The initiation of a broad legislation amendments act May 1 by the B.C. Provincial Government includes a change to the Local Government Act that will allow the creation of a Resort Municipality, even if no one is actually living in the municipality.

Currently, the legislation states that there must be residents in order to initiate a Resort Municipality.

If Bill 41, the ‘Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), 2012’ passes, local government will once again take it on the chin in the Columbia Valley, stated Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald and the majority of chief elected officials in the valley.

“The BC Liberals’ latest step towards forcing a ski resort on an area that does not want it would make a good joke if it wasn’t so serious,” Macdonald stated in a press release.

“Bill 41has caused an uproar in the Kootenays because it will now allow the incorporation of a mountain resort municipality, even in an area where there are no residents.  With these changes, the minister will be given the authority to incorporate an uninhabited area, appoint a mayor and council, and call a general election for any date he or she considers appropriate, Macdonald pointed out, adding, “A municipality’s function is to provide a governance structure for its residents.  Changing the rules so that a municipality can be created out of thin air makes a mockery of democratic principles.

“Despite the fact that the majority of residents in the area do not support the development of a ski resort in the Jumbo Valley, the BC Liberals are determined to push ahead.  And they are willing to go to incredible lengths to make that happen,” he said.

Macdonald, the former Mayor of Golden, says that this is only one of many misguided BC Liberal policies that have been forced on Kootenay residents against their wills.

“My experience is that people know best what is appropriate for their area.  Local residents knew that building private river-diversion projects on local rivers was a bad idea.  And they knew that the Harmonized Sales Tax would harm local businesses. But the BC Liberal government would not listen.  This is a government that has no respect for democracy.  It’s a government that does not care what people in this area think,” Macdonald concluded.

East Kootenay News Online Weekly asked local government officials three questions concerning the legislation.

As elected officials, how do you feel about a ‘government’ being created that does not feature elected officials?

Do you think it is good for Jumbo and for land issues in general when major decisions are being made by those with pretty much complete conflicts of Interest, and; Do you see it as an end run around local governance?

Village of Radium Hot Springs Mayor Dee Conklin was the sole valley government official to applaud the government move.

The move by government is to initiate proper planning, she said.

“The absence of voters creates this situation.  Planning a community in advance necessitates decision making ahead of the arrival of residents in order to be ready for them when they do arrive.  That’s how you get a planned community like Tumbler Ridge, for example,” she said.

Conklin said she doesn’t see how there would be a conflict of interest to have a development project proponent serve in a legislation and decision-making role.

“I presume you think the conflict somehow involves having the proponent on council,” she queried, adding, “That is not what the proponent nor the province plan in this case. Any council will have to work closely with the sole landowner and taxpayer, especially as that entity is also paying up front for the water, sewage treatment and transportation systems.  But like any council, it has two very distinct responsibilities.  The obvious one is to the current residents (the ski area operator, initially, then buyers of residences as those sales occur, along with customers of the resort.)  The less obvious but still important concern is to future residents and tax-payers, whose interests should be protected by short-term decision making that tries to pass on current costs to subsequent tax-payers.  This council will have to represent those future residents in negotiations with the developer at each stage of the project,” she said.

Conklin disagrees that the province is allowing the proponent an end run around local government.

“Far from being an ‘end run’ around local governance, it is the installation of local governance at the earliest possible stage to protect future residents.  The fact that it is an appointed, not elected, council does not in any way lessen the oath of office or the responsibilities of the councilors,” she said.

District of Invermere Mayor Gerry Taft disagrees with Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) board colleague. “I think that the idea of an appointed council

and an instant municipality in an area with no population is a very bad idea. The only purpose of creating a Mountain Resort Municipality in the Jumbo Valley is to by-pass public process and normal local government over site of land use and zoning,” he said.

“The democratic principles at stake, and the beast that would be created by an appointed developer- controlled-rubber-stamping-puppet municipality will have unknown long term impacts. This is far beyond a debate about whether the proposed Jumbo ski resort is a good or bad idea,” he added.

Village of Canal Flats Mayor Ute Juras agrees with Taft. “This is another disappointing move by the government. I have always been very vocal about

the fact that I don’t believe in an appointed council. The fact that there could be a possibility of a member of this not-elected council sitting at the RDEK table is even more disturbing. The question I have is; how can you have a government without people to govern?” she asked.

Electoral Area G director Gerry Wilkie said this issue has come about because the regional board handed the Jumbo land-use control back to the province in August 2009, when a split board vote weighed in favour of the regional government deferring land planning to the province.

Wilkie, who voted against that move, led by current Kootenay-Columbia MP David Wilks who was then board chair and Mayor of Sparwood, said he still opposes any land use decisions for the Jumbo Valley being made by the province or by a Resort Municipality.

