Nanaimo Daily News, January 20, 2016

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minorities are substantially

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of and behind the camera.

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TOP STORY

Grim economic outlook frames key rate decisionANDY BLATCHFORD THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA — Regardless of the direction Stephen Poloz chooses, today’s closely watched decision on the Bank of Canada’s key interest rate will take place in front of an unsightly economic backdrop.

With oil prices in free fall, the global economy weakening and the prospects for Canadian growth dim, the central bank governor will reveal whether he intends to move the trend-setting rate.

It’s a question Poloz has had to face more than once as head of the bank: whether the strong medicine of cutting the already historically low benchmark is a necessary remedy for Canada’s ailing economy.

Poloz dropped the rate twice in 2015 to its current level of 0.5 per cent to help blunt the impact of sliding oil prices. The first of those moves — almost a year ago to the day — was a surprise adjustment that blindsided markets.

This time around, observers are divided on whether he will pull the trigger again — and whether he should.

Desjardins senior economist Jimmy Jean falls into the camp of analysts who expect Poloz to stand pat — and said he believes he’d be wise to do so.

This year, Poloz must once again consider falling oil prices, a weakening dollar and inflation at the lower end of the bank’s one- to two-per-cent target range.

But things have also changed over the last 12 months, Jean said as he explained why he thinks Poloz should avoid using the primary tool in the central bank’s kit.

The new Liberal government has pledged to stimulate the economy with defi-cit-fuelled infrastructure spending. Last year, the previous government was heading into an election striving to produce a bal-anced budget.

Jean said he believes those spending plans are sufficiently substantial to keep Poloz on the sidelines. But he doesn’t expect Ottawa’s commitments, which also include

a revamped child-benefits program and tax-bracket changes, to shield the economy from a rough ride in 2016 and 2017.

“Those policies will help, but we have to face the fact that we’re going to suffer for a while,” Jean said.

“There’s no way to really, fully offset that pain.”

Earlier this month, Poloz spoke of the bumpy road ahead as he warned that the forces uncorked by the oil-price shock “sim-ply must work themselves out.”

Poloz’s comments led some to believe he would leave the rate untouched. But eco-nomic conditions, including oil prices, have continued to deteriorate since the speech, only a couple of weeks ago.

In the last week, many analysts have changed their positions and now believe Poloz will cut rates.

Emanuella Enenajor, senior economist for Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research, is predicting a rate cut of 0.25 per cent and a projection for 2016 real gross domestic product that gets trimmed to 1.5 per cent, from two per cent.

“In our view, this is a shock substantial enough to warrant another easing,” the firm wrote in a note to clients Tuesday that also speculated Poloz may be forced into action a second time this year.

“If energy prices remain persistently low, one rate cut will not likely be enough to stimulate the economy back to a reasonable growth path.”

Experts, including the International Mon-etary Fund, have downgraded their growth projections for Canada. The IMF dropped its 2017 forecast Tuesday to 2.1 per cent, from 2.4 per cent in October.

With oil prices in free fall, the global economy weakening and the prospects for Canadian

growth dim, central bank Governor Steven Poloz reveals today whether he intends to move the

trend-setting rate. [THE CANADIAN PRESS]

nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily2 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2016

smoking. The mental element will be there.”

Roach said he saved approximately $4,000 per year from quitting.

The Nanaimo Integrated Health Network is hosting a free Weedless Wednesday Workshop at Beban Park from 4-6 p.m., today. The workshop will provide the information and tools necessary to kick a tobacco habit.

Poteryko will be at the workshop and will stress the benefits of living smoke-free. He said the best way to improve your health by 80 per cent is to follow the four E’s. The four E’s are exercise, eat healthy, reduce ethanol (alcohol) consumption, and eliminate tobacco.

Eliminating tobacco, he says, is the most important thing you can do for your health.

After one year of being smoke-free your risk of heart damage is reduced by 50 per cent.

After 15 years of living smoke free your lungs will be back to normal. The average smoker lives 10 years less than a non-smoker.

Nicotine gum, patches, inhalers, sprays, medicine and behavioural therapy are a few of the ways that make quitting easier.

E-cigarettes are increasing in popularity.

“It’s harm reduction. As a health care professional I have to say that Health Canada has not approved these products. We still don’t know what the implication is on the oral mucosa and also the lungs. We don’t really know if it’s safe,” Poteryko said.

Although, you in hail more than 4,000 chemicals, most of them carcinogens, when you smoke a cigarette, Poteryko said.

“In my mind whatever it takes for you to quit smoking is kind of the message here. Your life will be better for it.”

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Mark Roach kept his word.The Daily News wrote

about Roach on Weedless Wednesday last year. At the

time he was on his third straight week without a cigarette.

A pack-a-day smoker since age 13, the 58-year-old finally free of the addiction.

There are dozens of ways to quit smoking. Each method seems to have some sort of success. The most beneficial method for Roach was prep-aration and relying on support.

“This needs to be underscored, it needs to be in your mind that this is it. Then you do it and stick to the plan,” Roach said.

Roach relied on the help from Dr. Derek Poteryko.

“There’s these quit-smoking groups, you have to connect with somebody. That’s what it really comes down to. I don’t think I could have done it on my own. He just helped me get my mind in the right spot. It’s almost like having an (Alcoholics Anonymous) sponsor I suppose. You need is to find someone or group to have a dialogue with while you’re setting up your quit date.”

He went through a period of stress a short time ago and picked up smoking again.

“I had a few here and a few there. Quite frankly I got scared and thought ‘no I can’t do this’ so I just stopped and that was it.”

Roach said he was a little disappointed because he didn’t notice any significant health changes until four months after he quit.

“But the immediate things that were noticeable is the cough goes away almost instantly. I think most people would feel a little more energetic but because I put on weight I was discouraged.”

He has lost some of the extra pounds and is noticing the benefits of quitting.

“My breath is coming back, I can feel the difference. I’ve got a long set of stairs leading up to my apartment and I’m not winded where I was winded before. No question I feel the difference. It’s motiv-ational, it keeps your mind in the right place.”

When he started the process he was taking a drug called Zyban. It helped lessen the nicotine urges.

“There’s a couple different drugs out there but don’t confuse that. It didn’t take away the realization that I wasn’t

Habit goes up in smokeAnnual Weedless Wednesday event aims to get smokers to quit

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 20163 nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily

AaronHinksReporting

Dr. Derek Poteryko. On front page is Mark Roach. [DAILY NEWS PHOTOS]

NANAIMO

Treasured gifts found at side of road returnedDAILY NEWS

Media coverage helped to locate the owners of a framed ultrasound photo of an unborn child and other gifts intended for the child’s grandmother.

On Friday, Nanaimo RCMP issued an appeal for help to find owners of what appeared to be lost gifts, found just before Christmas.

Media outlets, including the Daily News, used traditional and social media to get the word out.

“The story was picked up on Facebook the same day I published it,” said Const. Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP.

He said the owners of the gifts and the grandmother both contacted him, and arrangements were made to deliver them to the owner in Alberta.

The couple arrived late from Grande

Prairie on Dec. 23 and their vehicle was broken into.

The gifts were found Dec. 24 by a passerby who saw them roadside on Bush Street.

A special book and ultrasound picture,

gifts for the unborn child’s grandmother,

were reunited with their owners, after

police put out a notice when the items

were stolen in a car break-in.

» We want to hear from you.

Send comments on this story to

[email protected].

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Cheers to Great ConnectionsWhy not collect more than points when you connect through Edmonton?EIA rewards gives you useful things like food and hotel discounts, upgraded access to our

www.nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 20164 NEWS

BUSINESS NOTESNews from the Nanaimo and area business community

New ownership for Nanaimo pizza restaurant

Nanaimo’s New York Style Pizza on Wallace Street is under new ownership.

Pete Maltesen, the longtime owner of the restaurant, has sold it to Vancouver-based busi-nesswoman Shan Wu.

Daisy Lin, the restaurant’s new manager, said Maltesen has agreed to stay on as the head chef.

Lin, who has just graduated from the culinary program at Vancouver Island University, said this is Wu’s first restaurant and she will be visit-ing Nanaimo at least once a week to monitor operations.

“We’ll be changing some things up, including having more appetizers and other options on the menu, and we’re planning some renovations on the inside of the building,” Lin said.

New service centre

The ground has been broken for a new BCAA auto service centre in Nanaimo.

The new location, at 6581 Aulds Rd., will be the first BCAA auto ser-vice centre on Vancouver Island, and the third in B.C. The centre is to be open in the summer of 2016.

“BCAA has been serving Nanaimo residents with award-winning insur-

ance and world-class roadside assist-ance for 55 years,” said Eric Hopkins, BCAA’s senior vice president.

“BCAA’s auto service centres are a natural extension of our automotive expertise and something our mem-bers have been asking for.”

Video winners

The Island Veterinary Hospital on Bowen Road has taken second place in a Canada-wide video contest, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.

The company, a leader in medical and pharmaceutical research, held a #PerfectWithoutPain video contest and had 36 submissions from veter-inary clinics across Canada showcas-ing a perfect pain-free day for pets.

The local firm took second place for its submission, titled “Our perfect pain-free day” and won $5,000.

Hospital spokesman Dr. Ken Langelier said the staff decided to participate in the contest as a team-building exercise and to raise awareness that animals feel pain like people, but show it in different ways.

“It’s great that we took second place, and the $5,000 will be used to buy special surgical blankets to keep animals warm after operations, and a medical unit to warm intra-venous fluids to make our animals in care more comfortable,” Langelier said

Consolidation plans

Plans are underway that will see the Scotiabank branch at Nanaimo North

Town Centre consolidated with the branch in Nored Plaza as of April 15.

Spokeswoman Sheena Findlay said the decision to bring both Scotia-bank branches together “wasn’t an easy one.”

“Our commitment to the Nanaimo community and our customers remains unchanged,” Findlay said.

“We recognize the inconvenience that this may cause for some of our customers, but our first priority is to take care of our customers and our employees and this step was only taken after careful consideration.”

Findlay said the Nored Plaza branch will be open six days a week, with longer hours.

Odds and ends

• Jennifer Fox has joined the team at Royal LePage Nanaimo Realty.

• Aggressive Timber Falling has moved from Bowen Road to 3018 Ross Rd.

• Subhi Imports has opened beside The Soakhouse spa store on Bowen Road.

• Istockhomes marketing is now open at 1595 Bowen Rd.

Robert.Barron

@nanaimodailynews.com

250-729-4234

RobertBarron

Reporting

Pete Maltesen, right, has sold New York Style Pizza on Wallace Street. Daisy Lin is

the new manager. [AARON HINKS/DAILY NEWS]

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HEALTH

Island Health region to get 290 new nursesSPENCER ANDERSON DAILY NEWS

The B.C. government says it will create 1,643 new nursing positions by the end of March, including 290 in the Island Health region.

Health Minister Terry Lake said the province is working with the BC Nurses’ Union to fill the new positions.

“Over the past year, we have been working closely with nurses to make health care improvements that bene-fit both patients and staff,” Lake said in a news release.

The BCNU welcomed the news and contributed to a joint statement.

“To nurses who are trying to pro-vide safe patient care while working short in ERs and operating rooms and nurses who cope with over-whelming workloads, this agreement means that relief is on the way,” said union president Gayle Duteil.

Duteil said the BCNU will support the hiring process by providing “a first point of contact” for qualified nurses. The Health Employers Asso-ciation of BC will also be involved in the recruiting effort.

The hirings are good news for recent graduates, said Carol Stuart, dean of Vancouver Island Univer-sity’s health and human services faculty. The faculty’s bachelor of science in nursing program produces approximately 70 graduates on any given year.

“From that perspective, I’m very excited about the announcement,” she said. “What that means for our graduates is those currently working in a casual position . . . will now have the opportunity to apply for a full-time position.”

However, Stuart said she is con-cerned the mass hire will “deplete” the pool of casual or full-time nurses that the health case system relies upon to fill vacancies or gaps in the full-time nursing workforce. She said VIU and other Island colleges currently do not have the capacity to fill that vacuum. NDP health critic Judy Darcy was skeptical over the relatively short timeframe of the hirings. Darcy said the government’s 2012 promise to hire more than 2,000 nurses has only resulted in approximately 500 hirings.

“We know that the long waits for hip replacement, knee replacement, you name it, has been due to short-ages, including nursing shortages,” Darcy told Black Press legislature reporter and columnist Tom Fletch-er. “We’ve been paying incredible overtime. Huge burnout, high injury rates, wait lists, hallway medicine, all of those things are a consequence not having met this promise.”

Spencer.Anderson

@nanaimodailynews.com

250-729-4255

VIU

Ex-premier Harcourt toreceive honorary degreeDAILY NEWS

Former B.C. Premier Michael Har-court will receive an honourary Doc-torate of Laws degree from Vancouver Island University.

Harcourt is among a number of accomplished people who will be awarded honourary credentials at Vi’s winter convocation ceremonies at the Port Theatre latter this month.

Celebrated B.C. author and poet Pat-rick Lane will receive an honourary Doctorate of Letters, and PhD candi-date Katelin Albert will receive a Distin-guished Alumni – Early Achievement Award.

Harcourt is considered as one of Can-ada’s leading proponents on planning for sustainability, and is a passionate

believer in the power of cities and communities to improve the human condition.

A UBC alumnus, Harcourt served as B.C.’s premier from 1991 to 1996 and Vancouver’s Mayor from 1980 to 1986.

Internationally acclaimed poet Lane is considered by many scholars and critics as one of the finest poets of his generation.

He has also excelled in the genres of fiction and memoir.

Lane’s life work spans more than 50 years, and he is an admired teach-er, workshop leader, and supporter of emerging poets across North America.

Albert’s doctoral research focuses on the Human Papillomavirus vaccine, a vaccine designed to prevent certain HPV-related cancers.

NANAIMO

Summit aims to create safer atmosphere for bicyclistsDAILY NEWS

The 2016 Bike Summit will be held on Saturday at the Beban Park Social Centre.

The event is intended to bring together those interested in cyc-ling to co-ordinate their efforts to bring forward important cycling legislation.

Other goals are to create a safer cycling atmosphere in the city and the regional district, and make Nanaimo a cycling-friendly city.

The summit also provides oppor-tunities for people to learn about the programs, initiatives and events organized by the Greater Nanaimo Cycling Coalition.

The GNCC has been working diligently to roll out its Safe Routes to School Program and the Bike-Friendly Business Program, and encourages businesses to assist their employees to have a choice in the way they commute.

The Summit will also feature a number of videos and presenta-tions, including updates on the E&N Rail Trail, and information

sessions on bike-related topics, including proposed changes to the Motor Vehicle Act.

“We’ve made significant progress on cycling-related issues in the last few years, but there are still many efforts needed to direct city staff, city council and the provincial government toward more improve-ments” said Leo Boon, co-organizer of the summit.

“Bringing together a diverse and committed group in one place for an afternoon of learning and dis-cussion really focuses everyone’s energy into the effort to make Nanaimo and B.C. a safer, easier and more desirable place to live and ride,” said Boon.

The 2016 Bike Summit at Beban Park runs from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Leo Boon is the co-organizer of the 2016 Bike Summit, set for Saturday at the

Beban Park Social Centre. [DAILY NEWS]

NEWS IN BRIEFCompiled by Daily News staff

◆ VIRL

Tentative agreement reached with workers

The Vancouver Island Regional Library has reached a tentative agreement with the union repre-senting its workforce.

Details will not be released until ratification of the agreement, which follows a bargaining process that included mediation.

“We were able to come to this agreement after serious and thoughtful discussions on issues that were important to our mem-bers, who care deeply about the library and the communities they serve,” said CUPE 401 president Blaine Gurrie.

CUPE 401 members vote on rati-fication Jan. 24. The board votes on Jan. 16.

CUPE members provide public library services as library assist-ants, circulation supervisors, office workers, IT, and drivers at 39 branches in 37 communities throughout Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, the Central Coast, and some northern Gulf Islands.

◆ POLICE

RCMP off er tips to help seniors avoid scammers

Useful tools to prevent seniors getting scammed will be avail-able at a public session in central Nanaimo Thursday.

Const. Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP will explain cur-rent phone scams and other tech-niques con artists use to pry money from people in Scams and Frauds Targeting Seniors.

It’s a free event at the Bowen Park clubhouse.

Scams that will be explained will include those attempted by telephone solicitors, and include lottery, social media and some other online scams currently in vogue.

It’s put on by Nanaimo RCMP in partnership with the City of Nanaimo Parks, Recreation and Culture.

The free presentation starts at 2 p.m. at the Bowen Clubhouse, 500 Bowen Rd.

Should you be allowed to spank your child?

It’s a somewhat loaded ques-tion, bound to draw a wide variety of response and spark a spirited debate.

It could also soon become a legal question.

As we reported yesterday, the Lib-eral government recently indicated it intends to repeal section 43 of the Criminal Code — the so-called “spanking law” that allows parents, and sometimes teachers, to be exempt from prosecution for “rea-sonable” force used against children.

The change is one of more than 90 recommendations proposed by the final report from the Truth and Rec-onciliation Commission on Canada’s residential school system. In many ways, this is a generational issue.

Baby boomers were raised by par-ents for whom corporal punishment was unquestioned.

The dreaded ‘strap’ hung on the wall at school, and it wasn’t even the biggest concerns for a youngster who dared misbehave. Many remember their father’s stern warning, “if you get it at school you are going to get it worse at home.” But times change.

In terms of competing pedagogical theories, there is research that shows spanking doesn’t work, can be a form of abuse and sometimes is disguised as out-and-out assault.

“It’s 2016, we don’t believe in vio-lence in this country, and yet, we’re still hitting children,” Kathy Lynn, a parenting speaker, author and certi-fied Canadian family educator, told the Daily News.

Despite the flaws of helicopter parents who put their children in a cocoon, they are right that spanking has to end.

Even if you don’t agree that spank-ing (as defined by the code) causes any long-lasting damage to children, you can’t get around the message it sends: that violence is sometimes the appropriate response.

Should anyone be comfortable with that?

One of the biggest arguments against repealing the law comes from parents who believe the government has no business dictating how minor discipline should be doled out.

Is it a step down a slippery slope that includes the ban on sugary soft drinks or religious teachings or vio-lent sports?

In the end, it should come down to a simple notion: don’t hit children.

Yes, there is a difference between a light spanking and an actual beating. But that shouldn’t matter. Neither should the argument of “well, I got spanked by my parents, and I turned out OK.”

We should still not be hitting our children. So how then, to correct our youngsters? Other tools must be in place, so that it doesn’t produce over-ly passive parenting.

Talk to them, connect with them in a meaningful and honest way — and then listen as you expect them to listen to you. Remain calm and focus on positive behaviour instead.

It’s not easy and may be uncom-fortable, but it’s exceedingly more effective than hitting.

It’s easy to suspect that a lot of spanking happens because a parent either lost his or her temper, or was too lazy to find other options.

Anything that discourages either of the above should be welcomed.

A recent poll by Global News with more than 14,500 responses had 58.8 per cent in support of making spanking illegal, while 41.2 per cent opposed that view.

With each passing year the num-bers in the “make it illegal” camp will continue to grow.

Why? Simply because it’s time. It’s 2016. We should not be hitting our children.

» We want to hear from you. Send comments on this editorial to [email protected].

It’s time that Canada made spanking children illegal

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OUR VIEW


Recent changes improve NanaimoDAVE WITTY SPECIAL TO THE DAILY NEWS

Our lives are centred on the use of the automobile. It has provided us with many bene-

fits, including a freedom of mobility that is unparallelled in civilization’s history. But, there has been an urban design ‘cost’. Our cities are signifi-cantly different than they were prior to the 1940s. In less than 80 years, we have transformed how and where we live from walkable, condensed communities to sprawling urban societies that roll across the land.

With that massive change in urban form and structure has come some undesired outcomes. We are less healthy: partly because we drive more and walk less. We have less sense of community: partly because we are more mobile. We have moved much of our shopping away from the downtown: partly because new forms of shopping have adapted better to the automobile. We have expanded our roads often at the expense of the pedestrian: partly to move our cars (and ourselves) faster. We are spend-ing more of our tax dollars on roads and sewer and water infrastructure: partly because we have spread out and require expansive infrastructure investments to support low density scattered development.

All of those experiences have generated new conversations about the need to reinvest in high quality denser development, including infill-ing vacant and underused sites to

make use of existing infrastructure; investing in downtown revitalization to promote alternative shopping and living experiences; and redesigning roads and streets to better accom-modate pedestrians and reduce the conflict that often occurs between cars and people.

There are some interesting urban design trends in Nanaimo that speak to those emerging changes. In terms of new infill development, that are making use of existing infrastructure, there are excellent examples of attractive row housing at Crescent View Drive off Dufferin Crescent and a compelling mix of office/residential at Pacific Station on Metral Drive near Mostar. Port Place Mall has added an interesting street-scape to complement the mall.

All of those initiatives are slowly but surely adding texture and effi-ciency to the city while making use of existing road and in-ground infra-structure capacity. Such projects add to the vitality of Nanaimo, ensure development is more cost effective and provide a texture to the urban fabric that enriches neighbourhoods.

There has also been some interest-ing street activity taking place in and near the downtown that is proving to

be of interest. One is the temporary ‘parklet’ that was constructed by the Downtown Nanaimo Business Improvement Association this past summer. It took up two parking spots on Commercial Street where it was used as seating for 2 Chefs Res-taurant and other nearby businesses.

As Daniel and Tammy of 2 Chefs noted “the parklet was hardly ever empty and was full of happy custom-ers and happy families.” They pointed out that, during the parklet’s instal-lation, their sales figures were up and they added staff to accommodate the increase in customers.

While an example of a more European type of use of Commer-cial Street, the parklet has shown that there is a need and interest in Nanaimo for a few strategically locat-ed public spaces that are designed for people rather than just cars.

Another interesting conversation that is being held relates to Terminal/Nicol Avenue and the potential to make the street edge more pedes-trian friendly without compromising traffic volume and movement times.

Darren Moss, on behalf of the DNBIA, has been leading a group of citizens and business owners who are interested in seeking public feed-

back on the potential to modify the current unfriendly pedestrian tone of Terminal and Nicol.

That group has provided options for consideration, including wider side-walks with planting, treed medians in some locations and more centre turning lanes. While each of those actions seems minor, in total they will create a very different sense to Terminal and Nicol; one that is more inviting to pedestrians. As well, the ‘softened’ entrance to and through the downtown will very likely be more attractive to visitors and cit-izens alike.

