Local officials recently reported on their meetings at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) convention in Vancouver.
Not only is this annual event a way to network with municipal officials across the province, but it's a chance for local to make provincial connections and make their concerns known to MLAs and B.C.'s ministers.
Deputy Mayor Michie Vidal said the convention was a productive and very full five days. In addition to attending meetings as first vice president of the Lower Mainland Local Government Association, Vidal attended four meetings with provincial officials with Harrison's village council.
Harrison officials also met with Minister of Municipal Affairs Anna Kang during the weekend convention. Council brought up four issues to the minister:
- Considering stronger legislation for elected officials, including updates to the Community Charter to mandate a Code of Conduct.
- Establishing an ethics commissioner to investigate allegations of misconduct by elected officials.
- Considering a Community Charter update to clarify conduct that can result in expulsion of a member from a council meeting as the current language is "vague and subjective."
- Consider legislation to allow the Minister of Municipal Affairs
Council met with Minster of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Fleming to discuss upgrades or the outright replacement of the aging Agassiz-Rosedale Bridge, addressing safety concerns for Rockwell Drive (including speed limit signs and removing a rock bluff affecting visibility) and possibly adding sidewalk upgrades to the current drainage project along Hot Springs Road. Though the road does go in to municipal property, it is classified as a provincial highway, meaning it falls under MOTI's responsibility.
Harrison's council met with Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon to request that the ministry develop funding opportunities for smaller communities to cover infrastructure upgrades and to accommodate new housing regulations under Bill 44. Council also requested the province launch a funding stream to encourage more rentals.
Harrison officials met with Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma. Local councillors continued to advocate for an emergency evacuation route and a subsequent adjustment to the boundaries of Sasquatch Provincial Park as well as funding streams for wildfire fuel mitigation. In light of this year's controversy over the province's request to cancel a state of local emergency (SOLE) called by then-mayor Ed Wood, council also requested clarification on the criteria of declaring a SOLE.
District of Kent officials met with Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries and Aquaculture Kelly Greene to discuss maintaining and upgrading the district's dike infrastructure to better prepare the area for climate events like the atmospheric river floods of 2021. The district requested that the province collaborate with local governments to come up with a composite maintenance plan to serve areas vulnerable to climate disasters.
Kent's council and CAO met with Rachna Singh, the Minister of Education and Child Care, to discuss fixing the aging school infrastructure throughout the district. They lobbied for a replacement building for Agassiz Elementary Secondary School, which was built in 1953 and is considered no longer safe to handle the seismic effects of earthquakes and lacks accessible upgrades.
Kent officials met with Fleming as well, advocating for a pedestrian crosswalk with rapid flashing beacons at McDonald Road, McCaffrey Road and Highway 9 as well as improvements for the intersection of Highway 9 and the Lougheed Highway north of Agassiz's downtown core.
Like their Harrison counterparts, Kent's council and CAO met with Kahlon to echo the village's call for funding for smaller communities to meet legislation like Bill 44. Kent officials highlighted the need for such funding by pointing out the number of grants they were denied to upgrade the district's infrastructure, naming six major grants applied for over the course of just as many years.