Dear Mayor and Council:
I would like to urge you to give very serious consideration to changing your position of neutrality on the Northern Gateway Project.
I recognize that this is a controversial project and that each of you have your own positions on it – as is your right. But I question taking the next step of transferring your personal positions on this project to the official position of the City of Terrace.
We are in an enviable position in Terrace in that we are at the geographic hub of a potential tsunami of investment. But we are in the unenviable position in that none of it will happen within our boundaries. We have the opportunity to be the service and goods supplier to these industries but can’t expect direct investment. As many of you mentioned in the election this is how we should promote Terrace – we should support our local businesses and help them meet this tremendous opportunity.
Stated opposition to one project is very quickly noticed by not only the proponents of that project but also by the proponents of other projects. And Terrace immediately loses its “open for business” reputation. If council takes the official stance that Terrace is opposed to the Gateway Project you have undercut the efforts of our local businesses to expand and grow into being providers to development in the surrounding projects .
One may argue that there are lots of other projects but remember that RTA and NTL are the only two with official notices to proceed. We might like the idea of picking and choosing our projects but the global market place will do that – we can only ensure that we glean as much as possible for our community as these projects swirl around us.
There is nothing to be gained by putting Terrace officially on the opposition side of the Gateway project and everything to lose.
A continued “neutral” position is the compromise that leaves options open for all of us.
Lael McKeown, Terrace, BC
