Tofino mayor Josie Osborne has been elected chair of the Island Coastal Economic Trust.
“I’m thrilled to take on this opportunity to serve the ICET region,” Osborne said through an announcement made by ICET on Aug. 24. “I’m a strong supporter of the collaborative approach that ICET takes with local and regional organizations, governments and First Nations to help communities thrive and prosper.”
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Osborne told the Westerly News she is excited about the opportunities her new position will present.
“I wanted the opportunity to bring my governance and leadership skills to this organization that I really believe in and I also knew that it would be a great opportunity for me to learn even more about what’s going on in rural communities around Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast and understand what other communities are doing to prosper and thrive,” she said. “ICET really is a community driven process for investing in communities…The decisions are made by business leaders and community leaders from the very towns themselves.”
Launched by the provincial government in 2006, ICET is an independently governed body that has provided over $50 million towards approximately 180 projects throughout Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, according to the Trust’s announcement.
“These investments have leveraged over $270 million in new investment into the region creating more than 2,500 construction phase jobs and 2,600 long term permanent jobs,” it states.
Osborne said ICET funding can help successful applicants gain momentum from other sources.
“It’s been my experience that ICET has often been a tipping point for applications that come to us. ICET agreeing to fund part of a program or project shows a level of confidence in a project or program and then other funders jump on board and things start to happen,” she said.
Osborne succeeds Duncan Mayor Phil Kent.