To: Constituents of Electoral Area ‘D’ (Commodore Heights – McLeese Lake)

From: Electoral Area ‘D’ Director S. Forseth

Date: Feb 5th, 2018

Re: Post-Event Report – 2018 UBCM Electoral Area Director Forum/LGLA Leadership Forum

From Tuesday, January 30th, 2018 at 1pm until Friday, February 2nd, 2018 at 12 noon --- CRD
Chair Margo Wagner along with CRD Directors Ted Armstrong, Jerry Bruce, John Massier (UBCM
EA Director Forum only), Melynda Neufeld, Joan Sorley, Al Richmond, Roger William, Brian
Coakley and I attended the 2018 Union of BC Municipalities’ (UBCM) annual Electoral Area
Directors’ Forum along with the 2018 Local Government Leadership Academy’s Leadership
Forum, all in Richmond, BC. Cariboo RD Area I Director Dylan Cash and Area K Director Betty
Anderson were both unable to attend

At the UBCM EA Director Forum – the following matters were presented:

a) Address by the Hon. Selina Robinson – BC’s Minister of Municipal Affairs’/Housing

b) Forthcoming Cannabis Regulation in BC
c) Provincial Disaster Response Review Panel (co-led by George Abbott/Chief Maureen
Chapman)
d) Address by UBCM President (and East Kootenay RD Vice-Chair) Wendy Booth
e) “Unelected” Electoral Area Alternate Directors’
f) Rural Development Strategy

Item “e” above saw the most spirted debate however the consensus was primarily status quo
with a suggestion that an amendment to the Local Government Act be made permitting a Board
to initiative a by-election if an Electoral Area Director was absent for more than 6 months. You
can read the full report on this subject at

http://www.ubcm.ca/assets/Events/EAD~2018/AEAD%20Discussion%20Paper%20-
%20EA%20FORUM%20Jan%2031.pdf

Later on that afternoon and up to Friday, Feb 2nd morning – the Local Government Leadership
Academy’s 2018 Leadership Forum took place. You can read the full details on the Forum at:

http://lgla.ca/2017/12/07/2018-lgla-leadership-forum/

The sessions at the 2018 LGLA Leadership Forum I attended included:

a) Keynote Address: Shachi Kurl, Executive Director, Angus Reid Institute

b) Women in Local Government
c) Keeping Social Media Social
d) Learning from the 2017 Summer Wildfires
e) Local Government-First Nations Partnership Stories
f) Local Governance Issues – Open Forum
Memo to Electoral Area ‘D’ Residents, cont Page 2

I was unable to stay for the Friday AM sessions, due to bad weather on the road and needing to
get home to Williams Lake

Costs to attend:

Mileage to WL/Richmond and return -- $799.20

Daily Attendance Fees at UBCM EA Forum/LGLA Leadership Forum - $345.00

Hotel Costs – Unknown at this time, as they were part of a room block by the Cariboo Regional
District

Respectfully submitted,

Steve Forseth
Director – Electoral Area ‘D’ (Commodore Heights – McLeese Lake)
Cariboo Regional District
SF/sf