2021

Whereas local governments in British Columbia have voluntarily signed onto the Climate Action Charter, a commitment to working together towards reducing GHG emissions explicitly intended to build local government capacity to plan and implement climate change initiatives, and that by doing so have been able to access the Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program CARIP to support their efforts to reduce GHGs, address climate impacts, and move forward on achieving their Charter goals; And whereas the Ministry of Municipal Affairs announced in May 2021, without consultation, the cancellation o

Whereas the Ministry of Municipal Affairs announced in May 2021, the cancellation of the of the Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program CARIP, a program critical to local government climate action, in the absence of consultation, and, without identifying a comparable funding program to support the development, implementation or administration of local government climate action programs; And whereas Metro Vancouver and many of its member municipalities have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 45 by 2030 and 100 by 2050 requiring immediate investment and development of climate ac

Whereas the Ministry of Municipal Affairs announced in May 2021, without consultation, the cancellation of the Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program CARIP without identifying any new consistent, non-competitive funding for the development, implementation or administration of local government climate action programs, undermining the ability of local governments to participate in climate action initiatives; And whereas 187 local governments in British Columbia have voluntarily signed onto the Climate Action Charter and by doing so have been able to access CARIP funding; And whereas und

Whereas the Ministry of Municipal Affairs announced in May 2021, without consultation, the cancellation of the of the Climate Action Rebate Incentive Program CARIP without identifying any new funding for the development, implementation or administration of local government climate action programs, undermining the ability of local governments to participate in climate action initiatives; And whereas 187 local governments in British Columbia have voluntarily signed onto the Climate Action Charter and by doing so have been able to access the Climate Action Rebate Incentive Program; And whe

Whereas the Province of British Columbia prioritizes safety measures for vulnerable road users including pedestrians and cyclists, and the Motor Vehicle Act of British Columbia mandates that cyclists must ride on the right hand side of the road, and not on sidewalks unless expressly permitted by local by-law. Faster motor vehicles sharing roads with inherently slower cyclists often result in close passes, accounting for almost one third of the threatening encounters experienced by people on bicycle and almost fifty per cent of incidents in rural areas. Because relatively few roads in B.C.

Whereas public car insurance creates local jobs and significant investments in municipalities through road safety and improvement, grants-in-lieu, and community grants while providing greater control to municipalities to plan for risks and costs; And whereas jurisdictions with only private insurance options have experienced significant rate hikes year after year while accident benefits dramatically decline: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM will call on the provincial government to preserve public car insurance, including jobs and local investments, in British Columbia.

Whereas the Jury Act disqualifies Members of the Legislative Assembly and Members of Parliament from jury duty, but does not include local government elected officials; And whereas local government elected officials actively lobby for legislative amendments, oversee their RCMP Detachment work plans and are privy to sensitive information that could create a real or perceived conflict of interest if required to participate on a jury in their local government: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM be asked to lobby the provincial government to amend the Jury Act to disqualify local government

Whereas the UBCM Working Group on Responsible Conduct WGRC has been working extensively to support local government initiatives to address less-than-responsible local government conduct by providing local government council and board members with a set of principles and general standards of conduct that can be used to develop their own code of conduct; And whereas the WGRC continues to work on potential legislative change that focuses on the importance of councils and boards turning their minds to codes of conduct in a standardized and consistent manner: Therefore be it resolved that UBC