Mayor Meets with P.M.
MP Todd Doherty, Mayor Lyn Hall, City Manager Kathleen Soltis meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – photo courtesy City of P.G.
Prince George, B.C.- Mayor of Prince George, Lyn Hall is back from Ottawa, a trip that included an impromptu meeting with Prime Minister Trudeau.
“His first question to me was, ‘what are the things in your community you’re looking at having to do?’ and I talked immediately about infrastructure, both below and above ground infrastructure needs we have in the community.”
Hall says they then talked generally about Prince George. Although there have been no commitments from the Federal Government, Hall says the trip was valuable “It was absolutely valuable to the City, we were able to meet non-stop Monday and Tuesday with MPs we had an opportunity to meet with Parliamentary Secretaries.” One meeting that didn’t happen was a planned session with Veterans Affairs “We were to meet the Minister of Veterans Affairs, but unfortunately he was kept in the House at the time our meeting was scheduled, but we had a great meeting with the Parliamentary Secretary to talk about the reopening of the Veterans Affairs office here in Prince George.”
No time line for that office re-opening has been set, as Hall says all the details will be delivered when the Federal Budget is unveiled.
“We just need to have a presence there, they ( the Federal Government) need to know what Prince George is all about, they need to know what our needs are, and we just need to make sure that they are aware of what’s going on here.” Hall says while the local MPs carry that representation, it’s important the City gives those MPs support ” Hall heaped praise on MP Todd Doherty for landing that meeting with PM Trudeau.
When it comes to infrastructure, Hall says the issues are water, sewer , storm , but there are needs for upgrades to civic facilities, buildings and equipment “That’s where we are trying to get some clarification. We also talked about the Performing Arts Centre and if that would fall within infrastructure, and it will probably fall within the social infrastructure category, but again, we wait to see what kind of funding announcement there will be ( in the Federal Budget) .”
Hall says the message to the City was clear, “We have to be proactive in identifying our priorities, align them to the priorities of government, and then be persistent in making our case.”
Of course, whatever funding may be available, Hall says the cost sharing formula has yet to be defined.
He has come home to Prince George with an idea of bringing together some of the major stakeholders in the community, including those in education, the Lheidli T’enneh and the Airport, and heading back to Ottawa in the fall to build on P.G.’s presence .”Our focus needs to be on Ottawa, our focus needs to be on Victoria” says Hall “There’s nothing better than to be able to support our MPs and our MLAs with our presence in Victoria and Ottawa. The four of them are doing a great job and we need to support their efforts. The presence, the face to face presence of Mayor and representation from across the City is really important and that’s what really hits home as well.”
Although the prime Minister has already been sent an invitation to attend the Bioenergy conference in Prince George in June, Mayor Hall says he extended a personal invitation to the Prime Minister during their brief meeting.
All in all, Hall says the trip was successful “It was a very productive trip; far beyond my expectations.”
Comments
Boy, you must be tired. That’s a long walk, there and back again. Or did you bicycle? Horseback? All would be tiring.
What?
Wait a minute….
You flew?
But….but…but what about your carbon footprint???
Oh, silly me.
You’re part of the elite. CO2 reduction is only for the masses, the serfs, the little people. You’re exempted by your importance.
====================
“We have to be proactive in identifying our priorities”
Yeah, and a performing arts center isn’t one of them.
People take planes to go all over the world. If you have a chance to leave your shell you should take the opportunity to experience this. The elite and the masses can enjoy flying with a company like Air Canada that is taking steps to lower their carbon footprint. Its all about improvements across the board.
Oh I have experienced that. And quite enjoyed it.
But then I don’t preach the global warming gospel.
Those who do should practice what they preach. Is our mayor not aware that he has a telephone in his office? Never heard of conference calls? Skype?
If you believe the global warming doomsday scenario, then act like it.
Well, at least he got a free trip to Ottawa and was able to meet the “Royalty”. Worth for it him and his photo album. For us, I’m not so sure. Unless he, somehow, can convince Ottawa and Victoria that fixing sewers in Prince George benefits Vancouver. Oh…and let me guess…..the PAC was the first priority mentioned out of all the ones he listed.
Damn. …it for…not for it.
A bunch of geniuses downvoted a typo correction. Bravo….(slow clap).
Yes, use any infrastructure money we possibly get to build a PAC.
Well we elected these city officials for 4 years, enjoy
How can anyone be negative about this good news story? Good for you Lyn, and yes, continue to focus on Ottawa and Victoria, those trips will be money well spent every time, and no more trips to China… yahoo!!!
What about our Prime Minister? Imagine that, taking time to personally meet the mayor of our city to ask what our priorities are… makes me feel like the leader of our country actually cares about us at the local level.
Sure is nice to read all these good news stories on 250 today, don’t know why they are not promoting more excited comments and discussion, no opportunity to be negative perhaps? Sunny days everyone, sunny days. :-D
Because some us aren’t so naive to believe that a photo op with the Prime Minister is going to lead to anything useful. Because, if you live long enough, you get to see how politics really work in this country, and you know that most of the money is going to be diverted to Vancouver, the Lower Mainland and Kristy’s riding for political reasons, namely getting re-elected.
