B.C. / Alcan Northern Development Fund Bill Approved | Nechako-Kitamaat Development Fund Society

B.C. / Alcan Northern Development Fund Bill Approved
APR 21, 1998

VICTORIA-A bill to establish the B.C./Alcan Northern Development Fund to promote sustainable economic development in northwestern B.C. has been approved by the legislature and now awaits royal assent.

Dan Miller, minister responsible for northern development, and Paul Ramsey, minister responsible for the B.C./Alcan agreement, hailed the passage of the bill.

"The $15-million fund will support investment in new or existing businesses, create jobs or stabilize existing jobs, and support other goals consistent with its mandate for northwestern B.C.," said Miller.

"The fund is a component of the B.C./Alcan agreement signed last August that resolved all legal issues relating to the government's rejection of the Kemano Completion Project in order to protect the Nechako River and its fish stocks," said Ramsey.

"The agreement also provides power for a new aluminum smelter, increased production at the existing smelter, and the establishment of a new environmental enhancement fund," said Ramsey.

Skeena MLA Helmut Giesbrecht said the bill enables the government to share with Alcan in a total contribution of $15 million over three years-1998, 1999 and 2000-to the fund through a special account.

"This special account ensures that all contributions to the fund are recognized and interest earned is retained in the fund," said Giesbrecht.

In early January, the government and Alcan appointed an advisory board to make recommendations, after consulting with residents, on how the fund should be managed and administered.

"This board will make recommendations on the fund's management in terms of immediate priorities and long-range objectives," Miller said.

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Contact: Ben Pires, Communications Manager
Communications (250) 952-0611

Nechako Nordics

To NKDF Board of Directors, I am writing on behalf of the Nechako Nordics to share our Success Story. Our club is the Ski Section of the Nechako Valley Sporting Association in Vanderhoof, BC. We have been active...

~Nechako Nordics

To NKDF Board of Directors,

I am writing on behalf of the Nechako Nordics to share our Success Story.

Our club is the Ski Section of the Nechako Valley Sporting Association in Vanderhoof, BC. We have been active for over 30 years and have produced both elite athletes and many more recreational skiers. Several of our athletes have competed provincially for British Columbia and Canada internationally. It is worthwhile noting that the head official at the 2007 and 2015 Canada Games and the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics for biathlon was from our club.

The Nechako Valley Sporting Association is a nonprofit organization that has received a significant amount of financial support from the Nechako Kitamaat Development fund over the past 14 years including:

Water and Septic Service for our Clubhouse (February 2004): $8,000
Trap Equipment (January 2011): $22,768
Under Ground Lighting for our ski trails) (March 2015): $35,000
Ski S'kool Cross Country Ski Equipment (July 2016): $3,806
Administration and Timing Building (September 2016): $13,500
Ski Terrain Park and Adventure Trail (June 2018): $3,783

That is a total of $86,857!

The NVSA Trail System now has over 11km of trail tracked for classic skiing, over 8km of trail groomed for skate skiing and more than 2km of lit trails for night skiing. All trails are well marked with good signage. The club has a heated day lodge on site, with running water, indoor bathrooms and waxing facilities. We also have good, well maintained grooming and tracking equipment.

With the help of the NKDF we have significantly increased the number of skiers using our facilities in the last several years. In 2018 we had five Bunnies, twenty seven Jackrabbits, six Racers, four Biathletes and 282 school students attend our Ski S’Kool Program. In total there are now more than 450 active recreational skiers in the Vanderhoof area! Lots of happy skiers and lots of good skiing conditions!

This year’s skiing promises to be even more exciting! Over the summer the Nechako Nordics have created a new Terrain Park and Adventure Trail adjacent to our Clubhouse full of humps, bumps and jumps suitable for all young at heart skiers. We are also hosting the TECK Northern Cup #1 cross country ski race on January 19, 2019 and the Biathlon BC Cup #4 on February 1-3, 2019.

These successes would not have been possible without the generous support from the NKDF.

Thank you very much and congratulations on contributing more than 10 million dollars across the investment area. Your support is very much appreciated!

Yours truly,
Richard D. Burkholder, Chairman
Nechako Nordics