Inspiration from Chief Clarence Louie

Last night, the Pacific Northwest Economic Development Conference kicked off with a Welcome at the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Center in Osoyoos. The organizers had asked Chief Clarence Louie to do a welcome to the delegates and I think I speak for all of us in saying that it was a big hit.  I found his comments refreshing, open, honest, and at times humorous. He sat on the front stage and casually addressed the group clarifying his position and approach as the leader of the Osoyoos Indian Band. He admits that his message isn't shared by everyone but he says if leaders try to please everyone, they end up accomplishing little. His focus as leader is to provide jobs and economic prosperity to not only the members of the band, but to area workers. He believes that economic salvation is the only way forward for First Nations communities and with it, opportunities to fund social programs and environmental causes will be available without continuing the dependent relationship with the federal government.

I found many of his comments validated the entrepreneurial spirit that I was brought up with at home and was further en cultured in being raised in Alberta.  And, his messages also validated reading in sustainability where we now recognize that to be sustainable means we cannot view profit as a dirty word or economic health as secondary to environmental and social health. Economic gains do not have to come at the loss of other forms of prosperity and indeed, we are often in a better position to foster sustainability efforts when our communities are not in poverty. He commented for example, that investments in cultural and environmental programs are the norm at Nk'Mip. He said it is one of the things he likes the best about making money for the band, it helps them to invest back into these sorts of initiatives.

If you get the opportunity to read some of his talks, watch a YouTube speech or see him in person - I think you will learn from his messages and experience and even if you don't agree fully - he may challenge your thinking (which is healthy for us). If all else fails and you don't agree with his message - I think he would say "that's democracy"!  Thanks for sharing your messages Chief Louie.

BC Resort Municipalities Symposium

This week I was asked to deliver a keynote at the BC Resort Municipalities Symposium in Osoyoos, BC. This is a small but productive gathering of administrators from the 13 designated resort municipalities in BC to share their plans, initiatives and lessons learned on an annual basis. It was a pleasure to be asked to share some thoughts with them and to meet this elite group.

I always find keynotes to be a bit challenging and nerve wrecking. A good keynote can set the tone for a conference, pose questions, get people chewing on new ideas and offer suggestions. A poor one can put folks to sleep with someone at the podium for an extended period of time. I seek to do the former of these two. So, I spent some time discussing ideas with Jim Newman, of Osoyoos to make sure I could pitch something of value to the group.

In the end, I ended up making a few points (I think). I tried to start at the 30,000 foot level to have folks recognize that they are part of something much much larger than running operations at the community level. They are part of a larger international and national movement in rural development - of which I have written about more on this blog - amenity based rural development. The BC Resort Municipalities were created as a strategic provincial policy to provide supports for amenity rich locations in the province. Initially, this came with financial supports such as a share of the Hotel tax which could be reinvested back into communities for infrastructure and marketing (items which cause issues for many rural communities in tourism). Over the years, one of the most positive things that this group has done has been to create links with one another to exchange ideas. Knowledge is power when shared and the creation of a collective with experience in resort community development can act as a resource pool for the communities but also for the province.

I tried to reinforce in the talk how bold policy moves such as the creation of the BC Resort Municipalities needs to be followed up with ongoing support. New structures like this need time to evolve, to learn and to provide feedback on what is working and what is not. It may be the researcher in me, but I tend to think of this as an experiment in policy supports for rural tourism development - and as such, they need to be evaluated on an ongoing basis with adjustments made when they are supported by evidence. I'd be happy to provide this sort of research for the group as they continue on their evolutionary path and to the province as it finds ways to provide appropriate support.

For more information on this group and the Acts that created it, see:
BC Resort Municipality update
BC Resort Municipality Initiative