Squamish Council is moving ahead as if funding for the Sea to Sky Adventure Centre is a lock.
In current budget discussions, the project is noted and the district is planning to expend $450,000 on the development. More than $1 million is expected to come from the federal government's Western Economic Diversification program.
MP John Reynolds reported late last year that he was surprised the official announcement was still pending. Stephen Owen, the Minister of Western Economic Diversification until Paul Martin shuffled him to a new post, was reportedly poised to announce the funding for the tourist information centre on Hwy. 99. The announcement never came.
Despite the fact that there's no official word that Squamish is going to get the funding, Squamish Mayor Ian Sutherland is confident it is just a matter of time before the announcement is made and the money arrives.
Sutherland said he is keeping in touch with people involved with the federal funding agency and the message he keeps getting is that current challenges at the federal level need to be cleared up and then the money will be announced and released.
"The information has been 'it will happen soon'," Sutherland told The Chief. "It will happen soon so we have just been keeping touch to make sure that we are still on the radar screen. They want to move forward as well. While we want to move forward as soon as possible we understand the hold up."
The mayor said that the federal money was originally identified for the 2003 budget; however, since it was not released in 2003 it needs to be rolled over to the federal 2004 budget.
"They had to rewrite the program so the money could be spent by Mar. 31, 2005," said the mayor.
According to the mayor, the change in Liberal leadership and Paul Martin's subsequent cabinet shuffle set the process back.
Media reports in the last week indicate that the money earmarked for Squamish and other communities in B.C. is stuck in bureaucracy. Rule changes, a complex approval process and errors made all combined to set back the release of the $55 million.
The federal money for the centre in Squamish is to come from the federal Softwood Industry Community Economic Adjustment Initiative (SICEAI).
