B.C.-based company Britco, one of the world's largest manufacturers of portable buildings, has signed on to provide trailers for the 2015 Canada Winter Games and will then donate some of them to rural First Nations communities.
Lheidli T'enneh chief Dominic Frederick and Britco president Mike Ridley shared the stage with games officials and the City of Prince George to unveil the donation.
"We are looking forward to assisting the host society in meeting the space and logistics requirements for this exciting sporting and cultural event in Prince George," Ridley said, as he signed on as a sponsor business of the Games.
That commitment, he disclosed, would look a lot like the one Britco had with the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where the company provided temporary buildings and then repurposed 10 of them to rural First Nations communities to use for library space.
"When the Canada Winter Games are finished, four of these buildings will be redesigned and outfitted, including a supply of books, and donated as a Canada Games legacy to the north," Ridley said. Three locations have yet to be disclosed, but the first one will be set up on the Fraser River reserve of the Lheidli T'enneh to augment the schooling spaces already established there.
"We will put it to good use," said Frederick. "We thank you for this and we thank you for signing on with us."
The joint venture between the company and the First Nation is a marketing agreement by which the Lheidli T'enneh will act as a local business agent for Britco in exchange for economic returns.
"The relationship has to go deeper than the commercial face we put on when we do business," Ridley said. "Of course we are in business to make a living, but this is also about youth, literacy, learning, families, building community."
"I have a bit of a man-crush on this company," said CWG director of revenue generation Todd Doherty, listing their close connections to First Nations, skills development and grassroots community. "This [additional legacy arrangement] is another first for the Canada Winter Games."
The partnership covers off the same need that existed for the Vancouver Olympics - weather protection and operations facilities at wintery outdoor venues. But Prince George mayor Shari Green said it also covers another part of the Games mandate.
"These are regional games. This is not just about Prince George, it is also about our many supportive neighbouring communities," she said. "It is amazing to know these buildings will be helping those communities, and that we will have a great new library space on Lheidli territory."
