PG city councillor says northern BC well-represented within UBCM Executive

“The volume of meetings was a lot higher than I have seen in a long time.”

That’s from Prince George City Councillor Garth Frizzell as the Union of BC Municipalities Convention wraps up for another year.

The week-long convention turned out to be fruitful for the city as their resolution asking the provincial government to develop a funding model to compensate local governments who provide emergency medical services through their fire and rescue, passed and will now go to Victoria.

Frizzell says it’s important both levels of government have their ducks in a row on this issue.

“That is the piece we are going to have to hammer out as to what types of costs would be reimbursed when we are sending people to a call that could be answered by other provincially funded services. We want to make sure the costs that are being borne are the ones that it’s being designed for.”

He added it was nice to see so much backing from other communities on this proposal.

“This is one (a proposal) that hit and must have landed well with all of the communities across BC. We got that support, it’s going to go to the ministries and there is win number one.”

In addition, the north will be well represented on the Union of BC Municipalities Executive during the 2023-24 year.

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Regional District of Fraser-Fort George Director Art Kaehn was named First Vice-President while City of PG councilor Cori Ramsay is one of the Directors at Large.
They’ll join Jerrilyn Kirk (RDFFG), Sheila Boehm (Williams Lake), Gord Klassen (Fort St. John), Michael Moses (Williams Lake), and Fraser Lake Mayor Sarah Storey who also made the cut.
Frizzell mentioned the region should be well-equipped now to drum home the matters that mean the most.
“We’ve got a really good year for northern representation and I am quite delighted to see the results.
“That means the issues that matter to us – the ones that are different from the south are going to be front and centre. That is a really strong contingent we’ve got going there. UBCM represents all corners of the province but by bringing in those northern voices forward, we are going to get a much better representation of what municipalities as a whole are facing.”
Lastly, the Prince George contingent, which also included MLA Shirley Bond and Mayor Simon Yu had meetings with seven ministers over the week.
Brendan Pawliw
Brendan Pawliw
Since moving to Prince George in 2015, Brendan has covered local sports including the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, Prince George Spruce Kings, UNBC Timberwolves, Cariboo Cougars AAA, and Northern Capitals U18 female hockey teams. Career highlights include play-by-play during the Spruce Kings' BCHL championship runs in 2018 and 2019, including the Doyle Cup win. He also covered the 2019 National Junior A Championship, the 2017 Telus Cup, the 2022 World Women’s Curling Championship, and the 2022 BC Summer Games. Brendan is the news voice on 94.3 The Goat and Country 97 FM, reporting on crime, real estate, labour, and environmental issues. Outside of work, he officiates box lacrosse and fastball, sits on the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame board, and co-hosts the Hockey North podcast.

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