Province won’t promise financial support for Valemount businesses
By Spencer Hall
The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR) says it’s working with multiple ministries to support Valemount business recovery in the aftermath of the Jasper wildfire, but stopped short of committing to supplying the $1.5 million required to avoid an economic tailspin for local businesses.
In the fall, the Ministry gave the Village of Valemount funds to hire consulting firm Strategies North to assess business losses and assist with economic recovery efforts, which include lobbying federal and provincial governments for recovery funding.
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson from EMCR said the ministry is working with the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation, The Ministry of Tourism Arts, Culture and Sport and “other partners” to support Valemount as it recovers from the indirect impacts of the Jasper wildfire.
“[The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sport] has asked Destination BC, a Crown Corporation dedicated to marketing our province, to work in partnership with the Village of Valemount, Tourism Valemount, the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, and other regional stakeholders. The goal is to enhance efforts to attract visitors to Valemount and the broader North Thompson area,” EMCR said.
Local government officials travel to Victoria
The statement from EMCR comes after Valemount mayor Owen Torgerson, Village CAO Anne Yanciw, and Simpcw First Nation Chief George Lampreau travelled to Victoria on March 9th to meet with the government and members of the opposition.
In an interview with The Goat, Torgerson stressed the importance of having Lampreau attend, noting that Simpcw First Nation has also faced impacts from the highway closures due to the close relationship between the Village and the First Nation.
“George was very keen to let [the Province] know what’s good for Valemount is good for [Simpcw] territory,” Torgerson said.
During their 11 meetings in Victoria March 10th-12th, the group spoke with Minister of EMCR Kelly Greene, Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs and Economic Development, and previous Minister of EMCR, Bowinn Ma, who now serves as the Minister of Infrastructure.
“I wanted specifically to see Minister Ma, given her previous role and her understanding of what transpired that night and the subsequent weeks,” Torgerson said.
The group also met with Brian Bedford, the executive director for local government infrastructure and finance — a division of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Torgerson said his goal for the meeting was to highlight the restrictions that the Local Government Act and the Community Charter places on a community for business recovery.
The Local Government Act states that municipal governments, such as the Village, are prohibited from providing any assistance to an industrial, commercial or business undertaking, meaning they are unable to provide direct financial assistance to businesses.
To comply with this law, should the Province provide funding, the Village has asked that funds be given to a third party — such as Northern Development Initiative Trust, Columbia Basin Trust or Community Futures — to disperse to businesses.
Torgerson painted a grim picture of what would likely happen to Valemount if funding is not received, noting the fallout would have a compounding effect.
“We’ll start seeing layoffs. If I’m laid off, do I move? Do I go to another community to find work? If I have kids, do I take them with me? Does school enrollment go down? If school enrollment goes down far enough, do schools close? Once we start losing those amenities, do we start losing health care workers? Do we start losing pre-hospital care? Do we start losing policing? It cascades, and it’s a very downward spiral,” he said.
Minister of state for local governments and rural communities Brittny Anderson also met with the group and committed to bringing Torgerson’s concerns to Premier Eby.
Next was a meeting with Deputy Minister Of Environment And Parks Kevin Jardine to discuss the impact of the highway closures. Torgerson said the changeable message boards along both Highway 16 and Highway 5 were unclear to visitors.
“Closed at Swift Current Road. Nobody knows Swift Current Road is. Everybody on the planet knows where Mount Robson Provincial Park is,” he said. “Hindsight is awesome, but if we had messaging that you could still get to Mount Robson, I think that could have been a draw.”
The group also met with members of the opposition, including the Shadow Minister For Municipal Affairs Tony Luck, Critic For Rural Communities And Rural Development Sharon Hartwell, and PG-Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird.
Valemount MLA joins fight for recovery funding
During her meeting with Torgerson, Lampreau, and Yanciw, Bird committed to writing a letter of support to EMCR for recovery funding for Valemount businesses.
In her letter, Bird urged Greene and the Province to immediately provide $1.5 million plus administrative fees to Valemount, with a plan to recuperate the funds from the Alberta government at a later date.
“The immediate issuing of $1.5 million for the businesses of Valemount will help them meet payroll and operational expenses until the peak summer season, thus bypassing a downward economic spiral,” Bird wrote.
Bird later received a response letter from Minister Greene and Minister Gibson who informed her that in response to Valemount’s economic crisis, EMCR and the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation created a Community Economic Recovery Table, which includes representatives from the Village of Valemount, Tourism Valemount, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport, Northern Development Initiatives Trust, Community Futures, and the Canadian Red Cross. The group reportedly focused on smaller recovery opportunities with pre-existing resources and tools.
“While there are no specific funding programs that replace lost revenue from disaster events, there are many programs available from all levels of government to support business resilience, sustainability, and growth. We encourage your community and businesses to continue working with representatives from the Community Economic Recovery Table to identify all suitable resources,” Greene told Bird.
Bird says she’s not satisfied with Greene’s response and will be making inquiries into what the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation’s mandate is and the level of authority the ministry has in financially assisting communities.
She also raised the topic in the BC Legislature March 13th, asking the Minister of Finance to commit to providing relief to Valemount businesses.
While the finance Minister did not respond, EMCR Minister Greene did, stating the ministry continues to work with the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation and other ministries to assist Valemount in its recovery.
Recovery efforts ongoing
Torgerson isn’t putting all his eggs in the B.C. basket. He’s met with the Alberta government officials in a bid to receive financial relief for businesses. He was also set to meet with several MPs, unfortunately those meetings were cancelled due to the upcoming federal election.
“We suggested that [Alberta] treat Valemount and Jasper as a prototype or as a pilot, because you never want to have a community questioning if the reception of evacuees is the right thing to do,” he said. “Of course it is. We’re Canadian. We’re BCers. We do that without question.”
Togerson said he hopes the Province comes to the table first to provide funding, but noted that the Alberta government could also be an option.
“Eby comes to the table. Smith comes to the table. I don’t care. Somebody take that win. Call it their own. Whether it’s the opposition of either province, allowing government to win this one because it’s not a partisan ask. This is like, come on, do your job,” he said.
Torgerson believes that, despite everything the village has gone through since the Jasper wildfire, Valemountians would take in evacuees again if necessary.
“The question would be raised, absolutely. We weren’t supported last year in the end by our senior levels of government. This is going to hurt, but I’m going to do it again because it is the right thing to do,” he said.
He added that Village staff will continue their work to acquire funding from senior levels of government to support local businesses.
“We’ll keep going to bat for you. Hang in there. We’ll do what we can. I empathize. What you did during what was a trying time was almost heroism. This office, council, administration, will do what we can and keep pressing for that recovery.”
