A $500,000 grant from the provincial government that was announced recently will be used to support North Cowichan’s Leveraging Infrastructure to Transition the Economy plan.
Mayor Rob Douglas says there are two main initiatives in the early stages of the L.I.T.E plan.
The first centers around the municipal forest which has been under review for some time now. It hasn’t been completed, but the Municipality is deciding between using the forest for carbon offset credits or harvesting trees.
Mayor Douglas says the second will focus entirely on making industrial lands more attractive to businesses.
“There’s a significant amount of industrial land out there that with the right infrastructure upgrades could create some real investment opportunities and hopefully some high-quality employment opportunities as well.”
The Municipality hopes that getting these underserviced lands on the Municipal water system will help existing businesses expand and attract new ones. With the ultimate goal of creating more jobs.
Mayor Douglas also stressed that the L.I.T.E plan aims to strike a balance between growing the economy and protecting the environment.
