Capital Report~February 13, 2009
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Premier Campbell and members of VANOC and the IOC welcome Julia Murray, Canada's first ski-cross athlete to compete in 2010, to the podium at the IOC Countdown Celebration at the Richmond Oval.

More Police, Prosecutors, Tougher Laws to Tackle Gangs

The Province will dedicate an additional 168 police officers and 10 prosecutors as part of a comprehensive initiative to strengthen B.C.’s fight against gang and gun violence. Premier Campbell announced a comprehensive, seven-point plan to support ongoing efforts to tackle gang crime that includes:

  • 1. More police officers 2. More prosecutors 3. More jails and secure courts 4. Tougher laws 5. Crackdown on illegal guns 6. Outlaw armoured vehicles and body armour 7. New gang hotline and rewards program.

Click for more information.

Province Begins Countdown to 2010 Games

This week British Columbia marked the one year countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

  • Premier Campbell joined VANOC, IOC, and thousands of people in Whistler Village for the unveiling of the 2010 Olympic Torch.
  • As apart of the countdown celebrations students from across British Columbia will have the opportunity to connect directly with countries around the world through a new Adopt a Country program.

Click to view photo’s of countdown events.

Click for more information on the Adopt a Country Program.

Multi-Organ Transplant Clinic Helps Kids and Parents

A new multi-organ transplant clinic at BC Children’s Hospital, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), is providing access to very specialized access for around 120 B.C. children – and their families – who have had an organ transplant.

  • The clinic provides a new setting and opportunity for more comprehensive care by a specialized, multi-disciplinary team of health professionals for children in British Columbia who have received a solid organ transplant and their families.
  • More than 120 pediatric transplant patients will now receive care in the new clinic. Post-operative pediatric transplant patients account for more than 500 outpatient clinic visits to BC Children’s each year.

Click for more information.

Saturday February 14

Attorney General Wally Oppal will be a guest on CKNW with Roy Green at 11:32am to discuss gang violence and the AG’s visit to Ottawa.

Wednesday February 18

Agriculture and Lands Minister Ron Cantelon will be a guest on A-Channel’s Morning Show at 7:15am to discuss his new appointment.

Thursday February 19

Finance Minister Colin Hansen will be a guest on Shaw’s Voice of BC from 8:00 to 9:00pm to discuss the new budget.

Quotes This Week

"I'm really pleased that the minister worked with us to make that happen. I think that there was an awful lot of work by a lot of people in the community that helped make that happen."
Karen Hamling, Mayor of Nakusp. Arrow Lake News, February 10, 2009. (Commenting on contractors in the Arrow/Boundary areas receiving their pre-filing debt and sureties back from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) after the bankrupcy of Pope & Talbot.)

"What's significant and exciting is that we're really on the final lap, in terms of preparing and organizing for the Games. With one year out, all of our venues are complete and we're getting into the venues, which is huge. I think it's going to be a super-exciting time to see Canada, hopefully, on the podium a lot more than they ever have in the past."
Cathy Priestner, Vancouver 2010’s Head of Sport. Vancouver Sun, February 12, 2009.

"We wanted to bring in design elements that would really represent the Canadian landscape. That was one of the main inspirations ... an object that could have been formed by the wind and drifted snow. As you move from top to bottom, the sweeping forms that you'll see in the torch itself evoke the trails left by a skier as he descends a hill, or skate blades on ice."
Tim Fagen, Lead Designer for the Olympic Torch. Globe and Mail, February 13, 2009. (On the design of the 2010 Olympic torch released this week.)


Did You Know?

  • There are more integrated and joint-forces operations per capita in BC than anywhere else in Canada and B.C.’s Integrated Gang Task Force, consisting of 50 officers, is one of the largest street-level gang task forces ever created in the province.
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  • B.C. is sending a team of fire behavior, planning and operational experts from across the province to Australia to help fight the catastrophic bush-fires.
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