CityWest is happy to announce the hiring of Barry Pages, a long-time resident of Masset, as the Regional Manager – Haida Gwaii.
Pages’ job will involve building up the CityWest brand presence and driving sales on Haida Gwaii, one of the many places the company is expanding to in the next year. His first day will be Monday, November 15.
“I’m very excited to join a company that is going to bring much-improved Internet services to Haida Gwaii,” said Pages. “On top of that, their corporate values fit perfectly with the values of the island lifestyle on Haida Gwaii – listening to and respecting your neighbours, acting with humility, and doing the right thing.”
Pages has served as an elected official in Masset since 1993, as a councillor for 14 years, and as mayor for 14 years, including for the current term. He is heavily involved in many other boards around the North, and he has served as the Chair of the North Coast Regional District since 2002.
“We’re tremendously excited to welcome Barry to our team, not only because of his 28 years of political experience on the island, but also because of his reputation as a person of integrity who has worked with diverse stakeholders to improve his community,” said Stefan Woloszyn, CEO of CityWest. “Barry is the perfect person to lead our expansion activities on Haida Gwaii.”
Pages will be very busy as soon as his job starts, as construction of the local Internet infrastructure will start in Masset and Old Massett on January 4. And within the next few weeks, construction will begin on the northern leg of the Connected Coast project, an undersea cable project that will bring backbone bandwidth to 139 rural and remote coastal communities along the BC coast, including Haida Gwaii. Funded by the provincial and federal governments, the Connected Coast project is co-managed by CityWest and the Strathcona Regional District.
The first leg of the Connected Coast undersea fibre line will run from Prince Rupert to Tlell. Once that is complete, it will be connected to the local networks in each community on Haida Gwaii, and residents and businesses across the island will be able to access very fast and reliable Internet, TV, and phone services, with amazing customer service.