Drivers will have a sense of a street that is part of the city fabric rather than simply a means of getting from A to B.

Nanaimo is changing for the better: one development and infrastructure decision at a time.

Framed by good urban design, those individual incremental actions are providing a solid basis for a Nanaimo that is becoming known for its high quality urban environment.

David Witty is Provost and Vice-President

(Academic) at Vancouver Island University,

registered professional planner and member

of Inspire Nanaimo.

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Join us

at Woodgrove Shopping Centre

6631 Island Hwy. North

on Th ursday, March 24, 2016

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HOW TO REGISTERNon-Profi t Organizations can register and pick up a package of “Giving Day” Savings cards from Th e Hudson Bay to sell for $5.00 each to the general public. All proceeds gathered by your organization stay with your organization. On the Th ursday, March 24th ticket holders will be treated to exclusive in-store discounts, special events, contests and more.

For more information or to pick up the Giving Day Savings Cards contact Michelle or Tammy at

Th e Hudson Bay at 250-390-3141 ext 223

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COLWOODPARKSVILLE

Mourning community wants road improved

JOHN HARDING AND CANDACE WU

PARKSVILLE QUALICUM BEACH NEWS

Police said Monday they believe they have identified the vehicle and driver from a hit-and-run incident that claimed the life of an 80-year-old French Creek woman on Wednesday.

Oceanside RCMP Cpl. Jesse Foreman had just finished speaking with the major crimes unit when contacted on Monday afternoon.

“They believe they have found the vehicle and person respon-sible,” said Foreman. He said the driver identified by major crimes “has been extremely co-operative” and “there is pretty reasonable doubt the (driver) even knew it happened.”

Foreman said forensic evidence gathered from the vehicle — a delivery vehicle of some sort — has been sent to the lab. Foreman said police are not likely to make any decisions on recommending char-ges against the driver, or not, until that evidence is processed, which could take as long as a month.

Foreman also said he did not want to identify the specific vehicle for fear of “vigilanteism” and he also said there was no evidence of speed, reckless driving or alcohol being a factor in this case.

According to a news release issued by Oceanside RCMP Thurs-day morning, at approximately 3 p.m. Wednesday a woman was found lying on the side of the road on Roberton Boulevard, near Lakes Boulevard in French Creek (Mor-ningstar area).

Neighbours identified the victim as Gwen Chisholm.

Police said she was discovered a short distance from her home by a passerby.

Paramedics were called and she was transported by B.C. Ambulance to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. She died at approximate-ly 11 p.m. as a result of the serious head trauma sustained.

Friends and neighbours of Chisholm say they’re both devas-tated and frustrated — especially because the victim was intimately involved in a movement calling for safer streets just months before her death.

Chisholm was the third person to a sign a petition ultimately garnering 169 signatures in November.

The petition read: “There is a most urgent need to improve safe-ty for walkers and bikers in our community with the installation of a proper sidewalk, speed bumps on the road or very visible road mark-ings indicating a slow speed and to watch for pedestrians and bikers.”

It was sent to MLA Michelle Stilwell, Regional District of Nanaimo director Joe Stanhope

and Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure operations manager Johnathan Tillie, along with a let-ter explaining “the reason for this petition is your lack of concern in providing adequate measures to control the speed of vehicle traffic on the S curve of Roberton Boule-vard . . . we will most definitely have a serious injury or worse, a fatality.”

Barb Svarich, a resident in the area and president of the Saint Andrews Lane Strata, said the mes-sage fell on deaf ears.

“Because it’s considered a high-way you can’t have speed bumps, crosswalks, flashing lights or this is what I’ve been told by (the ministry) that this is considered a highway,” she said.

“How can this be considered a highway when we’re a residential area?”

Svarich said Roberton Boulevard is a winding road with blind spots and no sidewalk, noting there have been a handful of incidents in the past few years related to road safety and speeding vehicles.

However, Foreman said speeding has not been identified by police as an issue on Roberton Boulevard.

“Like many areas in Oceanside, Roberton has generated sever-al complaints to the RDN and police regarding speeding,” said Foreman.

“Our traffic section has spent a lot of time on Roberton and has never identified a speeding prob-lem. In the particular area where the lady very unfortunately was struck and killed, it is a narrow windy road.”

Foreman said police do not clas-sify roads as dangerous, instead they look to ICBC for direction.

“Previous crashes or issues would have ICBC alert us that it is a ‘high crash location,’” he said. “Roberton has never been classed as such.”

Chisholm’s death has reignited the grief struck community in the fight for pedestrian safety.

“A beloved woman has died because of this,” Karen Michalek said. “Gwen was so loved in this community . . . She was such a wonderful neighbour and friend. So warm and friendly. First and foremost, she was a lady. She never had a bad word to say about anyone.”

Svarich said she will be sending out letters to politicians this week demanding action.

“We are going to fight for chan-ges that will protect all people, all cyclists and even motorists,” she said.

“I’d like to see a commitment that a sidewalk will be installed. We don’t want to forget. We want to do something and we want to do it for Gwen.”

Victim, 80, had lobbied for road safety upgrades in area

Tip leads to sex off ender arrest in parking lot near walking trailGOLDSTREAM NEWS GAZETTE

Police are warning parents to monitor their children’s online activity and to take this opportunity to discuss the danger of online communication with strangers, after convicted sex offender, Aaron Craig, was arrested in Colwood on Monday.

The Victoria Police Department issued a statement last week, warning that Craig posed a significant risk of harm to young women and girls.

They asked for the public’s help in locating Craig, 28, who was wanted on an outstanding warrant for breaching the conditions of his bail.

The local police detachment received a report from a citizen who had spotted Craig at roughly 10:40 a.m. on Monday,

walking on a trail near Wishart Road in Colwood.

West Shore RCMP and a Victoria PoliceDepartment dog handler located and arrested Craig in a parking lot at the corner of Sooke and Ledsham roads in Colwood shortly after receiving the tip.

Craig has been convicted of the sexual interference of a person under 16 and of communicating via computer to lure a child under 16.

He is currently facing charges and awaiting trial for 15 other offences.

A memorial has been placed in the French Creek (Morningstar)

neighbourhood of Gwen Chisholm, who was struck and killed Wednesday

afternoon in an apparent hit-and-run incident. [PQBN NEWS]

» We want to hear from you.

Send comments on this story to

[email protected].

Letters must include daytime phone number

and hometown.

www.nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 20168 NEWS

New marine observatory to gather dataKATYA SLEPIAN ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS

Port Alberni residents might soon know a lot more about the waters of the Alberni Inlet thanks to proposed new ocean monitoring equipment from Ocean Networks Canada.

The organization already has pro-jects running out of Port Alberni, business analyst Teron Moore said.

“Ocean Networks Canada already runs a large research infrastructure that’s based out of Port Alberni and runs 800 kilometres out from the Port Alberni Inlet out to the west coast off shore,” he said. “We run scientific instruments and we gather data and do science and research.”

But while that allows the organiza-tion to collect data far into the ocean, Ocean Networks wants to gather some

information that’s closer to shore.Ocean Networks Canada, based out

of the University of Victoria, runs the Neptune Observatory on Mallory Drive in Port Alberni.

“It’s a fibre-optic cable that runs from Port Alberni through the Alberni Inlet and through an 800-kilometre loop. It covers all kind of interesting ocean ecosystems, measuring all kinds of parameters from salinity, temperature, depth of the ocean, seismic movements, tsunamis and more,” Moore said of the existing infrastructure.

Ocean Networks has instruments both at the surface and on the bottom of the ocean and even on BC Ferries and they’re looking to add more.

“These smaller pieces of infra-structure we’re calling ‘community observatories’ and these are going in all up and down the B.C. coast,” Moore said. Plans are already under-way to install them in Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Hartley Bay, Campbell River

and Tofino — and Port Alberni could join that list.

“These are very small pieces of infra-structure that will be put in closer to the shoreline to measure some of the shore-based parameters that we’re very interested in,” he said. That data could be applied to improve marine safety, environmental monitoring and seismic safety, including developing an earthquake warning system that gives more advanced warning than what’s currently possible.

“Some of those instruments will be hydrophones, which will listen to the acoustics in the water, water quality properties like temperature and salinity to try and get a baseline idea of what is the normal state of the water and how that changes as things like climate change and

industrial activity change.”The shore-based equipment will

allow researchers to get up close and personal with marine life.

“We’ll have underwater video cam-eras to look and interact and engage with that underwater ecosystem in a way that doesn’t typically get done without that visual interaction.”

All of the information gathered both in the Alberni Inlet and all around the ocean is open to everyone, Moore said.

“All of the data that comes in on our instruments is available to research-ers globally via a data management system call Oceans 2.0,” said Moore.

Ocean Networks will hold a com-munity engagement session later this month to hear what the community thinks is the best location for the new community observatory.

PORT ALBERNI

Victoria Shipyards buzz with actionPAMELA ROTH VICTORIA NEWS

In a perfect world, the dry dock at the Victoria Shipyards would always be full and Joe O’Rourke could run 800 staff per day.

But after 30 years of working in the shipyard industry, O’Rourke knows that’s never going to happen.

O’Rourke, however, is happy with the amount of work that’s come in to the shipyard (owned by North Vancouver’s Seaspan ULC) ever since he arrived from Portland, Oregon 10 months ago to take the reins as gen-eral manager.

He’s also bidding on a lot more commercial work, specifically aiming at markets in the United States due to the low Canadian dollar.

“I feel confident that Victoria Shipyards are going to continue to grow, albeit on a cycle. Some years are down versus others just because there’s only so much in that market you can grab,” said O’Rourke, noting the first six months of the year are busy, but after that the workload is fairly light.

“We’re trying to fill the gaps as much as possible.”

Six years ago, a lack of contracts dropped the number of workers sig-nificantly, but one year it reached as high as 1,200. O’Rourke expects to have 550 to 600 direct people work-ing on vessels in the future.

Much of the stable work is due to the frigate and submarine program with the Royal Canadian Navy, which has provided a consistent source of revenue for the past five years with contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to O’Rourke, the navy work (under prime contractor Lockheed Martin Canada) involves modernization (with new combat systems) and expansion. There is never a day that employees don’t have some job they’re working on that takes at least 100 trades people. The shipyards rarely, if ever, fall below 300 people.

“You want to take a vessel and make enough improvements and bring it up to a standard that’s going to extend its life out,” said O’Rourke, adding there are many changes with sensor and weapon systems.

“You have to upgrade to whatever the new equipment that comes in.”

During the peak of the program, 485 workers were employed, but that number now hovers around 350. After 11 months, work on the fifth frigate — the HMCS Regina, will be completed this spring. After that, O’Rourke said the shipyards will con-tinue to do work off and on for the navy thanks to a contract that runs through 2018.

The HMCS Corner Brook sub-marine is also now on the yard and will be brought up to date with the

latest systems during the next two years.

“It (work) won’t be as high as it was before, but it’s still going to be very substantial and more substantial than it was prior to the moderniza-tion program,” said O’Rourke, noting the shipyard is like a glorified gas station with a repair function.

“It (the shipyard) is not a factory that processes things. To some end your work load is determined by what’s available, by what the custom-er will give you. You can go and seek more markets, but there are periods where nobody has repair needs so you train your organization that it’s ready to go down to 350 people or max back up to 1,000.”

The large graving dock at the ship-yards can hold three small vessels or

one large cruise ship — a lucrative industry the company has also man-aged to tap into.

In December, the Ruby Princess was pulled into the dry dock with a refit contract worth around $5 mil-lion that employed about 330 people at its peak. Putting in 10 to 12 hour shifts every day, workers had 10 days to complete the task of installing two giant emission scrubbers and replacing bow thrusters.

The Ruby Princess was the third cruise ship to have scrubbers installed in the Victoria Shipyards. Two more cruise ships are sched-uled for work in April and May, and another two are booked in the fall of 2017. The shipyards also do general commercial work with B.C. Ferries, tow ships, fishing vessels and barges.

The cruise ship ‘Ruby Princess’ fills the Esquimalt Graving Dock as she undergoes a 10-day refit by Victoria Shipyards.

During the refit 350 workers will be employed. [VICTORIA NEWS]

ESQUIMALT VICTORIA

Electric bus aimed at cruise ship industryPAMELA ROTH VICTORIA NEWS

In an effort to reduce noise and emissions from the diesel buses shuf-fling cruise ship passengers through the James Bay neighbourhood, the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority will be introducing an electric double decker bus this season.

Beginning in April, the bus will be used as part of a one-year pilot pro-ject that will evaluate the feasibility of electric bus transportation for the cruise tourism industry compared to conventional diesel buses.

During a typical week of the cruise season, 15 to 20 buses pick up pas-sengers at Ogden Point for excur-sions to Craigdarroch Castle, BuchartGardens or downtown. On the week-end, that number spikes to 50 to 60 buses coming and going through the James Bay neighbourhood.

For GVHA CEO Ian Robertson, having a working terminal that’s accessed through a neighbourhood has provided a number of challenges throughout the years.

“We recognize there will always be an impact and the cruise business is going to grow. Having said that, we also recognize there are aspects we can take to mitigate the impact,” said Robertson, noting the manufacturer approached the harbour authority about testing the bus.

Another initiative is working more closely with the cruise lines to pro-mote the walkability of Ogden Point to downtown. Of the approximate 533,000 passengers that came into Victoria last year, 25 per cent walked from the terminal — a number Rob-ertson said could be higher.

Victoria’s cruise tourism industry contributes more than $100 million annually to the regional economy.

The GVHA plans to make Victoria the most desired port on the West Coast, and a port home for one ship by 2020.

The Cambridge Bay Arctic community

observatory [OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA]

DEVELOPMENT OF A PEST MANAGEMENT PLAN

The use of pesticides is intended within the area to which the Pest Management Plan (PMP) applies.

The purpose of the proposed PMP is to control vegetation at BC Hydro facilities to maintain safe and reliable

operations which support the delivery of electricity to our customers. This plan applies to all areas of

British Columbia where BC Hydro has operational or planned facilities such as electrical substations, generation

switchyards, generating sites, communication sites, storage sites, administrative buildings, or land owned

or leased for future facilities.

The proposed duration of the PMP is from April 2016 to April 2021.

Vegetation incompatible with the operation of the power system will be controlled using: physical (manual

brushing, girdling, hand-pulling, hedge trimming, mowing, pruning, weed trimming or tree removal), cultural

(gravel/hard surfacing, planting ground cover), biological (release of parasitic insects to control noxious

and invasive plants) or chemical (herbicide application) techniques, or any combination of these methods.

The active ingredients and trade names of the herbicides proposed for use under this plan include:

○ acetic acid – Ecoclear, Munger’s Hort Vinegar or equivalent,

○ aminocyclopyrachlor and chlorsulfuron – Truvist or equivalent

○ aminocyclopyrachlor and metsulfuron-methyl – Navius or equivalent

○ aminopyralid – Milestone or equivalent

○ aminopyralid and metsulfuron-methyl – ClearView or equivalent

○ aminopyralid, metsulfuron-methyl, and fluroxypyr – Sightline or equivalent

○ aminopyralid, metsulfuron-methyl and triclopyr – Clearview Brush or equivalent

○ Chlorsulfuron – Telar or equivalent

○ Chondrostereum purpureum – Chontrol or equivalent

○ clopyralid – Lontrel, Transline or equivalent or equivalent

○ dicamba – Vanquish, Banvel or equivalent

○ dichlorprop-P and 2,4-D – Estaprop XT or equivalent

○ diflufenzopyr and dicamba – Distinct, Overdrive or equivalent

○ diuron – Karmex, Diurex 80 WDG or equivalent

○ flumioxazin – Payload or equivalent

○ glyphosate – Vantage, Vision or equivalent

○ imazapyr – Arsenal Powerline or equivalent

○ indaziflam – Esplanade or equivalent

○ metsulfuron-methyl – Escort or equivalent

○ picloram – Tordon 22k, Tordon 101 or equivalent

○ picloram and 2,4-D – Aspect or equivalent

○ triclopyr – Garlon products or equivalent

○ Trifluralin – BioBarriere, Treflan or equivalent

○ 2,4-D – LV700 or equivalent

Adjuvant products may also be combined on occasion with a herbicide to improve its effectiveness, such as:

nonylphenoxy polyethoxy ethanol – Agral 90, paraffinic oils – Gateway, octadec-9-enoic acid as methyl

and ethyl esters – Hasten NT, or siloxylated polyether – Xiameter or equivalents.

The proposed methods for applying herbicides include: soil applied techniques (backpack sprayer, powerhose

or fixed boom sprayer), cut surface, basal bark, backpack foliar, mechanized foliar (fixed nozzle, boom directed

nozzle, wick sprayer), and injection (hack and squirt, lance or syringe) techniques.

A draft copy of the proposed PMP is available at bchydro.com/pestplanforfacilities.

Alternatively, it is available in person at 6911 Southpoint Drive, Burnaby; 1401 Kalamalka Lake Road, Vernon;

18475 128 Street, Surrey; 400 Madsen Road, Nanaimo; 3333 22 Avenue, Prince George.

BC Hydro, the applicant for the proposed PMP, is located at 6911 Southpoint Drive, Burnaby, B.C., V3N 4X8.

Please contact Tom Wells, Vegetation Program Manager, at 604 516 8943 or [email protected]

for more information.

A person wishing to contribute information about a proposed treatment site, relevant to the development

of the pest management plan, may send copies of the information to the applicant at the above address

within 30 days of the publication notice.

Pest Management Plan: BC Hydro Facilities 2016-2021

4876


TRANS MOUNTAIN

Protest plea: stop pipeline process nowLAURA KANE THE CANADIAN PRESS

First Nations and environmentalists called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to stop a National Energy Board review of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion as hearings on the proposal began Tuesday.

Opponents of Kinder Morgan’s US$5.4 billion plan to triple the current capacity of the Alberta-to-B.C. pipeline held a rally outside the hearings in Burnaby, B.C. Speakers demanded Trudeau immediately stop the hearings and overhaul the review process.

“This is a fundamentally flawed process,” said Carleen Thomas of North Vancouver’s Tsleil-Waututh Nation. “The voices of Canadian citizens are not being respect-ed or heard, and this is wrong.”

The hearings will last for 10 days in B.C. and will wrap up in Calgary next month. Local municipalities, environmental groups, First Nations and residents who live along the pipeline are set to deliver final arguments.

The National Energy Board streamlined the review process to meet time limits set by the previous Con-servative government. Interveners are not allowed to cross-examine Kinder Morgan representatives and instead had to send in written questions.

The company answered a portion of those questions.Karen Campbell, a lawyer with Ecojustice, said the

process is “incredibly broken,” noting that the review does not consider the potential impacts of the project on climate change.

“The federal government needs to step up and it needs to stop this flawed process right now,” she said. “It’s not too late.”

Trudeau promised on the campaign trail in June to engage in a “new open process” for all pipelines and in August said it would apply to existing pipelines.

Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan has also written Tru-deau, asking him to put the review on hold while the government implements the promised changes.

Kai Nagata with environmental group Dogwood Initiative said if the process continues without changes, then the Liberal government will have broken its elec-tion promise.

“The clock is ticking,” he said. “There’s an irony in letting this unfold while promising real change and promising to overhaul the process.”

Karen Mahon of ForestEthics Advocacy said of the 55 interveners set to make arguments at the Burnaby hearings, 50 oppose the project.

SURREY

Suspect arrested for bank robbery in drag

SURREY NOW

Police have arrested a suspect in a recent bank rob-bery in Guildford in which the bad guy dressed up as a woman.

The robbery happened on Dec. 29, in the 15100-block of 101 Avenue. The robber ran away and no staff were injured.

After the robbery, the Surrey RCMP released surveil-lance camera footage from the bank, hoping someone might be able to identify him.

That footage showed an Asian man wearing a pat-terned dress, white woollen sweater, blonde long curly wig and a pink toque.

Police are recommending robbery charges be laid against a 39-year-old Surrey man. His name has not yet been released.


◆ CRANBROOK

City stands behind its deer cull program

Cranbrook city council officially acknowledged that an urban deer cull was carried out, with 20 deer being captured and euthanized over the last six weeks.

In a release issued Jan. 18, the city said a permit was obtained in October and valid until the end of January.

“I am very pleased with the results of this program to manage and control our urban deer situation,” said Mayor Lee Pratt, in the press release. “I know some people do not agree with our pro-gram, but in the interest of the protec-tion of citizens’ property and the safety of our residents it had to be done.”

It’s the first public acknowledgement

of a cull since the B.C. Deer Protection Society and the Animal Alliance of Can-ada accused the city of approving and conducting a cull behind closed doors.

The B.C. Deer Protection Society post-ed video of a deer caught in a clover trap before being shot twice by a bolt gun. Photographs of two other fawns caught in a collapsed clover trap were also post-ed on their website.

◆ ABBOTSFORD

Man charged after teen hit while riding a scooter

A 20-year-old man has been charged with several offences in relation to an Abbotsford incident last September in which a teen riding a scooter was struck by a suspected impaired driver who fled the scene.

Jakob Warren Andrist Betsworth made his first appearance in Abbotsford provincial court yesterday (Thursday) on charges of impaired driving, danger-ous driving causing bodily harm, two counts of failing to stop at the scene of an accident, and two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm.

The collision took place Sept. 26 at about 12:30 a.m.

A 13-year-old boy on a scooter was with a group of friends were in the crosswalk, when a Mustang attempted to stop at a red light and skidded through the intersection.

The vehicle crashed into a south-bound Dodge truck, driven by a 17-year-old girl, and then veered toward the group of teens. All were able to jump out of the way, except for the boy on the scooter. He suffered non-life-threaten-ing injuries.

The driver of the Mustang then fled the scene on foot, but was caught a short distance away. A passenger in the vehicle remained on scene.

◆ SURREY

No funding promise for city’s LRT coming yet

While some hoped Canada’s new finance minister would officially com-mit dollars to the city’s proposed LRT line while visiting Surrey last weekend, that didn’t happen.

“We’ve made important commitments in transit,” said Bill Morneau during a Surrey Board of Trade breakfast on Jan. 16 at Aria Banquet & Convention Centre.

“We’ve committed to spending an additional $20 billion over the next dec-ade in transit. That means we’ll need to

think about important investments in places like Surrey and in places across the country that can enable people just to get moving again.”

◆ KAMLOOPS

Prison inmates learn trades while behind bars

A pilot program in Kamloops has graduated six provincial prison inmates, qualifying them to work as construction labourers when they are released.

