Conservative Local Political Party established!

The Vancouver Sun reports that a municipal Conservative Civic Party (not affiliated with the BC Conservative Party) has been registered to run candidates in local elections in Fall 2026 - more here

According to the Vancouver Sun, candidates could run in locations such as: 

Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Delta, Fort St. John, Kamloops, Kelowna, the Township of Langley, Maple Ridge, Prince George, Richmond, Saanich, Surrey, Vancouver, Vanderhoof, and West Vancouver 

While political parties in the Metro Vancouver Region (West Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, etc.) has occurred in recent history -- it is certainly new territory for Prince George and Kamloops .... 

In Prince George (and to the best of my knowledge) -- if attempted in Fall 2026, this would be the first time in that City's history that a slate/civic party would occur

While in Kamloops (again, to the best of my knowledge) -- if attempted in Fall 2026, this would be the first time in that City's history that a slate/civic party would occur although "civic alliances" have been attempted -- namely "Action 88" during the 1988 local election as well as "Vision Kamloops" during the 2014 local election -- click here.  Former Kamloops Mayor Mel Rothenburger looks into the history of civic political parties in Kamloops - click here

While it is still too soon to know how this development will impact on 2026 Local Elections -- in locations like Kamloops, it is fair to say, given recent developments on Kamloops Council, that the 2026 Local Election in Kamloops will likely be lively, both in terms of those running for the 9 seats on Kamloops Council (1 Mayor + 8 Councillors) as well as the "community conversation" to occur in mid to Fall 2026 in the leadup to the October 17th, 2026 local vote while I expect that there will be no impact in 2026 local elections in the Cariboo-Chilcotin as political parties are generally rejected for those running for Mayor or Councillor (we never see this occur for those running for Regional District Area Director or School District Trustee) 

2025 Federal Election Advanced Voting Results: Cariboo-Prince George

Courtesy of Elections Canada:

After 4 Days of Advanced Voting in Cariboo-Prince George -- 12,380 voters took advantage of the Advanced Voting Opportunity in Vanderhoof, Prince George, Wells, Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House... (13.37% of the 92,577 eligible voters in Cariboo-Prince George cast an advanced ballot in the 2025 Federal Election)...

Post Event Report -- March 15-17, 2023 LGLA Elected Officials Seminar in Prince George

As is my standard practice after attending a Seminar, Workshop or Convention -- find below my report from my attendance at the March 15-17, 2023 LGLA/Local Government Leadership Academy's Elected Officials Seminar in Prince George... 

Report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O-jgEppQzWWYN2Fp6Kq1gxfoMZAEFqlo/view?usp=share_link

~Steve 

LGLA EOS 2023 Session (NCLGA Region) - Session 3 of 3

Today is the final day for attendees at the LGLA/Local Government Leadership Academy's Elected Official Seminar in Prince George

Topics to be covered include:

* Presentations from Destination BC/BC Transit

* Address by NCLGA President Steve Forseth

* Post Election Analysis - CivicInfo BC

* Presentation from MIABC (Municipal Insurance Association of BC)

* Presentations from Jan Enns on Communications -  Master your Media Message

* Concluding Remarks from LGLA President Laurey-Anne Roodenburg

Then LGLA EOS Attendees will return to their home communities

LGLA EOS 2023 Session (NCLGA Region) - Session 2 of 3

Today will be a full day for attendees at the LGLA/Local Government Leadership Academy's Elected Official Seminar in Prince George

Some of the topics to be covered include:

* Presentation of Municipal Finance Authority

* Local Government Finance 

* Local Government Meeting Procedures

* Asset Management

* Local Government Law 101

* Decision Making

* Mentor Panel 

* Local Government Land Use Planning

* What is a Regional District?

View the full Agenda here

LGLA EOS 2023 Session (NCLGA Region) - Session 1 of 3

Starting this afternoon and concluding at 12pm on Friday - the LGLA/Local Government Leadership Academy is hosting their final EOS or Elected Official Seminar - this will be for the NCLGA Region's locally elected officials

At 1pm -- It will start with introductions from LGLA Vice President Gary MacIsaac (who is also the Executive Director of UBCM/Union of BC Municipalities), City of PG Mayor Simon Yu (who is commencing his 1st term as Mayor of PG) and 2022-23 NCLGA President (and Cariboo RD Area D Director) Steve Forseth

Following their comments -- the Agenda for this afternoon will be:

* The Election is Over - What's Next? - Gary MacIsaac, UBCM Executive Director

* Keynote Address from Ian McCormick - Who is Driving the Grader

* The Final Art of Agreeing/Disagreeing and Code of Conduct for Boards/Councils -- RDBN Chair Mark Parker and RDBN CAO Curtis Helgesen 

