The opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the VIEA Board of Directors or the funder, Ministry of Housing and Social Development. This publication is available electronically on the Vancouver Island Economic Alliance website: www.viea.ca Authors Main report Wendy Maurer Case Study: Campbell River Janet Simpson-Cooke Case Study: West Coast Aquatics Laurie Schuerbeke Vancouver Island Lists Jennifer Popein Melissa Braun Bonnie Postulo Trish Hoffman Sandeep Chauhan Janet Simpson-Cooke Laurie Schuerbeke Link Interview Team Wendy Maurer Janet Simpson-Cooke Laurie Schuerbeke Link Advisory Board Garry Bentham – Village Design & Drafting Leanne Brunt - Rivercorp Iain Cuthbert – Streamline Environmental Consulting Ed Galenzoski – retired - CanWest Community Publishing Group Cori Lynn Germiquet - VIEA Cheryl McLay – Regional Manager, Rural BC Secretariat Dave Petryk – Tourism Vancouver Island Rick Roberts – Rick Roberts Consulting Rob Simmonds – Aboriginal Corporate Development Marianne Stolz – Capital Asset Group Dave Willie – Black and White Party Rentals 10/10/10 2 VIEA Board of Directors - 2010/2011 Rick Roberts, Chair - Rick Roberts Consulting Bill Benoit, Chair Elect - Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Sasha Angus, Past-Chair - Greater Victoria Development Agency Ron Arcos, Director – Community Futures Development Corporation Dr. Pedro Marquez, Director – Royal Roads University Sandy Herle, Director – Close to You Fashions Arnold Harasymchuk, Director – BMC Business Management Consultants Russ Burke, Director – Canadian Western Bank Marlene Rice, Director – Coast Salish Employment and Training Society Iain Cuthbert, Director – Streamline Environmental Consultants Colleen Evans, Director – Campbell River Chamber of Commerce Dan Smith, Director - First Nations Summit Dave Willie, Director – Black & White Party Rentals Lisa De Leeuw, Director – Coast Capital Savings Olaf Nielsen, Director - Camosun College Cori Lynn Germiquet – President of VIEA 2009 Strategic Planning Session Attendees Russ Hellburg, Chair - Maglynn Holdings Sash Angus, Vice Chair – Greater Victoria Development Agency Don Hubbard, Treasurer - Hub City Paving, Lafarge Canada Maureen Young, Executive Secretary – Capital Coast Savings Joe Cristiano, Board Member – Coastal Community Credit Union Chuck Fast, Board Member – Tourism Vancouver Island Olaf Nielsen, Board Member – Camosun College Deborah Bromley, Board Member - ETHOS Career Management Jane King, Board Member - BC Ferries Bill Benoit, Board Member – Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Rick Roberts, Board Member – Rick Roberts Consulting Jim Cameron, Province of BC - Executive Director, Rural BC Secretariat Cheryl Fortin, Province of BC – Regional Manager, Rural BC Secretariat Doug Kalcsics – Island Coastal Economic Trust John Briggs - Western Economic Diversification Dl Hughes - Western Economic Diversification Colleen Evans - Campbell River Chamber of Commerce Bruce Carter - Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce Geoff Millar - Economic Development Cowichan Kathy Lachman - VIEDA Caroline Spira - VIEDA Carolyn Tatton - MISTIC Pat Bugera - Impact Visual Communications Sandra Mark - Food Heritage Ken Doiron - Southern Railway VI Cori Lynn Germiquet, President - VIEA Kathy Bishop, Facilitator - Kathy Bishop and Associates 10/10/10 3 “WORKING TOGETHER” Dear Readers: The Link team heard from the people interviewed for this project that they are tired of being involved in research for reports that just end up sitting on a shelf. We listened. The recommendations in this report include strategies, tactics and actions attached to them. The report contains six key recommendations that have been presented to the VIEA Board of Directors and approved. Information in the report is presented in a linear fashion. The list of recommendations is stated, each recommendation is explained, has a series of strategies attached to say how to move the recommendation forward and for each strategy there are tactics and actions. The strategies are prioritized and timelines for implementation are included. There are a total of four strategies with thirty-six tactics and sixty-three actions to support the six recommendations. These strategies are the beginning and it is expected they will be built on and refined over time. We encourage you to read this report and see how you and your organization can be part of keeping the report from gathering dust. VIEA welcomes the participation of partners. The work to be done requires broad participation ... so see how you fit in. It is important to encourage continued cooperation with private sector, academia, government and community. The Link team appreciates that the leaders interviewed were generous in their welcome and the information