Three Highlights from our November 12, 2009 Monthly Meeting

1) To address the great need to enhance the accessibility of programs and services available to residents has lead to a partnership with the United Way for an online Community Resource Directory for the Williams Lake Area.

This partnership includes grant funding from United Way which will cover the costs of developing the website as well as hosting and maintenance fees for a five year period.

More updates will be posted as this project continues.

2) The City of Williams Lake "Imagine our Future" project (http://www.imagineourfuture.ca/) is seeking community members feedback and discussion in ten areas of focus in cluding social well being. Please contact City Planner Liliana Dragowska at 250-392-1770 or ldragowska@williamslake.ca

3) CTC Update: a) A successfull Community Board Meeting was held recently which mapped out the project for the next few months, b) Community Assessment Report is in draft form and scheduled to be released to the public in January. Prior to then it will be presented to the Key Leaders Group at their December meeting, c) Community Action Plan training in Williams Lake begins Dec 8, d) In Anahim Lake the project is in the same stages and has the valuable assistance from UNBC Social Work Practicum student.

October 19, 2009 Annual General Meeting Summary

AGM business included Chair Report from Monica Johnson, Financial Report from Anne Smith, Williams Lake Food Policy Council update from Tatjana Bates, Communities that Care presentation update from Anne Burrill, and the Election of Officers.

New Board of Directors includes: Diana French, Monica Johnson, Anne Smith, Jay Goddard and Rosanna McGregor.

At 7:00 pm Keynote Speaker Seth Klein gave a compelling overview of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) "A Poverty Reduction Plan for BC". This report (summary, full report and video slideshow can be found online at the following web page address: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/ or email us directly.

We are taking membership renewals - please email spc-coordinator@xplornet.com for a registration form.

AGM October 19, 2009 - TRU 5:30 pm

The Social Planning Council of Williams Lake invites you to our Annual General Meeting October 19, 2009 at Thompson Rivers University with keynote speaker Seth Klein from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives presenting "A Poverty Reduction Plan for BC" on why BC needs a poverty reduction plan, the ways in which we all pay for poverty, the key components of an effective plan, and why there is nothing inevitable about poverty in a province as wealthy as ours.

Dinner and regular AGM business starts at 5:30 – 7:00 pm.
Seth Klein presents, with questions to follow from 7:00 – 8:30 pm.

This event is open to the public and we encourage you to tell others about Keynote Seth Klein presenting in Williams Lake starting at 7pm.

RSVP not required but appreciated to :spc-coordinator@xplornet.com, (1)-250-243-2126

Williams Lake Food Policy Council and Food Action Plan

The Social Planning Council is happy to announce that on July 9, 2009 a formal motion to accept Food Policy Council as a standing subcommittee of the Social Planning Council was passed with unanimous support.

Tatjana Bates (Interior Health, Public Health provided an update on the Food Policy Council’s (FPC) initiatives. Started in September 2006 the FPC has an opportunity for funding to continue their Food Action Plan which includes a year round food cooperative located at the old Petro Canada station. Already the FPC has a Farm to School salad bar which feeds 160 students twice a week, Choices for Youth program, and an upcoming October Festival to showcase and serve food out of the park to people in need.

The Goals of the Food Action Plan include: Increasing Access to local grown food, promoting self sufficiency, promote food security policies, and provide healthy food in support of a viable local food economy.

For more information contact Tatjana at Tatjana.Bates@interiorhealth.ca, 250-302-5010

Update: Communities that Care Project

It is a pleasure to announce the surveys have been completed and an initial report has come back. The Community Board and Risk & Protective Factors group is working hard to get an available report ready the end of September with the evaluation framework still currently in draft form. For more information contact Anne Burrill, City of Williams Lake at 250-392-8480, or Susan Nelson at 250-392-4929 or ctc@williamslake.ca

Prosperity Mine Project

In May 2009 the Social Planning Council wrote a letter to the Editor of the Williams Lake Tribune regarding the Prosperity Mine project.

Editor:

On behalf of the Social Planning Council, I am writing to express specific concerns about the focus paid to social and environmental impacts of Prosperity Mine. I’d like to first be clear that our intention is not to impede economic development as we are all eager to have employment opportunities come to our community. We do, however, strenuously urge the developers to pay full attention to process in considering the social and environmental impacts of the mine development.

With enough examples of similar projects that have gone ahead strictly based on an economic cost-benefit analysis and the resulting negative social and environmental outcomes, it would be ill-advised to proceed without genuine consideration of social and environmental impacts and take action to address them. As a community, we have made huge strides in our efforts to create an integrated approach and to recognize that economic and social development planning must be mutually inclusive, and we are seeing incredibly positive results in terms of our ability to work together. Through discussions at our Social Planning Council table, there is concern that the division between those who support Prosperity and those who don’t is already significant. While we recognize that it is unreasonable to expect that regardless of process, a project such as this will have full support, the consequences of proceeding without extensive research and respectful deliberation of community input could leave a sizeable fracture in our community which will effect our ability to work together in the future.

Monica Johnson
Chair


In response to the above letter, Taseko Mines gave a presentation at the monthly Social Planning Council meeting on June 11, 2009. Katherine Gizikoff presented background information including detailed mapping, and operational plans for their Prosperity Mine Project at Fish Lake. Question and answer period followed with social impacts the focus of discussion. Some concerns addressed included local unemployment rates and plans for hiring local employees. Others focused on the impacts of increased traffic to and from the site, as well as the potential for increased family violence as income levels rise. Another question asked was if any plans by Taseko Mines were being made to provide social benefits such as recreation sites, new bus routes, and other community services.

For questions and more information, you may contact Katherine Gould Gizikoff, Manager of Government and Enviromental Affairs at Taseko Mines Limited directly at 250-392-3100 or KatherineGizikoff@tasekomines.com.

For full meeting minutes please email spc-coordinator@xplornet.com