CAVERS — Workshop will deal with health of our community

By COUN. DONOVAN CAVERS

COLUMN — On April 21, city council and staff will sit down for the first of two annual council workshops.

On the agenda are an update from Venture Kamloops, a report from city staff regarding progress on the Sustainable Kamloops Plan, a draft of the Food and Urban Agriculture Plan and a report on transit-fare options.

Workshops give council the opportunity to delve deeper into the nitty-gritty of issues and expand on the normal level of discussion afforded council during regular meeting times.

I will use this column to focus on two of the topics up for discussion: the Food and Urban Agriculture Plan and transit-fare options.

As someone who grew up on a farm, I’ve always had a strong connection to food and the farming community in our region.

Access to nutritious food is something that, unfortunately, many of us often take for granted. Having access to good food is critical to each and every one of us being able to reach our full potential.

Some might say a city has no place in looking at issues like food security and food sovereignty but I beg to differ.

The city employs a large contingent of gardeners and horticulture staff and I would like to see a lot more of the plants those people are putting in the ground becoming edible ornamentals.

The Kamloops Food Policy Council is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and I’m happy the city is partnering more and more and contributing to many great successes.

A few examples of projects that have happened or are underway are community gardens, community kitchens, food banks (for those in immediate-need situations), the gleaning program and educational public-produce gardens.
These are all components of a sustainable local food system.

The Food and Urban Agriculture Plan builds on these components and offers further solutions to ensure all Kamloops residents obtain a measure of food security.

Another issue on the workshop agenda that will be receiving my close attention is transit-fare options.

To me, funding transit is an investment. It’s an investment in reduced road congestion.

It’s an investment in fewer tailpipes and lower levels of harmful particulate air emissions.

It’s an investment in healthier people who walk more. And, it’s an investment in reducing the need for costly road-infrastructure work.

In our province, two-thirds of the population have a driver’s licence, which means more than 30 per cent of our population does not. Whether the limiting factor is age-related, due to a financial barrier or connected to a disability, we all need access to transportation to hold a job, get to appointments and visit friends and family.

In 2011, transit fares in Kamloops were raised by 12 per cent. Ridership in our city has seen significant gains in the past decade, but that rate of increase has slowed.

Most of us have cost ceilings, whether it’s the entry cost for a city pool, the B.C. Wildlife Park, a movie theatre or transit fare. I believe we have reached a cost ceiling for transit and a further increase will have strong negative consequences on our ability to increase ridership.

There are certainly many other ways to attract new riders to try the bus (including moving to 365-day service), but affordability is a large factor.

Both of the issues I’ve touched on have significant potential to impact the health of our community. Please feel free to contact me if you have input on these or any other issues.

Donovan Cavers is a Kamloops councillor. He can be contacted at kdcavers@kamloops.ca.