CAROLYN GRANT
The Union of British Columbia Municipalities begins next Monday in Vancouver, and the Kimberley contingent will be Mayor Don McCormick, Coun. Sandra Roberts and City CAO Scott Sommerville.
The UBCM is an opportunity for political networking of a major sort. It is rare to have that many mayors, councillors, Ministers, ministry staff and MLAs under the roof of one convention centre.
It is especially important this year, says McCormick, because of the change in government. There are new ministers to meet, and to bring up to date on issues in Kimberley.
“There’s a lot to cover in one week,” he said. “Our priorities will be a bit different this year. There’s a new set of Ministers. Some we will be meeting with on what we consider urgent issues. Others, it will be talking more from an educational perspective, bringing them up to speed on things we have been working on. And there are always meetings outside of the ministers as well.”
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Urgent issues include a meeting with the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources on urban deer, a meeting with Municipal Affairs and Housing on some items in the Community Charter that are causing some difficulty with Kimberley initiatives, a meeting with the Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Technology on opportunities in solar development, the Environment Minister on contaminated lands in Kimberley, and lobbying for a change in the Resort Municipality agreement.
“This is going to be a really busy UBCM for us,” McCormick said.