(Questions have been edited for brevity; they are the same questions as asked to the mayoral candidates, which have also been edited, because my questions were long.)
What do you love most about this community?
Dusseault: What I love about this community is its beauty and the feeling of being home. The friendliness of people making me feel welcome.
Gulick: I love that living here has given my family many gifts. From the opportunity to raise my children in a community where they are not anonymous, where their teachers cared because they were or are not one of thousands or even hundreds. I love the area that we live in, and that it has allowed my family to build a business working in the outdoors, someplace my husband would likely live if I would.
Hofman: As the realtors say, “Location, location, location!” I love that we’re surrounded by nature in every direction. I love that I can pick up the kids, do some grocery shopping, get the mail, visit the dollar store and the hardware store, and still be home within an hour. I love that we have a community where my nine year old can safely play outside with her friends. I love that all of the kids have a safe, supportive, inclusive school environment. I love that we have a real community.
Klikach: The people are so friendly in Tumbler, and they love living here.
Noksana: Everything. A few highlights: We have the most community-minded people I’ve ever met. We have small, locally-owned businesses who care and contribute to local events and activities. We have amazing weather (yes, even the winter). Our access to outdoor adventures is endless.
Norbury: It’s hard to narrow it down. There is so much to love about TR. The opportunities here are endless. The people are amazing, the landscape is stunning. I enjoy being able to walk down the street and stop and chat with many people. Tumbler Ridge has brought so much to my family, and my personal and professional life.
What sets you apart as a candidate? Why should people vote for you?
Dusseault: What sets me apart is the time that I have to give to the people and community. Always willing to keep learning and listening while enjoying a coffee.
Gulick: I’m not sure that anything sets me apart as a candidate. I think that most if not all people who choose to run for any type of political office do so because they love where they live and want to contribute to their community, or because they believe they can help, that they have something they can offer to council. I think people should vote for me because I have political experience so I have a general understanding of what falls within a councilor’s purview. I have lived in Tumbler Ridge for 11 years and feel that I have a pretty good understanding of our community, the organizations, the businesses and the pros and cons of living here. I have lived through and been affected by mine shutdowns and understand what those challenges look like.
Hofman: With me, you always know what you get. I will tell you the plain truth, whether it’s about your hot water tank or about the town budget. Just like you can stop me in the grocery to ask about your kitchen sink, you can sit next to me at the pub or the diner and ask about town business. My priorities are making this a town that serves every resident, every organization, and every business.
Klikach: I spent 15 years learning everything I could about Tumbler Ridge and understand what it takes to be a good councillor!
Noksana: My career to date has been serving the TR community as best and often as I can. I’ve gotten to be a part of conversations on a range of topics that have impacted the community, from residents new and established. My family has chosen to stay in TR because we see the potential in the community and truly love the opportunities we have here.
Norbury: I’m a hard worker, and I’m very involved with the community. Willingness to put in the time to investigate issues, talk with community members to approach decisions, and set priorities keeps me in tune and working for the community.
What experience do you have that will inform your work as a council member?
Dusseault: The skills that I bring are: being open and approachable, work as a team player, being able to multi task, holding others accountable for their actions or inaction, problem solver, and knowing that I don’t have all the answers
Gulick: I served the last four years as the school trustee for Tumbler Ridge in SD59. I have also served as a board member on numerous boards here in town, including the Tumbler Ridge Global Geopark, the Tumbler Ridge Museum Foundation, the Tumbler Ridge Chamber of Commerce, as a trustee on the Tumbler Ridge Public Library Board, on the TRE and TRSS Parent Advisory Council, the Tumbler Ridge Youth Services Society and the Tourism Action Committee.
Hofman: I’ve worn a few hats over my career, all of which will inform my work as a council member. As a business analyst, I analyzed the current financial and operational practices of small businesses throughout Western Canada, advising on improvements and finding ways for the business to leverage their capabilities to thrive. As a plumber in a town as small as Tumbler, my reputation is my livelihood – if I do not live up to my word, if I don’t put my best into figuring out and solving my clients’ problems, then I won’t work for long.