Sunny days everyone, sunny day??
Sure, as long as nobody wants to mention that fact that Justin promised a modest deficit!
A modest deficit that grew to 10 Billion or so!
A modest deficit that oh, 20 Billion or so!
A modest deficit that they now hope to cap at 30 Billion or so!!
And now we have economists predicting that Justin and Co. will likely rack up a 90 Billion Dollar deficit over their 4 year mandate!
That’s 90 BILLION DOLLARS! 90 BILLION DEFICIT SPENDING DOLLARS!
$90,000,000,000.00!
Doesn’t sound so bad if you say it really really fast!
Funny thing is, none of you “sunny days’ folks want to mention the NINETY BILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT!
Sunny days! Hardly!
And there are some economists saying oil will hit $150 in 4 months..others saying it will stay low for 5 more years..
Makes me understand you a bit more hart guy when you pick which economists to believe.. They are the weatherman of finances…they all just give their best guess.
I guess Harper was voted out ;). 3 economists still think he won the election :-)
Most of us probably have a friend or two at City Hall. All I’m hearing is that Hall and Soltis are very approachable people and it’s a breath of fresh air to work there.
Glad he went, glad he met the PM.
Now if our city can get to work and make replacing water and sewer lines a priority, I’ll be ecstatic.
They know Hall is a union brother and that their paycheques will continually get bigger regardless of how poor the taxpayers get.
Grizzly2. Your point of replacing water, sewer, etc; is well taken.
We need to ensure that a good portion of any infrastructure money is spent on things that are actually needed.
So the whole infrastructure money file will need to be watched closely to ensure that we get our priorities right.
Like you and Grizzly2 are going to actually have any say in it. lol
Hahaha (Hohoho) (Heeheehee).
How do you know whether or not we are going to have any say in anything???
@Palopu
Considering neither of you work for the City of Prince George, I’d say it is a pretty good bet that neither of you are going to have any influence on where City Council and management spend any of the infrastructure nickels that get tossed their way. If either of you did then you would both be posting with your names and positions on this issue, not pseudonyms.
Right! Priorities, not Pac.
I will give Lyn credit-at least he did not end up in China. Now if we can just get our own government to start spending on our own infrastructure to create employment and not in Vancouver only.
‘impromptu meeting’ is that a fancy name for photo op?
I would describe a meeting as sitting at a table not standing up in an office.
Impromptu meeting. Could it be they bumped into him leaving the washroom.?
Have we gone past the point of no returned with all this spending? What happens when the bills can’t be covered? We can’t count on the gold reserves they are all gone!! Time to reap what has been sown.
The ‘gold reserves’ were a farce anyways. There was never, ever, full backing for the dollar in gold. Anywhere. What will happen with all the deficit spending is that the purchasing power of your dollar is going to shrink, so buy what you can now while you can still afford it if you’ve got the money. Beyond that, we’ll be back on the same old treadmill of prices rising, incomes trying to catch up, and when it looks like they will, prices will just rise again. Prosperity? NOT! Just plain old inflation, with ever more boom and bust cycles, and far more being hit negatively by the busts than positively through the booms.
Before we start replacing aging infrastructure what about installing the services that were promised to the amalgamated areas in exchange for their vote to amalgamate with the city? I apologize if there never really was this promise/agreement but that is the way I remember it. (40 plus years ago?)
I’m sure the PM had to look for Prince George on a map. However being a qualified substitute teacher, it probably only took him an hour or so.
I’m sure he knows where PG is leyroy, he has been here twice. That’s two more times than Harper, and almost as many times as Dick has been in the last 10 years.
Dave,. When was Justin Trudeau in Prince George?? I must have missed him. I remember Pierre being here back in the 60’s and of course we had Mulroney, and John Turner.
Harper was here when he was a member of the Reform Party, and of course Dick has been here for years.
So, where do you get your facts from. Marvel Comic books???
Don’t we all remember when Harper came to PG for the winter games….oh wait he didn’t..why…some feeble excuse of no time.. But he made it to a few NHL hockey games..some sports event in Quebec… But no time for an event that all provinces participate in.. Summed who he was..
As for Trudeau.. He isn’t an arrogant a$$ like Harper and realizes the importance of the USA to us.. He has a long way to rebuild the relationship that Harper ignored.
I wonder if Hall bowed and kissed T2’s ring?
Yup, all about the priorities.
I have absolutely no issue with our Mayor going to the PM with his hand out for some federal money for things that we need. Water/sewer infrastructure are of utmost importance.
The PAC? Really? Were you counting on JT to be sympathetic because he taught drama? The PAC is most definately not a “NEED”, it is merely a “want”. A want that we cannot afford, and cannot yet be shown that it is endorsed by more than a select few in our community.