Students learn skills such as operating and maintaining small tools, scaffold-ing, reading blueprints, surveying, operating a mini-excavator and traffic control.

They also receive level one first aid and construction safety training certifi-cation during a six-week course.

AROUND THE PROVINCEBlack Press

Alberta angels found in the OkanaganALISTAIR WATERS KELOWNA CAPITAL NEWS

Five months after helping to save the lives of a Florida couple involved in a horrific motorcycle accident on a lonely stretch of road in rural Wyoming, Kelowna’s Craig Monley and his wife Elaine Methot have been reunited with the man and woman they helped.

Following a lengthy search by the Florida couple, Jeff and Jeri Hamil-ton, to find the “angels” who saved their lives, Monley and Methot con-nected with the Hamiltons by phone earlier this month.

“There was an immediate affinity,” said Monley adding the Hamiltons wanted to personally thank the Can-adian couple.

The Hamiltons had been told by police they believed the couple who helped them were from Alberta, and, as a result, Monley and Methot—whose names were not known to the Hamiltons — were dubbed the “Alberta Angels.”

In August 2015, Monley and Methot were heading home from visiting his ill mother in Denver.

As they drove their motorhome along the undulating road traversing the open Wyoming plain, they saw a motorcycle heading toward them on the crest of the hill ahead.

There were two riders on board.Suddenly the motorcycle swerved

and crashed, with both riders being thrown off, one into the ditch and the other into the path of the flying bike. It was later discovered the cause was a blown back tire.

Monley who had extensive first-aid training during his working years with the Boys and Girls Club, immediately pulled over, grabbed his first aid kit and with his wife ran to help.

“The initial reaction is, ‘Are we see-ing what we think we are seeing?,”

said Monley. “Then it’s: ‘Oh, my God. Are they dead?’ There were pieces flying everywhere.”

Both the Hamiltons were very badly injured, with Jeri losing flesh from her arm and her knees as well as an assortment of other injuries.

Jeff was also in bad shape, with severe facial injuries, as well as dam-age to his shoulder and ribs.

The Kelowna couple administered first aid and what other assistance they could, giving the Hamiltons water, soothing them as they were conscious throughout, assuring them help was coming and, at one point, even using Monley’s golf umbrella to help shelter the injured pair from the blistering sun while they waited for medics to arrive.

They last saw the Hamiltons being loaded into an ambulance.

And that appeared to be that.But a friend heard through

another friend the Florida couple was looking for the Canadians who helped them. The mutual friend remembered Monley and Methot saying they helped a couple in a motorcycle crash in Wyoming this past summer and passed on the information.

Monley, who is also a motorcycle rider, said the two couples talked for nearly two hours Saturday night and plan to meet up, in person, at the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, S.D., later this year.

For the Hamiltons, the long road back to health is far from over. Jeff is still recovering and Jeri has more surgeries to have her arm basically reconstructed.

But they owe their lives to the Kelowna couple and wanted so badly to find them and express their gratitude in person. For Monley, the pay off is that the Hamiltons are alive today.

“For me, that’s what really counts,” he said.

ABBOTSFORDKELOWNA

Pilot’s passion is to see women take to the skiesMONIQUE TAMMINGA LANGLEY TIMES

Langley resident Kirsten Brazier’s goal for the New Year is a lofty one. She aims to make sure 2,500 females fly for the first time.

Last year, Brazier’s “The Sky’s No Limit — Girls Fly Too” event at Abbotsford International Airport, saw 1,700 females take their first flights.

“It’s my passion to inspire more females to get into the aviation world. This work is so important, for the past few years I have set aside my own professional flying career in order to bring these special

events to thousands with the end goal of improving gender diversity in aviation, aerospace, marine and defence,” said Brazier.

She has started a gofundme account under GirlsFly2 to help cov-er the costs associated with organiz-ing such a large-scale event.

More than 15,000 people are expected to descend on the Abbots-ford International Airport on March 12 and 13 for the free Girls Fly Too event, the world’s largest aviation outreach show of its kind. She holds three world records for the event.

For two days, 10 helicopters will

take first-time fliers up in the sky. The hope, said Brazier, is to get females excited about careers in aviation.

“This year is even bigger and better. I’ve invited the navy this year, the bomb disposal unit will bring a robot and a bomb suit, RCMP tactical team will be there too,” she said.

“The event takes on a hands-on approach to capture the attention of a missing female demographic,” she points out.

There are only around 1,300 female professional pilots in Canada, as compared to 23,000 male pilots.

Kirsten Brazier prepares for takeoff with a young passenger during a previous The Sky’s No Limit – Girls Fly Too. Brazier

has set up a gofundme page to help out with this year’s event. [SCOTT LOUGH]


MEDIA

Postmedia newsrooms to be merged, 90 staff laid off No job losses at two Vancouver papers but the company will off er buyout packages

ALEKSANDRA SAGAN THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO — Postmedia is cutting approximately 90 jobs and merging newsrooms in four cities as Canada’s largest newspaper chain steps up plans to slash costs in the midst of mounting revenue losses.

The company has two newspapers in each of the Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver markets.

Now those city papers will share a newsroom, although they’ll continue putting out different publications.

Postmedia CEO Paul Godfrey said the decline in print advertising rev-enue since the Sun Media acquisition drove the changes.

“The business model has been dis-rupted,” Godfrey said.

“Our goal was trying to keep the newsrooms separate at the time, but with the continuation of the decline, we thought the important thing was to keep the newspapers open and we figured out this was the best way to do it.”

The two Calgary newspapers — the Calgary Sun and Calgary Herald — will share one editor, as will the Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun, Godfrey said.

He said the Ottawa Citizen and Ottawa Sun will also have one editor, adding that the company is looking for someone to fill that role.

In all, about 90 staff have been laid off. Phyllise Gelfand, the company’s vice-president of communications, said those layoffs include about 35 people in Edmonton, 25 in Cal-gary and 12 in Ottawa.

Gelfand said there were no job loss-es in Vancouver but the company will offer buyout packages in the coming days. The two Ottawa papers will also offer buyouts, which could result in another 50 employees leaving the company, she said.

Paul Morse, president of Unifor Local 87-M — representing some of the Ottawa employees who were let go — accused Postmedia of breaking its promise to continue operating two independent newspapers in each of those four markets.

The federal Competition Bureau approved Postmedia’s purchase of Sun Media’s English-language news-papers and digital properties last

spring. The bureau said the deal was unlikely to substantially lessen or prevent competition.

Postmedia executives planned to keep the newsrooms of each outlet separate, Godfrey said at the time, but were considering merging other departments.

“Clearly that’s gone right out the window today,” Morse said.

Postmedia says the move won’t have an impact on editorial freedom, but will simply reduce some dupli-cation between what the newsrooms produced.

“A small rewrite desk and an editor-ial team will ensure that, you know, the right voice and content gets to

the right product and platform,” said Gelfand.

In a statement, the Communica-tions Workers of America union’s Canadian chapter called on the fed-eral government to intervene with “legislation or regulations to limit concentration of media ownership.”

John Pecman, the head of the Competition Bureau, has a year from when the transaction finalized to bring an application to the tribunal to challenge the decision. That dead-line passes in March.

However, it’s unlikely it will be challenged, said Phil Norris, a spokesman for the bureau.

“These types of business decisions by Postmedia . . . are generally not cause for us to re-examine the transaction.”

Postmedia is not obliged to consult with the bureau if they decide to close newspapers, he added. However, Godfrey said he notified the bureau prior to Tuesday’s announcement.

Ottawa Sun columnist Sue Sher-ring, who kept her job, was in tears as she spoke publicly in Ottawa.

“It’s happening everywhere (in the business),” she said. “It’s not fun.”

The cuts come less than a week after Postmedia announced it was stepping up its efforts to reduces costs to overcome continued losses in advertising, print circulation and digital media revenue.

The company is now aiming for cost reductions of $80 million by mid-2017 — up from its previous goal of $50 million in cuts by the end of 2017.

NEWS IN BRIEFThe Canadian Press

◆ VEGREVILLE, ALTA

Man arrested after tires on RCMP cars slashed

An RCMP detachment east of Edmonton has been going through a lot of tires.

Mounties say they have arrested a man after the tires of four police cruisers were slashed at the Vegre-ville detachment earlier this month.

Jason Larry Kotowich, who is 35, has been charged with three counts of mischief under $5,000, resisting arrest and breaching a probation order.

Police say he is in custody, has been denied bail and is to appear in prov-incial court on Feb. 1.

Last April a cruiser had its tires slashed at the detachment.

◆ LETHBRIDGE, ALTA.

Death of woman, 78, in own home a homicide

Police in southern Alberta have ruled the death of a 78-year-old woman in her own home a homicide.

Family members who went to check on her when she couldn’t be reached found the body of Irene Carter in her Lethbridge residence on Sunday.

Police said an autopsy indicates the senior died after being stabbed.

“We don’t have any specific evi-dence to suggest that there’s an ongoing risk or threat to neigh-bours or the general public,” police spokeswoman Kristen Harding said Tuesday.

“Part of the investigation right now is working to determine a timeline of Mrs. Carter’s activities prior to her death.”

Officers have canvassed the neigh-bourhood and are interviewing the woman’s relatives and friends, Har-ding said.

◆ WHITEHORSE

Mine announces layoff s as copper prices slump

Declining copper prices are forcing Yukon’s only hard-rock mine to curtail operations and layoff dozens of workers, says a senior manager.

The Minto Mine, owned by Cap-stone Mining Corp., is located about 240 kilometres north of Whitehorse and is an open-pit and underground copper operation, producing gold-and-silver byproducts.

Mine manager Ron Light said Tuesday the company plans to stop underground mining at the end of March and will halt open-pit mining in August.

He said about 40 contract miners who work underground and are employed by Dumas Mine Contract-ing will be affected.

The company’s website said 282 people, including contract employees, work at the mine.

The Minto Mine is the only produ-cing hard rock mine in the Yukon.

The Wolverine Mine, 282 kilo-metres northeast of Whitehorse, sus-pended operations a year ago.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

A man looks at newspaper boxes containing the ‘Vancouver Sun’ and the

‘Vancouver Province’ in the city on Tuesday. [THE CANADIAN PRESS]

Tories ‘booby-trapped’ Iran relations: ExpertMIKE BLANCHFIELD THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA — The former Conserv-ative government “booby-trapped” Canada’s international relations with a pair of laws that are preventing the Liberals from lifting sanctions on Iran, says a former Canadian military analyst and Middle East expert.

Thomas Juneau, a University of Ottawa expert on Iran who spent 11 years at the Department of National Defence, cited the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act and the listing of Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism as obstacles to the govern-ment’s ability to lift sanctions.

In 2012, the Tories passed the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, which allowed victims of terrorism to

sue countries that are listed as sup-porters of terrorism.

Meanwhile, Canada has yet to lift sanctions against Iran in return for its verified compliance with the last weekend’s nuclear agreement with the United States and five other major powers.

“The Conservatives booby-trapped the issue of relations with Iran,” Juneau said Tuesday.

The two laws are also affecting the Liberal government’s promise to re-open its embassy in Tehran and restart diplomatic relations with Iran, which the Conservatives sev-ered in 2012, he added.

“That complicates the issue of re-establishing diplomatic relations with Iran and lifting additional sanc-tions, because Iran, as a result of a legislative process ... is a state spon-sor of terrorism in Canada,” Juneau said.

“And that complicates issues right now. My understanding right now is the government is struggling to fig-ure out how do we deal with that.”

Juneau said there are likely legal steps the government can take to deal with obstacles, but they could take time.

Global Affairs Canada would not respond to the specific concerns raised by Juneau, but did explain that it is still reviewing its sanctions relief on Iran because of concerns over that country’s recent ballistic missile tests.

Marie-Anne Coninsx, the European Union ambassador to Canada, said Tuesday that “all sanctions which are related to the nuclear file” have been lifted by the 28-country bloc.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the deal a breakthrough for “quiet diplomacy.”

“That complicates the issue of re-establishing diplomatic relations with Iran and lifting additional sanctions.”

Thomas Juneau, expert on Iran

www.nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 201612 NATION&WORLD

POLITICS

NDP, Mulcair look to future at caucus retreatKRISTY KIRKUP THE CANADIAN PRESS

MONTEBELLO, Que. — Tom Mul-cair gained a reputation as a fierce competitor in the House of Com-mons, but when he appeared in the first televised leaders debate in the last election campaign, he seemed far less confident; even his smile appeared to be strained.

What was going on behind-the-scenes?

Was the federal NDP leader, largely considered to be the front runner, encouraged to be himself?

These questions, as well as other structural reviews, are being dis-cussed as the NDP and its leader attempt to plot a path forward now that the party has been reduced to third party status — down to 44 MPs

from 95 when the campaign began.As he looks back on what happened,

Mulcair, 61, seems ready to identify some areas for improvement.

“The preparations for those debates was an excellent example of some-

thing that came up short,” Mulcair said in a wide-ranging interview with The Canadian Press on Tuesday at the NDP’s caucus retreat in Monte-bello, Que.

This realization has been challen-ging on a personal level, he noted.

“It is frustrating because you want to be a good candidate on top of being a good leader. So you listen to the advice of people you respect and sometimes the result is not there,” Mulcair said.

“But no matter what, the person making that decision is me. I have to learn, the party has to learn, the structures have to be refined.”

Mulcair, who is resolved to stay at the helm of the New Democrats, has spent the past three months in meetings across the country to look

at what worked and what didn’t dur-ing the punishing election campaign — the longest in modern Canadian history.

His political future will be put to the test in Edmonton in April, where he will need more than 50 per cent support from delegates at the party’s convention to carry on in his role.

Mulcair said he plans to stay on as long as he is convinced the NDP can form a government and put its ideas into action.

But while he seems ready to con-front some painful lessons from the campaign, he is far from apologetic about the party’s core messages.

“Despite the ups and downs of that campaign, despite the sometimes unvarnished truth that came out about very specific aspects of the

campaign ... I think that there’s nothing structural in our offer, there’s nothing about our ability to move this forward that will stop us from forming the government in the future,” he said.

Nathan Cullen, a B.C. NDP MP who ran against Mulcair during the 2012 leadership bid following the death of former leader Jack Layton, said he has full confidence in his party’s frontman.

“We need an articulate voice in Quebec and outside of Quebec,” Cul-len said after the leader delivered an address to caucus Tuesday morning.

“We need somebody who is able to take on a government — forcefully with intelligence. We need somebody who has their convictions. I just watched that guy give a speech.”

MULCAIR

POLITICS

THE CANADIAN PRESS

HULL, Que. — Sen. Patrick Brazeau was in critical but stable condition in a Quebec hospital on Tuesday after successful surgery, says a spokesperson for the health-care institution.

Brazeau, 41, was admitted to hos-pital in Hull early Tuesday morning, according to a brief statement issued by the western Quebec centre.

“Mr. Brazeau’s condition is con-sidered critical but stable,” the state-ment said. “His life is not in danger.”

There were no details on the type of surgery he underwent.

Provincial police officers went to a residence in Mayo, Que., late Monday night to support ambulance techni-cians, said police spokesman Marc Tessier. He added there is no criminal investigation.

It is still unclear what happened to Brazeau or if anyone else was present in the home when he was taken to hospital.

Brazeau was granted an uncon-ditional discharge last October despite having pleaded guilty to reduced charges of assault and pos-session of cocaine. A more serious charge of sexual assault was dropped due to a lack of evidence.

Brazeau still faces a criminal trial for fraud and breach of trust arising from his Senate living expenses, scheduled to take place in March 2016.

He was kicked out of the Conserva-tive caucus after he was charged and put on leave with pay.

POLICING

RCMP puppy dies before it can be focus of training on social mediaHelo was the more vocal and bouncy of the two pups that captured many hearts

MICHAEL TUTTON THE CANADIAN PRESS

HALIFAX — An RCMP plan to docu-ment the lives of two German shep-herd puppies during their training has ended sadly for one of the canine recruits.

The Halifax division announced Tuesday one of the pups — Helo — has died after ingesting rope and rocks.

Const. Mark Skinner says the acci-dent occurred as the puppy pursued his natural tendency to chew on objects.

Helo was the more vocal and bouncy of the two pups that captured many hearts when they appeared before the media four weeks ago as examples of the training program.

Skinner says when Helo ate the rope and rocks it caused scarring of his intestines, and the damage couldn’t be repaired despite three surgical procedures.

“Anyone who has had a puppy knows that puppies can put a lot of things in their mouths. That’s how they explore and grow as a dog,” said Skinner.

“It’s just unfortunate that these items caused him such an issue.”

He said as a dog owner himself, the incident has made him all the more aware of the importance of carefully monitoring what objects a puppy might have access to.

Helo was born on Oct. 4 at the RCMP dog training centre in Innis-fail, Alta., and came to live in Bible Hill, N.S., with the goal of being accepted into police service dog training.

Skinner said trainers attempt to spend as much time as possible with the dogs, but it’s impossible to watch them constantly.

During the media launch of the two puppies on Dec. 18, the RCMP offi-cers training them said the dogs live at their homes.

Const. Tim Reid, Helo’s trainer, had said that every two weeks he and the puppy took part in a six- to eight-hour training day that included a heavy focus on tracking skills.

In a few more months, had Helo lived, a fully trained dog handler would have assessed the dog’s progress.

Reid said Helo was the sixth puppy

he’d trained and that only one had graduated to become a police dog.

One of the others died of a heart attack, another returned to Innisfail to breed and two others were sold as pets.

Reid had said there are about 80 people like himself across the coun-try who are in training to make it into the RCMP dog handler program in central Alberta.

An RCMP news release said Reid was saddened by the loss, and noted that condolences can be shared on

the force’s Facebook page in Nova Scotia and on Twitter using the hash-tag RIPHelo.

The force sent its thanks to the Truro Veterinary Hospital and the University of Prince Edward Island Atlantic Veterinary College for care and support provided to the dog.

Skinner said that since the dogs gained such a high profile, he felt a news release should be issued on the death.

“It would be inappropriate to not do so,” he said.

RCMP Const. Tim Reid and his dog Helo are seen at the Nova Scotia RCMP HQ in Dartmouth, N.S., on Dec. 18. The Halifax

division of the RCMP announced Tuesday that Helo died after eating rope and rocks. [THE CANADIAN PRESS]

No details as Brazeau operated on after injury

www.nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily NATION&WORLD 13WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2016

IMMIGRATION NEWS IN BRIEFThe Canadian Press

◆ UNITED NATIONS

Council visit to Burundi to push end to violence

France’s UN ambassador says Sec-urity Council members are going to Burundi later this week with three goals — to try to break the cycle of violence and prevent ethnic attacks from erupting and to promote peace talks and respect for human rights.

Francois Delattre said Tuesday that the council’s second visit to the cen-tral African nation in nine months will demonstrate its concern about escalating violence and human rights abuses.

France, the United States and Angola are leading the 15-member council delegation that will be in Burundi on Thursday and Friday.

President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to seek re-election last April touched off street protests that led to a failed coup in May and a rebellion that has left the country on the brink of civil war.

◆ GEORGETOWN, GUYANA

Money-losing sugar factory fi nally closed

A state-owned sugar factory in Guy-ana that had operated at a loss for years has been ordered shut down as the government seeks to scale back support for one of the country’s lead-ing industries.

The factory in Wales could only continue to operate with significant investment that would make little financial sense given the outlook for the industry in Guyana and through-out the world, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder said late Monday.

Holder said the decision came as part of a broader review of the indus-try that concluded that better-per-forming factories, known locally as estates, were subsidizing the rest and that the sector overall was in “dire” shape, requiring at least $60 million from the government this year alone.

The closure of the factory west of the capital leaves five remaining sug-ar factories in Guyana.

◆ ERBIL, IRAQ

Report says Kurd forces destroying Arab villages

Iraqi Kurdish forces are deliberatelydestroying Arab villages under their control, according to an Amnesty International report released Wed-nesday. The human rights group said these actions could amount to war crimes.

Kurdish forces, the report says, bulldozed, blew up and burned down thousands of homes in Arab villages recaptured from the Islamic State group.

“The forced displacement of civil-ians and the deliberate destruction of homes and property without military justification may amount to war crimes,” said Donatella Rov-era of Amnesty International in a statement.

In the fight against IS, the United States has closely supported Iraq’s Kurdish forces also known as the Peshmerga with airstrikes, intelligence sharing and training programs.

As some cities take a break, Syrian aid continuesSTEPHANIE LEVITZ THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA — As some cities take a breather from resettling govern-ment-assisted Syrian refugees, others say their doors are open — if the federal government asks and also offers to pay.

While the home communities for refugees with private sponsors is dictated by where those sponsors are, refugees whose costs are covered entirely by the federal government are sent to just 36 cities.

Not included is Victoria — the lone provincial capital that isn’t an official reception centre for government-as-sisted refugees. The only Syrians arriving there as part of the Liberals’ Syrian program are those whose costs are split between the govern-ment and private sponsors, as well as those coming thanks to private sponsors alone.

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said she told the federal immigration minis-ter even before the Liberal program was unveiled that her city was inter-ested in taking in Syrians but is still waiting.

“We are ready. The church, the school board, the credit union, pri-vate donors, private families, we’re ready,” she said.

The reason Victoria isn’t on the list dates back to the late 1980s when the federal government got out of the business of providing direct sup-port to the refugees it was resettling and began contracting out to local agencies.

In British Columbia, the city with the highest number of those was Metro Vancouver so that’s where government-assisted refugees all go to this day.

But looking at some of the other cities on the list — like Medicine Hat., Alta., or Moose Jaw. Sask., — raises the question of why Victoria isn’t there now.

“We are bigger than a lot of the centres that settle (them) now,” said Jean McRae, the director of Victoria’s Intercultural Association. “We’d have to rebuild the capacity but we’re totally capable of doing that.”

Of the 25,000 Syrians set to arrive by the end of next month, the Lib-erals have said 15,000 would be gov-ernment-assisted. A further 10,000 government-assisted are to arrive by the end of this year.

But right now, Vancouver has asked the federal government to temporarily halt sending new gov-ernment-assisted refugees their way as they work through a housing shortage. Ottawa has also made the same request.

In Ontario, there are six cities that serve as destination points for gov-ernment-assisted Syrian refugees.

