McBride, B.C. – Three members of the BC Government Rural Caucus will be in McBride and Valemount today to  meet with community and business representatives .

The consultation in McBride will take place at the Village Office at 100 Robson Centre starting at 9 a.m. In addition to hearing from the mayor and councilors, Rural Caucus representatives will take part in discussions on hydro needs, Internet challenges, and agricultural issues.

 

The Valemount meeting will start at 1 this afternoon at the Village Office on Cranberry Lake Rd. Topics of discussion at this meeting will include forestry, education, hydro generation, and the skiing industry. As with the meeting in McBride, Rural Caucus representatives will also hear from the village council. 

 

MLA for the region , Shirley Bond says it has always been important to her to bring as many Cabinet Ministers and MLA’s as possible to the Robson Valley “It’s very helpful when we are looking at projects and influencing government policy. So the Rural Caucus made a trip about a year through the same area, and this is an opportunity for my constituents to talk to colleagues  who have an interest in rural issues.” 

 

She says the information will be taken back to the Premier and the government “It’s about listening, it’s about making sure we understand the issues that are unique to small communities , when I think about some of the challenges facing the Robson Valley in the forest sector, we’re trying to diversify so it’s a chance for us to have our voices heard more clearly by government.”

 

Along with Shirley Bond, the other Rural Caucus members in attendance will be include: Donna Barnett, MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin and the Chair of the Rural Caucus; and John Les, MLA for Chilliwack.

 

The Rural Caucus  follows an economic forum that was held in the Robson Valley earlier this year. That forum identified a needed hydro capacity project which resulted in B.C. Hydro announcing a $50 million dollar hydro capacity upgrade. “Obviously there is still work to do with the independent power producers to bring that program on line” says Bond “ But you know, they came, we worked and we delivered on something as a result of that, so this is a chance once again to have my colleagues understand the unique issues in my part of the province.”