NORTHERN GATEWAY: Hearings into second week A4-5 Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Pedestrian killed by tractor-trailer unit on Highway 97. A3
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Council OK’s China junket
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Delynda Pilon
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Local dignitaries like Mayor Shari Green are featured in the new literacy art calendar, available at Studio 2880 and the library. Pre-orders are autographed. See story Page B5.
It will cost city taxpayers about $35,000 to send the mayor along with city councillors Lyn Hall and Dave Wilbur and the city’s acting manager, Kathleen Soltis, to China next month to continue to build a twinning relationship with the city of Jiangmen. Coun. Cameron Stolz, who voted in favour of the trip along with all the other councillors with the exceptions of Coun. Brian Skakun and Coun. Garth Frizzell, said there was a time about 10 years ago when he heard about all the trips to China being taken by Colin Kinsley, the mayor at the time, and didn’t understand why the trips were being made or the connection those journeys had to a local businessman. “In China things move slowly. It’s very much about building the relationship,” he said. He added that, to the Chinese, the important relationship is the one forged between municipal governments, mayor to mayor, rather than between businesses. He added the benefits of such a relationship are many and, as an example, talked about the students who attended the welcoming event for international students hosted by city hall. Each one pays about $22,000 to participate in studies at local institutions, he said. On top of that it is estimated each spends about the same amount in local business establishments. However, compared to other cities like Kamloops, which has three times the number of Chinese students, Prince George is falling behind and missing out on an opportunity. Cementing the relationship between the city and its proposed sister city in China will help to change that. “And that’s just a small piece of the market with China,” he said. “There are a huge number of possibilities.” “The timing is wrong,” Skakun dis-
agreed. He pointed out the city is currently going through a core review, looking for a way to save money. City employees are concerned they might be laid off and not-for-profit organizations are struggling for funding while the city is forced to deny them the full tax exemption they enjoyed previously in a bid to hold the line when it comes to fiscal policy. “It’s a $35,000 trip. It’s too much at this point,” Skakun said. Hall said that UNBC and the college are very highly regarded in China. “We haven’t tapped into that as well as we should have,” he added. Wilbur added his endorsement of the plan and said he hoped to be part of creating great jobs for future generations in the city, and one of the ways to do that is to continue to create ties with China. “I don’t think there’s ever a great time to do something like this,” Mayor Shari Green said. “There is always a challenge. But it has taken years to get to this stage. This has to move forward no matter what is going on in this building.” Creating a solid government to government relationship is important to the Chinese, she added. Frizzell said that when the Prince George Exhibition delegation came to council and asked for more funding, it was told no extra money could be found and sent away. Since there was no funds available for that, he said, there was none available to send a delegation to China. Stolz explained there is money left in a fund used for a previous mayor to go to China, and dedicated to be used for the expenses that come with twinning with a Chinese city. And, he said, council had reduced its contingency fund and created a fund to be used for economic development only. The money necessary for the trip will be paid out of these two funds.
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