Greetings from Kitimat
Greetings from Kitimat, in north central British Columbia, where the Canadian American Business Council is in the midst of one of our epic policy field trips.
Here’s a photo of me and Virginia Beckett, the CABC’s deputy director, with Frank — our grizzly bear protector — taken just a few moments ago.
And as I write this from the porch of the Minette Bay Lodge, we just watched a mother cougar and her three cubs scurrying along the tidal flats on the Douglas Channel that winds through the mountains 80 kilometres to the Pacific.
Situated in the Haisla First Nation, Kitimat is home to some of the most spectacular natural scenery on Earth, as well of feats of human engineering, including Rio Tinto’s B.C. Works low-carbon aluminum smelter.
It’s the biggest employer in the Kitimat/Terrace region, and we’re touring it today after meeting with local high school kids and the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce. Tonight, we’ll be treated to a First Nations cultural feast, featuring the Kitlope dancers.
Before heading north, our delegation met separately in Victoria with B.C. Premier John Horgan and Green Party leader Andrew Weaver for interactive discussions on the importance of the Canada-U.S. trade relationship. We also took part in a luncheon discussion with Iain Black, the CEO of the Vancouver Board of Trade.
Our foray north has been truly memorable, right up there with previous CABC policy field trips to the Arctic, northern Alberta and Tilray’s medical cannabis facility in Nanaimo, B.C. We believe strongly in the importance of showing up and experiencing first-hand the issues that drive business, policy and civil society decision-making.
In the days to come, I’ll be back with another update.
