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MERRITT HERALD FREE
TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
Premier visits Merritt, talks economy By Michael Potestio THE HERALD
reporter@merrittherald.com
Christy Clark and her Liberal caucus were in Merritt last week for several meetings in the Nicola Valley. On Thursday, Clark made a speech at a local chamber of commerce luncheon to talk about the B.C. economy. Michael Potestio/Herald
Plenty of government big-wigs descended on the Nicola Valley last week as B.C. Premier Christy Clark visited Merritt for meetings with her provincial caucus. While in the Merritt area, caucus members visited facilities such as the Ashcroft inland port, Highland Valley Copper mine and the Diacarbon biomass plant in Merritt. Clark said responsible resource development will create a better future for future generations. “I think we’ve got to remember where our wealth comes from. I think when resource development happens in your community, it’s easy to say, ‘Wait a minute, I want it to happen somewhere else,’ but we have to remember that that’s what built our province,” Clark said. She said she sees opportunities for growth in the Nicola Valley and pointed out the region’s forestry resources and mining resources as things the area has going for it. On Thursday, Clark was at the Civic Centre for a luncheon
held by the Merritt and District Chamber of Commerce, where she made a speech on the government’s work to control spending and grow the economy. The event sold all 120 of its available tickets and there were 28 MLAs in attendance, chamber manager Etelka Gillespie told the Herald. In her speech, Clark said B.C. depends on the economic success of resource-based towns like Merritt. “If you live in Vancouver-Point Grey, what happens in Merritt is pivotal,” she said. “It’s crucially important that MLAs who understand their communities come back to Victoria and tell us what we need to know, what we need to do to make these communities work,” Clark said. “Because if you’re not working — if Merritt’s not working, if Princeton’s not working, if Cooks Ferry First Nation isn’t working, if Ashcroft isn’t working — then nobody in the province is working.” Clark also said the government needs to keep taxes and regulations low.
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