The 91^th British Columbia Youth Parliament will hold its parliamentary session in Victoria at the Provincial Legislative Chambers from December 27 to 31, 2019. The Youth Parliament is a province-wide non-partisan organization for young people ages 16 to 21. It teaches citizenship skills through participation in the December parliamentary session and in community service activities throughout the year. Youth Parliament is a one year commitment.

The BC Youth Parliament is non-partisan and applicants need only be interested in learning more about the parliamentary process and in serving their community.

The application is available here, along with an informational brochure and poster.

All applications must be received by October 29, 2019. Selected applicants will be notified in early November.

The Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services Committee’s Budget 2020 Consultation is taking place in June, 2019.

British Columbians can share their priorities and recommendations for the next provincial budget by speaking with the Committee at a public hearing in-person or via teleconference, making a written, audio or video submission or completing an online survey.

Registration to reserve a speaking time will be available beginning Monday, May 27 on the Committee’s website.

Teleconference opportunities are available by calling 250-356-2933 or 1-877-428-8337 (toll-free in BC).

Speaking times will be 10 minutes – 5 minutes for the presentation and 5 minutes for questions from Committee Members.

The Committee will be holding public hearings in 15 communities from June 10-14 and June 17-21:

Colwood, Kimberley, Castlegar, Kelowna, Kamloops, Courtenay, Qualicum Beach, Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Prince George, Fort St. John, Quesnel, Abbotsford and Surrey.

In accordance with the Legislative Assembly’s commitment to accessibility, public hearings take place in accessible settings. Every effort will be made to accommodate any additional accessibility requirements, including the need for interpretive services.

The opportunity to make a written, audio and video submission, or complete the online survey will be available beginning June 3, 2019 on the Committee’s website.

The public consultation takes place every year and the Committee considers the priorities expressed by the public and develops recommendations for the next provincial budget. Your input and the Committee’s recommendations are included in a report to the Legislative Assembly that is publicly released on or before November 15. This year, the Committee intends to release its report by late July/early August.

For full details on how you can participate, visit the website

To receive updates on the consultation, email FinanceCommittee@leg.bc.ca to be added to the email distribution list.

The deadline for all input is Friday, June 28 at 5:00 p.m.

The 2019 British Columbia Achievement Community award presentations took place at Government House on May 1, 2019. Margaret Lidkea, a constituent of Oak Bay-Gordon Head, was a recipient of this honour for her outstanding ecological stewardship work in our community.

In total, twenty-four British Columbians received recognition at the sixteenth annual BC Achievement Community Award presentation ceremony. The Honourable Janet Austin, OBC, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia along with BC Achievement Foundation Board members, Robert Louie, OC and Christopher Gaze, OBC presented each recipient with a BC Achievement Community Award certificate, medallion and citation.

The British Columbia Achievement Foundation is an independent foundation established and endowed by the Province in 2003 to celebrate excellence and achievement in British Columbia. The medallion presented to each recipient is designed by Order of Canada member and B.C. artist Robert Davidson.

Margaret Lidkea is an inspirational leader in our community, dedicated to raising public awareness of the importance of ecological restoration. A biologist and an educator, Margaret earned an education degree at the University of Victoria and studied zoology and genetics at the University of British Columbia. Margret attended Lansdowne Middle School and graduated from Victoria High School.

Margaret has been an environmental educator for over 2 decades. In 2009, she co-founded the not-for-profit organization Friends Of Uplands Park after retiring from the Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary, where she worked as a Program Naturalist from 1988 until 2009.

Nominated for this award by Oak Bay Councillor Hazel Braithwaite, who noted that Margaret’s contributions to ecological restoration and education are legendary in Victoria. For over two decades, she has been one of the most visible proponents of protection and stewardship of Uplands Park in Oak Bay. A committed volunteer, Margaret works with local school boards to develop and deliver outdoor programs to ensure that children grow up with an appreciation and respect for the natural world in which they live.

Margaret’s true passion is inspiring and educating the young people in our community about their natural environment. She is well known for her work, as far back as 1993, in organizing Broom Bashes at Uplands Park with the Girl Guides, and, for her ongoing work with local schools where she shares her knowledge of the rare Garry Oak ecosystem found in Uplands Park.

During the reading of Margaret’s citation at the ceremony, it was noted that “rain or shine, Margaret is known to get muddy, scratched and bug-bitten to lead a group of volunteers or young students and smile while taking a leadership role. In protecting the environment, her enthusiastic approach in teaching hands on science has allowed children to step out of the classroom and learn about themselves and their world.”

Margaret’s students of all ages are now proud stewards of their communities, ready to preserve and protect it for generations to come. Margaret’s dedication and mentorship have been an inspiration for so many and she is highly deserving of the honour she has received.

The BC Civil Forfeiture Office provides grants through a program managed by the Community Safety and Crime Prevention (CSCP) branch. Money from civil forfeitures is distributed proportionally across the province, including grants to community agencies who use the funds toward crime prevention or remediation activities.

Grant applications are adjudicated on how well they fit the objectives of the program, how much impact the group has in the community and many other factors. The number of grants awarded and the maximum value of each grant depends on the amount of funding available at the time when the program is announced.

The intent of the program is for seizures of the proceeds of crimes to be used to make our communities safer.

Programs that mentor youth to resist joining gangs, support women escaping violence and help Indigenous families heal from intergenerational traumas will benefit from just over $6 million in grants supporting government crime prevention priorities.

In total, more than 170 local organizations and projects across the province – led by community not-for-profits, school districts, and more – will receive a one-time grant through the Crime Prevention and Remediation grant program.

Recipients of grants announced last week for programs that operate in the constituency of Oak Bay-Gordon Head are:

• Camosun College – $19,823 – under the indigenous healing and rebuilding funding stream, a program called Crafting Sisterhood will invite 10 indigenous single mothers to learn indigenous art skills, get guidance and mentorship from established indigenous women professionals.
• Victoria Restorative Justice Society – $19,096 – will enhance the capacity of Victoria Restorative Justice Society to provide supports through use of trained caseworkers to provide client services on complex files alongside volunteers.
• University of Victoria – $30,000 – to cultivate healthy relationships in boys and male youth, this initiative is a series of psycho-educational circles that focus on healthy relationships and consent issues.

We are grateful for the tremendous work done locally by the organizations above who are grant recipients and to all the grant recipients across BC. Thank you for the work you do every day for the benefit of our communities.

Public input is sought as part of the BC Government’s ongoing community consultation on active transportation. This is an important part of the work done by the BC Green Caucus for the CleanBC initiative. Started on March 1, 2019, a new online question will be posted every two weeks. The online engagement will be open until April 15, 2019 at 4pm. Feedback received will result in a report that will be made publicly available.

This province-wide consultation is an opportunity for British Columbians to provide input into ways to make our communities more livable, with CleanBC investments that will change how we work, live and get around. The input received on active transportation will assist in providing a provincial framework to advance active transportation throughout the province.

There are several ways you can participate in the conversation about active transportation until April 15. In addition to the online discussion forum about active transportation, you can submit your comments by email to activetransportation@gov.bc.ca

A formal stakeholder submission, with established criteria and guidelines, is also underway.

You can find out more and how you can participate at CleanBC Active Transportation.

I hope you will join in this conversation and other opportunities to participate and give feedback on topics related to CleanBC. Regular updates are also available to those who wish to receive them.