What began as a response to the deleterious impact of the mountain pine beetle has become a voice for economic and social prosperity for rural British Columbia.
Since 2007, the Southern Interior Beetle Action Coalition (SIBAC), along with similar coalitions representing the Omenica and Cariboo-Chilcotin regions, has been working to mitigate the impact of the mountain pine beetle throughout the Interior.
Collectively, these organizations have been working to address the plight of rural B.C. in the aftermath of the beetle epidemic which, along with market forces, have had a decimating impact on once-thriving, forestry-dependent communities. The Rural BC Project is their child, a strategy designed to help return prosperity to the “Heartland.”
In a presentation to Sicamous council, SIBAC chair Rhona Martin, the rural Sicamous-Malakwa Area E director with the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, spoke to some of the catalysts behind the Rural BC Project, as well as some of the desired outcomes.
“I think what we’ve learned, in all of our work, is that it doesn’t matter where you are in rural B.C., we’re all suffering the same dire fate,” said Martin. “We’re all losing our people, we’re all losing our young people especially, we’re all losing our services, and what we’re trying to encourage government to do is reinvest in rural B.C.”
One of the things the coalitions would like to see is a provincial strategy that would provide a rural focus among the province’s ministries, so that whenever a decision is made, the impact to rural communities is taken into consideration. They also would like the province to create a ministry specifically for rural B.C.
In defining “rural,” Rural BC Project discussion paper notes most rural residents of the province do not regard larger regional cities such as Nanaimo, Kelowna, Kamloops and Prince George as rural, and that when the province does invest in rural B.C., it is typically these cities that see the majority of the benefit. Martin explained how this results in services being centralized in those cities.
“What we have seen as people who live in rural B.C. is that as they bring services closer to the larger communities, people move from our rural areas into the larger community so they can continue to get services,” said Martin. “And it doesn’t matter if you’re old or young, healthy or not, these services are being withdrawn and we’re losing all kinds of people.”
Martin said the province has been supportive of the coalitions and their work, and that the Ministry of Jobs and Tourism is assisting with the Rural BC Project.
This is a project that could make life in rural British Columbia better for all of us,” said Martin, who later emphasized that the focus of the project is both economic and social development. She noted the Tumbler Ridge area as an example where economic growth is hampering social development.
“For example, if you have children playing hockey, you can’t ever host a hockey tournament, because the motels are all full of workers,” said Martin. “One person’s wealth, it’s great for certain segments of the community, but it impacts other segments of the community. What we want to see is communities healthy for all ages and all types of people. It’s not an easy fix.”
Martin directed council to SIBAC’s website at www.sibacs.com, where there is more information on the Rural BC project, as well as a video featuring Martin, SIBAC director and Neskonlith Indian Band Chief Judy Wilson and SIBAC vice-chair and Regional District of Kootenay Boundary director Grace McGregor. They discuss what rural British Columbia has to offer and its importance to the province as a whole.
Martin says that whatever the province does to address the issue of disparity between rural B.C. and the larger urban areas, the three coalitions wish to be a part of the solution because.
“Who better understands our communities than the people that actually live there?” said Martin.
