Squamish went to provincial ministers asking for regional transit, sexual assault funding and a cheaper deal for BC Rail lands last week at the Union of BC Municipalities convention in Whistler.
The gathering took place from Sept. 10 to 14, and is an annual chance for leaders from B.C. municipalities to meet with each other and provincial politicians to discuss policy issues.
Mayor Patricia Heintzman said delegations from Squamish attended four ministerial meetings.
Squamish met with Claire Trevena, minister of transportation and Infrastructure, in a separate meeting to discuss BC Rail properties and a joint meeting to discuss regional transit in the Sea to Sky corridor.
“We’re still hoping, and it’s a bit ambitious, we wanted to make sure that her ministry is still on a timeline to get [buses running] by September 2019,” said Heintzman. “It takes that long just to get it in budget cycles, not only the municipal ones but provincial ones as well to be able to purchase the buses.”
Whistler, Pemberton, Squamish, Lil’wat Nation, and Squamish Nation signed a memorandum of understanding in July that proposes eight vehicles to begin service from 2019 to 2020.
In a second meeting, Heintzman said both she and Mayor Walt Cobb from Williams Lake relayed concerns about the way BC Rail is selling off their properties.
The provincial government has been selling lands privately at market value, with no option for purchase by local government at a more flexible price.
“We should be able to acquire them if they are of strategic community value,” said Heintzman. “They want X-amount of money for it, which a community like Williams Lake and Squamish just don’t have laying around to acquire land like that, especially at exorbitant prices. Ironically, I think land value in Squamish is greatly appreciating the provincial coffers as they sell their land.”
At a meeting with Health Minister Adrian Dix, local representatives asked the province for increased funding to respond to sexual assaults and help to address a funding shortfall for the Squamish Hospice Society.
Heintzman said a fourth meeting took place with Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth and Lions Bay Mayor Karl Buhr on the topic of speed-over-distance-radar on Highway 99.
**Please note, this story has been corrected since it was first published to reflect that Squamish met with Health Minister Adrian Dix, not the assistant-deputy.
