Capital Report~June 8, 2007
Capital Report is for anyone who would like to keep up-to-date on the B.C. Government Caucus. To subscribe to Capital Report click here rather than replying to this email. To learn more about the B.C. Government Caucus click here.

Environment Minister Barry Penner tours the Cummins Western Canada plant. B.C. became the first jurisdiction in North America to make retro-fit green technology upgrades for commercial transport diesel vehicles mandatory this week. June 6, 2007. 

B.C. First to Mandate Clean Technology for Trucks

The B.C. Government celebrated Clean Air Day by making British Columbia the first province in Canada to make clean technology mandatory in older commercial transport diesel vehicles in order to reduce diesel emissions and protect human health.

The new regulation will require the mandatory installation of Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) filters, or an equally effective technology, by 2009. In British Columbia, on-road heavy-duty diesel vehicle models 1989-1993 are responsible for 6.8 per cent of overall particulate matter pollution, a high proportion given the relatively small number of vehicles.

Among the many benefits of DOC filters are:

  • Easily installed on most vehicles;
  • Require virtually no maintenance;
  • Do not have a negative impact on vehicle performance or fuel consumption; and
  • Compatible with biodiesel.

Click for more information.

Province Commits $10 Million to Recruit More B.C. Family Physicians

A partnership between the Ministry of Health and the B.C. Medical Association is designed to draw 90 new family physicians to communities in need across British Columbia through a new $10 million program.

Family Physicians for British Columbia (FPs4BC) encourages physicians to establish a practice in under serviced areas of the province by providing up to $100,000 in financial support to help pay off student debt and to cover the costs of setting up practice. In exchange, each physician agrees to a three year return of service and to accept new and orphan patients.

Click for more information.

Aboriginal Artists Receive Creative Achievement Awards

Six B.C. First Nations artists who translate their stories and language into paintings, carvings, photography, sculptures and weaving were honoured by Premier Gordon Campbell this week at the first annual B.C. Creative Achievement Awards for Aboriginal Art. Two master artists were also honoured with the first annual B.C. Lifetime Creative Achievement Awards for Aboriginal Art at the ceremony at the Pan Pacific Hotel.

Dempsey Bob, a master Tahltan-Tlingit carver known for his totem poles and sculptures, and Robert Davidson, a leading Haida artist and recipient of both the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada, were named the first recipients of the BC Lifetime Creative Achievement Awards for Aboriginal Art.

The six recipients of the BC Creative Achievement Awards for Aboriginal Art were:

  • Barbara P. Marchand, Okanagan Nation;
  • Marianne Nicolson, Dzawada’enuxw;
  • Chester Patrick, Gitxsan;
  • Susan Point, Coast Salish (Musqueam);
  • Christian White, Haida; and
  • William White, Tsimshian.

Click for more information.

Saturday, June 9, 2007
Katherine Whittred, MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale, will be featured on Constituency Report on Shaw Cable 4 in the Lower Mainland from 8:30-9:00am and from 5:30-6:00pm.

Sunday, June 10, 2007
John Yap, MLA for Richmond-Steveston, will be featured on Constituency Report on Shaw Cable 4 in the Lower Mainland from 8:30-9:00am and from 5:30-6:00pm.

Quotes This Week

“I think the technology industry in British Columbia has really finally emerged from the shadow that was the tech bubble of the late 1990s and early 2001. It is a coming out party and a coming out having learned from all the excitement of that '99- 2000 era.”
Rob Cruickshank, B.C. Technology Industry Association president, commenting on the continued growth and success of British Columbia's technology sector. Vancouver Sun, June 7, 2007.

“Increases from the U.S. were really notable, especially given the opposite trend seen among most other Canadian destinations.”
Arlene Schieven, Tourism Whistler's marketing vice president, on Whistler's record tourism revenues. Vancouver Sun, June 7, 2007.


Did You Know?
  • A new campus of the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) in Burnaby will give more Aboriginal students access to top-notch post-secondary education and training starting this fall.

  • A new state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Columbian Hospital to enhance the critical care facilities at the trauma centre and major tertiary referral centre for Fraser Health was officially opened this week. 

  • The Province is providing $10 million to triple the size of an internship program where graduate students will work with B.C. businesses to help increase the province's competitiveness. 

  • The BC Council for Families will offer more programs and support to families across B.C. with the help of one-time grants totalling $460,000.
     
    • © 2007 Government Caucus of British Columbia. All Rights Reserved.