My god,this absolutley terrible!!
My sincere condolences to all concerned!
Hang in there all!

Just what the north doesn't need. Another hit! How loud do you think we can get our voice in the north? Load enough for everyone else to hear?

Absolutely devastating(sp)so happy to hear that no one was hurt, and that it didn't take the opporunity to cause even more damage!!

As Andy said "Hang in there all in involved"

On CBC radio this morning they said that a chemical plant was on fire. Is this true?

There are a number of things STARTING to happen here in the north!
And they are happening because people are standing up and making some noise!
Seems to be money and funding popping up all over the place, and it is people that made that happen.
These things will all take time, but I firmly believe that if we hang in and keep pushing,we will see some relief and change, hopefully sooner than later.
And let the politicians take all the credit they want,but the fact that there IS a provincial election coming in the very near future, does work in our favour.
First order of business is getting people back to work and if that is not going to happen very soon,we need to push for some kind of a plan to help people out economically.
For many,they are already seeing the end of their E.I. in 2 or 3 months.
Some even sooner.
Our provincial reps CAN lobby the federal government for help here, in terms of E.I.extentions,mortgage payment extentions, or whatever it takes, and they need to start acting on that.
Now...not after the money starts to run out!
There are a lot of things to consider.
A $5000 dollar grant for tuition and re-training is all well and good,but if the E.I.runs out,who pays the mortgage and puts food on the table?
Who pays the accomodation for those that have to travel to another community to take that re-training when you are dead broke?
Gas to get there?
Food?
There are many questions that people need answers to and they need them quickly!
Solutions WILL be found, but this is what we elected those people for and it is time they earned their money and our votes!
Hopefully very soon,the light we see in the tunnel will no longer be the train coming at us!
Hang in people of the north!
Keep the heat on!

Come on Andy freeze get real, there is the Olympics to pay for and lets not forget the 250 million for BC place etractable roof. Just think how that 250m could be spent up here. Also where did that money come from in the first place, the north. Sure interesting how they can find 250m for the south but nothing for the north.

People whine about the NDP and rightly so, but Campbell and company make them look like rank amateurs.

Well, the endeepee WERE a little rank...
metalman.

Like you said there is an election coming up and like all politicians, they will be
BUYING VOTES

Thank you to our brave and skilled firefighters.
You have had a hard few days and have served us well.
Once again thank you!

BUYING VOTES is an interesting concept and that is part of what is starting to happen.
There will be more, but we already were aware of that I hope!
We take what we can get, but we also need to keep it in the right context.
That way,there will be no suprises when those spouting the rhetoric don't follow through!
But, I am off topic...my last post on this page was a faux pas in that I meant to post it somewhere else!

I echo BCRacer - we have a great fire department They are dedicated and brave and skilled.

There are 3500 people laid off in the Northern Interior. Should we extend the EU Payments for all of them or just some of them. Extending them for a year will put off for a while what is going to happen, however it wont stop the lay offs. These people will probably have to take jobs in the 12 to 15 dollars an hour range or move to another location. Having them sit in Ft St James, or Mackenzie waiting for a turn around is probably not the best solution.

Ft St James, Mackenzie, Quesnel, Mcbride, Vanderhoof,Ft Fraser, Houston and to some degree Prince George are **Mill Towns** The population of these towns never changed for years, and probably never will. When the price of lumber is up and demand is high the mills put of extra shifts. When the price falls and demand drops they get rid of shifts. This is not going to change, thats how business is done in the lumber industrie, and has been since the 1950's.

Our good fortune is a result of selling 80% of our production to the good old USA. When they dont buy, we suffer. Such is life.

Yes i agree such is life in the forestry industry.

And if people choose to sit and wait for their EI to run out then again such is life....
There are tons of jobs in Alberta...Im sure being away from home for a while to pay bills wont kill anyone. Truckers do it all their life...

And we can't be blaming the government for all the shutdowns and burnt mills.....
A lesson to learn "Don't bet your life on your job!

"Get education prior to working and during being employed.
We have to provide our own lifejackets in life .........

Thank you to our fire fighters.

Seamutt, I'd be interested in hearing how you've come to the conclusion that all 250 million dollars that may be spent on BC place came from Northern BC.

Some unused land in the vicinity of B.C. Place is being sold and the proceeds will pay for the new retractable roof.

No need to panic and point fingers.

"Well, the endeepee WERE a little rank...
metalman."

4 premiers in 10 years says that it was quite a bit more than a little rank. It actually stank.

What a chitty thing to hit a community already hit hard. Everybody pulling together regardless of adversity makes me proud to be from 259!

Yes indeed Getajob, "don't bet your life on your job". I would venture to say that this fits better with politicians and CEOs than those that actually work for a living.