continued from page 1°

region’s resources; in-
frastructure and labor

force. The Strategy should | |

identify opportunities and

strengths with the purpose:

of providing guidance to
the local political com-
munities, he said.

OPPORTUNITIES
IDENTIFIED

Norma Kerby, a. Ter-

race planning consultant

who has done extensive

work .for the regional
district, told workshop

participants that a number
of factors act as obstacles
to. diversification of.

the local economy. The
Northwest, she said, is vic-
timized. by bias in major
decision-making centers,
where the region is

perceived as ‘‘a land of

snow and ice, capable only
of resource develop-
ment’,

In addition to this

misconception, she said,

the historical emphasis on
production: of dimension
lumber from the region’s
forests acts as a block to
the development of other
products ‘by tying up over

‘90 percent of the wood
She described .

resource.
the opportunities in secon-
dary wood product manu-

facturing and hardwood |
‘marketing as ‘‘massive’’,
but added’ that. the.

established major forest

‘companies in the region

look upon value-added
wood products as an ‘‘an-
noyance’’.

A stable silviculture in-
dustry in the region has

the potential to create

more than 500 permanent
jobs, she said, but ‘“‘fund-
ing commitments are up

and down with the

political winds’’.
‘‘Small mines, between
$100,000 and $5 million in

Terrace planning consultant Norma Kerby and regional district, economist Andrew Webber
made a joint presentation to the recent Access to Capital workshop in Terrace. Both iocal ex-
perts gave detailed outlines of economic development and diversification potential in the

Northwest.

rl

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DODDUR TORU U LTTE REELED EERE UECUE EERE EDU DCR GLO REELED EU DT EGDDORRUEQUSUUORRODETS

a Vancouver

David Levi,
stockbroker and board chalr-
-man for the VanCity Credit
Union, recently addressed a
workshop In. Terrace on meth-
ods of establishing a com-
munity development fund.

value, have historically

been a major prop in the
regional economy,” Ker-

by said. These operations,

- she. pointed out, are low-

tech, low capital ventures
that require basic practical
skills possessed by many
workers in the Northwest.

‘Impediments to the in-

dustry are lack of access to
mining sites and the pre-
emption of numerous
claims in the area by ma-
jor mining interests who

You don’t have to

have no intention of
developing them, .

Kerby stated that Ter-

race has the advantages

being a regional center

located on a transporta-
tion corridor of world im-
portance in proximity to

highly-developed ports. —

Community services, the

education system, arts ac- ~
tivities and well-developed _

retail industry provide the

foundation to attract in-
vestment.

“The most viable op-
portunities will:make the
best utilization of what’s
available here,” she con-
cluded.

STEERING —
COMMITTEE FORMED
On Feb. 25 an ad hoc
committee of interested
local people met and

drafted a set of recom-—

mendations for ‘submis-
sion to Terrace council,
the Terrace Tourism and
Economic Advisory Com-
mission, and .
undesignated Community

Futures Board. The com-.

mittee suggested:

@ Establish a small enter-

prise program providing
lessons on how to run.a
business, to be offered
periodically through
Northwest Community
College. .

@ Form a resource: pool

of counselors consisting of
retired business people to
advise and assist new and
expanding businesses.

@ Set up a community
matchmaking service to
put local investors and
local entrepreneurs in con-
tact with one another.

@ Operate a_ storefront

service to provide infor-
mation on government

programs, sources of
assistance and technical
advise and methods of
cutting red tape to new
and expanding ventures.

the yet-—

e ‘Arrange provision of

place where’ several small
yentures could.- operate
under one roof for
resource sharing and
marketing exposure. ~~

@ Set up a sliding scale of
municipal costs to new

businesses allowing less

overhead during the start-
up period.

@ Invite a- professional
organizer to ‘start a‘local.

venture capital ‘fund*:to
provide an

Why sO Happy? _

They just sold
enough through a.

newspaper ad .
to stash a fortune.

Terrace Review
- 635-7840 ©

‘More than 30 people from around the Northwest participated in the Access to Capital workshop held recently in Terrace. The

two-day event presented a variety of ideas for financing small community-based business ventures.

635-7840

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