MILITARY

Canada not shut out of military talks: Minister

MURRAY BREWSTER THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA — Canada again finds itself on the outside looking in when it comes to a gathering of countries fighting militants in the Middle East, something the new defence minister is trying to shrug off in the face of opposition criticism.

There are meetings all the time to discuss threats around the world, Harjit Sajjan insisted Tuesday, but he stopped short of explaining exact-ly why Canada isn’t invited to this week’s meeting in Paris.

Counterparts from France, the U.K., Germany, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands will gather Wednes-day with U.S. Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter to discuss the ongoing fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Defence sources and at least one defence analyst say there may be more to the fact the Trudeau govern-ment was excluded than the domes-tic political outrage suggests.

If you look at the list of countries invited to today’s meeting, they are the ones with a direct stake in what’s going in north Africa, said retired diplomat Eric Morse.

“It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Libya came out of that pot in Paris,” Morse said. “We’re in such a state of doubt in terms of our foreign policy that (the allies) don’t think it’s wise or useful to invite us to consider ask-ing us to be part of a new initiative.”

When asked about the meet-ing, Sajjan played down the non-invitation.

“These meetings are about getting updated on what’s happening on the ground, and I’ve been very for-tunate very recently being back in the region to get a first-hand look at what’s going on, and talk to the actual commanders on the ground,” he said in New Brunswick.

Sajjan, who last week publicly acknowledged he wasn’t going to attend the meeting, also suggested that the agenda is much broader than the current situation in Syria and Iraq.

“The planning has been going on for some time now, so this is not just one meeting for the planning of the steps.”

Sajjan said he is already scheduled to gather with his counterparts for meetings in Brussels in two weeks.

The Conservative opposition wasn’t buying it, portraying the exclusion as a deliberate snub.

“When you are not a full partner, you don’t get invited to the table,” interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose said in Winnipeg.

Nations at today’s meeting have stake in actions in north Africa

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, right, and Transport Minister Marc Garneau at

a cabinet retreat in New Brunswick on Monday. Sajjan rejects the claims that

Canada has been shut out of a meeting of nations fighting the Islamic State.

[THE CANADIAN PRESS]

INFRASTRUCTURE

Ontario bridge that links west, east could reopen by end of FebruaryKEITH LESLIE THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO — Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation hopes to have two lanes of a failed bridge on a section of the Trans-Canada Highway open to traffic by the end of February.

However, engineers still don’t know what caused the steel decking on the newly-built Nipigon River Bridge to lift about 60 centimetres on Jan. 10, forcing a 24-hour shutdown that sev-ered the Trans-Canada Highway link between the east and west.

“Our focus at the Ministry of Transportation is to get both lanes of traffic open safely and as quickly as we possibly can, and at the same time work with all the labs and all of the partners involved in designing and constructing this bridge to get to the root of the problem,” said Transpor-tation Minister Steven Del Duca.

“We are taking into account at this point a number of possible factors, but we haven’t ruled anything out.”

Cars and most trucks must wait about five minutes to cross the bridge on the one lane that was reopened last week after engineers used huge concrete blocks to lower part of the decking back to a passable level.

Engineers are looking at a number of options to open the second lane on the bridge, added Del Duca.

“Each of the options is essentially looking at a different connection method and also location to effective-ly connect the bridge deck back down to the foundation,” he said.

Engineers will consider “numerous factors” that may have caused the failure of the first-ever cable-stayed bridge built in Ontario, which had only been open two months when the deck lifted, said Gerry Chaput, assistant deputy minister of transportation.

Two independent labs are expected to finish a visual inspection this week of the bolts on the bridge, but it’s not clear how long it will take for full testing, which will include a chem-ical analysis of the bolts and a deter-mination of the nature of the failure.

“We are taking into account at this point a number of possible factors, but we haven’t ruled anything out.”

Steve Del Duca, Ontario Minister of Transportation

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ENTERTAINMENT

Call to boycott Oscars over lack of diversity forces stars to take sidesRev. Al Sharpton to lead campaign encouraging people not to watch Feb. 28 telecast

JAKE COYL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Growing calls for a boycott of the Academy Awards over the lack of diversity among this year’s Oscar nominees are forcing stars to choose sides and threatening to throw the movie industry’s biggest night of the year into turmoil.

The backlash over the second straight year of all-white acting nom-inees is puts heavy pressure on the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to diversify its overwhelm-ingly white male membership.

The furor grew on Tuesday when the Rev. Al Sharpton said he would lead a campaign encouraging people not to watch the Feb. 28 telecast. On Monday, Spike Lee, this year’s Oscar honouree for lifetime achievement, and Jada Pinkett Smith announced they will boycott the ceremony in protest.

Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who has led efforts to diversify the academy, responded late Monday evening with a forceful statement saying that those previous measures weren’t enough.

Isaacs, the academy’s first African American president, said that “it’s time for big changes” and that she will review membership recruiting to bring about “much-need diversity” in the academy’s ranks.

At a Los Angeles gala honouring Boone Isaacs on Monday night, actor David Oyelowo — who was famously snubbed last year for his perform-ance as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma — expressed frustration with the academy.

“This institution doesn’t reflect its president and it doesn’t reflect this room,” Oyelowo said. “I am an acad-emy member and it doesn’t reflect me and it doesn’t reflect this nation.”

Other stars began weighing in. George Clooney, in comments to Var-iety, said that after earlier progress by the industry, “you feel like we’re moving in the wrong direction.”

He noted that movies like Creed, Straight Outta Compton, Beasts of No Nation and Concussion may have deserved more attention from the academy.

“But honestly, there should be more opportunity than that,” Cloon-

ey said. “There should be 20 or 30 or 40 films of the quality that people would consider for the Oscars. By the way, we’re talking about Afri-can Americans. For Hispanics, it’s even worse. We need to get better at this. We used to be better at it.”

A 2012 Los Angeles Times study found that the academy was 94 per cent white and 77 per cent male.

UCLA’s latest annual Hollywood Diversity Report concluded that women and minorities are substan-tially underrepresented in front of and behind the camera, even while audiences show a strong desire for films with diverse casts.

Hispanics and African Americans go to the movies more often than whites do. UCLA surveyed film and TV executives and found that 96 per cent are white.

In his comments Monday, Lee said the Oscars’ problems ultimately res-ide with “the gate keepers” who have the power to green-light projects.

Isaacs enlisted Chris Rock, who famously called Hollywood “a white industry” a year ago, as host of this year’s ceremony. The backlash all but ensures Rock’s opening monologue will, for many, be the most antici-pated event of the show.

Last year’s broadcast, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, was also boycotted by some viewers because of the all-white slate of acting nominees. Ratings dipped to a six-year low for ABC.

Some on Tuesday put pressure on Rock to join the boycott. The rapper 50 Cent urged on Instagram: “Chris, please do not do the Oscars awards. You mean a lot man, don’t do it.” A representative for Rock didn’t immediately respond to an email.

Just how much more Boone Isaacs can do to promote diversity at the academy, where membership is for life, remains to be seen. In Novem-ber, she launched a five-year initia-tive to encourage more diversity in Hollywood, called A2020.

But Boone Isaacs noted there is some precedent for more drastic steps. In the late ’60s, for example, academy president Gregory Peck tried to inject more youth by strip-ping many older members no longer working in the industry of the right to vote.

Jada Pinkett-Smith at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Magic Mike XXL’ in June.

Calls for a boycott of the Academy Awards are growing over the Oscars’ second

straight year of mostly white nominees. [INVISION/AP]

ENVIRONMENT

Ottawa to end sale of partially approvedpesticides THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA — The federal government is responding to calls from environ-mental activists over conditionally approved pesticides, saying it will end the rare practice of allowing the use of pesticides that aren’t fully approved for sale.

Health Minister Jane Philpott says conditional registrations of the chemicals will no longer be granted, effective June 1.

Two separate House of Commons committees and Canada’s environ-ment commissioner had called on the government to end the practice of allowing some pesticides to be used while the products undergo a more rigorous scientific evaluation.

Under conditional registrations, the Pest Management Regulatory Agency has allowed pesticide manufacturers to provide information on a product after it had been approved.

Such registrations are currently granted when a scientific review determines that a pesticide poses an acceptable risk to people and the environment, but more information is needed.

But unlike full registrations, con-ditional registrations don’t undergo public consultation before the pesti-cides are put into use.

Roughly one per cent of all pesti-cides in Canada are conditionally registered, says Health Canada.

Islamic State admits ‘Jihadi John’ death

DAVE BRYAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — The Islamic State group has acknow-ledged the death of the masked militant known as “Jihadi John,” who appeared in several videos depicting the beheadings of Western hostages, the SITE Intelli-gence Group reported Tuesday.

SITE, which monitors terrorist activity, reported that IS published a “eulogizing profile” of Jihadi John in its English-language magazine Dabiq on Tuesday. Jihadi John had been identified by the U.S. military as Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born British citizen.

“His harshness towards the kuffar (disbelievers) was manifested through deeds that enraged all the nations, religions, and factions of kufr, the entire world bearing witness to this,” the Dabiq article said, according to a translation provided by SITE.

In the gruesome videos, a tall masked figure clad in black and speaking in a British accent typically began with a political rant taunting the West and a kneeling hostage clad in an orange prison-style jumpsuit before him, then ended it holding an oversize knife in his hand with the headless victim lying before him.

Emwazi has been described by a former hostage as a psychopath who enjoyed threatening his Western captives.

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NORM OF THE NORTH (G) FRI 4:45, 7:00, 10:00; SAT-SUN 12:10, 2:30, 4:45, 7:00, 10:00; MON,WED-THURS 6:50, 9:50; TUE 4:35, 6:50, 9:50STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (PG) FRI 3:15, 6:30; SAT-SUN 12:05, 3:15, 6:30; MON,WED-THURS 6:20; TUE 3:05, 6:20STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 3D (PG) FRI 4:05, 7:20, 9:40, 10:30; SAT-SUN 12:50, 4:05, 7:20, 9:40, 10:30; MON,WED-THURS 7:10, 9:30, 10:15; TUE 3:55, 7:10, 9:30, 10:15THE FOREST (14A) FRI 4:50, 7:30, 10:20; SAT-SUN 12:00, 2:20, 4:50, 7:30, 10:20; MON,WED-THURS 7:20, 10:10; TUE 4:40, 7:20, 10:10THE REVENANT (14A) NO PASSES FRI 3:20, 6:50, 9:55; SAT-SUN 11:50, 3:20, 6:50, 9:55; MON,WED-THURS 6:40, 9:45; TUE 3:10, 6:40, 9:45BROOKLYN (PG) FRI 3:40, 6:40, 9:20; SAT-SUN 1:10, 3:40, 6:40, 9:20; MON,WED-THURS 6:30, 9:10; TUE 3:30, 6:30, 9:10THE BIG SHORT (14A) FRI 3:55, 7:10, 10:10; SAT-SUN 12:30, 3:55, 7:10, 10:10; MON,WED-THURS 7:00, 10:00; TUE 3:45, 7:00, 10:00THE HATEFUL EIGHT (18A) FRI 3:00, 6:20, 9:30; SAT-SUN 3:10, 6:20, 9:30; MON 6:10, 9:20; TUE 3:00, 6:10, 9:20; WED-THURS 9:20THE METROPOLITAN OPERA: LES PêCHEURS DE PERLES SAT 9:55SABRINA SUN 12:55; WED 7:00AAIC: FLORENCE AND THE UFFIZI GALLERY 3D THURS 7:30MONKEY UP SAT 11:00

www.nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily NATION&WORLD 15WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2016

U.S. POLITICS

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump before speaking at the Iowa

Renewable Fuels Summit in Altoona, Iowa, on Tuesday. [AP PHOTO]

Palin endorses Trump campaign

ALEXANDER PANETTA THE CANADIAN PRESS

WASHINGTON — One of the most polarizing figures in American politics has helped obliterate any lingering chance that Donald Trump might recede to the background before the presidential nomination voting starts in two weeks.

The endorsement of the reality-TV-star-turned-politician by a polit-ician-turned-reality-TV-star, Sarah Palin, was just one of several develop-ments celebrated by the Trump camp Tuesday.

Trump not only won the support of the Tea party star. He also buttered up corn farmers in Iowa. He got what amounted to a de-factor endorsement from the governor of the earliest-voting state. He even got the backing of John Wayne’s daughter.

“I am greatly honoured to receive Sarah’s endorsement,” Trump said in a statement, calling the ex-vice-presiden-tial candidate’s support one of the most sought-after in the Republican race.

“She is a friend, and a high quality person whom I have great respect for. I am proud to have her support.”

The alliance of two such political celebrities all but ensures that Trump will continue to receive the bulk of attention heading into the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, drowning out the competi-tion including his chief rival, Sen. Ted Cruz.

At face value, the Iowa vote is relative-ly insignificant. It’s been far likelier in the past to pick a Republican nomina-tion loser like Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, than crown the eventual winner. It awards a small number of convention delegates.

But it would represent a huge burst of momentum for Trump. He’s already dominating polls in the second-voting state, New Hampshire. A win in Iowa, followed by another in New Hampshire, would give him a huge advantage

entering a series of southern primaries. He’s now beaten out his neck-and-neck Iowa rival, Cruz, for Palin’s affection.

While derided as a gaffe-prone dimwit by late-night comedians and the main-stream media, Palin has used her stand-ing within the party to draw attention to conservative causes and candidates.

One of her former pet causes — iron-ically — was Cruz. She campaigned for the firebrand right-winger in his suc-cessful 2012 outsider bid for a senate seat.

Some of Cruz’s aides grumbled that she’d betrayed conservative principles by backing a celebrity Manhattanite whose political positions have shifted with the prevailing populist winds.

But Cruz was gracious about it.“I love (Palin),” the Canadian-born

senator tweeted. “Without her support, I wouldn’t be in the Senate. Regardless of what she does in 2016, I will always be a big fan.”

He was less laudatory of the Iowa governor Tuesday. Terry Branstad said he wanted to see Cruz defeated. The reason: The Texas conservative opposes federal support for ethanol fuel.

“Ted Cruz is ahead right now,” Bran-stad said, according to the Des Moines Register. “He’s heavily financed by Big Oil . . . (He) hasn’t supported renewable fuels, and I think it would be a big mis-take for Iowa to support him.”

Polarizing fi gures join forces to turn up heat

EUROPE

Three former Red Army terrorists suspected in botched robberiesTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BERLIN — Three former members of the disbanded leftist militant group Red Army Faction have been linked to two botched armoured car robberies after spending years in hiding, in what German authorities said Tuesday may have been attempts to continue financing their life underground.

Public broadcaster NDR first reported Monday that DNA matching that of Daniela Klette, Ernst-Volker Wilhelm Staub and Burkhard Garweg was found in a getaway car used in a failed robbery June 6 in Stuhr, near the northern city of Bremen.

During the robbery three masked assailants armed with automatic rifles and an anti-tank weapon blocked an armoured car in a supermarket parking lot, then one opened fire on the vehicle but they were unable to get inside.

Prosecutors in nearby Verden confirmed that they believe the trio was involved in the failed heist and are investigating them for attempted murder and attempted serious robbery. Prosecutors said there is noindication the attack had a “terrorist background.”

“Rather, it must be assumed that the crime was meant to finance a life underground,” Verden prosecu-tors said in a statement.

The trio is also suspected of attempting a similar robbery on Dec. 28 in the central German city of Wolfsburg. That too failed.

The Red Army Faction was founded in 1970 and is sometimes known as the Baader-Meinhof Group, after two of its most prominent members, Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof. The group carried out numerous assassinations, kidnappings, bombings and robberies to further its political beliefs leading the West German government to classify it as a terrorist organization.

PALIN


TERRORISM

Video shows Burkina-Faso terror attacksRCMP offi cers dispatched to the country to help local authorities identify six murdered Quebec residents

LUDIVINE LANIEPCE AND BABA AHMED THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — Three jihadis can be seen on video standing next to burning cars a little more than an hour after an assault began on a hotel and cafe in Burkina Faso’s capital, raising new questions Tuesday about why it took so long for security forces to find and kill the militants blamed for at least 30 deaths.

The video shot by The Associated Press shows one man wearing a tunic and turban, carrying what appears to be a Kalashnikov rifle around 8:45 p.m., a little over an hour after they first attacked the Cappuccino Cafe. A second armed man can be seen wearing a large vest, and they are later joined by a third man with a pale scarf on his head. Explosions can be heard in the distance.

RCMP officers were dispatched on Monday to Burkina Faso to help local authorities after more than two dozen people — including six Canadians — were killed in the attack.

Six Quebecers on a humanitarian mission were killed. Four of the dead were from the same family: Yves Car-rier, his wife Gladys Chamberland, their adult son Charlelie Carrier and Yves’ adult daughter, Maude Carrier.

A Canadian government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says the Mounties will assist offi-cials with victim identification and paperwork so the bodies of Canadian victims can be returned home.

On Tuesday, authorities in Burkina Faso also released new details on how they ultimately killed the three men who were part of the North Africa branch of al-Qaida, working in con-

nection with Algerian jihadi Moktar Belmoktar and his forces. Officials acknowledged though that it was more than four hours after the attack began before security forces tried to enter the hotel.

In the darkness of night and panic amid gunfire, some witnesses late Friday mistakenly identified at least two of the jihadis as women, and some even said they believed there was a fourth attacker. Burkina Faso’s Security Minister Simon Compaore said Tuesday that several people have been detained and questioned but he

declined to give further details, citing the ongoing investigation.

In a statement published by SITE Intelligence Group, though, al-Qaida identified three “mujahedeen broth-ers” as the ones responsible: Al-Bat-tar al-Ansari, Abu Muhammad al-Bu-qali al-Ansari and Ahmed al-Fulani al-Ansari.

Some of the victims openly expressed frustration Tuesday that it had taken authorities so long to find the attackers. Allassane Baguian, an American who was attending a meet-ing on the fourth floor of the hotel

at the time of attack, was shot in the leg four times and another bullet just skimmed his head.

“No one was prepared for these attacks,” he said. “So we were under gunfire from 7:45 p.m. until 3 a.m. It’s God who saved us because these people had the time to carry out their crime,” he said. “That three people could challenge a country, it’s incomprehensible.”

Witnesses said the assault began around 7:30 p.m. Friday as doz-ens of people gathered for dinner and drinks at the Cappuccino Cafe

and its terrace. The attackers then ambushed the Splendid Hotel next door.

Natacha Ble, a 23-year-old wait-ress from Ivory Coast who had only been working for a few weeks at the restaurant Taxi Brousse across the street, said she saw the three men coming but never imagined they were jihadis, saying they looked morelike traditional herders from the Peul ethnic group in their tunics than Islamic militants.

“I started wondering what these Peul herders were coming to do in a place like this?” she recalled. “Then one of them headed toward the Cappuccino restaurant and began opening fire.”

Within 30 minutes the president of Burkina Faso had asked the French ambassador for help, according to a French official who spoke on con-dition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media. It would be four more hours, though, before French special forces arrived at the scene to help flush out the attackers and Burkina Faso’s military was awaiting their help.

The security forces initially thoughtthat the attack on the cafe was meant to divert them from the hotel as the main target, said a Burkinabe secur-ity official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to journalists. In the end, none of the 30 people who were killed were at the hotel.

Around 1 a.m., about 50 security forces including the French, Bur-kinabe and an American tried to enter the hotel but were fired upon and one French special forces mem-ber took a bullet in the leg.

— WITH A FILE FROM THE CANADIAN PRESS

A soldier stand guards outside the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on Saturday. [AP PHOTO]

GLOBAL ECONOMY

Relief economic news from China isn’t worseJOE MCDONALD AND PAUL WISEMAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIJING — The slowdown of China’s once-sizzling economy has fueled anxiety over its impact on the rest of the world. Yet when Beijing reported Tuesday that its economy grew last year at the slowest pace in a quarter-century, the reaction seemed to be mainly relief it wasn’t worse.

Economists welcomed details in the report suggesting that the world’s second-biggest economy is pro-gressing in a difficult and complex transition — away from a reliance on manufacturing and investment in real estate and factories and toward services and consumer spending.

Stocks rose Tuesday in Asia and Europe. By midday, the Dow Jones industrial average was up modestly.

“Things are OK,” said Fotios Raptis, senior economist at TD Economics. “There’s not an outright collapse going on in China.”

Beijing reported that economic growth fell in 2015 for a fifth straight year — to 6.9 per cent , down from 7.3 per cent in 2014 and the slowest rate since 1990.

For the October-December quarter, growth inched down to 6.8 per cent, the weakest quarterly expansion in six years.

The deceleration is at least partially deliberate as the ruling Communist Party aims to manage the econ-omy’s transition to a structure that will almost certainly deliver slower growth.

Tuesday’s report contained signs of progress. Services businesses accounted for a record 50.5 per cent of China’s economic activity last year, the first time its share has exceeded 50 per cent.

Charles Collyns, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance, sees considerable potential for more growth in China’s service sector. In more developed economies, services account for perhaps 75 per cent of economic activity. China’s services have been held back by regu-lations and policies that favour ineffi-cient state-owned service companies in such businesses as telecommuni-cations and finance.

Services grew 8.3 per cent last year, outpacing the traditional drivers of

economic growth — manufacturing and construction — which together grew six per cent.

Overall growth was in line with pri-vate-sector forecasts and the ruling Communist Party’s official target of about seven per cent for the year.

“Official data do not point to a hard landing in the fourth quarter of 2015, but they provide little reason to stop worrying about China’s drag on the global economy either,” said economist Bill Adams of PNC Finan-cial Services Group in a report.

Investors were relieved that more pessimistic forecasts about fourth-quarter growth were wrong and expect Beijing to continue roll-ing out stimulus measures to prevent a hard landing.

Beijing has responded to ebbing growth by cutting interest rates six times since November 2014 and launching measures to help export-ers and other industries. But econo-mists note that China still relies on

state-led construction spending and other investment.

Full-year 2015 growth was the lowest since sanctions imposed on Beijing after its crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement caused growth to plum-met to 3.8 per cent in 1990.

The October-December growth fig-ure was the slowest quarterly expan-sion since the global financial crisis, when growth slumped to 6.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2009.

“The international situation remains complex,” Wang Bao’an, commissioner of the National Bureauof Statistics, said at a news confer-ence. “Restructuring and upgrading is in an uphill stage. Comprehensive-ly deepening reform is a daunting task.”

Growth in investment in factories, housing and other fixed assets, a key economic driver, weakened to 12 per cent in 2015, down 2.9 percentage points from the previous year.

