2022

Whereas the Province of British Columbia prioritizes safety measures for the effective delivery of emergency services, and the Motor Vehicle Act of British Columbia mandates that motorists must operate in a safe manner near emergency fire department vehicles and life safety equipment, inattentive motorists near emergency scenes can be distracted to the extent that their actions threaten the safety of the public and fire department personnel; And whereas an unprotected hose of a fire department when laid down on a highway or private driveway at a fire or an alarm of fire is used to activel

Whereas volunteer fire departments throughout the province opt to provide wildland firefighting personnel and resources to assist in response to support the communities across the province during emergency wildlandinterface events; And whereas the Province provides for payment for the deployed wildland firefighting personnel and resources; And whereas the deployment of the wildland firefighting personnel and resources greatly assists in the public safety and protection of property across the province, and the delayed payment of invoices can place an undue strain on the firefighters who

Whereas Agricultural Land Reserve ALR regulations that allow an additional dwelling restrict the maximum size of this dwelling to 90m2 on ALR parcels less than 40 hectares in area; And whereas a double-wide or standard modern single wide manufactured home is larger than 90m2, thus significantly restricting options for additional dwellings: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the Province of British Columbia increase the allowable maximum size for additional dwellings on ALR land.

Whereas 9-1-1 is an essential public safety service and emergency preparedness tool; And whereas the CRTC has mandated the rollout of Next Generation 9-1-1 NG9-1-1 to move calls to digital or IP-based infrastructure by March 1, 2025, and has communicated the need for a significant additional funding commitment from its local government service partners in 2022 and beyond, yet there is no provincially-governed agency responsible for the planning, operation and coordination of 9-1-1 services in BC; And whereas local governments in BC are constrained in their financial revenue sources and f

Whereas the home owner grants primary objective is to reduce the tax burden on the school portion of the tax notice; And whereas with the material increase in property values those properties that increase above the average will bear a higher burden of taxes; And whereas due to the increase in property assessment the school tax charge becomes higher than the Home Owner Grant: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the Ministry of Finance increase the additional home owner grant to reflect the actual school tax charged on the property where the school tax is higher than the home

Whereas in the interest of providing a safe potable drinking water supply, Regional Districts are encouraged by the Province to assume ownership and operation of failing or deficient water systems owned by improvement districts, water users communities, societies and private development; And whereas these water systems are not financially viable as they are very small in size frequently less than 100 customers with limited access to funding, they are located in rural or remote rural communities with a very limited tax base, and with no opportunity to amalgamate with other water systems to

Whereas it is generally recognized that ambulance service in BC is heavily urban focused, however increasing the number of other first responder service calls to make up for the BCES staffing shortfall, should not come at the expense of a reasonable level of BC Ambulance service in rural communities; And whereas there has been little or no increase in provincial funds to independent First Responder Societies, municipal firerescue departments and rural RCMP staffing increases over the past several years, compromising these rural emergency response service levels in many rural communities t

Whereas local government fire departments in communities that have a major highways passing through them respond to highway incidents; And whereas the cost of attending these highway incidents is borne solely by the taxpayers within the taxing jurisdiction: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the provincial government to develop a program with ICBC to reimburse fire departments that respond to highway incidents which involve nonresidentsnon-property owners from within the fire departments taxing jurisdiction.

Whereas the tabular stumpage rate system that currently applies to community forest agreements provides the means through which community forests innovate, operate in contentious areas, invest in long-term forest stewardship and provide jobs and other benefits to their communities; And whereas the ability of community forests to innovate and invest in community priorities including climate change adaptation, wildfire risk reduction, ecosystem restoration, old growth management, recreational infrastructure development, and community economic development relies upon the current stumpage rat

Whereas many seniors have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and the rising cost of living; And whereas emergency supports are available for homeless or precariously-housed seniors experiencing economic, mental or physical hardship; And whereas there is a small but growing number of seniors who live in their own homes and also experience economic, mental and physical hardship, but for whom emergency supports are much more challenging to find: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the provincial government review the resources available to such individuals, ident