Whereas the Juan de Fuca, Salt Spring Island and Southern Gulf Islands electoral areas have been excluded from participation in various provincial and federal programs and grant opportunities because they are not considered to be rural communities due to their affiliation with the Capital Regional District; And whereas the Capital Regional District Regional Growth Strategy and Islands Trust policy specifically dictate terms requiring those electoral areas to remain rural in nature, and the current BC Rural Dividend provincial grant program specifically excludes the Capital Regional District electoral areas and includes 156 provincial electoral areas: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the governments of Canada and British Columbia recognize the rural nature of the Juan de Fuca, Salt Spring Island and Southern Gulf Islands electoral areas and include them in all future government programs and grants offered to British Columbia electoral areas.
Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development The Province fully understands that many smaller communities and rural areas depend on grant funding from senior levels of government to provide critical infrastructure and services to their residents and businesses. For this reason, local governments like the Capital Regional District CRD, including its rural electoral areas, are eligible for funding under all the all of major infrastructure programs i.e. the Federal Gas Tax Program, Clean Water and Wastewater Fund CWWF, and Small Communities Fund SCF. The CRD and the Islands Trust are also eligible for unconditional grants like the Regional District Basic Grant program. The BC Rural Dividend Fund RDF is geographically limited to rural areas and communities with less than 25,000 people located outside of Metro Vancouver and the CRD. The reason for the geographic limitation of the RDF is because many of these rural communities are relatively isolated and have been struggling with the loss of transitional industry. The purpose of the RDF is to reinvigorate and diversify these rural communities. The eligibility criteria of the RDF were developed in consultation with the Rural Advisory Council comprised of 13 members from across rural B.C. If you would like more information on the RDF, please contact the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations at ruraldividendgov.bc.ca