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Qualicum Beach mayor wants community fund disbanded

Teunis Westbroek says committee is redudant with ICET
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Qualicum Beach’s mayor says the Northern Community Economic Development committee is “redundant” and wants to see the body disbanded.

Mayor Teunis Westbroek said he wants the Northern Community Economic Development (NCED) committee disbanded as its function is redudant as a result of the grant process with the Island Coastal Economic Trust (ICET).

The NCED program guide states the committee provides the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) board of directors with a tool to activate projects that advance the board’s vision for a strong local economy and support the board strategic plan and regional growth strategy through economic development initiatives that benefit the City of Parksville, the Town of Qualicum Beach and Electoral Areas E, F, G and H.

“As you know, we first started this (NCED) several years ago,” Westbroek said. “I thought it was good to have an option to support initiatives like INfilm, but now they have a special arrangement through the RDN.”

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Westbroek, who is also a board member with the RDN, said at the Nov. 14 RDN board meeting that Parksville and Qualicum Beach’s share of funding for the new INfilm funding agreement wasn’t fairly balanced with the Electoral Area allocations.

Westbroek also said ICET, which was established in 2006 by the provincial government to support economic development initiatives on central/north Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, received $10 million to advance all initiatives in all communities from the Malahat to Port Hardy.

Westbroek put forward a notice motion that staff be instructed to work with the Regional District of Nanaimo to disband NCED. The notice of motion passed unanimously at last Monday’s (Nov. 20) council meeting.



Lauren Collins

About the Author: Lauren Collins

I'm a provincial reporter for Black Press Media's national team, after my journalism career took me across B.C. since I was 19 years old.
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