Urban Mayor Caucus highlights common issues

PRINCE GEORGE – British Columbians have heard time and again that the issues that wrack Prince George’s downtown are not unique to this community. We see and hear about homeless camps in Kelowna, tent cities in Victoria. It’s what prompted the mayors of those communities to join forces last fall to find any ground for common solutions.

“So the BC Mayor’s Caucus was established early last fall,” explains Mayor Lyn Hall. “And it’s 13 municipalities across the province of populations greater than 80,000 people. The caucus was really designed after conversations with other mayors about like-problems that we face.”

The communities in question include Abbotsford, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, New Westminster, Prince George, Richmond, Saanich; Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria. Combined, they represent 2.8 million British Columbians or 55% of the province’ population. Last fall, they created the “Blueprint for British Columbia’s Urban Future” which is built on four foundations: mental health, substance use and treatment; affordable housing; public transit; and a new fiscal relationship with local governments.