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Saturday, July 26, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916

Woman’s killer gets day parole Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff A Parole Board of Canada panel has granted day parole to a Nadleh man serving an 11-year sentence for the manslaughter death of his common-law spouse, but only so he can attend an addictions treatment program. Under the terms the panel issued in a July 9 decision, Garrett Steven George, 30, must return to a halfway house in the community where the program is being delivered each night. George was sentenced in Nov. 16, 2016 for death of Destiny Rae Tom, 21. The badly-beaten body of the mother of a then three-year-old girl was found outside a home on the Nadleh reserve during the early morning of March 13, 2013. George had been kicked out of a party at a friend’s house but kept coming back and

TOM demanded Tom leave with him. She finally relented and left reluctantly, the court was

told during a sentencing hearing. George initially denied responsibility and later tried to pin the death on the two people who found Tom’s body. But he eventually pleaded guilty to a count of manslaughter. A history of abuse of Tom at George’s hands was a theme during the sentencing hearing. In reaching their decision, panel members found George to be “highly overconfident” and made note of poor behaviour including an outburst a week before the hearing when he became angry over the type of food he was being served. “You did not display a deep knowledge of your risk factors or strategies to reduce them in the community,” panel members said in the decision. “You have demonstrated angry and defensive behaviours very recently and do not appear to understand

the responsibility you own for these issues. You appear to deflect responsibility on others and the system.” George’s bid for full parole was denied as was a request to be transferred to a work camp upon completing the work program. “Rather, the Board finds that you ought to take the time to demonstrate change, better anger management and communication skills, and gain insight in the treatment portion of your plan,” panel members said. “You will return to the institution following that program and prior to any future decisions being made in your case.” Less credit for time served prior to sentencing, George had a further eight years and four months left to serve upon sentencing in 2016. His sentence ends in late March 2025. The full decision is posted with this story at www.princegeorgecitizen.com.

NEB rejects pipeline review Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

Cats in need of homes Starting today and continuing until next Friday, adult cats are available for adoption at half the usual charge at all 36 B.C. SPCA shelters, including the one in Prince George.

Canfor posts second quarter loss Citizen staff Canfor Corp. reported Friday a $49.7-million operating loss for its second quarter of 2018. The outcome was a $20.2-million improvement over its first quarter result and once duties, restructuring costs and reversal of inventory provision, the second-quarter loss was reduced to $5 million. In a news release, the company attributed

the improvement to “higher lumber segment earnings” that included a full quarter of the Vida Group of Sweden’s results following completion of the acquisition in the first quarter of 2019. But it left Canfor president and CEO Don Kayne with little to cheer about. “This was another difficult quarter for our Western SPF business with the ongoing challenging market conditions, combined with high log costs, which have resulted in the

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announcement to close of our Vavenby mill and curtail other B.C. operations. We deeply regret the impact these decisions are having on our employees and local communities,” he said. “Our SYP business delivered solid results in the second quarter and we expect that to continue through the balance of the year. Our European business continued to deliver strong financial results. — See NET LOSS on page 3

Pope inspires solar panels

The National Energy Board will not be reviewing the Coastal GasLink pipeline project, saying Friday that it does not fall within its jurisdiction. The $6.2-billion project, currently under construction, is to carry natural gas 670 kilometres from the Groundbirch area of the B.C. Peace to LNG Canada’s $40-billion export terminal currently under construction near Kitimat. The NEB’s decision comes after hearings on an application, submitted a year ago, from environmentalist Mike Sawyer, who argued approval from B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office is not good enough. He noted TransCanada Corp., now known at TC Energy, owns both CGL and NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. system, which gathers and transports natural gas in Alberta and northeastern B.C., and contended that they’re functionally integrated and so, comprise an interprovincial system. But in a statement, the NEB said the project does not form a part of a system and is not vital or integral to it or any other federally regulated pipeline. “Based on the evidence presented, the NEB found that the Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project is properly regulated by the province of British Columbia,” the agency said. Had the NEB agreed with Sawyer, the project would have been put on hold while it went through a review by the regulator. The NEB’s hearing on the matter involved 13 participants and included the filing of evidence, and both written and oral arguments. CGL welcomed the decision. — See WET’SUWET’EN on page 3

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