Apr 27, 2024 – Wolf Depner/The Abbotsford News

A van offering 300 different government services, including the renewal of various licences, promises to benefit rural and remote communities during emergencies and beyond.

But it may take some time until the service expands beyond its singular vehicle.

Citizens Services Minister George Chow and Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma toured the van while it stood outside the legislature Thursday afternoon (April 25) with a handful of government staffers and reporters taking up the offer to renew their driver’s licences.

The van officially hit the road mid-February 2024 following trials in late 2023. Stops along the trial included Bella Bella on B.C.’s Central Coast with the van currently touring communities on Vancouver Island.

Ma said the van and the larger project of mobile service delivery reflects lessons from last year’s wildfire season.

“One of the lessons learnt that we gathered through feedback from communities is that challenge…of delivering effective emergency support services to people on the ground,” she said. “You have a lot of evacuees who will leave their homes without proper identification, without documentation. So how do we support those people on the fly?”

Read the full article at abbynews.com.