Prince George city council will hold a regular meeting tonight and Mayor Shari Green said the unusual scheduling has nothing to do with the looming strike by the city's unionized workers.
Rather, she said, it had originally been scheduled to be a budget meeting, but when that business was wrapped up last week, the slot was converted into a regular council meeting to deal with a handful of bylaws staff are hoping to have passed by the end of this year.
They include a bylaw to impose a new business licence fee on secondary suites that's up for three readings.
A regularly scheduled meeting will also be held this Monday and council members might have to cross a picket line to attend.
"I would expect council to attend its regularly scheduled meeting, yes," Green said.
The mayor would not comment on whether the stalled talks will be discussed during the in-camera meeting that precedes the regular meeting tonight. The issue is not formally listed on the agenda for the regular meeting.
Asked to comment on the current situation regarding the stalled contract talks, Green said they remain part of the process and that the B.C. Labour Relations Board was hearing from both sides Tuesday on what should be regarded as essential services.
An interim order was expected by late Tuesday or today.
Other council members reached Tuesday limited their comments on the current impasse.
"It's awful when it comes down to this kind of moment where the negotiations have failed and the mediation has failed," Coun. Garth Frizzell said. "We still want to hope for the best."
Council members have a role during negotiations, Frizzell said, "but that role is to identify what the mandate is going to be and then oversee from a distance."
Frizzell could not say if the issue will be discussed tonight.
"It's not on the agenda, but if it's something that impacts, you never know," he said.
"I had people saying to me today, 'they took the cement planters off of Third Avenue, is that because of a potential strike?' All kinds of different speculation comes up. You never know. We'll see what happens."
Coun. Dave Wilbur declined to comment beyond saying a bargaining team is in place.
"I have faith in that process and those we have chosen to do it," Wilbur said. "I certainly don't want to inflame the circumstance by giving any quote that would deter them from going through the process and finding a solution."
Coun. Brian Skakun gave brief comments through an e-mail.
"I am very concerned that we have got to this point and I don't feel there are any winners in a lengthy labour dispute," he said. "I cannot say when we as a council are going to deal with this but much sooner than later would be preference of mine.
- with files from Peter James
