Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc receives $1M provincial grant for commercial complex

The Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation has received $1 million for a commercial complex as part of a BC government grant program for economic diversification. The provincial government has allotted up to $33 million for rural areas around the Interior for approved projects designed to spur economic diversification, one of them is in the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Nation, according to a Ministry of Economic Development press release. “We are giving rural communities the tools they need to diversify and grow their economies to create more opportunities and jobs for people where they live,” Minister of Economic Development Brenda Bailey said in the release. “Listening to and working alongside passionate, forward-thinking community leaders is helping us deliver impactful projects for people and their communities.”  There are 15 projects already approved for this Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program. READ MORE: Unionized city employees not the target of bullying from Kamloops politicians https://infotel.ca/newsitem/unionized-city-employees-not-the-target-of-bullying-from-kamloops-politicians/it104531 The Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Nation is spending its grant money on developing Chief Louis Crossing, a commercial complex on Lot 164, where there is already a nation-owned grocery store the Sweláps Market. The grant is going to allow for the addition of a gas bar and restaurant, a pharmacy, office spaces, electric vehicle charging stations and other businesses. “We are grateful for the additional funding that the Province of British Columbia has confirmed today,” Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir said in the release. “Our goal is to responsibly develop our lands in a forward-thinking and sustainable way, while establishing a financial legacy and supporting our community’s journey toward economic self-determination." Applications for the Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program’s next round of grants can be submitted between July 2024, and October 2024. To contact a reporter for this story, email Jesse Tomas mailto:jtomas@infonews.ca  or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .