A provincial government public servant based in Mackenzie is among those who will receive a Premier's Innovation and Excellence Award.
Dave Francis, a district manager resource operations in the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, earned the award in the leadership category for shortening wait times for cutting permits in the District of Mackenzie.
"He successfully streamlined the approval process for issuing wood licenses by placing the onus on forestry professionals to meet standards that allowed his staff to focus their efforts on targeted reviews of projects with the highest environmental or economic risks," the provincial government said in a statement issued Friday.
It took some work with first nations, the forest industry and local government to build support for his ideas but the outcome was a framework that eliminates up to 80 per cent of submissions with a target turnaround of 10 days instead of 40 days.
"In some priority situations permits are issued the same day," the provincial government said.
Francis was also credited for been instrumental in implementing programs that created 100 temporary jobs and provided Employment Insurance bridging for others during the downturn in the forest industry.
Francis is one of five individuals and groups working for the public service in the Interior and Northern B.C. who will receive the award at a celebration in Victoria later this year.
"I would like to congratulate each of these recipients for their contributions," Premier Christy Clark said. "They demonstrate the value of the professional public service. All of them are making a difference in their communities and helping to improve the lives of British Columbian families."
