UBCM’s Executive was in Victoria last week to raise awareness of key policy priorities. Over two days, Executive members met with 34 MLAs from all parties, including Premier John Horgan, 9 ministers, the leader of the Official Opposition, and both caucus chairs. Meetings focussed on local government consultation, local government finance and climate action.
The Executive discussed the importance of consulting with local governments as an order of government, particularly in the areas of land and resource management and UNDRIP (UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples). UBCM advocated for:
- communicating to all ministries the need to engage local governments as an order of government;
- employing consultation models that include early outreach, at clearly defined points, with a range of opportunities for input;
- adopting a ‘local government implementation’ lens during the implementation of UNDRIP; and
- developing a notification mechanism for informing local governments potentially impacted by UNDRIP agreements.
The Executive also raised awareness of the re-established UBCM Local Government Finance Committee, which is undertaking a comprehensive review of UBCM's previous local government finance report, Strong Fiscal Futures. It sought dialogue on new local government revenue sources that could support shared provincial-local priorities, particularly in the areas of housing, climate action and public safety.
On climate action, the UBCM Executive raised awareness of the work of the UBCM Special Committee on Climate Action and called for dialogue on new mitigation and adaptation pathways. It highlighted the work of the Committee in exploring local efforts to support the reduction of greenhouse gases and the creation of weather resilient communities.