Who’s paying the bills? Surely rent isn’t volunteer run?

Cue the negative comments from the O-250 curmudgeon corner. Here’s a positive story about people actually trying to accomplish something in this region and the pooping pigeons come out to play.

” Here’s a positive story about people actually trying to accomplish something in this region…”

Paid for, of course, by people who can’t afford to give any more. We’re taxed to death as is, time to stop giving money away.

ICS is a local subsidiary of the BC Innovation Council. BCIC is a crown agency of the Province of BC.

As a component of the provincial organization, our Provincial tax dollars would be paying for this. Consider it an investment in increasing the knowledge and skills of people living in this area and trying to improve their working capacity.

There have been many such groups throughout Canada and the provinces individually as well as locally over the decades.

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As far a negative comments go, please do not consider this as a negative comment. It is a factual comment which goes to the real questions which should be asked.

To measure the effectiveness of such groups also is not a negative notion. Such is the reality of the real world. It includes government funded organizations just as much as private businesses. In the case of private businesses, we measure them by supporting them or getting our services and products elsewhere thus causing such businesses to change their operations to try to improve or simply die. Other measurements in the world of private businesses in include the stock market.

There are no such measurements in the public realm. Thus, we ask questions publicly, hold such organizations publicly accountable, and expect information about their organization and programs to be available publicly. To do otherwise would be irresponsible on all our parts.

Isn’t this a temporary office setup for those coming to town who might need short term office facilities as well as office services, and perhaps meeting locales? Perhaps also office space for small upstart companies without the expense of ‘elaborate’ office and office equipment setups.
If this is so, then I would expect rent be charged to the users.
I would also hope that Beat Mode includes a realistic business model.
I don’t think this should be a free-bee for dreamers.

We already have such services run by private businesses. This is government funded. While there is workspace, as I understand it the organization “activates” the environment to potentially join individuals to work collaboratively in a synergist fashion.

BTW, to those who often complain about taxpayers cannot afford this, I often wonder how much tax those individuals actually pay when compared to the benefits they receive from the public purse.

I thought this building was given to UNBC by BMO a few years ago? Why are they not using it? Or, is this a program sponsored by UNBC?

Build it and they will come! We had that with the airport. It will come but it takes time. It is a bit worrying there is only have an interim director, what is the real commitment? Does this mean, when the going gets tough, which they will, everyone leaves. I hope not.

A project like this will take at least a year to make any progress, especially with such a large space. I am glad I am not on the board, this is a big project and a great deal of risk. Hopefully they have a lot of funding, but the funding ultimately comes from the tax payer. If it succeeds, it is a good investment if not, well.

Reply to Duffer
This is the old Royal Bank Building.
The former Bank of Montreal Building is located on the opposite side of the street and is being used by UNBC.

PGGuyy. Build it and they will come, is nothing more that a concept taken from an old movie.

The Airport extended runway was completed in February 2009. So we are talking 7 years ago . By 2015 we were to have thousands of international passengers, and hundreds of wide body cargo and passenger jets flying in and out of the Prince George Airport. What did we actually get so far.?? Nothing??? No international passengers and no cargo jets.

So we could say that we built it and they did not come. This Airport Cargo Concept, with all the bells and whistles has cost us millions and millions of dollars without (as yet) any return on investment.

So the question is. When will they come??? and if they don’t, then what will we do with all the infrastructure we built, that is now being under utilized.

Seems to me that when UNBC moved into the Bank of Montreal building we lost those tax dollars. Are we now going to lose the taxes on the old Royal Bank Building?? Perhaps we get some sort of grant from the Government in lieu of taxes. One would certainly hope so.

Well said . The pooping pigeons don’t save seed for spring planting . They have to have it all , right now and to hell with the future . I suspect they don’t have much of a future . They certainly can’t see one for anyone but their own gizzard . Probably the only taxes they pay are GST/PST .

Ataloss. Better to be a pooping pigeon than a drivel dripper.

Fairly certain there are a series of “Permanent” offices upstairs which house small startups and other tech companies that don’t need a traditional office space. Sigma Six Productions is taking advantage of this. I’m sure they pay some of the rent, so rest easy, .04 cents of your property taxes won’t go to this.

The only things this guy drips are my dividends . That’s called planting ones seed corn . That’s what the city is doing . Seems way to deep a concept for most of you to understand .

“The Airport extended runway was completed in February 2009.”

Of course (almost) nobody could anticipate the worst downtown since the Great Depression in 2008! Very few people have the prediction powers of Nostradamus.

Once a project is underway it is better to take it to completion. Hindsight is always a perfect 20/20. How many people knew just a few weeks ago that crude would be less than 30 bucks and it would take one and a half Canadian dollars to buy one Yankee dollar?

So, the airport extension project became a temporary casualty of global circumstances beyond our control. Hopefully international conditions will change and we will be able to use it as intended!

How many people knew just a few weeks ago that crude would be less than 30 bucks and it would take one and a half Canadian dollars to buy one Yankee dollar ? Answer : Garth Turner and all the folks that read his blog greater fool.ca . That’s who !

Garth who? Never heard of him. But then again my dad says we haven’t seen the worst of this yet and he doesn’t even have a blog ;)

Some people will be bang on with their predictions of the near as well as distant economic future. Some will be wrong.