“Official data do not point to a hard landing in the fourth quarter of 2015, but they provide little reason to stop worrying about China’s drag on the global economy either.”

Bill Adams, economist

BEN KUZMA THE PROVINCE

Willie Desjardins put it in proper perspective before the puck was dropped Tuesday.

“If you have too many pucks coming at your net, bad things are going to happen — even-tually,” said the Vancouver Canucks coach.

How prophetic. How scary.After surrendering at least 40 shots

in their previous three outings, the Canucks didn’t heed the advice and if not for another stunning showing by Ryan Miller — who heard five pucks clang off the iron en route to a remarkable 44 saves in regulation — they wouldn’t have escaped Madison Square Garden with a point in a 3-2 loss, moving the club to 2-1-1 on this six-game road trip after J.T. Miller wrapped an overtime effort home.

However, the conversation begins and ends with Ryan Miller.

The Canucks, especially the wide-eyed rookies, looked in awe of play-ing for the first time in the Big Apple amid big expectations in a high-tem-po test. Jared McCann tried to replace the injured Henrik Sedin and Ben Hutton tried to not look rattled. Even the more experienced Emerson Etem looked hard-pressed to do any-thing against his former club.

But it was all Miller, all the time. For a guy who vowed to get back in the battle after missing eight games with a groin injury and returning Thursday in Washington, he has raised the performance bar.

It got to the point where it seemed

like the Rangers needed a gun to blast a puck past Miller, or at least some slight of hand.

They got it when Keith Yandle put a perfect corner feed right on the tape of Mats Zuccarrello in the crease for a perfect re-direct. It took that because Miller was at his best when under siege in the third period.

A play where it appeared that Viktor Stalberg was going to tuck a rebound between Miller and the post was neg-ated. He had six shots. So did Rick Nash. The Canucks starter made the initial save and then move smartly to the left post and got a glove on the rebound as Stalberg was about to raise his stick in celebration.

It came after Miller had stopped J.T. Miller, who got behind Hutton, and after Jesper Fast had a shorthanded chance.

WHAT THIS MEANS:There was a time when Sven

Baertschi needed GPS to find the front of the net.

He came to the Canucks as a pro-

ject, a one-dimensional winger who wanted pucks put on a platter and he would fire them from the perimeter where nobody scores.

Gaining the trust of Desjardins meant being as good without the puck as with it. Now you see Baertschi get a scoring chance from the slot and break up a play at the other end. And when Bo Hor-vat bulled his way past Dan Boyle and swept around the net to feed Baertschi on the doorstep for the opening goal, the finish said as much as the foray.

Baertschi was where he needed to be to flip the feed home. He then went to the net again and nearly roofed a backhand chance.

A willingness to get better was evident when he scored in three con-secutive games last month. He’s 23 and a restricted free agent who can be qualified at just $1 million US for next season. Pretty good invest-ment for a second-line winger.

IN A WORD:RELIEF: Alex Burrows, nursing a

sore hand from a blocked shot Sun-day, got to the net and converted an Emerson Etem feed for his first goal in 25 games.

RECOVERY: Ben Hutton got caught behind his own net on a J.T. Miller scoring chance in the slot, then cooly led the rush for a scoring chance. No panic.

RE-VISITING: Ryan Miller heard another familiar sound when Keith Yandle rang the first shot of the game off the post. John Tavares did the same Sunday.

WHAT WE LEARNED:A three-headed monster led to

Brandon Prust playing against his former club and rookie Jake Virtanen sitting out Tuesday.

The initial plan was to play Virtan-en, but when Alex Burrows took a puck off the hand Sunday, he had to get through a Monday practice and then x-rays for the green light.

If he couldn’t go, both Prust and Virtanen would have been in Tuesday.

The Canucks decided to play the motivational card with Prust, who pressed hard to play, but Virtanen is expected to play Thursday in Boston.

How will that go over?

ADVANCED STATS2: Glorious saves by Ryan Miler

early in the third period as the Ran-gers pressed for the equalizer. First on J.T. Miller and then Jesper Fast shorthanded.

43: The number of shots the Ran-gers needed to get a second puck past Miller, when Mats Zuccarrello tipped a perfect corner feed by Keith Yandle home.

-6: Even strength Corsi for Jared McCann after two period in filling in on the first line for the injured Hen-rik Sedin.

Had a Corsi For of 8 and Corsi Against of 14.

12: Distance in feet from where Sven Baertschi scored the opening goal and from where he almost scored on a backhand. Big difference in his game.

[email protected]

Twitter.com/benkuzma

Rangers’ Miller beats Canucks’ Miller in OTSPORTS INSIDEToday’s issue

MLB, NFL 18

Golf, Tennis 19

Scoreboard 20

17 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2016nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily

NHL

SCOTT

AHL tough guy will play in the All-Star THE CANADIAN PRESS

NEW YORK — John Scott’s improb-able road to the NHL all-star game took another twist Tuesday, with the league confirming he will keep his elected role as Pacific Division cap-tain despite a trade and a demotion.

The journeyman tough guy was chosen to lead the Pacific team at the showcase tournament by a fan vote, but last week he was traded out of the division as part of a deal between Arizona and Montreal. The Cana-diens promptly assigned him to the American Hockey League’s St. John’s IceCaps, making his eligibility for the all-star festivities on Jan. 30-31 in Nashville unclear.

Though the NHL did not publicly comment on the issue until Tuesday, there was some debate as to whether the league would allow a lumbering, six-foot-eight fighter with 11 career points to play in a 3-on-3 tourna-ment designed to showcase speed and skill.

Fans angry about the prospect of Scott not being allowed to play in the game took to social media over the weekend, creating a FreeJohnScott hashtag.

The NHL says Scott’s move to a dif-ferent division and his minor league assignment “created a unique cir-cumstance that required review.”

Scott told the Arizona Republic when voting began that he didn’t want to be voted into the all-star game.

“It would be cool, but I definitely don’t deserve it at this point,” he said. “You never know. There’s still some time left.

“I could turn it on.”But later he warmed to the idea,

printing T-shirts he planned to give to Pacific Division teammates that read: “Thanks for believing in me. Love always, The Captain.” Those shirts were sold online for charity after the trade.

Now back in the all-star plans, Scott says he’s “looking forward to enjoying a fun and unique experience.”

The other all-star captains are Florida’s Jaromir Jagr (Atlantic), Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (Metro-politan) and Chicago’s Patrick Kane (Central).

The NHL will likely change the way fan voting for the game works going forward, as this isn’t the first attempt to use the system to turn a journey-man into an all-star.

New York Rangers center J.T. Miller, right, reacts after scoring against Vancouver Canucks goalie Ryan Miller and centre Bo Horvat in overtime of an NHL game on

Tuesday in New York. The Rangers won 3-2. [AP PHOTO]

www.nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 201618 SPORTS

MLB NFL

Sanchez hopes to return as Blue Jays’ starterGREGORY STRONG THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO — Blue Jays pitchers Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stro-man are using the mantra “Nine Every Five” to help push them through their workouts together this off-season.

The big question now is whether Sanchez will get the opportunity to pitch nine innings every five days like his teammate.

Team brass has yet to announce whether Sanchez will be moved out of the bullpen after a successful stint as a setup man last season. Sanchez said Tuesday that he’d like another opportunity to start and Stroman completely agreed.

“Starter, 100 per cent. Everything we’ve done this year was for that,” Stroman said. “We didn’t work out twice a day for two months for him to be a reliever. He’s 100 per cent ready to go out there and go seven, eight, nine innings every five days.”

Sanchez was starting to find his form as a starter last season before a strained back muscle sent him to the disabled list. When he returned, he was used out of the bullpen and became a reliable setup man for clos-er Roberto Osuna over the second half.

The Blue Jays went on to win the East Division title and came two wins away from reaching the World Series.

The Toronto rotation will have a different look this season after the departures of Mark Buehrle and ace David Price. Stroman, Marco Estrada and R.A. Dickey are back, Jesse Cha-vez was acquired in the off-season, J.A. Happ signed for a second stint in Toronto and Drew Hutchison could also be in the mix.

It remains unclear whether Sanchez will be stretched out to compete for a spot or remain in a bullpen that features Osuna, Brett Cecil and the newly acquired Drew Storen. The 23-year-old right-hander said he’ll do what’s best for the team, but is hoping he’ll be in the rotation.

“I think my mindset right when we finished last season was to get in shape to start,” Sanchez said. “That’s what I’ve done my entire min-or-league career and I want to prove to people here that I can do it. It was unfortunate that the injury happened when it did last year because I felt like I was coming into my own.

“But you can’t really stop an injury and hopefully there’s no more issues there. I’m excited and ready to go.”

Sanchez made 11 starts over his 41 appearances last season. He had a 7-6 record and 3.22 earned-run average to go with 61 strikeouts and 44 walks.

Stroman and Sanchez have been working out together most recently in Florida and the results have been noticeable. The six-foot-four Sanchez has bulked up to 215 pounds.

“I’ve gained about 25 pounds from the time I started to now, so that’s a plus,” he said at a Rogers Centre availability as part of the team’s Win-ter Tour.

“That’s what my goal was going into the off-season.”

Former Steelers star Antwaan Randle El: ‘If I could go back, I wouldn’t (play football)’J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Ten years after he threw one of the most celebrated passes in Steelers history, Antwaan Randle El has trouble walking down

stairs.“I have to come down sideways

sometimes, depending on the day,” Randle El, 36, said. “Going up is easi-er actually than coming down.”

Randle El was an electric athlete, versatile enough to run a route on one play and throw a beautiful spiral on the next, as he did in Super Bowl XL when he found Hines Ward for a 43-yard touchdown on a wide-re-ceiver reverse pass. That his body has begun to betray him before his 40th birthday is hard to fathom. The crazy thing is that Randle El can feel his mind slipping, too.

“I ask my wife things over and over again, and she’s like, ‘I just told you that,’” Randle El said. “I’ll ask her three times the night before and get up in the morning and forget. Stuff like that.

“I try to chalk it up as I’m busy, I’m doing a lot, but I have to be on my knees praying about it, asking God to allow me to not have these issues and live a long life. I want to see my kids raised up. I want to see my grandkids.”

Randle El didn’t hesitate when asked if he regrets playing football.

“If I could go back, I wouldn’t,” he said. “I would play baseball. I got drafted by the Cubs in the 14th round, but I didn’t play baseball because of my parents. They made me go to school.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love the game of football. But right now, I could still be playing baseball.”

Randle El’s early retirement from football in 2010 allowed him to more

quickly move into a second stanza in which he could use his immense faith to help others.

Three years ago, he helped found a Christian high school in Ashburn, Va., called Virginia Academy.

He has served as the school’s ath-letic director, and, through his El Foundation, five underprivileged stu-dents are now on scholarship there.

When the school started, Randle El

wanted it to have a football program. They funded it for two years before he decided it was too expensive and dropped the sport. I

t was not a popular decision, as Vir-ginia Academy lost about 15 students because of it.

Knowing what he does about the game, Randle El can easily justify dropping the sport at the high-schoollevel because of the liability alone.

“The kids are getting bigger and faster, so the concussions, the severe spinal cord injuries, are only going to get worse,” he said.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow because I love the game of football. But I tell parents, you can have the right helmet, the perfect pads on, and still end up with a paraplegic kid.

“There’s no correcting it. There’s no helmet that’s going to correct it. There’s no teaching that’s going to correct it. It just comes down to it’s a physically violent game.

“Football players are in a car wreck every week.”

Randle El knows how much power the game of football still has over American society. He knows every year the NFL just piles up more and more money.

But he also knows the winds are changing.

What he’s about to say … he knows it sounds off the wall.

“Right now,” he said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if football isn’t around in 20, 25 years.”

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randle El (82) celebrates during

Super Bowl XLV. [TNS]

Seahawks’ off season to focus on off ensive lineTIM BOOTH THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks’ off-season priorities were obvious in previous years.

Getting extensions done for key stars like Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner — some of those taking a little longer than expected — were clearly a key. Adding depth in specific areas like the defensive line was a priority one year, while other seasons it’s been going after one specific player.

This off-season is far broader for the Seahawks. There is no overarch-ing, glaring need for a team that has reached at least the divisional round of the NFC playoffs in four straight seasons and played in Super Bowls twice during that span, with one exception. Pete Carroll acknowledged questions on the offensive line need to be answered before next season.

“I don’t think we’ve nailed it yet,” Carroll said. “I think this needs to be a really competitive spot again, and we’re going to work really hard to build it up. For the course of the sea-son, we weren’t consistent enough.”

Seattle’s offensive line could see the biggest makeover because of contract situations. Starting left tackle Russell Okung and starting right guard J.R. Sweezy are unrestricted free agents. Center Patrick Lewis, who moved into the starting role just before mid-

season, and versatile backup Alvin Bailey are restricted free agents.

Issues with Seattle’s offensive line were partly to blame for the Sea-hawks’ 2-4 start and that’s not some-thing Carroll wants to repeat.

“I think that’s a real area of focus again so we’ll be talking about it. We’ve got a couple unrestricted guys there. We’re going to have to deal with how that works out. There’s just stuff we’re going to have to work through,” Carroll said. “But we are young and we are athletic and we do like our guys.”

Aside from the offensive line, the Seahawks’ biggest free agent ques-tions are on the defensive side, where they could end up trying to fill three

or four starting spots.Seattle had the best run defence

in the NFL this season, giving up 81.5 yards per game on the ground. Two key parts of that success were defensive tackles Brandon Mebane and Ahtyba Rubin, both of whom are unrestricted free agents. Carroll raved about both players throughout the season, but money will ultimately determine whether either returns.

Mebane just turned 31 and made $5.5 million in base salary this sea-son. Rubin, in his first year with Seattle, made $1.35 million in base salary and would appear in line for a raise.

Seattle must also decide what to do with outside linebacker Bruce

Irvin after declining to pick up his fifth-year option last spring. Irvin has gone from being strictly a pass rusher as a rookie in 2012 to a ver-satile linebacker with the ability to rush off the edge and also play on the line of scrimmage and help in the run game. Irvin said that in his exit conversations with Carroll and general manager John Schneider he was asked if he’d take less money to return. That’s a possibility in theory, but the reality is that this may be Irvin’s best shot at a big contract.

“I want to be here. That’s as simple as it is,” Irvin said. “I understand the business side of it, but if I happen to be somewhere else I will always have a genuine appreciation for (Schneider) and (Carroll) for sticking their neck out there and taking me when everybody said I was a reach and had a lot of baggage.”

Seattle’s other defensive decision is at cornerback opposite Sherman and whether Jeremy Lane returns. The team can move forward with DeShawn Shead or the Seahawks can look elsewhere. Seattle has shown it prefers cornerbacks who have come up in its system like Lane and Shead. The most recent example of that was the midseason release of veteran Cary Williams.

Lane is an unrestricted free agent while Shead is an exclusive rights free agent, which all but assures his return.

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll speaks during a news conference in

Renton, Wash. on Monday. [AP PHOTO]

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www.nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily SPORTS 19WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2016

GOLF

TENNIS

World’s best golfers envy parts of others’ gamesDOUG FERGUSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jimmy Walker does not like to talk about another player’s game when they are in the same group except for when “Good shot” is warranted. So

he had to hold his tongue last sum-mer while playing with Justin Rose.

“He drove it so good, on a rope. I was like . . . wow,” Walker said. “I waited two days and I said, ‘Justin, I don’t give out compliments very often, but I’ve never seen anyone drive the golf ball as good as you did the last two days.”’

Rose appreciated the kind words, but it was his response — “I wish I could putt like you” — that got Walker to thinking.

“We all have something out here that somebody else wants,” Walker said. “You watch somebody and think, ‘I wish I could do that.’ You admire things about people out here. And there are people out here that I’m sure admire things about my game.”

A small sampling showed there might be some truth to that.

No one has everything, and if he does, then not for very long. And no one is ever satisfied with any aspect of his game. But do the world’s best at least recognize what they do well, and that someone else might want it?

“They definitely don’t want my short putter,” Adam Scott said with a laugh.

The long putter is not what made him the first Australian to win a green jacket. It’s not why he rose to No. 1 in the world a year later.

“I think I’m a good driver of the

golf ball,” Scott said. “Someone must want to take my driver.”

Scott has seen some good golf in his 15 years as a pro. He played a practice round with Tiger Woods before the 2000 U.S. Open that made Scott wonder if he should remain an amateur. He was paired with Ernie Els when the Big Easy shot 60 at

Royal Melbourne in 2004, which Scott still considers the greatest round he ever saw.

But when asked if he could have something from another player, he went with Phil Mickelson’s short game.

“There are a few guys that have outstanding areas of their games,

but Phil’s short game over all the years I’ve been out here stands out unbelievably,” he said.

Players do pay attention.Luke Donald and Steve Stricker

were in the same group Friday at the Sony Open. Both shot 65.

Donald, a former world No. 1, figured that someone would like to have his short game and bunker play. What he wants is what he can’t have, much as he has tried. Donald would love to hit the ball 320 yards. He chased distance once in his career and it led to a wrist injury that ultimately kept him out of the 2008 Ryder Cup.

Stricker, meanwhile, has long been regarded as one of the best putters in golf, so it would seem obvious what another player would want from him. Think back to Doral in 2013, when Woods sought his help for 45 min-utes on the putting green on Wed-nesday and then won by two shots over Stricker.

Or maybe not.“I’ll say my wedge game,” Stricker

said.Not putting? He paused.“Or my putting,” he added with a

smile. “I’ve been putting so badly the last year that I haven’t given myself enough credit for it.”

As for what he would want from someone else, Stricker leaned on fresh memories.

“You know, I was watching Luke Donald today and I was thinking, ‘Man, is he good out of the bun-ker.’ And he’s a good wedge player,” Stricker said.

Brandt Snedeker also felt that most of his peers wouldn’t mind having

his putting. The way he sees it, he hits more putts that have a chance to go in, or he has fewer putts that don’t have a chance. So if he goes a round or two without making many, he’s doesn’t let it bother him because “I know they’re going to eventually go in.”

Here’s what will drive some players crazy — Snedeker really doesn’t practice it all that much.

“Why would I practice something I’m great at?” he said with a grin. “I practice what I’m terrible at, which is hitting it off the tee and my iron play.”

Kevin Kisner, who always had a good short game and finally figured out how to hit the ball on the club face, was one of the few players who believes he has something that doesn’t involve a club in his hand. “My head,” he said. “I’ve always been a confident guy.

“I know when I’m doing the things I can do that I can play with anybody.”

It would seem there is one thing on which everyone can agree: No one has everything.

Or do they?Scott was asked what he would take

from Woods during that practice round in Las Vegas before Woods went to Pebble Beach and won the U.S. Open by 15 shots.

“Everything,” he said. “It’s still the best I’ve ever seen in one package. Every aspect of the game, he did bet-ter than anyone.”

Woods, meanwhile, undoubtedly would love to take something from Scott and dozens of other players.

Their health.

Jimmy Walker hits his ball out of a greenside bunker during the second round of

the Sony Open golf tournament on Friday in Honolulu. [AP PHOTO]

Nadal falls in fi rst round at Aussie OpenJOHN PYE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MELBOURNE, Australia — For five sets and nearly five hours, two chiseled Spanish left-handers went head-to-head again at the Australian Open.

It wasn’t a semifinal this time, though, and It didn’t end nearly as well for Rafael Nadal, who lost 7-6 (6), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 to Fernando Verdasco and was eliminated in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament for only the second time in a career that has netted him 14 major titles.

Nadal won his only Australian title in 2009 after overcoming Verdasco in a 5-hour, 14-minute semifinal, a match that still ranks among the classics at Mel-bourne Park.

This time, Verdasco rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win the last two sets, and came from a break down in the fifth to win in 4:41 and reach the second round. Nadal’s only previous first-round exit in a Grand Slam was at Wimbledon in 2013, when he lost in straight sets to No. 135-ranked Steve Darcis of Belgium.

“It’s a hard and painful loss,” the fifth-seeded Nadal said.

“He was playing amazing in the last set . . . more aggressive than me. He took more risks than me, and he won. Probably he deserved.”

No. 2 Simona Halep and sev-en-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams also went out in the first round on Tuesday, when a series of upsets took some focus off a match-fixing contro-versy that had overshadowed the first day of the season’s first major.

Halep, the 2014 French Open finalist, lost 6-4, 6-3 to Zhang Shuai, giving the No. 133-ranked

Chinese qualifier her first win at a Grand Slam after 14 losses.

“It’s OK. I don’t want to make this match like dramatic,” said Halep, who refused to blame an Achilles tendon problem for con-tributing to her third first-round loss in five years at Melbourne Park.

Verdasco went for everything on his ground strokes, ripping 90 winners against only 37 for Nadal as he worked to the extremes to unsettle his former No. 1-ranked rival.

“To win against Rafa here coming from two sets down is unbelievable,” the No. 45-ranked Verdasco said. “I think I played unbelievable — the fifth set from the break that he made me, I just started hitting winners. I don’t know how, just, you know I was closing the eyes and every-thing was coming in and I keep doing it and I was doing well.”

Stan Wawrinka, who beat Nad-al in the 2014 Australian final, and four-time runner-up Andy Murray advanced, along with No. 8 David Ferrer, No. 10 John Isner, no. 13 Milos Raonic and Lleyton Hewitt, the two-time

major winner who is playing his 20th and last Australian Open tournament before retiring.

French Open champion Waw-rinka was leading 7-6 (2), 6-3 when his opponent Dmitry Tursonov retired with what appeared to be an upper leg injury.

After beating Halep, Zhang burst into tears when asked about breaking the drought.

“I think in my life, it’s the best tennis,” she said. “To win against a top-two player, I’m so happy, so excited.”

Williams lost 6-4, 6-2 to Johan-na Konta, her eighth first-round loss at a major.

No. 3 Garbine Muguruza and No. 7 Angelique Kerber advanced along with two-time Australian Open champion Vic-toria Azerenka, who closed play on centre court with a 6-0, 6-0 rout of Alison Van Uytvanck.

No. 2-ranked Murray, who opened with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 win over Alexander Zverev, answered questions about reports, pub-lished by the BBC and Buzzfeed News, that match-fixing had gone unchecked in tennis.

NADAL

www.nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 201620 SPORTS

NHL

Lightning beat Oilers 6-4 for their sixth straight victoryMARK DIDTLER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TAMPA, Fla. — Brian Boyle scored a go-ahead, short-handed goal in the third period and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-4 Tuesday night for a season-high six-game winning streak.

