Saturday, May the Fourth Be With You, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
FanCon foosball Darth Vader, a winter stormtrooper and Boba Fett take on Spiderman and a tie fighter pilot in a game of fooseball on Friday morning, while R2-D2 watches. Members of the 501st Legion Outer Rim Garrison, and Spiderman, made a visit to the University Hospital of Northern B.C. where they visited patients and staff. The 501st Legion – a group of cosplayers who dress in Star Wars-themed costumes – will be at Northern FanCon this weekend.
Walk for missing teen draws 50 people Employers Health Tax
hurting local businesses, survey shows
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca Phyllis Fleury’s one-person campaign to find her son received some help on Friday. Donning T-shirts displaying a photograph of the missing teen, about 50 people attended in a walk midday Friday to raise awareness of the disappearance of Colten Fleury. He was 16 years old when he was last seen a year ago. He had just moved out of a group home to live with his mother at the Downtown Motel on Dominion Street. But one day later, on May 3, 2018, he walked out and has not been seen since. “When he woke up at 7 o’clock in the morning and stepped out of that door, he had something to do,” she said. “Nobody wakes up at seven in the morning and just runs out the door.” Since then, she has waged a determined effort to solve the mystery of Colten’s disappearance and, if all works out, reunite with him. Much of that search has been carried out in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side where she’s scoured the streets on seven different occasions, carrying a photograph of Colten and handing out business cards with contact information in case someone comes across him. Indeed, once the walk had ended, Phyllis was to be on her way to Vancouver once again to act on a tip she received the night before. Alex Ovien, who works at the group
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Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
Phyllis Fleury, mother of missing teen Colten Fleury, addresses those in attendance at Canada Games Plaza on Friday afternoon prior to a walk through downtown Prince George. home where Fleury had been staying, organized the walk relying on social media to get the word out. “We still care about him, we still love him, we still want to find him,” said Ovien, who described Colten as quiet but engaging. The walkers gathered at Canada Games Plaza and split into two groups, one heading toward the downtown and the other towards the area around Value Village. Phyllis stressed that if her son is found, he won’t be going back to a group home. “I’m still out there and I’m not going to stop until I find out what’s happened
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with my son,” she vowed as she fought back tears. “A year is too long and I’m still not going to quit.” Fleury is described as First Nations, five-foot-eight, 120 pounds with brown eyes and short brown hair. He was wearing a red hoodie, black jeans and black and red runners and had a black hoodie with him when he was last seen in Prince George. Anyone who knows where Fleury may be is asked to contact the Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300 or to anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www. pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca.
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The Employers Health Tax is hitting local businesses’ bottom line, according to a survey conducted by the Prince George Chamber of Commerce. Of the 42 members who responded, 70 per cent said the tax, which came into effect at the start of this year as a replacement for the Medical Services Premium, has delivered a negative impact. Businesses with payrolls under $500,000 are exempt from the EHT, but for companies with payrolls over $500,000 who did not pay premiums for their employees, it became a new expense. Moreover, complete elimination of MSP premiums won’t occur until Jan. 1, 2020, although it was cut by 50 per cent this year, leading to accusations that the government is “double dipping.” Sixty-two per cent of those who responded said the prices of their services and products will increase as a result of the EHT, while 36 per cent said they will need to reduce staffing and 23 per cent are considering changes to their structure with several saying they will move to Alberta. “One of the more troubling survey responses was from a not-for-profit, who noted that while they are not directly impacted by the EHT from a payroll perspective, they are seeing corporate donors unable to sustain giving levels as their costs have increased,” Chamber CEO Todd Corrigall said. “As not-for-profits support a variety of services and opportunities in our communities, this impact can be incredibly damaging.” The estimated impact of the EHT ranged from as little as $9,500 to $1 million. — see ‘THIS MAY, page 4
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