Greenwood LIRN Event
March 4th 2009
Presented by the Partners of
Learning Initiatives for Rural
and Northern BC (LIRN BC) in
partnership with the
Community Futures Boundary:
An Initiative of the BC Healthy Living Alliance: BC Lung Association ● BC Pediatric Society
BC Recreation and Parks Association ● Canadian Cancer Society, BC and Yukon Division ●
Canadian Diabetes Association ● Dietitians of Canada, BC Region ●Heart and Stroke
Foundation of BC and Yukon ● Public Health Association of BC ● Union of BC Municipalities
Canadian Rural Partnership
SERVICE CANADA
CANADA
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Executive Summary
This event was organized in partnership with the Community Futures Boundary and the Canadian
Rural Partnership (one of the LIRN partners) to provide a networking session for local
government and other economic development stakeholders on the benefits of regional
collaboration. The meeting brought together 31 participants from across the Boundary region.
Representatives included municipal government, regional government, Selkirk College, the
School District, Chamber of Commerce, Community Futures, Kootenay Association for Science
and Technology, and the Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust.
The day was facilitated by Jennifer Wetmore, of Community Futures Boundary, who noted that
the purpose of the day was to encourage collaboration across local government and other partners
to support economic diversification.
Brandon Hughes, Canadian Rural Partnership, stated that regional approaches are important to
help rural areas work together and are supported by government funding organizations. He
mentioned that this event was one of 20 being supported across the province by Learning
Initiatives for Rural and Northern BC, and that many of these are focusing on regional
collaboration. Brandon also provided a message from Diana Brooks, Ministry of Community
Development, who was unable to attend. " The Ministry of Community Development through the
Regional Economic Development Branch of the RuralBC Secretariat provides assistance and support to
Boundary economic development activities, communities and organizations. Over the past several years it
has partnered and worked with different entities and communities to achieve their
objectives. Diversification of the region's economy is critical to moving forward. The Ministry will continue
to work closely with communities and economic development organizations to help develop the required
infrastructure, improve utilization of existing assets, partner on the delivery of sector information and
economic development strategies, facilitate links and partnerships, and advance a regional approach to
economic development and economic development activity. It is great to see events such as this occurring
in the region. Through collaboration, joint initiatives and ongoing discussion, a strong regional approach to
economic development and diversification will evolve. As the Regional Manager responsible for the
Boundary region, I wish you a great event."
George Penfold, Rural Economic Development Research Chair for Selkirk College, talked about
the role of local government in the current economic situation. He noted that we are not sure
where the bottom of the slump is, but it is certain that the future will be different. This is
particularly true when you factor in climate change and energy costs. What “moving forward”
will mean is not certain – does it mean more people moving in and more jobs, or enough jobs for
those who are here with a low rate of growth? Without immigration, the population will be aging,
which creates different challenges. In the recent past housing prices have gone up 50% but wages
have not kept pace. Despite this, housing costs are still a bargain in the big picture. There is a
trend toward more absentee home owners, more manufacturing, hotels, and multi-family
developments – many of these are driven by Big White. Challenges to the regional economy
include distance from major markets, diversification, access to capital, transportation, broadband,
infrastructure, and having small and scattered communities. At the same time the region has many
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advantages that can attract businesses and new residents like low housing costs, low wages,
tourism, amenity migration, and personal safety. Local and regional governments have a role to
play in addressing economic development such as through land use decisions, infrastructure
development, stream-lining and standardizing the development process, liaison with business,
providing community information, participating in joint ventures, and providing leadership.
Luby Pow, Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust, outlined the purpose of the Trust.
SIDIT supports development in 10 key sectors – Agriculture, Economic development, Energy,
Forestry, Mining, Tourism, Olympic opportunities, Pine Beetle recovery, Small Business, and
Transportation. The Trust is $50M to be used in the Thompson, Shuswap, Columbia, Okanagan,
Kootenay, and Fraser Valley (to Hope). Projects should provide long-lasting regional benefits like
permanent, high wage employment, and economic diversification. Funding should total about
$7.5M per year. Non-profits can be funded as well, provided that the project will generate
economic development. Arts and culture initiatives and projects such as trail development that
demonstrate measurable economic impact are also eligible. There is an open call for proposals at
www.sidit-bc.ca . Education awards are also supported in partnership with the BC Innovation
Council, colleges, and high schools. SIDIT wants to ensure that smaller communities get their
share of the funding through the work of the Regional Advisory Committees.