Those who end some of their posts with “only time will tell” are the ones who hedge their bets with those words. With those words, they will always be correct, whether it is the short term or the long term. ;-)

PVal the most rampant illiteracy in canada is finacial illiteracy . That’s why we are amongst the most indebted nation in the world . It’s so bad that someone like me promoting financial literacy would be vilified . Your dad is right but it’s only going to be bad for those that are unprepared . For those that are prepared it’s going to be harvest time . I see some don’t like my dripping . Btw way drip is an acronym . Dividend Reinvestment plan . Garth Turner is a Canadian hero trying to save you from yourselves .

Ataloss wrote: “the most rampant illiteracy in canada(sic) is finacial(sic) illiteracy”

So true!!!

The other “illiteracy” is the lack of knowledge of what functional illiteracy is. There are far too many who think of illiteracy only in the sense of reading and writing and do not include content knowledge, especially that ever growing knowledge required for today’s day-to-day living.

|Garth Turner. Originally a (Waffle) NDPer, Then a Conservative until they kicked him out of caucus, and then a Liberal. Has (respect) for the Green party. Is in the investment business.

I will give him credit for his ability to make a dollar, however I wouldn’t spend anytime listening to him.

Prince George. You really have to stop using the 2008 recession as an excuse for the failure (at least to this point) of the PG Airport getting any Wide body cargo or passenger business.

Here is one example. 2014 Cathay Pacific starts new cargo route to US using B-747-8F’s.
Route. Hong Kong-Anchorage-Columbus Ohio-New York-Vancouver-Hong Kong.

New route to Mexico.
Route. Honk Kong-Anchorage-Los Angeles-Mexico City-Guadalajara-Anchorage-Hong Kong.

Air passenger traffic at Canadian airports increased 5.4% in 2014, the fifth consecutive increase following the economic slowdown of 2008/2009.

All sectors experienced growth as the domestic sector expanded 4.9% (+3,678,877 passengers) other international traffic was up 7.1% (+1,702,421) and transborder traffic (between Canada and the USA) increased 5.3% (+1,298,442)

The total number of passengers enplaned and deplaned in Canada rose from 104.8 million in 2009 to 130.6 million in 2014, and increase of 24.6%.

The weight of cargo loaded and unloaded at Canadian airports increased 2.7% in 2014 to more than 1.1 million tonnes. Domestic cargo increased 2.8% to 483,296 tonnes. International cargo grew 5.3% to 389,684 tonnes.

So there you have it. Passenger and air cargo increases across the board since 2008/2009 to 2014.

Prince George did get some increases in domestic passengers ie; Prince George to Vancouver or Calgary, other than that NOTHING, NADA, ZILCH.

So I guess the question is **Where’s the beef**.

No more excuses please.

yes that’s right pal . He only has 450 million dollars under management . While you have what ? He has respect for the Green Party because they are mostly logic and little emotion . Handling money requires much more logic than emotion . Ideology must be a manifitation of emotion . Both are really bad for the bottom line .

If money is your lot in life Ataloss then go for it. Personally it doesn’t play a big part in my life.

Lets keep in mind that Donald Trump has lots of money, along with George Bush, and a few others I could mention. So what.

Jimmy Pattison’s money would make Turner look like a pauper. Perhaps you should follow Jimmy for a while and see how he makes a dollar.

The airport seems to be a sore point for being under utilized . PG has become an education hub , ergo , flight school . I bet it would be cheaper to set up in PG as opposed to the the lower main land . The Airbus e-fan would be perfect .

Pal , don and jimmy won’t help you . unlike them Garth and I want to .

Charles is that you… lol.

I can see what Axeman is getting at. A valid concern when it comes to a government funded venture like this. One always has to ask, who benefits, especially if it becomes a subsidized service with not much to show for it.

However, if we all lived on an alien world that had never before seen water, the properties of water, how water flows and gives life, how water can be used as in the true essence of water in its many forms that we have come to know on earth… who would have thought that was all possible just by looking at a hydrogen atom and a oxygen atom… from their chemical properties on their own, how they behave in nature independent of one another… and yet combined two simply forces of nature become givers of the most complex and dynamic force in the universe.

I see this is what the aim of this project is. Is it doable? Sure with the right people, and more importantly the right kind of people and process. Government of the future will have to find ways to drive these kinds of innovation processes forward if we are to stay ahead of our resource scarcity curve that has driven all past civilizations into catastrophic collapse. Are we smart enough to beat that curve is anyone’s guess at this point, but bit by bit by bringing good minds, idea’s, and capital into one place is a good start.

If the whole thing turns into a dud boondoggle at tax payer expense, then I blame those involved and not the concept in general.

There was a flight school program through CNC in partnership with a private flying school located at the airport about 25 years ago. It lasted for about 3 years, if that.

Pilots train starting with small aircraft and then progress to larger ones as they start flying commercially.

Other than taking science courses appropriate to the theoretical background for flying one has to accumulate flying hours to move on to a career with an airline.

Training to fly larger, multi engine airplanes is generally done in simulators as well special schools located close to the home bases of the various airlines. PG is not the home base for any airline.