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Thursday, May 2, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916

Residency rules forcing top doctor to leave city Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca An award-winning family doctor is leaving Prince George because her husband has been denied a residency in the region despite being a Northern Medical Program graduate. Dr. Cecila Siegling, who received the My Family Doctor award from the B.C. College of Family Physicians in 2017, and husband Rudi will be moving to the Saskatoon area in the hope a residency in a family practice will be available there. This comes after Rudi tried twice to land a residency, first in this region, then in province, so that he could stay close to his family for the two years it would take. The couple have three schoolaged children ages seven to 11 years old. Although they are leaving reluctantly, Rudi said they have come to accept their situation. However, he said the process for placing graduates in residencies has left him concerned for the local community and whether those selected will simply move on once their times are up. Launched in 2004, the Northern Medical Program was established in answer to a shortage of physicians practicing in northern B.C. The idea is to give students a sense of what it’s like to live and work in rural and remote communities and consider careers in those places. But the residency process runs counter to that idea in Rudi’s opinion. “I’m sure it’s amazing applicants that they select, but are they going to stay in the north if they’ve got no ties to the north?” he said. The news has not sat well with at least one of Siegling’s patients. “Many doctors choose to start their careers in the North to get their foot in the

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Dr. Cecilia Siegling and her husband Rudi Siegling. The pair are leaving Prince George because Rudi could not get a residency match in Prince George. door then move on after their initial contract is up. We hear all the time how hard it is to retain doctors in the North,” said Bill Leslie in a letter to the Citizen. “This is a

case of professionals wanting to stay in the North but are forced to leave in order to secure their careers.” The Association of Faculties of Medicine

of Canada (AFMC) administers the process, called the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). — see ‘THE ONE THING, page 3

Kids free at Northern FanCon Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

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This artist’s rendition shows the planned redesign for the Prince George Public Library’s Bob Harkins branch.

Council approves $3.95M library project Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff Work on a new and long-awaited entrance to the Bob Harkins branch of the Prince George Public Library is to go ahead after city council approved a $3.95-million budget for the project. The total represents a $1.28-million increase over the estimated cost reached in late 2017 when a design had been finalized. All four bids submitted for the work exceeded the mark, largely because labour and material costs jumped 15-20 per cent over the last 12-18 months, council was

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told. As well, $181,000 worth of extras were added to the design, primarily in the form of an extra staircase and relocation of fire department connections to the main entrance from the parkade to meet fire code standards. Also, the elevator was extended to the upper floor and the entry lobby was increased to 1 1/2 storeys from one storey. The cement and metal railing staircase up to the entrance on the north side has been in place since the building was opened in 1982 and has long been considered unsightly, unwelcoming and dangerous. — see ‘IT’S NOT, page 3

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Kids go free to FanCon. For families in the city, that takes a financial pinch off of attending the most all-ages, all-stages kind of event that Prince George does. Northern FanCon is one of those events that has its own internal economy, with the merchant items and art and activities and photo opportunities and autographs that are for sale inside. But it is also a place tailored for added value. Once you’re inside, it’s a wonderland of sights and sounds and experiences all for no extra charge, and kids get to enter that magical world, thanks to a particular donation by Kristine Newell of Team Powerhouse Realty. This is the second year in a row Newell has taken care of the kids’ tickets. She was in a casual conversation with event coordinator Norm Coyne, the idea came up organically and became an immediate action plan. “It was a conversation we had right about fair time (the BCNE) and I was thinking about how important events like the fair and FanCon are, overall, to our city, but how there were still barriers,” Newell said. “I just thought about how I know what it’s like to be a working mom, you want your kids to take part in community things, you want them to be engaged little people, have fun like kids are supposed to do, and show them the exciting things going on in their com-

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munity that makes this a great place to live. But I know very well how hard it is to make ends meet, and I saw this as a way to take some of that burden away. It just helps on so many levels, because it brings people through the doors of FanCon, and this town really needs to support this event because of what it means to tourism and family activity and our local economy, but it also means a lot to a kid to take in all the amazing things that go on at this event, an event that is like none other anywhere near here.” Newell added to the fun by making the free kids’ tickets a physical thing, not just a wave-through at the gate. Like so many Charlies excited about Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, there is an actual ticket out there for them. “I dropped off a bundle to every school in city limits and I even drove out to Giscome Elementary which is a little drive I highly recommend,” she said. “I’ve been putting some in people’s mailbox, I have them at my office where they can be picked up, and we’re trying to make sure every child gets one.” Newell said her own son was bouncing with excitement when his class got their packet of tickets, “so that’s really sweet and shows how important FanCon is for kids, and what these experiences mean to kids, because he was so excited.” Newell will also have a booth at FanCon with family fun built into her display. The public is invited to swing by and say hello and say thanks in person to every FanCon kid’s fairy godmother.

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