“The people of the Kootenays and in particular those in the Upper Columbia Valley continue to be denied due process under the Local Government Act,” he said. “This latest flurry of  legislation goes  much further to circumvent any local government authority  than the resort region conception in  Section 15 of Bill 11 in 2007 which would have allowed  a surrogate municipal administration (eg Vanderhoof)  to birth this white elephant. With the current amendments to Section 14 of the LGA the government is going even further to ensure that local government,  and the public, are excluded from any land use decisions in Jumbo and Farnham. Ironically, the RDEK is constructing an addition to its administrative building in Cranbrook to incorporate a new boardroom with a substantially enlarged public gallery to improve its commitment to public participation in local government. It may be that this will be finished just in time for the provincial government to try to appoint a director from Bennettville. Personally, I hope they see the wisdom in appointing an Ursus arctos horribilis, preferably female, to reduce the gender imbalance on the current RDEK board,” Wilkie stated.

Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett, whom Wilkie refers to, was asked by e-KNOW to share comments last week but none have been provided.

However, a government official to the west agrees with Macdonald and most of the Columbia Valley government officials.

Nelson Creston MLA Michelle Mungall stated on her Facebook page, “Sneaky Liberals have thrown a major legislative change into Bill 41: allowing them to incorporate a mountain resort municipality WITHOUT any residents. They appoint their friends who are accountable to NO ONE to make land use decisions. This is a direct move to push Jumbo Glacier Resort ahead. If their friends are making the land decisions without any accountability, they get their way! They introduced the Bill, and many other major bills, a couple of days ago. It is likely up for debate today before the UBCM and local governments have a chance to review and issue a response. http://www.leg.bc.ca/39th4th/1st_read/gov41-1.htm

“Importantly, once this Bill passes, the Liberals can make Jumbo Glacier Resort a municipality without any debate in the Legislature. The process is called an Order in Council and is the result of decisions made by Cabinet (all the Liberal Ministers). So we could all wake up one day and find out the Jumbo Glacier Resort is suddenly a municipality with a bunch of councillors who were appointed by the Liberals, not elected by residents,” she stated.

The legislation reads as follows (in part):

“Local Government Act amendments in Victoria Legislature – See Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act:   http://leg.bc.ca/39th4th/1st_read/gov41-1.htm

SECTION 14: [Local Government Act, section 11] provides for the incorporation of a new mountain resort municipality whether or not there are residents in the area.

14 Section 11 of the Local Government Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 323, is amended

(a) by repealing subsection (2.1) and substituting the following:

(2.1) Despite section 8, in the case of an area that is not a mountain resort improvement district, the minister may recommend to the Lieutenant Governor in Council incorporation of a new mountain resort municipality for the area, whether or not there are residents in the area at the time of the recommendation, if the minister is satisfied that a person has entered into an agreement with the government with respect to developing alpine ski lift operations, year-round recreational facilities and commercial overnight accommodation within the area. ,

(b) in subsection (3) by striking out “subsection (1), (2) or (2.1),” and substituting “subsection (1) or (2),”,

(c) by adding the following subsections:

(3.01) On the recommendation of the minister under subsection (2.1), and whether or not there are residents in the area at the time of incorporation, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by letters patent, incorporate a new mountain resort municipality for the area, consisting of the members of the municipal council and the residents of the area, if any.

(3.02) For certainty, and unless the letters patent for a mountain resort municipality incorporated under subsection (3.01) provide otherwise,

(a) a mountain resort municipality incorporated under subsection (3.01) is a municipality and any provision of this Act or regulation under this Act or any other Act or regulation that applies to municipalities applies to the mountain resort municipality, and ;

(b) the council of a mountain resort municipality incorporated under subsection (3.01) is a council and any provision of this Act or regulation under this Act or any other Act or regulation that applies to municipal councils applies to the council of the mountain resort municipality. ,

(d) in subsection (3.1) by striking out “subsection (3)” and substituting “subsection (3.01)”,

(e) in subsection (3.1) (d) by adding “and appoint or provide for the appointment of a mayor from among the appointed members of the municipal council” after “of the municipality”,

(f) in subsection (3.1) by adding the following paragraph:

(e) despite section 36, provide that the minister may set the general voting day for the first election of members to the municipal council for any date the minister considers appropriate, including a date that is 3 or more years after the incorporation of the mountain resort municipality.”

Ed. Note: Electoral Area director Wendy Booth (whose bailiwick includes the Jumbo Valley) believed she had missed our deadline and did not comment. However, she may still forward comments.

Above photo: Main Street Jumbo – currently just wilderness and a forest service road – but it’s enough to create a municipality according to government legislation currently making its way through the Legislature.

Ian Cobb/e-KNOW

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