Just Where Is All That Money?
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 @ 3:45 AM
If you look at the proposed mines in central and northern BC, one would think that the economy of the region is at the boiling point and the communities involved are stretched to the limit in trying to accommodate this influx of money.
It hasn’t happened.
At least not to this date and that raises the question of why not? Why are we not seeing the kind of economic activity one would expect from a map of the proposed mines in BC which looks like a pin cushion?
We are not talking millions here either; when you talk about the activity you hear the words a billion here and there. In the Terrace region alone, with the construction of the new hydro line, Rio Tinto, and several mines along highway37, you would expect that the economy would be at full bore.
Yes there is a new hotel planned, the first in several decades, but house prices have remained stable, there is no serious building boom to accommodate the so called demand for workers. So where is it all happening?
Is our work force so mobile in today’s’ world that we will no longer see, communities such as Prince George, Terrace and Kitimat grow with these new developments, or will that work force come from far away, arriving in the region to work and simply returning home on its completion?
Is it in fact a new way that business will be conducted and does it come at an expense to the region where the activity is taking place?
I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s’ opinion.
Comments
I think it is an effort to keep local economies down. EG: Prince George is not a (easy or direct) fly out destination to the oil patch as is Kelowna and others accross the country. Industry and business want to keep the labor rate low so discourage regular scheduled flights to the money.
The entire notion of using major projects report by the province as an indicator of what will happen is erroneous. It is a list of potential projects.
If one were to go over the history of those projectts, any reasonable person would quickly understand that there is a large cpmpnent of projects which either do not go ahead, or may eventually go ahead but not in the period suggested.
Just look at the various projects intended to go ahead with respect to additions to the Coast. They were going to build on the property the Gold’s Gym is on. They did not. One after another they are listed but so far, over more than a 20 and even 30 year period ….. nada.
BTW, here is the way it is listed.
Coast Hotels and Resorts Inc.
Ph: (250) 561-7600 (Prince George City)
Proposed 75 room addition to the Coast Hotelâs existing property.
Status: Proposed Start: ?
Est. Cost ($ million): 15 Finish: ?
First Entry: Dec 2006 Last Update: Sep 2012
First entry 2006 … yeah right…. way before that!!
Prince George Golf and Curling Club Relocation
PG Golf and Curling Club Ph: (250) 561-7600 (Prince George City)
Proposed development of an 18-hole championship golf course, driving
range and clubhouse. Awaiting approval from council.
Status: Proposed Start: ?
Est. Cost ($ million): 15 Finish: ?
First Entry: Dec 2006 Last Update: Dec 2011
Project ID: 1884
Prince George
Performing Arts Centre
City of Prince George Ph: (250) 561-7600 (Prince George City)
Proposed performing arts centre to include an 800 seat theatre, a 250
seat theatre and a multi purpose rehearsal room. Design to meet LEED
Gold standards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
Project will require approval under the Partnerships BC program. Council
has approved a plan to seek funding under the P3 model for public –
private partnership.
Status: On hold Start: ?
Est. Cost ($ million): 43 Finish: ?
First Entry: Dec 2008 Last Update: Sep 2012
This one is listed under “construction started”
Hotel and Condominium Development
Rod McLeod Ph: (250) 561-7614 (Prince George City)
Proposed 12-storey hotel with 150 rooms and 35 executive condos.
Included will be a 5,500 sq ft conference space, spa and restaurant.
Status: Construction started Start: Summer 2012
Est. Cost ($ million): 40 Finish: Late 2013
First Entry: Mar 2012 Last Update: Sep 2012
Project ID: 2965
Lots of people still believe in Santa Claus around here. Anyone who uses that book to promote the vibrant economy of PG and region has shot all their credibility in my eyes.
Every politician and non-elected patsy that feeds off the public trough overhypes potential projects and BS’s the taxpayers that fill their wallets! Will never change.
IPG is the perfect example of using your own money to buy you a pair of rose-colored glasses at quadruple the price.
If travelling for work out town on a rotational basis and given the choice would anyone really live in PG vs Kamloops or Kelowna, doubtful.
Air pollution, unswept streets, dirty boulevards, abundance of pot holes, and crime hardly entice anyone to move to PG.
Yes, the service business sector has not seen any real increase in business either. It is usually one of the first indicators of ‘economic activity’ here.
Prince George certianly needs to change its image. It really wouldnt take much.
Less spending on bloated staff, and less than beneficial projects, and more spent of roads, Blvd’s, and crime as mentioned above would go a long way.
There are people who work in the oil patch but are building new houses in developments in places like Courtney and they fly in and out of Comox. These are great sub divisions, with schools and all the amenities. Nice sub divisions, with good roads, etc;
If you are going to commute then you may as well live outside the greater Vancouver area, Southern Okanogan, or Vancouver Island. When you retire you are all set up.
In fact, there are charter flights from Toronto to the oil patch that do nothing except fly workers to and fro.
So, I would say that Ben is right, in that people are no longer moving to or around the area where they are working, but are establishing a residence where they want to live, and work from that point.
