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Hewat, Main elected to Federation of Canadian Municipalities Board

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By Contributor
June 14th, 2022

Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) Board Members Suzan Hewat and Leah Main were elected to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Board of Directors at the annual conference in Regina, Saskatchewan earlier this month.

Main will serve a fourth consecutive term as BC Caucus Chair, while Hewat will serve her first term on the Board.

This year’s FCM conference was themed Together for Recovery, focusing on building stronger, more inclusive and resilient communities – together.

The conference, which featured Canada’s largest gathering of municipal leaders since 2019, allows thousands of delegates from across the country to come together and share ideas through a series of workshops with an emphasis on crucial municipal issues, such as housing affordability and rural growth.

“After two years of working tirelessly on the frontlines to support Canadians during the pandemic, there’s still much work to do to tackle our country’s greatest challenges, like the housing crisis and protecting our communities from climate extremes,” said Leah Main, RDCK Board of Director and Village of Silverton Councillor.

“Municipal leaders were loud and clear in Regina; we’re eager to continue working with our federal partners to take these issues head on, because when our orders of government work together, we move this country forward.”

In their role as FCM Board members, the two RDCK Board members will help set policy priorities that reflect the concerns of municipal governments and affiliate members from coast to coast.

“If we want to get this recovery moving, we need to be in touch with what is happening every day in our communities and make sure local issues are brought to Ottawa,” said Suzan Hewat, RDCK Board Member and Village of Kaslo Mayor.

“We know that our country’s recovery starts in our communities — where people live, work, and raise families — and as frontline governments, we understand the challenges people face in their daily lives. That makes us key to Canada’s recovery and we’re coming back home from this conference energized and eager to work with our federal and provincial partners to get the job done.”

Over the four days more than 2,200 delegates passed resolutions calling for national action on four issues reflecting their local community needs: modernizing the Canada Community Building Fund; addressing period poverty in Canada; implementing the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Committee relating to missing children and unmarked graves; and streamlining support for those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.

FCM has members from more than 2,000 municipalities and regional districts of all sizes.

The group advocates for municipalities to be sure their citizens’ needs are reflected in federal policies and programs. To learn more about FCM and the work they do, go to https://fcm.ca/en.

Photo Caption: Left to Right,  Randy Goulden (Yorkton, SK) – Prairies & Territories Caucus Chair, Rebecca Bligh (Vancouver, BC) – FCM Third Vice-President, Leah Main (Silverton, BC) and Suzan Hewat (Kaslo, BC). — Submitted photo

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