In the end it seems, that if you want to get the word out on the pace of your work over the last year; and you're not quite finding the results you had hoped for from the local media ... then perhaps it's best to do it yourself.
That at least seems to be the approach by North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice who has composed a community update of sorts; as a Letter to the Editor page contribution for the weekly newspaper.
As it is, the MLA's letter, actually is one of the few mentions that she seems to receive from the paper.
Which during the course of their news coverage through most weeks, seems to forget that we have elected an MLA to the Legislature, with few in the way of reports on her work from Victoria.
However, what the newspaper has chosen to skip over in the past, Ms. Rice has more than captured, rattling off the highlights of a two year span, with the MLA serving as part of "your government" and "yours in service" as she puts it.
There are a number of themes she explores as part of her editorial page submission, something which kind of resembles what the the weekly paper once called spoon fed journalism disguised as an attempt at free marketing.
The list of Ms. Rice's accomplishments for Northern View readers, who perhaps are unfamiliar with her work includes:
The MLA's efforts as an advocate for and one who is working with local governments and community organizations to make life better for people.
Her awareness that "communities like ours" need help to upgrade such basics as safe, clean drinking water, paved streets and well lit roadways.
A reminder of the 8 million dollars in funding from the provincial government this spring, something she notes is the equivalent of one quarter of the City of Prince Rupert's annual budget.
She follows up on the Rupert funding by observing how it is part of what she describes as an unprecedented 100 million dollars in grant money for the four regional districts and 22 municipalities of the northwest.
When it comes to sharing some of that funding on the North Coast, the MLA points to the 1.7 million received by North Coast Regional District and over 2 million that was directed towards the District of Port Edward.
A shout out for local health care providers and teachers is included in the letter, though considering the state of negotiations between the teachers and the province at the moment, and some past commentary from the PRDTU towards the MLA, she may have a bit of work ahead there to bring them onboard.
When it comes to education she makes mention of school upgrades and new playground additions to a total of 3.5 million dollars, as well as to raise the topic of the much anticipated, but still undelivered new Middle School for the community.
The replacement for Prince Rupert Middle School was an issue that Ms. Rice made her top campaign issue two years ago and had championed in opposition for years before that, yet it still remains a goal that still seems a bit off in the distance.
When it comes to the prospect of that new school, the MLA observes that the province is still awaiting the completion of SD52's groundwork for the project, vowing that the government will make good on their election promise to replace the aging facility on Ninth Avenue West.
Towards that project, Ms. Rice might want to help SD52 in its efforts to bring Education Minister Rob Fleming up to the city, so he can see first hand the state of the school and the need for the often discussed replacement.
Funding for Ecotrust Canada is made note of, helping the North Coast Innovation Lab to build on Re:Design Rupert plans to deliver community driven additions to the local economy.
Social Housing, which is one of her major achievements of the last year also claims a bit of space in her testimonial to constituency work, with the recently opened Crows Nest and its 36 units of housing on Park Avenue put in the spotlight.
Though it should also be pointed out that just 90 minutes to the east, Terrace has recently seen a pair of social housing project that almost triples the Prince Rupert amount of housing for those in the most need, a grand opening that MLA Rice participated in just last week.
Housing for Port Edward and Lax Kw'alaams also gets a mention, with an invitation for residents to drive around town to see more seniors, low and middle income family homes that have either been completed or are under construction.
According to the MLA's math, as they head towards the two year anniversary of the NDP taking power at the Legislature, the government has completed over three quarters of their election promises; along with her estimate of millions of dollars of investment having been made in Prince Rupert and the North Coast.
Just in case many of her regular followers perhaps don't read the local paper, Ms. Rice made sure to provide a shout out of her contribution to the editorial page through her social media feeds, providing a link to the expansive review to go with it.
Curiously though, for a contribution that put a lot of focus on Prince Rupert and the North Coast, Ms. Rice chose a photo from a recent stop in Kelowna to provide for the MLA at work visuals to go with the text.
Something which some in the home community may make note of, reminding us that she does tend to spend a fair bit of time away from the North Coast and focused on other issues beyond those of concern locally.
You can review the talking points of her editorial page submission through her Facebook link here.
For more notes on her work in Victoria and in the constituency, see our Legislature Archive page here, as well as our MLA's Week Archives Notes.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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