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| Southern Mountain Cariboo Public Meeting Agenda |
Local governments representatives in attendance included:
* Williams Lake Mayor Walt Cobb and Williams Lake City Councillors' Jason Ryll, Marnie Brenner and Sheila Boehm
* 100 Mile House Mayor Mitch Campsall
* Cariboo RD Chair Margo Wagner and Cariboo RD Area D Director Steve Forseth and Cariboo RD Area J Director Gerald Kirby
The public meeting was facilitated by Fraser Basin Council's Executive Director David Marshall who also facilitated the Caribou Recovery meeting in Chetwynd and will likely facilitate a similar session in Quesnel (Thursday, April 11th)
After opening comments from Williams Lake Mayor Walt Cobb who used the opportunity to blast the process involved to date and called on the provincial/federal governments to find another process that balances the needs of the environment with the needs to recreate in the backcountry and to have family-supporting jobs...
Darcy Peel from the provincial government and his counterpart from the Federal Government were literally put on the "hot seat" from the start of the meeting until the end.
In addition to Mayor Cobb's comments -- 100 Mile House Mayor Mitch Campsall and Cariboo RD Board Chair Margo Wagner both expressed frustration around no local government consultation beforehand which could have easily minimized the public's rightly held views about a solution being "dictated" to it, rather than a discussion about the problem and finding solutions that work for the Cariboo-Chilcotin Region
It seemed like the provincial/federal government reps were ill prepared for the meeting. Things like:
* Misinformation being spread - easily solved by discussing the issue over several meetings, rather than a process designed to fill "a checkbox"
* No snowmobile closure areas involved -- why the need then for consultation meetings with snowmobile clubs afterwards... ?
I think it would be reasonable to assume that Darcy Peel and his counterparts (provincial/federal) will receive the same response from the public this Thursday night in Quesnel at the Quesnel Seniors' Centre -- especially considering that there is more land involved in the North Cariboo then Central Cariboo/Chilcotin....
After Thursday's meeting in Quesnel -- there will be no further public meetings but you can leave your comments online with the deadline to submit comments being Friday, May 3rd at 4pm - click here
On Friday, at my request, this topic will be further discussed and I do plan to ask my Cariboo RD colleagues to send a joint local governments letter to the provincial/federal governments to slow the process down so we get it right including understanding any/all socio-economic impacts to the Region which could last as many as 30 years.... this process deeply troubles me as it was totally done incorrectly, in my opinion, and in addition to the letter, I will be suggesting that Chair Wagner try to secure a meeting with Federal Environment/Climate Change Parliamentary Secretary Sean Fraser while she and Cariboo RD Directors John Massier, Al Richmond and Chad Mernett attend the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Convention in Quebec City from May 30th to June 2nd and enlisting the help of our local MP's -- Todd Doherty (Cariboo-PG) and Cathy MacLeod (Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo)
In addition, NCLGA delegates will be discussing a resolution submitted by the City of Prince George on Southern Mountain Caribou to be considered at its' convention being held in Williams Lake from May 6-10, 2019
When discussing this with Williams Lake Mayor Walt Cobb, he was in support of writing a letter to the provincial and federal governments' so we'll see what happens with the discussion at the Cariboo Regional District Board meeting Friday!
~SF
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