Brad Vis, MP Remarks - Lytton Town Hall Meeting, March 23, 2022
Good evening, everyone. On behalf of MP Vis, I would like to thank you to the Village of Lytton for hosting this townhall meeting. MP Vis sends his regrets for not be able to speak with you tonight. Votes have been called and he is in the House of Commons late tonight as we speak. It’s been quite a week in Parliament. On Tuesday MP Vis had the opportunity to question the Minister of Housing directly in House of Commons on affordability and continues to engage him on housing supports for Lytton.
Firstly, MP Vis would like to say he is sorry the Province has taken so long to get funding out the door to Lytton. The latest announcement of $18.4M to commence debris removal should not have taken 8 months to arrive.
MP Vis is happy to see Lytton First Nation well on their way with modular homes being assembled in short order. He continues to push the Minister of Housing on specific assistance to Lytton to build purpose-built housing. MP Vis is particularly focused on supports through the Rapid Housing Initiative which his office has alluded to being re-opened after the federal budget which we expect to be tabled in early April.
To say getting reliable postal services to Lytton is a struggle, is an understatement. We have spoken with senior officials at Canada Post and am happy to hear this week that 2 of 3 full time hires have started at the temporary post office which will allow for consistent operations. If there are any unforeseen closures, Canada Post agreed to share the information with the Village of Lytton communications and the Resiliency Centre.
Earlier this month our staff visited the Resiliency Centre and dropped off some feedback cards, info to resources, Canadian flags and pins. MP Vis’ office continues to remain open should you require assistance with re-establishing any ID lost in the fire like Passports or immigration documents and is available to help should you run into any issues with CRA filing your taxes this year.
MP Vis is in regular contact with Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair on the status of Lytton. He shares our deep concerns about the pace of recovery and actively works with his counterpart, BC Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth on expediting any bureaucratic processes that may stand in the way along with approvals for funding.
This week MP Vis spoke with the Minister of Infrastructure & Communities Dominic Leblanc on the need for climate resilient infrastructure to build sustainably for the future. MP Vis has also written to Minister Leblanc on the Lytton firehall. It is unacceptable that Lytton still doesn’t have a firehall ready to go so building can commence safely. Not to take away from the amazing work the BC Wildfire Service does, and we are thankful the Lytton Fire Dept. is allowed to operate out of their base, but this is not a sustainable solution. Efforts to re-establish Lytton’s firehall should be among the top of list of priorities.
Thank to everyone working hard to restore the community. We need collaboration from all levels of government and community leaders for this recovery to be a success. Your dedication to rebuilding the town does not go unnoticed. Thank you.