If Prince George wants to be part of this new way of doing business, it has a big selling job ahead of it. At this time I dont beleive that we have the right salesmen.
Bang on Palopu. I think our image and reputation hurts us, not to mention having 6 months per year of winter. It doesn’t appeal to everyone.
The workforce is more mobile. People choose to live in nicer communities with better weather.
Good sales job or not, I think PG’s population will be stagnant for a long time, if not decline.
Even I’ve considered moving south and just maintaining an office here. I only need to be here one day a week to have face to face meetings with clients, and my wife is getting tired of snow. I on the other hand love snow and enjoy winter more than summer, so slight family disagreement on this point. But that said, the other day I helped some senior dig out the entrance to her driveway and I thought, sure don’t want to be doing this in my 70’s, so I might just pull up stakes while the getting is good in the next few years or so and pay someone to man the front desk while I work remotely.
I sure hear a lot about “improving our image”. I actually work quite hard at promoting positive news stories about PG. I don’t deny that there are “negatives”, but odds are, you’ll find thos anywhere you go. I get the impression that there are a lot of people that are “forced” to live here. I also believe that one way to go about “improving our image” is by not continually taking every opportunity to spell out what is “wrong” here. Lets leave that to trash magazines.
Projects like these are incredibly capital intensive and when you hear hundreds of millions and billions thrown around, just remember that includes the cost of equipment, infrastructure and development costs. It’s not all wages, nor will it all result in spinoff to the local economy. Allot of it is just dumped into getting the project ready for production. It’s literally a money pit and just because the project is worth a huge sum of money does not mean that money will be re-distributed locally.
In addition to the points made by others about workers coming from afar, I suspect that these projects are also attracting many employees who USED to work in the forestry industry. In many ways these new projects are likely just filling the gap for the economic activity that is no longer present in forestry. It’s good for the area, but it doesn’t result in growth. It more than likely just keeps things on an even keel to where they were.
As for whether the way way of doing business has a negative impact on the region (with employees coming from afar), I would say that yes, that potential is there. No longer do employees have to live in PG to make the money. They may choose to, but they don’t necessarily HAVE to. There are people out here in the Ottawa area that work in Fort Mac and fly back here when they are not on shift. Business will do what it takes to access to skilled labour and flights are relatively cheap in the grand scheme of things, especially if they can’t find skilled labour locally.
If PG wants to cushion that blow, it needs to improve the community. I’d suggest it also needs cheaper housing. There are places 30 minutes outside of Ottawa where you can get a brand new home for $250K that would rival anything in the new subdivisions in PG. If you are from this area, why would you pack up and move to PG (where you still have to travel to camp), especially if your company is flying you back home every 2 or 3 weeks? You’d be losing money. The same holds true for people in the Maritimes, the Prairies or other parts of Western Canada.
PG may think it’s competitive but when your competition for those types of jobs is becoming small to mid sized communities across the entire country, it’s a whole different situation. Throw in the crime, air quality, the remoteness, etc., and the challenges are even more apparent. It’s a different world and if PG wants to grow, I think it needs to focus on building the economy within or immediately adjacent to the city boundaries first and foremost. Community development also needs to be a priority. Easier said than done!
pro-pg. Writing positive news stories about PG sounds good if you say it fast, but the fact of the matter is, who reads these articles???
Dont think for a moment the PG News is read across Canada. Most people do not know where PG is, and still more do not care.
We need to get this City rolling on our own, by starting up new business’s, and cleaning up the City.
Ive been to a few Cities/Towns in the last couple of months, and I can tell you that they are much cleaner, much better to look at and walk through than Prince George.
We are overtaxed, and under serviced in this City. We cant seem to do the simple basics, like arrest, charge, and incarcerate criminals. Whats the problem??
We have a City that has many many Government workers, many many people receiving Government assistance, and then a small number of people who work for private enterprise, or who are on pensions, that has to pay all the bills.
We seem to struggle with the basics, like garbage disposal, snow clearing, street paving, etc; What the hell is the problem. These services have been with us for 100 years and we still cant seem to get it straight.
PG needs some serious introspection. As it stands right now we are a rudderless ship. The best the Mayor and Council can do is raise bloody taxes, and reduce services.
We keep doing the same things over and over, and getting the same results, and insofar as writing positive stories go, this has been going on for 50 years for all the good it does.
Writing positive stories is yesterdays news.
What we need is **honest** reporting on all the things both good and detrimental that are taking place in Prince George.
As it now stands Prince George is nothing more than a graveyard for **White Elephants**
Have a nice day.
I have a lot of friends that grew up in PG got jobs in the oil patch or at the mines and promptly moved to the Okanogan to commute to work. Its not uncommon to work 21 days in and 7 days home time, so the commute whether to PG or Kelowna isn’t much of an issue.
I think when people see the level of politics in a city like PG they are hesitant to buy in. The rose colored glasses may work on a local population marinated in fluoride, but to outsiders its comical. PG just can’t get it right for the basics and quality of life issues and the tax rates to the city and the gas companies is now at outrageous levels.
We need politicians with a vision and a willingness to make hard decisions and not just baffle us with a kerfuffle of paid consultant reports.
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