Elected officials need to set aside differences and speak with one united voice when it comes to representing the province's best interests, local government representatives were told Friday afternoon.
As the North Central Local Government Association's annual general meeting and convention wrapped up at the Civic Centre, Jobs, Tourism and Skills Development Minister Shirley Bond acknowledged that those in the room may not agree with all of the provincial government's decisions.
The B.C. Liberals set financial priorities for the province and tabled its third balanced budget in February, but in doing so, it required tough choices that not everyone will agree with, Bond said.
"We have different views of how we get the job done. That's alright," said Bond. "But we also need to set aside the pointing and the 'I wants' and all of those things. Because 'we' equals power."
But speaking with that one voice may be easier said than done, when there are so many issues that local governments are still looking to have addressed on a provincial level.
During the convention's first day of official business on Thursday, NCLGA delegates voted on about 20 resolutions that will be forwarded to the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in the fall. The resolutions shape the local government organization's policy for the coming year and pinpoint on which issues to lobby the government.
A variety of the resolutions passed by NCLGA delegates dealt with issues borne from provincial downloading of responsibility.
The village of Burns Lake sponsored a resolution looking for the province to provide money to improve and maintain recreation sites, a task that fell to individual volunteer groups more than a decade ago.
The result is a patchwork of standards and quality across the province, said Burns Lake Coun. Susan Schienbein. And with a shorter summer tourism season in this half of the province, coupled with struggling private campground operators, northern communities are losing out.
"We believe if we want to keep those dollars and those visitors in our northern communities, we need to come up with a consistent approach to fund these sites and to resource them to the standard our neighbouring provinces do otherwise they're going to drive down the highway and they're going to camp somewhere else," Schienbein said.
A Terrace resolution also successfully approved by NCLGA delegates calls for the lobbying of the province to increase the provision of mental health and addiction services so local police resources are not
being strained beyond their primary duties.
It's an ask that goes back years, said Prince George
Coun. Brian Skakun.
"We've been asking for the resources and the province comes back and says 'we're waiting for the LNG industry. We're waiting for this, we're waiting for that.' We need the support now," Skakun said. "And it's unfortunate. We'll probably deal with this again at the UBCM in the fall, but the province will still do nothing and commit nothing. I just encourage the board here and the board of the UBCM to really start talking tough with the province because it's unfair to all of us who have to put our police resources into dealing with mental health issues."
Last month, the Prince George RCMP launched its Car 60 program, pairing police officers with Northern Health psychiatric nurses to respond to mental health calls.
Local governments are always stepping up to do what needs to be done, said Selina Robinson, the Opposition's local government spokesperson.
"But it's time for this government to step up and they just aren't doing it. So our job as Official Opposition is to force them to step up," Robinson told delegates Thursday. "I want to just commend local governments for doing what you do, which is you fill in the gaps because you're left with the fallout - and your communities suffer the consequences."
