Funding Approved for Northern Communities
FEB 19, 2008

The Nechako-Kitamaat Development Fund Society announced today funding approval for a number of projects across the region totaling $260,590.

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Successful proponents included:

• $3,250 toward a CFDC study to determine options for poultry producers along the Highway 16 West corridor.
• $29,340 for Burns Lake Native Development Corporation to train workers for a Laminating Plant.
• $88,000 for the District of Vanderhoof to continue its Downtown Revitalization project.
• $120,000 for the District of Vanderhoof toward a planned Sportfield & Stadium Complex.
• $10,000 for the District of Vanderhoof toward a business plan for an Interpretive Centre.
• $25,000 for the Nechako Valley Historical Society in Vanderhoof to renovate the OK Café heritage building.
•  $5,000 for the Kitamaat Village Gya’Wa’Tlaab Healing Centre Society toward developing a business case.
• $40,000 for the Fort St. James Ski Club Murray Ridge Ski Area Redevelopment.
• And, $40,000 for the Village of Fraser Lake for its Southside Property Development.

NKDF Society Chair Paul Stewart said, "It’s rewarding to see the diversity of applications coming from communities in our investment area and we encourage more proposals for the ensuing period.”

"I look forward to seeing the results of the CFDC study for poultry producers," Bulkley Valley-Stikine MLA Dennis MacKAY. "Meat processing regulations are currently an important issue in my constituency."

“We’re seeing tremendous investment in communities in my constituency and throughout northwestern British Columbia from NKDF,” said Prince George-Omineca MLA John Rustad. “More than $200,000 is going to major projects in Vanderhoof with further investments being made in Fort St James and Fraser Lake.”

Colleen Nyce, Alcan’s Manager of Corporate Affairs offered, “The diversity and caliber of projects that continue to be submitted to the board of the NKDFS for consideration is impressive. It’s not always an easy task for board members to make determinations but credit to them for this successful round of project approvals”.

The Nechako-Kitamaat Development Fund Society was jointly established in 1997 with a combined contribution of $15 million by the government of British Columbia and Alcan Inc. The Fund’s investment area includes lands impacted by the original Kemano project and focuses on those communities in the Nechako and Haisla regions of the north.

The Society encourages applications from local governments and legally incorporated non-profit organizations. NKDF invests in projects that create sustainable employment, diversify the economy, and improve the basic infrastructure needed for community stability, quality of life and growth.