* Roles and Responsibilities - the functioning Board/Council -- Frank Leonard (former Mayor of Saanich)

The full Agenda for the EOS Session can be viewed here

Post Event Report: Virtual 2021 NCLGA Convention/AGM

On May 5-6, 2021 -- I attended, with a number of my Cariboo Regional District Area Director colleagues, the virtual 2021 NCLGA/North Central Local Government Association Virtual AGM/Convention.  The Convention Agenda can be viewed here while the Annual Report to NCLGA Members/Resolutions Book can be viewed here

During the Convention, I attended the following sessions:

* Opening Ceremonies

* AGM Business (Adoption of Minutes of 2020 AGM, Approval of Budget for 2021-22 Fiscal Year and approval of NCLGA Auditor - KPMG, Acclamation of 2021-22 NCLGA Board of Directors')

* Resolutions Debate - 2 of 3 Cariboo RD Resolutions passed (Broadband Internet, Support for Independent Fire Departments) however the proposed NCLGA Resolution regarding Separate Provincial/Federal Government Grant Stream for Electoral Areas was rejected by NCLGA Delegates. 

As is NCLGA practice, vote counts per individual resolution considered are not available.  

* Keynote addresses from Municipal Affairs Minister Josie Osborne/Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation Minister Ravi Kahlon and Mental Health/Addictions Minister Sheila Malcolmson

* Panel Sessions attended -- Improving Access to Health Care Services in NCLGA Communities, Enhancing Forest Industry Resilience, Addressing Mental Health Issues, Addressing Homelessness/Affordable Housing and Managing LG Infrastructure/Rural Roads

* Closing Ceremonies (Address of new 2021-22 NCLGA President and introduction of new 2021-22 NCLGA Board and intro to 2022 NCLGA Host - City of Fort St John)

New 2021-22 NCLGA Board of Directors':

President - City of PG Councillor Cori Ramsay

1st Vice-President -- Cariboo RD Area "D" Director Steve Forseth

2nd Vice-President -- City of Williams Lake Councillor Sheila Boehm

Past President -- Fraser Lake Mayor Sarrah Storey

Directors at Large:

* Fort St James Councillor Judy Greenaway

* Terrace Councillor Lynne Christensen

* Northern Rockies RM Mayor Gary Foster

Regional Reps:

North Coast RD: Director Evan Putterill 

Peace River RD: Director Leonard Hiebert

Kitimat-Stikine RD: Director Dean Paranich

Bulkley-Nechako RD: Burns Lake Mayor Dolores Funk

RDFFG: Director Danielle Alan

Cariboo RD: Director Angie Delainey

Northern Rockies RM: Councillor Lorraine Gerwing

As you can see -- Cariboo-Chilcotin local governments' are well represented on the NCLGA Board with 2 holding "Table Officer" positions (Steve Forseth - 1st VP and Sheila Boehm - 2nd VP)

Cost to attend:

Registration - $150

NCLGA Convention Attendance Fees - $216

SF

Council Voting Record Sheet

In a very innovative move - Staff with the City of Prince George starting with the July 22nd mtg of PG City Council recorded every vote of all items coming before PG City Council.  You can read the full voting record sheet here (July 22nd) and here (August 19th)

I tip my hat to Beth James - PG City Manager and her Staff for this innovative move and I'd like to see replicated in all of BC's 160 Local Gov'ts

-- SBF

End of Week News Wrap... Dec 23rd edition

In Prince George:

Residents in the Haldi and Leslie Rd areas initiate legal proceedings against the City of Prince George over rezoning changes to allow a women's recovery centre - see here.  Meanwhile - the City of Prince George explains what happened at the last PG City Council on this topic - see here.

Finally - the PG Free Press does a good editorial explaining why the letter from the City of PG does nothing to settle the Haldi Rd rezoning issue and why there is likely a lack of trust between PG residents/PG City Council on this or other rezoning issues in the future - see here

In Quesnel:

Phase 2 (Trades) at CNC (College of New Calendonia) opens - see here

In Williams Lake:

WL Mayor Kerry Cook initiates weekly column (and I'm glad to see this and hope it continues) - see her inaugural column here

Williams Lake Tribune states their "Santa list" for 2012 - read here

Local schools work towards preventing bullying - see here

Local RCMP reports breaking up fights at a local high school/CRD Library among other things in their weekly report - see here

