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MERRITT HERALD FREE
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
HEALTH CARE
MGE shouldering Merritt development values
IHA to get 300 new nurses
Michael Potestio THE MERRITT HERALD
The Merritt Green Energy Project (MGE) lead the way in the value of building permits, generating $13,000,000 of a total $27,000,000 the city saw in 2015 — more than any other construction project. The worth of these permits has been growing the past three years. In 2014 the value of development projects in town was approximately $11,600,000 — an increase of $7.5 million from 2013's $4.1 million, Merritt's planning and development services manager Sean O'Flaherty told the Herald. The increase from 2014 to 2015 was about $15.4 million. Without MGE, the increase would have dropped down to just $2.4 million. This past year, the city collected more than $150,000 in building permit fees from every building permit — which are based on the construction values, O'Flaherty said. "The building permit fees contribute to overall revenues in the city, so it's a revenue source," he said. However, these numbers say more than just what's going into city coffers. "It's a good indicator of overall growth and development in a city," O'Flaherty said. He said it shows growth both in quality and quantity of the developments. More permits will be needed for the MGE project this year, meaning the project will continue
Provincial goal is to hire 1,600 more nurses across B.C.
to generate construction values in 2016, O'Flaherty said. The number of active business licenses also increased, moving from 544 in 2014 up to 603 in 2015. "All this new investment in our city is a result of market conditions, interest rates, favourable construction and land costs, and economic outlook," O'Flaherty said. Some of the major building developments in town still under construction include two hotels being erected in the Gasoline Alley section of town, and ENN Canada's permanent LNG fuelling station behind the Greyhound bus station.
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The Merritt Green Energy Project generated $13,000,000 worth of building permits for the city last year. David Dyck/Herald
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in place achieve this at the school level, but a district parent advisory council, or DPAC, will go beyond classroom influence. “When there’s district planning or decisions being made, then we’ll be able to consult with parents through the DPAC,� McNiven said. McNiven said a DPAC would advise the school board. “They would have an opportunity to develop an agenda
The B.C. government is planning to catch up on its long-standing nursing shortage by hiring 1,643 full-time registered nurses by the end of March. Health Minister Terry Lake and B.C. Nurses’ Union president Gayle Duteil announced Tuesday they have reached a staff increase agreement that has been the main obstacle to signing a new contract. The previous deal expired nearly two years ago, and the dispute over staffing was headed for arbitration. Duteil said the last BCNU contract in 2012 contained a commitment to fill these positions, but more than 1,600 have not been. “To the nurses working 16-hour shifts today, to the nurses working short in the emergency department and operating rooms across B.C., to community nurses with overwhelming caseloads, this agreement means relief is on the way,� Duteil said. Lake said the first priority is to offer full-time positions to some of the 7,000 casual nurses working in B.C. Nurses from other provinces would be the next choice, and international recruiting would take place after that. “I think there will be a pool of nurses who may be moving back with their families to British Columbia, given the economic downturn in Alberta,� Lake said.
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TWO PACS
SD 58 developing district PAC Michael Potestio THE MERRITT HERALD
A district parent advisory council is being developed in an effort to give parents a voice on educational issues and influence matters at a district level. These types of groups are common in B.C.’s education system said superintendent Steve McNiven, but no such advisory council exists within SD 58. The PACs that are currently
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