Investing in transportation and municipal infrastructure, streamlining environmental review processes and opening Canada to foreign trade were the hot topics at a pre-budget consultation held by the federal government in Prince George on Wednesday.

Chief Government Whip Gordon O’Connor and Cariboo-Prince George MP Dick Harris met with regional mayors, community leaders, economic development agencies and businesspeople to hear their priorities for the 2011 federal budget.

O’Connor said he’s conducting consultations across the country and has seen some trends emerge.

“One of the common themes is trades training. There is a lack of skilled trades people across this country,” he said. “(And) there is a deficit of infrastructure, not only at the municipal and provincial levels, but possibly at the federal level.”

Canada has fared better economically than the U.S. and many European countries, O’Connor said, but expect the federal government to tighten its belt this year.
The, “master plan,” is to cut back stimulus spending and reduce the national deficit this year, he said.
“Our stimulus has been more than $20 billion a year. But we’re only buying the car companies once – that was $10 billion – and it looks like we’re getting our money back,” O’Connor said.

O’Connor said he doesn’t expect to see many local infrastructure projects making the federal budget, which will focus on addressing national trends and needs.
“We’re not going to reduce our deficit on the backs of the provinces,” he added.

Initiatives Prince George president Tim McEwan said expanding port capacity in Prince Rupert and Kitimat would be an important investment for Western Canada.
“We’re now at the point where we need to engage with CN (Rail) on expanding that facility,” McEwan said. “Prince Rupert isn’t just a second port for B.C., it’s Alberta and Saskatchewan’s port as well. We can be that supply chain route of choice between the two great economies, or we can become a bottleneck as our resource sector expands.”

Streamlining the environmental review process for major projects like mines and pipelines will help attract developers to the country, he said.
Open sky agreements with countries like China and the U.S. would allow the Prince George Airport to reach its potential as a refuelling and logistics hub, McEwan added.

Federal Conservative Party candidate and Enbridge Northern Gateway Alliance chairman Colin Kinsley said there is a need for projects like the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline to, “expand and diversify our markets.”

The B.C. forest sector’s recent success in the Chinese market is an example of what can happen when new markets are accessible, he said.
Harmonization of the provincial and federal environmental review processes was mentioned by multiple speakers, including Williams Lake business owner Sheila Mortensen.

“I think Williams Lake went into the foetal position when Prosperity (Mine) crashed and burned.”