Prince Rupert, BC – On Wednesday, August 26, 2026, Dr. Laurie Waye, President and CEO; Michael Doyle, Vice-President of Corporate Services and CFO; and Dr. Titi Kunkel, Vice-President of Academic, Students, and International, joined CMTN colleagues at the North Pacific Cannery in Port Edward for Galts’ap Day 2026, our annual team-building event. The name for the day comes from the Sm’algyax term galts’ap which means "community" and reflects the spirit of connection at the heart of this gathering.
As we enter the final stretch of our 2017–2027 CMTN Strategic Plan, we are reflecting on our commitment to becoming the college of choice for experiential, place-based learning. Galts’ap Day gave our employee team an opportunity to embrace that commitment ourselves as we learned the significance of the North Pacific Cannery Historic Site and strengthened connections with one another along the way.
A special thank you to Elders Murray and Louisa Smith, who generously shared their stories and experiences of growing up around the cannery. Their perspectives brought a deeper sense of place and connection to our day.
We'd also like to extend our sincere thanks to Kelli Clifton whose art brought our Galts’ap Day theme to life on t-shirts and more, and to the Galts’ap Day organizing committee, led by Ali McDougall, Indigenous Relations Director, with support from Renee Jordan, Events and Administrative Coordinator; Maggie Ballash, HR Manager; and Kim Quibell, HR Project Coordinator, for all planning the went into this wonderful day.