Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 10/99) - The East Coast beckons once again.

A conference dealing with the high-tech methods of improving life in Canadian communities prompted council to weigh political flack the trip could provoke against the potential benefits of attending.

Coun. Blake Lyons opposed sending a councillor to the Smart Community Development Conference in Summerside, P.E.I., saying the timing was wrong.

"I think we have to look at the message we're giving ... we have to look at the political nature of this," said Lyons, noting the trip is being proposed at a time when almost 300 Giant workers are facing losing their jobs, when organizations like Storefront are being turned down for funding and when city staff are being asked to do more with less.

The city estimates it will cost $3,502 to send one councillor to the conference, set for Oct. 13-16, including regular-priced airfare. A staff report said there is $6,000 left in council's travel budget.

Council came under fire in the spring for its decision to send six councillors to the June 4-7 Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference in Halifax, N.S.

Though Coun. Dave Ramsay agreed, Lyons' argument did not sway councillors Bob Brooks, Ben McDonald, Kevin O'Reilly and Robert Slaven, who all supported the trip.

McDonald said political optics should not figure into any council decision. He said to allow public reaction to guide decisions "boils down to taking some sort of action, or in this case inaction, out of fear."

Brooks said attending the conference could help the city win a big federal windfall.

At the FCM conference, Industry Canada unveiled a $60-million three-year initiative to encourage municipalities to incorporate computer technology to improve service to residents. in their city.

Under the program, the federal government will provide funding for the development of high-tech service delivery to one community in each province, plus one from the three territories and one aboriginal community.

With its Interactive Voice Response system and Virtual City Hall, the city has earned a reputation as one of the municipal leaders in high-tech innovation. A proposal advanced by a group of public and private sector individuals has advanced a proposal to get Yellowknife the territorial piece of the pie.

That's a maximum of $5 million. One condition of the funding is that the federal dollars have to be matched by other funding sources.

The committee voted to recommend council send McDonald. He led a group that developed the proposal.

"It would be a real boon to the city if we can get it," said McDonald. He noted Yellowknife is competing with six other territorial communities.

Under the Yellowknife proposal, Storefront would supervise the development of high-tech initiatives. The funding would not be controlled by the municipality.

Brooks said the funding would help add to the city's reputation as a high-tech leader.

Council will have the final word on the trip Monday.