Auditor General says Community Economic Resilience Grants met expectations

VICTORIA, B.C. – B.C.’s Auditor says that the Community Economic Resilience Grants were in line with most government policies and guidelines.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs provided $30 million in grants to 63 small-scale infrastructure projects in communities throughout the province including Tumbler Ridge and Fort St. John.

In Tumbler Ridge, the $1,000,000 grant went towards “Chiller and Condenser Replacement and Upgrades + Maintenance Manual and Training.”

Fort St. John is using its $994,500 grant for the first phase of Kin Park improvements.

All projects must be completed by March 2023; as of March 2022, eight were completed.

The remaining projects are still in progress, but several have experienced delays due to wildfires, floods, supply chain issues and technical issues.

The audit report makes one recommendation to improve emergency grant programs, which includes more details on who has what responsibilities, detailed written guidelines for each stage of the evaluation process, and monitoring requirements.

The ministry has accepted this recommendation.