A third-party Task Force is calling on the City of Campbell River to immediately conduct a full economic impact study of forestry, aquaculture and tourism.
Campbell River’s Business Recovery Task Force also wants the city to fulfill its own Strategic Plan, by creating an overarching economic development plan by June of next year.
The “grassroots initiative,” brought forward by co-chairs Garthe Sheane and Brian Stamp, says it recognized that the challenges facing the city’s economy needed to be examined more deeply than just the business recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The initial focus of the task force was to focus on the effect of COVID and the recovery strategies associated with that,” says Stamp.
In a report released this week, the task force says Campbell River remains a so-called “first dollar” community with three primary industries, or “pillars,” which include forestry, aquaculture, and tourism.
“First dollar” means that these industries generate money that is spent and re-spent in the community through wages and local purchasing of goods and services.
The report pointed out that there’s a direct connection between the health of these industries to the number of schools, retail options, parks, the scope of health care, property values and general community amenities.
It says the attractiveness of Campbell River must not be put at risk by lack of awareness or other narratives put forth by those who have no stake in the community.
Stamp says early findings found that there was a disconnect between the various levels of government and the forestry and aquaculture industries in particular.
From that point on, Stamp says the focus of the task forces’ work was to create awareness at all levels of government, the administrations, and the community, of how important the industries are to the local economy.
The task force says the city needs to fully support the forestry and aquaculture industries, as they’re Campbell River’s two major economic drivers that have managed to stay afloat during the pandemic.
Among its other recommendations, the task force wants the city to support the BC Chamber of Commerce to standardize the building and development permit process, and ensure that all available COVID-19 funding opportunities are utilized.
It stresses if these industries are put at risk, everything below it in the spending chain is also put at risk.
The task force presented their report to Campbell River city council on October 6th, and the city issued a statement about the report prior to the meeting.
READ MORE: City responds to business recovery task force report
“This effort reflects both the volunteers’ history of service and commitment to our community,” says Mayor Andy Adams.
“Our city belongs to everyone, and so does the responsibility for contributing to our success. Every person in our community has a vested interest in the success of our local businesses, large and small. The findings in this report reinforce the commitment of so many people to keep Campbell River’s economy moving forward during and after the challenges we are currently facing.”
To read the full report, click here.
