District of Fort St. James Welcome to Fort St. James The community of Fort St. James is open for business. Welcome! Fort St. James is proud to be one of the oldest communities in British Columbia. Situated on the shores of Stuart Lake, Fort St. James enjoys rich history, culture, natural resources, and friendly people. For over 200 years people have made Fort St. James their home. We are a resilient multi-generational, multicultural community that is working diligently to realize the full potential of our five economic drivers; forestry, agriculture, tourism, bio energy and mining. We have a strong, competent and experienced base of workers, as a result of our excellent educational facilities. Our residents have the opportunity to continually develop their skills to their highest potential and to meet increasing labour market demands. The municipal district has a large land base with a full variety of available zoned land. Property prices are low in relation to provincial norms and we have one of the lowest new business development cost requirements in our province. Local government is supportive and committed to working in the best interests of new ventures and the community. We are open to innovation, new technology and “thinking outside the box”. We offer a quality of life that includes our education, health care, modern amenities, recreation, culture, sheer natural beauty and close proximity (within 2 hours) to BC’s northern capital, Prince George that cannot be duplicated in too many other places. Weekly farmers’ markets, logging trucks rolling through town, cattle and horses grazing along the roads and knowledgeable interpreters at the National Historic Site dressed in period costume are some of the sights and sounds you will experience. A true indicator of our ingrained values is the fire hall siren that sounds off every evening at 9pm to tell our children “it’s time to come home”. Welcome to our community. It would be our pleasure to be of service and to support you as you grow and thrive with us. Sincerely, Rob MacDougall Mayor District of Fort St. James Municipal Office Hours & Location Weekdays 8:30 am – 4:30 pm P.O. Box 640, 477 Stuart Drive West Fort St. James, British Columbia Canada V0J 1P0 Phone: 250-996-8233 Fax: 250-996-2248 3 CONTENTS 1. Demographics ............................................................................................................................ 6 Population 6 Household Income 6 Workforce Education Attainment 7 Language Knowledge 7 2. Labour Force .............................................................................................................................. 8 Employment by Industry 8 Top Employers 9 Average Income By Occupation – Northern BC 9 Labour Force 11 Employment Rate 11 Labour Participation Rate 11 Commuting 11 3. Payroll Costs ............................................................................................................................ 12 Workers Compensation – 2012 12 Employment Insurance – 2012 12 Social Insurance (Canada Pension Plan) – 2012 13 4. Higher Education...................................................................................................................... 14 Post-secondary Institutions 14 Training Services 14 5. Transportation ......................................................................................................................... 15 Major Transporation Routes 15 Highways 17 Northern Corridor Specifications 18 Railroads 19 Commercial Airports 20 Ports 21 Port Shipping Distances 24 6. Industrial Land Use .................................................................................................................. 25 Land Zoned and Designated in Official Community Plan 25 Vacant Land Zoned and Designated in Official Community Plan 25 Local Permit Approvals 26 Acquisition of crown land 26 7. Utilities .................................................................................................................................... 27 Water System 27 4 Waste Water System 28 Landfill and Waste Management 28 Licensed Hazardous Materials Disposal 28 Electric Power 29 Natural Gas 32 Telecommunications 33 8. Business Support Services ........................................................................................................ 35 9. Government ............................................................................................................................ 36 Municipal Government 36 First Nations Government Error! Bookmark not defined. Regional District 36 Provincial 36 Premier 37 Provincial Government Representation 37 Federal Government Representation 37 Senators 37 10. Housing ................................................................................................................................... 