Submitted by
North Central Local Government Association
Mayors, Councilors, Regional Directors, aboriginal representatives, industry executives and members of the federal and provincial governments will all gather this week in Vancouver for the annual Union of BC Municipalities’ Convention. For the North Central Local Government Association (NCLGA), which represents all municipal-level governments from 100 Mile House to the Yukon border, the focus will be on partnerships.
The organization will be holding several high-level meetings to discuss a range of regional issues, says a news release from NCLGA this week. Brian Frenkel, president of NCLGA says he is expecting a positive outcome.
These are big-ticket items. We’re talking about foreign ownership of agricultural land, the significant lack of broadband redundancy in North Central BC, and the continuing issues around human trafficking & transportation, amongst other things,” says Frenkel in the release. “A great deal of work takes place over the course of this convention, and the NCLGA always looks to tackle items that all of North Central BC struggles with. We take a different approach at events like this; we don’t make demands, we look for ways we can work together to reach a positive result.”
Frenkel points to the newly minted Ministry of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction as an example of this conciliatory approach. “Red tape exists at all three levels of government, but in the North in particular, our communities are challenged when it comes to economic diversity and attracting businesses. We requested a meeting with Minister Oakes to offer collaboration when it comes to attacking red tape at the community level. Instead of simply waiting for the Province to do all the work and deliver a ready-made, how-to guide for municipalities, we’re saying, ‘Let’s work together to get this done’.”
In addition to official meetings, the NCLGA has forwarded over 20 resolutions to UBCM for consideration. Resolutions that have been ratified by all North Central local governments and forwarded to UBCM for debate can be found at: www.nclga.ca
