Parksville Coun. Amit Gaur will take a leave of absence to serve with the Royal Canadian Air Force later this year in northern Canada.
To deploy as a reservist with the RCAF, Gaur said there are quite a few steps he must take, including permission from council.
“I serve Parksville at this table, but I also serve Canada as a reservist with the Air Force," he said during council's March 17 meeting. "I have an opportunity to serve on a deployment with the Air Force and the deployment starts somewhere, end of June, or early July.”
Gaur added he hopes to attend meetings virtually when he can while on his leave, which would be approximately six months.
“I’m really excited, I’m really looking forward to going to the North,” he said in an interview with the PQB News. "My deployment is for six months. I am a logistics officer with the reserves in the Air Force.”
This will be Gaur's first deployment. He has served with the RCAF for approximately five years, as well as one year with the Army.
“I am definitely in favour of allowing this leave to happen,” said Mayor Doug O'Brien. “It’s up to council to decide whether we can lose a council member for six months because recognize that it also puts a additional burden on all the rest of you as well.”
O'Brien added that council will have to assume Gaur won't be able to virtually attend meetings, since he will be stationed in a remote area and may not have access to the internet.
Coun. Mary Beil offered to fill in for Gaur's liaison duties if necessary — Gaur is liaison to the Access Oceanside Association, Ballenas Secondary School student groups and Parksville Beach Festival Society.
Council will need to determine how quorum, the majority of the number of council members provided for by law, is affected and whether the required quorum should be reduced, Coun. Joel Grenz pointed out, and added that he supports Gaur taking his leave.
Gaur added his hope is that while away, his councillor's salary can be put into a City of Parksville accessibility fund, since he is the liaison to the Access Oceanside Association, but he will need to confirm this is possible with city staff.
The city's chief administrative officer can provide some options to council when she returns, according to O'Brien.
“Obviously I haven’t had time to do a poll of the community, but I’m quite sure the community would back us up in supporting Coun. Gaur,” added Coun. Sean Wood.
The motion to grant Gaur leave was carried unanimously.
“It’s an honour to be able to serve as a reservist and to have the opportunity to be an elected official, honestly, and serve Canada," he told the PQB News. "I feel really blessed to be given this opportunity.”
The council decision allows Gaur to be nominated for deployment, as a reservist, and, while it is likely, it is not for certain.
“It still needs to be finalized,” he added.
