Prince George city council unanimously approved a grant application at its Monday, Dec. 2 meeting that could eventually lead to the community becoming a hub for life sciences.
City administration proposed that council approve an application to the Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program for up to $500,000.
That grant program is an initiative from the BC Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation that first launched in the 2022-23 fiscal year aimed at promoting projects that contribute to economic diversification, resilience, clean growth opportunities.
According to a report from city administration, the University of Northern British Columbia, Lheidli T’enneh Nation and Northern Health were working together to create a "sustainable innovation ecosystem” for health in Prince George.
“The greater initiative would establish a life sciences sector based in Prince George that would serve northern BC residents with a focus on rural and Indigenous communities and other demographics in the region that face significant health disparities,” the report says.
“If successful, it could result in a new facility built at the UNBC campus, upgrades to Northern Health facilities, and life sciences private sector investment within the city’s key clusters such as pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing and scientific research and development services, further diversifying the local economy towards sectors less reliant on cycles of natural resource extraction and commodity prices.”
In order to start securing investments and funding that will make this possible, an economic analysis is needed first. If secured, the REDIP funding would pay for that analysis.
“Speaking with provincial staff, the project is well-aligned with the program goals and has been well thought through,” administration’s report says.
“Work done by the city’s economic development division to support this initiative would fall within operational capacity and no financial contribution is required, and the lead role the University and other partners would take would ensure the project’s viability.”
City staff say the university is ineligible to apply to the program, which is why they proposed Prince George get involved as a partner.
Prince George did something similar for the 2023-24 edition REDIP program when it helped apply for funding for the SupportPG initiative with the Chamber of Commerce. For that project, the city received $396,600.
According to the REDIP website, applications for this year’s intake closed as of Oct. 31 with funding decisions being announced next spring.
It was not stated whether the city had met that deadline during the council meeting, but a city spokesperson told The Citizen later in the week that Prince George applied before the close of applications, and council’s endorsement would strengthen the application.
In the 2022-23 fiscal year, Prince George received $165,000 from REDIP to help develop the Pidherny Recreation Area Master Plan.
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