Klikach: I understand the process of good governance by applying the Municipal Act, Community Charter, OCP, and Bylaws to make decisions.
Noksana: I have sat on the executive of seven local charities and/or nonprofits in my eight years as a resident. Through this, I have met truly amazing and passionate members of our community. By being able to work with and listen to our residents, I can ensure our community as a whole has a represented voice at our municipal council.
Norbury: I have served as a councilor for the last four years, and before that I attended council meetings for three years to understand the process. I have taken multiple courses on how to search for information, recognize reliable sources, and authority bias. As a councilor its important now, more than ever, to recognize biases in our information sources.
What can be done to revitalize the downtown core?
Dusseault: To revitalize the downtown core I would like to see road lines, more shops, planters maintained, eg: in front of medical centre, and a “what would you like to see?” suggestion box.
Gulick: I believe that this is an ongoing discussion with no perfect answer. There are so many variables to this that there is no one answer. It’s about what comes first: the steady business that proves it is sustainable or a sustainable economy. As a business owner I know that it is not a simple answer and every business owner has its own reasons for locating their business somewhere.
Hofman: The downtown core will revitalize as we continue to grow Tumbler. The latest census shows we’ve added approximately 400 people – 20% growth. If we continue to do that, there will be lots of opportunities in this town, including storefronts being filled. Council should concentrate on growth and on making this community one where, like my wife and I, folks can see themselves here forever after one visit.
Noksana: This will be a significant and important project for our new elected officials. We have amazing businesses operating in our downtown core and will need to work with them to support their needs. However, we also have a lot of empty storefronts. Working with existing businesses to see what their needs are will give insights into barriers for growth in existing and new businesses starting up in our town. I’ve identified this as one of the highest short-term priorities for change.
Norbury: Firstly, getting the sidewalks fixed and re-done. I brought this to council as a capital project in my first couple years in council and it was approved to be done. I appreciate green spaces and parks and I would love to see a rejuvenation of our downtown area to include more natural plants with the inclusion of more seating as it’s a challenge for some people who have mobility issues getting around town.
There are also grants available from the NDIT trust to allow for front facade improvements for buildings which would be great to utilize. When visiting tourist destinations like Whistler or Banff it really adds to the community to have everything of similar design and style.
What are you two highest priorities for change in Tumbler Ridge, for the short term?
Dusseault: Child care and housing for all ages
Gulick: As someone on the outside looking in, I feel that we need to be very transparent as a council with the citizens of Tumbler Ridge and the staff that work for the District of Tumbler Ridge. I also feel that we need to ask the citizens what is important for them to keep them living in Tumbler Ridge and that we need to ask the staff that work for the District of Tumbler Ridge, ALL of the staff, what it looks like for them as employees and where they see possible areas for change that would benefit the district as a whole.
Hofman: My two highest priorities for change in Tumbler Ridge for the short term are resolving the childcare crisis and addressing the high turnover among district staff.
Klikach: Short-Term Priorities: to solve the problems regarding daycare. This has been going on since my arrival in Tumbler; This must be resolved once and for all!!! (We must not interfere with established private daycare operators.) Second-Reduce spending and Debt!!!
Noksana: First is daycare. We won’t be able to grow as a community until our residents have access to safe affordable childcare. We have had, and will continue to have amazing professionals leave Tumbler Ridge solely on the basis that they cannot access child care. Our community is desperate for teachers and nurses and we have had both leave, or take extended periods of time off solely because of access to childcare.
Second is stability for businesses in the downtown core. In between the storefronts of our valued long-time businesses we have a high turnover of small businesses that operate for a few months or maybe a year and shut down. We need to evaluate what is working for the long-standing businesses and look at how we can support newer businesses staying open. We need to support both new and existing businesses fairly to encourage economic success across the board.
Norbury: Childcare and support for our non-profits and volunteer organizations. Childcare is a need for our community to sustain itself and grow. Many of our current residents are having children (as I have had the amazing pleasure of learning with my now 2 year old daughter) and learning about the joy of children is an amazing thing. With that may professionals in our community are unable to find childcare to return to work. Teachers, nurses, tradespeople are all having to make difficult choices: stay home or move to a different town with childcare. People moving to our community are not able to bring their skills and families as we cannot accommodate them.