Kelvin Saldern, Kootenay Association for Science and Technology, talked about the economic
potential of the area highlighting the broad appeal of the 7 Summits trail in bring people from
across the country and from outside of Canada. He noted that KAST is 10 years old and that it
provides support for the west Kootenay and Boundary for regional economic development
supporting innovative businesses, including youth. KAST provides good networking for
innovators through their web portal and newsletter along with coaching and mentoring . The
organization is free to join. Kelvin noted 3 approaches to regional economic development: 1.
Rocky Mountain Institute for Economic Renewal – which looks at plugging leaks and growing
from within. 2. Asset Based Community Development – which focuses on assets and not
problems. 3. Technology Based Economic Development – which is more urban and focuses on
innovation and self employment including social enterprises.
After lunch George posed the question of how we can move forward. We have lots of “wants” but
only some with come through. He noted that there has been lots of planning going on – BEDC,
Transition Plan, Grand Forks and Beyond. Over the last decade the ideas have remained much the
same. The question is what can local government and other stakeholders do to make these things
happen? The discussion questions for the group work are:
 What feedback do you have on the BEDC report?
 How can partnerships help move us forward on the recommendations?
 How can partnerships support the collaboration process?
 How can we measure our success?
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Group Work
Group 1
Action Plan
 Overall priorities and actions are good.
 One concern is the ability to achieve them all and getting adequate $.
Tourism
 Identify our niche
 Branding is key to creating a regional focus.
 Also need a regional chamber of commerce so there will be adequate capacity and staff.
Infrastructure/Services
 We need infrastructure and services related to health and well being – regional youth
centre, pool of doctors for the region, more licensed daycare
 Need to diversify, including grape growing, silviculture, ground crops, nursery crops, and
seed crops
 The idea of a new community centre in Grand Forks in unlikely. The option of
cooperating with USCC is probably more feasible.
 Hardy View Lodge may be converted to subsidized rental (17 units).
 We need regional alcohol and drug treatment.
Business Retention
 We need to promote shop local with the communities to help the local service sector.
 Need to create better awareness of/promote Invest Kootenay as a regional initiative.
Agriculture
 Adequate water supply and water management are critical issues.
 R.D. is considering a Granby/Kettle watershed study.
 We need to get the Smelter Lake project on track for both water supply and for power
generation.
 We need to develop a water conservation approach with agriculture and golf courses.
 Grand Forks is putting effort into local marketing for agriculture (farmers markets).
 Agricultural Strategy is funded and will address many of these objectives.
Innovation/New Technology
 Solution to the broadband problem is not clear.
 We need to take advantage of the Grand Forks German sister city connection. They are
enthusiastic. Germany is much further advanced on energy and water conservation,
seniors care, temporary workers etc. We can learn from them.
Infrastructure
 Priority is broadband, regional airport development, and strategic web cams
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

The 3 phase power issue is mainly related to Anarchist Mountain.
The social need and infrastructure objective and the Vital Signs project are linked.
Organizational Capacity
 No comments
Communications
 This is the most important part of the plan.
 Need more presentations with a focus on the business community.
 Need to improve awareness of BEDC and he Strategic Plan.
Question: Does the strategy focus on amenity migration? Are there concerns or issues?
 It’s not clear how branding will link to amenity migration.
 Rental accommodation is an increasing problem. Need to have unified approach to
secondary suites.
 Also need to make sure there are adequate policies re home based businesses.
 There is a proposal (Grace) in Area C for an eco cemetery at the Heritage Cascade site.
Questions 2/3
 BEDC board reps - Grace and Brian - are part of the RD Board.
 Boundary councils and E.A. reps need to become more aware of BEDC and BEDC
Strategy.
