Business View Magazine September 2018

288 289 for people who fly into Kelowna or Kamloops or Calgary and drive to locations in the CSRD.There is a good inventory of rooms available for tourist accommodations from full-service resort hotels to quaint B&Bs.Martin owns a small restaurant and hears people from around the world commenting on howmuch they love the CSRD.When they’re driving, people pull over to the side of the road and are just amazed at the peace and quiet, unlike the big, busy crowds at Banff and Lake Louise. As for infrastructure,Martin reports,“The gas tax has made a huge difference to rural communities like ours. It was a federal initiative implemented a fewyears ago, and there isn’t a local government in B.C. that’s not getting benefit from the tax. It’s made it possible for a beautiful playground in my community, and allowed upgrades to fire halls and community spaces, ultimately reducing operating costs.We don’t have a lot of resorts in the CSRD rural area, but there is a water system.That’s where the gas tax comes in and the granting from senior levels of government.We have invested heavily in our water systems.We have a lot of property owners with lovely, seasonal cottages who come out for the summer. Some have licenses to get water from the lake.Others are hooked up to actual water systems. COLUMBIA-SHUSWAP REGIONAL DISTRICT, BRITISH COLUMBIA One resort in Three Valley Gap is very independent.They even have their own power generation.” The Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation has been working in that area of the region to improve connectivity. Each improvement opens up many doors for employment, for education, and for communication, overall.Martin recalls,“We had a business owner with a lot of employ- ees and he needed to connect with the company at the coast that was doing his payroll.That’s what spurred us on, because our community association was, at first, providing the service. It took someone saying,‘I have this issue,what can we do about it?’ to get things done. It’s difficult here in the mountains. Line of sight works for a certain distance, then there are trees or rocks in the way. But we are working on it.There have been some successful apps that have helped, and we’re continuing to