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| Municipal Affairs Minster Nathan Cullen had a key speaking spot in Wednesday's program at UBCM (Photo from Video presentation from Wednesday) |
The Minister opened his presentation and observed of the trail of recent appointees to the post of Municipal Affairs at the Legislature, along with some personal themes for the delegates to take notes on, including his pride of place from the Bulkley Valley as a Smithereens.
Mr. Cullen spoke of the delegates seeking re-election in October, those departing from the political scene and also paid tribute to Program John Horgan, who will stepping down from the top job in BC this fall.
The Minister's focus on the evolution of municipal government in the province more than likely theme which resonated large with the delegates on the afternoon.
"I want to talk to you about a few important things. The new normal that we often talk about, this new reality that we live in. How we must come together to find that opportunity in the crises that we face.
And that we must come together to solve the most vexing problems, the most challenging problems and achieve the best opportunities that we can.
The list of expectations on you, continues to grow, municipal agendas, local government agendas would be unrecognizable from twenty, ten, five years ago.
The list of things that Councils must occupy themself and choose to engage with: Housing, Health Care, Homelessness, Opioid Crisis, Climate Change, Complex care, Mental Health Supports, Repeat Offenders, Public Safety and the list goes on and on.
Yet our love of people, our love of place continues to motivate and drive the efforts that we put in every day as elected folks" -- BC Municipal Affairs Minister Nathan Cullen at UBCM
Mr. Cullen noted of the reception that politicians receive from the public these days and the climate of politics at the moment, observing as to how they need to change the perceptions that the public has about their vocation.
As for the policy themes on the afternoon, the Minister tackled a smorgasbord of topics, some of which would be of note for Northwest and Haida Gwaii delegates.
On the theme of repeat offenders and how that is impacting on municipalities.
"I wanna to talk about a difficult issue. One that's not easily talked about in public spaces, but one that is upon us. And that's the issue of public disorder, repeat offenders in our communities.
Large and Small, North, South, Interior, Island, Rural, Urban, we're all seeing the impacts of this on the people that we represent and their lives. Everyone, everyone in this province has the right to feel safe in their homes and in their communities.
And the reality is in many cases, a very few, relatively few individuals are responsible for a majority of the crime in our communities.
This is a complex issue, the origins of this challenge are complex in nature and if anyone stands on this stage or anywhere else and says we can solve this complex issue with simple slogans and cheap solutions, they're lying to you.
As one mayor said to me recently, just yesterday: It's not those people, those are our people, this is our responsibility, this is our effort and our problem to solve"
Mr. Cullen further noted how the issue goes beyond policing and how homelessness and addictions plays a role in the situation, with the government seeking solutions to the issue, with a report to be released soon.
The commentary on repeat offenders is a topic that would be of much interest to the Terrace delegation which has been among the strongest advocates towards seeking a solution from the Province.
The need for additional housing was a key focus for the address to UBCM, the Minister noting of the work of Municipal Councils in permitting and development approvals and how there is still much work to be done together.
Mr. Cullen pointed to a successful venture in Vanderhoof, called the Park View Place which offers Independent Housing and a range of services for elders and Seniors in the community.
He also made note of the Speculation Vacancy Tax and how it is making a difference in Vancouver and will be expanded to other communities in the province, as well as to the creation of the Housing Needs assessment that the Province has put together, along with its work towards streamlining the development process in BC.
Towards that theme, Mr. Cullen hailed the work of the City of Victoria that has created a 'fast lane' to address affordable housing approvals in the community.
"The first council in BC to put in a fast lane for affordable housing projects right across the city, that's excellent leadership and we need more of it"
Mr. Cullen also spoke of Reconciliation and the need to do better in "relationships between newcomers with First Peoples of this province", noting of the recent Thaltan Agreement as one step on that path.
He also used the recent renaming of Queen Charlotte to Daajing Giids as a part of his narrative to that element of his presentation.
"Names, names matter. One of the aspects of colonization was of course not just the destruction of people and culture and language, was the destruction of names, of places.
A few years ago the Haida elders on Haida Gwaii, in Skidegate approached their local council of Charlotte City and said we would like you to consider reclaiming the name of this place, Dajiing Giids.
This was and is not an easy conversation to have, names matter, we grow attached.
And just a few weeks ago, MLA Jennifer Rice, myself, the Premier, Minister Rankin joined the communities of Skidegate and Dajing Giids to feast in their new name to reclaim back what was and to acknowledge in a small but important way how names matter and there are things that we can do about them"
As part of the close to those remarks, Mr. Cullen paid tribute to both the Haida Leadership and that of the local leaders of the community towards the change. The Minister noting that it was the first instance of a community reclaiming its name back.
Climate Change was also a key element for the presentation, the Minster recounting the province's work towards the communities of Merritt, Lytton and others. Recounting the work of municipal officials as those crises evolved.
The narrative served as the lead in towards the largest of the announcements, which was focused on infrastructure and some good news for Abbotsford which will see 62 million dollars in funding from the province towards a new well and water treatment system for the Fraser Valley community.
The other significant announcement was the creation of a new program for municipal government in concert with the UBCM, called the Complete Communities Program. The BC government will put ten million dollars towards its implementation in the New Year, which will assist civic government with planning and gathering data.
Such was the variety of themes from his presentation that the social media site No Context BC featured a few of the Minister's talking points as a highlight package.
The full presentation from his forty minute presentation, goes a bit deeper than the clip parade above and is worth a viewing to gain a sense of the challenges facing municipalities.
It can be reviewed below:
More notes on the 2022 UBCM convention can be explored through our archive page.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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