Civic reps debate dogs, crime, health

NEWS/ POLITICS — After two days of forums, panel discussions and tours, 1,200 civic-government delegates get down to some serious business Wednesday at the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Whistler.

Several delegates from Kamloops, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and surrounding towns are among those who will begin debating resolutions today.

Dozens of resolutions, sponsored by various municipal members, will be put on the floor, most asking for UBCM support to lobby the provincial government for changes in a wide variety of areas, such as housing, health care, transportation, the economy and taxation.

Few of this year’s resolutions are sponsored from the Kamloops region, but Kamloops City council hopes to have a later resolution submitted that supports giving bylaws officers the authority to break into vehicles to rescue dogs in hot weather. The resolution is expected to find wide support.

Chase council has two resolutions on the agenda. One asks for a review of funding for road rescue services, especially the capital costs for vehicles and equipment. It says communities or societies often have to subsidize the service.

Another Chase resolution notes that confiscated proceeds from crimes and forfeited property all go the provincial government. Some of it should go to local governments, the resolution says, because crimes have direct monetary and social impacts on communities.

In view of the catastrophic Lac Megantic train accident, a resolution from Logan Lake asks that the provincial government be asked to ask Transport Canada to regulate the transport of hazardous materials by all transportation modes throughout Canada.

The North Okanagan Regional District wants Health Minister Terry Lake to introduce legislative changes requiring that each of the nine regional districts within the Interior Health Authority have a representative on the IHA board.

The current system of government appointments “has created a managerial form of accountability to the Ministry of Health and not to the local communities,” the resolution says.

Debate on resolutions continues Thursday and Friday, with breaks to hear keynote speakers like Rex Murphy, Premier Christy Clark and NDP leader John Horgan.

Kamloops Coun. Arjun Singh and TNRD Director Willow Macdonald are running for positions as directors at large on the UBCM executive.