By: Korie Marshall
Photo submitted
Rural Advisory Council members including local resident Rick Thompson were greeted by Premier Christy Clark, Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson and Parliamentary Secretary Donna Barnett at the Legislature during the council’s inaugural meeting in Victoria on Thursday, April 23rd. The new provincial government council was set up to advocate for rural communities in British Columbia. The Rural Advisory Council will try to bring more capital to rural areas, and to create a “rural dividend” to keep more of the money from ventures like logging and mining in the rural areas where they take place, among other initiatives. Seventy percent the money from BC’s exports comes from rural communities, according to the Northern Development Initiative Trust. The council is made up of 14 members from around the province.
