Kukpi7 George Lampreau of Simpcw First Nation says that a recent meeting with the Minister of Transportation, Mike Farnworth about Highway 5 safety yielded positive results.
Safety in the North Thompson Valley was just one of the topics Lampreau discussed in an interview with Black Press on Saturday, March 15.
In the meeting with Minister Farnworth, in Victoria, Lampreau brought up the continued concern about Highway 5 safety and addressed the issue in Barriere of potentially losing the Juliet car ambulance.
“We met with minister Farnworth a year ago and he was told at the time that BC Highway Patrol wouldn’t be leaving Clearwater when he was attorney general. But those officers have retired, and they still haven’t been replaced. He was a little bit shocked when he heard that,” said Lampreau.
Lampreau also shared the importance of meetings with the provincial government he attended in the capital with the mayor of Valemount, Owen Torgerson and “Team Valemount” seeking the provincial government’s support for the small valley community following the Jasper wildfire that displaced approximately 20,000 evacuees during the peak of tourism season along Highway 5. With the highway closed in all directions during the wildfire last summer, the small town was forced to accommodate many displaced Jasper residents seeking safety during the emergency.
Lampreau said, “The Jasper wildfire had a ripple effect on the town of Valemount which basically lost all their summer tourism season and there is an estimated 70 percent of businesses in that area that are at risk of closing due to the impact of that emergency. Valemount is in Simpcw territory, and we are standing with them in requesting our provincial government, the Alberta government and the federal government provide the $1.5 million dollars in funding needed to assist the town in its recovery. Realistically that isn’t a lot of money, but it would go a long way in saving this town with such a rich history in our territory.”
Black Press also requested a comment from the mayor of Valemount about the recent trip to Victoria who described this type of funding support following such an emergency as “serving as a pilot project” for future emergencies to areas facing similar impacts although not directly impacted by something like the Jasper wildfire.
Torgerson explained, “As British Columbia prepares for future emergency situations, it is crucial that impacted communities can rely on their neighbours for help, and that there is a procedure in place to get all communities back on their feet, whether they were impacted directly or indirectly.
It is extremely unique for a Kukpi7 (chief) and a mayor to be sitting together across the table from provincial representatives. It just doesn’t happen. It is a testament to the flourishing relationship spanning more than a decade between our communities and governments, and the memorandum of understanding we signed with Simpcw First Nation a year ago.”
The mayor of Valemount told Black Press he and his "Team Valemount" representatives will be meeting with the government of Alberta on Monday, March 17 and heading to Ottawa later in the week to request further economic support.
The Simpcw leader also brought up meeting with the new mayor of Barriere, Rob Kerslake to discuss the potential removal of the second ambulance, referred to as the temporary Juliet car, from the Barriere area. He added, “I’m glad to hear that Barriere has been granted an extension on leaving that Juliet car in the valley for now.”
District of Barriere (DOB) mayor Rob Kerslake told Black Press, “Saving the second ambulance stationed in Barriere is great news for the entire valley. While the extension is only until September 30, we remain hopeful that it will become permanent as the data from BC Ambulance supports this need. This achievement is a strong example of elected officials working together for the common good. With our collective efforts from the DOB, Simpcw, TNRD and MLA Stamer, we worked hard to make this happen and will continue to advocate for long term solutions.”
Lampreau also praised a Value-Added coalition meeting he attended in Clearwater on Wednesday March 12 to address the issues of small value-added timber operations within the valley as a follow up that began with a tour in the North Thompson last year. The meeting was hosted by Community Forests from Clearwater, Barriere, Valemount and McBride, BC Timber Sales (BCTS) and Simpcw First Nation. Representatives from BCTS were present from Prince George, Kamloops and the Kootenays along with Woodlots B.C. participated in the coalition. Kukpi7 Lampreau and mayor Merlin Blackwell from the District of Clearwater presented opening remarks to those present.
Wells Gray Community Forest manager, George Brcko described the coalition and said the next steps will be an outcome of the meetings breakout sessions followed by actions and hopefully adopting the terms of reference.
"With the Minister of Forest, Ravi Parmar, touring the valley next week we hope to highlight the importance of local community forest tenures. The need for partnerships is now. We are fortunate to have Simpcw driving those partnerships," Brcko said.
Circling back to Simpcw First Nation events Lampreau mentioned having a good weekend in Tsawwassen with “away from home members” during a well-attended cultural event there organized by their satellite office in the Lower Mainland. “We booked a hotel for the event with approximately 70 away from home members who participated in crafts, language, drumming, and community give-aways. It was impressive and inspiring for everyone involved. We are looking forward to our upcoming spring pow wow and once again planning for our Simpcw Days which will be held at our village in Chu Chua with many more away from home members hopefully returning to join in this year.”
Lampreau said he is looking forward to the communities of Barriere, Clearwater, McBride and Prince George signing MOUs similar to that of Valemount in the "near future" and further building on those Simpcw territory partnerships.
