By Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett

Putting our rural communities at the forefront, not the backburner

Sep 12, 2018 | 2:11 PM

THE UNION OF B.C. MUNICIPALITIES is underway in Whistler this week, bringing local and provincial representatives under one roof to discuss a wide range of important issues. It provides a unique venue and opportunity to get people talking, learning and exchanging ideas.

Representing the rural riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin I know it’s easy for Interior residents to occasionally feel isolated or forgotten about, as bigger urban issues often dominate media headlines and everyday conversation. But each year at UBCM, that divide is less evident. The mayor of Vancouver and the mayor of Williams Lake or 100 Mile House get the same opportunity to sit down with provincial representatives and share their issues of concern. On the convention floor, everyone gets to have their say on important policies that affect their communities, whether you hail from a small town or a big one.

The theme of this year’s UBCM convention is “communication, collaboration and cooperation.” Rural communities know how significant those three words can be when it comes to building success for our residents and business owners.

The importance of good communication between various levels of government can’t be overstated. We’ve seen this firsthand during the devastating wildfires, mudslides and floods that have affected my riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin and many others throughout the Interior over the past few years.

This summer in particular, we saw how bad communication can cause a lot of pain and frustration for people in the midst of an already stressful situation. Unverified reports on social media ended up spreading a lot of misinformation throughout our communities. It’s incumbent on all of us to make sure the information we’re sharing with our neighbours is correct and up to date, to avoid confusion and anger.

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On the flip side we have to thank our local and provincial governments, the Cariboo Fire Centre, first responders and First Nations for the great communication they provided to residents during these challenging times. In a crisis, there are always going to be incidents that don’t go as smoothly as we would like— and once the immediate danger has eased, I’m confident those gaps will be studied and addressed. But for the most part, everyone involved did a terrific job in keeping people informed and most importantly, safe.

Still, there is a lot of work to be done when it comes to rebuilding and restoring what was lost. Our leader Andrew Wilkinson was with me in Williams Lake and 150 Mile House last week, visiting some of the people affected by wildfires and hearing firsthand what it will take to get back on their feet.

One of the issues I’ve raised time and time again in the Legislature has to do with merchantable timber burned by wildfires, and the importance of salvaging it as quickly as possible– albeit, at a lower price. It’s a big financial issue for ranchers and I’ve worked hard to put it on the Minister’s radar this year and last. I have no doubt it will come up again when the Legislature resumes in October.

When it comes to collaboration and cooperation, rural communities rely on a good relationship with other levels of government to make improvements, attract visitors and encourage economic development. In my view, we have many challenges on this horizon in this regard.

Greyhound’s decision to cut its B.C. service is no doubt going to hurt the Interior. Not only do our local seniors, students and families have fewer options for safe, reliable transportation but visitors have fewer options to get to our rural communities and discover what we already know— that these are great places to explore and experience.

Our local tourism operators also lost a whole summer of business after the Northern Sea Wolf ferry project was delayed yet again. The introduction of the direct B.C. Ferries service between Port Hardy and Bella Coola was supposed to begin on June 19th, but it was delayed to July 20th and then delayed again until at least October. This ferry serves as an important link to tourists who make their way from the coast into the Cariboo-Chilcotin, and I will keep pressing the Minister to make it a reality as tourism is a key driver of our economy.

We have so much to be proud of in our rural communities, but there is much work to be done with all levels of government to build and maintain prosperity for our residents and our business community. I look forward to sharing and exploring some of this ideas at UBCM.