New Initiatives For the North

Community Futures Peace Liard Contribution $10,000.00 to Explore Economic Diversification for Town of Fort Nelson & Regional District

Mayor Chris Morey & Sue Kenny,
Community Futures Peace Liard

Community Futures Peace Liard Board of Directors applauds the Town of Fort Nelson for their proactive approach to the pending CANFOR closures. Community Futures is supporting Fort Nelson through funding 10,000.00 towards hiring a consultant to explore solutions through the newly formed Fort Nelson Round Table for the Future of the Forest Industry in Fort Nelson.

Due to the recent CANFOR announcement of indefinite mill closures Fort Nelson has responded by forming the Fort Nelson Round Table for the Future of the Forest Industry in Fort Nelson.

Purpose and Objectives in the condensed terms of reference this roundtable has identified:

• Adjustments to Tenure frameworks
• Targeted decrease in the dependence on wood commodity sales to the US market
• Maximizing value from the whole forest
• Review of local MOF practices
• Creative solutions to wood waste
• Alternative Energy and Climate Change initiatives
• To identify measurable and common goals that together, stakeholders can achieve to ensure a healthy forest economy in Fort Nelson.
• To provide a united front on common goals where action from higher levels of government is needed to achieve common goals.
• To promote cooperative efforts between stakeholders, in the long term interest of the broader local forest industry.

Fort Nelson is searching for solutions to ease the dependency of CANFOR and the US market. We are certain that with the existing rich resources still out there with the forests and the oil & gas industry that the time is right to plan and expand private business enterprise that will benefit from the value added opportunities that are there for the taking.

Community Futures will Launch The Northeast Regional Community Foundation April 1, 2008

Community Foundations Canada was founded 1992. There are presently over 160 Community Foundations working in communities in Canada. Up until now there has been no Community Foundation in northeastern BC and funding from various sources has gone through the Vancouver Community Foundation to service the northeast.

What is a Community Foundation
• Community Foundations bring together people who care about their communities.
• They are independent;
• Volunteer driven;
• Charitable organizations.
• Community Foundations strengthen their communities by facilitating philanthropy, and by partnering with donors to build permanent endowments and other funds to support community projects by providing leadership on issues of broad community concern.

Role of Community Futures
• Formation of Regional Board of Directors
• Community consultations in all communities in Northeast to assist in formalizing steering committees;
• Complete the application for incorporation and charitable status;
• Assist in fund-raising through industry;
• Provide administration for Regional Community Foundation.
• Look for funding dollars to assist in the developmental costs as well as provide in kind services.
• Community Futures will continue to seek knowledge & best practices through researching other regional community foundations.

What is the make up of the Northeast Regional Community Foundation?

8 Steering Committees
Each community has formed or will form their own steering committee. If a community chooses to form their own foundation the NERCF will create an endowment fund for that community and interest from that fund will be directed to that community annually.

Steering Committee Contacts to date:
John Kurjata, Dawson Creek
Carolyn Golightly, Fort St. John
Darryl Johnson, Hudson Hope
Keir Gervais, Taylor

Northern Development Initiative matching grants 25,000.00
NDI will match up to 25,000.00 in each incorporated community in the Northeast Region for two years. Resulting in 50,000.00 per community over a two year period. Funds can be matched to private or municipal government funds.