Report from Parliament's Hill - May 29th, 2008

By Prince George - Peace River M.P. Jay Hill

Around the Riding

Two weeks ago, the was plenty of travelling as I  covered 600 km for nine events in five communities in Prince George-Peace River.  And that was just the first three days!

The week continued to bring good news at the North East Native Advancing Society (NENAS) in Fort St. John, where I announced a $2.3-million contribution from the federal government over four years, in partnership with EnCana and Dunne-za Ventures. 

The project, driven by the vision, dedication and enthusiasm of NENAS Executive Director Audrey Sam, will result in 80 local Aboriginal people trained and employed in long-term jobs in the Oil & Gas, Forestry and Construction industries.  This project is all about ‘doing things differently’ through a partnership that matches people with permanent jobs.

A day later and 300 km down the road on the other side of the Rockies, there was more innovation to embrace as the District of Mackenzie continues its efforts to diversify its local economy and create new opportunities to mitigate layoffs in the forest sector.

I was there to announce a $474,000 federal contribution towards the preliminary costing, road surveys and planning for a connector road between Mackenzie and Fort St. James.  Aside from cutting the travel time between the two communities in half, the connector will offer safe, efficient, year-round movement of resources, industrial traffic, and general trade and commerce. 

Both hard-hit towns can benefit from the economic diversification opportunities this road offers, including better access to potential jobs from the proposed Mount Milligan copper-gold mine.

I also sat down with Mayor Stephanie Killam to discuss the latest economic and employment conditions in Mackenzie, as well as the unique circumstances of laid-off Mackenzie residents in terms of accessing employment insurance and training programs.

A visit to the Service Canada/Service BC office in Mackenzie and the College of New Caledonia provided further background information that allowed me to immediately present several new concerns, requests and suggestions to Human Resources & Skills Development Canada.

After heading down the Hart Highway, I returned for the second time to Prince George in four days.  My first stop was to check out progress on the twinning of the Simon Fraser Bridge, to which the federal government contributed $1-million, and then to take a look at water levels on the Fraser River as it threatened to flood part of the city.

We all breathed a collective sigh of relief when that disaster was averted, only to learn upon my return to Ottawa of the devastating inferno at Canfor’s North Central Plywood mill that has left a further 300 residents out of work.

Ice jams, floods, fire … Prince George has had more than its share of adversity over the past several months but as I met with constituents and businesses there, I was once again struck by the gritty determination that will not only see the city through these obstacles but secure it a promising future.

This never-give-up attitude and perseverance that dominates throughout Prince George-Peace River is just one of the reasons I’m proud to call it home!

Email | Print | Facebook | Twitter | Digg | Del.icio.us