Resolutions for the next North Central Local Government Association’s annual general meeting about conservation officer advocacy, a secure psychiatric care facility and library funding will be discussed by Prince George’s Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs at its Tuesday, Feb. 4 meeting.
The NCLGA, a body representing elected officials from north and central BC, will have its next AGM hosted by the City of Prince Rupert, the District of Port Edward and the North Coast Regional District from May 12 to 15 in Prince Rupert.
To be considered at the meeting, member municipalities like the City of Prince George must submit resolutions by March 14.
The committee will discuss three draft resolutions at its next meeting.
The first calls on the provincial government to increase funding for both offices and staffing for conservation officers. A report attached to the meeting agenda says the resolution is largely based off a successful motion put forward to the Union of BC Municipalities by the City of Penticton in 2018.
“Having only 150 officers on the front lines of environmental law enforcement in British Columbia does not meet the need our vast geography requires,” the report states.
The second motion calls on the province to build a secure psychiatric care facility for the region in Prince George following the government’s expression of interest in establishing involuntary care during the last provincial election campaign.
The third motion asks for the province to boost its annual core funding for libraries to $30 million annually. The report states this resolution stems from a request from the BC Public Library Partners and the Association of BC Public Libraries asking for municipalities’ help in lobbying the province.
The text of the motion cites pressures faced by libraries, including trying to serve a population that has grown by 29 per cent in the last 15 years.
Also scheduled are verbal reports on about the Human Trafficking Prevention Network of British Columbia and library funding.
When The Citizen interviewed Prince George Public Library director Paul Burry on Jan. 22 amidst city council’s budget talks, he said that provincial funding for libraries had been stagnant since at least 2014.
Another topic to be discussed is collective bargaining between Canada and the National Police Federation, the union that represents RCMP officers and reservists beneath the rank of inspector.
The existing collective agreement with the NPF expires on March 31.
When that agreement was agreed to, it included lump sum payments to NPF members for retroactive pay that municipalities are responsible for covering.
Municipalities are now waiting to hear what the financial impact will be when the next contract is agreed to. A report from the Union of BC Municipalities attached to the agenda of the committee meeting states that there has been no significant progress made on those negotiations.
A discussion of two benefit agreements, the Peace River Memorandum of Understanding and the Northwest BC Resource Benefits Alliance, rounds out the agenda.
The meeting starts at 10 a.m. on the second-floor conference room at city hall on Feb. 4.
