Live Sites Funding to Upgrade Victoria Sport Venues

The City of Victoria will receive $330,000 from the B.C. Government’s Olympic/Paralympic Live Sites program to help with upgrades to Royal Athletic Park and to create an exhibit to honour Victoria’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes, announced Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA Ida Chong.

• The funding will be used to improve the lighting system at RAP and purchase portable bleachers that can be used by the park and other community events.
• Royal Athletic Park and the City of Victoria will host games during the FIFA World Youth (Men’s) Championships in 2007.  The increased seating means 1,520 more soccer fans will be able to watch the games live.
• Including this announcement, the B.C. Government has now invested more than $13.4 million in 85 Live Sites projects across the province.

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New Employment Program Means More Job Success

The new $35-million BC Employment Program has been successfully launched, meaning 15,000 income assistance clients in British Columbia will have an even better chance of finding and keeping a job this year.

• The new BC Employment program replaces two existing programs, the Job Placement Program and Training for Jobs, and is managed by three agencies.
• Services range from very basic supports like self-directed job searches and access to job banks and computers to intense supports such as short-term certificate training.
• Since 2001, provincial government employment programs have directly helped almost 48,000 expected-to-work clients find good jobs.

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Crystal Meth Response Grants Mobilize Community Action

Over 160 organizations have shared nearly $2 million in provincial grant funds, providing communities and First Nations’ groups with seed money to foster a response to crystal meth at a local level, said Solicitor General and Minister of Public Safety John Les.

• There are now a total of 190 groups across the province who have created local programs aimed at educating and raising awareness about the dangers of crystal meth use.
• Examples of projects include local Meth Watch programs, a Web site for at-risk youth to receive support, a cultural program aimed at traditional healing for communities affected by the drug and public information and awareness forums.
• The grants were reviewed and approved by the Union of B.C. Municipalities.

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B.C. on the Ground in Asia

A permanent British Columbia presence will be felt in Asia through full-time representatives based in Asia tasked with increasing trade and investment opportunities on behalf of the province, announced Economic Development Minister Colin Hansen.

• The representatives will focus on aggressively promoting British Columbia as a global location.  The consultants bring knowledge, expertise and immediate access to respective market areas.
• They will support B.C.’s key economic objectives of job creation, regional development and economic diversity.
• Similar B.C. representatives are currently in place in Europe and have already produced results.  Recently, they supported British Columbia-Canada Place's efforts to leverage 2010 Winter Games opportunities along with their more traditional role of promoting the province.

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New License Bolsters Community Wildfire Protection

Government has introduced a new forestry license to assist the harvest of Crown timber that poses a fire risk to nearby communities, announced Forests and Range Minister Rich Coleman.

• Previously, the Forest Act didn’t recognize community safety as a reason to harvest Crown timber.
• The new license provides more flexibility to manage high-risk forest fuels identified by local Community Wildfire Protection Plans.
• Forest district managers will issue the new licenses based on professional harvesting proposals submitted by local governments.
  

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