The Canadian American Business Council believes in showing up

That’s why we go on policy field trips whenever we can, including to the Arctic (north of 60, as they say), Alberta’s oilsands and, right now, the Kitimat/Terrace region of northern British Columbia.

It’s not enough to just opine about public policy.

We like to get a little dirt on our boots — the steel-toed, heat-protective ones, as we’ve been doing this week — and see up close the issues, the industries and the people who are at the heart of critical public policy issues in both the United States and Canada.

And so here we are.

We’re still marvelling at the tour of the Rio Tinto B.C. Works low-carbon aluminum smelter, where we watched as longtime Rio Tinto workers showed us how alumina is transformed into aluminum in a process that recycles nearly every input.

It involved magnets, molten metal and gigantic, moving pieces of machinery that enthralled us.

We also went on a tour of the proposed LNG Canada export terminal, just across an arm of the scenic Douglas Channel from its neighbour, Rio Tinto.

While there’s no final investment decision on the LNG Canada facility, workers were hard at work preparing the site by demolishing storage tanks and other infrastructure from the previous occupant as we went on our tour.

We visited a newly created fish habitat pond recently planted with bulrushes and featuring tree stumps placed carefully in the water to allow the fish to hide when they want to get away from it all.

And we saw signs of the moose and bear that are sometimes seen lumbering around the site. We’re still hoping for an actual bear sighting, and have one more day for that magic to happen.

Northwestern B.C. is one of the most beautiful regions on Earth that’s also managing an almost unheard-of feat — it’s home to major job creators and big industry that is taking pains to respect the pristine environment, all with the full support of the region’s Haisla First Nation.

We have all decided that we might never leave.