the broken typewriter

Rose Prairie water station community meeting & survey

The Peace River Regional District is seeking solutions to provide Rose Prairie residents with safe and reliable drinking water.

The project which began in 2018, has faced a variety of challenges including water quality issues, when biological sulfides reacted with chlorine causing cloudiness and odour; treatment challenges when a temporary portable treatment system was unable to remove hazardous gases, thus leading to a shutdown; and the high cost of drilling for alternate locations.

To date, none of the wells drilled have proven suitable.

The PRRD invites residents of Electoral Area B to participate in an in-person community meeting on March 26, 2025, at the Montney Recreation Hall, located at 12401 256 Road, from 3 to 5 p.m., to provide feedback and discuss options for the next steps in the water station project.

Residents are encouraged to submit questions to the PRRD by email before the meeting.

There is also an online survey, for any residents of Area B who want to provide additional input. Paper copies will be available at the community meeting or can be picked up at the PRRD offices in Fort St. John and Dawson Creek. The survey is open until April 2, 2025.

City confirms cyber incident was ransomware attack

As of this week, most of the City of Fort St. John’s front-facing services have been restored, although the My City Hall portal to pay bills online is still impacted.

The city will provide an update when this service is restored. This delay is for the safety and security of everyone.

In a statement on Wednesday, March 12 the city confirmed that no data was lost due to the incident, and that less than one percent of files were affected. The HR and financial systems were not included in the subset of data that was stolen.

“We continue working with our legal team and relevant authorities to review the impacted files for sensitive personal information. If required, we will follow all protocols required to notify those impacted; however, as of now, we are not expecting personal information to be found in the data,” the statement from Communications Manager Ryan Harvey read.

The city confirms that although this was a ransomware attack, no payment was provided to the unauthorized party.

Treaty 8, City to collaborate on documentary

In commemoration of the signing of Treaty 8 125 years ago, the City of Fort St. John and Treaty 8 Tribal Association have announced that they will collaborate on a 40-minute documentary entitled The Spirit of Treaty 8.

The documentary will explore Treaty 8’s history, significance and lasting impacts. It will capture stories, cultural events and interviews from key First Nations and community leaders from throughout the Treaty 8 Territory.

Treaty 8 Tribal Association has led the documentary’s direction, content and scope, to ensure that Indigenous voices, perspectives and cultural practices are at the heart of the story.

“We are excited to share the story of Treaty 8 with this opportunity to showcase the continuing culture and long history of the Treaty 8 Territory,” said West Moberly First Nations Chief Roland Willson.

Started last year, the project will span two years, allowing filmmakers to capture a wide variety of cultural events and gatherings. Four key geographic locations across Treaty 8 Territory will be featured through the filming and interviews. Screening events are also planned throughout the Territory and the film will be made available digitally, for wider access.

“The City of Fort St. John is honoured to collaborate with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association on this meaningful project, highlighting the legacy and significance of Treaty 8. We are proud to support this initiative and look forward to all Canadians connecting with this vital story,” said Fort St. John Mayor Lilia Hansen.

The Spirit of Treaty 8 will be produced by InnoNative, an Indigenous-owned video production company, founded by Haida director Patrick Shannon. The City of Fort St. John has provided administrative support to the project, which was made possible thanks to funding through the Commemorate Canada Grant from Heritage Canada.

PRRD looking for feedback on Climate Resiliency Plan

The Peace River Regional District has developed a draft Regional Climate Resiliency Plan to assess risks posed by climate-related hazards in the regional district and help prepare for future events.

The draft, which was presented to the Board of Directors on March 6, outlines strategies to improve climate resilience and identifies resources needed to implement the RCRP, and the regional district invites the public to participate in a final round of engagement, before the final plan is presented to the board.

An online survey continues until March 28 at 4:30 p.m. Hard copies of the survey are available at both the Fort St. John and Dawson Creek PRRD offices. Residents are encouraged to review the draft plan before taking the survey.

If anyone has any questions or needs assistance with the survey, please contact the PRRD at 250-784-3200 or by email.