A quartet of cabinet ministers visited 100 Mile House on Feb. 6 for the official opening of the Front Counter BC service in the former forestry-only offices.
While the local office has been open since December, the ministers visited to officially mark its opening.
Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (FLNRO) Minister Steve Thomson officiated with announcements; supported by Jobs, Tourism and Innovation Minister Pat Bell; Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Ida Chong; and Children and Family Development Minister Mary McNeil.
"This is a client-oriented service that is helping support economic development in communities, providing efficient service to those communities," said Thomson.
He added the "very important" service also supports the natural resources ministry's new integrated decision-making approach.
"[In] supporting the one-project, one-process approach to decision making ... not only do we need to do that across our ministries in the work we do, but we also need to provide that single window for people who are coming in for those authorizations."
Front Counter BC offers more than 130 natural resource-related permits and authorizations on behalf of 16 partner organizations, Thomson explained, and is also an award-winning service for its customer satisfaction ratings.
"We're pleased, and I want to thank all the staff [members] who work very hard, and they take this additional training to be able to provide that ... level of service that people come to expect from Front Counter operations."
100 Mile House Forest District manager Pat Byrne expressed how "excited" he is to have the expanded services offered at the local office.
"I think it's going to be a great addition for a lot of our clients out there.
"If it's not the traditional forest-and-range-type authorizations, they were having to travel sometimes out of town to get the services."
Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett, who has observed local forest office operations for more than 40 years, said its staff has a tough job, but has "always done the best they can do for the citizens."
Thomson also announced the addition of three new, permanent agents in the province to operate its related call centre.
One of these new agents will be located in 100 Mile House, with the others in Castlegar and Chilliwack.
Other officials present included Cariboo Regional District chair Al Richmond; 100 Mile House Mayor Mitch Campsall and Councillors Dave Mingo and Bill Hadden; and Whispering Pines (Pellt'iq't) First Nations Chief Mike LeBourdais and Councillor Ed LeBourdais from Clinton.