Economic & Employment Situation

In the most recent release of the Moneysense magazine rankings, Prince Rupert scored very low in a number of categories among them, the rate of unemployment which is unacceptably high.

Moneysense listed our unemployment rate at 17.5 percent, a number which could be even higher considering the fact that once an EI claim is exhausted applicants tend to disappear from the statistical review.

Still, even using that 17.5 percent number, as a successful candidate for Council or the Mayoralty, what would you like to see done to improve the employment situation in the city, where would you direct Economic Development to address its concerns and what form of industry would you prefer to see locate in the city.

For reference purposes the full review of the Moneysense rankings can be found at this link.

Gabe McLean

Economic Developement should direct its efforts to finding any industry/manufacturer that can take advantage of Prince Ruperts container facilities and cheaper access to pacific rim customers. New industry is the base for growth, growth creates jobs and economy, everything else follows. Green industries like wind generation and tidal power generation of electricity might be a nice fit in this area.
The Podunkian

Thank you for taking the time to reply to the question, hopefully some of the other candidates will follow up with their thoughts on the issue.

One follow up, do you believe that the city should provide for tax breaks for new industry that may wish to locate in the city, how long a tax holiday would you think would provide the incentive for establishing an industry and what would be the employment level required to gain such a tax break i.e.: over 50, over 100, 200 employees?

Again thanks for offering up your thoughts to the debate.
Anonymous

In the most recent release of the Moneysense magazine rankings, Prince Rupert scored very low in a number of categories among them, the rate of unemployment which is unacceptably high. Moneysense listed our unemployment rate at 17.5 percent, a number which could be even higher considering the fact that once an EI claim is exhausted applicants tend to disappear from the statistical review. Still, even using that 17.5 percent number, as a successful candidate for Council or the Mayoralty, what would you like to see done to improve the employment situation in the city, where would you direct Economic Development to address its concerns and what form of industry would you prefer to see locate in the city. In terms of what I would like to see done to improve the employment situation in the city, the biggest single thing that can be done is to attract new business and industry investment that will provide jobs for the people of Prince Rupert.

The local economy is hurting and we need to implement changes that will help it recover. We must work with our stakeholders to create an environment that attracts and retains business and industry investment. We need an action plan, with specific and realistic objectives, that identifies the key strengths/deficits in our community and determines specific action initiatives to enhance our strengths and eliminate/mitigate areas of concern. How we will make this happen, and who is going to be responsible is key. As our port continues to grow, we must also work proactively to determine what is needed to foster business and industry investment/development in our community from both within Canada and overseas.

In order to determine policies that our Economic Development office needs to encourage business and industry investment we need to identify their specific needs and create a comprehensive plan to be able to meet those needs in our community. I would support developing an economic rejuvenation task force, built up of all of our stakeholders , with the goal of identify these needs, and creating specific action initiatives, to attract, and retain, business and industry investment in Prince Rupert from all areas.

One possible tool to help us determine these needs is the Business Vitality Index, which has been used by many other communities to rejuvenate their local economy. It measures the business-friendliness of your community, compares the results to other communities, helps you come up with strategies for improvement and launches your community into action. It does this through a series of steps that are done within the community to identify strengths and weaknesses, which are then used to create an action plan. It has been used successfully in many municipalities to improve their economic situation and foster growth.

For more information on the Business Vitality Index check out this website:

http://www.theciel.com/pdf/BVI_Questionnaire.pdf

In terms of what forms of industry I would prefer to have locate in the city, I would not like to limit our options. I believe there is room for both large and small scale operations. In fact, economic versatility and sustainability is better served by having a variety of employers than having one huge employer as we have seen in the past. Both have roles to play and have value for the community. I also believe that it would be preferable to encourage value added industry development to enhance the economic spin-offs to our city and our region as a whole. Obviously environmental considerations will always need to be considered as well as the best location for those developments, but Prince Rupert needs business/industry investment as we move forward to address our infrastructure deficit, the need to control taxation increases, and to improve our local economy.

