There are many issues that will be debated between now and December, but I am sure the cannabis legalization on Oct. 17 will be number one on everyone’s minds.

At this time only one store has been approved to start on Oct. 17 and that is a government store in Kamloops. The licensing process is similar to starting up a liquor outlet – it is slow with many legal hurdles. Each community will have the ability to decide location and numbers and some have already passed resolutions to govern these new businesses.

And this leads the conversation into policing. I attended meetings with many of my communities at UBCM and the issue of not enough police presence was of concern to all of them. The South Okanagan has experienced a rise in theft from properties and vehicles this summer. The numbers of people who came out in Oliver for the crime forum shows how many people have been impacted by crime and also how much they care for their community.

The first ask is always for more RCMP. The entire province is short of officers but rural communities seem to suffer the most. There is no overnight solution that will produce fully-trained police for our communities fast enough. Recruitment is difficult, and not enough officers are being trained to fill the need. No, a community cannot hire fully-trained police officers to fill the void for two reasons: 1) there aren’t any, and 2) all police in rural B.C. are supplied by contract between the province of B.C. and the federal government.

If we want more police the current contract will need to be refunded and rewritten. Currently, communities under 5,000 in population pay 30 per cent of the real costs of policing. At 5001 in population that figure becomes 70 per cent. Some communities have opted to begin lifting taxes towards that goal knowing that in the next census there will be a major hit to local taxes – a 10 per cent tax hike will only pay for one police officer.

Finally, switching our clocks twice a year has become a topic that just won’t go away, despite this government’s attempt to ignore it. Twice I have introduced a Private Members Bill to stop the time shift. The consensus is to keep daylight savings time all year round. I will adjust the Bill to reflect that wish.

Linda Larson, MLA