Over 3,000 participants took part in British Columbia’s international LNG conference this week – another promising sign the industry has a bright future in the years ahead.

Premier Christy Clark has issued the following statement on Thanksgiving:

Good citizens are the unsung heroes of our communities and deserve our recognition. Today Premier Christy Clark made special recognition of a hero from the 2015 fire season when she announced that John Phare, a Roberts Creek tree faller, will be the first recipient of the Medal of Good Citizenship.

To reduce the wildfire risk to communities, Premier Christy Clark announced a top-up of $10 million to the Strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative and tasked the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations to look at other ways to reduce wildfire risk through on-the-ground operations.

The Small Communities Fund will accept applications for $90 million in support for infrastructure before the end of this year, Premier Christy Clark announced at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities annual convention.

More than 70 communities will benefit from the first eight projects to be approved under the up to $10 million Connecting BC Program, the B.C. government’s latest investment to expand high speed Internet service to British Columbians in rural and remote areas of the province for learning, training, doing business, finding services and staying connected.