Prince George City Hall.

By Adam Berls

public notices

Klassen, Skakun file controversial notice of motion

May 22, 2025 | 5:23 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — A notice of motion put forward by two Prince George city councillors has garnered a bit attention, regarding the publishing of public notices.

Councillors Trudy Klassen and Brian Skakun have put forward a notice of motion asking that public notice advertising be reinstated in the Prince George Citizen.

The motion states that they would like to “reinstate public notice advertising to the Citizen, for all notices required under the Community Charter, with a budget of up to $100,000 annually, funded from the 2026 communications budget.”

“You can’t really easily find them [public notices]. So I think that’s important. Having said that, our other media of course, is also very important. So, I’m thinking going forward, that I would like to see us take better advantage of our local media as a whole, but I think in particular, our paper of record, which is the Prince George Citizen.” – Councillor Trudy Klassen, City of Prince George

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Cameron Stolz, owner and publisher of the Prince George Citizen, says that he would like public notices to be published in the Citizen, but mentions that the City could choose to shift their advertising budget towards local media instead of American companies, like Meta.

“When it comes to the notices, I think those should be published in The Citizen by all means. I think if we shift that advertising budget that they have currently and shifted towards local media, and that’s, both with Pattison and with Vista, I think that would be a good move from the City of Prince George. Instead of taking that money and giving it to an American company that doesn’t give a crap about what’s going on in Prince George” – Cameron Stolz, Owner & Publisher, Prince George Citizen

Kevin Gemmell, general manager of Pattison Media’s Prince George Division, of which CKPG TV is a part of, says that all mediums available should be used to publish public notices. “Let’s make it easy”, Gemmell says, “Continue to publish them online, make them available in print form at City Hall, and use all the medias and all the mediums in town to reach the audience.”

The notice of motion also mentions that advertising should be reduced on American platforms by 50%, and those funds can be redirected to the Citizen and other Canadian media.”

In regards to the $100,000 budget, Councillor Klassen says that advertising in print is more expensive, and that they are a resource for other media. “I think in large part and I know advertising in, in print media is more expensive usually than other places”, Klassen says. “However, their reach is is widespread. They’re used as a resource for other media, for other media entities.”

The notice of motion also states that “this cost-effective move strengthens council authority” and that a town hall would be held to “explain the return to Citizen advertising, highlighting its archival value and gathering feedback on notice accessibility.”

We reached out to Councillor Brian Skakun to talk about this notice of motion, but was unavailable Thursday. This notice of motion will go before council on June 9.

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X: @AdamBerls

Email: Adam.Berls@pattisonmedia.com