Letter to the Editor re: B.C.’s LNG industry
At 5:54 p.m., Wednesday March 30, on CBC’s Radio West, Premier Clark repeated her favourite economic forecast for BC: “Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) will provide 100,000 jobs by 2018,” she chirped.
This is The Original Christywhopper. Even LNG proponents acknowledge that the report on which she bases her claim relies almost entirely on government-provided data and economic models.
One project, Malaysian-based Petronas Pacific Northwest LNG may provide 330 full-time jobs. If it goes.
There is also The Colemanwhopper, a claim by BC Minister of Natural Gas Development Rich Coleman, that BC’s marketable shale gas reserves total 2,900 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). This is the same Rich Coleman whose comments on leaky gas wells in 2015 were characterised by Cornell’s engineering professor Antony Ingraffea as ‘ignorant’ and ‘delusional.’
David Hughes, an energy analyst who worked 32 years with the Geological Survey of Canada, and who has mapped much of Canada’s coal and gas, also disagrees with Coleman. ‘Proven reserves’ are 44.4 (Tcf), Hughes says, one sixty-fifth of that claimed by the minister.
And The Billywhopper, where ATCO Electric, with BC energy czar Bill Bennett’s implicit agreement ( “…the gas companies…just don’t feel that they can wait for a …BC Utilities Commission process”, he says) argue that an open environmental review for building the remaining two of three transmission lines carrying taxpayer-funded power to Petronas in BC’s northeast, should not be necessary.
Given that she has been swanning around BC airspace on our dime attending photo ops, has just appointed Fazil Mihlar, a Fraser Institute-bred, suspected climate-change denier as Deputy Minister for Climate Leadership, and has spurned NDP leader John Horgan’s demand to get big money out of BC politics, nobody should be surprised at the fabricated flim-flam with which she has infected the remarkably contentious issue of BC’s LNG.
JC Vallance,Fernie, B.C.
Letter to the editor re: Emergency care
I find that often the letters to the editor can be quite negative. This week, I’d like to present something positive about our community:
I recently had a tonsillectomy at 35 years old. The surgery in Cranbrook went quite well. As part of the healing process, two per cent of patients end up having some bleeding after about a week. I won the lottery so to speak and went to the Elk Valley Hospital where I had very good care from Dr. Lisa Tessler and the nursing staff in Emergency to control the bleeding. I arrived at 10pm and was admitted quickly as bleeding from your head is never a good thing. My wife had brought our infant into Emerg the day before and saw Dr. Tessler. Early that day, my wife had seen Dr. Tessler in her clinic and she was working past midnight continuing to care for others. I’m not sure if many people realize the level of commitment or the crazy hours our doctors in town have for the health of our community. I was surprised that we had a medical lab person this late at night to type my blood for possible transfusion. The nurse that looked after me was fantastic. Not only looking after my physical health but was also there to curb my anxieties. She even accompanied me in the back of the ambulance to Cranbrook, where I could be seen by my surgeon. The paramedic personnel was also fantastic. I can’t imagine having to get to Cranbrook without medical care en route.
Drs. Cain and Mondin were fantastic along with the ER doctors and nurses in Cranbrook. My ER nurse even charged my iPhone so that I could keep in contact with my worried wife and family. It’s great to be home on the way to recovery.
The medical care available in Fernie is really quite fantastic anytime my family has needed care or transfer to another facility. I could really tell how much everyone cares about the work they do as well as the wellbeing of their patients. I really think that we need to appreciate this more and if you know a nurse or doctor or paramedic or anyone contributing to the healthcare system, please thank them.
With gratitude,
Michael ClarkeFernie B.C.
Letter to the Editor re: Fernie Alpine Resort ski patrol
At the best of times, I am very appreciative of the amazing job that the Fernie Ski Patrol does at making Fernie Alpine Resort a safe and enjoyable place to ski!
But now, those feelings of appreciation have been amplified! Thanks so much to Fernie Ski Patrol for a very prompt, efficient and effective response to a severe crash that I had on February 26, 2016, coming down under the White Pass Chair. Ski patrol was called immediately… When Serena from ski patrol arrived first, only minutes after my crash, I was completely unresponsive, apparently grunting and groaning in pain. I had suffered from seven fractured ribs, punctured lung, severe concussion (with broken helmet) and flail chest. Greg arrived immediately after. Together, Serena, Greg, Paul, Ben, Forrest and Deb (and possibly others?) gave me oxygen, etc. and eventually transported me safely to a Fernie ambulance awaiting at the bottom. Fernie Hospital did what they could, assessed me thoroughly and decided to send me by ambulance to Cranbrook ICU, where I spent the next week. I still to this day have absolutely no recollection of the crash under White Pass Chair, the rescue, the ambulance rides and the first day or two at the hospital in Cranbrook.
Thanks to my amazing wife, family and friends for all of their love and support during this entire experience! We have 4 children and 5 grandchildren all living in Fernie. Our other son, his wife and daughter live very close by, in Nelson. How lucky are we! They gave this note to ski patrol six weeks into my recovery, which says it all:
Fernie Ski Patrol,
Just a little something to show our appreciation for everything you do. Thank-you for all your time and hard work you put into keeping the hill a fun and safe place. A special thank-you to Serena, Greg Gregory, Paul, Deb, Forrest, Ben and anyone else who may have aided in our dad’s / husband’s rescue on February 26. You saved his life! We are forever grateful!
Lots of love,
His wife and children
I can only say that now, 6 weeks later, feeling so much better and recovered greatly, I am so thankful that I am alive and well and capable of writing this letter of appreciation for our paper.
Thank-you, ski patrol! I loved life before that accident… Now, life is even better yet!
Robert ChampagneFernie, B.C.
Letter to the Editor re: Thank you to the local communities
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you. Thank you to the many people and organizations who supported the many fundraising campaigns and causes East Kootenay Foundation for Health (EKFH) stood behind.
Thank you to the individuals who formed our board of directors for their strong leadership and collaborative approach in the growth of EKFH. Thank you to those amazing individuals who also shared their talents at EKFH and made coming to work fun and rewarding. Thank you to the media who strengthened our voice in every community in the East Kootenay.
Thank you to those at Interior Health who ensured that our fundraising was aligned with priority needs for not just the regional hospital but every health care facility in the region.
Thank you to the MLA’s, the Mayor and Councils, the Regional District Representatives and the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District for working hard on behalf of our communities to ensure we have the best health care possible here at home.
Thank you to those individuals in every area of health care who dedicate their lives and skills to health care in administration, in delivery and in quality.
Thank you to the other funding partners health care auxiliaries, tuck shops and foundations who prove every day that in working together great things can and do happen. Thank you to the people who opened their hearts, shared their smiles and crossed my path for it was you that made my passion grow.
And last but not least thank you to my family especially my amazing husband Leigh who encouraged, inspired and always stood by me through everything possible in being blessed with the career I was given at EKFH. Thank you.
With sincere appreciation
Donna GraingerFormer Executive Director at EKFH
