Amendment of Section 744 of the Local Government Act

Whereas climate change induced extreme weather events regularly overwhelm local government infrastructure; And whereas this creates liability risks, even in the absence of negligence on the part of BC local governments because of the wording of Section 744 of the Local Government Act, whose protection is qualified by the inclusion of the phrase breakdown or malfunction, while every other Canadian province and territory provides local governments with similar protection without this qualification; And whereas the Municipal Insurance Association of British Columbia has deemed this is the most extreme climate change liability risk facing local governments: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that Section 744 of the Local Government Act be amended to: remove the words breakdown or malfunction; include language consistent with other provincial legislation.