The new Comox Valley Regional District offices in Courtenay | file photo
Comox Valley receives $9.251 million to offset COVID-19 pandemic economic impact
The Comox Valley has received more than $9 million as its share of British Columbia’s Safe Restart Grant Program.
The province distributed $425 million under the federal Safe Restart Agreement to B.C.’s local governments. This federal/provincial funding is designated to support the reopening and operational costs of facilities along with funding local emergency responses. The province allocated funds to each of British Columbia’s municipalities and regional districts.
The City of Courtenay has received $4.149 million. The Town of Comox received $3.067 million. The Village of Cumberland received $1.312 million. And the Comox Valley Regional District received $723,000. In total, the Comox Valley received $9.251 million.
The CVRD board allocated its $723,000 to a variety of uses at its board meeting this week.
Emergency operations preparedness and community support – $200,000
Promoting local food security and supporting vulnerable populations through the Comox Valley Community Foundation – $100,000
Information technology resilience to support safe work, public engagement and effective service delivery – $100,000
Rural fire department support for increased preparedness and personal preparedness equipment – $40,000
Unallocated BC Safe Restart grant program funds, totalling $283,000, will be retained for future considerations as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the region. Unallocated funds would be primarily dedicated to the following projects: recreation services, rural community hall support and food aggregation and promoting local food security
“We are thrilled to see grant funding being delivered to the community level,” CVRD Board Chair Jesse Ketler said in a news release.. “Each local government received funding to invest back into community recovery and resiliency as we navigate these challenging times. At the CVRD we are focusing our efforts on supporting vulnerable populations, promoting food security and improving resiliency to deliver the services residents use daily.”
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How about funding the testing of all travellers to Vancouver Island, and blocking entry until they cleared of COVID.?
New Zealand is COVID free thanks to the leadership of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. The only democratic Country in the world to stop COVID.
Our Canadian Governments are doing a great job of handing out borrowed money , but this should be spent on stopping COVID spread from travel. 80 percent of the Counties in the world have lower death rates than Canada. This is a serious virus and vaccines will not be universal for at least a year.
I would gladly trade our Prime Minister and cabinet for the Prime Minister of New Zealand.