In her report to Council, Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff detailed a recent visit to Osoyoos by the Portuguese counsel general. This then led to Coun. Jim King asking about the value of ‘sister city’ pairings.
“Is there any value in a ‘sister city?’ I know everybody likes China and Japan but I’m just wondering if there’s value per se in having a sister city in Portugal because there are so many Portuguese here, and try to build up a rapport,” he asked, noting the farming connection.
Replying, Allan Chabot, chief administrative officer for the town, said there is value in maintaining good relations and gaining cultural appreciation and knowledge of agricultural practices for instance.
“I’m supportive of them generally but they don’t necessarily have to constitute having trips to Portugal on the taxpayer’s dime, it really depends on the nature of the community.”
He noted that he’s worked in larger communities which had major industry and in some of these cases the sister city relationships had a more direct benefit on business. “The smaller towns are less likely to manifest themselves,” he added.
Chabot also highlighted that Osoyoos has long demonstrated its appreciation of its Portuguese cultural connection, saying it is important to respect the community’s various cultural heritages and history.
“But the formal sister city relationship, I don’t know if they are as en vogue as they used to be,” Chabot added.
McKortoff added that Osoyoos used to have a sister city in the mid-90s – the town of Palm Desert in California. That sisterhood was dropped because of the “fairly significant expense” involved, she said.
