Whereas Section 1257 of the Community Charter only exempts elected officials from disqualification due to absences of 60 consecutive days or 4 consecutive regular scheduled board or council meetings if the absence is due to illness or injury or is with the leave of the council or board, but does not consider diverse realities or lived-experiences such as providing caregiving or compassionate care for loved ones, or parental leave for new parents; And whereas it is recognized that the current language in the Community Charter and the Local Government Act do not protect leave rights for elected officials and require local governments to renew leave policies pertaining to elected officials after every new council composition; And whereas it is recognized that reducing barriers to inclusion in civic governance requires intentional action to recognize diverse lived-experiences: Therefore be it resolved that the UBCM encourage the provincial government to amend the Community Charter and Local Government Act to guarantee caregiver, compassionate care, and parental leave provisions that would grant elected officials, who must provide support to loved ones or are new parents, an exemption from being disqualified from office for absences of 60 consecutive days or 4 consecutive regular scheduled council or board meetings.
