Mayor Bertrand is one of twenty-one mayors from across the province whose name is on a letter to Premier Horgan, asking for to policies that give resource-based communities a key role in the province’s post-pandemic economic recovery plan.
The letter is attributed to Mayors Lori Ackerman of Fort St. John and Walt Cobb of William’s Lake, and is “approved and supported by” 19 other mayors from across the province, from Surrey’s Doug McCallum to Gary Foster, mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality.
In the letter, dated November 19, the mayors of both rural and urban municipalities praise previous investments in natural resource development, as well as associated construction and transportation needs, and ask for inclusion in future policy discussions.
In September the province announced $1.5 billion for a pandemic economic recovery plan.
The letter is one of support for the strategy, and an expression of a desire to engage.
It proposes five core pillars for getting the province back on it’s feet. First, they ask the premier to move quickly to enable shovel-ready projects to proceed. Second, “send the right messages to international investors to ensure that BC’s most resilient industries can succeed in uncertain global investment conditions.” Thirdly, it advises Horgan to recognize in his economic planning the unique advantage of globally carbon-competitive exports from BC’s resource-based industries. They ask him to put workers and communities first as your government delivers on its campaign commitments, and finally, ensure that any new regulations affecting the ability to deliver on the first four pillars during the pandemic recovery period are considered carefully.
The letter follows:
Congratulations on the strong mandate you have received from British Columbians! We look forward to working with you and your government over the next four years to recover and build back stronger from the pandemic.
As we’ve seen throughout the pandemic, B.C. has undergone a tremendous economic shock. Fortunately, B.C.’s resource industries have been able to persevere during this period. Our mines have continued to operate, the forest sector was able to take advantage of soaring lumber prices during 2020, aquaculture continues to invest and innovate, and four major energy projects have kept British Columbia workers busy building the resource infrastructure of the future.
As mayors of resource-reliant communities all around B.C., both rural and urban, we appreciate the tremendous support you have shown for working people and businesses by supporting foundational investments in natural resources. Energy, forestry and mining — as well as the construction and transportation needs associated with them — are among the resource areas that benefited greatly from your leadership and we know that does not happen by accident.
Over the next four years, supporting responsible natural resource development will continue to be one of the most crucial things that you can do as premier. Four fifths of B.C.’s goods exports are resource products. In some way, every community is a resource community. Even so, being a supporter isn’t always easy and we know that having the backing of direct resource communities like ours does help. Supporting natural resources means ensuring the right policies are in place and including us in those policy discussions.
While you bring together your new cabinet to take on major challenges like the pandemic recovery, presenting an effective response to climate change and the important work of First Nations reconciliation, we, as the mayors of resource-supporting communities around the province, want you to be assured that you will have our support in the work that is ahead.
British Columbia relies on its natural resource product exports as a central pillar of sustaining — and improving — the economic well-being of our five million residents. Through the sale of goods and services to our provincial neighbours, and to other countries throughout the world, the natural resource sector both grows and diversifies the provincial economy. Early evidence strongly supports the view that enabling resource industries to succeed will be equally central in pandemic recovery.
We welcome the opportunity to share with you and your colleagues our thoughts on how the voices of resource communities can be heard around the cabinet table and in your re-elected government’s mandate.
We suggest starting with these core pillars:
• Move quickly to enable shovel-ready projects to proceed;
• Send the right messages to international investors to ensure that B.C.’s most resilient industries can succeed in uncertain global investment conditions;
• Recognize in your economic planning the unique advantage of globally carbon-competitive exports from B.C.’s resource-based industries;
• Put workers and communities first as your government delivers on its campaign commitments;
• Ensure that any new regulations affecting the ability to deliver on the first four pillars during the pandemic recovery period are considered carefully.
In addition to embracing the principles at the heart of economic recovery plans, we also suggest that you look for ways to enshrine them into the mandate letters being prepared for incoming cabinet ministers, so that they remain as an enduring feature of delivering your mandate.
In the meantime, we look forward to stepping up in any way we can to further advance your pandemic recovery leadership.
Yours faithfully,
Mayor Lori Ackerman, Fort St. John;
Mayor Walt Cobb, Williams Lake;
Mayor Andy Adams, Campbell River;
Mayor Allen Courtoreille, Chetwynd;
Mayor Lee Pratt, Cranbrook;
Mayor Dale Bumstead, Dawson Creek;
Mayor Michelle Staples, Duncan;
Mayor Sarrah Storey, Fraser Lake;
Mayor Brad Unger, Gold River;
Mayor Phil Germuth, Kitimat;
Mayor Joan Atkinson, Mackenzie;
Mayor Linda Brown, Merritt;
Mayor Gary Foster, Northern Rockies;
Mayor Brad West, Port Coquitlam;
Mayor Dennis Dugas, Port Hardy;
Mayor Gaby Wickstrom, Port McNeill;
Mayor Lorraine Michetti, Pouce Coupe;
Mayor Doug McCallum, Surrey;
Mayor Rob Fraser, Taylor;
Mayor Carol Leclerc, Terrace;
Mayor Keith Bertrand, Tumbler Ridge
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
