Tuesday, February 2, 2021

January 25 Council Meeting: Living Wage, Fraser River “Revitalization,” and $4.15 Million Safe Restart Funding

At the January 25th meeting, Langley City council heard two delegations. The first delegation was from Anastasia French of the Living Wage for Families Campaign.

She noted that the living wage in Metro Vancouver is $19.50 per hour. This wage enables a basic but decent life, which factors in the cost of food, housing, transportation, and other essentials such as clothing and savings for unforeseen events.

French called for Langley City to become a Living Wage employer. Beyond ensuring that all City staff receive a living wage, this commitment also requires that contractor staff receive a living wage.

Council also received a delegation from the Surrey Board of Trade, who presented their “Fraser River Revitalization” plan. In the South of Fraser, most of the land around the Fraser River is either for industrial, agricultural, or conservation purposes. I was concerned that this revitalization plan is just a way to convert our limited supply of industrial, agricultural, and conservation land for residential development. Other members of council were also concerned about this proposal.

The Surrey Board of Trade sought funding from Langley City to move their proposal forward and have Langley City be part of their working group for this plan. Council asked staff to investigate the process for Langley City to be a member of this working group.

Council gave three bylaws final reading to change the sewer, water, and solid waste fees for 2021. You can read more about this in a previous post.

Council asked staff to send a letter to our MP Tamara Jansen asking for an official letter “clarifying what she meant by her comment that Langley City is becoming a ghost town.”

Council also asked the Mayor to send a letter thanking “the Premier and Minister of Municipal Affairs for securing $4.15 million for Langley City as part of the Canada-B.C. Safe Restart funding to support COVID-19 recovery in our community, allowing our local government to continue to deliver essential services to our community.”

Members of council sit of various City committees such as the Arts & Culture Task Group and Crime Prevention Task Group. Council members also sit on external committees such as the Fraser Health Municipal Advisory Council and Langley Senior Resources Centre Society. Council approved 2021 appointments. You can view the list of appointments by reading a section of the agenda.

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