The Lightning also got goals from Nikita Nesterov, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Vladislav Namestnikov and Alex Killorn.

Tampa Bay will host Chicago

Thursday night in the Blackhawks’ first game in Tampa since beating the Lightning in last season’s Stanley Cup Final.

Zack Kassian, Mark Letestu, Leon Draisaitl and Iiro Pakarinen scored for Edmonton.

The Oilers said centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, hurt blocking a shot in Monday’s 4-2 win at Florida, will miss six to eight weeks with a hand injury. Edmonton right wing Nail Yakupov needed help skating

off the ice 5 minutes into Tuesday’s game, but returned later in the period.

Boyle gave Tampa Bay a 5-4 lead when he beat goalie Anders Nilsson to the puck and scored from the left circle at 7:42 of the third. Killorn added an empty-netter.

After Draisailt scored during a two-on-one breakaway at 2:10 of the third, Pakarinen got Edmonton even at 4 when he beat Andrei Vasilevskiy from the right circle 2:19 later.

Namestnikov extended the Light-ning lead to 4-2 at 17:12 of the second when he reached from the behind net with his stick and knocked in the puck after Palat’s left circle shot went high into the air off Nilsson and behind the goalie.

Palat gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead at 6:09 of the second. Namestnikov set up the goal with a backhand pass while falling to the ice.

Kucherov put the Lightning up 2-1 with 3:03 to go in the first on his

19th goal this season that extended his point streak to six games.

Letestu made it 2-2 on a short-handed goal with 33.3 seconds left in the first.

After Nesterov opened the scoring at 3:57 of the first, Kassian tied it just 88 seconds later.

NOTE: Edmonton placed Nugent-Hopkins on injured reserve and recalled C Rob Klinkhammer from Bakersfield of the AHL.

NHL HOCKEYWHLWESTERN CONFERENCEB.C. DIVISION GP W L OL SL GF GA PtKelowna 45 31 11 3 0 166 130 65Victoria 46 26 15 2 3 151 116 57Prince George 46 27 17 1 1 157 139 56Kamloops 44 22 15 4 3 151 136 51Vancouver 47 17 25 3 2 139 166 39

U.S. DIVISION GP W L OL SL GF GA PtEverett 43 27 12 2 2 121 93 58Seattle 44 25 16 3 0 139 127 53Portland 45 23 20 2 0 149 142 48Spokane 43 20 18 3 2 143 147 45Tri-City 45 20 23 2 0 147 170 42

EASTERN CONFERENCEEAST DIVISION GP W L OTL SOL GF GA PtBrandon 44 27 13 2 2 167 130 58Prince Albert 45 26 14 4 1 151 141 57Moose Jaw 45 23 16 5 1 154 140 52Regina 46 19 20 3 4 146 167 45Saskatoon 47 17 26 4 0 138 192 38Swift Current 45 14 26 4 1 110 149 33

CENTRAL DIVISION GP W L OL SL GF GA PtLethbridge 45 33 12 0 0 196 132 66Red Deer 46 29 15 1 1 168 134 60Calgary 46 27 17 1 1 153 146 56Edmonton 47 18 22 6 1 128 150 43Medicine Hat 44 18 22 3 1 146 171 40Kootenay 46 8 35 3 0 93 195 19

Edmonton 3 Moose Jaw 1Kelowna 7 Prince George 4Seattle 4 Saskatoon 0Tri-City 5 Vancouver 1

Everett 2 Saskatoon 1 (OT)Portland 3 Vancouver 2

Spokane at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.Moose Jaw at Red Deer, 7 p.m.Everett at Kamloops, 8 p.m.Medicine Hat at Victoria, 8:05 p.m.

No Games Scheduled.

Brandon at Prince Albert, 6 p.m.Everett at Edmonton, 7 p.m.Spokane at Kootenay, 7 p.m.Moose Jaw at Calgary, 7 p.m.Swift Current at Red Deer, 7 p.m.Kamloops at Prince George, 8 p.m.Seattle at Portland, 8 p.m.Tri-City at Kelowna, 8:05 p.m.Medicine Hat at Vancouver, 8:30 p.m.

BCHLISLAND DIVISION GP W L T OTL GF GA Pt

Powell River 44 24 18 0 2 157 131 50Cowichan Val. 43 21 16 3 3 145 179 48Victoria 43 19 20 0 4 130 120 42Alberni Valley 43 15 22 3 3 118 159 36

INTERIOR DIVISIONPenticton 43 37 5 1 0 185 88 75West Kelowna 43 26 15 0 2 170 145 54Salmon Arm 40 24 11 2 3 162 119 53Vernon 44 18 23 0 3 180 154 39Trail 44 18 25 0 1 131 179 37Merritt 44 15 26 0 3 151 190 33

MAINLAND DIVISIONChilliwack 40 27 8 1 4 162 95 59Wenatchee 42 24 13 3 2 140 106 53Langley 42 23 17 1 1 157 135 48Coquitlam 43 18 20 1 4 142 168 41Prince George 44 11 30 1 2 101 191 25Surrey 41 6 33 2 0 105 210 14TuesMerritt at Salmon Arm

No Games Scheduled.

Langley at Prince George, 7 p.m.Chilliwack at Trail, 7:30 p.m.

Wenatchee at Coquitlam, 7 p.m.Salmon Arm at Cowichan Valley, 7 p.m.Surrey at , 7 p.m.Chilliwack at Penticton, 7 p.m.Langley at Prince George, 7 p.m.West Kelowna at Vernon, 7 p.m.Alberni Valley at Powell River, 7:15 p.m.

Surrey at Alberni Valley, 7 p.m. at Cowichan Valley, 7 p.m.

Salmon Arm at Victoria, 7 p.m.Chilliwack at West Kelowna, 7 p.m.Penticton at Wenatchee, 7:05 p.m.Vernon at Trail, 7:30 p.m.

TENNIS NBA

1. Vancouver, Baertschi 8 (Horvat) 9:02 — None.

2. N.Y. Rangers, Stepan 9 (Nash, Kreider) 4:183. Vancouver, Burrows 6 (Etem, Vey) 16:11

— Biega Vcr (cross-checking) 8:43.

4. N.Y. Rangers, Zuccarello 17 (Yandle, Nash) 11:46

— Nash NYR (slashing) 0:59.

5. N.Y. Rangers, Miller 10 (McDonagh, Stepan) 3:54

— None.

Vancouver 11 6 2 1—20N.Y. Rangers 17 13 16 3—49

— Vancouver: Miller (L, 11-12-7). N.Y. Rangers: Lundqvist (W, 21-12-4).

— Vancouver: 0-1; N.Y. Rangers: 0-1.Attendance — 18,006 at New York, N.Y.

1. Philadelphia, Read 7 (Medvedev, Couturier) 11:06 (pp)2. Toronto, Polak 1 (Boyes, Holland) 13:19

— Phaneuf Tor, B. Schenn Pha

Bellemare Pha (tripping) 17:13.

3. Toronto, Lupul 10 (Phaneuf, Kadri) 15:10 — Bellemare Pha (goaltender

interference), White Pha, Polak Tor (roughing) 11:16, Holland Tor (hooking) 16:18.

4. Philadelphia, Gostisbehere 8, 12:595. Toronto, Hunwick 1 (Parenteau, Bozak) 19:52

— Bellemare Pha (holding) 2:26, Kadri Tor (interference) 13:08.

LACROSSENFLPLAYOFFSCONFERENCE FINALS

AFC — New England at Denver, 3:05 p.m. Arizona at Carolina, 6:40 p.m.

PRO BOWL

Team Rice vs. Team Irvin, 7 p.m.

AFC vs. NFC Champions, 6:30 p.m.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Maria Sharapova (5), Russia, def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Belarus, 6-2, 6-1.

def. Lucas Pouille, France, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

Andy Murray (2), Britain, def. Alexan-der Zverev, Germany, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.

Stan Wawrinka (4), Switzerland, def. Dmitry Tursunov, Russia, 7-6 (2), 6-3, retired.

Rafael Nadal (5), Spain, lost to Fernando Verdasco, Spain, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

David Ferrer (8), Spain, def. Peter Gojowczyk, Germany, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

John Isner (10), United States, def. Jerzy Janowicz, Poland, 6-3, 7-6 (7), 6-3.

Kevin Andeson (11), South Africa, lost to Rajeev Ram, United States, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 3-0, retired.

Bernard Tomic (16), Australia, def. Denis Istomin, Uzbekistan, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Feliciano Lopez (18), Spain, def. Daniel Evans, Britain, 6-1, 6-0, 6-4.

Fabio Fognini (20), Italy, lost to Gilles Muller, Luxembourg, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (7), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (1).

Viktor Troicki (21), Serbia, def. Daniel Munoz de la Nava, Spain, 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Sugita, Japan, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.Jack Sock (25), United States, def.

Taylor Fritz, United States, 6-4, 3-6, 0-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Jeremy Chardy (30), France, def. Ernests Gulbis, Latvia, 7-5, 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 13-11.

Steve Johnson (31), United States, def. Aljaz Bedene, Britain, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3).

Joao Sousa (32), Portugal, def. Mikhail Kukushkin, Kazakhstan, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

Simona Halep (2), Romania, lost to Zhang Shuai, China, 6-4, 6-3.

Garbine Muguruza (3), Spain, def. Anett Kontaveit, Estonia, 6-0, 6-4.

Angelique Kerber (7), Germany, def. Misaki Doi, Japan, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-3.

Venus Williams (8), United States, lost to Johanna Konta, Britain, 6-4, 6-2.

Karolina Pliskova (9), Czech Republic, def. Kimberly Birrell, Australia, 6-4, 6-4.

Timea Bacsinszky (11), Switzerland, def. Katerina Siniakova, Czech Republic, 6-3, 7-5.

Victoria Azarenka (14), Belarus, def. Alison Van Uytvanck, Belgium, 6-0, 6-0.

Madison Keys (15), United States, def. Zarina Diyas, Kazakhstan, 7-6 (5), 6-1.

Elina Svitolina (18), Ukraine, def. Victoria Duval, United States, 6-2, 6-3.

Jelena Jankovic (19), Serbia, def. Polona Hercog, Slovenia, 6-3, 6-3.

Ana Ivanovic (20), Serbia, def. Tammi Patterson, Australia, 6-2, 6-3.

Ekaterina Makarova (21), Russia, def. Maddison Inglis, Australia, 6-3, 6-0.

Irina-Camelia Begu (29), Romania, lost to Johanna Larsson, Sweden, 6-3, 6-2.

Sabine Lisicki (30), Germany, def. Petra Cetkovska, Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-4.

Lesia Tsurenko (31), Ukraine, lost to Varvara Lepchenko, United States, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3.

Caroline Garcia (32), France, lost to Barbora Strycova, Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-4.

EASTERN CONFERENCEATLANTIC DIVISION

Florida 46 26 15 4 1 121 105 57 13-7-2-0 13-8-2-1 6-3-1-0 L-4Detroit 45 23 14 5 3 111 116 54 11-8-3-2 12-6-2-1 5-4-0-1 L-1Tampa Bay 46 25 17 1 3 125 111 54 13-8-0-2 12-9-1-1 7-2-0-1 W-6

METROPOLITAN DIVISION

Washington 46 35 8 2 1 155 100 73 18-3-1-0 17-5-1-1 7-2-0-1 W-2N.Y. Rangers 46 25 16 3 2 132 122 55 17-5-2-0 8-11-1-2 5-4-1-0 W-1N.Y. Islanders 45 24 15 3 3 123 112 54 15-7-2-1 9-8-1-2 5-4-0-1 L-1

WILD CARDBoston 45 24 16 4 1 137 117 53 10-11-2-0 14-5-2-1 5-4-1-0 W-3New Jersey 47 23 19 1 4 105 112 51 10-10-1-2 13-9-0-2 5-5-0-0 W-2

Ottawa 46 22 18 2 4 129 141 50 11-6-1-3 11-12-1-1 4-6-0-0 W-2Montreal 47 23 20 3 1 129 122 50 12-9-2-0 11-11-1-1 3-6-1-0 L-5Pittsburgh 45 21 17 4 3 110 113 49 11-7-1-3 10-10-3-0 4-2-3-1 L-1Philadelphia 44 20 16 4 4 100 117 48 11-6-2-3 9-10-2-1 5-4-0-1 L-1Carolina 47 20 19 7 1 111 129 48 10-8-4-1 10-11-3-0 5-2-3-0 L-2Buffalo 46 19 23 1 3 107 123 42 9-14-1-1 10-9-0-2 4-6-0-0 W-2Toronto 44 17 20 3 4 111 124 41 7-8-3-2 10-12-0-2 4-6-0-0 W-1Columbus 47 17 26 3 1 119 152 38 8-10-3-1 9-16-0-0 4-5-1-0 L-1

WESTERN CONFERENCECENTRAL DIVISION

Chicago 49 32 13 4 0 144 111 68 20-5-1-0 12-8-3-0 10-0-0-0 W-12Dallas 46 29 12 3 2 154 124 63 17-5-0-0 12-7-3-2 3-5-2-0 L-3St. Louis 49 27 15 5 2 126 123 61 16-8-3-0 11-7-2-2 4-3-2-1 W-2

PACIFIC DIVISION

Los Angeles 44 28 13 1 2 118 99 59 14-7-0-1 14-6-1-1 7-2-0-1 W-1San Jose 44 23 18 2 1 127 121 49 8-12-0-1 15-6-2-0 6-3-0-1 L-1Arizona 45 22 18 4 1 123 135 49 12-8-3-0 10-10-1-1 5-3-1-1 L-3

WILD CARDMinnesota 45 22 15 7 1 113 106 52 14-8-2-0 8-7-5-1 3-5-1-1 L-4Colorado 47 23 21 3 0 131 130 49 10-10-3-0 13-11-0-0 5-4-1-0 W-1

Vancouver 47 19 17 9 2 113 130 49 9-8-4-0 10-9-5-2 5-3-2-0 L-1Nashville 46 20 18 7 1 117 127 48 13-7-2-1 7-11-5-0 2-6-2-0 L-1Anaheim 44 19 18 5 2 88 105 45 13-8-3-1 6-10-2-1 6-3-0-1 L-1Winnipeg 46 21 22 1 2 119 131 45 12-8-1-0 9-14-0-2 4-5-0-1 L-1Calgary 44 20 21 1 2 118 135 43 14-9-0-0 6-12-1-2 4-5-0-1 L-2Edmonton 48 19 24 4 1 119 142 43 13-9-1-0 6-15-3-1 4-4-1-1 L-1

Note: the winning team is credited with two points and a victory in the W column; a team losing in overtime or shootout receives one point in the respective OTL or SOL column.

TueBoston 4 Montreal 1Chicago 4 Nashville 1 New Jersey 4 Calgary 2N.Y. Rangers 3 Vancouver 2 (OT)Tampa Bay 6 Edmonton 4Toronto 3 Philadelphia 2Washington 6 Columbus 3Dallas at Los Angeles

Buffalo 2 Arizona 1Colorado 2 Winnipeg 1Edmonton 4 Florida 2Ottawa 4 San Jose 3 (SO)St. Louis 5 Pittsburgh 2

St. Louis at Detroit, 8 p.m.Buffalo at Colorado, 10 p.m.Minnesota at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m.

Toronto 12 14 9—35Philadelphia 13 8 12—33

— Toronto: Reimer (W, 8-7-4). Philadelphia: Mason (L, 10-11-6).

— Toronto: 0-3; Philadelphia: 1-3.Attendance — 19,319 at Philadelphia.

1. Boston, Talbot 2, 13:08 — Desharnais Mtl (delay of

game) 16:33, Miller Bos (slashing) 19:35.

2. Montreal, Barberio 1 (Subban, Desharnais) 8:483. Boston, Bergeron 18 (Pastrnak, Seidenberg) 16:49

— Markov Mtl (elbowing) 5:18, Bergeron Bos (hooking) 11:29.

4. Boston, Pastrnak 4 (Rinaldo) 12:145. Boston, Marchand 17 (Eriksson) 18:37 (en)

— Marchand Bos (closing hand on puck) 2:56, Subban Mtl (holding stick) 5:13, Seidenberg Bos (interference) 16:11, Vatrano Bos (tripping) 19:53.

Boston 10 7 7—24Montreal 9 16 14—39

— Boston: Rask (W, 16-13-4). Montreal: Condon (L, 12-12-4).

— Boston: 0-3; Montreal: 0-5.Attendance — 21,288 at Montreal.

1. Tampa Bay, Nesterov 3 (Killorn, Sustr) 3:572. Edmonton, Kassian 1 (Pakarinen) 5:253. Tampa Bay, Kucherov 19 (Johnson, Killorn) 16:574. Edmonton, Letestu 7 (Nurse) 19:26 (sh)

— Condra TB (cross-checking) 11:14, Schultz Edm (holding) 18:15.

5. Tampa Bay, Palat 4 (Namestnikov, Stamkos) 6:096. Tampa Bay, Namestnikov 10 (Palat, Stamkos) 17:12

— Johnson TB (hooking) 7:31, Kassian Edm, Killorn TB (roughing) 7:31, Stamkos TB (tripping) 10:20, Davidson Edm (hooking) 19:14.

7. Edmonton, Draisaitl 11 (Hall, Kassian) 2:108. Edmonton, Pakarinen 4, 4:299. Tampa Bay, Boyle 9 (Coburn, Brown) 7:42 (sh)10. Tampa Bay, Killorn 8 (Kucherov) 19:33 (en)

— Condra TB (high-sticking) 6:02.

Edmonton 11 5 10—26Tampa Bay 10 11 10—31

— Edmonton: Nilsson (L, 10-11-2).Tampa Bay: Vasilevskiy (W, 7-4-0).

— Edmonton: 0-4; Tampa Bay: 0-2.Attendance — 19,092 at Tampa, Fla.

1. Columbus, Rychel 1 (Karlsson, Bourque) 9:302. Washington, Backstrom 14 (Oshie, Ovechkin) 12:153. Washington, Chimera 13 (Johansson) 15:52

— Backstrom Wash (interference) 3:02.

4. Washington, Ovechkin 28 (Kuznetsov, Niskanen) 3:16 (pp)5. Washington, Backstrom 15 (Kuznetsov, Niskanen) 4:47 (pp)6. Columbus, Jenner 16 (Wennberg, Jones) 9:35 (pp)7. Washington, Burakovsky 5 (Kuznetsov, Williams) 10:25

— Falk Clb (high-sticking) 3:03, Stanton Wash (holding) 9:15,

(holding) 11:27.

8. Columbus, Murray 4 (Rychel, Jones) 5:079. Washington, Johansson 13,19:27 (en).10. Washington, Johansson 13 (Kuznetsov) 19:27 (en)

— None.

Washington 5 14 9—28Columbus 12 11 12—35

— Washington: Holtby (W, 30-5-2). Columbus: Bobrovsky (L, 11-13-1).

— Washington: 2-2; Columbus: 1-2.Attendance — 12,291 at Columbus, Ohio.

1. New Jersey, Larsson 2 (Boucher, Kalinin) 5:122. Calgary, Monahan 14 (Gaudreau, Hamilton) 9:16 (pp)

— Ruutu NJ (interference) 8:48.

3. New Jersey, Stempniak 11 (Cammalleri, Henrique) 0:574. New Jersey, Boucher 2 (Kennedy, Severson) 1:145. Calgary, Russell 3 (Gaudreau, Giordano) 15:55 (pp)

— Wideman Cgy (hooking) 2:32, Ferland Cgy (hooking) 11:26, Schlemko NJ (hooking) 13:49, Henrique NJ (slashing) 15:27, Kalinin NJ (holding) 18:14.

6. New Jersey, Greene 4 (Stempniak, Larsson) 18:59 (en)

— None.

Calgary 9 8 11—28New Jersey 10 12 4—26

— Calgary: Hiller (L, 5-5-1). New Jersey: Schneider (W, 20-14-5).

— Calgary: 2-4; New Jersey: 0-2.Attendance — 14,319 at Newark, N.J.

1. Chicago, Anisimov 16 (Panarin, Kane) 19:38

— Garbutt Chi (elbowing) 2:51.

2. Chicago, Panik 2 (Rasmussen) 2:433. Nashville, Ellis 6 (Salomaki, Ekholm) 3:084. Chicago, Kane 30 (Panarin, Keith) 4:08

— Neal Nash (tripping) 17:27.

SOCCER

Milwaukee 91 Miami 79New Orleans 114 Minnesota 99Indiana 97 Phoenix 94Oklahoma City 110 Denver 104

New York 119 Philadelphia 113 (2OT)Charlotte 124 Utah 119 (2OT)Portland 108 Washington 98Memphis 101 New Orleans 99Chicago 111 Detroit 101Atlanta 98 Orlando 81Toronto 112 Brooklyn 100Golden State 132 Cleveland 98Dallas 118 Boston 113 OTL.A. Clippers 140 Houston 132 OT

Philadelphia at Orlando, 7 p.m.Miami at Washington, 7 p.m.Utah at New York, 7:30 p.m.Cleveland at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.Boston at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.Golden State at Chicago, 8 p.m.Charlotte at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.Detroit at Houston, 8 p.m.Minnesota at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.Atlanta at Portland, 10:30 p.m.Sacramento at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

L.A. Clippers at Cleveland, 8 p.m.Detroit at New Orleans, 8 p.m.Memphis at Denver, 9 p.m.Atlanta at Sacramento, 10 p.m.San Antonio at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.

EASTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GBd-Cleveland 28 11 .718 —d-Toronto 26 15 .634 3Chicago 24 16 .600 41/2

d-Atlanta 25 17 .595 41/2

Indiana 23 19 .548 61/2

Miami 23 19 .548 61/2

Detroit 22 19 .537 7Boston 22 20 .524 71/2

Orlando 20 20 .500 81/2

New York 21 22 .488 9Washington 19 21 .475 91/2

Charlotte 19 22 .463 10Milwaukee 19 25 .432 111/2

Brooklyn 11 31 .262 181/2

Philadelphia 5 38 .116 25

WESTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GBd-Golden State 38 4 .905 —d-San Antonio 36 6 .857 2d-Oklahoma City 31 12 .721 71/2

L.A. Clippers 27 14 .659 101/2

Memphis 24 19 .558 141/2

Dallas 24 19 .558 141/2

Houston 22 21 .512 161/2

Utah 18 23 .439 191/2

Portland 19 25 .432 20Sacramento 17 23 .425 20Denver 16 26 .381 22New Orleans 14 27 .341 231/2

Phoenix 13 30 .302 251/2

Minnesota 13 30 .302 251/2

L.A. Lakers 9 34 .209 291/2

5. Chicago, Desjardins 6 (Hjalmarsson, Teravainen) 19:23 (en)

— Kane Chi (hooking) 0:58, Van Riemsdyk Chi (hooking) 12:13, Josi Nash (tripping) 16:44.

