Okanagan overhaul concerns councillor

By RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff Oct 10 2007

A Vernon politician has little confidence that local interests will be considered if Okanagan governance is reformed. Coun. Barry Beardsell believes the provincial government has a strategy for a single valley-wide regional district even though there is supposed to be public input first. “It (input) could well be window dressing and the province has already made up its mind,” he said. One concern for Beardsell is comments that the provincial government has no preconceived visions for governance, but local politicians have stated that the province also doesn’t consider the status quo to be acceptable. “The people who met with the ministers in Vancouver know more than they are letting on,” he said. Among the reasons the province wants governance considered is rapid population growth in the Okanagan and the belief that issues such as transportation, water and economic development could be better addressed valley-wide.

A catalyst for the process was the recent incorporation of Westbank and it not requiring all of the services of the Central Okanagan Regional District. “It’s an issue of what to do with a couple of hundred employees at CORD’s Taj Mahal (office),” said Beardsell. Local politicians who met recently with Community Services Minister Ida Chong deny they know in advance the direction government will take. “If he’s saying that, he knows more about it than I do,” said Jerry Oglow, NORD chairman. “We have been told there is no preconceived notion of what they want and public input will provide direction.” In terms of the status quo not being acceptable, Oglow says that was directed towards CORD and the structural changes it’s facing.

Many North Okanagan politicians discussed the issue with Chong while at the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference. Missing was Beardsell. “He had every opportunity to go to UBCM, sit in on those meetings and be part of those discussions,” said Wayne Lippert, Vernon mayor.

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By Richard Rolke Oct 10 2007 Public must have a say

It is increasingly clear that the Okanagan’s destiny is not its own. That the future is in the hands of politicians and bureaucrats in Victoria. The provincial government — under the lead of the Ministry of Community Services — believes there is a need to review governance in the Okanagan Valley. So a process has been established to consider options, including a single, valley-wide regional district that looks at major issues such as water and transit. In speaking to local officials, I have got the impression they’ve been shoved into a corner. Rural Lumby director Rick Fairbairn recently said, “I’d sooner have an opportunity to have input instead of having something imposed.” It’s not a ringing endorsement for the process.

And while a committee of Okanagan politicians will consider alternatives and garner public input, some are already suggesting Victoria has a game plan in mind. “The province probably does have some idea of what it wants,” said Wayne Lippert, Vernon mayor. And that’s what’s concerning me. Based on previous arbitrary actions of the government, I wonder if Okanagan residents will actually have any say in determining the governance model best for them or if it will be at the whim of Victoria? We all remember the fiasco a few years ago when the provincial government, and a small clutch of like-minded people, decided in private to scrap Okanagan University College and turn it into two new institutions. The decision was made and the public was told later.

More recently, the province informed the Comox-Strathcona Regional District on Vancouver Island that it is being separated into two because of perceived inefficiencies. I don’t know all of the details, but the impression I get from media reports is this move had very little advance involvement of local politicians. Of course the big question is why is the provincial government making Okanagan governance such a major priority — and it must be, because the committee must have a report in the hands of Community Services Minister Ida Chong by March 31. Among the reasons is the rapid growth in the Okanagan, and as someone who’s family has been in the valley for almost 100 years, I can agree things have changed. But is going from three regional districts to one the best route? Won’t governing such a large population base over such a vast geographical area be challenging? And while we share the same water and air, the specific needs of the North Okanagan may conflict with those to the south.

Another trigger mechanism appears to be Westbank’s recent decision to incorporate as a municipality. That has severely impacted the Central Okanagan Regional District, which has provided services to the community for years. The conspiracy theory out there is that the province is pushing valley-wide governance so all of those CORD employees can keep their jobs and the regional district directors there can hold on to some of their power. I don’t know if that’s the case, but I certainly am concerned that a single governance structure in the Okanagan could leave the populous Kelowna/Westbank corridor dominating the rest of the valley. Ultimately, it doesn’t hurt to look at governance and if a more efficient way can be found to provide services, great, but the final decision should be left in the hands of rank-and-file Okanagan citizens and not be force-fed by Victoria.