By Steve Hubrecht
[email protected]
The Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) will hold its annual meeting again this fall, although, at this point, meetings are anticipated to be conducted digitally, as they were last year, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, rather than in-person.
When the meetings come around, Invermere council members plan to query provincial officials on a host of local issues that involve the provincial government, including the highway maintenance yard in Athalmer; implementation of the Joint Active Transport Network Plan; transfer of James Chabot Provincial Park from the province to Invermere; flood hazard mitigation along Toby Creek; alternative energy and conservation issues; doctor and medical staff recruitment and retention; local seniors’ health care; the resort municipality initiative and tourism support; support for the public library; and support for arts and culture programming.
During Invermere’s early June council meeting, councillor Gerry Taft suggested adding another issue to the list of those to press with the province at UBCM.
“The glaring omission in this list is housing. If, as we’re hearing, even doctors and physicians are having a hard time finding or affording housing in Invermere, that speaks to a bigger problem,” said Taft, adding he is specifically referencing the district’s lack of long-term rental housing, but that attainable housing and regulation of the ever-growing number of short-term vacation rentals (STRs) in Invermere also merit attention.
Taft added that any solution to housing issues is going to require a joint effort of local, provincial and federal governments.
