BC Economic Fundamentals 2008-07

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Blaze of 130 hectares burns on

LYTTON - The tall grass at the Boston Bar airstrip thrashes in the wind as a crew member loads cases of bottled water onto a helicopter.

It is destined for the Jackass Mountain fire zone about 20 kilometres south of Lytton, where firefighters are battling a 130-hectare blaze under the unrelenting sun in one of the hottest spots in the country.

"I`ve challenged the guys to drink a case of water every day -- 24 bottles or 12 litres," said James Heigh, deputy operations chief dealing with the Jackass Mountain fire.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...51-5bd7a42db793

 

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Productions keep rolling as actors` strike looms

American actors continue to work, albeit without a contract, which is good news for the British Columbia film and television industry.

That`s because should Screen Actors Guild (SAG) members, whose contract expired June 30, vote to strike, more than half of the province`s TV series would shut down, and so would the largest feature film currently shooting in Vancouver.

A work stoppage would halt television series Kyle XY, The L Word, Psych, Stargate Atlantis and Supernatural. Another series that uses SAG actors, Eureka, has a summer hiatus break from Aug. 2 to Sept. 23, while Battlestar Galactica, finishes shooting next Wednesday, which would clear it by the time a strike vote was called and then counted.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...60-71cdd27cfcd0

 

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Rupert`s port shipments top 10 million tonnes

PRINCE RUPERT -- The opening of the Fairview Container Terminal and strong performances by Ridley Terminals and Prince Rupert Grain pushed shipments through the Port of Prince Rupert past 10 million tonnes last year for the first time in a decade.

Volume of 10.6 million tonnes represented a 37-per-cent increase over 2006 and was 237 per cent higher than in 2005.

Port vice-president Joe Rektor said the port was continuing to recover from the economic slowdown of 2002 to 2005.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...7a-ab5e1b6633c9

 

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BC Hydro CEO confident about conservation

British Columbia`s goals for electricity conservation are aggressive but reasonable when compared to cutbacks achieved by other developed nations, BC Hydro president and CEO Bob Elton said Wednesday.

Hydro is forecasting a major increase in infrastructure spending, including $3.4 billion in the next two years, as well as planning to meet half of new electricity demand through conservation over the next 20 years.

Measures to encourage conservation include the pending introduction of a two-tier electricity rate structure that sees Hydro residential customers pay a lower rate for a basic level of electricity consumption and a higher rate for customers using greater amounts of power.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...e2-1fc7c7b9de96

 

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Fort St. John ready to handle oil and gas boom

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C., -- Whose motto is "The Energetic City" -- will be able to avoid many of challenges that have become synonymous with the oilsands boomtown of Fort McMurray, Alta., said the city`s mayor.

Two enormous natural gas finds in northeastern B.C. -- the Montney Trend and the Horn River Basin -- have piqued the interest of a number of big U.S. and Canadian oil and gas names and sent a massive amount of investment pouring into the region. "I think we`ll see a direct impact. It`s hard to say how big, but I feel it`s good for us," said Mayor Jim Eglinski.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/Business/News/2...061951-sun.html

 

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Airport development plan scrutinized

A chance to see and comment on what`s proposed for a massive light industrial development west of the Prince George airport drew nearly 50 people to a public meeting on Thursday night.
With just 370 hectares of such land now available around the city -- much of it in isolated pockets -- L&M Engineering planning director Heather Oland characterized the proposal as a chance to answer a big need for the city -- to supply enough light industrial land for the next 25 years.

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/2008070...crutinized.html

 

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More Americans moving to Canada

Canada is experiencing a surge in immigrants from the United States, according to a Fourth of July analysis of demographic data that spotlights cross-border migration between the two countries -- including the "province-size" population of more than 850,000 Canadian-born residents of the U.S.

The numbers, compiled by the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies to mark the U.S. Independence Day holiday, show the inflow of Americans during the 2001-2006 census period was nearly 39,000 -- well above the 24,155 during the previous five-year period and more than double the 18,770 who came to Canada between 1991 and 1996.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...b4-322d85ba4dcd

 

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Residents expand waterslide protests

A group of Dean Park residents opposed to the height of the proposed Panorama Recreation Centre waterslide have issued another legal warning to the municipality of North Saanich.

The group`s lawyer, Brian Wallace, sent a letter yesterday to the municipality saying that new plans for the controversial slide still contravene the height bylaw. He`s asking that the municipality refuse to issue a development permit for the project.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...ad-f3630e11943b

 

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Forest sector slows B.C. growth

Woes in the forest sector will slow B.C.`s economic growth to 2.2 per cent this year, down from 3.1 per cent in 2007, according to a new provincial monitor report from BMO Capital Markets.

That same report, however, is predicting an upswing in the U.S. housing market, which could turn all that around in 2009.

B.C. is pegged to realize 2.7 per cent economic growth in 2009, second only to Alberta.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...df-065195c69148

 

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Hydro`s projected costs jump 20%

VANCOUVER -- B.C. Hydro is proposing to shield customers from the full impact of a projected 20-per-cent increase in costs over the next two years, documents show.

Hydro expects a $190-million revenue shortfall -- roughly equivalent to a six-per-cent rate increase -- through fiscal 2010 and points to a mix of rising costs and falling revenue in a document filed this week with the B.C. Utilities Commission.

