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Friday, March 22, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916

Directors urged to get on broadband bandwagon Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

Highland high-stepping Charlotte Campbell competes in the Cultural Specific 12 and under category during the 2019 Prince George Dance Festival in Vanier Hall on Thursday morning. The Gala, which will showcase the best performance of the festival, is this afternoon at Vanier Hall.

Fraser-Fort George Regional District directors were urged take action and make the most of federal, provincial and private sector funding to bring broadband internet to rural areas when a service provider spoke to the board on Thursday. ABC Communications vice president Falco Kadenbach made note of $750 million over five years from Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission plus a further $50 million from the provincial government committed to the cause. The goal is to ensure all Canadians have access to speeds of at least 50 Mbps for downloads and 10 Mbps for uploads, as well as access to mobile wireless services including on major transportation routes. “It’s a great opportunity for those two funds to be matched and perhaps another opportunity for local government to also participate at some level,” Kadenbach said. He encouraged directors to form a broadband committee to create a strategic plan for bringing the service to outlying areas. “The opportunity is for you to start to open that dialogue, start to create a list of communities that should come first and start to look for partners to help with that plan,” Kadenbach said. Northern Development Initiative Trust is administering the provincial portion of the money. Kadenbach said ABC is submitting an application to NDIT for a project to bring broadband to Tabor Lake, Salmon Valley, Mackenzie and Gantahaz Lake via wireless technology. Kadenbach also talked about the challenges of bringing broadband to rural and remote spots. While coverage via wireless can be inconsistent, he said fibre optic can be extremely expensive. Even if the cable is strung along utility poles, Kadenbach said that if the poles are too old, “we end up having to replace every single pole at a cost of $10,000 each pole.” In those cases, “going straight to ground” and digging a trench for the cable can be the better option but it takes working with local governments. Prince George director Lyn Hall said the wildfires that have struck the region over the last two summers raise the need for expanded broadband. “Over the years that’s been a real issue for us, not only from an economic perspective but from a safety perspective,” Hall said. “We saw very quickly in 2017 that some of the outlying areas that were being impacted by the wildfire had no connectivity and therefore no updates on the wildfire situation that impacted their community.” Kadenbach said he kept a close eye on wireless towers to make sure they did not get burned to the ground. Following Kadenbach’s presentation, directors voted to apply to NDIT for funding to develop a strategic plan.

First Nation’s plans for Summit Lake presented to directors Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff Fraser-Fort George Regional District directors were given an update Thursday on a plan to transfer Crown land within the Summit Lake townsite to the West Moberly First Nation as part of a treaty settlement agreement. In a presentation, Dale Morgan, the northeast regional manager for the B.C. Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, said the move emanates from a miscounting of the number of people involved when, in 1914, Treaty 8 was expanded to include First Nations in the B.C. Peace. As a consequence, West Moberly did not receive all the land it was entitled to. Fast forward 100-plus years and work is being carried out to make good on the shortfall while also providing the First Nation with additional land in acknowledgment of the loss of use over that time. “You can’t just say, ‘oh well, it’s been 100 years, we’ll give you exactly that amount that you HANDOUT IMAGE

This map shows lands around the Summit Lake townsite.

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were owed from 100 years ago,’” Morgan said. “There has to be, and there is, recognition that they have lost the use of that land opportunity for 100 years. We’re not just providing the land that was not provided in 1914 but also providing a negotiated settlement to provide more lands.” Additionally, in 2017 the B.C. Supreme Court agreed with Treaty 8 First Nations that the western boundary is at the height of land separating the Arctic and Pacific watersheds rather than the central range of the Rocky Mountains. Morgan said the ruling has been appealed to the federal courts and so, the land to be allocated will be as fee simple rather than reserve due to the current uncertainty. If the 2017 decision is maintained, West Moberly will have the right to convert the sites into reserve land. Morgan provided a series of maps showing the land drawing West Moberly’s interest. It’s looking at five plots adding up to just under 160 hectares, none of it developed. Most of it is adjacent to the residential areas along Summit Lake itself and would be used for

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additional housing and community development, but also includes a spot to the south and alongside Highway 97 deemed a prime spot for a gas station. And while Summit Lake is generally considered to be within McLeod Lake Indian Band territory, West Moberly already owns some land within the townsite. Overlap of traditional territory is common, Morgan said, and added that affected Indigenous groups must also be consulted on any land transfer. Directors were told that the sewage lagoon for Summit Lake is now at capacity but Morgan said West Moberly has been active in keeping its home lake clean and would have the same interest in protecting Summit Lake. The process is “absolutely separate” from development of the strategy for conserving the southern mountain caribou, Morgan also confirmed. He said the process could take another two years before it’s completed but believes an agreement on the final selection of lands and approval to transfer can be reached before the next federal election in October.

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