A half-dozen regional resolutions were successfully put forward at the North Central Local Government Association conference in 100 Mile House on May 2-4, says Cariboo Regional District (CRD) chair Al Richmond.
"We had six resolutions and they all went through."
Resolutions passed at the annual NCLGA convention are sent to the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) each fall, and if they are passed there, UBCM then lobbies the province to pursue the suggested changes.
Five of the CRD's resolutions related to rural living or the ranching industry.
Two were regarding agricultural fencing, he says, adding one was for fencing on highways and the other for interface fencing adjacent to agricultural land.
The first suggests asking the province to consider fencing funds for main and secondary highways, to prevent hardship to producers from livestock kills, Richmond explains, but also to help ensure the safety of B.C. motorists.
The second fencing-related resolution asks that the province, which, he notes, collects Crown lease fees on range land, assume responsibility for funding for ranchers to fence boundaries where agricultural lands abut residential properties.
The CRD also recommended the province provide legal means to allow ranchers to apply herbicides to deal with noxious weeds on Crown lands where they hold range tenure, since they can already apply them on their own land Richmond adds.
"We're suggesting if we want to control that on our range land the way we should be, there is a modified permit of some sort, or some permission to allow those people with tenure out there to deal with that stuff."
A CRD resolution carried unanimously at the convention was of an importance that he says will likely "resonate" through the community.
The regional district also recommended preventing the release of dangerous offenders into small, rural communities where police detachments, probation offices, counselling and rehabilitation services don't exist.
"It's two-fold; one is protection of the public, but the other is fairness to the one who is released."
Another resolution was to develop a national strategy on protecting potable water, Richmond adds.
"We still have issues within the realm of protecting water and a concern that if there's not some standards perhaps and some means to protect aquifers, one could be considered to be developed."
The final resolution requested the business section of the UBCM allow more time for discussion and debate of resolutions, as the CRD chair notes some don't even make it to the floor for discussion if time runs out.
"We did much better last year [at UBCM], but the members of NCLGA and our board would like to see that business session is done.
"It's the prime reason for going ... and those resolutions are important to our communities and our regions."