"Iwama says despite pressure to include engineering in the programs such a centre might offer, he says engineering will not be one of the programs offered."

Ever, or just initially?

It seems that we are all very interested in these plans that are going on while they have still not been formulated enough by those doing the plans and even integrated totally with all those who are planning associated facilities.

I would really not expect everyting to mesh perfectly at this stage.

VERSA has presented some nice illustrations that can give people a peersepctive of what things might look like some time down the road when everything is built out to maximum capacity. Along the way it will change, just as the UNBC campus has changed over the last decades.

Sometimes it is important to remind people of that. Not only that, but also remind those who present such future images that it might be helpful to throw in a bit of a suggestion that the entire thing will be phased.

Harcourt added up the figures. Why I do not know. Maybe it was to impress the people gathered. But, at the same time he looked at them over a 10 year span which brings it back down to reality.

The term "sticker shock" was used. Also the notion that images are needed to convey to people what can be.

One should be careful, I think, that pictures can just as quickly provide a shock as prices can. Once there is shock, there is resistance that one will have to address when it is taxpayers who are involved that have little interest in the purposes of the facilities.

I wonder what the residence of Terrace and Ft St.John feel about this downtown campus. Sure it would be great for Prince George. But I was undere the impression UNBC was a northern university for the north. Not just Prince George. I think they need to build a campus in the Peace and Skeena before they start thinking about this. When I say a campus, I am not talking renovating an existing space.

I am trying to figure out where the money for all of this is coming from? Not just for this building but for all of the new buildings that are wanted downtown. More and more people are leaving PG and the people who own homes are left holding the ever increasing taxes year after year after year. All levels of government are on a spending spree like no other. 1.1 billion dollars for a 3 day feast at the trough on the tax payer’s dime federally. The provincial government is corrupt. Our city Gods are out of control. I would like to know when all this spending and borrowing on our future generation is going to stop? Yes it would be wonderful for Prince George's downtown to be beautiful but at what cost? We are still revolving on what would be nice to have instead of what is necessary. Over 500 billion dollars in debt federally and we throw a huge party for 3 days. 1.1 billion dollars for security, $900.00 bottle of wines, caviar and top of the line elitists accommodations on the backs of hard working Canadians. Most of us have never had caviar. What has come of these G8 and G20 meetings? Nothing! I can not rap my head around this one, sorry.

An Engineering program would be a huge boost to the enrollment at UNBC. Currently, engineering students have to get their education at other institutions. If they offered engineering in Prince George, that would have been my chosen career path.

Municca, the news/outrage over the 1.1 billion dollar cost to host the G8/G20 meetings hasn't reached the west yet! Comments on the CBC website are pouring in by the hundreds - most of them expressing disbelief and utter frustration!

Here we have a crumbling infrastructure and no money to do anything about it and yet, the feds have NO problem finding/borrowing over a billion for a party that was to cost 179 million in the beginning!

Politicians - including our present Ottawa government - have completely lost their marbles.

Too bad!

I wonder if they considered tele-conferencing. No need for all that much security costs.

UBC has a satellite business campus in downtown Vancouver as well as other communities. There is no reason it wouldn't work for UNBC here in PG.

I think they should built it up on the hill, the last thing students need it to be trying to get from one class to the next and counting on the City of Prince George Transit system to get them from the university to downtown.

"UBC has a satellite business campus in downtown Vancouver as well as other communities. There is no reason it wouldn't work for UNBC here in PG."

There is every reason for it not to work here.

1. the key is "business campus" ... in a location where there are "business" people working who can go there for 3 sessions ofd 1 hours per session 3 times a week without having to get to the main campus.

2. they have the critical mass ... the closest we could get to a critical mass is 5 people or less.

3. it does not take 1.5 hrs to get from an office downtown to a classroom at UNBC. Half an hour, tops.

We have fewer people in all of Prince George than Vancouver has working in the downtown. Totally different situation.

Bang on Vdesign!!!!