2021

Whereas local governments are provided with statutory responsibility for land use planning within their jurisdictions and provincial government crown land planning processes, including resource and watershed management, generally involve local governments as referral agencies only at late stages of those planning processes; And whereas early and on-going local government involvement in provincial land use processes would provide an opportunity for improved intergovernmental collaboration and better informed decision-making: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the Government of

Whereas many local governments and communities rely on meaningful outdoor recreation for economic stability and development and, at the same time, those local governments and communities care about maintaining existing Recreation Sites and Trails Management andor Partnership Agreements with the Province of British Columbia for respectful stewardship of the lands; And whereas the BC government has established broad Forest Range Practices Act FRPA objectives under the Forest Planning and Practices Regulation FPPR for ten of the eleven FRPA values - they have not established an objective for

Whereas the provincial government is in the process of endorsing and updating the Trails Strategy for British Columbia trails strategy with many proposed changes recommended by the Provincial Trails Advisory Body including: - making a commitment to implementing the Trails Strategy for BC; - updating the vision and guiding principles; - increasing Indigenous representation in trail planning and development under the Trails Strategy; - providing opportunities and benefits for all; and - developing a world-class trail system; and, ensuring a sustainable network of trails; And whereas th

Whereas CleanBC is a pathway to a more prosperous, balanced, and sustainable future; And whereas northern, remote, and rural communities face barriers to work towards the goals outlined in CleanBC due to lack of resources, training, and capacity at a local and regional level, such as Energy Step Code Certified Energy Advisor and dealerships providing options for electric vehicles: Therefore be it resolved the UBCM lobby the Province of BC to provide greater support of resources, training, and capacity-building for northern, remote, and rural communities as they work towards meeting the C

Whereas 493 local governments across Canada, including dozens in BC, have adopted climate emergency declarations; And whereas there is an urgent need for local governments to develop community climate action plans with clearly articulated targets, but local governments lack the financial resources to effectively implement such plans to mitigate the impacts of climate change: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the provincial government provide sustained financial support for local community climate action planning and implementation that serves to meet the goals of CleanBC.

Whereas the provisioning and management of goods and food consumed by BC communities produces excessive and unnecessary quantities of waste, pollution and carbon emissions that threatens environmental health; And whereas the concept of a Circular Economy provides a vision and framework to design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use and regenerate natural systems to help BC communities move towards Zero Waste; And whereas the Province has yet to develop a comprehensive strategy to transition BCs economy to a circular one: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request t

Whereas the Province of British Columbia has a legislated target of reducing poverty in British Columbia by 25 by 2024 as part of the TogetherBC plan; And whereas there are over 270,000 households in British Columbia that experience energy poverty, struggling to afford basic energy services like heating, lighting and cooking, and experiencing negative health, social and economic impacts as a result: Therefore be it resolved that the UBCM request the Province of British Columbia to set a clear vision and targets to end energy poverty in BC within the next ten years, taking action on the th

Whereas retrofitting buildings across BC is crucial to reducing green-house gas GHG emissions and meeting our provincial climate targets; And whereas upfront costs of retrofitting homes and businesses for climate resilience are cost prohibitive to many of our property owners, and Property Tax Assisted Clean Energy PACE lowers barriers to implementing GHG reductions, adding value to buildings and making them more desirable places to live or work; And whereas PACE BC is working with interested municipalities across BC to assist in the establishment of a successful province-wide PACE program

Whereas emissions by buildings account for 40-60 of a communitys green-house gas GHG emissions, and current actions in British Columbia to reduce GHG emissions from buildings are insufficient to achieve the provinces GHG targets for 2030 and 2050; And whereas the November 2020 mandate letters to ministers include direction to provincial ministries to move forward with three of the five policy measures included in the Help Cities Lead campaign to drive GHG reduction in British Columbias building sector: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call upon the provincial government to immediately

Whereas agriculture uses plastics to aid in crop production, protection, improve food quality and minimize water usage; And whereas thousands of tonnes of agricultural plastics are dumped at the landfill by farmers after its use: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call on the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to set priority in resolving this problem by establishing a Plastics Recycling Program for agricultural plastics.