Lake Country Mayor and Council recently spent a full week at the 2025 UBCM Convention on the theme Charting the Course. In addition to in-person appointments to advocate for Lake Country directly with provincial ministers, Council members recognized the benefits of diverse communities and jurisdictions getting together to discuss fresh perspectives and unique solutions to shared challenges.
While the District of Lake Country’s intergovernmental relations program involves advancing Council’s advocacy on community priorities throughout the year, the direct dialogue with six provincial ministers and senior portfolio holders last week allowed Mayor and Council to focus on advancing several key priorities that are crucial to Lake Country’s growth, sustainability and long-term resilience.
Meetings to advance some of Lake Country’s priorities on important community issues were held with:
- Honourable Brittny Anderson, Minister of Local Governments and Rural Communities to advocate for funding for community health care opportunities; an active transportation overpass over Hwy 97; and to find a site for the next elementary school in Lake Country
- Honourable Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture and Food, to explore ways to enhance agricultural sustainability through stronger farming policies and improved support for water infrastructure that benefits the agricultural sector."
- Honourable Randene Neill, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, in collaboration with North Okanagan Regional District and Okanagan Indian Band, Lake Country representatives highlighted the importance of the Aberdeen Plateau stewardship plan and foreshore protection, in addition to advocating for solutions to community water issues.
- Honourable Bobbi Plecas, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Infrastructure follow up to previous discussions and meetings related to partnerships for a new school site.
- Honourable Tamara Davidson, Minister of Environment and Parks, in collaboration with Vernon, Coldstream, and Columbia Shuswap Regional District, Lake Country focused on getting commitments to work with the Ministry of Health on how best to confront compliance issues for wastewater management and sewerage system regulation to meet land use planning needs to provide more certainty for communities and builders and look at how the oversight and modernization of the Municipal Wastewater Regulation and Sewerage System Regulation can be managed for safety, efficiency and sustainability.
- Honourable Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests to request the Province to work with the federal government on income tax incentives to support FireSmart efforts on private property. Mayor Ireland was pleased to participate in several additional meetings with Minister Parmar and others specific to the North Aberdeen Plateau Watershed protection and other forestry related issues.
Mayor and Council also sat in on many information sessions and discussions about many topics of concern to every community, from crime to mental health, housing, reconciliation, infrastructure needs and many other top of mind issues facing residents of Lake Country and all British Columbians. They also were able to liaise with many other communities sharing similar issues with unique potential solutions or great initiatives that they were pioneering. This knowledge sharing is an incredible feature of UBCM.
Lake Country senior staff appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with various provincial ministries and UBCM staff as well as municipal government peers. Time was well spent advancing and clarifying approvals in process, identifying funding, and exploring future grant opportunities.
“The UBCM is a fantastic opportunity to build relationships and ensure Lake Country’s voice is heard by senior government leaders,” said Mayor Blair Ireland. “Being able to connect with ministers in-person allows us to have focused conversations and advocate for investment and partnership to meet the unique needs and interests of Lake Country residents. Having the ability to connect with communities from all over the province to share ideas is invaluable, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel.”
Photo caption: Mayor Ireland and council with Honourable Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture and Food (absent from photo, Councillor Cara Reed).