The local community college NVIT is in the middle of an expansion here in Merritt. Something over a million and a half dollars is being spent on leveling some ground and adding another trades trailer to the ones, they already have.
The existing trades trailers that include welding and metal work equipment for training and pre apprentice qualification were funded by Teck Corporation. The funding from the additions is coming from Western Economic Diversification , the federal government entity created to fill the hole left by the Crow rate when it was abolished. The Crow rate made freight( railway) rates more equal for western consumers of  goods coming out of the industrial heartland of Eastern Canada.

Western Economic Diversification   also funds The Community Futures program that assists small business with start-up and loans. They have a reasonable record with flower shops, motels, art  supply and support for cultural events such as music festivals here in Merritt.

Opinion: With deference to the constraints of the Free Trade Agreements that  regulate subsidies we think that (industrial )there remains a value to east west equity. There is value to large production lines effecting the price of consumer goods coming from North South transportation lines.

On this Day:February 24th 1996
February 24th is a leap day for the last time in the EU and the Roman Church.

February 29, also known as the leap day of the Gregorian calendar, is a date that occurs in most years that are divisible by 4, such as 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020. Years that are divisible by 100, but not by 400, do not contain a leap day; thus 1700, 1800, and 1900 did not contain a leap day while 1600 and 2000 did. Years containing a leap day are called leap years. February 29 is the 60th day of the Gregorian calendar in such a year, with 306 days remaining until the end of the year. For the Chinese calendar, this day itself in February will only occur in years of the monkey, dragon and rat.

Source Wikipedia