Okanagan Falls

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Five months after Okanagan Falls residents narrowly voted to incorporate as their own municipality, frustration over stalled progress has pushed the province’s new Municipal Affairs Minister to agree to meet face-to-face with local leaders.

B.C. Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Christine Boyle will meet next week with Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) Area D director Matt Taylor and other senior officials to discuss how to get the process back on track. Boyle’s office has not yet confirmed whether the talks will take place in Penticton or at the Ministry’s offices in Victoria, but Taylor said he and his team are willing to travel.

“As long as they give us 24 to 48 hours notice, we’ll meet them anywhere,” Taylor said Friday.

The meeting was confirmed less than 48 hours after a tense, standing-room-only Town Hall at the Okanagan Falls Community Centre. More than 300 residents packed into a gymnasium Wednesday to hear why little has happened since the March 22 referendum, which saw 588 residents vote in favour of incorporation and 512 vote against.

The mood was heated. Many in the crowd expressed anger over the lack of progress, and several said they no longer support incorporation at all. Taylor acknowledged the frustration, saying he shares it, but called the upcoming meeting with Boyle “a clear sign the Province is finally listening.”

“My message to residents and First Nations is we have hit a few speed bumps here and those are to be expected in a process like this,” he told the crowd. “I’m very grateful the Minister has reached out to meet with us next week. I think there is a real opportunity, with her assistance, to move through some of these challenges.”

Years in the making

The path to incorporation has been long. Discussions about turning Okanagan Falls into its own municipal district date back more than 40 years, with more serious talks over the last decade.

In 2018, Area D was split in two to give Okanagan Falls more local control. A community association was formed soon after, with a goal of reversing the area’s population and economic decline by encouraging housing, job creation, and a more vibrant local economy.

In late 2020, the association sent a draft motion to the RDOS board asking it to request that the Province initiate incorporation discussions. The Province agreed in 2021, launching a formal study.

An advisory committee eventually supported incorporation, leading to the fall 2024 provincial approval of a referendum — held in March of this year.

Taylor said that when the vote was called, “there was no mention” of any First Nations consultation requirements. That issue, he said, has since become one of the major factors slowing the process.

What hasn’t happened since the vote

Under typical timelines, Taylor said, incorporation could be finalized in four or five months. The next step would be for the Province to appoint an interim corporate officer — a provincially funded position responsible for helping organize an election for a Mayor and Council, and representing the new municipality in negotiations with the Province. That appointment still hasn’t been made.

A draft letters patent — the document setting out the name, boundaries, services, and incorporation date — has also not been issued. Taylor said letters patent are usually “fairly straightforward” but remain in limbo.

Boyle’s Ministry has hinted at forming another advisory committee to assist the future Mayor and Council once elected. The existing local committee already supports electing a Mayor and four councillors.

The delays are compounded by the fact that no new municipality has been incorporated in B.C. for more than 15 years. Taylor believes the Province’s inexperience with recent incorporations, combined with compliance requirements under the Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), are adding months to the timeline.

The First Nations factor

Taylor said DRIPA requirements appear to be the main reason for the holdup. He understands that First Nations requests so far include removing certain Crown lands from within Okanagan Falls’ proposed municipal boundaries, and possibly renaming the municipality using the First Nations interpretation of Okanagan Falls.

“Whenever there is a development in an incorporated community, there is a process to inform First Nations to determine if they have an interest,” Taylor said. “This must also be ironed out.”

Taylor said the Province has asked the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) what it wants, but the RDOS has not seen the requests in writing. It remains unclear what the Province intends to do.

The Okanagan Falls area sits on the former Dog Lake Indian Reserve No. 2, once part of the OIB’s main reserve before being removed by a Royal Commission between 1912 and 1916. A negotiated settlement between the OIB and federal government was reached in 1982, but Taylor said it’s possible the Province may want to revisit land-related matters as part of reconciliation efforts.

Rumours have circulated about requests for Crown land parcels to be excluded from the new municipality’s boundaries, including trails popular with residents and tourists. “Those are trails we use to promote people coming to Okanagan Falls,” Taylor said. “Once again I ask, what is the process we’re getting after the referendum? We don’t have it in writing.”

The possibility of a name change is also in play. While Taylor believes a compromise is possible — keeping “Okanagan Falls” but adding a First Nations equivalent on signage — he warned that an extreme change would have economic impacts.

“It doesn’t cost the Province anything, but it costs our businesses and tourism significantly,” he said. “Okanagan Falls is a unique, iconic community. We want to grow it to be sustainable, and changing the name too much would hurt that.”

Frustration boils over

At Wednesday’s Town Hall, Taylor and RDOS Chief Administrative Officer Don Zaffino fielded questions for 90 minutes. The frustration on Taylor’s face was clear as he explained why the process had stalled.

He told residents the RDOS has been asking the Province since the spring to outline its requirements for incorporation under DRIPA. “Other than telling us what the process is, they’re not doing it,” he said.

In early July, the Province first signalled that a name change might be considered. “I said I have to talk to the people of Okanagan Falls,” Taylor recalled. “I can’t negotiate, and we shouldn’t be negotiating. It’s the Province’s process, and they need to respect our needs as well as First Nation needs.”

Some residents voiced outright opposition to incorporation, saying their views had changed since the referendum. Taylor acknowledged their perspective but reminded them that “the majority voted in favour, and that’s how democracy works.”

Provincial response

Boyle, who became Municipal Affairs Minister on July 16, did not attend the Town Hall. In a letter read aloud by Zaffino, her office cited scheduling conflicts but said she “recognizes the community’s concerns about the timeliness and path towards incorporation.”

The letter said her Ministry “has and will continue to work with the RDOS board and senior staff, as well as the OIB and Chief Clarence Louie, towards completing the incorporation process as quickly as possible.” Boyle said she understands the urgency and has asked staff to arrange a brief, direct meeting with the RDOS and OIB to discuss next steps.

That meeting, confirmed Friday by Taylor, is expected to happen next week. No date or location has been set.

Why the timeline matters

Taylor warned that if major steps aren’t completed by early 2025, the new municipality could face “real implications” for how it collects tax revenue in its first year. If incorporation is delayed past the start of the tax year, the RDOS would have to continue collecting taxes on behalf of Okanagan Falls — a stopgap that could strain staffing and administration.

“That’s why getting this done in the near future is necessary,” he said.

What residents can expect next

Taylor plans to continue bi-weekly progress updates with Boyle’s office, alongside Zaffino, RDOS board chair Mark Pendergraft, and vice-chair Campbell Watt. He pledged to share all developments with residents.

He also emphasized the limits of local authority. “Incorporation is the Province’s issue — that’s theirs. That’s the letters patent. That’s appointing an interim corporate officer. That’s what they need to do,” he said. “Any reconciliation discussions with First Nations need to be spearheaded at the municipal level once we have an elected Mayor and Council.”

For now, Taylor is pinning his hopes on next week’s meeting. “I’m confident it will be very productive and lead to the incorporation process moving much faster than it has so far,” he said.

An interim corporate officer needs to be appointed, but the municipality is facing hurdles related to DRIPA compliance, and First Nations consultations.

And there isn’t much of a playbook, since no new incorporations have taken place in B.C. in over 15 years.

— This article was originally published by the Penticton Herald

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