A provincial cabinet minister denies governance changes are being forced on the Okanagan Valley.Children and Families Minister Tom Christensen insists there is no preconceived notion as to how the Okanagan Valley should be managed.“I’m not aware of any plan,” he said, after attending a valley-wide meeting of politicians in Vernon Friday. However, Christensen supports previous direction from Community Services Minister Ida Chong that the present system of three separate regional districts is not viable. “If status quo means nothing will change, it’s not on the table. It doesn’t allow us to deal with valley-wide issues,” he said.The options being considered by a committee of Okanagan politicians is merging the three regional districts into one, districts made up primarily of municipalities, creating regional municipalities or expanding the Okanagan Basin Water Board to take on issues like air and transportation.
Christensen says the current system of three regional districts has worked fairly well, but population growth has created challenges. “It’s a tall order to address growth in the urban areas and growth in the rural areas,” he said, adding that water, air quality and transportation cover all jurisdictions. “We need to get beyond political boundaries and deal with issues in a common way.” Christensen points out that the current governance model hasn’t changed in 40 years and the province initiated the review process after hearing concerns from municipalities and electoral directors. “Let’s see what the regional districts come up with that’s more effective,” he said. The governance review committee must present a final report to Chong by the end of March. Christensen defends the tight timeline. “We could talk about it for five years and nothing would happen,” he said.
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Chong must address concerns EDITORIAL Morning Star Jan 13
If one thing was evident during an unprecedented gathering of Okanagan politicians Friday, it is the fact that no one knows what the outcome ultimately will be. And part of that situation can be blamed purely on the provincial government and the lack of transparency it has provided. Questions still abound as to why Community Services Minister Ida Chong initiated a sweeping review of how the Okanagan is governed. Why has this suddenly become a priority for Victoria? Not once has Chong stated what is exactly wrong with the current system of three regional districts and why change is required. And why has Chong forced such a short timeline on something that could have widespread ramifications on every community from Mara and Cherryville to Osoyoos and Princeton? Is it reasonable to potentially dismantle a 40-year-old governance system in four or five months?
But perhaps the most troubling aspect of this process is the lack of direct consultation with the public. The committee reviewing governance options is holding its meeting in public, but there is no actual role for residents to have their say. To date, the only means available for residents to get involved is to go to a Web site, and that is not certainly not sufficient. Ultimately, many local politicians feel the entire review process is just smoke and mirrors and the government already has decided the final outcome. It is time for Chong to actually visit the Okanagan to set the record straight and answer some of these outstanding questions. If she doesn’t she is letting down residents from one end of the valley to the other
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Don Quixote Note: Strange that when you go on the new website for super committee that the contact points for the public and e-mail address is CORD address and phone number. Hopefully all public input will be sent on to the other Regional Districts.? As the e-mail address is for their Communications Coordinator I'm sure that it will be disseminated in an efficient and timely manner.
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