PORT ALICE, B.C. – The village of Port Alice has received a substantial grant from the provincial government.
Through the BC Rural Dividend Program, the government is providing $498,885 to the North Island village.
“The economy of Port Alice has been struggling since the closure of the Neucel mill,” said North Island MLA Claire Trevena, in a release.
The release noted that the funds will be used to improve the municipality-owned marina, including adding power and a new building to provide a food kiosk, washrooms with showers and an office for the marina manager.
“The special circumstances provision of the rural dividend was specifically designed to assist communities undergoing economic hardship, such as the loss of a primary employer,” said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, in the release.
“The rural dividend is just one aspect of our rural development mandate committed to making rural communities more resilient.”
Port Alice mayor Jan Allen the news was incredible for the village.
“It opens the door for a tourism aspect that shadows the three-year curtailment of our pulp mill, Neucel Cellulose,” she said.
“Our population has decreased in the past three years. Currently, our bank is only open two days a week, and our stores are struggling to keep their doors open. If we build, they will return – to the ‘Gateway of the West Coast’, the incredible gem of the Village of Port Alice.”
As part of the 2018 provincial budget, the British Columbia government has committed to extending the $25 million per year rural dividend to 2020-2021.
For more on the Rural Dividend Program, visit the provincial government’s website.
