The City of Prince George may want to look to the past to find the best way to respond to the shift the forest industry will be going through for the next few years. We need new opportunities for our economy and bold moves to bring them about.
One of those recommendations from NDIT which was acted upon by the Provincial Government, involved the electrification of Highway 37. The result of providing electrical power along that corridor was an incredible investment in exploration. That rush of exploration led to new mines coming online such as Red Chris and Brucejack, with more advancing through various stages of review.
The City of Prince George should follow in the footsteps of NDIT and look at creating “Made in Prince George” solutions. There are many different opportunities that Prince George could look at to develop and help diversify our economic base. Mining and refining of critical minerals such as copper and rare earth minerals, building on the production of clean fuels, agriculture, and technology hubs to name but a few.
It’s provincial land and sits next to the highway and railway line. For energy, BC Hydro has a substation adjacent to it and there’s a natural gas pipeline close by. As for water, the Fraser River is just four kilometres away. The next step would be creating a business case for Hart North that explores the costs associated with developing it. It would include a list of prospective industries which would likely be located there with a plan to market it.