Earlier this month I had the opportunity to network with mayors and councillors from other communities in the province at the annual convention of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) conference. We shared issues and best practices that were common to communities similar to ours. We also spent an evening with the elected officials from our regional district, providing a great opportunity to get to know one another and discuss issues that have regional significance to the Sea to Sky Corridor.
A variety of valuable workshops were offered, with a few that were quite relevant to Squamish, including: derelict and abandoned vessels, mobile business licensing, effective citizen engagement, and strong fiscal futures.
The convention provided an opportunity for each delegate to speak to and vote on each of 150 resolutions. These resolutions were put forward by local governments to gain support of the UBCM and be recommended to the provincial and federal governments. They ranged in subject matter but all represented recommendations to aid in our efforts to improve our communities. They included such items as: extending elections to every four years, compensation for fire departments, responses to highway accidents, financial cost control and revenue sharing with the province, photo radar in school zones, and limiting campaign spending.
One of the most valuable aspects of attending the convention was the opportunity for Squamish council to meet with different ministries from the provincial government. We met with the Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, who we had met with last year to outline Squamish initiatives in economic development and enlist support. The ministry has been working closely with us over the year, and this year we were able to speak with them about establishing a skills training facility in Squamish. It was encouraging to have the new minister recognize the need for the province to move on skills training quickly. She has agreed to meet with Squamish and the Minister of Advanced Education to pursue the initiative further.
We also met with the Ministry of Transportation and our new MLA, Jordan Sturdy. His support is helpful as he is familiar with the challenges our community faces. A very productive meeting was spent discussing transit options for the Sea to Sky Corridor from Pemberton to Vancouver, with the main focus being from Squamish to Vancouver. The ministry has agreed to initiate an updated situation analysis, with the major focus on the viability of a high-speed foot passenger ferry. The most recent study was done in 2002, prior to the Sea to Sky Highway upgrades and prior to much of the growth we have experienced in recent years. This new analysis would include current technology, new information, the potential for new tourism traffic, as well as a variety of new funding options including a fuel tax.
