Investing in Our Communities A Presentation and Discussion with CUPE BC President Barry O’Neill and Manjit Sidhu Representative USW Wood Council Local Solutions For B.C. Municipalities Smithers March 26, 2008 Co-sponsored by the Canadian Labour Congress

Smithers Labour Force Make Up 2 HoustonSmithersBritish Columbia Educational Services4.90%6.70%6.90% Health care and social assistance 5.20%11.60%9.90% Public Administration4.00%8.90%5.60% Logging and Forestry43.20%11.30%4.70% Mining and Mineral products4.20%3.00%2.00% Agriculture, food and beverage1.70%1.20%3.00% Retail Trade12.60%14.30%11.6 Accommodation and Food Services 6.70%7.70%8.3

3 Smithers and Houston among the most vulnerable Communities

Smithers Socio-Economic Facts 4 1.Smithers population of 5,400, is down from slightly from It makes up 13.5% of the Bulkley-Nechako Regional District 3.Workers are three times more likely to be in logging and forest products than provincially 4.It is a regional service and tourism centre W/higher levels of work in these areas 5.A higher proportion of its population is under the age of 24 6.Ten per cent of residents are over the age of 65 compared to 13.6% for the province 7.Average incomes in Smithers are roughly $2,00 less than the provincial average 8.Employment income is 72% in Smithers compared to 65.9% provincially 9.Visible minorities make up 3% of the Regional District compared to 21% for the province 10.Aboriginal People make up 14.8% compared to 4.4% for the province 11.At 22.2%, the proportion of lone-parent families is slightly less than the provincial average 12.Forestry accounts for 39% of income in the district while 24% is from the Public Sector 13. A slightly higher proportion of 18 year-olds do not graduate from high school 14. While there is less serious crime in this area, there are higher levels of spousal assault 15. Life expectancy at birth is two years less than the provincial average

5

Free Trade vs Fair Trade 6

The First TILMA 7

Public Debt and P-3’s 8

Untitled 9

Open Forum 10