Premier and Bennett Open William R. Bennett Bridge
Premier Gordon Campbell and former premier William (Bill) R. Bennett officially opened the new William R. Bennett bridge over Okanagan Lake, almost 50 years after Princess Margaret and Premier W.A.C. Bennett opened the Okanagan Lake Bridge in 1958.
The $144.5 million bridge opened to westbound traffic at midnight on May 25, 108 days ahead of the original scheduled opening in September 2008.
The corridor is the busiest in B.C. outside the Lower Mainland, accommodating an average of over 50,000 vehicles per day, and that figure is predicted to grow to close to 70,000 by 2017.
The B.C. Government will save more than $25 million in construction, financing, maintenance and rehabilitation costs over the next 30 years as a result of the 30-year contract the Province signed with SNC-Lavalin Inc. to design, build, finance and operate the bridge.

Grants Help Local Governments Provide Services
The Province is providing a record $47 million in small community and regional district grants this year to local governments across B.C., Community Services Minister Ida Chong announced this week.
The unconditional grants are:
Small Community Grants: Almost $43.5 million for small and medium-sized municipalities to fund local and basic services.
Regional District Grants: More than $3.7 million to 28 regional districts, including B.C.’s two newest regional districts, Comox Valley ($136,000) and Strathcona ($162,000), which came into being Feb. 15, 2008.

$2.7 Million to Strengthen Victim Services Across B.C.
Front-line services to crime victims across B.C. will receive an average funding increase of 22 per cent this year, as the Province injects $2.7 million more into victim services programs. Overall provincial funding for B.C.’s 156 police- and community-based victim service programs will rise to $12.6 million. All existing programs will share in the extra funding to address their service pressures and to enhance their services.
Highlights of the new funding include:
It will be balanced between police- and community-based victim service programs ($1.4 million and $1.3 million).
Police-based services in three of B.C.’s largest urban centres will receive the full benefit of the funding formula based on their populations.
In recognition of growth in service-delivery costs since 2002, funding per full-time-equivalent position (FTE) will rise to $70,000 from $60,000 for all programs.
 
Sunday, June 1
Maple Ridge - Mission MLA Randy Hawes will be featured on Constituency Report on Shaw Cable 4 in the lower mainland from 8:00-8:30am and from 5:00-5:30pm

Quotes This Week
“[The government has] paid attention and listened. And this is a tremendous addition to that list [of work-related hazards faced by firefighters] for our members, to have those two cancers covered.”
Al Leier, B.C. Professional Firefighters Association, lauding the Province's decision to add two types of cancer to the list of recognized occupational diseases for firefighters. CTV News, May 27, 2008.

“Mr. Campbell has become the country's most progressive leader on the climate file.”
Gary Mason, Columnist. Globe and Mail, May 30, 2008.

Did You Know?
The number of physiotherapists educated in British Columbia will double as a result of new provincial funding for the University of British Columbia's physical therapy training program. UBC offers the province’s only physical therapy program, which graduates 40 physiotherapists a year. The two-year master’s degree program will accept 16 extra first-year students this fall, another 16 in fall 2009, and eight more in fall 2010. By spring 2011, the program will be able to graduate 80 physiotherapists a year.

The B.C. Government is providing Spectra Energy Transmission with $3.4 million for carbon capture and storage research and development at the Fort Nelson gas processing plant. The funding will support an exploratory project to permanently store carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide in a reservoir two kilometres underground.