraser Valley for the 54th annual Abbotsford International Airshow. Watch in awe as we welcome back the world-class Breitling Jet Team from Europe in the second and final year of their North American tour. Explore the McDonald’s Kids Zone and Science World on the Road! Experience Friday’s twilight show and fireworks finale! And, watch in awe as the Screamin’ Sasquatch Jet Waco, Boeing and US Navy Super Hornets, Snowbirds, Skyhawks and others take to the sky!
The Airshow is pleased to welcome the involvement of several key players in the aviation industry, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Eurofighter and more. Spectators will see Boeing’s involvement in dramatic fashion – as the aerospace giant will bring two jets to do corporate flying demos with a full array of simulated weapons, a simulation trailer and the test pilot will be available to talk about the exceptional capabilities of the aircraft. Lockheed Martin and Eurofighter are also on-site in various capacities with educational and promotional pieces.
“An aspect of the Airshow’s strategic vision is to strengthen key partnerships with aerospace organizations such as AIAC Pacific who produce an annual Aerospace & Defence trade show in conjunction with our airshow, and the CBAA which will hold its annual convention next year at Abbotsford in conjunction with the airshow as well. Looking to the future, we expect the Abbotsford Airshow will have a major aerospace trade show event occurring in the days prior to the public weekend show in the style of Farnborough and Paris airshows.”
Heroes of the Skies tell the stories of everyday women and men who work hard to make the world a better place, in their own communities and beyond. We are proud to honour them at this year’s Abbotsford International Airshow! Tickets for this action-packed weekend are available at Save-On-Foods or by clicking abbotsfordairshow.com.
Next Generation BC Amateur Photographer of the Year
Finalists for this year’s 4th annual Next Generation BC Amateur Photographer of the Year contest have now been selected. From Vernon to Victoria and from Surrey to Smithers, seventy finalists have been chosen from all corners of BC to move forward and compete in an intense competition at the Abbotsford International Airshow, where they will race against the clock to complete daily photo challenges. Finalists will shoot 10 of their best photographs and/or videos, to be reviewed by a judging panel — one will come out with the title of 2016 Next Generation Amateur Photographer of the Year. Almost 3,000 entries were received from 80 B.C. communities.
Whether you’re a finalist or not, this is a show you won’t want to miss: The Abbotsford International Airshow is world-renowned for its prestigious performers and family-friendly entertainment. The 2016 Airshow on August 12th through 14th will feature two jet teams, (Snowbirds and the European Breitling Jet Teams ) a Friday twilight show with fireworks, the Canadian Forces Skyhawks parachute team, and the US military jet, the Super Hornet to name but a few. More details visit www.abbotsfordairshow.com.
CLICK HERE FOR INTERACTIVE AIRSHOW SPECIAL INCLUDING VIDEO
Photographhs by Ken McAllister - 2015 Next Generation Amateur Photographer of the Year. Photographs featured from the 2015 Abbotsford Airshow.
Congratulations to all of the finalists in the 2016 Next Generation Amateur Photographer of the Year contest, sponsored by London Drugs, the Abbotsford International Airshow, and Black Press. To see photo gallery click here. See you there!


The Abbotsford International Airshow takes place Aug. 12-14 and includes US Navy Super Hornets and the Breitling Jet Team


Students return to public school next week, with changes to curriculum and some provincial exams.
Students are returning to class next week in most of B.C.'s public schools, with enrolment expected to be up province-wide for the second year running.
Education Minister Mike Bernier says early forecasts show about 529,000 students, an increase of 2,900 from last year. But that increase is centred on fast-growing school districts, while many rural areas continue to struggle with declining student numbers.
Among changes that parents and students will see this year is a new curriculum in place up to Grade 9, with a test year for changes in the senior grades. Bernier said the new emphasis on collaboration and communication skills does not mean a watering down of the basic skills, and is designed to improve students' ability to work at modern jobs.
Report cards are to continue this school year, but the ministry is reviewing its system with an eye to providing more frequent updates. Parents are being consulted on the changes, Bernier said.
Foundation Skills Assessment tests in grades four and seven are also continuing after years of protests from teacher unions, but that program is also being examined for possible changes. FSA tests will be "enhanced" but not eliminated, Bernier said.
Provincial exams continue for graduates in math and English, but science and social studies will now be assessed at a classroom level rather than school-wide tests, Bernier said.
The ministry provided a series of top-ups to education funding this year, for bus service and to keep selected rural schools from closing. Applications are still being taken for a transportation fund until Sept. 30, requiring districts to drop across-the-board school bus fees to qualify.
Districts may still charge transportation fees for international students or those from outside a school catchment area.
NDP leader John Horgan highlighted the crowding in Surrey school district, where 7,000 students remain in portables despite an expansion program. The NDP says the B.C. government's claim of record per-student funding ignores a reduction of education funding as a share of the provincial economy.
"Since 2001, the B.C. Liberals have dragged public education funding in this province from the second best in Canada to the second worst," Horgan said.