One follow up, do you believe that the city should provide for tax breaks for new industry that may wish to locate in the city, how long a tax holiday would you think would provide the incentive for establishing an industry and what would be the employment level required to gain such a tax break i.e.: over 50, over 100, 200 employees?I think partial permissive tax exemptions are a possible way of providing incentives for new industry but it needs to be entered into after careful consideration and with specific details and objectives laid out in any legal agreements made. I would also want to see community consultation on any deals that were being considered before decisions were made. While I don’t want to cloud my judgement of all future industry developments and agreements, by what has happened with regard to Watson Island, it certainly has added a healthy dose of caution to the way I feel about permissive tax exemptions. Various considerations would need to be considered before doing something of this nature, including the number of employees it would need. This can only be done on a case by case basis after looking at all the relevant factors involved.
Christo Holmes

Action plans,comprehensive plans, economic rejuvenation committees,working with stakeholders….yadda,yadda, yadda…Business and industry go where THEY can make money(and as a result provide local JOBS)…
And they are beginning to see the opportunity in Prince Rupert because Canada has resources that the world wants and we are a fabulous gateway to the world…
Our job will be to make efforts to assure a responsible local corporate presence when they do come…and they’re coming …the sustainability of our evolving economy I hope will be when a little manufacturing company…say with 4-6 employees that ships a container a week to the East from, for instance, Brandon, Man….or Red Deer ,Alta… decides to relocate to the Northwest to save on THEIR costs…

And yes-the unemployment rate is high here…let’s look at the positives…many men and women who have been seriously un and under-employed are getting 1-3 days a week working
as longshoremen and have seen their situation much improved as late…but they are officially still unemployed as they continue to send their cards in each week…they will be off the rolls
as port usage increases and hopefully enjoying a better standard of living…

The weakness in the unemployment numbers is ,in my opinion,the situation in the fishing industry…Working in a cannery for 2-6 months a year,and collecting pogie ’til herring season started up was a way of life for many,many residents…hey I’ve been there…now many don’t even get enough hours to renew their claim…and that work ain’t comin’back…the challenge for us should be to encourage these workers to re-educate themselves,take advantage of every gov’t program available ,and lobby hard for more training programs .
anne

keep it simple
anne

totally agree and some are re-educating, good for them. “If you build it they will come” but in this case (Prince Rupert) They are coming regardless of municipal politics,,,,and who gets elected. This is a strategic location for a door into CANADA. We have nothing to do but cheer.
Joy Thorkelson

Poverty and poverty related problems are the most critical issues facing Prince Rupert. Prince Rupert has the highest number of people receiving welfare per capita in B.C., the greatest number of EI recipients per capita, is one of the largest per capita consumers of alcohol, and has low literacy and high child developmental issue/problems. The North Coast region’s unemployment rate is consistently the highest in B.C.

The solutions to the unemployment situation are varied.

More employment – which means that the lawsuits over Watson Island must be finalized, the environmental remediation promises by the Province lived up to and the property sold to an entity that will produce good high paying jobs. Fishing and forestry are two renewable resources that Council needs to nurture and develop with the view of retaining or rebuilding secondary processing, including lumber and pellet manufacturing and Regional Salmon Development, which produces 30% of Alaskan wild salmon harvest. Socially and environmentally friendly growth of the Port must be actively encouraged.

Local training – It is discouraging to see local industrial firms hire qualified trades instead of keeping our youth in Rupert with locally based apprenticeships. Over the past 3 years at Council meetings with major Prince Rupert industries, I have continually pressured them to take apprentices – and Council should continue to do so.

Quality of Life – Jobs and new industry should not be pursed at the expense of our pristine environment or our community’s quality of life. ‘Prince Rupert must put out the doormat to welcome industry but not be a doormat’.

Social programs to support healthy families, the backbone of a growing economy – Council must support, both directly and indirectly, recreation, education and training, and decent social programs for children, youth and adults. The late night summer recreation program in conjunction with The Hub was a success in keeping some kids engaged in recreation at the Civic Centre last summer, rather than out on the streets looking for excitement. Through lobbying and working with Northern Health, we have achieved a day use alcohol and drug harm reduction program but still need a detox program, a program for youth addicts and a safe house for children and youth who are having difficulties at home.

