An independent committee with members from diverse agricultural backgrounds and experiences will lead the revitalization of the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) and the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) through an authentic and meaningful consultation process with stakeholders and British Columbians, Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham announced today.

This month, the B.C. government distributed over $16 million to 54 communities around the province in lieu of municipal property taxes.

On track to meeting its goal to see every British Columbian with access to high-speed Internet, the Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services is providing $2.5 million in grants to Internet service providers to expand and enhance high-speed Internet service for residents and businesses in rural and remote areas of the province.

As part of the Province’s work to make sure British Columbians have access to high-quality primary care, 14 additional internationally trained physicians are beginning to practise in rural and remote communities in B.C. in February and March.

The B.C. government is following through on its commitment to support economic diversification in rural British Columbia by distributing over $750,000 in new project-development grants to help small communities strengthen local economies.

Reading, learning and playing together is what next week is all about for British Columbia families.

The B.C. government has distributed nearly $16 million in compensation for municipal property taxes to 56 communities around the province.

Front-line ministry social workers in hard-to-recruit areas of the province will receive an additional $3,000 to $6,000 per year, thanks to a new agreement between government and the BC Government and Service Employees Union (BCGEU).

A total of 85 communities throughout B.C. will benefit from $2.4 million in funding toward community adult-literacy programs that will support adults wishing to improve their literacy and numeracy skills.