Whereas access to in-person provincial government services is gradually being removed from small, rural communities in British Columbia with these services being centralized to larger urban centres; And whereas rural citizens and business owners are forced to travel long distances at great expense as there is limited and inconsistent public transportation available to access these services; And whereas the lack of in-person provincial government services in small, rural communities negatively impacts economic growth and the ability to attract and retain rural citizens and business development: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM lobby the Government of British Columbia to provide equitable local access to in-person provincial government services for all small, rural communities in British Columbia.
Ministry of Citizens Services Governments goal is to provide services within reasonable travel time where citizens can walk in and get face-to-face help with a full range of government services. Service BC provides service in 65 locations across the province; most are located outside the large urban centres such as Metro Vancouver. Given the geography of our province it is a major challenge to efficiently provide an in-person service in every rural community. There are a number of critical government services available at the shared provincial government office in McBride, and there is a Service BC Centre in Valemount 85 km away. For citizens who are not able to attend a Service BC location, the Service BC Contact Centre is available to provide access to a wide range of services via telephone and email access to information about, and referrals to, government programs and services. Service BC is working to have in place a Community Access Terminal CATs at the Provincial Government building in McBride. Included with this installation will be phone support with direct contact to the Service BC Contact Centre. Future Pilot projects starting through the Contact Centre which will further help all Citizens include SMS texting, Co-browsing assist citizens to virtually navigate the web, and Web Chat.