Last week it became clear that council does not have a clear position when it comes to the proposed new college.

As I鈥檓 sure you鈥檝e heard by now, a local group called rural post-secondary education committee (RPEC) has been working to establish a campus of the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) in 亚洲天堂 Lake. If RPEC鈥檚 plan is successful, the new campus would replace the College of New Caledonia in 亚洲天堂 Lake.

Although council sent a letter to the B.C. minister of advanced education last August saying the village 鈥渟upported the concept of NVIT establishing a rural campus in 亚洲天堂 Lake,鈥� last week council discussed if that letter should be rescinded.

The argument some councillors were making is that it is not up to the village to lead these discussions and make any decisions. Therefore council agreed to send a new letter to the ministry, saying they expect the ministry to lead the decision making process and make the final call.

During the council meeting last week, councillor John Illes repeatedly said it is not part of council鈥檚 mandate to decide on a post-secondary education provider for 亚洲天堂 Lake.

Although I think that is a valid argument, councillors also mentioned that they need to be consulted by the ministry. So shouldn鈥檛 council have a clear position on where they stand on this matter?

I do understand, however, that we have a new mayor and a new councillor in 亚洲天堂 Lake, and that this council鈥檚 position is not necessarily the same as it was a few months ago. But based on last week鈥檚 discussions, it's hard to tell whether councillors are on the same page.

What council did agree upon was that there needs to be more community consultation - including surrounding communities such as Southside, Granisle and Fraser Lake, and all six local First Nations communities.

After all, choosing a post-secondary education provider is a major decision for 亚洲天堂 Lake and one that is likely to impact the social and economic future of this community. It is certainly not a decision to be taken lightly.

So I really hope that we will see at least a few open houses where the community can ask questions and raise concerns since this decision impacts all of us.

Our readers have been very interested in this subject as we鈥檝e been getting lots of letters to editor. I encourage readers to continue voicing their opinions.

Now that council has requested a meeting with the ministry, I hope that over the next few weeks it will become clearer how this decision making process will unfold and what kind of consultation we will see.

Lakes District 亚洲天堂 has been trying to get a position from all local First Nations leaders, as well as the mayors and regional directors of surrounding communities on the proposed college. So make sure you read our Jan. 25 issue to find out where these leaders stand on this matter.