Hydro has already proposed a 14-per-cent rate increase over the next two years and rather than pass along another six per cent, wants to park some of that shortfall in what it calls a "deferral" account -- although one expert observer warned yesterday that there`s no guarantee the BCUC will allow this.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...9b-0bc7fd312ff9

 

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Northern Island house sales cooling off

Real estate is cooling on northern Vancouver Island where sales are down and inventory is up.

Last month saw 438 sales of single-family homes in the area north of the Malahat, a drop of 43 per cent from June of last year, the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board said yesterday.

A total of 3,085 single-family houses were for sale through the Multiple Listing Service in June, a jump from 2,210 from the same month last year, the board said.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...b7-90d23b526a17

 

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Tenants` rights spelled out for Downtown Eastside`s poor

The Pivot Legal Society distributed 5,000 Tenant Rights Cards in the Downtown Eastside yesterday.

The wallet-sized cards spell out basic tenant rights on issues like maintenance, illegal evictions, discrimination and who to approach for help.

"I think that many of the people in the Downtown Eastside. have very low self-esteem and they have a lot of difficulty insisting on their rights because they feel that if they are evicted or if there`s some kind of retribution against them in the building, they`ll have no one to turn to," said Pivot`s David Eby.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...5e-958cc2193e33

 

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B.C. economy out in front

B.C. will do its best this year to help deepen the economic crevasse between the West and the rest of Canada, two studies released yesterday show.

The province`s gross domestic product should grow by 2.2 per cent in 2008, according to separate reports from the Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Montreal.

That puts B.C. well ahead of the national average. For Canada as a whole, RBC foresees growth this year of one per cent, while BMO puts it at 1.4 per cent.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/mon...4a-f0b6e7d57368

 

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Residents dig in against power line

A small but determined group of Tsawwassen residents continued their fight to prevent high-voltage power line construction Thursday by blocking access to their neighbourhood with parked cars.

"The trucks came and tried to get in and we wouldn`t move our cars," said resident Tina Ryan, who took part in the morning action on 13A Street.

A handful of cars were parked along the narrow roadway, apparently not violating parking laws but making access for large trucks impossible.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...ad-c4eb472010e6

 

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House hunters see a slender ray of light

Lower Mainland house hunters are now in a buyer`s market with prices that have eased slightly off of earlier-year highs, according to the latest report from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

The region saw 2,425 sales registered through the Multiple Listing Service in June, the board reported, a 43-per-cent decline from the same month a year ago.

At the same time, owners listed 6,546 properties, an 18-per-cent increase from the same month a year ago. On June 30, Greater Vancouver`s inventory of unsold properties stood at 18,260, a 54-per-cent increase from a year ago.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...04-a793b67ef15a

 

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Glycol leaks from rail cars into Thompson

LYTTON - Results from water samples taken from the Thompson River at the site of the train derailment near Lytton were expected today, but government officials confirmed Thursday that ethylene glycol had leaked from one of two submerged tank cars.

"The divers have determined that some [chemical] was released," said B.C. Ministry of Environment representative Kate Thompson.

"The valves were knocked off and there are some punctures in the tank car that is submerged in the river.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...09-cfb4e32f366e

 

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Burnaby medical tourism firm expands to Seattle

Burnaby-based Surgical Tourism Canada -- which arranges overseas medical trips for Canadians -- has opened its first U.S. office in Seattle.

The three-year-old private company handles more than 100 clients a year who pay to avoid Canadian waiting lines by travelling overseas for hospital surgery and recuperation in five-star resorts.

STC representative Glenn Sergius said there`s a growing demand from U.S. residents who want to do the same thing.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...c3-2d90de589d87

 

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Land profile targets investors

The Fraser-Fort George Regional District board recently approved an industrial land profile that could serve as a valuable tool for potential investors looking to develop in and around Prince George.
Building on a similar piece of work from 2002, the study has been updated to reflect social and economic changes forecast for this area.
"The first industrial land study was spurred on by the failure of the mdf plant and the impact it was going to have on the airshed," said Terry McEachen, the district`s general manager of community and development services. "At that time, the city realized that for heavy industry, really, there`s not a home in Prince George anymore, so we better find some place where it can go, should it come."

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/2008070...-investors.html

 

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Shipyard to embark on hiring spree

Victoria Shipyards will embark on a hiring spree after receiving confirmation that it and partner companies have been awarded the contract to maintain Canada`s four military submarines.

The company said it will create at least 100 jobs at the shipyard and sees the potential for hundreds of spinoff jobs.

"This is great news for Victoria," said Malcolm Barker, the shipyard`s vice-president and general manager.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...af-f423bf7b27cd

 

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CRD hires point man for sewage-treatment project

For some, it would be a nightmare job to lead the Capital Regional District`s contentious, unwieldy and politically charged $1.2-billion sewage treatment project. But after a long search, the CRD says it has found a person willing to become the region`s new sewage czar.

Victoria engineer Tony Brcic, who helped plan Sooke`s secondary treatment plant in 2005, will become the CRD`s "sewage treatment project manager" Aug. 18.

"A project of this magnitude is overwhelming if you look at the work required to complete the entire project," said Brcic. "But break it down to the smaller tasks and focus on the manageable tasks and before you know it the job is done.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...72-765a18901d65