Wednesday, April 8, 2015

No Resolutions from Prince Rupert for North Central Local Government Convention in May

It would appear that the City of Prince Rupert may have missed out on a valuable opportunity to put forward some of their recent issues of concern to a larger audience.

Local government officials will be gathering in Prince George next month for the annual convention of the North Central Local Government Association,  the sixtieth such gathering of local government officials in Northern British Columbia.

The May 6th to 8th event is a three day conference and convention where ideas will be exchanged, resolutions considered and new technology showcased.

Towards the resolutions aspect of the Prince George event, a number of other participating communities have submitted their issues of note for consideration at the May conference.

Providing the opportunity for discussion on a wide range of issues of importance across northern British Columbia, where the authors will be seeking a larger consensus from conference participants.

If indeed the deadline has closed for submissions, or the selection committee chose not to accept any recommendations from Prince Rupert, the City has seemingly lost an opportunity to put forward its concerns related to such burning local issues as tax caps on industrial land, housing issues and infrastructure concerns to name but a few.

Those are all topics that council members have spent a fair amount of time discussing around the council table, as well as in community forums in recent weeks. (see here)

Considering the large number of delegates expected to attend the Prince George convention, Prince Rupert might have found some common ground with a number of Northern communities on their shared interests, particularly those that are directed to the provincial government.

Having the backing of the NCLGA might have been one way to show the province that Prince Rupert issues are not just those of one community yelling into the wind.

For now, unless there are late additions to the Resolutions files, Prince Rupert delegates will be doing more listening than talking, ready to cast a vote on a list of 19 resolutions, four of them proposals from other communities in the Northwest.

Click on the item in blue below for a full overview of each submission:

Terrace is looking for support on two resolutions:

Mental Health and Addictions Drain on Policing Resources
Poverty Reduction Strategy for British Columbia

Stewart and Kitimat-Stikine are offering up joint sponsorship of one resolution:

A proposal that would Waive Royalties for Gravel Extraction in Flood Hazard areas

The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako has one resolution for consideration next month:

BC Fire Service Minimum Training Standards

The fifteen other proposed resolutions cover a wide range of topics and interests of concern to communities across Northern British Columbia, among the discussion points for next month:

BC Residential Renewable Energy Rebate Program (Hudson's Hope)
Boundary Extension Guidelines (Fort St. John)
Canada Post (Quesnel)
Highway Maintenance (Vanderhoof)
Hydroelectric Dam Water Use Planning (Vanderhoof)
ICBC and Windshield Repairs (Quesnel)
Medical Services Plan Premiums (Fort St. John)
National Inquiry on Violence Against Indigenous Women (Quesnel)
Public Transportation in Rural Communities (Vanderhoof)
Recreation Sites (Burns Lake)
Review of Site C by the BC Utilities Commission (Hudson's Hope)
Support for the Forestry Industry (Cariboo, Williams Lake, Quesnel, 100 Mile House, Wells)
Sustaining Clean Water Resources (Hudson's Hope)
Timber Supply (Vanderhoof)
Withdrawal, Death or Incapacity of an Election Candidate (Quesnel)

You can review the  resolutions page for the convention here.

For more background on the May convention see this overview from the NCLGA website, the calendar of events for the convention can be examined here.

More on Prince Rupert Council developments can be found from our archive page 

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

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