BC mayors met at the annual local government gathering in Victoria
By Contributor
Mayors from across BC met in Victoria today to examine the challenges of BC’s communities and to share best practices in moving forward.
On the topic of infrastructure the 140 member strong BC Mayors’ Caucus endorsed the following statement:
“We agree that our communities require immediate action to provide stable, predictable, long term infrastructure funding from federal and provincial governments, to meet municipal needs as defined by each community’s priorities. This statement affirms and complements the efforts of UBCM and FCM to address the infrastructure needs of communities to ensure social, economic and environmental well-being.”
The next Mayors’ Caucus will take place Apr. 29 and 30, 2013 in Prince George, and invitations will be sent to Premier Christy Clark; Leader of the Official Opposition Adrian Dix; BC Conservative Leader John Cummins and Green Party Leader Jane Sterk as well as the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities for the Government of Canada to address the mayors at the Prince George event.
While meeting in Victoria, the Mayors also heard from the Honourable Bill Bennett, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development for British Columbia. The mayors were pleased to hear Minister Bennett acknowledge the need for a closer working relationship between the federal, provincial and local governments in addressing many of the concerns being voiced by the Mayors’ Caucus.
The mayors also shared revenue and expenditure ideas to ensure sustainable service capacity in their communities.
The BC Mayors’ Caucus is based on successful models across North America and Europe including the Alberta Mayors’ Caucus, the Big Cities Mayors’ Caucus (Canada), Atlantic Mayors’ Congress (Canada), Metropolitan Mayors’ Caucus (United States) and the Summit of Mayors (EU). Members of the BC Mayors’ Steering Committee are:
Mayor Dean Fortin of Victoria;
Mayor Dan Ashton of Penticton;
Mayor Shari Green of Prince George;
Mayor Jack Mussallem of Prince Rupert;
Mayor Wayne Stetski of Cranbrook;
Mayor Lori Ackerman of Fort St. John;
Mayor Taylor Bachrach of Smithers;
Mayor Peter Milobar of Kamloops;
Mayor Dianne Watts of Surrey;
Mayor Greg Moore of Port Coquitlam.
For more information visit: www.BCMayorsCaucus.ca.
