Quarter Million To Be Spent to Promote Beetle Hit Communities

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 01:55 PM

Prince George -Peace River M.P. Jay Hill has announced the federal government will contribute $250,000 dollars towards the production of a film promoting 29 communities hit by the Mountain Pine Beetle.

The program is designed to raise the profile of these communities at the next two Olympic Games.

The money will come from the Mountain Pine Beetle Community Economic Diversification Initiative. The funding will be provided to the Union of British Columbia Municipalities and will also be used for the people to be on hand to promote the films at the two games.

The stories and film will focus on important community assets including a look at history, people, business, sport ,art & culture.

Communities to be promoted are : Prince George, Cache Creek, Ashcroft, Clinton, Lytton, Lillooet, Smithers, Telkwa,
Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, McBride, Valemont, Houston, Mackenzie, Burns Lake, Granisle, Vanderhoof, Fraser Lake, Fort St. James, Quesnel, Wells, Tumbler Ridge, Barkerville, Chetwynd, Hudson Hope, Dawson Creek, Pouce Coupe Hazelton and New Hazelton

Previous Story - Next Story

Email |

Print |

Facebook |

Twitter |

Digg |

Del.icio.us

Posted on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 01:55 PM in News by 250 News

Return to Home

Comments

Posted by: owl on December 19 2007 3:42 PM

Hopefully that is not the only place the film will be shown.

I would assume promotion of such communities should be geared to targeted businesses at various industrial and professional organization conferences and trade shows.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on December 19 2007 4:02 PM

And this is the best way to help people and communities affected by the Pine Beetle??
Exactly how is this supposed help those who lose their jobs or business because of it?
Oh wait...I know!!...maybe a whole new industry can be created to encourage people to come and look at all the DEAD trees during the Olympics!
Bizarre!

Posted by: cwilly on December 19 2007 4:16 PM

The $250M would be better spent trying to come up with innovative ideas on how to make new products with the wood we have, 2X4's just won't cut it anymore. Maybe it's time the industry and government started spending some money on R+D.

Posted by: Death to Socialism on December 19 2007 4:56 PM

WTF?????????

Posted by: Fuzzy on December 19 2007 4:56 PM

29 communities. okay so even at a minute a community that's 29 minutes. If it is shown as the majority of these things are shown as part of a booth at a trade show or display on BC,with the sound at minimum to an audience strolling by.... Probably not going to really generate too much of anything.

but at 250gs it should look good... for the 7 seconds people will look at it before they move on...

Posted by: Andyfreeze on December 19 2007 5:19 PM

I bet somehow,one way or another,they will find a way to get the politicians in the mini-movie and, probably a blurb or two for the Conservatives as well.
Such wise men we have elected!
I am so proud!

Posted by: pisspulper on December 19 2007 5:42 PM

Awesome, cash for promoting tourism For the Mountain Pine Beetle Circle Jerk Tour. I want a window seat!!

Posted by: owl on December 19 2007 5:46 PM

Just think of how much they spent on putting together the media release announcement ..... and this is the reaction they get .....

time to go back to retake that "MEDIA RELEASE 101" course.

;-)

Posted by: trueblue2 on December 19 2007 6:21 PM

Sick, sick sick. Will the government ever take the economic disaster in northern BC seriously?

Posted by: lmorg on December 19 2007 6:50 PM

That money would be better spent dividing it amoungst some needy families whoose main bread earners are or will be out of work.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on December 19 2007 8:39 PM

I wonder if the winners putting this project/crap together ever read this?
If they don't,they sure as hell should,they might learn something!
What is it about economic hardship that governments just don't seem to get?
Too many people who don't really understand what it is like to lose everything you have worked for I guess.
Time to send some emails and hurt some feelings!

Posted by: Palopu on December 19 2007 9:04 PM

Once Politicians get elected, and start getting the big salaries, and perks, plus all the **hangers on** who want to rub shoulders with them, they lose touch with reality.

When Dave Barret became Premier of BC and got the biggest pay cheques that he had ever seen in his life, he was overwhelmed. He bought a new sports jacket, a $100.00 dollar pair of Oxfords (Expensive for the times)and within a year or so put on 40 pounds because of the fine food and drink that was available.

Once you start feeding at the public trough you cannot hear the concerns of the taxpayers over the SNORKLING of the others feeding at the trough.

Posted by: whitewater on December 19 2007 9:06 PM

BC best place on earth..........like those stupid clips on TV....can I burn my tax dollars to stay warm this winter instead?

Posted by: Eagleone on December 19 2007 10:13 PM

This kind of public money is spent 100 fold over for the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island by Tourism BC in their promotional videos, so I see nothing wrong with a small drop in the bucket making its way up North to promote our region. I think this could be a very good thing for this region, although I see no connection to the Olympics other then for the politicians, and would think it should not hing on that as part of the promotional marketing policy.

Posted by: trueblue2 on December 19 2007 11:43 PM

What the heck are we going to promote? Tourism? Tourists going to come here and see the beetle kill, the downed trees?
Even if tourism did take off up here, the economic potential to replace the forest industry just isn't there.

Posted by: owl on December 20 2007 2:44 AM

"I see nothing wrong with a small drop in the bucket making its way up North to promote our region"

Huh????? You mean to tell me this film is being produced by a northern company?

All we weill se as far as money goes will be food and accommodation and car rental dollars. The rest will be given to the film industry in the South. Who knows. maybe even the film industry in Toronto.

And now that the greenback is so cheap, maybe we will send some productions back to California studios.

Actually, there is a filmmaker in Edmonton who does these types of productions and could probably even use some footage of a recent film that he made about the effect of the MPB in this region.

Posted by: northman on December 20 2007 9:30 AM

At 250 grand its going to be a budget film at its finest. The logistics of moving equipment around to these communities will eat alot of that budget witch doesnt leave much to make a half decent production. Aside from that, they need to show it on our national networks like Global,Ctv,and CBC to actually acomplish what they are setting out to do with the film rather then just showing it at olympic venues. And air time costs on these channels is horrendus. Once again we get the lower mainland governments table scraps.

Posted by: owl on December 20 2007 12:49 PM

"Jay Hill has announced the federal government will contribute $250,000 dollars towards the production of a film"

It says "towards the production" not "to produce".

The way it is written I assume the amount they are contributing may be half or a third at best.

Posted by: pisspulper on December 21 2007 6:53 AM

So maybe $500-750K. Either way, Imorgs' idea is better. I'll bet Quebec receives twice that amount to promote their Winter Carnival. Remember who your voting for at election time. Who has forgotten the Northerners? Amazing that for decades we(the forest industry) have provided economical stability and wealth for many many Canadians, including the federel governments coffers. In a time of need, the feds seem not to reciprocate. Yet we send billions$ of aid everywhere else, including billion$ to fight wars and kill our kind, protecting American dignity not ours. I am confused. Politicians are like used car salesman, say one thing, mean another. Wonder which mouthwash they use to get the SH@T taste out?