By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG
Valemount Council approved a $56,500 contract with Kamloops-based consultancy firm Strategies North at their November 12th meeting. The firm will provide a consultant for the next six months to develop a business recovery plan in the wake of the three-week-long closures of Highway 16 and Highway 93 during the Jasper wildfire.
The position is being funded with money from the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, according to the staff report presented to Council last week. CAO Anne Yanciw was not available to comment on how or when this funding was acquired by presstime.
Village staff contacted four companies which could provide these services. Strategies North was the only company that submitted a proposal. Yanciw told Council the other three companies had too much work to take on Valemount as a client.
The contract with Strategies North would cost $56,500 for six months of services, said Yanciw.
Pearson said he’s glad the position is funded by money from the Province, rather than the Village budget.
“A lot of businesses could use a share of that $56,000, versus having someone come in and tell them how to get [support],” he added.
Torgerson said it has been difficult to determine how to access funding from provincial governments, since the highway closure was caused by a disaster in Alberta.
“We’d never qualify for any current programming, and businesses don’t qualify for any current programming,” he said, adding that it is unclear whether the Alberta or B.C. government would fund Valemount recovery efforts. “Hopefully through Strategies North, we can find some good out-of-the-box thoughts to work with the feds, the province of Alberta, and the province of B.C.”
Yanciw said one senior consultant at Strategies North is a registered federal lobbyist, which made the company an attractive option for a contract.
“They have experience in being able to get some results out of other levels of government, and that experience is what we’re looking for, as opposed to advice to our local businesses,” she said.
According to the federal registry of lobbyists, Strategies North has lobbied for clients such as the Yukon Aboriginal Women’s Council and Takla Nation.
Councillor Hollie Blanchette asked if there is a set timeline for when the recovery manager would begin their position.
“If all the stars align, we may be able to have a contract in place by the end of this week,” Yanciw said. “At this point in time, we’ve been approved for six months… if we can get it in place by the end of this week, that would take us to the middle of May.”
Councillor Hugo Mulyk says he thinks the recovery manager will be useful.
“I can’t wait to get this rolling and see what kind of outcomes they can come up with for us,” he said.
Council moved to approve the $56,500 contract.