Fire at local sawmill total $15-20,000 - see here

RCMP respond to shooting in 4000 block of Mackenzie Avenue - see here

Kamloops Daily News reported on the salary for School District #73's (Kamloops) Superintendent which you can read here.  You can look up your local school district information on pay for the local Superintendent here.  This is an additional requirement imposed on School Districts' in BC (report to Public Sector Employers' Council), if they make above $125,000 per school budget yr (July 1st - June 30th).  This is above/beyond the SOFI (Statement of Financial Information) (report out on staff salaries above $75,000).  SOFI requirement also imposed on all local governments

In School District #28 (Quesnel) - they report that Sue-Ellen Miller (Superintendent) made $159,764 for the school year ending June 30th, 2011.  She also made $158,072 for the school year ending June 30th, 2010 and $149,641 for the school year ending June 30th, 2009.  You can read the full details here

Meanwhile in School District #27 (Cariboo-Chilcotin) - they report that Diane Wright earned a salary of $165,908 for the school year ending June 30th, 2010.  For the school year ending June 30th, 2010 - she earned a salary of $169,035.28.  For the school year ending June 30th, 2009 - she earned a salary of $150,719.31 plus a principals' salary of $9,872.90.  She took over from Wayne Leckie who retired on July 31st, 2008 who made for the school year ending June 30th, 2009 - $72,319.29 - see more full details here

In 100 Mile House:

Local hemp projects facing financial and equipment challenges - see here
Recent decision by 100 Mile Council upsets local watershed stewardship group - see here
Parents at local Christian school "against clock" to save their school - see here
CRD Area 'L' Director Bruce Rattray reports on his website that the 2012 Area 'L' Town Hall is scheduled for Monday, February 6th at the Watch Lake Community Hall starting at 7pm

In Kamloops:

Kamloops City Councillor Arjun Singh explains at YourKamloops.com why he voted the way he did on the controversial "Solar Hot Water Ready" regulation - see that explation here

From UBCM (Union of BC Municipalities):

They report that techinical briefings on the new RCMP Contract for British Columbia will commence on Jan 11th in Richmond, Jan 12th in Prince George and Jan 18th in Kelowna. See full details here

Regional News Wrap - Dec 15th edition

In Prince George:

* PG Free Press congratulates Mayor Shari Green for her new Select Committee on Business (see here).  However, the City of PG will be the recipient of a lawsuit from Haldi Rd residents after PG Council adopted a bylaw to permit a women's recovery centre with next to little notice to the public - see here.  PG Free Press wonders where Cariboo-PG MP Dick Harris spends his time...? They have the answer here.  Finally - Macleans' looks at the top 100 Cities in Canada and who's the most dangerous City in Canada...? See the full list here.  But for the record in BC - Prince George made #1, Victoria made #2, Kelowna made #7, Surrey made #10, Nanaimo made #12, Chillwack/New West made #14/15 respectively, Kamloops made #16, Vancouver made #18, and Langley Township made #20.  Prince George RCMP take issue with the #1 ranking - see here and here.  Country wide - Nunavut was the most dangerous place to be in Canada, BC was sixth dangerous with Ontario being the most safest place to be in Canada

In Williams Lake:

* CRD Board: Not enough time to discuss Natural Resource Roads Act - see here.  Editor's Note - Like the Ministry of Natural Resource Operations... I wonder what the CRD was up to given the time to comment on this was from Oct 17th until Dec 15th?? Just asking...

* Ad-Hoc Committee seeks input on locations for dog park - see here.  Editor's Note - I believe the time to have properly discussed this was when the public was discussing the Parks, Trails and Outdoor Recreation Master Plan or PTORMP.  Is the City of Williams Lake now willing to re-open the OCP after its' adoption??  Sure sounds like it...

* TNG Tribal Chair Joe Alphonse/Xeni Gwet'in Chief Marilyn Baptiste comment on proposed changes to length of terms for First Nations' Bands - see here

* Independent MLA Bob Simpson comments on what he and his staff have been up to since the BC Legislature adjourned the Fall Session in November - see here

* Lots of letters discussing the "New Prosperity" mine proposal - see here, here and here
* WL Sportsmens' Assocation President expresses concern about delay to pass new Federal Law to eliminate the Gun Registry - see here
* Local business owner complains that the City of Williams Lake takes too long to issue a building permit - see here.  Editor's Note - not the kind of positive press WL Mayor Kerry Cook and her Council needed, just after the recent election and also her comments on the new contract between the City/CRD for Building Inspectors which is partially likely as to why this owner waited so long for the building permit.  Still - the City should look into this, apologize for the delay and tighten things up to ensure a repeat of this situation doesn't occur again...

