The future of sponsorships at the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention will be front and centre at this week’s gathering of municipal politicians from across the province.

Outgoing President and Kamloops Councillor Arjun Singh says that includes a reception sponsored by the Consulate-General of China, set for tomorrow evening.

“We’ve had a lot of diverse views on this reception and we’ve decided, this executive, after a lot of consideration to allow it to happen this year,” he said on the NL Morning News. “But we are having a sponsorship review panel who are looking at sponsorships as a whole issue around the convention going forward.”

Singh says convention delegates this year will be asked how they feel about sponsorships by foreign governments in general.

“And so there’s a process that’s set up to figure that one out and we’ll go forward from there,” Singh added.

A number of municipal politicians – including Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West – have been vocal in asking the UBCM to stop taking money from the Chinese because of recent tension between the two countries after the arrest Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver airport at the request of the U.S.

According to the UBCM, the review panel will “make recommendations on finance, policies, and practices that uphold sound governance, transparency, affordability and accountability for the annual convention.”

But any changes will not take effect until the 2020 convention.