Mayor, Council and Staff Delegation from Prince Rupert off to Vancouver for 2023 UBCM convention

The Vancouver Convention Centre is the host venue
for the 2023 UBCM Convention
(image from VCC)

The annual gathering of municipal officials is getting underway today, with delegates set to arrive at the Vancouver Convention Centre for the 2023 UBCM Convention. 

With five days of information sessions, speeches, policy work and a large volume of resolutions ahead for their agenda for the week, much of their work ahead for all delegates is designed to address themes tied into the narrative for the convention of the Balancing Act.

The City of Prince Rupert will have representation from Mayor Herb Pond and some, if not all of City Council members, with some senior staff also part of the delegation to the Convention.

City Council hasn't released a full list as to who makes up for their delegation for the 2023 event, so residents will have to keep an eye on both from the Mayor's social media stream and that of the City of Prince Rupert, as well as those notes relayed from UBCM to chart some of the progress of the local officials.

With a large provincial cabinet contingent expected for the event and numerous Provincial Cabinet Town Halls planned for the convention, we may even get a few items of interest from North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice along the way.

While they may have had some time last week at their thirty minute Council session, there was no mention of their travels ahead along with what Council hopes to bring back from their five days with municipal and provincial officials. 

Likewise the opportunity was lost to share their notes on the list of which officials that they hope to meet with to share notes on the city's largest concerns. 

Though a hint may be found from the late Friday afternoon update on the city's water infrastructure work, which probably provides for some of a glimpse as to what the City will be engaged towards when they sit in on the policy discussions, or the one one opportunities to chat with provincial officials.

As we outlined on Friday, much of the focus for the city's talking points was on the current work on city infrastructure  and the volume of excavation sites which may now remain open for a fair bit of time, that  while the City awaits word of their request for Federal financing.

Also included in the Friday message to the community was a familiar theme on Council efforts towards accessing additional revenue streams for that infrastructure work.

Part of the City of Prince Rupert Statement on infrastructure work
released late Friday afternoon
(click to enlarge)

Whatever the size of the delegation, the Prince Rupert participants will have lots of company at the 2023 event. The registration levels have seen a surge of interest from Municipal officials and other participants, with over 2,000 delegates now registered to take part.

Among those will be delegations from Terrace, Smithers, Kitimat, Burns Lake, Houston, Port Edward, Haida Gwaii and the various regional districts of the Northwest. As well, representatives from First Nation communities across the Northwest will also be a key part of convention week in Vancouver.

The Five days in Vancouver do make for a full schedule, with an early start and some socializing that will take the delegation into the evening hours. 

The Pocket Program for the 2023 UBCM Convention
(click to enlarge)

You can review the full 66 page Convention Program here.

Keep up with the daily notes and follow the convention through the UBCM website and  Social Media stream here.

We also have an archive page in place that tracks some of the news both local, regional and province wide from the 2023 convention you can explore those notes here.