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TOURISM/RESORT DEVELOPMENT
Bruce Pledges Smooth Seas for Tourism
Duncan News Leader Pictorial, Page 0001, 10-Nov-2004
A new project launched in Chemainus Monday aims to smooth the seas
for marine tourism development. The pilot Marine Tourism Authority
for the Ladysmith to Cowichan Bay area will examine how to remove
red tape and regulatory confusion stopping the development or
expansion of marinas and other waterfront businesses.
"If you were a small entrepreneur with a great idea, it can be
almost overwhelming before you can get into it," Cowichan-Ladysmith
MLA Graham Bruce said while announcing the project. "Maybe there's
some things in the regulatory framework that need to be dealt with."
The Cowichan coastline is the perfect area for such a project, Bruce
noted, with numerous marine parks, waterfront dining, and a
reputation for world-class kayaking and scuba diving. "We don't have
anywhere near what we should have for a diving industry," Bruce
said. "It is excellent, excellent diving. And kayaking is growing by
leaps and bounds - or is it paddles and strokes?"
The authority is chaired by retired businessman Jim Cosh and
includes representatives from municipalities and marine operators,
including Cowichan Bay Director Mike Tansley, Bud Bell of Sealegs
Kayaking, Dorothy Alexander of the Brigantine Pub, North Cowichan
Mayor John Lefebure and Halalt Band representative Herman Thomas.
Cosh said the group's first task will be to review what existing
studies have been done on marine tourism. It will then seek input
from marine operators and from the public. "Our challenge is to
actually get something to happen," he said. "We want to make a
healthy community and have those marine tourism dollars to enjoy."
Lefebure said such a project has long been needed, with any
waterfront development a difficult experience. "We need all the help
we can get," Lefebure said, citing expansion of the Chemainus wharf
as a project that has experienced snarls of red tape.
"I'm hoping we'll be able to remove some of the impediments. We have
some beautiful pieces of waterfront and they're going to play an
important part in our economic developments and what we can offer to
tourists."
Tansley echoed those sentiments, saying he hopes the authority will
be what Cowichan Bay needs to help it move ahead. "We've got to do
something," he said. "The biggest problem is red tape. I could tell
you about six or seven things in Cowichan Bay we've fought for 10
years and we're not further ahead. I will not waste my time sitting
on committees that don't achieve anything, so I hope to see things
actually happen."
The authority will have an annual budget of $70,000, which Bruce
stressed isn't about handing government cash to marine businesses.
"This is not a subsidy thing. This is about providing an environment
for people in business to do what they do best." |
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