A set of videos will be uploaded to the Village of Burns Lake website and YouTube channel to try and attract new visitors and employees to the area.
Outgoing Economic Development Officer Val Anderson explained to the village council on March 12 that the videos cover four areas of life in Burns Lake: jobs, lifestyle, affordability and the people.
The video project follows the inclusion of Burns Lake as a host community under the Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) Regional Pilot Program which aims to draw new Canadians who can set up businesses in small and regional communities.
READ MORE: Village bids to bring in new immigrant entrepreneurs
The videos show residents playing outdoor sports in winter and summer, and feature interviews with local people who work in education, trades and forestry.
Some interviewees highlight the opportunities for outdoor activities like mountain biking, and others talk about the availability of well-paid jobs in the area.
The total cost of the videos was $17,000, and part of the funding came from the Nechako-Kitimaat Development Fund, Chief Administrative Officer Sheryl Worthing told Lakes District News.
Community organizations and businesses will be able to share the videos to try and attract newcomers to the area, Worthing added.
The council agreed in January to apply to the EI program.
It requires that the community applying to be a host have a population lower than 75,000, be located more than 30 kilometres from a municipality of more than 75,000 people and be able to demonstrate its “capacity to support foreign entrepreneurs through an established network of settlement and business support agencies,” according to the EI Regional Pilot website.
Entrepreneur applicants must have at least $100,000 in eligible business investments, a personal net worth of at least $300,000, a minimum of 51 per cent ownership of the business and be able to create at least one new job.
Blair McBrideMultimedia reporter
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