Mayor Lyn Hall addresses delegates at FCM in Ottawa – photo submitted

Ottawa, Ontario,- Prince George Mayor Lyn Hall’s address to  delegates  at the Federation  Canadian  Municipalities  convention in Ottawa was  well received.

Speaking on the topic of “Innovative Solutions to Economic Challenges” , Prince George was one of three case studies,  with the P.G. focus on  wood and forest product innovation.  Along with  Paul Lansbergen, Vice President of  the Forest Products Association of Canada, Mayor Hall says  the  forestry  issue  was  of great interest.  “It’s a huge topic, right across the country.”

The Prince George presentation  focused  on the Wood Innovation and Design Centre  and  the City’s Downtown energy system , projects that some were  not  aware  of  “I think some were surprised,  especially  when we talked about the downtown energy system and our connection to Lakeland Mills and how we’re drawing heat off Lakeland  to heat those buildings.  But not  only that,   both I and   the FPAC representative  talked about the Wood Innovation Design Centre and it being one of the first   6 storey wood frame buildings in the country”  he says the WIDC project “gained a lot of interest around the room”.

While not planning to  meet with Federal officials about the softwood  agreement issue, Hall says he has  spoken with Council members from other Canadian communities  which are impacted by the current dispute with the U.S. “We are in close contact with COFI  and in contact with FPAC, It’s clearly a topic of conversation here, with Mayors and Councils  from Quebec, Alberta, B.C., across the country, wherever they have forestry as one of their mainstays.”

Mayor Hall  is  optimistic the  federal government’s aid package rolled out yesterday, will see  dollars flowing  to this region “So there’s $867 million dollars announced  yesterday for that package and I characterized it as  an opportunity for industry to take a look at where  they can utilize those various funds,  and I think there is a chance for us to access that if we get to that point.”

Mayor Hall says there will be discussions with  Federal reps in Ottawa about infrastructure funding, “That’s an important piece for us.”