Joint Release of the Community Development Institute, Cities of Quesnel/Williams Lake, Districts of Wells/100 Mile House, Cariboo-Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition and the Cariboo Regional District:
During the Cariboo Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition (CCBAC) Board of Directors meeting on Monday, May 16, the Board approved a request for funding for a collaborative economic diversification and community prosperity initiative headed up by the Cariboo Regional District (CRD). CCBAC will provide $80,000 towards the initiative.
Earlier this year, the CRD formalized a partnership with the Community Development Institute (CDI) from the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) to create a more vibrant and prosperous region. The goal of the project will be to achieve true prosperity, defined as having a strong, diverse and resilient economy with a vibrant cultural and environmental context that offers a lifestyle that attracts and retains residents. The project will support economic & community development strategies for the Central, North and South Cariboo sub-regions, as well as an overarching regional strategy.
Through this initiative, the CDI will work with key stakeholders including businesses, industry representatives, governments, First Nations, and community organizations to realize change and transformation in our communities. Project partners will work to identify and build on sub-regional and regional assets and strengths to create new opportunities and diversify the regional economy.
“We are extremely grateful to the CCBAC Board for supporting this initiative with funding and for recognizing the value of regional collaboration. It will involve this type of partnership and coordinated planning and action, so that real results can be achieved in the short-term,” states CRD Chair Al Richmond. “The long-term objective for this initiative is to build a more diverse economy with healthy, resilient communities.”
“This partnership initiative fits well with CCBAC’s focus on economic renewal in the Cariboo Chilcotin,” said CCBAC Chair and Mayor of Quesnel Bob Simpson. “Economic diversification strategies benefit from collaboration, the integration of multiple perspectives and a way of addressing both local and region-wide opportunities.”
“The CDI would like to thank CCBAC for its support for this project,” states Marleen Morris, Co-Director, Community Development Institute at UNBC. “We look forward to working with communities throughout the region on strategies for economic diversification and growth.”
“The City of Williams Lake is pleased that the CCBAC Board has made this significant investment in the future of our region,” states Williams Lake Mayor Walt Cobb. “This funding will assist in a more collective approach that will support each community in achieving their goals and eliminate duplication or cross-purpose development.”
“We are pleased with the support of CCBAC and the recognition that a philosophy of working together, to be better as a region, is the driver of our future in the Cariboo,” states 100 Mile House Mayor Mitch Campsall. “The financial partnership with our communities and CCBAC can help set the direction for economic diversification in the decades ahead.”
"We would like to thank CCBAC for supporting this project,” says District of Wells Mayor Robin Sharpe. “It will provide lasting benefits for the people of Wells, Barkerville, and Bowron Lake.”
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