Considering the amount of the province it covers, the North Central Local Government Association needs to have a bigger influence on the provincial government, according a local councillor.
During last week's NCLGA annual general meeting in Fort St. John, the group passed 35 resolutions, which will be moved forward for consideration by the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) in September.
"We have... a very big influence on this province because of the economies that are in the north central part of the province," said Dave Wilbur. "Over 70 per cent of the real wealth is generated here."
Wilbur sat on the association's four-person resolutions committee.
A director at large on the association's board for the past four years, Wilbur lost his seat on the executive after an unsuccessful bid in the three-person race for second vice president.
McBride mayor Mike Frazier retained his seat on the board as the representative for the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George.
"I think one of the plans is to take this kind of resolution and ramp up the lobbying. By that I mean, punch to our real weight and meeting with ministers not just at UBCM but go hunt them in their places of business in Victoria, etc.," said Wilbur.
There was a scarce provincial presence at last week's event. Wilbur said there were at least four MLAs in attendance during the three-day convention.
"That's part of the ramping up that I'm talking about and the lobbying. I think we've got to make sure they understand how significant we are geographically and economically," he said. "Am I disappointed the premier wasn't there? Sure, but I can understand that and I think that future NCLGA conventions and AGMs will be better attended."
Among the resolutions the association supported was a submission from Smithers for more information - in advance - from rail companies of what hazardous materials are moving through communities in Class 111 tank cars and for them to provide emergency response plans and equipment.
"When you consider that there's only one layer to these old... cars and the kind of hazardous material that they're running through our communities, the very least I think we can expect is to be warned and to have a plan in place which will deal with that kind of inevitability and risk," Wilbur said.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities was recently successful in pushing for rail companies to provide local governments with aggregate information about the nature and volume of goods moving through their boundaries.
"It doesn't help to have a rearview mirror look at stuff," said Wilbur. "You're talking about safety, you need to see what's coming down the tunnel. Even if they put the plan in place and gave the community 48 hours notice for the kind of cargo coming through their community it would allow the local protective people to do something and also to get a warning out."
NCLGA delegates also approved a district of Stewart contribution calling for the province's transportation minister to upgrade existing northern highways.
Highway 16, said Wilbur, has traffic that's ripping it apart and that it may not hold up to the extra volume of vehicles travelling to the various new and incoming resource projects.
"All of that means that our roads are being used to a level and with weights that they were never intended to handle," he said. "We appreciate that Minister [Todd] Stone increased the safety by what was done with the shoulders of the highways recently, but that's a small investment when you consider how much more has to be done."
The next NCLGA convention will take place May 6-8, 2015 in Prince George.
