A Kamloops Councillor has been elected to the board of directors for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for a one year term.

Arjun Singh, who also served as president of the Union of BC Municipalities, says he is honoured and humbled to have the opportunity to represent Kamloops and British Columbia on the board.

“There’s a big opportunity at the FCM table to work on things like pandemic recovery funding, and then a whole host of other issues such as policing, climate action, broadband and transportation,” he said. “These are all really big files the FCM works on with the federal government.”

The FCM elections are usually held in June, but it was held in a virtual conference this month after the annual conference was postponed due to COVID-19. Singh will be one of nine members from B.C. on the board, including FCM President Garth Frizzell, who is a city councillor in Prince George.

“The FCM has a pretty incredible reputation as being very effective in working with the Federal Government on behalf of Canadian communities and so I’m looking forward to the opportunity to kind of continuing to learn from the work that they do and provide some service, if I’m able,” Singh added.

Prior to his election, Singh spent seven years with the Union of BC Municipalities, including one year as President.

“I think the most successful communities always have good relationships with Indigenous, provincial, and the federal government,” Singh added.

“We really want to be plugged in to what is happening with federal legislation that could impact us, and having a voice there that’s at the meeting, at the table can be quite beneficial for us for sure.”

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has members from more than 2,000 municipalities across Canada, representing 90 per cent of Canadians.

Singh’s FCM commitment includes board meetings that would typically require travel, but he says meetings will likely be held via Zoom because of COVID-19.