It has been just over a year since I was honoured by the people of Fraser-Nicola to be their MLA in the Legislature, and let me first say it has been a great privilege. I have met with many fantastic constituents, visited every community in our riding and spoke several times in the legislature on issues of importance to our region. Thank you for this incredible opportunity.
This summer has been very busy. There were a number of announcements in the constituency including new improvements to highways in our region, clean energy revenue sharing program from the Kwoiek Creek Hydroelectric Project with the Kanaka Bar Indian Band, announcing over $1.5 million in funding to our local communities from the Strategic Community Investment Fund, among many more.
In July, I was honoured to host Premier Christy Clark and the B.C. Government Caucus for our summer planning session in Merritt. The Premier and my fellow caucus members experienced the warm hospitality and beautiful scenery of the region we are proud to call home.
My colleagues got a first-hand look of facilities here in the Nicola Valley including the Ashcroft Inland Terminal, Highland Valley Copper Mine and the new Merritt BioCarbon Project. These projects are large job-creators in our region and highlight our economic importance to the B.C. economy in natural resources and in the growing sustainable energy sector.
Premier Clark also addressed the Merritt Chamber of Commerce highlighting the importance of keeping our region’s economy growing by maintaining a positive economic environment and facilitating job creation in all sectors over the long-term.
I will be discussing issues of importance within our communities in future columns here and providing updates of my activities in the legislature during session, so stay tuned for my next update as I get ready to head back to Victoria for the upcoming session next month. If I can be of assistance please contact my office in Ashcroft at (250) 453-9726 or Jackie.Tegart.MLA@leg.bc.ca .
Jackie Tegart, MLA