Whereas local governments and First Nations have inherited a problematic public service delivery regime that poorly finances on and off reserve local government service delivery; And whereas local governments experience revenue deficits that impact shared and overlapping public service delivery to the entire local population, including First Nation populations, that are not fairly addressed through property tax requisition; And whereas the federal government is constitutionally committed to providing essential public services of reasonable quality to all Canadians Constitution Act, 1982 s.36, implemented in part through federal transfer payments; Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Province of BC and the Government of Canada work with First Nations and local governments to explore and implement revenue solutions such as federal transfer payments, thereby supporting implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action and the commitments in UNDRIP; And be it further resolved that to ensure First Nation participation in the management of said payments, UBCM request British Columbia, in consultation with First Nations, amend the Local Government Act accordingly.
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing The Provincial Government is interested in supporting local governments and First Nations in finding ways to work on shared goals and interests including partnering to provide quality services to residents in communities. Ministry staff are undertaking a preliminary review of this resolution in collaboration with staff from the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation and UBCM. Any changes that may be contemplated to the Local Government Act would have province wide implications and would need to be considered carefully. This will take time and engagement with key stakeholders. Work to date has included the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation providing a copy of this resolution to his counterpart at the federal level. As well, at a staff level MIRR has agreed to reach out to the Federal Government to bring them into the conversation with MAH and UBCM about this.
Minister of Indigenous Services First, we commend your interest and commitment in working to implement reconciliation and the calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. For detailed information on how the Government of Canada is working towards responding to the Calls to Action, I encourage you to consult the website: https:www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca and by clicking on the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada in the language of your choice, choose under Services and information the link for Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Government of Canada has committed to renewing its relationship with Indigenous Peoples, including co-developing a new fiscal relationship with First Nations that is based on recognition of rights, co-operation and partnership. This initiative is guided by the findings of the December 2017 report, A New Approach: Co-development of a New Fiscal Relationship with First Nations, which is a joint undertaking by officials from the Assembly of First Nations and my Department. Information on that initiative is available at: https:www.sac-isc.gc.caengindigenous-services-canada under Services and information, Establishing a new fiscal relationship. To support the new fiscal relationship, we committed to continued co-development of fiscal relationship reforms, including the establishment of the Assembly of First NationsIndigenous Services Canada Joint Advisory Committee on Fiscal Relations which will guide our work. Sufficiency of funding for First Nations has been identified as a key priority for fiscal relationship co-development. As part of its mandate, the Assembly of First Nations - Indigenous Services Canada Joint Advisory Committee on Fiscal Relations is expected to bring forward recommendations for a new Fiscal Policy Framework to address sufficiency and identify priority funding areas, as well as to increase revenue generation opportunities for First Nations, developed in collaboration with provinces and territories.