Whereas the BC Centre for Disease Control BCCDC reports people at risk of hypothermia include: - People experiencing homelessness persons who are unsheltered, unhoused, or living in places not fit for human habitation - People who use substances, including alcohol, that modify their ability to feel the effects of cold exposure or to respond or modify their responses to cold conditions - People who spend long hours outside for work or recreation - People with disabilities, limited mobility, certain medical conditions such as diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, and diseases affecting blood vessels and people taking certain medications - Older people over 60 years of age, infants and young children; And whereas the BCCDC has established guidelines to open cold weather shelters when temperatures drop below 0 C or enacted at higher degrees when the weather forecast includes wet, snowy, or windy conditions as recommended by the BC Health Effects Anomalous Temperatures HEAT Committees cold-weather response: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM lobby the provincial government to standardize the opening of cold weather shelters throughout the province based on the recommendations from the BC Health Effects Anomalous Temperatures HEAT Committees cold-weather response and provide necessary funding to local governments and NGOs.