Our volunteers and non-profit organizations are struggling and burnt out. We need to show support for our volunteers and our non-profit organizations so they can continue to provide services to our community. It’s amazing seeing what a small group of people, or an individual, can bring to our community when they are supported.
What are you two highest priorities for change in Tumbler Ridge, for the long term?
Dusseault: That we are a thriving working community that can sustain itself economically.
Gulick: In a perfect world I would say that I would like to be part of creating an environment where recruitment and retention of health care workers, teachers and early childhood professionals were no longer a worry for our community. Knowing that this has been a long term concern, I would just like to note that I hope some original and unique ideas come along to alleviate some or all of the pressure that members of our community feel due to continuity and consistency in these three important parts of our community.
Hofman: My two highest priorities for change in Tumbler Ridge for the long term are diversifying the economic base of the town and preparing for the possible impacts of climate change, e.g., ensuring stable water and energy supplies.
Klikach: Building and Infrastructure Maintenance.
Noksana: First, stable childcare for future years. We are in a child care crisis now that could have been avoided by longer term planning in the past.
Second: housing for workers and families. We are in a real housing crunch now. This is affecting young families and single income homes more than others, and I want to make sure that not only renters, but also landlords are heard by the council. How can we keep a strong base of rental properties to meet our residents’ needs?
Norbury: Access to reliable healthcare, and economic diversity.
Tumbler has had less service interruptions to healthcare services in comparison to our region because of all the work we’ve done and need to continue it. We currently have a Healthcare needs task force to bring our issues to Northern Health, as well we offer incentives to professionals to come to our community to fill gaps and to our existing professionals to make TR a place they want to stay and live. There are shortages for healthcare professionals across BC and we need to find creative and out of the box ways to recruit these professionals to Tumbler Ridge. From supporting high school graduates with scholarships, meeting with newly graduated healthcare professionals, and advertising for experienced professionals are all ways we should be approaching this issue. We need to continually advocate for our residents to Northern Health, and the Ministry of Health to maintain and increase needed service levels!
If we want to continue to thrive as a community, I think we need steady economic growth, with small local business but larger industry as well. I’m a believer in multi-pronged approaches to developing economic growth. First we need to support smaller scale operations within our town. I would love to see our local home-based businesses thrive on the digital marketplace and within our community. With their success we succeed. Attraction from outside of our community for larger scale businesses should also be attempted to try to bring other industries in our community. Being open for business, having an economic development office, allowing the permitting, building application process quick and simple for business will show them we are willing to do what it takes to be accommodating for their business. Bringing High speed internet to our town will assist business in multiple ways. From allowing businesses access to online marketplaces, allowing for new internet or online based businesses to operate in TR, and to allow for distance workers to move here, or allow our residents to find job opportunities are great ways to diversify our operations in TR.
How does the district balance economic development and environmental sustainability?
Dusseault: Balance economic and development by working with First Nations, forestry, and mines to prioritize equity and diversity for local and new business.
Gulick: This is something that will never be completely agreed on. Honestly, I am not sure. I feel that council would have to decide on a case by case basis and hope that the information provided to would be enough to be able to weigh the pros and cons of both well enough to make an informed decision.
Hofman: This is a far more straightforward question than its often portrayed. You balance them by considering them both, concurrently. This town is 100% founded on mining. There would not be a town without this industry, and the mines invest hugely in Tumbler. That said, the booms and busts have had a huge impact, and will continue to have a huge impact if we don’t diversify. Diversification will also smooth the economic impact of the environmental reality that the mines aren’t infinite. We should also be looking to the future; the windmills are a great start but shouldn’t be the end.
Klikach: Balance Economic development and environmental sustainability by collaborating closely with Stakeholders.
