CBT Annual Report 2011/12 highlights

by Keith Powell — August 03, 2012

In 2011/12, CBT returned a record $18.2 million in direct funding benefits to Basin communities, up from $11.2 million in 2009/10, including the following programs and initiatives:

Community Development Initiatives $ 9,046,000
Environment Initiatives $ 3,172,000
Water Initiatives $ 2,244,000
Economic Initiatives $ 1,931,000
Social Initiatives $ 1,276,000
Youth Initiatives $ 476,000

Over the course of the year, CBT:

Introduced Community Directed Youth Funds, a six-year, $2.25-million program that funds new activities and services for youth;
Introduced the Social Grants Program, a three-year, $3-million program that will provide grants to projects that support social well-being and address social issues;
Started a new pilot initiative, Community Directed Funds, which shifts decision making from CBT to groups of communities that will work together to administer funds to support their priorities;
Committed $5 million to the Affordable Rental Housing initiative, a three-year, $10-million program that will see the creation of new affordable rental housing in the region, in partnership with BC Housing;
Committed $4.5 million over three years to its two student wage subsidy programs, Summer Works and School Works, which offer wage subsidies to Basin organizations to encourage student employment during the summer and the school year;
Launched the Manufacturing and Technology Sector Development Initiative, a two-year, $300,000 pilot that will test activities like a peer support and networking program and virtual business incubator;
Provided $1 million to help the Nature Conservancy of Canada conserve Columbia Lake – Lot 48, which is 127 hectares of ecologically and culturally important private property located on the east shore of Columbia Lake near Fairmont Hot Springs;
Engaged more than 1,600 Basin residents in learning about the Columbia River Treaty (CRT)—through 20 community, First Nations and online information sessions, plus a conference for young leaders—so that they can effectively engage in formal consultation with senior levels of government on the future of the CRT;
Created a new subsidiary, the Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation, in order to create a world-class open access broadband network across the Basin, as access to high-speed Internet can connect people, help businesses remain competitive in a global economy and provide educational opportunities; and
Worked with Columbia Power and Fortis Inc. on the construction of the Waneta Expansion Project, which is within budget and on schedule, with completion expected by May 2015.