Whistler has compiled its wishlist for the upcoming Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention this September, after a discussion at the recent committee of the whole meeting on June 11.
With deadlines for minister meeting requests rapidly approaching on June 21, corporate coordinator with the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), Julie Sakamoto, ran Whistler's mayor and council through some of the benefits of taking advantage of the meetings, and provided a list of meeting requests so far.
Currently, elected officials and municipal staff at the RMOW are seeking meetings with the minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness to discuss evacuation planning (which they also did in 2023); the minister of finance and the minister of tourism, arts, culture and sport (separately) to discuss funding for tourism-supporting infrastructure; the housing minister; the minister for Indigenous relations and reconciliation; the minister of transportation and infrastructure to discuss regional transit; and the minister of water, lands and resource stewardship to discuss flood mitigation efforts in Fitzsimmons Creek.
Sakamoto said the meetings are a “great opportunity for dialogue with ministers,” and highlighted meetings from 2023 and what resulted of them as proof. She said meetings with the minister of emergency management yielded follow-up conversations with provincial-level staff on the matter of evacuation-planning, while meetings with finance yielded expanded uses for MRDT in affordable housing.
On housing, the RMOW previously pushed for more focus on local context to be considered in provincial legislation, while on the tourism front, the municipality was engaged in ongoing discussion around the “invisible burden” of tourism wherein areas with high visitation had limited ways to collect funding besides through property taxes.
The convention, which will take place in Vancouver Sept. 16 to 20, will welcome representatives from B.C.’s 161 municipalities and 27 regional districts—making the 15-minute ministerial meetings highly sought after. UBCM is the main policy-forming meeting for municipality-level government in B.C., and advocates on behalf of local governments to higher levels.
Sakamoto also added that, given 2024 is an election year, there could be some movement in ministerial appointments following the Oct. 19 election.
During discussion, Councillor Ralph Forsyth suggested adding a meeting with the ministry that would be responsible for provincial approvals of mountain biking trails in the area—which according to staff would be the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, which oversees Recreation Sites and Trails BC, while Coun. Jessie Morden asked for a meeting with the Ministry of Education and Childcare to discuss childcare costs.
Coun. Cathy Jewett also asked to speak with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure about regional transit, saying, “we’ve really gotta just keep asking the question, I think,” given it’s an election year. She also said she’d be interested in flagging the potential for a transit lane to the south of Whistler given traffic concerns.
Coun. Jeff Murl asked for follow-up meetings with ministries engaged in 2023 to see what progress has been made on previous conversations, while Mayor Jack Crompton talked about the need to maintain ongoing conversations with ministries responsible for tourism and emergency planning.
The conference would have marked the last time Whistler Councillor Jen Ford sits on the UBCM executive after five years in various executive-level roles, but she is on leave from the role of past president after she was nominated as BC NDP candidate for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky last month.
