Premier Christy Clark (Richard McGuire file photo)
It’s not everyday that the Premier of British Columbia applauds the leaders of a small community like Osoyoos for a job well done.
But that’s exactly what happened following a presentation by Mayor Sue McKortoff and Coun. Carol Youngberg at the recent Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) conference in Victoria.
Following a 15-minute power point presentation to Christy Clark and Minister of Education Mike Bernier that detailed the many steps taken by town council, local business leaders and local residents to try and save Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS) from closure, Clark applauded the Osoyoos delegation for a job well done.
“She was so complimentary about the Town of Osoyoos and everything that was done to try and save our school,” said McKortoff. “She also had very high praise for our town council offering more than $1 million over three years to keep our high school in Osoyoos open.
“She was very impressed with the entire community and all the steps taken to do everything we could to keep the school open.”
Only days before OSS was scheduled to close its doors for good in June – after a majority of trustees voted in early April to close the school – Clark’s government announced close to $500,000 in funding through its new Rural Education Enhancement Fund (REEF) to keep several rural schools open, including OSS.
McKortoff said the town’s presentation followed a similar presentation by a contingent from the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS), which detailed the importance of keeping OSS open and how important it is for schools in rural communities to be able to access education funding from the province.
After talking with Clark, McKortoff said she thanked the Premier for the funding that kept OSS open, but also made it clear to her “we don’t ever want to have to go through this process again.”
McKortoff said she and fellow councillors Youngberg, Mike Campol and Jim King and town CAO Barry Romanko also managed to arrange a brief meeting with Health Minister Terry Lake at the UBCM conference.
Their collective message during that meeting was to stress to Lake how important it is to continue to provide adequate funding for health care programs and services in the South Okanagan and make it clear how important the South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver is to residents of this region, said McKortoff.
McKortoff said she also met with officials with the Department of Highways to discuss the longstanding and growing problem of illegal signage on Highway 97 in both Oliver and Osoyoos.
“We talked about signage and the mess that has been created all along the highway,” she said.
Town councils in both Oliver and Osoyoos have voiced their concerns with the overwhelming amount of highway signs that contravene existing bylaws, she said.
There are some local citizens who complain about the costs involved in sending council members and senior administrators to the UBCM conference each year, but getting access to speak directly with the Premier and senior cabinet ministers is vitally important, she said.
“We got to meet six or seven ministers directly … and I personally feel it’s a very useful tool to having our voices heard about some very important issues,” she said. “We wouldn’t be able to get access to these ministers at any other time.
“I’m quite comfortable in stating this is money I believe is being well spent.”
The UBCM traditionally runs from Monday to Friday and attracts more than 2,000 delegates – mostly municipal councillors and senior administrators – from towns, villages and cities across British Columbia.
There are more than 180 municipalities spread across the province and leaders from every one of them make requests to meet with Clark and senior members of cabinet, so it’s very rare to be able to gain access to a half dozen ministers like Osoyoos contingent managed to line up for this year’s conference, said McKortoff.
Coun. C. J. Rhodes did not attend this year’s UBCM conference as it was decided the town needed at least one member of council available to deal with town business while the conference was taking place.
The UBCM conference changes venues every year and for the past several years has alternated being hosted by Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler.
The 2017 conference will return to the Vancouver Convention Centre next fall.
In Osoyoos, the policy of how many members of council will attend the annual conference tends to vary annually as some years most members have attended and in other years, the majority have not attended.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
