2020

Whereas communities, especially in Metro Vancouver are challenged to enhance and deliver services and amenities including but not limited to affordable housing, community centres, park and fire service expansion to ever increasing populations; And whereas Development Cost Charges do not adequately address many of these items, as such guidelines were established by the provincial government under which municipalities could ask for Voluntary Contributions from development to provide a range of identified amenities, yet no accompanying legislation was established to support the guidelines; A

Whereas motor vehicle seat belt laws have been fundamental to improved road safety in Canada over the past 40 years; And whereas the US National Transportation Safety Board is now recommending three-point seat belts in all new school buses and 37 states are now either requiring three-point seat belts for school buses or have started down the legislative pathway towards this requirement; And whereas Transport Canada recognizes that seat belts on school buses can offer added protection for school-age children, have created technical requirements for their installation and use, and allow p

Whereas a key part of the CleanBC program is Move. Commute.

Whereas youth across British Columbia and all people living in poverty deserve safe, easy, and affordable commutes; And whereas a lack of affordable transportation is a significant barrier to social connection, access to services and labour market inclusion for low income adults and youth; And whereas direct harm can be brought to low income adults and youth due to punitive fare evasion ticketing, which can impact credit ratings and further entrench poverty; And whereas the AllOnBoard campaign has been endorsed by business, labour, and advocacy organizations across British Columbia in

Whereas renters are facing the risk of displacement and housing insecurity as a result of renovations to existing rental buildings; And whereas the Residential Tenancy Act does not currently require landlords to provide proof of permits or a description of the scope of work for renovations where tenancies are likely to be terminated, and local governments have limited authority to require notification related to tenancy issues as a condition of issuance of certain permits; And whereas existing renters facing evictions due to renovations could benefit from information on the type and exten

Whereas British Columbia has at least 7,655 homeless people, and homelessness robs people of their security, dignity, rights and lives, as homeless people have about half the life expectancy as housed people; And whereas Bill C-97 June 21, 2019 containing the National Housing Strategy Act, and the federal right to housing legislation enshrines the need to recognize that the right to adequate housing is a fundamental human right affirmed in international law.: Therefore be it resolved that the UBCM call upon the Province to declare a Homelessness Emergency and work with all orders of gover

Whereas local governments in British Columbia are considering how to most effectively support members of their communities in actions to mitigate climate change, especially to reduce Greenhouse Gas GHG emissions from buildings, which account for over 50 percent of GHG emissions in many communities, but are challenged by the fact that the vast majority of buildings are privately owned and most building owners face financial barriers to energy and emission-reducing retrofits; And whereas there is a reluctance by the Province to pursue public financing mechanisms for private buildings, but r

Whereas since 2016, when the UBCM report, Primer on Fossil Fuel Divestment and the Municipal Pension Plan noted that Divestment may compromise our investment strategy, increase risks and costs, and negatively affect our clients investment returns, there have been major shifts in global climate science and investment strategies. The October 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC report verified that global warming is accelerating, with a window of little more than a decade to drastically reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions to avert catastrophic climate change impacts.

Whereas the Province of BC has communicated support for a 2017 UBCM motion requesting that the Province develop an energy benchmarking program requiring that buildings above a size threshold benchmark their energy performance and report this information to the province annually and that the resulting data be available to local governments to inform their climate policy and programs, but not yet acted on that motionleaving room for additional direction; And whereas the urgency to implement measures to help reduce Greenhouse Gas GHG emissions in the building sector has grown since the Octobe

Whereas Clean BC states that the Province will prioritize reducing climate pollution by shifting vehicles, homes, industry and business off burning fossil fuels and toward greater use of clean BC electricity and other renewable energies, with a target of a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas GHG emissions over 2007 levels by 2030; And whereas approximately 40 per cent of GHG emissions in BC are due to vehicles, and shifting to zero-emission vehicles will not only help the provincial and local governments meet GHG emission-reduction targets, but also strengthen the economy, improve air