MLA Milobar looks ahead to 2019

Jan 1, 2019 | 6:00 AM

KAMLOOPS — With 2018 being a year of changes in local government, and the first full year for a new provincial government, Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar is looking ahead to what the next year has in store for Kamloops.

Milobar tells CFJC Today that there will be some definite challenges, including in the housing market.

“I think unfortunately we’re starting to see a bit of a change in housing in terms of sales and starts, especially in the Lower Mainland,” Milobar says. “Now it’s starting to trickle over this way, and that’s unfortunate.”

He adds that how the Kinder Morgan pipeline turns out will have a significant impact to the whole region.

One of the biggest stories throughout the year for the province was the electoral reform referendum, with Milobar and Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone staunchly opposed. The referendum ended with BC residents opposing a form of proportional representation in the province.

With a byelection set to be held in Nanaimo after an MLA ran for mayor, Milobar says things could go any way.

“It could be a very tight house, and if we were successful in winning Nanaimo, at that point I think all bets are off,” he says. “I think the Green Party is doing a bit of soul-searching right now trying to figure out and reconcile what their base is expecting out of the three elected MLAs, versus what they’ve been able to deliver.”

Although Milobar has been kept busy with provincial duties this year, he’s still focused on some major local projects.

“I think it’s good to see that the hospital (project) is still moving forward, that’s certainly a project that’s near and dear to my heart,” Milobar says of the new RIH patient care tower. “I’ve worked many years trying to move it forward, so it’s good to see that it’s still continuing on.”

He still wants to see commitments made around school funding and around the BCLC building in Kamloops. Mixed messages have been coming about school funding, Milobar says, but the plans for a new BCLC headquarters is still on track.