Noksana: Our community already has a great balance of economic development and environmental sustainability. Our biggest industry is a world leader in producing environmentally sustainable coal. Encouraging, educating, and supporting the local and transient companies in town regarding the mindset shift towards ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and reducing carbon emissions impacting climate change will lead us to a greener future. For example, last year Golden Arrow partnered with MCI to trial electric buses which would greatly reduce carbon emissions. What would this mean for electrification infrastructure in town? By executing and promoting an ESG-focused future, the natural landscape and prehistoric history of Tumbler Ridge, we can draw a more diverse group of tourists. Tourism is another huge piece of our economy. Part of our access to many backcountry locations is due to logging roads, and oil and gas wells, which highlights the industrial history of our town. Leveraging the infrastructure already in place will allow us to tap into new tourist potential, which is reliant on environmental sustainability. Keeping an eye on environmental sustainability will be important for new ventures as we continue to expand our tourist potential.
Norbury: I don’t think that’s a simple answer as each economic opportunity needs to be approached individually. What are the benefits and what are the losses or risks? As a municipality we need to recognize our role to play as stewards of the environment, but at the same time we also should be trying to sustain ourselves, and our residents economically. I believe in most situations there is an agreeable balance we can find to allow for economic growth while maintaining environmental sustainability. I have experience with this with the Community Forest. Our forestry efforts provides jobs and funds to support our community. With each cut block we survey the land to ensure we are not disturbing natural habitats, heritage sites, and other environmental issues. After the project is complete, we replant the trees to allow them to grow back and to recover the area we harvested. I think it’s a great example of how to both allow for economic growth and how to return the area back to its previous state over time.
Can we as a community grow our volunteer base, and if so, how?
Dusseault: Volunteers are the back bone to any community that should constantly be treated with great acknowledgment. I don’t see a lot of advertising for volunteers around the town. Not everyone has internet or computers. Also talking with the volunteers to see what they think. Offer more incentives especially for the younger population.
If we can’t get more volunteers to replace the burnt-out volunteers our community will suffer greatly. We need to find ways to get people out. Offer rides to and from. Not everyone has transportation. We cannot afford to loose volunteers and loose the groups they have built.
Gulick: This is a tough question. It is not unique to our community. In my experience there are many reasons that we see less numbers of volunteers. I think that as a community we could grow our volunteer base in small ways, with small steps, and this too would be by working to understand why people have chosen to quit volunteering. I think that often solutions are sought to problems without talking to the folks with “boots on the ground” and finding out what the problems are and if they are something that can be “fixed”.
Hofman: I will admit, I sometimes don’t even know what I’m volunteering for until my wife comes home and tells me that she signed us up. I believe that this is a town with a wonderful community spirit and a heart for volunteerism, but even the most dedicated, civic-minded person will be dissuaded if they are forced to spend all of their energy and time fighting just to preserve what’s been created. Unfortunately, watching my wife and her fellow board members fight for relatively small amounts of money and support for organizations with a huge amount of impact on the community, such as the library and the youth centre, I came to see how easily council can destroy the volunteer heart of a community. That is one of the main issues that motivated me to run for council. However, I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t believe that we could do better and be better. We have a diversity of amazing community organizations and non-profits that make our town a great place to live, and they deserve a council that supports their vision and is willing to put its money – literally – where its mouth is.
Klikach: Volunteering is a dying system of cutting costs and supplying funds for grants in aid and fee-for-services to operate. Everyone is turning to government or corporate grants to cover what they use to earn. Kick it back to the taxpayer!!! We couldn’t get one person interested in joining the Health Centre Foundation, but we did get over $340,000 in grants, including $25,000 from Community Forest.
Noksana: You can’t go anywhere in Tumbler Ridge without seeing the drastic improvements that volunteers have made to our town. Our Hiking and all terrain vehicle access to the backcountry would not be anywhere near as impressive as it is today without dedicated and passionate volunteers. Our childcare center was taken over by a team of volunteer parents when the district decided to no longer run it approx 27 years ago. New infrastructure such as the pump track and fair grounds wouldn’t have happened without volunteers. While I do see a decrease in volunteers in our town (and across the country) I also see the passionate volunteers working in the background of almost every activity that makes this community amazing. While the core base may be smaller, these folks inspire others (such as myself) to do more, be better, and make changes. Continuing to support these organizations and help make newcomers aware of what we have to offer will continue to help bring in more volunteers.
