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Friday, June 7, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916

Cougars, city sign six-year lease extension Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca If fans of the Prince George Cougars had any concerns they might be considering a move to another city, Thursday’s announcement that the WHL team has signed a new lease at CN Centre should alleviate those fears. The Cougars have a new six-year arena lease agreement in place with the city retroactive to July 31, 2018 which provides the city revenue sharing based on the team’s ticket sales, suite rentals, and food and beverage concessions. The lease also ensures the city will receive $50,000 annually in arena advertising revenue the Cougars receive. The sliding scale on ticket sales gives the city more revenue when the team draws bigger crowds and less when there are fewer fans in the 6,000 seat arena. “The more fans that attend Cougar games, the better the city does,” said Andy Beesley, the Cougars vice-president, business. “They keep the food and beverage commissions and at the end of the day, the more fans there are the better it is for everybody. From the Cougars’ point of view, and I think I’m speaking on behalf of the city’s side, we both feel it is a genuinely fair and equitable partnership agreement. Every arena (around the WHL) is vastly different and we’ve crafted a Prince George solution we’re pretty proud of.” Beesley predicts the new lease will work well for both parties, as it has in previous years, and it shows the team under its local ownership group, EDGEPRo Sports & Entertainment, has no intention of ever leaving Prince George. “We’ve never wavered once, behind closed doors or out in public, we’ve never talked about moving, we’re all in it for the long haul, from our owners on down, we’re committed to Prince George and we don’t just talk about being committed, we’ve proven it,” said Beesley. Since the new ownership group bought the team in May 2014, Beesley said the Cougars have donated more than $1 million to local charities through its Alumni Hospital Charity golf tournament and proceeds from 50/50 draws. “It’s something that sets us apart from all the other teams, everything we do for charity purposes is for other people,” said Beesley. “We’ve also given away over the last five years over $250,000 in merchandise and tickets and other stuff to help support people with their fundraisers and silent auc-

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Prince George Cougars vice president Andy Beesley speaks during a media announcement that the City of Prince George and Cougars have renewed their rental agreement for six years. tion dinners. “Looking at the last 25 seasons we’ve had over 2.5 million fans attend our games, it’s a tremendous legacy and history we’ve had, including watching players like (Zdeno) Chara, (Brett) Connolly, (Dustin) Byfuglien, (Dan) Hamhuis and (Eric) Brewer in our own back yard. There’s a lot the Cougars do to contribute to this community and it’s more than just if we’re winning and losing games.” The team’s partnership with Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation led to

the creation of the Spirit of Healthy Kids school program, which involves the players speaking to elementary school groups about making healthy lifestyle choices. That has reached 20,000 students in five years and this season, through video links, students throughout the Northern Health region will be able to participate, with each receiving a ticket for a Cougars game. Mayor Lyn Hall was also on hand for the lease agreement announcement at CN Centre and he’s looking forward to witnessing firsthand the Cougars’ on-ice improvement,

having missed the playoffs for a second straight season. “This agreement provides the city with important revenue, it keeps the Cougars as our Number 1 tenant in a premier city facility, and it allows both organizations to benefit in the future, based on team improvements and increased attendance at CN Centre,” said Hall. “On behalf of council, I’m very pleased to see the Cougars and the city working so well together, and as a fan, I can’t wait for next season to begin.”

Telus to extend fibre optic network to city households Citizen staff

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

A group of people turned out for a rally in favour of the protection of old growth forests in front of MLA Shirley Bond’s office on Thursday, which was the Provincial Day of Action for Old Growth Forests.

Protest calls for protection of old-growth forests Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca Armed with an 800-name petition, a rally in support of preserving B.C.’s old growth forests drew about two dozen people to the steps of MLA Shirley Bond’s office midday Thursday. Organized by Conservation North, a local group, it was held as part of a province-wide day of action calling for stronger measures to protect the remaining unlogged swaths. Describing them as “endangered landscapes deserving of our love, respect and care,” Conservation North director Michelle Connolly said once an old growth forest has been logged, it and the

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diversity of plants and animals it holds, cannot be replaced. “What’s more, we’re running out of old growth to log,” she said. “A transition to logging second growth is inevitable, so why not start this transition while we still have something left?” With the help of cardboard cutouts and chalk, children made outlines of moose and deer on the sidewalk. The group also unfurled a banner saying “Protect Our Old Growth.” They also presented Bond with a letter holding a petition of more than 800 names calling for action. Conservation North is seeking a list of measures including an Old Growth Forest Protection Act, an immediate

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moratorium on logging Interior cedar stands and redesignating old growth management areas into reserves. Connolly was particularly critical of the way old growth management areas work. Although counted as part of the protected areas within the province, she said so-called OGMAs are a “wishywashy, lame form of protection that isn’t really protection.” “Logging companies can move them, they can drive roads through them, they can log them and create a new old growth management area in an area that’s not even old growth,” Connolly said. — see ‘WE’VE GOT, page 3

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Telus is investing $150 million to connect more than 90 per cent of homes and businesses in Prince George directly to its fibre optic network, the company said Thursday. The work, which will include the north side of Lheidli T’enneh First Nation’s Fort George 2 reserve, will occur over the next three years and “enhance wireline and wireless connectivity,” according to the company. It also means Telus representatives will be out knocking on doors seeking residents’ permission to connect their homes to the network. The work comes at no cost to homeowners, the company said. Called PureFibre, the network is “gigabit-enabled” and offers equally-fast upload and download speeds “which provides significant benefits for applications like video conferencing, gaming, and home security.” Telus CEO Darren Entwistle said it will give businesses the same internet speeds, functionality, reliability and security that large enterprises currently enjoy, “allowing residents to live and work in the city without compromising productivity or economic opportunity.” The company said it will also lay the groundwork for 5G technologies, touted as the key step towards the so-called internet of things, a catchall term for such items as self-driving cars, advanced robotics, telemedicine and automated factories. Telus spokeswoman Liz Sauve said the build will not use equipment supplied by Huawei. Critics have said using the China-based company’s technology risks exposing the country to cybersecurity attacks.

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