WHEREAS the Province of British Columbia has designated municipalities as diking authorities, and established a wide range of authoritative powers over them including requirements to fully administer and resource ongoing dike maintenance, flood protection planning, monitoring, inspection, reporting, and other associated work as well as to substantively fund disaster prevention and relief initiatives; AND WHEREAS notwithstanding s. 2b of the Community Charter, the administrative and financial resources required to undertake these responsibilities are an increasingly unsustainable burden to small communities: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province of British Columbia be re-established as the diking authority in municipalities less than 20,000 in population and in rural electoral areas.
Ministry of Forests, Lands Natural Resource Operations The Province of British Columbia realizes that, depending on the length and complexity of diking systems, both large and small communities can be challenged in providing adequate flood protection. The Province continues to support diking authorities through the provincial Dike Safety and Flood Protection programs. The Province is currently in discussions with the federal government regarding the possible implementation of new federal programs in BC, including the National Disaster Mitigation Strategy and a new Flood Protection Program.