LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY of

Strathcona Regional District

25, March 2019 Hon. , MLA North Island Hon. Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Room 310 Parliament Buildings Victoria, BC V8V 1X4 COPY

Hon. Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Room 248 Parliament Buildings Victoria, BC V8V 1X4

Dear Minister Robinson and Minister Donaldson,

The Northern Capital Planning funding was widely welcomed by communities in the north of the province. But those elsewhere felt that they had been sidelined.

North Island communities have been dealing with transition from vibrant resource communities for many years; their tax base is low, the infrastructure needs repair and replacement, and access to the sort of monies provided to northern communities would be welcomed.

Further the communities continue to see extraction of resources — whether logs harvested or gravel quarried — without a real return to them.

These communities have many ideas and many needs. I would ask that we could organize a meeting with you with about how to make rural development a reality. I would hope that such a meeting could include elected representatives of North Island communities as well as First N ations.

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North Island Constituency Office Legislative Office 908 Island Highway Parliament Buildings Campbell River BC V9W 2C3 VictoriaBC V8VlX4 T 250-287-5100 F 250-287-5105 T 250-387-1978 F 250-356-2290 Toll Free 1-866-387-5100 Claire [email protected] I would be very happy to discuss this with you further and hope that we can make the meeting happen.

Yours sincerely,

Hon. Claire Trevena, MLA cc: Kevin Cameron, Mayor Gaby Wickstrom, Mayor Port McNeill Dennis Dugas, Mayor Dennis Buc-han-an, Mayor , SRD Chair Chief Paddy Walkus, Chief and Council Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw EN Chief James Nelson, Chief and Council Quatsino EN Chief Ross Hunt, Chief and Council Kwakiutl EN Chief Don Svanvik, Chief and Council 'Namgis EN