Photo: Twitter / UBCM

Ravi Kahlon, minister for housing, speaks with Jen Ford, UBCM president, on Monday.

Kamloops city councillors are preparing for several meetings with provincial ministers this week in Vancouver at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention.

The meetings are a maximum of 15 minutes long, and provide a brief opportunity for the mayor and councillors to discuss local matters with B.C. government representatives.

Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson noted the short amount of time allocated to these meetings.

“I don’t think in a 15-minute meeting with seven councillors and the mayor, I don't think you can expect a whole lot,” Hamer-Jackson said, noting he thinks more work can be done outside of these meetings.

“You’re getting a message there, but I think those can be done — I mean, I just had a meeting on going on this tour with the minister of agriculture and food security, and the deputy minister because I’ll just walk in and start talking to them.”

Council has meetings booked with Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s housing minister, Bowinn Ma, minister of emergency management and climate readiness, Tom McCarthy, deputy minister for Indigenous relations and reconciliation, and Niki Sharma, attorney general.

Council members will also meet with Mike Farnworth, minister of public safety and solicitor general, Lana Popham, minister of tourism, arts, culture and sport, and Adrian Dix, health minister.

Mayor and councillors are also scheduled to meet with Anne Kang, minister of municipal affairs.

Coun. Katie Neustaeter said she is looking forward to following up with Farnworth after council had a meeting with him earlier this year.

“I'm championing peace officer status for CSOs, that's an opportunity to follow up there,” Neustaeter said.

“Also with the attorney general around a community court, that would alleviate a lot of these issues we have in Kamloops as well. And of course, that triggers the conversation around recovery, and purpose-built facilities for that.”

She said council will be speaking with Popham about its Build Kamloops program, an ambitious plan that seeks to re-establish the city’s prominence as Canada’s Tournament Capital and foster recognition as a premier arts and culture destination.

The UBCM convention runs through Friday.