Whereas the longevity of items is decreasing because manufacturers are deliberately designing products to be disposable; And whereas residents and businesses are deterred from repairing their belongings by companies that claim ownership over the intellectual property in their products, fail to provide parts or other aspects that make it hard to repair items: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province of BC to draft and enact Right to Repair legislation.
Whereas enactment of bylaws to regulate single-use items by individual municipalities could lead to a mosaic of regulations across the region and in BC, which may lead to confusion and inconsistency for residents and businesses in the sale or distribution of these items; And whereas greater consistency could be achieved by implementing a regional approach; And whereas regional districts do not have the authority to establish bylaws or regulations in relation to the sale or distribution of single-use items: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Province to engage with regional g
Whereas construction and demolition waste comprises approximately 2.8 million metric tonnes of materials annually in British Columbia, and about one-third of municipal solid waste disposed in the Province; And whereas the materials disposed could have been resold, reused or recycled, they represent sources of embodied carbon, and deconstruction provides six times more job opportunities: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy develop a plan, including changes to regulations, provincial procurement policy, and economic and industr
Whereas the Environmental Management Act authorizes a regional district to manage solid waste in accordance with its Solid Waste Management Plan, which is approved by the Ministry of Environment; And whereas the Authorizations Division of the Ministry of Environment is responsible to review and receive a landfill facilitys design and operation plan and issue the operational certificate required for a local government to operate a landfill facility to receive solid waste; And whereas the Compliance Division of the Ministry of Environment is responsible to inspect a local government operate
Whereas provincial legislation governing solid waste management in British Columbia has increasingly tightened over the past several years to address important environmental concerns and thereby downloaded new costs onto local governments who must operate or retire their landfills in compliance with new provincial priorities; And whereas the Province of British Columbia has not developed an equitable or effective fiscal strategy to resource local governments to meet these new landfill operation and closure costs, thereby forcing some local governments to operate, and consider retiring the
Whereas the Fraser River Estuary is a diverse and productive ecosystem, supporting over 100 species at risk, including salmon and southern resident killer whales, and, is under increased development pressure and impacts of climate change, including flooding of industrial and agricultural lands, and would benefit from a regional planning approach that balances the needs of the ecosystem, people and the economy; And whereas Indigenous people have lived in and stewarded the Fraser River Estuary since time immemorial, and know the various species, habitat, and ecosystems as integral to their e
Whereas contaminants of emerging concern CECs are found in the sewage sludge of wastewater treatment plants and are then dispersed to the environment and food chain through aerosolization, marine discharge, and land application of biosolids; And whereas CECs have been found to have negative effects on human and wildlife health: Therefore be it resolved that the UBCM request the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada to establish sampling protocols and introduce specific measures for monitoring and reducing levels of contaminants of emerging concern from wastewater treat
Whereas local governments can be reliant on surface water sources to support development; And whereas water licenses can take the province years to issue: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Ministry of Forest, Lands, Natural Resources and Rural Development to provide clarity on what is causing delays in the issuance of water licenses.
Whereas local governments are required to set greenhouse gas reduction targets and transition towards becoming more compact, complete and energy-efficient communities; And whereas communities may have opportunities to create clean and renewable energy projects, such as micro-hydro, geothermal, tidal and solar power; Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the Province of British Columbia explore changes to the regulatory framework to support communities in partnering with BC Hydro to provide safe reliable clean energy and to generate revenue sources to support local economies.
Whereas Division One, Section 82 of the Community Charter states A municipality may provide any service that the council considers necessary or desirable, and may do this directly or through another public authority or another person or organization; And whereas BC Hydro purchases green energy from municipalities and corporations such as Silversmith Power and Light Corporation, and that municipalities should have the option to obtain and use green energy within their communities to reduce the increasing energy costs applied by BC Hydro for the operation of their facilities and, in additi