The Village of Pemberton is gearing up for this year’s Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) convention. During a June 24 council meeting, council finalized the list of issues they’re looking to advance during this year’s meetings—setting out their priority asks of the provincial government.
Those issue areas consist of support for a full Foundry Sea to Sky location in the Harrow Road building, fire mitigation on Crown lands, flood infrastructure and improvements to Highway 99—including a replacement Pemberton Creek bridge and new intersection for the new École La Vallée.
Held annually in September, the UBCM is an opportunity for elected officials to meet with cabinet ministers and government staffers. The convention serves as a venue for municipalities to lobby the provincial government on issues of importance to their communities.
Foundry hub
This year’s key issues were first discussed during a council meeting on May 27. Staff drafted requests for meetings with ministers on three key issue areas for review on June 24.
First up is support for an official Foundry location in the new Harrow Road development. Sea to Sky Community Services (SSCS) aims to deliver health-care services from the future building, with an emphasis on providing “in-person support [for] youth facing mental health and addiction challenges.”
During the May 27 council meeting, Mayor Mike Richman told council “Pemberton [is] not on the map for a full Foundry,” but rather a satellite hub of the Squamish location. But given Pemberton’s location will service “youth and families from the Village and throughout the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District,” a full Foundry, or "hub," would be more appropriate.
During the follow-up on June 24, Richman added the hub “will also support all the Indigenous communities in the area, and there’s already an effort going on to make sure that there are culturally sensitive and accessible services.”
The Village is requesting a meeting with Josie Osborne, the provincial minister of health, to seek the funding needed to facilitate a fully-fledged Foundry Hub on Harrow Road.
Climate readiness
Next up, the Village is seeking to mitigate some of the impacts of climate change with Kelly Greene, the Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness.
The province’s minimum standards for new dike systems require protection against a 200-year flood—meaning a flood event that has a one-in-200 chance of occurring in any given year. Under provincial law, municipalities and diking authorities like the Pemberton Valley Dyking District are responsible for designing, funding, building, inspecting, maintaining, repairing and operating those dikes.
Council is looking for some relief from the cost burden of building to the 200-year standard on the Valley’s five major river systems. Currently, the cost would be shouldered by Pemberton, Lil’wat Nation and the SLRD.
Flooding continues to be an area of focus at the Pemberton Creek Bridge, where “seasonal weather trends create a pattern of flooding over the bridge, posing a risk to residents of nearby housing complexes.” That flooding “could necessitate closure of Highway 99,” a staff report noted. The Village is seeking to raise or replace the bridge. Officials are also looking to speak with the Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MOTT) about installing “a lane dedicated to active transportation” on a replacement bridge.
Last on the climate file is the Village’s concerns about wildfire outside Pemberton proper. A staff report on the UBCM resolutions flags that, while the village is “working to reduce wildfire threat through implementation of the Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan ... mitigation work is also needed on Crown lands.” The VOP is seeking out funding to carry out fuel management treatment on Crown lands whose proximity to the Village poses a wildfire risk.
Highway 99 upgrades
Lastly, the Village has a few upgrades to Highway 99 to address with MOTT minister Mike Farnworth.
VOP officials are looking for support and funding for upgrades in the Gateway Area to ensure the space offers “safe access to Pemberton’s active transportation network and transit options,” particularly as traffic patterns change with the multi-modal transportation hub, new housing initiatives and the development of the new École La Vallée.
The VOP is also seeking support for a new intersection on Highway 99 for the francophone school, down the road from the main intersection.
“The new intersection, if built to adequate standards, will provide alternate access to the downtown area, easing traffic congestion at the existing highway intersection in the event of evacuation of the Village due to wildfire, flooding or other emergencies,” according to a staff report.
The 2025 UBCM will be held in Victoria from Sept. 22 to 26. A list of meeting topics the VOP has scheduled at past UBCM conventions is available online.
