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The North’s best days are still ahead |
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Written by Tim McEwan
Special to The Citizen
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Friday, 25 April 2008 |
Tim McEwan, president and chief executive officer of Initiatives Prince George. (Citizen photo by Brent Braaten)
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PRINCE RUPERTPRINCE GEORGE AIRPORT AUTHORITYLOWER MAINLANDDAWSON CREEKBRITISH COLUMBIANSNORTH
1. AN ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
Communities in central and northern B.C. are experiencing challenging times.
As if the mountain pine beetle epidemic was not bad enough, the dramatic burst of the U.S. housing bubble and a dollar near parity with the U.S. greenback have created serious economic problems.
Yet, amid extremely trying times in the forest industry, there are tentative signs of an economy that is diversifying into oil and gas, mining and light manufacturing.
Prince George is at the centre of an economic transformation and its success is good not only for the North, it's good for the entire province. After all, this part of the province accounts for the lion's share of provincial exports and offers the best prospects for industrial and transportation development. Efficiently moving goods to market is critical for B.C.'s export sector, and our success as a province depends upon greater integration between northern and southern economies.
To make this happen, a concerted focus is required in a number of areas.
First, a commitment to build critical highway infrastructure that will move the central Interior and northern economies to the next level is required.
Upgrading of Highway 97 (the Cariboo Connector) from Cache Creek to Prince George must be accelerated. Safety and technical improvements to Highway 97 to Dawson Creek are urgently needed to level the competitive playing field with Alberta for service industries on the B.C. side of the border, and to open up that resource-rich area to new exploration and investment.
Second, electrification along Highway 37, which is key to opening up the northwest to major mine development, must proceed without further delay.
This project is solidly in the "provincial interest" from the perspective of resource development, and given the recent focus on climate change as a policy priority, the power line would also displace diesel-electric generation.
Third, further federal and provincial funding is required to realize the tremendous air cargo and inter-modal handling opportunities in Prince George and its northern service area.
The National Airport in Prince George is on the cusp of realizing huge opportunities in air cargo handling. Senior governments have been supportive of the Prince George airport's build-out in the past, and continued support is required now and in the future.
Fourth, public policy should recognize that the North is -- by and large -- a carbon economy. Northerners have limited access to transit options, it costs more to heat homes, and current and future industry will be more carbon-intensive than most business activities in the Lower Mainland.
An approach to tax policy that recognizes this fundamental reality is required.
Fifth, business and government must redouble efforts to work with first nations in economic development matters and to expeditiously arrive at workable principles for consultation and accommodation of aboriginal interests.
Finally, investments must continue to be made in top-notch northern university research and teaching, together with college programs that will help create highly skilled and knowledgeable workers, to spur further northern economic and social development.
B.C. is about to realize the dream of hosting the world at the 2010 Olympics and the many benefits this brings by way of infrastructure and facilities for the Lower Mainland and broader marketing benefits for the province as a whole.
There now needs to be a multi-year, bipartisan commitment to strategic infrastructure improvements in central and northern B.C.
The North's best days are still ahead. But a deeper understanding is required that the "northern interest" is also the "provincial interest."
2. ADVANTAGES OF GEOGRAPHY
In the Lower Mainland, people can be forgiven for not spending too much time thinking about B.C.'s northern communities. After all, Vancouver is the province's business and financial centre and Metro Vancouver is home to half of the province's population.
What is important for all British Columbians to understand, however, is that resource-based industries underpin B.C.'s wealth-generating export sector. The revenues earned from B.C.'s forestry, mining and oil and gas sectors are critical to funding provincial health and social programs. In other words, a successful and vibrant northern economy benefits the entire province; particularly as it relates to B.C.'s position as the gateway to the Asia Pacific and the movement of goods.
Conversely, failing to take advantage of opportunities to diversify and expand the northern economy will not just stifle northern initiatives, it will also have a negative impact on the province's overall tax base and the province's ability to provide services its citizens need.
In a province of increasingly congested valley bottoms, Prince George and the surrounding region can serve as the "pressure release valve," particularly when available land in Metro Vancouver is becoming scarce. And at a time when travel times are worsening in the Lower Mainland, Prince George and the North are congestion-free.
Prince George commands many advantages typical of a city five times its size, yet is much less costly. Consider the following:
n Industrial land is affordable and abundant. Most light industrial land costs a mere 10 per cent of what it does in other major centres.
n Air passenger service that is well-connected to other hubs. There are daily non-stop flights from Prince George to Calgary and Vancouver, and to Seattle starting in May.
n Power is an advantage. Industries have ready access to as much clean, green power as their operations require.
n Housing is affordable when compared to Metro Vancouver. The average housing price in Prince George was $417,000 for new and $240,000 for resale in 2007.
n Post-secondary institutions are first rate. The University of Northern British Columbia is near the top of its class in national rankings. The College of New Caledonia offers a full suite of trades and technical programming typical of Lower Mainland institutions.
n And while the province's transportation advantages are often focused on the Lower Mainland, the entire province benefits from recent private and public investments in key infrastructure in northern B.C.
For example, the first container train rolled out of Prince Rupert traveling through Prince George and onto U.S. markets last fall. At the same time, CN Rail made a $20-million investment in an inter-modal handling facility last year, marking the first step towards a larger "inland port" at Prince George.
Meanwhile, the Prince George Airport Authority is extending its main runway to accommodate wide-body cargo and passenger jets, such as Boeing 747s. The Airport also has aggressive plans to attract technical stopovers and air cargo handling opportunities using its location on a circumpolar route between Asian and U.S. destinations.
This is a real advantage when airports elsewhere are increasingly congested. Community and regional interests are working hard -- together -- to build air logistics facilities that will result in new, well-paid, family-supporting jobs.
Larger strategic investments, principally in infrastructure, education and research, are required to move Prince George and the North to the next level of economic development.
We need to do for the North what infrastructure investments have done for the Okanagan and Vancouver Island.
As our province builds on its strategic location as the gateway to the Pacific, opening up the North and tapping into synergies between the southern and northern economies of the province will benefit all British Columbians.
Tim McEwan is president and chief executive officer of Initiatives Prince George, a municipally owned corporation. He can be reached at
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This story also appeared in the Vancouver Sun.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 October 2008 )
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