Mission will have an opportunity to advocate on issues facing the city to Premier David Eby and other provincial ministers at the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention in Vancouver next week (Sept. 18-22).
The city’s mayor and council, with the exception of Coun. Ken Herar, will attend the annual gathering at the Vancouver Convention Centre with a long list of meetings on the slate.
“Our issues remain, as always, looking at being able to say that our healthcare planning for the region is more inclusive of Mission,” Mission Mayor Paul Horn said. “We don’t want to come in and ask specifically for any single type of facility or institution. We want to make sure that the strategy for planning in this region is based on good evidence but also on good input from people in these communities and from local elected leadership.”
Council has meetings scheduled with the premier and ministers for forests, health, municipal affairs, public safety, social development and transportation.
Horn says council is concerned about the impacts of climate change on Mission as well.
“I think everybody in our region is [concerned]. Whether it’s evacuation routes, diking, disaster financial assistance, fire protection — all of those things are important to us,” he said.
Horn says council remains concerned with Mission’s highways and schools.
“We really wanted to make sure that we’re moving forward on achieving an improved highway, both in terms of the bypass route and the eastern access, as well as looking at how we can improve highway access from Highway 11 and better connect with Highway 7 to the west.”
The city will collaborate with the local school board to meet with the Minister of Education for an update on a replacement for Mission Secondary, in addition to a push for elementary schools in the area.
In the meeting with the Minister of Public Safety, council plans to advocate for additional provincial RCMP members.
The municipal community is also eager to learn more about what is meant by the province’s housing strategy, Horn says.
Meanwhile, Mission passed three resolutions that are coming to the floor at UBCM. The first relates to the way stumpage is calculated in the municipal forest.
The second asks the province to check on the People With Disabilities (PWD) benefits yearly to meet the cost of living. The third resolution would have the province pay for medical trucks.
“Obviously, we are not adequately able to provide ambulance service, especially in view of the poisoned drug supply crisis,” Horn said.
Horn expects the resolutions to be supported on the floor but hopes they have some reach with the province.