Local Government Awareness Week - May 14-20

This Sunday marks the start of Local Government Awareness Week (May 14-20) across British Columbia. The goal is to generate awareness and educate the public about the roles and responsibilities of local government and encourage the public to participate in local government processes.

What is a Regional District?

A regional district is a federation of rural areas, municipalities and in some cases First Nations empowered to work together to plan, provide services and deal with issues on a regional scale.

In 1965, the province created regional districts to act as general local government for electoral areas. Regional districts provide rural residents with an effective form of local government, while also representing municipal residents on regional issues. They ensure all residents have access to commonly needed services, no matter where they live. Rural areas make up approximately 13 percent of the total population of BC. The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) was established November 30, 1965.

Regional districts are governed by a Board of Directors composed of a director elected from each electoral area and one director appointed from the elected council of each municipality. The directors from the electoral areas serve for a four-year term, while municipal directors serve until the appointing body decides to make a change. The RDCK features 11 electoral areas and nine municipalities (Castlegar, Creston, Kaslo, Nelson, Nakusp, New Denver, Salmo, Silverton, and Slocan).

The RDCK is one of 27 regional districts in British Columbia and provides over 180 services including: GIS, Planning and Land Use, Community Sustainability, Fire Protection, Emergency Services, Animal Control, Regional Parks, Recreation Facilities, Water Systems and Waste and Recycling facilities.

According to the 2021 census, 62,509 people live in the RDCK which is 22,130 square kilometres, roughly the size of Belize. Among the 27 regional districts in British Columbia, the RDCK ranks 11th in size and 15th in population.

The mission of the RDCK is to provide the area and communities with services, governance and representation in a manner that supports the economic, social and environmental goals of the region.

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Local Government Agencies

The content on this page was last updated May 11 2023 at 5:14 AM