Rural politicians from throughout the valley could join together to fight governance changes. The North Okanagan Regional District’s five electoral area directors are organizing a meeting with their eight counterparts from Okanagan-Similkameen and two from Central Okanagan. “It would be a united front,” said
Cliff Kanester, BX-Swan Lake director. “We aren’t interested in being part of a municipality or one big regional district.” A steering committee is currently looking at future governance options for the Okanagan region after the process was initiated by the provincial government. The options being considered are merging the Okanagan’s 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.
However, many rural directors believe that their areas’ interests aren’t being considered, and the possibility of maintaining three regional districts has been ignored. “The electoral areas have issues with a central government model and we should look at status quo,” said Rick Fairbairn, rural Lumby director. “We feel overwhelmed because the province says status quo is not an option and change is in the wind.” Whether it is through one regional district or electoral areas being absorbed into municipalities, Fairbairn says there is a concern the rural voice will be lost and costs will increase. “In my area, there is a real reluctance to change the current model,” he said. The goal is to bring all 15 electoral directors together soon because the steering committee must submit a governance report to the province by the end of March. “It’s a valley-wide issue so it’s in our best interest to co-ordinate our efforts just as the mayors do,” said Fairbairn.Kanester is adamant that the provincial government shouldn’t force a new system on to communities.“If you want to change governance, let’s have a vote on it,” he said.
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