In Kamloops:

* Kamloops Councillor Donovan Cavers' proposal for standing votes at Kamloops Council meetings' was resoundly defeated in a 8-1 vote.  Meanwhile - Kamloops Daily News editor and former Kamloops Mayor Mel Rothenberger takes both Kamloops Councillors' Donovan Cavers/Arjun Singh to task for some of their proposals at recent Kamloops Council meetings' - see here

In BC:

* UBCM names members' to the new RCMP Management Committee that'll oversee the new RCMP Contract - see the press release from UBCM here.  Our local City Administrator Brian Carruthers was not appointed to the Committee.  In fact, the Committee seems to be dominated by elected or appointed officials in the Metro Vancouver or Vancouver Island areas.  Our closest reps is Mayor Lori Ackerman of Fort St John, Mayor Peter Milobar of Kamloops and Area 'C' Director Grace McGregor of the Kootenay Boundary Regional District

Also - UBCM Executive at their Nov 24th/25th meeting received a briefing from Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender on status of the new RCMP Contract.  Approval-in-Principle was given, subject to approval by Federal/Provincial Cabinets (Executive Councils').  Local governments to receive briefings in 1st Quarter (Jan 1st - March 31st) of 2012.  Local governments above 5,000 in population to be askedpopulation would be given until March 31, 2012 to determine whether or not they wished to sign a Municipal Police Unit Agreement with the Province for RCMP services. He (Fassbender) pointed out that the Province is developing a Companion Document to go with the new RCMP agreement and intends to hold a technical briefing on the new RCMP agreement for local governments

BC Communities receive Grants in place of Property Taxes

Today, the Government of BC reports the list of communities that will receive "grants-in-lieu".

See the full press release here

Here, in the Cariboo-Chilcotin, the following communities received grants:

Wells - $1,434.08
Quesnel - $52,991.48
Williams Lake - $49,721.32
100 Mile House - $23,065.09

Total Received - $127,211.97 out of $16,927,132.32

Top 3 Communities for Grants received:

1) Victoria - $3,056,317.78
2) Vancouver - $2,883,676.05
3) Prince George - $2,123,940.49

Censure Debate rages on in PG

Following the Court Case in Prince George where Mr. Justice Crawford rejected the request of PG City Councillor Brian Skakun to stop the censure process from proceeding until after the appeal of Mr. Skakun's Privacy Act court case wherein Mr. Skakun was found guility and fined $750 for violating the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act when he released a "in-camera" document to the CBC in Prince George, PG City Council will be meeting this Friday at 12:00pm to decide next steps, but one wonders with 29 days to the civic election - if PG City Council will just let "sleeping dogs lie" and just defer any action until the new City Council is elected and sworn in... at least, that would be the smart move on their part...will they, we'll know Friday afternoon

See the report of the PG City Manager, Derek Yates, here
Also - if you wish to see the meeting live, you can view that online feed here

CCRHD contributes to Kordyban Lodge

From the Cariboo-Chilcotin Regional Hospital District:

Recently the Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District (CCRHD) received a letter of gratitude from the Canadian Cancer Society for the CCRHD’s contribution of $60,349 to the Kordyban Lodge Campaign in Prince George. This amount was determined based on a formula of $1 for every resident of the Cariboo Chilcotin.

Construction on this facility began in July, 2011 and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2012. A total of 36 beds will be available to serve cancer patients and their families from communities throughout Northern BC.

Once completed, Kordyban Lodge will be a 25,000 square-foot facility in Prince George, offering comfortable and affordable accommodations for cancer patients and their caregivers. Guests of the Lodge will be provided with amenities such as access to 24 hour nursing support, three nutritious meals a day, wellness and support programs and the opportunity to connect with others who are facing similar issues.

PG Mayors' Election Race...

In a very interesting turn in developments for the Prince George municipal election - first term PG Councillor Shari Green has now decided that she wants to be the Mayor of Prince George - see the article from the Prince George Citizen here and a story from the Prince George Free Press here

Personally speaking - I'm a little stunned at this move as Councillor Green seems to be in "lock-step" with current PG Mayor Dan Rogers' on most issues facing Prince George.  In addition - it isn't too often that a first term municipal Councillor outright challenges a sitting Mayor, more so when that Councillor agrees with most things that Mayor is doing.  If anything - I was expecting a Brian Skakun vs Dan Rogers race, but I've had confirmation that Brian Skakun, will in fact, seek an additional term on PG City Council

The outcome of a Green vs Rogers' race for the PG Mayors' Chair (so far) would result, in my opinion, in Dan Rogers' being re-elected

