Council recently attended the Union of BC Municipalities Convention to advocate on behalf of our municipality!

During the convention, local governments have an opportunity to meet with cabinet ministers and ministry staff during the convention. These meetings are requested beforehand, and not all are granted due to the high volume of requests. This year, council was successful in confirming three meetings. The following meetings were successfully held during the convention:

• Honourable Anne Kang, Minister of Municipal Affairs;
• Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries & Aquaculture Kelly Greene; and
• Honourable Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

Municipal councils and regional district boards from around the province also submit resolutions for consideration at the convention. This year, over 250 resolutions were submitted. Resolutions are a formal expression of the opinion, will or intent of the council or board.

Typically, resolutions submitted to UBCM request the province, UBCM, the federal government or the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to take action on important issues for local governments and the communities they represent. As an advocacy tool used to lobby higher levels of government, UBCM-endorsed resolutions receive an official response which will later be published.

The District of Sicamous submitted three resolutions for consideration. Of those three, two were endorsed.

The District of Sicamous resolutions that were endorsed by UBCM and will receive an official response from the province include:

• EB29 Residential Tenancy Act Review
• EB93 Economic Resiliency for Tourism-Dependent Communities

To read the resolutions, please visit our "Advocacy Efforts" webpage.

The theme of this year's convention was "Ride the Wave," reflecting how local governments in British Columbia stretch limited resources to address a considerable list of competing priorities. The theme also speaks to local governments being on a "varied, but collective journey" that is represented by a "unique synergy that unifies and motivates throughout the year."

During the convention, council members and District staff attended various information sessions on an array of issues and topics. You can watch convention speaker interviews on the UBCM's YouTube channel and learn more about UBCM and the convention by visiting the UBCM website.