Every year, the mayors, councillors and administrators of B.C.’s 170-odd cities and towns gather to talk about municipal issues, a convention that provinicial politicians pay close attention to. It’s like getting a poll on what people all over the province are worried about.
(It’s also heavily covered by media, since the provincial government just LOVES to make announcements there. In fact, in a recent interview with Vancouver city manager Penny Ballem, she said that UBCM was considered one of the key anxiety times for bureaucrats, since they were never quite sure what their ministers might go out and announce.)
We’ll have to see what the premier and his cabinet have to say, though they’ve already removed one source of potential municipal revolt by exempting cities from the new HST, but the UBCM’s resolutions book is always a fascinating glimpse into their preoccupations. My story in the Globe on same is here. Kelly Sinoski over at the Sun reported on this resolution in particular.