Port Ed was there too!

Not to be outdone by the front page tales from Mayor Herb Pond of Prince Rupert’s trip south, Port Ed received equal time in the Friday edition of the Daily News, an opportunity to remind their residents that they too were there to ask a few questions.

The Port Ed representatives in attendance at UBCM use their time to quiz provincial officials on the state of two projects close to the heart of Port Ed residents; the local waterlines and the state of affairs at the North Pacific Fishing Village.

The Daily News provided the details as relayed to them by the council delegation upon their return from Victoria.

‘LITTLE’ PORT ED MAKES THE MOST OF UBCM’S BIG STAGE
Municipality uses the gathering of councils to quiz senior politicians
By Patrick Witwicki
The Daily News
Friday, November 3, 2006
Pages one and two

Small communities like Port Edward don’t often get the opportunity to voice their concerns on a grand stage before the province, so whenever the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) takes place, the district of Port Edward goes out of its way to do as much as it can.

Last week, in Victoria was no exception for Port Edward, as the council took the moment to get as much information as they possibly could about situations that directly affect the community.

The two issues at the forefront for Port Edward are the waterlines, and the North Pacific cannery.

For the latter, the North Pacific Fishing Village suffered through one of its toughest tourist seasons ever this past summer following the sinking of the Queen of the North on March 22.

Mayor Dave MacDonald and several of his council members were intent on finding out what could be done to help the tourism destination prior to the 2007 season.

“We met with the Heritage branch, and Patrick Frey (from B. C. Heritage),” said MacDonald. “We were asking about different programs, and whether we could get funding, like for the dock.”

“They don’t have a lot of money, but they gave us suggestions where we could look,”

Those talks also included meetings with John Willow, the director of tourism with Land and Water B. C., regarding economic development and tourism. MacDonald met with the Transportation Minister, with the idea of examining possible future improvements to the road that leads to the Cannery, which currently is quite bumping and could use an upgrade.

But Port Edward was also seeking immediate help with their waterlines, which, according to MacDonald, are in definite need of repair.

“There are new grants out there for waterlines,” he said. “That’s one we were approaching hard, and we met with different people on that subject, it sounds positive on the water thing, but we’ll see what happens with the grants. That’s the one we’re really pushing,”

The North Coast is expecting growth in the near future, especially once the container port officially opens in 2007. With that in mind, MacDonald also met with Glen Thompson regarding crown development “if major industry comes our way,” he said.

That also included meetings with the competitiveness division in regards to skills training, said MacDonald.

“We’re just talking with them to see what can be done, especially with out grads,” he said.

Port Edward also looked at ways the municipality can find additional training for its volunteer fire department.

“Don’t get me wrong, they’re getting trained, but we‘re trying to make it easier for them,” he said.

In addition to specific Port Edward issues, council was also involved in the topic-du-jour: the current mess with EI and welfare, as well as sitting down for various meetings about health issues. “All the issues are the same,” said MacDonald.

Finally, Port Edward also had the chance to sit in along with Prince Rupert in a meeting with Gordon Campbell, about “what’s going on in the North.” he said.

“Port Edward mainly goes for the contact with the ministers,” said MacDonald.

“They’re not going to come to us, so we have to go to them.”