First Nations involvement in our city should be encouraged – through appointments of First Nation residents to civic committees as well as meeting with the surrounding communities to discuss issues in common. Working with local First Nations governments on mutually beneficial projects like the Tsimshian Access Project, the Museum strata title and the Metlakatla water lot will assist the entire region to develop.
Anonymous

Seems like a very simplistic notion – just do nothing – people are coming anyway? That is the kind of thinking that Prince Rupert has been doing for the past 20 years and that is reflected in the current state of affairs.

I don’t agree with everything Anna had to say, but at least her and some of the other candidates are talking about bringing a newer approach to economic development. I would rather elect a council member who is prepared to challenge the status quo thinking and be willing to try some new ideas than just simply stick their head in the sand and say “it’s gonna come here anyway – hopefully”.
http://www.votejenrice.com Jennifer Rice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD2R8GqWqPI

As a community traditionally dependent on one industry to provide employment, we need a council that encourages a diversified economy that builds a resilient community not a dependent one. We can shape our collective future rather than opening the doors to any and every proposal without considering how it will best impact the people and the environment — the life force of this community.

In today’s global economy, we are challenged with finding meaningful jobs that support healthy livelihoods. However, I do believe that opportunities do exist. I will advocate for the needed education and training to be situated here in Prince Rupert so our youth have opportunities and a vested interest in staying in this community. As the Port of Prince Rupert further expands into an internationally competitive port, I will advocate for not only locals gaining employment, but for programs that keep families in the community and puts businesses in the empty storefronts. This means encouraging economies that take into consideration the health and well-being of workers, the sourcing of local materials and with a commitment to long-term viability. At the All-Canddates forum a question was asked of candidates on our ideas for economic development. These area few ideas.They are not campaign promises just ideas that would need further research and investigation as to their feasibility.

   – Working with the Chamber of Commerce and Community Futures to help support existing and encourage new businesses.

    – Putting forward a work camp bylaw to support local businesses. If a big industry sets up in town and uses imported labour for construction we could have a bylaw that forces workers to stay in our hotels and accommodations, eat in our restaurants and shop in our grocery stores keeping money in the community. The city of Dawson Creek has a bylaw such as this.

Focus on our strengths we have and build on those such as the:

    – Lester Centre – Partner with NWCC to explore “Stage Design” programs which would bring theatre students & teachers to our community. (Revenue from Theatre goes to City)
    – CityWest - Explore starting a Telecommunications Training Centre
    – Hotels – Hospitality/Hotel Management courses (we have some excellent hotels here) offered in partnership with NWCC.
   - Locally operated power sources (such as a small wind turbine/hydro grid that employs locals and sells back to the grid which also supports our resiliency as a community)
   - PARTNERING wherever possible and strengthening cross-cultural communication through everything.
Farley Stewart

To help reduce unemployment we need to look at training and education. We have a number of stakeholders that can offer the training and education but when the students graduate we need to match them up with industry, small business jobs. I know that soon the Port and RDI will need more workers and where are they going to come from. Well we have a population of homegrown talent that is being under utilized and we need to provide them an opportunity to learn and put them to work. I would love to see the headlines in the paper that says we have a bunch of grads from the College and 100 per cent have gotten jobs locally. We can do that, we have an opporuntity to do that, we as the City need to take a leadership role and make sure that the players in education, small business, industry and First Nations get the support they need. There is training funds out there for students we need to make sure that they can access those funds.
Let’s look at hosting our own Community Summitt Meeting on Education and Jobs. The players can promote what they are doing and get the word out on what jobs will be coming up and here is the training you need. The people of Prince Rupert can learn first hand what is happening and ask questions. Its a combination of a career fair and recruiting drive.
We can’t forget about the other areas of employment such as the tourism industry, youth entrepreneurship and health to name a few.

I think we need to offer something if not a short term to attract new business and industry. I am sure our economic development office or community futures office could find us some options and look at what works in other communities.

I would also like the big companies to make an initial one time investment and then annual contribution into a Social Program, a Recreation Program at our Civic Center, the Library or Senior Center etc…

Economic & Employment Situation

Skeena Institute