Nic Milligan

Well, it has been a good run. Truly. This is my final column in the Fernie Fix. I have very much appreciated the editor for providing this platform and I hope I have, in return, provided some insights into what it is to be a local elected representative, both the job and as a human being in the role...

Someone said to me recently: “You picked a hard time to be mayor.” This observation is both true and not quite true. Why true? There has been a lot written about the effect of the Covid 19 pandemic and its profound and lingering effects on trust in politicians and political institutions generally...

On October 17 Fernie will decide on those who will govern for the next four years. It’s important stuff for any community as it will set the course of the town for not just the next four but the next forty years and beyond. At the time of writing two people have declared for the office of Mayor of...

I recently had the good fortune to have morning coffee with Major Rick Robbins who, along with his wife Major Jennifer Robbins, are co-commanders of the Salvation Army units in both Fernie and Cranbrook. Together this couple are amongst the most decent, inclusive, and caring people I have ever met...

A couple of mornings ago over breakfast I asked my wife, “What is bringing you joy these days?” Sylvia was delighted with the question. It’s the sort of big idea question she appreciates, the kind that makes you pause and look at your life. This sort of question, the joy question, seems particularly...

Stepping out my front door on a recent morning I had an experience that reminds me what it is to live in, but more importantly, to be part of a community. A neighbour who was walking by, someone I don’t know especially well but with whom I cross paths regularly as we are walking our dogs on similar...

By now most readers of this column will know I will not seek re-election. I did this early to clear the decks, so to speak, and allow others time to think about their own next steps. Ultimately, I suppose, my decision puts paid to the statement I’ve made at the Council table: I did not run to get re...

Two important milestone dates recently came and went. In less than one year there will be another municipal election (October 17, 2026) and a new council will be sworn in (November 3, 2026). It surfaces all sorts of emotions for me. Amongst them the feeling of cycling home election night thinking...

Wastewater may be the least glamorous aspect of a functioning municipality. But like every aspect of a sustainable community, it needs attention and cannot be ignored because it lacks dazzle. Ours hasn’t been ignored. I can say without reservation our wastewater personnel have done exceptional work...

I think about my (our) late friend Troy Cook a lot, including every time I raise a glass and, after clinking, tap mine on the tabletop before drinking. “For absent friends,” Troy would say. I don’t know if that tradition is generally accepted or was only true for him, but I like it and have adopted...