The City of Prince George may want to look to the past to find the best way to respond to the shift the forest industry will be going through for the next few years. We need new opportunities for our economy and bold moves to bring them about.
In 2007, as the world began to experience the financial crisis, a group of people led by Northern Development Initiatives Trust (NDIT) decided to look for opportunities to broaden the northern economy. They saw the potential that our region had and built business cases for investing in infrastructure projects which could lead to significant economic development.
One of those recommendations from NDIT which was acted upon by the Provincial Government, involved the electrification of Highway 37. The result of providing electrical power along that corridor was an incredible investment in exploration. That rush of exploration then led to new mines coming online such as Red Chris and Brucejack, with more advancing through various stages of review.
Another was the improvement of Highway 97 through the Pine Pass. It involved the construction of new bridges, passing lanes, and increasing the clearance under the rail overpasses. That business case resulted in the oil and gas sector in the Northeast now sourcing a significant amount of manufacturing supply and support from Prince George instead of Alberta.
The City of Prince George should follow in the footsteps of NDIT and look at creating “Made in Prince George” solutions. There are many different opportunities that Prince George could look at to develop and help diversify our economic base. Mining and refining of critical minerals such as copper and rare earth minerals, building on the production of clean fuels, agriculture, and technology hubs to name but a few.
One of the biggest potentials for our city lies just past Salmon Valley, on the opposite side of the highway from the Hubble Homestead. It’s called Hart North. It has been identified by the Regional District as an ideal site for Major Industry.
It’s Provincial land and sits next to the highway and railway line. For energy, BC Hydro has a substation adjacent to it and there’s a natural gas pipeline close by. As for water, the Fraser River is just four kilometers away. The best part is that an air quality impact study done by the Regional District indicated that this location would have little impact on Prince George.
This makes Hart North a viable and desirable site for any Major Industry.
The next step would be creating a business case for Hart North that explores the costs associated with developing it. It would include a list of prospective industries which would likely be located there with a plan to market it. The key component though would be the involvement of the Lheidli T’enneh. What kind of partnership could be developed between them, the Province, and the City of Prince George to bring this about?
As seen in the Peace Region, the municipalities there have benefitted directly from the Fair Share Agreement with the Province that shares the Major Industry tax revenue. This, along with the high paying union jobs created by Major Industry locating at Hart North would have a significantly positive impact on our city.
This is just one of the great opportunities that we have available. Bold efforts in 2023 can ensure our community has a strong future for decades to come.