As you travel from the West Coast to the rest of Canada, one has to travel through a little town called Hope. Hope is the hub to every major highway in British Columbia.
Hope has so much to offer, too bad the citizens, city hall, and the business of this little town have no hope.
The economic downturn of this little town started with the rebuilding of the Coquihalla and its toll booths. The provincial and federal governments give little to no help to this struggling town, even though they are the main cause of the towns demise and have yet to acknowledge their part in this downturn.
I have lived here for four months now and have seen more shops close than I have seen new businesses open. The empty shops, commercial real estate and housing for sale signs accumulate more and more on a regular basis. I have talked with people who have had their homes on the market for two years without an offer, business real estate has been stagnant, standing empty for years.
So many citizens have to travel quite a distance to earn an income and the people who can not afford a vehicle or can not drive are becoming poorer as there is relatively nowhere to work in this town.
The federal government has completely ignored Canada’s major highway in this area. I have literally had to avoid pot holes bigger than my tires on this highway. Why does the federal government not take pride in Canada’s Highway 1? Is it because it is not in Ontario?
What interest do our federal and provincial governments have in this little town? Do they care about the citizens of this province and country? I think not. I believe they have completely ignored this beautiful town that should be and could be a major tourist attraction for people all over the globe, generating revenue for the province and Canada.
Industries opening here would be actually quite intelligent for a business as Hope is a hub to the rest of Canada.
Stop, respectfully, ignoring a town that could be flourishing if it had the assistance of the federal and provincial Governments. If they choose to ignore this town any longer, then all I can say is shame on the people in charge who have the opportunity to make a difference.
A. Barry,
Hope