The president of the association representing local governments across B.C. welcomes the cabinet choices announced Monday, but is also looking forward to additional details.
"The devil is in the details," Coun. Trish Mandewo, president of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, said. "For us, the key is having the clarity about the roles and responsibilities of (various posts) and right now, they are quite a number of unanswered questions from our perspective."
Premier David Eby Monday (Nov. 18) announced Ravi Kahlon would continue as Minister of Housing but also add the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Eby has identified affordable housing among the "kitchen-table issues" that would guide his government, and he used Monday's swearing-in ceremony to highlight the connection between housing and municipal affairs.
"One of the big challenges has been ensuring that the rules of...municipalities and local governments are consistent with our housing goals," Eby said. "Putting those together in the same ministry reflects that they are directly linked."
Mandewo broadly welcomed Kahlon and his revamped role saying it promises efficiencies.
"We worked well last time," Mandewo said. "Continuity is always good because someone else coming in new would have..orient themselves into the file."
But other moves related to B.C. communities have sparked criticism. The Union of British Columbia Municipalities and local government relationships will move to the Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat in the Premier's Office. Some long-time observers interpreted this move as an attempt to centralize rand raised questions about its practicality.
"So maybe this means, we'll be hearing from the Premier, that would be great for UBCM," Mandewo said. "But I'm looking forward to what that means and how we can closely work together."
Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog called Eby's decision to directly handle relations with UBCM a "bold move."
"I think it's fraught with political and practical danger," Krog said. "The political dangers are that it places the success or failure strictly in the premier's hands. The practical dangers are that I think it's going to be very hard to manage relationships with all of the municipal governments in the province out of the Premier's Office. It's...a pretty daunting task. (If) it succeeds, well, all the glory is yours."
Eby also announced that Brittny Anderson (Kootenay Central) would work directly with his office as Minister of State for Rural Communities and Local Governments to give them a voice at the cabinet table. Mandewo said having an additional ministry working with local government could mean another voice listening to municipalities but she wants more clarification of its role.
Peter Milobar, Conservative Party of B.C. MLA for Kamloops Centre and a former mayor of Kamloops, meanwhile, interpreted Anderson's appointment as an effort by Eby's office to centralize power.
"It looks like she reports directly to the premier, who has stripped away parts of those Municipal Affairs duties from the Municipal Affairs Minister," Milobar said. "So again, a complete signal by the premier that it is business as usual. As far as he is concerned, he is going to have his thumb on everything and everyone shall bend the knee and answer to him."
Questions around the relationship between Kahlon's ministry and the Ministry of Infrastructure under Bowinn Ma have also emerged.
Housing and Municipal Affairs will oversee housing policy and municipal infrastructure needs, while Infrastructure will bring capital planning and procurement into a single ministry for "better co-ordination at a time when government is building schools, hospitals and other infrastructure to support growing communities."
When asked whether UBCM is concerned about local governments getting the runaround under the new structure, Mandewo again pointed to the need for additional information.
"What we know is that the province has a significant need for infrastructure," she said. "(We) all agree that...we need quite a bit of investment to support the population growth. (The) change, as I said earlier, might work to the benefit of (local government), because we are all going to be so focused...once we get that clarity, we will be able to say whether it's going to work against us or not."
Krog, meanwhile, warns against overlap.
"As granny would have said, 'too many cooks can spoil the broth,'" he said.
Kahlon said he is excited to work with B.C.’s municipalities and regional districts build on the progress made on housingm while acknowledging he has much to learn about municipal affairs.
"(I) look forward to working with our new team to gain deeper insights and expand my knowledge ," he said. "I’m determined to build on the progress we’ve made and make life better for people.”
