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“When I met with the coalition
working group in 100 Mile House last week, hiring a new Social Development
Coordinator was identified as an urgent need,” said Lekstrom. “Today, the government
is responding by announcing that we will provide the funding. This is a good
first step in helping the region develop and take advantage of the lead time we
have while I consider the full strategy.”
The coordinator will assist communities in the region to enhance social response capacity, leadership, and community resilience and to take maximum advantage of regional social assets and resources. The recommendation to hire a coordinator was part of the CCBAC’s mountain pine beetle mitigation strategy, and was included in the executive summary presented to Lekstrom on July 21.
“The full mitigation strategy is almost complete,” said CCBAC chair Donna Barnett. “It must be considered by the province in its entirety, and that will take a little time. Meanwhile, this funding will help the region start addressing the social development aspects of the epidemic, and the Province’s support is very welcome.”
Since 2005, the province has provided $2.75 million to the coalition to prepare a multi-faceted strategy that links regional leadership with potential investments with a social, economic and environmental focus.
Other initiatives to support forestry-dependent communities include working with the federal government to provide $1 billion over 10 years for pine beetle-related initiatives; providing three regional development initiative trusts with $285 million to promote economic growth and create jobs; and the $129 million Community Development Trust.
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contact: |
Ministry of Community Development 250 387-4089 |
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For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
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