BCBUSINESS.CA
NOVEMBER 2015 BCBusiness 25
And yet there has been a
lot of pushback from First
Nations and farmers whose
land Site C threatens. Is
consensus possible?
This is a divisive conversation
in the community still—and
as far as local government is
concerned, we really do
not have the mandate or
authority to aŠect whether
or not this project happens;
the First Nations have a much
greater ability to eŠect change.
Our council took the approach
that Noah may not have been
in favour of the šood, but he
built an ark—and so, through a
"Let's Talk Site C" conversation
with the community, we've
developed a robust foundation
for a Community Measures
Agreement to be negotiated
with BC Hydro.
Speaking of long-term
planning, you've been
serving your city for a
decade. What has that
experience been like?
Unfortunately, just
by virtue of our
DNA,
government moves at
the speed of sloth. We
can't aŠord that in Fort
St. John, so we look for
ideas. We seek partnerships
and open the door to sugges-
tions. We go and learn from
those who have been there. For
example, I've been over to Fort
McMurray and had conversa-
tions with my colleague over
there, Mayor Melissa Blake. We
bring that information home
and look at it through the lens
of Fort St. John.
You were born in Manitoba
and have lived in all four
Western provinces. What is
it about Fort St. John that
you find so appealing?
The open sky of the prairies.
And Northeast B.C., if
you haven't been here,
we are the northern
prairies of Canada. We're
Canada's most northern
agricultural area.
Tell us something
about Fort St. John
that only a local would know.
There's always a second set
of hands available if you need
them. I've never had to change
a tire that I didn't want to
change. Your tire goes šat
on the side of the road, and
someone pulls over and
changes it for you. It's a
growing small city that still
has that hometown feel to it,
where the kids can still walk
to school if they want to, but
it's oŠering opportunities.
There are opportunities
here to kick-start your
career—if you aren't afraid
of a snowšake.
Site C: By the
nUmBerS
COST*
$8.8 billion
COMPLETION*
2025
NO. OF
HOMES IT
COULD
POWER*
450,000
LAND
FLOODED*
55 square
kilometres
*estimates
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pre-pledge-bcbiz-1-2pg-02.pdf 1 2015-09-24 4:53 PM
