WHEREAS the Province is actively supporting the development of liquefied natural gas LNG as British Columbias future economic driver; AND WHEREAS multiple proposals and applications for LNG and other large scale industrial projects are creating a drain on the limited resources of many small communities and regional districts: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM urge the provincial government to develop an LNG plan to provide immediate and meaningful assistance to local governments in British Columbia that have limited staffing capacity and resources to deal with the demands and challenges associated with major industrial project development.
Ministry of Community, Sport Cultural Development Government is interested in supporting local governments and local government elected officials facing capacity challenges presented by responding to and preparing for major industrial development. In 2014, the Ministry initiated the Northwest Community Readiness initiative to support those communities facing capacity challenges due to proposed major industrial projects in their region. This initiative involved: - providing five planning interns to local governments to provide planning support; - providing a community liaison officer position at Northern Development Initiative Trust offices to assist with review of proponent referrals; - establishing a 500,000 Community Land Use Planning Program to fund official community plan, and bylaw updates and other planning projects; - establishing a 500,000 Asset Management Capacity Building initiative to provide state of the art training and support for local government asset inventory and supplemental planning capacity; - providing a dedicated Executive Director to facilitate and assist with inter-ministry issues; and, - partnering to fund a Housing Strategy for the communities of Kitimat, Terrace, Prince Rupert and Port Edward. As it monitors the implications of the industrial growth, the Ministry is committed to continuing to work with UBCM and local governments to identify what further responses in support of local governments may be appropriate.