Please, Mayor and council members, prioritize the “needs” and drop the “wants”. When we find ourselves in a bustling/positive economy, then you can first put the PAC to a civic referendum. Then proceed to venture in that direction, IF you get a consesus of support. Meanwhile, going to the Prime Minister to ask for things that we really need and then throwing in the PAC is laughable.
Kind of like a busker asking for spare change to feed his family, and then also asking for money because he really needs to go see the local production of “Rent”
It is also like making the revitilization of downtown an active priority in order to attract more investment in the City core…. then putting in a new park in that same area for the needle users to shoot up in.
PRIORITIES please! You have the right idea, just need to “filter and focus” before putting into action.
Yes there was a promise of sewer and water made to residents in the rural areas for their vote for amalgamation in the 70s. There was also a promise of a recreational facility to be built in College Heights. No action on either one in 40 some years but we still pay the same taxes as those who have these services.
I thought taxes were based on property values. I’m assuming that areas without services would be less desirable making the property value and taxes lower.
Palopou, do a search man. His last visit was 2013. It’s on opinion 250. You even commented on it. It’s funny how you cons will create your own reality. The worst part is I don’t think you mean to do it you just can’t help your selves. No wonder you guys are always so angry and negative.
Why are the liberal left so angry and insulting all the time?
In 4 years, when Canada is so friggin broke, Kevin Oleary will be voted in . Donald Trump will be president of the USA. We need successful business
men running things. Right now, we are on a crash course. The Liberals have no money to go out and spend tens of billions. Oh? I’m sorry, I’m being negative right? I like to call a spade a spade. This big dinner tonight in the USA? will cost many millions of dollars. Many millions of Canadians and Americans wont even eat a meal tonight. Sorry does the truth hurt?
No, O’Leary won’t be PM in 4 years. Trudeau will be re-elected. Just like Obama, people don’t vote for him for his policies, they don’t care about that.
He’s a rock star PM! Good looking (and nice hair too) good looking wife, that’s the criteria that they care about. He’ll be re-elected, no problem. If it had been a matter of voting for the best candidate, he wouldn’t have come close to winning the first time.
Imagine that. A relatively small town mayor getting a meeting with a Liberal Prime Minister, a meeting that sounds like a rookie Conservative MP had a hand in arranging.
Sure sounds to me like our political system is moving in the right direction from where it had been!
No, Justin does NOT have to look up Prince George on a map! Harper could have looked up the location of PG when he was invited to attend the Canada Winter Games! He gave us the cold shoulder!
Mr. Trudeau was here on a visit just before the election campaign! He got a tour of Prince George, UNBC, other venues and he lunched at a downtown restaurant. I know because I was there too.
Each city submits its requirements for infrastructure money. Money that will be assigned to PG will NOT end up in Vancouver or anywhere else. To say otherwise is wrong and political fear mongering.
What a great day it will be when Kevin (I stomp on you like the cockroach you are) O’Leary becomes leader of the CPC!
Kevin O’Trump and Rona Palin ? Lets hope not.
Aw come on . Wouldn’t you want the cast of Cheers in opposition . It’s really uncanny when one does the comparisons .
Kevin O’Leary will have to stomp on himself then, which would probably be the best thing that could happen to him. I hope the CPC elects him as their leader. Maybe that will cause that rat party to implode like the Republicans are going to when the leadership goes against its own redneck membership and blocks Trump from being their nominee.
Trudeau was in Western Canada in 2013 trying to get elected as the leader of the Liberal Party. So he came to PG. When Harper was in PG he was trying to get elected at the leader of the Alliance Party.
Sooo when it comes to getting votes from constituencies, then politicians can find time to come North. Once in power it is another thing.
I had totally forgotten that Justin had visited our fair City in 2013. Just as I will forget by Monday that he had dinner in Washington.
Sunny days, and sunny ways.
Ha sure pal . I don’t think you are going to be able to pretend that the first thing out of the meeting was a commitment to have a softwood deal in ONE HUNDRED DAYS . And that’s before they even have dinner . How long had Stevie had the softwood deal in his lap ?
Which guy do you think owes PG more ?
So if Lyn goes back to Ottawa in the fall it will be Two times. Now does that mean we will be twinned with Ottawa?
If you mean , sister city , then the obvious target should be Edmonton not Ottawa .
he actually said on the news (CKPG) yesterday taht he wanted to go back and take 10 or so more people with him…must have one fantastic , resident of PG paid holiday.
Well it is a pretty nice place :)
We have 314 boil water advisories in BC right now, and our mayor asks if he can use the money to build a PAC… guess he felt the question needed to be asked as we don’t have any real infrastructure problems that need funding attention.
http://www .watertoday.ca/maptest4.asp?province=2
The immature negative comments you people post on here are getting tiresome and disgusting. Why can’t you find anything positive to say about this good news story about a Mayor and Council that is doing much more for this city than a lot of other ones have? Maybe you’d be happier if he stayed home, and missed the opportunity to promote our City and try to connect with people who may be able to help improve funding to it?
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