The Tsilhqot’in National Government (TNG) has received a grant for more than a quarter of a million dollars, the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development announced today in a press release.
The TNG received a Rural Dividend grant for $281,107 from the B.C. government to further its economic opportunities. The TNG says the funds will be used to achieve certification through the International Organization for Standardization (lSO 9001) quality-management system, to support the TNG in meeting regulatory and workers’ compensation requirements when pursuing future economic development opportunities.
The funding came from the Rural Dividend’s special circumstances provision, which was designed to assist communities undergoing economic hardship, including those impacted by wildfire.
“The special circumstances grant will help support the Tsilhqot’in National Government’s joint bid with Formula Contractors to the Area 17 road maintenance contract in our territory and beyond,” said Chief Russell Myers Ross, Tsilhqot’in National Government Vice-Chair, Chief of Yunesit’in. “The Nation has been focusing on pursuing economic opportunities within the territory for our membership that can be sustained over many years.”
The TNG represents the communities of Tl’etinqox (Anaham), ?Esdilagh (Alexandria), Yuneŝit’in, Tŝi Deldel (Redstone), Tl’esqox (Toosey) and Xeni Gwet’in (Nemiah Valley).
In fall 2018, $3,281,179 in special circumstance funding has been awarded to eligible B.C. communities and organizations undergoing economic hardship.
As part of Budget 2018, the Government of British Columbia committed to extending the $25 million per year Rural Dividend to 2020-21. The Rural Dividend is one aspect of government’s rural development mandate, which is committed to making rural communities more resilient.
READ MORE: Quesnel awarded $367,000 to further new opportunities for forest management
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