Opportunities In Our Midst
By SARAH ARTIS
May 16 2007
THE ONLY certainty of Terrace’s economic future is that it will be vastly different from the past, according to Terrace Economic Development Authority officer Dave Menzies.
“The economy in the next 20 years sure isn’t going to be what it was like in the last 20 years,” he says. “That’s just a given.”
While forestry has always been the town’s backbone, challenges in the industry have forced Terrace to look elsewhere for economic development.
And that’s what Menzies job is all about: TEDA’s goal is to promote the growth and diversification of Terrace’s economy by developing infrastructure, facilitating new investment and acting as an advocate and advisor to local businesses.
Menzies speaks or meets daily with individuals and business groups interested in investing in Terrace.
Discussion topics range from plugging into manufacturing opportunities related to the Prince Rupert container port expansion and expanding the mining industry in the area to developing a value-added aluminum manufacturing business here.
Forestry is also still a huge local resource and has not been forgotten, Menzies continued. Terrace just needs new processes and products that are economically feasible.
Menzies thinks wood pellet production has the greatest growth potential for the next 10 years.
Other ideas to revive the wood sector here include establishing a wood oil production plant or building a bioenergy plant that would rely on hog fuel and sawdust chips.
However, Menzies said, despite the endless hours he spends helping interested parties develop their ideas, most projects fall through.
“You bark up a lot of trees before you get anything,” he said.
“Capital is always a huge thing,” Menzies explained, “especially if it’s a novel idea.”
Specific obstacles stand in the way as well.
For example, provincial support for a pellet plant is hard to come by as B.C. and its money is focussed on the pine beetle epidemic, Menzies said.
And a steady supply of hog fuel and sawdust chips for a bioenergy plant is hard to guarantee.
Another problem, affecting the entire country, is securing a stable skilled labour force here.
Compared to other towns, Terrace has the upper hand in some departments.
People who visit here like it enough to want to move here, Menzies said.
“This is the kind of place that sells itself,” he said.
Moreover, Terrace is the central hub of the Northwest and has a strong retail sector.
“If you are working in Northwest B.C., you can find what you need in Terrace,” he said.
But the town’s got some disadvantages.
Many people have never heard of Terrace or don’t know enough about it to move here, he said.
Other issues such as closing schools on Fridays, which many perceive as providing a lesser education, are also a problem.
“If you are trying to attract a specific professional, odds are he or she has a professional spouse and they’ve got kids, and education is very important to them,” said Menzies.
Regardless, Menzies feels positively about Terrace’s future.
Recent successes such as the deal signed between the Kitselas First Nations and the City of Terrace to develop the airport lands and the record attendance at Minerals North show much promise; various local companies left the mining conference with new contracts.
And the resilience of the town’s residents also makes all the difference, Menzies said. Rather than dwell on the past, people here are willing to look forward, Menzies said.
“Things change and you’ve got to be able to change with them,” he said.
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© Copyright 2007 Terrace Standard