B.C. school enrolment up for second year


Some urban districts struggle with overcrowding, special funds for declining rural schools, bus service to take effect


Joseph Bouchard has been reported missing.
The Vernon RCMP are seeking the public's assistance to locate a missing Maple Ridge resident.
Joseph Michel Andre Bouchard was last seen Aug. 19 at the Vernon Greyhound bus station.
He is described as a Caucasian male, five-foot-nine and 280 pounds, with grey hair and brown eyes.
He was last seen wearing a black camp baseball cap, a short-sleeved red and white plaid shirt and jean shorts.
Anyone with information on Bouchard is urged to contact the police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.


Joseph Michel Andre Bouchard was last seen Aug. 19 at the Vernon Greyhound bus station.


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Wood products exports from Canada to Asia were down 18 per cent in the first six months of 2016, with the biggest decline being softwood lumber from B.C. to China, according to the Seattle-based Wood Resources International.
Lumber sales to China are on pace to drop by 50 per cent this year compared to 2014, as B.C. lumber producers direct their sales to a healthy U.S. lumber market, according to customs data tracked for the Wood Resources Quarterly (www.woodprices.com).
The latest edition notes that by value, 75 per cent of B.C.'s exports to Asia in 2015 and 2016 are in the form of lumber, while 77 per cent of exports from Washington and Oregon are logs.
Asian demand reached a record high in 2013, with China passing Japan as the largest importer of North American wood products in 2011. The B.C. and federal governments promote wood construction in China and Japan, and B.C.'s forest minister is required to conduct an annual trade mission to China, Japan and other Asian countries.
The shift in demand provides extra urgency for talks to renew the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber agreement that expired last year. B.C. sales are booming without the export cap that both Ottawa and Washington have agreed will be required.

Lumber exports shift to U.S. as China sales slump


Asian demand for B.C. wood products peaked in 2013, analyst says China sales on pace for 50 per cent drop


Guns seized from visitors entering Canada at the Huntington-Abbotsford border crossing, 2014.
Canadian Border Services Agency has seen a 116 per cent increase in the number of firearms seized in the Pacific Region in the first half of 2016.
With a 10 per cent increase also recorded in the Prairie region, the CBSA is working with U.S. officials on a firearms awareness campaign to remind Americans about restrictions on bringing guns into Canada.
"Attempting to smuggle firearms across the border can result in immediate forfeiture, hefty fines and even significant jail time," said Kim Scoville, CBSA's regional director general for the Prairie region.
Visitors entering the border inspection line should declare any firearms at their first opportunity. Border services officers will take possession of the weapon if it is declared, but the visitor has the option of shipping it back under CBSA supervision or surrendering it without prosecution.
The RCMP has procedures for visitors bringing firearms into Canada


Guns intercepted at Pacific region border crossings up 116 per cent compared to this time last year


