SMITHERS – On Thursday, October 8, over 60 community leaders from various organizations throughout Smithers joined in the conversation “Community Vitality: How Do We Measure Progress?”
The event was a joint venture initiative between the Town of Smithers, Northern Health, and the Bulkley Valley Social Planning Society. They’ve established a “Partnering for Healthier Communities committee” and are working to explore and define a set of community vitality indicators for Smithers. The daylong workshop had tables of eight discussing how to determine indicators to define how well the community is advancing in various sectors like the economy, education, health and wellness, the environment, transportation, arts and culture, recreation and other identified topics. Everything from agriculture to housing; civic engagement to diversity was discussed by passionate representatives from health organizations, business organizations, elected officials and other community groups.
During the event a presentation by Dr. Trevor Hancock covered how to develop strategies to measure success in Smithers! As villages, towns and cities around the world are all asking the same question about how to define progress. Dr. Hancock spoke about the common elements of community health and vitality, and how different jurisdictions are seizing the opportunity to better track improvements in people’s quality of life.
Dr Hancock is an internationally known researcher and speaker on the healthy community’s movement. Fresh off a speaking trip to Australia, he was in Smithers to support community work on developing a community report card that will assist the Town and Northern Health in assessing the Bulkley Valley’s vitality and well-being. It was an event that allowed participants to discuss challenges faced by small communities while embracing the vast abundance of existing services provided and the group’s appreciation and celebration of the vibrancy that is prevalent in Smithers/Telkwa.
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Building Northern BC Event held Friday, October 9
Ezra Lavant was in Smithers to speak at a grassroots event called “Building Northern BC” held October 9. The event was organized and funded by Klye Thomson, owner and General Manager of Monster Industries. Levant is a broadcaster, provocateur and bestselling author. As Canada’s best-known conservative pundit, Ezra Levant provokes discussion and debate wherever he appears. Whether it’s taking a hard look at human rights, political correctness, the ethics of oil or the political events of the day. He has something insightful to say about everything, and he encourages everyone to think critically—and skeptically—about what’s going on around us.
The former host of the late Sun News Network’s always-controversial daily news program, The Source, Levant is also the founder and publisher of the online news platform, The Rebel Media. Levant is a bestselling author of a number of books including the 2011 National Business Book Award winner Ethical Oil: The Case for Canada’s Oil Sands, and Groundswell: The Case for Fracking. He also wrote the controversial biography The Enemy Within: Terror, Lies and the Whitewashing of Omar Khadr. Levant is a free speech activist who has fought censorship laws, which he documented in his book, Shakedown: How Our Government is Undermining Democracy in the Name of Human Rights, which was selected by the Writers’ Trust as the “Best Canadian Political Book.
The event was intended to be a celebration of industrial opportunities in Northern BC and the raised funds are to go to a Northwest Community College Scholarship and Bursary Fund. Following the keynote there were also brief remarks from Conservative Party Candidate, Tyler Nesbitt.
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Heather Gallagher is Manager of the Smithers District Chamber of Commerce. She can be contacted at heather@smitherschamber.com.
