Jackie Sweet
Home SWEET Home Kitimat
M
y staff and I have no idea what it’s like to live anywhere but in a small town.
I grew up in the really small town of Burns Lake; Bonnie grew up in Terrace, a small city just up the road; and Judy has lived the majority of her life here in Kitimat.
Bonnie
Judy
Kitimat, British Columbia, is a unique place. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “one-horse town.” We have similar sayings. One-road town, for example. Highway 37 south is the only way in and out of Kitimat, unless you have a boat and a lot of time. Kitimat is located at the north tip of the Douglas Channel about 90 kilometres inland. The channel provides fishing, sight-seeing, hot springs, whale watching, and a sheltered deep-water port for ships bringing supplies to Kitimat and taking products to the rest of the world from Kitimat. We refer to ourselves as being in the middle of nowhere. To the west and east of town are mountains including Mount Elizabeth, Claque Mountain, Robinson Ridge, and many other mountains that provide
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a variety of outdoor activities including hiking, mountain-biking, dirt-biking, snowmobiling, and skiing. Our counterparts in the cities don’t understand that there is no overnight courier in or out of Kitimat. It usually takes 3 days for anything to be delivered by mail or courier.
Kitimat is located at the north tip of the Douglas Channel about 90 kilometres inland. We are lucky to have four banks and a credit union; many of the large centres have TD Canada Trust. We don’t. It’s always a giggle when the TD asks if we can pick up conveyancing proceeds at their nearest branch or our colleagues ask us to deposit proceeds to their TD account. We also have out-of-towners telling us we can pick up an item at Costco or Best Buy. To get to those stores means a flight to the Lower Mainland or a long drive to Prince George. We may not have all the so-called amenities of a city but we have so much more in the casual, relaxed, natural surroundings of our home. We are also a three-light town and boy, do we complain when we have to stop at a red one. Our daily commute to work is less than 5 minutes in a car and if we choose to walk to work, it may take 15 minutes. Walking is a way of life here . . . there are many more kilometres of sidewalks in Kitimat than roads. The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia
Kitimat is often affectionately referred to as a bubble. Those who have spent the majority of their lives here often don’t realize how fabulous our town is. The town has been mostly dependent on the large industrial base since its beginning in the early 1950s and because of that, we have an above-average per capita income and a below-average municipal tax rate. The current population of Kitimat is about 8000. In 2011, the aluminum smelter did a rebuild. The project generated many jobs and the population of town increased by up to 3000 people at the peak of the project. The housing market also peaked with the town seeing its first bidding war by prospective purchasers. The availability of rental accommodation was practically zero. Upon completion of the project, the town settled back to the normal pace and population and property prices declined in equivalent proportion. There are currently two strong LNG projects on the go: Kitimat LNG, driven by Chevron, and LNG Canada, led by Royal Dutch Shell. The town is anticipating the announcement of a final investment decision. As anticipation grows, the real estate market has increased in price and competitiveness. There is a limited supply of houses on the market and prices are increasing. There seem to be offers on a property before the “For Sale” sign is planted on the lawn. We have historically been a small community where everyone knows Volume 27 Number 3 Fall 2018
