Kootenay-Columbia MP Rob Morrison is in the Elk Valley this week to meet with residents, businesses and organizations.
One of Morrison’s first stops was to pay a visit to Glencore and Elk Valley Resources.
“They’re working with the community and they’re fitting right in. People seem to be happy and it seems like they’re doing a good job,” said Morrison.
“We have steel-making metallurgical coal there, so my goal is to have that classified as a critical mineral because we need steel for everything.”
He also spoke with officials in Fernie to hear the challenges the community is facing.
“It’s a resort community, so we had meetings with the Mayor, the Chamber of Commerce and Fernie Tourism,” said Morrison.
“It’s a resort community, so you have a lot of fairly wealthy people coming from Alberta to buy vacation homes, but it makes things really hard for local people who are working minimum wage jobs to afford to live and work in this area.”
Fernie is working on a solution to their housing woes through a collaborative effort between the city, non-profits and businesses.
“We were discussing ways to build more capacity with homes, especially for those who are on a limited budget. This could be apartment buildings that could be rented at a price that people can afford to live in Fernie,” said Morrison.
Morrison will conclude his tour of the Elk Valley on Wednesday with stops planned for Elkford and Sparwood.
“There’s a whole variety of different groups we’ve been meeting with, so it’s been pretty great,” said Morrison.
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