 |
|
|
By Blair Lekstrom Minister of Community Development Dec. 1, 2008 (594 words) |
A few years back, I had the opportunity to serve my
community as the Mayor of Dawson Creek. It was the year 2000 and I was in
It caught the mayor of Tumbler Ridge off guard, it surprised us both. He didn’t know about this.
Clay is a good friend of mine. He’s no longer the mayor of Tumbler Ridge, but immediately he asked the question “what are we going to do to rebuild our community?” He didn’t take an attitude of defeat. He didn’t listen to the stories in the media about ghost towns. He got together with his community, they came up with a plan and they fought for the future of Tumbler Ridge.
I know that in these troubled economic times, with B.C.
mills and mines hard hit by the global crisis, that many of you in communities
stretching from
As Minister of Community Development and a life long resident of rural BC, I want you to know this government recognizes the importance of its rural communities. Every person I know - that I work with and that I am friends with - understands that we contribute greatly to the economic well-being of this province.
And this government is taking action. Through my ministry, for example, we have assembled a RuralBC Secretariat that will help communities, workers and their families build their communities and diversify their economies.
Through our RuralBC Secretariat, we have assembled a team of regional economic development managers who will be working hand-in-hand with rural communities to help them access provincial and federal funding. We have community transition managers who work with community leaders to develop plans and strategies to steer communities through hard times.
We have launched a new website – www.ruralbc.gov.bc.ca – with a comprehensive list of tools that communities can access to achieve their vision for the future.
We have increased the amount of infrastructure funding available to keep people working and to keep our small businesses strong, while this market cycle works its way through. A further $50-million dollars is being added to the existing $21-million Towns for Tomorrow program to help communities with up to 15,000 people and regional district areas build community priority projects and maintain their quality of life. Another $10 million is being provided through LocalMotion to build walkways and bike paths.
We are working with our federal partners to help speed up and increase the amount of infrastructure funding available through programs like the $272-million community component of the Building Canada fund.
And we are working to provide direct assistance to workers through programs like the $129-million Community Development Trust, a program to assist workers and their families with retirement, tuition and job opportunities.
We will continue working both with you, and for you, to build strong communities, and healthy families for the future. And just like the community of Tumbler Ridge, by fighting for our communities and the lifestyles we value, we will all get through this together.
This government doesn’t believe in taking an “us versus them”, a “rural versus urban” approach, because we know that in this province, we need each other. We are dependent on each other.
As we move forward, I encourage every community to get together to plan for their future. There are a lot of programs available and people who can help communities learn how to use them.
Together, we can build a stronger, brighter future that benefits all British Columbians.
-30-
|
|
||
|
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. |
||