shared with us. We promised that we were there to be neutral, listen, record and report back on what we heard. This report is primarily built on what we heard and also on what we learned through secondary research. The Link team used a Vancouver Island lens throughout the project. As we looked for Vancouver Island information we discovered there wasn’t a lot of information presented that way. So we compiled Vancouver Island lists and are sharing them with you. We heard that it is most useful if lists are shared in a non-protected format. This allows a potential user the ability to adjust the list to suit their needs. As well, the lists are presented as separate files rather than include them as appendices to this report. If you were not a delegate at the 4th Annual State of the Island Economic Summit, you will find these files posted on the VIEA website www.viea.ca under “Tools & Resources”. We Declare that we have listened with care and are proud to share the following report with you. With enthusiasm for our future, Wendy Maurer & The Link Team 10/10/10 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Executive Summary – Vancouver Island Working Together Vancouver Island Leaders recognize the value of collaboration on economic issues. Many actively practice collaboration within their own communities and with selected neighbours. They acknowledge that it is possible to cooperate and compete at the same time and there is value in working together as a Vancouver Island economic region. The Vancouver Island Economic Alliance is recognized as the organization with the regional Vancouver Island mandate of supporting regional partners working together for economic prosperity. Economic Development mandates of other Vancouver Island organizations are within Regional Districts, local governments, First Nation Alliances and individual First Nation governments and play an important function for each community. The VIEA Linking Island Leaders Project used a community based research approach to create a snapshot of Vancouver Island’s current “State of the Island” economic readiness. In some communities, cycles of poverty are holding communities back from reaching their potential. At the same time, some communities are creating vibrant, healthy environments through a local economic development strategy tailored to their community. By taking a community economic development approach, these communities are making Vancouver Island stronger and a region full of opportunity. We are all neighbours and can all achieve economic prosperity if we are willing to be inclusive. The following key recommendations are based on over 200 meetings with Vancouver Island Leaders to ask for their thoughts about collaboration on economic development and a review of secondary research. Key Recommendations: 1. VIEA supports a Collaborative Model of Regional Economic Development for Vancouver Island. 2. VIEA broadens its communications strategy to include information to enhance collaboration. 3. VIEA monitors and responds to issues affecting regional economic development. 4. VIEA showcases value in working with First Nation governments on Vancouver Island. 5. VIEA promotes retention of and attraction of young people to Vancouver Island as also determined in the Collaborative Workforce Strategy. 6. VIEA includes Educators within both the public and private sectors in the collaborative model of regional economic development. 10/10/10 5 Table of Contents Authors ................................................. P 2 Dear Reader .................................................. P 4 Executive Summary .................................................. P 5 Introduction & Methodology …………………………………………………………. P 7 Recommendations …………………………………………………………. P 10 What We Heard …………………………………………………………. P 30 Working with First Nations …………………………………………………………. P 60 Case Study West Coast Aquatics …………………………………………………………. P 67 • Interviews …………………………………………………………. P 75 Case Study Campbell River …………………………………………………………. P 90 • Campbell River Accords …………………………………………………………. P 106 Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………. P 114 Research Summaries • Local Government priorities as identified in their documents….. P 120 • Interview “Outcomes” statement synopsis ………………………………. P 145 Appendices • Report Strategies Matrix …………………………………………………………. P 149 • Models to Learn From …………………………………………………………. P 150 • Terminology …………………………………………………………. P 153 • Data List Summary …………………………………………………………. P 157 • In the electronic version of the report the following are added: o Campbell River Case Study synopsis Powerpoint o Link Project Brochure as circulated at beginning of project o Link Project Powerpoint as presented to Regional Districts 10/10/10 6 WORKING TOGETHER Introduction On January 15, 2009,