 Community awareness could be generated through town hall meetings, although until now
meetings have not been well attended. Need to link these meetings to community
television and make better use of the media.
 The newsletter will help.
 Need to meet directly with councils.
 Need to create a better understanding of what is going on regionally – i.e., haring
information between communities.
 There is a regional focus emerging (e.g., branding) that may help develop more of a focus
on the region.
Measuring Success
 Should see an improvement in the numbers (population, employment etc.
 A key measure should be improvement in the confidence of the community in the local
economy.
 Getting adequate resources to pay for the proposed changes.
 The time frame is not clear. This is a strategy that will have an annual work plan. The
intention is to take stock of progress after 1 year and make the necessary adjustments in
the next work plan.
Group 2
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1. Increase communications and public awareness through the website of RDKB and links.
Focus on education, communications, and networking through workshops,
2. Proactive attitude – consistent rules of engagement in governance – licencing, bylaws,
building permits, regulations, leadership in facilitation and encouraging open governance
3. Quarterly regional workshops to facilitate cooperation and collaboration on regional focus,
encouragement of regional information.
4. Identify priority projects, qualitative and quantitative measurements, critical evaluate and
debrief – (blame session – who screwed up?)
Group 3
1. Watershed – need to focus on the regional water supply
2. Think about what we can have with broadband (school district, college)
3. Improve process of collaboration and encouragement of it
a. There is more of it because it is working
b. More LIRN events
c. Networking and communications creates trust and supportive relationships
d. Power of numbers
4. Collaboration important – What does collaborative communities mean – tools to move
forward, measurement of success, and celebration
1. Question 1
a. Health and Well being – Rock Creek Welcome Centre is a good resource that
needs regional support.
b. We need an agricultural plan that deals with ALR issues and with water supply
issues that put agriculture ahead of Big White.
c. Strong partnerships make it faster and smoother for proposals to come together –
timing is an issue.
d. There are social issues connected to the economic ones.
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e. Partnerships are helping to create a shared vision across the region generating
support for regional projects. This is helpful as funders are encouraging regional
approaches.
f. Need to balance interests of west and east Boundary and recognize that every
community can not have every resource.
g. Regional/Boundary wide Chamber of Commerce
2. Question 2 – How can we work together to make it happen? Elected and non-elected staff
are working in this direction.
3. People were thinking too locally but are now seeing that regional approaches work. We
need more regional sessions like this to build trust. We need to discuss plans with other
communities before acting in isolation.
4. It will be easier to measure success when we work together on joint projects.
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About the Partners
About Community Futures Boundary
It is the mission of Community Futures Boundary to act as a catalyst in assisting in the expansion of the
economic base through small business development support, training and participation in the community
economic development process. The Community Futures office in the Boundary region submitted the
application for this LIRN event. The office staff including: Wendy McCullough, Sandy Elzinga, and
Jennifer Wetmore were instrumental in helping to organize the learning day.
About LIRN BC
LIRN BC is a collaborative approach to building on the capacities of rural, remote and northern British
Columbian communities. The LIRN BC process encourages government (municipal, provincial and
federal), First Nations, non-government organizations (community-based, regional and provincial) and
businesses to work together to plan, deliver and evaluate a locally relevant learning initiative. LIRN BC is
made possible through a partnership of federal and provincial governments, as well as non-government
organizations that recognize the strengths and challenges of rural, remote and Northern BC communities.
The LIRN BC partners also understand the importance of local opportunities to learn about and work on
current issues, as well as assess, envision, plan and act for a better future.
As LIRN BC partners, the BC Rural Network, Canadian Rural Partnership, Service Canada, the Self Help
Resource Association of BC, and the Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPARC BC) have
combined their expertise and resources in an effort to maximize community capacity building
opportunities for people living in rural, remote, and northern parts of the province. The objective of the
LIRN BC process is to create a safe space in which community members learn and work together in a
manner that is locally relevant.
BC Healthy Living Alliance
Led by the BC and Yukon Division of the Canadian Cancer Society, the Community Capacity Building
Strategy is an initiative of the BC Healthy Living Alliance (BCHLA). The Alliance is working to improve the
health of British Columbians through leadership that enhances collaborative action to promote physical
activity, healthy eating, and living smoke free. The BCHLA has received funding through ActNow BC.
