Editor's Note -- this weekly Quesnel Council news column is written by Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson. He can be reached via email here
This past year was both a challenging and a good one for Quesnel. Challenging in that we continued to see a decline in our forest economy and also that we continued to experience an increase in crime, vagrancy, and other social problems. But, 2019 was also a good year as we saw an unprecedented investment in our community from the Province of British Columbia and we continued to implement our community transition strategy.
The announcement that Tolko was permanently shutting down their Quesnel operations and West Fraser permanently reducing their sawmill by one shift was certainly a stark reminder that all is not well in our traditional economic backbone. On behalf of Quesnel City Council, our best wishes and thoughts go to the workers and their families directly impacted by these decisions and to the contractors and other businesses whose economic livelihood was also negatively impacted.
As a Council we will continue to take advantage of every resource made available to us to assist impacted workers, contractors and businesses while at the same time continue to drive our Future of Forestry Think Tank process in an effort to facilitate the transition of our forest sector to what we believe can be a bright and sustainable future. The provincial government has been a proactive partner in our endeavors and we are using every resource they provide us with as effectively as possible.
This past year also saw Quesnel once again ranked high on the national crime statistics and we experienced even more vagrancy, public consumption of drugs, aggressive panhandling, squatting, and drug related property crime. As I’ve stated before, this is a phenomenon impacting all communities, one that Council is very much alive to and taking every measure available to us to address, with respect to both much needed social supports and law enforcement. We are also focused on this issue as we develop our 2020 budget and will continue to work with agencies like the RCMP, BC Housing, Northern Health, Crown Counsel, and the Provincial Government to find viable solutions to address these complex social issues.
While we were confronted with these serious challenges, we also had a lot of good things going on in the community and a lot of great announcements and investments by the Province.
Early in the year we hosted our first major sports event at our new “hosting precinct” (West Fraser Centre, Curling Rink, Arena 2, and the plaza linking these facilities). The Northern Development Trust investments we made in this precinct enabled us to host a world class curling event that boosted our local economy and showcased Quesnel. A fall event in this area was also a great success (the Ale Trail Dinner), as was the dinner on the walking bridge hosted by our Downtown and West Quesnel Business Associations.
As a result of provincial funding through the Rural Dividend, we saw the development of two new mountain bike trail systems, a new building constructed at Alex Fraser Park, and more resources for our community marketing efforts. The provincial Ministry of Agriculture also provided us with financial support to establish a regional food hub here in Quesnel.
We also celebrated the major announcements of the GR Baker Hospital addition (a new ICU and Emergency Room) and a new Junior School, both of which will see construction start in 2020. Provincial funding is also going into more social housing in the City in addition to the Elliott Street project which is now under construction.
As 2019 closes, Quesnel has much to be thankful for and much to look forward to, notwithstanding the challenges we face as a community in transition.
Council news is now finished for 2019. This column will begin again in mid-January.
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