Business View Magazine | February 2020

231 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2020 qathet REGIONAL DI STR I CT , BC the extent of shallow pollutants, which tree species uptake with heavy metals, etc. This research will be an integral part of a continued interactive education kiosk at the RRC. Another timely initiative, driven by the qRD’s Solid Waste Service, is shoreline cleanup. The qRD has miles of beautiful coastline along the Pacific Ocean’s protected waters of the Salish Sea. In 2017, the qRD Board of Directors approved a Shoreline Cleanup Initiative that allocated a total of $10,000 per year over a five-year period. This funding initiative is helping to address the environmental issue of marine debris along the region’s coastline. Sustainability concerns are of high priority and are being addressed in future plans for qathet. According to Radke, “We recently adopted a Strategic Plan, which encompasses six priorities: climate change; economic development; parks, recreation, and culture; social planning; public safety; and communication and engagement. We also have four sustainability pillars: environmental, economic, social, and cultural that we use as the acid test in moving forward with our strategic priorities, to make sure that any initiatives fit between the goal posts and are truly sustainable for the long term.” Collaboration is celebrated and embraced in the district communities. Of significant importance is the Community to Community to Community Forum, otherwise known as C3 – a partnership among the qRD, the City of Powell River, and the Tla’amin Nation. They attend quarterly meetings and collaborate on topics that are of joint interest, for instance, the new funding formula for the recreational complex in Powell River for use by the entire region. Another key effort is a Social Planning Service. One of the biggest tasks to be undertaken in that initiative is a housing needs assessment, which will be a gauge for housing requirements for the region as a whole.