Community capacity building aims to enhance the skills, abilities, resources, and commitment of
communities and their members to care for each other, nurture unique talents and leadership, and act on
challenges and opportunities the community faces. As a result, individuals and groups increase their
ability to impact the health and vitality of their communities in a positive, sustainable manner through
collaboration, education, communication, and cooperation. The strategy is focusing on areas of the
province that can most benefit from this approach to promoting health. This takes in rural and remote
communities addressing the unique needs of aboriginal people, youth, new immigrants, refugees and lowincome populations.
Canadian Rural Partnership
Canadian Rural Partnership (CRP) is a federal initiative which supports rural communities by helping to
identify the issues they are facing, by taking collaborative action to address these issues, and connecting
community to community and community to government to share information on available resources and
best practice in rural development. We identify issues by bringing rural community residents together for
dialogue or at conferences. The information from these gatherings is shared with a federal/provincial Rural
Team which can undertake collaborative action to address these issues and can provide the input toward
influencing government policies and programs with a Rural Lens. We also share information from one
community to another and from government to communities through listservs, newsletters, best practice
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guides, and program lists. For more information about the Canadian Rural Partnership, please visit our
website at: http://www.rural.gc.ca/team/bc/bchome_e.phtml
Service Canada and the New Horizons for Seniors Program
Service Canada is becoming the program delivery arm of the federal government. Over a dozen federal
departments are working with Service Canada so it can become a single window of service and program
delivery for the federal government. Service Canada is home to the Employment Insurance system, labour
market programming to help unemployed people return to work, income support like Old Age Security and
Canada Pension. Service Canada also coordinates the New Horizons for Seniors program, which is a
program that provides funding for community-based projects that aim to encourage seniors to contribute
to and become more engaged in their local communities. Service Canada is interested in strengthening
linkages with communities for more effective delivery of federal programs and services. For more
information about Service Canada and the New Horizons for Seniors program, please visit our website at:
http://www.sdc.gc.ca/en/isp/horizons/toc.shtml
Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPARC BC) and the
Community Development Education Program
SPARC BC, a registered non-profit society and a federally registered charity, was established in 1966 and is
a leader in research, public education and advocacy regarding issues of community development,
accessibility, and income security. SPARC BC is a provincial organization with over 15,000 members and is
governed by a Board of Directors from across BC. Our mission is to work with communities in building a
just and healthy society for all.
The Community Development Education Program is one of our methods for realizing our mission. The
Community Development Education Program aims to empower individuals and organizations by providing
them with learning opportunities to identify local assets and issues, build local knowledge and develop
skills and action-plans that contribute to effecting local consensus-oriented change. The curriculum
resources and facilitation services of the Community Development Education Program are available to
communities through the LIRN BC process. For more information about SPARC BC and the Community
Development Education Program, please visit our website at www.sparc.bc.ca.
PeerNet BC
PeerNet BC promotes peer support approaches to community development, building the capacity of
individuals and communities to become healthy, responsive and self-determining. PeerNet programs and
services focus on the processes of self-help and peer support, so that people can apply the information to
their individual, organizational or community needs.
PeerNet offers:
 Capacity-building workshops on group development and facilitation.
 Consultations, collaborations and partnerships related to peer support and community
development initiatives.
 The Kinex Youth Initiative, a youth driven team supporting social and systemic change through
peer support approaches.
 Information and referral services in the Lower Mainland.
 PeerNetBC.com, an online space for peer support communities.
Find out more about PeerNet at http://www.peernetbc.com/ or contact us at cheryl@peernetbc.com .
BC Healthy Communities
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BC Healthy Communities (BCHC) is a provincial- wide initiative that promotes healthy, inclusive and
sustainable communities. Working closely with local governments and community groups, BCHC uses a
collaborative learning approach to enhance existing community capacity to support optimal health, wellbeing and human development. BCHC has a Central Office in Victoria and regional facilitators living and
working in each of the five health authority regions across the province.