ICBC wants to increase basic auto insurance rates by 4.9 per cent – the fifth straight annual increase – as it continues to grapple with rising numbers of crashes, claims and dramatically increasing costs.
The typical driver will pay $3.50 a month or $42 a year more for basic insurance if the hike is approved.
But the corporation is also raising optional rates by 2.8 per cent so the average customer who buys both basic and optional insurance with ICBC will see their insurance bill rise $5 a month, or $60 a year.
ICBC CEO Mark Blucher said the basic rate hike would have been much worse – 15.5 per cent translating into a $130 annual premium increase – had the province not approved another major transfer of $472 million from the optional to the basic side of operations.
A compounding factor has been the long decline of interest rates, which result in less investment income revenue to ICBC.
"These external pressures have really created a perfect storm and it's a really significant challenge for the organization," Blucher said in an interview Thursday.
ICBC had raised rates 5.5 per cent a year ago, and the province's rate smoothing policy requires the annual change be within 1.5 per cent of the previous year's increase.
The number of crashes has climbed 15 per cent in two years and damage claims are up 11 per cent.
Vehicles are increasingly reliant on technology and expensive materials that have become more costly in recent years as the loonie sagged against the U.S. dollar.
Despite much safer vehicles, injury claims have soared to $2.4 billion, up 60 per cent from $1.5 billion in 2008.
"We've seen no evidence that these strong trends are abating," Blucher said. "In fact, if anything, they're continuing to escalate going forward."
Blucher also noted there are more cars on the road in B.C. today – 3.1 million up from 2.8 million in 2011 – and people are driving more because of cheaper gas, contributing to more accidents, particularly in densifying urban areas.
And he pointed to personal injury lawyers as an aggravating cause of ICBC's spiralling claims costs.
"B.C. is the only province in Canada where you can sue another motorist for even a minor traffic accident," Blucher said, noting an increase in lawyer-represented claims and advertising by injury law firms.
Internal operating costs have been cut by $186 million a year, and ICBC is counting on more savings ahead, through its modernization program, by more aggressively combatting insurance fraud and from a hoped-for drop in distracted driving as motorists respond to stiffer penalties.
But transfers from the optional side to bolster the basic side will likely be needed for the foreseeable future, Blucher said, because basic premiums can't keep up with rising costs.
In a surprise move, the B.C. government will this year forgo extracting its usual $160-million annual dividend from ICBC's optional side into general revenue.
"Forgoing the dividend this particular year is one strategy amongst a litany of others we're employing to get that basic trate increase down," Transportation Minister Todd Stone said.
Stone said the $514 million the province has transferred out of ICBC in dividends since 2012 is small compared to the $1.4 billion over the same period that has been shifted from the competitive optional side to basic to apply downward pressure on basic rates.
The minister would not say if the government would permanently give up the ICBC dividend.
Adrian DIx, the NDP critic for ICBC, said the dividends to government have exceeded $1.2 billion since 2010 and predicted they'll resume after next year's election because the BC Liberals are "addicted" to using ICBC as a "profit centre."
Dix said the reliance on shifting huge amounts of capital from optional to basic raises troubling questions.
"Next year they've got to find that $472 million," Dix said. "What they've done is create a disaster at ICBC and their only hope is to deceive the voters until after the election."
He said ICBC's new move to hire more claims staff underscores problems with completing the computer modernization that was supposed to make operations more efficient.
"The transformation project has taken longer than World War 2 and is not close to finished."
ICBC's basic rates rose 11.2 per cent in 2012 and at least five per cent every year since.
The new rate hike is subject to B.C. Utilities Commission approval.
ICBC Rate Pressure Charts

ICBC seeks 4.9 per cent basic rate hike as crashes, costs climb


$60 a year increase for most drivers once optional auto insurance increase is included


The B.C. government's plan B for income assistance cheques and other time-sensitive documents could be re-activated as the long-running Canada Post labour dispute reaches another deadline.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is in a legal position to strike as of Monday, but postponed threatened rotating strike action after weekend talks with a federal mediator. Its initial action would be an overtime ban rather than a full-scale walkout that would disrupt mail delivery.
Canada Post served lockout notice in July, with the two sides far apart on issues including pension changes for future employees and pay for rural carriers.
Income assistance, rent subsidy and other B.C. government payments are not affected if they are direct deposit. For mailed cheques and information, updates on possible postal strike effects to the Ministry of Social Development will be available as necessary at this website or at 1-866-866-0800.
Phone and online contacts are set up for questions about affected provincial departments:
• Ministry of Advanced Education and StudentAidBC online here.
• Ministry of Children and Family Development 1-877-387-7027
• Medical Services Plan payments online here or 1-877-405-4909
• ICBC inquiries 1-800-663-3051
• Family Maintenance and Enforcement program 604-660-2528
• Public Guardian and Trustee online here or 604-660-4444
• Vital Statistics 1-888-876-1633
• WorkSafe BC online here or 1-888-967-5377

B.C. prepares for possible postal disruption


Province has alternatives if Canada Post employees begin strike action


RCMP have released these pictures of the Good Samaritan and his truck taken at the scene of the Aug. 14 Hwy. 1 crash that injured an officer.
If your name is Earl and you are the man who pulled over his semi to help an injured RCMP officer, the police would like to talk to you.
The man with the truck is one of two Good Samaritans who stopped to provide assistance the morning of Sunday, Aug. 14 when an RCMP vehicle was rear-ended at the scene of a rollover accident in the westbound lane of Highway 1, near the 232 Street overpass in Langley.
"Earl" may have important information about the collision or its aftermath, RCMP said.
RCMP released photos of Earl and what is believed to be his truck, a greyish-blue Volvo tractor trailer, hauling a white 53’ refrigerated. There is a silver logo on the tractor’s door.
Earl has a tattoo on his right forearm.
The second witness was an Asian man in his 50’s. He is described as short, wearing a white button down shirt and tan pants.
He was driving a model year 2000 or newer tan or gold sedan in good condition .
Police believe the second witness was traveling behind the grey pick-up truck that collided with the police vehicle.
Anyone with any information on these individuals is asked to contact Sgt. Patrick Davies at 604-539-2730.

If this is you, please call police about Langley crash


RCMP release photo of Good Samaritan who stopped to help injured officer