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Christina Lake gets proactive

Christina Lake hosted the Local Investment Capital in Rural Communities conference Monday.
41432grandforksDanOhlerWEB
Dan Ohler

With government grants becoming tougher to get, many communities are looking at other ways to raise capital for local projects.

Recently, the Christina Lake Community Venture Capital Corporation brought in speakers from throughout Canada for their Local Investment Capital in Rural Communities conference, which was held Monday at the Christina Lake Community Hall.

The conference featured speakers in the afternoon and a less formal evening session with a public presentation which included videos and even dancing.

The audience included local residents as well as representatives from different communities throughout B.C. Around 50 people came out for the afternoon session, while close to 75 people were out for the evening.

“I think what it did is it said this community has a sense of community; it said, we are willing to listen; it said, we are willing to come on board; we want Christina Lake to be vibrant, we want Christina Lake to be successful, and we’re willing to be a part of it,” said Grace McGregor, Area C (Christina Lake) director and Southern Interior Beetle Action Coalition (SIBAC) vice-chair. “That’s what I heard last night.”

Audience members heard from speakers such as Mike Lewis, founder of the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal, who spoke on mobilizing capital in rural areas; Chris Payne, Nova Scotia Ministry of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism, who spoke on Nova Scotia’s Community Economic Development Investment Funds (CEDIF)  program; and Paul Cabaj, director of cooperative development, Alberta Community and Co-operative Association, who spoke on unleashing the local capital experience in Alberta.

“I have to say, the people that weren’t there really missed something,” said McGregor. “They missed some of the answers about survival of your community; when it comes to the fact that there isn’t going to be help down the road; and finding the answer within your community.”

McGregor urges those that were unable to attend to check out the video on YouTube.

The conference was put on by SIBAC, Tax Dollars Christina Lake, RDCK Area C (Christina Lake) and Columbia Basin Trust.

McGregor said the speakers at the conference talked about the success stories of using local investment capital to improve rural communities.

“They’ve done this very well,” she said. “They went through the pain too. They said, ‘No. We’re not willing to just sit here and wait for someone else to do it for us.’ They went out and did it. People need to see the video. They’ll be just amazed at what can be done.”

Sandy Mark, Christina Lake community coordinator and one of the organizers of the event, said the conference was a great way for local residents to hear about and hopefully be inspired by the success stories of other regions with similar backgrounds.

“Since we’re the first community venture capital corporation in B.C., we need to create a pathway through the securities commission and the venture capital legislation and regulations,” said Mark. “We’re still learning to do all that. We’re hoping to have all our technical decisions made in a few months if not sooner.”

Mark said the group went back and forth between raising the money and then finding a business to invest in, or the other way around.

“We were told by the folks who have been doing this for years that we should raise the money and be ready because these opportunities can pop up quickly,” she said. “It’s better to get our ducks in a row first. Of course, we’ll be beating the bushes for potential (businesses).”

Christina Lake Venture Capital Corporation has been selected as a pilot project for B.C. by SIBAC, said Mark.

“As a pilot, we’re really hacking through the bushes,” she said. “We’re going to hack through and leave a path that those communities that came to the workshop and those that wished they did can have an easier time of it. Because we’ve had a big challenge getting as far as we have so far.”