Members of Resource Benefits Alliance hope for progress on funding agreement with province by UBCM this fall

Stikine MLA and Municipal affairs minister Nathan Cullen
speaking to NWBCRBA delegates at a weekend session
(From MLA Cullen's Facebook page) 

A quest for a sustainable funding agreement with the provincial government for communities across Northwest BC gained a bit of momentum over last weekend as representatives of the Northwest BC Resource Benefits Alliance met with Municipal Affairs Minister Nathan Cullen in Terrace.

The Alliance which was formed in 2014 has been seeking a sustainable funding agreement with the province that ensures more of the revenue generated from the northwest, remains in the region. 

As the NWBCRBA explains it a funding agreement will allow local governments to better encourage economic development in the northwest and ensure that development creates good local jobs and sustainable, livable communities. 

Mr. Cullen made note of the gathering through his social media feed on Sunday.

The Municipal Affairs minister also provided a more expansive statement of the gathering as part of the release of information from the weekend gathering.

“People in every corner of the province deserve access to the critical services we all rely on – and that includes communities across the northwest. Having represented this region for nearly two decades, I’m aware of the challenges faced by many communities in our region and am committed to working with our local government partners in the RBA to develop a new MOU that lays out the path forward for how we can better work together to support the region.” – Nathan Cullen, Minister of Municipal Affairs and MLA for Stikine

Prince Rupert representatives have not had much to say about the NWBCRBA session in Terrace, with Councillor Cunningham the only one to make note of the event briefly, speaking of the session as part of the Civic budget discussion at Monday's Council session, the Councillor noted mainly of his impression of the information that had been shared between communities.

"When you sit down like we did with the RBA meeting on the weekend and listen to the woes of other towns and that, we're actually in pretty good shape, its' been well taken care of over the years"

The Alliance members noted that Minister Cullen had committed to working a path forward with them as part of a process oriented Memorandum of Understanding which is anticipated to be signed at the UBCM convention in Whistler this September.

The full statement from both Mr. Cullen and the members of the RBA can be explored here.

This weekend's gathering is the first note of interest relayed by the Alliance in over a year, you can review some of the themes of the past from our archive page here.