Chicago 10 12 5—27Nashville 12 11 16—39

— Chicago: Crawford (W, 27-10-2). Nashville: Rinne (L, 16-15-7).

— Chicago: 0-2; Nashville: 0-3.Attendance — 17,122 at Nashville, Tenn.

LATE MONDAY

1. Ottawa, McCormick 2 (Ceci, Neil) 11:12 — None.

2. Ottawa, Ryan 15 (Zibanejad, Karlsson) 4:08 (pp)3. San Jose, Hertl 8 (Thornton, Burns) 4:16

— Ward SJ (tripping) 3:57.

4. San Jose, Couture 2 (Ward, Vlasic) 2:475. San Jose, Nieto 6 (Donskoi, Tierney) 7:546. Ottawa, Smith 9, 14:29 (sh, penalty shot)

— Karlsson Ott (holding) 12:45.No Scoring.

— Ryan Ott (tripping) 3:08.

— Ryan, miss; Zibanejad, goal.— Pavelski, miss; Donskoi,

miss; Couture, miss.

Ottawa 5 8 3 1—17San Jose 11 9 9 6—35

— Ottawa: Anderson (W, 19-13-4). San Jose: Stalock (SOL, 3-5-1).

— Ottawa: 1-1; San Jose: 0-2.Attendance — 16,619 at San Jose, Calif.

1. Kevin Kisner 6 US$2,350,032

2. Russell Knox 7 $2,118,160

3. Justin Thomas 6 $1,734,873

4. Graeme McDowell 4 $1,565,100

5. Kevin Na 5 $1,495,673

6. Smylie Kaufman 6 $1,458,351

7. Fabian Gomez 5 $1,420,193

8. Jordan Spieth 2 $1,353,750

9. Emiliano Grillo 5 $1,261,742

10. Jason Bohn 4 $1,227,736

GOLF

G FG FT PTS AVGCurry, GS 40 399 209 1200 30.0Harden, Hou 43 347 373 1181 27.5Durant, Okl 35 318 209 926 26.5Cousins, Sac 32 277 233 828 25.9James, Cle 38 363 190 961 25.3Lillard, Por 37 307 176 904 24.4Westbrk, OkC 42 353 257 1015 24.2George, Ind 41 310 238 978 23.9Griffin, LAC 30 281 129 697 23.2DeRozan, Tor 41 315 285 935 22.8Davis, NO 35 300 181 797 22.8Butler, Chi 40 292 267 896 22.4Thomas, Bos 42 293 243 914 21.8Anthony, NY 39 299 185 839 21.5Lowry, Tor 41 274 203 862 21.0Wiggins, Minn 41 303 223 854 20.8

NLLEAST DIVISION

New England 3 2 1 .667 36 22 —Rochester 3 2 1 .667 38 28 —Buffalo 2 1 1 .500 24 24 1/2Georgia 3 1 2 .333 33 34 1Toronto 3 0 3 .000 19 36 2

WEST DIVISION

Colorado 3 3 0 1.000 47 43 —Saskatchewan 2 1 1 .500 21 21 11/2Vancouver 2 1 1 .500 20 28 11/2Calgary 3 1 2 .333 26 28 2

Toronto at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.Colorado at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

ENGLAND

Aston Villa 2 Wycombe Wanderers 0Bradford City 0 Bury 0

(Bury wins 4-0 on penalties)Bristol City 0 West Bromwich Albion 1MK Dons 3 Northampton Town 0Portsmouth 2 Ipswich 1Yeovil Town 1 Carlisle United 1

(Carlisle wins 5-4on penalties)Bolton 3 Eastleigh 2

Leicester vs. Tottenham, 2:45 p.m.Liverpool vs. Exeter City, 3 p.m.

ITALY

Napoli 0 Internationale 2

SCOTLAND

Inverness 2 Stirling Albion 0Forfar Athletic vs. Linlithgow Rose (ppd.)

PREMIERSHIPCeltic 8 Hamilton Academical 1

www.nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily DIVERSIONS 21WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2016

FOR BETTER OR WORSE

ANDY CAPP

ZITS

DIRECTIONALLY CORRECT

ACROSS1 Alphabetize5 More to the point10 Wild guess14 Creme-filled cookie15 About to cry16 Remarkable thing17 Departed20 Sports stadium21 Set of luggage22 Mischievous sprites25 Fruit-tree grove28 Loosens, as shoelaces29 Prez after Harry30 Big brass instrument31 Astounds32 Muffin ingredient34 Poorly lit35 Precede in a line39 Clumsy one42 Final Four org.43 Mythical giant47 New Mexico art

community49 Edge of a cup50 Late-night flight51 Drive-sharing group53 Was jealous of54 Transgressions55 Very mean56 “Exactly!”62 Money succeeding the

mark63 Fuming64 Beverages brewed from

bags65 “Don’t delete” notation66 Antic67 Canine cry

DOWN1 Note after fa2 Mined mineral3 Basketball official4 Adding up5 Acropolis city6 Hammer parts7 Spanish appetizer8 Go wrong9 Bagel alternative10 Trivial11 Madame of wax

museums12 Pub order13 Train alternative18 Checks for size19 Apple computer

22 “Gloomy” guy23 Ottawa’s prov.24 A/C measure25 Gumbo veggie26 Slugger’s stat, for short27 River blocker29 Steel girder33 At no time36 Quotation puzzle37 Pellet precipitation38 Faithfulness39 Nonprescription: Abbr.40 Road service org.41 “Definitely!”44 Vietnamese New Year

45 Ensign’s 56 Down46 Homer Simpson’s

neighbor48 Faucet50 Computer-network

device52 Yoko __53 Box for oranges55 British bloke56 “Certainly”57 Half of a double play58 __ la la59 “Golly!”60 2001 computer61 Recipe meas.

PREVIOUS PUZZLE SOLVED

HAGAR HI AND LOIS

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20

1-3 p.m. Nanaimo Peer-Led Pain

Self-Management Group can help you find

answers to your questions. Group meets third

Wednesday of each month at Beban Park,

2300 Bowen Road, Nanaimo.

6-8 p.m. Nanaimo Family Life presents Youth

group for adolescents dealing with Anxiety,

Depression 1070 Town site Road. For informa-

tion, ̌ www.nflabc.org or call 250-754-3331.

THURSDAY, JAN. 21

7 p.m. Tora Leigh and more Live At Long-

wood A free live concert series every Thursday

at Longwood Brew Pub 5775 Turner Rd.,

Nanaimo.

7 p.m. Ladysmith Comedy Night with: Sophie

Buddle, Amber Harper Young , Darryl Shaw

and more at The Music Hall Food Co.18 Rob-

erts St., Ladysmith. Tickets $15 at the door.

7-9 p.m. Divorce Recovery Program, 13-week

course at First Baptist Church 1650 Wadding-

ton Rd. Nanaimo. This is a free program, $20

workbook available. More information, call

250-753-0241. Every Wednesday through

March.

THURSDAY, JAN. 21

8 p.m. Tora Leigh at The Longwood Brew Pub,

5775 Turner Rd., Nanaimo BC

8 p.m. Ladysmith Comedy Night with Sophie

Buddle with Amber Harper-Young, Darryl

Shaw and Bobbie at The Music Hall Food Co.

18 Roberts St., Ladysmith BC

Tickets are $15 and on sale at the Music Hall

Food Co. now! Call the restaurant for more

info: 250-245-3663.

FRIDAY, JAN. 22

1:30 p.m First Open Heart Society meets

at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 4235

Departure Bay Rd., Nanaimo. Guest speaker

is Bob Uden, physical exercise leader from

Heart Matters. For information phone Elaine

at 250-753-1915.

7-10 p.m. Dave Hart performs at Minnoz Res-

taurant, Coast Bastion Hotel. Prime rib featured

and wine tastings courtesy Mark Anthony.

No cover. Information:: 250-824-0167.

7 & 9 p.m. Old City Laugh Lounge (two

shows) starring Sophie Buddle with Amber

Harper-Young, Tim Kerfoot & Darryl Shaw

at The Old City Station Pub 150 Skinner

St., Nanaimo. Tickets $10 per show at The Old

City Station Pub.

7:30-10 p.m. Black-Lister-McRae Trio,jazz-im-

prov,at Nanaimo Conservatory, 375 Selby St.,

Nanaimo. Tickets $20 general, $10 students

advance tickets at Fascinating Rhythm, 51

Commercial St. 250-716-9997.

SATURDAY JAN. 23

7 p.m. Vancouver Island Pro Wrestling pre-

sents: pro wrestling Departure Bay Activity

Centre with another action packed night full

of high flying, hard hitting, Bell 7 p.m. Tickets

$10-$20 at That 50’s Barbershop, China Steps

Emporium, Popeye’s Supplements Nanaimo

9 p.m. Glen Foster Group hosts a CD Release

Event at The Vault Cafe. Age 19-plus. Cover

charge $5

10 a.m. Bastion City Wanderers Volkssport

Club invites you to a 6-km or 10-km walk

in Cedar at Cable Bay. Meet in the parking

lot at the end of Nicola Road. Registration

at 9:45 a.m. For information, call Ethel at

250-756-9796.

7:30 p.m. Vancouver Island Symphony music

and visual arts. Pre-concert talk 6:30 p.m.

Tickets $18-$59, eyego $5 at www.Porttheatre.

Com. 250-754-8550.

» EVENTS // EMAIL: [email protected]

CROSSWORDGARFIELD

www.nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 201622 DIVERSIONS

HarbourviewVolkswagen

www.harbourviewvw.com

The Canadian dollar traded Tuesday

afternoon at 68.69 cents US, down 0.01 of a

cent from Monday’s close. The Pound Sterling

was worth $2.0640, down 0.94 of a cent, while the Euro

was worth $1.5882, up 0.16 of a cent.

Canadian Dollar

➜

Barrel of oil

$28.46

-$0.96

➜Dow Jones

16,016.02

+27.94

➜

NASDAQ

4,476.95

-11.47

➜S&P/TSX

12,002.24

+60.07

➜

CRYPTOQUOTEWORD FIND

516482379

489375612

237196485

362754198

841269537

975813264

693528741

724931856

158647923 20

16C

iP

lD

ib

Ki

FS

diI

Difficulty Level 1/19

PREVIOUS SUDOKO SOLVED

SUDOKU

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Your

creativity continues to dominate,

but you’ll communicate your

thoughts more incisively. Conver-

sations could go in many different

directions. You will find out what

works for you in no time. Be willing

to go through the process. Tonight:

Pretend that it is the weekend.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Others

make demands that might distract

you from some thoughts about

finances. You need to deal with

these money issues, but honor

a need for a change of pace. An

element of unpredictability runs

through work. Tonight: Balance

your checkbook before you head

out.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) You

see past the obvious, but you

aren’t always ready to share these

thoughts. As a result, others find

you to be most unpredictable

and capable of doing anything.

This perspective should give you

an indication of how you project

yourself. Tonight: Ready for some

adventure?

CANCER (June 21-July 22) You

could be more demanding than

you realize. On some level, a close

friend or associate might feel

drained by your initial reaction. You

seem to be concerned with some

matters involving your finances

that you are not ready to discuss.

Tonight: Not to be found.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Others seek

you out. At the present moment,

you seem to prefer the company

of many people all at once. Could

it be possible that you are trying to

avoid a situation or conversation? It

is going to happen sooner or later,

but play it your way. Tonight: Where

people are.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Others

often look to you for leadership. You

know when you have had enough

and want to head in a different dir-

ection. How you handle a demand-

ing situation could change radically

in a few days. Know that there will

be reactions you’ll need to deal

with. Tonight: Till the wee hours.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Your abil-

ity to think fast and come up with

several novel ideas emerges. Your

understanding of others’ predica-

ments will add to your mental resili-

ence. Expressing a consideration for

others is the type of thinking that

creates mutual respect. Tonight:

Say “yes.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Work

with individuals rather than a group

of people. You could be confused

about what to do and when. Listen

to your inner voice if you feel iffy

about verbalizing a problem. Tim-

ing could make a big difference.

Honor your instincts. Tonight:

Downtime with a loved one.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

You’ll hear a lot of information all

at once. You could be surprised by

how overwhelming it is. Detach,

and listen to what is offered and

nothing more. You will be able to

become more responsive soon.

Tonight: An opportunity appears

that seems too good to be true.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Security, both emotionally and

financially, becomes more import-

ant to you in the next few weeks.

You could find that an element of

unpredictability surrounds you,

especially when you’re out and

about. Reach out to someone at

a distance. Tonight: Stick to your

usual routine.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You

feel energized, though you also

might feel scattered. Don’t worry —

you will bounce back quickly. You

could be surprised by what some-

one says or does. You won’t be able

to suppress your reaction. Remain

nurturing with a loved one. Tonight:

Go for what you want.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) You

might need some downtime. You

could be doing a lot of processing

in your mind. Be ready to take a risk

if it feels comfortable, but don’t lost

sight of the financial implications

involved. You’d be wise to exercise

caution. Tonight: Happy to be close

to home.

YOUR BIRTHDAY (Jan. 20) This

year you become more aware of

others and their needs. You have

become more sensitive and caring.

Your inner circle grows as a result.

You also experience many more

options and opportunities. If you

are single, you might meet some-

one in your day-to-day travels. The

person you meet could have the

same issues as you, but he or she

will manifest them in a very differ-

ent way. You can learn from each

other if you respect your differ-

ences. If you are attached, the two

of you act like new lovers. Clearly,

you enjoy each other’s company.

GEMINI is always full of ideas.

BORN TODAY Bill Maher (1956),

multi-instrumentalist Questlove

(1971), musician Paul Stanley (1952)

HOROSCOPEby Jacqueline Bigar

BABY BLUES

BC

BLONDIE

SOLUTION: AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

Grace’s family invites her friends, dance partners, activists from the many causes she supported and fellow revolutionaries to mourn her passing and celebrate her zeal for life at,

Nanaimo’s Coast Bastion Inn starting at 2:00 p.m.

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Memories will be shared and stories told but music and dancing

will, of course, be the highlights of the event.

Light refreshments will be served along

with a cash bar.

Grace TicksonA Celebration of a Life Well Lived

OPERATING FOREMAN POSITION Coastland Wood Industries Ltd. is looking for an equipment operating foreman for our Sunshine Coast Operation. Qualified applicants must have the following experience:

• Minimum grade 12 education• Past experience with log yard operation and high

volume production oriented situations• Minimum 5 years’ experience with front end log

loader operation• First Aid Level 3 an asset Past management experience will be considered, however training is available for an applicant possessing the right qualities. Role may include but will not be limited to daily production direction and organization, management of up to 30 employees on site in conjunction with current facility manager, overall equipment monitoring and basic up keep, liaison with customer needs.

Competitive industry salary available with full benefit package. Remuneration will depend on

applicants skills and experience.

Please send applications to [email protected]

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Come grow with us, apply with resume to: [email protected]

www.qualityfoods.com

100% Company Paid Benefits, Bonus Plan and Group RSP

• Bakery Clerk• Floral Merchandiser

k kk ll kCome Rise With Us!

HELP WANTED HELP WANTED

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

INFORMATION

CANADA BENEFIT Group - Do you or someone you know suffer from a disability? Get up to $40,000 from the Canadian government. Toll-free 1-888-511-2250 or www.canada benefi t.ca/free-assessment

HIP OR knee replacement? Arthritic conditions/COPD? Restrictions in walking/dress-ing? Disability tax credit $2,000 Tax Credit $20,000 Refund. Apply today for assis-tance: 1-844-453-5372.

PERSONALS

NOI’S A1 Thai Massage. -First in Customer service and satis-faction. Open Mon-Sat, 9:30-5:00. 486C Franklin St. Call (250)716-1352.

IN MEMORIAM

TRAVEL

TIMESHARE

CANCEL YOUR Timeshare. No risk program. Stop mort-gage and maintenance pay-ments today. 100% money back guarantee. Free consul-tation. Call us now. We can help! 1-888-356-5248.

TRAVEL

SEE POLAR Bears, walrus and whales on our Arctic Ex-plorer Voyage next summer. Save 15% with our winter sale for a limited time. Call toll-free: 1-800-363-7566 or visitwww.adventurecanada.com (TICO#04001400)

EDUCATION/TRADE SCHOOLS

HEALTHCARE DOCUMEN-TATION Specialists in huge demand. Employers prefer CanScribe graduates. A great work-from-home career! Con-tact us now to start your train-ing day. www.canscribe.com. 1-800-466-1535. [email protected].

MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION!In-demand career! Employers have work-at-home positions available. Get online training you need from an employer-trusted program. Visit today: CareerStep.ca/MT or 1-855-768-3362 to start training for your work-at-home career!

IN MEMORIAM

EDUCATION/TRADE SCHOOLS

START A new career in Graphic Arts, Healthcare, Business, Education or Infor-mation Tech. If you have a GED, call: 855-670-9765.

HELP WANTED

VENDING MACHINE ATTENDANT

Part-time, perfect for a retired/semi-retired person in good health to handle vend-ing machine at Woodgrove Centre. Some computer experience is needed. This is a 1 hr per week job.

Call weekdays at: 1.800.663.6661

Fax 514.342.0750 [email protected] or

[email protected]

TRADES, TECHNICAL

FULL-TIME LICENSED Auto-body Technician required im-mediately by busy Import deal-ership in the sunny Okanagan. Candidate must hold a valid Autobody ticket. This is a full time, permanent position. In-cludes benefi ts and an aggres-sive wage package. Resumes to Bodyshop Manager:[email protected] http://www.hilltopsubaru.com/ employment-opportunities.htm

PERSONAL SERVICES

FINANCIAL SERVICES

GET BACK ON TRACK! Bad credit? Bills? Unemployed? Need Money? We Lend! If you own your own home - you qualify. Pioneer Acceptance Corp. Member BBB.

1-877-987-1420 www.pioneerwest.com

LARGE FUNDBorrowers Wanted

Start saving hundreds of dollars today! We can easily approve you by phone. 1st, 2nd or 3rd mortgage money is available right now. Rates start at Prime. Equity counts. We don’t rely on credit, age or income.

Call Anytime1-800-639-2274 or

604-430-1498. Apply online www.capitaldirect.ca

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

HOME/BUSINESS SERVICES

PLUMBING

FULL SERVICE Plumbing from Parker Dean. Fast, re-liable, 24/7 service. Take $50 off your next job if you present this ad. Vancouver area. 1-800-573-2928.

MERCHANDISE FOR SALE

AUCTIONS

PUBLIC AUCTION Country Aire Auction 3589 Shenton Road Every Friday 6pm 729-7282 Brand New Furni-ture- Store Returns- Good Quality Used Pieces- Estate & Antique Pieces- Hand & Power Tools- Hardware- Sporting & Auto Goods- Appli-ances- TV’s & Stereos- Col-lectible Coins- Cards- China- Jewelry Artwork Receiving Tues- Wed- Thur & Sat View-ing Friday ONLY Closed Sunday & Monday.

MISCELLANEOUS FOR SALE

REFORESTATION NUR-SERY Seedlings of hardy trees, shrubs, and berries for shelterbelts or landscaping. Spruce and pine from $0.99/ tree. Free shipping. Replace-ment guarantee. 1-866-873-3846 or www.treetime.ca

SAWMILLS FROM only $4,397. Make money and save money with your own bandmill. Cut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship. Free info and DVD: www.NorwoodSawmills.com/400OT1-800-566-6899 Ext:400OT.

RENTALS

COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL

MARSHALLING YARD forlease. Up to 37,000 squarefeet at $0.80 per sq. ft..Fenced site, key card con-trolled gate, evening andweekend patrols. Loadingdock available. Please [email protected]

S. NANAIMO large comm/in-dustrial parking area, good fortrucks, trailers, containers, carlot etc. Best Island Hwy expo-sure. 1-604-594-1960.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

TRANSPORTATION

CARS

2004 HONDA ACCORD EXLV6. 180,000 km. 4-dr sedan,black on black, full load.$5400. 250-752-2552.

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ON THE WEB:

INDEX IN BRIEFFAMILY ANNOUNCEMENTS

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

TRAVEL

EMPLOYMENT

BUSINESS SERVICES

PETS & LIVESTOCK

MERCHANDISE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE

RENTALS

AUTOMOTIVE

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POLITICS

Feds, provinces agree on bulk-buy drug dealDIRK MEISSNER THE CANADIAN PRESS

VICTORIA — The federal govern-ment joined the provinces and ter-ritories on Tuesday in a program to buy drugs in bulk, a sign of a thaw in relations over the national health agenda.

Health Minister Jane Philpott said drug plans administered by the fed-eral government will unite with the provincial and territorial pan-Can-adian Pharmaceutical Alliance to negotiate lower prices on brand name and generic drugs. Ottawa didn’t join the alliance when it was formed five years ago.

Prof. Michael Prince, a University of Victoria health policy expert, said Ottawa’s decision to get involved in the plan strengthens the program.

“The federal government is the fifth or sixth of the largest health-care providers in the country,” he said. “It’s a major health-care provider and player in its own right and bringing

the government of Canada to the table is going to be very helpful.”

Ottawa’s change in position on the drug program was announced on the eve of a meeting of the country’s health ministers that takes place on Wednesday and Thursday in Vancou-ver and is expected to discuss every-thing from the treatment of chronic diseases to funding formulas

The new tone between Ottawa and the provinces and territories is also expected at the meetings after a dec-ade of testy relations when Stephen Harper was prime minister.

“For the last 10 years, and I don’t need to get partisan about this, we had a prime minister who chose not to engage very actively on these inter-governmental files,” said Prince.

“He (Harper) was more interested in law and order and criminal justice. That’s where his priorities were.”

Prince said by resuming meetings on health care, the federal govern-ment “will reactivate and re-energize federal-provincial relations on health issues in a way we haven’t seen for over a decade in this country.”

In a statement after the drug program announcement, Philpott said combining the negotiating power of the federal, provincial and territorial governments achieves greater savings for all publicly fund-ed drug programs, increases access to drug-treatment options and improves the consistency of pricing across Canada.

