Whereas invasive mussels represent one of the biggest national and regional transboundary threats to our waterways; And whereas the threat of invasive mussels has dramatically increased with Idaho announcing quagga mussels were detected in the Snake River, a tributary of the Columbia River and less than a days drive to the BC and Alberta borders; And whereas none of the 750 million allocated to the Canada Water Agency addresses this threat or supports existing gaps in BCs Invasive Mussel Defence Program, including the need for additional watercraft inspection stations; And whereas the Province of BC allocates over 1 million a year to the Invasive Mussel Defence Program, and it would only take 4 million a year to protect the Canadian Columbia Basin, the Fraser Basin, Peace Region and other major western river systems: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM and Federation of Canadian Municipalities FCM lobby the Government of Canada to protect our waterways by allocating and matching the provincial funding for BCs Invasive Mussel Defence Program.
