A recent delegation by the City of Prince George’s Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs to Victoria to meet with members of the provincial government held 16 formal meetings as well as other informal meetings during the last week of April.
During the Monday, May 5 city council meeting, councillors Garth Frizzell, Kyle Sampson and Susan Scott discussed their experiences and gave an overview of their meetings.
According to a handout given out that night, those formal meetings were with:
- Premier David Eby, with whom the delegation discussed the University Hospital of Northern BC acute care tower project and helipad, homelessness and housing, economic development, partnerships with Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and the recent federal election,
- Attorney General Niki Sharma on the new cabinet committee on public safety, a $67 million fund aimed at tackling street disorder, the Repeat Violent Offending Intervention Initiative, bail reform and homelessness,
- Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation Diana Gibson on diversifying Prince George’s economy while still supporting the forestry and other resource-based sectors,
- Health Minister Josie Osborne and parliamentary secretary for mental health and addictions Amna Shaw on UHNBC acute care tower and helipad projects, the sustainability of the regional hospital district funding model, regional support for opening a mental health and addictions treatment centre in Prince George, naloxone funding and access, nurse-to-patient ratios, violence against health-care professionals and expanding access to health-care workers in the north,
- Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar, on the decentralization of a head forestry office, softwood lumber duties, the province’s outlook for the industry and the need to promote forestry at an upcoming meeting of the Council of the Federation,
- Minister of State for Community Safety and Integrated Services Terry Yung on organized retail crime, the $67 million street disorder fund and opening a mental health facility in Prince George,
- Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma on the UHNBC projects, the regional hospital district funding model and the mental health facility,
- Transportation and Transit Minister Mike Farnworth on the need for a bridge between the Lheidli T’enneh reserves separated by the Fraser River and the paving of Landooz Road,
- Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Kelly Green on the upcoming wildfire season,
- Post-secondary Education and Future Skills Minister Anne Kang on recent impacts to post-secondary institutions,
- Energy Minister Adrian Dix on advocacy for hydrogen projects in Northern BC,
- Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Minister Chandra Herbert on supporting the region’s growing film industry,
- Parliamentary secretary for anti-racism initiatives Jessie Sunner on partnership opportunities,
- Minister of State for Local Governments and Rural Community Brittny Anderson and staff from the Ministry of Housing on regional issues,
- Opposition Leader John Rustad on the delegation’s slate of meetings and his party’s views on the issues being discussed and
- Prince George-area Conservative MLAs Rosalyn Bird, Sheldon Clare and Kiel Giddens on regional issues like a north-south transportation corridor, bail reform, homelessness, inter-provincial trade, advanced education changes and emergency management.
The report said that during the delegation’s trip, there were also several ad-hoc meetings with figures like Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon and Public Safety Minister Garry Begg during the trip.
It also noted that the delegation’s meetings came after the Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy in Vancouver, where 11 people were killed after a vehicle drove into a crowd at a Filipino cultural event, and this issue came up during many of the conversations during that week.
Scott, chairing the May 5 city council meeting as acting mayor, said that the delegation’s meetings were concentrated into three days that week as the Legislature was closed on the Monday after the tragedy. Mayor Simon Yu was not present at the meeting.
Frizzell thanked city manager Walter Babicz and senior advisor Catharine Sikobe for joining the delegation in Victoria.
He added that though no representatives of Lheidli T’enneh First Nation were able to join the delegation because of their recent election, they were able to raise some of the community’s concerns during the trip.
On economic concerns, Frizzell said they stressed to the government the need to find assistance for the lumber industry and for the country to stay united in its response to tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Sampson said these opportunities to meet directly with government is important not just for the city, but for its partners like Lheidli T’enneh and the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George.
He said that in conversations with ministers Ma and Osborne over the UHNBC acute care tower, they affirmed that the project is set in stone despite the economic instability caused by tariffs.
Also, he said Fraser-Fort George Regional Hospital District is locked in on its financial contributions to the project even if the tariffs drive prices up.
Babicz said he thought the meetings held by the delegation were much more efficient and fulsome than the brief conversations held during previous annual general meetings of the Union of BC Municipalities.
He said going forward, it might be a good idea to use the UBCM meetings to follow up on issues raised by the delegation.
Coun. Cori Ramsay chimed in to say that meetings with ministers are usually only 15 minutes long during the UBCM AGMs. While they’re worthwhile, she said she thought one-on-one meetings by the PG delegations might stick better in ministers’ heads since they’re not being deluged with requests by other communities as well.
As previously reported by The Citizen, Giddens brought up a local petition calling for a mental health treatment facility in Prince George during question period in the Legislature that same week, including one day when the delegation was in session.
Scott said the Legislature was asked to recognize the presence of the Prince George delegation three times, which meant that MLAs were very aware of their presence and it became a talking point in the building’s halls.
She said the delegation had a good opportunity to further its relationship not just with government MLAs and ministers, but the three local MLAs and Rustad as well.
Between meetings, Scott said the delegation ran into a group of tourists from Washington State, who profusely apologized for the recent actions taken by their country.
