2022

Whereas regional districts are recognized as local authorities under the Emergency Program Act that must develop and implement emergency plans and other preparedness, response and recovery measures for emergencies and disasters; And whereas regional districts are limited by the current funding model under the Local Government Act, requiring fiscal equivalence: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the Province of British Columbia and Emergency Management BC to provide regional districts with a dedicated Emergency Operations Centre Reserve Fund to facilitate the timely provision of emer

Whereas the Province of British Columbia has not increased the limit on Disaster Financial Assistance Funding DFA for homeowner applications since 1996; And whereas since 1996 the cost and value of property in the Lower Mainland has significantly increased, creating a gap that prevents property owners from reasonably overcoming catastrophic loss: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the Province of British Columbia and Emergency Management BC to increase the DFA limit on homeowner applications and consider implementing a framework that ties DFA compensation to BC Assessment values.

Whereas the Province of BC completed a Preliminary Strategic Climate Risk Assessment for BC in 2019 that found that extreme weather events will continue to worsen across the province in coming years including heat waves and severe river flooding with extreme precipitation events continuing to increase toward 1 in 20 year events becoming 1 and 10 year events or lower; And whereas the Minister for Public Safety and Solicitor General and Emergency Management BC have been working closely with the UBCM Flood and Wildfire Advisory Committee and local governments since mid-2019 to modernize the E

Whereas many rural areas in the Province are isolated with limited communications and large distances from established communities, there is a need in extenuating circumstances for Emergency Medical Aid First Responders EMAFR to attend emergency scenes at a considerable distance from the station. These Out of Jurisdiction responses require both skilled personnel and a rescue vehicle and can be of several hours duration.

Whereas the pre-hospital care system in British Columbia lies within the jurisdictional responsibility of the Ministry of Health, however it relies critically on the delivery of service by municipal, regional and First Nations organizations; And whereas the Ministry is critically reliant on this partnership in delivery of pre-hospital care in the Province of British Columbia: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM lobby the Province of British Columbia to work with the Local Government Management Association, Fire Chiefs Association of BC and First Nations Emergency Services Society to devel

Whereas reliable and affordable access to broadband internet connectivity should be made available to all rural, remote and Indigenous communities in BC to support public health safety, economic development, social inclusion and access to information; And whereas the Government of Canada has recognized that not all Canadians have access to reliable and affordable internet services and has established a Ministry of Rural Economic Development that includes rural broadband as a top priority: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the Province of BC to seriously commit to funding, and lobby

Whereas communities have written to the federal and provincial governments requesting that they empower local persons, those working with licensees, industry and contractors, Indigenous communities, ranchers and workers such as fire fighters, forestry workers, and all those that see the day-to-day issues and have front-line knowledge to provide feedback on the inconsistencies and shortcomings with regard to forest management and wildfire prevention in order to help bring about much-needed change; And whereas the Ontario government has assembled an All Hazards Agency that employs people t

Whereas BC Emergency Health Services BCEHS ambulance service is a vital component of life safety and access to healthcare for those who live and work in small rural communities, which are often a significant distance from fully-equipped hospitals; And whereas, in addition to there often not being an adequate availability of paramedics in the province, the BC Ambulance Service within rural BC is experiencing a critical pandemic shortage, leading to significant shift vacancies and underserviced ambulances for prolonged periods of timesa long standing issue which demonstrates that the curren

Whereas libraries in British Columbia are largely financed by levies paid by local governments, and where provincial library funding has remained stagnant for over 10 years; And whereas public libraries are central to communities, providing equitable access to vital resources, including internet, computers, digital library tools, and in-person services from expert staff And whereas public libraries provide British Columbians with low-barrier services, that support job seekers and small businesses, that increase literacy in communities, that advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples,

Whereas local government in British Columbia are increasingly reliant on a wide variety of grant programs to support the delivery of services, programs and projects in their jurisdictions; And whereas the investment in developing projects and programs, completing grant applications and delivering projects and programs is increasingly time consuming and complex which all require significant investment of front end resources by local governments and the resulting delays in waiting for granting decisions add cost and delay project delivery resulting in inefficiencies at all levels of governm