Premier Christy Clark touched down in Fort St. John on Tuesday for the first installment of her town hall meetings, which she promised to hold each month in different regions of the province in an effort to bring the provincial government closer to British Columbians.

She said the fact that she chose Fort St. John as the location for the inaugural meeting is a recognition of the valuable role the Peace Region plays as a driver of the provincial economy and a signal that she will be a premier that champions rural and resource communities.

Clark said that part of that effort means not only championing the North when she’s in the North, but also sending that message to all British Columbians.

“When I’m in the South, I say the same things as I do when I’m up here, which is don’t forget how important the North is to making sure our finances are in order – making sure we can pay for our heart operations,” Clark said.

She pointed out that with the $1.3 billion of wealth that the Peace Region contributes to provincial coffers, the province is able perform 96,000 knee replacements.

“One of the things that happens when you’re down South is you find a lot of people who are against everything. They’re against hunting, forestry, mining, oil and gas, you name it,” Clark explained, “People need to remember that if you’re against everything, eventually you don’t have the money left to be able to pay for the things that are important to us.

“I want to make sure that everybody in British Columbia understands what an important role the North plays in making sure that we’re able to have all the things we want as a province.”

Peace River North MLA Pat Pimm moderated the well-attended meeting, which also included several cabinet ministers, namely Mike de Jong for Health, Blair Lekstrom for Transportation and Infrastructure and Rich Coleman for Energy and Mines.

Pimm asked residents to keep their questions to three themes: the future of B.C.’s oil and gas industry, the Northwest Transportation Corridor and rural healthcare. Notably absent from the roster, as one resident pointed out, was agriculture.

Clark told residents that her three priorities in government would be open government, jobs and families – the latter two, she pointed out, are inextricably linked.

An oil and gas consultant raised the issue of the difficulty companies have getting their operations into production due to the province’s complex regulatory framework.

Clark assured the audience that streamlining regulatory processes is one of the things she tasked her new Jobs Ministry with. To assist the ministry in this task, she is creating a “barrier breaking board” made up of members of the private sector who are familiar with specific problems.

“Right now we may as well hang a sign outside of British Columbia that says invest your money somewhere else,” said Clark.

Another concerned resident questioned Clark and Coleman’s position on the controversial Site C Project.

She asked why the government wouldn’t consider building natural gas fired electrical plants at one tenth of the cost per megawatt using the region’s estimated 200-year supply of clean natural gas.

Coleman agreed that B.C. Hydro needs to increase its mandate to include other energy sources, like natural gas and wind, and to start considering itself more of an energy company rather than simply a purveyor of hydroelectricity.

However, Coleman stood by the Campbell government’s position that Site C will be crucial to the province’s future power stability.

Only eight days in power, Clark admitted that she didn’t have many of the answers to people’s questions and could promise very little, other than she would look into residents’ concerns.

One thing Clark did promise was to grant the Peace Environment and Safety Trustees Society their request for an investigation into the air and water effects of the oil and gas industry.

PESTS member Lois Hill put the question to Clark, saying that there is a big difference between the oil and gas industry in areas where people don’t live and areas like the South and North Peace where farmers have lived for generations.

“We appreciate the economic activity the industry has brought to the area, but there has never been an assessment of the cumulative health impacts it’s having on people and the environment,” said Hill.

“I think that’s a legitimate request, a fair question and a reasonable expectation,” said de Jong, who suggested getting experts from UNBC and Northern Lights College to assist in studying air, water and soil qualities.

He promised to prepare a report that Hill and her neighbours could have confidence in to strike the necessary balance between residents and agriculture, and the economic benefits the oil and gas sector bring to the province.

In closing, Clark promised that this would not be the last town hall she would host and that she would return to the Peace Region in due course.