Sun Peaks’ Mayor Rob O’Toole and staff used this year’s Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) convention to press provincial ministers on a slate of local priorities, from a new school and better local health services to wastewater capacity and streamlined environmental approvals.
Arriving on Monday, Sept. 22, the group held its “biggest day of meetings” on Tuesday O’Toole said, with follow-ups through the rest of the week.
Meetings, priorities and the resort-community voice
Connecting with ministries that can advance concrete infrastructure projects was a central focus for the Sun Peaks delegation.
As part of the Resort Community Collaborative, a group representing 14 resort municipalities aiming to ensure tourism-dependent communities have a seat at provincial tables, the municipalities were introduced to the new Minister of Tourism Anne Kang.
He and chief administrative officer Deanna Campbell also met with the newly-created Ministry of Infrastructure — a body that handles major bricks-and-mortar projects, such as hospitals and schools.
“Our focus in that meeting was to really advocate for a new brick-and-mortar school in Sun Peaks,” O’Toole said, adding local children should be able to be educated “in our own home community,” rather than being bused into larger centres.
Health care was another priority, and the delegation met with the Ministry of Health to discuss rural delivery models and recruitment.
O’Toole praised recent provincial changes that aim to streamline rural delivery systems and adjust compensation models to make practicing in smaller communities more attractive. Sun Peaks is seeking continued tweaks to those programs so doctors and other providers will consider living and working in rural settings, he said.
Other meetings planned for the convention included sessions with the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Environment. Sun Peaks is advancing a new middle-income housing project, which the mayor noted has moved into construction with concrete poured.
He also pushed for more capacity on water and wastewater systems to support growth.
“For us to grow the community, to continue to develop, to broaden our tax base, to build more affordable homes for full-time, long-term residents, we need more infrastructure,” he said, naming wastewater capacity and faster environmental approvals as urgent needs to help achieve these goals.
There will be a follow-up meeting slated to discuss how the Ministry of Environment can help streamline approval processes so local projects don’t stall, he added.
The mayor emphasized relationship building and collaboration as key to ensuring Sun Peaks’ unique needs are not lost among larger municipalities.
“CAO to CAO, mayor to mayor, that’s a big part of what you’re doing at things like UBCM,” O’Toole said, describing the convention as a place to forge the contacts that can be called upon later for support.
Sun Peaks also works through regional associations such as the Southern Interior Local Government Association to coordinate resolutions and present a united voice on issues that affect smaller and Interior communities.
What’s next
Following the convention, O’Toole said the immediate next step is to debrief with council and staff. He attended UBCM with the municipality’s chief executive officer and director of operations Clint Burton, and plans to review takeaways and map concrete next steps.
“This [convention] is really about building connections and getting the right people to understand our context,” O’Toole said. “Then we come home, debrief with council and turn those conversations into actions.”
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