Federal health plans provide drug benefits to First Nations and Inuit,

the RCMP, the Canadian Forces, vet-erans, federal inmates and refugee protection claimants, totalling $630 million in drug-related spending in 2014.

The pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance has completed more than 89 negotiations on brand-name drugs and price reductions on 14 generic drugs, producing a savings of more than $490 million annually.

B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake said the federal government’s partici-pation greatly enhances the strength and purchasing power of the alliance.

“That’s what we want,” he said. “The more the merrier. They have a number of drug plans they can bring on board and increase our bargaining power significantly.”

PHILPOTT

SYRIA

Besieged residents sell off gold for food Extremists have blockaded government-held areas of Deir el-Zour for over a year; many are slowly starving

ZEINA KARAM AND PHILIP ISSA

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIRUT — In Syria’s eastern city of Deir el-Zour, supplies are running so short that desperate residents are selling their gold, valuables and even their homes for food or an exit permit allowing them to escape a siege by both government troops and Islamic State militants.

The extremists have blockaded government-held areas of the city for over a year, and some of its 200,000 residents are slowly starving — while troops and militias supporting President Bashar Assad exploit their suffering.

While international attention was focused recently on Madaya — a rebel-held town surrounded by pro-Assad troops near the capital of Damascus — the United Nations and aid agencies say another catastrophe is unfolding in Deir el-Zour.

The civil war has transformed a once oil-rich city into a place where even something as simple as mak-ing tea is a struggle, according to residents who have fled, because of severe shortages of food, water and fuel.

Many people live on bread and water — and there are long waits for both. Taps are shut off for days at a time, and the water that flows out for only a few hours is brackish. The city hasn’t had electricity for over 10 months, with little fuel available for generators and water pumps.

The UN warned last week that liv-ing conditions have deteriorated sig-nificantly in Deir el-Zour. Students are frequently absent from school because of malnutrition.

The only remaining civilian hospi-tal needs drugs and other supplies, as well as staff.

Unverified reports cited up to 20 malnutrition deaths, the UN said in its report. But Ali al-Rahbi, spokes-man for the Justice for Life Observ-

atory for Deir el-Zour, said his group documented 27 deaths.

The Islamic State group surrounds Deir el-Zour and won’t let people and supplies in by land; the Syrian government, which controls part of the city and its airport, won’t allow supplies to be brought in by air or let its people out.

The city, about 450 kilometres northeast of Damascus, is divided roughly along the Euphrates River, with the Islamic State group on the eastern side and the Syrian govern-ment on the western side, although IS controls some territory on the western bank as well.

Deir el-Zour is the largest of about 15 besieged communities in Syria, cutting off about 400,000 people from aid. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said both the Syrian gov-ernment and the rebels are commit-ting war crimes by deliberately starv-

ing civilians. Reports of starvation in Madaya prompted an international outcry, and two aid convoys last week delivered humanitarian aid to civil-ians there.

So far, no such aid is forthcoming to Deir el-Zour.

The city recently has been the focus of renewed efforts by Islamic State militants to retake it. An offensive over the weekend captured new areas from government forces, killing over 250 troops and civilians, and captur-ing hundreds.

The offensive “is putting thousands of people in the line of fire,” said UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.

How the city came to be under such a punishing siege from both sides only makes sense in the per-verse circumstances of Syria’s civil war, now in its fifth year.

Deir el-Zour lies near the Iraqi bor-der, deep in Islamic State territory,

but the government has been able to defend its military airport on the outskirts, allowing it to maintain its city’s fortifications. It also controls four large neighbourhoods that are home to many internally displaced people, including women and children.

Because the airport is so close to the front line, only helicopters have been able to land there since Sep-tember, the UN’s Haq said.

The government troops in the city are regularly reinforced and supported by Russian and Syrian air power. Rather than fight them, the IS militants imposed a blockade in January 2015.

Residents say the siege grew worse in March when the government stopped anyone from leaving Deir el-Zour without permission.

IS has prevented people from entering government-held areas, but

a few months ago, it began allowing people to leave for other IS-held areas, although it subjected them to interrogation and harassment — and in some cases, it confiscated their documents.

The extremists then closed that window, banning anyone from leaving.

Residents say the government has its own reasons for maintaining the siege-within-a-siege and carefully controlling the flow of goods and people through the military airport: The residents have effectively becomehuman shields against an IS attack. In addition, the government can extract money from them by raising the price of food or taking huge bribes in return for permits to leave.

Many residents wonder if an IS takeover would bring much-needed supplies of food.

Last week, Russia dropped 22 metric tons of relief supplies into Deir el-Zour, but activists said gov-ernment-affiliated vehicles immedi-ately moved in. Alhamad said secur-ity forces collected all the supplies to sell them at the market for the prices they wanted.

A resident who identified himselfas Bahaa said he lost more than 14 kilograms during 11 months in the city and escaped in November to Gazientep in southern Turkey weigh-ing only 55 kilograms.

“My health now is much better than it was, but I’m still suffering psychologically. A lot,” he said by phone.

The man, who did not give his real name because he feared for reprisals against relatives left behind, said he paid 250,000 Syrian pounds (over $600) in bribes to receive permission to fly out.

It was too expensive to bring his whole family.

“We sold our gold” to raise the money for the bribes, he said. “Other families have sold their homes.”

This picture released on July 13, 2015 by the Rased News Network shows Islamic State militants firing weapons during a

battle against Syrian government forces in Deir el-Zour province. [RASED NEWS NETWORK VIA AP]

Who is responsible for food selection in your family? In many households, it is the

children who seem to be in charge. This starts when children tell their parents that they do not like a certainfood. Instead of offering that food again, it is crossed off the family dinner list. One by one, healthy foods come off the list. Before long, meal planning becomes a nightmare.

Parents call me when their child will only eat wieners and macaroni. When asked why the child is only given wieners and macaroni, it is because they won’t eat anything else. Unfortunately, the child would be better off not eating any food for a few days than to keep giving the unhealthy foods.

Watching what other children eat will influence food choices for children. Parents notice that their children will eat fruit, vegetables and even fish at daycare but they would not eat them at home. When this is the case, the issue is not about food preference anymore. It is about control.

From a very early age, children like to be in control. Parents want the food on the table to be in the child. Some parents will offer only foods that they know the child will eat. Soon the child will not like those foods either. They will eat fewer and fewer foods because they know that the parent will go to any length to offer something that they will eat.

A child needs to try a food at least twenty times before they know whether they like it or not. If you only offer what they like, you deprive them of the opportunity to learn to like other foods. For toddlers, if they dislike the food at 10 a.m. they will like it again by noon.

It is the parents’ job to offer healthy foods to their child. Once youhave done that, it is the child’s job to eat or not to eat that food. Do not feelguilty if they do not eat, it is not your job to get them to eat. Once you have put the food in front of them, your job is finished.

Once children learn that the parentis in charge of what is served, and they have a choice to eat or not to eat, children relax and enjoy their meals. Children actually like to have limits set for them and they like to know what to expect at mealtime. This is why they often eat so well at daycare.

Parents! It is time for you to take back control of the menu. You decide what healthy foods to serve to your family. You will be surprised how wellchildren eat when you limit their choice to what the family is having.

EileenBennewith

NutritionNotes

25 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2016nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily

An eternal classic food and beverage combination has, and will always be, cheese and wine. Done right, it is heaven in your

mouth, done wrong, it can be the clash of the Titans.

As you already know, cheeses vary greatly in flavour, texture, fat and moisture content. Wines also vary in acidity, sweetness, body and struc-ture and with a few basic guidelines, you can create a match made in heaven.

Paula Maddison from Gabriola Island is so passionate about making cheese that she teaches numerous classes on the subject. We are not only fortunate that she is a local that uses the demonstration kitchen at Lucky’s Liquor Store at Country Club Mall in Nanaimo to teach, but this also works out quite well since the staff are also very passionate about wine. This way, the guests enjoy the magic of trying their own cheese paired with the perfect wine.

Paula’s next ‘edutainment’ evening is Jan. 26, wherein she will teach the art of fondue and how to make Gruyere at home.

Here is how you too can perfectly pair mouthwatering wine and cheese combinations.

Cheese lies along a continuum from fresh through hard–aged. Young cheese is moist and creamy. As cheese ages the moisture evaporates, leaving behind fat and protein.

Fats and proteins are a perfect vehicle for flavour. Age concen-trates flavour, and depending on the method of aging, can impart nutty, pungent, earthy and funky tastes and smells to the cheese.

Likewise wine starts out young and

fresh with lively aromas and bright flavours and, as wine ages, it develops notes of earth, toast, minerals, umami, and more.

With this bit of knowledge under our belts we can see that young cheese should pair well with juicy,

fresh and fruity wines. Some exam-ples would be; dry rose’s, crisp whites like Sauvignon Blanc, lively Pinot Noirs or almost anything sparkling. Young cheeses include Chevre, Moz-zarella, Brie and Bucheron.

Older cheese tastes better with older wines. Bolder, more complex wines will not be overpowered by a complex cheese Try Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon with mature cheeses like Asiago, Aged Cheddar, Manchego and Comte.

Softer reds like Shiraz and Malbec pair well with the mid range aged cheese like Gruyere, Havarti and young Cheddar.

As with any guidelines there will always be exceptions. In this case stinky cheese needs to be paired with a demure wine. This way the wine will not compete but rather compli-ment. For example one would pair a potent chunk of Morbier with a fresh and fruity Gewurztraminer.

Blue cheese is altogether another exception, best paired with Port, sherry or dessert wines.

There are a couple of wines that will partner broadly with a wide range of cheese. The noble Reisling has a perfect balance of acidity, sweetness and mineral backbone to compliment or contrast most cheese. Sparkling wines also work well. Their ample acidity and toasty aro-mas compliment cheeses from fresh through aged.

Pairing wine and cheese by flavour intensity, keeping in mind those exceptions, will bring about a taste experience that has been lauded through the ages.

LynetteBurns

The LuckyGourmet

» Lynette Burns is the managing leader for Lucky’s Liquor store in Nanaimo. She can be reached at 250-585-2275.

» Eileen Bennewith is a registered dietitian in the public health program for Island Health. She can be reached at [email protected].

When children plan the menu

Wine and cheese off er up an eternally compatible combo

Wine and cheese make for a perfect pairing.

FOOD

Poor weather will keep produce prices highTHE CANADIAN PRESS

MONTREAL — Canadians can expect high prices for produce to last at least several more weeks as a result of the weak loonie and weather issues in crop-growing areas, one of the country’s largest grocery chains said Monday.

In addition to the adverse impact of the lower Canadian dollar, flooding caused by El-Nino have contribut-ed to supply shortages and price increases on produce from California and Mexico, said Claude Tessier, president of Sobeys Quebec.

“From what we hear the situation is going to be for the next three weeks and then we’ll see how things evolve (along) the west coast,” Tessi-er said after Sobey’s CEO Marc Pou-lin spoke to the Canadian Club.

The company, which also operates banners such as IGA, Safeway and FreshCo, is struggling to deal with the worst situation in 30 years by trying to import fresh food from other growing areas such as Florida,

Morocco and Spain, Tessier said.Cauliflower and grapes have been

harder to access, with just 20 per cent of the normal delivery of some goods being shipped to stores, he said.

Restaurants that feature cauli-flower have had to adjust by raising prices or using alternatives like squash since the cost for a case of the cruciferous vegetable has more than doubled to as much as $60.

Sobey’s is also turning more to local suppliers for items like pota-toes, carrots and onions.

Since the challenges only acceler-ated after the holiday season, it’s not yet clear if consumers are substitut-ing by buying cheaper alternatives.

“We’re not seeing a blowback in terms of purchasing,” Tessier said.

“For sure the consumer in general

is more cautious about the prices and it’s been like that for a couple of years.”

Meanwhile, the price of other food is also rising, according to the University of Guelph’s Food Institute.

It has said meat rose five per cent last year and is expected to increase up to 4.5 per cent in 2016; fish and seafood could rise by up to three per cent, and dairy, eggs and grains could see a two per cent increase.

Fruit and vegetable prices could increase up to 4.5 per cent for some items this year after having risen between 9.1 and 10.1 per cent last year.

Prices are even higher in northern and remote communities, making it even harder for poorer Canadians to healthy diets.

“We’re not seeing a blowback in terms of purchasing. For sure the consumer in general is more cautious about the prices and it’s been like that for a couple of years.”

Claude Tessier, Sobeys Quebec president

(perfect romantic retreat food!), but it will scale up no problem (for when romance leads to a gaggle of kiddos!). And here’s a bonus: You can save time by making the batter in advance and leaving it overnight in the refrigerator. Just add a couple tablespoons of extra milk and about 15 seconds extra cooking time.

I like to use a mix of almond flour or coconut flour to add filling fibre, protein and satisfying fat, plus just a little regu-lar flour (either all-purpose flour or any gluten-free 1-for-1 substitute) for a fluffy texture.

Note that coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid, so you may have to add extra liquid depending on how much coconut flour you use. But somehow eating a muffin with a spoon makes the recipe more forgiving, so feel free to branch out and make this your own.

COCONUT-CINNAMON ROLL MICROWAVE MUG MUFFIN

Start to finish: 5 minutesServings: 22 tablespoons almond flour (meal)1 tablespoon coconut flour2 tablespoons quinoa flour (or other

gluten-free substitute or all-purpose flour)

2 tablespoons packed dark brown sug-ar, plus 1 teaspoon

3/4 teaspoon baking powderPinch kosher salt1 egg1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted (or

neutral oil)1/4 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt1/4 cup milk1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract2 teaspoons low-fat cream cheeseCinnamon, to garnishIn a medium bowl, whisk together

the almond flour, coconut flour, quinoa flour, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the egg,

oil, yogurt, milk and vanilla, then whisk until well mixed.

Coat two eight-ounce mugs with cooking spray. Spoon a heaping table-spoon of batter into each mug. Top each with one teaspoon of the cream cheese and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Divide the remaining batter among the 2 mugs. Sprinkle with cinnamon and the remain-ing teaspoon of brown sugar. One at a time, microwave on high for about one minute 15 seconds, or until the muffin is dry on top (timing will vary by microwave). Let cool a few minutes before eating.

Nutrition information per serving: 290 calories; 150 calories from fat (52 per cent of total calories); 17 g fat (9 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 120 mg cholesterol; 410 mg sodium; 27 g carbohydrate; 2 g fibre; 19 g sugar; 9 g protein.

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RECIPE

Easy to enjoy a microwaved mug muffi nMELISSA D’ARABIAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

I’m not sure how it happened, but the microwave mug muffin is suddenly an Internet sensation. I’m a believer in making muffins in large batches and freezing, so I admit I’ve only taken interest in the individually-made microwave version recently.

My kids love to eat anything from a cup (ever since my moth-

er-in-law gifted our entire family personalized photo mugs), so I decided to give it a go. Turns out, mug muffins are a perfect warm-ing treat for our family’s “fun Friday” breakfast! Try my coco-nut-cinnamon roll muffin this week. And by the way, if you mix 1/4 cup of unsweetened dark cocoa powder into the batter and leave out the cinnamon, the results will be dessert-worthy.

I make the batter in a small

bowl, then pour into a mug coated with cooking spray, which means you miss out on that cool viral-video moment of mixing every-thing up in the actual mug before it heads off to cook. But those vid-eos are really sped up, and actually there are a lot of ingredients that have to get poured into a cup to make just one muffin (and what about making more than one?). So, a bowl it is.

My recipe is for two muffins

Coconut cinnamon roll microwave mug

muffins are a perfect warming treat for a

family breakfast. [AP PHOTO]

» Food Network star Melissa d’Arabian is an expert on healthy eating on a budget. She is the author of the cook-book, “Supermarket Healthy.” http://www.melissadarabian.net

ETHICS

University study touting fi rm’s

chocolate milk put into question

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — A study by the Univer-sity of Maryland touting the benefits of a small company’s chocolate milk is raising concerns about the potential conflicts-of-interest that can arise when food makers collaborate with schools on such efforts.

Late last month, the university fired off a press release declaring that a prelim-inary study showed that Fifth Quarter Fresh’s milk helped improve the cognitive and motor functions of high school foot-ball players, even after suffering concus-sions. The announcement raised red flags because the details of the full study were not made available.

The focus on a specific product also seemed to underscore the problems that can arise with research involving commercial entities. Although collab-orations with food and beverage makers are not unusual in the academic world, some health advocates say they come with inherent conflicts-of-interest that can contribute to public confusion about

nutrition. Now, the University of Mary-land says it is launching a review into the release of the preliminary results and dis-tancing itself from the press release.

Pat O’Shea, vice-president of research at the University of Maryland, said in a phone interview Thursday that people should not rely on the results conveyed in the release, since they haven’t been through the proper scientific review.

“We value our reputation and we value the advice we give to the public, and I believe this is not characteristic of what a leading, respected university should do,” he said.

O’Shea said the review’s goal is not to determine the validity of the study results, but why they were published without proper vetting.

The study about Fifth Quarter Fresh was funded through a university program intended to boost Maryland’s economy by connecting local businesses with researchers. The Maryland Industrial Partnerships’ studies are subject to the same standards as the university’s other research, the school said.

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ENTERTAINMENT

Who exactly is defending Bill Cosby?THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA — At his only criminal court appearance to date, aging TV icon Bill Cosby stumbled past a scrum of photographers while two lawyers held him up on either side, walking him into a suburban Philadel-phia courtroom.

The attorneys hired to defend Cosby in the sex-assault case are a study in contrasts:

— Outsider Monique Pressley, a lawyer-turned-TV legal analyst with side jobs as a pastor, motiva-tional speaker and radio host, who got a taste of the limelight as a law student, posing a question about race in the O.J. Simpson trial on CNN’s Larry King Live.

— Insider Brian McM-onagle, a revered local criminal lawyer whose past clients include mobsters, rappers, athletes and — in a case with some parallels to Cosby’s — the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia during the searing priest-pedophile scandal.

“He takes a very, very aggressive posture, but does it in a diplomatic and smooth fashion. It’s almost like an iron fist in a velvet glove. He is a strong advocate for his client, but can break tension with a quip or a joke,” said fellow Philadelphia criminal lawyer William J. Brennan. “Mr. Cosby is lucky to have him.”

McMonagle, 57, is expected to lead the defence arguments inside the courtroom when Cos-by, 78, returns to court Feb. 2 in a crucial bid to have the case dismissed. He will attack the 12-year delay to file charges, the use of Cosby’s deposition from accuser Andrea Con-stand’s civil case, and the government’s plan to call other accusers to show a pattern of behaviour.

But Pressley will be the lawyer people see on TV in their living rooms.

Pressley, 45, was plucked from relative obscurity to lead the sprawling flock of lawyers Cosby has deployed to fight sex-as-sault and defamation battles in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Cali-fornia, involving some of the dozens of women who accuse him of drugging

and molesting them. After stints as both a prosecutor and public defender in Washington, D.C., she was doing TV commentary on the case when she impressed someone in the Cosby camp last fall.

“She’s got his confi-dence,” said celebrity defence lawyer Mark Geragos. “Obviously, you can’t diminish the fact that you would want a female on the defence team. You’re going to have female after female coming up and accusing him. ... And race is always a subtext in the criminal justice system.”

Pressley, who is black, could boost Cosby’s battered standing in the black community. McM-onagle, who is white, may play to jurors in mostly white Montgomery County.

Pressley has taken to the airwaves to blast accusers who come forward dec-ades later to “persecute” someone. And she dis-missed an FBI study that found only a tiny fraction of rape accusations are proved false.

“How many people of influence and means have been the victims of extortion attempts? How many women — and men — have been willing to offer up their bodies on a casting couch?” she asked in a Huffington Post Live interview that earned raves for her poise under fire.

Constand, now 42, went to police in 2005 to report that Cosby had drugged and violated her a year earlier at his home near Philadelphia. Cosby called the contact consensual.

McMonagle will argue that a former prosecu-tor made a deal that Cosby would never be prosecuted and could therefore testify, without invoking his right not to incriminate himself, in Constand’s later civil suit.

COSBY

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www.nanaimodailynews.com @NanaimoDaily WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 201628 DIVERSIONS

ADVICE

Don’t worry if your sweethearts are a bit fl abby

Dear Annie: I read your column every day, and I’ve been finding myself feeling sorrier and sorrier for women in their 40s and 50s. So many letters are about men who can’t anymore and women who don’t

want to anymore. The message seems to be that sex has to end the minute a woman hits menopause. And that’s absolutely not true!

Last week, I had lunch with two women who have been my friends since high school. We are all in our early 70s, and every one of us agreed: Sex has been better in the last 15 years than ever before. We’re not working now, so we can stay in bed and cuddle for hours if we want. There are no kids at home, so we can “take a nap” with our honeys without the slightest embarrassment.

Come on, women! So our bodies don’t look as awesome as they used

to. So our sweethearts are a bit flabby. If two people love each other, they should still enjoy giving and taking pleasure. And, take it from us three women, you’ll look years younger with that glow in your cheeks and that sparkle in your eyes.

— Three Sexy Old Broads in Vermont

Dear Vermont: Whatever they are putting in the water up there, you ought to bottle it. Bless you for point-ing out that loving someone makes the effort worthwhile.

Dear Annie: You must know that for every letter that you get, you only hear half of the story. I read the letter

from “Wife on the Outside,” who said her husband talks to his mother nega-tively about her. I hope that my wife reads that and follows your advice to go to counselling.

I am a loving husband and father, and tired of accusations of disloyalty. I love my wife. When my mother asks me how she’s doing and my answer is, “She is very unhappy,” I am not being disloyal. I am being truthful. But my wife doesn’t like it.

My wife drinks a lot of wine in the evening. When she is no longer sober, she becomes nasty to the point where she is unbearable. She refused to go for counselling, so I went alone.

My counsellor recommended that I attend Al-Anon, and I plan to go back soon. My wife does not consider herself an alcoholic. If there is any way you can help convince her to get counselling, I would be very grateful.

— Suffering HusbandDear Suffering: Your wife didn’t

write to us, and we are unlikely to convince her of anything, since she is unwilling to admit she has a problem. If you need to talk to someone, go back to your counsellor. Second, we hope you will return to Al-Anon meet-ings and learn the limits of what you can do in this situation and how you can help yourself cope.

Kathy Mitchell & Marcy SugarAnnie’s Mailbox

Documents

Nanaimo Daily News, January 20, 2016