Good work Tim

Initiatives Prince George, Prince George Tourism Society, etc.

Can anyone provide a list of how many different city funded groups and agencies we have in town? Also, why the heck do we need all of these seperate entities? Could they not just be administered under the City of PG? Is the issue that having them under the roof of the City would make their operations more open to scrutiny and/or accountibility?

I have to wonder just how much duplication is occuring with these various organizations.

NMG you hit the nail on the head. That is exactly the reason. Tourism BC privatized the 'Regional Destination Marketing Organizations' so that they wouldn't be accountable to provincial freedom of information. They spend money padding the 'faverable' media, travel lots, and are accountable for pay scale to private 'stakeholders' who wish for favor in marketing individual businesses at the expense of our abundant and free natural advantages like provincial parks. BC Ferries ditto on the freedom of information and pay scales... ditto for PG Airport... ditto for IPG... BC Transmission... consultants, consultants, consultants, and the list goes on provincially, locally and nationally. Privatize government funded services to private hidden from scrutiny 'organizations' with new 'stakeholders' that they answer to... with tax payers becoming a distant after thought.

Thats democracy in 2010 in Canada....

In my observation the people at IPG works a lot harder than the people over at city hall. So even though it all comes from the same tax basis, splitting this portion away from the city is good idsa. IPG seems to function a lot faster, and does not bog themselves down too much with the red tape aspect.

Keep in mind it was IPG playing a instrumental role in getting Terrasen Gas to set up a call center in Prince George. It may not sound like much but, hey 100 good paying union jobs is something. It still adds 10 million dollars into our economy. Isn't that alone worth them being there.

Think of IPG as the R&D of the City. Without R&D any business will get themselves obsolete. We should be grateful for this establishment to be in our city. They will not be successful in everything that they do, but its better than not trying at all.

When will SOME people learn that PRINCE GEORGE is NOT and NEVER will be a tourist destination? What the hell do we offer up for this purpose? Ther is not camp ground within the city, there is no water slides, there is no fair ground with rides, there are no forts. Most lakes around here are brown with no beaches. These are just a few things that TOURISTS are looking for. Prince George is a gas, food and rest stop for people going elsewhere. It stinks here! There are no architecturally pleasing buildings, it is an ugly industry town with an every shrinking industry. Why not spend this money on putting sidewalks where there are none, fixing the roads and doing things for the people who are still here paying the taxes. But no, we talk about an 11 kilometer trail, paved instead. People will come from miles around to walk this trail. Ya!

Municcs, 20th Century thinking will get nothing but 20th Century results. I am but a long term resident and realized some time ago that we have to think outside the "old" box..........