he hunt for offender Ronald Teneycke this summer caused a lot of stress on police and the public, which is why Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes met with the Ministry of Justice at the UBCM convention.
Members of Oliver Town council met with several provincial ministers late last month, discussing everything from road improvements to keeping repeat dangerous offenders out of small communities.
The annual convention of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) took place from September 21-25 in Vancouver. The union lobbies on behalf of local governments in BC, and its conference is a chance for mayors and councils to discuss policy and log face time with provincial ministers.
This year Mayor Ron Hovanes, along with Councillors Petra Veintimilla and Maureen Doerr attended on the Town’s behalf.
According to Hovanes, the three had a “very encouraging” meeting with Suzanne Anton, the Attorney General of British Columbia, in which they reasserted their position that criminals likely to re-offend should not be released back into the small communities they came from.
After notorious repeat offender Ronald Teneycke’s latest set of exploits, Hovanes sent a letter to the BC government strongly stressing his concern with the practice, and he said his meeting with Anton gave him an opportunity to state his concerns in person.
“These ministers they will host anywhere from 40 to 60 meetings during the convention. So to have an impact when you only have 15 minutes of their time,” he said. “She looked us right in the eyes and said that not only with the letters we send beforehand but with the presentation in person . . . she hears us.”
Oliver’s team also met with the Minister of Agriculture, who gave ideas for several funding sources to assist with the Town’s canal rehabilitation, as well as the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure (Todd Stone) to talk about a roundabout at the notoriously complicated intersection near the hospital, and a second crossing over the Okanagan River channel.
Hovanes said Stone called the roundabout a “no brainer,” and suggested several funding sources to assist with the second crossing project.
Overall, Hovanes said it was a productive week jam packed with tons of useful networking, seminars and information.
“You almost get a little bit sunburned down there because you take so much in,” Hovanes said.
Veintimilla said her experience was “great,” and that she walked away with “tons of ideas and tons of information.”
Along with lobbying ministers on their town’s behalf, UBCM attendees take part in a host of seminars and conferences throughout the week, and Veintimilla said a few of those provided a wealth of information for her.
She joked that while most of the subject matter was highly technical and too boring to get into, she said seminars on sustaining green communities, disaster preparedness and building codes all gave her lots to think about. She said she would have to review her notes before knowing how specifically she will apply that information to Oliver.
Veintimilla also echoed Hovanes’ assertion that networking with a vast array of local government representatives was extremely useful.
“To hear issues and successes from other communities was great. Often I think that being in a smaller community you can go through something and think that you’re the only one going through it. And nine times out of 10 you’re not, there’s someone else going through it, so there’s lots to learn from those conversations,” she said.
By Trevor Nichols
