Castlegar city councillors deserve a lot of credit for leading the way when it comes to supporting the relief effort in Japan.
As the Castlegar News reported last week, council held an emergency meeting in the immediate wake of the multiple disasters that struck Japan and quickly agreed to donate $7,987 to the cause — $1 for every man, woman and child in the city.
At the same time Zelstoff Celgar, the largest employer in Castlegar, agreed to contribute an additional $10,000.
All of this was done out of a desire to help and also out respect for Castlegar’s sister city of Embetsu, Japan.
Soon after, other governments and businesses followed suit.
Premier Christy Clark announced the following day that the Province of British Columbia would be contributing $500,000 to the relief effort.
The City of Nelson later agreed to match the money raised by a local paper-crane fundraising effort in that community, up to a total $10,000.
And the City of Trail announced it would also contribute $8,000 in conjunction with Teck, which kicked in another $8,000 of its own.
It’s not like these subsequent donations wouldn’t have been forthcoming if it wasn’t for the initial move by Castlegar’s city council. Indeed, there has been an immense outpouring of generosity locally and around the world in response to the horrific events that have struck the Japanese islands.
But our local councillors still ought to be recognized for their kind hearts, quick action, and for setting a positive example.
- Castlegar News