Mayor Kerry Cook and four councillors attended the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities meetings last week.
They met with Premier Christy Clark, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development Ida Chong, and Solicitor General and acting Attorney General Shirley Bond.
With Clark the City discussed the need for resource development revenue sharing with local governments in the Cariboo and the province’s new jobs plan including the contributions of Williams Lake and the region to the mining industry and post-secondary training to meet demand for workers.
With Chong the City stressed the need for local governments to access revenues from adjacent resource development and emphasized the importance of the Towns for Tomorrow program for small and mid-sized communities.
Discussions with Bond centred on the need for provincial support for a crime analyst position and for a new funding formula for the police-based victim services that better reflect the high case loads of the police and the courts.
“Our meetings were very positive and we took the opportunity to thank the premier and ministers for their past support of the City’s initiatives and needs,” Cook said.
“Moving forward, we stressed the need for collaboration among the Cariboo communities and the importance the province’s support for our various initiatives to address economic development, crime reduction and sustainable revenues.”