Two Day Forum Best Yet Says Bell

By 250 News

"I think the forum has matured" those are the words of Prince George North MLA Pat Bell as the two day B.C. Natural Resources Forum came to a close in Prince George.

The forum brings together all facets of the resource industry in the Province and links people with government for discussion.  It is an opportunity for input and ideas.

This year, despite  the -30 degree weather, attendance was very high.   Standing room only for Canfor CEO Jim Shepherd’s morning address,  sold out luncheons for the Premier and Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn,  not to mention high turnout for the industry awards dinner Thursday night.

Now in it’s 5th year, Bell says says  the conference has "come of age" .  "I think people recognize it as a major event to be put on their calendar and there is no question, year 6 is going to be bigger and better yet."

This was the first year  a Federal Cabinet Minister attended, and  with Jay Hill’s recent addition to the Federal Cabinet as a Secretary of State,  it meant two Federal Cabinet Ministers were  in attendance. 

Bell says there is still room to grow "There were a couple of glitches, not anything necessarily that the public would have noticed, but there are some things we can do better" One of the issues is how to  provide more space for the exhibitors. "We sold out  the exhibition space three months ahead this year there are  exhibitors knocking on our door looking for  more space for next  year, and new exhibitors looking  to be involved, so we are going to have to look at our options to see how we can grow this one more time."

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