Norbury: As a regular volunteer I know this issue personally and have felt the fatigue and burn-out volunteers feel. The best way to support our volunteers is to help our organizations to find volunteers willing to help out so we can reduce the workload on our current volunteers. We have new people coming into town that want to become a part of our community and the best way to do that is get involved with our clubs and organizations. I like a collaborative approach so creating an volunteer advisory board would be a help to investigate and come up with ways to assist our groups.
As a volunteer, and as a person who works with organizations who need volunteers to operate it has been an ongoing issue for a long time. It’s important to recognize even a small group of people can do amazing things. As a municipality we need to offer support in their efforts to encourage them to keep going and keep adding to our community.
What is the biggest growth area you see for the community economically?
Dusseault: The biggest growth will probably be in tourism, forestry and industry. Also working with First Nations and local businesses.
Gulick: I continue to see tourism as the biggest growth area. Or at least the biggest growth area that we as a municipality had the most autonomy over. I do not see any magic button that will make this happen more quickly or even nudge the needle. We need to show evidence that Tumbler Ridge is a destination, and that the extra time and logistics it takes to get here are worth it.
Hofman: I think the biggest growth opportunity is in remote workers coming to town (you know, like my family). We should be even more active in promoting Tumbler to the rest of BC and Canada, cementing our image as a “live where you play” community. Increasing tourism, of course, goes hand in hand with “building our brand.” We also have to support our local businesses; we simply cannot thrive without them.
We also need to make sure that, when people choose Tumbler, that they can build a life here. They need a place to live; right now, our stock is small, and our rental stock is smaller. As we grow, we’ll need expanded medical infrastructure to support people from birth to death. We’re already a community that cares for everyone in our hearts, but we need to be able to actually care for our residents, without needing to drive to Dawson or Fort St. John or even Prince George.
Klikach: The biggest and only growth area for Tumbler is coal mining. One of the wind power companies wanted to expand recently, and Hydro told them they didn’t want any more wind power. It will take a lot of tourism to make up for the tax base we have today.
Noksana: Conuma has taken huge strides to show us a company that remains stable even in an unstable market, however, reliance on one industry is not sustainable for the town. Tourism provides a stable opportunity for diversified growth, without impeding the success of existing industries.
Tourism is the biggest area where we could see significant growth and a major impact to the economy. This needs to be done in a way that protects the natural beauty surrounding us for future generations. We can leverage our existing infrastructure with the natural beauty of the town to increase our potential in this area.
One action we can take in the short term is revisiting the caribou closures. We absolutely need to protect the dwindling caribou herds, however, the current backcountry closures need to be carefully considered and renegotiated with the province, by imploring that the province engage in meaningful conversation with all stakeholders. There is huge potential upside to opening this back up in a sustainable way.
Norbury: I think housing is a potential growth area. We have affordable land and a willingness to develop new areas of town. As housing becomes scarcer, we will need to develop multiple types of houses and housing options for people. From developing larger lots (up to five acres), to single floor housing for seniors, low-income housing, rental housing, multi family units, single family units and more, are all things we should be looking at how to attract developers and investors. As a municipality there are multiple ways to incentivize these developments. Reduction or rezoning, allowing building permits, permissive tax exemptions are all ways we can reduce the red tape for development.
Close behind I think getting wired high speed fiber internet is vital to our community. Working from home, having online based businesses is a way of the future and we should try to be competitive for our residents and potential residents looking to relocate.
What has the District being excelling at?
Dusseault: The district has been excelling by expanding the Geo-Global park, partnering with Northern Lights College for trade programs and creating diversity.
Gulick: I feel the District has done a pretty good job investing money and being mindful of the town’s savings. It has done a great job working in a pandemic, so many uncertainties with ever changing information and rules. To my knowledge it has been pretty great at managing the important infrastructures that run our community, and I mean clean water coming out of my taps, snow clearing that is above and beyond any other community I have lived in or visited, recycling, pretty good roads (yes I know there are a few that need work), and I this is just a small list. We have a pretty great town.
