Kamloops Mayor Peter Milobar.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
October 02, 2013 - 1:01 PM
KAMLOOPS – Mayor Peter Milobar has been trying to get a meeting with Member of Parliament Leona Aglukkaq since the cabinet shuffle in July and later this month he will get the chance to air city concerns over the proposed Ajax mine when he sits down for a one on one meeting with the new environment minister.
Milobar will have a busy two weeks leading up to the meeting as he joins councillors Marg Spina and Donovan Cavers to head overseas for a visit the new mayor at sister city Uji, Japan on Oct. 10. Milobar says the trip is the first in four years and will help build on the good relationship the two cities have had for nearly two dozen years.
They return on Saturday, Oct. 19 and on Monday he leaves for Nanaimo to take part in the annual B.C. Transit strategic meetings before heading to Ottawa for the Communities in Bloom ceremony. He was able to set up the 30 minute meeting with Aglukkaq during the same time period and says he is happy to have the chance to sit down with her.
“It's all Ajax related,” he says. “Want to let her know how much concern there is in the city.”
He believes the time allotted will be enough to get the message out and he hopes all parties , provincially and federally, will realize this is not just another mine in the middle of nowhere.
“There's significant concern over significant issues,” he says, adding he wants residents to be confident in any decision made.
Milobar also hopes MP Cathy McLeod and Senator Nancy Greene will be able to join him in the meeting to help strengthen the regional voice. He considers the meeting no different than checking in with new provincial ministers, as he did earlier this year, to ensure any new parties are familiar with the city and resident concerns over the proposed mine.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2013