Mayor Hopes P.G. Will Be Third Time Lucky
By 250 News
Thursday, February 11, 2010 03:59 AM
Prince George, B.C.- Mayor Dan Rogers is hoping that when it comes to the Wood Innovation Centre, Prince George will be “Third time Lucky”.
Just back from a meeting with provincial Finance Minister Colin Hansen, Rogers says he is optimistic the upcoming Provincial budget will offer some details on the financing and construction of the Wood Innovation Centre which has been mentioned in two Throne Speeches and one provincial budget.
Rogers says Hansen was listening to what the Prince George delegation had to say “Clearly it is going to be a tight budget, but we were able to reinforce not only the importance of some projects and strategic investments not only in Prince George but around the region in making sure we invest wisely so there is an economic return. It was a great opportunity for us to make the case for Prince George and Northern B.C.”
Rogers, along with several other reps from the region, huddle with Hansen yesterday morning, one day after the delivery of the Speech from the Throne, which marked the third time the wood innovation centre was promised “Oh, I said I hope third time is lucky. This makes it three times this has bee mentioned and when w heard it mentioned in the Throne Speech that was positive news I’d like to see a time line attached to it. It was also encouraging to hear that it will be in the heart of Prince George, I had to double check the spelling on it, was it in the H-A-R-T or in the h-e-a-r-t? I am assuming that with Council’s focus on downtown we are talking about there, but we continue to encourage the government to get on with it.”
The package presented to Hansen for consideration was the same as one recently delivered to the Federal Finance ministry. It calls for a number of initiatives to make this the “B.C.’s Northern Decade” including the commitment to the highway 37 power corridor, to upgrading the Pine Pass to helping communities with aging infrastructure. “We wanted to impress on the Provincial folks as much as we did at the Federal level that as much as its about strategic investments, it’s also about moving policy. In the Throne Speech we heard a good example of that with ‘one process for one project’. We’ve heard positive response from the Federal government on this push from the provincial government. From my perspective, I want to see some time lines for action on making that happen. We’ve heard some encouraging words from a variety of levels, but I would like to see some significant progress on making that happen within the next 6-12 months.”
The Provincial budget will be delivered on March 2nd.
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Posted by: Denaljo on February 11 2010 5:05 AM