Prince George, B.C.- It has been ten years since the BC Natural Resource Forum first appeared in Prince George and it makes  a return today.  

 

It started   as a opportunity to bring together different natural resource players in a networking forum so they could share issues and concerns .  When it first started, the forum was all about forestry with a small contingent for energy and mining.  Minister of Jobs Tourism and Skills Development, Pat Bell says times have changed “Here we are today,  energy and mining are substantial parts of the whole forum”. In fact, the forum kicks off this morning with a keynote address from the President of Canadian Spectra Energy on the LNG opportunity.

 

The forums have produced different issues and at least one controversial headline each year says Bell “I remember the first one produced a headline ‘Victoria, We Have A Problem’, that was David Emerson. It was when he was CEO of Canfor and he believed there needed to be substantial changes in Government policy.”   Bell says those controversial headlines have been the signature of the forum “It is not a managed political forum where we only want good news. We want the reality of what’s going on out there, that’s why you invite controversial speakers.”

 

He says what’s really important to note over this decade of natural resource forums, is the diversification of the Prince George economy. “If you go out to places like Finning, or if you go to Northern Steel, or if you go to WolfTek, what you’re going to find is a significant chunk of the business they do is not forestry related. It’s related to mining, it’s related to the natural gas industry and they are all substantially larger than they were ten years ago.” He says while the forum can’t take credit for the success of the businesses, he says Prince George’s economy now involves all the natural resource sectors and that reflects the theme the Natural Resource Forum has been expressing since it started.

 

The theme this year, reflects what Bell calls “a very unusual point in time where the economy is shifting from North America and Europe into the Asian marketplace. So there is this massive flow of capital leaving two continents and going to a third. While that capital is flowing, is there an opportunity for us to reach up   to 40 thousand feet and grab some and take it in and take advantage of that shift?” He says that is why this year’s forum has invited  CEO’s whose companies have assets worldwide. The CEO of New Gold is one such person. Bell says it will be interesting to hear from Robert Gallagher on why New Gold chose to invest in British Columbia, and what can be done to capture more investment.

 

Then there is the link between success in business and success in sport. Olympic Gold medallist, Senator  Nancy Green Raine will be the luncheon speaker on Thursday . “I actually think business and athletics have a lot in common” says Bell. “I think you need to be very focused, you need to work out, practice and train and have a good plan, know who your competition is, and think about how you can be better than your competition for that 10 seconds, or 10 minutes, or 10 days, 10 months or 10 years.   I guess I have always believed that sports and business have a lot in common, and this really  is the business of winning , that is what we’re talking about this week.”

 

With the exception of the luncheons, the two day event is free of charge and takes place  at the Civic Centre from from 9:00-4:00 today and tomorrow.