Prince George, B.C. – Victoria announced members of the Province’s new Rural Advisory Council this morning.

14 people were chosen from rural areas across the province (from areas with populations of 15,000 people or fewer) and will provide advice in three key areas:

Avenues to support greater rural access to capital
Stronger business development support for rural entrepreneurs and business
Moving forward on the Rural Dividend

They include Tom Hoffman of Williams Lake, Bill Holmberg of Houston, David Pernarowski of Terrace, Gerry Thiessen of Vanderhoof, Rick Thompson of McBride, and Sue Kenny of Dawson Creek.

Donna Barnett, Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Development, will chair the council and says it’s something brand new.

“The Premier recognized the hard work that was done by the three pine beetle coalitions putting together a document asking for a rural advisory council to work on rural issues. Lots of times policies don’t have a rural lens.”

Members are expected to meet on a quarterly basis, with the first meeting being held March 26-27, in Victoria.