[BCMA] CMA Clip Serv: $210, 220 grant for Cowichan Bay Wooden Boat Society

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Great news - congratulations!
Brenda Weatherston
Program Coordinator | Cultural Management Programs
Division of Continuing Studies | University of Victoria
PO Box 3030 STN CSC | Victoria, BC V8W 3N6 CANADA
Tel: 250 721-8504 | Fax: 250 721-8774 | Email: bweatherston at uvcs.uvic.ca

Cultural Resource Management Program: http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/cultural
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Sent: November 17, 2010 1:42 PM
To: bcma at lists.vvv.com
Subject: [BCMA] CMA Clip Serv: $210, 220 grant for Cowichan Bay Wooden Boat Society

Cowichan Bay Wooden Boat Society thrilled with
$210,220 grant
Lexi Bainas, Postmedia News, Wednesday, November 17, 2010

A packed hall wildly applauded John Duncan, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs and MP for Vancouver Island North, Nov. 10 after he announced that the Cowichan Bay Wooden Boat Society was receiving $210,220 from federal coffers for a significant upgrade to its Maritime Centre.

The money is coming from the Westcoast Community Adjustment Program (WestCAP) a federal push to help communities hit by changes in the salmon fishery.

Duncan is no stranger to the Cowichan Valley and saw faces he knew among the crowd, including, he said, his former forestry professor, Vern Wellburn.

“I spent my post-university formative years working at the Shawnigan Lake division of MacMillan Bloedel and at Copper Canyon, too. I have a history here. I was Duncan living in Duncan,” he said, to chuckles.

The minister continued by saying that the federal government is looking to spread prosperity as widely as it can, fostering new economic opportunities in communities that may have been hard hit.

“It’s a great honour to be here on behalf of the government and my colleague, the Hon. Lynn Yellich who’s the Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification. In 2009 I announced WestCAP to support economic growth, job creation and the future sustainability of communities affected by the challenges to the salmon fishery.

“You know only too well the effects of these challenges on commercial and recreational fisheries and for coastal communities dependent on the industry,” Duncan said.

“With our government’s investment, the revitalized centre will improve tourism, attract investment, and create new prospects for the region,” he said.

According to Duncan, the investment will support:

- an upgrade to the region’s only maritime museum,

- a move towards meeting British Columbia’s provincial Wood First Act, which aims to increase demand for wood products by using wood as the primary construction material,

- a boost that will allow the museum to offer expanded services, including tours and hands-on activities, such as boat building and sailing lessons,

- a larger artifacts display area, with enhanced quality and climate control to preserve delicate items.

“Canada is built on a promise of opportunity,” Duncan said. Projects under WestCAP are aimed at helping coastal communities with investment to revitalize their economies, he concluded.

Cowichan Tribes Chief Lydia Hwitsum then said that Cowichan Bay has traditionally been a meeting place.

“Collectively as we work within our respective governments, there is an opportunity here to build community. This is a great opportunity for us to acknowledge that and to talk about the value of preserving history,” she said.

Lew Penny, president of the Wooden Boat Society, agreed that history is of great importance.

“Our goal is to preserve the region’s maritime history for future generations, not only giving visitors a maritime tradition experience firsthand but sharing our unique perspective of the world,” he said
However, there’s more.

The museum has arisen on an old industrial site to become a beating heart for the community.

Area D director Lori Iannidinardo also stressed that Cowichan Bay’s overall leadership in looking to quality of life over careless development has gained worldwide recognition.

Other speakers, from the business improvement area society, the construction firm that will do the work and Community Futures Cowichan, which has been assisting with the project, all said they were delighted to see such a community-based project recognized in this way.

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