Hofman: Tumbler’s story is one of resilience, of endurance, and of plain old dogged determination. While the paths that have brought us to Tumbler are diverse, this is a community of folks who know how to look hard times in the eye and overcome. The district has done an amazing job of surviving, even when things looked bleak. However, the time has come for us to not just survive but thrive.
Noksana: Our district has amazing facilities, especially for a town our size. We also have a public works department who has roads and sidewalks being cleared within hours of any major snowfall. These are two things that set us miles ahead of other towns and cities in our region.
We’ve been successful at making new residents aware of what our town offers and how to be involved. The fall fair, community registration, and the local newspaper are all ways many of the nonprofits I’m involved with have found “new recruits”. These networks and their outcomes are signs of a healthy, vibrant, community.
Norbury: Our services in Tumbler Ridge are amazing for a community our size. In our Community Centre we have been praised for our library, our swimming, pool, gym, ice rink and curling rink. We get regular accolades for our skate park, pump track, and golf course. Our trails and recreation sites are well developed and maintained by dedicated volunteers and members. These are all great things our community has to offer its residents and it can be proud of the community we have built.
The community excels at being friendly and welcoming. No other place I’ve been makes you feel as welcome or is as friendly as Tumbler Ridge is. I’m always happy to tell people where I’m from and to come visit because we have it all.
What is your vision for Tumbler Ridge in 30 years?
Dusseault: Will I still be here in 30 years? Lol. I would like to see Tumbler Ridge in 30 years being economically and environmentally thriving and still have that small town feel with our amazing playground outside our back door.
Gulick: 30 years is a long time in the future. I think about the changes I have seen in my almost 52 years of life and the thought of 30 years in the future is staggering to me as I type, frankly. I would hope that we could stay a smaller community with access to an amazing outdoor adventure experience just around the corner or out our back door. I would hope that we could continue to have a diverse population, young growing families with a strong retirement community that mixes well. I hope industry still has a big role in our community as it does currently, and that the town council would continue to encourage that with any industry that comes to town. If I were to be part of town council my goal would be to stay humble and curious. I have been fortunate in my life to have been part of a variety of jobs, I have lived in three different communities, and raised a family and I would use those experiences to try and make the best choices I could to create and sustain a community that I would like to live and raise a family in.
Hofman: Being in my 40s, I hope in 30 years, I’ll be retired here in Tumbler, watching my kids building lives and my grandkids growing up here. While my ambition for Tumbler in 30 years is, well, ambitious, small vision never accomplished great things. I see Tumbler Ridge in 30 years as a thriving mountain destination, for those who choose to live here and those who choose to visit. I envision a mix of remote workers, artists and creatives, tradespeople, small businesses (both local and remote), district employees, and yes, a thriving resource sector, creating a healthy, interdependent economy that can weather whatever storms may come. I imagine a diverse population – perhaps up to the original vision of 10,000 Canadians, new and old, investing their time, energy and, hokey though it may sound, love into a true community.
Klikach: I will help all Councillors with their 30-year vision.
Noksana: My vision for TR in 30 years is to keep our small town feel where kids can walk or bike to school alone and independent businesses flourish, while continuing to grow and welcome visitors from afar. This includes: An engaged community with events such as the fall fair and youth sports successfully operating with the work involved in planning and execution spread between a diverse group of volunteers. By making community organizations a priority, the council will help highlight the importance and impact of these groups.
A growing population that supports local businesses and organizations. By focusing on day care and health care services, we will help TR remain a great place to live, raise a family, and retire.
Moving from a one industry town to diversifying into tourism and other ventures, with people from across Canada and the larger world seeing TR as a top destination for outdoor adventure and geological interest.
Norbury: I don’t have an idea on how big the community will be in 30 years. A part of me would enjoy some of the things a larger community has, but I also like how close we are as a smaller community. I think community size and growth is a natural process we allow to happen and to be ready for it when opportunity arises. We should plan and prepare for potential growth but also plan and save for a decline.
As a councilor I believe it is our job to do multiple things: build connections within our community. Between government and organizations, between organizations and people, and between people and government. We all need to be working together to bring ourselves forward, and the best way we can do that is all together in an informed collaborative approach.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
