Projects that make a difference … British Columbia

Gateway to Asia Initiative

WD Investment: $859,000

An innovative partnership between Western Economic Diversification Canada and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. (the United Chinese Community Enrichment Services Society) led to the creation of Gateway to Asia, a project aimed at developing new Asian markets for western Canadian goods and services. Gateway to Asia is a unique initiative where western Canadian manufacturers and suppliers are linked with recent Asian immigrants who can facilitate new business relationships and contracts with buyers and investors in their former homeland. The goal is to increase the number of businesses exporting to Asia, the volume of export sales from western Canada and the number of new products and services tailored to the Asian market through increased investment from Asia.

British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) Kelowna Flightcraft

WD Investment: $1.5 million

The future of BCIT's aerospace campus is so bright that the students, teachers and partners are all wearing shades.

British Columbia has emerged as one of the global leaders in aviation mechanics and aviation training. Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) is advancing B.C.’s prominence in this industry as demonstrated by our $1.5 million investment towards a new maintenance and aerospace training facility at the Kelowna International Airport.

The new facility will be able to service Boeing 757 and 737-700 aircraft, and will be the largest airport hanger in British Columbia’s interior. The centre will include a dedicated training facility for aircraft maintenance engineering programs in avionics. It will also provide more skilled aerospace engineers to the workforce who are needed to expand the aerospace industry throughout B.C.,including smaller interior communities.

Sustainable Condo

WD Investment: more than $300,000

Western Economic Diversification Canada contributed more than $300,000 to build a prototype of a Sustainable Condo, which illustrates and promotes sustainable building design, products, technologies and systems. Condo features include: leading edge green building concepts that reduce environmental impacts and resource consumption, and dozens of energy-saving appliances and devices. This prototype will provide a model for the 2010 Olympic village. The concept design will also contribute to the first green development in Vancouver's South-East False Creek.

BC Biofleet Project

WD Investment: $150,000

Vehicles that run on biodiesel (like the one pictured here) dramatically reduce green house gas emissions by using natural, renewable resources.

As part of its investment in environmental technologies, Western Economic Diversification Canada has invested $150,000 towards the largest biodiesel demonstration project in Canada  BC Biofleet. Through this initiative, six BC municipalities have agreed to fuel hundreds of their municipal vehicles with biodiesel, a cleaner-burning alternative fuel.

Biodiesel is made from natural, renewable resources including vegetable oils, animal fats and domestically produced oilseed crops such as soy, canola, and hemp. By using this fuel instead of gasoline, exhaust emissions can be dramatically reduced. Among the many benefits are minimizing black smoke, odours and green house gas emissions. Biofuel is also beneficial to the environment as it does not contribute to acid rain, as regular gasoline fuel does.

The six municipalities participating in the project (Vancouver, Richmond, Whistler, Delta, Burnaby, and North Vancouver) will purchase and use up to 80 million litres of blended biofuel between 2005 and 2010, reducing the environmental impact of their vehicle fleets. Funding for this demonstration project was provided to the Fraser Basin Council, a non-profit agency dedicated to advancing the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of the Fraser River Basin including the Greater Vancouver area.