38 Housing Characteristics 38 Average Housing Values 38 11. Taxation .................................................................................................................................. 39 Corporate Income Tax 39 Personal Income Tax 39 Sales / Use Tax 39 Sales Tax Rate by Utility 40 Property Tax 41 12. International Resources ........................................................................................................... 42 Investment and Business Support Offices 42 Financial Institutions 43 Employment Assistance 43 Air Transportation Service 44 13. Quality of Life .......................................................................................................................... 45 Climate 45 Culture 46 Health 47 5 1. DEMOGRAPHICS POPULATION FORT ST. JAMES NORTHERN BC Population By Population (2006) % Distribution Population By Population % Distribution Age Group Age Group (2006) Under 18 years 355 26.2% Under-18 79,700 24.8% 18 - 34 years 270 19.9% 18-24 30,900 9.6% 35 - 54 years 420 31.0% 24-44 88,500 27.5% 55 - 74 years 255 18.8% 45-64 90,700 28.2% 75-Older 50 3.7% 65+ 32,200 10.0% Total: 1,355 100.0% Total 322,000 100% Median Age: 37.4 Median Age: 46.84 Data Source: BC Stats — Quarterly Regional Statistics “Cariboo, North Coast, North East, Nechako — http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/pubs/pr_qrs.asp HOUSEHOLD INCOME Household Income 2006 Number of Households 555 Median Income - All Families $67,671 Median Income After Tax – All Families $65,428 Data Source: Stats Canada – 2006 - “Fort St James Community Profile” - http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006 HOUSEHOLD INCOME - PERCENT DISTRIBUTION $75,000 CDN and over 230 $50,000 to $74,999 CDN 135 $35,000 to $49,999 CDN 50 Less than $35,000 CDN 120 Data Source: BC Stats, 2006 Fort St. James Profile — http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/data/dd/profiles.asp 6 WORKFORCE EDUCATION ATTAINMENT Level of Education # Attained % Less Than High School 145 19 High School Diploma Only 175 23 Apprenticeship/Trade Certificate/Diploma 75 10 College/University Certificate/Diploma 240 31 University Bachelor’s Degree 90 12 Medical/Dentistry/Optometry Degree 10 1 Graduate Degree/Certificate 40 5 Data Source: Stats Canada – 2006 - “Fort St James Community Profile” - http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006 LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE Languages Spoken Citizens English 1,070 Panjabi (Punjabi) 145 French 80 Hindi 75 German 35 Carrier 25 Chinese 10 Dutch 10 Spanish 10 Data Source: Statscan – 2006 Census – “Mother Tongue” 7 2. LABOUR FORCE EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY FORT ST. JAMES NORTHERN BC Sector (Industry) Sector (Industry) Services 80 Forestry & Logging 16,230 Manufacturing 215 Mining and Oil & Gas 6,580 Forestry & Logging 100 Construction 12,385 Retail Trade 40 Manufacturing 21,310 Government 40 Transportation, Warehousing & 12,305 Public Utilities Construction 10 Wholesale Trade 5,455 Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 35 & Leasing Retail Trade 18,475 Transportation, Warehousing & Services 32,940 15 Public Utilities Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 6,040 Wholesale Trade 10 & Leasing Mining and Oil & Gas 0 Government 43,120 Total 545 Total 174,840 Data Source: Stats Canada – 2006 - “Fort St James Community Profile” - http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006 EMPLOYMENT BY OCCUPATION 205 120 100 90 95 80 55 45 30 10 10 0 0 Data Source: Invest BC Community Profile — “Labour Force” 8 TOP EMPLOYERS Sector Employer Product/Service # Employees Website Manufacturing Conifex Timber Inc. Dimension Lumber 130 www.conifex.com Manufacturing Apollo Forest Products Dimension lumber 130 www.apolloforest.com www.hotfrog.ca/Companies/K- Primary Industry K&D Logging Logging 96 D-Logging School District 91 (Fort ST. Education Education 93 www.sd91.bc.ca James only) www.welcolumber.com/mill- Manufacturing T'loh Forest Products Dimension Lumber 50 sales-tloh.html Government Ministry of Forests and Range Government 62 www.gov.bc.ca/for Health Care Stuart Lake Hospital Health Care 43 Northern Interior Forest Manufacturing Post and Rail 40 www.nifp.com Products Retail Overwaitea Foods Retail 36 www.overwaitea.com Data Source: Invest BC Community Profile – “Leading Employers” AVERAGE INCOME BY OCCUPATION – NORTHERN BC Occupation Average wage ($/Hour)($CDN) Effective Date Administrative Clerks 20.46 2012 Bookkeepers 20.00 2012 Business Development Officers 28.01 2012 Carpenters 23.00 2012 Civil Engineers 36.06 2012 Computer Engineers 36.06 2012 Crane Operators 28.00 2012 Drafting Technicians 26.79 2012 Electrical Engineers 32.00 2012 Forestry Technicians 27.00 2012 Geological Engineers 26.73 2012 Heavy Duty Equipment 30.00 2012 Heavy Equipment Operators 26.75 2012 Industrial & Manufacturing Engineers 28.08 2012 Industrial Electricians 32.00