Prince George Citizen October 24, 2018 by Prince George Citizen

Rotating postal strikes causing delays MONEY 8

Wednesday, October 24, 2018 | Your community newspaper since 1916

Airport gets runway cash Citizen staff The federal government announced a $2.3 million investment Tuesday to fix up the main runway at the Prince George Airport. Terry Beech, the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Transportation, said the work will have significant economic benefits since the airport is located in a corridor linking North America to Asia. “Transportation systems are a vital part of Prince George’s economy and the investment announced here today will foster long-term prosperity for the city,” Beech said. “These improvements to the Prince George Airport will increase transportation options for the community while helping businesses get more products to market.” Announced in February, Prince George was the first city in B.C. to receive the Foreign Trade Zone Designation in Canada and the improvements made to the runway and two aprons will improve the way Prince George does business with the rest of the world. The project itself will create about 40 jobs during construction and allows Prince George to maximize airport capacity when repairs are complete. John Gibson, president and chief executive officer for the Prince George Airport Authority, showed his support of the funding for the runway rehabilitation with a boisterous cheer. “The project will be tendered in January and completed by October 2019,” Gibson said. The funds come from a $2 billion National Trade Corridors Fund provided by the Government of Canada.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

Weeds grow in cracks in the apron that leads to runway 0119 at the Prince George Airport.

Boot, sock drive seeks donations B.C. to subsidize health care for international students

Christine HINZMANN Citizen staff chinzmann@pgcitizen.ca Remembering a childhood where going without at times is fresh in her memory, Alisha Tobin, organizer of the Fire Pit Winter Boot and Sock Drive, is asking Prince George residents to donate to the cause. Those who are considered at-risk, vulnerable and living on the streets of Prince George are in need of winter footwear to protect against the elements during our harshest season. Distribution of winter boots and socks for men, women and children takes place in the afternoon of Nov. 7 and donation of all gently-used items takes place on Saturday at the Fire Pit Cultural Centre, 1120 Third Ave., between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and before noon on the day of the main event. Tobin said she doesn’t like to see anyone go without. “My grandfather (Omar Hason) had a store (Honest Omar’s) downtown many years ago,” said, Tobin explaining the inspiration behind the event. “Some of his favourite stories were of the people who would come in that he would give a sandwich to or even something like toothpaste and he would always say that if you could even help one person a day, you were doing a good job.” Tobin talked about being raised by a single mom and at times it was a bit of a struggle. She said her extended family was a large one and hand-me-downs were part of life until she got taller than everyone else and then her family turned to the Salvation Army to get clothes that would fit her. “There was no Facebook or social media to ask for help like there is now so we had to go to any outlet we could find,” she said. “So that’s what inspired

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LOCAL HOROSCOPE OPINION NEWS MONEY

Graeme WOOD Citizen news service

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHRISTINE HINZMANN

Alisha Tobin, pictured with husband Josh and son Heller, 3, is organizing the Fire Pit Boot and Sock Drive for vulnerable people living on the streets of Prince George. me the most. Every year when it starts to get colder I always ask myself what can I do that would benefit people.” Tobin said she didn’t know where to start until she brought up the subject with mother-in-law Judy Mitchell, who works for Positive Living North, the community service organization which runs the Fire Pit for those at risk in the community. “I was spitting out ideas and we were

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talking about it and it became a thing,” she smiled. Between Mitchell reaching out to the people she knew and Tobin reaching out to the people she knew, the event took shape. “The support shown throughout the community has already been great,” Tobin said. “Prince George is a great town for this sort of thing.”

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Opioid crisis lowering life expectancy

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British Columbia is poised to fully subsidize health care for international students at a potential cost of more than $100 million annually. B.C. will become one of just three provinces and territories in Canada to extend, free of charge, public health care insurance coverage to international students residing here for less than one year, once it fully eliminates Medical Services Plan (MSP) premiums on Jan. 1, 2020. Most international students across Canada do not receive public health care. In B.C., in addition to the loss of an estimated $100-plus million in premiums from international students, taxpayers will continue paying hundreds of millions of dollars to cover overall health care costs of the students. It’s a cost some say is worth it, to draw international students from a competitive global market. Meanwhile, others have questioned the full subsidy, given Canada’s already competitive position. Presently, international students in B.C. are legally required to pay MSP premiums under the Medicare Protection Act, if they are living and studying here for more than six months. While the number of international students continues to grow, and B.C. aims to eliminate all premiums, “there are currently no plans to change the eligibility requirements for the MSP program as outlined by the Medicare Protection Act,” said Ministry of Health spokesperson Laura Heinze. International students now pay $37.50 per month after the BC Liberal government announced in 2017 it was cutting the premium in half, in hopes of eliminating it. Although there was no apparent consideration from the BC Liberals to consider international students when fees were slashed in half, current finance critic and Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond says the NDP government ought to ensure international students pay into the system. — see ‘IF THEY, page 3

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