I think it is shocking that the Thompson-Nicola Regional District would even contemplate spending $412,000 of COVID-19 recovery money on a new meeting room. It shows taxpayers that the extravagant attitude to spending has not been changed by the recent revelations by KTW of ridiculously luxurious expenses incurred by the past CAO and enjoyed by the directors. Some members of Kamloops council who sit on the TNRD are partly to blame as they participated in many of those dinners and other expensive occasions without speaking up. It is gratifying, though, to see the Kamloops directors are at least asking for a delay in the decision to spend hundreds of thousands of dollar on a meeting room, but it should not proceed.
The TNRD board has handed a ticking bomb of conflicts to the incoming council at Sun Peaks over zoning and nightly rentals, says a mountain businessman.
Ryan Sparks, who owns property and a management company on the mountain, noted three of the 24 members of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board absented themselves from debate last Thursday on a simmering Sun Peaks zoning issue due to potential conflicts.
He is wondering how many of the five incoming councillors who will be elected at Sun Peaks this spring will be left in the room when it comes time to discuss zoning and nightly rental of single-family homes.
Posted by KTWDigital | May 6, 2021 | News |
Story via Kamloops This Week.
A criminal investigation into potential financial wrongdoings at the Thompson-Nicola Regional District has been forwarded to a federal police unit that specializes in such probes.
On March 23, the TNRD forwarded to the Kamloops RCMP information concerning potential financial irregularities at the regional district.
“Following an assessment of the information presented, the Kamloops RCMP was able to establish a better understanding of the scope of that investigation and conduct internal consultations surrounding the most appropriate and timely police response in terms of resourcing and expertise,” Kamloops RCMP Staff Sgt. Simon Pillay said.
Kamloops commemorates Red Dress Day
May 6, 2021
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
As Canadians commemorate Red Dress Day in Canada, local government leaders are keen on addressing the national inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) and the report’s 231 Calls for Justice.
Marion Buller, chief commissioner of the report, visited Thompson Rivers University to discuss the inquiry in 2019 and suggested the municipality and the band should begin strategizing how they can address the report. Some of the recommendations, Buller noted, include better resourced First Nations police services, health care to be treated a human right, the need for mobile services, safe and affordable transportation services, greater context when educating students about first contact and expanding legal aid.
Direct action has yet been taken at the local level, but there has been engagement on the p[art of the band and the city is ready to listen. Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Chief, Rosanne Casimir, said the band on its own has not looked into how to implement the report, but it has been involved in discussions through other organizations, such as the BC Assembly of First Nations (BCAFN). Casimir herself, in March, made a motion at the BC Assembly of First nations to expand engagement on the national action plan for the report. “As a band, that is something we don’t have a department working on but what we do have is individuals who will be tasked to the various committees that are out there, advocating, supporting and participating,” Casimir said.