Library budget debate continues
Powell River Public Library is unlikely to receive its full funding request from City of Powell River.
The 2018 city budget includes a $750,000 operating grant for the library, which has requested approximately $800,000, creating a shortfall.
Finance committee chair and councillor Russell Brewer said every other city department is being forced to hold budgets in order to keep this year’s tax increase to two per cent, and it has to be fair across the board.
Brewer said the city cannot afford the library’s full request.
Judge dismisses coal case
A federal court decision has opened the way for shipping United States coal to Asia. The judgment was handed down on January 15 in favour of Vancouver Fraser Port Authority's proposed Surrey Docks facility.
The case has been in legal limbo for four years while community groups, first nations and civic governments argued against the port’s authority to approve the terminal.
At one point, LafargeHolcim’s Texada Island operation was under consideration to be the transfer station for coal brought up from the Lower Mainland by barge and then onto ships bound for the Asian market.
The provincial government had also approved a major coal terminal expansion on Texada to store and offload the coal. The Texada option was rejected when Vancouver Fraser Port Authority approved the facility.
The port authority’s approval of the Surrey terminal comes after it concluded the project was unlikely to cause severe environmental impacts.
