2023

Whereas the continued illegal supply of increasingly toxic street drugs has led to over 12,000 toxic drug overdose deaths since the BC Provincial Health Officers declaration of a Drug Overdose Public Health Emergency in 2016, and government measures to date have failed to reduce the criminal supply of toxic drugs and toxic drug overdose deaths; And whereas there is insufficient province-wide access to resources and services that would increase users safety, which include drug testing and overdose prevention sites as well as detox beds and treatment services on demand, and preventative prog

Whereas British Columbias new BC Zero Carbon Step Code effective May 1, 2023 and Clean BC Roadmap to 2030 will accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles, heat pumps and other technologies that will increase the demand for clean electricity; And whereas BC Hydros Five-Year Electrification Plan, released by the government in September of 2021, estimates that it has sufficient supply of clean electricity, including from Site C dam, only to 2030, leading government to announce plans to call for new utility-scale sources of renewable, emission-free electricity in BC; And whereas the BC Govern

Whereasover 11.8 of BC households 485,500 British Columbians experience some level of food insecurity and about 3 of households 91,100 British Columbians experience severe food insecurity, leading tomore than 163,000 people in BC using a food bank in March of 2022 and the prediction that reliance on food banks and other food charities is expected to increase by 60 percent in BC in 2023, with the non-profit sector bearing the brunt of costs associated with collecting and delivering food that would otherwise be wasted to people in need; And whereas the National Zero Waste council calculates

Whereas BC has yet to develop an effective strategy to address one of the biggest constraints on new housing supplyour shrinking construction labour forceand offsite wood frame and mass timber construction has potential to deliver improvements of up to 50 labour productivity, 50 construction time and 20 cost savings, net zero and low embodied carbon construction and secure jobs in forest dependent and Indigenous communities; And whereas the greatest barrier to expanding offsite construction is insufficient market demand from public and private project developers unfamiliar with this novel

Whereas local governments and their representative organizations, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities FCM and Union of BC Municipalities UBCM, have noted for over a decade that the current municipal funding model and overreliance on property taxes are neither sustainable nor resilient; And whereas the Province and UBCM have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Local Government Financial Resiliency, establishing a joint provincial-UBCM Local Government Financial Review Working Group, focused on addressing the 20 recommendations within the 2021 UBCM Ensuring Local Governmen

Whereas as part of the Homes for People Plan, the Province intends to introduce legislation in Fall of 2023, that will allow up to four 4 units on a traditional single-family detached lot; And whereas to meet the electrical service needs of these new homes, the developer could be required to install a pad-mounted transformer for approximately 75,000 - 100,000 under current BC Hydro policy; And whereas BC Hydro is in the process of updating its Distribution Extension Policy, which specifies how costs related to new or upgraded servicing connections are recovered; And whereas one option be

Whereas the provision and funding of childcare is the mandate of the Province of British Columbia, yet there is no funding provided from the Province of British Columbia for sustainable and sufficient funding related to costs for the ongoing maintenance, repair and replacement of childcare facilities, leaving municipalities to provide land and buildings for the expansion of new childcare spaces to fill the significant gaps in need; And whereas these facilities are typically provided at nominal lease rates in efforts to keep parent fees more affordable and to ensure long-term operational vi

Whereas the regulations for the federal plastic straw ban include some provisions intended to ensure accessibility, but will introduce new and significant barriers for persons with disabilities that will conflict with and be paramount to current provincial and municipal plastic straw prohibition regulations in British Columbia, by prohibiting: - As of December 20, 2023, restaurants and other food vendors from giving out flexible plastic straws, and retailers from displaying packages of flexible plastic straws sold for personal use; and - As of June 20, 2024, plastic straws attached to bever

Whereas the province of British Columbia is prone to wildfires, which pose significant threats to public safety, communities, property, and the environment, and where climate change has contributed to an increase in the frequency, intensity, and severity of wildfires, thereby placing an unprecedented strain on available firefighting equipment; And whereas the Provincial Government has the responsibility to ensure that the BC Wildfire Service has adequate resources, including equipment, to effectively respond to and manage wildfires to safeguard lives, protect infrastructure, and preserve

Therefore be it resolved the UBCM call upon the Province of British Columbia to work with local governments and First Nations to support the protection and restoration of biological diversity in local communities, including establishing a Local Natural Areas Protection Fund to support local efforts to acquire land for biodiversity and ecosystem health.