BCHC offers:
o Regional Facilitators across the province 
o Integrated Capacity Building model for addressing complex community issues
o Workshops such as capacity building, community engagement, visioning, asset mapping (specific to
issues such as climate change, food security, planning, etc)
o Expertise and resources to build community capacity and plan initiatives in a sustainable manner
o
Regional Forums and learning events
o Seed Grant program (to support capacity building)
o Regional and Provincial Healthy Communities networks
o Comprehensive website, e-bulletins and newsletters
For more information please go to www.bchealthycommunities.ca or contact
bchc@bchealthycommunities.ca
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Thanks in advance for completing this form and helping us improve our efforts to facilitate capacity
building activities in rural and Northern BC.
1.
Please indicate the sector in which you work.
First Nations
(Government
or groups)
Government
(Federal,
Provincial, or
Municipal)
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2.
Social and/or
community
(Cultural groups, groups
serving families, youth,
women, and seniors, etc.)
3
Economic
(Community
futures, chamber of
commerce,
employers, etc.)
6
Environment
(Conservation
groups, etc.)
Please indicate how relevant this event was for your community?
Irrelevant
1
Very Relevant
2
3
2
4
6
5
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Comments: Provided isolated communities with a chance to connect/share with neighbours. Good to share
information.
3.
Please indicate how the LIRN event helped you connect with the people in your community.
Not at all Helpful
1
Extremely Helpful
2
3
4
4
8
5
12
Comments: It was huge to get the west and east Boundary together. It connected people regionally.
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4.
Did the LIRN event increase your interest in exploring new ways to work with people in your
community?
Not at all
1
2
A Great Deal
3
1
4
13
5
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Comments: Good to understand the Boundary Economic Development Commission process but we need
to get elected leaders together quarterly.
5.
How would you rate the event facilitator?
Poor
1
Excellent
2
3
1
4
6
5
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Comments:
6.
Please comment on the usefulness of the event materials?
Comments: Reinforces recent strategies, local and regional efforts. Information was very useful (noted 6
times).
7.
Were anticipated outcomes met?
Not at All
1
8.
2
A Great Deal
3
5
4
8
5
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What other outcomes were achieved?
Comments: Networking (noted 4 times). Better idea of regional resources and strategies (noted twice).
Supported cross sector and regional networking (noted twice). Builds regional capacity (noted twice).
Better understanding of the process. Beginning of a more regional approach – this has been a long time in
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coming. It was an opportunity to exchange knowledge and concerns. Very informative, I better understand
the BEDC role. Timely and informative.
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Agenda
GREENWOOD OFFICE
GRAND FORKS OFFICE
245 South Copper St., Box 459
Greenwood, BC, V0H 1J0
T 250-445-6618 F 250-445-6765
1647 Central Ave., Box 2949
Grand Forks, BC, V0H 1H0
T 250-442-2722 F 250-442-5311
AGENDA
“Regional Collaboration in the Boundary”
Objective:
 to explore the potential for regional collaboration (across municipal/civic governments) to
collaborate and cost share;
 to address issues of a declining economy and potential diversification in the Boundary;
 and to increase capacity to be strategically positioned to apply for grants and other
opportunities.
9:30 AM – Welcome and round of introductions. Introduction to LIRN
9:50 AM – Keynote – George Penfold – “
10:10 AM – Luby Pow – Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust
10:30 AM – Coffee
10:45 AM – Kelvin Saldern – Kootenay Association of Science and Technology
11:00 AM – Grand Forks and Boundary Regional Transition Study –
11:20 AM – LUNCH
12:30 PM – Break Out into smaller groups for facilitated group discussion
2:00 PM – Groups report out
2:30 PM - Panelists provide comments on group discussion
2:50 – Closing Remarks and completion of evaluation
“ If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”.
Isaac Newton
Pacific Grill Restaurant – 309 South Copper Avenue, Greenwood, B.C.
*Co-sponsored by - Community Futures Boundary, the Rural Secretariat, and Selkirk College
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Participant list – Need chart from Jennifer and pix
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