Monday, September 10, 2018

Five days of politics and networking ahead for municipal officials as UBCM convention opens today

Delegates will be making their way up the Squamish highway today, with Whistler the destination as the provinces municipal politicians and their civic staffers head off to the 2018 edition of the annual UBCM convention.

The first two days for UBCM 2018 provide for the bulk of the workshops, clinics and touring opportunities for delegates, with the Convention work, keynote addresses and opportunities to meet with provincial officials marking much of the schedule from Wednesday forward.

The theme of this years event is communication, collaboration, cooperation.

However, it would seem that when it comes background information on their plans for convention week,  Prince Rupert City council has been a little lacking on the first of those themes over the summer. 

Prince Rupert residents won't know the size of the North Coast delegation until the social media photos begin to pop up as the week moves forward, though for those representing the city and North Coast Regional District, the Convention program does offer up a wide range of workshops, seminars and forums to take in.


The pocket planner for the UBCM 2018 convention provides a snap shot
of the scope of work ahead for municipal delegates to the Whistler event

( click here to access  a larger version)


Politicians from the provincial side will also make an appearance at the UBCM gathering, a string of addresses are planned for the week, included on that list are:

Wednesday -- Dr. Andrew Weaver, Leader of the Green Party
Wednesday -- Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selena Robinson

Thursday -- Andrew Wilkinson, Leader of the Opposition

Friday -- Premier John Horgan

The Premier's address to the delegates makes for the final event of the five day conference, bringing the gathering to an end at the Noon hour.

This year UBCM hosts four Provincial Cabinet Town Halls, with four topics on the agenda for the Wednesday afternoon information sessions.

Building a Better BC
Safe Communities
Investing in People
Growing Prosperity

The municipal officials will also deliver the results of their  spring and summer preparation work of resolutions for the convention, with many of the communities of the Northwest having put together their key issues of note over the course of the last few months.

We previewed some of their topics in August, with the Northwest corridor of the province looking to explore a diverse range of topics from library funding, cannabis tax revenues, emergency rail response concerns and health care facility funding just some of the themes that they hope will catch the attention of delegates.

Prince Rupert City Council didn't dedicate much of its public Council session time through the summer towards themes of UBCM, other than to move forward a motion on their sole resolution for the convention related to the British Columbia Fishery.

What other areas of concern that Council may have for convention week may make for some occasional Facebook posts or twitter notes as the convention moves forward. 

Those municipal officials who host the largest footprint on those social media portals include:

Mayor Lee Brain --  Facebook   Twitter
Councillor Blair Mirau -- Facebook   Twitter
Councillor Barry Cunningham -- Facebook   

The City of Prince Rupert Facebook page and twitter feed may also provide some hints as to the progress of the Prince Rupert delegation through these next five days.

We have compiled an archive of the latest notes for UBCM here,  with plans to add to the archive regularly as the week of convention heads towards the Friday finish line.

To follow the UBCM in real time, you can keep an eye on the #UBCM2018 twitter feed or Instagram page.

As well, those with a keen interest in municipal affairs can download the UBCM App from the Apple and Google App Stores

That helpful project puts much of convention week at your fingertips with program updates, event information and notes on the Sponsor showcase among some of the features worth checking out.



You can explore our Council Discussion archive for a look at some of the municipal issues of note in Prince Rupert that may make for some of Council's attention this week.

For items of interest on provincial issues see our Legislature archive page here.


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