NOT FAST ENOUGH
CROSS-COUNTRY RUNS
A judge has ruled that a driver was travelling too slow in a 2011 accident on the Coquihalla / Page 2
The results are in! Over 200 students took part in cross-country runs this fall / Page 9
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MERRITT HERALD FREE
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
PREMIER’S VISIT
CUTTING THE RIBBON NVIT’s new trades building was opened in style last week, with Premier Christy Clark participating as the guest of honour.
(Left to right) Premier Clark and NVIT president Ken Tourand cut the ribbon, with NVIT Elder Amelia Washington and Coldwater Band Chief Lee Spahan looking on at the ceremony last Friday. David Dyck/Herald Michael Potestio THE MERRITT HERALD
The Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) ushered in a new era with a little help from Premier Christy Clark on Friday (Oct.23). Clark attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for the postsecondary institution’s newly-built on-campus trades training building. It cost $1.8 million to con-
struct, the lions share coming from a $1.5 million contribution from the provincial government. NVIT chipped in the remaining $300,000. To a large crowd gathered at the ceremony, Clark said NVIT is important in ensuring First Nations get a chance to obtain the training needed to participate in the province’s economy, and ensure they benefit from the trades and resources industries. “It is long past due time that
First Nations people have the chance to be fully engaged in our economy,” Clark said, adding that B.C. has proven itself successful at getting wealth out of the ground. “But we have not done a good job of ensuring that First Nations, on whose traditional territory and from whose traditional territory those resources are extracted, get a share and a piece of that wealth,” Clark said. The 670-square metre facility was funded through B.C.’s Skills
During her stop in Merritt, she also answered some tough questions about the email scandal, and talked to the Herald about her first conversation with Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau. Full coverage inside.
for Jobs Blueprint, which includes capital funding for new trades training infrastructure and equipment. “We need more trades people in the province,” Clark told reporters, “I hope that we’ll see this [institution] double, triple in size over time.” Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart said it felt like yesterday that she was at NVIT for the groundbreaking ceremony, which took place almost a year ago.
“It’s come a long way and it shows our commitment to the city of Merritt,” Tegart said. The province is investing more than $3 billion in skills training over the next decade to ensure British Columbians are first in line for jobs coming to the province, Clark said. “This institution is going to be vital to making that happen,” she said.
See ‘Premier’ Page 3
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