SBF

Interesting turn in the Skakun Censure case

In what I would classify as a "interesting turn" in the case of a possible censure against Prince George City Councillor Brian Skakun - Debora Munoz, also a PG City Councillor, has decided not to partcipate in any further censure proceedings against Mr. Skakun - according to documents obtained by the Prince George Citizen

See the PG Citizen story here

D-Day for PG City Councillor Brian Skakun Wednesday

Tomorrow, PG City Councillor Brian Skakun or his representative, will face Prince George City Council and debate whether he (Skakun) should be formally reprimanded or censured by his PG City Council colleagues at 12:15pm Wednesday.  See a story from the Prince George Citizen here

Coincidentally - you can watch the proceedings live tomorrow - click here

Update - PG Mayor Dan Rogers will ask his Council to delay consideration of a censure motion against Councillor Brian Skakun until after the BC Supreme Court rules on an injunction from PG City Councillor Brian Skakun - see Mayor Dan Rogers report here.  See more from Opinion250.com here. 

PG City Councillor Brian Skakun seeks court injunction re: Censure Motion

In the latest salvo in the fight between PG City Councillor Brian Skakun and PG City Council over a censure motion relating to Councilllor Skakun's decision to release In-Camera documents to the media over RCMP Staff issues - Mr. Skakun has filed a motion in BC Supreme Court asking it to prohibit Prince George City Council from proceeding on a hearing regarding a censure motion until the Court has heard from Mr. Skakun himself - see the Prince George Citizen article here

In the meantime - Mr. Skakun charges that PG City Councillor Debora Munoz "fabricated evidence" during his Privacy Act trial, held earlier this year and late in 2010 - see here

Guess this means no real chance of reconciliation between Brian Skakun and his PG City Council colleagues...

Finally - there is talk on the Internet about former PG Mayoralty Candidate (2008) Don Zurowski being encouraged to run again for PG Mayor.  In 2008 - Mr. Zurowski was defeated by current PG Dan Rogers by a vote of 9,272-6,505.  If Mr. Zurowski chooses not to get involved in this fall's civic election in Prince George, I wonder if anyone will decide to challenge Dan Rogers for the Mayor's seat in Prince George by the October 14th deadline ...

SBF

Williams Lake in the News

Up in Prince George - Prince George Free Press takes a stab at our communications spending at Williams Lake City Hall - see here

Also - Williams Lake Tribune reports that Tolko - Lakeside Division will fire back up Monday - see here

PG City Council decides to proceed with Censure Motion against PG City Clr Skakun

At a meeting of Prince George City Council tonight - they voted to proceed to a hearing on a censure motion against PG City Councillor Brian Skakun after receiving a report from PG Mayor Dan Rogers and after hearing from Councillor Skakun's legal counsel.  It should be noted that Councillor Skakun left PG City Council Chambers during the discussion on this item, at the advice of his legal counsel. 

See the Opinion 250.com story here and the Prince George Citizen story here

It should be also noted, contrary to PG City Councillor Murry Krause's comments that this censure motion was the 1st in BC - in fact, it would be the 4th censure motion considered by local governments in BC during this term (2005-2008) of local government but the 1st in Prince George Council history

As well - PG City Council has agreed to consider this censure motion not later than September 14th

Finally - Interesting that, unlike the Township of Langley and the Cities of Fort St John and Quesnel who dealt with censure motions behind closed doors and then ratified in public, PG Council chose to debate the whole series of issues, relating to a possible censure motion, in public.  I wonder as well what impact that this will have on the PG City Council election in November, especially for both Councillor Brian Skakun and Mayor Dan Rogers

Season of Censure Motions

In a unprecedent move - not one, not two, not three but four local governments have now either passed or will consider passing "motions of censure"against a member of a municipal council, as follows:

September 13th, 2010 - Township of Langley Council passes a "Motion of Censure" against Township Mayor Rick Green - see here

February 28th, 2011 - Fort St John Council passes a "Motion of Censure" against Fort St John Mayor Bruce Lantz - see here

April 18th, 2011 - City of Quesnel Council passes a "Motion of Censure" against Quesnel Councillor Sushil Thapar - see here

July 25th, 2011 - City of Prince George Council is set to consider a report from PG Mayor Dan Rogers recommending that a "Motion of Censure" be considered against PG City Councillor Brian Skakun at the August 15th meeting of Prince George City Council.  See the Mayor's report here

Also - Opinion250.com reports on a possible "Motion of Censure" against PG City Councillor Brian Skakun here