2019

Whereas British Columbias small and medium-sized local governments are finding it increasingly challenging to respond and most importantly to fund emergency response services that are not necessarily within the purview of their statutory mandate and responsibility; And whereas many of these provincially downloaded responses to emergencies impact local police, ambulance, fire, fire-rescue, emergency highway rescue, and search and rescue services, many of which are volunteer-based; And whereas emergencies originating on the land base outside the boundaries and beyond the limited financial

Whereas rural libraries provide universal access to information and learning materials irrespective of income levels that help build stronger communities and increase rural residents access to technology; Whereas Provincial funding for libraries has been frozen since 2009 and increasing operating costs have been progressively downloaded onto property taxpayers; Therefore be it resolved that the provincial government be requested to increase funding to 20 million in 2020, fully indexed to inflation thereby recognizing the importance of the local government library system to the Province

Whereas the Province has enacted legislation under the Environmental Management Act and the Recycling Regulation to require extended producer responsibility plans stewardship programs for packaging and printed paper PPP from residential sources only; And whereas local governments collect solid waste and recyclables, including PPP, from all sectors, including residents and industrial, commercial, and institutional ICI entities; And whereas opportunities for recycling by the ICI sector in areas outside of the Lower Mainland are limited or non-existent; And whereas that lack of recycl

Whereas libraries in British Columbia are largely financed by levies paid by local governments; And whereas libraries in British Columbia provide open and equal public access to vital resources, including the internet, public computers, digital library tools and in-person service from expert staff to provide opportunities for all British Columbians to access knowledge and information and increase literacy in our communities and present informative programmes and material which advance public understanding and reconciliation; And whereas libraries in British Columbia are delivering their

Whereas the City of Vancouver has authority through the Vancouver Charter to implement an Annual Vacancy Tax; And whereas the City of White Rock is governed through the Community Charter where there is no current authority to implement a Vacancy Tax and it is believed that there are a number of vacant residential and commercial properties in the City of White Rock: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM work with the Province of British Columbia to amend the authority given to Local Governments through the Community Charter permitting municipalities the authority to impose, by bylaw, an annua

Whereas more than one in ten households in BC, 1 in 7 households in the Interior Health region, experience household food insecurity and are more vulnerable to chronic conditions leading to health care costs that are two times higher than food secure households; And whereas rates of household food insecurity are not reduced by food programs because they cannot address the root cause of household food insecurity, being lack of income and extreme material deprivation: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM frame household food insecurity as an income-based problem and advocate to provincial and

Whereas the Recycle BC program is only responsible for residential Printed Paper and Packaging, leaving the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional sector including schools, hospitals, restaurants, stores, and entertainment events dependent on the private sector or local governments for access to recycling, and the producers of Industrial, Commercial and Institutional Printed Paper and Packaging unaccountable for the recovery of their product; And whereas changes in the global recycling market has resulted in reduced access to recycling of Industrial, Commercial and Institutional Printed

Whereas the BC Government enacted the Private Land Forest Practices Regulation to set out forest management requirements for identified lands; And whereas not all private forest land owners subscribe to the Managed Private Forest Land Program and as a result are able to engage in large scale timber harvesting without regulation to the detriment of adjacent land owners, communities and the natural environment: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations enact legislation requiring private forest land owners to enroll in the Manag

Whereas the chemical formula known as glyphosate is known to cause serious eye damage, is a toxic substance for aquatic life and is believed to be responsible for an 81 decline in the Monarch Butterfly population in North America; And whereas glyphosate is now banned in El Salvador, Sri Lanka, Bermuda, Columbia and Vietnam, and juries in California have awarded multi-million dollar settlements against producers of products containing glyphosate and there are now more than 13,000 such lawsuits in the United States alone: Therefore be it resolved that the British Columbia Minister of Fore

Whereas the residents of the Province of British Columbia deserve timely and professional coroner services when deaths occur; And whereas there are only 32 full-time coroners and approximately 75 community coroners working from five regional offices and the Offices of the Chief Coroner in Burnaby and Victoria; And whereas the community coroners are expected to cover a wide range of communities which results in substantial wait time when deaths occur: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM lobby the Province of British Columbia to hire more coroners and to establish a staffing model that ensu